In the spring of 1894, London woke to find two sudden shifts: all marriages were postponed, and the Game of Knife and Candle as on hiatus. Now, an ordinary citizen of this city would see no connection between the two. Romance and violence often go hand-in-hand, but rarely in organized fashion. However, the timing is too conspicuous to be sheer coincidence! After months of daring research, risking my person to pry answers from the Bazaar’s agents—and, at even greater risk, from the lawyers—your intrepid reporter has uncovered the truth of this matter! Though the powers that be tried to cover it up, London’s wheels ground to a halt due to romance fraud.
Shortly before London's citizens were so dreadfully inconvenienced, a set of unscrupulus scoundrels joined the Game, armed with knives and nefarious intent! For they had discovered a loophole in Church doctrine; that despite the hard work of St Cyriac's bright minds to conquer the Neath's metaphysics, several churches in the city still used antique versions of scripture. Texts in which the marriage vows still said "Til death do us part!" Members of this secret love-smuggling ring repeatedly married innocents, then threw themselves into the danger of the Iron League until slain, annulling their vows in the eyes of God. With hundreds of spouses broken-hearted, believing their loved ones tragically deceased, the gang's rule of terror seemed unstoppable—but not to the eyes of the Masters! The moment the story-laundering operation was uncovered, the Bazaar promptly issued heavy taxes on new marriage, sending the business crashing to a halt. Once all the forged romances were removed from circulation, and the culprits arrested, marriage promptly resumed, and the incident is a distant memory to most. Still, the Game of Knife and Candle remains on hold. What is Mr Iron waiting for? We may never know.
-excerpt from the Optimal Gazette, Nov. 1895
This is my Best Headcanon entry for the Fallen London Memories Competition, crossposted from the Discord.
edited by Optimatum on 2/10/2020