The Dark Brotherhood, Part 2 (The First Contracts) (Katnys)

Joining the Dark Brotherhood marked a significant turning point for Katnys; although she felt a deep sisterhood with Jenassa, she hadn’t experienced a real family since the Empire abandoned the Evyrdenes to the Thalmor’s tender mercies.  The presence of a Dunmer and a Redguard in their ranks didn’t hurt, either.  While her interest in the Brotherhood started with daydreams of assassinating Imperial officials, she quickly realized that this family was going to help her heal one of her deepest wounds.

Therefore, when Nazir offered Katnys her first contracts, she was genuinely conflicted.  Until now, she had not killed anyone in whom she wasn't personally "invested." Slaughtering legionaries and Thalmor was a joy, and killing bandits was an act of self-preservation; even at Pinewatch, her preemptive strike, while brutal, was born out of fear.  Sticking Grelod while she was as helpless as the kids she tormented -- well, that just plain felt good.  And Vasha...if half of what he said was true, then he deserved his end. 

But if Katnys was being honest with herself, she had to admit that there was something...liberating about killing on Astrid's orders.  Ever since her parents died, Katnys had shouldered the burden of taking care of herself and her sister.  She made every decision -- leaving the orphanage, finding the Alik'r, going back to Windhelm.  It was that last decision that led to Prym's death.  She was ready to let someone else make the decisions for a while.  And now that the "someone else" was a Redguard who dressed and behaved just enough like an Alik'r, she could find a way to do anything that he asked.

Still, the first three contracts Nazir gave her were hard to stomach. True, these targets were nothing to her, but killing a random mine boss, a paranoid ex-miller, and a grief-deranged beggar without knowing the reason was going to be tough.  It was clear that she wasn't going to get explanations; she was going to have to trust her new family and do as they asked.

Katnys decided to start with the hardest one: Narfi.  Though she didn't encounter him when she passed through Ivarstead on her way to High Hrothgar, she had heard a few rumors about the simpleton who was searching for his sister, who had either abandoned him, died, or both.  With her gone, he was probably better off dead anyway.  Katnys decided that a quick bowshot from a distance would be the most humane exit for this poor bastard.

After Narfi, Ennodius Papius was not as difficult.  While not as pathetic as Narfi, Papius was just as miserable, endlessly jumping at shadows.  Killing him seemed almost merciful.

Beitild came last, and was the easiest target.  The business between her and her husband seemed like it was going to end in bloodshed anyway.  Killing her probably prevented innocent people from getting caught in the crossfire.

After she returned to the Sanctuary, Katnys collected her reward from the sardonic Redguard, then took some time to think.  Murder was becoming easier to justify with each contract, and she needed to decide if this was a good thing.

The Way of the Voice/A Blade in the Dark (Katnys)

After the rush of consuming the dragon’s soul and letting out her first shout, Katnys needed some answers, but she was eager to get to Windhelm to continue her personal war against the Empire.  This “dragonborn” stuff seemed like a lot of Nord nonsense that would only distract her from her mission, but she couldn’t deny what was happening to her.  

In the midst of this internal debate, a new thought dawned on Katnys: if she was going to take on the Empire, she would need all of the power she could muster.  She had a dedicated, like-minded follower in Jenassa, and was earning friends wherever she went, but what if all of that wasn’t enough?  Her skills, her allies, and her rage were strong, but could they alone make the Empire pay for its treachery?  Perhaps this “dovahkiin” business could provide the means for the destruction of the Empire.

With these thoughts in mind, Katnys and Jenassa reported back to Balgruuf, followed his directions to Ivarstead, and then climbed the 7000 steps to High Hrothgar.  While the Greybeards and their monastery were impressive enough, Katnys could never quite take their pious detachment seriously, and just wanted to get on with it.  After all, here was this group of men who possessed immense power, but remained secluded and aloof from the world around them.  Their homeland was under attack by both the Legion and the dragons, but they just wanted to meditate on their mountaintop.  Katnys resolved to jump through their hoops, learn what she needed to learn, and move on.

It therefore came as a profound disappointment when she found Delphine’s note instead of the Horn.  Once again, she would be forced to delay her trip to Windhelm and go down yet another rabbit hole.  As it turned out, however, she didn’t mind this detour quite so much.  Like Katnys, Delphine was a woman of guile and action, so following her to Kynesgrove seemed less pointless than delving into the Greybeards’ dusty dungeons.  Sure, Delphine tended to go on about the Dragonborn and all that, but if what she was saying about the Blades was true, then Katnys needed to be a part of that for two reasons: 1.) a cadre of dragonslayers would be a valuable tool, and 2.) if the Blades had, indeed, protected the Emperor before the Great War, Katnys needed to keep them from returning to that role.

All plotting aside, the encounter with Sahloknir and Alduin at Kynesgrove unsettled Katnys.  Once the shock of seeing Alduin again wore off, she had to wrap her mind around a few disconcerting facts:

• Alduin was raising dragons from the dead with his Thu’um, while Katnys could barely push people around with hers.  Had she bitten off more than she could chew?
• If Delphine was to be believed, the Thalmor were behind all of this, and now Katnys would have to infiltrate the Thalmor Embassy.  Ambushing a small group of Justiciars is one thing, but this might be more than she could handle.
• A few days ago, Katnys was a lone Dunmer just trying to spill some Imperial blood in memory of her sister. She now found herself in the middle of a civil war, a political conspiracy, and some kind of crazy prophesy – none of which she had in mind when she and Prym left Hammerfell.

Hammerfell.  It was that last thought that drove her back to Whiterun.  After returning the Horn to the Greybeards and enduring their pompous (though admittedly impressive) Dovahkiin ceremony, Katnys decided to return to Whiterun to talk to the Redguards she had seen hanging around the front gate.  Before, she had been in too much of a hurry to speak with them, but now that she needed some time to think, a conversation with some Alik’r warriors might help her regain her footing.