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Daud ibn Fadhma

Brief Overview

Daud is an assassin who travels the world in an effort to remain a few steps ahead of the constables. He is wanted internationally for several high-profile assassinations, but his powers of remaining undetected are downright uncanny (read: magical) and he has confidence that he won't be found. His closest associate is Billie Lurk, a young Haitian woman whom he has taken under his wing, but he is developing a polyamorous relationship with Jessamine Attano and Corvo Attano after taking on a contract to kill Jessamine and kidnap her infant daughter, Emily. His guilt gnaws at him.

History & Family

Daud was conceived in Dar al-Bayda to Fadhma, a lower-class Amazigh woman who was sexually assaulted by a white Frenchman. Fadhma, cast out of her family for the pregnancy, became an herbalist and poisoner of magical repute—however, her powers weren't magical in nature in all, but rather grew from her extreme cunning and insightfulness as she lived hand to mouth in a slum and connived her way into securing safety for herself and her young son.

Daud discovered magic after his mother was formally accused of witchcraft, jailed, tried, and executed when he was eleven years old in 1908. Daud lived on the streets of Dar al-Bayda after that, running with and eventually leading a pack of similarly homeless children. He had already learned to steal, and his sleight-of-hand skills improved further in this environment. He learned knife-fighting very quickly as well, and the spark of true magic within his soul grew in proportion to the blood he spilled for selfish gain and survival.

Career as a Professional Assassin

In 1913 at the age of 16, Daud was noticed by a French criminal organization and recruited by them as a hired killer. He was brought across the Mediterranean and then overland to Paris, France, where he performed multiple political assassinations. When World War I broke out, Daud refused to enter the French intelligence service and disappeared from France, eventually resurfacing in London, England, in the postwar world.

At this point, Daud had gained greater control of his powers and was using them to aid his assassinations and thereby amass wealth for himself—however, this was a bitter endeavor, as Daud (at this point) was too miserly, paranoid, and work-minded to enjoy any of his hard-earned money and comfort. He had made contact with The Outsider, and frequently dreams of the Void, but is frightened by the lack of control he experiences in that space between the worlds.

Eventually, Daud is contacted by Euhorn Kaldwin to kill Euhorn's daughter, Jessamine + retrieve a family heirloom that the young woman had stolen + kidnap Jessamine's infant daughter. When Daud agrees, he goes to Berlin in search of the Attano family, finds them… and decides that he is going to break the contract. Our story begins there.

Appearance

Daud is a mixed race (Black and white) man who stands approximately 5 feet and 9 inches tall (175 centimeters) and has medium brown skin. He has a wiry musculature and keeps his dark hair quite short. He has dark brown eyes and a lot of scars. He typically wears a long coat with many concealed weapons underneath. His teeth are stained from his heavy smoking habit; he smells of tobacco.

Quick Facts

Role: Major PC

Aliases:

  • The Knife of London (criminal epithet)

Birthdate: November 4, 1897

Birthplace: Dar al-Bayda (Casablanca), Morocco

Race/Ethnicity: Black Amazigh-Moroccan & white French

Pronouns: he/him

Gender: cis man

Sexuality: asexual

Languages:

  • Moroccan Arabic: (fluent)
  • Metropolitan French: (fluent)
  • British English: (advanced)
  • German: (beginner)

Political Affiliation: anarchist

Religious Background: Sunni Muslim