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Dishonored Lore: Metaphysics and Mysteries

  • March 30, 2016

    Dishonored Lore: Metaphysics and Mysteries

    One of many that have been birthed of the Void…

     

    I. Introduction

    If you’ve read my two prior articles, you will have some idea of what happens in the world itself. But what of what happens behind the scenes? Underneath the grimy exterior of the world is an elegant skeleton, mysterious and swirling. In this article, I will delve into exactly what happens beneath the violent and chaotic world.

     

    II. The Void

    Underneath everything in the world of Dishonored is the Void. Much of it is a mystery, but some of it has been uncovered. Legendary natural philosopher Anton Sokolov says of the Void,

    “we inhabit a world adrift in a sea of howling chaos, a terrible maelstrom in which all heavenly bodies orbit a devouring core. Though the trip could take many thousands of lifetimes, all cosmic objects are eventually dragged into this hungry nexus and forever cease to be.”

    Here, the Void can be most easily compared to a black hole in our own universe. The Void is both the center of the universe, and the whole universe. The stars and planets are all “suspended” in Void, and the Void can change the world, as well as vice versa.

    The Void birthed the world, but it also is slowly devouring it. The end of the world is far away, Sokolov states, but it is slowly coming. The Void also birthed the earth. But how? Developer Harvey Smith said, “[t]he Void issued forth the worlds and stars, swirling around that great, birthing abyss." This supports the notion that the Void has been existent since before anything else, and perhaps will continue to exist past the end of the universe (this could hold similarities to cyclical notions of our own universe, where the world will be destroyed and reborn many times, each different).

    Smith also said,

    “[p]lant and animals arose from the primordial chaos, with humanity separating itself from the beasts of the earth. Dread spirits poured forth from the Void and set about plaguing all men and women, attempting to create discord in their hearts. And since creation, the entirety of the Cosmos has been slowly returning to the Void, pulled back toward eventual destruction.”

    One can assume that these dread spirits are the deities of the Void, who will be touched on below.

     

    III. What the Void Issues Forth

    It is said that the Void, “hungers for a representational, godlike entity”. These are manifested in the deities of the Void. They rise after the previous one falls. Some of them last thousands of years, some of them very few. They come in different forms, some living and some not, and some somewhere in between.

    One of these that is mentioned is an “abstract series of music”, which seems to be the same music that is used in the Overseer Music Boxes, weapons that incapacitate users of Void magic. A book on the music, written by a former High Overseer, says of the music,

    “there are ripples that we can barely perceive with our sense, [a]n Ancient Music permeating everything as fundamental structural rule. Through it, you can work wonders without violating the natural world or begging favors from unfriendly spirits.”

    However, this seems to contradict the words of Harvey Smith, who said that there is only one god-figure at a time. Perhaps this music, which seems to fulfill all the necessary statuses for Void-godhood--it bestows powers unto people (though indirectly), and originated from the Void--is not only a god, or not even one at all. Perhaps the rules are not quite set in stone, or perhaps there are ways of avoiding these “rules”. The most likely answer, though, is that the Ancient Music is some sort of cosmic endoskeleton, a product of the Void attempting to correct its destructive natures. This is assumed to be the reason why the Music negates magic, which is a gift from the avatar of the Void, in this case the Outsider.

    But what of the Outsider? He is the most talked about of the Void-beings, and the one who influences the events of Dishonored in a dramatic way. He is the most recent of the Void-deities, and was turned from a teenage boy to the being he is today by the Void. He is worshipped in Dunwall by many, including Granny Rags. He shows up to those who require his gifts, and is often convened with by use of shrines and runes, fashioned and “boiled” from the bones of whales. But perhaps there is even more to the Outsider than can be gleaned even at a second glance.

    In the book Spirit of the Deep, an unknown writer says, “in these sleepless nights of despair, you appear to me not as the mighty leviathan, but as a young man, with eyes as black as the Void.”

    The most interesting word here is leviathan. There is only one other place that word is used is in-game, and that is to describe the whales of the deep. Now perhaps it is only a coincidence, but there is more than just that one comparison. Here is where we turn to The Heart. When squeezed, it will offer words about the surroundings, and one of them is this:

    "When the last leviathan is gone, darkness will fall."

    Though this seems to have simple explanations (that a lessening supply of whale oil will leave the city literally unlit), but I believe it to be a double meaning. Though Sokolov says that the end of the world is many lifetimes away, his knowledge is not always correct, and his methods not always superior. Perhaps there is instead a set time when the world will end, and it will happen when there are no more avatars for the Void to birth forth, no longer allowing the Void to work its mysterious wonders upon the mortal realm. But perhaps there is something more, even. Are these whales gods? Are they the form a Void-being takes when they lose power? Or perhaps Void-beings in waiting? This last sentence seems to correspond with the evidence. These whales are perhaps a reservoir of potential beings in their preliminary forms (these whales certainly are not the same whales from our universe, as can be seen by their tentacled mouths), and, ironically, civilization is shortening the lifespan of the universe in order to keep themselves alive longer. However, this theory seems to be destroyed by the fact that dead whales are used to contact the Outsider, and it seems unlikely that the Outsider would encourage the killing of his own kind to be able to contact those he is interested in. However, many whales are killed daily, and so perhaps he is only permitting the recycling of his dead epilogues. This raises many questions, and perhaps leaves more unanswered.

     

    IV. Answers and Questions

    This article is by now more a fan theory than a listing of facts, so I will end this two ways. Firstly, I will list all the things we know and can be verified. Then, I will list my thoughts, that cannot be confirmed, on exactly what goes on in the universe.

    This is what we know:

    The Void has been existent for at least a very long time. It birthed creation, and creation evolved without any “assistance” from the Void, with humans taking their place as the strongest creatures on the planet.

    The Void is most easily seen as a swirling black hole, which is slowly swirling, someday set to devour the universe.

    The Void issues forth “avatars” every once and awhile, and their impacts and states are different based on the time they lived in. One of these is the Outsider, who gifts magic to those he finds interesting. The Outsider has a strong connection to whales, which may be indicative of a greater relationship between whales and the Void. This connection is seen in the runes and bone charms, made of whale bones, and the fact that the Outsider is called a “leviathan”.

    There is a series of 17 musical notes that come from the Void. These are called the Ancient Music, and seem to negate the Outsider’s magic, as well as any Void influences. It may or may not be a Void-deity as well.

    These are my thoughts:

    The Void is a swirling cosmos that has been in existence for eternity, and will be in existence even after the end of the world. However, the Void’s chaotic and hungry nature created problems, and so the Void brought forth the Ancient Music, a balancing force in the world. This force negates any magic, which can be seen as the physical representation of the chaos of the Void in our plane.

    The end of the universe is slowly approaching. The Void will eventually devour the universe, leaving only itself. This demise is being quickened by the harvesting of the great whales, which are strongly connected to the Void. It is entirely possible that the whales are Void-beings in waiting, and every one that is killed shortens the universe’s lifetime by providing one less potential Void-being. These whales are vicious and violent in our world because of their connection to the Void. However, they may merely be the Outsider’s favorite animal, and as such compel him to visit those who build shrines from their bones.

     

    V. Bibliography

    Spirit of the Deep (Book)

    Tweets from Harvey Smith

    The Hungry Cosmos (Book)

    The Ancient Music (Book)

    The Leviathan's Sorrow (Book)

    The Heart (Dialogue/In-Game)

    The Outsider (Wiki)

    The Void (Wiki)

     

    VI. Closing Thoughts

    So this was a mess. Truths, half-truths, theories, and ruminations. I realize much of this may not make sense, so if something is especially unclear please tell me below. Also, please tell me your thoughts on my own theory, as well as any you may have. I’m curious about other thoughts on this world and its behind-the-scenes. Thanks for reading!

    PCTY Out.

  • March 30, 2016

    Awesome article here PC, definitely my favorite so far, I think the the Void is one of the most interesting locations (kind of) in any game, especially the whole distorted reality kind of thing it has going for it. Not to mention the way that magic and anti-magic are so linked to the Void. I suppose that's also similar to how the Void is linked to the Birth and Death of the world as well, huh that might be interesting to examine, the connection between the World and Magic...

    Anyway, great work mate, it's really cool to see these Lore Articles, so I think I might write one soon (If I do it'll be on the Pandyssian Continent)

  • Member
    March 30, 2016

    Also, one interesting thing of note. A man who appears to be the Outsider picks up Corvo´s Mask in the end of one trailer. Could it be him? Or could it be someone who closely resembles him?

  • March 31, 2016

    It'll be great to see another lore article, and thanks for the heads-up. I was going to do an article on the geography of the entire world, but I'll keep out of the area of Pandyssia in case you want to post that one. 

  • Member
    March 31, 2016
    Very interesting and easy to understand for people who dunno much about the Dishonored lore, like me.
    I've read your article about the rat plague and now I'm curious. You said it came from the other continent, but does it have anything to do with the void? I mean, it could be something like the Ancient Music... probably.
  • March 31, 2016

    I don't believe there to be any connection between the Rat Plague and the Void. The Rat Plague was called the "Doom of Pandyssia" by the Heart. I took this to mean that the Rat Plague had existed in Pandyssia for some time, and had killed whatever people lived there. Though I do like your idea, and it could be seen as a kind of balancing force of nature. Thanks for reading!