I realize that Fallen London and Sunless Sea are separate games and that not everything is equivalent between them. That said (SS spoilers primarily)…
There are a lot of places on the Sunless Sea whose names have cropped up a couple times in FL, but if you’ve played SS enough you’ve probably eventually ended up around Avid Horizon, quite possibly the spookiest place in all of the Neath that I’ve encountered. It’s a locked gate on the edge of the zee, with towering, Angel of Death-like statues looming over it, in an area utterly saturated by gant. Behind it, as the lore would have it, is an all consuming nothingness, reminiscent of the lore surrounding the Liberation of Night.
As I mention in the title, I haven’t had enough of a chance to play the various shuffled map situations yet, but for me it has pretty consistently ended up in the north. Or should I say, the North. Or perhaps, just, "NORTH."
I’m inviting rampant speculation here. Anyone else puzzled over this a bit? (Particularly SMEN folks – I’m unclear on if there’s a connection between the Digested One and the chthonic arctic.)
I highly suspect that Avid Horizon is a portal to outer space, which would explain why the area around it is so cold. I also suspect that the Lornflukes are alien probes that entered the Neath through Avid Horizon and are the vanguard of an invasion from the furthest depths of space and time.
As I mentioned earlier the area around Avid horizon is very cold, seeming to be covered in snow and also being very windy. These two factors might help to explain why there is weather at all in the Neath - a place deep underground with no skies or standard cloud formations.
Owen, that’s not the case–the Fluke bit, anyway. The Flukes were brought to the Neath a /long/ time ago by the Bazaar.[li] edited by Snowskeeper on 8/18/2014
I don’t think it’s related to the Liberation of Night. First of all, is darkness actually the same thing as nothingness? Second, it’s not dark beyond the Avid Horizon. YOu can see stars.
Also, the colour associated with the area is peligin, not gant.
As for Seeking though, there’s a lot of mentions of the Drowned Man in SS and I was wondering if he is the same thing as Mr Eaten? I joined FL too late to become a Seeker so I’m not real clear about that.
[quote=Owen Wulf]I highly suspect that Avid Horizon is a portal to outer space, which would explain why the area around it is so cold. I also suspect that the Lornflukes are alien probes that entered the Neath through Avid Horizon and are the vanguard of an invasion from the furthest depths of space and time.
As I mentioned earlier the area around Avid horizon is very cold, seeming to be covered in snow and also being very windy. These two factors might help to explain why there is weather at all in the Neath - a place deep underground with no skies or standard cloud formations.
edited by Owen Wulf on 8/18/2014[/quote]
Putting it that way, unless there’s lore elsewhere I haven’t seen or can’t remember that indicates otherwise, it could be how
Do you recall how we came to that place? And they sang of their lightnings and shapeful disgrace? And we tilted our vanes and ennobled our spires. They welcomed us then, and commingled all choirs. And not enough, not enough. Still It mourns, and still waits the Sun.[li]
I suspect that behind the gate is where Mr. Eaten (or what remains of him) lies. The fact that it is NORTH, combined with its proximity to the Chapel of Lights and their terrible well ritual both seem to point to a connection to everyone’s favorite source of screaming cannibal madness. By contrast, I don’t think it is connected to the Liberation of the Night, which seems to be something the Revolutionaries will create using some kind of device, with the Unclear Device in Sunless Sea being some kind of precursor, I think.
If you go to The House of the Question in Whither and "Ask about the Drowned Man", you get a very relevant piece of lore:
[spoiler]
If we go with the cosmic themes of Fallen London, then perhaps beyond the Avid Horizon is something like a black hole, either literally or metaphorically. It’s a bit of a stretch but ‘avid horizon’ is reminiscent of ‘event horizon’ (the edge of a black hole), the area name implies that there is a ‘void’ beyond, and the reference to ‘radiations’ and wind that ‘passes without effort through your bridge-coat, your flesh, your lungs’ hint at something like x-rays (which are emitted in high concentrations from around the edges of black holes). On a more abstract level, there’s also the insatiable hunger connected with all things Eaten.[/spoiler]
EDIT: only one spoiler tag per post edited by Dave Mongoose on 8/30/2014
[spoiler]The Wax Wind passes throughout the entire Neath, but it is especially potent in Polythreme. It has been connected with Mr Eaten in the past.
So: it’s possible that it’s a black hole (likely, even), but if that’s the case, then, like with most cosmic bodies in this game, we have absolutely no idea what black holes are.[/spoiler]
A mention has been made in Fallen London of the Avid Horizon. A hint as to the pillar that stands upon its quay, cracks in the frozen stone jammed with scraps of paper. No one has ever gone through the doors…at least, no one ever speaks of someone having done so.
Perhaps the time is arriving where Londoners might venture there and find out for themselves. Or be driven there by hunger.
[quote=Crater]A mention has been made in Fallen London of the Avid Horizon. A hint as to the pillar that stands upon its quay, cracks in the frozen stone jammed with scraps of paper. No one has ever gone through the doors…at least, no one ever speaks of someone having done so.
Perhaps the time is arriving where Londoners might venture there and find out for themselves. Or be driven there by hunger.[/quote]
One has ventured into The Sea More Sunless and returned, and he might go there once more.
Of course, they had very different preparations from those of us who desire a Reckoning. They did not light their seven candles. When we arrive NORTH though, we probably will. This will most certainly make all the difference.
If I remember correctly, in Sunless Sea you can open and pass through the Horizon’s gates. Once you do that, you get one of the games secret endings and a little nice text implying that your corporial form is no more and you in a sense - have transcend into another state of being. From there on the immaterial and material are now completly open to you and as such, you get to (well you character gets, not you) to explore the realm of the Lorn Flukes, The Forge of Souls the kingdoms of Judgments and etc,etc.
In short, that which is behind the gate is more than just space or something a mere mortal, ordinary being can explain. edited by Sir Goomy on 7/9/2016 edited by Sir Goomy on 7/10/2016
Definitely the same place in both games. It’s hinted at (but not fully explained) that there may be others who are trying to open the Gate:[li]
in FL itself, there’s a hint on the "NORTH!" destination when zailing that the Dilmun Club is interested. Whether that’s because they are Seekers or not is currently unclear.[/li][li]in SS, there’s the Merchant Venturer who ultimately (with your help) passes through the Gate. He doesn’t seem exactly like a Seeker, but he has an unnerving habit of requesting things in multiples of The Number…
I got the impression that the Merchant Venturer was hoping to establish some sort of trade route. Or at least that many of the things he was requesting were trade goods that he planned to sell before returning to London. (Whether a return is possible or not is another matter entirely.)
I think you’re just a smidgeon away from being right on the money here.
Personally, it seems to me that Mr Eaten would not be past the gate, which is as other attendees here point out probably a gateway to space. I believe that, like you almost suggest, Mr Eaten is what’s down the Chapel of Lights’ well. Clearly, his aura of cannibalism is most strong there, and in addition, there are candles all over the Chapel. I have been told that in his Fallen London storyline, candles were a prominent theme with him (probably made from human fat or something, I’m afraid I have little juicy details to offer that are actual events).
Mr. Eaten/Drowned Man’s affiliated with Candles because His name was Mr. Candles before he was eaten, and presumably he governed trade concerning candles and other sorts of lights.
You’re also quite right about the Avid Horizon leading towards outer space, probably somewhere close to Axile if I’m not mistaken.
Lorn-Flukes are actually sentient, one briefly harangues you down in Savior’s Rocks (The Avaricious Lorn-Fluke), and the Fathomking is married to another. Apparently the principalities of coral are in some way a Lorn-Fluke too, judging by the Your Father’s Bones ambition. Makes you feel kinda guilty for butchering so many of them for secrets, doesn’t it? edited by Infinity Simulacrum on 8/8/2016
[quote=Infinity Simulacrum]Mr. Eaten/Drowned Man’s affiliated with Candles because His name was Mr. Candles before he was eaten, and presumably he governed trade concerning candles and other sorts of lights.
You’re also quite right about the Avid Horizon leading towards outer space, probably somewhere close to Axile if I’m not mistaken.
Lorn-Flukes are actually sentient, one briefly harangues you down in Savior’s Rocks (The Avaricious Lorn-Fluke), and the Fathomking is married to another. Apparently the principalities of coral are in some way a Lorn-Fluke too, judging by the Your Father’s Bones ambition. Makes you feel kinda guilty for butchering so many of them for secrets, doesn’t it? edited by Infinity Simulacrum on 8/8/2016[/quote]
I think Lorn-Fluke = any Flukes living in the unterzee, only the small one in Flute Street gets to be called Fluke?