#I joinded a cult

[lloydmelodie2]

t's over lloydmelodie2, I have the high ground

You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the APPLE Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Banan Force, not leave it in darkness!

You were my brother, fangyy! I loved you!

[just-1-scorpio]

Theories about Arcana

Warning spoilers!!!

So I think we know that Arcana was defeted, by being nuked. And how Igor declared that she is dead. But is she really dead?

In the To The New World, when we talk to Druvis there is a option to tell her that Arcana was defeated, but she is sceptical. She says that to defeat an entety like her, first you need to understand her intentionds. The purpose to Manus Vindictae is clear, but Arcana's is a mystery acording to what Druvis tells Vertin. Then she tells her that during the time she speant in Manus Vindictae Arcana didn't seen to clear about anything. And in Sophia's flashback, Arcana tells her that she will die today.

So I have two theories.

The first one is that she is trying to become a legend or a type of holy figure.

Manus Vindictae looks partially to be a cult as well as a terrorist organisation. They refer to Arcana as the "Guiding One", and one of the number people who joind to Manus referd to her as "Mother". And it's pretty safe to assume that she founded Manus Vendictae. So by chosing to die by Igor's bomb, she can make herself a sort of martyr figure for the Manus Vendictae members. In the 2.2 triller we see that Sophia become the new leader of Manus Vendictae. Arcana used the situation to manipulate Sophia, who by the end of the chapter probably looks up to her. Similarly to Forget Me Not, Ms. Grace, the rest of the higher ranking Manus members, and Manus Vendictea as a whole. It's pretty safe to assume that Sophia will keep Arcana's memory alive, even if Arcana is dead, and the rest of the Manus who already probably worshiped her, will remember her, and talk about her as a martyr, and becoming holy figure to them.

2. My second theory is that she is trying to become a god.

Okey. This is posibly just me over anylising it, but I still write it down. So Arcana is pretty powerfull. The form she takes during the battle ageinst her in chapter 7, then in chapter 2. She looks more powerfull, and now she is somehow capable of creating portals, and she can use the ritual that killed, and deformd member of Laplace. She is really powerfull. The game includes mythological, and folklore elements in the game's world building. Spirits, vempaires, and the gorgon for exemple. In the greek myth of Heracles when Heracles jumps on the funeral fair, the fair burns away his moral half, and becomes a god. So what if by daing from the bomb, she become one. After the bomb, one of the opereters heard something, that Igor comfermd to be the wind, but what if it was Acrana assending into Godhood. Also this theory can go side by side with my first theory. If she has a cult that worships her before becoming a god, then that means that she will recive prayers, and offering shortly after becoming one.

3. And my last theory is that, she is a goddess.

Okey. I admit this may sounds stupid, and I probably read more into it, then it actually is in it. But let me explain.

She is powerfull. We know that. But how can she apear in multiple defrent forms like this?

Also in those forms she always has a circule around her head that kind of resemles a halo, especially in chapter 7, with that crown thing. So acording this theory, she eather survived the bomb and will eventually come back, or Igor killed a goddess.

[strangesmallbard]

have u ever shared the lore of torlynn's guardian/dream visitor? :O

i haven't yet! at least not directly—i have posted about the oc she looks like: torlynn's previous girlfriend, a human storm sorcerer/oath of the ancients paladin named thalia adrian, who died in terrible circumstances about a century ago. specifically, she's the version of thalia that torlynn first met. when she died, she was about 40 human years old.

those terrible circumstances happen to be extremely plot relevant! anyway, like many people, i always headcanon the guardian as someone significant in tav's life, either someone who previously guided them and/or haunts them. and thalia—and those terrible, plot-relevant circumstances of her death—haunt torlynn so so so much! especially awhen the party enters the shadowlands at the beginning of act 2 . eyes emoji.

something else important: in addition to all the cool things above, thalia is also a bhaalspawn. if you know bg1/bg2 lore and raised your eyebrows at thalia's last name, you are very correct: she's actually gorion's ward, the protagonist of the first two games. (i haven't gotten a chance to play them yet, so all my info is from various wikis. i definitely plan to, though!)

the full torlynn/thalia story has expanded into many rooms in my mind palace, so i'll put the rest under a read more for anyone interested haha.

HISTORY:

a century and a half before the events of bg3, torlynn was a high harper based in the sword coast. before that, she served the harpers since her early 100's, participating in multiple campaigns/adventure parties across faerûn for the next three centuries. a century and a half before the events of bg3, torlynn was a harper before she was anything or anyone else, wholly dedicated to the cause. she also took her leadership role very seriously and gave up most personal relationships as a result, even amongst fellow harpers. she also became more careful than the unreserved, reckless, hotheaded person she'd been in youth.

more important context: torlynn's mom was a powerful necromancer and well-known in her academic circles. back in the day, she'd do all sorts of necromantic experiments in the baldur's gate sewers, as so much weird shit happens there. including bhaalist cults every few centuries or so. when torlynn was still in school, her mom went missing down there and absolutely everyone stonewalled her when she tried to find out why, including her dad (shareholder at sorcerous sundries) and the flaming fist (who she briefly joinde after graduating wizard school). she eventually determines that bhaalists were involved, but never found any trace of her mom.

SO when sarevok causes problems on purpose in baldur's gate, torlynn is right in the thick of it for both harper reasons and personal reasons, pulled to the home that hadn't been home in a very, very long time. (frankly unsure if this counters bg1 canon but this is also my mind palace <3). and then she meets thalia: bright, kind, reckless, very chaotically good, and a bhaalspawn. and a sorcerer, which simply doesn't help matters regardless of how torlynn is a wizard who cannot stand the company of other wizards. (parents made her go to wizard school).

RELATIONSHIP:

they ummmm do not hit off right away. although torlynn very much believes in the harper tenets of Free Will and Liberty Over Systems, she's also a big fan of rules and organization and systems that facilitate free will. and, of course, breaking rules and systems that are stupid and don't make sense. (this all very wizard of her, but don't tell her that) (thalia tells her that, repeatedly). she also doesn't trust thalia's dark urge for very valid reasons. this all manifests in clashes that annoy everyone in the general vicinity. but this is a classic enemies-to-lovers, babey! they experience trials and tribulations, defeat thalia's loser brother, and fall very hard for each other.

their relationship is always a bit tumultous, as they don't stop clashing about the fundamentals. bhaal is also determined to make thalia succomb to her urge, meaning her bhaalspawn dreams get a lot worse around torlynn. but these bitches love each other! they're mutually obsessed! lesbian devotion > your shitty dad, every time. their differences are ultimately complements; torlynn grounds thalia, helping her perceive things like fantasy spreadsheets and consequences for your actions, while thalia helps torlynn find that balance between her Great Harper Responsibilities and like, having fun lmao. experiencing life to its fullest extent after spending her own protecting others. [insert a 50k relationship development fic here].

LET'S JUMP 20 YEARS:

in that time, thalia has also joined the harpers, albeit in a less formal capacity. she and torlynn spend half those years together and half apart as thalia 1) avoids murdering her, and 2) searches for other bhaalspawn across the realm, determined to save them from their urge. (she rarely succeeds. according to the wiki page for gorion's ward, something that sets gorion's ward apart from other bhaalspawn was their supportive upbringing, which very few have). at some point, they hear about a weird situation brewing beyond the mountain pass. some guy named ketheric is causing problems on purpose and shar is involved. can't be good.

and man, you know most of what happens next. the harpers join forces with the druids from the grove and together they defeat ketheric and his dark justiciars. in this version of the story, however, they almost lose. their forces have dwindled into nothing and help isn't on the way and torlynn's best ranger flew off the fucking handle and started torturing enemy scouts. one night, huddled under a tent, shar's darkness already clinging to every corner, thalia brings up a strategy they haven't considered. dire to be sure, but don't these people deserve every dire strategy we have left to give? aren't you always saying that to win, we must sometimes be willing to lose? torlynn says Under No Circumstances Are You Allowed to Do That. i will make sure you never have to do that.

thalia bristles; she hates when torlynn pulls rank. (when anyone pulls any type of rank). she doesn't say anything else because she doesn't want to get mean. torlynn is too terrified to say anything and too ashamed of her fear to talk about that either. so they don't talk again, not until that final battle when another fucking shadow squadron crests over the field and thalia Does Just That.

that being: assume her slayer form, succombing to the very urge she dedicated her entire life to fighting. and because the slayer's only motivation is Kill Everyone, there's only one way to stop her from turning on the harpers and the druids after the dark justiciars are all dead and gone. and torlynn makes sure she's the one to stop her. she owes that end to her. she wants to hold her one more time, even if what she's holding is a very scary creature with lots of pointy limbs.

AFTERMATH:

when the war is officially over, torlynn is not well. like fundamentally just had her belief in anything shaken and stirred and then exploded and also exploded again. she's dedicated her life to this cause and now the lands are cursed and thalia is dead, turned into the monster she hated. perhaps her mother was right about everything turning to rot, so you may as well use that rot to your own ends. except torlynn is bad at rotting, so she goes to bother her mother's god about getting her girlfriend back. but, well, thalia isn't with myrkul. she's with bhaal. and he's noooot letting her go so easily.

that's when torlynn loses that last grip on her previous life. she deserts the harpers, throws herself into necromantic research, and decides she's going to rescue thalia from bhaal if it's the last thing she does. she spends about 75 years doing this. and then something too complicated for this already too-long post happens that causes her to abandon this mission. winds up teaching 10-year-olds how to conjure ice at her old school in waterdeep, still adrift and bitter and mostly unwell. that's roughly her status quo until the nautiloid scoops her up from the road between waterdeep and baldur's gate.

CONCLUSION:

anyway! the emperor sees this big ball of noxious grief in torlynn's mind and is like Oh fuck yes a little bowl of seeds for me (perfect circumstances to manipulate the scary, highly-competent elf lady). he would have succeeded but torlynn has the power of friendship and gay sex with karlach on her side.

HEY, THEY KIND OF LOOK LIKE TALDER?

you got me there! torlynn kind of started out as an alder uber; i wanted to make an older lady oc who was both a magic user and some kind of military commander. besides their penchant for repression and the way grief is a huge part of their stories, torlynn wound up pretty different overall! thalia shares some physical traits with tally, but she's also taken a life of her own since that initial Haha Wouldn't It Be Funny If brainstorm. if anyone's interested i'm very happy to elaborate, but this is already too long LMAO. p.s. if you read the whole thing i love you