Notkin

Pathologic 2=

Notkin is the leader of the children's gang the Soul-and-a-Halves.

Description
"In opposition to Khan’s Dogheads, Notkin’s Soul-and-a-Halves don’t play with a “miracle” but with such simple, earthly values as dogs, birds and kittens. Large hands, covered abundantly in animal scratches. Very thin fingernails, almost cleanly bitten away. Plain and shabby clothes, with nothing to signal his status as leader. He frowns and adopts a serious manner, trying to be a grownup, but his face may brighten quite suddenly! That’s when he opens up and reaches out to a person. He can have this joyful, carefree expression when playing with his cat, Jester."

- From the game's design documents

Notkin is an orphan who lives in the Warehouses. He is the leader of the Soul-and-a-Halves and one of the children listed on Isidor Burakh's List. During the epidemic he falls under the care of the Haruspex. His hands are covered in tiny cat scratches and to his gang he is a revered quick thinker.

Background
Notkin's mother died in childbirth and his father later died in the war, leaving him an orphan. Notkin used to reside with the other children in the Polyhedron before he grew tired of their obsession with miracles and lofty ideals, leading to a falling out with Khan, the leader of the Dogheads. Following his ousting from the Polyhedron he retreated to the Warehouses and created a group much more interested in the value of simplicity and Earth: the Soul-and-a-Halves. The Soul-and-a-Halves are dual-souls, each chosen by an animal companion that acts as their extra half of a soul. Notkin's Half is a grey cat named Jester.

Haruspex Route
"My path was called "A Half-Soul More." I wanted to create a real utopia, a fraternity of boys and pups, girls and kittens, tots and cubs..."

On the first day of the Haruspex's return Notkin asks for his aid in helping with some of his Soul-and-a-Halves dogs Alma, Duke, and Wolfling as he had already asked the Bachelor for help and was refused. Notkin will ask the Haruspex a number of troubling moral quandaries, questioning when he thinks a murder is just - if at all. Following the strange conversation Notkin will tell the Haruspex of his troubles with the Doghead Lika, who is the one who poisoned their dogs, who the Halves "like better than people". If the Haruspex insists on helping with his issue Notkin will give him a leash, insisting that he give it to Lika. If the leash if given to Lika it is implied that the Halves control him somehow, throwing him down a Well. If he spares Lika Notkin is not angry, only contemplative.

Notkin, being one of the children who visited Isidor Burakh frequently, may tell the Haruspex of his visits and direct him to Capella for further information.

On the day of the outbreak one of the Soul-and-a-Halves, Patches, falls ill. Notkin asks for help first from the Bachelor, who advises that Patches is a lost cause and that the Warehouse should be quarantined. Unsatisfied with the Bachelor's advice Notkin sends for the Haruspex, who he believes will be able to help. When the Haruspex arrives Notkin provides him with three antibiotic pills they have managed to find, and wishes him luck. The Haruspex does manage to lower Patches infection through his treatment. Unfortunately Patches still passes, as even with the following help of the Changeling he could not be saved.

In the evening Notkin meets with Khan in the Broken Heart to discuss the search for the House of Death - a home that is, according to legend, the home of Death. According to the legend if someone were to either stay in the home until midnight or light candles inside they would scare Death away. Neither Notkin or Khan truly believe in the legend, but insist on looking anyway as "when there's smoke, there's fire." The two are interupted by the Haruspex, who insists on going in their place. The boys refuse as Notkin does not want to be seen as weak, hiding behind another man's back. Notkin and Khan find the home in the Crude Sprawl and wait inside, hoping to scare Death away. The Haruspex catches up with them and, after lighting the required candles, takes the boys away from the dangerous house.

Following their foray into the House of Death Notkin becomes infected with the Sand Plague. It is unclear where exactly he caught it from as he had both been near Patches and inside an infected home in recent days. Notkin begs the Haruspex to take him away from the Soul-and-a-half Fortress to keep his friends safe. The Haruspex may use a shmowder on Notkin, curing him of the Sand Pest. If he does so Notkin will become angry, insisting that it was a foolish thing for the Haruspex to do. He later sobers, thanking the Haruspex for saving him, even if he doesn't think that it was a good idea. If Notkin is not cured following the House of Death it is likely that he will die.

During the days of the outbreak Notkin sends his Soul-and-a-Halves to inspect infected districts in order to make a map for the Haruspex.

On the tenth day since the Haruspex returned to his hometown the plague suddenly infects all of the currently living children on his list. This marks the second time Notkin becomes infected due to extraneous circumstances.

In the Diurnal Ending Notkin can be found by Taya Tycheek, Oyun, and Aspity, contemplating convincing Taya to join the Soul-and-a-Halves when she is a little bit older. In the Nocturnal Ending Notkin flees the Town with those who can no longer live within the Town alongside many of the Utopians and Humbles.

The Marble Nest
Notkin perished prior to the events of The Marble Nest.

Spoken Dialogue

 * → See Notkin/Spoken Dialogue

Description
"Appearance: A homely thick-lipped boy. His outstanding feature is his glassy eyes. One can notice in his gaze something like a mixture of trance, grueling waiting, and an attempt to find his way into what he just heard. But when Notkin’s eyes focus on the person he is speaking to, his face transforms, it becomes clever and even mischievous. “Lit up from the inside” as they say about such faces. His thick ash-blonde hair reaches his shoulders. Notkin is of a short height. Pose: Lying down and curling up. Personality: This boy was of such outstanding personality that as the result of his falling out with the Mother Superior he was exiled from the Polyhedron. When the Mother Superior left to take over the Termitary after her deceased father, Notkin was invited back, but, being his proud self, he refused. Instead, he set up his lair in the Warehouses and started the game of “station” (something like a game of tag). It was a dangerous game because actual bandits with Bad Grief in charge were hiding in the Warehouse undergrounds. Bad Grief disregards the Kains, so he poses a real threat to the children. Notkin took the risk, and it drew in the kids to him: the kids were outcasts and daredevils, just like him. Little by little the kids developed their own slummy community with its laws and customs. They have their own fashion and hair styles, a distinct system of signs and marks. A new mythology was born. After the rite of initiation, a member of the community adopts an animal, raises it and never parts with it. Usually, these animals happen to be cats and puppies, but on rare occasions the choice could be quite exotic: wolves, ferrets, and ravens. As for Notkin, he is always accompanied by a big grey cat named Artist."

- From original Pathologic character concepts 

Notkin is is blunt and short-tempered, but is easily appeased. He is good-natured at heart, and is well-aware of his social power and the consequences that could result from it. He is very fond of animals, as is a theme within his Soul-and-a-Halves. Notkin owns a large grey cat named "Artist".

Background
Once a close friend of Kaspar "Khan" Kain, the two boys eventually had a falling out, and Notkin was ousted from the Polyhedron. In retaliation, Notkin assembled his own group of homeless children, and took up residence in the southern section of the Warehouses. There is a dangerous rivalry between his gang and Khan's, and prior to the Second Outbreak each side was preparing for an open war.

Notkin has a badly sprained foot and suffers from limited movement. Despite his immobility, his Soul-and-a-Halves scour the city, acting in his command.

Soul-and-a-Halves
In Steppe lore, a "Dualsoul" is the name for an evil spirit which houses two souls inside one body. Notkin referenced this creature when creating his gang: the "half-soul" refers to an animal companion living with a member of the gang. They raise and protect a chosen animal in their youth—but when both are grown, the roles are reversed and the animal instead protects the owner.

Most of the gang's "half-souls" are dogs, though there have been some exotic examples: wolves, ferrets, crows, etc. Fifteen years prior to the outbreak, they also used beetles due to their wise appearance.

Portrait Quotes
"Notkin used to be Khan's best friend. I don't know what their quarrel was about, but most likely it was about Notkin not wanting to dance to his whistle. For what it's worth, they also say that he was banished from the Polyhedron by the Mother Superior—before she returned to the orphaned Termitary."

- Capella's take on him

"After Mother left, we invited him back, but he, in his pride, refused. Instead he chose to dig a lair by the Warehouses and play the "Soul-and-a-Halves". A dangerous game, seeing how Grief isn't afraid of father in the slightest. Notkin took a risk, but that drew other misfits to him. And that's how they started their slummy society."

- Khan's take on him

Bachelor Route
Notkin only briefly appears in the Bachelor's route.

Haruspex Route
Following the "Termite Ending", Capella states that Notkin will become one of the rulers of the town, managing the relations with the Steppe and railway. There must be constant communication with the world beyond the Town.

His associated color will become "gold."

Spoken Dialogue

 * → See Notkin/Spoken Dialogue