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The Fifth City: Fallen London's Lore Wikia
The Fifth City: The Neath's Lore Wiki
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in: Places, The Neath, The Hinterlands

The Hinterlands

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Crypticsecret

"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."

Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, or Sunless Skies. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


"From the comfort of your window seat, you can see abandoned railworks, broken masonry and torn-up earth – failed projects by various London authorities to expand westward. The darkness draws in as the train turns even more westerly: the smog from the furnaces of Hell extends far."[2]

The Hinterlands are the lands between London and Hell.

The West[]

"You are leaving London. Beyond are the outskirts of the Empire, and further still, the hinterlands of Hell."[3]

A steam locomotive.

The Great Hellbound Railway

The Hinterlands are the huge swaths of land between London and Hell.[4] They are also called the Upper River, as the Stolen River flows through from Hell to the Unterzee.[1][5] It has two railways: the Moloch Street Express,[6] and the newer Great Hellbound Railway.[7] This far west, the Echo Bazaar has limited influence, but commerce is still possible via the Upper River Exchange.[8]

The Hinterlands are largely unexplored by London and rife with rumor and myth,[9] as any attempts to expand westward ended before they began.[10][11] This was rectified thanks to a deal brokered by Virginia during her tenure as Lord Mayor of London; she also founded the Ministry of Upper River Development, which issued Hinterland Scrip as currency for investors.[12][13]

Terrain and Features[]

"The fields are yellowing, scarred and scorched. Blackened windmills dot the landscape, as well as other less immediately identifiable machinery. It's no wonder all attempts to go west fail: the land repels settlement."[2]

"Where it says average slope – this was explained to me but I forgot to note this down, I'm terribly sorry – that is the average slope over time. The side of the mountain shifts. It sometimes elects to become, ah, a vertical wall."[14]

A massive gate inscribed with wings.

Hell

The Hinterlands are mostly empty,[15] consisting of rough and undeveloped scrubland[16] dotted with hills,[17] swamps, and ravines.[18] The air is rife with smog from Hell, blotting out the false-stars above,[19] and the ground below is packed with fossils and bones from creatures both great[20] and small.[21] The Hinterlands also house many anomalies, including mountains with ever-changing slope angles[22] and icy patches frozen by errant Discordance stones.[23] To top it all off, the region is patrolled by bandits and highwaymen,[24][25] as well as hostile wildlife like stray Terror-Birds[26] or worse monstrosities.[27][28]

In spite of the treacherous landscape, the Hinterlands are home to a variety of landmarks and locales. These include human settlements like Moulin[29] and Jericho Locks,[30] outposts of London and the Masters like Balmoral[31] and Station VIII,[32] remnants of the Fall of London like Burrow-Infra-Mump,[33] battlefields of the Campaign of '68,[34] and structures of Hellish origin, like Marigold Station,[35] the Edict of Towers,[36] and the tombs of deposed Grand Devils.[37][38]

History and Ruler[]

"It's too late. I can't stop you. Even if I head you off here, you'll route around there... it was always going to happen. We prevented it in the Second City, and in the Third, but now... The Creditor hungers, it thirsts, and the city is also mad..."[39]

Rough terrain.

The Creditor

Past Fallen Cities' exploration of the Hinterlands was mostly limited by the Echo Bazaar,[40] but some ruins still remain, such as the Sere Palace of Second City origin,[41] and remnants of the First City below the Magistracy of the Evenlode.[42] The Sleeping Merchant was a First City citizen who attempted to venture west, but his expedition ended in disaster.[43][44]

The custodian of the Hinterlands is the Creditor,[45][46] an earthly being who monitors all traffic through its realm,[47][48] and whose "face" is literally the Hinterlands' topsoil.[49] It enforces that travelers must not damage or change the Hinterlands too severely,[50][48] lest they face its immense power firsthand.[51][52]

List of Locations[]

A person rowing a boat.

Jericho Locks

A green river flowing through a red desert.

Moulin

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rumour of the Upper River, Fallen London "Rumour of the Upper River [...] There are all sorts of tales about life further up the Stolen River."
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 For All the Saints Who From Their Labours Rest, Fallen London
  3. ↑ The Twelve-Fifteen from Moloch Street, Fallen London
  4. ↑ The Twelve-Fifteen from Moloch Street, Fallen London "You are leaving London. Beyond are the outskirts of the Empire, and further still, the hinterlands of Hell."
  5. ↑ Sidebar Snippets#Places, Fallen London "The Stolen River that flows into the Unterzee [...] passes through Hell."
  6. ↑ For All the Saints Who From Their Labours Rest, Fallen London "[...] I'll arrange for the train to make a brief stop at Marigold Station. It'll be the only stop we make before Hell.""
  7. ↑ All aboard!, Fallen London "Your train now serves points west of London."
  8. ↑ Upper River Exchange, Fallen London "The questionable exchange out beyond the Bazaar's reach."
  9. ↑ A travelogue of the Hinterlands, Fallen London "[...] even the nearer parts of the Hinterland might as well be Tartarus to the average Londoner. There are rumours of a highwayman riding an elephant made of iron. Stories of rivers leading to a palace flooded with poison. [...]"
  10. ↑ Advertisements of a New Venture, Fallen London "[...] there was a treaty line between London and Hell. Plenty of ambitious people hoped to overstep it, but entrepreneurial blueprints [...] turned to ash."
  11. ↑ For All the Saints Who From Their Labours Rest, Fallen London "It's no wonder all attempts to go west fail: the land repels settlement."
  12. ↑ Advertisements of a New Venture, Fallen London "Then Virginia became Lord Mayor. [...] she announced [...] a deal brokered with Hell, [...] land opened to London development. She founded the Ministry of Upper River Development, [...] Constables and other worthies started handing out Hinterland scrip [...]"
  13. ↑ Hinterland Scrip, Fallen London "Issued by the Ministry of Upper River Development. [...] represents the right to develop new buildings on a portion of the land."
  14. ↑ Plan the next route straight up the side of a mountain, Fallen London
  15. ↑ Investigate the Clay Highwayman: Ask criminal contacts, Fallen London "Somewhere far into the hinterland, in the supposedly empty land between London and Hell."
  16. ↑ For All the Saints Who From Their Labours Rest, Fallen London "The landscape outside [...] wide fields of gorse and heather and thistle. Acres of unkempt land, untamed and wild [...]"
  17. ↑ Support the Liberationists and build track through hilly land (Balmoral), Fallen London "Furnace duly reports back on progress – hills exploded [...]"
  18. ↑ Demand a frank explanation of the risks, Fallen London "[...] this is bad territory. Ravines, bogs, hills made of bone. [...]"
  19. ↑ For All the Saints Who From Their Labours Rest, Fallen London "[...] the vast clouds of smog that emanate from the farthest west. The smog slowly blots out the false-stars."
  20. ↑ Lay track through marsh and keep watch for any buried bones as you go (After Discovery), Fallen London "[...] they do find you something significant. [...] the Leviathan frame [...] the Tracklayers have it strapped to a cart [...] it cannot be – a secret operation."
  21. ↑ Discuss the work stoppage with Furnace, Fallen London ""I showed you the False-Snake," Furnace says. "There's a patch of land full of those [...]"
  22. ↑ Plan the next route straight up the side of a mountain, Fallen London "The side of the mountain shifts. It sometimes elects to become [...] a vertical wall."
  23. ↑ Discordant, Fallen London ""That stone froze a lake full of creatures [...] If you're going to [...] practice your language skills on it, at least let everyone else get [...] away first. [...]"
  24. ↑ Discuss the work stoppage with Furnace, Fallen London "Furnace says. "Bandits raiding our camps at night. [...]"
  25. ↑ Who is the Clay Highwayman?, Fallen London "The Clay Highwayman is a menace to railway traffic [...] around the upper river."
  26. ↑ Return to London (later stations), Fallen London "Terror-Birds on the line! [...] there was rise in abandoned pets [...]"
  27. ↑ Return to London (later stations), Fallen London "As the train slows [...] a figure looms [...] twice the height of the train, and possesses far too many arms. There is a sound of swarming bees, [...] The figure reaches vast pincers [...] slices a chunk from the train. [...]"
  28. ↑ Return to London (later stations), Fallen London "[...] an ancient, hairy thing rising from the dark canal water. [...] the hairy thing begins to eat the smaller sect of devils [...]"
  29. ↑ Build the station at Moulin, Fallen London "Far west, there is a muddy battlefield where London fought Hell, [...] Within that battlefield lies a hamlet."
  30. ↑ Build the station at Jericho Locks, Fallen London "Jericho Locks belongs to those who steer the canal boats and own the trade on the river."
  31. ↑ Balmoral Castle, Fallen London "The castle was built for the Empress [...] London fell. [...] due to legal entanglements, Balmoral fell with it."
  32. ↑ Something is Landing, Fallen London "[...] Someone has just arrived. [...] The [...] Master will remain in Station VIII for about a day; [...]"
  33. ↑ Posit impossible conclusions, Fallen London "Old histories speak of places prior to Balmoral and Burrow, Jericho and Ealing."
  34. ↑ For All the Saints Who From Their Labours Rest, Fallen London "Battered armaments litter the tops of the trenches [...] When London's forces ran out of ammunition, they turned to antique weaponry: [...] Elsewhere, you can find the detritus of Hell's weaponry [...]"
  35. ↑ Put forward the last plans for the last station, Fallen London "[...] at Marigold, but the existing station must be given a new platform."
  36. ↑ Walk the Edict of Towers, Fallen London "An ancient Hell defence [...]"
  37. ↑ The Twelve-Fifteen from Moloch Street, Fallen London "[...] this is the prison of an old power of Hell. [...] 'the Piper' [...]"
  38. ↑ Heed the call, Fallen London "Deep below the Church, the Drummer resides. The hill rests over his tomb."
  39. ↑ Persuade the Efficient Commissioner/Tables, Fallen London
  40. ↑ Persuade the Efficient Commissioner/Tables, Fallen London ""I can't stop you. [...] you'll route around there... it was always going to happen. We prevented it in the Second City, and in the Third, but now... The Creditor hungers, it thirsts, and the city is also mad...""
  41. ↑ Request passage to the Sere Palace 2, Fallen London ""He leaps from the craft [...] and races into the [...] Second City ruin.""
  42. ↑ Search the upper floors, Fallen London "You only properly identify what you have [...] unmistakeably First City. There must be more, down below."
  43. ↑ The Nature of the Debt, Fallen London "[...] IT WANTED THE MONEY, [...] IT TRICKED A FIRST CITY MERCHANT [...]"
  44. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London "One defendant at a time [...] before this Judge – summoned here if they tried to pass through these lands without leave. [...] The Merchant [...] He could barely look [...] at the being that sat in Judgement."
  45. ↑ Point out a prop the Solicitor-Baroness did not mention, Fallen London "All [...] land past [...] Evenlode is touched by the Creditor. And the closer territory, too [...]"
  46. ↑ The Way West, Fallen London "The Creditor [...] lives. Between London and Hell"
  47. ↑ Ask it about the Hillchanger Tower (Furnace Abandoned), Fallen London ""Not every patch of ground is asleep," [...] That Creditor is elusive, but it is an earth power [...]"
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 In Credit, Fallen London "[...] this Power will not [...] you to go further into the Neath, nor to change it more [...] unless some limit is attached [...] and some price paid for the imposition."
  49. ↑ Take your time and go observantly, Fallen London "Trespasser, you have laid your road across my face [...]"
  50. ↑ Meaning what, precisely?, Fallen London ""A gage is a pledge of good faith," [...] it was meant to represent the promise [...] prevent [...] from causing too much damage."
  51. ↑ Open fire, Fallen London "[...] Trouble [...] the Hillchanger Tower rears up from the ground [...] drawing length [...] into the air; [...] the earth warps [...] around the Tower's base; [...] the tracks buckle. It is [...] lucky [...] neither you nor your crew are seriously injured."
  52. ↑ Read it in an ancient language, Fallen London "Come among the other powers as a guest-friend [...] Or we shall walk across your kind in turn [...]"
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