Hello! This blog exists as an extension to my Instagram account @bg3.brainrot, where I post mostly very silly memes about the critically acclaimed 2023 RPG Baldur's Gate 3! This space will be less focused on silly goofs and more focused on getting all the Tav lore knocking around into my head out into the world; so longer-form stuff and creations that aren't well-suited to the Instagram format. Thanks for being here! :)
Just a random lil creative exercise I felt like doing and I kinda love them actually!!! (And I feel that they definitely deserve better than to just be hidden in my insta story highlights lol)
Ok, hi. If you’re reading this, you likely already know from my Instagram presence that I threw my poor Tav Firiel into a gnarly little timeloop scenario. First, I’d like to talk a bit about how that came to be: My first playthrough of BG3 concluded with God Gale and Firiel ascending to the heavens together. And I had a LOT of feelings about this, to me this ending was FASCINATING and TRAGIC and I became CONSUMED thinking about what would happen next for those two. I felt confident that all of the choices Firiel made throughout the game were true to her character, and I didn’t want to retcon anything because her flaws, blindspots, and resulting fuck-ups are such an integral chunk of what makes her so interesting to me. That said, the more I thought about that ending and researched the lore of ascension and godhood in the Forgotten Realms, the more I realized this was an outcome that Firiel simply would not be able to live with for long. And since her approach to problems is essentially “keep going, never give up, find a way to make it through despite impossible odds, to hell with anyone who tries to stop me,” accepting and living with a situation she was so dissatisfied with felt WILDLY out of character. It was a bit of a puzzle for my brain; what the hell would she do at that point??? Then one day I realized that she was in the realm of literal gods, that fucking around with powers that she didn’t fully understand in an attempt to keep fighting for what she wanted was VERY MUCH in-character, and that accidentally sending herself back to the beginning of the game was a SUPER interesting set up for another Firiel playthrough I could do. So I went with that.
Once I decided that was what I wanted to do, I gave myself a couple guiding limitations for solidifying how the timeloop came to happen; I know we’re free to do literally whatever the hell we want with these stories, but for my own personal gratification I wanted the timeloop to be plausible within the rules and limits of the Forgotten Realms world, as well as in-character for everyone involved. So I researched relevant Realms lore to the best of my ability and just ruminated on it a lot. The ultimate purpose of this writing is to explain what I came up with.
However, as it turns out, that explanation is influenced by about a MILLION different factors, spanning from all the way from Firiel’s backstory through the events of that first playthrough, beginning to end. And it is especially influenced by the nature of her relationship with Gale up to that point. So I need to go through it all from the top.
A few general disclaimers before getting into things:
Obviously, endgame and Gale romance spoiler warning. Also, the way I’ve written this assumes that readers are familiar with Gale's romance and the general story beats of the game already.
Since this was my first playthrough of BG3, I had a very poor grasp on what I was doing and missed a lot of shit, including several companions. So this party consisted of Firiel, Gale, Shadowheart, Astarion, Wyll, Halsin, and Minthara only.
Additionally, Gale joined the party super late (shortly after the tiefling party). Thus, a whole bunch of Gale’s early Act 1 dialogue was missed, and it significantly affected the pacing of his romance path. So in that way, this story is a little out of the ordinary for a Gale romance; if it feels like anything is missing or weird, that might be why.
Alright, strap in; I have been obsessively thinking about this for 16 months and I have a lot to say.
~Dinoweave: the Origin Story~
As established in her backstory, Firiel’s life before the events of the game had caused her to become lowkey (arguably highkey) dead inside. She’d seen and survived a lot during her solo adventuring days, and expected that the long elven life ahead of her was just going to continue to feel like this lengthy, difficult, exhausting grind. It had become exceedingly rare that she was excited, inspired, or taken off-guard by anything.
That said, her travels never really crossed paths with much that was wizard-related. Arcane magic, books, libraries, schools - not her area. At all. So when she pulled former archmage Gale of Waterdeep out of a rock one day, she was COMPLETELY out of her depth. And she felt it; this guy was odd. Not in a bad way, mind - he seemed nice enough, and she figured it would be useful to have someone in the party who was familiar with arcane whatever-the-fuck. But he talked funny. And he ate a necklace. And for all Firiel knew, maybe that’s just what wizards were like! So she sought to understand him more, purely with the pragmatic intention of strengthening their allyship. But deep down, the novelty of Gale’s presence had reignited a long-dormant sense of curiosity that she had lost touch with at some point along the way.
As she was getting to know him, Firiel was particularly struck by how intensely passionate and dedicated Gale was towards magic, and how eager he was to share his love for it. When he offered to show her how to channel the Weave, she was undeniably intrigued and couldn’t help but indulge him. She quickly understood why he felt so strongly about it; it was a beautiful feeling, uplifting, sensual, and peaceful all at once. Firiel reveled in this feeling of peace - it unearthed her deep, rarely-acknowledged desire for respite from the ongoing grind for survival that her life had become. And she relished sharing the moment with Gale, this strange new person with this magnetic spark of enthusiasm that enthralled her so. She leaned into a sudden desire to spend more time with him - wouldn’t it be nice if everything was ok, if they could just relax, get to know each other, go for a walk, hand in hand… Wait, what?
Firiel never could have expected her mind to wander to such a romantic image. It was very rare for her to indulge in idealistic little fantasies like that, especially about a fairly new acquaintance while he could literally see her thoughts. Thus, she was embarrassed. But Gale, while equally taken aback, somewhat eased her humiliation by expressing immediate reassurance and even delight. Firiel may have gotten a little too caught up in the moment for her liking, but nevertheless, that moment with Gale felt… nice.
Time passed, their quest continued. As they got to know each other more, Firiel grew to understand that Gale’s interests expanded well beyond magic: he dearly appreciated a good book, a tasty meal, a quality glass of wine paired with an enjoyable conversation, lanceboard, his cat tressym, the stars, poetry, art, romance... despite being probably the biggest dork she’d ever met, his earnest lust for life was undeniably charming. Attractive, even. Thus, her initial confusion and curiosity towards Gale quickly transformed into fondness and adoration. Each day was difficult and exhausting, and the pressures to find a cure for their tadpoles were inescapable; yet, in spite of herself, spending time with Gale - a lot of which involved listening to him ramble about topics she never expected she’d have any interest in - somehow lifted Firiel out of the drudgery of it all. Gale became her favourite person.
So you can understand how a goddess demanding that he needed to die was more than a little upsetting.
Upon Elminster’s delivery of Mystra’s charge, Firiel - who, up to this point, had presented and maintained a remarkably level head given the circumstances - openly loses her composure. Not Gale. Not this precious, wonderful person that made each day so much more bearable. He could not be condemned to death - that just couldn’t be right. Given their history, Firiel understood why Mystra’s words carried such weight in Gale’s eyes, but she simply refused to accept this fate as an inevitability. There had to be some other way to defeat the Absolute, any other way. And she made a point of telling Gale this; he had become far too important to her to just sit back and allow him to end his own life. Goddess be damned, she was going to fight to keep him alive. After all, she had a particular knack for finding a way to survive.
Gale was a bit perplexed by her obstinance - spitting in the face of a goddess and risking the fate of the world just so he could live another day seemed irrational, illogical, reckless even. Even so, he received the message loud and clear that Firiel cared about him a lot. That glaring fact filled Gale with immense gratitude, and it sparked within him the tiniest bit of reassurance and hope. Their budding relationship meant everything to Gale; after his past year of isolation and regret, their affinity had just started to give him optimism for the future again. He wanted so badly for the two of them to have more time together, to see what their future might hold, to live. But since it seemed like they may not have any time left to waste, he knew he needed to express to Firiel all that he felt about her, fast. He felt the need to do something spectacular, so that she’d see without any doubt exactly how much she meant to him. He put his all into making it perfect.
The auroral night sky he conjured took Firiel’s breath away. When Gale confessed that he was in love with her, the words “I’m in love with you too” fell out of Firiel’s mouth without any hesitation. This mutual declaration filled them both with immense relief, elation, and exhilaration; the undeniable tension of attraction had been building between them for long enough.
Firiel wasn’t exactly sure what Gale meant by “intertwining their spirits in visions of the Weave,” but couldn’t wait to find out. Given the wonderful things she’d experienced by indulging his command of magic up to this point, she had a feeling that whatever Gale had in mind would be, simply put, a good time. And it wasn’t just good; it was sublime. Not only due to the spectacle and sensuality of it all, but the passion. It perfectly aligned with what Firiel loved most about Gale; his depth of feeling, caring, and loving went far beyond anyone she’d ever known. She was hellbent on protecting him, he was too precious to her to die. It wouldn’t be fair.
None of this was fucking fair.
~The Agreement~
Mystra. Shar. Cazador. Mizora. The Absolute, and by extension, the Dead Three. The party was constantly being kicked around by this multitude of disproportionately powerful beings, who disrupted their lives and inflicted immense harm without care for anything but their own power-obsessed agendas. Leaving Firiel and co. with only two options: either fight and fight and fight for their LIVES or roll over and submit. It was unfair. It was exhausting. But fight they did, and despite all odds, they managed to win a fight against the literal god of death. Clearly they were an exceptionally powerful party, it seemed that these gods and god-wannabes were underestimating them. That pissed Firiel right off, and from this spite emerged a budding ambition: to prove to all these fuckers that she wasn’t about to sit by and let them get away with this shit.
Thankfully, while face-to-face with the Elder Brain, Firiel was able to talk Gale down from going through with Mystra’s demands. And he’s very glad that she did; not only because he gets to live another day, but because he recognized the crown on the Elder Brain as the legendary Crown of Karsus. He insisted that they head to Sorcerous Sundries to find out more, which made perfect sense to Firiel - the more information they could gain about what they were up against, the better. But when Gale reads the Annals of Karsus and starts talking about taking control of the crown themselves, she is skeptical. This was clearly an extremely powerful artifact, and it gave her evil vibes; trying to take control of it seemed like a questionable idea. However, she was also aware that arcane whatever-the-fuck like the crown wasn’t her area of expertise; it was Gale’s. Thus, she decided to at least hear him out first.
Gale conjured an illusion of the outer planes to say his piece. “This is where gods dwell, where they observe us from afar. Where they make play-things of us… They only want us to serve them, pray to them, and ultimately to die for them. But what if we didn’t need them? What if we wielded their power instead, and helped ourselves in all the ways they refused to? I could make that happen… with you by my side.”
So Firiel asked: “Are you saying you want to ascend? Claim godhood?”
“No, not like that. I don’t want to join them, I want to better them. A god’s powers paired with a mortal conscience, a mortal heart… The gods could aid us if they wished, but instead they cower behind Ao. So let us act ourselves.
“Tell me you feel the same way. Tell me you want what I want. Please.”
And here’s the thing, chat. That was, basically verbatim, exactly what Firiel wanted. From her perspective, what Gale described was a way to turn her ever-building anger into meaningful action. Because even if they managed to stop this god-incited evil plot, what about the next one? Could they trust Mystra to finally leave Gale alone if they survived all this? What about Shadowheart; who’s to say that Shar wouldn’t find a way to continue to torment her? Cazador isn’t the only vampire lord out there. Mizora is far from the only abusive warlock patron. If they managed to do what Gale described, they might be able to level the playing field, to send a message to all those powers and their ilk that they can’t keep getting away with this.
“I feel the same,” Firiel replied. “Whatever you need of me, consider it done.”
So they push forward with this shared ambition. Gale is thrilled that they are so aligned in thinking, and barely able to contain his excitement about what the future might hold for them. Firiel didn’t immediately abandon all caution, though; as they found out more about the crown and the Karsite Orb, she continued to question Gale to ensure that they weren’t just about to unleash more evil. But his rationale that the power was just a tool - not inherently good or evil, but shaped by the intentions of its wielder - made sense to her. After all, “good" gods and benevolent rulers did exist. And she trusted Gale’s intentions and morals, as well as her own. Even still, others in the party (particularly Shadowheart and Wyll) continued to question if they realized the fire they were playing with. These artifacts did kill Karsus after all, and the orb nearly killed Gale himself not too long ago! But Gale maintained that past failures did not necessarily render the task impossible; in academia, a failed experiment was an opportunity to learn, readjust, and try again. And Firiel? Well, she simply isn’t the type to give up just because the odds were stacked against them. Besides, look at the “impossible” things they’d accomplished together already! They’d defied and battled with literal gods and lived to tell the tale. Nothing was impossible. And after all they’d been put through, she clung to the idea that they needed to at least try to create a future that was better than this.
Ultimately, Firiel’s desire for this better future didn’t stem from a sense of general altruism or idealism; it stemmed from her exhaustion. Life had worn her down, and she’d had enough. The future Gale described sounded like just the respite she longed for; he declared that he would use the crown to create a perfect life for the two of them in the heavens, a realm of pure beauty and endless possibility. They’d be able to do anything they could dream of, and could exist together contentedly for all of eternity. No more burdensome existential threats, no more drudgery, no more exhausting grind for survival. No need to ever confront the drastic lifespan difference between elves and humans. Just time with Gale, peaceful and endless… Firiel yearned for that more than anything. It sounded almost too good to be true, but hey, a lot of the things she'd experienced by Gale’s side seemed too good to be true.
Unfortunately, it actually was this time.
The Elder Brain is defeated. But as the dust settles, Firiel observes that Gale doesn’t seem at all happy or relieved that they’d survived this giant threat; he has complete tunnel vision about obtaining the crown. He’s dropped any pretense that he only wants to better the gods, and is completely fixated on becoming a god himself. The Karsite Orb is glowing out of his chest. This behaviour strikes Firiel as concerning. She asks Gale one final time if he’s absolutely sure that this is what he wants. He’s beyond sure; his course is set. This is what they’d agreed to, there was no backing out now. And ultimately, whatever their future was going to look like - whether they’d be gods, mortals, whatever - Firiel wanted it to be together. So she agrees to become a god by his side.
But she never expected that Gale would just leave. He departs abruptly to go after the crown on his own, promising that he would return to Firiel once it was in hand. Firiel remains behind, confused as all hell. She reminisces about her time with Gale, trying to reconcile that strange, uncharacteristic behaviour he displayed before leaving. She tries to make sense of why he’d choose to retrieve the crown alone after all they’d overcome together. She worries that he might get himself killed on his own, but tries not to even entertain that possibility. He promised that he’d come back for her, and she holds onto that promise for dear life. She waits, stubborn as stubborn can be, holding out hope and trust in the man she loves. She refused to believe he’d completely abandon her after all that happened between them; that would be too unlike the loving, caring Gale that she knew. She wasn’t going to give up on him without definitive proof that he wasn’t coming back.
Six months later, they see each other again at Withers’ reunion party. It’s immediately apparent by appearance alone that Gale has come back VERY different, which stirs some apprehension within Firiel. But that was nothing compared to her overwhelming sense of relief. Changes in appearance and demeanor be damned, he was alive, and had come back with the intention of keeping his promise, just like she’d had faith he would. Finally, after all those obstacles and all that waiting, they would be together.
But her pure relief was very short-lived; anyone else could see that the ways in which Gale had changed should not be dismissed. Tara was mournful of the contrite Gale she once knew, and did not hesitate to call Firiel out for steering him down this path. Elminster, while not in attendance, sent a letter lamenting the sensitive and caring child he once knew. And Firiel couldn’t deny that they were right; this new Gale was prideful, boastful, and self-important to an extent that he hadn’t been before. She also couldn’t deny her hand in making him this way, which stirred a creeping sense of remorse and regret within her. But understanding the extent of her own responsibility was all the more reason that she wasn’t about to abandon Gale now. She resolved that, different or not, worse or not, that was still Gale, the person she loved more than anything. And seeing as he’d held true to his promise, she knew that some part of Gale still loved her, too. So, once the party was finished, they departed for the heavens together.
~After “The End”~
At first, it seemed to Firiel like their life in Elysium was going to work out just fine; they had each other, and Gale’s domain was just as idyllic as he'd once described it would be. But it didn’t take long for the god of ambition to begin expounding on said ambitions; he had his sights set on cultivating enough power to eventually usurp dominion over the Weave from Mystra. And the more he talked about his approach towards this goal (which is outlined in their bad timeline lore), the more Firiel started to put together that he was proposing they do the exact same thing that the gods had once done to them; manipulate mortal lives for their own self-interest. The extra self-importance, she could learn to look past. But this? The way Gale was speaking now, it was as if he’d definitively lost track of who he was and what he once stood for.
She had to speak up.
“So you’re saying… you’re planning to do to mortals what was done to us. Gale, that is exactly what you told me you didn’t want to do. The reason I agreed to reforging the crown in the first place was because we agreed that the way gods treated us was a problem. What happened to ‘wielding a god’s powers with a mortal conscience?’ Those were your words.“
“Ah,” he chuckles, “the priorities of a mortal, to be sure. When I spoke those words, I could not yet comprehend the flawless machinations of divinity, nor the heights I might reach once I embraced them. And neither can you, as you are now. Worry not; once you claim your domain and settle into divine power, you’ll understand. I assure you that in time, you’ll see things the way I do.”
“What!? I don’t want divine power if it’s going to do *gestures to him* this to me!”
“‘This!?’ I became this for you. I achieved this for you! I rose far above what I was and became the powerful, impressive being you see before you. The best version of myself that I could possibly be. And you’re telling me now that it’s still not enough for you?”
Those words stung. Firiel could barely make sense of them. Not enough for me? What the hells is he talking about??? He didn’t have to be a god to be ‘enough’ for me, that had nothing to do with why I agreed to this. Surely he knew that, he knew how much I loved him. He had to know...
Then it finally hit her. The big, grand, romantic gestures. The spectacular displays of magic. The crown, the promises of a perfect life together in the heavens. All of that wasn’t purely Gale’s special way of expressing his love; he had been trying to impress her, to prove himself worthy, just like he’d once tried to prove himself to Mystra by obtaining the orb. And Firiel had been so wrapped up in everything else - her adoration of Gale, the novelty and beauty of his magic, her own anger and exhaustion and frustration - that she failed to make that connection. And this was the result of her ignorance: she’d inadvertently allowed, even encouraged Gale to discard his true self, to become this warped and corrupted semblance of who he once was. She’d failed him. Badly.
What the hells am I supposed to do now???
That was the big question. For a split second, it occurred to Firiel that she could back out of her commitment to Gale and leave the heavens. No. It’s my fault he ended up like this, I’m not abandoning him now. I need to do better for him than that. But she couldn't accept things as they were, either. Like Gale said, if she became a goddess, she would lose her mortal conscience and become the embodiment of everything she hated. So she frantically wracked her brain for any alternative.
Think… What can I do. I’m in the heavens; what are my options. What did Gale tell me about the heavens. He was always talking about the possibilities, the power, that we’d have the ability to do anything we could imagine and more… but the gods never fully used that power because they’re restricted by Ao. I’m not restricted by Ao. Not yet, anyway. If I could just find a way to access anything with that kind of power, I could do… something. I don't know what yet. But there has to be another option for us, and I’m going to find it. I need to make this right somehow.
So she apologized to Gale, acknowledged that he had done all this for her, and assured him that she wasn’t going anywhere. Gale was glad to hear this, but their small altercation kicked his ambition into action; Firiel wasn’t completely satisfied with the life he’d given her yet. The god of ambition still had something to prove.
As Gale’s power as a god started to grow, his signature grand gestures of romance just became more and more impressive. He showed Firiel all the wondrous sights and senses the heavens had to offer, constructed grand works of architecture within his domain just for her, presented her with awe-inspiringly beautiful and mighty artifacts, provided her with every last heavenly luxury at his disposal. But Firiel never reacted quite the way he expected. She always thanked him, sometimes inquired more about the artifacts she was presented with, but never seemed awe-struck, impressed, or even content. She just seemed uncharacteristically cold, distant… sad, even.
That’s because she was sad; to Firiel, every one of Gale’s big, impressive gestures was another reminder of how she’d failed him. On top of that, she felt more frustrated and helpless by the day as no opportunity for “another way” revealed itself. Even though she continued to forgo committing to a domain, her time away from the material plane was affecting her mind and body significantly. Her skin, hair, and eyes start to lose their original colours, gradually converging on a monotonous shade of gold. The longer she stayed in the heavens, the harder it was to hold onto herself; the idea of letting go of her mortality and accepting her circumstances became a little more alluring by the day. But she is nothing if not tenacious - she fought not to let herself give in to this fate with everything that she had.
Firiel’s behavior did not compute in Gale’s god of ambition brain at all. To be a mortal on the precipice of achieving divinity, but so hesitant and indifferent towards claiming it? To be in the literal heavens, showered with beauty and luxury, but still clearly so unsatisfied? He had no idea what could be causing her to act this way, what she could still be missing. But as ambition incarnate, he couldn’t help but be hellbent on proving himself. So he decided to reconsider his approach, to try one final gesture: a proposal of betrothment. A promise of commitment on both sides that Firiel would be free to take or leave. And the ring? A rare magical artifact that would grant her any wish. To Gale, this ring seemed like a mere trifle; however, as a nascent god, Ao’s laws would not yet allow him to share his own power with a mortal directly. But Gale theorized that maybe, just maybe, allowing Firiel to experience wielding this tiny fraction of power for herself would finally be enough to get through to her, to appease her, to ensure that she stayed by his side. He would not give up on his original ambition - for the two of them to share in the glory of divine existence, together.
As Gale presents this ring to her, he says, "Think over your wish very carefully, choose your words precisely, and speak into existence your truest desire. Whatever that may be, you shall have it, my love."
But Firiel barely gave herself time to think. At the end of her rope, she recognizes that this is the opportunity she’d been waiting for, and that she needed to act immediately or risk completely losing herself. In that moment, she brings to mind her memories of Gale as he was while they were first falling in love: earnest, passionate, sensitive. Unabashedly enthusiastic. Deeply caring, deeply loving, and deeply appreciative of the little things. Appreciative of life itself. Without any further hesitation, the words spill from her mouth:
“I wish for the Gale I met back.”
Massive beams of multi-coloured light violently shoot out from the ring. All of reality shakes, then shatters, rearranging itself to accommodate this wish. Firiel alone is falling backwards into a void of blackness. She blinks, and when she opens her eyes she is standing in the middle of Baldur's Gate, surrounded by crowds peacefully going about their day. Firiel barely has time to take in her surroundings before she hears the screams and crashes approaching her from behind. She turns around, and comes face to face with the Nautiloid for a split second before she is snatched up onto the ship.
----
If you read this whole thing, I really really really sincerely cannot thank you enough!!!! I know this was a long one lol. The next bit of Firiel’s lore I’m planning to document is all about her second playthrough, in which things get ~worse~ (and then hopefully better in the end but idk that yet). Anyway, BIG THANK YOU AGAIN I APPRECIATE YOU SEE YOU NEXT TIME!!!!!!!
(The following was originally posted to Instagram back in May 2025 to flesh out the lore of the “bad timeline,” aka how Firiel's story would have gone down if the time loop didn't happen. I'm putting it here as well so all her lore is in one place, and because I realized parts of this are is helpful context to have if you want to read the next part of the lore I'm working on. Discussion of endgame/Gale romance spoilers below.)
The Goddess of Tenacity
“Tenacity is the quality displayed by someone who just won't quit — who keeps trying until they reach their goal.”
I decided a long time ago that tenacity would be Firiel's domain as a goddess. It's definitely her driving quality, and similar to Gale with ambition, tenacity is overall neutral on its own but could be used for either good or evil depending on a person's morals and motives. Gale inspires his followers to aspire for greatness, and Firiel compliments this by inspiring people to keep going when times get tough, to push through difficult and painful situations no matter what.
Gale now embodies ambition, meaning he will always be looking to reach new heights and accumulate power. He has set his sights on eventually usurping control of the Weave from Mystra. Firiel now embodies tenacity, meaning she is literally unable to let go of what she sets her mind to. She has agreed to do whatever it takes to help Gale achieve his goal. They are spiteful, they have tunnel vision, they have lost touch with all other parts of themselves, and they are about to sew unprecedented chaos throughout the Realms.
The Strategy
“In time… Gale Dekarios will cause such division and chaos in these Realms that even the lords of the hells will be aghast to see it.”
-Raphael
Several millennia go by as Gale and Firiel establish themselves as prominent gods in the pantheon. Mystra is a “greater god,” only one step below the highest possible power level a deity can obtain; if they confront her right after their ascension, they would be killed immediately. Gods in the Forgotten Realms gain power proportional to their number of worshippers, so developing their creeds and gaining as many followers as possible would need to be their first priority. They'd have no choice but to play the long game.
While it would be unwise to explicitly ask mortals to join them in the crusade against Mystra (lest they draw the attention of Mystra or Ao for interfering too much), they wouldn't have to. All they’d have to do is share their own stories of how the gods used and manipulated them and their friends, and how they ascended to take matters into their own hands. This would strike a chord with those who had become similarly disillusioned with their gods, causing many to abandon their former deities and become devout to Gale and Firiel instead - after all, they understand what it's like! They're more honest than the other gods! Surely they're saying all this to help and empower mortals, and definitely not because it's in their own self-interest…
It's definitely for their own self-interest. Turning people away from the other gods will cut into those deities’ power as theirs grows. What's more, their following of ambitious and tenacious mortals would definitely start shit; many would want to gain power or take revenge against the gods that wronged them, just as Gale and Firiel did. Over time, this would plunge the Realms into an era of conflict, chaos, and war. Gods and mortals would be sundered, lives would be destroyed - but to Gale and Firiel, all of this is just a necessity to their cause.
The End
“The god of ambition will challenge the other gods and will try to consume them. The galerian weave will try to consume Mystra’s arcane weave and anything tied to it, anything that is not its creator is mere sustenance for it…
You're his, his partner, his enabler. You're the power that allowed for this to happen. You're the magic he's lost to the Karsite weave so long ago…
How long until the orb and the weave will consume you, like it consumed Gale's own powers simply for not being Karsus himself so long ago, all while he simply watches on, endlessly pursuing power and striving for more?”
-Tumblr user tragedies-keep-me-afloat on the Gale and Tav ascension ending
With so much conflict now going on between the planes, it's hard to say for certain which parties would come out victorious in the end. But let's just say, for the sake of this little project, that Gale and Firiel succeed in all their endeavors up to this point. After gaining enough of a following and causing droves of mortals to turn away from the other gods, the next step would be to start directly challenging these gods themselves. As the god of ambition fused with the Karsite orb, Gale would begin challenging deities weaker than himself, absorbing their domains and power one by one. Until one day he can finally succeed in challenging Mystra, as they'd set out to do since the beginning.
…then what? He's still ambition incarnate, so he has to strive for more. He's still fused with that hungry orb that needs to feed on power to be satiated and stabilized. He will not stop at Mystra - he will go after the power of every other god in the pantheon. Even Ao.
And even Firiel.
As the goddess of tenacity, Firiel would put up a very good fight; however, after taking over the domains of all those other gods, Gale would ultimately have the edge in this confrontation. And some part of Firiel had known for a very long time that it was always going to end this way.
Gales God ending is surface level cute. It's one of the endings you can rationalize rather well compared to another one of his endings. But lord, they did not play around with the symbolism. He gets to tell Mystra off and becomes a legitimate threat to her, yes sure he dips for a few months essentially ghosting you, the same way she did to him, but hey. He came back. And he even makes you a god himself. You get a cute little hug on that platform. You are wearing matching outfits. Some nice, glowy blue light surrounds you.
Except that's not just some light. It's shaped like the scar on his chest. The Karsite orb, and its weave, the weave you're now calling Galerian weave. You are both standing inside of it, surrounded by it.
Yes, one could assume that the purpose of that is because he intends to share it with you, but he's the god of Ambition and the Karsite weave has been known to be hungry, to feed off the real weave, to feed off Gales own powers. It's the reason he had to consume raw magic. The weave obliterates everything if you let it, and if it won't do that, then it will consume. That's not just some flashy light. The god of ambition will challenge the other gods and will try to consume them. The galerian weave will try to consume Mystras arcane weave and anything tied to it, anything that is not its creator is mere sustenance for it. You are stuck with him, in that weave, in that net of ambition and destruction. He already turned his back on everything he's loved as a mortal, everything but you. But now you're trapped there, with him. It may be cute matching outfits, but it also symbolises your union. You are one, for one reason or another. You're his, his partner, his enabler. You're the power that allowed for this to happen. You're the magic he's lost to the Karsite weave so long ago.
How long will it be until he tries to take your powers again? How long until his weave will try to consume you?
How long until the orb and the weave will consume you, like it consumed Gales own powers simply for not being Karsus himself so long ago, all while he simply watches on, endlessly pursuing power and striving for more?
Ascended Gale and ascended Astarion are the two sides of one coin. One is willing to let himself be consumed for his "love", the other one is willing to consume them. They're both tragedies, but they compliment each other oh so well. (Yeah no I can see why I love their romances so much now, sweet hells larian what have you done. Thank you)
Firiel's Lore Part One: Character Inspiration and Backstory
All the odds are stacked against us. By all logic I should have stopped trying a long time ago. Powers way bigger than myself are pulling all the strings, disrupting the lives of us little folk for the sake of their so-called grand designs, without even a second thought. And yet, for some reason, I keep fighting for… something. Happiness? Contentment? Are those even really possible? Not sure, wouldn’t know. But for better or worse, I don’t seem to be able to stop trying.
Hi. So if the not-so-subtle favouritism toward her on my Instagram didn’t make it clear, Firiel is my favourite RPG character that I’ve ever created. By far. Bar none. Even during the 4-month hiatus between her two playthroughs, I thought about her every day, and still do. One of the main reasons I decided to start a BG3 account in the first place was because it was wigging me out that I was the only one who knew anything about this character; (I think I was really missing the aspect of tabletop RPGs where you get to bond over your silly little guys with a group of friends) but now, thanks to the absolutely INCREDIBLE WONDERFUL BEAUTIFUL BG3 community on Instagram, she now actually exists in other people’s brains too, which is more gratifying than I could put into words (I actually tear up about it sometimes, not even kidding).
But why her? I’ve made MANY different RPG characters over the years, all of which I love very dearly; so what is it about Firiel and her story that has me tweaking out and hyperfixating like a maniac and crying waaaay more than I should about a fictional character that I made up? The short answer is that I probably (definitely) need therapy. The slightly longer answer is that this character’s story, more than any other, feels very much like an artistic passion project to me; like I have things to say and feelings to express, and for some reason the medium through which it’s all coming out is Baldur’s Gate 3. So through this little series of posts that I’m putting together, I want to expand on her lore, share some background, and try to put into words why exactly Firiel is so special to me, in the hope that it resonates with the handful of people out there who have also become invested in her whole thing.
Character inspiration
Ok, I’m gonna do something that I really didn’t want to do, but think I have to in order to contextualize everything that follows: talk about myself. I definitely don’t want to get into details about my personal life too much, but I will say this - the past five years of my life have been notably chaotic. It has felt like every time I think I find some sense of stability or certainty or hope of progressing and building in life, some kind of major wrench gets thrown into the plan and I gotta scramble to make something else work, over and over, again and again. And I know I’m far from alone in this experience, because I’ve watched many of the people closest to me go through the exact same shitty cycle right next to me in different forms; things seem ok enough to make progress in life, the rug gets pulled from under us, we scramble, and we somehow get through it and make something work - wash, rinse, repeat. Sometimes it’s been because of unpredictable circumstances outside of anyone’s control (*ahem* UNPRECEDENTED TIMES, for example). Sometimes it’s because someone in our life that we were counting on lets us down. Sometimes it’s because we learn something crucial about ourselves that we didn’t realize before, and it changes the entire trajectory of our life plan! And a LOT of the time it’s just because, for lack of better phrasing, it’s fuckin’ rough out here; life is messy and chaotic, and the world we live in often feels harsh and confusing and unfair.
This cycle is frustrating, disappointing, infuriating, and exhausting. It creates a feeling of stagnation, or of constantly restarting or getting sent backwards over and over. It feels that whatever you're after - your dreams, goals, certainty, contentment - is somehow always being denied or pushed further out of reach, despite any and all of your best efforts. And yet, even though we’ve been through this cycle countless times and know that we’ll probably go through it countless more, we pick ourselves up and keep going - keep trying - every time. Because we gotta.
Ok, back to Baldur’s Gate 3! Yes, this is still about Baldur’s Gate 3, I swear. When I booted up this game for the first time, Firiel was basically a blank slate; I had no backstory in mind, and barely any characterization. All I knew was that I wanted to try playing as a druid because my friend showed me the wild shape mechanic and it looked fun. But as I played the game, without me even consciously intending it, her character concept became very solid and clear: what if there was a person who had gone through that same cycle I’d experienced - stumbling through life, constantly adapting to whatever new wild obstacle gets thrown at her - but for centuries? Thus, she’s an exhausted mess.
Backstory (or at least some of it)
Aptly enough, Firiel’s backstory is also a bit of a mess, and that’s why I’ve only released little tidbits at a time so far (I honestly think that if I WERE to write out every detail in my brain it would be a nightmare to write and read, so I’ll spare us all). I think it also might be a bit weird as Dnd backstories go; normally I’d be like, “this is how the character grew up, these are the key events and/or traumas that shaped them, bada bing bada boom it’s a backstory.” But the way Firiel’s backstory has shaped her is less about a few key, significant events and more about a constant, steady drip of less-than-ideal situations that span her entire life.
In summation, Firiel has barely known a feeling of being content and settled in all 227 of her years. From childhood, she was strongly, innately drawn to the natural world and grew up with an unrelenting feeling of restlessness and dissatisfaction while living in the urban setting of Baldur’s Gate. She became an outlander by choice, forgoing urban comforts to live a life of literal survival mode as soon as she reached adulthood. She spent over a century just scraping by in the wilds of Faerûn, never staying in one place for very long, with the intention of figuring out who she was and what she actually wanted out of life. She’s seen a lot of things and been a lot of people; a vagabond, a nomad, a solitary traveller, a druid, an adventurer, a functional alcoholic, and above all: an aimless wanderer that has no real idea of what she should be doing.
For better or for worse, this outlander lifestyle that Firiel chose meant that facing frequent survival threats were just kinda part of the deal (i.e. enduring the elements, occasional scarcity of food and/or water, limited GP, and of course the various beasts and monsters that are out and about in the wilds of Faerûn). On the positive side, living that way for so long gave her an unwavering sense of confidence and competence when dealing with difficult situations, because there’s something to be said for proving to yourself over and over that you can survive hard things. That being said, when one is living in daily survival mode like this, it’s all too easy to become weighed down by the exhaustion of it all. By a certain point, her emotional responses to threats became almost completely dulled down; she no longer felt much shock or fear or any effects of adrenaline, just “oh, I guess I gotta deal with this new fresh hell now” (which is pretty much what it’s felt like to be alive in the 2020’s, wouldn’t you agree?). And this dulling down of her emotional experience cut both ways; at a certain point on an endless emotional rollercoaster you just stop reacting, even to the fun parts. Her sense of novelty, enthusiasm, or enjoyment towards life became pretty much shot. Her survival was being driven more by habit than by passion; the active desire to keep living was still in there somewhere but had been pushed waaay down by many layers of exhaustion and disillusionment that had built up from the life she’d led.
Oh yeah, and let’s also not forget that she’s an elf! Meaning she’s already been alive over 200 years and has about 500-600 years left if all goes well. Given her life experience so far, her relationship with her long lifespan is a bit complicated; she doesn’t actively want to die, but she has also completely lost track of why she fights so hard to keep living, and as such, the prospect of another 5 to 6 centuries of going through the motions and being exhausted all the time doesn’t fill her with much optimism. But she keeps going anyway. Because we gotta.
And that’s all BEFORE the start of the damn game.
Playthrough #1 (or at least a tiny bit of it)
Remember that cycle I was talking about at the beginning? Life throws a wrench, you scramble, you somehow make it work, repeat? No matter who the Tav is, the plot of this game intrinsically represents that cycle pretty damn well; being abducted by a nautiloid ship and having a mind flayer tadpole forced into your head is a pretty big wrench to be thrown into a person’s life, and boy does Tav ever have to scramble to make things work from there. Firiel initially tries to take the situation in stride, calmly and pragmatically keeping focused on the tasks at hand, just pushing through until it’s over; that’s the way she’s accustomed to living, after all. From there, her experience of the game’s plot can be VERY briefly summarized as follows:
Gotta find a healer. Oh, a healer won’t help? Dammit. Ok. Gotta look for answers at Moonrise Towers, I guess. Oh, it’s a giant Elder Brain being controlled by the Chosen of the Dead Three? It threatens to create an army of mind flayers and take over the sword coast? Fuck. Ok. Someone’s gotta deal with that, guess we will. Oh, on top of all that, Mystra and Shar and Mizora and Cazador and Raphael this suspicious Emperor guy all have opinions and are trying to take advantage of the situation by using and abusing my friends and loved ones in their own plays for power? Causing them immense suffering, making everything harder? As if life wasn’t already hard enough?
Fuck. That.
By Act 3, girl has had ENOUGH. She’s more exhausted than ever, this is all way above her pay grade, all these manipulative, abusive, and power-hungry adversaries have her SEETHING… and she kind of snaps. And that creates a whole new set of fresh hells for her to deal with.
Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for part two. We’re gonna talk time loops.
(ONE DAY I will post a comprehensive lore post for Tumblr that explains what's happening here. But for now, if you don't know already, it's explained in my pinned Instagram posts @bg3.brainrot)
So I read up on what elves actually experience in their trances according to Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes and... it wounded me deeply. This would be in Act 2 of playthrough 2, the night before storming Moonrise Towers, and Firiel is feeling the pressure because she knows Gale is about to see that damn crown again. So she tries to explain what she's feeling in a way that doesn't give away the whole time loop thing (she thinks it would be HELLA RISKY to tell Gale she's seen him become a god, like he might speedrun the decision to go after the crown if he knew it was possible), but Gale is of course like ☝️🤓 when she phrases it as having a "dream". The thing is she isn't lying, she'd be meditating on and analyzing everything that happened to them last time in an attempt to figure out what not to do this time. Somebody sedate me already. 😭
Purge: a funny bit that turned into a legit tragedy
This is my Durge. Her name is Purge. She's based on the character Pearl from the movie Pearl. She's a barbarian, embrace durge, chaotic evil. This character honestly started out as a bit, but as I found out during her playthrough, the parallels between the stories of Pearl and the Dark Urge are very real and the resulting story was more tragic than I ever could have expected. So lemme break it all down.
I only knew snippets of the Dark Urge story when I thought of Purge as a concept - I really only knew that they were a Bhaalspawn and had seen their introduction monologue. The vibes of that monologue strongly reminded me of the movie Pearl; a killer who really doesn't want to be a killer, but something inside of them calls them to it against their will. Thus, the idea for Purge was born.
Lemme quickly sum up the movie for context: Pearl is an isolated farm girl that dreams of escaping her family's farm and dancing in the movies. She wants to be loved and adored by the masses like the "pretty girls in the pictures." Unfortunately, she's very obviously not OK in the head; she starts by killing small animals when she thinks no one is looking, and the more desperate she becomes to escape the farm and live out her dreams, the more she kills - and in her own words, the more "meaningful" her murders become. There's a FANTASTIC, chilling, extremely tense scene where her mother confronts her about "the things she does when she thinks no one is looking," basically doubling down on Pearl's deep dark fear that there is just something innately wrong with her and she'll never be adored in the way that she so desperately desires. And after she isn't selected at a dance audition that she sees as the one shot at her dreams, she crumbles and resigns herself to "making the best of what she has," which she expresses to her sister-in-law right before murdering her with an axe. There's a LOT more I could say about this movie but will hold back. I highly recommend watching it if you haven't already, it's truly a brilliant piece of art.
So, I bring up those scenes with the mom and the sister-in-law because they parallel the "nature vs. nurture" themes that are so prevalent in the Dark Urge's story; does this character - who was literally created for the sole purpose of being a murderer and being really, really good at it - resist and rise above what they were created to be? Or do they embrace the urge, resigning themselves to the purpose Bhaal intended for them? It's established pretty early on in the game that killing feels GREAT for Durge, so one could argue that embracing the urge is the "path of least resistance." But their introduction monologue and lines like "Was I sweet once?" make it clear that Durge does have a conscience and understands morality! And that's what makes the choice of embracing vs. resisting the urge a genuine conflict!
So, with all that said, let's talk about Purge. For the first half of the game, she was a resist Durge. She wakes up only knowing two things about herself; that she's tortured by murderous impulses, and that she desperately wants to be loved. Everyone wants to be loved, but I mean she would do anything, for any reason, to be loved by anyone. Unfortunately, she's also prone to uncontrollable acts of murder and fits of rage which aren't exactly well-received by everyone. She kills a squirrel out of nowhere right in front of all her friends! That's not a good look! So the urges, even though they feel great to embrace (like she's "letting loose," if you will), are ultimately a source of great shame for her.
Given the context for this playthrough, I think the Alfira incident serendipitously works really well into Purge's story. Alfira is the epitome of what Purge wants to be, a beautiful and kind-hearted bard (SHE'S A STARRR!!!). So even though the in-game canon is that Durge kills Alfira unconsciously, it makes sense for Purge that her urges would subconsciously pick Alfira is a target. It sets up that Purge sees other people getting what she wants as her competition, and will literally kill to "win"... foreshadowing her eventual rivalry with Orin. Oh look, another parallel to the movie! Killing a sister figure! Who happens to be blonde! Wow!!!
I also went into the game knowing with absolute certainty that Purge would be romancing Wyll. First of all, he likes to dance. So does Pearl. Self-explanatory. But also, the parallels between Wyll and Pearl's husband Howard from the movie are UNCANNY. Both characters come from a well-off, high-status, comfortable background. Both have hearts of gold and make decisions that lead to them leaving their comfortable lives behind for what they think is the greater good. And both are incredibly forgiving of their batshit insane partners, willing to stick with them and make things work despite their many, MANY dangerous red flags (for context: Pearl is a prequel to a movie called X, in which Howard and Pearl are STILL TOGETHER 60 years later even though Howard KNOWS all that Pearl has done). Meanwhile, both Pearl and Purge are attracted to their partners because their comfortable, high status backgrounds promise the validation and lifestyle that they so desperately crave. Pearl and Purge also both know that their partners are objectively better people than them, and are grateful for their love despite feeling like they don't deserve it deep down.
Despite all these parallels, I came up against one major contradiction when playing as a Pearl-inspired character in a Dnd world - the concept of killing, in a vacuum, isn't nearly as frowned upon in the Forgotten Realms as it is in 1910's America 😆. As a player, I was not at all expecting the companions to be so forgiving and understanding when it comes to Durge. This makes me think that maybe in another life, Purge actually could have been a fully resist Durge because the acceptance and patience of Wyll and her companions would be enough to fulfill and heal her desperation for love. Sadly, this is not the way things went; it broke down completely the moment she learned that she was the child of Bhaal. After all, what could be more satisfying validation than having the blessing and approval of a literal god? As Bhaal's chosen, she would finally be the "star" she always dreamed of being! Furthermore, she could comfortably stop fighting the urges that caused her so much internal conflict, embracing who she was created to be; in her eyes, she would be "making the best of what she has," or rather, what she is. From there, Purge's fate was tragically sealed.
So obviously by Act 3 she has fully embraced the dark urge; she becomes an unholy assassin, kills Orin, becomes Bhaal's chosen, all much to the chagrin of Wyll (but he still proposes to her anyway 🤦♀️). Cut to the end; she betrays Orpheus and takes the Crown of Karsus in the name of Bhaal. Her first murder in her father's name is Wyll, who's final words are "I forgive you," because of course they are. Too forgiving for his own good, right up to the very end 😭.
The game ends with a vision of the future from Bhaal himself of Purge alone, the last being alive, surrounded by piles of bodies as far as the eye can see. The final line from the narrator in this scene shook me to my core: "Then, and only then, father will be proud." Thus, the tragedy of Purge is this; she only wanted to be loved, and she was. She was loved by her companions, who expressed their faith in her on multiple occasions, encouraging her to rise above what she was made for and fight the urges. She was loved by Wyll, who wanted to share his life with her despite all she had done, and forgave her even when she had done the unforgivable. But instead she chased the love of her father, the glory and validation of being a god's chosen, killing all the people who already loved her in the process. Only to find out that Bhaal still won't extend the love she was chasing until all life is eradicated... presumably including her own.
(Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate you! 💜)
First post is gonna be a Tav introduction post because of course lol. Firiel (she/her) is a wood elf Circle of the Land druid, my first and favourite Tav. If you're here from Instagram, you've probably seen her: she's the one that looks like if Princess Fiona was dead inside. Always tired. Loves her malewife Gale. Can turn into a dinosaur. Shares a soul with Charlie the Unicorn. Yeah.
Fun fact: I had absolutely no backstory in mind for Firiel when I started BG3, I just knew I wanted to try playing as a druid 😆. But now I have 200+ years of her backstory knocking around in my head, most of which is just a bunch of mundane, overly specific details that would be frankly overwhelming/probably not super interesting to write and read! So instead of writing out a whole novel in one blog post, I'm gonna start with this: here is how Firiel would explain her own backstory if you or a companion asked her about it in Act 1.
"Not sure how much there is to tell; I was born and raised in Baldur's Gate. Honestly haven't done much with my life, other than walking around in the woods for a century or so. Became a druid in that time, among other things. Found an enclave in the High Forest to train me. Didn't stay long though, it was fine but there was a change in leadership that... let's just say didn't agree with me. After that I just kind of wandered, picked up odd adventuring jobs. Living off the land can get you pretty far, but gold is still nice to have. Also, I needed something to do. Probably almost died more times than I could count on my fingers. Sure, there are stories I could tell, but you'll have to get a couple drinks into me first. Honestly, I don't really know how or why I'm still alive after all that, but there's no sense in overthinking it; I'm still here and that's all that matters."
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I assume most of you are here from Instagram if you're reading this, but just in case this reaches other people: Check out the Insta! I've made a lot of memes about Firiel, all the companions, some other Tavs/Durges I've made, and more! It's a fun time! https://www.instagram.com/bg3.brainrot?igsh=MXMzaGR6b3BlZWk0bA==
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