#i'm all about the gith and illithids

[void-within]

[eeldritchblast]

Ethel's Vicious Mockery Analysis

(Major thanks to Aloija for the Dialog Parser and Roksik for doing the parsing, from the Down by the River Discord Server!)

I love when Ethel uses vicious mockery in the game, because I feel like it gives insight into the character’s insecurities, you know? So let’s further dissect that mockery.

WYLL

“Oh, look! It's daddy's regret.”

“Fraud of the Frontiers!”

“Do you think losing that eye made you a hero?”

Wyll wants to be seen as a hero so badly… and I’m starting to think that has a little something to do with daddy issues. This “daddy’s regret” line from Ethel, matched with one of Wyll’s desires when confronted by the secret laboratory mirror being his father’s forgiveness, certainly says there is something unresolved there…

GALE

“I can smell what's under those bandages, wizard. You're all rot and ruin.”

“Come to greet death early? You'll be a lovely spectacle.”

“Who would be jealous of you, apprentice?”

The first two aren’t anything new—we’re already aware of Gale’s condition after all. But why would Ethel call him an apprentice? Is he lying about how great a wizard he once was? Or maybe it’s just because he’s lost all his powers, and she’s teasing him about that.

SHADOWHEART

“You're so far up Shar's cake you can't see straight.”

“Why would Shar love you when no one else does?”

“You're no complex puzzle. Just a sad little girl.”

These to me, at least, speak of an undiscussed bubbling crisis of faith Shadowheart may be undergoing. And I am very interested in the second line above. Shadowheart is the type of person to keep everyone at arm’s length, and yet at the same time, it seems from this, desperately wants to be loved? That matches up with her “she took me in when no one else would” answer when asked why she became a worshipper of Shar in the first place. So it seems to me, like Shadowheart experiencing compassion from another person, possibly for the first time in her memory, is leading her to question her faith in Shar.

LAE’ZEL

“A toad with a tadpole! How fitting.”

“Your people will never take you back - illithid scum.”

“Do you miss kissing Vlaakith's feet, gith?”

Lae’zel’s biggest desire is to become kith’rak – we know this. But more to that, I think her biggest desire is to be accepted and revered by her people. Ethel saying that she will never achieve this is probably Lae’zel’s greatest fear.

ASTARION

“Is there still rat stuck in your teeth, slave?”

“Deep down, you like being leashed, don't you?”

“You're one thirsty night away from betraying everyone.”

Okay, okay, okay… the first two? Ethel just being a top tier bitch. But the last one… The last one suggests that Astarion actually does have some care for his travelling companions, if he’s concerned about hurting them. I think that brings a lot out of his character, because it confirms he’s not just a one-dimensional jerk. The glimpses of his nice side are just as genuine.

KARLACH

“Let's pull your strings, infernal puppet.”

“Happy to sell everyone's soul but your own, aren't you?”

“When I'm done, even the Hells won't want you.”

We don’t know a lot about Karlach, because she isn’t available as a companion in Early Access. But what little we do know, adds up with what Ethel says here. We know she was caught up in the Blood War as essentially a slave to Zariel. And judging from this mockery, it seems that’s left her with questioning self-worth.

[thaethiira]

Illithids and Gith are from the most batshit wackypants setting in D&D and you want me to believe I should take them super seriously and be afraid? Y'all talk about Lae'zel being from a very super srs grimdark place but you have to remember something real important about the Astral Sea: It's a B-movie.

it's where the illithids and gith come from but we also have giant hamsters, hippo people that all sound like blustery English explorers and love explosions, vampirates, jawas in the shape of rainbow penguins, and fuckin SPACE CLOWNS.

I'm sorry I can't take the idea that the illithids and gith are 'zomg so scary srs bznss' seriously because of ::gestures:: all of that.

This isn't Space designed by Lovecraft and HR Giger.

This is Space designed by Weird Al and Jim Henson.

[des-no9]

Des' Githyanki Genitals HC

Hey and welcome to another lore dump of Des' githyanki HCs!!! As usual, we're all about sex and fucking in here, and githyanki are aliens. So we gotta make their bits fun.

Also, they lay eggs now (never used to apparently, we'll get to that). So I've accounted for that in their genitals.

Also!! I'l got different HCs for the Older generation githyanki -think Voss and Orpheus age- as I HC the githyanki that were alive during their rebellion, and not long after it, differ somewhat to modern githyanki like Lae'zel, and one of my OCs who will be modelling, Tuj.

Gonna go chronologically here, and start with the oldies. Voss is my model for this (obviously).

This is a long post btw lol. Also disclaimer: I'm only talking about the githyanki mostly. Thinking about the githzerai and their reproduction is a whole other beast LOL. Enjoy <3

Obvious TW for talk of slavery, breeding, eggs, violence, rape, lots of genitalia talk and art by yours truly

Older Generation Githyanki Genitals - during ensalvement to early Vlaakiths.

So the vague general consensus in the lore seems to be that the gith originally descended from humans in the very beginning, and this makes me think that their genitals early on during their enslavement and early in their freedom were closer to what we know our human genitalia to be.

But, then we have the illithid's experiments and how that changed their physiology quite vastly over the X number of years.

I HC that many of the illithid colonies varied, and so therefore so did the githyanki (shall be using githyanki to refer to them then even if that wasn't their name then). Some colonies were more focused purely on the numbers, breeding, breeding to send to other colonies for X purposes in their slavery. (I HC Vlaakith I was a branded breeding slave). So would have efficient genitalia. Maybe very little sexual dimorphism. Maybe closer to the modern githyanki like now with asexual breeding.

Some other colonies (like one I HC Voss came from) were bred purely as soldiers, attack and guard dogs. So they refined their physiology very strictly to breed the best, the strongest. Bearing in mind the need for the best warriors and breeders, so therefore keeping their genitalia tucked away and protected when not in use was essential.

It also makes me think things about some of the illithid colonies essentially neutering the githyanki in gestation and only keeping a select few breeders (much parallels to modern githyanki lol) basically to stop their slaves having sexual desire for each other or anything else, cutting it off and only having necessary urges. But I digress.

Basically during this era and the early years before they started breeding through eggs, I HC there was MUCH more variance in their genitalia (and probably some of their other physiology honestly) before it started to become much more streamlined through their eggs and no doubt the Vlaakiths interfering with their breeding to create the best, supreme, unified race in the one Vlaakith's vision.

So, I sketched up what I imagined Voss' genitals to be (obviously). I HC he has a slit where his bits are protected during fighting, since he was bred to be a fighter/attack dog for the illithid.

NOTE: his slit extends further down.

Notes and important points if you can't read my writing:

cock (easy word to use for it) sheathed inside slit

slit widens and gets wet when aroused, and the skin inside is rough, but is usually wrapped around to protect the cock even if the slit widens on arousal

cock can be pulled out from its sheath manually and how it sits soft

so, Voss' is a little different to the rest of his colonies would have looked purely because it's scarred to shit (from his hubris) They mostly all had two dicks, but the scar tissue healed his together (don't worry, he gets them separated again :>) and they can stick together as one if you want during arousal, or can be used as two For Their Pleasure :tm:

the tip can move independently. Very sensitive.

can come through slit and cock

slit gets wet and easily over stimulated

can come from slit stimulation alone

I think his colony bred more 'traditionally' how we know it as humans. Voss was a traditionally bred and live birth baby to me (Orpheus too). I think a lot of the early githyanki were traditionally bred as we know it, but some with varying ways of conception, birth lengths, delivery, even incubation

I like to think that maybe little spikes come out of the ridges on his cock to embed into whoever he's fucking if he wants to, to hold them in place, for some extra pain and usual githyanki sadism. This was specific to his colony and maybe one or two others, and maybe appears again in some modern githyanki.

I HC Orpheus has a slit too, but is maybe a little more in the human camp to what we know genitalia to be like since he's also ancient and a traditional non-egg baby. Closer to the ancestors they came from. I just like to HC that because he IS a little more....gentler, rounder, smooth, 'humanised' than a lot of the other githyanki we see. I love thinking about the little differences that set Orpheus apart from his people, even though he IS his people, the lifeblood of them. The blood of their Mother. Anyway, I digress.

Basically, for the oldies I think there's a LOT of freedom to be creative and almost do anything, using the illithid experiments, that they're aliens and so much unknown as our excuse. Also don't forget the most important - fun, and shoving all our kinks onto our fictional loves 24/7.

Modern Githyanki Genitalia HCS - egg time

So, the shift to egg laying and apparently it's asexual. I have a LOT of thoughts about this. With this happening thousands of years ago and also with them transitioning from NOT egg laying (putting in the assumption of live births here) to egg laying, there would be some sort of accommodation and change in their physiology for this, right?

Also this doesn't happen quickly. Magic can help yes! Also, they're aliens. Aliens can defy everything and anything we know as humans. I try not to press too much of our human and earth knowledge and experience onto alien races because who is to say their experiences and such are like ours. And also it makes it more fun for me to step away from the known into unknown and other possibilities. But anyway.

Lae'zel says the transition happened to egg laying after they were freed from the illithid and under Vlaakith's power. Now, I like to HC that Vlaakith kind of has this under her control (and therefore, all the subsequent Vlaakith's control). It's kind of like, a mass population control, sterilisation, selective, experimental and controlled breeding to try create her own perfect race in essence.

The execution is flawed, of course. Probably changes over time with all the (over 100) of Vlaakiths and leadership changes, in-fighting, evolution of the githyanki from the beginning of their enslavement to now. But the idea is there. And it sticks.

Okay so. As above I mentioned I HC there was a lot of differences between the githyanki in their genitalia from the different illithid colonies. And at first, transitioning to egg laying was probably a slow process as the first generation probably died out, or through their own ghustils, technology, psionics, they started to try to change their own bodies to accommodate egg laying. Some failed, some managed it. It was a difficult process that also in essence weeded out the weak for Vlaakith too.

And then once the eggs started laying, hatching, they probably still tinkered with them. Making sure the hatchlings that were born would be able to breed more and were born right, strong, and the proper future of their people. There were still probably live births happening at the very start during the transition, but magic and psionics probably sped this process along - even if it was probably very traumatic for a lot of newly annointed githyanki. Jumping from being experimented on by illithid in slave colonies to experimenting on yourself, and by your ghustil on order of your Queen? Fantastic. Just brilliant.

Fast forward to now and the githyanki genitalia are mostly uniform I think. Much more so than when they first gained their freedom and called themselves githyanki.

I think there's probably still some differences. Like genetic anomalies. And also that the atmosphere/plane etc of long-term creches can have influences on their hatcheries/eggs. Say a creche on a completely different material plane to Faerun's, or it's near like somewhere with intense psionic or void energy. I think things like that could (and do in canon!) have definite changes on physiology. (NOTE: I also like thinking about this in regard to things like skin-tone, texture, spot pattern, hair colour, face shape, accent.....the list is endless lol)

Okay. So. Without further delay here is my OC Tuj'da to model his bits for you :3

Notes:

some githyanki have less/more slits. Less is much less common as three is standard for efficient egg-laying.

all sexes can lay eggs

their shape and layout can look unique/different. eg, longer, smaller, more protruding. Think like different penis and vulva shapes. (Note: I took a lot of inspiration for the shape of their genitals from Art Deco shapes and style lol)

much like the older generation githyanki slits if they had them, they widen when aroused, and also when carrying eggs and to lay them

some githyanki are more sensitive in their smaller/egg slits than their main slits

their is sexual dimorphism between their genitals usually, but that can only be seen when aroused.

their cock positioning can be different too from where it comes from, and folds up and inside the githyanki. Lots of githyanki can control the length of their cock by using their psionics, but does require significant concentration and skill

very sensitive at the middle of their cock so some of them like to shorten it to cover that bit up to last even longer sometimes

they can be fucked with their cock tucked inside. It's uncomfortable for some, for others it's the best thing on the menu.

very short refractory period, if at all

they cum a lot. It tastes kind of sweet.

(after Vlaakith's sterilisation and population control is dissolved) fertilisation often requires psonics of some sort

I'm undecided on this, but for such a violent race that rape and also enjoy consenting sexual violence, I think maybe they'd also evolve/keep/develop the small spikes in their ridges that they can make pop out at will to embed into their partner. These ALSO come out from the ridged skin inside the sheath, not just the cock :>

their skin in general is rougher, tougher than other istik races so can take a much rougher fuck, and I think a willing istik's first time with a githyanki partner, there might be a bit of adjustment for...soreness lol

I haven't got many HCs for their actual fertilisation, their eggs, pregnancy etc as pregnancy etc can be a bit of squick for me, but most other things around it and eggs etc are okay. So I haven't thought too much about the actual way they GET egged up, lay them, fertilised etc. Maybe that's for another day.

For now, hope you enjoy these HCs! Some of them may change/I may adapt them as I continue to write the githyanki, but I feel like I'm happy with most of this!

Feel free to use any and all if you enjoy them <3! Thank you for reading and getting this far, hah. I just love the githyanki so much, they bring me so much joy. And I hope they do to you too.

-Des

[rinriya]

BG3 ending (spoilers)

I finished BG3. And I.. I'm so devastated right now. Not in terms of relief or "oh, such a good game has come to an end, idk what to do next", I just don't understand what happened. I am disappointed. I need to speak out. Otherwise I feel like I can burst into tears because of indignation.

And I beg DON'T READ THE POST FURTHER if you haven't reached the end. There will be plenty spoilers. DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME.

So. Is this really the end? Is this… what we've been so actively waiting for 3 years? Maybe there will be DLCs no less than another full-fledged act? Otherwise, I cannot understand what was the point MC to do all of this?

I.. damn, this is hard. I waited so long for this game, but now I criticize it. Okay, phew. I'll get myself under control. Phew. Sorry.

We were promised different outcomes, different endings, many choices. But what did we actually get? You either save Orpheus (the Emperor becomes an enemy), or help the Emperor (Orpheus dies), or you/your companion turns into an illithid. And like.. who cares if you continued to refuse the powers. It's unavoidable in any case. You cannot form an alliance, you cannot win without a tadpole. You are linear in your final choice.

Your companions?

Wyll leaves to Avernus. Karlach returns to Avernus. Astarion can no longer stay in the sun, he begins to burn and therefore runs away. That moment… it broke my heart. My MC romanced him, couldn't he followed Star? Was it not possible to add some extra scenes? It doesn't matter to anyone. He ran away? Well meh who cares. Only Shadowheart says something like "oh, how sad, he can no longer walk in the sun."

I wanted to help him damn it! Both him and Karlach. And Lae'zel too, but game not allowed me to do so, forcing to choose: either the giths fate, or your ally. Choose.

I wanted my friends to live happily even without tadpoles! Why the hell I was saving the world, if my companions can't be happy? For the sake of a good ending, I should have let Stari to perform the terrible dark ritual? Or turn Karlach into a squid? Minsc and Jaheira are just fanservice for old fans. More or less good end has Gale (still with bomb inside him), Shadowheart and the Emperor himself.

And what about all my decisions? Where are their consequences? What happened to the vampire spawns? With a grove? With the forest? With Hell, where we killed a mighty devil?! With the Ironhand clan, who now have a new leader? Larian Studios, was it really so hard to write at least in text about everything that happened? Like in DOS2 at least? Or about our companions future life. At least about them!

It feels like even if I decided to play as pure evil.. there would be no difference, because I just don't know what my actions led to. But I can't play evil, I just can't hurt anyone. Yes, I'm boring person who loves happy endings and when everyone doing great.

BG3 received its fame, glory, attention. Obviously will receive a bunch of awards, because its ratings beat all records, but inside me.. there is just emptiness. I can headcanon a happy ending with Astarion, truly free Lae'zel, who will be no longer chased by Vlaakith's servants and Karlach with repaired heart. But it will all be in my head. Not in the game. Baldur's Gate 3.. is like a beautiful (really beautiful) wrapper, but the candy inside turned out to be simple and not very different from the others.

I'm sad. Very sad. And I'm sorry for this flow of words. I had to speak out. Now I feel a bit better. I really want to hear your opinion, because now I'm mentally hurt. I obviously triggered the high expectations for this game and get a painful kick for that.

[calypso707]

Astarion x Fem!Tav bard : Fruit of The Poisonned Tree

Intro : Every day, she longed for his touch, his lips against her skin, his voice in her ears, his whole being.

Tags : 3rd pov for this one because i'm more comfortable with it, few chapters comings, this story will be mainly romance I guess, risk of spoilers about Astarion, ascendant form coming..

I hope you’ll like this first chapter, enjoy ! ~

Chapter 1 -

She missed her home at Baldur's Gate deeply. Although the majority of the inhabitants were humans, she had always felt at home there, with the river Chiontar within easy reach. For a bard, she had risen quite successfully and was well liked by the populace and the local lords, often performing at balls and other festivities. What she missed was practising her music on the riverbank, singing to the Blushing Mermaid from morning till night without her vocal chords weakening. She missed the simplicity and comfort of her past life. Quite simple. And in just a few days, it was all gone.

She had been kidnapped by mindflayers, had an illithid larvae inserted behind her eye, survived the crash of their ship,had fought gnolls, goblins and other creatures and now she was sleeping under the stars surrounded by odd companions. A few details aside, that was all. Normal people would have spread this over several months. She was still trying to figure out how she had managed to survive this far.

She looked towards her companions who were surrounding the campfire a few metres away. She had isolated herself, as she like to do, to be alone with her thoughts. Her eyes passed over each of her companions, starting with Lae'zel, a gith she had met aboard the nautiloid. However grumpy her nature was, she had shown unfailing loyalty and was a great ally. She had also crossed paths with a cleric and disciple of Shar by the name of Shadowheart. Then she met Gayle, a magician, in the funniest possible way. Wyll, nicknamed the Blade of Frontiers, son of the Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate who had made a strange pact with a devil, Karlach, a tiefling with a fiery temper and, finally, him.

Astarion.

Tav finally focused her gaze on him, comfortably seated on a wooden chair by the fire, his feet resting on a log. In his right hand he was holding a steel cup, and she could easily guess that the inside was some old brandy, the liquor he enjoyed the most. In his other hand, he was holding a book, he seemed to be absorbed by his reading. From time to time, Karlach teased him to include him in the conversation with the others. The bard tilted her head slightly and squinted her eyes to read the title engraved in gold on the cover of the book, "The Curse of The Vampyr". She held back a smile at the irony of the situation and wondered about the veracity of the tale. Did he see himself in what he was reading? She was curious to know exactly what the manuscript was about - was there anything new she did not already knew?

Her gaze followed the curve of the vampire's arm to focus on his face. His perfect face lit by the dancing light of the fire in front of him. She caught a glimpse at his fangs as he silently read parts of the book, her eyes detailing his perfectly shaped nose before finally coming to rest on his eyes. It was as red as the blood itself, and it pierced her soul every time he looked at her. She felt her heart skip a beat - she had never imagined herself becoming allied and close to such a creature. She had never seen anyone like him. He was dangerously charming and eloquent beyond compare. He was quick-witted, mischievous, teasing and delighted in the misfortune of others. He had a penchant for manipulation, lies, expensive alcohol, art and poetry. And she cursed herself for being drawn to him. Because she knew the influence he could have on her. He was the devil on her shoulder who drove her to commit terrible sins.

It took all her strength to stop staring at him like that, and she returned her attention to the violin at her feet, her fingers brushing the strings. Music was her magic, but it was so much more: it was also a sign of power. A power that could keep battles alive, make heroes eternal, but also shatter reputations and turn cities to pieces. She took a deep breath, as if to restore her own self-confidence, and picked up her musical instrument to return to the others. As she approached the campfire, she realised that everyone had already gone back to their occupations, except Astarion. The vampire looked up from his book to examine the young woman for a few seconds; she could not tell if it was the firelight that was having that effect, but a strange glint shone in his eyes. He stopped reading completely as he closed the book and locked his hands against his chest, still looking at her as she awkwardly sat down at the opposite of him.

"Interesting book? Did you learn anything new?" asked Tav, grabbing a half-full cup from the ground at her feet. Bringing the cup to her lips, she took a big gulp and immediately regretted it, repressing the urge to wince. From the strong aroma of the alcohol, she guessed that it was Chultan Fireswill.

"Surprisingly, no," he sighed. "I was expecting to learn something unusual, so I must admit I am a little disappointed," said Astarion, shrugging his shoulders.

She smiled at his answer, her eyes glued to the flames waving in front of her. The fire was blocking her view of Astarion and it was no bad thing, given how easily she lost her composure when she was alone with him and he liked to take advantage of that. She was glad there was this barrier between them.

"Now, darling, are you trying to run away from me?" asked Astarion. She was able to guess the mischievous smile on his lips. She barely had time to reply when she saw him rise from his chair, walk around the fire and come to her side. He held out his right hand, the other resting casually on his hip.

"All this brandy and small talk whetted my appetite. Shall we ?"

Tav lost herself in his crimson eyes for a few seconds before finally grabbing his hand to get up, leaving her violin on the bare ground. The vampire quietly led her to his tent, which she entered. It was not the first time she had entered it, but the smell wafting through the small space made her heart throb every time. Brandy, rosemary and bergamot. She looked over her shoulder at Astarion, who was closing the entrance to the tent with his agile fingers before returning to her. His fingertips grazed the crook of her neck, a shiver running through her body. He gently wrapped the long braid around his arm as he positioned himself behind her, applying gentle pressure to tilt her head back.

"I have waited for this moment with great patience," he said hoarsely.

Tav tried to calm her breathing, excitement and apprehension gradually taking over her body. She hated as much as she enjoyed the effect he had on her. Astarion tugged gently once more on the braid to tilt her head to the right, exposing her neck completely. He lowered his head, inhaling the scent she gave off before placing a chaste kiss on her sensitive skin. He slidded his other hand up her stomach before touching her breasts, grasping the lace of her corsage with his fingertips and pulling it with a calculated, disconcerting slowness to reveal the birth of her breasts. She half-opened her mouth, her breathing getting heavier and heavier.

"Stop playing that little game," she said. "Be very, very quiet, darling. You do not want to wake up the others" he answered, teasingly.

He then began to place another kiss behind her pointed ear, before placing another one against her neck. She felt something cold brush her skin, she guessed it was his fangs. This was followed by a stabbing pain that radiated throughout her neck. It was not the first time he had fed on her, but each time the ache surprised her. She leaned her back against his chest and placed her hand on Astarion's, which was resting on her breasts, intertwining her fingers with his. She listened to him feed, closing her eyes. Each of his sips, each of his breaths sounded like a melody to her ears. For her, this kind of moment was just as sensual and intimate, it brought them closer in a different way and that was what she enjoyed. Every day, she longed for his touch, his lips against her skin, his voice in her ears, his whole being.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

thank you so much for reading this first chapter, i hope you liked it! I've published the rest on Ao3 : Fruit of the Poisonned Tree. I'll mainly be posting my OS on Tumblr!

[podcastenthusiast]

Astarion/Karlach. Act 1 conversation after some questionable choices.

--

Someone approaches you at camp. You're a little on edge about this, tense despite the growing bond with your companions. The memory of the gith's sword against your neck is still fresh.

"Hey, soldier. Got a minute?"

It's Karlach. You relax.

"For you, my dear, of course."

She sits down beside you. You can feel the apprehension and ambient heat radiating from her skin. She picks at a loose thread on her shirt; you wonder if she's going to ask you to repair it for her. She always gets distracted mid-stitch or sets the fabric alight.

"You seem different," she says. "Since we've been here. Since you, uh, consumed that tadpole. Not sure I like who you're turning into lately."

"Worried I might be at risk of sprouting tentacles? Darling, I didn't know you cared."

She reaches out as if to playfully punch your arm, but catches herself, sparing you a nasty burn.

"Shut up. No, it's not that. It's just... You enjoy it, huh? The power it gives you. Power over other people. Toying with them."

You do, honestly. It feels good to be the one giving the orders, for once. And you need every advantage you can get with the odds stacked against you. You need to understand and control your new Illithid abilities before they control you, or Cazador does. An army of crazed cultists could be a useful asset if it comes to that.

But Karlach doesn't sound so happy about these developments.

She shouldn't have let you into her (figurative) heart. All you know how to do is break them.

"Well, how could I not? It's so easy to manipulate those brainless goblins. And we both know I detest hard work."

She frowns. "Nah. See, I think there's more to it. Getting your way and having a little fun at their expense--that's one thing. But I watched you torture someone, no tadpole required. So c'mon. Real talk, Astarion."

Ugh. You're starting to hate when she uses your name instead of a silly moniker. It means she's serious. Or cross about something. Or both.

"Fine. It makes me feel strong, all right?"

"Well yeah, I figured as much. Dig a little deeper."

Karlach will be the death of you, you think. Maybe that one will stick and she'll cry at your funeral. Good. It would serve her right for prodding so much. Trying to see you, and not just what you want everyone to see, either.

"I haven't felt anything even close to this strong in 200 years. You don't know what that's like. Suddenly I have authority. I can impose my will over others, force them to obey. With Cazador, I was so...powerless. Now I'm not."

She shifts uncomfortably. "I mean, that's great and all. But is that what you really want? To be like your old master?"

You bare your fangs. "I am nothing like Cazador!"

She raises her hands placatingly. "Whoa, hey! At ease, soldier. Didn't mean to hit a nerve. I'm sorry."

She looks at you a bit like you're a wounded animal. It makes you want to lash out even more. Instead you take a few deep breaths, the way Lae'zel once showed you during a sparring session. Harness your body, and the mind will follow.

"Finding that druid Halsin. Seeking the hag's help. Githyanki purification. The search for a cure is what brought our merry little band of freaks together, isn't it."

"...Yeah, I suppose," she says slowly, not quite sure where you're going with this.

"What do you suppose happens to me if we do find a cure?"

"I don't know. Who can say where any of us will be?"

"Take a guess. Lae'zel returns to her queen, Shadowheart completes her mission, Gale goes home to his beloved Waterdeep, Wyll carries on saving kittens from trees or something. And yours truly?"

"You could always come with me," Karlach says, a sentiment as absurd as it is sweet.

"No parasite means no freedom," you tell her. "Nothing to stop Cazador taking me back."

"That's where you're wrong." There's an intensity in her eyes. Not the familiar fiery explosive battle rage, but a calm controlled burn. "You helped me at least thrice over. Even if we never find a way to cool down my engine... Said I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, and I meant it. Your demons are my demons."

You look away, your throat suddenly tight, a confusing mix of fear and gratitude swirling in your gut.

"You don't know what he's capable of. You'd be a fool to do that for me."

"Psh. Who says it's all about you anyway? Maybe I just personally want to set the old bastard on fire. Sounds like he has it coming."

You laugh, and your chest feels lighter than it has in days.

"Right you are, Karlach."

"And for what it's worth, you know...I think you're pretty damn strong no matter what."

You don't agree. But it's a nice thought all the same.

[warmhealerr]

Have a doodle of Cha'ta (they/he | aberrant mind sorcerer) to justify a lore dump :

Cha'ta is the host body of Ta'rath's Alhoon ally.

Cha'ta was a Githyanki vet well known among many ex slaves for their psionic prowess and otherwise impressive constitution.

Naturally fatter from their peers since birth, Cha'ta's Illithid colony took an interest to the young lad fast, and by taking an interest I mean "Let's experiment on it instead of just culling it, at least maybe it will help us in death"...Except Cha'ta never died no matter the experiment, always pushing the limits of an individual their age the colony previously tested. It became increasingly obvious he was completely impervious to Illithid psionics despite showing signs of great psionic potential himself. Even if Illithids knew other slaves were building similar resistances and psionics (which they didn't), he still vastly outmatched others. The special care given to Cha'ta and his otherwise very obedient and gullible nature meant unlike other Giths who masked, he hid nothing to his Illithid masters, whom he adored very much for their attention was bliss (ah, children). The colony wanted for them to grow up. They would still regularly test them, of course. The mind flayers hoped to attempt ceremorphosis on this candidate against the odds (before he could become a problem for obviously he was no thrall), but in his early teens, the slave revolt began and spread, taking away the Illithid masters and forcing him to try and find himself. Despite being an utter mess from all the years of experimentations and their young age, their powerful mind and endurant body kept them alive and made them a significant face of the war.

The day internal conflict broke out, they chose Gith over Zerthimon, not because of the thrill of conquest and raiding (which nobody was thinking about at the time I'm sure), but because they were so damn scared of Everyone, and this very civil war proved their point. He would have to aggressively defend his right to live free, the right would never be earned for good until he knew of the very universe's intent. No complacency, no mercy. If there's one thing they had been taught by passivity it is that it only ever leads to exploitation.

When Tu'narath started thriving, when Cha'ta was finally allowed to settle, he dedicated himself to his body. Many healers, surgeons and artists worked hard to help them recover something that looked almost "normal", something that hadn't been molded like clay by claws that weren't theirs to the point of being unable to walk. They still had a limp but preferred that over constantly levitating. His agency over his body is something critical to him (yes he is transmasc btw).

They spent centuries hopping back and forth between the Astral and the Material planes, sometimes to help on raids even if they found those boring, or to help on Githzerai and Illithid hunts. It is on one of the latter he was captured once again by an Illithid colony, who this time did not wait a second to consider attempting ceremorphosis on this particular individual.

Cha'ta did, in fact, react well to ceremorphosis. A new Mind Flayer was born.

The Alhoon (any pronouns) has no recollection of Cha'ta's memories whatsoever, all that is left is a body that refused to shrink post ceremorphosis and a bad ankle, until Ta'rath comes along. They don't really bring out much, just flashes and dreams of a different body. The Alhoon thinks it's just the appearance of someone she ate once, not the very host body. When asked to disguise as a Githyanki, it's the disguise that comes most naturally to it. You can figure it doesn't go well for it in Tu'narath when, even if extremely rare because of Vlaakith's ascension culling, some people recognize Cha'ta and get extremely excited until they figure out he's either gone amnesiac or this is not him at all and something else is wearing his flesh. The smell isn't right, the psionics don't match, he hated levitating like that, he didn't act like that.

P.S : Sorry if that doesn't fit in lore too well, I haven't read the whole of the Illithiad yet aside from some major keypoints and rely a lot on foggy memories of stuff surrounding Illithid.

[wanderingnork]

Hi! Loved the lore dump yesterday and it got me really curious:

Githyanki worship Vlaakith, right? But do the githzerai have any religion (I'm not entirely sure how faith features into the monk class in D&D)? And do you know anything more about that long-dead goddess whom they used to worship?

What did the illithids use the githyanki for exactly? Just food? Manual labor? As soldiers?

Also, the Penumbran's "alien sheep" made me wonder what kind of livestock (if any) the gith keep nowadays and if you know whether they might also keep pets?

Which THEN got me wondering whether the gith are into music, performative arts, and poetry aside from the art you've described in that lovely one shot with the artist and the solider on AO3? /very long ask over And thank you so much for sharing all this lore with the rest of us! I'm really enjoying learning from your blog.

ALL RIGHT LET'S GO I HAVE SOURCES >:3

Starting off with worship: Back in the 2nd Edition D&D Monstrous Manual, Zerthimon is portrayed as a prophet-like figure, who died fighting Gith but will eventually return to lead the githzerai into a paradise. In Dragon magazine #390, which is a 4th edition publication, there's a sect of githzerai who carved their residence out of the petrified body of a dead god and live by its religious tenets. But the closest the githzerai have to an active deity in 5th Edition sources is their king, Zaerith Menyar-Ag Gith. Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes depicts him as a transcendent monk with incredible psionic powers, who looks like he's dead and just exists in a coffin projecting his thoughts.

What did the illithids use the githyanki for? All of the above. In the Mind Flayer Trilogy, we see them used as gardeners, food, manual labor, and eventually psionic supersoldiers (the illithids' final downfall). In all accounts, Gith was a bodyguard and soldier. According to the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon from Planescape: Torment, he worked in fields where bodies of gith used for food were turned to fertilizer for illithid crops.

Livestock and pets: The githyanki have an entire caste devoted to farming, the g'lathk (which has two apostrophes in earlier editions). The most detailed description of the g'lathk I've found is the web supplement for Dungeon #100 (Lich-Queen's Beloved), which goes in-depth on Tu'narath's farming district. To quote the article: "everything from rothé to chained humanoid captives (goblins, kobolds, gnomes, dwarves, halflings, elves, humans, bariaurs, and other “cattle”)." More recent editions have seriously downplayed or eliminated the idea of the githyanki keeping slaves this way (4th Edition's "Secrets of the Astral Sea" goes as far as saying that githyanki abhor slavery as hypocrisy when they themselves were slaves), but yeah. That's the livestock situation.

AS FOR PETS, that's MUCH more fun. Githyanki are frequently accompanied by spectral hounds, or ride interesting mounts like nightmares or the hybrids of dinosaurs and red dragons. However, in Dragon magazine #117, there's the wonderful article "Hounds of Space and Darkness." Here we learn about the dogs specially bred by the githyanki and githzerai. The githyanki breed guard dogs called kaoulgrim which are essentially super aggressive Russian bear-hunting dogs, huge and fluffy. The githzerai breed the szarkel, which are Extremely Extremely Cursed borzoi that have some limited shapechanging ability.

Finally, art: The githyanki have always been portrayed as a highly artistic group. In their earliest AD&D incarnations, they wear a great deal of jewelry and beautiful armor. By 2nd Edition, especially in the Planescape books, we see the craftsmen (mlar or m'lar) popping up. Planescape's Faction War supplement discusses beautiful and magical jewelry being sold in the city of Sigil. A Guide to the Astral Plane (also 2E) presents glorious artwork by Tony diTerlizzi of githyanki arms and armor and clothes. The Black Spine adventure for the 2nd Edition Dark Sun campaign setting offers the chance to visit a githyanki palace and includes a palace with whole wings devoted to music and art. In the 3rd Edition Tome of Battle, we get the entire story of a famous githyanki smith who made a legendary and (from the accompanying art) beautiful sword. The same Dungeon web supplement above details the mlar district of Tu'narath, where artists live in studios to create spectacular and often magical works of art.

In 5th Edition, going back to Mordenkainen, this takes a sour turn. That book portrays the githyanki as a society of bored, semi-immortal dilettantes, who get halfway through works of art or other creative projects before abandoning them for something new. I don't particularly like that, considering just how much has gone before about the githyanki being an artistic society.

I suspect that Larian agrees with me. In a banter between Gale and Lae'zel, she informs him that the githyanki paint frescoes, write symphonies, and make wine. Given how much Larian has already diverged from mainline D&D githyanki lore in their game, I think that it's a safe bet that the githyanki of Baldur's Gate 3 are more in line with the previous editions of D&D in terms of art.

[strawberrypinky]

WIP Wednesday

✨ Casually dropping some more Enver shenanigans as I'm working on chapter three of fire & ice. I couldn't fix him, but whatever's wrong with him is honestly funny enough ✨

aka yes this is a sneak peek at chapter three of "fire & ice" aka my TavTash fic

When Duke Ravengard left Baldur's Gate because Thavius Kreeg invited him to finally end several disputes plaguing Baldur's Gate and Elturel and the city fell to the Hells, Enver almost dared to feel hope for the first time in a long while. Hoping was a near unconquerable instinct - like each breath, a lung will draw so long as there is air available - but Enver had learned to cease hoping in place of actually striving for his own goals. Hope had died long ago in Raphael's claws. What had been born out of the ashes was something far greater. So, while Enver did not feel hopeful when Ravengard descended into the depths of Avernus, he pertinaciously schemed as the Patriars now remained remarkably insouciant with the promise of safety guaranteed by his Steel Watch. As idiotic as they all were, none of them noticed they were practically paving the way for him, making his job much easier than it should have been.

Unfortunately for him, the remains of his plan did not go over as easily as it should have.

The Astral Prism continued to be undetected, and none of the forces he had sent out found the Gith artefact, thus leaving the entire Absolute Hoax at tremendous risk. Enver was now heavily relying on Ketheric Thorm to find the thing, as any other search had turned out fruitless. Not even the Emperor had returned with the artefact - though the aberrant Illithid had not returned to Baldur's Gate at all. For all Enver knew, the Nautiloid had crashed somewhere, and the Illithid died along with it. Not that he cared, but it was bothersome, just the same. It would have been a lie to deny he wasn't anxious over the prospect of the artefact being lost - the accursed thing could very well pose a great threat to his destiny. He knew it was no longer held in Vlaakith's grasp, which made the prospect of its unknown location only further terrifying, and while Ketheric did well letting his filthy necromancers create an army of True Souls beneath Moonrise, the man itself was far too melancholic to care about much else than his daughter, who they had dug up as Myrkul brought her back to life, only for the girl to disappear into the shadows immediately.

Enver shuddered as he thought of Shar's blight. Few things frightened him, but the Shadow Curse unnerved him in ways he could hardly describe, and it was all over one measly girl. The first night he spent in Moonrise, protected by the unnatural and alien glow that surrounded the near-ruined tower, he wondered if he would ever plunge the world into darkness and sacrifice his own prosperity for one soul. And while his mind did stray to Elodie, he quickly realised Ketheric's folly would never be his. Her death would be a loss to Faerûn and his life, but it could never excuse the pathetic display of grief Ketheric and his lands had turned into.  

He wouldn't want her corpse to litter his path to greatness, but the unyielding devotion Ketheric had to someone other than himself was beneath Enver. He served none other than Bane - not even his wife would be the exception.

[invinciblerodent]

today I spent a good two hours or so on making everyone little personalized pouches of "sentimental" items :)

(I don't think this game was intended to be played the way I play it)

the first is Iona's, that's a bit of an.... eclectic collection: I like to decide on one or two things the PC might collect as I play them, for her it ended up being sentimental jewelry and love letters (Petyr collects poems and songs, and Arvid collected romance novels)

Astarion, I have carrying a few poetry books and "novel drafts" (the saucier and more embarrassing for its author, the better- I think he'd be far more interested in the handwritten, horrible, ridiculous porn than any of the legit, published smut we've found), some of the texts from Cazador's mansion, Chessa's practice sword, Mamzell Amira's hand mirror, and a vial of blood (as, like, a lover's favor bc it's the SENTIMENTAL pouch, we're SENTIMENTAL here)

Jaheira has her husband's letter (she's wearing his amulet), the Harper pin from her home, and a couple books on the Bhaalspawn crisis, the Harpers, the Guild, and Nine-Fingers- I like to think that she's kinda "all business" about it

Halsin has his own journal, the Shadow-druids' letter to Kagha, the carved staff we found on a dead druid in the Shadowlands, a book on illithid anatomy, and since I don't have his pipe in this playthrough, I just. let him have all the drugs we've found

Gale has every book I've kept on Karsus, the Weave, the different schools of magic, and all the other powerful and/or mysterious books I could find that aren't quest items (except for the Annals of Karsus)

Karlach has a little regiment of stuffies, a hand-drawn treasure map (Adventure! Yay, X marks the spot!), all our infernal stuff, and a book about pub crawls in the Gate

Shadowheart naturally has all the Dark Justiciar- and Selunite stuff we've found (a prayer book, the spear, Aylin's brooch she never asked for back, and a Selune idol I've been holding onto since act 1)- I sold the Sharran stuff and the Shar idol to the first merchant we found in act 3, might get her a diamond to put in there too

aaaand Wyll has his dad's diary and cudgel, a book (and some dirt) on patriar families, the toys from that one vault in the Counting House (which, I mean, might as well be his), and a dagger called "Worgfang" that gives advantage against goblins (because MAN he's bloodthirsty against goblins in act 1).

I haven't gotten Lae'zel back or gotten Minsc yet, but I've put aside all my gith-specific weapons and armor for Lae'zel :) (I dunno what I'm gonna give Minsc. Maybe he'll just get some cookies or something, I don't know)

Are these a useless waste of carryweight? absolutely. do I nevertheless find it very necessary and delightful? also yes.

[blackjackkent]

In some ways, I feel like Rakha's liveblog ends up being a lot more streamlined than Hector's bc I have a lot less writing about "Here's how I solved this puzzle for the first time." :P

This puzzle, for instance. Not a particularly interesting one, if I'm honest. The interesting part is what lies behind the door it unlocks.

Another brain to talk to in Gortash's machine, and an enormous carved mural labeled "Desecrated Relief."

As Rakha halts in front of the relief, her mind spasms again in her head and the voice of the Absolute booms through her.

"--OUR -destiny----- DESIGN- downfall....---"

Narrator: Your tadpole echoes. Not with presence, but memory - tinged with loss.

"-THE GRAND DESIGN----- -order--- --perfection---- ---- UNITY--- every plane AS ONE--- every being- ---IN THEIR PLACE---"

Narrator: That loss blooms into a sudden fury, burying claws in your mind.

Pain - agonizing pain and grief and loss, as real in the moment as if she were feeling it herself.

"---taken--- --corrupted--- --GONE-----"

The Absolute screams in her mind, a wail of anguish... and then fades.

Narrator: And just as suddenly, pain and memory are gone - leaving only stone once more.

"The Grand Design," Lae'zel mutters icily. "It is every githyanki's duty to ensure the ghaik empire is never reborn."

"The Grand Design," agrees the guardian, whispering through their minds, a soothing balm after the Absolute's screams. "The restoration of the mind flayer empire. The dream of all illithids."

Rakha nods slowly. She feels rattled and unsettled by this glimpse into the Absolute's thoughts, by its visceral grief at the loss of its own tyranny. While the memory had control of her, that grief and rage was hers, just as the beast's violence is hers in the moments it takes control of her.

She shudders. Will there ever be a time, she wonders, when my mind is mine alone?

She picks up the heavy jar with the brain and drags it back to Gortash's machine.

-----

This one is labeled "Waking Mind," and it is remarkably composed when Rakha activates it.

"Hmmmmm," it says thoughtfully, squinting at her. "Fine bones. Sharp jaw. Some variety of elf?"

Rakha considers correcting it, then decides not to bother. Half-orc. That's what Gale says at least. She remembers nothing; for all the connection she feels to that particular identity, she might as well be an elf.

The head is still talking, anyway. "Pretty enough for a flesh-prison," it says briskly. "If not the noble githzerai features I was born with. I'd guess you're no willing guest of the ghaik either. Perhaps we might aid one another."

"You called yourself 'githzerai,'" Rakha says slowly. "Is that some kind of githyanki?"

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Lae'zel roll her eyes with a muted chk.

The head is equally unimpressed. "Oh, for a set of hands to slap your face," it snaps. "The yanki lost their way the moment Gith threw down the ghaik empire. Only we zerai continue the war to end the ghaik forever. Only we fight them on their own battlefield - the mind."

Rakha rapidly extrapolates a few things from this. The zerai and the yanki are similar but not the same - splintered factions of Gith's whole. Perhaps like those who follow Orpheus, as Lae'zel has described. But she also discerns - this brain is not like the others. It knows its state; it knows it has no body.

"You're remarkably sane," she says matter-of-factly. "For a pickled brain."

"A githzerai's mind is not so easily cracked," answers the head curtly. "Our discipline was the very reason we were attacked. My order taught a psionic technique much-feared by the ghaik. They destroyed us for it and kept me as a trophy. I never broke, but... I've spent all these centuries awake. Aware. So here is my offer. Use your tadpole. Erase me, and I will pass my technique on to you."

Rakha's eyebrows lift thoughtfully. A gith mental technique designed to fight off illithid influence. Something that might push back the tadpole, perhaps? Might help her carve out peace in her own head?

The idea is tempting, as anything that might quiet her mind always is. And yet...

Narrator: [INSIGHT] You catch the lie - the monk isn't telling you everything.

It's subtle, a slight flicker of the eyes away, the minutest hint of indirection. But it's enough.

Her jaw sets in a scowl and she clenches a fist at her side. "If you want my help," she growls, "then tell me the truth."

The head shudders and its eyes go very wide. "All right!" it wails. "I-- the ghaik did not find my monastery. I led them there! They promised me immortality and they gave it! I have been their rotting trophy for centuries!"

Narrator: As her agitation swells, so does her latent psionic power. To your tadpole, that guilt and terror are almost... fragrant. You realize the illithids locked her away not as a trophy, but as a fine vintage.

"Please..." the head pleads desperately. "Touch my mind and purge it. The moment you do, my knowledge will be yours."

The beast would enjoy this mind's death, she thinks vaguely, but only as a by-the-way sort of thing. There is no blood, little pain. For once, this time it is the tadpole that is hungry; she could reach out and consume rather than purge, draw its energy into her by force.

It takes all the strength in her to resist that instinct, to simply reach out towards the other mind and brush against it, gently, gently...

She is so tired of having to fight down the things that would have her rip and tear like a mad animal...

[ILLITHID] Reach out and purge her mind.

Narrator: The awareness that floods you is nothing like the tadpole. It is tentative, and tinged with the loneliness of eons. It fades beneath your touch, but you feel something left behind. A fragment.

"It is only knowledge yet, without comprehension..." whispers the head, its voice fading with each word. "But when you use it, you will... see... and I... I see..."

Its voice drifts into nothing and the head again goes still and slack.

For a long time, Rakha stands very still with her eyes closed, looking inward. The knowledge the zerai gave her had no answers in it, not really. But it settles in the back of her mind, a stabilizing force, a new pillar, a new retaining wall. It is not peace, but perhaps a new glimmer of strength.

"Are you all right?" Wyll asks.

Rakha shrugs.

"Chk," Lae'zel mutters. "A githzerai monk. And a traitorous one at that. What good to drag its little secrets from its broken mind?"

Rakha speaks - a little slowly, as if she is swimming back from the bottom of some deep pool and reacquainting herself with the air. "It... had suffered enough," she says haltingly, and her eyes flick to Wyll in a silent question. A request for confirmation.

He nods, takes her hand and squeezes it gently. "Yes," he agrees.

[arach-tinilith]

13, 14 and 22 for both of them please! what did they think of the gang upon first meeting?

Thank you for the ask!! Im just gonna do all 8 companions bc I'm greedy hehe

Naadja:

Lae'zel- Naadja had never /seen/ Gith before but she had heard of them because Illithids occasionally appeared in the underdark. During the whole nautiloid situation, Naadja was trying not to panic moreso than get a good read on Lae'zel. It wasn't until the interrogation that she starts paying attention. Generally she found Lae'zel to be brutal and pragmatic which she respected.

Shadowheart- Loooots of secrets. Naadja lies to the group for a hot minute too so she's in no place to judge, it's just something she takes note of

Astarion- this is so stupid but she thought he was a drow. That's why she didn't help him, she thought he was gonna assassinate her AND THEN HE PULLED A KNIFE ON HER. She really /really/ did not trust him at first 

Gale- She also did not like Gale at first he gave the wrongggg impression but warmed up to him she just wanted allies because she believes in strength in numbers (well, she wanted to be the leader)

Wyll- Naadja has a… thing about warlocks her brother was a warlock she thinks it's a desperate grab for power and she thinks it's pathetic. But she really likes how he is with children. Naadja loves children; she thinks they're the future (of her army. Lmfao) so she respected him a lot

Karlach- She uh… has a thing for horns and tails. She really REALLY wanted to save her (especially if she was a devil ngl) 

Halsin- I have since changed my canon on this lmfao so if you've seen old posts no you haven't 🥰 anyway she's pretty indifferent to the whole “nature oak father bless me” stuff she isn't really interested in the balance of anything. She'll take him to moonrise but like… whatever 

Minthara- They have a LONG history like WAY before the tadpoles. When Naadja saw Minthara at the shattered sanctum she thought her cover was blown like she was minced meat. But Minthara was all open arms and “in her name” about it and Naadja immediately realized that something was seriously wrong about this cult because no way would Minthara not kill her on SIGHT. That's why Naady spared her because she's a lil nosy and unfortunately a bit empathetic 🤢 so they had a lot of catching up to do once she freed Minthara 

Zafyna:

Lae'zel- Immediately saw her as a threat (and potential lover 😏) was hesitant to trust her but decided to push on

Shadowheart- Again, the secrets. But like, being a Priestess of Lolth it is no big deal she really did not push. Also reallyyyy hot for Shadowheart 

Astarion- kinda impressed he pulled a knife on HER ngl that is NO small feat. She kept her eye on him for that tho

Gale- Wizard…😒. Lol she didn't hate him kinda just ignored him unless he made himself useful 

Wyll- Thought he was an adept fighter. Seemed like a goody two shoes. She wanted to know about his eye though it seemed interesting 

Karlach- She felt she could be useful. Made a lot of excuses for herself. OBVIOUSLY not a devil get it together Wyll😒

Halsin- Who?

Minthara: PLEASE COME BACK TO LOLTH'S FORCES THE WEB MOTHER WANTS YOU BADDDD UNNNHHHH😩😩😩😩 

[imperial-daffodil]

Meet my Tav, Daff.

(Artworks will certainly come yes) A Gith with a wierd fascination for Illithids. In fear, there is fascination. They picked the path of a Wizard, to learn Arcane Knowledge and Magic, and read all the books they could - in secret, back at their Crèche - about Illithids.

More on them when I am finally on holidays.

I've been living through their story religiously. Just like (no spoiler here i'm certain) they have been following, and wondering just as religiously at the Dream Visitor and the Emperor.

[des-no9]

on Gith, Vlaakith 1 and Zerthimon

My mind's been whirring a tonne about the og trio the past several days because of @gothyanki and @nothingimportantanywhere so this is all thanks to them, their ideas and I just need to write some of this down.

It mostly stems from our desire to make more of Gith, of Vlaakith 1 and why she did what she did rather than the classic FR evil because evil.

However, thinking more on my githyanki language of love and affection and how too that impacted on their culture, and how they could have been, once, a more family, emotionally connected and caring within eachother, race.

During the uprising and gaining their freedom from the Illithid, I HC that Gith, Vlaakith and Zerthimon grew close and worked together for their people, becoming these revered figureheads for everything they achieved.

Gith the charismatic, powerful, furious leader; Vlaakith almost devotion to her, initially. A quieter presence of the three, but intelligent, scheming - close to what the githyanki of today see as gish (assassins and spies). Where Zerthimon was a balance between the three. Strategist, speaker. And they were all messily in love.

They formed (what they thought) unbreakable bonds between the three of them from the strife, the pain. Enduring slavery, breaking their shackles, and becoming their own people.

And then once freedom, the purpose of gaining that freedom that bound them all together is no more and changes. It's something else now. Survival; beginnings; hope; creation; domination; power; celebration. Whatever it means, not all three of them end up sharing the same vision. Because going through something like that changes you, irrevocably.

And some point through it all, there was Orpheus.

And for me, I think he could have been a catalyst for a lot of the breakdown of the three.

I like to HC that he's the son of Gith and Zerthimon, and initially while gaining their freedom, he was raised between all three, but when they saw he'd inherited his mothers powers too (they'd desperately hoped. I think this is a big reason maybe why Gith had a child. A failsafe, just incase the worst happened to her and there would be someone else to carry on where she left off) Gith and Zerthimon started to train Orpheus to hone his skills and powers so he could be the heir Gith wanted.

And Vlaakith watched most of this from the sidelines, feeling more like an outsider everyday. Resentment building that she wasn't, and couldn't truly be part of Orpheus in the way Gith and Zerthimon were.

(I need to be inside your son the way you are, my lover, but can never be. Vlaakith a little unhinged. Gith and Vlaaktih the original toxic yuri write that down)

She helped train him too, but Orpheus preferred his fathers skills and ways, and what psionic power Vlaakith had paled in comparion to Gith's. She was a shadow to so many, but she never expected she'd start becoming one to the two most important people in her life.

(re Orpheus knowing about both his parents: I'm unsure how explicit I want them to be about that with him or how much he or they cared to tell him the specifics of his dad. I think it's pretty obvious, but the significance of them being a 'unit' rather than just, Zerth being an imporant 'figure' in Orpheus' life idk. I'm fully on board with (fuck) Boy Prince Orpheus era where he's a little high on my power and status lording over all you losers. But that comes more once Gith's ascended the throne)

Anyway. So post-freedom, post Gith on the throne and Vlaakith becoming her right hand, Zerth doing his thing and they kind of....really started to fracture in their ideals and ways.

Gith became obsessed with never being a slave to anyone again. That fear drove her almost mad, I think. And so did Zerthimon turning away from her own vision, especially since they shared a son. He was the future, the security, the power and promise of their people, of her vision, and freedom.

She saw it as a betrayal. As him lying down and quashing that rage he should feel after all they'd been through. Why aren't you angry, why don't you want to rage across the endless and all after what happened to us and rip apart the planes which are now ours?

He tried, consistent at her side to sway her. But the uprising had changed her. Broken her in a way he'd been too close to see. Now stood back, the cracks were like maws.

Vlaakith stood fast by Gith during the civil war. If she doesn't want you anymore, Zerth, then she'll only have me. But Vlaakith's jealousy over Gith's power, how the people revered her, Orpheus - fucking Orpheus - and once more, Vlaakith was the shadow, the second glance, third.

(Orpheus' thoughts on the civil war are for another post because hoo boy that'll be a long one too)

Everyone wanted Gith. An audience, honour to view, to speak to witness their breaker of shackles.

Everyone took a piece, while Vlaakith was losing hers.

Obsessiveness consumed her to the point that 'if I can't have you anymore, no-one else will'.

So fast forward to their visit to Tiamat, and Gith being the offering for the dragons, and Vlaaktih sitting upon Gith's throne, becoming her.

I can't have you, so no-one else can-

I can't be you-

I can be you, watch me.

Then, with Oprheus, it's only sensible to her that she imprisons him. But that takes time. Patience. The shadows she's so used to, and ultiamtely, sealing Gith's power in a neat little box until that day she figures out how to consume Orpheus and his power for her own, and there will be nothing left for Gith then, but her.

Then from Vlaaktih, broken and bitter and twisted by so much, this bleeds and breeds and spreads and beats into the githyanki culture and the githyanki we know today, with so much less love, no family, empathy-

-just paragons of rage, power, hate, I take what's mine, I keep it, I am what I say I am, i conquer worlds, I conquer you.

[cellphishthekaiju]

Crackpot Theorycrafting: Prince Orpheus is the son of Gith and Zerthimon

I know I'm quite 'late' putting this out but I needed to let it ruminate for a while longer. To preface, there's very little evidence in Baldur's Gate 3 and even Dungeons & Dragons lore, as a whole about who Orpheus's father/sire was... so this theory is almost entirely conjecture and brainrot.

Don't take it as anything solid, this is just the ramblings of a lunatic with nothing better to do with her time.

Also, (obvious) spoiler warning cause it mainly uses stuff from Baldur's Gate 3's story. Most information is sourced from The Forgotten Realms wiki as it's the most 'decent' source of D&D info for me to find relatively quickly and be accurate.

Anyway, on with the show.

Baldur's Gate 3 establishes some 'certain' things about Orpheus's connection and role within the githyanki lore (and D&D lore) as it is nowadays.

For those who are not in the know, the 'gith' were a slave race to the Illithid Empire but thanks to the strength and collaboration of Gith, Zerthimon and Vlaakith, they fought and gained their independence and brought the Illithid Empire to its knees but were soon wrecked by a civil war, called the Proclamation of Two Skies, that tore the gith race into two distinct factions/culture; the Githyanki (gith who followed Gith and Vlaakith) and the Githzerai (gith who followed Zerthimon).

The first time you meet Orpheus, some interesting things are immediately noticeable about him, starting with the gith himself(ignoring the infernal chains, that's a different story). Orpheus exhibits attire, body art, and a beard that is characteristic of the Githzerai and even his in-game class is that of a Monk (as well as his honor guard). What's this have to do with his relation to Zerthimon?

Githyanki don't look and dress like this and, to be honest, Orpheus's whole 'drip' looks more like Githzerai 5e art than Githyank art.

However, Orpheus identifies himself, quite confidently, as a Githyanki (and BG3 gives further 'evidence' of this through some of the endings, when he departs on a red dragon), so I suspect he never actually spent time with the Githzerai yet has chosen to embody the philosophies of an important role model... which had to be Zerthimon, before the civil war. Very flimsy proof of fatherhood, I know, but it makes sense in my deranged mind.

But Lae'zel says githyanki reproduce asexually. Sure... as far as she knows. We have no real 'facts' if the information Lae'zel was taught (all controlled by Vlaakith, mind you) was right, wrong, or only partially correct. Perhaps they can but if that was their 'primary' form of reproduction, I feel like the githyanki would be nowhere near as diverse-looking people as we see them... but that's just applying logic for the sake of my own headcanon.

Anyway, given that we have no real confirmation of event timelines, I also assume Vlaakith I is the one who imprisoned Orpheus in the Astral Prism after he rebelled against her in retaliation for trading Gith to Tiamat. (a slate inside the prism itself states Vlaakith I was the one who commissioned it's construction and, assumedly, the shackles as well, given their infernal design), which would suggest Orpheus was around/existed before or during the civil war, at least. There's not reason I can think of Vlaakith, any of the Vlaakith's would permit him to persist to threaten her reign plus his useful ability served her greatly.

Well, I hope ya'll enjoyed my insane rambling. If you'd like more, just let me know. I'm always open to suggestions (doesn't even have to be BG3 related).