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A sudden rush of realization flew into Astarion and his nostrils flared. He stooped and picked up the heavy tome, turning it over in his hands. The bitter taste of Tav’s blood...it was the same as Gale’s had been the one time Astarion had deigned to try a nip. Redolent with putrid netherese magic. |
Gods-damned magic blood. But why? When? Astarion spent the better part of the night devouring book after book on the subjects of Karsus, the gods-war, the fall of Netheril, and the fragment of weave Gale had contained within his chest. Gale had gone in search of the Crown of Karsus, to ascend to godhood. But what would... |
Bristling with anger, Astarion burst open the door to the bedroom, expecting to interrogate Tav about Gale. As he loomed over the bed, he found it empty. He searched the washroom and the nearby halls. Cursing, he set upon a servant, gripping him by the collar. |
"The mistress," he hissed. "Where is she?" |
"A-asleep in her b-bed, m’lord, is she not?" |
"No, she very much is not," Astarion snapped. "Who saw to her last?" The boy froze, fear gripping him as he gaped helplessly at the master of the house. Astarion shook him, repeating his question. |
"M-m-miss Angela, I think, Your Grace. Please sir, I’ve only been in the kitchen this evening. I don’t rightly know, sir." Astarion cast the boy aside with a growl, and he scampered off like a rodent. |
Astarion made himself mist and drew up outside the door of the maids’ quarters. He rapped the door quietly, but it was opened immediately. |
"Angela," he hissed. "Now." The maid curtseyed and withdrew, and a bleary-eyed girl appeared moments later, curly blonde hair a tied-up tangle on her head. |
"Yes, my Lord? Do you require something of me?" Her posture was straight, but he could hear the tumult of her heartbeat - she was afraid of him. They all were. |
"You attended Misstress Tavwren to her bed, did you not?" |
"Y-yes, My Lord." |
"Then why, pray tell, is she not there?" His words dripped like honeyed poison from his lips and he saw her blanche. He heard the quickening of her already rapid heartbeat. |
"I...I’m terribly sorry sir, she was sleeping peacefully when I left her side. I wasn’t aware she was to be watched at all hours this time...please forgive my ignorance..." She trembled violently; he could practically hear her knobby knees knocking together. Exasperated, he strode away, back to the library. He hadn’t t... |
He took no notice of the gilded mirror on the nightstand by his bed as he strode by, shining faintly green. |
Tav reeled as the floor fell away from her feet. The air crackled with verdant energy, and she smelled something like roasted corn. A blinding limelight enveloped her, and she was deposited softly on the ornate carpeted floor of Gale’s domain. She took a moment to steady her shaking legs, smoothing her nightgown around... |
she thought. She was under the impression he would need to summon her back. The warm crackling of a low fire soothed her aching soul, and she inhaled deeply the musty scent of raw knowledge all around her. Finding purchase on a plush chaise, she sat and waited. She didn’t want to go poking around, for fear of getting l... |
Is that...me? Tav searched the face, wide-eyed. It was leaner than she remembered, holding none of the honeyed undertones from basking in the sun. The stranger’s large dark eyes blinked back at her, red as the meat of a blood orange. The pupils were too small, mere pinpricks, straining against the strange green light. ... |
"Oh, my, you startled me." Gale’s curious tone brought Tav swimming back to reality, and she stood up rapidly. Her back was straight and her shoulders back, but she felt every nerve and muscle in her body, poised to run or strike, or both. Gale smiled warmly at her. "You look in better health already." Tav did not retu... |
"Thank you, Gale." Her voice was stronger now, less strained. He brightened, looking up at her again. He opened his arm, a sweeping gesture indicating she should follow him. He led her through an open doorway into a comfortable dining room. A modest spread of food adorned the table - cheese and meat, bread and wine. |
"Would you care to dine?" His eyes glimmered, something hidden there. She raised an eyebrow at him. |
in fifty years, Gale. I’m not hungry." |
"Sure, sure," he waved her off genially. "But remember, I’ve taken your hunger away. I’ve also given you a gift. You can enjoy food once more." His eyes sparkled, and her eyebrows hit her hairline. She eyed the food with new sight, taking in the tantalizing smells. She sank slowly into the offered wooden chair, which h... |
"Please," he smiled, "enjoy." |
Tav inhaled the smells before her, eyeing the food dubiously. She wasn’t sure she could trust Gale’s word. She remembered the last food she tried to eat - a simple apple. It had turned to ash in her mouth, the bitter grit lingering for days. She watched as Gale raised a bite to his lips and chewed happily. Cautiously, ... |
"Oh, Gods," she groaned, eyes rolling back in ecstasy. |
is why gluttony is frowned upon. |
The flavor exploded on her tongue, and she immediately returned for more, taking a healthy bite. It was like music and poetry and great fucking sex and blood and love and harmony. She ate her meal with hardly a glance toward Gale, who sipped his wine and watched her thoughtfully. She could hear the steady thrumming of ... |
"Can I help you, you lecherous thing?" Gale spluttered on his wine, dabbing at the spill with a burgundy napkin. |
He must often spill, to have matching wine and napkins. |
He laughed, but the sound was too high-pitched, nervous. She heard the rapid tempo of his heart beat and saw and |
the blood rush into his neck and the tips of his ears. She grinned, chuckling to herself, as she turned to face him. |
"I was just...enjoying your company," he smiled bashfully. It would almost be cute, were it not so unusual. "I never knew food could invoke such... |
from a person." It was Tav’s turn to roll her eyes and glance away, smiling softly to herself with embarrassment. "Brings a whole new viewpoint to Elminster’s obsession with fine cheeses." Gale winked, and Tav laughed out loud, a light, musical sound. The first real laugh she’d heard from herself in as long as she coul... |
"So," he said at last, "I’ve a bed all made up for you. I expect you’ll be tired. Not to worry, I’ll wake you before dawn so you can return." |
Tav stiffened. She hadn’t planned to stay long, certainly not all night. Astarion didn’t need much meditation, but he did require a few hours. He would be in the library for much of the night, attending to whatever banal interests he had currently, before returning to their bed in the early morning. The lady’s maid, An... |
"Gale, I appreciate the offer," she began, fingers tapping nervously against the goblet. He held up a hand, cutting her off. |
"Please, Tav. I know I’ve been a terrible beast to send you back there in the first place. At least you may sleep in peace knowing no one will disturb your rest." His large brown eyes reminded Tav of a puppy she’d kept in childhood. It was pitiful and endearing at once. She sighed, rubbing her neck anxiously. |
"I have no idea when Astarion will go back to bed, and if I’m not there...he’ll be...displeased," she finished haltingly. Gale’s pitiful pitying eyes made her want to claw her face off. She was better than his pity. It was his idea in the first place! "I can’t have him angry if I’m to find out how to...what his weaknes... |
If Gale noticed the evasion in her words, he did not say. He shrugged noncommittally. "Of course I would never tell you what to do," he intoned dreamily. "If you feel it too large a risk to properly rest then I will send you back as soon as you’re ready." |
Tav glanced around the room, at the dwindling fire, at Gale. It would be nice to be able to truly, deeply rest, without fear of what she might wake to find. Mercurial Astarion could be any number of moods when she woke to him. To wake alone, comfortable, |
it would be a greater blessing than she deserved. |
Finally she nodded, more to herself than Gale. "Lead the way," she said confidently, though her eyes betrayed her fear. |
Gale beamed, and he stood swiftly and led her into an adjoining room. A large wooden bed frame took up most of the space, with cozy blankets and pillows in hues of green and brown. The sheets were cotton, and slightly scratchy, but she felt they were more comfortable than the silk she usually slept in. |
"I’ll leave you to it then," Gale said, his voice hushed. He bowed low, sweeping his arm dramatically and inciting a nervous giggle from Tav. "Good night, Champion of Dekarios." His eyes flicked to hers, and her dead heart leapt into her throat. "Pleasant dreams." |
With that, he retreated, shutting the door softly behind him. Tav sank into the bed with a sigh. She was startled to find that the ceiling was not wood, but instead showed a vast starry sky, in hues of violet and pink. She stared at the projection, smiling, until her eyelids sagged closed, heavy with an exhaustion she ... |
She looks so frail and small...like a strong gust of wind could blow her over. She’ll never succeed. |
Gale sat on a wooden stool in the corner of the conjured guest room, chin in hand, watching Tav’s sleeping form. She tossed and turned, crying out softly every now and again. She was not meditating; she had been so exhausted that she’d fallen into a deep and troubled sleep. He considered whether he should cast the weav... |
Gale considered her appearance, turning it over and over in his mind. When he’d first pulled her from the tomb, she had been naught more than a walking skeleton, skin pulled taught over brittle bones. The sight had been jarring, and indeed haunted many nightmares of his own. She had been left there to rot for so long, ... |
Thinking of the |
Vampire Ascendant |
made Gale’s stomach churn. Gods but how he hated him! Smarmy, swaggering, cruel creature. On the surface he was well-beloved. Every politician and noble vied for his mercurial favor, lavishing him with gifts and promises of help should he need it. No one seemed to mind his gleaming fangs and red eyes. He had taken few ... |
Tav stirred, a low sob choking out of her throat, and Gale’s attention returned. Perhaps there wouldn’t be issue with just a small charm, to help ease the pain of the nightmares. He stood and softly crossed to the bed. Looking down at Tav, he felt a pang of pain and longing in his heart, something he couldn’t quite rec... |
Curse the very hells below. |
"I am sorry," he hastily muttered. "I wasn’t sure how best to wake you. It’s nearly dawn, I thought you should go back now." He cast his eyes down, avoiding looking into those strange red eyes. She stretched in the bed and he couldn’t help it, |
traitorous eyes, |
they wandered to her body of their own accord. She was wearing a silken white nightgown, the thin straps hanging delicately from her shoulders. He could see the faintly purple hue of her skin through the material, how it ballooned around her nonexistent waist, clinging tightly to the swell of her breasts... |
Gale turned abruptly to hide the raging flush of heat as it surged to his face. He waved over his shoulder as he retreated from the room. He thought he heard a quiet chuckle as he fled, and his cheeks burned brighter. |
"I don’t know... But isn’t it nice...not to know?" Astarion tsked, rolling his eyes and running a hand through his silver hair. He looked at her from the side of his eyes and her heart fluttered. "You’re not a victim. Not a target. Not just one night it’s better to forget. But then...whatever in the world could you be?... |
Tav’s heart pounded rapidly, a small smile drawing her lips up at the corners. Silly boy, she thought. He clearly loved her; he just didn’t know how to love after 200 years of "pure shit." He was afraid. |
"Can I kiss you?" She smiled, and he smiled in return. |
"There is nothing I’d like more," he purred. She kissed him softly, sweetly, and when she pulled away they were both smiling. |
"Mmm," he sighed. "I do rather like that, you know." His eyes twinkled, and Tav felt heat rush through her body. It had been a long while since they’d had the pleasure of one another’s bodies, at Astarion’s behest. She didn’t mind, not really. She loved him and wanted him to have whatever he needed - space, time, kisse... |
All at once, she was swimming through dark waters, her mind and body separating. She found herself staring down at a bloody scene. Astarion, hunched over Cazador’s body, knife carving diligently amidst the sounds of screams and tearing flesh. There Tav stood, the she she was, a silent observer. She had a wicked smirk o... |
She was ripped through time and space again, but this time, it was a sensation on her tender cheek that called her away. Her eyes opened, and she startled at a figure looming over her. She backed away in fear, then kicked herself. Astarion didn’t like when she showed overt fear. He would be displeased. |
Tav stood in the large red bedroom, shaking softly. As she took in the scene, she sighed a breath of relief. After Gale had woken her and sent her back, she was worried someone would be waiting for her in the bedroom. Astarion was not there. But, why? As she looked out the large window she saw that the sky was beginnin... |
"I’m just starting the water, Angela," she called. No answer came as Tav opened the pump and water came flowing out into the large tub. She peeled off the silk nightgown and scrubbed a hand over her neck. As her hand fell away, she felt electricity crawl up her spine, her hairs standing on end. She took a shaking breat... |
"My, my," he lilted. "Where have you been, my pet? You...smell...foul." He punctuated each word with a squeeze of her neck, and starbursts clouded her eyes. Her stomach churned and she struggled to keep her eyes open against the onslaught of his gaze. At last he released her, and she sagged against the tub, realizing a... |
"I’m not sure what you mean, dear." She hedged, turning away to stop the flow of water she would, apparently, not being enjoying this morning. He pulled her wrist, spinning her back to him effortlessly. She swallowed hard and watched as his piercing gaze flicked pointedly to her throat and then dragged back up to her ... |
"Of course, I could be wrong," he drawled, "but it seems you were not in our bed the whole night..." Tav forced herself to remain stock-still, not wanting to give away her surprise. "And I have discerned that your...scent... has changed. You smell almost like...mildew. And your blood..." |
Tav gasped as his hand flicked out, cutting her along the collarbone, and drew back to his face with one gleaming red fingernail. She hissed softly, covering the surprisingly deep cut with her hand. He raised the bloodied nail to her nose and she stiffened. " Smell ," came the silent command, magic whipping at her no... |
"Putrid, isn’t it?" He trailed the bloodied finger along her chest between her breasts, wiping the blood along her skin. She shivered. "It reminds me of someone we used to know." His pointed glare told her everything: he knew she had some involvement with Gale. He knew she hadn’t been in her bed. He was going to force... |
"Tell me, darling, why that is." His magic gripped her fiercely, his silent command echoing the spoken one. "Tell The Whole Truth." She flinched, all at once relieved for the boon Gale had granted her and terrified of messing up. She straightened, looking into his eyes, and began weaving her lie. |
"My love, I was taken from my tomb by a group of men, and I did fight to get them away, but I was too weak. It was not your fault, of course my darling, I just was not as strong as they." Bruising his ego by implying his punishment was too harsh would do no good for her. His eyebrow raised, apparently placated,... |
"But when I was all but ruined, Gale showed up." She paused as his brow furrowed, deep canyons forming between his eyes and around his mouth. She plowed ahead, hoping to avoid his ire interrupting the story. |
"He chased the men off, my love, and healed me. That must be why my blood is altered, darling, though of course I wouldn’t know. I was never a magic wielder." |
"A healing word wouldn’t alter your blood," he spat, though he didn’t seem disbelieving of her whole tale. "And what did he ask for in return for the favor of rescuing you?" His eyes burned, possessive and cruel. "Did he take of your mind, your soul, your body, hmm? Did you let him? Did you like it?" His hand snaked t... |
"Nothing, my love. He only wanted to help an old friend." If her heart could beat, it would be pounding out of her chest by now. The blatant lies were heavy tumbling from her mouth. She had been coerced or compelled to truth for so long she was surprised she was able to deceive Astarion so easily. Though pretending to ... |
Astarion considered her for a moment, and she could feel his magic testing her words, weighing them for truth and probing at nonexistent cracks. She drew up close to him, placing one hand on his chest, heavy-lidded eyes screaming seduction. |
"What reason would I have to lie to you, my darling? You have given me everything. I deserved my punishment. I am happy to be home." She wrapped her arms around his neck and he seemed to soften, his hand falling from her head to bring his arms around her waist. As he searched her eyes with his, she saw a hint of the so... |
"He must have cursed you somehow, foolish child." He ran a hand over her hair and she hummed, closing her eyes. Even if it was a lie, she much preferred the gentle lover to the cruel master. Just then, the door opened again and Angela came bustling in, holding a towel and some firewood. She paused at the door upon see... |
"My Lord," she said softly, "I am glad to see the misstress is well. Shall I return...later?" |
"No," he said, suddenly turning and leaving Tav standing naked in the washroom. She covered herself instinctively as the maid’s eyes cast a cursory glance in her direction. "My lady must dress swiftly. We are going to town today." |
The maid curtseyed low as he swept past her, closing the door behind him. Angela bustled over to Tav, who swooned down into the wooden stool. She started a small fire under the tub to heat the water, and turned her attention to Tav. |
"I have a lotion for that, Misstress. May I?" She produced a small bottle of dark liquid from her apron pocket; Tav nodded absentmindedly. She released her hand from the cut, which started blood flowing down her chest again. She wondered idly at the maid’s preparedness, bringing something to heal wounds into her bedroo... |
Angela finished rubbing the lotion on her tender skin, which stitched together easily. Putting out the fire, she helped Tav into the tub and began gently combing through her hair. |
"Do you know where we’re going, Angela?" |
"No, Misstress, but the master has been in his library all night. He was powerfully angry when he found you gone. I wish you’d have warned me." The rueful tone in the girl’s voice made Tav flinch. |
"I’m sorry," she whispered. "I...forgot what it was to speak freely while I was gone." Angela gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. |
"You worry about you, Misstress. It’s good to have you back, though I wish you’d stayed away." |
Tav sank into the tub, blowing bubbles under the water. Me too. |
The hellish portal swirled with brimstone and sulfur, sparks flying in the ritual circle. A small devil’s servant, wretched with pustules and flay marks, appeared in a puff of smoke. He bowed deeply to Astarion, hissing and spitting in infernal. |
"What doesss the Lord Vampire Asssscendant neeeed from humble Grebosssss?" The imp bowed low, wringing hands as his tattered wings curled around him protectively. |
"I need to know if there is anything strange happening among the godly pantheon. Specifically, I need to know about a human man named Gale Dekarios." Astarion was imposing and tall, staring at the creature without pity. The creature hissed, glancing back and forth, before answering. |
"There have been whiiiisssspppers, oh Highest Lord, of an inteeeeerloper. Karsussssss’ Folly. A large and reforged crownnn." |
Astarion rolled his eyes, waving his hand as if to speed along the imp’s speech. |
"Dekkkkaaaaaarrrriiiiiiossssssss, he is called. He has entered into competiiiiiition with Myssssssssssstra, at the behest of the Hidden One," he swallowed a hiss, "the Ovvvvergod." |
"What sort of competition?" Astarion’s sharp eyes gleamed, and the creature flinched as if struck. |
"Dekaaaariossss wishes to usurp Myssssstra," an inane cackle pierced the creature’s speech, "and the Watcher has forbiddennnnnn itttt... unlesssssssssssssssss... Dekariosss can complete a "great heroic deeeeeeed." The creature scratched at a blister on its side, which ruptured in purulent ooze. Astarion’s nose wrinkled... |
"Yes, fine," he snapped. "Get to the point. You’re positively disgusting." |
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