The Fifth City: Fallen London's Lore Wikia
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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.


"V marks VIOLANT when blood is shed in a spired place. Violant ink is employed for the most desperate treaties..."[1]

Violantletter

Violant is a color of the Neathbow; the principal counterpart of irrigo,[2] it is the color of "troublesome but necessary connections"[3] and of "blood shed in a spired place,"[4] implying that it is the color of the Bazaar's blood. The name "violant" could stem from "violent," from "violet," or both.

Properties[]

Violant indelibly lingers in one's memory;[5] it is very difficult to forget anything written in violant ink.[6]

Violant is usually depicted as burgundy,[7] but sometimes it is described as a shade of purple[8] or blue.[9] It can range from electric blue to the red of slightly dried blood.[10]

Uses[]

Correspondents use violant ink extensively in their esoteric, paradigm-altering publications.[11] Violant light is captured within a Khanate communication device called a Corresponding Sounder.[5] It can also be seen within a Ray-drenched Cinder alongside other colors of the Neathbow.[12]

Scientific Inspirations[]

The Bazaar is more or less a giant space crab, so it is pertinent to note that horseshoe crab blood is a bright blue, similar to the color of the illustration of violant ink. True crab species (horseshoe crabs are not technically crabs!) also have bluish-grey blood. This is because their respiratory pigment is a copper-based compound called hemocyanin; the counterpart of this compound in vertebrates is hemoglobin, which makes vertebrates' blood red because it contains iron.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. A Page from 'The Neathbow': Violant, Sunless Sea
  2. Enter the Cave of the Nadir, Fallen London "Yes. The light is irrigo: the colour of forgetfulness. [...] The Cinder carries elements of irrigo, but also violant, and other opposing colours."
  3. A Pot of Violant Ink, Fallen London "Violant is the colour of necessary, but troublesome, connections."
  4. A Pot of Violant Ink, Sunless Sea "According to other traditions, the colour of blood shed in a spired place."
  5. 5.0 5.1 Crack open the Sounder and capture its operating principle, Fallen London "The box is in your thoughts for days afterwards. You keep thinking back to where you left it, reminding yourself that it's stored safely. It is difficult to forget about."
  6. A Pot of Violant Ink, Sunless Sea "It's very hard to forget anything you've written in violant ink..."
  7. Olivia Wood, formerly of Failbetter: "The closest approximation of violant is a sort of stark burgundy. For the most in-universe explanation - it is difficult to represent colours that do not exist on the Surface, on the Surface. So, follow the descriptions rather than the colours you see. "Violant: the colour of necessary, but troublesome connections. According to other traditions, the colour of blood shed in a spired place." And... if the descriptions don't seem to match – well, there's always the fall back that in real life, people can see colours differently too. It's definitely the same in the Neath. :) "
  8. Shades of Yesterday, Fallen London "You look at the colours. [...] violant, the invasive purple of necessary but unwanted connections..."
  9. Look into the skull's eye socket, Sunless Sea "Its eye sockets gleam with sharp blue light."
  10. Bruno (FBG), Failbetter Games Discord Server "In some contexts it's an electric blue, in some contexts it's the red of slightly dried blood, in some contexts it's either or both or neither."
  11. Become a Correspondent, Fallen London You now have 1 x A Pot of Violant Ink
  12. Ray-Drenched Cinder, Fallen London "Sizzling with violant and irrigo light. It has absorbed radiations not of this earth. Some of its colours can only be seen in sleep."
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