Outsider Chronicles: Dishonored Warden

When I died, the last thing I was expecting was to get reborn into a world of Magic, missing Gods and a mystical Blight that is lead by dragons. It certainly doesn't help that I got reborn as an Elf. Still, could be worse. At least with these powers of mine, I'll have an easier time against the Blight. Now if only this black eyed bastard would leave me alone.

Unsurprisingly, I've had a lot of suggestions to do an Outsider story with Dishonoured as a part of it. Well, here we are! In this case, the primary world is Dragon Age with our protagonist serving as the Outsiders latest puppet. He also happens to be the City Elf origin cus why the hell not? Also, this is handy cus the Fade is a lot like the Void. Hmm, I wonder if that means that the Outsider has some connection to the Maker...guess we'll have to find out! Enjoy!

Chapter 1

My death was as painful as it was humiliating, so I won't go into it. Instead, lets look forwards to my new life. Yep, I got reincarnated as a blatant kick in the nads to my new homes religion. Yeah, I hadn't been reborn into a nice safe place like my original homeworld, oh no, instead my new home is the Alienage in Denerim, Thedas. Yep, I got reborn as into the world of Dragon Age as a god damn City Elf. To make matters worse, I think I got my arse reborn as the Elven Origin considering my surname is Tabris. My first name isn't Darrian though, instead its Corvo.

Growing up was...hard. Frankly, I think thats a given, but it still has to be said. Scraping a living in the Alienage was incredibly tough, especially in the winter, but I always managed with the help of Soris and Shianni. It helped that I was very good at sneaking around and stealing, almost supernaturally so, to the point that I mastered my mothers teachings in no time flat. Good thing too because she was killed not long after I did. I don't think that my Father and Elder Valendrian really approved of my methods, but they didn't say anything. After all, its not like we had much of a choice in the matter if we wanted to live.

Eventually, the dreaded event rolled around and I was told that my Father had organized a marriage between me and a nice girl from Highever. Yeah, this day was gonna blow...it didn't help that, had I known what would happen before sundown, I wouldn't have bothered getting out of bed. Or willingly gone with Duncan.

"WAKE UP BIRD BRAIN!"

"GAH!"

The sudden yell in my ear made me jerk awake, resulting in me going tumbling out of bed to land on the hardwood floor with a crash.

"Ow."

I glared up at my Cousin, who was smirking down at me.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked.

Shianni snorted.

"Course it was," she said, "Now come on. Its your big day today."

I groaned and let my head fall back to the floor with a thump.

"Still not eager?" asked Shianni.

"Not really," I said, "I mean, I'm sure shes a nice girl, but I'm really not keen on marrying someone I've never met."

"Yeah well, tradition and all that," said Shianni.

I snorted.

"Stupid tradition," I grumbled.

I sighed and flipped to my feet.

"Well, guess I can't put it off any longer. Now get out so I can change."

"Aww, do I have to?"

I just gave her a flat look and pointed at the door.

"Fine."

Now alone, I let myself drop back onto my bed and rubbed my head.

"Well, I guess today I either die or become a Warden," I muttered, "Joy…"

I sighed and stood again, stepping across the room to pick up my prepared best for the wedding. As I got dressed, my mind shifted back to the dream I'd had the night before. It had been...odd to say the least. I couldn't remember many details, but there were a few things. Like floating islands and a general sense that reality was more of a suggestion than a concrete fact. Now, considering the world I was in, that wouldn't really be that surprising since even non-mages occasionally got a glimpse into the Fade when they slept, but this was different. While a normal person would likely have mistaken it for the Fade, I had some idea of what it would look like and I'm pretty sure that the Fade didn't have any whales swimming through it. After a few minutes thought however, I shrugged it off. I wasn't a mage, so it was probably nothing but an odd dream caused by nerves.

Now dressed, I left my room and greeted my Father, who looked incredibly proud of me. Not sure why though considering this entire thing was his doing. Still, he gave me some nice new boots and a box that was apparently from my Mother. Since they were nicer than my current ones, I quickly changed into my new boots and headed out to find Soris. Before I did that though, I wondered around the Alienage, accepting the congratulations and small change from my neighbors for my wedding. Eventually, I reached the Vhenadahl where I ran into Nessa and ended up dropping 5 silver so they could go to Highever and start anew. Call me paranoid, but I really didn't want them anywhere near Denerim considering what was going to be going down in the not too distant future.

With that done, I headed over to where Soris was stood near the exit to the Alienage.

"Well, if it isn't my lucky cousin," said Soris as I walked up to him, "Care to celebrate the end of our independence together?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Yes yes, ball and chain and whatever," I said, "Frankly, I'm just annoyed that I know bugger all about Nesiara."

I sighed.

"I know its tradition and all, but you'd think that Father would have chosen someone I actually know rather than a girl from another city entirely."

"You mean like Neria?" asked Soris with a grin.

I gave my cousin a flat look.

"Its been ten years since I last saw her and, need I remind you, we were FIVE!" I said.

"True, but you were always so damn adorable together," said Soris with a grin, before he sobered, "Still, its a shame she turned out to be a Mage. I think you two would have made a good couple."

I sighed.

As you probably guessed, Neria Surana was an old friend, as well as a likely candidate for the Mage origin. When we were kids, Soris, Neria, Shianni and I had lived close together and so got up to all our childish troublemaking together. Well, mostly just Shianni and I, with Soris acting as our lookout and Neria being too shy to really do anything but watch. Still, she was a good friend and I will admit to having a very childish crush on her at the time.

Soris patted me on the shoulder.

"Alright Corvo, lets go introduce you to your betrothed before you say I do," he said, "And try to look a bit happier. At least yours is a real knockout, not a mouse like mine."

I rolled my eyes again and elbowed him in the gut.

We started heading back to the Vhenadahl where our future brides were waiting when the doors leading into the city proper opened and a group of finely dressed Humans swaggered in. I scowled at the sight of them, as did Soris.

"Vaughan," growled my cousin as we watched him and his buddies eyed the women around them with lecherous grins.

"Its a party, right?" asked the arrogant noble, "Well, lets grab a whore and have a good time."

I growled and stalked towards the group as Vaughan's gaze fell on Shianni.

"Hmm, very nice, so young and vulnerable," he sneered.

"Touch me and I'll gut you pig," snarled my cousin.

"Please sir, we're celebrating a wedding," said one of the elves in the party, trying to defuse the situation without issue.

It didn't work.

"Silence worm!" snarled the noble, drawing back his hand to smack the Elf.

Before he could, I caught his wrist.

"Now now, no need for that," I said with a smile that didn't reach my eyes, "Today is supposed to be a happy one. Lets not mar it with bloodshed."

"Wha...release me maggot!" snarled Vaughan, trying to pull his hand free from my vice-like grip.

"OK."

I let him go, just as he attempted to tug his hand free, causing him to stumble back and trip over his own feet.

"Why you little…" snarled the arrogant noble as he took a step towards me.

Before he could do more than that however, his legs gave way and he fell face first to the floor.

"Oh dear, it seems that the young Lord has been taken ill," I said blandly, "I suggest you take him home so he can sleep it off."

The nobles friends quickly scooped up the unconscious moron and scurried out of the Alienage. As soon as they were out of sight, I turned to see both my cousins staring at me with raised eyebrows.

"What?"

"What did you do?" asked Shianni.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," I said with a smirk as I brushed past my cousins and continued back towards the tree.

Before I'd gone more than a few steps, Soris stopped me with a hand on the shoulder.

"We might have another problem," he hissed.

"Eh?"

"Another Human just walked in."

I turned and saw Duncan stood a short distance away.

"Could be one of Vaughan's or a random troublemaker, but we should move him along before someone does something stupid," said Soris.

I snorted.
"Small chance of that happening," I said, "I think thats Duncan of the Gray Wardens."

"How do you know that?" asked Shianni.

"Father mentioned him once," I said swiftly as I walked towards the Warden.

As I approached, he turned and looked me up and down. The glance was incredibly quick and it was only thanks to my practiced eyes of a thief that I was able to catch it.

"I understand that congratulations are in order for today," he said courteously with a slight bow.

"Er, thank you," said Soris, apparently taken a tad off guard by the Warden's good manners towards Elves, "However, I'm afraid I must ask you to leave."

"Ah, I am afraid I cannot just yet," said Duncan, "I am here seeking something important. However...I believe I may have just found it."

"Whats that supposed to mean?" asked Shianni, a tad aggressively.

"That is my buisness young lady," said Duncan, reproche clear in his tone.

"Alright alright, lets settle down," I said before my hot headed cousin could start a fight, "He hasn't done anything wrong as of yet, so there is no reason that we cannot accommodate him for a short while at least."

That earnt me a surprised look from my cousins and a calculating one from Duncan.

"Skilled and wise, you really are your Mothers son," said Duncan.

"You knew my Mother?" I asked.

Duncan nodded.

"I did. At one time I wished to recruit her, but unfortunately she turned me down. Truly a shame as she would have made a fine Warden."

"I see you haven't changed in all these years," said the Elder as he approached.

"Ah, I suppose I haven't," said Duncan.

"Even so, it is good to see you again my old friend," said the Elder, "Although I do wish that you'd stop trying to recruit my people."

"I do what I must, old friend."

The Elder gave Duncan a reproachful look, before ushering us over to the platform where the wedding was due to take place.

As expected, everything quickly went to hell when Vaughan and his goons reappeared, this time with armed guards and started snatching women and smacking around anyone who tried to get in his way.

"Get out of the way woman!" he snarled as he smacked the Revered Mother to the ground when she tried to stop him, "I will have these whores for my party!"

"You never learn, do you?" I growled as I stepped in front of my cousin and bride.

I may not like the idea, but that didn't mean I was about to let this bastard take her.

"Tabris, always playing the hero," sneered Vaughan, "I don't know what you did to me last time, but it won't work again."

His eyes slipped to over my shoulder and my eyes widened, but before I could react, something hard slammed into the back of my head and everything went black.

I groaned as consciousness slowly returned to me and with it, a pounding in my head. I slowly pushed myself to my hands and knees, wincing as I probed the back of my head and felt wet blood in my hair. That had hurt. I cursed myself for letting my guard down as I let my head rest on the cool flags beneath me as I tried to muster the will to stand.

I paused.

Wait, flagstones? There were no flagstones in the Alienage, all the floors wiere either wooden or dirt. I opened my eyes and, after a few blinks, the floor swam into being. Gray, uneven blocks made of what appeared to be granit. But that was impossible, there weren't any floors like this in Denerim. Granit was incredibly hard to work with after all. With curiosity, and no small amount of fear, now driving me and suppressing the pain and nausea, I slowly sat up and looked around. Or rather, I would have done if the sight directly in front of me hadn't frozen me in place. I was on a platform floating in a vast, gray void. It was mostly empty, but I could see a few other islands floating off in the distance with buildings that I vaguely recognized from Denerim, albeit twisted and broken.

"Wha...where am I?" I spluttered, "The Fade? No, thats not…"

"Hello Corvo."

I jumped at the unexpected voice and spun around, only to freeze when my gaze landed on its owner. Floating in mid air a short distance away, studying me curiously through jet black eyes, was a young looking man with short, brown hair and pale skin, wearing a brown coat, blue pants and black boots.

"How interesting," said the Outsider, "Not only do you share a name with my favorite piece, but you also share my title. Albeit with a different meaning."

My jaw worked as I tried desperately to string together a coherent sentence. Eventually, I managed it.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

I never said it was eloquent. The Outsider looked amused at my outburst.

"Yes, you are very interesting," said the Godlike being, "A being from another world, with knowledge of the future, both for your lands and those of Dunwall, although I highly doubt you'll ever find yourself there. Hmm, yes, your future is impossible for me to see and yet I know that you will be an integral part of this world. Perhaps you will even be able to right some wrongs committed. It is for this reason that I have chosen you."

He waved a hand and my left hand immediately started burning. I held it up and watched in horrified fascination as the Mark was burnt into the back of my hand.

"The Mages of your land draw their power from the Fade, the realm of my long dead predecessor, but you, my dear Outsider, will draw your power from here," said the Outsider, indicating to our surroundings, "Your power comes from the Void and me. However, do not believe that this is the limit of your power. If you wish, you could easily take your powers further, bringing light to a world engulfed in Darkness. Never allow your powers to stagnate, little Outsider, or you and all you care about will die."

"Well, thats a tad ominous," I muttered, "So, do you think you can send me back? Only, I have some friends to save before that bastard has his way with them."

The Outsider smiled.

"Oh, don't worry, I will make sure you can save them before that happens," he said, "But before you do, remember to check the box your Mother left you. I think you will find whats inside extremly useful."

I opened my mouth to ask what the hell that was supposed to mean, but before I could, reality seemed to twist and my eyes snapped open once again.

I sat bolt upright, startling Soris and my Father, who had been leaning over me, looking around wildly. I was back in my room.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Corvo, I don't…" started Father.

"How long!"

"About 10 minetes," said Soris, "But Corvo, they took…."

I threw back my covers and jumped out of bed, ignoring my Father and Cousins attempts to stop me.

"I'm fine," I said in response, "And I don't have time to wait around. I need to get going before anything happens to them."

I hurried over to my dresser where I had set the box my Father had given me that morning before going out. I undid the latch and opened it, only to pause when I saw what was inside.

"Well...this is certainly going to be useful," I said as I stared down at the blank, white mask with large, black eyeholes and a mouth curved into a smile with two stich marks on either side near the corners.

I carefully lifted out the mask to reveal what looked like a sword hilt and a palm sized piece of bone carved with the Outsiders mark resting on top of a neatly folded, black leather armour, as well as a pistol sized crossbow and a quiver of bolts. Somehow that didn't surprise me in the slightest. I picked up the hilt and, guided by some unknown instinct, spun it around my fingers. In response, a blade shot out, somewhere between a long dagger and a shortsword in length and sharp as a razor.

"Perfect," I said with a grin.

I left the Rune where it was, but took out the armour and weapons.

"Corvo, your not going to do anything foolish, are you?" asked Father as I quickly started to change into the armour.

"Now whatever gave you that idea?" I asked as I finished buckling up my new gloves.

The armour looked a heck of a lot like Shrouded Armour from Skyrim and, combined with the mask, made me look like some kind of angel of death.

"Your going to go save them, aren't you?" asked Soris.

"Yep," I said.

"I'm coming with you," he said, getting to his feet.

"No, your not," I said flatly, "I have no intention of going in the front and, while you can do it, your not meant for sneaking."

I smiled at my cousin and cut him off before he could protest.

"Trust me, I'll get them out," I said as I slipped the crossbow into its holster on my belt and picked up my mask, "Until then, hold down the fort."

"But…" started Soris, but Father put a hand on his shoulder, cutting him off.

"Be careful son," he said.

I nodded and gave a thumbs up.

"I always am," I said as I put on the mask and stepped into the shadows, instantly vanishing from view.

And done. I was tempted to end it when the Outsider first showed up, but decided to go on for a bit longer. For those interested, yes, Dunwall and Karnaca are indeed present in this world, but they are a long, long way away from Thedas.

No, the armour is not actually the Shrouded Armour, it just looks like it. The mask he wears is based on the one worn by John Doe, so just look at my Avatar if you want to know what it looks like.

Hmm, I wonder what other powers the Outsider could have been talking about? Are they relevant? Maybeeee~.

Anyway, I'm done since I wanna go to bed. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!