DISCLAIMER: Bethesda/Arkane own Dishonored and related characters/locations.
THE WHALER'S TALE
Chapter the Third
in which Daud learns the ways of the Outsider.
Daud lay panting on the dirty floor, his ragged clothes drenched in sweat.
What the hell was that?, he thought, his mind numb. Did I - did I just meet the Outsider?
He remembered the tattoo, and unconsciously, his eyes drifted to his hand, where he could almost detect a phantom pain. It was like something flitting away that he could just see through the corner of his eye; there, and yet not there. At first, he was speechless; once he recovered, he rubbed at his eyes and incredulously stared when what wasn't supposed to be there refused to disappear. On the back of his hand was branded an elaborate mark in thin, long strokes of midnight blue ink, a brand of the deity who'd invaded his dreams. The Mark of the Outsider.
The overwhelming impossibility of it all crushed down upon him, and he felt weary, as though he'd run a marathon all around the island.
"Damn this," he whispered to himself, and looked at his leg. It was still chained to the wall, but now he knew exactly how to escape. Daud looked around, until he found what he was looking for: a small white rat scuttled around in a dusty corner. He knelt so that he could look at it, and focused his mind, reciting a soothing mantra in his native tongue, Serkonan. The rat, attracted by the noise, looked to Daud.
Daud's hand burned, and he felt his body crumble like moist beach sand in the breeze. Then he was no longer himself, and he was small, barely two inches tall, a small, scurrying white rat. As a rat, he was able to dart into small rat-holes, but this body was fragile, and his Possession of it was sickening it. It would die soon, he knew, and so he moved quickly.
The rat scampered down a hole, exiting the other end into the Karnacan streets. From there, he raced down the pavement and down a drainpipe, entering a bathroom stall at the end of his journey.
Daud emerged from his transformation, blinking as he readjusted his senses, and then smiled.
"Step one: escape," he murmured to himself. "Check. Step two: revenge ..."
Six months had passed.
Daud had spent the time training, learning to use his new powers. He was sure that the Outsider had some ulterior motive in choosing to gift him his Mark, but for now, Daud had put that asid. He put his heart and soul, body and mind, into learning how to effectively work with his powers. The first one he'd mastered was the power of Possession. He could use this to magically enter the body of another. Right now, he could only possess weak-minded animals, like fish, birds, and the occasional rat.
The second power Daud gained was the power to dematerialise, and reappear in another location. This was much less tricky than Possession, and he had already learnt how to move quickly across short distances. It would be helpful for sneaking up on his captors and shoving blades into their throats from behind without anyone noticing him. Right now, he was working on using this power.
Daud stood on a rooftop. His loose jacket billowed gently in the wind. He focused on the rooftop across him.
I want to be there.
He sprinted off the roof, not thinking of the ten-metre drop to the street, and fell through the air. The air around him thinned and he felt his hand burn fiercely as he disintegrated, his body becoming one with the wind. He was the wind. Daud blew upwards, reaching a non-existent hand out to the roof, and, just as he felt the searing heat in his hand fade, he rematerialised, clutching at air. Daud fell on to the cobbled roof, grunting in pain as his shoulder slammed against cold stone. As he recovered, he sat up, looking across, and saw the roof he'd been on just seconds ago.
Daud smiled.
The City Library and Archives. Just another name of a small, dingy back-alley bookseller.
It was a small, dilapidated building, probably once a slum-house like all the other dwellings around it. Some literate fool had bought it, and decided to start up a business as a bookseller, despite the fact that hardly anyone in the surrounding area knew how to read. This was probably the reason for the poster pasted up on the windows, the one that read 'CLOSING SALE: AMAZING DEALS FROM 10%-60% DISCOUNTS ON ALL TOMES, NOVELS AND ASSORTED SCROLLS'.
Daud had a very specific reason for visiting the City Library. He refreshed his memory once more as he walked in the suffocatingly small store. A few middle-class citizens were milling around, browsing idly through thick, wordy books, and scrolls bound with leathery ribbons. But Daud knew the book he wanted, and where it would be; the Outsider had come to him in a dream the previous night, told him that he would find this book here in this place. Oddly specific commands from the strange godlike being, but Daud had decided it might be in his best interests to do as the other-worldly being had ordered. So here he was, picking up a thick scroll of parchment. It was bound differently from the others; a large bronze lock was shut around it, the key hanging from a tassel in the side. Daud unlocked it, noting to himself as he did that it was composed of fifty or so leaves printed on in emerald ink, each rolled up to create the complete scroll. He read the title: Codex Extraria: Pagan Outsider Rituals, Carved Whalebone Devices and Sea Serpents, proclaimed the first page of the series of scrolls. It was the one he was looking for. Daud locked it once more with the clasp and walked out of the store coolly.
"Thief! Thief!"
The store-keeper began to shout at the top of his voice, pointing at Daud. The teenager broke into a run, pushing past other civilians and jumping over obstacles. Confronted with a brick wall, he quickly looked around. Just as a few guards ran up to him, his body melded into nothingness. A breeze touched their faces, and then Daud reappeared on a rooftop. He ducked behind a chimney, as the confounded guards searched for him in the nearby houses.
His mission done, Daud withdrew a page from the Codex at random, and began to read.
The Powers of the Outsider
The Outsider, if he chooses to do so, may visit one's dreams, and bestow upon them a devilish Mark. This Mark thus grants one access into the most fearful abilities of the Outsider.
- Transversal
- The power to conduct oneself through the environment within seconds by otherworldly means is known as Transversal. It may be used for evasive means, for quick transport, and as a way to draw attention to oneself. The mechanics of the spell are such: one sees not where they want to be, but instead in their minds' eye, visualises themselves lighter than air and faster than thought. This causes their physical body to sink away into the Void for a second as the Void (long believed to be parallel to our world). The physical body then moves to the corresponding location in the Void, from wherefore it reforms itself in our world in the location desired.
Hmm, interesting, Daud thought to himself, skipping ahead.
- Vision Most Dark in nature
- The second sight, as it is called, is a peculiar gift. It allows one to perceive human bodies and their sight through walls, as well as items of interest. If rituals as described on the three-hundred-and-ninety-sixth page are performed with several runes of whalebone, the second sight might also allow for more power being granted to the one who uses it so. It is unknown as to the nature of this ability's more powerful levels, but it is said that one who is proficient in the arts of the Outsider can see 'within and unto the intentions, whether immoral, amoral, or of good nature, of other persons he perceives'.
Page three hundred and ninety six ... Daud found that each side of each separate leaf was divided into ten pages. He flicked through until he found the desired page, and skimmed over the details of the ritual. It was short and simple, and, he suspected, he could easily perform it and gain the 'second sight'. What an unwieldy name ... It needs something short and snazzy, like ... how about Dark Vision? Alright ... now to perform the ritual.
By now, the guards were probably all gone. It was sunset, he realised as he looked into pink, shimmering clouds. The ritual was to be performed on the night of the new moon for the best results, so he decided to wait for that night until he performed it. Two days. Just enough time to do some more reading and find out more about what he could do.
And, of course, he would plan his revenge.
THE WHALER'S TALE: to be continued ...