Author's Note: Several years ago, I wrote a story by the name of "Blood and Coin." I had been so inspired by the Whalers that I wanted to create a story that put them, specifically, in the spotlight. However, I never finished it. Each time I went back to it, I strayed further and further away from what I had originally created. Because of my inability to perform as a writer, I ultimately let all of my fans down. Doing so broke my heart. Now I'm back, and I'm taking a different approach.

Allow me to present "By Blood and Coin." This story is set prior to the events of Dishonored 1, and it is the first in a series of novel length stories that I have planned. The series itself will be spanning Dishonored 1's DLCs, "The Knife of Dunwall" and "The Brigmore Witches," as well as eventually spanning into Dishonored 2.

Thank you for taking the time to read this story! Your views, reviews, follows, and/or favorites are greatly appreciated, and I hope that you enjoy this story!

Chapter One

Rise and Shine!

Oracle Natividad's Asylum for Natural Philosophical Research

Research District, The City of Dunwall, Isle of Gristol

Ninth Day, Month of Earth, 1836

_O_O_O_

"Rise and shine, Novices!" Mentor Galia said authoritatively, banging a wooden spoon against a cast iron cooking pot. "Rise and shine! Time to get up, you lazy sods!"

By the Outsider, what time is it? We just got dismissed from hand-to-hand combat training not even two hours ago.

Mentor Galia kept banging the spoon against the pot. Around the room, all six of my brothers, including myself, were groaning. After the day we had yesterday, all we wanted to do was sleep. Now, we were being awoken at an unholy hour.

For more training, no doubt.

"Quit your whining! You're supposed to be assassins, not schoolchildren. In fact, you insignificant worms should be used to getting up this early! You'll have contracts, patrols, and many more duties that will be completed at any and all hours of the day. Do you understand me, Novices?"

"Yes, sir, Mentor Galia!" we all said in unison.

"That's more like it," he replied, seemingly pleased at our obedience. "Master Daud wants your lazy asses up and out of bed. You're all to start preparing for today's trials. You will have three hours to eat, bathe, get dressed, or do whatever in the name of the Void it is you need to do before your trials. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir, Mentor!"

"Excellent. Your three hours begins now."

Mentor Galia left the room.

And not a single one of us got out of bed.

"Anybody know what time it is?" Rinaldo asked, yawning.

I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and glanced out the window. The full moon was still illuminating the grounds of the Asylum. "I am going to guess it is around two or three…It is still dark outside."

"Did you figure that out yourself, whiz kid?" Anatole said, sardonic in tone.

"At least I am not the one who keeps a secret diary," I replied, equally sardonic.

Around the room, my brothers burst out in laughter. One by one, we got out of bed, retrieved our equipment, and began to put on our full Whaler uniform. Novice and Master Assassin alike wear the same linen shirt underneath a white brigade vest, buttoned high on the neck; the same short-sleeved leather frock coat; the same black leather, large cuff gauntlet gloves, with the glove on our left forearm specially modified for our wristbow; and the same light brown leather calf boots.

Novices, like us, wear a pale blue coat, red trousers, and a red belt around our waist. We also have a belt that we wear across our left shoulder, and its color is brown. Master Assassins, like Mentor Galia, wear a black coat, brown trousers, and matching brown belts on their waists and left shoulder. And then there is Master Daud's and Lieutenant Lurk's uniform. Their uniform mimics the Masters' uniform down to every last detail. However, they wear a red coat instead of a black coat. That way, it marks them as being the chain of command.

Lastly, each and every one of us wears a vapor mask, as a means to conceal our faces and distort our voices from those that we conduct business with. The mask is the exact same for each rank of Whaler. I wonder if this will be the year that I finally make Master Assassin…I certainly hope it is.

Seven years of being a Novice has been tiring. And let alone, I joined the same year as Billie Lurk! How did she become Master Daud's lieutenant, and I am still only a Novice? What am I doing wrong?

"You know, Anatole, you'd best be careful of Arissa," Akila said, chiming in. "She's got a pretty sharp mind and tongue. Women like that are dangerous breeds. Just ask all the noblemen Master Daud has killed."

"Hey, I'd still bed her in an instant," Julian said.

"Bed or wed?" Akila asked.

"Bed…I'm not crazy enough to wed her. She'd kill me in my sleep!"

"Not as fast as Lieutenant Lurk would, I bet" Rinaldo added. "Although, I think we can all agree that Lurk…prefers her own team, so to speak?"

"Agreed," all of my brothers said in unison.

I shook my head and laughed. "You all never cease to amaze me, you know that?"

"Well, what do you expect, Arissa?" Ardan asked. "There are literally only two women here…You and Lieutenant Lurk. And, if we're going to be speaking honestly, you're much cuter than Lurk. Outsider's eyes, I suppose it's even excusable that you have carrot hair."

"It is not carrot colored," I said, defensively. "It is copper!"

"All in favor that copper looks like carrots?"

"Aye!" they all said in unison.

"Although, I have to wonder," Vladka said. "What is she going to look like when her hair grows out? She got the worst hack job out of all of us."

"I'm going to bet coin on the fact that she'll be more…exotic looking," Julian said.

"Same here," Akila added. "I'd take a Serkonan woman over…whatever Lurk is…any day."

"And this is why none of you have lovers," I said. "It is also why you will die, disease-ridden, after all of the Golden Cat prostitutes you bed."

"Right," Ardan said. "But do we get to die before, during, or after?"

I rolled my eyes, smiling softly. "You will die whenever the Outsider decides to claim your perverted souls. Come on. We should not be lazing around, lest we want Mentor Galia to hit us with the spoon again."

"I'm not afraid of Mentor Galia," Rinaldo stated proudly.

"Even after he disarmed you of your blade, knocked you flat on your ass, and beat you nearly to death with a wooden spoon?" I asked. "You are forever going to be known as the assassin who lost to a wooden spoon, Rinaldo. How does that make you feel?"

"It's not my fault I was having an off day! And at least I don't have carrot colored hair."

"And I cannot help that it is my natural color. Yet, it is better to be known as carrot hair, or carrot head, or whatever it is you want to call me, than being known as the one who lost to a wooden spoon."

Rinaldo sighed. "Okay…Okay, I guess you're right."

"It is okay, Rinaldo…You do not have to be ashamed of yourself."

"Why's that?"

"Because you do not scribble in a diary like a woman," I glanced over at Anatole, smirking.

"One day, Arissa, I'm going to make you pay for those words," Anatole growled.

"Wow, Anatole," I said. "Calm down. You do not need to get all serious over a joke."

"Maybe we should send Anatole to the Golden Cat," Vladka said. "Let him calm down a bit."

"Why don't we all just go to the Golden Cat?" Julian asked. "It'd be better than being tired, sore, and having our Master threatening to kill us every five minutes."

I secured my wristbow to its track, placed my blade through its loop on my belt, and secured my bolt pouches, as well as my vapor mask, also to my belts. I checked once, twice, three times that I had everything I needed, and that it was secured to my uniform correctly. If memory served me correctly from Master Daud's teachings, I had everything placed correctly.

I looked about the room at my brothers. Most of them were dressed. The rest of them were lazing about. And the ones who were dressed were fumbling with their equipment. Well, at least I will avoid Master Daud's wrath today…

"You six have fun doing…whatever it is you are doing," I said. "If you need me, I will be in the dining hall."

My brothers were too busy discussing the Golden Cat to even acknowledge that I had said anything. Which was perfectly fine by me. If they wanted to tempt the fate of our Master and Mentors, that was on them. I, on the other hand, was going to be a good student and obey Mentor Galia's command and be ready for whatever trials Master Daud had awaiting us.

Life in Oracle Natividad's Asylum was…intriguing, I suppose. The quarters that my brothers and I share used to be the room where trepanations were performed. Sometimes, late in the night, I swear that you can hear the sound of bone being broken by a hand drill. And, long before Master Daud had cropped my hair close to my scalp, I would wake up with clumps of my hair having been seemingly…sheared off, or torn out, or…something. The strange thing was, I never felt a thing.

Stranger still, I was not the only person who had experienced that.

I was also not the only person who got their hair cropped to their scalp because of it.

When I spoke to Master Assassin Thomas about our experiences in the trepanation room, he told me that the Masters had it worse. Their quarters were located in the former hydrotherapy rooms. He said that the Masters hear screeching of women and children. It sounded innocent enough.

That was until he told me that, after they hear the screeches, they awaken from their sleep, acting as though they are drowning. Both Master Assassin Rulfio and Mentor Rapha coughed up river water from their lungs, I was told.

No one knows who Oracle Natividad is. They do not even know if she was truly a member of the Oracular Order. Yet, my brothers and I can say for certain that this place has an astonishingly dark energy. You can actually experience "echoes" of the past, and what incantations, séances, rituals, etcetera, were performed here.

We have all been affected by these "echoes" of the past. They have forced us to be placed under infirmary care, due to the intense headaches; severe nausea and the inability to eat or drink; severe fevers; and a lot of other unpleasant ailments.

You know…the last time I checked, "natural philosophical research" did not include the occult. And we are very intimate with the occult. Yet, the things that Master Daud practices pale in comparison to what was once practiced within these walls.

The halls of the Asylum were long and labyrinth-like. Yet, even after its many years of abandonment, it has stayed well-intact. Not to mention the fact that we have been taking care of the building…Whale oil lamps and chandeliers were used to keep the halls illuminated during the night.

And it did nothing to cull the feeling of unease I felt as I walked to the dining hall.

"And just where do you think you're going, little girl?" I heard a voice behind me say.

I stopped, dead in my tracks, and turned around to face…Lieutenant Billie Lurk. Lieutenant Lurk was of average height and dark of skin. Her eyes, as well as slightly longer than jaw-length hair, were dark brown. Today, she had painted her eyes with turquoise eyeshadow.

"Is there something you need from me, Lieutenant Lurk?" I asked, trying to be respectful. By the Outsider, I cannot wait for the day that I become a Master Assassin, and I can at least somewhat challenge her!

"Daud told me to come and find you," Lurk replied in her usual vitriolic tone of voice. "He wants to speak to you. Privately, I might add."

"Have I done something to displease him?"

Lurk shrugged. "Knowing you? Probably not. I'd bet coin on the fact that you're Daud's favorite out of all the novices."

I raised an eyebrow. She is trying to bait me again, I just know it. "I am?"

"Don't play stupid, girl," Lurk grabbed me by the arm and literally started to drag me down the hallway. And I let her. I had no choice but to let her. Novices have no say against their Master or Mentor's actions. "It's clear when Daud starts playing favorites. And you won the damned lottery by the looks of it."

"Lieutenant, what have I ever done to you to earn your scorn?" I asked, genuinely curious. "You are older than me, and we both joined Master Daud in the same year. We are also the only girls here…"

"And that should matter to me, why?"

I sighed. Forget I even said anything. Talking to you is like talking to a brick wall. It is pointless, and gets you nowhere.

Lurk dragged me all the way to the Administrative Wing of the Asylum, where she and Master Daud kept their quarters. Master Daud also kept his office in this wing.

Once we reached Master Daud's office, Lurk knocked on the door three times. After a moment's delay, she opened the door, shoved me through it, and closed it behind me. Seriously, Lurk?

Master Daud was sitting behind his desk, scrutinizing the contents of a book. His steely-blue eyes never once looked up at me. I clasped my hands behind my back and stood at attention. I also chose to remain silent. I knew it was what my Master was expecting of me.

After a few minutes, Master Daud looked up at me and said, "Good morning, Arissa."

I unclasped my hands, then placed my right fist on my chest and slashed downwards, to my side. This was how we bowed to our Master, though we typically bow with our blade in hand. "Good morning, Master. How may I serve you?"

Master Daud stood up, and walked over to me. Master Daud stood at least six feet in height, his skin the color of dusk, the color of Serkonos. His eyes were steely-blue, and his right eye bore a scar that went down his cheek. His hair was kept short and neat, and was the color of coal.

"As I'm sure Galia told you, the Novices are having trials today," he said. "However, I pulled you aside for a reason. Do you know why, Arissa?"

"No, Master, I do not," I replied. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, you haven't. Analyze the situation, and you'll find your answer. Why would I have you, and you alone, pulled aside?"

I contemplated my answer. "There are five Mentors, and seven Novices. However, there are also three Master Assassins who act as "commanders" over their own rank, which means that, because of their status, they can also act as Mentors. And Mentor Galia never said that you were going to be overseeing our trials. He only said that you wanted us out of bed."

Master Daud stayed silent.

"Five Mentors, seven Novices…You are having one of the Commanders step in as a Mentor, thus making six of them…Yet, that would still leave one Novice who does not have a Mentor for their trial…" I paused. "You pulled me aside because you wanted to oversee my trial. Am I correct, Master?"

"Very good. Now, let me ask you another question, Arissa," Master Daud said. "What do you know about i cadaveri ululanti?"