The Nature of Bazaar and the Masters [SPOILERS]

Fallen London
21

Right, here is what has happened, based off The Seventh Letter, and various snippets from SMEN (Not anything past King of Ways, so it’s acceptable)

The Bazaar was at one point a Courier: an interstellar mailman/woman/crab of sorts. It brought messages between creatures in the High Wilderness, typically Judgments, or possibly exclusively Judgments. At one point, well…you know the idea of someone doing the mailman? That, except between our Sun, and the Bazaar. Problem is, by Judgment Law, specifically their Law of the Great Chain, beings can only be with certain other beings. Bazaar+Sun? Not permitted. Even worse, a child was begotten from this tryst, the Mountain of Light, AKA Stone. Also forbidden.

The Bazaar fled to the Neath. At some point before this, it struck a bargain with the Twelve (The Masters). The Twelve wanted protection from…something (Likely whatever is called the Hunter in The Seventh Letter), and they came with, sacrificing the wealth of the High Wilderness to do so. Down in the Neath, because of the Nadir and the Seven Treacheries, the Bazaar is safe from the Judgements…for now. However, to stay down in the Neath, its engines, the Stone Pigs, need to be drugged, otherwise it will be launched back up. This is the purpose of Lacre, to keep the Stone Pigs sleeping. To make Lacre…well, you melt down people. It’s suggested that this is why more and more cities are pulled down: the Bazaar needs more and more people. Another goal is the accumulation of stories of Love, typically more…unusual ones. It’s also been hypothesized that the Bazaar is seeking to find a way to show that the Great Chain is not absolute; to justify its actions. And it doesn’t have forever; once the Seventh City falls, it shall be taken to answer for its crimes before its own master (possibly the White, down here, couriers are heavily involved in the Great Game, and our Game is but a reflection of the Greater Game), as will our Sun, which will end in the pair (and possibly the Masters) being…well, eaten by dragons. Needless to say, this will not end well for us, as the Earth kinda needs the Sun.

As for the Masters, we know that they are basically space bats. In Sunless Sea and Fallen London, when it says London was stolen by bats, it’s not a joke. As for their origins, the original Twelve are from the High Wilderness, which you might consider as space (though it is oh so much more than simply outer space). However, the flesh of these Twelve is transcendent. While one cannot by themselves ascend the Chain (we speak not of the Red Science, it does not exist), by consuming something greater than yourself, something higher on the Chain, you may incorporate it, though it might incorporate you. This was done before, with betrayal, it could conceivably be done again (After all, Master’s Blood is an attainable item).

To address a few other points:

The Bazaar is not the source of the bizzarities (heh) of the Neath; the Nadir is older, and I believe the Treacheries are as well. It is hiding here. The death taking you is not because you travel away from the Bazaar, but the Neath (or maybe away from the Mountain of Light, not entirely solid on how the Treacheries work).

The Correspondence script adorning it is likely both a relic of its original duties (Correspondence is the script of the High Wilderness, and of the Judgements, so most things originating in the HW probably learn it as a matter of necessity), and possibly a record of certain love stories? I seem to recall some instances of the script translating into peculiar love tales.

The Twelve are not likely Parabolan. There is a state of war between the Judgements (Is) and Parabolans (Is-Not) and I find it unlikely they would have survived for long (Sunlight destroys, Starlight corrodes those of Is-Not). Though, given that the Hunter uses (IIRC) ‘solar insults’, this would explain a bit.

As mentioned, the Mountain of Light is indeed the Bazaar’s child. However, it is possible that it’s ability to prevent death is more connected to its Judgement heritage (Judgements declare the Laws of the universe, what Is) more than its space-crab heritage, but it is possible.

Of course, this may not be entirely accurate, I do not have a majority of the journal entries in front of me. However, it should be mostly accurate.

22

The good Kyron the Wise has proven very worthy of the title indeed.

An additional concern that has slowly coalesced, though: the Bazaar was once a vessel whose goal consisted of ensuring there was NO WORD LOST… in possibly several senses. Is the Bazaar a unique being in the High Wilderness, a one-of-a-kind species of entity? Do the Judgements rely upon other varieties of Couriers in its absence? If not, then what plan have the Judgements for their own future welfare if the Bazaar is extinguished?

Hell has clearly asked some of these kinds of questions throughout history, but as of yet the author does not know what answers they may have found.

23

An interesting thought. Do beings become more diverse as one travels down the Chain? Or is it only difficult to determine difference from the distance of our diminution?

In other words, is the Chain:
The Nigh Unanimous Council of Stars
The Dutiful Dragons of Justice
The Various Crustaceous Messengers
The Infinite Variety of Scuttlers Upon Earths

Or does the size and scalding bright of Aldebaran correspond to a more fundamental difference between it and our own Sun, secreted or indistinguishable from our vantage in the mud?

24

A few moderately worthwhile musings, perhaps. Following the lines of inquiry presented by Kyron the Wise, a tad more digging into some of the Masters’ motivations for aiding the Bazaar was undertaken.

Foremost, THIS: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Eihks?fromEchoId=10560434

The Khans mentioned are clearly the Masters - the Khan of Dreams, Mr. Wines; the Khan of Swords, Mr. Iron; the Khan of Fires, Mr. Fire; the Khan of Hearts, Mr. Hearts; the Khan of Roots, Mr. Apples; the Khan of Drums, Mr. Veils. However, it also mentions that they have several foes that include the Rosers, the Copper, and the Motherlings. The latter two are largely mysteries to the writer, though others may garner further significance from their identities. The Rosers, on the other hand, are recognized as an apparently long-departed party from the politics of the Bazaar’s lifetime. In fact, their departure is considered a long past occurrence even in the Cave of the Nadir, which means that they must have left an exceptionally distant time ago. However, it is unknown whether this is before or after the Bazaar first made Earth its temporary haven.
Now, another thing: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Eihks?fromEchoId=10787874
This occurred when the writer unwisely slept in the Nadir’s influence wearing a Parabola-linen suit. At the risk of sounding somewhat fanatical about Parabolan studies, the writer infers that the Menagerie of Roses - here interpreted to be an alias of the Rosers - are Parabolan natives.
If this is all true, it tells us several things. First, a very long time ago marked a conflict of unknown duration between the Masters and at least some residents of Parabola. Second, the Masters either fashioned some kind of martial victory with these enemies, or managed to escape their attentions until this conflict ceased; the fact that the Rosers are known in the Nadir (and as such were probably active for some time until the Masters were encompassed by the Nadir’s obscuring effects) leads one to assume the latter is more likely. The enmity toward red honey that the Masters exhibit may be somehow linked to the Rosers, given that plain prisoner’s honey is refined from the Exile’s Rose and that the Menagerie of Roses boasts &quotdreamers&quot, but as speculation and no more should this thought be classified.

In addition, something with which perhaps some other, more astute Fallen Londoner, can assist, as I do not have an echo on record which precisely matches the remembered information. For the moment, THESE altercations with Mr. Sacks and Penstock are the closest qualitative matches in my own archives: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Eihks?fromEchoId=10746057 http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Eihks?fromEchoId=10746093

Unfortunately, memory and memory alone serves to claim that one can find a statement while helping the… ahem, VENERABLE Mr. Sacks to the effect that the Bazaar has begun to produce her own stories. If this is, in fact, true, assistance in the form of providing an echo of such an interaction would be invaluable for peace of mind and preserving informational integrity. Further speculation on this particular point will be withheld until confirmation or denial of this topic’s veracity appears.

25

I believe the rosers were fourth city inhabitants (Could be wrong about which city) after waging war on the masters with the help of fingerkings, they fled into parabola, perhaps died there.

The motherings were the older version of the blind astronomers, in that they followed the spider councils.

Pretty sure there’s not much on the copper, but I think, think, that they were related to the god-eaters. I don’t think there is a London equivalent.

Here is a link to the missing echo at the end: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/SunnyTime?fromEchoId=10693373
I don’t think there’s anything else on that.
edited by suinicide on 1/12/2017

26

Could Rosers be the Devils? We know that Hell is full of burning roses. We know that Devils used to be bees. We know that Devils invented prisoner’s honey.

27

Where did we learn that they invented prisoner’s honey? I’m pretty sure it was never mentioned where it came from.

28

It’s mentioned on the Order Serpentine medals that the Fingerkings made a deal with the “grumpiest bee” and that some form of honey with properties of passage between worlds was created as a result of this.

29

What suinicide has mentioned actually brings up an interesting inquiry - does the Nadir’s forgetting affect time/events/people at a consistent and homogeneous rate? Specifically, several aspects of the Fourth City’s history are clearly preserved in the Nadir’s curious stagnation, and (from what the writer sees of its preservation of history) it appears that less of a memory is preserved of the First City than the Fourth City, for example. Is it in the Nadir’s nature that something from as relatively recent a time as the Fourth City could be as apparently forgotten as the Rosers?

Certainly suinicide’s reasoning that a (human?) Fourth City affiliation with the Fingerkings would incite conflict with the Masters is sound, but historical precedent for a Neathy-Parabolan alliance of such a nature is entirely news to me. It would fit with the colour of character in a city-state fractious enough to bifurcate despite being in the very middle of the Unterzee, though.

30

Corrolary to my signature: if you’re neither flame nor fuel, you’re the engine coolant.

31

[quote=Akninirith Rhaagmini]
Certainly suinicide’s reasoning that a (human?) Fourth City affiliation with the Fingerkings would incite conflict with the Masters is sound, but historical precedent for a Neathy-Parabolan alliance of such a nature is entirely news to me. It would fit with the colour of character in a city-state fractious enough to bifurcate despite being in the very middle of the Unterzee, though.[/quote]

[li]
Another possible Parabolan alliance I’ve always wondered about: the God-Eaters are depicted as corresponding to three sorts of animals common in the Mirror Marches (cats, birds, and snakes). It’s strongly hinted that the daughters of the Second City somehow nerfed the Masters for quite a while, until they negotiated the sale of a certain delectable morsel. Both the God-Eaters and the Fingerkings have the same habit of taking the bodies of people for joyrides (see also the Genial Magician and the Fidgeting Writer). What if the fall of the Third City somehow involved powerful critters from Parabola?

That would explain the occasional mentions of &quotthe times when we covered the mirrors&quot in some scraps of Fourth City history; having your erstwhile allies drop another city on top of the one you stole for them can’t be good for diplomatic relations.

32

[quote=al2o3cr]Another possible Parabolan alliance I’ve always wondered about: the God-Eaters are depicted as corresponding to three sorts of animals common in the Mirror Marches (cats, birds, and snakes). It’s strongly hinted that the daughters of the Second City somehow nerfed the Masters for quite a while, until they negotiated the sale of a certain delectable morsel. Both the God-Eaters and the Fingerkings have the same habit of taking the bodies of people for joyrides (see also the Genial Magician and the Fidgeting Writer). What if the fall of the Third City somehow involved powerful critters from Parabola?

That would explain the occasional mentions of &quotthe times when we covered the mirrors&quot in some scraps of Fourth City history; having your erstwhile allies drop another city on top of the one you stole for them can’t be good for diplomatic relations.[/quote]

From what I understood, the delay of the Second City involved the pharaoh’s daughters evacuating the city right before it got fell, resulting in the Bazaar getting a nearly empty city that produced no love stories.

The Fourth City stuff most certainly refers to the war between the Fourth City and the Fingerkings. From the Gallery of Serpents expedition we learn that Fourth City had such war, won and imprisoned some Fingerkings in statues.

33

Having recently finished SMEN, I will now take an extensive break from Fallen London. I’ve been playing this game since late 2010, and have spent a likely unhealthy amount of time pondering Neathy lore. The Masters in particular have always held a strong fascination for me ‒ probably because they represent &quotone of those boxes of neatly arranged colours that are so irresistible to the geek mind&quot, as Alexis put it ‒ and I’ve analyzed their characters down to an absurd degree. So I thought it was only in-character if the Professor once more shared some of his dangerous and subversive theories with fellow Londoners before leaving for a long scientific voyage. ;)

What’s wrong with Mr Spices?

You’ve probably noticed: Mr Spices fills the role of nervous, fidgeting paranoid amoung the Masters. Even its voice is a panicked shrill. Why is that? I think it’s afraid. Afraid of being &quotthe next Eaten&quot.

It is my theory that Masters have been sacrificed ‒ or &quotlost&quot, or &quotusurped&quot maybe ‒ twice before (on other planets). When that happened, one of the others took over their role and personality. Thus Apples/Hearts and Cups/Mirrors. Maybe this is due to the original contract between the Bazaar and them requiring the number of 12 Masters, I don’t know. Only, when Candles was sacrificed, something went wrong: there were two Masters interested in taking over its role: Wines and Spices. Apparently, there was no way to settle the dispute ‒ and now we’re stuck with only 11 Masters, two of them in eternal opposition over who rules Dreams. While Wines seems to have some allies among the other Masters ‒ plus is apparently solely responsible for negotiating the contracts for new cities*** ‒ Spices appears to be isolated. It would probably be the one all the others could agree on being replaceable, in the event of such a replacement being necessary.

My theory is that 12 Masters are needed somehow for travelling Between Stars. Meaning there’s no real hurry right now, but they will definitely have to increase their ranks again before leaving Earth behind.

*** Why Wines, anyway? Only because it’s the one Master humans find most easy to get along with due to its friendly façade? I’ve said it before somewhere that of all the Masters (maybe excluding Veils), Wines is the one I like the least. It’s like the prototypical suave movie villain: smalltalking you over a good drink while behind the scenes everything is being prepared for your gruesome murder later on. There are only two things Wines ever cares about: Power, and Having a Good Time. In that order; don’t let its jocular manner deceive you.

Stones and Fires

There seems to be one other open conflict between two Masters; however, this seems to be mostly a conflict of characters. Stones is a single-minded conservative, completely bent on its one interest (Stones) and the fulfilling of the contract. Fires is a progressive, seriously interested in humanity’s technological advances (not in the humans themselves, though). It seems completely happy in the Neath and shows no desire whatever to fulfill the contract and leave Earth behind anytime soon. Funny enough, this actually increases its dependance on Stones if we’re correct to assume that diamonds, and other rare gems, are what’s needed to keep the Stone Pigs tranquil (maybe it’s what they eat). This puts them at something of a stalemate, especially as I can’t see Stones showing any inclination of taking over Fires’ role (or anybody’s, for that matter).

Something else about Fires: I wouldn’t be surprised if it had been the most outspoken advocate of making London the 5th City. The country where the steam-engine was invented, the kickstarter to the Industrial Revolution? London’s Fall must’ve been a wet dream come true for old Fires ‒ whose name is already something of an anachronism, incidentally. &quotSteam&quot, &quotGears&quot or &quotBrass&quot would fit better. Curiously, it seems to be the only one among all the Masters with any inclination towards machinery and engineering ‒ only inclination though, no particular talent.

Indeed, one could argue that Stones is the only truly gifted craftsman among the Masters. Cups certainly collects a lot of things, but I don’t see it making any pottery or crockery itself. Most of Wines’ creations are unpalatable, the odd success here or there not withstanding. Pages’ attempts at literature are hilarious. They are talented at selling things, not making them ‒ with Stones being the notable exception.
But of course, what we all really want to know is…

Whatever happened in the Second City?

The flashbacks we see here and there suggest that life in the 2nd City must’ve been good ‒ peaceful and prosperous. Indeed, Amarna seems to have been the only city which ever really prospered in the Neath. How was this possible? Due to some loophole in the contract, probably, which the Duchess ruthlessly exploited. Whether Candles was actively helping her, or just generally sympathetic, I’m not sure. Anyway, the Masters were certainly unable to wield the kind of power we’re used from them in Fallen London. They were just businessmen, no more, no less. Which seems to have hurt their pride something fierce. All the Masters? Maybe.*** There might’ve been a few who were quite content ‒ Spices and Fires would be my guess. Candles, definitely.

*** Usually, we see Wines, Veils and Apples/Hearts as the driving forces behind the Betrayal. I suspect that Spices was the closest Candles might’ve had to a &quotfriend&quot or ally. Which would provide another explanation for its fierce opposition to Wines… If my judgement of their characters is correct, then Wines just wants more power ‒ but I’m not so sure about Spices. It might see an obligation to take over its friend’s mantle; or maybe it’s truly convinced that Wines’ approach to Dreams is incorrect ‒ their dispute might be actually philosophical, not just a power struggle.

The Third City was a slaughterhouse

Usually, the Masters buy a city to &quotfarm&quot love-stories for the Bazaar. The Third City’s contract was unique in that, by this point, (most of) the Masters must’ve been so desperate to escape their &quotprison&quot that they were willing to agree to any kind of deal. Thus the God-Eaters…

I don’t think the Bazaar itself agreed with the whole thing ‒ but apparently it was powerless to do anything against it.*** The Bazaar was probably as fond of the 2nd City as the Masters despised it. When you take the air at the Sundered Sea, you’ll see melancholy flashbacks of 2nd City memories. Also, stones from the Salt Lions ‒ an obvious 2nd City relic ‒ are very precious to the Bazaar. I think the Bazaar still sees the 2nd City as the best time it had down here.

The Third City was probably a nightmare for the Bazaar. Love stories? Not a great lot, I’d wager; at least not the pleasant kind. I don’t believe the inhabitants of the 3rd City changed their way of life, or the structure of their society, after they Fell ‒ especially considering how the deal was sealed to begin with. Just the opposite: what could be more motivating for a warrior society than knowing even Death is not necessarily the end of fighting? There seems to have been a war between Tomb-Colonies, even (maybe there still is). No, their time in the Neath was probably filled with warfare, both internacine and outward-reaching, constantly urged on by the mad, power-driven God-Eaters… but war is always good business, so the Masters were probably happy.

*** There’s another hint to this peculiar powerlessness in The Seventh Letter, where (as I understand it) the Bazaar makes it clear that it does not like Veils’ &quothobby&quot but is unable to stop him ‒ &quotI owe him his hunts.&quot All this is probably down to the original contract between the Bazaar and the Masters, which must have been a particularly mean one, with no way out for either party: the Bazaar and the Masters are chained to each other… until the contract is fulfilled.

I’d like to add that for me the moment of the 3rd City’s Fall ‒ and the 2nd City’s destruction ‒ is the most tragic in Neathy history. I realized a while ago that it would provide the perfect ‒ and only at least half-way reasonable ‒ motivation for my Seeker, Dr Kvirkvelia, an archaeologist. In his words:

&quotI bet there were centuries ‒ long centuries ‒ when she must’ve thought it was all worth it. Maybe she still does; her city was the only one that really prospered down here. It would still be here today, if not for the Betrayal […] It must’ve been a sight, ruled by the Pharaoh’s Daughter and her Court of Cats. But the three Betrayers had hungers which needed to be sated. Eventually, they found three others with similar hungers, on the Surface. A deal was struck, a trap was laid, the God-Eaters feasted, and a Third City came crashing through the Roof, smothering the beautiful old city to dust […] I’m not such a fool as to believe I can bring it back; this is only about revenge. One that has been postponed for far too long.&quot

34

Possible problem: Fires doesn’t show up in any destinies, even the ones about masters. Perhaps he liked london a bit too much.

35

[quote=Rupho Schartenhauer]What’s wrong with Mr Spices?

You’ve probably noticed: Mr Spices fills the role of nervous, fidgeting paranoid amoung the Masters. Even its voice is a panicked shrill. Why is that? I think it’s afraid. Afraid of being &quotthe next Eaten&quot.

It is my theory that Masters have been sacrificed ‒ or &quotlost&quot, or &quotusurped&quot maybe ‒ twice before (on other planets). When that happened, one of the others took over their role and personality. Thus Apples/Hearts and Cups/Mirrors. Maybe this is due to the original contract between the Bazaar and them requiring the number of 12 Masters, I don’t know. Only, when Candles was sacrificed, something went wrong: there were two Masters interested in taking over its role: Wines and Spices. Apparently, there was no way to settle the dispute ‒ and now we’re stuck with only 11 Masters, two of them in eternal opposition over who rules Dreams. While Wines seems to have some allies among the other Masters ‒ plus is apparently solely responsible for negotiating the contracts for new cities*** ‒ Spices appears to be isolated. It would probably be the one all the others could agree on being replaceable, in the event of such a replacement being necessary.

My theory is that 12 Masters are needed somehow for travelling Between Stars. Meaning there’s no real hurry right now, but they will definitely have to increase their ranks again before leaving Earth behind.

*** Why Wines, anyway? Only because it’s the one Master humans find most easy to get along with due to its friendly façade? I’ve said it before somewhere that of all the Masters (maybe excluding Veils), Wines is the one I like the least. It’s like the prototypical suave movie villain: smalltalking you over a good drink while behind the scenes everything is being prepared for your gruesome murder later on. There are only two things Wines ever cares about: Power, and Having a Good Time. In that order; don’t let its jocular manner deceive you.[/quote]
I don’t agree with this interpretation. Consider the text in the Lighthouse. Mr. Candles knew that he will be betrayed, he is described as &quotalone&quot and &quotinfertile&quot and &quotdeficient&quot. Furthermore, the Lighthouse has this part:

Furthermore, Mr. Candles is the Drowned Man. &quotHe is not a god. He came from the North, where it is too cold for gods, and to the North he will return. If you go North, nothing of you will remain.&quot

What I believe all of this adds up to is that Mr. Candles was in some way tied to the Parabola, much more strongly than Spices and Wines are. Perhaps he was a Parabolan native, or a result of a cross-world affair. In combination with the lore elements from Cathedral of Light, Mr. Eaten’s favorable perspective on humanity, and various asspulls made in my headcanon, I believe that Mr. Candles is a messianic figure a la Jesus. I can elaborate further if needed.

Getting back to the question of Mr. Spices, I think he’s afraid of Mr. Eaten. Maybe, just maybe, Mr. Wines and Mr. Spices are feeling Unaccountably Peckish, leading to Wines drowning himself in hedonism. Maybe, just maybe, Mr. Spices hears a voice in his dreams and that voice makes him feel very guilty and very scared.

36

Especially interested in Rupho Schutenhauer’s version of events, and Longes’s write-ups.

Sadly, I don’t have terribly much to add, but wasn’t the promise: &quotAll shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well&quot? It does seem to feature pretty prominently in the Mr Eaten story line, or at least this part of it. Though I’ve often wondered what exactly it’s supposed to mean. We know from Fate-Locked Content that the Masters measure age by Earth centuries; but even for them thousands of years seems an enormous amount of time to sign oneself away for.

So what, exactly, did the Bazaar promise them? Or did it simply invoke something from before?
edited by Kindelwyrm on 3/3/2017

37

I think at least part of the “all shall be well” is just a play on words, 'cause, you know, Eaten got chucked in a well, and he wants other masters to do the same.

38

At first I got the impression that the Bazaar had hired the Masters specifically on a contract to get her out of her current mess - &quotjust seven cities, and then we’re done.&quot But the Rubbery timeline suggests that the Masters cut a deal with the Flukes someplace very far away before the Bazaar arrived to the Neath. So maybe they were part of her retinue already? You wouldn’t expect a person of importance to travel alone without any servants, and the Stone Pigs don’t count.

About their payment, I think that we don’t know enough about the Masters to know what the Bazaar could have promised them. I do think that those promises have a physical form. The Numismatrix mentioned that the really original currency of the Bazaar was a very special kind of coin. She says something like, &quotI’ve never seen one, but I understand that there are only a dozen or so, and the Masters won’t touch them. Interesting, yes?&quot So my guess is that she’s talking about the payments that were originally promised to the Masters, one for each of them, and they can’t touch them until the deal is fulfilled.

I think that thousands of years is a long time for the Masters. They probably expected the whole seven-city business to take a millennium or two, which to them is a long-term contract but reasonable for the reward they were promised. But they got stuck in the Second City for much longer than they expected, and they’re still bitter about it. Some of them are getting impatient and want to drop Paris on our heads in just a couple of decades, just to get this over with.

Here’s a question I’ve been wondering about: would the Bazaar’s promise be technically (if ironically) fulfilled if all the Masters ended up down a well?

[quote=Kindelwyrm]Especially interested in Rupho Schutenhauer’s version of events, and Longes’s write-ups.

Sadly, I don’t have terribly much to add, but wasn’t the promise: &quotAll shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well&quot? It does seem to feature pretty prominently in the Mr Eaten story line, or at least this part of it. Though I’ve often wondered what exactly it’s supposed to mean. We know from Fate-Locked Content that the Masters measure age by Earth centuries; but even for them thousands of years seems an enormous amount of time to sign oneself away for.

So what, exactly, did the Bazaar promise them? Or did it simply invoke something from before?
edited by Kindelwyrm on 3/3/2017[/quote]

39

The promise was probably made in a language that does not translate the english wordplay well.

40

Strictly in-universe, you are of course correct. But the combination of puns, ironic prophecy, and poetic justice might create a lure powerful enough to tempt any writer.