From IoD Lost

The Freehold of the Riven Smoke

St Mary le Strand church

The Door to the Freehold of the Riven Smoke is set at St Mary le Strand church, set on a traffic island in the Strand. The Freehold was formed in 1984, by Tommy Two Times, or Tommy D, a Winter Courtier who became the first Night Watchman.

The current Laws of the Freehold of the Riven Smoke can be found here.

The Courts of London

Spring

• Zenica - Known to have close ties to the Spring Tower.
• Page - Newly sworn to the Season, Page is still a rather timid Darkling.

Summer

• Aidan - Summer Monarch of London
• Sam Smith - Night Watchman of London
• Steampunk - Ambassador to the Hobs
• Nothing - A member of the notorious Bellringers

Autumn

• Mr. Sleete - Self-appointed Constable of London. One of leading members of the Bellringers, known to be a man who can help you deal with your Fetch. Probably permanently.
• Smoke - Though not seen in several months, this former Moon Courtier was the last Autumn Monarch.
• Ethan Morgaine - Autumn Monarch, in the days of Tommy D.
• Adrianne - Playwright, fortune teller, and possibly just trouble.
• Fiver - Prophet and Seer, know to vary from completely lucid to mad as a hatter...

Winter

Drago Dokic - the current Winter Monarch of London, Drago has a reputation for being both brooding and lethal.

Courtless

Westminster - An Ogre Margrave of the Brim, who is seldom seen at gatherings.

Others

• Chen, also known as 'Cunning Rat' - The First Ambassador from the Directional Freehold of Chinatown made a mark by bounding in and referring to Aleksander Sokol as 'Venerable Monkey'.

• Shen - This Fairest Draconic is a rather more sedate representative of the Directional Freehold of Chinatown.

• Jenny Egret - A member of the Blackbird Bishops, a member of the Spring Court and a resident of London. She has so far refused to swear to the Freehold of the Riven Smoke.

• Lady Rook - A member of the Blackbird Bishops, a member of the Winter Court and a resident of London. She has so far refused to swear to the Freehold of the Riven Smoke.

• Aria - Former Spring Monarch, now returned to Arcadia in the company of the Lord of Darken Fel

• Carin - Former Spring Courtier of London, then revealed as a Loyalist. Now deceased.

• Good Doug - A former member of the Hedgerow Cavaliers, this Beast was Carin's Truefriend, and was universally regarded as being completely insane.

Prominent Locations

• The Freehold of the Riven Smoke. In the mortal world, the Freehold is based around St Mary le Strand church, which is set on a traffic island in the middle of the strand.

• The Spring Tower. The Spring Tower is set in an area of the Hedge that roughly corresponds to the west of London. In the Hedge it is a giant tree, with a many roomed treehouse set in its branches, and picnic benches set out beneath it.

• The Summer Grove. The Summer Grove is set in an area of the Hedge that roughly corresponds to the south of London. Some claim that the trees in the grove have nooses hanging from them, and the bodies of those who have betrayed the Freehold will all ultimately end up hanging there.

• The Autumn Barrow. The Autumn Barrow is set in an area of the Hedge that roughly corresponds to the east of London.

• The Winter Ruins. The Winter Ruins are set in an area of the Hedge that roughly corresponds to the north of London.

• Bermondsey Antiques Market. There are Doors there which lead to the largest of the Goblin Markets of the area.

• Chinatown. A large contingent of Directional Courtiers have set up a home here.

Goblin Markets

• Bermondsey Market. The largest Goblin Market in London, almost anything can be bought and sold here. The Lost of London frequently meet in one of the large sheds at the back of the Market.

News

The History of London

Before there was the Freehold of the Riven Smoke, there was the Freehold of the Serpentine. Many changelings gathered there - content, prosperous, safe. Or so they thought. In 1972, the year of Nixon's betrayal, this all fell apart. The Gentry came. They razed the Freehold, tore apart Hollows, reclaimed a full third, or more, of the changelings of London.

London was broken, its Lost scattered and none knew why until 1984. In 1984, Thomasa Delgano and Santa Maria came crawling back from Arcadia. They told the story of what they had seen, of the Fat and the Thin King, the changeling who had been Monarch in London, raised up by the Fae for his actions, revealed as a servant of the very things he had meant to protect his subjects from.

Delgano, now known as 'Tommy D' or 'Tommy Two Times' swore he would never let this happen again. He founded a new Freehold - the Freehold of the Riven Smoke. He established that there would be a Monarch for each season, and more importantly, a Night Watchman, to watch over them all, and ensure that a betrayal like that of the Fat and the Thin King could never happen again.

Santa Maria vanished around 1985, not to be heard from again.

Between 1985 and 1987, the four Monarchs and the Night Watchman raised up four Towers in the Hedge, which seemed to form some kind of perimeter around London, within which the Hedge shifted less and was less hostile than outwith. Spring was raised first under Magdalena and then the rest in sequence as the years progressed.

In 2005 Hobs began to settle in the stabilized Hedge, and about the same time, the name of 'the Babushka' became known in that selfsame area and recognized as some kind of wise woman amongst the hobs. No one knows where these hobs came from, but they have stayed settled in the London area ever since.

Changeling Venue Information

London Lost runs on the second Sunday of every month, from 1 pm until 5 pm. New players are very welcome - feel free to contact either the VST or the VC for any further details.

To contact the London Lost VST, please email Reb Kennedy

To contact the London Lost VC, please email Neill Cram