The Chandler

ASPECTS
???
GENERAL INFORMATION
ARCANA	-
ORIGIN	None (yet)
PRONOUNS	She/He/They
"Most hours are gods-from-Light, or gods-who-were-blood, or god-who-were-flesh, or gods-from-Stone, or gods-from-Nowhere. The Chandler is none of these, yet." Alexis Kennedy
OTHER TITLES
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WF Catalogue Entry

'Who carries fire in darkness; Who leaves a place without entering it; Whose endeavours are profitable'

The Chandler is a mysterious "future" Hour who does not yet have any of the standard origins. She first appears in the dreams of the player during the Apostle Entheate Legacy, and is expected to become an Hour in the future. Likely has Lantern as an aspect due to her connection to the Pilgrimage. While most Hours are said to have no more than three aspects, the Witness and Chandler claim otherwise, and likely have five each.

Events

• The Pilgrimage: The Chandler’s secret pilgrimage will gather the people that were discarded as “wax and eggshells” by those who sought to join the Watchman’s Pilgrimage for the Second Dawn, assembling them in the image of “one who watches and does not act”, who is assumed to be the Witness.

Servants

• Wickel Inextinguishable: A Name of the Chandler that was imprisoned in the Cucurbit. Its energies attracted the worm-infested, who broke the seals keeping its power in check only to be destroyed themselves. Once free it went on to kill Governor George Collers and any who stood in its way. Wickel is described as "the Sun's bastard grandchild", "the Leashed flame's true heir", and "the first spark of the Second Dawn". In its cell is a stone describing the Sun's plan.

• Saint Mihail: A Name of the Chandler, who is currently trapped in a coffin in the city of Cluj.

Relationships

• The Flowermaker: While their exact relationship is currently unclear, it is said that "If flowers are flame, the earth is their fuel" and "the Chandler can bring the spark to ignite the flame". This may imply that the Flowermaker would benefit from the Chandler's coming ascension.

• The Moth: It is said that "Where the Chandler will pass, Moth will pass before him." and they seem to hold mirrored positions as hunters in the Wood.

• The Watchman: The Hour who will lead the Pilgrimage expected to herald the Second Dawn, which the Chandler’s own secret pilgrimage is tied to. Sunset Celia, a Name of the Watchman, is somehow related to the Chandler.

• The Witness: These two Hours are often mentioned alongside one another, and seem to have a number of similarities.

Real-World References

• The use of both male and female pronouns in reference to the Chandler could be a reference to the concept of the alchemical androgyne. The Chandler may also be the product of a "chemical wedding" between Sunset Celia and the Swan King.
  • To further elaborate on the alchemical androgyne: the "filius philosophorum" ("philosophers' child") was a symbol representing the Philosopher's Stone; alchemical perfection, and the perfect result of a "chemical wedding." The filius philosophorum was depicted as an androgynous infant, whose androgynous anatomy represented perfect harmony and a potential which exceeds either gender on their own. Alchemical texts describe the filius philosophorum variously as the symbolic child of the "Red King" (Sun) and "White Queen" (Moon); of the hermaphroditic god Hermes (possibly representing Hermes Trismegistus); of the three-fathered Orion; or as a child hatched from an egg (possibly relating to the "Cosmic Egg" or "Orphic Egg"). The filius philosophorum is known across Hermetic texts by various other names, including the "filius sapientiae" ("child of wisdom"), the "infans noster" ("our child"), "infans solaris" ("sun child"), "infans lunaris" ("moon child"), and "infans solaris lunaris" ("sun moon child").

Other Notes

• One line of text posted in the Cultist Simulator discord as promotional material includes the phrase, “THE CHANDLER COMES”.
• Names of the Chandler and the Witness claim that other worlds with other Manses exist. Note that this also means that Names of the Chandler exist already or have some influence, despite being a “future” Hour.
• In an outdated developer doc for Book of Hours, she was shown to enjoy strange combinations and arrangements of Lore and for books to be sold.

Theories and Questions

• One theory has been that the Chandler is an Hour from one of the other Manses mentioned briefly, or one which will arrive eventually.
• She may also have a connection to Hokobald of Pocsind, for in the book My Deeds, My Power, My Achievements... has him rhetorically ask "Who is the fire, and who the fuel". This quote is very similar to a question in "The Glint and the Wick", which says "What is the flame, and what the fuel?"
• It is implied in Book of Hours that it is possible for the librarians to influence the Histories depending on how they record and present information. If it is possible to influence the past from the present in such a manner, then perhaps the Chandler is similarly influencing the present from the future.
• The Chandler is referred to in masculine, feminine and ambiguous pronouns, perhaps an indication of its nature as a not-yet-real Hour.
• Despite being unborn, the Chandler's Names are already active in the world, further suggesting that it is trying to change the present to ensure its own birth.

Sources