[SPOILERS] The Neath remapped (Lots of pictures!)

Fallen London
1

I’ll keep this one short and sweet. The Neath = Literally Hades

Exhibit 1: Aenas’ (Virgil) journey through parts of Hades. Note that Avernus, Lethe, Acherusia Palus etc. are all Lakes or Rivers. The way it’s drawn makes it seem like they are islands.

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Exhibit 2: The above map tilted 90 degrees counterclockwise, then mirrored and lined up with the first section of the Sunless Sea map. Note that in Sunless Sea, Lakes and Rivers have become landmasses, while Landmasses have become zee:

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Exhibit 3: An artist’s Rendition of the entirety of Hades. We know little of the exact geography of Hades, so I’d recommend you to look at some other pictures on google. Note that Fallen London is in the middle section of Hades, not at an edge. Keep in mind that East/West is reversed, since the above map is mirrored, and that Land = Sea. We’re actually sailing West (Go Weeest) in Sunless Sea, not East.

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Exhibit 4: An artist’s (cough) preliminary comparison between the extended Neath and Hades. Question-mark means that it seems likely based on name/location/gut feeling but isn’t set in stone in any way (edit: read: Wild speculation). Place names without question mark are places I’m >90% certain are correct (edit: Correct as in &quotthere is some relationship). Note that Divine figures in Greek Mythology (and in most ancient mythology in general) generally exist as some geographical feature and as a typical &quotGod&quot simultaneously. For example &quotGaia&quot = Earth, while Gaia is also some walking, talking, figure. Similarly, Hekate = A landmass in Hades, as well as the triumvirate Goddess of the Moon, Magic, Crossroads etc.

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edited by Cantankerous Captain on 5/11/2017

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The de Jorio map is a nice find. Does Virgil mention geographic details e.g. directions and distances, or are the map contours mostly de Jorio’s creative interpretation?

It’s not exactly a surprise at this point that Failbetter’s been using classical Greek and Roman mythology for inspiration. The general vibe I get is that the Neath is meant to be the “reality” on which the locations and entities of those mythologies are based.

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Nice theory. A couple nitpicks:

  • Bugsby’s Marshes are directly south of London in-game, right next to Watchmaker’s Hill, so the Stygian Marsh’s location on the map fits.[/li][li]The real-life Lake Avernus appears in Sunless Sea, so I’m disinclined to think there’s any connection between Avernus and Mutton Island outside of the SSea map layout being loosely based on the Hades map.[/li][li]The Garden of the Hesperides doesn’t really seem to fit for Irem, as the Hesperidean Apple tree itself is in Parabola, and the tree was originally from the Garden beneath the Mountain of Light.