There are references throughout London to the tomb-colonies – in the plural – but how many of them are there? What are there names, and what are they like? I’m trying to compile a list of all known tomb-colonies and what makes them unique:
Venderbight: the largest and best-known tomb-colony. On the Western edge of the Neath, on the mainland north of London. Can be explored as part of the Nemesis ambition, but cannot be re-visited. Is also a major port in Sunless Sea. Home to the Grand Sanatorum, the Curator, and an excellent zeefood restaurant.[/li][/ul][ul][li]Tanah-Chook: a Republic located on an island east of Venderbight. Can be explored in the Exceptional Story "All Things Must End". Can be re-visited later.[/li][/ul][ul][li]"Disgraced Exile in the Tomb-Colonies": the menace location you get sent to for getting Scandal too high, or for putting on a certain opera or ballet. The specific name of the colony you visit is not given and is presumably one of the several tomb-colonies. However, on one opportunity card you can ask about the Grand Sanatorum, which is located in Venderbight; the Sanatorum is presumably well-known throughout the tomb-colonies.[/li][/ul][ul][li]Xibalba (?): a hidden tomb-colony ruled by the three immortal god-kings of the Third City. Alluded to by the Northbound Parliamentarian, the Paronomastic Newshound, and the other explorers who used to have their own opportunity cards that have since disappeared. Possibly the final location in the Heart’s Desire ambition(?), although Xibalba is as-yet unseen, except possibly through a Lens of Black Glass. Possibly contains a river of live scorpions and other nastiness, which means it may be fully or partially in Parabola (which has a river of serpents).
Are any other tomb-colonies named or described in Fallen London, Sunless Sea, or other related works?
None I know of, but I do have something to add. Three figures in black glass also appear in the Chalcolite Pagoda (netting one a Searing Enigma). This is a double connection to Parabola: not only are we seeing something in a (presumably obsidian) mirror, but also this shrine is connected to the Rosers.
As the Silver Tree backer characters were able to visit it via ship, Xibalba is almost certainly not in Parabola. The lenses of black glass through which we see the God-Eaters have their own magic; examining them during the Fidgeting Writer reveals correspondence engravings. These are the same figures as in the Chalcodite Pagoda expedition, which is unrelated to the Rosers. edited by Optimatum on 12/26/2018
[quote=Optimatum]As the Silver Tree backer characters were able to visit it via ship, Xibalba is almost certainly not in Parabola. The lenses of black glass through which we see the God-Eaters have their own magic; examining them during the Fidgeting Writer reveals correspondence engravings. These are the same figures as in the Chalcodite Pagoda expedition, which is unrelated to the Rosers. edited by Optimatum on 12/26/2018[/quote]
There are places on the Unterzee where the boundary between Parabola and the Neath is less distinct than in London - Irem, for instance, or Daylight. Xibalba may well be one such place - partly real, partly unreal. Hopefully one day we’ll meet the Cardsharp, Turophile, Esotericist and Perfectionist again and learn more of their journey there.
While the black glass are certainly not your run-of-the-mill mirrors, the Silver Tree doesn’t necessarily disprove a Xibalba-Parabola connection. After all, you can walk to Arbor, and yet Arbor is half in dream.
Am I not correct in understanding the Rosers to be "’the greatest enemies’ of the Final Khan"? As I read it the Pagoda, the Tomb, and the Sanctuary are all connected, and their appearance a few months ahead of the Hallowmas Arbor event not an accident.
The Kings of the Third City are related to the Rosers, in the sense that they were one of their enemies: the Copper. And also, some places in Parabola can be reached in the physical realm, like Arbor.
[quote=Siankan]
Am I not correct in understanding the Rosers to be "’the greatest enemies’ of the Final Khan"? As I read it the Pagoda, the Tomb, and the Sanctuary are all connected, and their appearance a few months ahead of the Hallowmas Arbor event not an accident.[/quote]The three new expeditions correspond to the three enemies of the Fourth City: the Rosers (Sanctuary of Crimson Petals), the Motherlings (Tomb of the Silken Thread), and the Coppers (Chalcocite Pagoda). The misunderstanding is understandable, as the Coppers are not well-explored in lore, but to the best of our understanding, they’re the descendants - culturally if not genetically - of the Third City.
If you invite Silas the Showman to your Salon, you get this:
[quote=Silas]He conducts an hour-long lecture on the wars of the Fourth City: the battles they conducted against the Motherlings who worshipped spiders, the Rosers and their patrons in Parabola, and the Copper with their black knives and butterfly-gods.[/quote]Black knives certainly evokes obsidian, commonly associated with the Third City, and while "butterfly-gods" is not a precise match to Maya religion, butterfly deities are associated with Mesoamerican mythology, such as Ītzpāpālōtl (the Obsidian Butterfly) for the Aztecs centuries later. "Coppers" could also be taken to refer to the color of their skin as something akin to a racial slur.
The art for the Chalcocite Pagoda also matches that of the Nadir card "The end of battles", which appears to be from the perspective of the Coppers: "Experience" (Collection of Curiosities) references the sacrifice of Candles and "Pleasure" (Pulsating Amber) references amalgamy, both of which align with the Coppers and their affiliation with the God-Eaters.
The Copper might be named as such after their architecture; for the Chalcolite Pagoda has copper tiles on it.
Also, I found a myth similar to frost moths: the Maya believed that the fiercest warriors at death would leave their bodies in the form of hummingbirds and serve as advisors to the living (if I remember correctly) which is somewhat similar to how frost moths are the form of resurrection for tomb colonists.