A Deal He Cannot Refuse
Corvo Attano stood rigid in the night air. His stance strong and proud as the breeze felt its way across his features. Long ago was his assassin's mask, and long ago were the days of terror that struck the city, drowning it in a plague carried by vermin. Now he sported a simple coat, adorned with the logo of the new age, and the new vision for the empire. A pair of well worn leather pants covered his legs, held secure by a belt that fit his sheath, the sword that he held in honor of his empress never leaving his side. Empress Emily was rightfully in charge, and after only a few years, the city of Dunwall, a once magnificent marvel in the eyes of men, began to gather its splendor.
Now, after thirty years, Corvo looks upon the city of Dunwall from his balcony high in Dunwall tower. Before him, the city felt alive. Building were no longer in shambles, stained with the writings of the rebels, defiant in their agony. The streets, paved with care, carried various automobiles, each one traveling to a different destination. The sight made him proud… proud to have played his role in saving his empress, and proud to have served her for so long, watching each success pass by.
Just after Emily was put back onto the throne, she was not met with just a little challenge. Empires from afar, learning of the great Empire Ilse and how weak they were, decided to bring their armies. Empress Emily Kaldwin did not waste time in taking measures against her attackers. She appointed Corvo to lead the army in the defense of Dunwall and all of the Empire Isle.
Hardened after this war, Emily took it upon herself to bring a new vision onto her Empire, and thus began her true reign. Her new vision taking shape year after year. Dunwall City began anew, a school borne from Emily’s vision. This school brought new ideas, and new technology, and for years to come,The Outsider did not show his face, not even when Corvo found one of his shrines.
Corvo looked down, turning his hand to show the mark of The Outsider. This “gift” that was bestowed upon him by The Outsider had helped him practically tear down a city, then helped to rebuild it. Corvo never lost his abilities, and they never grew weak on him, but only got more and more potent as he found The Outsider’s runes. All these years and the Outsider had kept silent, but not today. The mark on his left hand was glowing, and he could feel a strong pull toward the shrine that was placed inside of the tower. Corvo did not know what to feel about this, but the pull seemed to grow in strength every minute.
So here he was, standing outside on his balcony, taking one last look at Dunwall, the home of his empress, before investigating The Outsider’s intentions.
It was time, and with a thought, Corvo vanished from sight in a puff of black particles…
...and reappeared before the shrine. Immediately Corvo could tell that something was wrong, for the figure that appeared, floating over the shrine was a but a shadow of what The Outsider was. Though his face was still there, The Outsider was lacking most of his body, looking as if it had been torn to shreds, black viscous liquid flowing from places that should have been covered by ethereal skin. The usually stoic, expressionless face that he wore, though held high, was filled with rage.
Corvo was taken aback, speechless at the sight.
“Corvo Attano, my most interesting friend. As you can see, I am not doing Well.” The Outsider said, his voice was strained and angry. “My current state is do to a creature that i could not recognize that entered the void, my domain. This creature began to tear down my work, and when I confronted it, it produced a power that matched my own. I was caught off guard, but I managed to banish it before it could kill me, but only just. For over ten years, i have been healing, but his spell is still suppressing my ability to do so.” The Outsider seemed to take a deep breath, releasing some of the pain and anger from his face.
“I suppose you have a new task of me?” Corvo asked. “I am not as young as I used to be.”
The Outsider looked down at him. “I have a new deal for you. When I banished this creature, I kept the portal to his world open. Though my body is taking more time to heal than is comfortable for me, my power is still vast. If you accept this deal, I will give you your youth back, all of your energy and more. I need you to find this creature for me corvo. Bring it to me, dead or alive, it does not matter to me.”
Corvo turned the words around in his head. He could not say that he wanted his youth back, as he did not miss the days he spent behind a mask as an assassin. His body was not forgiving him for those days, though. Even though Corvo’s powers were still great, his old age had his body aching. The deal was tempting, but Corvo had more reason to stay at his empress’s side.
“I can tell you are worried for Emily, but I can assure you that my influences will keep her safe from harm. In addition to your youth, I will even break my own laws, the laws of the void, and let you have contact with the late Empress Jasmine kaldwin”
Corvo stopped thinking. The words that were just spoken refused to leave his mind. It had been so long since that day. The Heart of a Living Thing was an embodiment of her personality, of her voice and memories, and may have been carved from her chest and made into this, but he had not really been in the presence of the woman that he had sworn to protect all those years ago.
“I trust that this intrigues you. My promise is set, and all you must do is accept the my de-”
“I will do it.” Corvo interrupted, eyes full of confidence.
The Outsider simply looked at him, studying this human before him. “Then you must say your goodbyes to Emily. Come back to this shrine and i will set you on your way. There is some details that I feel I must share with you before you begin your mission.” With that, The Outsider turned to mist, disappearing from view.
Corvo steeled himself, the mark on his hand glowing. In an instant, he found himself before Empress Emily.
“Corvo!” Emily exclaimed, surprised at the sudden appearance of her Lord Protector. “You look as though you have seen a gho- what has happened?” She asked, noticing the look on Corvo’s face.
“The Outsider.” Corvo said. “The Outsider has asked me to help him.”
Emily looked at him quizzically, as she had not heard of The Outsider asking for help before, and she has heard the stories. “How can this be? You said yourself that you have not seen The Outsider in thirty years.”
“He called to me just now, and I went to his shrine. He was there, waiting for me. Something nearly killed him.” Corvo said. Emily stood from her chair.
Walking to Corvo, she spoke: “He has asked you to seek the thing that hurt him. What will you do if I say you are forbidden from it?”
Corvo didn't miss a beat. “He has given me a deal that I cannot refuse. I do not think it wise to let you know the extent of this deal. I am sorry Empress Emily Kaldwin, but I must be going now.”
Emily stood before Corvo, her eyes furious, but they softened. Lord Protector Corvo Attano, I will not stop you from your quest. You have served this City, this Empire well. You may do whatever you think is best.” Emily said, moving to hug the man that had saved her life, giving it new meaning.
Corvo hugged her back, but he felt that there was no time to waste. He pulled away from Emily, looking deep into her eyes, then disappeared from her sight.
Again, Corvo found himself before the shrine, and to his surprise, his gear lay there; the assassin’s mask, the heart that whispered the secrets from the hearts of men, and a large collection of bone charms. The shrine began to light up.
The Outsider showed his disfigured from, his face still contorted in that angry fashion. “The portal to this world that the creature comes from is still open, but it will not be open for much longer. I can still feel power coming from it, as if the air itself on the other side is permeated with large amounts of power. This power impresses even me, as it is the same as the power that the void is made from, but it seems less dense and has not let up for ten years. The place you will be going is not like this place, and i fear it is a dark and war ridden place, dangerous for even the most powerful of those who bear my mark. That is why I have come to you, one of my most interesting subjects. You may not come back from this, for even I do not know what lies beyond this portal. The creature that attacked me was an abomination, holding features of many different animals. It was long, proportioned like the dragons of old. That is all that I can tell you.” he finished, raising his hand.
A flash of light shown before Corvo, and a then it took shape, forming a circle, then a cone as it seemed to gain dimension. The hole in reality was as tall as he was, colored in bright blues and purples. Corvo looked back toward The Outsider, “I am holding you to your promise.” He said.
And I am eager to meet the one who nearly killed me, be it only his head, or whole. I can only keep this portal open for a limited time. I am predicting it to last for about eight days before it becomes too unstable for my power to hold it. This beast is powerful, and you will need every bit of skill and knowledge at your disposal, so I give you your youth.
The mark of Corvo’s hand glowed, then suddenly shined bright.
The signal has been cast. The order to attack given. Now is the time to shine in the glory of the Changeling Queen Chrysalis. She was fighting the foolish princess in her palace, and from what can be heard from the orders that are flowing through the air, his queen was winning.
Oh how he wished he could see this fight! But for now, his job is to follow his squad leader in the scouting of the valley below the great palace that would soon be his home. Though he did not like it, as Kript the changeling was a warrior, a fighter among his brethren, he had his orders.
It was not long before his squad found a small group of those delicious ponies huddled together in the Valley, close to a tree line. Just like they had practiced many times, his squad leader let loose a magical signal telling the squad to transform into one of the innocent, ignorant creatures.
His squad obeyed, as did he, and they approached, calling out to the group, who was mesmerized and filled with fear at the barrier that held the army away was slowly being broken down by the constant chipping of the Changeling grunts.
They covered the ground between them and this group of ponies with haste, and when the came into range, the squad leader gave a second signal, telling the squad to take their original forms and take to arms.
Oh how it made him feel alive! This was what he was made for, what he was born for! He took on his original form, a black carapace, blue, menacing wings, and bright, glowing blue eyes. His eyes were not filled with anger, but filled with pure joy. He couldn't help but grin as he charged, his horn glowing that beautiful green glow.
He shot a bolt of energy at the largest one, a stallion over twice his height. That did not matter, though, for he was a born fighter, and his shot ran true, striking the stallion in his chest, directly into his heart. The big foolish creature fell with a hard thud, a mare screamed in horror, but that was nothing for him to worry about.
It did not take long to kill any of these foolish ponies that tried to fight back, and imprison any others that cowered, stricken by fear. Kript had killed three of the group, and the leader was yelling at him, but that was only a mere annoyance. His mind was clear now, only fighting remaining, and there was a bug…
…And this bug was annoying. Cold as ice, he charged his horn.
“KRIPT!” The annoying bug hissed. “Stand down you fool! I will give the order to ki-”
The annoying bug was trying to say something but it was all for naught, and it only took a moment as he fired his shot. His skill with the energy bolt was far superior than most of his brethren, and he was fast. The bolt shot from his horn and bore a hole into the annoying bug’s eye. Kript smiled when there was silence once more. Then he turned to face his “squadmates,” his smile widening as they took their stances, hissing their anger at him.
It took Corvo a few moments to realize that he was pushed through the portal, losing consciousness during the process. His mind was riddled with pain and confusion, his ears ringing, but in the distance he could hear screaming, hissing and even what sounded like flesh being ripped-
Corvo shot to attention, his body responding faster than he had expected.Beside him, he saw his long trench coat, his mask perched neatly on top. The ringing in Corvo’s ears subsided, and he realized that the sounds he was hearing were not as far away as he had hoped.
He looked toward the direction of the now clear cracking of bone and ripping of sinew from its place… and did not like what he saw.
He was sitting in grass, some of the softest and most lush that he had ever seen, covering a large area by his standards. The ground was spotted in wild flowers, giving color to the otherwise pure green. A treeline to his left, stretching for what seemed like many kilometers in length. That was a beautiful sight, really, totally foreign to Corvo.
That was not the sight he was paying attention to, though. The sight he saw was much more familiar, if not still strange. It was carnage. It was blood sprayed in all directions, limbs of the beasts before him torn from their owners. There was one, though, that stood out among the others. It stood in the gore of the beasts that Corvo could only guess that the one who stands just killed. Its body seemed to be covered in some kind of exoskeleton, like the beetles that scurried around Dunwall. A long, wicked horn adorned on its head glowed a sickly green. It had blue wings, buzzing fervently now, lifting it from the ground. The thought crossed Corvo’s mind that it resembled an equine. the thought was lost, though, as they met eyes. Its blue, glowing eyes had malice in them, and Corvo could see their intention.
Their intention was Corvo. In those deep, blue eyes, Corvo could see that it was going to attack him, and hold nothing back.
Kript made short work of his unworthy opponents. Their blood covered their pathetic bodies, now torn apart by his might. The last one in the grips of his magic was screeching, and it was annoying. With a thrust of his power, the magical field surrounding the annoying bug caved in, crushing it.
Something interesting happened then. There was a flash of light, almost too bright for him to handle,and then there was a soft thud. The product of the light was even more interesting. Something had fallen from that light. Kript turned around to look at this new thing, the body he just killed still in his magical grip. It was nothing that he had ever seen before.
The thing that fell seemed to be unconscious, which is boring when it comes to killing, but it suddenly shot upright to a sitting position. This got Kript’s blood boiling. It got him aching to kill this newcomer.
He dropped the body of the dead bug, and that seemed to get the attention of the creature. They locked eyes, and what small eyes they were. That didn't matter, though, because they still showed fear. Something else, too, but Kript didn't care. He took to hovering, his wings giving off that sweet buzz. He charged up his horn, ready to fire his Death Bolt. Yes, that was what he would call it. The Death Bolt.
He charged his Death Bolt… and released it. And it didn't hit.
He didn't hit his target, and that was rare. His back was in so much pain. He wondered what had caused that, trying to turn around. He realized then that his wings were not working, He was still hovering, but he was not hovering on his own accord. He found himself becoming weak, which was confusing because it was impossible. He was a fighter, and nothing could kill him.
His head became heavy, wilting down. The sight was strange to Kript. He had never seen that kind of metal. It was weird to be growing from his che-
NO! Kript’s thoughts went wild, becoming slower and slower as the seconds pass by. He finally realized that he was run through by a sword. This was something he could not forgive, but he was so tired. All he wanted was sleep now, the pain gone from him. He didn't know when he the ground, a soft bed of grass cradling him. He could see this creature running, now. It ran toward the forest, and seemed to disappear in a black mist.
It was dark, but it was warm. Comfortable. No more thinking, just sleep.