#how did morena and tara ever tell him no

[galedekarios]

ngl klaus from the circus of the last days is the realest character in bg3:

bc i turned around with the flycam and got hit with this:

me too, klaus. me too.

[pastrydragon]

The BG3 Beef I wanna see shitpost

While I do love the idea of Tav/Astarion/Karlach/whoever getting more unique mean dialogue with Ulder Ravengard, especially when he has the audacity to take up space in your camp like that instead of someone cooler like Barcus or that one bullied hyena, I want very specific flavor text that you'd only get in the epilogue party if you pick a specific ending even more.

I think if you romance Wyll as Gale or Gale as Wyll and then you don't go to Avernus, I think it would be totally galaxy brain to have dialogue in the epilogue that reveals Ulder Ravengard and Morena Dekarios fucking DESPISE one another. Because they absolutely would.

We never get to meet Morena in game but you can tell from what Gale and Tara say about her and Gale's... Galeness that she is at least a part time passenger on the "Fuck you my child is fine" train. Her sweet little boy? Commit evil deeds? Never! There has obviously been a mistake. I mean she indulged that "Gale Of Waterdeep" nonsense and when Gale summoned a full on Tressym after being explicitly denied a kitten as a child, she just let him keep her. No repercussions.

And then her sweet boy brings home another sweet boy who is probably EXACTLY what she pictured Gale's partner should be like.(Because Wyll is the damn blueprint for "Guy you could bring home to mom") Wyll is ridiculously sweet to Gale, he's the perfect gentleman, he's very open to the idea of giving Morena the grandchildren she's been nagging Gale about in the very near future. Pinch her, she must be dreaming!

I cannot imagine her reacting to Wyll's backstory with any amount of empathy towards Ulder, obviously that man is a cruel psychopath to throw poor Wyll out like that after "a tiny misunderstanding" and Wyll is just too good of a son not to see it. Which is partially true, Wyll is definitely still in some kind of denial stage over what his father did but that's not the point of the post.

Then there's Ulder who probably thinks Gale is... Fine. He's not someone he ever would have pictured for Wyll. Gale is a babbling oddball, he has chronic foot-in-mouth disease and has only ever met the pointy end of a sword. But he can't say anything because Gale saved him, his son, and Bulder's gate, and a small army of tieflings, and apparently a bunch of mushroom people and blah blah more reasons he can never have the moral high ground blah. He's undeniably stuck with this fucking wizard, and his nightmare of a mother.

Morena firmly believes that since the Ravengard manor is technically Wyll's now, then it's also Gale's and thus is now hers as well. When I say she would walk through the doors like she owned the place I mean it very literally. Where did Ulder's old helmet display go? "They were rusty and it was ruining the wooden shelves, besides these enchanted swords go better with the new drapes we had to get, I don't know how you didn't notice how moth eaten they were getting." Everyday he wakes up and something about his own damn home has been changed to make it look more like a wizard tower. She doesn't even live here most of the time!

And it doesn't stop there, not at all. No this women has to make sure his son doesn't live there full time either. Every holiday and birthday she has to send Gale a letter about how much she misses him and you should visit so you can take a break from all that(Very important!) work and how she already has the venison just for Wyll.

And every time he's forced to interact with this harpy she looks at him with a sweet smile on her face, honey in her voice and the burning hatred of a thousand suns in her eyes then somehow managed to insult him five times in one sentence without ever explicitly insulting him. This women is a devil from Avernus sent to punish him for his sins and she's even won over the grandkids. Obviously that women is a manipulative psychopath for using her control over Gale to manipulate his son. Which, yeah Gale not being able to say no to his mom has contributed greatly to this and if Wyll knew what healthy boundaries looked like he probably wouldn't have put up with it but he doesn't so here we are.

Let these two be the Tom and Jerry style B plot to BG4 is what I'm saying.

[bitchysouljellyfish]

Reassurance

Monk Tav is doubting herself. Good thing Tara is there to set her straight.

Border by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

Strange how life works.

One day, you're out on a mission for your temple, quarterstaff resting comfortably in your hand as you trek through the streets of Baldur’s Gate looking for an inn to rest your head for the night before setting off bright and early in search of new and bright eyed recruits to send to the Order of the Yellow Rose to begin their training.

And then you’re abducted by a mindflayer ship, have a tadpole inserted into your skull, escape said nautiloid by crashing it, meet the craziest bunch of strangers you'd ever meet in your life, fight countless monsters, fall in love with the man you pulled out of a stone, subsequently save the world and now you're in Waterdeep, resting comfortably on a chaise in front of a roasting fire as the beginnings of winter makes its way through the Sword Coast with a tressym relaxing while you both wait for your fiancé to come back from shopping.

It is very strange how life works.

Tav never would've expected this was how her life would've turned out. She expected to spend the rest of her days in service to the temple, becoming a Grand Master and then training the next warriors of the Era before dying of whatever the gods deemed fit for her. But now? Now she was envisioning a future far from violence and grueling training, replaced with wedding bells, a dress her future mother in law wanted to help her find, and even considering tiny feet with even tinier tails and little nubs for horns.

That was in a not so distant future, however. First, Tav would have to deal with present problems. Mainly gaining the favor of the tressym before her and getting out of her own head.

Tara was like a second mother in law. Don’t mistake her, Tav adored the tressym and she was fairly certain she liked her as well, but there wasn’t much the two had in common. Tav wanted to know everything about Gale's life, and the ones most important to him, but having small talk?

She’d rather spend 12 hours in the Hashi with the grandmasters. It was awkward and so mind numbingly boring! There had to be a better way to get to know Tara better, and by extension, Morena. Nobody wants a daughter in law they know nothing about. Thankfully, sitting by the balcony with a book on her lap about the latest experiments of the thunder wave spell and its effects on the body, she finally had her chance.

Gale was out, getting… something he wouldn’t tell her, but Tara had stayed behind, napping and cozily roasting her feet by the fire to combat the first chills of Waterdeep until a flurry of wings interrupted her sleep. Almost immediately Tara perked up and got into position to pounce on the unsuspecting pigeon. Her wings positioned tight against her body while her rear end wiggled.

Tav had to cover her mouth to stifle the giggles as her own tail flicked back and forth with glee against the couch. That caught Tara’s attention as well, unfortunately, the wide open pupils narrowed into tiny slits again.

“Oh, please forgive me Tara. I don’t mean to laugh,” she says, curling her tail around her feet. “Its just- I love the look on your face when you get so determined like that.”

“Not to worry, Tav.” Tara left the pigeon alone and hopped onto the arm of the chair she was sitting on. “You probably got me at just the right time. I did promise Mr. Dekarios to leave some of the pigeon population alone, but he said nothing about watching the little devils.”

“Gale was probably just worried about any messages being lost.” She says and sets the book to the side. “Are you hungry, Tara? I could cook something for you! Despite what Gale and the others have said about my cooking, I have perfected some dishes.”

“Don’t trouble yourself, my dear.” A tiny paw pats the back of her hand, almost motherly. “Not hungry, just a bit bored I’m afraid. Mr. Dekarios said he would bring something back for the both of us and now it has me sitting on pins and needles.” Tara’s ears perked up before laying flat against her head. “Oh dear, I’ve said too much.”

“No, No, Its ok!” It was nice to hear Gale was planning something. “I promise, I won’t tell a soul you said something, but if you’re bored why don’t we do something together? We could play lanceboard, or um let’s see…”

A soft chuckle came from the winged feline before her, stretching herself out as she climbed onto Tav’s lap. “why are you so nervous my dear? It is just old Tara, we’re all part of the same family. Or will be once you and Mr. Dekarios settle on a wedding date.”

Tav sighed and leaned back against the cushions, hovering her hand over Tara’s soft fur before being granted permission to pet. “but you aren’t just Tara. You’re Gale’s oldest and most dearest friend, practically a second mother to him. I’m just- forgive me it’s silly of me.”

“Its not silly if it’s causing you this much turmoil. Come now,” she hopped off her lap and pulled at Tav’s tail with a quickly conjured Mage Hand-well Paw- to lead her. “Come have some tea. I know Gale bought some of that delicious jasmine tea just for you that I myself have been dying to try.”

Tav fumbled with her fingers as she followed the tressym, feeling more and more like a bumbling fool than a respected monk of the Order of the Yellow Rose. She could beat down goblins, minotaurs, mindlfayers, hell she defeated the Elder Brain and lived to tell the tale!

But Gale wasn’t a problem she could just train and fight away. He wasn’t a problem at all, mind you, but he meant everything to her. Her first true love, the man she saved the world with and the one who encouraged her every step of the way and looked at her with such love she had no idea what to do with it. Tav wanted to make sure she was just as good as he thought she was, the person that he told his family about. Tav wasn’t sure if she could handle them being disappointed in who she really was.

She felt so weak for being like this, but at the same time hated doubting her feelings. For all the good the monks did for her, regulating emotions was not one of the skills taught. Gale had been blissfully patient, waiting while she literally punched her feelings out and comforted her with bandages around her knuckles and a healing potion to amend the damages she’d done to herself.

Gale made her feel like a teenager with their first crush, fumbling over themselves trying to get the feelings out while Gale just… did it. He did it with such ease it made the monk jealous and made her cheeks frightfully warm while all she could do was silence his praises with a kiss that hopefully took his breath away. It was rather ridiculous , as they were to be married some time soon.

Tara showed her where Gale had kept the tea and waited patiently while it brewed, loafing on the table.

“Now, tell Tara what's on your mind. I can guarantee that this conversation stays just between the two of us. “

Tav smiled and poured them each a cup. “Thank you for this. I just…” She chewed on her lip. “I cant help but feel out of my element. Domesticity, peace, tranquility. The monks spoke about it all the time, but it's so different than actually living it. I'm not complaining, don’t misunderstand me, Waterdeep is amazing and I love Gale with my entire being, but…”

“You feel as if you're waiting for the ball to drop.” Tara finished for her. “so to speak?”

Tav sighed and drummed her nails against the tea cup. “Yes. I feel as if Gale will one day realize he wants a real wife, one who can cook without burning a dish, who had a normal upbringing, one who doesn't… doesn't have nightmares about battles long past and can go out for a walk without constantly looking over her shoulder. I’m afraid I’ll be alone again, and I'm not sure I can handle that heart break.”

Tara ignored her cup of tea and trotted over to her side. “My dear, if you think that Gale would ever do such a thing I'm afraid you don't know him at all.”

“Huh?”

Tara put a paw on her hand, “You truly haven't seen the way that man looks at you when you don't notice or what he has done to make you comfortable here. And I don't mean that to sound cruel, I'm sure Gale hid it from you on purpose. Look over there, under the spice rack. That is a cookbook filled with recipes for warriors to keep their energy and maintain their physique. In his desk, he has a book on learning Infernal because he knows you mutter to yourself as you plan your next training session, and he wants to speak to you in your mother tongue. My, when we were out shopping the other day, he stopped a tiefling couple to ask about tail language so he could better understand your emotions.”

As Tara continued, Tav’s face kept getting warmer, her tail beat against the floor with her growing joy and her heart beat ever faster. How had she not noticed any of this? She prides herself on her perception, but all of this slipped past her detection?

“That isn't to say you don't put in the same effort. I've seen the way you clean up his potions, reading your own books on magic and the Weave to understand his passion better. I've also seen the look of complete and utter joy you have on your face when he goes on about his lectures. You don't patronize him, you don't roll your eyes, you pay attention as if you were one of his students. Yes, you two met and went through incredible circumstances, but that means you two have seen each other at your worst and still live each other with everything you have. My dear, Mrs. Dekarios absolutely adores you because you make him so happy! Believe me when I say you have nothing to worry about.”

Tara gasped when two hands went under her front limbs and she was brought into a tight hug with the subtle dampness that was beginning to grow on her fur. She nudged her head against Tav’s chin to comfort her. “Oh no, did I say something wrong? It wasn’t my intention to-“

“No, you said everything right.” Tav sniffed to try and avoid getting about and tears in her fur. “I cant believe- I didn't realize, but thank you, Tara, for everything.” The tiefling set her back down gently, wiping her face as she did. “I… I love him so much, so much so that I didn’t think it was possible to love someone this much. And to have that confirmation makes it all the sweeter. You’re a wonderful friend Tara, and I’m so thankful to be apart of your family.”

Tara rubbed against her face and purred loudly. “I feel the same, Tav. You saved my little love, and I will be forever grateful to you.”

“I’m home!” Gale’s voice echoed through the tower, unintentionally interrupting the tender moment.

Tav didn’t waste any time, pressing a gentle kiss to Tara’s forehead before rushing down the steps to welcome her love home. Tara stayed at the table and started drinking her tea, her purrs getting louder as she heard the subtle noises of a smothering of kisses and gentle admonishes from her family.

“My love, I’m happy to see you too- dearest I’m holding gifts-give me a mome-“

A crash, followed by mirthful laughter from both parties made a chuckle flow from Tara as well.

Yes, she thought, this was a love that would be told about for ages.

[rosieofcorona]

A Summoning

ANGELS, I've returned to serve you domestic fluff with a side of holiday mischief. Professor! Gale and Dad! Gale are everything to me so I have wrapped them both up in this story with a little bow on top. Also on AO3 if you prefer. As always, thank you for reading. 💕

Winter brings many things to Waterdeep– the sort of darkness that seeps into every corner of the city, the sort of snow that falls as heavy as a shroud. It brings a season’s worth of holidays, and with them, all their customs, all their visitors called home from every region of Faerun. It bring gifts and songs and lanterns, lit and hung in every window, their light shining off the snow like grounded stars. 

Best of all, winter brings them Arabella. 

In the girl’s first year at Blackstaff, Tav insisted Gale invite her home at Midwinter break. After all, she'd pointed out, Gale knew firsthand what it was like to be alone in the dormitories when the other students had gone home. It would be better, they’d decided, to have her stay with them in the tower, where they could spoil her and cook for her and help her with her schoolwork. 

And so it was. 

That first Midwinter came and went, and so did Fey Day and Fleetswake and Midsummer, Stoneshar and Last Sheaf and Feast of the Moon. Every holiday they invited her, and every holiday she came. 

By the time Midwinter arrived again, there was no discussion at all. Arabella simply appeared at their door on the last day of school, and was welcomed in just before dinner. 

For the most part, her visits brim over with happiness. Gale teaches her the rules of lanceboard and all his favorite recipes, and Tav reads to her and shows her how to pluck out a tune on a lyre. When Tara and Morena come for tea, they tell her stories about Gale’s childhood that turn him varying shades of red, depending on how often he has scolded Arabella for similar behaviors. There is no shortage of laughter or mischief or very late nights, which means also no shortage of noise. 

In the mornings, Gale rises ahead of the girls, gathers all his students’ papers and heads to the library to work in uninterrupted silence. If he is lucky, he can get through a good deal of marking before he starts to miss the tower, all its chaos and its company. 

No luck today. 

He’s only been there for an hour when a family passes by the nearest window, a flock of children shepherded by their parents. They all take turns at catching snowflakes, huge and fluffy, on their tongues, and fall apart in fits of laughter when they miss. 

They grin and wave at Gale when they see him, their cheeks flushed and bright with cold, and he waves back, and packs his things, and goes home early. 

*********

The tower seems, at first, exactly as he’d left it– silent, sleeping– But they must be up by now, he thinks. It’s late enough.  

He might expect them in the solar or the kitchen or the parlor, warming up before the fireplace or hovering over a lanceboard, but there’s no seems to be no sign of them, no sound of them at all. 

It is too quiet.  

Gale takes the stairs two at a time and makes a beeline down the corridor to their chambers, worry rising in his chest. He nearly rushes past his study when a faint exchange of words drifts through the door, followed by a commotion– a flutter of paper, a rush of footsteps, something dragged across the floor. 

He’s almost startled when he reaches for the handle and it opens. Tav is standing at the threshold, bright as ever, smiling wide. 

Gale catches sight of Arabella in the background closing a book, setting it back down on his desk with a little thump . Its cover– or what he glimpses– looks familiar somehow, like something he’d studied long ago and has since forgotten. The memory hasn’t fully formed when Tav interrupts it, her lips pressed to his in her usual greeting. She tastes like holiday sweets, like honey cake and mint, like tradition and family and home. 

“Hello, darling,” she says. “You’re home early.”

“Hello, you.”

The lingering taste of her is nearly enough to distract from his growing suspicion, but there’s something off about the room that he can’t quite place, something mischievous in the way she’s leaning against the doorframe, shifting her body, tilting her head to obscure his view. 

“Am I interrupting?” 

“Of course not,” she assures him, in a tone so light and easy it’s almost convincing. “Arabella and I have just been reviewing some of her lessons, isn’t that right?”

“Yep!” Arabella agrees, too enthusiastically for schoolwork. The girl comes to stand next to Tav in the doorway, her hands clasped politely before her. The picture of a well-behaved child. 

He is certain they are up to something now. 

“And which lessons might those be?”

They stumble over their answers, the words colliding, knocking heads. 

“Evocation,” answers Tav, while Arabella says, “Illusion.” 

A guilty look, quick as a hummingbird, flits between them and disappears. 

Gale raises an eyebrow. “Care to try again?”

“Well,” Arabella swallows, “I was saying you’ve been teaching our class about familiars, and how you got Tara, and–”

“Hang on,” Gale interrupts, a realization creeping over him. He points past them to the desk, to the text that she had dropped when Tav opened the door. “Is that my book?”

“I think you’ll find they’re all your books, darling,” Tav says quickly. “Don’t worry, we’ll put them back–”

But it’s too late. 

With a flick of his hand, Gale passes through them like mist and reappears in the room beside his desk. He flips open the front cover– Advanced Summoning, stamped in gilded letters– and turns to a bookmarked page of detailed instruction, his own notes scribbled in the margins in a child’s hand. 

“You certainly will put this back,” he says firmly, facing Arabella. “This is magic beyond your years.” 

“But you were younger than me when you summoned Tara!” 

“‘Younger than I,’  and– nevermind – you're right, but that was very different.” 

Arabella wrinkles her nose indignantly. “How?”

“Well first of all, I didn’t need someone else’s private notes to do it. Now, if you’d like a book on familiars, I have a more appropriate one you can borrow–”He is moving in long strides toward the bookshelves on the opposite wall, crossing over the rug that’s been moved– It’s been moved? – to half-cover the summoning circle and– 

Wait .

“Have–” he sputters, lifting his shoe off the chalky runes drawn on the hardwood. “Have you made a summoning circle ? In my study?”

“Well, not just me,” the girl protests. “Tav helped!”

“I did,” she cringes lightly, when Gale whips around to look at her. “I couldn’t let her do it on her own.” 

“My love, she shouldn’t be doing it at all. This,” he says, turning back to Arabella, “Is complex and dangerous magic. One mistake and you might summon a pit fiend rather than a tressym.” “A very small pit fiend,” says Tav under her breath, but on seeing Gale’s scowl, adds, “Sorry.” 

“ Gods,” he groans, dropping his face into his hands. “What am I going to do with the two of you?”

“Help us!” Arabella grins. “We were nearly done anyway.”

“We could use your expertise,” Tav murmurs, drawing close. “You’re the only one who’s done this before.” 

He feels her soft hands on his, prying them from his eyes so gently that he almost forgives them right then and there. 

“Pleeeease?” Arabella draws out the word like a sustained note. “I won’t ask for anything else all Midwinter.” 

“Where on earth are you going to keep it, Arabella? They’ll never allow it in the dormitories, believe me.” The girls look first at each other, then back to Gale. “No,” he says firmly. “Absolutely not. It cannot live here.” “But I’m here all the time anyway!” Arabella protests. “I promise I’ll take good care of it. Besides, you’re always telling me I need to be more responsible.” 

Gale sighs until it feels like all the air has left his body. 

“And summoning a familiar is going to make you more responsible?” The child shrugs. “It might.”

It is all he can do not to laugh at that, at all of it, at the great karmic joke playing out in front of him. This must be what his mother felt like, all those many years ago. He thinks of writing her his most sincere apology. 

After a great deal more sighing and shaking his head, Gale bends and tugs the rug away to reveal the extent of their work. He examines it deliberately, walking around and around, head bent, arms crossed, brow furrowed. 

“Your runes are wrong,” he says at last. “Here,” he points, “and here. Let me show you.”

Arabella listens closely as he guides her through the process, far more closely than she listens in his class. She draws new runes in a steady hand, pausing each time for affirmation, and when she finishes Gale’s eyes are full of pride. 

“The incantation now,” he nods, and stands and brushes the chalk from his knees. 

He moves out of the circle entirely as Arabella takes the center, her command of the words unwavering and true. But for a long and silent moment, nothing happens. She looks from the circle to the book to Gale and back, her disappointment only tempered by confusion. 

Then comes a sound like distant lightning, and a sizzling, crackling energy that makes the hair on all their arms stand up on end. A sphere of light appears above them, tears like parchment down the middle, and something tiny, something living tumbles straight into her arms. She nearly drops the book to catch it– a ball of fur with fledgling wings– and when she turns her eyes are bright with tears, a joy Gale still remembers.

[wheretheharekissesthefox]

Deep like water: Chapter 2 – Becoming Mystra's

(Trigger warning: grooming, horny teenage smut)

Unfortunately, Morena couldn't shield her son from prying eyes forever – neither on the streets, nor at school, not even at home.

Gale's effortless manipulation of the Weave drew the attention of the Goddess of Magic, Mystra, herself. She'd observed the young boy, who was thirsty for knowledge, since returning from the dead, and now, she showed herself to him.

Gale remembered it clearly; the night they'd met.

It was a warm summer night and he'd opened the window to let in the cool breeze from the sea. Mystra appeared in his bedroom in all her glory and had appointed him her Chosen.

"You're meant for great things, Gale of Waterdeep," she'd said.

The young boy had been swept away by her sweet promises and enchanting beauty. He'd fallen in love with the Goddess of Magic the moment he'd met her.

From that time on, Mystra visited him every night to teach him something new and Gale had to promise not to tell his mother about their secret meetings. The boy did as he was told (who would refuse a literal goddess?), but he felt terribly guilty. He loved his mother, she was the reason he had everything he needed, including his dear and only friend Tara. But he didn't dare to upset Mystra. His mother's potential wrath scared him less.

Eventually, Morena found out about it on her own and she was furious. Not at Gale, never at Gale, but at the Goddess of Magic.

"How dare you!" Morena yelled at Mystra. "How dare you make empty promises to my son! I know who you truly are. I know what became of your former prodigies!"

Mystra blinked at the enraged sorceress, coldly and uncaringly.

"Gods work in for humans incomprehensible ways and I chose your son as my prodigy. What you feel, sorceress, doesn't matter. Gale is meant for great things."

Morena almost frothed at the mouth as Mystra stroke Gale's hair before vanishing into thin air.

"Mum, I can explain -"

"You don't need to explain anything, Gale. I understand." Morena closed her eyes in agony and tore her hair. "It doesn't matter what you want or what I want, Mystra takes whatever she wants."

"But –" Gale swallowed thickly. "But I want to prove my worth. I want to show the world what I'm capable of. I wish to become the greatest wizard Faerûn has ever known."

His mother looked heartbroken.

"Oh, honey... It'll be your ruin. I understand you're eager, but power isn't all there is. The danger of eagerness lies in its insatiability. No matter how much you know and how powerful you are, it'll never be enough. You'll never be satisfied."

Gale frowned, not liking what he heard.

"There's a reason I'm a healer instead of a grandiose sorceress. I'd been called a prodigy of the Arts too. Everyone expected me to become something special. It didn't matter what I wanted, it didn't matter who I was. All people saw was a promising sorceress or a desirable beauty, but no one cared about me."

Morena emphasised the last word by tapping against her heart.

"Nobody cared about my wishes and dreams. Nobody ever asked me about my favourite food or favourite colour, because all people cared about were my powers. I don't want this for you, Gale. I tried to shield you from it, but I failed and I'm sorry. Don't feel pressured to be some grand wizard. By being yourself, you're worthy enough."

"Thanks, mum," the boy muttered.

He walked over and hugged her middle. Morena stroke his back, muttering: "I love you, honey."

"I love you too." After a moment, he added: "You love garlic bread and the colour purple."

Morena huffed a watery laugh and held her darling boy even closer.

A cool breeze drifted through Shadowdale, making the summer heat more bearable. Elminster Aumar, one of the most powerful wizards of Faerûn, was in the middle of an explosive experiment when someone knocked on the door of his tower. Sighing deeply, the wizard dragged himself away from his laboratory.

"Monty, open the damn door!" Elminster barked, but his assistant was nowhere to be found.

The wizard was ready to scold the boy as soon as he’d found him, before remembering that he'd sent the tiefling off to get some cold beer.

Disgruntled, Elminster opened the door himself.

"Hello, old friend, nice to see you again."

"Morena? What are you doing here?"

"How about you let me in first. The weather's awfully unpleasant."

"I'm busy."

"I brought cheese," the sorceress smirked.

Elminster quickly waved her inside and closed the door. He had his priorities after all. They sat down at the table.

"We need to talk," Morena told him.

"Aren't you busy making gout salve and kissing grazed knees better?" Elminster teased.

The addressed snorted a laugh.

"Very funny, El. It's about your darling lover Mystra. She has chosen Gale as her new prodigy."

The wizard inhaled sharply, then, he groaned.

"That's truly bad news, but what do you want me to do about it? You know I fell from grace with Mystra."

"I'm aware, yes, but that's not why I'm here. I want you to take Gale under your wing to help him be more in control."

"Why me, Rena? You're a powerful sorceress yourself. You can teach him."

The addressed pursed her lips and explained: "He needs someone else as a tutor. I'm his mother and children don't like to listen to their parents' words all the time. Thus, someone who isn't a relative is in demand. Gale's a sweetheart, but he needs external tuition. A mentor, a friend. And since you experienced Mystra's temper yourself, you're the perfect candidate for the job. Please, El. I never ask you for anything, but this is important and you know it. I can't let her ruin him."

Elminster stayed quiet, then, he shook his head. Morena grabbed his weathered hands and pleaded: "I beg you, El. You're one of the greatest wizards of Faerûn, a former Chosen of the Goddess of Magic. You're the only one who can help him."

"You're powerful too," Elminster tried again.

"I told you, it can't be me," Morena replied harshly. "If I could, I'd kill Mystra, but I know I'm not powerful enough to do so, and if I'd attack her and she'd survive... I don't even want to imagine what she would do to my son. No, it can be me, Elminster. I'm too riled up, too... emotional. I despise Mystra with my entire being. I can't teach Gale anything that has to do with her. The Weave... the Weave isn't hers! I can pull from it without the help of a deity, but Gale doesn't understand it, doesn't want to understand it."

Elminster sighed deeply and rubbed his wrinkly forehead.

"Alright, Rena, I'll do it. For you. Because your son shouldn't go through the same ordeals I'd been through."

"Thank you," Morena smiled and hugged him. "Thank you so much. I owe you."

"Don't expect too much," Elminster grumbled. "I might fail spectacularly."

The sorceress laughed.

"The great Elminster Aumar thinks he could fail? That's one for the books!"

"What's for the books?" asked Monty while walking through the door, balancing clattering beer bottles in his skinny arms.

"Your bad timing," grunted Elminster.

"You were the one who didn't want the Elminster's Choice!"

"It tastes terrible!" exclaimed the wizard.

"The beer's named after you!"

"Without my permission and without my approval of its taste!"

Monty rolled his eyes and stowed away the beer.

"It's a deal then?" Morena asked. "You'll teach Gale whatever you can to give him independence from Mystra?"

Elminster nodded.

"I'll try my best. I never really had a pupil before."

"What about me?" shouted the tiefling from the kitchen.

"You're not a pupil, you're an assistant."

"Meh. That's one and the same," the boy shrugged.

"Gale won't cause you any trouble – mostly," Morena chuckled. She quickly placed a kiss on the wizard's cheek. "See you soon."

"Mhm," Elminster grumbled as he watched Morena disappear through a portal.

"Uhm, Master? Does the green liquid above the distiller have to smoke like that?" asked Monty.

Elminster groaned, hurrying towards his flubbed experiment. He urgently needed a beer now.

As promised, Elminster tutored Gale once a week. The latter was really living it up and even became friends with Monty. So it happened that Elminster sometimes took a nap ("I only rested my eyes for a bit.") while Gale and Monty got up to mischief. Their catch of a dire bear was legendary and should have made history. All the glitter everywhere was less splendid. Instead of angry, Elminster was impressed – and that's all that mattered.

Mystra continued to visit Gale regularly and began to let him in on arcane secrets that were kept away from many others. The wizard prodigy did everything to try to impress her. When Gale was fifteen, Mystra kissed him for the first time.

Gale spent the next summer in Shadowdale with Elminster and Monty. He listened eagerly to his mentor's dry monologues and demonstrated how he shaped the Weave to his desire. Elminster was impressed but worried about the extent of Gale's powers.

"You know, my boy," the wizard said one evening when they were sitting underneath the starry sky. "Hurling down mountains? Shattering fortresses? Easy enough. Caring diligently for all the folk who come to you, day after moon after year, and keeping at it? That's hard. Just ask your mother."

Gale hummed thoughtfully, gazing at the stars, while Elminster smoked his pipe.

As always, Gale and Monty got into some mischief (shaping the townmajor’s hedge bushes into phalluses, turning all the chicken pink and the fenceposts into an a capella group) and kept the townsfolk on their toes. The tiefling knew of Gale's passion for cooking, thus, he taught him his family's recipe for rabbit ragout with hazelnuts and fresh herbs.

One particularly hot, stuffy day, Elminster had to attended some business out of town and left the boys home alone. Of course, they promised to behave and the old wizard sighed deeply, already dealing with a headache because of all the possible situation he might could come back to. Snickering, the teenagers went for a dive in the nearby river to cool off. Gale felt a bit flustered to take off his clothes, but Monty all but threw them onto a pile and cannonballed into the deepest part of the stream. Gale followed him tentatively, shivering at the water's crispness. The tiefling grinned at him, his golden eyes shining like two little suns and his black horns glinting in the light that fell through the canopy of the trees. Gale stared at his friend and realised how handsome he was.

"You know, staring's considered rude," Monty chuckled.

"You're beautiful," Gale blurted out and immediately turned crimson.

For a moment, Monty looked puzzled, then, he smiled and said: "Thanks. So are you."

"Am I?" the wizard uttered, feeling a bit insecure.

The tiefling kept smiling.

"Yeah, you are. The way your eyes squint when you laugh, the way your hair frames your face, your smile. I -" Monty waded closer to him until he stood right before him. "I love you."

Gale's eyes widened in surprise, his cheeks flushed, and his skin got goosebumps.

"Oh," he whispered, lost for words.

Slowly, Monty leaned down to kiss him. He was a few years older and one head taller than Gale. Their lips touched in a chaste kiss, a silent question really. They looked at each other. Monty licked his lips while Gale swallowed down his nervousness. Then, he said "Let's return to the tower" and his friend nodded. They made their way back quickly, their hearts beating hard in their chests. Back in Elminster's tower, they sat down on the carpet in the library and there, surrounded by books and the smell of paper and ink, they made out until their lips were numb. They were dry-humping until Monty couldn't stand it any longer and freed them both from their trousers. Gale moaned and panted as he was kissed breathless and stroked to completion. He dug his nails into the tiefling's back when he came, spilling his release between them and all over Monty's red skin. It looked striking, Gale mused, dazed. His friend followed him over the edge just then, moaning his name and shaking like a sapling in a storm. The warmth of their mixed seeds on his skin made Gale dizzy. The boys collapsed onto the floor, panting and spent. After finally catching their breath, Monty turned his head to look at Gale.

"That was... amazing. Can we do it again?"

Gale blushed anew, but nodded eagerly.

They spent all day rutting against each other until Elminster returned from his business trip. As soon as the boys had greeted the old wizard, they ran off to the river to wash away the evidence of their activity. Elminster wasn't dense though. With a tired sigh and a headshake, he opened the windows in his library to air out the musk of horny teenage boys that lingered in the room. Elminster was more concerned about the condition of his books than the soiled carpet. Nothing a little magic could fix.

Mystra didn't seem to approve of Gale's little journey of discovery, but didn't say anything aloud. Instead, she wrapped the boy tighter around her Weave, and only one year later, she took his virginity. Gale was in heaven and Morena was horrified.