#// And he becomes a cleric of Eilistraee

[morethanthedarkness]

‘ i will either find a way, or i will make one. ’ // @dryadalismagicae { Na'elle }

It has not been long that Zerith was returned to himself, a mere two days indeed since he was brought from that dark and twisted form that had skittered about in the shadows, clutching the light of that accursed lantern and ceaselessly uttering his praises of the Absolute.

His mind is still healing from being so fractured, so shattered, his body still feeling somewhat clumsy and unnatural after so many years with several more legs, yet even so…

He'll be damned if he will allow this horror to continue now that he is himself once more, now that he has been told how this nightmare might, at last, be brought to an end.

[ He owes it to Eilistraee—does he not?—and to the adventurers within this party that the broken Oath of Vengeance paladin turned Cleric of the Absolute had been rescued from his curse rather than simply struck down. He would not allow that debt to remain unpaid. ]

"As I will see this finished and set right. If it is the last task that I do before departing to the hereafter, then at least this second chance will have been well-spent."

[trappedinafantasy37]

There are multiple gods in the game that you can directly interact with and they all have ties to the narrative. You can interact with Shar via Shadowheart. You can interact with Mystra via Gale. You can interact with Myrkul via Ketheric when he takes on the avatar form. You can interact with Bhaal via Durge and in the fight with Orin. You can interact with Bane after killing Gortash and using "Speak with Dead" in which the soul you speak to is not Gortash, but Bane himself. I would include Vlaakith in this list but Vlaakith is not a god, she is a lich presenting herself as a god. And, of course, there is the Absolute which doesn't really become a god until it ascends into the Netherbrain (although that is debatable).

But, did you know that Lolth will also interact with you? As far as I am aware, Lolth is the only non-story related god in which you do have interactions with. One of them is only available if you are a Lolth-sworn drow, and the other is only available if you are a Cleric of Lolth (you do not need to be Lolth-sworn for it).

The first instance is in the goblin camp with the spiders in the pit. This does require that you are a Lolth-sworn drow and that you have the ability to speak with animals. When talking to the spiders, you will have the option to present yourself to the spiders as Lolth herself. If you fail the persuasion check, Lolth gets pissed off as she was listening to you and is not happy that you tried to present yourself as her. And she tells the spiders you are an imposter and they attack you. But if you succeed the check, Lolth doesn't do anything and the spiders will think you are Lolth. So, Lolth doesn't really have a problem with you pretending to be her. But if you are going to pretend to be her, you better do it right. If the spiders think you are Lolth, you can ask them about what's going on in the goblin camp and the spiders only talk about one thing. They immediately tell you that there is another drow in the camp who has forgotten her way and that she is forsaken. And, as I said, Lolth is here. She heard the spiders admit this. Lolth does nothing about it.

The second instance is in the Underdark with the Phalar Aluve. When you interact with the sword, you have two different checks, a Strength check and a Religion check. If you do the Strength check, you can just pull it out of the stone and be on your merry way. If you perform the Religion check, the narrator will tell you different things depending on certain conditions. If you are a Lolth-sworn drow and/or a Cleric of Lolth, the narrator will tell you that the religious rite to pull the blade from the stone is blasphemous as it pays honor to the weak. If you are of any other race and/or cleric of any other god, the narrator will tell you that the sword is of Eilistraee and the rite pays honor to the fallen. The religious rite is that you spill a little bit of your blood and the sword will rise out of the stone on its own. If you do this as a Cleric of Lolth (you don't need to be Lolth-sworn) you will feel hundreds of spiders crawl all over you as Lolth is warning you not to do shit like that ever again. Not only did you perform the religious rite of another god, you performed the religious rite of a god she hates. And she is letting you know how much she hated that.

These are the only two instances in the game that I have found in which Lolth interacts with the player but there are plenty of other moments in which Lolth could interact with you, but doesn't (such as with the Phase Spider, the baby spiders in Grymforge, Kar'niss, or the dead spider in the Gauntlet of Shar). Of these two moments where Lolth does interact with you, one of these instances is in the goblin camp, and the other is in the Underdark not too far away from the goblin camp. I don't think it is much of a coincidence that these two interactions occur in close proximity to Minthara. Almost as if Lolth has a reason to be in that area specifically to watch and monitor things, and you just so happened to be there. And the only things that compel her to interact with you is because you pissed her off. But, as long you don't piss her off, she will do nothing and she will say nothing.

When Minthara was being tortured by the Absolute, she prayed to Lolth and begged Lolth to give her the strength to fight her enemies. But Lolth does nothing and Lolth says nothing. In fact, that was the full extent of Lolth's "punishment" for Minthara, nothing. All Lolth did was not answer Minthara's prayers and not show up when Minthara needed her the most. Lolth did not torture Minthara like the Absolute did, Lolth did not turn her into a drider, nor did Lolth eat her. All she did, was nothing. And yes, Lolth is known for abandoning drow and no longer interacting with them. A drow has to do something incredibly awful in order for Lolth to just back away from them entirely. But you cannot convince me that Lolth is going to let one of her Baenre's go so easily. It's not as if Minthara has done anything truly awful either to make Lolth that mad.

According to Minthara, she herself has sinned against the Spider Queen, but it's not as if she chose to abandon Lolth, she was forced away and mind controlled into being devoted to another god. But would this make a difference to Lolth? Does it really matter if Minthara was compelled to have faith in another god besides Lolth? It isn't until Minthara is freed and feels the absence of Lolth that she chooses to no longer follow Lolth. Minthara even mentions how turning against Lolth is a big no-no in Menzoberranzan. Minthara herself at one point has hunted down and killed those who turn their backs from Lolth so she knows the same will be done to her if she were to ever return home. In fact, if you are a Lolth-sworn drow or a Cleric of Lolth, you are given unique dialogue options with Minthara to kill her because she is a traitor to Lolth and these options continue to show up until you recruit her into your party and she joins your roster. Despite all of this, Lolth does nothing. Minthara spews anti-Lolth rhetoric left and right, and Lolth does nothing. If you take Minthara to the tabernacle, she will spit on a shrine to Lolth, and Lolth does nothing.

Minthara is also able to walk through the Gauntlet of Shar, which is in the Underdark, and Lolth does nothing. Sure, you could argue that its connection to the Shadowfell and the fact that Shar is there via Shadowheart is enough to keep Lolth away. The lore of DnD does not make it quite clear what the relationship between these two goddesses are. But I am willing to bet that Lolth is smart enough not to step on Shar's toes because Shar would annihilate her. However, there is a small little section of the Gauntlet where it actually does spit you out directly into the Underdark and into Lolth's territory. Minthara can walk right out there just fine, and Lolth does nothing.

But most importantly, Minthara's default ending is her returning to the Underdark with the sole purpose of destroying House Baenre and then killing Lolth. Destroying House Baenre could lead to a chaotic and political disaster in Menzoberranzan, and Lolth does nothing. Minthara quite literally wants to kill Lolth and has intentions to do so after taking House Baenre, and Lolth. Does. Nothing!

If Minthara goes into the Underdark and destroys House Baenre, this will cause chaos and death. And the Baenre's won't be the only ones she has to destroy, but any and all allies of House Baenre in which they do have a lot. And Lolth will feed off of all the death and carnage and chaos that Minthara is about to bring to Menzoberranzan because Lolth loves chaos more than she hates traitors.

Maybe, Lolth has not abandoned her as Minthara thinks she has. Maybe, Lolth has done nothing and said nothing because Minthara has not actually upset her. Maybe, Lolth has done nothing and said nothing because Minthara is already doing everything Lolth wants her to do. And all it took, was making Minthara think that Lolth abandoned her. There was no need for Lolth to answer Minthara's prayers, because Minthara always had the strength to fight her enemies.

[galedekarios]

Ok this is a little weird but I noticed you're playing a Gale romance and have finished the game. Did you get a good ending for him? Now that I know he's essentially been sent to get blown up I'm scared to keep playing 😭

i can promise you without spoilers that his romance can end in several ways and that one of them is a very happy and emotionally fulfilling ending.

if you want to know more and don't mind spoilers, you can read more under the cut:

[spoiler warning for the gale romance ending (good)]

you must always pick options that help gale believe that he is enough as he is: he doesn't need to die for his redemption and that he doesn't need to become a god to defeat the absolute nor the shackles the gods have placed on faerun.

when the time comes, encourage gale to give the crown of karus to mystra.

if you do that and let gale follow that path -- which, in my opinion, is the one he truly wants and strives towards, accepting himself for who he is, flaws and strengths and weaknesses and all, and to grow from that and finally heal -- then it will be possible to convince him to be just that: gale dekarios.

and gale dekarios, after the final fight has ended and the city begins to rebuild slowly, proposed to my eilistraee cleric altonaufein and altonaufein became altonaufein dekarios of waterdeep.

so yes, a happy ending is entirely possible.

🖤

[charmedcleric]

Get to know your tav!

I was tagged by the lovely @auspex-author Thank you so much for the tag!

Her name is Athena and she is my war domain cleric of eilistraee. Her character sheet is here and this post is very long so I’ll put most of it under the cut! Once I start talking about my tavs I literally can’t stop, also I talk about her relationship with rolan a little bit so that’s why he’s tagged <3

What is your tav’s….

favorite weapon?

- Athena’s favourite weapon is a longsword you find in act 1 called the Phalar Aluve

style of combat?

- She is usually in the frontline swinging her singing sword while casting spirit guardians. She also loves ambushing, as it’s a great way to get advantage over others

most prized possession?

- Athena has two lockets that she wears 24/7. One locket was a gift to her from her mother. The other locket belonged to her sister. Athena’s mother had a tradition to get each of her children a matching locket with a photo of the family in it to remind them that no matter what happens they are with them all the time. As Athena’s parents and sister had passed away she had both the lockets on her at all times to feel close to her family

deepest desire?

- To have a family of her own. She was orphaned at the age of 14 and became her little sisters full time carer. 4 years later her sister got very ill, so Athena became a cleric to help look after and heal her.

Her healing magic helped her sister stay alive for 5 years until her sister Rose succumbed to her illness and passed away. Athena felt empty as she now had no family left and she felt as if she had failed as a cleric. She would love nothing more than to have a family to call her own, yet it’s one of the things she fears most as she doesn’t want to let anyone else down

guilty pleasure?

- Athena’s guilty pleasure is gossiping, she knows she shouldn’t but she loves listening in on others business. Her, astarion and shadowheart basically have a gossiping club at this point where they tell each other all the juicy stuff

best-kept secret?

- That she is a sword dancer of eilistraee. A sword dancer is a specialized priestess (cleric) of Eilistraee. Athena had been a follower of eilistraee since she was little but once her sister died leaving her to be the last in her family, she felt as if the only thing she had left was her religion. She decided that she wanted to become a sword dancer. As she already lived on the surface becoming a sword dancer was slightly easier as to become one you must spend at least a month on the surface dancing each moonlit night for eilistraee and you had to witness dawn at least once.

She also went and offered her services at the Promenade of the Dark Maiden, she wasn’t there for long before she was taken by the nautiloid.

greatest strength?

- Her dedication, when she puts her mind to something or she wants something she will get it

fatal flaw?

- She blames herself a bit to much and she shuts down while doing it. This is seen when rolan yelled at her in the shadow lands and even after saving the tieflings from moonrise she still wasn’t herself and became very quiet for some time although she didn’t let that stop her from her task of infiltrating moonrise towers

favorite smell?

- She loves the smell of freshly baked bread, it reminds her of home when her mother would bake bread for the family in the mornings

*bit of post game lore of Athena x rolan hehe* when Rolan found this out he always made sure that there was bread being freshly baked in the kitchen each morning, nothing made him happier than seeing the smile on Athena’s face each and every morning. Of course when Athena would ask him if he was doing it for her and if he would ask them to also make some of her other fav bakery goods, he would of course deny what she said and tell her to not be greedy lmao

favorite spell or cantrip?

- She loves AOE spells such as glyph of warding and flame strike

pet peeve?

- She hates lying, she can usually see through people when it comes to lying and she makes sure that they know she isn’t happy especially if it’s someone she considers a friend or someone she has more intimate feelings for

bad habit?

- When she is nervous or stewing over something she plays with her hair and pulls out strands of her hair. The only companion that called her out on it was karlach, but as this was a habit Athena wasn’t actually aware she was doing she dismissed karlach’s worry

She was then called out by rolan which made her kinda pull back, shocked he would notice something like that (she thought he hated her) she was now well aware she was doing it and actively tries to avoid doing it. She also went and apologized to karlach for dismissing her worry

hidden talent?

- She is really good at lock picking , she likes to joke that she could give astarion a run for his money which he doesn’t agree with of course. She never lets him forget about when he was struggling to open a chest and after like 100 goes Athena had a go and immediately lock-picked it lmao (based on when astarion failed lock-picking like 20 times and then when i got Athena to have a go she got a NAT 20 lol)

leisure activity?

- Painting/drawing and singing. Before she became a cleric she would paint and sell her artwork on the city streets of waterdeep that’s how she made money to keep her and her sister alive. Now whenever she gets a free chance she will sit down and draw/paint landscapes until the sun goes down. And while she is painting she will be singing or humming along to one of her favourite songs

favorite drink?

- She loves a plain cup of coffee, she has a lot on her mind and she feels coffee helps her to relax, although some people might beg to differ

comfort food?

- Her comfort food is her mums homemade soup, whenever she has the time and ingredients she will make it as it reminds her of home and brings her immense comfort

favorite person(s)?

- Athena has multiple favourite people and all for different reasons. Her most favourite person though would have to be rolan. Even though they had a rocky relationship when they first met, Athena was nothing but nice to rolan, she admired the love he had for his family (a value she thinks is very important). They ended up getting together after the fall of the absolute.

After the fall of the brain, Athena went to rolan to catch up and to tell him that she was going back to waterdeep and well Rolan kinda lost it and confessed his feelings for her right then and there.

-Jaheira is another one of her favourite people. Athena views jaheria as a mother figure and was on the verge of tears when Jaheira first started calling her cub. Anyone around could see that Jaheira was very important to Athena and that she was the mother figure Athena wished she still had in her life

*more Athena x Rolan lore cause I’m obsessed with them lol* when Rolan was thinking of asking Athena to marry him, he went and asked Jaheira for her blessing as he knew the importance of their relationship

favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic)?

- platonic: she loves hugs, especially giving them,

-romantic: hugs, hand holding and kisses on the cheek

fondest childhood memory?

- Playing at the local park with her family just before her parents passed away, it was one of the last times as a family and the last time she truly felt carefree and happy

free-response! Is there anything else about your Tav you'd like to share?

- She LOVES reading, once she opens a book it’s all over, you’ve lost her lol you won’t hear from her until she’s finished said book (that’s mainly cause she actually struggles to read and takes forever to finish) it’s one thing that she missed most while traveling to baldur’s gate as she had no time to just sit down and read for hours

Tagging: @esolean @lanabenikosdoormat @commander-krios @orangekittyenergy and anyone else who’d like to do it! I love reading about people’s tavs

[bananasfosterparent]

Update on my current runs!

Silkina the Bard Waveservant -

She got the Volo eye (not pictured) and has been helping her friends while looking for a cure. This is my first "good" solo run, so it's a lot of content, more than I'm used to! Definitely going slower than my usual, but still a lot of fun! Also never realized how funny Karlach is lmao. Just getting to the goblin fight so we'll see how it goes! Very excited to get Wyll's party scene!! Silkina is sassy, but kind and really an outlier among other waveservants because of it. Well, she's really good at connecting with others at least. Despite it being odd, since most Waveservants (especially clerics) are quite standoffish and introverted, Silkina focuses on making her outgoing nature work for her, sharing the might and fury of Umberlee with her words (and music).

Also.. after getting the Volo eye and almost everyone disapproving, I noticed Wyll didn't.. but he didn't have a ! either. I had her talk to him anyway and he was like "Welcome to the one eye club! A woman with one eye is very intriguing c:" and I giggled.

Efeniti (Spawn Astarion ending AU run) -

In the exact same place it's been for a few weeks lmao I have not touched this playthrough. I AM SCHTALLING. I know what you're thinking... because I'm an AA fan... but really, I just can't emotionally handle the break down scene after he brutally stabs Cazedor. Or the brutal stabbing. I am really not ready for that. I have my own feelings for why and what it makes me experience, but maybe if I actually go through with it this time, I can talk about it (it's not that bad, I'm just procrastinating).

This version of Efenity is who she would be if she hadn't lost the woman who was like a mother to her. If she had been able to have a somewhat normal life and become a private magic teacher in the upper part of the city. She's much kinder and able to temper herself much better.

Efenity (Canon AA romance run #whatever) -

This is idk like the 5th time I've played as Efenity. I've lost count 🤷🏽‍♀️ Most of these runs, I only got to Act 3 and only 2 I've gotten to the final fight and couldn't win it after trying over and over. This time I plan to finish it!!! I want my epilogue, dang it! I killed Minthara this time, at the party. There was a leftover from EA with a voiced Tav scene. If you killed Minty and the goblins at the party, that night or morning after(?) there's some conversation and Tav says something in the cut scene! ANYWAY... I tried it and it didn't happen 😭😭😭 I either did it wrong (I attacked before Minty had her murder cutscene) OR they patched it out of the game! I could go back and try it again, but I barely won that fight and it took me SO many tries (mostly due to needing to long rest).

But! Regardless! Even though I didn't get that cool voiced Tav scene... I have added Efenity killing Minthara and the goblins at the party to her canon story. Because it just makes sense that she'd do that. Originally, she just uses her to get to Moonrise but I scrapped that. While Efenity just sees the tieflings as collateral damage, she knows Shadowheart was struggling with that whole ordeal which did bother her... she cares for SH and she is her first real friend. And with Minthara insulting her for not wanting to sleep with her, on top of it...

Efenity was like OKAY. Time for you to go, ma'am.

Solenia Omraebra, the Drow Cleric -

I've only had her for about a week and I love her. She's also been through at least 6 different hairstyles 😭 Solenia is my newest Tav, a Drow and cleric of Eilistraee! She's very studious and scholarly. I don't know much about her beyond that yet. Still working on her backstory and whatnot, BUT she is good to a fault. She wants to save everyone, in every way that she possibly can. Even those she probably shouldn't get close enough to, to try to save. Even those she is told are irredeemable. She's romancing Gale! She's just getting through Act 1 stuff and almost to the goblin camp!

[wafflerageface]

Alright indulge me here:

Does her meaning have any name?

Recap her fav date with the tyrant for me pretty pls?

How's it going with them siblings? Who's her fav, who does she dislike the most, why?

Fav dish (besides the durge cannibalism bit)

AAAAAHHHHH thank you so much!! I’m so excited I get to talk about my Durge!!

1) Does her name have any meaning?

Aria has Italian origins meaning “air” or “melody”. I chose this name because I made her a bard necromancer and her instrument is a violin. Violin was invented in northern Italy, so I based her appearance on a “stereotypical” northern Italian, and gave her a name to match. Since I based so much of her characterisation off of music, I decided to make sure her name reflected that.

2) Recap her favourite date with the Tyrant

Before meeting Enver, she had never left the undercity before, so being topside was incredibly overwhelming. She was assigned to be Enver’s bodyguard/assassin by Durge as a show of good faith, and obviously he couldn’t have someone following after him wearing obvious Bhaalist robes, so he took her shopping. They went to the dress shop (Fierro’s? I think? I’m bad at names) where he had several custom outfits made to wear (I headcanon the one she wears in game is the first one he bought her) Having that many unfamiliar hands on her body was extremely uncomfortable and when Enver noticed he gave her one of his anti anxiety rings. They went and had dinner afterwards and he introduced her to fine dining. The only other date they’ve had that could rival this one is a date set after the events of the game (because I refuse to let him die 💅🏻) and after some very intense and personal drama between the two of them, they took a mini vacation to the beach. It was very relaxing.

3) How is it going with the siblings? Who is her favourite v least favourite and why?

Okay SO there’s literally so many fucking Bhaalspawn. I will list them first in age order (bear with me)

a. Corvir, a massive vampire barbarian warlock (he sold his soul to Strahd to become a vampire to avenge his dead wife and daughter)

b. Nezryn, a drow archmage who raised all of the other Bhaalspawn (she and Corvir are upwards of 90 at this point) She comes up with nicknames for everyone.

c. Anezka, a half elf ranger. She likes to primp and prim the most of the spawn. She’s kinda sassy too.

d. Fallon, a half elf battlemage. She’s the Durge of the group so she’s the only one who wasn’t raised by Nezryn, however she did learn a lot of magic from her.

e. Aria, a half elf necromancer bard with magpie tendencies. She’s physically small and weak comparatively to her other siblings, but she makes up for it with vast intellect.

f. Illanthir, a half drow cleric of Eilistraee. He is Nezryn’s actual child after a…forced and unsavoury night with Sarevok. His twin brother is Ellandar.

g. Ellandar, a half drow paladin of Eilistraee that has taken an oath of Devotion specifically towards his family. His twin brother is Ilanthir

h. Nepthys, a tiefling monk that is incredibly pastel goth. She has a few more marbles in her jar than Orin.

i. Anemone, a tiefling draconic sorcerer that is very pink. Like VERY pink. She has a very bubbly personality. She has like two more marbles in her jar than Orin, but she’s too happy to have the unhinged murderous rage of Orin

j. Orin, a channeling…rogue? I think is her technical class. I’m not actually sure. We all know her, we all love her.

Aria’s favourite sibling is probably Nezryn for the fact that she was raised by her and she taught her wizardry. Without Nezryn she wouldn’t have half the necromantic abilities that she does, and she probably wouldn’t have lived this long either.

Aria’s least favourite sibling is Orin. It can be really fun playing the “Which one is Orin” game, sure, but in a den of assassins where some games of hide and seek turn deadly if you don’t spot Orin fast enough? Besides, she’s the first one to run and tell “daddy” anytime you misbehave. No one likes a snitch.

4) What’s her favourite dish? (Sans roasted dwarf)

She loves strawberries. She loves strawberry anything she can get her hands on. I headcanon that Enver has a massive sweet tooth (part of that autism adhd combo he’s got) and he got Aria hooked on eating strawberry cakes. If we wanna included drinks as a “dish” she drinks hot milk with honey and lavender every night before bed while Enver reads to her

[y-rhywbeth2]

Could you tell me more about Erevan Illsere's Time as a dark elf and relationship with Elistraee? I read through the wiki page but there's nothing there.

There's no details, I just noticed this:

'The elven subraces can all become clerics of any of the Seldarine, though some gods and their priests are strictly limited along racial lines: Gold Elves: Corellon Larethian; Labelas Enoreth Moon Elves: Coreelon Larethian; Sehanine Moonbow Green Elves: Corellon Larethian; Rillifane Rallathil Aquatic Elves; Corellon Larethian; Deep Sashelas Dark Elves: Corellon Larethian; Erevan Ilesere; Lolth (after -12,000 DR)' - Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves

Perhaps that's a typo that should've been Eilistraee (but Ilythiir was following Vhaeraun, so she wasn't the dominant dark elven god, and even then both deities had been exiled from the Seldarine by that point so maybe it wasn't? Lolth was also deliberately italicised, so maybe drawing attention to the fact that they stopped worshipping the Seldarine at that point.) Or a lot of Dark Elves were rebelling against authority and the elven empires before it all went to hell (what with Miyeritar being occupied then subject to genocide by the Vyshaantar empire, and Ilythiir being an imperialist nation dovetailing into a Lolth worshipping nightmare). Whatever the case, it says Erevan.

A god whose clerics have the job description involves 'oppose settled interests of all sorts and delight in upsetting both the rule of law and powerful people and in generally creating mayhem' could appeal to dissenters.

As I said, Erevan has gone out of his way to stay friends instead of strained allies with Eilistraee, so if he had a connection to the dark elven people it could add to that.

'While the Dark Maiden and the Seldarine remain allies, it is a strained relationship that reflects the divisions that persist among the elves. Among the elven powers, Eilistraee is only close with Erevan Ilesere.' - Demihuman Deities

Erevan opposes the cruel and those in positions of authority while championing the underdog and trying to make the miserable laugh, which Eilistraee - typically described as moody/melancholy - is (although she also has a lighter fey side, it's just less seen since her exile).

Could imply that that symbolic tension/division doesn't inherently exist between Erevan and the dark elves either, though that's me reading into things. (Although he's not fond of cruelty and bullying, which makes a lot of drow distasteful to him, he also stands out as one of minority in the Seldarine active on Toril who isn't good-aligned.)

Either way I'm taking this as vindication for my beleaguered surface-born mischiefmaker drow. I mean most of the Seldarine still accepts dark elven priests and clerics, although Corellon's still holding them at arms length a bit, and Fenmarel and Shevarash are assholes, but still.

[cosmicveils]

Lore relevant to drow in Faerûn (Baldur's Gate 3 setting)

This is a writeup mostly for anyone playing BG3 that may be curious about drow, if they're unfamiliar with the Forgotten Realms/Faerun setting. I will say as a disclosure that I haven't read all of the drow-centric Forgotten Realms novels, and it's been quite a while since I read the ones I am familiar with. This is really just a basic primer lol. Anyway...

Religion and where they live: Drow usually live in the Underdark, which is incredibly vast. There are many cities spread throughout the caverns, generally with tens of thousands of drow and their slaves.

Typically, these drow revere Lolth, the Spider Queen -- an evil goddess who loves chaos above all else. Their society is incredibly matriarchal; women generally treat men like they're inferior, and only women can become clerics of Lolth. Men are usually focused on more martial pursuits. Typically, the third-born son of a House is ritually sacrificed to Lolth as an infant.

Assassination and ritual sacrifice are extremely common in Lolth-sworn drow society, even amongst family members. It is very common for Houses (families, essentially) to go to war with each other to advance their place in society. Countless houses have been completely exterminated this way.

Here is an excerpt from the beginning of the book "Homeland" by R.A. Salvatore:

Drider punishment: Remember Kar'niss from early in Act 2, the drow whose lower body is that of an enormous spider? He's a drider. Driders are drow who have been punished, typically by a high priestess of Lolth, or sometimes Lolth herself. Most driders seem to be male, but women have been turned into driders as well. The process is said to be excruciating, and it's generally a punishment for failing Lolth in some way, being disloyal, or hating Lolth and the ways of the drow.

Surface drow and Eilistraee: There are a couple of drow towns on the surface world, but they are extremely isolated and rarely seen. These "Seldarine" drow usually follow Eilistraee, another drow goddess that wants something better for her people. She embodies freedom, song, and dance. For a long time, her clergy was also female-only, but in recent times it's become welcoming to male members as well. Sometimes, these men use a ritual spell to change their sex, to better experience closeness to their goddess. While it's usually a temporary experience, some do it frequently or stay female-presenting for long periods of time. (And of course, this can be very relevant to transgender drow who wish to change their sex, or certain aspects of it.)

The Seldarine refers to the general elven pantheon of gods, all good-aligned enemies of Lolth. Long ago, Lolth betrayed Corellon, the leader of the Seldarine, and was cast out for her crimes. Eilistraee, the daughter of Lolth and Corellon, tries to steer the drow towards something better. A strong aspect of her faith is the freedom to choose. While most of her worshipers are drow, she welcomes all, and various types of outcasts can find comfort in her religion. She is considered a minor deity, however, and thus knowledge about her is quite rare outside of the drow. Both Eilistraee and her followers are little known and poorly understood.

How they're perceived by others: Drow are usually very distrusted both in the Underdark and on the surface, due to the reputation of the Lolth-sworn drow. Occasionally, they'll send raiding parties to the surface world to murder elves (especially followers of Eilistraee, if they happen to find one) and capture slaves. Drow aren't generally attacked on sight anymore by the time BG3 takes place, but they're still quite rare and tend to cause anxiety when they're not expected.

Sunlight Sensitivity: Drow born and raised in the Underdark also tend to be extremely sensitive to sunlight, as it's something they're not used to. This isn't present in Baldur's Gate 3, but it's been noted in D&D novels and materials for quite some time.

"Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of the attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight."

On the other side of this, however, they also have superior darkvision. This does show up in BG3; their darkvision distance is twice that of other races that have it, like surface elves.

As mentioned in some of the novels with drow characters, sunlight sensitivity can fade with enough time and exposure.

No sleeping necessary: You may have noticed Astarion, your character, or others sleeping in an interesting pose, like they're meditating. Drow (and other elves) in D&D don't need sleep; instead, they generally use a meditative trance. (They can sleep if they want to, but most choose not to).

"Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep."

And interestingly: while in trance, elves still have their passive Perception, just at a disadvantage. Other races don't, since they're considered unconscious while asleep. (Of course, if an elf or drow is actually sleeping and not trancing for whatever reason, they'd lose that slight edge.)

Retconned stuff: They used to actually have infravision (heat vision)! This was back in the late 80s/early 90s. From my understanding, though, this was eventually swapped out for darkvision. With the infravision, they also had Drow Sign Language, which relied on seeing the heat in their hands when they used it. You can see this in the beginning of "Homeland" by R.A. Salvatore.

An additional note from bramblepatch regarding that:

if I think of anything else, I'll add it on later lol

[primal-savagery]

Velvela's Cubs

I had to make sure I was satisfied with everyone's designs before I made this post, but I think it's about time that I finally mention something about Velvel's kids. And bonus; I managed to get 3/4 of them in the same picture! The only one missing is Yenna, who I was planning on making an aged up version of before Withers informed me I was full up on hirelings. But know that she is very much counted in this. 😤

We'll go from oldest to youngest, so Niabi here is first up! Niabi is Vel's daughter she had with her ex-husband of 20 years, Daven. A human man she held captive in the Underdark for a decade and later escaped to the surface with. Niabi came along less than 2 years later. Unfortunately, being Vel's oldest she has the difficult childhood and strained relationship with her mother one could expect. And there were many times where she found it easier to run away from home for months at a time rather than deal with Vel's lackluster parenting abilities. She even spent time living in a monastery during one of these particular excursions. They grow closer during the events of the story.

She is a Circle of Spores Druid/Way of the Four Elements Monk.

Now for the be all end all middle child; Phaidra the bastard surprise dhampir daughter who was honestly more influenced by her kooky uncles than her parents. (Feat. my take on Astarion post-True Resurrection, which happens in the canon that lives in my head.) She tends to carry herself with Astarion's own brand of swagger, but with more arrogance than even he can begin to comprehend. Must be a bard thing.

Though quite intelligent and well versed in the ins and outs of the arcane courtesy of Uncle Gale, Phaidra's wisdom is limited. A lot of her planning and decision making reminds Vel a lot of Astarion's during the early days of the Wormskulls and the battle against The Absolute. This isn't a good thing. While Astarion was at least willing to admit that he's never been a details guy, Phaidra genuinely seems to believe herself infallible.

She is a Chronurgy Wizard/College of Lore Bard.

Elora is the independent, quiet, "if it happens it happens" youngest of the four daughters. Another Cleric of Eilistraee and druid; really following in mom's footsteps here. However she is a Circle of Stormchasers druid, and as an adult finds she's most at home out on the sea as a guide. She even accompanies Astarion when he has a brief stint as a pirate for a few years; a mutually agreed upon time period where him and Vel decide to go off on their own journeys for a while. They've got centuries left together, after all! Gotta keep things fresh. So Astarion basically spins a wheel that lands on pirate king, and Vel joins Lae'zel in the Astral for a Spaceballs adjacent adventure. And there's no need for Astarion to become fluent in nautical navigation when his daughter is already well versed in it! Guess those rugrats were good for something after all.

She has too much hair.

[nottherealskittles]

I drew my main 4 tavs/durge! Here’s their blurbs from left to right:

Myrkelin

Type: Tav

Pronouns: she/her

Race: Mephistopheles tiefling

Romance: Minthara

Class: Wizard (necromancer)/ paladin (oath breaker)

A former paladin of Kelemvor turned necromancer, she’s caught between feeling like she can’t become better because she’s fallen too far and losing what little she has of her morals furthering her skills in necromancy. Currently, she’s on her way to the goblin camp so let’s see how that goes. She hasn’t met minthara yet and no one seems to be overtly interested in her at camp so she’s alone with her bones.

Sehanine

Type: Tav

Pronouns: she/her

Races: Moon elf/drow

Romance: Shadowheart

Class: Cleric of Selûne (life domain)

A child born of an unusual pair, Sehanine struggles with the expectations of each part of her identity. She wants more than anything to be seen and exalted by her goddess, to know that she is enough. Currently she’s in the goblin camp trying very hard not to just romantically gaze at shadowheart instead of fighting — bb girl was really just smiling like an idiot when shadowheart was talking about Shar’s doctrine, she’s such an useless lesbian.

Soltaros

Type: Durge

Pronouns: He/Him

Races: Aasimar/High Elf

Romance: Astarion

Class: Cleric of Lathander/Paladin of Lathander

Born to an aasimar of Lathander and what was thought to be a high elf, Soltaros was tainted with the dark urge as a child and stolen from his aasimar father to be a pawn in Bhaal’s game to gain more power. He remembers nothing of his past but feels the pull to his god and hopes to be born anew under Lathander’s forgiving light. He is my first durge and I’m actually so into this whole narrative I’ve crafted for him I might have to write it out. Currently he’s in the gauntlet of shar being very upset at the lack of light but at least Astarion can get more critical hits. He’s trying very hard to resist his urge and so far so good! I’m rooting for him 🥹

Arvandor

Type: Tav

Pronouns: He/Him

Race: Drow

Romance: Wyll

Class: Swords Bard Cleric of Eilistraee (based on a build video by HoboZone on YouTube!)

Faithful to eilistraee, the good goddess of the drow, Arvandor was trained to be a swordsmith, providing arms for his community. He was born to a drow father who escaped lolth and found sanctuary in a seldarine drow settlement and wed a high cleric of eilistraee. He strives to do good and help those in need. The voice I chose for him is surprisingly shy in certain moments and I think that’s so cute?!?!?! He’s just keeping to himself and doing his thing 🥹. He’s currently in sorceries sundries trying to quietly shop for a gift for wyll whom he is absolutely head over heels for.

They are all so special to me and I hope you love them as much as I do. My blorbos 😭😭😭

[ryttu3k]

Ta'varin 'Tae' Arkenval | Drow (Surface) | Circle of the Land Druid / Cleric of Eilistraee | They/Them | 94

Questions by @sporeservant , found here! A slightly more lighthearted set of answers for my fluffy pastel custom Tav when compared to my Durge, haha.

Favourite weapon: Phalar Aluve most beloved! They don't actually use it much? Like, they're very much not trained in using a longsword, haha. But they have an emotional attachment to it due to the connection to their Goddess, and so it's a permanent part of their gear.

Style of combat: Distance magic user. They mostly use stuff like Moonbeam, Spike Growth, and Call Lightning, although Sunbeam certainly becomes a late-game fave!

Most prized possession: As mentioned, very attached to Phalar Aluve.

Deepest desire: By the end of the game, it's to find a cure for Karlach. You don't willingly go to the Hells for someone you don't intend on helping to the fullest extend of your ability!

Guilty pleasure: They're most comfortable in the wilderness, but secretly… they really like shopping in the Wide.

Best-kept secret: They actually secretly really like the Underdark. It has this weird sort of beauty to it - glowing mushrooms and trees and all. It sort of feels like an insult to Eilistraee, but it's just… a cool vibe.

Greatest strength: A finely balanced combination of gentleness and forgiveness, and a willingness to murder someone if they deserve it. This may or may not be a strength.

Fatal flaw: A finely balanced combination of gentlene…

Favourite smell: Clean green loamy smells, the smell of the forest after rain. Also, freshly baked bread.

Favourite spell or cantrip: Speak With Animals their beloved. It was the first one they ever used (a scroll as a birthday gift) and is still their most-used.

Pet peeve: People who leave trash and stuff around their campsites. The traveller's chest just kept filling up with random trash they kept finding in the wilds so they could dispose of it later. Pick up your shit, people!!

Bad habit: Like. Eating leaves and flowers and mushrooms. One of the reasons they started learning herblore and the like was to work out what would be safe to randomly stick in their mouth. Their favourite is acorn truffle.

Hidden talent: A pretty dab hand with a grass whistle. PHWEET.

Leisure activity: Honestly they just love hanging out outside and chatting with animals. Catching up on gossip with the birds and all. They also enjoy reading and listening to music, and a bit of drawing (albeit not very well).

Favourite drink: Fruity teas. Technically at this point they're not actually teas, they're like, fruit infusions, but they're nice hot drinks with fruits. Tea!

Comfort food: Pumpkin soup, served with freshly-baked bread dripping with a good-quality olive oil, a good sweet caramelised vinegar, and sprinkled with nuts and spices (I'm thinking EVOO, caramelised balsamic, and dukkah specifically, although I don't think it'd be called that in Faerûn. The wiki does, at least, list sesame seeds, coriander/cilantro, cumin, and mint, and hazelnut oil that implies the existence of, well, hazelnuts, has olive oil, and has vinegars, so the dish itself would certainly be possible!). Shit now I'm hungry.

Favourite person: Karlach <3 Aside from their actual girlfriend, though, they adore and look up to Halsin - he reminds them a great deal of their wood elf grandfather, who, while not a druid, had a love of nature too that he instilled in young Tae.

Favoured display of affection (platonic and/or romantic): Honestly they're almost like an animal themself in the sense that it's just… sitting and existing near a person they like. Not necessarily touching or talking (although they're not opposed to it!), just… chilling in their space.

Fondest childhood memory: Got that Speak With Animals scroll and was never the same again. Spent that entire birthday just wandering the forest and talking to every animal they could find.

[rederiswrites]

And now that I've put a face to the name for you, here is the biography I've worked out for Huginn so far.

Huginn Abban was born Irrenan Illistyn and raised in the drow capital of Menzoberranzan. Their mother was killed when they were ten, though as they had a typically distant relationship, the largest impact this had on Huginn’s family was being taken with their father into another drow family. They first truly came to their stepmother’s attention when her younger son attempted to kill his unwanted step-sibling and instead died, becoming twelve year old Irrenan’s first kill. Huginn’s stepmother saw this as a sign of desirable initiative and began investing more in Huginn’s schooling. They became a rising star as a strike unit commander until their family fell to politics. 

After the fall of their family branch, they spent several decades as a slave. During this time, a covert follower of Eilistraee helped them process their realization that no amount of viciousness, cunning, or strength can save you from things outside of your control, and that the drow cycle of violence and betrayal was not all there was to life.

After seventy years under the yoke of Lolth, living both as an active participant in the toxicity of drow society and then as a victim, they formally disavowed their culture and the goddess Lolth, and fled to the surface. They also chose a new name and shed the ill-fitting mantle of “he”.

In the one hundred and eighty years since, they have been many things--a lost soul looking for meaning in all the wrong places, a farmer in a small Seldarine community dedicated to the teachings of Eilistraee, a parent, a wandering cleric worshipping through acts of service to the poor and outcast, a covert operative in the Underdark seeking to free more of their people (this is a tenet of Eilistraee's church), and increasingly, a healer. They have two grown children with their own families.

As a fighter, they see themself as reasonably good at staying alive and not much more than that, but they’re a natural as a commander and strategist. Though they are always mortified afterwards, their bone-deep drow arrogance comes out hard and fast if their authority is challenged by anyone they consider unworthy to make the challenge. Between their substantial age and experience gap over most of the other tadpoles adventurers and this past experience with command, they made a natural leader for the tadpole team. Still, they believe deeply in self-determination, and always step out of the way and strive to make room for the companions to forge their own paths.

As Eilistraee dictates, they have pursued the arts in various ways. They take the most pleasure in music, dance, and embroidery. They consider themself to be a more or less adequate lyre player and a fairly good dancer, but a very boring painter. Their singing voice is a husky tenor, untrained but sweet. Though they’re aware that others consider them attractive, their formative experience was of not being considered up to drow standards of beauty. They enjoy cooking, but possess what they consider to be an inescapable weakness for the Underdark foods of their youth, especially a passion for mushrooms that the other companions can’t really get behind. Between a somewhat adversarial relationship with the sun and this weakness for the foods and flora of the Underdark, they’ve always considered themself to be something of a failure in their religion’s pursuit of return to the surface.

They consider choosing to be kind, and seeking to show others kindness, to be the great work of their life. Eilistraee does teach that violence and harm to others should be responded to swiftly and decisively, but they are very afraid, after so many years of pursuing a gentle life, of how easy violence is for them, how readily they still fall back on the deceit and viciousness of the drow. They are good at it--very good. They wrestle deeply with both knowing that this is what's gotten the adventurers this far, and knowing that this is not the person they've fought so hard to be.

[galedekarios]

Hello, you may have already talked about it but I love drows and Altonaufein is such an interesting character. Fun fact, I got the game a little bit later than everybody and for, like, a day or two, I thought he was an actual NPC or maybe a companion lol. Anyway, I'd love to read your thoughts about him! (or maybe I just feel some kind of kindship since my OC is also a drow with a lot of issues and an ongoing crush on Gale.

thank you so much for your lovely message and your kind words about altonaufein! i was really blown away when i saw your message. (((': i'm also super happy to find another drow player. i'd be super interested to hear more about your oc as well, if you feel comfortable sharing!

i'm very it took so long to answer, i just always draw a blank when i'm asked about my ocs, even though i love them and lot and probably have an entire library of lore inside of head about them.

i did manage to write up a bit about altonaufein, though! i've had his character for a very long time. he was originally intended for icewind dale 2, but then baldur's gate 3 was announced and i decided to try and translate his character into the game and was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked!

born in ust-natha, altonaufein is the third child--but the first son--of a small but prestigious house of a long line of clerics and devoted worshippers of lolth.

at a young age, altonaufein had a very cautious and gentle nature to him, showing signs of great magical and spellcasting talent. these talents were decided to be nurtured in the service of lolth--even if altonaufein was only a male, it stood to reason that he might still become a passable asset and tool for his house, if little else.

his life took a turn for the worse when he began to see a bright silver moon in his trances, heard the sweet melody of a lyre, saw a dark dancer in a sky he'd never seen. foolishly, naively, altonaufein told another of his house--his sister iraeae, who he had once been close to--about his strange dreams, his visions. his trust was misplaced and he was severely punished in hopes of correcting him, driving those visions from his mind, to not bring shame to his house any further. after this, altonaufein began to ignore his dreams and, consequently, unknowingly, eilistraee’s call.

he was initiated to become part of the clergy to lolth by the trial of strength: if he failed, he would become a sacrifice. if he succeeded, it would bring lolth's favour to his family--either way, he would not be a waste to his house.

altonaufein survived the trial, barely. though, with what was to come, he sometimes wishes he hadn't.

iraeae, at the same time as him, undertook her own trial of lolth:

chwidevbrii, or the test of betrayal. it's a punishment that strikes particularly deep. trust is a distasteful concept to drow, though they understand that sometimes it does happen and is even necessary to survive. to rid themselves of this, to succeed this test, the drow must betray someone who has garnered her trust or in whom she has placed her trust. mentors, teachers, leaders, friends, family. as long as there has been a solid connection of dependence made in the past.

the drow must utterly destroy her victim in a way that allows her to advance in some manner. the method is not important: blackmail, slander, torture... magic. in the end, the victim must die or be thoroughly disgraced and dominated. usually, the victim is murdered by the drow herself, commits suicide, or is killed as a result of the drow's action. so what better way to show to her goddess that she is a true drow, that she is worthy, what better way than to serve the house, than humiliating and dominating someone who was once a little brother.

drow females are able to dominate the mind of any chosen male with but a spell and one such spell was cast on altonaufein, and iraeae triumphed in her trial. a victim of inter-house politics as so many others before him, he was left as little but a thrall, serving in a many different ways.

he was there, under that spell, until it broke: iraeae dead by her older sister nadriina's hand--betrayed just like altonaufein had been by her. altonaufein doesn't remember how long it lasted, remembers only parts of it. the many hands. the pain. he remembers fighting. other drow. other prisoners. the surface. running. the moon. fever.

altonaufein escaped to the surface in a haze, he wandering aimlessly before all the strength went out of him and he collapsed. yet eilistraee must have guided, must have protected him, once more, as she tried to, so long ago: he had collapsed near a small settlement around a small church of ilmater, the god of compassion and healing, of mercy and atonement. they took altonaufein in because they deny no one in need of their help, not even a drow.

he was taken in and nursed back to health over the course of many months by a follower, living at the temple: an ex-soldier, a deserter, by the name of karl. they formed a deep bond, despite their differences--or perhaps because of them-- and despite altonaufein's initial distrust.

once recovered, altonaufein hacked off his long hair, so many issues, so many bad memories, tied to it.

still, he came to see what happened as a chance he doesn't think he deserves: to start anew, to help, to learn how he could be more than simply a honed weapon made for killing. he offered his services to the small settlement and the temple, even if ilmater is not the god he prays to.

he helped everywhere he could in any way he could, ignoring the whispers that followed him, his own intrusive thoughts, his episodes, triggered by too sudden movements, unexpected brushes his body or mind.

altonaufein helped to tend to the crops, helped with the harvest, repaired walls and fences, treated wounds and healed. he would earn their trust, prove himself.

the one person who stood by his side through it was karl.

karl, who, after his abduction on the nautiloid remains his guardian as he been so many moons before, swearing to protect him once more:

🖤

it's bit by bit that he learns to accept himself for who he is, what he is. his heritage, his past, his future, his new faith.

he gets to heal on this journey and find peace.

i'm sorry this got so long and ramble-y, but he's my special boy. (((': thanks again so much for asking about him!!!

[beecreeper]

Ferox Masterpost

Lore and art: #durge ferox

Art only: #ferox art

Main Ref

In game

Faceclaim (this beautiful random tiktok man)

Ferox (silent x) is a half orc paladin durge. He is haunted by his urges and wracked with horrible guilt at pretty much all times and has never been relaxed once in his entire life.

Ferox was adopted by a goblin tribe as a baby after they found him having clawed it way out of his surrogate mother. The goblins raised him essentially as a secret weapon, a big smash-y tank to help them be even better at goblin-ing. At some point his tribe took in a prisoner, a drow cleric of Eilistraee named Myrala, and Ferox became softly infatuated with her and attracted to her goddess’s promise of redemption. He eventually helps her escape his family, she helps him take a paladin oath, and they properly fall in love.

But you know. The dark urge.

Killing Myrala *ruins* him, confirming every bad thought he’s every had about himself. He *is* a monster. He *won’t* ever be able to control his urges. He can’t do *anything* to stop the destiny he’s been placed into. He fully resigns himself to dull, numb nihilism and becomes the head of Bhaal’s cult and joins the plot with the other chosen of the Dead Three. Gortash in particular gets under his skin, as much as he tries to resist it.

Post-tadpole, he is thoroughly distressed by his urges, his proficiency for extreme violence, and the fact that he feels so little control over himself when it happens. His memory loss is ominous and not helped at ALL by the fact that the oathbreaker knight hangs around to tell remind him that he did *something* to break his oath but won’t tell him what it was. I mean, it’s GOTTA have something to do with those horrible murder impulses, right?

[kalach-cha]

i have a question abt denandras... u mentioned that u got the worst possible ending, which one did u get? and was it particularly bad for denandras or just a bad one in general?

hi!! thx for the ask!

so basically with denandras it’s important to understand that he is a cleric of eilistraee and that comes with a LOT of baggage. he romanced both astarion and halsin, both of whom have themes of losing bodily autonomy, and i really wanted to reflect that when making his character. eilistraee really values freedom, and denandras took it to such a self-sacrificial level that made narrative sense but just rlly rlly hurt my soul. his backstory was that he was a lower-class drow in the underdark, and was an entertainer for a much more powerful drow house. he got stuck in the crossfire of a coup and had to escape to the surface, where he ended up finding freedom in his worship of eilistraee (and this was back in the 1300s DR, when eilistraee made all of her clerics undergo the changedance and prevent as female). (denandras was AMAB but definitely had an already strange sense of gender before the changedance, which made him appear much more feminine. he presented as a woman for many years and had pretty mixed feelings about the whole thing- as of BG3, he’s still got body type 2, but uses he/him pronouns. still kinda wish ppl didn’t refer to him as a man in-game, but oh well.)

so basically, his ending: because lae’zel was kinda his bestie and he was all about personal freedom, he freed orpheus/turned on the emperor (who he Also romanced), and allowed himself to become a mind flayer in order to defeat the absolute. this ended with both halsin AND astarion breaking up with him, and him being implied to be suicidal as a result of it. gale was bugged and even though i did the sorcerous sundries questline and had maxed out his approval decided to ditch me to become a god. wyll, despite being free of his pact, went back to avernus w/ karlach. shadowheart didn’t even get an ending scene, but she killed her parents. astarion wasn’t made ascendant, but kinda ditched in the end anyway. jaheira didn’t get a scene either. so yeah, basically denandras made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom, both pleasing and kind of alienating himself from his goddess, and now is cursed to die alone :3

[waterdeepthroat]

i’m ugly crying over the ending i just got for my tav. he’s a self-sacrificial cleric of eilistraee, so of course he decided to save orpheus and turn himself into a mindflayer. he let karlach choose to go back to avernus with wyll. astarion is free, but dumped him. so did halsin. gale left to become a god. everyone is free, except for tav himself, and becoming the abomination that he has will both please his god and force her to completely abandon him. he is no longer drow, and he did it all in the name of freedom. all in the name of eilistraee. and now he is alone, losing everyone, even what little of himself he has left.