The Fifth City: Fallen London's Lore Wikia
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"In the migrainous straits of deep sleep, there is a marsh where candle-flames buzz like wasps."

WARNING: Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London's most infamous storyline: Seeking Mr Eaten's Name. There is much here that you may want to learn on your own. Turn back now.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


"Clocks, Maps, Breath, Glass – and the three beyond. This is what protects the Courier and its toadies. You cannot end that. You cannot."[1]

A Treachery is an anomaly in the laws of physics, created by a obscurant that prevents the laws of the Judgements from applying within a certain area. The Red Science is also capable of enforcing Treacheries through its mysterious practices and devices.

The Neathy Treacheries[]

"The Seven Treacheries guard the Neath, but there is one place more closely guarded still: a place the Masters can't touch, a place the Bazaar can't see, a place beneath St Cerise's well. This is the wound of which Cerise's redness is only a shadow. The place where hearts go. The Nadir."[2]

The Neath is protected by seven Treacheries, four of which are known, and three of which are not.[1] These Treacheries are a result of the strong concentration of irrigo within the Cave of the Nadir,[3][4] which prevents the Judgements from seeing within the Neath, keeping the Echo Bazaar's activities hidden from their sight.[5][1]

A map. Maps[]

"Maps in the Neath are treacherous – maps of the Zee, doubly so."[6]

The Treachery of Maps is responsible for the unreliability of maps in the Neath. It can be extremely difficult to assemble a map of the Neath sensibly,[7] assuming they make any sense in the first place.[6] This Treachery can also cause seemingly immobile objects, such as ports or islands, to inexplicably drift in location. For example, a zee-captain may find Demeaux Island to the north-east of London, while another will report it due East.[8] This anomaly may also affect the more chaotic and sunless regions of the High Wilderness, such as the Reach.[9]

The Treachery of Maps may additionally blur the definition of the word "here". Through esoteric rituals, it may be possible for a being to exist in two places at once.[10]

A clock. Clocks[]

"Time. I used to think it was a wheel. The Fingerkings say it's a flame. Coolest at its heart. But wildest at its edges."[11]

The Treachery of Clocks is responsible for the strange behavior of time and causality in the Neath. Causes will usually precede effects, and events that happened will usually remain happened, but sometimes, there may be exceptions, as history and memory are mutable.[12] Furthermore, doing the exact same task repeatedly may yield different results, contrary to typical common sense.[13] Sometimes, the Treachery of Clocks may also manifest in the forms of visions in certain situations of various potential futures,[14] visions so engrossing that an individual may forget the events of the present.[15]

Interpretations of time can get quite interesting when an individual resides in a place where time is mutable. An unenlightened mind may see time as a simple wheel, but the Fingerkings of Parabola see it as a flame: coolest at its heart, and wildest near the edges.[11] Certain artists of the Neath may also represent the Treachery of Clocks through paintings, such as via a depiction of a landscape that shifts based on viewing between unfinished, complete, or ruined structures.[16]

A glowing mountain. Breath[]

"Death is not always permanent in Fallen London. This has caused the quiet and unacknowledged revision of certain passages in the bibles of the City's churches."[17]

The effects of the Treachery of Breath are largely unknown, but it likely has something to do with the fact that citizens of Fallen London can return from death.[18]

A mirror. Glass[]

"She tells you of the opening of mirrors and the treachery of glass. Of the sanctuaries where the rose-rites were performed, and the seduction of dreams."[19]

The Treachery of Glass is related to Parabola, and is likely related to the opening of the mirrors by Mt Nomad.[19][20] This Treachery may also manifest when traveling carelessly through mirror-walled hallways, resulting in feelings of disorientation and the apparent warping of paths and directions.[21]

Other Treacheries[]

"Your current work belongs to a form of science generally hidden even from avid University researchers."[22]

There exist Treacheries which may or may not be part of the seven that protect the Neath.[1] These Treacheries warp reality in their own unique ways, and may manifest in lawless places such as Eleutheria,[23] or through the Red Science.[24]

A question mark. Shapes[]

"The Tracklayer's Union have to be kept on side. Harder than it sounds, since there's at least three party factions inside the Union. Some of 'em are Revolutionaries. Some are more interested in the Treachery of Shapes."[25]

Not much is known about the Treachery of Shapes, but it is apparently of interest to some elements within the Tracklayer's Union.[26] If "inverted", the Treachery of Shapes can cause difficulty communicating, in addition to the other usual effects of the Discordance.[27]

A bustling salon. Distances[]

"You argue over the exact dimensions of Langley Hall with a professor of Unexpected Geography. She contends that although the Treachery of Distance may be in full effect; the space that was brought together to create the main hall must be finite – for it must have come from somewhere."[23]

The Treachery of Distance is known to cause oddities regarding the measurement of the volumes of interior spaces compared to their corresponding exteriors. One such example of this Treachery is Langley Hall, a structure of respectable size on the outside, but possibly infinite on the inside.[23]

Brightly colored meteors. Measures[]

"The ribcage could be larger - perhaps a great deal larger."[28]

The Treachery of Measures may be exploited to modify the volume, and apparently even the mass, of objects. Objects can be made larger or smaller regardless of their original size, and the results vary from the size of a fingernail (or smaller) to the size of a large room (or larger).[24]

The Betrayer of Measures is a powerful Red Science tool that has the appearance of a ruler or scale inscribed with the Correspondence.[29] It can be used to adjust the size of objects via the Treachery of Measures,[24] but, as befitting something with such power, it is also very dangerous. Any object that makes contact with it will have its dimensions changed,[30] and handling it unsafely can cause severe personal injury.[29]

{{{Alt Text}}} Still Others?[]

"Indeed, simply from one's age and address it is possible to predict behaviour. To within a margin of error, of course."[31]

There are "lesser-known" Treacheries as well. For example, ordinary routines can be extrapolated from information that would seem completely unrelated.

Historical and Cultural Inspirations[]

The concept of "Treacheries" may be inspired by the painting The Treachery of Images by René Magritte, perhaps more famously known as This Is Not a Pipe.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Look up, Fallen London
  2. St Erzulie's Candle (Action), Fallen London
  3. Talk about this place of obscurity, Fallen London
  4. Ask how she evades notice so effectively, Fallen London
  5. A fragile flake of vellum, Fallen London
  6. 6.0 6.1 Puzzling Map, Fallen London
  7. Accept a share of the coffer of Admiralty maps, Fallen London
  8. Map, Sunless Sea
  9. Locations, Sunless Skies
  10. "No. But then we aren't even here anyway, are we?", Fallen London
  11. 11.0 11.1 The Genial Magician, Fallen London
  12. Perhaps she was happiest before (30 FATE), Fallen London
  13. Decipher graffiti, Fallen London
  14. The Game Matures: Time, Fallen London "You see yourself defying time [...] living hale and healthy into a new age of the world."
  15. Drive the visions away, Fallen London "A parade of futures assails you. [...] But you can't see which way the cards are going to fall [...]"
  16. Admire the work of a fellow Nocturnal artist, Fallen London "[...] sometimes the reflected tower is fully constructed, but at other times it looks crumbled or unfinished."
  17. What happens when you die in Fallen London? (3), Fallen London
  18. What happens when you die in Fallen London?, Fallen London
  19. 19.0 19.1 Share confessions with the Widow, Fallen London
  20. Who opened the mirrors?, Failbetter Games
  21. Recover the Dauntless Knight, Fallen London "[...] old concords with the powers behind the Glass ward the towers into a mirror-maze. Today, the path through eludes you [...]"
  22. Red Science Focus, Fallen London
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 Disputate!, Sunless Skies
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 Finish your work resizing a human ribcage using the Red Science, Fallen London
  25. Demand a frank explanation of the risks, Fallen London
  26. Demand a frank explanation of the risks, Fallen London "Some are more interested in the Treachery of Shapes."
  27. Safely dispose of a cold word, Fallen London "The Restricted Librarian has trouble even telling you what's wrong. Her tongue cleaves to her palate; her teeth swivel like compass needles. When she tries to write, the oak gall ink floods from its bottle and pours itself over her face."
  28. Try the Betrayer of Measures on a human ribcage, Fallen London
  29. 29.0 29.1 Betrayer of Measures, Fallen London
  30. Complete and test the Betrayer of Measures, Fallen London "It's no good moving it with tongs, either: not if you want to use the tongs more than once."
  31. Nine of Livers: The Calculations, Fallen London
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