Tagged as Daud, Corvo Attano, Delilah Copperspoon, Granny Rags

Contributors:

Blue, Hiaen, Potes, Eels

This is a companion article to Daud's active occultism vs Corvo's incidental heresy, and we suggest reading both!

Blue: in addition to daud actively studying and persuing the occult, theres almost a borderline addiction? i use that word in the sense he does a Lot for heretical artifiacts, and still visits shrines to the outsider despite his hatred of him

like in the dlcs - daud rummages in a toilet for a bone charm ("this better be worth it" he says, ok the mans literally been in sewers but uh toilet content is more concentrated in a toilet), the granny rags side quests for a single rune (cutting his own hand, which probbaly means very little to him but nevertheless, harming himself; the one where he has to swallow riverkrust pearls, like bro what the fuck), and then the favours where a whaler will place a rune for daud. while this latter is a far less extreme example, it still goes to show that dauds desire for heretical artifacts is well known.

basically, tl;dr, daud will go to extreme lengths just for a rune and do some really weird stuff

Hiaen: Also the fact that his interest in artifacts is well-known enough that he has contact who'll get some for you. And there's nothing indicating it but it's not that much of a stretch to imagine Granny leaves her recipes on his path knowing Daud'll be there? Like you can't expect any rando to complete these recipes, and these just so happened to be on Daud's path.

Blue: i cant remember if there are any other recipes that compare with "slice your palm" and "swallow a pearl" (theres the whale eye one and the marriage one) - but it s interesting granny leaving them, tbh at least one of them was at a shrine thing (cant remember off the top of my head) so there is a chance she just leaves them in heretical type places.

its also interesting considering his absolute hatred of the outsider that daud continues 2 engage w the occult - like shirnes etc - ofc theres the power-hungry aspect too, in addition to just a general interest and yeah addiction to heretical artifacts

OH NOW THAT IM THINKING

in the corroded man, galia (an ex whaler) is like. somewhat addicted to the power that came from the arcane bond, like missing it, when she gets power from zhukov its like a relief and so on.... so im wondering if that is a general thing/risk for all marked??? bc theres the Power obvs and yes someone like daud would want to have power, but what if there is also somethng a bit more beyond that

Hiaen: Hard to tell anything about Corvo and Emily because their actions depend on how you play but for the other Marked we have distinct signs of hunger for power in general and magical in particular. Delilah is aiming for the throne, and goes to extreme lengths to strengthen her magic, including using human remains in her rituals and locking away a piece of her own soul. Granny Rags also uses human remains, and soon after getting marked she dropped her luxurious life to devote herself to the occult. Even the Lonely Rat Boy immediately went into a power-induced hubris.

Potes: emily has almost always known power, and has no need to try to gain more (she's the greatest power in the empire!) -- only to gain what she lost, right?

corvo isn't quite the same but he still goes and regains the position of power he lost (though he is obvs going to get his daughter and their home back above all)

Blue: tbh w corvo in dh1, his overall like. story. is very different - at that moment in time ALL he can care about is his daughter - whereas daud, delilah and even granny studied the occult prior to being marked

Eels: Smth else I was thinking about in regards to power being addictive... I think a LOT about how it feels physically to use the powers of the mark. Like, how is it embodied? With physical training, it feels good to do something you're competent at, and can execute well - like climbing fluidly, fighting, simply running and traversing obstacles, etc... all of which corvo and daud and em did before being marked (this doesnt apply as directly to granny and delilah but I think the overall concept I'm getting to still does). Basically, getting that extra shot of pure physical power? HOO boy. Like, I could see myself easily getting addicted to that. And on top of the passives, blinking? Far reach? My god, it must feel exhilarating to use. like I can easily see the allure of the arcane beyond just the power it gives you to influence your situation and the world around you, it's also something that gets physically into your bones (no pun intended)

I think delilah knew how much taking corvo's mark was a gut-wrenching slap in the face to him on top of stoning emily and all the other shit she did if you do dh2 as him. She obviously never expected him to get it back

I think this whole conversation about addictive qualities also puts an interesting light on how his relationship to power changes between the games - he's had it be a part of him for so long and he either recognizes and hates it and chooses a no powers run breathing a sigh of relief that the addictive wrongness is gone, or has accepted it as a part of him and reaccepts the outsider's offer.

Personally i think he's pragmatic enough that though his heresy was incidental in dh1, he would want it back

Blue: yeah - like galia in the book mentions the itch for it, so i wonder if corvo would grasp the chance - plus the physical abilities. like. even side effects like vitality, imagine corvo instantly feeling so much more his age, his aches and pains. for that alone, the mark would be wanted

Eels: Yeah!!! Yes!!! Its not just a loss of fancy powers it's also oh fuck I feel old and delilah is so much more powerful than me

That actually makes sense too with how the protagonist I'd treated in the opening by ramsey - of course it's fine to throw corvo in a locked room and assume he'll stay there, what is this old man gonna do now? Maybe delilah spoke to ramsey about what to expect after he lost the mark, though ramsey also vastly underestimated corvo obviously (based on all the other stuff we've said about how he looks down on him).

Blue: god thats so true - and like, w the opening, really who would expect scaling out the windows above a cliff?? and i wonder, if corvo would feel. Really Awful. bc of the sudden and abrupt loss of power, that gentle buzz in the background

Eels: Not exactly sure how much people know about the truth of what happened in coldridge, or how much flies around with rumors or knowledge of his marked status, but... how quickly they forget he didn't need a mark to break out of the most fortified prison in the isles half-dead

Blue: actually tho like she doesnt even know hes marked until he uses his powers in front of her right?? so really, she has no clue