[spoilers] Spirifers and the Embassy's Milk?

Fallen London
1

A pair of questions related to people dabbling in the Embassy’s affairs.

There’s mention of ‘the Embassy’s milk’… what even is it? Can it really just be moon-milk? That seems like an odd thing for people to want to drink, and the way the phrase is raised seemed to suggest something different, to me.

The other part… spirifers. What the hell, pun intended, happens to them? ‘He is an unnerving sight; eyes like yellow diamonds, a mouth like a slash in a rubber sheet, and the most unnaturally enormous hat.’ That description seems to imply that some spirifers barely even look human. Why?

2

I think that particular spirifer is a devil. He’s doing unlicensed Abstractions by preying on the sick while they sleep, so he’s a spirifer. I inferred that the phrase refers to both humans and devils who steal souls and deal in them without a license. But I’ve never heard of a human who had a license to Abstract.

Also, I have no idea what the ‘Embassy’s milk’ refers to. I’m referencing a vague memory, so take this with a grain of salt- but the only two times I heard it referenced were when a conjurer performs for an orphanage (one of the orphans says ‘I go now to drink the Embassy’s milk’) and when you encounter that weird looking imp-ish thing that’s hovering around a passed out spirifer. If you tip off the spirifer, I think he taunts the creature for not having access to ‘the Embassy’s milk.’ I may be misremembering this though. I’m more sure about the orphan’s comment than the spirifer’s conversation.

There are plenty of hints at Mt. Palmerston in Sunless Sea and in the Cave of Nadir that a devil who’s been away from Hell long enough has their humanoid body slowly deteriorate, so I suspect the Embassy’s &quotmilk&quot might be a substance that helps them maintain their forms? But that doesn’t really explain why they’d give it to human children. Maybe in the case of the orphans it’s not literal. Maybe the conjurer tells the orphans the Embassy is full of milk and honey, and that’s why they want to go there. :P
edited by Lamia Lawless on 8/6/2016

3

If that spirifer was a devil, surely a knock on the back of the head wouldn’t be enough to fell him?

4

I don’t know. Maybe you’re extremely buff and he’s a particularly weak devil. That seems more likely than the idea that humans who work for the Embassy slowly turn into something else. (Although, that would be really cool.)

I mean, devils are hard to catch unawares, and hard to kill, but considering this one sneaks around stealing souls from frail, sickly, unconscious people… he might be a wimp. And you definitely catch him unawares.

If the player character can wrestle goat demons into submission, it stands to reason they can knock a devil out. Consider, also, the option to go around clubbing devils for the Bishop’s breeding project.

5

There is that, but I’ve only ever heard ‘spirifer’ used to refer to the humans. So I found myself wondering if it might not be a hell-wrought change.

Maybe favoured spirifers do get some of the mentioned milk? Maybe overindulgence and/or withdrawal do really weird things to you? If red honey can monsterise, why not freaky hell milk?

6

Yeah. Maybe!

I just remembered something else. There’s a line of text in a… I think it was a Hallowmas destiny? Spoilers for the dream you get from the Diabolical Diplomat under the cut.

[spoiler]The player character is musing about their ambitions, and they say something like, &quotThey say Hell overthrew its monarchy. That means there’s room at the top for you.&quot And if being a Hellfarer does mean earning yourself real, meaningful status among devils, to the extent that when you go to Hell something will be waiting for you there besides slavery and torment…

…And if Hell is full of things like lead mists (quoth the Wistful Deviless) and, you know, lots of fire…

Then maybe people who ascend through Hell’s ranks do change, enough so that they can become acclimated to Hell?[/spoiler]

7

Isn’t the ‘devil’s milk’ actually honey?

It is the liquid that bees produce, and there is like a river of it in the Embassy.

8

Where did you see a river of honey in the Embassy? Do you have an echo for it?

I mean, not all bees produce honey, and these ones are special fire bees.

9

I believe the river of honey was something from the Exceptional Story Five Minutes to Midday, along with references to brass honeycombs.

[quote=Lamia Lawless]Yeah. Maybe!

I just remembered something else. There’s a line of text in a… I think it was a Hallowmas destiny? Spoilers for the dream you get from the Diabolical Diplomat under the cut.

[spoiler]The player character is musing about their ambitions, and they say something like, &quotThey say Hell overthrew its monarchy. That means there’s room at the top for you.&quot And if being a Hellfarer does mean earning yourself real, meaningful status among devils, to the extent that when you go to Hell something will be waiting for you there besides slavery and torment…

…And if Hell is full of things like lead mists (quoth the Wistful Deviless) and, you know, lots of fire…

Then maybe people who ascend through Hell’s ranks do change, enough so that they can become acclimated to Hell?[/spoiler][/quote]
In SS the Delightful Adventurer was guaranteed safe passage to and from Hell by devils, so presumably the environment isn’t hostile to the point of needing to acclimatize.

10

[quote=Optimatum]I believe the river of honey was something from the Exceptional Story Five Minutes to Midday, along with references to brass honeycombs.

[quote=Lamia Lawless]Yeah. Maybe!

I just remembered something else. There’s a line of text in a… I think it was a Hallowmas destiny? Spoilers for the dream you get from the Diabolical Diplomat under the cut.

[spoiler]The player character is musing about their ambitions, and they say something like, &quotThey say Hell overthrew its monarchy. That means there’s room at the top for you.&quot And if being a Hellfarer does mean earning yourself real, meaningful status among devils, to the extent that when you go to Hell something will be waiting for you there besides slavery and torment…

…And if Hell is full of things like lead mists (quoth the Wistful Deviless) and, you know, lots of fire…

Then maybe people who ascend through Hell’s ranks do change, enough so that they can become acclimated to Hell?[/spoiler][/quote]
In SS the Delightful Adventurer was guaranteed safe passage to and from Hell by devils, so presumably the environment isn’t hostile to the point of needing to acclimatize.[/quote]

Hm. How did I miss that? I’ll have to check my journal.

To be perfectly honest, I assumed they lied to her. If it were that easy then someone would have thought of it before, right? Some spirifers in London amass quite a few souls. &quotNo one goes to Hell and returns to tell the tale.&quot

11

Could this just be an echo of the Victorian (and post-Victorian, for that matter) notion that equates morality with physical appearance, that the visages of bad people seem to be not quite human?

[li]

12

I quite like this explanation! Visage reflecting morality in a kind of Dorian Grey type way.

13

In my notes I see honeycomb of pipes, and wall of honey. No river.

14

Clearly I misremembered the exact contents of that ES. I do feel like a river of honey was probably referenced elsewhere though.

15

Satan lactates.

16

Curiously enough, my character just drank a bit of milk… while on the Carnelian Coast. Here’s the snippet, from Murgatroyd’s Tea House:

[spoiler]
Murgatroyd’s is particularly busy on the day of your visit. Granted, many of the extra patrons are plain-clothes protection agents from the Foreign Office, but your presence nevertheless generates a palpable excitement.

A group of Khaganians approach your table with a horse-headed bottle. They each take a hearty swig, before offering it to you with derisive smiles. In the interest of diplomacy, you take a sip. It’s a bit sour, but - oh dear God. Is your stomach curdling?

As you gag, they howl with laughter. You couldn’t understand a word of what they said after, but their meaning was plain: &quotHere’s another foreigner who can’t handle their milk!&quot

So it’s possible that the &quotmilk&quot is a reference to Kumis, and the &quotEmbassy&quot isn’t the Brass Embassy, but has something to do with the Carnelian Colony and the Fourth City?
edited by Wicked Wonderland on 8/13/2016

17

This milk is almost certainly Fourth City Airag, which is made of fermented mare milk, not the “Embassy’s milk” people said above.

18

These three varieties of milk are most certainly not interchangeable.