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breadinanutshell · 1 year ago

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I made a list of Halsin facts for my own entertainment a while back but forgot to post it. Dunno if anyone would find this interesting but in case here it is, enjoy~ o/

ACT1

-He writes in tight scribbles, smokes the pipe and loves reading (likely non-fiction). He’s the studious sort, considering his unprompted interest in the parasites and his hunger for knowledge. This aspect of him was more defined in Early Access but sadly got lost during full release. It also briefly comes up during one of his banters in later chapters.

-He rarely drinks: he’s a lightweight and gets overly affectionate when drunk. He also sings when drunk. Badly, per his word.

-Is an actual Disney princess (he has birds scouting and reporting back to him).

-He has a strong sense of duty, so much so he will stop paying attention to other aspects of his life in the pursuit of it. At least in one instance, this has been depicted as a flaw (when he abandons the grove looking for the Nightsong).

-He enjoys spending time in his bear form, and appears to have been the main caretaker for the bears in the grove. Ormn in particular acts heartbroken that Halsin is missing.

-When given the chance, he’s eager to give up his position as archdruid, as he felt it was too draining and confining. Despite his insecurities in his ability as a leader, he’s more shrewd and wise than he lets on: he can play politics when necessary. And people around him have been more than happy to rely on him. He cares about those under his protection. A lot. “The grove is everything to me”.

-He doesn’t shy away from violence when provoked.

-He feels responsible for the shadow curse, and is compelled by the need to fix everything.

-This is a relic from Early Access but you’ll have to pry it from my cold dead hands: in the grove there used to be a fanfic titled “Shadow’s Kiss” written by the druid Roan that featured a certain “Balsin”. At the end of it a written entry by Halsin would threaten to feed Roan to Ormn if he ever saw the name “Balsin” again.

ACT2

-He likes open spaces, reading and whittling utensils and ornaments (ducks in particular). He’s got a sweet tooth and a fondness for honey. He finds it hurtful when he's made fun of for his interests: he admits people tend to underestimate his sensitivity.

-He’s a very religious man and invokes Silvanus any chance he gets. Even so he doesn’t believe in blind faith and chides Shadowheart for not questioning Shar’s teachings.

-He’s 350 years old.

-He has no mercy for goblins, to the point where he disapproves if you spare them in Moonrise. A bit funny, considering there’s a banter later on with Karlach where he insists that “mercy costs us nothing”.

-His scars were caused by a bear who didn’t appreciate being spurned during mating season.

-He’s a veteran who served in the battle against Ketheric Thorm in Reithwin, where eventually the druids and Harpers won. At the time he was likely second to the archdruid that led him into battle. When the shadow curse started spreading, said archdruid died, leaving Halsin in charge. He immediately evacuated the survivors. He still feels guilty for not being able to help more that day. From one of his party banters it’s clear Halsin suffers from survivor’s guilt. He’s lost many friends to the curse, so many in fact that “it would take a day and a night to recite the names of the fallen”.

-Considering how obsessed he’s been with the curse ravaging the land for the past 100 years, it’s unlikely he had any intimate connections during this period of time. He also claims that more good has been done since meeting Tav than in the 100 years before their meeting.

-His family is dead and buried at the foot of the Grandfather Tree in High Forest.

-He seems used to changing environments and affiliations. Once recruited, he’s quick to call Tav his new family.

-He remains polite in the face of scorn and ridicule. Right when he joins if you suggest all he’s good for is cleaning camp he responds with an awkward chuckle and a “wherever you need me”. Later in Act 3 his affections can be brusquely turned down by comparing him to a deep rothé, to which he calmly responds “a simple no would have sufficed”.

-As a child he befriended Thaniel, a spirit of nature, and ever since then he felt a higher calling. Thaniel appears to be as fond of Halsin as Halsin is of Thaniel, mentioning him often to Fist Art Cullagh during their imprisonment in the Shadowfell.

-He is the only expert of shadow curse alive, and if killed in Act 1 the curse cannot be lifted.

ACT3

-He believes himself, or at the very least aims to be, a protector. Any failure (or perceived failure) in fulfilling said role leads him to spirals of self doubt and insecurity. His self worth is heavily dependent on how useful he can be, and without a big purpose or mission to fulfill, he appears lost. In the same vein he seems incapable of staying still and relax, he always needs something to focus on.

-In true druid spirit, he considers cities to be intruding on nature’s realm. On his arrival to Baldur’s Gate, he's appalled and disgusted by the class inequality encountered in the city. He’s disturbed by the suffering of children, in particular.

-When called naive for his dream of a better future he mentions he gave up cynicism when he was 200 years old.

-He’s all for heckling Dribbles’ corny jokes.

-He sees his body as a vessel and his physical prowess as a tool. He takes no pride in it.

-He admits that he didn’t realize how much his responsibilities had been weighting on him until Tav showed up and took that burden away.

-He’s polyamorous, and pretty lax when it comes to sex and relationships: he has no qualms in taking pleasure where “desire finds purchase”. He mentions that he had many lovers in the past and that his heart doesn’t stir lightly. This might imply he’s laid with many, but cared for few. He also doesn’t appear thrilled by the prospect of marriage/tying yourself forever to someone. For a man so against putting a relationship into words, he acts incredibly smitten when romanced and showers his partner in all kinds of sweet praises.

-He’s so attuned to his wildshape that he tends to lose control of his transformations when overcome by strong emotions (i.e. anger, arousal). He appears embarrassed when this accidentally happens in an intimate situation. He does enjoy wildshape during intercourse though, as he even proposes it himself during an interaction with Shadowheart. Per his word, he doesn’t discriminate against any type: in an interaction with Lae'zel he implies he slept with a chimera.

-He considers lust to be the most essential of impulses and feels it’s only natural to be guided by it.

-He’s travelled far and wide. Where we do not know, unfortunately. He mentions he’s been to the Underdark many times and possibly the Nelanther Isles. In his youth he ventured into the Underdark to sate his own wanderlust, where he got captured, enslaved and sexually abused by drows for 3 years.

-He’s self aware of his obsession with nature. When Jaheira warns him not to fall into druid stereotypes, he comments that he does think about other topics such as high art and politics, but to him nothing compares to a tree.

-When speaking of his past, he comments that people seem to focus on the more “salacious chapters” and disregard his years of study. When confronted about it, he seems perfectly content with a life spent studying, meditating, counselling, fighting, training and fucking.

-He used to hibernate as a bear and mentions he spent at least 100 years of his life sleeping. It’s unclear if he’s still in the habit.

-At the end of the campaign he sets out to create a new community in Reithwin with the victims of war and refugees that were turned away from the city. The children of this soon-to-be-founded community refer to him as “daddy Halsin”.

-He considers himself an exceedingly patient man.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #halsin #bg3 spoilers #long post #brainrot be real #i might have missed stuff #but i tried to be as thorough as i could #if you want confirmation feel free to ask

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tabitha42 · 23 days ago

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The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 49

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Saff woke with a scream, scrambling back from the figure that loomed over her. Her heart raced as it came closer, raising its hands up to attack, chanting her name as it came for her, a look of anger in its cold eyes that shot fear through her heart…

She blinked, and the raging darkness around her faded to a soft orange light.

Candles flickered gently in the comfort of their tent. Blankets were bundled round her, and she could feel the familiar softness of velvet against her skin. She finally realised the figure in front of her was no attacker at all, but was Gale, looking at her with deep concern in his soft brown eyes. His hands were not raised to attack, but were reaching out to comfort her.

“Saff…?” he whispered, unsure if she’d snapped out of her dream yet or not.

“Gale…” she murmured, then winced as she held her head, feeling the headache returning once more. “Gods, not again…”

He moved over to her and took her into his arms, stroking her hair as she leant into him.

“Do you remember the dream this time?” he asked, but she shook her head. “And the headache is back again?”

“Yeah… same as before…” she muttered. Gale looked very troubled by that.

“Hmm… headaches and forgotten nightmares… this is a strange curse indeed.”

“You think they’re both related to the curse?” She asked, looking up at him.

“It seems likely if it’s the same headache. Unless you regularly have nightmares that you don’t remember upon waking?” She shook her head again. “Then I think we’d best keep our minds open to such a possibility.”

She supposed that made sense, but it only scared her more as she thought about what else the curse could be doing to her.

When she left her tent the following morning she smiled as she saw Karlach happily singing to herself as she prepared for the day ahead. Saff grinned and sidled up to her, just as Karlach had done to her after she’d slept with Gale the first time.

“Sooo,” she started, mimicking Karlach’s own words, “how was it??”

Karlach laughed as she put her bag down and turned to face her.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come ask,” she said with a wink. “Turns out, Wyll wants to take things slow. Real slow. So, we danced, then we sat under the stars and kissed, and fell asleep in each other’s arms. I’d have thought I’d be disappointed by that. But you know what, soldier? I loved it. I loved every moment. Gods, it feels so good to be able to do this! And if he wants to take it slow, that’s fine. I just hope my engine can last long enough…” she sighed sadly as she put her hand to her chest, then squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head. “But I’m not gonna think about that now. I’m too happy to let that get me down.”

Karlach smiled widely as she looked over at Wyll across the camp, deep adoration in her eyes. Saff could feel her heart welling with happiness as she watched her. Karlach had deserved this for so long, and she was certain they’d find a solution for Karlach, just like she was certain they’d find one for Gale.

“I’m so happy for you,” she said, reaching up to put a hand on Karlach’s shoulder. “The night sounds like it was magical. You finally got your dance! You and Wyll will have to dance with us next time we’re celebrating!”

“Oh, absolutely,” Karlach replied with a grin. “We’ll show those boys how to party!”

Saff was in a good mood as she headed out with Karlach and ‘the boys’ to accompany the Harpers on an ambush mission. One pixie blessing later and they set out with the others deeper into the curse in search of Moonrise Towers. The Harpers could point them in the right direction, but without being able to venture that deep themselves, that was the best they could do.

The group split to cover more ground, though as the shadows grew stronger, they began to wonder if that had been the best decision. The battles were long and arduous, and there was no way of telling when the shadows would suddenly attack. It was when they finally decided to call it a day and head back that they heard Arabella’s voice.

Saff was shocked to see her out there all alone, then even more shocked when she trapped a pair of attacking shadows with summoned thorns. She wasted no time in comforting Arabella and agreeing to take her back to camp with them, without so much as a glance to any of the others to see what they thought on the matter.

“So,” Gale started as he and Saff walked behind the others, watching Arabella happily walking along in front of them while chatting to Karlach and Wyll, “she stole an idol of Sylvanus and now appears to have druidic powers. Clearly you should have done that,” he joked.

“If only I’d known it was so easy,” she joked back, shaking her head.

Back at Last Light Arabella was happy to reunite with her friends, and proudly told them all how the hero-lady was going to find mum and pops. Saff could hardly contain her happiness to see Arabella so confident in her. She couldn’t wait to find her parents and see the family safe together once more.

She spent the evening with Halsin and Jaheira again, finding her balance within the curse, until they headed back to camp for dinner. She found Malitas there, which she’d expected as he’d said he would return that evening to continue his research. What she hadn’t expected was the thousand yard stare on his face as Arabella bombarded him with questions.

“You’re an elf, right? Are you hundreds of years old? Do you do magic too? Are you Saff’s master? Do you have other apprentices? Can I be your next apprentice?”

Saff had to stifle a laugh as she watched, and she quickly came to learn everyone else was rather enjoying it too. When Malitas finally spoke, it was with a question of his own.

“Why are you asking me all this? There are plenty of others here you can talk to. Why don’t you ask them?”

“Because you’re the most interesting one here!”

Given the cheeky grin Arabella gave him when she said that, Saff had absolutely no doubt that that wasn’t her reason at all - she was actually asking him because he was the most fun to wind up. Given the look on his face, he was well aware of this too.

The questions didn’t stop as they all sat round the campfire for dinner, though he eventually relented and started to answer them.

“How old are you?”

“600.”

“Wow! Exactly 600?”

“No, not exa-”

“What did you do for your 600th birthday?”

“What? I don’t celebrate my birthdays.” “Why not?”

“When you get to my age, you stop celebrating them.” “Well that’s dumb. What’s the point in living that long if you don’t have birthday parties?”

Malitas found he didn’t have an answer for that one, so she kept going.

“You’re studying the Shadow Curse, right?” “Yes, I am.”

“So do you just sit there all day in a dusty old tower reading books?” “My tower is not dusty-”

“Can you fight?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you go exploring with the others?”

“Perhaps I will, but right now my skills are better put to use with research.”

“That sounds boring.”

“To you, perhaps. I find it quite fascinating.”

“Adventuring has gotta be way more fun. You should try it!”

An amused smile came to his lips at that comment.

“Oh, should I? And what makes you think I haven’t been adventuring before?”

She narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at him.

“Have you?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Yes, I have. I spent 300 years travelling and adventuring.”

Most of the group were quite surprised to hear that, but Saff was well aware. She’d heard some of his stories and seen the room in his tower where he kept the most valuable items he’d found during his adventuring days.

“Really??” Arabella gasped excitedly, then grinned at this whole new avenue of questioning that just opened up to her. “What’s the most powerful thing you ever fought?”

“Hmm… that would be an Ancient Red Dragon,” he answered, smiling slightly at the memory. Lae’zel narrowed her eyes disbelievingly.

“Ch’k. I don’t believe you would be able to best one of my people’s great dragons,” she said, leaning forward as she looked at him accusingly. “It wasn’t aligned with the Githyanki, if that helps convince you,” he offered. That seemed to satisfy Lae’zel, who leaned back again.

“You really won, then?” Arabella asked.

“No, it ate me,” he said sarcastically, a teasing smile on his lips, which she scoffed at.

“I meant, did you win or did you run away, not did you win or did you die! Obviously you didn’t die!”

He chuckled at her indignation.

“Yes, we won. Just about. We would have lost our barbarian, had our druid not known Revivify.”

“That’s so cool. I’ve always wanted to see a dragon!”

“Pray that if you do, it is not in battle,” he advised, which she chuckled at, before getting straight to the next question.

“What’s the most powerful spell you know?”

“Ah, well that depends on what you think the most powerful school of magic is. Do you wish to see your enemies obliterated? Or protect your allies? Or turn your enemies against each oth-”

“Obliterated!!” She announced eagerly, to his amusement and, seemingly, approval.

“In that case, Fire Storm.”

Gale had to smirk to himself. Fire Storm was an undeniably powerful spell, but was certainly dwarfed by the most powerful spells he’d once been able to cast. Perhaps it was petty, but he couldn’t help but be happy knowing that, without the orb and the tadpole holding him back, he’d be quite significantly stronger than Malitas. Not only that, but Fire Storm was a spell that wizards found particularly difficult to learn, but came naturally to sorcerers. Of course his most powerful spell was one he did not need to put any effort into learning.

Saff was also smiling to herself, though for quite different reasons. Arabella had a charm to her that even Malitas, despite how frustrated he’d looked at the beginning of the evening, couldn’t seem to resist as he now answered her questions with increasing enthusiasm. Though she wondered how much of that was down to the wine in his hands.

“Did you like adventuring?” Arabella asked next.

“Yes, I did. It was challenging, rewarding and, well, profitable. Though it isn’t a vocation I’d recommend if you are not prepared.”

“Why did you stop?”

The smile on his lips turned from one of amusement to something else, something softer. He paused for a moment, looking into his wine, as if contemplating his answer.

“I stopped to take on a very different sort of adventure,” he answered, then looked back up at them. “I had a daughter.”

The answer took everyone by surprise, especially Saff, who had no idea about this.

“You have a daughter??” she gasped, unable to hide the shock on her face. When Malitas looked at her to answer, the soft smile on his lips didn’t disappear, though there was a sadness to it that she didn’t see before.

“Had,” he corrected.

She felt her heart sink as she realised what he meant.

“Oh, gods, I… I’m so sorry…” she said quietly. She’d been shocked he’d never spoken about this before, but now she realised why. “What… happened? If you don’t mind me asking…”

“Nothing happened,” he said, shaking his head. “She and her mother lived long and happy lives. But…” he sighed slightly, staring into the distance, “the gods were cruel when they decided humans and half-elves should have such painfully short lifespans.”

His words hung in the air for a moment, til he finished his drink and put his glass down.

“Any further questions?” he asked Arabella, who for once remained quiet and shook her head. “Then I will return home, I have a lot of research to get through. Until tomorrow.”

He gave them all a small nod, then stood up, summoned one of his portals and stepped through. The group were quiet for a long moment, until Arabella spoke.

“I didn’t mean to upset him…” she said quietly, looking downwards. Saff walked over and sat down next to her, putting her arm around her shoulders.

“You didn’t upset him,” she said softly, comforting Arabella. “I think he quite enjoyed answering all your questions.”

Arabella smiled as she looked up at Saff, who gave her a gentle squeeze.

“Now you’d better get some sleep. There’s a bed for you up at the inn, with the other kids. Get some rest, you’ve had a long day.”

Arabella nodded, said goodnight to the others and headed off towards the inn.

“So,” Astarion started with a smirk once she was gone, “a family huh? I didn’t see that one coming.”

Tara huffed slightly disapprovingly.

“I hope he treated them better than he treated you,” she said to Gale.

“Well I’m sure they never angered a goddess,” Gale replied. “I also think he’s been quite a lot more agreeable recently.”

“Perhaps, but he’s still on thin ice as far as I’m concerned,” she said firmly.

“I can’t believe he used to have a family…” Saff murmured quietly. “He’s never mentioned them.”

“It is a difficult thing, to watch those you love grow old and die,” Halsin said softly, with an emotion in his voice that reminded Saff that, at 350 years old, he’d likely have gone through similar experiences himself. “Such memories are often not easily spoken of.”

Astarion rolled his eyes.

“He knew what he was getting into when he chose a human,” he said with a shrug.

“We cannot choose who we fall in love with,” Gale reasoned.

“Yeah,” Karlach agreed. “Have a heart, Astarion.”

“What’s left of my heart stopped beating a long time ago,” he replied dramatically, waving his hand dismissively.

The conversation eventually moved on, though Saff couldn’t stop thinking about it. Slowly, she began to realise there was so much about Malitas that she didn’t know.

---

She’d been dreaming of butterflies when she was woken by the sound of the teleportation spell. After quickly chucking some clothes on she’d gone off in search of Malitas, expecting to find him in his study as usual, but had found the room empty. After some searching she finally found him on the second highest floor in the observatory. But it wasn’t reading through the astronomy books that she found him, nor looking through the antique telescope or using any of the myriad of intricate tools that lined the shelves of the room. She found him on the balcony, simply looking up at the stars. She started to approach the balcony door, til she saw what he held in his hand.

A small, golden locket.

She knew that locket, and what was inside it. She’d seen it before. The tiny, centuries-old painting of the family he’d once had. He’d spoken of them only once, some time ago, when she’d accidentally found the locket while cleaning his study. She was surprised to see him with it again now, but figured this was not a time to interrupt him.

Slowly she began to step back out of the room, but evidently wasn’t as stealthy as she thought she was, as he suddenly looked over and turned to see her. Their eyes met for a moment, and he waved for her to stay. She watched as he slipped the locket into his pocket and came in through the balcony door.

“Evening,” he greeted, his tone a tad more melancholy than usual.

“Evening,” she replied quietly, her eyes flicking down to his pocket. He noticed and chuckled softly.

“No hiding anything from you, is there?” he said, taking the locket back out. He leant against the desk behind him, looking down at it as he ran his thumb over the gold engravings on the surface.

“You don’t need to hide anything from me,” she said softly, walking up to him and gently putting her hand on his. His eyes flicked up to meet hers, before going back down again to the locket he held. There was a moment of quiet between them.

“Why do you never speak of them?” She asked quietly. For a moment he didn't reply.

“What is there to say?” he answered eventually.

“You must have something to say about your family. About the daughter you raised, the woman you loved.”

“Would you want to hear me talking about the woman I loved?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Would it not bother you if I still thought about her?”

“It would bother me if you didn’t,” she answered, a hint of surprise in her tone as she looked at him. “You loved her. The people we’ve loved and lost should always have a place in our hearts, even if we’ve moved on and found someone else.”

A look of surprise crossed his face.

“You really are something, aren’t you?” he said, lifting his hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Selfless to a fault.”

“I hardly think it’s selfless to say you shouldn’t forget your family,” she objected.

“You’d be surprised,” he replied, lowering his hands and leaning back slightly on the desk. “Many would not be happy with anything less than the whole of their partner’s heart, even if the one who still owns a part of it is gone.”

“Well… I think that would be unreasonable,” she said, folding her arms. “You shouldn’t just forget about them. I mean… if nothing else, you’ll see them again in the afterlife, right?”

He scoffed and looked aside.

“What awaits me in the afterlife? Centuries ago I might have hoped Mystra would find my soul and lead it to Elysium. Now, though… I’m sure she’s heard the things I’ve said about her over the years. Likely all that awaits me is the Wall of the Faithless.”

She looked at him in shock. The Wall of the Faithless, the great barrier that protected the City of the Dead, made up of the souls of those who worshipped no god, left there by the divine to rot and wallow for all eternity. Few fates were worse than that.

“Then why not find a new god?”

He grimaced.

“Ah, the plight of all mortals, to beg the divine for salvation from eternal damnation,” he muttered bitterly, shaking his head. “Perhaps Saffron can find a new god. I am not so sure about myself.”

“Saff? Why would she need a new god?” she asked, frowning in concern.

“Mystra groomed Gale since he was a child to serve her, then left him to die when he stepped out of line. She now commands him to detonate the orb in his chest to destroy the Absolute, thus killing himself in the process.” Her eyes widened in shock as Malitas explained.

“Saffron does not wish to follow her after this. I suppose you’re feeling similarly?”

She looked away and folded her arms as her thoughts were taken off Gale and turned instead to herself.

“Why would I follow Mystra?” she muttered with a shrug. “Why would I follow any god… they have nothing to offer me.”

She looked back at him, a look of concern returning to her face.

“Is Gale going to follow her orders?”

“He’s set against doing so. Though I can’t help but wonder what he will do if there is no other choice… I don’t think he would condemn the world for his own sake.”

She looked downwards sadly, holding her arms. No one should have to sacrifice themselves for a god… and to hear what Mystra had done to him made her sick. Maybe Saff was right to turn away from her…

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Malitas chuckle.

“What?” she asked, looking up at him in confusion.

“See? This is what I mean. Selfless to a fault. Look how worried you are, about someone you’ve never even met. And not just him, I’ve seen how much you worry for Saffron as well.”

“Of course I worry about her,” she objected. “How could I not?”

“Not everyone in your position would,” he said, looking at her thoughtfully. “Some would become bitter, or jealous. But not you…” he lifted a hand and gently brushed his fingers over her cheek. “You could never feel that way. You can’t even comprehend wishing for anything but the best for them… for anyone.”

He leant forward slightly and lay his other hand on her waist, the locket now left on the desk next to him.

“As kind as you are beautiful. You’re perfect…” he whispered into her ear, leaning in close enough for her to feel his breath on her neck.

“I think you have a very low bar for perfection,” she said as he brushed his lips over her skin and ran his hand down her body to her waist.

“And modest, too,” he added with a chuckle. He pulled away just enough to look into her eyes. “You are… intoxicating.”

“You sure that’s not the wine?” she teased playfully, smelling it on his breath. He smiled as he leant in further.

“I’m sure,” he whispered, closing the gap between them.

As he kissed her, her mind wandered back to his earlier words. Did he really think her such an innocent angel, who could show only love in the face of pain? Oh, how wrong he was.

Sometimes it felt like bitterness and jealousy were all she knew.

#gale #bg3 gale #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav

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