User blog:Lady Venomania/Note and Book Transcriptions for General Use

Corvo Attano, The Royal Protector In Our Times, Part 01
His parents were older at the time of his birth, and his father died in a lumber accident outside the city when Corvo was still young. Around that time, his only sibling, a first-born sister, moved away to Morley and the family subsequently lost all contact with her.

Only 16, Corvo dazzled the people of Karnaca when he entered and won the annual Blade Verbena. The spectators, from all over Serkonos, were thrilled to see someone so young and striking, from a working class family, advance through duel after duel, eventually taking the prize. This unexpected outcome secured Corvo a junior officer ranking in the Grand Serkonan Guard.

As a soldier, he was involved in a number of conflicts against organized criminal groups, rogue city states within Serkonos, and pirate bands along the chain of islands radiating east from Serkonos. Sent from his homeland at the age of 18 by the Duke of Serkonos (then Theodanis Abele, father of Luca Abele), Corvo was assigned to serve the Emperor in Dunwall as a diplomatic gift. His Serkonan heritage made him a bit of an outsider in Dunwall, but the capital city must have seemed exotic and full of old world mystery.

A few months after he moved to Dunwall, it is recorded that Corvo received word that his mother had passed away several weeks after his departure from Karnaca.

Crown Killer Strikes Again!
Dunwall citizens express shock and fear as yet another outspoken critic of Empress Emily Kaldwin has met with a violent demise. The latest victim is none other than Ichabod Boyle, notable entrepreneur and supporter of the arts.

Boyle recently wrote an opinion piece harshly criticiing the Empress for what he called her "slipshod style of governance" and her "willful neglect of duties." Authorities are convinced the Crown Killer is the culprit, given the gruesome details left at the crime scene.

As Her Majestry's most outspoken adversaries fall one by one to this notorious assassin, we boldly ask:  Is it now the duty of the Royal Protector to murder all who dare criticize the Throne?

Note from the Chief Editor
Kent,

Don't take it personally, but I'm not publishing your story about mechanical soldiers down in Karnaca. I'm not questioning your sources or your writing, but some moonstruck natural philosopher making marionettes in his basement isn't really news.

I've done some research on this Kirin Jindosh you mention. He was driven out of the Academy of Natural Philosophy years ago, so he's hardly a credible threat. Until one of his inventions actually kills someone, he's not worthy of our ink.

You should focus on the Crown Killer case instead. If the Imperial family is really ordering those murders, I want us to be the ones who expose it.

Simon

Historical Record of Government Positions and Ranks - Addendum
Corvo Attano. Accused of assassinating the Empress he was sworn to protect. How unlikely he would not only overcome this shame, but then redeem himself so fully as to be named Royal Protector to yet another Empress! Those of us at the College of Histories were too fast to use pen against him!

Yet let us not blame historians, for the evidence against Attano was nearly overwhelming. First, he is the only Royal Protector ever ot have been born of an Isle other than Gristol. His "foreignness" is not itself a crime, but added to the suspicions (the most forgiving of which was that he lacked the capacity to fully understand his duties). Second, he was caught quite red-handed, with bloodied weapon, kneeling over the body of Empress Jessamine. Of course, it turns out that even this daming evidence was part of a clever plot to destroy the Empress and remove Attano from interfering with the ongoing plans of the Lord Regent's conspirators!

And while I admit to publishing what are now clearly incorrect conclusions regarding Corvo Attno, I will not, as some my colleagues have done, resign my position at our veritable organization. But instead, I reassert myself in the endeavor of weeding out fact from fiction to produce the most salient histories possible!

Ichabod Boyle Case - Witness Statement
Witness Name: Peter Atkins

Occupation:  Matchbox Maker

On the 16th Day, Month of Earth, just before midnight, I was on my way home after a couple of ales at the pub. Stopping to pee next to the Boyle Company officies, I heard moaning and furniture creaking, so I thought maybe some people were having fun and I could have a peek.

But when I got close to the windows, that's when Mr. Boyle started screaming like a slaughtered pig. He was all tied up. There was someone wearing a hooded cloak, and I swear, I think he was eating up Mr. Boyle's guts.

That has to be the Crown Killer, I told myself, and so I ran as fast as I could to the nearest Watch post to get help. And your soldiers could have made it to Boyle in time if they hadn't taken half an hour to fine me for throwing up. Anyone would have done the same after what I had been through. You guys should have some respect.

Schedule for Middle Songs Eve
Empress,

Presented for your approval, the Schedule for Middle Songs Eve:

- Morning meal with Tyvian Trade Commission

- Presentation from the research vessel Loblolly Swift, just returned from newly discovered island chain off Pandyssian Continent

- Midday meal with Dignitaries from Morley, who will present you with a gift in exchange for your attention to their complaints

- Dedication and speech for new wing at the Infirmary Home for Aged Seafarers

- Meeting with Advisors on the issue of bloodflies in the South

- Evening meal with Lord Corvo at his request

Erick Plainstow,

Scheduling Secretary

Woes Plague Beleaguered Dunwall
Dunwall's troubles have multiplied of late, calling into question the very efficacy and intentions of our Empress. As evidence that Emily Kaldwin has forsaken us we need to look no further than Rudshore Financial, more commonly called the Flooded District! Though recently drained, we dare not celebrate, as the area is still riddled with maintenance problems remaining from its time underwater! With so many unable to find work, would this not be the perfect moment to unveil a grand scheme to restore this once-posh area?

Alas, no further considerations have been proposed! Nor has the Empress submitted solutions for the current whale oil shortage, even as we endure rationing and discomfort. The picture of incompetent leadership is completed when you add to all this the periodic "accidental" citizen deaths at the hands of the Dunwall City Watch, all while Captain Mortimer Ramsey -- appointed by our Empress -- maintains the perfect innocence of those men and women in uniform who are supposed to protect us!

Trying to fix the secondary engine
Anton, your idea of improving the head gasket's sealing with a guano coating is the worst you ever had. I'll make you sleep in the engine room if you don't fix your mess by tomorrow.

---

Meagan, if all inventors were as delicate and short-tempered  as you are, you and I would still be paddling around in carved out logs.

---

Meagan, I made some mulberry cake. It's my own recipe, improved by Tyvian spices. I left it in the galley.

---

Anton, where are you old fool. I hope nobody hurt you. I'll find you, I swear. I miss you.

Chapter 15
At dawn, I set out with the group that foraged east and included two other natural philosophers and four crewmen. We used blades to clear the begetation that grew thickly here, and slowly made our way away from the shore up a steep incline. Our purpose was to gather samples of the native plants for our research journals. I found myself pressing leaves and stems between pages and taking copious notes on several species of flora I surmised no human had ever set eyes on previously, when suddenly young Mr. Gravet from the Academy began hopping about and screaming wildly!

Chance had bade him to pick an unfortunate place to step! Aggressive ant-like creatures swarmed him from below. So many in number were his tiny attackers that we quickly lost sight of him under their onslaught. We finally managed to pull Gravet from the insects -- acquiring several painful welts where we had come to his aide. Mr. Gravet however was bitten (or stung, as I would eventually discover) so many times he was barely recognizable. Swollen unto deformity, over every inch of his person. Moaning like a sick bull, he expired before we could carry him back to the beach. Luckily, some of the creatures still clung to him, providing me with precious samples!