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“I shouldn’t even be here. You led me down this path,” Gale growled at the female drow who somehow deemed herself worthy to be the party’s leader.
Events of the day earlier replayed over and over in his mind - the screams of the tieflings, the smell of blood in the air as the goblins led by that awful leader Minthara decimated the grove. Avana, the party’s leader, had turned on Zevlor and tieflings.
And Gale did nothing to stop the bloodshed.
It was either join the massacre or die.
And he very much would rather live. So, his hand was forced. Hands that would compose symphonies of the Weave now wrote the demise and destruction of innocents, reciting their deaths on his tongue. Gale felt disgusted with himself, what he’d done.
“I should leave,” he grumbled.
“You need me,” Avana pressed him. “You won’t survive long out there to get rid of these tadpoles, plus I said I’d help with your condition. Stay, for your own sake and safety. Maybe I misjudged the situation.”
“Misjudged?!” Gale barked before he sardonically laughed. “Misjudged. How was siding with your kind a miscalculation? What did you hope to get out of this? Hm?!”
“Look, I’m sorry, Gale, okay?” Avana raised her voice.
“Get out of my sight,” he snarled. “And maybe come morning you’ll either find me gone or still around. Seeing as how you can’t seem to survive without me, and … I can’t survive without you.”
Avana left his tent without so much as giving him a second glance. Gods, he needed a drink. Fetching a bottle of Waterdeep Whiskey from his pack, Gale uncorked the bottle and went to pour himself a glass. As he heard footsteps approach him, he decided to just drink from the bottle.
“May I have a moment with you, Gale?”
Shadowheart. The cleric with a thousand secrets. The cleric who Gale seemed to find himself drawn to in all this chaos. Devotion recognizing devotion, even if their goddesses were not the best of friends.
“For what,” he grumbled, taking another swig of his whiskey.
“I … I was hoping if I could help alleviate a burden,” she offered. “It’s … something I learned from my Mother Superior.”
Gale looked at her, his brows etching a furrow as he weighed his options. “What … would that exactly entail?”
Shadowheart lightly shrugged. “Ease a worry on your mind, really. Namely … what happened today.” She leaned towards him, lowering her voice. “I wasn’t too thrilled about it, either. Avana seemed so adamant about pleasing that goblin leader.”
His features smoothed out, contemplation in his eyes at the offer. Was he so desperate to have the Sharran erase the memory? What harm would this bring to him? The massacre would haunt Gale for days if he didn’t forget about it. He’d take one look at Avana and remember that fateful moment that led to him helping in a slaughter of innocents.
Gods, he was desperate, wasn’t he?
“I think I’ll take you on that offer, Shadowheart. Thank you for your services.” Gale gave a half bow to her.
Shadowheart lightly chuckled, her vibrant green eyes smiling at him. Gale was awestruck by it in the firelight. He had been for quite some time. She led him over to her tent, sitting across from her once they sat inside.
“I’m going to need you to relax, and open your mind,” she instructed. “Get as comfortable as you can. If you’d like, you're welcome to rest your head on my lap.”
She sat crossed legged before him, offering the space where they crossed. Gale obliged, trying to not blush being this close with her. Shadowheart was helping him, that’s all. Nothing more. When he laid his head down on her legs and started to breathe deeply in relaxation, the smell of incense and musk reached his nose. It helped with getting his mind to open up to the cleric.
“Take deep breaths for me, Gale. Relax. When you feel ready, I want you to bring the memory of the grove raid forward. Sit in the pain for a moment, let the emotions of that time and after to now come to you. The pain of this burden will pass, as will the memory. The loss of this burden will bring you ease and comfort.”
He further relaxed, breathing deeply as his eyes slowly closed. A haze enveloping his mind had cleared a spot to show that horrific moment and the sensations Gale was feeling. It sat deep in his chest, his heart hurting with painful stabs, muscles freezing and panic settling over him as he saw himself having to fell tiefling and druids alike. Their screams reached his ears, their corpses appearing in his mind’s eye.
Gale sucked in a breath, sitting in the pain as Shadowheart instructed him to. A sob threatened to break, the wizard sniffling hard as a rogue tear fell from his eye. The regret, the bitterness accompanying the sorrow and guilt, twisting Gale’s heart and piercing deep with its thorns.
“Give your pain up, Gale. Take a deep breath and let the pain wash away from you on the exhale. Give up this painful memory to the darkness, let it swallow the memory and ease your mind. Offer the pain, this burdensome memory to Shar. I’ll act as a conduit as you do so.”
There wasn’t any harm in offering this to Shar, was there? This was merely a one time issue, nothing more. Shadowheart was only offering to help for this one night.
Gale took a deep inhale, gathering the emotions of the day, the images of the dead innocents, of his involvement, of the entire massacre into a tangled ball of thorns. Energetically he felt his body thrum, vibrating as he then brought his offering to Shar on an exhale.
“Once more, Gale, you’re doing well. Any lingering memories you may have missed from today, any emotions associated with those, gather them up once more and offer them to Lady Shar.”
He went through the motions again, the resonating in his chest spreading to his mind as Gale took any remaining memory and emotion of the massacre and offered them to Shar once more. His heart had felt … lighter. His mind clearer.
“Now just lay in the silence. I will do the rest.”
Gale continued to easily breathe, relaxing further as the weight on his mind and heart gradually vanished. His body thrummed loudly, a comforting chill settling over his mind and body. An embrace, motherly almost.
He was no longer burdened. Gale will no longer be troubled by the burden of the day. Gale was at ease, serene.
“Be at peace, Gale,” Shadowheart concluded. “Come back up in your own time.”
Gale slowly came to, rapidly blinking before he took a final sharp breath in and exhaled in the same manner. He slowly sat him, turning around to face Shadowheart. There was a faint disorientating sensation in his mind, but his heart didn’t feel so … heavy. Nor his mind.
Why would they need to feel heavy? Gale was in excellent company, why would his mind and heart be burdened?
“How do you feel?” she asked him, examining him as Shadowheart scooted closer.
“I feel … fine, actually.” Gale softly smiled at her. “Did something happen?”
She simply smiled at him warmly. “No. You came into my tent to just talk, although you did have some whiskey beforehand and fell asleep.”
Gale nodded shallowly. That sounds about right. “Perhaps our tadpole journey isn’t proving quite fruitful and I was … feeling a need to unwind with something stronger. My apologies if I’m terrible company.” He began to rise to leave. “I bid you good night.”
A hand grabbed his wrist. Gale’s face was turned by another to look at Shadowheart. He was caught off guard by her touch it stunned him for a moment.
“You could always spend the rest of the evening with me. Fine night for it, don’t you think?” Shadowheart suggested. “Share a bottle with me?”
His cheeks grew warm, flush trailing down his neck and to his ears. “Well, I um … I’d be delighted to,” Gale stammered lightly.
“Good.” Shadowheart smiled. “Besides I … I like your company, Gale. And I appreciate you.”
Gale warmly grinned back. “Truth be told … the feeling is mutual.”
Shadowheart had become more than a friend to Gale on their journey. He quite liked her, a lot. And she was always willing to help ease his mind along the way. His mind was lighter and peaceful after he unburdened himself with Shadowheart, offering the painful memories to Shar and feel serenity after.
Empty, blissful serenity.
He didn’t need to remember they had tried to save a Selunite cleric from an agent of the Absolute, nor desecrate an entire troop of Harpers and Flaming Fists touched by Shar’s Shadow Curse as the protective barrier made by the Selunite crumbled. Gale didn’t need to remember the pained screams, the twisted forms of what were once human screeching at him as he cut them down with his spells.
Composing their deaths with an utterance of his words.
He didn’t need to hold these painful memories, not when Shadowheart could lift these burdens from his mind and help him offer them to Shar in exchange for freedom from his worries and nightmares. He’ll continue to do this should he ever feel burdened by something that causes him strife. Gale’s gift and talents were to help protect and defend his lover and their party, he should focus on that.
And what a good little wizard he was, listening to his lover and acting in her best interest.
Protect her from that necromancer, strike down an echo of a Dark Jusiticar. Nothing else is going to matter when Shadowheart is around. She is his priority. Follow her and support her dream of becoming a Dark Justiciar. This was best for her.
And Gale would agree. It had always felt right to support Shadowheart’s lifelong dream, to help her ascend to a higher station any Sharran would want.
He didn’t need to worry about the daughter of Selûne falling by Shadowheart’s hand. It did hurt in the moment, yes, and after it. How they had killed a potential ally in the fight against the Absolute. Ketheric Thorm may be weakened, yes, but the loss of the aasimar weighed heavy on Gale’s poor heart and mind.
“Come, Gale, something seems to be troubling you,” Shadowheart said, a newly risen Dark Justiciar and Chosen of Shar. “Let me help.”
Gale nodded, following the Sharran to her tent and laid down. Shadowheart always helped him, always eased his worries, nothing wrong could happen being with her. As Shadowheart gently pressed her fingers against Gale’s head, the wizard immediately could feel it - empty bliss, calming and chill.
“Bring forward what’s bothering you, may Shar lift your burden and leave you feeling relieved,” Shadowheart instructed.
The aasimar … the Nightsong … how she had a spear pierced into her … the loss of an ally …
This was a good thing, though. How Shadowheart had fulfilled her destiny, how far she has now risen. A Chosen. It was necessary.
It still hurt, something told him it felt wrong.
“Don’t fight it, Gale. Let go, release that fear, give it to Shar. Be free of it.”
The image of Shadowheart running the spear through the Nightsong played over and over in Gale’s mind, his chest tightening painfully in remembrance of it. He took in a shaking breath, gathering the awful emotion associated with the memory and breathed it out on the exhale.
A weight was lifted, a burden eased, worry gone from his mind. He was safe, he was free, He needn’t worry anymore. Gale had nothing to be bothered by. How easy it gets each time he gives his painful memories, to be at peace and tranquil.
Gale opened his eyes, brown hues glassy as the wizard sat up, facing Shadowheart. A comforting dark moon he can find safety in, a tender lover. Gale softly smiled tiredly, getting a small smile back from his partner. Her hand reached to cup his cheek, carding a hand through his hair.
“Do you remember the Nightsong?” she asked him. “How I became Shar’s Chosen?”
“Nightsong?” Gale asked, eyes fluttering from the touches. His mind was a dark, hazy blur. “You became Shar’s Chosen?”
“I did. With your help,” Shadowheart continued. “And you were very good at helping me.”
“Glad I could help,” he murmured, floating in the fuzzy darkness of his mind, tranquil. “What’s a Nightsong?”
Shadowheart smiled so sweetly at him. “You don’t need to worry about that, Gale. Silly man. All you need to focus on is helping me, and you’ve been a very good boy in doing so. You helped me achieve my dream, Gale. I can’t thank you enough for that.”
“Oh … okay. You’re welcome … love,” Gale said with a sleepy smile in his glazed over eyes. Yes, he can keep helping Shadowheart, he’ll keep being a good boy for her in helping her and protecting her.
Wizards were good at that. Helping. Protecting. Attacking.
He was good at that. Gale can help, he’d give up everything to put his lover before him to help her achieve anything.
Protect my love, attack for her, kill for her …
Shadowheart had come to claim her spot as Mother Superior for the Sharran cloister in Baldur’s Gate. That’s what she told him, saying he would help her, and Gale nodded. Of course he would. He’ll help, Gale liked helping.
He won’t need to remember tearing their enemies asunder with a wave of his hands and a word falling from his lips. Gale wouldn’t need to remember their screams, their cries for help as lightning tore through them or fire scorching their flesh. He was helping his lover, the Chosen of Shar, the Dark Justiciar he fell in love with. Gale liked helping.
He’d give everything to help her. It was in his nature.
As the battle was won and Shadowheart ascended to Mother Superior, Gale saw her pause after they had dealt with who claimed to be her parents. Did he need to protect her? Was Shar speaking to her? Gale stayed close, eyeing the entrances for any possible defectors or assassins.
But her hand touched his face, turning Gale’s gaze to hers. Shadowheart’s touch was comforting, a balm to mental scars she healed in his mind. Her lips gently kissed his, Gale softly humming into it. As she pulled away, Gale couldn’t help but lose himself in those vibrant green eyes. His glazed, blank stare warmly smiling at her.
“You’ve been good to me. Wonderful, even,” Shadowheart said. “How far are you willing to go to please me further?”
Gale’s eyes brightened. “Anything and everything for you, my love.” He took one of her hands to his lips, kissing the knuckle of it. “I’d give it all, just for your happiness.”
Her free hand cupped his face. “You’re very sweet,” she said. “Follow me, then.”
They came up on a large mirror in the same chamber, Gale being guided to kneel before it as Shadowheart gently held his head to keep it forward. His body dully vibrated, thrumming with a potent energy he’s felt before - Shar and her own kind of Weave. He had tasted it before back in the Shadow Curse Lands. It was … transcendent. Powerful.
That brush of Shar’s Weave had slowly driven Gale to wanting more.
“I think you’re ready, Gale, to feel Shar’s full embrace,” Shadowheart said as they were in front of the mirror. “Are you ready to give yourself completely to Lady Shar?”
“Yes,” he panted, feeling himself teetering on a precipice, shivering as a pleasurable chill ran up his spine. “Anything and everything for you, I’ll embrace Shar.”
“Then stare into the void, the comforting abyss, let Shar in and give unto her all that has burdened you your whole life.”
He sucked in a breath as Gale stared into the glossy mirror, his eyes glazing over as he opened himself up. A cold hand cupped his mind and heart, a chilling kiss shuddering across them. Shar was here, Shar was around him. All he had to do was tell Shar of his fears, his worries, and she would lift them from him. And so he did.
Of his old childhood fears, his adolescence and young adulthood, releasing every memory unto Shar. Of his time with Mystra, being her Chosen, and the folly that followed, of the Netherese orb in his chest. His life. How he wished the world would have been better off without him in it.
All of it weighed so heavily on him, straining his body, crushing his lungs. It would be easy to let it all go. It was then Gale had given every ounce of his life that burdened him to Shar. And in return …
Sweet, complete, empty bliss.
His mind hazed over, void of troublesome thought, feeling Shar’s Weave thread itself through him. He embraced the comforting abyss as it consumed his mind and identity whole, feeling Mystra’s Weave fall from his fingertips as Shar’s put itself in Mystra’s place. The threat of the orb was quelled, but Gale felt the rot of it spread further from the scar, the wizard internally praying to Shar for relief from the pain.
He felt numb down his left arm, heart and lungs weakening. But Shar supported him, lifted him up, every thread of her Weave holding Gale together …
Who was Gale? Why did that sound familiar? Was that his name?
Did he have a name at all?
Who was he?
And who was the woman with him?
“Gale?”
His dulled eyes surveyed the space before him, his body relearning how to stand as he staggered to his feet. Hands slowly turned him around, a sweet face with bright green eyes stared up at him.
She looked … pleased. And that made him … happy. The blank, empty stare tried to smile back, subtle but weak. Those same hands gently held his face, this woman seemed nice. She was careful, almost reverent in her touches.
“Gale?” she asked again. “Are you there?”
“Hhn? Hhuh?” he managed to speak, but no further words fell from his lips. There was nothing in his eyes showing he had anything in that head of his - void of identity, of thought, blissfully empty, a husk that housed Shar’s Weave.
“It doesn’t matter, I suppose,” the woman spoke softly as she continued to caress his face. “You were a wonderful partner. You belong to Shar now. Let her guide you, use you. You are the embodiment of her Weave, the vessel of it. Evoker of Shadows, one with Lady Shar’s power. You’ll serve us well, won’t you?”
Yes. He would. For her and for Shar. His head slowly and shallowly moved to nod, Shar’s Weave puppeting him smoothly the more it became one with the mindless husk that was Gale of Waterdeep.
That wasn’t him. Not anymore. He had given all of himself up, to ease the burdens and pain of memories haunting. He had a new life now, a new purpose, one that still kept him tied to this woman who was very kind and sweet to him.
And he quite liked this new life. No worries, no pain, no memories, or thought, or sense of self. Only Lady Shar’s Weave embedded in every fiber and nerve of this husk of a body, a powerful tool, the most compatible with Shar’s Weave.
He will serve Lady Shar and her Chosen to the ends of the world.