#of not being a half elf born from one human and one elf parent

[socialpermadeath]

So one of the Emerald Grove druids in BG3 who is just disgusted at your presence is unintentionally hilarious in my playthrough because he looks almost exactly like my PC. Pretty-boy Blond Half-elf on Pretty-boy Blond Half-elf crime. My first response when he made the comment about wanting me out was to think "bold thing to say to your cousin, man. I'm gonna let Aunt Aravia about this at the next barbeque."

#personal #half-elf family barbeques have gotta be wild #two separate grills for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food #your human uncle urging you to try the lamb while your elven grandma gives you this judgemental look of 'you better not young man' #the elven patriarch wondering why so many of his kids married humans while his son-in-laws human parents try to make a good impression #some cousin's cousin who you start chatting with only to realize they're in the incredibly unique position #of not being a half elf born from one human and one elf parent #but being born of two half elves #the food at a regular elf cookout? kinda mid #the food at a half elf cookout where there's a human to sneak some salt and herbs into the veggie kebabs? killer vegan fare honestly

[spacebarbarianweird]

Beloved Monsters

So, it happened! I've finally brought Alethaine, Astarion's dhampir daughter, to life!

Synopsis: Domestic fluff about a small family of monsters.

Tags: fluff, comfort, dadstarion, dhampirs

Alethaine's age: 7

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

“Mum! Mum!”

As you open your eyes, the coziness of your bed with a fur blanket and the softest pillow surrounds you. It feels so comfy, like a warm hug. 

“Mum!”

A pale-skinned Elven girl with hair the color of snow stares at you like a cat. She stands upside down on the ceiling as if her legs were glued to it.

“Hi, Alethaine. Is anything wrong?”, you yawn and look at the window. It’s late afternoon and it's snowing. Winters in that part of Faerun are cold and merciless but nights are long. Which is good.

Alethaine, your dhampir-daughter, jumps onto the bed and you notice she’s already put on her warm clothes. Unlike Astarion, she is not immune to cold.

“Can I go? Pleeease!”

You sit up and hear a loud laughter from the inner yard. The town kids. Mostly humans, but Alethaine’s best friend is a dwarf boy, an Innkeeper’s son. All younger than ten, careless and brave like all the kids of this age no matter the race and social status.

“Cover your ears”, you say, making yourself get out of bed. You hate being stuck at home for so long – your body craves fights – but having a little child puts certain limitations.

“Thanks!”, Alethaine bares her fangs.

For the last month, you’ve been alone with Alethaine. Astarion left in the late month of Uktar, complaining that he didn’t want to travel in that awful northern weather and that there is nothing more disgusting than autumn. 

“It’s cold and I will have to sleep in the dirt. Besides, hags are “known” for their hospitality!”

Simple as that. A daughter of one of the noble families fell in love with someone from the common folk. He rejected her, and she made a deal with a hag to get him. The hag turned the girl into something and locked away. So, her family searched for help and eventually got to Astarion – the only person who knew how to deal with both supernatural contracts and the monsters themselves.

“Well, I will either find a loophole to save this idiot of a girl. Or I will have to fight the hag. Not the first time. Gods, good thing Alethaine is going to be much smarter than that!”

You smile. Since Alethaine was born, Astarion has been very sensitive about cases when a young woman, someone’s daughter, is trapped by supernatural forces. Astarion can deny it but he imagines Alethaine trapped the same way.

“Alethaine! Where are you?”, the dwarf boy throws a snowball into the door with a loud thump.

“Coming!”

Astarion was supposed to come back a week ago. Before Alethaine was born you had dealt with such things together. Be it a monster hunting or helping with contracts. But life changed seven years ago. 

You two became parents.

A little girl, a silver-curled elf with long pointy ears, is so delicate as if made of crystals. She has long vampiric fangs and can walk on the ceilings. A tiny copy of her father — Astarion was in tears when he realized that. 

“Bye!”, Alethaine wears her warm winter coat and hat but her long ears stick out.

“Cover them!”

“It hurts when I do that!”

You sigh. Elven ears are so sensitive it hurts to tuck them under heavy winter hats. As a half-elf yourself you can relate though yours are much smaller.

You take a scarf and wrap your daughter’s head in it. By doing that you can’t resist touching her ears which twitch a bit. The girl giggles, baring her fangs. It’s a funny image – the dhampir fangs grew up many years ago and didn’t show any signs of being “baby fangs”. They were probably a single set for all her life which will last for many centuries, growing along with the rest of her body.

But her “baby” incisors have already fallen out.

“Alethaine! Come on!” the dwarf boy waves to her. Alethaine frees herself from your hands and rushes toward her friends.

The moment she is outside, she takes the scarf freeing her ears to the cold air. 

You let it go. 

Sticking at home on your own is boring so you take out a two-handed ax and go outside to take care of it. You never know when the weapon is needed. Here, far in the wilderness dangers lurk in the dark. Wild trolls, gnolls, werewolves, bandits, name it yourself. Townsfolk aren’t people of war and they rely on you, a retired adventurer, to protect them. 

So, you always have to be ready.

The process completely takes you over as the early night falls upon the world and prickly stars start shining in the skies.

And then suddenly…

You are lifted in the air by strong hands.

“Astarion!” you exclaim and wrap your hands around his neck.

He kisses you and then looks into your eyes with love and adoration. But you can’t help but notice he is exhausted, with bruises and dark circles under his crimson eyes.

“Did something go wrong?”

“Darling, there was an obnoxious princess who could not take “no” for an answer, her brother who doesn’t process the idea that he is not as smart as he thinks. And three hags. Three, not one! And each of them had a personal contract with the girl, each contradicting the other one. What could possibly go wrong?”

“So, did you save the girl?”

“Depends. She won’t have to spend another five centuries being locked in a mirror. But she will be the hags’ servant for eighteen years, six for each of them. They also wanted to transform her into something I would call a half-rotten gnoll, but I managed to talk them out of it.”

“Two decades is long for a human.”

“Well, she wanted to make that boy her mindless lover for the rest of his human life so I think it’s fair. Her family didn’t agree, though, so I had to return on my own.”

“Did they pay you?”

“No, I stole some valuable possession of theirs”, he puts you on the ground and slips a ring on your finger. “It’s not enchanted, I checked.”

The ring is beautiful. It looks as if the fire was trapped inside it.

You two kiss again and get inside. The moment Astarion steps into the bedroom he starts undressing – he probably has been dreaming of getting rid of the dirty clothes for weeks. 

You smile. You’ve seen him undressing and naked thousands of times but you never get tired of it.

“I’ve seen Alethaine. She made those human children carry her on the sled,” he says.

 “If they don’t treat her well, who would sneak to other people’s houses to steal sweets?”

It is a common complaint. Apparently, Alethaine learned that if her feet are bare she makes no sound walking on the ceilings.

“I am tearing apart against the necessity to punish her for that and admiring her skills”, Astarion adds.

“You were a magistrate; I think you can find words to persuade a seven-year-old.”

“It’s much easier to persuade a devil than Alethaine!”

“Who could she take it from?”

He laughs and you approach Astarion for another kiss. You missed him. Gods knows, you missed him. You caress his strong shoulders ready to start something more sensual.

“Love”

“Hm?”

“I don’t want to.”

You pull away and touch his cheek. There aren’t enough words in your vocabulary to express how proud you are of him. It’s been twenty-seven years but he still has issues with saying “no” to you. And you often find yourself in an intimate situation when you suddenly realize he doesn’t want to take part in it. Maybe, not to upset you. Maybe, out of stubbornness.

“Sure. What do you want, then? Bath? Blood? Sleep?”

“Everything you mentioned in that exact order.”

“Wait, I will prepare the bath.”

… Soon enough, Astarion sinks himself into the bathtub and you start washing his curls out of dirt while he scrubs his skin. You notice some bruises and scratches. They still haven’t healed properly and you try not to think how they looked a week ago.

“Don’t worry. It’s not like I was butchered”, he answers, noticing your concerns.

“I wish I could come with you.”

“Darling. Alethaine is growing faster than a kitten – soon she will be old enough to be on her own. We will be doing this together again.”

You smile. Yes, that’s true. As a half-elf, you have much more time than humans. You are sixty-three, your human siblings are either long dead or very old. But you still look like you did when you were twenty. You have more than a century of life ahead. Plenty of time. For adventures, for miracles, for everything. Maybe, even for another child. 

You spend what looks like a pleasant eternity like this. Talking, laughing, smiling. At least twice Astarion takes your hand graciously and drinks blood from your wrists. His bruises and scratches immediately heal. Whatever blood he managed to take in the winter woods wasn’t enough.

When the water gets cold, Astarion gets out and dresses in clean clothes, a white shirt with an embroidered dragon and black trousers. 

… Together you sit in front of the fireplace. Astarion hugs you and you silently look at the fire. 

A loud thump wakes you from bliss. 

“Dad!” Alethaine cries out and in a moment the girl is on her father's lap.

“Hello, princess,” he stands up, lifting the girl in the air. You notice her ears have a purple color. “I see your teeth keep falling out”

Altethaine grins. And Astarion plants a gentle fatherly kiss on her forehead.

“Wait a moment, I brought you something” He puts Alethaine back on her feet, and she yawns like a cat. 

Astarion pulls out two books out of his travel sack. Alethaineimmediately opens the first one. You can see pictures and intricate Elven letters – despite being a half-elf you never learned how to read it, meanwhile Alethaine had learned to read and write both Common and Elven before she turned five.

“Is it Elven?” she asks. “I can’t understand what is written!”

“It’s Old Elven. A little bit different from the one we speak.”

Alethaine opens the other book and sees an image of an Elven woman with long silver hair, and dark eyes.

“She looks like me,” Alethaine says,

“Yes, that’s what I thought.”

You look at them unable to stop smiling. Monsters. A vampire and a dhampir. 

Your beloved monsters. The daughter and the husband. Sometimes you treat them like something given – besides, what is more “traditional” for a mortal woman than a child and a spouse? But Astarion never forgets, even for a moment, that these normal things are supposed to be impossible. He isn’t supposed to have a home, a wife, and a child. 

You remember him crying with the newborn in his arms. Mere seven years ago. You remember coming back from a “dragon slaying travel” in the middle of the night to see Astarion and Alethaine sliding down a hill together. You remember his stare – which he gives you every single morning. The look of adoration, love, and gratitude. 

The girl yawns once again, and you notice how sleepy she is. 

“Are you hungry?”

“No,” the girl pouts. “I wanna sleep.”

“Oh, all right then. But come downstairs if you feel hungry”, Astarion strokes her silver hair.

Alethaine approaches you and wraps her hands around your neck. You feel a soft prickle of her fangs on your shoulder. 

“Have a good sleep, kitten”, you say.

Alethaine snatches both of the books from the table and goes away. Unlike Elven children, Alethaine does sleep. Like a predator, deep in her dreams but waking up a moment something off happens. 

“So, I think we should follow her example”, Astarion lifts you up in the air bridal style. “It’s tediously boring to sleep alone, do you agree?”

You giggle. When Astarion leaves, Alethaine doesn’t let you sleep alone. She crawls into her parents' bed and hugs you from behind pressing her little nose into your back. Anyone would think the girl is afraid of darkness or monsters.

But it’s not that.

Alethaine, a half-monster herself, sincerely believes her mother needs to be protected. And if Astarion isn’t at home, it’s her duty to make sure nothing comes after you. Maybe you slay monsters with your two-handed ax but who knows what night can hide? 

You caress Astarion’s cheek.

“Yes, how could I even fall asleep without my beloved monsters?”

--

Tag list

@tugoslovenka @marcynomercy @wintersire @vixstarria @not-so-lost-after-all @ashiro20 @theearthsfinalconfession @herstxrgirl @starlight-ipomoea @micropoe10 @astarion-imagine-archive @veillsar @elora-the-slutty-songstress @fayeriess @lumienyx @astarion-beloved @tallymonster @caitlincat-95 @tragedybunny @valeprati

#astarion #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 astarion #bg3 #astarion romance #astarion bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #astarion x tav #astarion x tyrael #oc tav tyrael #alethaine ancunin #astarion being a dad #dadstarion #astarion fluff #astarion x you #spacebarbarian fics #astarion ancunin #astarion baldurs gate #astarion brainrot #astarion fanfic

[chaoticstarlightwonderland]

Danganronpa Characters as the Dungeon Meshi races

Makoto - Half-foot/human hybrid because he is forever short and baby-faced. It's been confirmed in side material that tall-man are able to produce children with halflings and gnomes and the offspring can reproduce (unlike half-elves) so I think it makes sense to have Makoto connected to the most underestimated races. In an adventuring party, he does a lot of the halfling jobs like looking for and dismantling traps. I also think because of his caring nature and how accident-prone he is Makoto learned some healing spells from his party's mage. He has low mana thought (2/5) so it's really in case of emergencies or as a simple first aid until real help can come.

Nagito - A half-elf. I think it would suit his brand of luck; born with a natural lifespan of 1000 years but has to watch anyone and everyone he loves pass away. Because he still has his luck cycles, everyone is sure is some kind of curse but no mage can do anything about it, let alone even understand it. He probably would go through a lot, losing his parents, being discriminated against, being sold off into illegal slavery, and probably a bunch of health problems. But Nagito is still Nagito, he just keeps kicking away.

Hajime - A normal tall-man who was frustrated with the fact that he was never particularly special in anything. I think when he found out he had even a hint of magic he begged his parents to send him to a magic boarding school they could barely afford, only to find out first-hand how lacklustre his magic was compared to the kids. Hajime pushed himself to continue studying, which lead him down a path of dungeon hunting, and of demons. He made a deal which backfired on him, turning into a Lord of the Dungeon and slowly becoming "Izuru Kamukura-ised". If/when he gets out of the demon's thrall, his case is a lot like Mithrun's. Although he does have more skills outside of wanting to hunt demons, that was because of the initial deal he made. Hajime lost the ability to enjoy his talents or get satisfaction from being skilled. He is more talented than ever but he is incapable of enjoying it.

Junko and Mukuro - Demons. Junko is a demon that helps people achieve their hopes and desires and feeds on their happiness. This makes people think she is the nicer sister but that just means she enjoys giving people what they want and watching their despair as they lose the capacity to enjoy it. Mukuro is described as a 'war demon' because she grants humans their wishes with violence and feeds off their rage and the resulting bloodbath. However, over time she actually grew to love the humans (at least more than Junko) because it was so shocking to see the kindness that mortal beings can show each other, especially when she has seen first-hand the cruelty they are capable of.

Now for the shorter ideas that I still think are interesting:

Fuyuhiko - A half-foot that is the heir to a shockingly powerful crime/loan shark family. His family flew under the radar for a long while because the Elves and Gnomes kept underestimating them until they become so powerful they couldn't be handled.

Peko - A tall-man who was abandoned by her parents when she was young and was brought by Fuyuhiko's family to be his servant and bodyguard.

Chihiro - A Gnome mage who is very talented in communicating with spirits. He has one such spirit that he has raised all by himself that is this reality's 'Alter Ego'.

A minor thing, in a side comic it was said that the races consider music to be the thing that Tallmen are known for, so I think all the characters who have interest in music are Tallmen. That includes Kaede, Sayaka, Ibuki, Hiyoko, and Leon.

I'd love to hear people's thoughts and suggestions!!

#danganronpa #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #makoto naegi #hajime hinata #nagito komaeda #fuyuhiko kuzuryu #fuyuhiko kuzuyruu #peko pekoyama #junko enoshima #junko #izuru kamukura #mukuro ikusaba #chihiro fujisaki #danganronpa au #dunmeshi #my post #crossover

[y-rhywbeth2]

Naming Systems #2

Elves and Drow, part 1 (and people descended from them)

Given names | Surnames (Houses)

-

Given names may in fact be a big deal, as are clan and house names. Elven names are not the most pronounceable in the world.

Shockingly(!) the elves have a stupid amount of lore and then I got carried away examining sourcebook names and created a self-indulgent monstrosity. Once again, this is one part canon and one part educated guessing.

Long post:

Elves have their given names and their surname.

For surface elves the surname is the name of the commoner clan or noble House (or high House) they were born into. Although apparently: "they tend to dislike the term “clans” as being “too dwarvish”", so even if you're not a noble you're liable to refer to your family as "house [name]." The line between noble and commoner families is blurrier and more prone to fluctuation amongst elves anyway.

For Lolthite drow only the nobility and those who hold titles may use the House name as their surname. It is also forbidden for a House to have a name that begins with L, lest we tempt Lolth's wrath or amusement (depending on her mood). Both moods are to be avoided.

Houses all have family crests and house colours, the latter of which I believe members of the house (meaning relatives and servants who work for the family) are supposed to wear to show their affiliation.

Some moon elven houses, and a few wood elven, appear to have officially translated their house names into Common. "Moonflower," "Hawksong," "Silverspear." The gold elves have not, likely because the majority would sooner see their lineage go extinct before doing that. Even the progressive ones are raised in a culture that considers preservation of unchanged elven culture as a god-given duty.

Noble houses all have their histories and colours and etc, and they took up an insane amount of space so a brief overview of those is a part 2.

In the meantime here are some vague surface elven house names who don't have detail that I know of, so you can make up whatever:

Surface: Amalith, Braegen, Calaudra, Eveningfall, Laelithar, Moondown, Tarnruth, Arruar

And here are some commoner drow surnames:

Xiltyn, Ghaun, Luen, Illistyn,Jusztiirn, Dalael, Hune, Vrinn, Abaeir, Pharm, Quavein, Blaerabban, Blundyth, Argith, Omriwin, T'sarran, Veladorn, Dhuunyl, Mlezzir, Naerth, Olonrae, Zaphresz, Xarann, Wyndyl, Tlintarn, Seerear Yogh'il'rymmin

Performers and such may take "stage names", and elves who are going to be misbehaving will also take aliases "to avoid having their deeds reflect on their family (and perhaps mar ongoing house negotiations with others)."

An elf not using their house name usually goes for a sort of portmanteau in Common: "Fireblade," "Eveningfall," "Neverdeath."

"Many elves who live and work among humans (i.e. members of an adventuring band) adopt a “humans can call me this” surname that’s a portmanteau of a hue and a living thing/natural feature (like Blackrose, or Bluewater)"

-

Every example of naming children that I've seen in the Realms involves the parents giving their child a multisyllable name at birth, which they use for the rest of their lives. Nobles are known to name their heirs after themselves; so you can get Garynnon I and his son Garynnon II. There's a trend of giving half-elven children gender neutral names.

Apparently discarding/changing your name is frowned upon: "An [elf] can of course have almost any birth name, and will rarely change it out of shame."

-

"Faerunian elves don't normally use D or F or hard-K to begin names"

Although there are exceptions, because I've definitely seen names beginning with D, F and K. -

Vowels may shift. Saevel and Saeval may be seen, -ian, might become -ien or -ion. -

Masculine endings tend to end in consonants, which can be feminised by adding an "a" or "e" onto the end. The "e" doesn't get pronounced, apparently, it stresses the final consonant. ("Kele" = "KeLL"). Sometimes elves and half-elves - particularly genderfluid and nonbinary elves - drop or add the vowel as per their current mood. An example given was a genderfluid half-elf who goes by either Phandarl or Phandarla. Names aren't necessarily exclusively male or female because of that; you can still find elven guys with vowels on the end of their names and ladies who don't. I observe that Drow women seem more likely than surface elven women to not bother with the feminisation of their names. Or possibly it's not part of the dialect.

"all the elven names ending in "ael" can be used by any gender" "All of the "-une" elven names can be used by any gender."

"Many half-elves in the Realms seem to bear the "une" and the "ael" names as given names" -

Three syllable names seem to be the average. Two-syllable and four-syllable names are also possible. It seems like the longest, hardest to pronounce names are favoured by nobles. -

No dark elves, regardless of faith, will have names that sound like the name of a deity. It's viewed either blasphemy or inviting bad luck.

The drow dialect has harsher sounds: harder and more frequent consonants, more double consonant's ("mm", "nn", "rr") and buzzing/hissing ("zz" "sz" "ss"), and include a lot of ' , which I think means glottal stops? "Si'Nafey" or "Do'Urden".

Names begining with "Ch" tend to be drow. -

" "Ph" is used for "F" ." Although it seems that the first f becomes ph, while if it's not in the start of the sentence it is written "f". So Phandarl, but if you add a third slyllable, Arlfandarl.

"Y" is apparently pronounced "ee", in surface elven, anyway.

Judging by Angaradh, "dh" is pronounced like a soft "th" (sooth) and "an" at the start of a word/name is pronounced "awn", like "awww, how cute". SImilarly "am" -> "awm", "arav" -> "awrav," etc

We're entering hypothesis stages now, but as time goes on you begin to realise there's a lot of Celtic stuff here (like literal Welsh names like Rhys) so I'd imagine that "th" is a harder variant ("that")

"dd" is probably a dialectal variant of "dh", so soft th again.

and "ch" is a kind of back-of-the-throat growl/hiss noise. If you speak German or Arabic or something you probably get the idea, liebchen.

While there are differences between dark elven and surface elven (and they come in dialects, beside) there is still overlap, so you could still build a drow name out of the same syllable pool as surface elves.

"Nym" remains a common name for elves of all subraces.

Example drow names:

Feminine: Sabrae, Faeryl, Phaere, Olorae, Alauniira, Angaste, Briza, Chalithra, Elvanshalee, Quarra, Lualyrr, Si'Nafey, Li'Neerlay, Xune, Vierna, Talice - Masculine: Nym, Sorn, Belgos, Guldor, Solaufein, Bhintel, Hatch'net, Tluth, Welverin, Seldszar

Example surface elf names:

Neutral: Alael, Imizael, Lune, Lyrune, Belrael, Cathael, Tarune, Eluael, Rune, Gelthael - Masculine: Galan, Glaranal, Llombaerth, Elandorr, Eltargrim, Imbryl, Filaurel, Jharym, Maiele, Uthorim, Ardryll, Tehlmar, Iefyr, Delmuth, Dhoelath, Faerondarl, Luthais, Lhoris, Ornthalas, Naeryndam, Braern, Ajaar, Laosx, Edicûve, Uldrein - Feminine: Elandorr, Braerindra, Melarue, Alea, Shalantha, Saelihn, Tiatha, Meira, Ildilyntra, Halanaestra, Nuala, Yrlissa, Namyriitha, Itylra, Talanashta, Maaleshiira, Eallyr, Gylledha, Anaharae, Ysmyrl'da, Symrustar, Nlaea

-

----------------------------------------------------------

-

And now the part where I lost my mind while breaking up the names of elves in Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves and Elves of Evermeet.

If you're not here to bash together vaguely "canon" sounding elf names there's no more canon to glean from here on.

This was entirely self indulgent.

As with the human name post, the idea is you take syllables from broken appart canon elven names and stick them together with the endings.

So pick a syllable (Bel) pick an ending (-uth) = Beluth. Then you can make it sound "more feminine" by sticking on a vowel. Beluthe, Belutha, Beluthae, whatever.

Some elven names are three syllables or more, so (A) Abeluth, (Orn) Belornuth. I feel like mixing syllables that begin with vowels and syllables starting with consonants works best.

A, Aer, Aul, Am, An, Ath, Arav, Al, Ala, Ana, Aun, Aur, Aush, Aja, Ahsk, Ahren, Ash, Axil, Ard, Arl, Aneir, Anth, Aath, And, Alaun, Alys, Ang, Angh, Ans, Arath, Ava Bel, Byr, Bra Car, Cel, Cor, Cath, Con, Cys, Clu, Cshar Cheyr Daun, Daunt, Delm, Dosh, Da, Dath, Das, Dyf, Dann, Dil, Dilyn, Din E, El, Eil, Enor, Elid, Ey, Eyr, Ed, Edyr, Eis, Eval, Er, Erev Phyr, Phae, Phan, Phand, Phra Fel, Fen Gal, Gar, Gelth, Glyn, Gyl, Gw, Goron, Garyn Ha, Han, Hen, Has, Hanal Hang, Har, Hara, Hael, Iliv, Ilyr, Imiz, Im, Is, Iliph, Ilph, Ilf, Isc, Ief, It, Il, Illit, Ili Jas, Jon, Jast, Jhaum, Jaon, Jhar Kend, Khal, Khys, Kuorn, Kaeth, Ker, Kiss, Kus, Kusk, Kat, Kiar La, Lath, Lav, Lyr, Lhor, Luth, Las, Lash, Leoj, Lysan, Lov, Lif, Les, Lym, Min, Mol, Mord, Mand, Mour, Mar, Myr, Maal, Moth, Mi, Myrdd, Mei, Myrl Naeth, Narth, Nym, Nam, Naer, Ny, Nu, Nel, Nyl, Nid O, Orl, Orn, On, Otaerh, Om, Par, Pyw, Pel Quam, Qaer, Que Rath, Res, Rui, Rhis, Raer, Raeth, Rath, Rathi, Rai, Raib, Ruv, Rhang, Rych, Rynnhm, Rhys, Rhal, Rel, Ril Se, Seh, Sol, Ser, Sel, Sash, Saev, Sym, Syn, Sa, Sand, Susp, Sab Shi, She, Shy, Shyr, Shiir, Sha, Shal, Shel, Shri Tra, Tel, Tar, Tath, Taen, Taegh, Tal, Talin, Talind, Thal, Tehl, Thiil, Tan, Tiath Thel Un Var, Vrae, Vaer, Vhaer, Vand, Ves, Vest, Vier, Vyr, Vor, Vorl, Ven, Vol, Vet Wyl, Wylch Yas, Yauv, Yal, Yr, Yn, Yrth, Ys Xan, Xand Zorth, Zan, Zand, Zaor, Zil

Sounds more common with Drow: Akor, Af, Ax, Agg Briz, Bur Clav Chal, Char, Chess Div, Driz, Duag Gin, Gauss, G'eld, Grey, Gul Hatch', Houn Jeg Kren, Kel, Krond, Kron, Kal, Lauf, Lau Omar Que, Quil Rizz, Ssap, Sab, Sol, Szor, Szord Ul, Url Vic Wu, Waer, Wen, Wel, Wod Yond, Yon, Yazs Xull Zak, Zeb, Zar

Sticking a "th", "v" or "r" in front of a vowel sometimes happens.

M: -ar, -as, -al, -all, -an, -ash, -am, -aud, -arl, -aln, -arm, -ais, -aern, -ael, -aor, -un, -el, -ell, -eth, -ew, -eith -edd, -enn, -edh -iah, -ian, -is, -il, -in, -im, -ik, -iith, -iis, -iir, -iil -oun, -os, -on, -uth, -unth, -yr, -ym, -yk, -yf, -yl, -yll, -ymn, -yrm, -hyn, -rik, -ryll, -rys, -ros

F: -adh, -ae, -ie, -aeris, -ea, -ue, -ain, -ra, -ta, -ya, -lissa, -icca, -ii, -nii, -eyr, -ali, -'da, -ria, -la, -aar

N: -uil, -ael, -une, -as, -rynn, -ynn -

Endings that seem to be drow-exclusive:

N: -ee, -aste

F: -ace, -it, -ice, -yrr, -fay

M: -ab, -agh, -ast, -iz, -ica, -ild, -aen, -et, -erd, -een, -fein, -ig, -izzt, -oj, -oth, -ozz, -orl, -olg, -oos, -omph -ahc

#I need to give my Durge like 30 different pre-amnesia identities that they've used in life and name several OCs so at least this- #- serves a purpose? #lore stuff #pointy eared stuff #long post

[dismas-n-dismay]

Hi! It's me again (I'm transferring to a bachelor's in biology this fall and I love the science that goes into the series so I love that you're exploring this)

Do either of them have hoarding instincts or dietary preferences or are they pretty much human in that regard?

They'd possibly be born with baby teeth, at least in Haze/Hazel's case, would that change anything? (Hazel would probably fit better because Falin is half French on her father's side from what I remember from the Adventurer's Bible and it feels even that they'd both get to name a kid but that's just my opinion)

Haru with his mouth full: Checkit!! Blegh!! Haize: Gross. Good job, Haru, you're a natural hunter!

Welcome back to part 10,000 of me talking about my silly ocs. Hi. hello. Thank you sooo much for coming back with more biology questions for these two hehehe >:]c

Diet Preferences?

These two are quite the oddballs. Haru is an insectivore by simple dragon nature while Haize is a carnivore by hers, though their elven and tallman sides balance them out to be closer to omnivores! Light dragons commonly eat bugs as they're the easiest prey to attract when ur big and flashy though this keeps them very lithe and they typically have more slender builds, though the proteins do help a lot. Conversely, red dragons being mostly carnivores results in their larger build and their obvious frequency to be the most dominant and persevering dragon species- y'know. Because they murk the other ones due to their weaker diets and builds.

Haru started to eat bugs right around the time it was warm enough for him to go outdoors without getting sick, I imagine he would've eaten a butterfly or a dragonfly much to Marcille's horror. Like that vine of the pug eating the butterfly with his owner screaming no! Backtracking a bit though to give some cool facts about baby light dragons because I decide the lore. I'm making them weird half mammal half bird-lizards because I think the variety is cool but this also means that - up until baby light dragons can open their eyes and properly attempt to hunt - they drink milk from their parents! (Whether or not this is crop milk like birds produce is entirely up to the reader's imagination, I will not judge but I will choose either one if asked)

So up until he started going outside, Haru was perfectly content just drinking milk like any other baby- Haize was not. Unlike Haru she was born with baby fangs!! Just little milk teeth to help her get a headstart for the world and such, but she grew hungrier for something more diverse than milk very quickly. Red dragons, unlike light dragons, don't do the whole milk thing so Haize was only partially satiated due to being part elf and tallman but the minute she was allowed to eat soft meats she basically refused to go back. So just imagine like a 1 year old eating various lunch meats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Honestly it was probably for the best, Haize's fangs bit into Marcille a lot and they were worried she might grow a taste for blood if she kept accidentally nicking her mom while trying to eat. She probably would have and it would've been a really bad habit to get rid of because she hadn't developed that big girl brain to be like "Hey maybe drinking blood isn't super cool."

All in all, the Touden-Donato sibs have slightly preferenced diets! Though Haize prefers meats, nectar, and citrus fruits while Haru prefers bugs, ground vegetables, citrus fruits, and any/all milk based desserts (he just really likes them). God if these kids ever got their hands on sorbet it would be a disaster, Falin and Marcille would literally spend a week trying to explain why they cant have ice cream for every meal and have to deal with whining dragonets the whole time.

2. Hoarding Instincts

They do have hoarding instincts! Though this is one of those things that differs from dragon to dragon on how they react with it. Light dragons tend to go for the flashiest treasures to make themselves more appealing and alluring, naturally they like the attention they draw in just from an instinctual standard. They frequently discard rusted, unpolished, or just not as eyecatching treasure all the time. They really just arent particular about the whole thing unless they see you have an interest in something they were previously disinterested in- then they're smug assholes who see their treasure as still having some renewed value. So essentially Envy = Worthy to them, but they arent extremely vain creatures despite their hoarding preference and are actually particularly generous within reason. It's very common for light dragons to gift their young, mates, or siblings with treasures from their own hoards or that they've taken for themselves to gift. Typically though the gifting of treasure is to help younger dragons start their own hoard and have an idea of what to go for when out and about for themselves.

That being said, Haru is a greedly little fucker who wants every single new treasure possible, fuck you. He's very grateful for being part elf and tallman because he's aware that he can make his beautiful treasures last long if he polishes, dusts, and cleans them! So his hoard isn't too huge if only because he's good at maintaining things. Still, if he sees something he tends to want it and is often reprimanded for trying to steal shiny gems, jewels, or artifacts just because he likes them- as Haru often gets tired with his new finds extremely quickly if they begin to bore him or don't compare to his other treasures. When it comes to his hoarding he essentially has the dragon equivalent to having eyes bigger than your stomach.

Haize, however, has your more traditional dragon's hoard of miscellanous treasures, artifacts, coins from birthdays, and prized family gifts. Much of her hoard consists of trinkets Haru grew bored with but that she still saw interest in and wanted to give renewed purpose, she isn't nearly as picky but is very curious and likes to inspect an item before taking it in. She'll often let Haru have a treasure knowing that he'll get tired of it within the hour- though she has been known to assert her place as the eldest sibling if there is a gift for her she particularly wants and Haru usually shies off. Haize doesn't assert herself as the eldest often so he knows it's business if she does for things like food or treasure. Haru keeps her hoard partially in and around the her nest as well as the family nest in Falin and Marcille's room! Her nest in the guardian is where she keeps most of her baby clothes, toys, trinkets, and cloths/blankets. She just feels they're safest there and prefers to sleep near them <3.

Also, fun tid bits on how dragons train their kids to gain treasure!: Typically young dragons get the urge to grab and snatch at shiny things as soon as they're able to crawl around functionally and protect themselves- which is pretty early due to them being predators of a mythical variety- so they'll often try and steal treasure from their parent's hoard! Older dragons use this as stealth training for their young and will often guard their treasure, sitting stop or nearby and continuously removing their children until they manage to sneak by successfully to take a trinket. Typically the larger/shiner/whatever is more impressive for the type of dragon you are is what is most rewarded for by parents but they do punish thinking a bit too big. It's good to know your limits! better to have 5 gold coins than 5 gold bricks you cant carry.

so Falin was very often having to train Haru and haize to amass their own treasures which was much easier for Haize due to her slinky and stealthy body allowing for quicker and quieter movement! Haru had to learn to fight, due to his regular baby limbs and range of movement, which didnt really work because he's so itty bitty but the thought was appreciated by Falin, learning to stand your ground is good too!

#as per usual send in more asks about these guys pretty pleeeease #haize and haru lore #oc lore #farcille #dungeon meshi #marcille dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #falin touden #falin dungeon meshi #marcille donato #marcille dunmeshi #dunmeshi falin #farcille fankid lore #farcille fankid #farcille fankids #fankids #ship kids #my ocs #my art #oc asks #chimera/dragon biology

[adventure-doodles]

New D&D character. Meet Quill!

Workflow / Process

Quill story...click below. :-)

Quill

A rogue turned Kenku formerly Rinnalya Rosewater aka “Rooftop Rin”

Originally a half elf, Rinnalya Rosewater, was born to loving human / elf parents who owned a bakery in the Trades Ward of Waterdeep (Breadsmith Bakery - known for cookies shaped like swords & shields*). Rin quickly grew bored of the idyllic life of early morning bread baking and kitchen duties. From an early age she sought adventure, danger, and all the things fine pastries could never bring into one’s life. She was constantly daydreaming of something more.

It was one misty morning in the early spring when her daydreams became reality. She ran into a rooftop running rogue, or rather he ran into her, after gracefully dropping from the eaves of the high stacked buildings of the Wards during a chase from the Watch. With quick and clever action, and some exchanging of cloaks, Rinn assisted the rogue in fooling the guard to give up the chase. Afterwards, in thanks, the rogue gave her a token of good luck: a coin with the face of Tymora (which she still has to this day) and the name/location of a contact she should check out if she might ever be interested in more of these types of pursuits.

It was from this moment forward Rinn vowed to leave the flour dusted life her parents had planned for her. She made her own plan, saved what coin she could squirrel away, and trained - or at least tried to, on her own time in the back alleys when no one was watching (breaking more than a bone or two in the process). She was ready to leave home as soon as she blew the candles from her Coming of Age celebration cake - or at least she thought she was ready - that fateful night under the light of a clouded moon when she packed her meager possessions and never looked back.

Thus began Rinn’s journey as a rogue - seeking out the contact she’d been given so many years before. Life was rough at first, but got better as it went along. Whether it be a simple drop or a high value transport, over time, Rinn became one of the best and most accountable rogues for any job across the rooftops of Waterdeep (and its undercity Skullport), eventually earning her the nickname: Rooftop Rin. She had just accepted a role as the prominent runner for an up-and-coming guild called the Nightwalkers - when her luck finally turned.

It was during her initial run with the guild, after being handed off the lift from a high value target, dashing across the rain slick tiles high into the night air while traveling south from the North Ward, Rooftop Rin fell.** It was many stories down, broken on the cobblestone, where she died. Shortly after, this was where an elderly druid passing through discovered her - and for whatever reason (she never could get a straight answer) felt compelled to cast reincarnation - resulting in her current form as a kenku.

Mentally broken, with holes in her memory which she still has to this day (unable to recall the most recent events of her half elf life, how she fell, and/or who was in the Nightwalker guild exactly) and physically deformed (her opinion on the matter) she decided to leave Waterdeep and serve the druid, in thanks and also because she didn’t know what the hell else to do - traveling with him from the city she had always known to his grove in the Misty Forest on the edge of the High Moor. She has served the druid since, eventually being told his name (Fellini), learning more than she ever wanted to about the growth patterns of spores and mushrooms, spending her free time dreaming of the city she left behind and of the smell of fresh baked bread and pastries: of the life she turned away, never lived, and now can never go back to.

#dnd #d&d #kenku #curse of strahd #character art #original character #character design #dark aesthetic #plague doctor #dungeons and dragons

[charmedcleric]

BG3 Tav Backstory Bash by Kelandrin

This is a challenge to help people flesh out their Tav’s backstory by exploring their past. It is organized into four sections with seven prompts. You can treat this as a monthly challenge or a general project. You can write headcanons, fics, or share art based on the prompts! You can interpret the prompts however you want. If you want to share use the tag #bg3backstorybash

I was tagged by @lemonsrosesandlavender , thank you so much <3

Tagging (no pressure of course): @auspex-author @lolthslover @fistfuloftarenths @orangekittyenergy @darkurgetrash and anyone else who would like to do it cause it’s v fun ✨

Athena

This was honestly so fun! I could talk about Athena forever. I also talk more about athena and rolans life together andddd it’s very long so it’s all under the cut lmao oops

Baby:

Parents

- Athena’s parents were Thomas Knight and Elerra Knight (née. Kenafin). Her father Thomas was a human Wizard/Paladin of Mystra (boooooo) who worked for the Waterdeep City Guard and her mother Elerra was a drow cleric of Eilistraee who worked as a healer at the local house of healing.

Birth

- She was born in Waterdeep at the families cottage. Her parents treated her birth as if they had been blessed by the gods themselves (as they should lol) they had been trying to have a baby for a while and were starting to lose hope until Elerra finally fell pregnant with Athena.

First word / Tantrum / When they first walked / First sickness

- Athena’s first word was ma. She didn’t really have tantrums often, and if she did they didn’t last for very long. She was 15 months old when she first started to walk and her first sickness was a common cold.

Childhood:

Friends

- Athena had a couple of friends growing up, as a half-drow she didn’t really feel like she belonged anywhere, some people knew she was half drow and treated her different, others didn’t know what she was but they still treated her with caution. Her best friends consisted of Tyler, a tiefling, and Ari who was a high half-elf.

Siblings

- She had one sibling, a sister called rose. There was a 10 year age gap between them. Her sister rose was actually adopted and was a tiefling. Her parents were struggling to conceive yet again so they decided to adopt instead.

Getting into trouble

- Athena had terrible anxiety growing up so she never really did anything to get into trouble.

Birthday

- Her birthday is Alturiak 20th

Games / Learning something new

- She loved a good game of hide and seek, she was very good at hiding so she always won when she played with her parents and friends.

- Athena loves learning and takes it very seriously, when she puts her mind to something she is determined. Growing up she loved lanceboard and even though she wasn’t good at it to begin with, she stuck it out and learned how to play, it took many hours with her mothers help but she got there in the end

Trauma

- Her family being what they were, were judged by some of the public. She grew up hearing people call her mother an under elf, deep elf etc. her mother always tried to ignore it but Athena could she the heartbreak on her mothers face. If it wasn’t for her father, Athena would have grown up to not trust humans as most of the comments made about her mother were from humans.

Teenager:

First love

- Athena’s first love was her friend Tyler. She loved him very much and he loved her as well. Athena wanted to have something more with him but she also didn’t want to ruin what they already had so they just stayed friends

Rebellion / Running away

- Due to the situation Athena was in she never really had time to rebel. After her parents died and her sister became ill she had to grow up real fast and was essentially a mother figure for Rose. Athena had to work, cook and heal all day, everyday. She barely had any time to herself so there was definitely no time to rebel or run away

Reckless behavior

- When her sister had fallen deathly ill, Athena started to pickpocket/steal food and supplies as she now didn’t have much time to make a living to support the two of them. She did still work but it was very rare.

Peer pressure

- Although no one was pressuring her she still pushed herself. She would push herself so hard to heal her sister that some days it took all her energy and she would fall asleep on the floor next to her sisters bed.

Taking responsibility

- She spent most of her teenage years taking responsibility, between healing her sister, earning a living to be able to feed herself and her sister, She never had time for herself and always had to put her sister first. Athena developed a bad habit that when she eats she tends to eat very fast due to always needing to aid rose. Most of the time when she would sit down to eat, rose would start coughing and need urgent care, so eating fast became a bad habit of hers, one she is still working on today.

Adulthood:

Their “first time”

- Athena’s first time was one she wishes she could forget. At 23 years of age athena had her first time with a man she met at the Yawning portal. It was soon after her sister had died and Athena was not taking it well and she wanted a distraction. She ended up getting drunk and have sex with the first man that showed a slight interest in her. Soon after she started to regret it and when she arrived home she curled up in a ball on her bed and started crying wishing her mum was there to talk to. This experience tainted sex for her for a long time after. The next time she had sex was with rolan after the fall of the absolute, she had filled rolan in beforehand about her experience and rolan made sure that she was showed the up most care and love during their first time together

Serious relationships

- Athena’s first serious relationship is with rolan. Although they had their differences when they first met Athena quite liked rolan, she loved how caring he was for his siblings, how determined he was and she found him very attractive. For a spell she thought he hated her but it was the complete opposite.

After Cal and lia were saved from moonrise, rolan found Athena sitting by the waters edge at last light, where he decided to apologize to her. The two ended up talking for a bit and ended up sharing a kiss, Athena thought rolan would regret it come morning but if he did he never showed it.

They didn’t really discuss their feelings till after the fall of the netherbrain. Athena wasn’t sure what she wanted to do now that the absolute was no more, so she decided to go and talk to rolan just to catch up and to see his reaction to her maybe going back to Waterdeep.

They were having a nice conversation when she briefly mentioned going back to Waterdeep, this made rolan drop his drink and turn to her like umm why???? She explained that she didn’t have anything here or anyone needing her to stay so she might as well go back home. Rolan then said something along the lines of “you’re so selfish you know that yes? You are just going to up and leave when the man who cares and loves you the most is standing right in front of you?” When she goes to reply he cuts her off and basically begs her not to leave. Basically rolan finally tells her he is in love with her and has been for a while and he has a meltdown about it. very dramatic, very much rolan lol

- Her first serious platonic relationship would be shadowheart, although she knew shadowheart was lying to her about something she knew that there was probably a good reason for doing so. The two grew close and are still good friends long after the fall of the absolute. Another platonic relationship dear to Athena is Jaheira, I talk about them more in this post. Jaheira is very much a mother figure for Athena.

Work

- Before she was a cleric she was painter, she had to take a break from painting due to obvious reasons. After the fall of the absolute she takes up painting again and sells them in the lower city, all the money she makes from them is then donated to the local orphanage/s.

She tends to paint a lot of landscapes so when rolan first showed her the balconies of the tower she told him about how much she would love to paint this view. When she had finally moved in to ramazith’s tower rolan pulled her to one of the balconies and surprised her with a new easel, paints and a lot of canvases. She was on the brink of tears, she couldn’t have asked for a more caring partner. Most nights rolan will join her outside and will read one of his many books while she paints.

She still was a cleric of course and offered her aid wherever she could. Rolan cleaned out one of the rooms in sorcerous sundries and made it Athena’s office where she could manage all the paperwork for her patients. She was a call out cleric meaning she would go to the patients house instead of them coming into the sundries. She also helped out around sorcerous sundries. Whether that was scroll sorting or working the counter, she loved helping where she could, especially if it made rolans life slightly easier (the less stressed and busy rolan was, the more time they got together)

Leaving home

- Athena left her family home when she was 24 years old, after falling into a deep depression after her sister died she decided that enough was enough. Athena felt that the only thing she had left was her religion so she decided she wanted to become a sword dancer of eilistraee, after she did this she made her way to the promenade of the dark maiden. She helped and lived there for about a year.

Aging

- She doesn’t really like to talk about aging, from losing her family very young she would rather just live in the now instead of thinking about death, she’s had to much of that in her life. When she starts getting older she spends more time painting and hanging out in the tower with rolan.

Finding your place

- Athena feels she has found her place after the fall of the absolute. She is finally living with rolan (they end up getting married 2 years later), cal and lia, she has amazing friends which she still sees and keeps in touch with. She finally feels happy and feels that life is going her way for once.

Staring a family/found family

- Athena and rolan don’t end up having any children. She realises that she has been looking after people her whole life and she wants a chance to just live and have a somewhat calm life. Rolan, Cal and Lia are her found family along with Jaheira and her friends. Although they don’t have any children of their own, athena ends up adopting Yenna but its more of a sister than mother relationship for Yenna. Their family also consists of grub (yennas cat), two other cats they adopted and scratch.

#I’ve read this like 1000 times so if there is spelling mistakes I’m sorry I’m v tired #it’s 3:30 am #tav: athena #athena x rolan #tav bg3 #bg3 #bg3backstorybash #rolan x tav #baldur’s gate 3 #bg3 tav

[assblastergaster]

I am finally starting to see the light on just how robust all of the companion origin romances are (i.e. romances within the party outside of tav). While larian obvs had to work with sudden, abrupt story changes and losses, somehow they still managed to make all of their stories so intertwined that all possible romances are good.

Take Karlach for example:

• Wyll: Their stories are literal parallels; They both were following someone with power and influence, yearning to serve them and others to the best of their abilities—and were both discarded after being tricked into (literal) hell. together they provide for each other what was taken without denying themselves what has changed them (more devilish? so be it, i am stronger for it). She will guard what he loves without question—all he's ever tried to do—and he will stand against the forces that served to get them here, all she's ever wanted. They have both been forever changed to be more devilish (scarred, marked, horned, dehorned) but still yearn to thrive amongst their peers to no avail. He will always be a human with fangs and horns, and she will always be a tiefling with no horn(s), no heart. They are each other's only peers, the hunter and the prey.

• Shadowheart: One young girl is torn from the people she loves, her home, the authority figure she serves. She is marred by this person. Her parents are lost to her—she will never get to say goodbye, never get to hug them again. Her peers shun her, believe her dead or worse. Her only friends are lost to her (or so she thinks). She is a half-elf forcibly blinded to the ways of the world, sent on a suicide mission to secure her master's authority. She is a tiefling who has forgotten the joys of the world, escaping a suicide mission meant to secure her master's authority. They were both taught to selfishly strike out against the world to just survive. Together they find something alien to both of them—self prioritization without selfishness (I am not made to serve, i was made to be here. with you).

• Astarion: He is empty of life, cold and buried; She is being consumed by her life, toiling and burned. They were both, for lack of better words, Baldurian hot-shots in their youths. A learned magistrate and the head guard of an up-and-coming Baneite. They were both likely very corrupt. Astarion is obvious—his attack by the Gur was prob in response to prejudiced rulings. But Karlach was working for fucking Gortash. She's not an idiot, and while she certainly has a soft spot for the community, she had to have had a hand in his nefarious doings. Regardless, both of them are still furious about what happened to them, rightfully so—and neither is willing to accept (yet) that the version of them they left behind was not what they want now. They both want revenge, to kill the fucks that stole them away. And they both get it, only to find that they need to make a life after this, not to mourn the life before this.

• Lae'zel: This, like all Lae'zel romances, is a tale of two cities. Lae'zel wants to serve someone so badly, else she cannot prove to others (and herself) that she is worth the air she is breathing. Her culture demands it, history commands it, and she was born for it. But she can't do it. Not blindly. Karlach was a rough and tumble child on the streets of Baldur's Gate looking to eke out her livelihood without serving authority. But she couldn't avoid it, nothing she's good at could make money or earn respect except for serving as a guard, as a soldier. At first meeting, they both immediately respect and pity each other. Karlach likes seeing someone so proud of who they choose to serve, but innately understands that it is not a choice. Lae'zel likes seeing someone strong enough to command respect, but knows that she "should" want to serve someone too. They see themselves in the other. Neither understands, but they will. Karlach will see why Lae'zel is so desperate to belong, to serve—Lae'zel will see why she is too scared to submit.

• Gale: We both have a bomb in our chests. A divine being, omnipotent in all but name, placed it within you and quelled its fire so long as you obey and worship. The most obscene devil, queen of the Hells, ripped me from my home and gave me this, its flame fanned by servitude and snuffed by disobedience. Gale has lost himself to depression, Karlach to rage. He pours through books searching for the answer he will never find, but that's how he got here in the first place. Karlach smashes her way through everything, making ragtag enemies and allies along the way, but that's how she got here. Before anyone says some bullshit about Karlach being too "dumb" or Gale being too "pretentious;" Karlach is not dumb, she is naïve (which lends itself to dumb decisions) but wise. She's led an experience-rich life (encountered through misplaced trust and naivety) and has learned lessons from every single one, something she learns to temper within Gale as well. Gale has done many things but actually learned from very few of them, which is one of the reasons why he's immediately eager for the Crown. But he's also not an idiot, he's just vulnerable. Together, they balance each other emotionally and pedagogically.

Obviously this is focusing on the narrative aspects of these relationships—not the personal intricacies. But the majesty of this writing is that these are all characters written by separate people, forging separate stories with thousands of paths each. It's just unheard of.

#but of course everyone is still subject to personal taste #to me though doesn't matter. bg3 has finally given me the freedom of story choice that dragon age has been trying to do for a while #i honestly like all of them i just prefer some to others. which is new for me! #however did just see a post about how (playersexual makes them feel like dolls and astarion should just be gay) first of all fuck you. #second they are not playersexual they are bisexual and we can contain multitudes bitch!! bi butches and twinks unite thank you #baldur's gate 3 #karlach #wyll ravengard #also btw in the gale/karlach one that's not an attempt at writin dialogue for karlach that would be insane #Lae'zel #gale of waterdeep #shadowheart #astarion

[newtthetranswriter]

Soulmates? Soulmates.

Paring: Soren x nonbinary half elf reader

Summary: You were born to an elf and a human in a world where elves and humans don't get along. At the age of five you lost your parents and end up being adopted by the King and Queen of katolis. Shortly after the queen passes, your soulmate bond appears. now you have to try and keep your true self hidden while hearing the thoughts of your not so bright soulmate.

Word count: 6687

A/N: so, this my attempt at a multi part fic, it is a soulmate au cause I'm a sucker for them let me know if you like it and want to read more.

MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT

Warnings for this chapter: Death of parents and talk of assassination.

Being born to an Earthblood elf and a human really was not the best thing to happen to me. Sure being connected to the earth arcanum is amazing, when I was younger and still lived near the border of Xadia, my elven father taught me how to use planet magic. I learned how to help crops grow faster and stronger, I also learned how to do minor healing spells. I bet you are now thinking well you got to learn magic. How can that be so bad, well I’ll explain.

You see being half elf, I don’t exactly look very human. While I do have five fingers like humans, but my ears are pointed and have a pair of short branch like horns that sprout from the top of my head. You may be also asking how on earth do you hide that from humans, and there is a fairly simple answer. When I was younger it was easy to hide with hats or head scarfs, but as I’ve gotten older, my horns have become more difficult to hide. To help hide them when I was about five my family took me to The Moon Nexus deep within the human kingdom of Katolis and requested help from the guardian of The Moon Nexus. Lujanne was able to craft a moon opal necklace that created an illusion that made it look like I had normal ears, and no horns. The illusion also makes it so that if someone were to ruffle my hair they wouldn’t feel the horns either. 

There are two other things I need to address before we get into our real story. Firstly not only does this world have magic, elves, and dragons, but everyone here has a soulmate. Soulmate bounds can appear in numerous different ways, some are born with tattoos that match, some can hear each other's thoughts, some can feel each other's pain, basically if you can think of it as a connection it has probably happened. I’ll tell you about my connection later. Every creature, human or elf, has a soulmate. In most cases humans have human soulmates and elves have elven soulmates. On rare occasions a human will be paired with an elf and they are both forced to make hard choices: do they find their soulmate and risk both of them being killed because of disagreements between the two peoples or do they forget their soulmate and try to live normal life without them. My parents were one of these rare mixed pairs, obviously they chose to meet and had me. 

And secondly, like I said before when a human and elf soulmate pair chose to meet it almost always ends poorly. You see when my small family was leaving The Moon Nexus after getting an illusion to hide my true self, we were spotted coming from the Cursed Caldera. My father had yet to cover his own horns and one of the humans who spotted us reported it to the knights of Katolis. We were unaware of them following us until we decided to set up camp a few miles away as it was getting late. As we were about to eat dinner the knight ambushed us pointing their swords at my father.

“Step away from the woman and child, and you won’t get hurt.” yelled one knights as he moved closer to our small family.  

Frightened by the sudden yelling and pointed weapons, I hid behind my mother trying to get as far from the swords as possible. “ Please, you don't understand, I’ve done nothing wrong. This is my family.” I heard my father say as he tried to explain the situation, hoping they would let us go.

The next things I heard were the sound of a bow being fired, something hitting the ground and my mother’s scream of agony. It took me a moment to understand that the knights took my fathers protest as an act of disobedience and one of them shot him. My mother’s scream was one of horror and of pain as she felt her bond with her soulmate snap as my father died.

“You’re safe now, we will get back to town safely.” I heard one of the knights say as he started to pull my mother off the ground, as she had fallen to her knees from the pain in her chest. Apparently my mother was not willing to leave her soulmate's body as she fought with knights to get back to my fathers corpse. I had completely spaced out at this point, having just heard my father be killed and hearing my mother’s cries for her lost love. I didn’t even hear my mother shout at the knights for killing him, or the sound of the knights telling her he was better off dead, and lastly I didn’t register the sound of the same knight who shot my father taking another shot. All I know is that one second my mother was cursing at these nights and the next I was an orphan being carried away by a group of knights who had just killed my only family.

At age of five I had lost both of my parents in the span of a couple minutes all because of an ancient feud between humans and elves that I didn’t and still don’t understand. At the age of five I had to hide my true self from everyone because if anyone found out I would be killed as well. Being a half-elf orphan in a human kingdom was hard. No one even looked my way not because of what I am but because after that night I stopped smiling. No one wanted a kid who didn’t show joy or happiness. That is until Shortly after I turned eight.

At the age of eight I was greeted with something that would shock any kid. The royal family was traveling around Katolis to meet their subjects and see the status of their kingdom. Now you may be asking what that has to do with me. Well, the answer is simple, Queen Sarai saw me sitting alone and weak in the street and couldn’t bear watching a young child not much older than her first born son suffer in such a way. She decided then and there I would be brought back to the castle with her family. King Harrow tried to protest, commenting on how they already had two children and it didn’t make much sense to pick up a random kid from the street, but being the kind yet headstrong woman she was, Harrow had no choice but to agree. And just like that I was adopted into the royal family.

It was weird having a family again, Sarai treated me like her own child and tried her best to get me to open up. It was still hard for me to smile, after a week of being in the castle I had quietly told Sarai about what happened to my parents and accidentally let it slip that I was half elf. She was such a kind woman but I thought she would have me killed for it but she assured me that no one would find out about it unless I wanted them too, even going as far as hiding it from King Harrow. Being able to share that part of me again brought me joy but it was short lived.

Not long after I had joined the royal family, I lost another person who was very important to me. While on a trip into Xadia, to find a magical item to save two kingdoms, my adoptive mother gave her life to save the life of The high mage of Katolis. While I may have only known her for a few months, it felt horrible losing another mother figure and the only person I could be my real self around. To top everything off not only did I lose my adoptive mother but after years of hoping my soulmate bond would never manifest it happened, an hour after I was told of Saria’s passing.

I had been sitting alone in my room crying to myself about life being extremely unfair. I heard a small voice in the back of my head, but it wasn’t mine. Hey, who’s crying? I heard the voice of a young boy ask, but it seemed like he didn’t understand what was going on. I realized almost immediately.  

Of all the times for my soulmate bond to appear it had to be now. I thought to myself not knowing if he could hear me, but my suspicion was confirmed when I heard his reply.

What do you mean soulmate? Wait, don't answer that I think I heard my dad say something about it. So you’re my soulmate, does this mean we are going to be best friends? Anyway, why were you crying? Is everything okay? I heard the boy ask. I had to admit it was nice knowing that there was someone I could talk to right now, who hopefully wouldn’t judge me.

Nothings okay. My adoptive mom just died. I just got her and she was taken from me just like my first mom and dad. I don’t know why this keeps happening to me. I responded to him letting my feelings out that I hadn't voiced since King Harrow told me and Callum that our mom was gone. But I guess if you’re okay with hearing about my problems we can be friends. I followed up trying to make it so my first conversation wasn’t all bad even if I still was sure I wanted a soulmate after what happened with my parents and now seeing King Harrows face after telling his two adopted kids that his own soulmate was gone.

I’m sorry, you lost your mom, moms? I’m not sure which is right but I don’t mind hearing your problems, that's what friends are for. If you don’t mind me asking what happened to your first parents? Also I’m _____ what’s your name? The boy on the other side of my bond said, I was confused by the pause in his last question, but figured it was probably an aspect of our bond.

I don’t think we can share our names through the bond. It’s probably to stop us from finding each other before we are supposed to. And I don't mind you asking about my parents, they were killed in front of me a few years ago. I don’t want to go into detail but after that I spent three years living in the streets before I was taken in by a lovely couple. I left out the fact that it was the king and queen because I didn’t want my soulmate to feel different because I was now royalty by association.

 It’s nice to know someone took you in, I don't know what I would have done if my soulmate was left to take care of themself in the streets. Can we share where we are from with our bond or do you think it will also get blocked? My soulmate responded accepting my answers and questioning if we could at least know where we both are in the world.

I don’t think so, if it’s trying to keep us from meeting until we are ready it probably won’t let us say places. I responded, it was kind of frustrating that i can’t even know if my soulmate is in the same kingdom as me or if they’re an elf or human. But that’s just how some bonds are, some give you all the information you need to find them, while others make it impossible to meet before a set time and place. Hell, even with the ability to hear each other’s thoughts we could be looking right at each other and not know until the universe was ready for us to know. Anyway it’s getting late it was nice of you to talk to me, I guess I’ll think to you tomorrow. I said getting ready for a restless night.

The last thing I heard before falling asleep was a gentle goodnight soulmate. It brought me a small sense of happiness knowing that even though I begged the universe to skip me and not make me have to be bonded with another, it didn’t listen and gave me a connection when I needed it the most.

That was ten years ago, I still talk to my soulmate every day. I’ve gotten closer with my adoptive brothers but I still haven’t told them or Harrow about me being half elf, I just don’t know how they would respond. I did however accidentally tell my soulmate about my heritage. It was a couple years after our bond formed, and I was outside playing with my younger brother Ezran when I had tripped and cut open my knee. I had momentarily forgotten about the person on the other side of my mind, and had silently wished I could just heal myself. What i wasn’t expecting was to be integrated by my soulmate about the comment.

What do you mean heal yourself? Wait, can you do dark magic? My dad and little sister practice dark magic, I’m not a fan of it, it’s kinda sad. I was startled at first but hearing that his family practiced dark magic confirmed my belief that my soulmate was at least human. It was also nice to hear that he didn’t fully agree with their practices.

I don’t use dark magic, it’s horrible and cruel. I responded, how could I ever think of hurting innocent creatures for my own gain.

Ok, but how could you heal yourself, oh my god are you an elf? Hearing his question I froze for a moment. Do I tell him the truth or do I try and say it was just a joke, but then i realized he would find the truth anyways so might as well just tell him.

I’m Half elf, please don’t tell anyone. I know we don’t know each other, but i can’t risk people finding me, i don’t want to end up like my mom and dad. I begged him not to tell anyone. He may not know my face or name but if he shared that his soulmate is half elf, he may be pushed to find me so they can get rid of me. Especially your father, if he really does practice dark magic he might try to find away to get to me. Just please I like my life as crazy as it has been.

I don’t think my father would do that, but if it concerns you that much I guess I can keep it a secret. If you are so worried about people finding out does that mean you live in a human kingdom, I know you can’t say which one but, it’s nice to know we are at least on the same side of the border between the human kingdoms and Xadia. He responded, it was nice that he was willing to keep it a secret even if he didn’t believe people would try to use him to find me. If you don’t mind, how do you hide that you’re part elf, I would think you have distinct features that would give it away.

Yeah I live in the human Kingdoms, and I wear a special necklace that’s enchanted with moon magic to create an illusion. It hides my pointed ears and Horns, but those are the only things that make me look like an elf. I appreciate you keeping it a secret. After that I closed our connection for a bit to have time to myself. We both have the power to open and close the transmission of our thoughts but can sometimes just slip, which is how that conversation started.

Back to right now, where I am sitting watching my younger brother Callum be taught the art of Sword fighting by one of the crownguard. It was honestly amusing to watch, Callum sucks at anything that requires physical aptitude, so instead of training it was more Soren smacking Callum repeatedly with a wooden sword.

“Parry, Parry, You’re dead.” Soren said, hitting Callum in the forehead with the hilt of the wooden sword.

“You know Callum if you actually listened to Soren you might learn how to fight.” I shouted from my spot on the bench. The only response I got was an eye roll before he was once again smacked with the wooden sword being knocked to the ground, followed by a “you’re dead” from the knight enjoying beating up the young prince.

“Really? Are you sure? Even if I was wearing armor?” Callum asked from his place on the ground.

“Even if you were wearing the rarest legendary armor forged by Sunfire Elves… Super dead.” Soren chuckles leaning into the boy's face.

Callum scoffed “I’m terrible at this!”

Soren just responded with a yep and helped Callum to his feat. As much as I wanted to stay and watch Callum get his ass beat by Soren repeatedly I decided it was time to go somewhere else to relax. It totally had nothing to do with the fact that I noticed Claudia approaching, that girl just gives me the creeps. Don’t get me wrong she’s always been kind to me but knowing what she would do if she found out what I am, has put me on edge around her.

“Well I'm gonna go find Ez, see if he wants to go steal some jelly tarts with me. See you jerks later.” I said getting up and leaving.

After a few hours I was just sitting with Ezran and Callum eating jelly tarts, when a guard knocked on the door and informed us that King Harrow wanted to speak with us. We all just shrugged and left towards the Throne room. Now I have a slight idea what was going on, there had been murmurs all day about something happening tonight and I had a feeling it wasn’t good.

When we entered the throne room we were greeted by the High Council gathered around the war table off to the side of the room. Seeing this I knew exactly what was happening. I didn’t say anything because I know whatever we are going to be told will be a lie to try and protect my brothers from the truth.

“Kids! You’re going on a trip. To the Banther Lodge!” Harrow said with what seemed to be excitement, but I could tell he was hiding something. Callum and Ezran shared a look of confusion before Callum spoke up.

“But… It’s spring. That’s the winter lodge.” Callum said, perplexed as to why we were being sent to the Banther Lodge all of a sudden.

“Eh. Winter is coming eventually.” The King responded thinking for a moment.

Ezran looked more confused by what we were going to do there. “What will we do? Everything fun there has to do with snow or ice.”

“Maybe you can invent new versions using dirt and rocks. You could build a dirtman! Or what about mud-sledding? That could be a thing!” Harrow said, trying to cheer up the youngest of his children.

I just rolled my eyes at this. “It’ll be fine Ez, we can find something to do while we are there.” I said ruffling his hair, trying to cheer him up. God why do adults lie to kids, like they aren’t protecting them just prolonging the inevitable. I thought to my soulmate, maybe he would agree with me.

I’m not sure, maybe they just want to keep kids innocent for as long as possible. The world can be a really messed up place. I smiled at his response, he’s right I should try to keep it so Ezran and Callum can be happy kids without having to face the dark truths of our world. What brings this up though, is everything ok?

I’m not sure, my adoptive father is sending me and my brothers away for a last minute vacation and it’s obvious he’s hiding something. I responded to him before realizing we were being ushered out of the room, and being told to go pack. As I walked out of the door King Harrow tapped my shoulder signaling me to stay back for a moment.

I complied, understanding he wanted to say something to me without the boys hearing it. “Is there something else you need me to do, your highness?” I asked, still not willing to call him dad even after ten years of him treating me as his own.

“You know you don’t have to call me that,Y/n. But anyway I know you figured it out, you have always been very observant. I just ask that you don’t tell them until after everything happens, please try to protect them from the harsh truths that await them. Please help Ezran because he is so young and will have to deal with so much, please just help him.” King Harrow asked, he knew i wouldn’t say no, he knew I loved Ezran and Callum, so much to the point I would do anything for them.

I looked him in the eyes so he knew I was being honest. “I promise I will do everything in my power to help both of them. All I ask in return is please tell me what is happening? I understand it is something big and probably not going to end well but I need the details, so I can explain it to them when the time is right.”

“You do not need to concern yourself with the details. If everything goes as we plan, everything will be fine.” Viren said, making his way around the War table. I completely forgot that pompous ass was here. “Don’t worry your pretty little head princess. Now go be good and leave the safety of the King to the adults.” I sneered at the dark mage. He knew that I resented that title. It never felt right not only was I not royalty by blood, but I did not identify as a woman. Everyone in the castle respected that and just called me by my name, except Viren, it’s like he has a personal vendetta against me.

As I was about to snap at Viren for his comments, I was interrupted by King Harrow. “Everyone but Y/n out, I would talk to them privately.” With that the High Council left to give us the room. Once the room was empty and enough time had passed for there to be no one lingering by the door, he turned back to me. “I wanted to talk to you about this privately because I know you have your reasons for hiding it and I know you trusted Sarai, but shortly before our trip to Xadia she told me about you. I know you are part elf and you wear that necklace to hide it. I’m not mad, you have been a great older sibling to my sons, and are a very important member of the family.”

I was shocked, he’s known for ten years that he was raising a half elf and said nothing. He trusted Sarai’s word that I wasn’t a threat and let me live here like a normal human for a decade. Before I could thank him for his kindness he continued. “I believe that with your guidance and support Ezran can change the way things are. Please make sure he doesn't hate elves after tonight, tell him and Callum the truth when you get to the Banther lodge please. Help him forgive them and create a bond between our worlds. As for what is happening tonight, there are reports of Moonshadow assassins gathered in the woods, preparing to kill me tonight under the full moon. Viren is trying to find them or find a way to stop it, but we both know Moonshadow elves aren’t easy foes to best. I ask you to keep your brothers safe and help them forgive even after this. I did horrible things to the people of Xadia and those actions can only be repaid in blood.”

I couldn’t find any words. The man who took me in as a child and raised me like his own wants me to help his sons forgive a group of assassins, and work to bring peace between the human kingdoms and Xadia. It was mind blowing. “You have my word, I will do everything I can. And thank you for accepting me for who I am even if I wasn't the one to tell you.” With that being said King Harrow gave me a gentle hug before walking me out of the throne room.

I slowly made my way back to my room in the castle to pack my bag for the trip tonight completely lost in thought. I didn’t know how I was going to get my brothers to forgive a group of assassins for killing their father, after all I still haven’t forgiven the knights who killed my birth parents. I also had no clue how they would react to me being part elf, they have spent their whole lives being told elves were evil and now I'm supposed to tell them and an entire kingdom of elf hating humans that the king’s adopted child is one of them.

Hey soulmate, are you free to chat? I asked hoping my other half would be able to help me through my thoughts. Even though he tended to be a dork, when it came to serious conversations he was rather helpful with figuring things out.

I’m a little busy at the moment, there is a group of assassins after the King I work for, and I’m currently looking for them, but what’s up? I was completely shocked, what were the chances of two kingdoms facing an assassination attempt at the same time. I started to piece everything together, my soulmate was a member of the Crowngaurd, a group directly in charge of protecting the King, and he was currently out looking for a group of assassins. My adoptive father is a King currently writing out his last goodbyes to his kids because a group of assassins are planning to end his life tonight. Hey soulmate you still there, what’s going on why’d you get all quiet.

Are the assassins Moonshadow elves? I asked knowing that if the answer is yes, I know who my soulmate is.

Uh yeah, how’d you know? 

I took a deep breath before responding. I know because they are coming for my adoptive father, The King Of Katolis, which means we have already met on multiple occasions. I wasn’t sure if he would hear the part about Katolis because if the universe isn’t ready for us to figure it out yet, it won’t let us say places, but there are too many coincidences for it to not be time to figure it all out.

Wait you’re saying you’re Y/n, King Harrow’s oldest kid, but you’re part elf, what, i’m confused. I could hear the perplexion in his voice as he also connected dots but was confused as to why the King of Katolis would adopt a half elf. I laughed to myself as I placed my belongings in a bag knowing I would be leaving my home shortly, but hoping my soulmate would be back at the castle soon so I could look him in the eyes knowing who he really was to me.

Just get back to castle before me and my brothers are forced to leave for the Banther lodge. I want to wish my soulmate luck to his face before he fights a group highly trained assassins. Met me at my room when you get to the castle.

Wait I know who you are but how do you know who I am, I haven’t said my name. I chuckled to myself again.

It’s not hard to figure out that the great crownguard Soren is on the end of my mind, after all how many crownguards have a father and sister who practice dark magic. I laughed as I could hear him chuckle at my comment. 

It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of armor making its way to my door followed by a rather loud knock. I swung the door open to immediately be wrapped in a huge by the tall blonde. “I’m so glad I found you.”Soren said with his head buried in my shoulder.

I hugged him back, pulling him into my room. “ I feel the same, now I need you to promise to stay safe tonight, I know it’s your job to protect the king but I need you to make it out alive. I can’t lose you after I just found you.” I said looking into his eyes.

He was about to respond when there was another knock at my door, when I asked who it was, it was another guard coming to inform me that I needed to find my brothers and get ready to leave. “Hey I’ll be fine, and I’ll do everything I can to keep your dad safe. And don’t say he isn’t your dad, because he is, he’s been there for you for ten years. Now you promise that when you get back, I get to see beyond the illusion you wear. I want to see the real you.” Soren said after the guard had left my door.

I nodded in agreement before leaving the room to look for my brothers, the guard wouldn’t have told me to find them if they were where they were supposed to be. As I walked the halls I ran into Callum, who looked like he was also looking for Ezran, so we started looking together.

As we walked in silence only calling out occasionally for Ezran, Callum stopped suddenly. “Ez, is that you?” He paused to look around, while I looked at him confused. “Hello?” When there was no response we continued on down the hall looking for the boy and his glow toad.

After a few feet we both stopped feeling a presence behind us, Callum started smiling thinking it was Ezran, “You know you can’t sneak up on me.” he stated as we turned around only to be greeted by a Moonshadow elf with her blades pointed directly at us. “Uh, Uh, you’re not who I thought you… You’re one of those with the pointy…”

“Oh, you don’t like my ears?” the elf responded, unamused by the boy’s rambling.

“No. I mean, yeah. Yes, I do, I guess.” Callum said, fumbling over his words. I rolled my eyes at his stupidity.

“He meant the pointy swords.” I responded, for him before he kept putting his foot in his mouth. We both tried to step back from the blades.

“That’s far enough. I’m looking for someone.” The elf said.

Before she could continue her statement and ask questions Callum opened his mouth again. “oh , uh, did you check back there?” He pointed at a curtain, once the elf had turned away, he grabbed my hand and started running down the hall.

When the elf had realized she had been tricked, she started to chase after us. We made our way outside with Callum trying to block the elf’s path with armor stands he knocked over in the hallway. We saw a couple guards and shouted at them that we were being followed. I managed to watch as the elf jumped past the guards and swept their legs out from under them using her blades.

“Hey you swept the leg!” Callum exclaimed leaving both me and the assassin confused by his outburst.

“What?” she asked before stepping closer to us.

“Uh, uh, nothing” Callum said before grabbing my hand again and started running up one of the many towers in the castle coming to the doors of the High mages office. “Lord Viren! Claudia! Anyone!” He shouted as we pushed into the room.

All of sudden we were knocked over by the elf once again pointing her blades at us, now we were cornered. “Neither of you have to die.” She said, stepping closer to us.”There are only two targets tonight.”

I looked at Callum confused, “Wait, two? What do you mean?” I asked the elf, only thinking they were after King Harrow.

“I’m here for the King. And I’m also here for his son, Prince Ezran.” She said moving her blades closer to both of our throats.

We both looked up in shock. “ You can’t. That’s not fair. Why would you hurt someone who’s done nothing wrong?” Callum asked, voicing our shared question.

She pushed her blades closer to our throats, the tips now making contact with skin. “ Humans cut down the King of the Dragons, and destroyed his only egg, the Dragon Prince. Justice will not be denied.” She said matter-of-factly.

I watched as Callum thought of what to say next, when he spoke I definitely was not expecting the words he said next. “I see. Well, then, you’ve found me, I’m Prince Ezran.” I looked at him like he was crazy as the elf processed his words.

I was about to protest when we heard a small voice coming from a large painting, “Callum, Y/n” We all looked towards it slightly confused before I registered who was on the other side.

“Psst Callum, Y/n” ezran called again.

“Shh, go away.” I whispered back as I was closest to the painting.

“But Y/n, I found something.”

The elf stepped closer to me and the painting. “Are you talking to that painting?” she asked, confused by what she was witnessing.

Callum chimed in. “Uh, why would they do that? ‘Cause it’s not a good time.” He said getting a little louder towards the end.

Before either of us could stop her the elf reached over and swung the painting forward, revealing Ezran holding Bait and a jelly tart. “Uh… Jelly tart?” he asked, holding it up to the elf.

“Kid, get out of here.” Calum Said pretending he didn’t know his own little brother.

Ezran looked at me confused and concerned, before addressing our brother. “Callum, What’s going on?” I could hear the concern in his voice not understanding why his siblings were in the high mage’s office with an elf who was currently pointing blades at them.

“Callum? I thought you were Prince Ezran. You lied to me.” The assassin said, realizing she had been tricked.

I started to move into the passage with Ezran as I looked at the elf bewildered “How is he lying worse than you trying to kill someone?” I was amazed she felt offended by a lie when she was here to kill my brother and his dad.

After Callum had moved closer to us, Ez held up Bait for the elf to see him clearly, and asked “Have you met Bait? Say hello to my little friend.” And on queue the glow toad started to glow extremely bright blinding the elf. Taking this as a chance to escape we all moved down the passageway before closing the painting again and running as fast as we could. “Guys, follow me. I have to show you something.” Ezran said as we made our way through the tunnel.

After running for a little while, we could hear our new elf ‘friend’ chasing after us. “You’re only making this worse.” We heard her call out.

“Worse how?” Callum said, antagonizing our hunter. 

“Hey Callum, here's a great idea, don’t antagonize the elf assassin who is chasing us with the intent to kill.” I said, trying to keep up with Ezran as he turned down another path.

“This way” He yelled as we rounded another corner, only to be met with a dead end.

Callum was not impressed with our brother leading us to a dead end and popped off with “We’re trapped. What do we do now?”

Ezran approached the wall and handed Bait over to me so his hands were free before saying. “Time for a puzzle.” He then started to push the different rocks in the wall while saying “Rock, rock, stone, rock, stone, stone. Rock, stone, rock, stone, stone…”

“Wait, what's the difference between the rocks and the stones?” Callum asked, interrupting Ezran’s concentration.

The smaller boy let out a goan before saying “Ugh! You made me do stone instead of rock.” and then he returned to pressing the pattern into the wall. “Rock, rock, stone, rock, stone, stone, rock, stone, rock.”  I just looked at the boy confused, but figured he probably knew what he was doing.

After a moment Ez turned to us and grind as the floor behind us opened to reveal a spiral staircase into a hidden room below. “Wow” was all that came out of Callums mouth before we all made our way down the stairs. 

At the bottom of the stairs, we were greeted by what looked like a dark mages supply cupboard. There were jars of animal parts and random books all around the room. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The first thought in my head was to ask Soren if he knew about this place as it obviously belonged to his father, but I decided against it as I know he was getting ready to try and protect the king's life. I figured I would let him reach out to me the next time he needs to speak with me just to not interrupt him and his job. 

I failed to notice that Ezran had closed the staircase but I did hear the conversation that followed.

“You’re sure she won’t be able to follow us?” Callum asked.

“No way. It took me over a month to figure out that combination.” Ezran said feeling proud of himself, before the sound of the passage opening again revealing the Moonshadow elf. “But how did you…” Ezran started confused as to how she figured it out so quickly.

She just smirked at him before responding with “ I just pressed the stones with the jelly handprints.” Ezran groaned facepalming leaving a handprint of jelly on his face.

I watched as she inspected the shelves lined with jars, and stepped back lifting her blades and pointed them at the three of us. “What is this place? Runaan was right. There’s nothing in humans worth sparing.” She stepped closer to us.” Times up. Humans destroyed the egg of the Dragon Prince. There must be justice.”

I pushed Callum and Ezran behind me remembering my promise to protect them, making eye contact with the young elf, “You’ll have to get through me.” I watched as she looked me up and down her eyes catching on the moon opal hanging around my neck before stepping closer placing the tip of on of the blades against my neck.

“Realy?” she asked, ready to take out whoever she has to inorder to complete her mission.

“Wait!” Ezran exclaimed. Stepping out from behind me looking towards a corner. “You need to see something.”

She rolled her eyes at this, “I’m not falling for that flashing frog trick again.” She said pointing the blade at Ezran.

The glow toad in question flashed red before Ezran responded to the statement. “He’s a glow toad. But there’s no trick this time. Please, look.” He pointed at an object covered in a cloth.

The elf hesitated, but eventually agreed. “Fine. You uncover it. Slowly.” She stepped back still pointing on blade at Ezran with the other pressed to my neck still.

Ezran walks over to it “I can hear something inside, something alive.” he said as he pulled the cloth of the mystery object. We were all stunned as it revealed a large glowing egg.

Slowly approaching the egg, the elf gasped. “It… it can’t be.”

Me and Callum both watched stunned as Ezran and the elf turned to face us. Callum then voiced what we were all thinking. “ The egg… It wasn’t destroyed.”

#x reader #tdp soren x reader #soren x reader #tdp x reader #the dragon prince #tdp soulmates #soulmate au #fluff #part 1??

[enullarts]

Prompt: Character of your choice holding their baby/babies for the first time!

Gonna go with my Tav, Malek, and Halsin welcoming their first cubs

Content: tmpreg, mentions of birth, shadowheart/Tav/Halsin

Neither of them could have predicted that their first meeting would evolve over time into this. From that fateful day in the abandoned church, a lost and haughty half drow boy of 38 encountering the wildshaped archdruid ten times his age and helping him walk free again.

Since that day, they and their companions experienced countless things together: battles, failures, wins, losses, and most of all, freedom, all of it shared between the entire party like they couldn't dream of ever being apart. Yet after the battle had been won, it was just that. The group fell apart. However, in a secluded part of the woods in a newly restored farmhouse, three companions were together for this moment.

--

"I can see the head! Just a little more..!"

"Mph... by the Oak father's graces, I'm truly not the right age to be doing this."

Malek's eyes move up to catch his lover's eyes and he smiles softly, a hand reaching up to cup the laboring man's face. "You're so close, my love... One more push."

Halsin sighs, leaning into the touch exhaustedly. He says nothing, but his body responds for him as he grits his teeth and mumbles one last prayer to Silvanus before his body clenches powerfully once more and a final squalling baby elf is delivered right into the half-drow's waiting arms. The former archdruid all but collapses into the pillow nest behind him, catching his breath and admiring the scene before him. His beloved chosen partner, cooing softly as he cleans off their latest newborn and swaddles them carefully before presenting them to him again.

"Another girl." Malek smiles, eyes shining with tears not yet fallen and he turns to retrieve the other two cubs who were born ten and twenty minutes earlier, handing the eldest baby to Halsin while craddling the middle child himself. "Three girls."

"Looks like we'll have our hands full for the next hundred years or so." Shadowheart chimed in with a teasing smile as she entered the room with more clean towels and hot water to help wipe Halsin clean from the birth. She sits down on Halsin's bedside and places a kind hand on his thigh, all snark no bite as usual and she begins wetting the rags to begin wiping him down.

Malek in the meantime is quiet, not uncommon for him, but Halsin can practically smell his concern. "My heart.." He begins before Malek shakes his head.

"I'm alright ... Truly." He smiles at Halsin reassuringly before gazing down at the baby girl in his arms. She had a faint greyish blue hue to her skin, unlike her sisters who all seemed to have taken more towards the olive undertones of wood elves. "I'm just ..."

He recalls his own parents, a father he never knew for he had been cut down for betraying his matriarch after having fallen in love with a human. His human mother who, try as she might, could not afford to raise him in her state of anguish over her beloved's death. He had been raised mainly by his mother's friend, until they too died under mysterious circumstances.

Carefully, he presses the baby close to his heart, his cheek gently resting on top of the baby's head. "I'm happy..." He looks up at Halsin as tears escape his eyes

Halsin smiles knowingly, having handed the youngest baby to Shadowheart to hold. "So am I, my love ..."

Shadowheart smiles too before going back to cooing over her new daughter.

None of them have to say it out loud, but the fact their children will grow up with parents means the world to them.

#en hush #not tagging anything else lol #en fics

[kiivg]

tell me more about your tav??

.I’m so glad you asked 😘💕, I started fleshing out his backstory a while ago to give him more flavour and more reasoning behind his actions and abilities. And in doing that I half made up the idea of him being an NPC and what his major questline would be (considering I do like having both a Tav and Durge). Since I’m out there solving everyone elses’ problems I could at least have my own, or you know, give Tristan his own.

.Tristan, in his own right, is a bard, he went to bard college (Faerun has those right?) and spent a bit of time as a clown, mostly because it was fun for him and there were many happy parents who were… accommodating, shall we say, moving beyond that after a somewhat disparaging breakup with another bard (whomst he would later return to in Baldur’s Gate as a little cosy scene), he left and went adventuring, leaving his clowning days behind and stepping up as a more vulgar jester. Entertaining his audiences dressed in nothing but painted flesh and beguiling quips, and perhaps becoming far too acquainted with fleeing in the early morning hours to avoid angry spouses. Paint on the bedsheets was an easy tell on exactly who had spent the night there.

.His backstory, beyond his own, is that his Great Grandmother travelled to Thay to sate her appetite for necromancy, she wanted power beyond what she had, being something of an exceptional wizard, but not too exceptional that she could ever be considered the best in anything. There she met Buthek Maszim, a man eager to reach pure lichdom, and she was more than eager to help him for a fraction of his power. Or, so she said to him. In truth she wanted the power of a lich without becoming one herself, she was a wood elf after all, and her life would be long regardless. Buthek, however was only human, and his measly 80 or so years would not be enough for him. During the ritual, she sabotaged Buthek, halting the process and stopping him from obtaining what he had worked so hard for, and stole away parts of his body, hoping instead to command him at her will. His bones were forged into a grand flute that would serve as his phylactery and leash.

.A flute that didn’t actually work as intended. The great grandmother left Thay after the debacle, pregnant, lacking the lich power she desired, and unwilling to admit to her mistakes. She returned home and raised her daughter there. Not exactly giving up on her dream of power, but keeping it all hidden from the rest of her kin. Centuries passed, her daughter had a daughter, and Tristan was eventually born. A baby boy would looked so remarkably half-elven than many questioned who his father actually was. Granted he uses this to his advantage in the future, nobody really thinks he’s a true wood elf outside of his home, and he’s flippant enough to just relax into it. He doesn’t have the stigma of being a forest-dwelling hermit in the cities he yearns to explore, and half-elves, well, they’re easy, aren’t they? And Tristan is so very very easy.

.Now, he left home on his 100th birthday, stealing away into the night to pursue his bardic ambitions, giving himself the name Tristan Yarrow, and taking with him the ancestral flute of his family, amongst other things. The one the nobody knew was made from the bones of a lich in stasis. It’s harmless, right? Right? I mean, he thought so, he didn’t know, he doesn’t know (at least until Act 3) that he’s been carrying around a lich phylactery this entire time, he doesn’t know that every death that was even minutely graced by his music had it’s soul stolen and fed into the ever-waiting ever-strengthening arms of Buthek Maszim. A man biding his time until he could take over Tristan’s body, one half tainted by his own magic, and could finally achieve true lichdom.

.Of course there’s three endings to Tristan’s final quest, one good, one bad, and one considerably worse than bad. But that’s a whole other story.

.On a side note, idk anything about dnd elf names so… for now, him baby 🥰💕.

#Tristan yarrow #tav #answer #anonymous #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #lich #buthek Maszim #sketch #I gotta go to bed AH busy busy #ask me more? yeah do that ;:)c

[apalestar]

Bik's shorthand Elven biology primer.

Disclaimer: I am no means an expert in elves in the FR setting. Some of this information is from past editions. I can be wrong. This is meant to be a quick guide. Play your elves how you want, but if you like to add some flavoring, this is for you. This is not extensive or comprehensive.

To understand elves, you have to understand they are inherently magical. They were born from the blood of their god, Corellon. They are more attune with the ambient Weave in the world than many other races. Once you understand this concept a lot of their biology makes much more sense.

And I will say all of this only applies to full-elves. Half elves take on more human traits since they don't have an elven soul.

Elves are rare in the world outside of a few strongholds ( High Forest, Evereska, and Evermeet ). Most large cities only have at most a 10% population of them at a given time.

Elves & Time Elves are very long lived. 750 years+ if the plot doesn't take them out first. Compared to a shorter lived race they are not going to view a year as a considerable length of time. 1 decade for an elf passes like 1 year to a human.

Unless there is a pressing emergency at their doorstep, they aren't in a rush to see something through. That bridge that was destroyed in a flood? They aren't that concerned about the time it will take to repair it. They have a different concept of time.

Elven Darkvision Elves see in the dark, but the biological process at work is different than other races. When an elf is first born, they can't see in the dark. It takes years to perfect the ability. They don't rely on low light reflected back into their eyes. How Elves achieve darkvision is by honing their eyes to see the subtle ripples in the ambient Weave of the world. Think of it like echolocation for eyes.

Usually an elf's parents will teach them this early on. But if you wanted to RP it this way, a silence spell could render an elf incapable of seeing in the dark.

Reverie & Sleeping Let's get this out of the way: Elves can sleep. They choose not to. Dreams are figments of the imagination and are very unsettling for an elf. Instead elves enter a meditative state known as trance or reverie. They are semi-conscious and going through mental exercises to rest their minds. In this state they 'dream'. Their dreams are reliving their memories.

Elven companions because of trance only need 4 hours of uninterrupted trance to count as a long rest. In a mixed party, the elves are probably doing sentry duty for longer and more often than the other party members.

Reincarnation & Fertility Elves never do enter their heaven for long when they die. They're given a period of reflection before they are reborn into a new body. As such there are a finite number of elven souls to go around. An elf has to die for a new one to be born. An elven couple will have a hard as fuck time conceiving a new child. Each elven child is a gift. To have more than 1 is considered a blessing. To have more than 2 means you are favored by Corellon.

Because of this low fertility rate, it isn't uncommon for elves to have 'practice' families with a shorter lived race partner. Not all elves will see these couplings as 'practice', but a lot of them will.

Maturity I see this one confused a lot by the fandom. Elves are physically and mentally mature at the same rate as a human. At a certain point that their bodies stop aging until they reach old age, usually the prime years of 20-40 looking for a human. The confusion tends to lie in the elven milestone age of 100 being misconstrued as the age of consent.

I repeat an elf is fully capable of consent and making decisions by the same age as a human. So what does the age 100 mean for an elf as a sign of maturity? Before the age of 100, an elf can remember during reverie elven heaven and memories of their prior lives. After this milestone of 100 years, an elf can no longer do so. Reverie will only be memories of their current life. This age is when other elves will consider that individual elf's soul as settled into their new life. In elven culture they would be old enough to leave their clans, explore, and marry. Those are the only things barred in elven culture for those under 100 to do.

This concept is a little less strict for elves who live in cities, and in mixed race populations.

Attention Elves can fixate on something for long stretches of time. They exclude all other stimuli and enter a state similar to reverie. It's where their aloof stereotype tends to come from. They aren't ignoring someone else per say, they are just concentrating so hard on an object, thought, or action they can't see outside of it.

#headcanons #lore #ooc: out of vampire #long post #// There is more #// But I don't feel like writing a longer essay tonight

[spacebarbarianweird]

“one who moves among hearts” being a possible translation of Astarion’s name is brutal.

If we take this translation as intentionally chosen opposed to real world names where meaning is usually not thought of beyond cultural background. like being named “Michael” because it means “gift from god” (one translation) vs. the name was just in the Bible so it was used

If his parent CHOSE “Astarion” with that intent, they probably meant it as “we want you to be somebody who experiences so much love in your life”

But another interpretation of the phrase “one who moves among hearts” could be somebody who plays with people’s emotions. The heartbreaker.

Which is what Cazador forced him to be. Cazador sent him and the other spawn to catch prey, and unless the most recent patch removed it, there’s basically a Kama Sutra in the room Astarion says he brought victims to. Meaning the seduction ploy was, more likely than not, Cazador’s idea.

Also “tar/taér” being the equivalent of a diminutive and common for an elf’s childhood/first name, something they use until they reach 100 when they get to pick their own and are seen as a full adult in elven society… you think Astarion had to specifically avoid elves?

By a multi species society’s standard he’d be treated as an adult, but an elf hears that diminutive and they’re 100+? They’d probably recoil like when somebody in their 20s realizes a teenager is flirting with them.

Like, could they go with Astarion? Yes, but it would probably get the same sort of side eye as like a 24yr getting with an 18yr. It’s technically okay, but it’s so close to Not Okay that people keep an eye out.

Do you think after endgame that’s something he thinks about? He’s been “Astarion” for twice as long as he should’ve, but it’s also something from his life that Cazador couldn’t take away. He doesn’t remember what he looks like, he doesn’t remember his own eye color.

We don’t know what his relationship with his family was like before, he doesn’t mention them. Which I take to mean he was a transplant to Baldur’s Gate. Maybe he had a good relationship with them but they didn’t live at the Gate, maybe he didn’t and moved to get away. Either way, his name is one of the last and most tangible things from before Cazador that I think he’d have a hard time picking a new one, if he wants to at all.

That's a very interesting point! Thank you for sharing! I actually think Astarion isn't a baby name. Elven baby names are short: Arya, Bryn, Del, Eryn. Tav sounds like an Elven baby name as well. Meanwhile adult Elven names sound like that: Ivellios, Laucian, Quarion, Soveliss etc. Astarion is definetely an adult name in form. Why did he have it though, since he was a child according to Elven standarts?

I have two theories 1) People know the difference between baby Elven names and adult Elven names. So, Astarion just chose an adult name prematurily upon starting his career. I think a lot of Elves start using adult names early in life to look older. Plus they definetely fantasize about what names they are going to take once they hit 100 years. 2) This is a weird theory, but bear with me. There are almost no Elves in Baldur's Gate. Especially, Elven nobility. But there is plenty of Half-Elves. Almost everyone with pointy ears is a person with mixed ancestry. Also, Elves are very delicate and short. Astarion doesn't look like one. He has a human male body structure and if it wasn't for his ears, no one would think he is a pure Half-Elf.

Now let's remember the lessons on genetics, especially Mendelian inheritance. If you have the whole population of Half-Elves (mixed descendants of Elves and Humans), you can get children who inherit only one combination of ancestral features. Two Half-Elves will probably conceive a Half-Elven child but there is a chance the kid inherit Human features from both parents or ... Elven features, getting the same set of genes from Elven grandparents.

So, what if Astarion is like that? He was born in Baldur or its area to the Half-Elven family. Despite being a High Elf, he still has some Human features (ambitions and the body type). And because his folks had little to no idea what Elven society looks like, they gave him an Elven name not knowing it's an adult one. And that would explain why Astarion doesn't have a family to come back to. Half-Elfs live up to 200 years. His parents are dead, people he grew up with are dead. And he is just this "stray" High Elf who wo't be accepted by Elves because he is descendants to Humand and Half-Elves.

#bg3 astarion #astarion name meaning #astarion #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #astarion bg3 #astarion headcanon #astarion headcanons

[bookwyrminspiration]

sending this to both you and arson because I want multiple opinions: in the theoretical finitar mpreg fic does fintan or dimitar get pregnant (asking for a friend)

I'm thinking Dimitar. My thought process is that while elves seem to be similar to humans, and therefore their limitations are slightly tied to human biology, ogres seem more varied and you could more easily explain a male pregnancy--this is, of course, if you were to do a non trans mpreg situation. However, if you were to make either of them trans this is less important, but I wanted to have some options

I'm also thinking that, to be nice to them, an ogre would have an easier time being pregnant with a half-elven baby than an elf would with a half-ogre one. Though you could also argue that since this is a mixed-species baby perhaps it's strenuous either way, should that be the route you want to take

Another thought: I'm presuming (perhaps incorrectly) that this is happening when Fintan is no longer a councillor but Dimitar is a king. In which case Dimitar being pregnant creates additional tension because he's a public figure, he can't hide it forever. Especially since he doesn't wear clothes. Could have a period of hiding the pregnancy, then of hiding the other parent because if the council found out he was pregnant with Fintan's kid? The guy who'd killed one of their councillors and was terrorizing their world? Could completely jeopardize their newly found peace, and he doesn't want his people at risk.

But if that's not the route you want to go, Fintan would be a great option for a secret pregnancy/baby because as someone disconnected from larger society, he doesn't need to be in the spotlight. He can stay in hiding until baby is born and then they can keep baby hidden.

So really either one works in different ways, but for some reason I'm leaning towards Dimitar. I think because it's less stereotypical or less expected, and that makes it more interesting to me. Hope that helps!

#kotlc #finitar #tw pregnancy #quil's queries #nonsie #you could ALSO factor in some family drama on dimitar's side #what does his queen think? i believe her name is gundula or something similar #what does RO think? of having a half-elf baby sibling? #lots going on here... #long post

[fandom-space-princess]

also, very curious about the circumstances that led to her being cursed by the gods 👀

So one of the themes I'm interested in most in BG3 is the intercession of the gods in mortal lives. Both in terms of the obvious narrative of the Dead Three and their plans, but also the indifference and/or casual cruelty of the rest of Faerun's pantheon, notably the gods typically thought of as exemplifying good - and what that means about how much power lies in the hands of common people vs. their "betters." Sura's backstory came about because of those thoughts, and is directly informed by them.

Tl;dr because this got long: Sura is cursed because her mother was an awful person, and to the gods, a debt is a debt regardless of who incurred it. Sura started paying her mother's debt the day she was born.

Long version:

Sura's mother, Aran, was a wood elf from one of the clans of the Wood of Sharp Teeth. From a young age she was a gifted sorcerer, and an obsessive collector of knowledge. Unfortunately, she was also an essentially disagreeable person from minute one, and had an entirely unwholesome knack for death magic. When she became an adult her own people politely showed her the door. From there, she took up with a roving mercenary band that eventually landed her in Baldur's Gate.

Joining the group introduced her to Sura's father, Maurit: a solid brick wall of a human sellsword whose primary talent in life was hitting people really hard. He wasn't a particularly bad man, as mercenaries go, although he wasn't a particularly good one either. What he lacked in other areas of his personality, he made up in loyalty. Aran's basic amorality didn't bother him - to him, she was the most beautiful and dangerous thing he'd ever seen, and he would have followed her into the Nine Hells for a smile and a song.

[Pictured: terrible parents]

Aran was motivated by the acquisition of personal power, and she was prone to bouts of obsession. She'd get interested in some new project and no one but Maurit would see her for weeks, sometimes months. What she did during these times varied, but it always seemed to circle back to her interest in necromancy. (My headcanon-for-a-headcanon here is that she'd have gotten on well with Mystic Carrion, if they ever met). As time passed, her work got bloodier, and she eventually got it into her head that if she could raise enough undead, she could amass sufficient power to make a run at godhood.

Which brings us to the night Sura was born.

Nobody'd seen Aran for months. While that wasn't enough in and of itself to draw attention - she was known to be with child, it wasn't that odd that she'd been absent from work as dangerous as theirs - nobody'd seen her husband in the preceding weeks either. Though Maurit wasn't the most well-liked or social man, the people he worked with did eventually get concerned enough to go looking. So one quiet night, half a dozen of them turned up at the couple's home in the outer city.

We'll spare the details here (I don't know what kind of stomach you have for horror), but they walked into a house transformed to an abattoir that would make a Bhaalist proud. Bodies piled on every surface, intact and otherwise. From what they could gather, Aran had succeeded in raising a truly monstrous number of undead. Her body lay prone in the center of the room, next to her husband, who had met a gruesome fate as her final victim. She seemed to have succumbed to whatever ritual she was attempting to complete, and had been struck down in the same blast that leveled her hoard of zombies. The only life left in that room was her newborn child, minutes old. On either shoulder the baby sported what appeared to be brands: Kelemvor's scales on her left, Lathander's rising sun on her right.

At first, none of the assembled mercenaries could bring themselves to touch her. Near as they could tell, the girl was probably the result of ritual magic that had deeply offended two of the most powerful gods in realmspace. They might have abandoned her to her fate. But Tethos stepped forward. He'd been the closest thing to a friend the girl's father had really had. Standing over his body, he couldn't bring himself to simply abandon his daughter. So he took her in.

[hi Tethos]

Sura would only discover what her curse meant to her as she grew. There's a lot of additional story involved, which for the sake of this not turning into a novel I'll exclude, but the practical upshot is: she can't die. She found this out the hard way, i.e. the painful way, and at the point where she gets abducted by the Nautiloid she's been dealing with the realities of being unwillingly immortal for just over 70 years.

She maintains an antagonistic working relationship with her patron gods. They periodically turn up and set her tasks, which she completes under extreme protest. And once she gets tangled up with the tadpole gang... well. Things get interesting fast.

I have so much written about her ongoing struggles with her desire to regain mortality, and how she relates conceptually and practically to her concepts of religion, guilt, obligation, and rebellion, but I'll save that for another day.

#thanks for asking! sorry this turned into a whole book 😅 I have so much backstory for her. many thoughts head full. #bg3 #sura tav #asks

[high-dragon-bait]

wait am I misremembering you made a post about dragon age half alf genetics? I can't find it. I thought it was interesting I forgot the wording but about the traits being dormant and stuff? Idk

Hello! Yes! I did make this post, it was an answer to another ask and I. Also cannot find it because tumblr’s search feature is god awful so I’m just going to. Repeat myself here. The original post was kind of messy anyway so here we go

Dragon Age Half-Elf Genetics Headcanon (aka: I rewrite half elf genetics in dragon age to be canon compliant in a way I don’t hate)

In Dragon Age, half elves work differently than they do in most other fantasy works that use elves and humans in that they do not exist. There are no half elves in the Dragon Age world, any elf/human hybrid comes out looking entirely human and that’s it

I, and from what I can tell the majority of the Dragon Age fandom, are not a fan of this. It’s boring, uncreative, and very obviously just there to explain how Alistair can have an elven mother despite not looking elven at all. In my opinion it’s fine on an individual basis, maybe with Alistair he does just look more human, but EVERY half-elf just looks human? Don’t like that

BUT

Supposedly, this is because elves are very magical and special and humans are not. So, because of this, when elven blood meets human blood the human blood cancels it out entirely, kind of like dousing a fire. To which I say…I still don’t like it but it’s better than “human genetics are just SO DOMINANT they EAT the elven genetics forever” throwing in a magical element at least gives us more to work with, but I still don’t like the idea that human/elf hybrids are literally always human

So. Here’s my solution

Half elves, in the traditional sense, still do not exist. The child will always look entirely human, or, more rarely, entirely elven.

See, when an elf and a human mate, and the child is born looking human, that elven blood is not gone, just dormant. Elven blood can lie dormant in a bloodline for generations before being “awoken.” This “awakening” is done in two ways: when it makes contact with more elven blood, or, the parent is exposed to strong magic

Most commonly, the blood is awoken by making contact with elven blood, usually when an elf-blooded human has a child with a full elf. This is what happens in the case of my Hawke as I like to believe the Hawkes have elven blood lying dormant somewhere in their linage. When my Hawke has a child with Fenris, that child is then born an elf to the surprise of everyone involved. It's not an unpleasant surprise just a "Huh, well that's weird"

But two elf-blooded human parents can still have an elven child. This happens to Miris, my secondary inquisitor, she was born an elf to two noble humans and abandoned near the Lavellan clan for it, claiming later the child died during birth. (unbeknownst to both her and the clan, they all assume her birth parents were city elves that could not care for her)

Unfortunately, that reaction is not an uncommon one, and that combined with the rarity of its occurrence means it’s practically unknown that this is possible

Elven blood being awoken from magical exposure is even more rare, but, surprisingly, it is better known. In fact it’s a very closely guarded secret by the Chantry.

It has been known to happen in circles. In the already undesirable case of a mage falling pregnant, there is a chance the child could be born an elf. It still is not a common occurrence in those births, but it has happened enough for the Chantry to grow paranoid at the possibility whenever its reported a mage is pregnant. The stronger the magical talent of the mage, the higher the chance. It's part of the reason accidental babies are taken from their mage mothers so quickly, the Chantry doesn't want them to realize their child is an elf.

What happens to those babies? It's... unknown. Most likely they are put in an alienage orphanage, or abandoned to the Dalish, though the truth may be darker.

There have also been cases of Templars having elven babies, which are also covered up by the Chantry. What happens to those children is up to their families discretion, the Chantry claims to have no involvement there at all.

Why does the Chantry do this? Because they don't know why it happens, or what it means for the elven race they've spent so long oppressing, and that scares them. They can't predict what would happen if this knowledge was made public, but they are too afraid of the possibility itself to risk the secret leaving their walls.

So that's the headcanon! I like it. I still like regular D&D style half-elves as well, this isn't meant to really be THE solution, just one possible interpretation. I might better tag this post so it doesn't get eaten by the search feature again...

#dragon age #my dragon age #dragon age headcanon #dragon age elves