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 @charmedcleric , thank you so much <3 and sorry for the delay. I had a very busy week.
Tagging (no pressure of course): @devilhishoka , @elspethdekarios , @auspex-author , @voloslobotomyservice , and whoever wanna do it.
Elamszar Barrison Del'Armgo
Baby:
Parents
- Elamszar parents are Uthegentel and Taayrul Armgo. His father serves as House Patron and as House Weapon Master and his mother is High Priestess of Lolth and daughter of Mez'Barris, she's described as strong and beautiful.
Birth
- Elamszar was born into the second house of Menzoberranzan. He is the illegitimate son of Taayrul, as she had a love affair with his mother's patron, who had chosen him to give life to an army of strong and enormous warriors. As soon as he was born, his grandmother wanted to sacrifice him to Lolth, but Taayrul, still weak from childbirth, rose from the bed, snatching him from Mez'Barris' hands. Elamszar is the first child that the High Priestess has managed to have: she has had too many miscarriages with her official husband and she could not let Elamszar go so easily. Furthermore, the woman has showered him with a love so deep that it clashes with the rigid culture of Menzoberranzan, but also with Mez'Barris herself, often described as a fierce warrior. Elamszar's peculiarities are not only his size, inherited from Uthegentel, but his grandmother's big eyes.
First word / Tantrum / When they first walked / First sickness
- Like most children, his first word was "mummy", grabbing her cheeks with his little hands and kissing the tip of her nose, before calling her mummy. He was always fond of his mother, to the point of being ready to sacrifice himself for her and his half-sisters. However, now he addresses Taayrul by her title, only in private he calls her mother.
- He started walking quite quickly: initially, he crawled, then stood up on his little legs when he managed to find a support base or something he could grab to find the balance to be able to lift himself up. In fact, his curious nature pushed him to immediately learn to be able to move freely, using his lower limbs, going so far as to worry his nurses, as well as his mother and his stepfather.
- Elamszar never threw tantrums, often being obedient when his mother. He has always shown a sunny character, as well as being lively. However, if anyone in the house told him to stay still, he would instantly freeze, paying attention to whoever was speaking. Compared to the other children of the house, he showed respect, as well as obedience, to those who were older, especially towards Taayrul, Elherd (his stepfather), but also towards Mez'Barris and his natural father, who saw in him the perfect soldier, loyal to the Barrison Del' Armgo house.
Childhood:
Friends
- His friend is Tristan, who is seven years younger than him, the boy who slashed his face with his rapier. They often wander around Menzoberranzan, especially wandering around the Bazaar, or in the Duthcloim district. Another person he considers his friend (or rather his best friend) is Ilharess, his half-sister and priestess of Lolth, who died at the hands of T'risstree during the night of the extermination of the Qilin house. Losing her, left a huge void in his chest, holding himself responsible for her death.
Siblings
- Elamszar has four half-sisters younger than him: Ilharess, Narcelia, G'eldshalee and Jezsandra and they are all priestesses of Lolth. Indeed, they represent Mez'Barris pride and love, as well as her deep devotion to Lolth, as she sees them all as a blessing from the Spider Queen. Elmaszar loves them with all his heart and doesn't care if they have two different fathers. Differently from him, they have a small appearance, a long-limbed body and toned muscles: they also are good warriors, who fight alongside the strong and valiant warriors of the Barrison Del'Armgo house.
Getting into trouble
- Elamszar doesn't like getting into trouble, especially so as not to stain the name of his house. The only time he really got into trouble was with Tristan, when they were still inexperienced kids: they managed to steal from a stall of the Bazaar before being stopped by some guards patrolling the area. Being noble, they only had a telling-off, as well as bringing the goods back to the owner of the stall. Returning home, Mez'Barris punished him with whippings on his back, as that behavior had particularly offended her.
Birthday
- As a male drow he has no right to celebrate his birthday.
Games / Learning something new
- When he was younger, he played hide and seek or with dolls with his sisters and other young members of the house. His stepfather taught him sava, which is a game similar to chess that, as an adult, Elamszar plays mainly in taverns, challenging some drow or travelers who spend the night there.
Trauma
- His greatest trauma was when Maz'Barris made him realize that he didn't have the same value to her as her other grandchildren or children in general. His grandmother vomited words of hatred at him: "You are the rotten fruit of a filthy love. If your mother hadn't been so attached to you, I would have killed you as soon as you uttered your first cry. I would have sacrificed you to our goddess… But no, your mother had to snatch you from my hands. However, I look forward to seeing you succumb in one of the battles you'll take part in, if not in Melee-Magthere, or walking through Menzoberranzan. We drow have long lives and I will see you perish, Elamszar, and when they bring me your body I will laugh until I am sick, then I will throw you into the abyss of Clawrift. I will also erase your name from our family tree. In fact, I never wrote it down." It was precisely because of Mez'Barris' threats that his mother tattooed those runes on his face, hoping that nothing bad would happen to her son.
Teenager:
First love
- It wasn't real love, it was more of a sexual relationship. She was a girl from his same school, Melee-Magthere. They met mainly in the evening, at the end of training, talking occasionally, but often having sex. Now that he is an adult, he has forgotten her name.
Rebellion / Running away
- Rebelling against Mez'Barriso or Lolth was a suicide in both cases. Since he was a Barrison Del'Armgo, he had to behave as befitted one of his rank, without complaining or disobeying the orders. After all, he was born to be a warrior.
Reckless behavior
- As a result of being mistreated by his grandmother, Elamszar developed an irascible and choleric character, lashing out at everyone. Not only did he fight with the other guys both in the school and in the house, he also spewed words so full of hatred at them that he could have competed with Mez'Barris.
Peer pressure
- It was always he who put pressure on himself to improve and become an excellent warrior, to finally be loved by his grandmother. He would have done everything to shine before her eyes, to make her understand that he was loyal to her and her house, that he would have given his heart to Lolth too, becoming even a paladin if life would lead him towards that path. He would sacrifice his desires and life to please the Matron Mother. However, all his efforts were useless in the end. You cannot make a poisoned and black heart into a polished and shining diamond, completely healed from betrayal.
Taking responsibility
- He has always taken on his responsibilities since he was a kid, taking care of his sisters or training until his muscles hurt. He not only wanted to please his grandmother, but also his parents and his real father.
Adulthood:
Their “first time”
- As I said above, he had his first experience when he was still a teenager. He doesn't remember the young woman's name, but the sexual intercourse was truly fantastic, leaving him completely satisfied and drained. Sure enough, he lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling as she held him, thinking that Elamszar loved her. He was only interested in reaching the maximum pleasure, the rest didn't matter until he met the love of his life, whom he filled with cuddles and kisses, moreover, he feared hurting her with his enormous size.
Serious relationships
- His first true love was Franceska Qilin. He fell in love with her as soon as she entered the parlor, when his grandmother was trying to weave an alliance with this house to overpower the Baenre. In fact, the Matron Mother had proposed him as a patron for T'risstree's youngest daughter and T'risstree had accepted him, suggesting the boy to follow the girl to the balcony. Despite the huge scar on the young woman's face, he thought she was beautiful and loved chatting with her, as well as enjoying her company. In fact, the girl immediately struck his heart, dragging him into a vortex of obsession, as well as passion that immediately consumed him. They met in the evening, in various taverns where he booked a room. Going to each other's house could be seen as an attack, so they had a way of seeing each other that way, making love all night long. He loved kissing her lips, losing himself in the scent and warmth of her body, resting his head on her chest and listening to her heartbeat, while Franceska dipped her hand in his fluffy, wavy hair, telling Elamszar how much she loved him. He couldn't live without her by his side.
Work
- Initially, he served as a guard in the Duthcloim district, patrolling the entire area, making sure no one did any harm inside the Bazaar. It was a choice made by Mez'Barris to denigrate him, as he considered him unfit to protect the house: his mere existence made it filthy. In response, Elamszar accepted the job willingly as it kept him away from the palace and from his grandmother, allowing him to enjoy the city as best he could, together with his colleagues who made the working hours quite carefree. However, Uthegentel did not agree with the choice of Mez'Barris who, convinced by him, called him back to the ranks of her better warriors. After all, he was still a member of the house and could not be a simple guard who made the streets of the districts safe. Thus, he began his work as a sentry on the walls of the house, training repeatedly so that he could better protect his family, as well as also becoming a paladin due to his total devotion to the goddess Lolth, taking the Oath of Vengeance, making his mother extremely proud.
Leaving home
- He never dared to leave his home and his beloved city. The only moment in which he found the courage was years after the extermination of the Qilin house: trapped in an engagement with Tristan's sister and by the needs of his grandmother, he decided to leave the house to go in search of the woman he loved. After all, it was he who had helped Franceska to leave Menzoberranzan unharmed, also aided by the guards who had once been his friends and colleagues. So, now, he intended to get on her trail, hoping to have his forgiveness because he had killed her mother and other members of her family that damned night, when the Baenre, threatening the Barrison Del' Armgo, had to march against this house: a massacre that he has never forgiven himself.
Aging
- He is 155 years old, so how can he think about when he will be old? But will he be able to grow old without first receiving a stab in the back? Just getting to this age to be an illegitimate son is a lot.
Finding your place
- He believed his place was the Barrison Del' Armgo house, the palace in Qu'ellarz'orl district, and Menzoberranzan, the city of Spiders. Now that he has left the Underdark to follow Franceska's steps, he doesn't know exactly where he belongs. He only knows that he must reach her, hoping to be able to have a life with her, to be able to love her as he once did, to be able to have her long-desired forgiveness… he feels so lost and so alone.
Staring a family/found family
- He left his family behind, in the darkness of the Underdark. Now he has nothing but a great hope in his heart: he wants her by his side, in his life and to have that family that he and Franceska had imagined in their long nightly chats. Would he have had this if he had reached her, if she had loved him as she once did? This thought excited him, yet the fear of being hated for what he had done tormented him, making him want to go back. Yet he knew that in Menzoberranzan there was nothing for him except Mez'Barris's resentment and Sybil, the woman he considered stupid and useless.