I was a candle

Do you recall how we came to this place? And they sang of their lightnings and shapeful disgrace? I do. And so much more…

The tale of Mr Eaten is a long and sad one indeed. There is, ah, a lot more to it than just falling down a well. It’s possibly one of the more important events in Neathy history, with roots that possibly trail back to before the Bazaar’s presence in the Neath. Unfortunately, a lot of the information is contained within the hellish difficult (and hiatused) Seeking storyline, but with more accessible bits here and there (for instance, at Christmas).

Even with SMEN getting as far as 6/7 candles before the hiatus, there’s still a lot that’s uncertain or unknown (we may forever wonder what Winking Isle’s final secrets are). As such, expect hefty speculations and possible mistakes here and there, though I will try to give the best account possible. This is, after all, a topic of particular interest to me.

So, first off, who was Mr Candles? The name, after all, implies his domain of trade was candles. But, I think, not just candles. As any Seeker, Snuffer or Stabperson in Knife and Candle will tell you, candles in the Neath are often… strange. From one option at Christmas, we know that Wines and Spices took over Mr Candles’ domain- from the Destinies (and plenty else), we know that the two squabble over the honeyed roads to Parabola. Therefore, we can deduce that Mr Candles dealt not only in wax, but also in dreams.

What happened to him? Well, the concise version would be that he was betrayed, devoured and drowned. For the hows and whys, we’ll need a bit more detail.

The Second City is probably the best place to start. From hints and deduction from people who’re much better at history than I am, it was probably the city of Amarna. Some serious business went down at this city, and all the Masters don’t care to hear it mentioned. It was a serious defeat for them. If you look at the timespan between cities, it’s not hard to see why; Amarna was established in 1353BC and abandoned shortly afterwards in real life; The Third City was almost definitely Mayan, probably Chichen Itza, which would be in its heyday at around 900AD. That’s more than a two thousand year gap! Karakorum, the Fourth City, probably fell at some point in the middle of the 13th century, and London, the Fifth, in the middle of the 19th century. I have no idea about the First, but it probably wasn’t that long before Amarna. Anyway, what I’m getting at with all of this; the Bazaar stayed longer in the Second City than intended. A lot longer. Here’s some testimony from the Mother Superior of the Vake-Hunting Nuns that provides more confirmation for that theory; My sisters and I have been watching the Vake for a many years. Since the Second City, in fact. We were a royal house then. We played those black-cloaked vultures for fools, so we did. Beat them at their own game and pulled the nose of the Bazaar. And they never forgave us. Kept the youngest sister hostage while the rest of us ran for it. We ended up here. It was all for nothing, as it turned out. Those d—ned feather-wearing heathen P… no. That’s a story for a different day.

What’s this got to do with Mr Candles? He was probably the one responsible! Or, at the very least, involved somehow. The Masters and the Bazaar are pretty much universally united in hatred of the Second City. At the Sunlight event last year, the Bazaar claimed that the second city had betrayed them. Mr Eaten’s opinion differs; “The second, a shrug and a time. It was fair, It was fair.” Further evidence of this can be found at Winking Isle; ”Here is the name of the Duchess who they will always loathe; one of her names. He does not loathe her. If he could laugh, he might.” ”They” in this case is probably referring to the other Masters. It’s not the most compelling evidence, I’ll admit, but I think it explains some other things nicely. The Pharaoh’s Daughters were probably responsible for the Bazaar’s delay; the Duchess is the last one left. If Mr Candles assisted them, it’d explain the lack of ill will there.

It’s not the only time Mr Candles offered a hand to the downtrodden either; from Christmas, it seems possible that he helped the Rubbery Men and Flukes ascend the Chain of Being by brokering a deal with the Bazaar. The Rubbery Hound in Flute Street has Eatenesque aspects as well; a love of candles, and a desire to see justice.

But that’s mostly speculative; let’s move onto something a little more concrete. The series of events that led to Candles becoming Eaten happened in the Third City. I believe the price that was paid for the city was the body of Mr Candles. The Priest-Kings devoured him, and so became the God-Eaters, the most awesome metal band the Neath has ever held. The Cat, Bird and Serpent still persist in the Neath to this day, across the zee at the tomb-colony of Xibalba. You could, for a time, find a few individuals in the opportunity deck who knew more about them.

I remember how you sold me. For your freedom, from chains forged in a horizon-place, from the treachery of daughters. You gave me to their knives. A reckoning. The bill is almost due.

Here’s how it probably went down; Veils, also known as the Vake (Or Vake-the-Betrayer, if you’re Mr Eaten), is probably the most impatient of all the Masters. He wants to get this over with so he can go back to hunting between stars. Seeing a dual opportunity to get rid of the Second City and the Master responsible for their two thousand year delay, he convinces Mr Candles to come with him to Chichen Itza. They said - they called me by their name - I need only go up and the priests would take a little. The gratitude in their song! We embraced before I rose. You of cloth and shadow, you enemy, you proud-singer, you led the way. I will poison you with airs.

Deal done, the Third City crashes down on top of the Second, ending that episode of Neathy history and bringing an end to the treachery of daughters. The Third City doesn’t seem to have lasted all that long, though, certainly not as long as Karakorum; probably an artifact of impatient choice more than anything. 

The priests, of course, took a lot more than a little. The remains were drowned in the Bazaar’s tears beneath the Temple. He may have been transported elsewhere, or they may have just buried the Temple; a note from the Labyrinth of Tigers claims that Mr Eaten is “North under granite”. It’s possible that, even now, Mr Eaten’s remains still hold some sparks of life; there are emergency measures for if he ever stirs. ”…in the event that the Drowned stirs, we will apply the measures indicated in Annex Thirty-Three; Annex Thirty-Four; the Prelapsarian Conditionals; and the Spire-Sign”

One way or another, he is still around, despite the better efforts of the Masters. A hollow voice in your dreams, a call from wells, the roar of deep water. A reckoning is not to be postponed indefinitely. Of particular significance is the fact that almost all of the later stages of SMEN take place in a dreamlike state, with references to sleepwalking and delusions being made frequently. ““It’s not too late,” he told you. You are standing in the street by then, the shards of the clay pot embedded in your fingers, but he spoke to you as you sleepwalked to the door. “It’s never too late.”

It’s too late.”

It’s possible Mr Eaten is controlling Seekers through dreams, and using them as pawns to bring about his reckoning. The Seeker endgame appears to be getting the Name of Mr Eaten tattooed onto an arm, which is then presented as a sacrifice to the Lorn-Flukes to incite them into a destructive frenzy. It’s alternatively possible that being completely possessed by Mr Eaten is on the cards, given a few subtle references here and there. “Yer great waste of skin. I’d almost say ‘e’s welcome to yer, but I’m not that ‘ard, and I don’t reckon yer know what yer got yerself into. Even now.”

Well, there you have it, I suppose. What happened to Mr Eaten. I will admit some parts are rather sketchy and others murky and uncertain… but it’s the best guess I can give with the information we have. If anyone wants to debate or discuss anything here, feel free to send an ask or hit me up on the IRC, land of learned scholars and rat aficionados. I hope I’ve been informative, or at the very least entertaining. And remember! All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well. All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well. ALL SHALL BE WELL AND ALL SHALL BE WELL AND ALL MANNER OF THING SHALL BE WELL SHALL BE WELL. ALL SHALL BE WELL. ALL SHALL BE WELL. SHALL BE WELL. SHALL BE WELL. SHALL BE WELL. SHALL BE WELL. NOT POSTPONED. NOT IN THE END. NOT FOR LONG.