The Sea of Spines

"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.

"The water is full of chemical thoughts, memories of even more ancient times and more primitive forms."^[1]

The Sea of Spines is an ocean of apocyan waters^[2] somewhere in the Is-Not,^[3] possibly outside Parabola.^[4] It is made from the dreams of Flukes and Rubbery Men^[5] and reflects their memories of their lost planet of Axile.^[4]^[6] While this region is most easily accessible to Rubbery Men, humans may find themselves there on rare^[4] and usually guided occasions,^[7]^[8] where they receive glimpses of Axile.

References[]

↑ Dream with the others, Fallen London
↑ Tell the Viscountess about the Sea of Spines, Fallen London "You describe the apocyan waves; the memories that drift in the water; the recollection of many earlier evolutions."
↑ Lead an expedition to the Sea of Spines, Fallen London "It is a distant, dark corner of the Is-Not. [...] in a place where the Skin of the Sun has entirely receded beneath the horizon, where there is no distinction between the black water below and the starless sky above, you descend."
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Look into the glassy water, Fallen London "You stare across the water mirror – not into the water, but into some deep recess of the Is-Not. There, you see no dreams, only memories. Memories of warmth and song, of contentment and joy, of a sea more sunless that welcomes the body like a familial embrace. Each memory is a spiralling body of delicate colours – flayed and stuck on violant spines of bitter anger."
↑ The Upstairs Honey Den, Fallen London "They say that honey-sippers in Helicon House can find their way into the dream-places of Rubbery Men – not by the Viric Jungle, but by the Sea of Spines."
↑ Dream with the others, Fallen London "The surface of the ocean is above you; the light that comes through is dappled viric and apocyan. [...] The water is full of chemical thoughts, memories of even more ancient times and more primitive forms."
↑ Offer yourself as escort and guide, Fallen London "You have visited the Sea of Spines before. You know how to return, even when you arms have become spines and a shell has formed round your body."
↑ Lead an expedition to the Sea of Spines, Fallen London "The water is saturated with memory, and the deeper you go, the more ancient the memory. You and the client share a dark recollection of dying on the surface of an ocean under twin moons."

[:0-1] Dream with the others, Fallen London

[2] Tell the Viscountess about the Sea of Spines, Fallen London "You describe the apocyan waves; the memories that drift in the water; the recollection of many earlier evolutions."

[:2-3] Lead an expedition to the Sea of Spines, Fallen London "It is a distant, dark corner of the Is-Not. [...] in a place where the Skin of the Sun has entirely receded beneath the horizon, where there is no distinction between the black water below and the starless sky above, you descend."

[:1-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Look into the glassy water, Fallen London "You stare across the water mirror – not into the water, but into some deep recess of the Is-Not. There, you see no dreams, only memories. Memories of warmth and song, of contentment and joy, of a sea more sunless that welcomes the body like a familial embrace. Each memory is a spiralling body of delicate colours – flayed and stuck on violant spines of bitter anger."

[5] The Upstairs Honey Den, Fallen London "They say that honey-sippers in Helicon House can find their way into the dream-places of Rubbery Men – not by the Viric Jungle, but by the Sea of Spines."

[6] Dream with the others, Fallen London "The surface of the ocean is above you; the light that comes through is dappled viric and apocyan. [...] The water is full of chemical thoughts, memories of even more ancient times and more primitive forms."

[7] Offer yourself as escort and guide, Fallen London "You have visited the Sea of Spines before. You know how to return, even when you arms have become spines and a shell has formed round your body."

[8] Lead an expedition to the Sea of Spines, Fallen London "The water is saturated with memory, and the deeper you go, the more ancient the memory. You and the client share a dark recollection of dying on the surface of an ocean under twin moons."

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]