Mysteries of Mutton Island

Fallen London
1

I haven’t visited Mutton Island since the last FotZ Festival. I replayed all the storylets. It’s amazing, this world that FB has created. So much depth and forethought into everything…and dripping with atmosphere. I wondered about a number of things, and have many unanswered questions, including:

  1. What is the festival about where they burn something in the form of a large snake?
  2. Why do surface trees, fruit, and flowers still grow on the island?
  3. Why is there so much wind on and around the island when the rest of the Unterzee is described as relatively calm?
  4. Why is so much care taken with the well in the center of the island? Assuming it has to do with Mr. Eaten, but how? How are candles burning underwater at the bottom of the well, and what is their purpose?
  5. In what way(s) did Mr. &. Mrs. Plenty get involved with The Masters? What happened to Mr. Plenty?
  6. What is the purpose and lore behind the cliff top ritual and sacrifice?
  7. Why do the islanders take care to extinguish all lights at the northern & easternmost points of the island, particularly in the morning?
  8. What is the straw effigy on the roof of one of the houses (either robed or winged, with a candle in the middle)?
  9. Who/what are the Drowned Man, the Mottled Man, the Red Bird, and the Calico Knight, and what does the last keep in his pocket?

I know this is a lot; perfect for your lore masters.

=)

J-

2

I can think of something for 4

The name of Mr.Eaten was Mr.Candles which was why SMEN is riddled with candles and wax.
I assume the Masters told them to take care of the Well so that Mr.Eaten cannot rise again (if it can) and for the burning candles underwater… I assume they’re a variant of the Everburning candle you can make in the Light Fingers Ambition. But with a different Correspondence symbol so they can burn forever and undewater.

edited by Honeyaddict on 8/26/2018

3

I don’t have answers to all of these, but an answer to a lot of the weirdness of Mutton Island is that the local culture is a cult of Mr Eaten, a.k.a. the Drowned Man. Mrs Plenty presumably got tangled up with the Masters by being part of the cult, which the Masters are very much not fond of. The effigy is of Mr Eaten or perhaps his former self, Mr Candles.

The lack of candles in the morning could be part of their rituals, but I have more an impression that it’s because they deliberately try to get ships to wreck so they can loot them.

The Red Bird is definitely one of the God-Eaters, the priests who ate Mr Candles after he was stabbed, drowned, and (mostly) dead, and turned him into Mr Eaten. The Mottled Man is also one of them, otherwise known as the Cat.

I believe the Calico Knight is unrelated. He’s the poor fellow you murder to become a Licentiate, and he has a list of aliases writ in gant in his pocket.

4

[quote]1. What is the festival about where they burn something in the form of a large snake?[/quote]Might have something to do with the Fingerkings - there aren’t many other snakes around, and Fingerkings are natives to the Parabola, which used to be Eaten’s domain.
Or might be a reference to some real-life folk ritual, like Mari Lwyd.

[quote]4. Why is so much care taken with the well in the center of the island? Assuming it has to do with Mr. Eaten, but how? How are candles burning underwater at the bottom of the well, and what is their purpose?[/quote]Probably, no purpose besides ritualistic, like caring for a cemetery.
On a brighter note, the water from a properly-cared for well makes the best rubbery lumps.

I don’t think it’s something the Masters organized to prevent a reckoning. The well on the Mutton island is not THAT well. Also, if anything, they really want him forgotten.

[quote]5. In what way(s) did Mr. &. Mrs. Plenty get involved with The Masters? What happened to Mr. Plenty?[/quote]Mrs Plenty was Seeking, and now is giving out the crossroads-candles and moody warnings.

It’s not stated what exactly Mr Plenty was doing, but, by default, if it’s from the Mutton Island, it’s Seeking. And form &quotDid you 'ear what they say he did? I never did know if that were true&quot I guess he might even head North, because the other fates are at least easier to verify.

[quote]6. What is the purpose and lore behind the cliff top ritual and sacrifice?[/quote]Purpose - probably, ritualistic. Lore - a certain other sacrifice. Some hunchbacked guys (at least the ones with a plant, a jug, and a writing material) betrayed one of their kind, the one with a light source, to someone in a feathered head-dress.

[quote]8. What is the straw effigy on the roof of one of the houses (either robed or winged, with a candle in the middle)?[/quote]I mean, who else could it be.

The Drowned man is Eaten (really, how unlucky can one be). The Mottled Man and the Red Bird are, as already mentioned, the God-Eaters; the third God-Eater has serpent hands, and currently three of them haunt fidgeting writers.

edited by incerteza on 8/26/2018

5

Thank you all for your contributions and feedback thus far. I appreciate it!

Since I have don’t have the inclination to experience SMEN, what are the best sources to reference and understand the history there, and what the journey in-game entails?

6

If memory serves, Mr Plenty still lives in London, and can be met here and there. Also, yes, I believe making the island’s lights invisible from the north is done for the purposes of wrecking.

7

History of Mr Eaten (with some speculations), very epic history of Seeking in general.

The in-game journey entails, mostly, grinding and tossing things down the well. (Also, probably one of the most unusual game experiences you can get).
edited by incerteza on 8/27/2018

8
  1. What is the festival about where they burn something in the form of a large snake?

The Masters betrayed Mr. Eaten to the leaders of the Third City, the God-Eaters. One of them is Snake, so I think they diss him by burning an effigy of him. Or they’re appalling snake racists.

  1. Why do surface trees, fruit, and flowers still grow on the island?

I can only speculate, but I think Mr. Eaten rewards his faithful with verdancy. He can eat forum posts, so he could theoretically eat the lack of life.

  1. Why is there so much wind on and around the island when the rest of the Unterzee is described as relatively calm?

Winds are related to Storm, a god of the Zee.

  1. Why is so much care taken with the well in the center of the island? Assuming it has to do with Mr. Eaten, but how? How are candles burning underwater at the bottom of the well, and what is their purpose?

Mr. Eaten, after the God-Eaters were done nomming on him, was thrown down the well. This is not that well, but it is. As for the candles, it’s one of his images, and them burning underwater is normal for the Neath.

  1. In what way(s) did Mr. and Mrs. Plenty get involved with The Masters? What happened to Mr. Plenty?

The Masters don’t like Seekers. But she is married to Jervaise, Mr. Wines’ second in command. So, Mr. Plenty got married.

  1. What is the purpose and lore behind the cliff top ritual and sacrifice?

They sacrifice people to Storm, you can see this when you hear What the Thunder Said. Or to the Drownies (drowning after eating certain meats turns you into a Drownie), and they worship the Fathomking.

  1. Why do the islanders take care to extinguish all lights at the northern and easternmost points of the island, particularly in the morning?

Spoilers. But we must go North.

  1. What is the straw effigy on the roof of one of the houses (either robed or winged, with a candle in the middle)?

Spoilers. Well, it’s Mr. Eaten, but…

  1. Who/what are the Drowned Man, the Mottled Man, the Red Bird, and the Calico Knight, and what does the last keep in his pocket?
    DM- Mr. Eaten
    MM- Cat (really a leopard) who is one of the God-Eaters. He’s called that because of his leopard skin.
    RB- God-Eater.
    Calico Knight- as far as I know, this is a person unrelated to Mr. Eaten and the rest. He’s a Licentiate you are assigned with killing to become a Licentiate, and when you take his List, Written in Gant, you become a Licentiate. He is of noble birth, which is how you find him, and he wears a cat mask.
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Incerteza - thank you so much. I’ll peruse those links.

And lrx - wow. A lot of great info there. Thanks so much for all your answers, as that took some time. It’s good for me to understand more of the background here, even though I wont likely Seek myself.

“Where You and I Must Go” may be the closest I come to the theme of this (or so I’ve read).

J-

10

incerteza - that first link you had shared is superb. Very informative and helps flesh out the backstory there greatly. Thank you!

I wish much of the lore and backstory was available upfront in one official FB space for new players to read. I feel like it would have made the game as a whole much more understandable. There’s so much that you read which goes over your head, and would make much more sense had I known more of the background from the get-go.

J-

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The place you may wish to go is here: The Fifth City: Fallen London's Lore Wikia | Fandom

It’s a wiki not of Fallen London’s mechanics, but of Fallen London’s lore. There’s a lot of good summaries of various concepts there if you don’t want to take the time to find out Fallen London lore in the actual game.

That said, for many people (both the game creators and the game players), the entire point of playing Fallen London is to find the lore and backstory by organically playing the game. This is to the point that certain lore-relevant storylets can’t be recorded as Echoes and the Fallen London wiki is only allowed to include so many characters of each individual storylet on the storylet’s page and they aren’t allowed to included anything that is Fate-locked.

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Thanks for the link, OF!

I understand and appreciate this. I have enjoyed this game immensely, and part of the enjoyment speaks to exactly what you point out.

That quality in of itself is a double-edged sword. Given that this a voluminous, ever-evolving game and world - and our experience as players typically unfolds over a period of time that is measured in years - it can be difficult or even impossible to remember a snippet of a story that ties back to the snippet of another story. Especially when the player timeline of which may be months or years apart. So in that regard, there’s a lot of great lore and history that may go completely unnoticed. And it is a shame that some of this great information may just pass many of us by, especially when the richness, depth, and layers are a significant part of what make the FL experience so enjoyable and perpetual for us fans.

Not suggesting any changes or updates in this regard, but it is good to know about these fantastic lore sites so that we may connect the dots on our own timeline and pace. I most certainly have enjoyed filling in the holes on my end.

I appreciate everyone’s contribution here for pointing me in the right direction.

=)

J-

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I am afraid that without these sites, half of what I am doing in Fallen London would have gone over my head.
Especially exceptional stories. Since they are not connected to our actual progress, they might be drawing lore from every part of the game. I have been playing for years, have Sunless Sea, read the sites, and I still read the threads to understand all the implications.