Deirdre

"This always brought me a little comfort. You stole this for me, didn't you, Deirdre?"

—Billie saying to herself after looking at her gift

Deirdre is an unseen character mentioned in The Knife of Dunwall, Dishonored 2 and Death of the Outsider. She was a friend and lover of Billie Lurk.

Biography[]

Deirdre was an orphan living on the streets of Dunwall, where she met the young Billie Lurk. It was Deirdre's friendship that prevented a distraught Billie from committing suicide. They endured much, but always managed to share a small piece of meat or bottle of brandy.

One day, when the sons of the Duke of Serkonos, Luca Abele and his younger brother Radanis Abele visited Dunwall, Meagan and Deirdre were in front of their coach. The Duke goaded his brother to move the "wharf roaches" out of their way. Radanis swung his stick and killed Deirdre right in front of Billie. Enraged, the future Whaler ripped a decorative wooden gazelle from the coach and killed the younger Abele, before fleeing the area.

Billie promised herself that she would retrieve Deirdre's body even though she knew it was technically impossible. So as soon as she fled the area and avoided any pursuit, she immediately looped back around to the same area and observed from the shadows. She stayed there, memorizing the faces of all those who had been involved in Deirdre's murder, promising that she would avenge them one day.^[1] The last look Billie had of Deirdre was of her body staring at the sky.

Sometime later, Billie managed to track down the members of the City Watch who were present yet did nothing to stop Deirdre's death. She believed that the time had come to get her revenge. Billie ran forward and drew her knife but her foot caught on a divot, causing her to trip and sprawl to the ground. Her mistake fortunately left her unseen from the City Watch. The delay also gave the opportunity for a masked assasin to appear from the shadows and mercilessly massacre the three members of the City Watch in a very brutal and efficient manner. As the assasin fled the scene, Billie proceeded to follow him to his hideout.^[1]

The Knife of Dunwall[]

Billie mentions in her book that she saw Deirdre in her dreams. She was smiling at her and could hear her laughing at Radanis Abele from the Void.

Dishonored 2[]

Deirdre is mentioned in an audiograph by Meagan Foster aka Billie Lurk. She talks about her past with Deirdre and mentions she is pleased when the protagonist prepares to take down Luca Abele who she holds ultimately responsible for her friend's death.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider[]

Billie keeps a drawing that she believes resembles Deirdre in her cabin on the Dreadful Wale wondering "Is this what you would have looked like, my sweet Deirdre?". Billie also has an artifact called the Rat Charm gifted to her by Deidre, which also contains a lock of Deidre's hair.^[2] Billie also sees Deirdre in her dreams trying to tell her something about the Outsider's blood.

Trivia[]

The drawing that resembles Deirdre in Billie's cabin seems to bear a striking resemblance to Cecelia as well as one of the female civilian character models used in various locations in Karnaca. It is possible that older concept art was used for this.
According to Billie, Deirdre had red hair and sharp eyes.
The name Deirdre comes from the older Gaelic form “Derdriu.” The meaning is possibly derived from the Celtic word for woman. In Irish legend, Dierdre was the name of a tragic character who died of a broken heart after Conchobar, the King of Ulster, killed her lover Naoise.