Dishonored:
The city of Dunwall, set amid the world of Dishonored, would be an unusually mundane location if it wasn't for the Outsider's interference (and its whale fetish). In the process of writing this article, I'm certain I learned more about the Outsider than one can discover in Dishonored alone, but this knowledge has compromised my ability to distinguish between information originating in Dishonored, and its successor (Dishonored 2 and Dishonored®: Death of the Outsider™ - which released this week). Though some of it is bound to spill over, this article will attempt to restrict itself to the original Dishonored.
Corvo first
encounters the mysterious Outside, the night after his escape from
prison, while residing in the Loyalist Conspiracy's hideout, the
Hound Pits Pub. Awakening into a purplish, ethereal dreamscape,
Corvo is greeted by a handsome man, casually attired in knee high
black boots, rough blue pants, a scuffed brown jacket, white collared
shirt, and floating a few feet off the ground. After vaguely
recounting his motivations, the Outsider imbues Corvo with his mark,
and the first ability, Blink: short range teleportation. He
challenges Corvo to complete a brief obstacle course to test this new
ability, and upon completion explains how Corvo can increase his
abilities by recovering runes and bone charms. Runes, carved from
whale bone, are spent to unlock new powers or enhance preexisting
ones, while bone charms instill Corvo with minor (insignificant)
bonuses. After this speech, the Outsider restores the protagonist to
unperturbed slumber.
Throughout
the remainder of Dishonored,
the Outsider occasionally visits Corvo, to comment on particular
actions or choices Corvo has made. Yet, his reflections are often
(though not always) devoid of relevance to the playstyle the player
has undertake, and the Chaos (or lack of) Corvo engenders seems of
little interest to him as well. At Dishonored's
conclusion the Outsider narrates the epilogue, describing the result,
and questioning Corvo's motives.
But
what are the Outsider's motivations? He explains to Corvo that he
seeks out “interesting people” and awards them a fraction of his
power. But what quality compels the Outsider? Based on Dishonored
alone, the answer seems unobtainable, but there are certain
possibilities. First, as a near immortal being, the Outsider is
bored out of his freaky, iris-less eyes. For him, interesting people
are based on some indiscernible connection the Outsider experiences.
Either a characteristic so odd and inconceivable such as how they
comb their hair, or unmeasurable (in the world of Dishonored) such as
a particular genetically makeup. These are possible, and would
illustrate the Outsider's irrational nature, but perhaps there is
some relevance to his choice.
It
could be he is drawn to those who possess a certain quality which,
presumably, does not exist in the real world. Dishonored is composed
of binary choices (as are most video games). At one point the
Outsider explains to Corvo, “there are two futures.” One could
extrapolate this sentence to examine the philosophical and
metaphysical underpinnings of the world of Dishonored.
It may be necessary to acquire an understanding of fate. Perhaps,
in the Empire and beyond, every action is fated except for rare
inflection points, where a single person has only two choices. In
this scenario (which admittedly lacks substantial evidence), the
Outsider is drawn to individuals who contain the power to make these
world altering choices.
Maybe
no particular characteristic interests the Outsider, but a capacity
to perform certain actions in the future. As an immortal being (and
one who is presumably semi-omniscient), it is likely the Outsider has
desires and a plan to implement them. Perhaps, interesting people
contain no particular characteristic, but have the capacity to
enforce his wishes. They are like pawns which, given his power, act,
and fulfill his mysterious wishes. He is at war with the popular
religion of Dunwall (the Abbey of the Everyman) and may be seeking to
destroy it through his agents. But this theory seems unlikely
because the Outsider offers no guidance to those who bear his mark,
and as demonstrated by Corvo, they can choose any number of outcomes,
some of which would be detrimental to the Outsider (assuming he
desired a particular result).
Most
likely, based both upon his creation and the people he selected prior
to Corvo, he may be drawn to a propensity for cruelty.
Over a
millennium ago the Outsider was human, like everyone else in the
world of Dishonored.
Yet, an abominable ritual bound him to the Void (a endless, shapeless
alternative universe in which he alone dwells, and from which he
draws his power), and he has ruled as a god since. It granted him
near omnipotence, but he suffered unimaginably agony for this unasked
power. Undoubtedly the cruelty by which the Outsider was fashioned
shaped his personality. Perhaps he seeks vengeance upon the order
which inflicted pain upon his person. Or he values viciousness in
his disciples. Corvo encounters two of the Outsider's former
protegees (he has since abandoned them losing interest) and both are
pitiless. One, the assassin, Daud, is responsible for the death of
the Empress, hired by her enemies so they might usurp the throne.
After Corvo is betrayed by close friends, Daud tortures and imprisons
him in a desperate attempt to reestablish a relationship with the
Outsider. Later, he expresses regret to Corvo for his actions, but
only if Corvo spares him. The other accomplice of the Outsider is an
ancient, rat loving lady, nick-named Granny Rags. Formerly a member
of the aristocratic class, she suffered insane upon receiving the
Outsider's mark. After this unfortunate event, she bent her demented
will toward discovering a source of immortality, and has crushed the
souls of any who (accidentally or purposefully) obstructed her
attempt. Based on Corvo's choices he can have a final duel with her
and deny her the goal she desperately seeks, or avoid meeting such a
formidable foe face to face.
Corvo can also
follow these two into a diabolical path of destruction and despair.
In every mission he can choose to assassinate his target, inflicting
his own cruel vengeance upon his foes. Every mission also allows for
a non-lethal solution. Even if Corvo choose these peaceful panaceas,
he is not necessarily acting out of kindness. The Outsider comments
on this pacifistic behavior, calling it even more insidious than
murder. In one mission, Corvo is assigned to assassinate the lover
of the usurper. But the peaceful solution involves abducting the
woman and delivering her to a suitor. The suitor promises to take
her away, and make her his wife. Corvo choosing a forced marriage
for this woman (and all the horrors this includes) rather than her
death. The Outsider confirms to Corvo her fate, that of an
indentured wife for the remainder of her life. These merciful
solutions, the Outsider gleefully reflects, are often crueler than a
simple assassination. That the Outsider values cruelty seems a
reasonable theory, though there is a similar variant theory. Perhaps
the Outsider does not seek out the cruel, but those who receive his
mark are afflicted with it. If the Outsider's suffering has stained
his soul, when he bestows it on others, (in the form of his mark) the
may receive an unwanted alteration.
What
seems most likely? That the developers during the creation of the original Dishonored
had not considered these questions in detail. And yet, the entire
Dishonored series can not exist without the Outsider. He is the god
who bestows unimaginable power, who makes Corvo who is he, but
without any understanding of how he gained this power, what the Void
is, or why he dispenses it to others. With so many unanswered
questions revolving around the Outsider and the Void, and a story
that could not survive without them, hopefully the developers used
the second and third installment of the Dishonored
series to focus its crossbow cross-hairs on the Outsider.
Note:
I don't include all those restricted and trademarked symbols on
Dishonored®: Death of the Outsider™,
for any sort of purpose to comply, but because I am amused by the
fact that it is the actual title on Steam.
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