The Angel of Fallen London

Okay fair warning: This is crazy spitballing, and mostly based on lore I haven’t personally encountered, but heard about second hand. Unless otherwise noted this uses the Christian hierarchy of angels. And FULL OF SPOILERS. Okay, let’s go.

It is a common observation that London has plenty of devils, but no angels. Looking at the entomology of the word &quotAngel&quot however suggests that angel exists in London, and further suggests why more have not appeared. The word &quotAngel&quot means &quotmessenger of God&quot. The Echo Bazaar was a messenger between the stars, and has fallen from grace. A celestial messenger focused on love? Whose species has never been named? I would even go so far as to suggest the bazaar is a fallen Ophanim. These are said to be massive wheels covered in eyes, and the Bazaar’s appearance in Sunless Sea resembles this description. As the de facto ruler of a city, one could also say the bazaar is a throne (another name for Ophanim).

The position of Ophanim within the angelic hierarchy also fits: high enough to do the drastic things the bazaar does, but still outranked by higher beings. Higher beings includes the highest rank of angel: Seraph, which literarly translates to &quotBurning One&quot. Could easily be a poetic description of a sun, and therefore a Judgement. Maintaining natural law seems a natural fit for angels, as does the association with cleansing light. Of course, this makes one wonder what a fallen Judgement would be. A black hole perhaps?

Given how souls can apparently turn into Judgements (another common piece of angel lore is that the saved can become them), this would also explain why Hell (presumably founded by a rebellion against the heavens) would want them. Incidentally, Lucifer translates to &quotMorning Star&quot.

Any thoughts on this theory?
edited by Avian Overlord on 11/12/2014

Hm, I had actually been thinking along those same lines, as a matter of fact. We’d been thinking of Devils as other beings that assumed the forms of Christian devils for unknown purposes, but what if there’s more behind the parallel than that? The early texts would be contemporary with, say, the First City at least (which was from the same part of the world…).

It’s always been weird that First City coins are given in thirties, when the First City wouldn’t have had coins to begin with. I remember there being a big debate about that in one of the other threads. But if they’re more of a metaphysical concept, that would go along with this theory.

Well the 30 pieces of silver thing is biblical enough, but the timeline doesn’t make sense.
I love the angel idea overall.

I think they retconned it so that the coins aren’t genuinely from the first city, once they realized their inaccuracy.

The Masters are rumored to serve some kind of celestial messenger, but even in the murky peeks into the future it is only vaguely hinted at. A fallen angel would certainly fit the bill - but, it is certainly not a being of virtue and blessings.

The Old Testament described them more as entities to be feared, the heralds of doom whenever the Creator was displeased (a very frequent occurrence). I get the feeling, if this theory is substantiated, that this is the angle Failbetter chose to approach. Lots of moral ambiguity here…


edited by Owen Wulf on 11/13/2014

It’s worth pointing out that most of their recorded visitations began with the words “Fear Not,” although none of them ended with “All Shall be Well.”

Although some ended with &quottidings of great joy and good will to all men&quot. Really, Biblical angels are more just…messengers? and they’re frightening to humans because they’re so incredibly different. not because they’re malicious or harbingers of doom or anything. Like I can’t think of any specific instances where angels bring bad news without any good news unless they’re Satan.

There does sort of seem to be a pattern of using classical references to explain what’s going on with the older cosmic horrors in this game. I dunno, it feels more like…translation, if that makes sense? into metaphors that Londoners would understand. A little more &quotwhich came first - the chicken or the egg?&quot The whole &quotIcarus returning longs for the deep places&quot wouldn’t make sense before Greek myth, but it makes sense to us because of the Greek myth. when for all we know the Greek myth could have been based on tales of the Bazaar.

so, yes, I think the Bazaar and the Masters could be angels - or angels could be based on the Masters and the Bazaar in this mythology.

[quote=Avian Overlord]Okay fair warning: This is crazy spitballing, and mostly based on lore I haven’t personally encountered, but heard about second hand. Unless otherwise noted this uses the Christian hierarchy of angels. And FULL OF SPOILERS. Okay, let’s go.

It is a common observation that London has plenty of devils, but no angels. Looking at the entomology of the word &quotAngel&quot however suggests that angel exists in London, and further suggests why more have not appeared. The word &quotAngel&quot means &quotmessenger of God&quot. The Echo Bazaar was a messenger between the stars, and has fallen from grace. A celestial messenger focused on love? Whose species has never been named? I would even go so far as to suggest the bazaar is a fallen Ophanim. These are said to be massive wheels covered in eyes, and the Bazaar’s appearance in Sunless Sea resembles this description. As the de facto ruler of a city, one could also say the bazaar is a throne (another name for Ophanim).

The position of Ophanim within the angelic hierarchy also fits: high enough to do the drastic things the bazaar does, but still outranked by higher beings. Higher beings includes the highest rank of angel: Seraph, which literarly translates to &quotBurning One&quot. Could easily be a poetic description of a sun, and therefore a Judgement. Maintaining natural law seems a natural fit for angels, as does the association with cleansing light. Of course, this makes one wonder what a fallen Judgement would be. A black hole perhaps?

Given how souls can apparently turn into Judgements (another common piece of angel lore is that the saved can become them), this would also explain why Hell (presumably founded by a rebellion against the heavens) would want them. Incidentally, Lucifer translates to &quotMorning Star&quot.

Any thoughts on this theory?
edited by Avian Overlord on 11/12/2014[/quote]
Judgement and searing fire… well, we might ask the Rosers, if any were left.

Now THIS is my kind of discourse…

What with the distaste for egyptology in the bazaar, part of me wants to think it’s for a good reason.

I suspect there’s a clue.

The only bit that comes to mind is that while the modern mythos makes a seperation between angles and devils, the egyptians would see both as the same creature, just a messanger.

I found a new piece of evidence for this theory. When I wrote the original post I didn’t know about the space dragons. The angelic choir between Seraphs and Ophanim and cherubim who are depicted as being strange beings that resemble animals. The dragons seem to fit this description, and are obviously more powerful than the bazaar if he/she/it is worried about them. However they do seem to be subordinate to the Judgements.

[quote=Ben ]What with the distaste for egyptology in the bazaar, part of me wants to think it’s for a good reason.

I suspect there’s a clue.

The only bit that comes to mind is that while the modern mythos makes a seperation between angles and devils, the egyptians would see both as the same creature, just a messanger.[/quote]

Actually the reason is more historical than you think. Something went down in the Second City. Although who’s to say whether Egyptian ideology contributed to their distaste?

Cats vs. bats?

I find this to be a fascinating theory, and would like to add a few salient points. Fair warning, these involve rampant speculation and possibly connections made up out of whole cloth. What can I say, I’ve been studying the Correspondence, and some of the madness may have leaked through.

First, in Judaic lore angels can come in one of two forms: either in human guise (See Gideon and the angel, Raphael, Jacob wrestling, Sodom and Gomorrah, New Testament references to &quotentertaining angels unaware&quot) or in their angelic (true) form (See Daniel, Ezekial, Isaiah, Mary, John the Beloved). In their angelic form, there is one common reaction: fear and awe, even to the point of worship in some cases. Considering singular angels were responsible for wiping out armies and cities in one night (10th Egyptian plague, Senacharib’s siege of Jerusalem), theological speculation is that in their true form angels are so holy, powerful, and beautiful that the instinctive reaction is one of fear and awe. Remember that angels live in the constant presence of God, of whom a mere glimpse is fatal to humans &quotNo man can see the face of God and live&quot. And the Bazaar only communicates through intermediaries (The Masters), who are lifeforms completely alien to humans, and provably much more powerful than humans. (After all, to try to kill one took the betrayal of the others, those humans who ate his flesh gained immortality and incredible power - Jaguar, Red bird, and Snake Hands. Even that didn’t completely kill him, as any Seekers can tell you.)

Second, the explanation of the Bazaar being an angel, fallen or not certainly would explain some of the idiosyncrasies of the Bazaar and some of the bits of lore that don’t seem to fit. Take the First City Coins. Whether or not the timeframe would fit with the Surface invention of money is irrelevant if the Bazaar itself is a messenger from outside of time (God, creator of Time and Creation would logically have to exist outside of time. The angels dwell in the throne room of God, in His presence, therefore they also exist outside of time.) Even if that part of the theory isn’t given credence, just a short sail away from the Bazaar is the Iron Republic, where time can flow backwards, and devils are seen wearing clothes from the future. Coins being made in the First City is not that hard to explain, especially if they were invented there because of the influence of the Bazaar and the Iron Republic. (Also, for those who protest that the Bazaar uses &quotEchoes&quot, not human money, I refer you to the storylets about echo counterfeiters and the picture that accompanies the echoes in the UI. It is a picture of paper money. Obviously the Bazaar simply calls their brand of currency Echoes and uses coins or paper money as needed, just like any other government.)

Third, wild speculation time! We know that the Masters are some form of giant space bat (See the Christmas Stocking, &quotA New Move in the Game&quot card - &quotEleven letters, starts with ‘C’, ‘Masters of the Bazaar’&quot Chiropterae is the scientific name for bats, and other references) but they always go about with robes. As far as I know, no one has seen what they look like under the robes, and there are several descriptions of angels - or some other divine related being, they are described as &quotGreat Beasts&quot in one place - that looked like different animals covered in eyes. Perhaps they fell when the Bazaar did and keep the robes on to keep the lights of the Neath from affecting them as much after all, when your body is covered in eyes, light would affect you a lot more :)

Fourth, continuing the wild speculation: What if the Bazaar is Lucifer? Lucifer is described as &quotSon of the Morning&quot and means &quotMorning Star&quot. Lucifer &quotwas cast down to the earth, with the angels who had rebelled with him&quot. Additionally the Devils of the Iron Republic overthrew the ruler of Hell to become a republic, which means the ruler of Hell would have to go somewhere (this would mean the Masters were also fallen angels, perhaps the last ones that were loyal to Lucifer after the rebellion, which makes the plight of Mr. Eaten even more poignant. And, if they were once angels would lend even more surety to his constant statements &quotA reckoning will not be postponed forever&quot) And if Devils can be bees, why can’t the Bazaar be a fallen angel? &quotGod is love&quot is one of the most prevalent ideas in the Abrahamic religions, which is the source of the stories of Lucifer. What is the Bazaar obsessed with gathering in the hopes it will lead to its redemption? Love stories.

Finally, what if the Neath is a version of the afterlife as pictured by CS Lewis in The Great Divorce? In that, after death people continued to live how they felt like, with their decisions bringing them closer to either heaven or hell, but they are unable to die. They can, however feel pain and build lives and houses and whatever else they choose. Additionally, this will only continue until the Day of Judgment, or, to put it another way, the Day of Reckoning.

(As an aside, I find it hard to believe that the Dawn Machine (EDIT:This should actually be the Revolutionary Device, not the Dawn Machine. My mistake, and thanks to Gyges for correcting me) could actually destroy all light in the universe, and in fact the description of what happens is less that the light is destroyed, and more that people can not see using the light, which is more feasible to me. It works on the people living in the Neath rather than on light itself, which plays interestingly into Abrahamic notions of light and dark, specifically passages like &quotLight came to those who were in darkness, but the darkness could not comprehend it.&quot Suggests that while the Bazaar is trying to return to the Light, and redemption, the Revolutionaries are dedicated to keeping everything in perpetual darkness, denying any chance of redemption to everyone rather than submit to the Judgment that awaits when everything returns to the Light. Interesting thought line that suggests for those who are SMEN that the best thing to do is hurry the Bazaar’s return to the light and the Reckoning that awaits the Betrayers. On the other hand, I am not a SMEN, so I could have missed something in the bits and pieces I have picked up.)

Sorry, I’m no good at tl/dr, but I realize the above theories could be way off base, and would appreciate any countering points. I enjoy speculation like this and it is one of the main reasons I play this game. Good Lord, that is a huge wall of text.
edited by MartzelDePamplona on 1/2/2015

I don’t believe the dawn machine is meant to destroy light. On the contrary, it seems to be an artificial sun that they’re making, if anything.

Your theory about the revolutionaries seem to match up rather well with their canon motivation, though.
edited by dismallyOriented on 1/2/2015

[quote=dismallyOriented]I don’t believe the dawn machine is meant to destroy light. On the contrary, it seems to be an artificial sun that they’re making, if anything.

Your theory about the revolutionaries seem to match up rather well with their canon motivation, though.
edited by dismallyOriented on 1/2/2015[/quote]

The following is from the Gleam Destiny, and is the reason for my interpretation of the Dawn Machine and Liberation of the Night

[spoiler]&quotThe lights are out&quot All of them. All at once, when the Device was set in motion. Candles, gas-lamps, oil-flares - the false-stars of the roof, the fungus-glimmers of the marshes. All gone. On the skin of the Bazaar, faint traces of fire fitfully shudder and crawl. They shed a feeble, feeble light for moments only. You can barely see. And you can barely hear, for the screaming. This is the Liberation of Night. Who will you save?

&quotThe old, the young, the desperate&quot You lead your gaggle of followers to Watchmaker’s Hill, making common cause with the blind astronomers there. Many of them have long served a spider-cult in the caverns under the hill, but now that all the lights are out, this business of running around in robes in the dark and stealing the eyes of scholars seems to have lost much of its appeal. You’re glad. The Observatory is a defensible position; the astronomers are used to operating without sight. Weeks pass. The Observatory becomes a refuge. You arrange rationing, supplies, healing. You sleep when you can. Occasionally you make forays into the city to seek survivors, but it’s horribly dangerous. You lose almost as many, to spiders and anarchists and human wolves, as you save. But your crowd of innocents and protectors grows day by day. Months pass. The Bazaar is long since extinguished. Candles are still useless, fire still sheds no light. Your people - they are your people, now - experiment with clicking like bats to navigate, with tricks of memory and insight, and with the variant spectrum of night: the colours called irrigo, cosmogone, violant, apocyan. Over time, strange lights bloom in the vaults. You hardly dare take those lights out into the darkened world, but in the refuge beneath the Observatory they permit you to read and write again, to memorialise your world in art, to recall what it is to be human. It is not a good life. But it is a life, and you have given it to them.[/spoiler]

Mmm… Except Sunless Sea gives us an actual impression of what the Dawn Machine is. Of course, the story relating to it has not yet been released, but it seems evident from the side-stories that give you contact with it that the Machine is an artificial judgement, created by some group which may or may not be tied to the admiralty, but is certainly not a friend to it, or to the bazaar, or the revolution. I would recommend reading the saint-arthur website, especially the lore section, as a source of canon information dredged painstakingly from all corners of the game. It will give you an excellent idea of what is going on, and where to go with your theories. ;)[li]

Gah, that’s what I get for not rereading before I post. I read about the Dawn Machine and The Revolutionary Device a couple months ago and my mind somehow conflated the two. I’d edit it out, but then the last 3 posts would be confusing. Just substitute the Revolutionary Device instead of the Dawn Machine in the original post and it all works, I think.[/li]

That is a… particularly interesting theory, in light of (no pun intended) the connection of stars, sunlight and &quotBlazing Judgements&quot… all of which the Neath is hidden from. Death visits rarely here, and when &quottrue death&quot comes it’s generally in the form of a destruction of the physical form to extensive to mend. The dead can return to the Neath, but never the light of the surface. Souls can be separated from corporeal flesh, with each carrying on in apparently equal immortality.