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Reblogging as I have updated it :3

Lynneira Sylverwind

- Ex Paladin Of Lathander

- Oath broken and branded a heretic

- Current Archfey Warlock under The Faerie Queen Titania

- 239 years old

- She/her

- High elf

- Chaotic good

- Acolyte background

- Romancing Astarion and Halsin

- Photographic memory, struggles to maintain memory of sounds

- Religious OCD

- PNES (psychogenic non-epileptic seizure) sufferer

- in-character journal https://archiveofourown.org/works/55974895 (blue locked due to paranoia)

(cringy lore info-dump under the readmore, rewritten slightly 23/11/24 to reflect rp shenanigans and to word things more accurately)

Born to an eccentric Circle Of Land Druid (her mother, Elenor) and a perpetually anxious Paladin Of Lathander (her father, Ronan), Lynneira is a perfect example of the phrase “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”.

She was raised by her mother who ran an apothecary in Baldur’s Gate (Elenor’s Eclectic Goods). She unfortunately never got to meet her father, as he died on a quest before she was born, but knows quite a lot about him as her mother always spoke fondly of him.

Lynneira was always the type of child to be attached to her mother’s hip, generally trusting her judgement over anyone else’s, including her own. She was a very shy child as well, struggling to even say a passing ‘hello’ to anyone that came in to her mother’s apothecary. This changed one day when a particularly friendly elven boy with silvery white messy curls no older than 5; still a year ahead of her; greeted her first.

“My name’s Astarion!” his voice was cheerful, a slight lisp accentuating the way he said his own name. He’d held his hand out to Lynneira to shake, an oddly formal gesture for a boy his age. Lynneira took his hand cautiously, yelping a little when he shook it firmly. Lynneira would later learn that Astarion’s mother struggled with chronic pain and was seeking remedy from Elenor, so she’d be seeing a lot of this boy from here on out.

In the beginning, Lynneira was overwhelmed by Astarion’s presence. He was the polar opposite of her, boisterous and adventurous and independent, but over time, she grew used to his antics. The two ended up going to the same school together, and Astarion insisted on helping Lynneira make friends, dragging her around and introducing her to anyone he could.

As the years went on, Lynneira’s bond with Astarion continued to strengthen. She made other friends of course, but she’d always come back to him. By the time they’d hit their teens, they were entirely inseparable, being at each others side for any big life events or parties (which Lynneira learned to be comfortable going to because of Astarion’s help).

During their high school years, Astarion and Lynneira had settled in to a comfortable dynamic of physical affection. Gentle hugs here and there, holding hands wherever they went, soft, platonic gestures of adoration. It was a running joke amongst their social circle that they were in fact dating and just not telling anyone. The two adamantly denied these accusations, of course.

Despite this, when Lynneira was alone, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was potential for more between her and Astarion, but she always shoved the feelings down, up until the night of their graduation party. As the two of them made their way back to Lynneira’s house, hand in hand as always, Lynneira stopped briefly, pulling Astarion into the dark space between two shops. “Can I kiss you?” The question was quick and stuttered as Lynneira’s heart pounded in her chest.

There was no verbal answer, only lips meeting cautiously, leading to wandering hands and heavy breaths, and the next thing Lynneira knew, the two young elves were arriving home 45 minutes late to a lecture from her mother and Astarion’s parents who were all apparently worried sick. Perhaps this is what they got for always being relatively punctual.

That spontaneous night in the alley hung heavy in Lynneira’s mind for a long while. Astarion had not brought it up since then, and Lynneira herself didn’t have the courage to ask if it meant anything or was just an act of raging hormones.

As Astarion and Lynneira prepared to go away for college, Lynneira became nervous as to whether or not here and Astarion may begin to drift apart. She planned to pick up where her father left off and become a Paladin of Lathander, while also taking some Druidic courses in hopes of someday taking over her mother’s apothecary. Astarion on the other hand planned to go to law school, potentially getting a job in the city proper. Astarion insisted that things would not change, but still Lynneira worried.

Things were normal for the first while. Astarion and Lynneira would spend almost every weekend together, both elves trying their best to hold on to the routine they had built up through their childhood, but, as is the case for nearly anything, things change; life moves on whether you want it to or not.

Their meetings grew few and farther between, and Lynneira began to notice something changing in Astarion. He was colder, less compassionate towards others, less understanding. It bothered her. By the time the two were in their 30s, Lynneira struggled to recognize the man she once called her best friend. He had gotten a job as a Magistrate in the last few years, and his newly formed biases were showing on clear display.

Eventually, after word got out of Astarion making a rather cruel decision involving a group of monster hunters, Lynneira had had enough. She’d cornered him as he was leaving the courthouse and began laying in to him, infuriated with the man he had become. His responses to her anger didn’t help the situation. He was dismissive and short with her, scoffing coldly and telling her she had a bleeding heart. This broke something in her. She couldn’t remember everything she said to him, but her last words to him were burned into her own mind. “They’re people, Astarion! Good people, with families and lives and needs! Just because your self-serving ass has become too privileged to see that does not mean I have to stand by and watch you ruin their lives!”

As Lynneira stormed off, Astarion wondered if he really had gone too far. In fact, part of him knew he did, but at that point, he was too prideful to admit it, and to his credit, he couldn’t possibly have known that he wouldn’t get a chance to apologize for a very, very long time.

Lynneira spent that evening in her room, curled up and sobbing in frustration, wondering what the hells happened to the sweet boy she’d grown up with. The next day, she decided to catch him after work, to talk things out and see if she couldn’t get him to see sense. It made more sense to her to do that than to spend a tenday or more avoiding him. Lynneira waited outside the courthouse well into the evening, but Astarion never came out.

Worried her friend may be off sulking somewhere, she made her way to his parent’s house, asking if he’d simply taken a different exit out of the courthouse and come home, but his parents hadn’t seen him since he’d left for work that morning and simply figured he’d gone out somewhere and would be home late. Beginning to panic, Lynneira explained that she’d had an argument with Astarion the previous day and was hoping to catch him after work to talk things out, but he never came out of the building.

Astarion’s parents tried to reassure her that he was likely fine, but something in her told her otherwise. Sure Astarion had changed in the way he handled emotions. He was arrogant and self-serving, but he was still punctual, rarely ever late without warning. Something was wrong.

Over the next several weeks, Lynneira spoke with everyone that may have potentially seen or heard from Astarion; co-workers, out of work friends; anyone that would potentially have any information, but no one had, and he never turned up.

As time dragged on, Lynneira’s fear began to consume her. She would not eat or drink until her stomach gnawed at itself and her throat felt like sandpaper, wouldn’t rest until physically unable to keep her eyes open. Her mother begged her to slow her search for Astarion, but she couldn’t. Not only was she fiercely loyal to Astarion despite their recent falling out, she simply could not live with their last interaction being so terrible. As much as she tried, she couldn’t forget the way that he’d looked at her before she’d stormed off; an awful smug frown, judgemental and cold.

Lynneira wondered if perhaps he had just skipped town. Maybe he’d really had enough of her ‘bleeding heart’ as he’d called it. Maybe he never wanted to see her again. This thought plagued her, but she told herself that, no, if he’d truly done that, he’d have the sense to inform his parents, and they would have told her, so she continued to search. weeks turned in to months, months to years, and years to blurred together decades.

50 years in to her search, she could no longer recall the sound of his voice. 100 years in, she had lost almost all hope, and she was getting desperate. Not even prayers to Lathander were offering her any solace anymore. She'd almost given up her search, until one day while in a library in Waterdeep, she came across an old book detailing information about shadow weave; a form of magic bathed in darkness. Within this book was mentions of a ritual where one could attune themselves to shadow itself, giving them eyes wherever they may need them.

The idea of attempting such a thing sent chills up Lynneira's spine, but after searching for over a century, she felt as though she was out of options. She'd tried asking others for help, but everyone she'd asked either wasn't confident enough or didn't care enough to even attempt to help. This ritual may be her only way of finding her friend.

The ritual did not require much, physically speaking. All it called for was a dark room with no mirrors, a few candles, and something to light those candles. It did however require quite a bit of mental fortitude and focus. The old book detailed that attuning oneself to the shadows is a painful process, and that it may indeed cloud your entire being from the light. As Lynneira began to flick tiny firebolts at the wicks of the candles to light them, she felt something tugging at her mind, her vision blurring. Lathander was calling upon her, and she knew better than to ignore him.

"Yes, My L-" Lynneira's greeting was cut off by Lathander's voice booming all around her. "Just what do you think you're doing?" The Morning Lord snapped, his tone harsh and scolding. "I-" Lynneira paused, wringing her hands. For her entire life, she had dedicated herself to a path of light, literally so, and here she was, planning to follow shadow. Of course Lathander would be angry. Lynneira kept her eyes on her own feet as she tried to explain herself. "My Lord, I know this doesn't look good."

"'Doesn't look good' is the understatement of the millenia, child." Lynneira grimaced as Lathander continued to speak to her in the way and exhausted parent would to a child who has caused nothing but trouble, all while being everywhere and nowhere, not showing any sort of physical form. "You'd better have a decent explanation." Lynneira let out a shaky breath, attempting to steel herself, but refusing to lift her head.

"A century." Lynneira said faintly. "Astarion has been gone an entire century, and I can't take it anymore. I couldn't find him in your light, so he must be somewhere in the shadows." Lathander laughed incredulously. "All this for a man who cast you aside without a second thought."

Lynneira's body ran cold, her hands clenching into fists. "It doesn't matter how he sees me or what he has done to me. I need to know that he's safe." Lathander scoffed "And what of your vow? What of your devotion to me and my light. Are you really willing to throw that all away for some idiot who cares more for his own personal gain than you, a woman who has been by his side his entire life? You do know he'd likely never do the same for you, right?"

Lynneira's shuddered. Part of her knew Lathander had a point, but her stubborn nature won out. "Was it not you yourself that instructed me to guide all those that I could into your light, even if it meant risking falling in to shadows? Was it not you who urged me to never abandon a task, no matter how hard the fight to get it done? Was it not you that taught me to prioritize the safety and well being of others above all else?"

There was a few beats of silence before Lynneira felt a hand under her chin sharply lift her gaze upwards. It took everything in her not to wince at the sight of Lathander glaring down at her, his brow knit tightly in anger and his eyes glowing white with holy light. "If you have the courage to defy me, you must have the courage to look at me while you do it."

Lynneira swallowed hard, her mind starting to swim as she held Lathander's gaze. She wanted so badly to apologize for the transgressions, to burn the book she'd found and pretend none of this ever happened, but she knew that if she did that, she'd never forgive herself. Before she had the chance to speak, Lathander said something that told Lynneira that the Morning Lord knew what she was thinking.

"If you go through with this ritual, you will not be simply falling into shadow, as you said, you will be willingly stepping into it, thus shunning my light and guidance. If you do this, it will be the last you ever hear my voice, sense my presence, and feel the warmth of my light. You will lose everything."

Lynneira wimpered. Before her choice was even made, she already felt colder and more empty than before. "My Lord, I-" her breath caught in her throat as if her own body was begging her not to finish her sentence. "I have to see him again. I have to know of his fate, no matter what it takes."

Lathander frowned, seeming not only disappointed, but for a brief moment, genuinely distraught. "Then you have made your choice…" he paused, letting go of Lynneira's face and stepping back. "To think, I'd had such high hopes for you… You're so much like your father… " Lynneira winced at the mention of the father she never got to meet.

"Retrospectively speaking… perhaps that should have been enough of a warning for me not to trust you." As his last sentence was spoken, the spiritual space faded, leaving Lynneira alone in her bedroom once more. She dropped to her knees, breath heavy and stuttering as she tried to rid herself of the mental image of Lathander glaring down at her.

Lynneira cleared her throat and shook her head, sighing heavily before lighting the rest of the candles and positioning herself facing away from them. A faint dizziness came over her as she stared down at her own shadow. She could still back out; blow out the candles and pretend none of this happened. She'd certainly need to beg Lathander for forgiveness and begin anew as a novice Paladin, but she could still do it.

But what of Astarion? Could she really live with herself having abandoned her closest friend to whatever fate may have befallen him? No, she had to do this, not only for him, but also for herself. She steeled herself once more, reading over the words of the ritual as to be certain she would not mess them up. She chewed the inside of her lip nervously before setting the book down and beginning to recite the ritual phrases.

"I call upon the shadows themselves. What I seek cannot be found in light. Grant me entry and let me see all that you encompass." As she recited this call, her vision went white, her body trembling and tensing. "I call upon the shadows themselves. What I seek cannot be found in light. Grant me entry and let me see all that you encompass." She repeated the call, her voice straining as she tried to hold on, dark whispers filling her mind. "Please" she begged, but as a burning pain shot through her body and she dropped to the floor in a heap, she knew she had failed.

Empty. Lynneira felt painfully empty, as if a piece of her very being had been ripped away. Unfortunately, she barely had a moment to compose herself or process how she was feeling before she heard her mother downstairs in the kitchen scream. "MOM?!" she called out into the empty expance of the house, but no response came. Lynneira's heart began to pound as she struggled to pull herself to her feet, her head swimming as she stumbled into the hallway and down the stairs. She nearly fell to her knees as she made her way into the kitchen, her mother nowhere to be seen. "Mom?" She called out again as she stepped forward, wincing as her knees buckled under her and she hit the floor hard.

"I'm afraid your mother is not here, little one." A strange voice said in response. Lynneira yelped at the sound of the voice, instinctively curling in on herself, a fearful whimper escaping her throat. "Please, I don't- I don't know what you want or who you are, just- please don't hurt me…"

The voice let out a sigh, and Lynneira heard and felt the stranger approach her, his footsteps heavy and metallic. She heard what she assumed was the stranger taking a knee next to her but dared not lift her head, even with the strange heat radiating off of him. "I'm not here to hurt you, Lynneira, I'm here to help you."

The sound of her own name is what made her finally look up at the stranger. Before her was a sight she could barely comprehend. A hulking black suit of armor with no visible indicators of a person actually being inside of it, save for 2 glowing red eyes peering down at her through the visor of the helmet.

"Who… what are you?" The question left Lynneira's lips without so much as a second thought. The stranger gave a short laugh, shaking his head. "That- That is an appropriate response, all things considered." He held out a hand do Lynneira. "Here, let's get you to your feet and I'll explain what I can." Lynneira was cautious, but took the strangers hand despite her reservations. The stranger pulled her to her feet slowly, resting his free hand on her side for a moment to stabalize her.

As Lynneira stepped back away from the stranger, he took a bow. "To get introductions out of the way, I am the Oathbreaker Knight." Lynneira flinched. "Oathbreaker-?… That means…" The Oathbreaker Knight did not speak, silently urging Lynneira to finish her sentence. "I broke my oath…" The Oathbreaker Knight tilted his head slightly for a moment. "Well, in any normal situation, I'd say yes… But this… isn't a normal situation, I'm afraid."

Lynneira gave the Oathbreaker Knight a confused look. The Oathbreaker Knight sighed again, glancing off to the side as he seemed to be collecting his words. "What you have done, calling upon the shadows, attempting to use shadow weave, it goes against the very principals of Lathander's teachings. Shadow is the opposite of light. Given that you were warned of the consequenses, there is no returning to Lathander's light. You are not just an oathbreaker. You are a heretic."

The words of The Oathbreaker Knight shot through Lynneira like an arrow of ice, causing her to stumble back, catching herself on one of the kitchen counters. "That… no… what does-?"

Lynneira wasn't too sure, given the lack of facial expressions, but she could have sworn that The Oathbreaker Knight was looking at her sympathetically. "What that means is that from this point forward, if you step foot in any of Lathander's houses of worship, you are an 'on sight' target for his followers."

Lynneira's lip quivered and she glanced at the floor. "I-" She cleared her throat, shaking her head. "I'll deal with that later. Where is my mother?" The Oathbreaker Knight's expression shifted to one of great sadness. "The shadows took her, just like they took the color in your eyes." Lynneira blinked in confusion, clumsily darting into the hallway and locating a small wall mirror. Sure enough, as she looked into the reflection of her own eyes, there was no longer green and blue staring back at her, only swirling blackness. Lynneira wandered back into the kitchen, instinctively hugging herself for comfort.

"You said the shadows took my mother… Where did they take her." The Oathbreaker Knight shook his head. "That, I do not know… I'm sorry…" Lynneira let out a distraught whine, her knees threatening to give out under her once more. The Oathbreaker Knight approached her swiftly, steadying her with his large metal hands. "Easy now, breathe, lass, you'll be alright."

Before she really knew what was happening, Lynneira fell in to the Oathbreaker Knight, wailing like a frightened child. He tensed at first, then embraced her. "It's alright, little one, it'll be okay." Lynneira didn't believe the Oathbreaker Knight's words at all, but the attempt to comfort her was still appreciated.

It took Lynneira 50 years to get used to not having her mother around, and another 25 still to even consider doing anything in terms of searching for Astarion again. One day, she finally felt ready. She’d heard rumors of paladins reaching out to other gods after breaking their oaths, and she’d recalled stories her mother had told her as a child of a deity that she herself had worked with. Titania, the Fey Queen. Lynneira did not have high hopes of getting an answer, but after searching through her mothers belongings, she found a journal detailing how to contact Titania. She knelt in the living room, hands clasped to her chest. “Lady of summer, hear my call.” she pleaded. “I have no one else… I acknowledge that thats my own fault but… please, I need help.” For a few moments, Lynneira thought her prayer was not heard, but as a near blinding light filled the living room, warmth filled her chest.

“My dear child, it took you long enough to call me.” A sweet voice called. Lynneira squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light, seeing a beautiful woman with what looked like dragonfly wings standing before her. “Lady Titania?” Lynneira questioned. The woman nodded, holding a hand out to her and pulling her to her feet. “I’ve been watching you for quite some time, unfortunately it seems you didn’t pick up on the butterflies I was sending you.” Lynneira tilted her head as she processed the fey queens words. She had been noticing a lot of butterflies getting in to the house after her mother disappeared. “That… oh, I’m sorry.” Titania shook her head. “No need, my dear, you never were the observant type.”

The conversation that followed with Titania was not one Lynneira was expecting. Normally, when making a warlock pact, the patron will ask for something grand in return for their aid, but all Titania asked for was Lynneira’s devotion (marking the area around her eyes and her forehead with fae devotion marks) and her efforts in protecting non-violent fae creatures, stating “My dear, you’ve been through enough.” On Lynneira’s end of things, she asked to have eyes in all realms the fae could reach, if anyone spotted Astarion, they were to tell her right away. Upon questioning Titania about why she was helping Lynneira, the response was. “Your mother was good to me, and asked me to protect you, should you ever request my help. So that’s what I’m doing.” Lynneira was confused as to why Titania agreed to this, knowing what she’d done. Titania laughed. “My dear, unlike Lathander, I see no harm in you attempting to tame the shadows. I live for a little chaos. It isn’t your fault he’s got a stick so far up his ass you could put him on a spit.”

For the next 25 years, Lynneira spent a vast majority of her time travelling, upholding her end of the pact and aiding any non-violent fae that were in trouble. She would double back to her mother’s house every month or for much needed breaks and to check in with her mothers apothecary, but other than that, the majority of her time was spent on the road. At one point, one of Titania's many informants passed information on to Lynneira that there was a wizard in Waterdeep that may be willing to help her on her search. Not wanting to put herself in harms way should this wizard refuse to help her based on who she is and what she had done, she opted to exchange letters with him.

Luckily, this wizard; a one Gale Dekarios; was no stranger to acts of hubris in the name of the greater good, and after exchanging a few letters, agreed to meet with Lynneira in his tower. In the mail exchange she had learned that sudden dissapearences in Baldur's Gate were not all that uncommon, and that Astarion may very well have been one of the individuals taken in that tied string connected to the Szarr Family, a group of secrerive aristocrats rumored to be doing rather unsavory things.

In exchange for his help, he asked only that Lynneira help him with his own problem. A curse of sorts, one which the details of seemed to make the wizard rather cagey. He had scorned his Goddess, Mystra of all Deities, and was looking to lift the nastiness she placed on him.

Unfortunately, there was not much Lynneira could do for him, nor her own patron could do. Lady Titania, upon entering Gale's space, merely grimaced and said "Oh no, no my dear boy, I cannot help with that. I like my head on my shoulders."

Despite this unfortunate revelation, gale still agreed to aid Lynneira by way of a spell using objects that belonged to or were tied to Astarion. She brought with her a few of Astarion's rings, one of his favorite shirts, a small figureine he gifted her when the two of them finished school and a teddy bear he'd given her for her birthday.

With the help of these items, Gale was able to decifer that astarion was indeed within Baldur's gate, but only going out at night. With this information, she was able to inform Lady Titania's underlings to watch within the city specifically, and one day, it worked. Lynneira got word that Astarion had been spotted in Baldur’s Gate near a marketplace. She’d received the news well in to the evening, and she wasted no time running to see if she could spot him, Taking a travel sigil from Waterdeep to Baldur's Gate. As she made her way down the street, she ran square in to someone rather large. Before she had the chance to get a good look at them, her vision went black.

#bg3 tav #welcome to tadpoles r us heres a tav #tadpoles r us lynneira sylverwind #astarion #gale

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