It will definitely tempt in-universe people too, especially ones who aren’t as knowledgable about correspondence as the PCs. Like most londoners, for example.
A few things, the coins the Numismatrix mentions are specifically First City coins, original ones. Most of the coins in circulation now are copies.
As for all shall be well. That’s a fun one. Most direct answer is what’s been stated: presumably it has more nuance in correspondence. It’s possible the Masters were in similarly dire straights and this promise would hold further significance. Beyond that it creates a Jesus parallel with the Bazaar.
I love sharing this trivia. So it’s irl a quote from a late 14th century English book written by the anchoress Julian of Norwich (an anchoress? Where has that term appeared before in Fallen London?), writing of her visions of Jesus she had during a deathly fever, one she miraculously survived. One vision has her, iirc, seeing all the misfortunes the world faces and asking him why not just remove suffering, why must people suffer? His reply is that “All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” Not a helpful explanation for a promise but thems the breaks.
I respectfully disagree about the coins. Here’s the Numismatrix’s text:
"Coins. You wish me to discuss coins. Very well. Echoes first. The ones you have in your purse are indeed echoes. Reflections of the first currency ever used by the Bazaar. Before it even thought about buying cities. You’ll probably never see any of the underlying fundamental Coins. I never have. There’s only around a dozen of them, I’ve heard, and the Masters won’t touch them. Fascinating, no?
"Something different now. Have you heard of the First City Coins? Little silver things, cedar tree on one side. I deal in them occasionally. They’re not from the First City itself, of course. The actual coins are no more than thirty years old. But they represent something ancient. Fragments of a primal power, locked away in the Masters’ vaults since the deal that bought the First City. Of course, the Masters don’t buy or sell that stuff any more. They gamble it sometimes, though. A game called the Marvellous.
My reading is that the "something different now" transition indicates that First City Coins - even the "real" ones used in the Marvellous - are different from "the first currency ever used by the Bazaar," of which our Echoes are only reflections. It’s this "first currency" I was talking about - the Coins which even the Numismatrix has never seen, which the Masters won’t touch, and the number of which may match the original number of Masters (and yes, also the original number of Apostles). Since it’s the first, it must antedate the First City - and the transaction in which the Masters were hired presumably does as well.
I’m not arguing that a particular future is certain, nor even likely, just a possible one. One that could only come about if Londoners’ understanding of the world became as weighty as the Masters’. I am sorely tempted to write it up myself, though.
[quote=Cthonius]A few things, the coins the Numismatrix mentions are specifically First City coins, original ones. Most of the coins in circulation now are copies.
As for all shall be well. That’s a fun one. Most direct answer is what’s been stated: presumably it has more nuance in correspondence. It’s possible the Masters were in similarly dire straights and this promise would hold further significance. Beyond that it creates a Jesus parallel with the Bazaar.
I love sharing this trivia. So it’s irl a quote from a late 14th century English book written by the anchoress Julian of Norwich (an anchoress? Where has that term appeared before in Fallen London?), writing of her visions of Jesus she had during a deathly fever, one she miraculously survived. One vision has her, iirc, seeing all the misfortunes the world faces and asking him why not just remove suffering, why must people suffer? His reply is that "All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well." Not a helpful explanation for a promise but thems the breaks.[/quote]
On the subject of the variably honourable space-bat friends in the Bazaar and their interest in the extremely arcane finances of the universe:
The Masters have been running the Bazaar in the name of maintaining an economy of romantic tales for basically forever as far as poor human creatures are pragmatically concerned. As the good persons of London have previously stated, the Coins which are held so precious by the Masters may not be literal minted currency. It sounds as though said Coins may be, as "fragments of a primal power," something akin to portions of a Judgement or a remnant of some other profound High Wilderness entity.
However - the Bazaar has quite emphatically supported a trade in souls and thereby instituted a singularly unusual substitute for bullion. Is it possible (not LIKELY, but possible) that the Masters may have bartered their own souls away in the distant past, and the Coins which they so desperately value are either credit for or some representation of their surrendered souls? Despite the fact that the known facets of the Masters’ characters are universally suggestive of creatures who would be interested in Faustian deals, they (and their culture) also exhibit profound self-interest that would almost certainly lead them to seek out and regain such unique belongings as their own souls.
Ah! An interesting point - the earlier musings of myself on the subject of the Rosers has yielded some closure, about which most visitors to the Nadir’s domain have probably already known for quite some time. Specifically, here: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Eihks?fromEchoId=11491035
The Rosers are dead, gone, lost. It seems now that the theories pertaining to their non-humanity are less likely valid than previously thought.