St.Fortigan unscrambles to “Frost giant”. Sadly, though, I don’t think the lore includes much in that way around the Frostfound area.
One exception- anyone who wants to grind dreadful surmises, this is the only source that requires no fate and has no time-lock. Otherwise, you only get one a year, after you get two your first year, assuming the one-per-hallowmas remains post-revision.
Sure, dreadful surmises gained this way cost master’s blood, locations of hell princes, and impossible theorems- but the alternative is literally impossible [or fate-locked, as going through this season’s stories over and over again will provide them.]
If you want 7 surmises, take note!
edited by Grenem on 6/17/2016
IIRC that was septentrional, and was a clue towards the heptagoat.
This is probably an asinine suggestion but, when he asked for something wriggling, did anyone try sending Mr Eaten a boxed cat?
edited by Cinnabar on 6/18/2016
I’m immediately (and unhelpfully?) tempted to take it back to Anglo-Saxon:
- For(dh)i-gan - Go Forth[/li][li]Feowertig-an Fortieth[/li][li]Forhti-gan Go Fearfully
I’m probably overthinking this.[/quote]
I don’t think you’re overthinking this at all–we’re dealing with an Alexis creation, remember?
"Go forth" makes sense, since the outcome is presumably to go on pilgrimage to the NORTH, and "Go fearfully" goes without saying. But "Go forth i gan?" That’s scary because it implies that we all went NORTH once before. When? What is Alexis trying to say to us?[/quote]
Well in Old SMEN it was partially a pun. That candle was only found on Winking Isle, where the intended approach was going there and returning to London frequently. In other words, going back and Forthigan.[li]
I’m immediately (and unhelpfully?) tempted to take it back to Anglo-Saxon:
- For(dh)i-gan - Go Forth[/li][li]Feowertig-an Fortieth[/li][li]Forhti-gan Go Fearfully
I don’t think you’re overthinking this at all–we’re dealing with an Alexis creation, remember?
"Go forth" makes sense, since the outcome is presumably to go on pilgrimage to the NORTH, and "Go fearfully" goes without saying. But "Go forth i gan?" That’s scary because it implies that we all went NORTH once before. When? What is Alexis trying to say to us?[/quote]
Well in Old SMEN it was partially a pun. That candle was only found on Winking Isle, where the intended approach was going there and returning to London frequently. In other words, going back and Forthigan. [/quote]
That’s a good point–it could just be the clue on how to get the candle. But I wouldn’t bet against it being something else as well, either.
Hey, apologies for necromancy but I didn’t see a better thread for discussing SMEN.
I just finished the story (choosing the Salt option), and I have to wonder… am I the only one who feels kind of disappointed?
From the beginning it seemed like this story was billed as a tale of sacrifice for knowledge, but in the end we learn absolutely nothing. I still don’t know who Mr Eaten was, why he was betrayed, or even the details of his murder. None of the Questions are answered, and the ending only made the slightest bit of sense to me because of lore I learned elsewhere (about the Judgments and the Bazaar’s love affair), and it still didn’t make much sense. I can’t help but feel like the story is missing huge chunks in the middle where the motives and details are supposed to be explained, which robs the decisive endings of all emotional impact. Who am I to play judge to a crime I know nothing about? Why would I grieve for someone I know nothing about? And I haven’t the foggiest idea what’s happening in the Salt ending. We don’t even learn the Name, for Pete’s sake (at least not as part of the main story). Who was Mr Eaten? Why was he betrayed? What is the White, and what is its "plan"? For a story supposedly about knowledge, decisiveness, and endings, SMEN is awfully vague and open-ended. We get a bit of information but it’s all in riddles and jargon only defined in other stories, nothing definite.
I also feel like the goriness got repetitive after awhile. There’s only so much you can take before you get numb, you know? So they’re hollowing out my body and turning me into a candle golem. Whatever. Somehow rendering a candle out of your own body fat was creepier, I felt. Maybe less is more? I also think that including additional characters diluted the story a bit – for me, a lot of the creepiness was that you somehow just knew to do all these horrible things, implying some kind of eldritch corruption beyond mortal ken, but when other people who seem pretty on top of things appear it kind of makes it feel too ordered, too sensible.
-
The main thread for discussing SMEN is here:
http://community.failbettergames.com/topic22360-seeking-mr-eatens-name.aspx -
Please don’t post info as to what happens beyond the gate, even behind spoiler tags. (And, yes, stating explicitly what things you don’t get and don’t find out at the end is a spoiler to those who haven’t passed through themselves.)
edited by dov on 1/30/2017
(Now that I have more time to properly respond:)
I think it’s very personal and subjective how people experience the Seeking storyline. It’s not for everyone. Either you get invested in the story, or you don’t. From what I’ve seen, most people who finished the story where quite satisfied with the end.
It’s true we don’t know much about Mr Eaten, but sometimes the little we know is enough to draw us in (otherwise, why even go on this journey?).
We know his previous name (that is hardly a secret), and that he was betrayed, etc. Now, depending on your character, this might be enough for you to be Melancholic and grieve for him, or enough to hate what was done to him and seek retribution on his behalf. You can do those things without knowing the full story.
Personally, I was always in this for the journey, not for the destination. While I was excited that Seeking got resumed, I was also disappointed that it actually has an end. I preferred this to be something looming in the distance (like the destinies). This is why I’ve taken my character as far as possible along the Seeking road, but have no intention of taking the last step (either to pass the gate or to return with a unique item). I’ll remain a Seeker, possessing all 7 candles, and that’s it. (I still need to build up my store of Searing Enigmas back to 77, because as an Old Time Seeker it just feels wrong to have less - you know, just in case Alexis ever returns and I’ll need those…).
Ack, I knew I was missing something. Weird that the story thread is in the Bazaar and the mechanics thread is in the Salons, but whatever. Mods can move the post if they feel it’s necessary.
Sure, but I don’t really see how, myself. I got the impression that Mr Eaten wasn’t that nice of a person himself, so is Hate on his behalf really justified? Without knowing the details of his life and betrayal, I feel I can’t make that call. Likewise, I feel no melancholy towards someone I don’t know, and the fact he’s so hateful about it and seems to be controlling innocent Londoners to do his bidding (possibly? I think that’s what’s going on with the just knowing stuff) inclines me otherwise.
I’d say the same – my answer to Mrs Plenty was "Once one has sampled everything, one must sample nothing" – but you could say the same about all of Fallen London. SMEN is unique in that it has a definite, explicit ending, and in that regard I think it does have a bit of an obligation to make that destination mean something. And I can see how the endings do mean something in theory, but I feel I’m lacking the context that gives them that meaning. And if there is any story in Fallen London that should stand alone, it’s the one that prevents you from accessing any others upon completion.
edited by Little The on 1/30/2017
A few notes first: so technically if you choose to reveal beyond the gate that’s entirely up to you. FBG recommends not to but in the end it’s your choice. That being said it is ill advised to do so on the forums.
Anyway, while that’s the main thread tbh it would be nice to have plot discussion in the proper subforum. As well, the nature of secrecy does present the problem where we can’t speculate together as we normally would. I guess it’s possible to make something else offsite for finished seekers but that feels…kinda wrong. Like I have theories with the Salt ending (the others are cut and dry, they make full sense), but no one to discuss with.
As for Eaten, his name gets revealed during Sackmas, though there’s an implication that the candles are also it in a way. As well, Winking Isle ends up implying most missing details. There’s some questions regarding Axile and the Second City, but on the whole it makes sense. If you’d like I can send a PM later tonight with what I know. It will be a considerable amount of time till I’m by my laptop to do so though, like another 12 hours if you’re ok with the wait.
edited by Cthonius on 1/30/2017
That seems like an extremely over-conservative interpretation of the request. None of what we’re talking about will make any sense to anyone who hasn’t gone through the Gate themselves. "Please don’t post content dumps" does not mean "don’t discuss the story ever". What is the purpose of this thread if not to discuss the story, after all?
Not… really. It’s fairly clear what literally happens, but they reference a lot of events I don’t understand at all, namely
the Bazaar’s "crime" in the Hate ending (the love affair? Or killing Mr Eaten?), and Mr Eaten’s origins in the Grieve ending. Also, a lot of the jargon is only explained in other storylines; if you don’t know what the Judgments are you’re gonna be pretty lost.
That’s why they don’t feel emotionally satisfying to me. I think they would be if I understood the context, but that context is not present in the story.
Sure.
edited by Little The on 1/30/2017
That seems like an extremely over-conservative interpretation of the request. None of what we’re talking about will make any sense to anyone who hasn’t gone through the Gate themselves. "Please don’t post content dumps" does not mean "don’t discuss the story ever". What is the purpose of this thread if not to discuss the story, after all?[/quote]
But they haven’t said "Please don’t post content dumps". They said: "Past this point is mystery. Failbetter suggests that you do not give other players screenshots, content dumps, or any but the most enigmatic hints.". On the official forums specifically, I think it’s in bad form to mention what happened beyond the gate. That’s my personal view. FBG apparently won’t enforce it. (i.e. it’s not explicitly against the rules, just against the spirit of things)
The same point it always had - to discuss the Seeking storyline and mechanics. Not to discuss its end. (this is a slippery slope - it’s easy to just mention one hint, then another, then refer to something else and soon there are quite a few spoilers mentioned).
This is why I’d be happy to discuss the story as a whole, its themes, what it does the the character/player, and anything we learn along the way. But personally I won’t participate in any public discussion here referencing stuff that explicitly happens or explicitly doesn’t happen beyond the gate. Sorry. To quote Alexis: "Leave a little mystery in the world".
Hmm. What about a closed forum for discussing the implications of whatever is beyond the gate, accessible only by those who have completed SMEN?
If I understand correctly, right now the only such discussion place is an invite-only IRC channel, which is - by nature - ephemeral.
Since I haven’t completed SMEN myself just yet (soon…), please correct me if something like what I suggested already exists.
[quote=Corvonero]Hmm. What about a closed forum for discussing the implications of whatever is beyond the gate, accessible only by those who have completed SMEN?
If I understand correctly, right now the only such discussion place is an invite-only IRC channel, which is - by nature - ephemeral.
Since I haven’t completed SMEN myself just yet (soon…), please correct me if something like what I suggested already exists.[/quote]
I completely understand the desire to want to discuss SMEN, including the ending, with others who have chosen the ultimate ending. But somehow, it seems appropriate to me to use a venue that is "by nature ephemeral".
Yeah, SMEN makes a lot more sense if you figure out or read about all the lore along the way - a lot of the storyline is kind of implied, and without help and discussion figuring it out it’s probably pretty easy to be totally lost. This is especially true with the Salt ending, which doesn’t really make any sense to me even knowing and having read a bunch about the lore.
Agreed, I just completed the Salt Ending and I certainly have questions. I would be curious to swap endings with anyone who took one of the other routes (as I am certainly NOT doing that again.) over PM.
Proof, if you need it: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Tophernator