Chain 142+143: Fallen London, Sunless Sea

Chain 142+143: Fallen London, Sunless Sea

Identity: Scholar
Drawbacks: [+200] Hail Brittania!

[250/1200]  Watchful: Great Mind
[Free]      An Ambition of Truth
[Free]      Dreamless Sleep
[400/1200]  Master Detective
[600/1200]  Correspondence Course
[Free]      Mirror Polished Shoes
[800/1200]  Spirifer's Spoon
[Free]      Prismatic Laboratory
[1000/1200] Spirifer's Eye
[Free]      Connection: The Constables
[Free]      Connection: The Docks
[1200/1200]  Fellow Boarders: Demona, Conspiracy

Identity: Naturalist
Drawbacks: [+300] Commissioned: The Captivating Princess, Kingmaker Rising: London

[Free]      Ambition: Duty
[Free]      Walk Like a Zailor
[Free]      Scientifically Speaking
[300/1300]  As Above So Below
[450/1300]  Fathomed Mirrors
[700/1300]  Fathomed Pages
[Free]      Unblemished Skin
[900/1300]  Hunter's Eye
[Free]      Zailor’s Almanac
[1100/1300] Shrine: Safe Travel
[1300/1300] A Hearty Crew: Demona, Conspiracy
[1300/1400] Crew Stipend
[1350/1400] Presbyterate Adventuress
[1400/1400] Maybe's Daughter
[Free]      Plausible Surgeon
[Free]      Lady In Lilac

One cannot easily separate my activities in the Neath into something that has any form of a clear division, even if one can say "these actions took place in the Fifth City" and "these journeys took place upon the Zee".

It can of course be taken for granted that no one who journeys here will emerge unchanged. This may be seen doubly so in myself; my hair was once a rich chestnut, and while I did not have particular pride in it, it was something of a reliable companion, of sorts. No longer, however, for it has turned stark white. And my eyes... while their irises became gold after my time in Nier not so relatively long ago, now one of them has been replaced outright with brass - while still having a golden iris overlaid atop, for all the sense that makes.

Oh, my fingers ended up in a great many pies during my quest below. Not a quest for certain insanity, of course - I'm not fool enough for that - but for the underlying truths. The nature of the Neath and the damned souls within. The Bazaar and the Masters. The Neathbow and the Correspondence. Damnation and salvation. And for this I had to go to a great many places, involve myself in a great many plots. Sail the Zee from edge to edge, scour the Fifth City low and high, experiment, guard my sanity jealously.

Demona proved to be an able assistant; the Conspiracy aided with operations upon the Zee, but were not... stout enough to aid. Or perhaps, were too sane, whereas Demona is Not Sane. Or, rather, Non-Sane; with her experiences she does not register on the scale in the first place. She acted as my conscience, here, keeping me upon my warranted task even as I picked at the frayed edges and did what I could to weave them back together.

The Royal Family are harsh taskmasters, and unused to not being obeyed, but I had the liberty of interpreting their direction in unusual ways that still fulfilled the letter of the law while working to actively strengthen the city itself rather than watching its perpetual backsliding. Perhaps it would be a matter of delaying the inevitable - after all, a reckoning cannot be postponed indefinitely - but sometimes postponing it just a bit longer can be enough.

Oh, the things I have seen. The colors were a terrifying delight, my crew were surprisingly robust and willing, and those who I met within the city were slowly going mad. Perhaps slowing the growth of their madness was a curse, rather than a mercy, but in truth who can say? Upon the Zee I found one whom called himself my father, despite the impossibility, but he was a pleasant enough individual for a drowned man. He even brought me gifts, lovely candles that they were, though sadly I had to take him to his destination and let him be upon his way.

I pray someday I can forget the Neath, but it feels as though the memories are inscribed within my skull in flaming letters.