#bc a god owns his soul but he's always gonna belong to one awkward druid from zephrah

[waltwhitmansbeard]

Dropping in to say I just finished Dalen's Closet and man

Nothing hurts quite as much as Vax being made so alien after only one year of service.

Hail to the Tempest, he says, and bows. Bows. Fucking... fuck. She’s the Tempest first and his love second and when Vex begs him to talk normal he tells her not to worry (because this is something to worry about).

How crooked will he be, when Keyleth finds him in over a thousand years? How much of that fungal bone will she have to chip off to find Vax beneath Vax'ildan beneath Champion of the Raven Queen?

I flock to angsty relationships like the worst seagull at a beachside hotdog stand and man does this give me something to shriek over.

that's so interesting that you read that as alien, bc it's always been one of my favorite things he ever says to her!!! when he says hail to the tempest, i hear...i don't know. look at you. look at what you've done. look at what you've become, even in your grief, even in your solitude. he has always seen her, seen her potential, seen her promise, and as much as he loved her (loves her still, even in death), he has never wanted her to exist solely in the context of him. he will acknowledge her station, will bow before her because even though he serves a god he will always belong to her, first and foremost. there is no threat, no emasculation, no loss of self because the woman he loves is one of the most powerful (politically and magically) people in the world—it is a thing he honors, a thing he cherishes.

and you are right, of course, that vax exists within the concept of the champion of the raven queen. this much is written explicitly in the tal'dorei campaign guide. but i don't know. he's not going to let his one opportunity to talk to her even begin without reminding her of how much he worships her, how much he reveres her, how much awe he holds for her. he fell in love with a queen, and he won't let anyone—especially her—forget it.