Lore

Added in version 0.821 of No Haven, Lore Unlocks are small bits of lore about the No Haven/Whorelock's Revenge universe. These can be gained by talking with your slavers, or rarely during a day's morning, and can be reviewed under the Stats option of the portrait menu.

Currently, while the Lore Unlocks option will show you which Lore bits you've seen or haven't seen (and what traits or races are required), it does not appear to be possible to re-read the actual text of the Lore. So for the present, this page will be used to record them for those wishing to view them at a later date.

Leviathan, the living city
"You ever been to Leviathan, Chosen?" Malthine asks.

"No," you say, remembering some of the many tales of the ancient living city-bridge so large it crosses the narrowest part of the Dreadsea and allowing the long road to bypass the insanely perilous Deep Mountains. "You?"

"Once," she admits. "Not in any hurry to make that trip again."

"The smell, or all that twisted bone and flesh?" you guess.

"For miles, and miles," she says, with a visible flinch. "I know some people say it was a single creature once which must be nonsense, and yet even if it was just several joined together... I still don’t even want to consider that there could be more living things even half that big lurking in the Dreadsea."

Not an idea you’re keen to dwell on either.

Quellini
"So Quellini," Atomy says, apparently preoccupied by something.

"City just over the narrow bit of the Dreadsea Coast," you note, "Why do you bring it up?"

"That name sounds kinda Fancy, right?" he says.

You're not entirely sure where they're going with this, but you agree that it does a bit.

"But the isle of Fancy isn't even in the Dreadsea," Atomy says, shaking their head. "It's countless leagues away off the west coast."

"And?"

"Well, don't you think it's weird then that there's this Fancy founded city so near here?"

You think about it, and then shrug. "Maybe there was just some well-traveled noble or something," you say eventually. "Anyay, sure it's a good distance, but it's nothing compared to the entirety of the long road from the west coast to the east."

How to get to Cathay
(Note: Based on the text, this is probably not the correct lore for this category)

"I swear that can't be right, Jarl" Theo says, and sighs exasperatedly. "I just can't make sense of it."

"What's the problem?" you ask.

"One of others is convinced that the Ever Forest stretches well beyond both the northern and southern borders," he says, clearly annoyed. "But how come we don't know how far it stretches, and yet we can reach the sea to the west, as otherwise we wouldn't have trade ships able to reach the isle of Fancy."

"You're both right," you say, "The land as you head north spreads out a lot to the west to the point it touches the Verdant Ocean which encircles the west coast, the isle of Fancy and some of the other island cities. The Ever Forest though continues even further west under to the point it arcs back around to be part of the both the north and oversea again to the Frost Wastes, so if you travelled far enough directly north from here overland you'd find yourself back to the Ever Forest."

Theo's forehead crinkles. "Wait, so does it go under the sea too?"

You nod. "That's what people say," you agree. "Apparently in some places all the underwater growth is so tall that it bursts right out of the Verdant sea making exploring with ships to the west just as impossible as it would be overland. I've heard tales that even if you could use a small enough boat to float between the thickly growing kelp you'd be easy prey to the strange peoples that somehow manage to live out there."

On Incubi in Bars
You're not sure how you got onto the subject, but it's clearly something that Zei has thought a lot about.

"You know why incubi scare people so badly, My Lord?" she says, with wide eyes. "A succubus in a bar, maybe she's got some innocent soul with his arm around her waist to thoroughly corrupt upstairs, maybe she's just one of the tavern wenches, and maybe she's just there for a quiet drink."

"That sounds about right," you agree.

"Now an incubus," she says, and swallows hard. "An incubus would always have some wench bent over a table while having every single one of the other wenches, any female patrons unlucky enough to be there that night, and the owner's wife and daughter all prostrate and powerless to resist denying him anything. Each one would be begging shamelessly in a lustful chorus to be taken and be permitted the honour to next receive the blessing of his demonic seed, and through all that the owner and any other non-female patrons and staff present would all have absolutely no idea that their tavern had so swiftly become a depraved temple of lust to a dark god that walks amongst them unseen."

"But that's just a story," you say, having heard similar lascivious tales before. "They were all hunted down and banished by the purifiers. Anyway, if there was one around they'd be gone again like that." You snap your fingers. "No one wants the incubi back. Even most of those dedicated to the darkest faiths out there have better sense than that."

"Right..." she says, her cheeks still flushed.

On Elves and Ogres
"Y'know, what?" Theo says, with a slowly widening grin. "I reckon that elves must have been made to be sex slaves, Sister"

"This an attempt to justify our line of work?" you ask dubiously.

Theo shakes his head. "No, just think about it," he says. "The males look just as pretty as the ladies. They live for a good few centuries if you take care of them, and you can breed them with anything without a problem if you keep them off the remedy."

"That is odd," you admit. "Wait, how about ogres? They're just as indiscriminate with who they can intermingle with. Not exactly the first race I'd have thought of to be designed solely for the pleasure of others."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about them too," he says, his eyes full of stars. "I'm more convinced than I was before now."

Huh, apparently Theo likes his slaves to be on the larger side. Good to know.

On the Name of the Empire
"I don't get why everyone calls it the human empire, Babe" Elfanniel says. "Do we not count?"

"Not any more," you note, pointedly looking around your encampment.

Elfanniel runs a hand over her face. "You know what I mean."

"Well, most of the noble types are humans, as the ones that haven't paid for their titles, supposedly have lineages running back to before the empire," you say. "And all the major cities are at least half human."

"Hmm, might be down to the Light zealots attempts to crack down on remedy," she says, with a scowl. "Nothing they'd like more than lots more worshippers to hold back all that naughty depravity."

"You do know there's ways round that than just drinking remedy everyday, right?"

"Sure," she says, taking a sip from the mug in her hand. "But you can't deny that it's one of the most effective." Elfanniel breathes out a long contented sigh. "Tastiest too."

The War Oversees: The Promises of the Empire
"Why do you think the soldiers never come back from across the Dreadsea, My Lady?" Theo asks, pursing his lips. "I know the empire make a big thing about how you get new land to settle on with very generous assistance for when you're done, but you'd think there'd be some that wouldn't be up for that after their fifteen years."

"Have you got family who have taken the offer?" you ask, trying to keep your voice gentle. "Or maybe a lover?"

Theo just glares at you.

"Okay, okay," you say, putting your hands up in surrender. "None of my business."

The tension leaves his shoulders. "You're right," he says flatly. "It's not."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," you say reassuringly. "Maybe they're warring against armies of amazons gagging to be taken by anyone who can prove themselves strong enough to master them, and they all get to retire with their own personal harem of captured and desperately submissive beauties."

Theo chuckles. "Thanks, I needed that."

On Remedy
Crystal sighs happily over her  steaming mug of remedy. "Maybe the Shallyans really are right that there's a goddess up there that just wants to takes care of everyone," she she says. "If it wasn't for this lovely aromatic leaf growing everywhere I swear I wouldn't be able to cope at all with the mornings."

"Well, that and we'd have to deal with half the encampment having bulging bellies all the time," you note wryly. "Also where's my cuppa then?"

"Ain't that the truth, Miss" she replies, with a wicked grin playing on her lips and ignoring the fact she hasn't got you a hot mug of your own. "Does wonders for your skin too. No idea how they cope in the cities where they have to import the stuff."

"I think they have to rely on those funny little rubber things," you note, eyeing her mug meaningfully to suggest maybe she'd like to boil you up some at her first possible convenience. If underlings aren't for getting tea when you need one then just what is the point, you wonder to yourself.

"Can't imagine how one of those would wake you up properly," she says, and winks.

On the Intelligence of Dragons
"Can't believe how worked up people get about dragons, Sister" Kerri says, as she stares off towards the horizon lined by the Deep Mountains. "They're just animals."

"Got to admit that they're impressive, even if they are just animals," you say. "Rare too given that most will go their whole lives without even seeing one far off overhead in the distance."

Kerri rolls her eyes. "Plenty of rare creature and monsters," she says. "And yet nobody gets all gooey over them."

"Well, they're supposed to be incredibly intelligent," you point out. "Some say they can even talk."

"That's just a myth," she says, shaking her head. "They're no smarter than wyverns. They just have two more limbs, are prettier, and can breathe fire, lightning, or whatever."

You just give Kerri a look.

"Alright, I'll concede that the breathing fire and stuff is impressive."