I love exploring storylines that involve a parental figure that isn't really a parent/blood relative and a child, and there's a special place in my heart for how Neverwinters Nights 2 handled it.
So, there's this cold, albeit respectful relationship between the step father Daeghun and your character. There's always been some distance between the two of you. He takes good care of you, he trains you, he doesn't disappear for weeks or anything like that, but he doesn't really love you (though, truth be told, he simply can't realize the feeling he has for you), and you're left wondering what's the reason for this coldness.
He trusts in your abilities thus he sends you on a dangerous quest. He doesn't look concerned in the slightest, so, after you experience a series of hardships, it's astonishing to see your uncle, Duncan, being Daeghun's opposite - welcoming, loud, more honest. The contrast between them is so striking that you may feel more at home with this unknown uncle than the stepfather you've known all your life.
Then, after even more challenges and mortal perils, when you are faced with a war, when you're literally made into a weapon to win this war, Daeghun finally shows up again, but he's still unable to admit his worry for you. He still sees you as the reason he's lost everything he held dear once. But he starts understanding that the quest he's sent you on will eventually kill you. He sees you standing side by side with Ammon Jerro, a former enemy turned ally, and he GETS that you're rubbing shoulders with sorcerers and murderers WAY beyond your level, and these people will destroy you. So Daeghun begins looking after you. He realized he put your life on the line.
And then, and only then, when you're proclaimed dead, Daeghun actually wakes up. He sees you only when you're out of his sight. He gets what the role of the father is only when he loses his child. And that's the beauty and the tragedy of this whole relationship.
Okay so I feel like Daeghun doesn’t get enough love, which is a shame because I feel like he’s such a complex character. Sadly there’s not enough of him in the game.
But, I feel like the way Daeghun feels about his shard (that he hid) ,is very similar to the way he feels about the KC. “I didn’t want to keep it close. But I couldn’t bear to cast it away.”
Daeghun is very distant to the KC, both emotionally and physically (he is often away on hunting trips),that much is clear.
I tend to headcanon that Daeghun often leaves the KC alone because it’s hard for him to be around them. They’re too much of a bitter reminder of death.
But at the same time, he keeps them in West Harbor ( before the events of the game) because sub-consciously he doesn’t want them leave him. They’re one of his only reminders of his late friend, and wife. He doesn’t realise this,obviously. He’s unconsciously selfish.
I could honestly talk about Daeghun for hours. And this post was abit too short and rambly for me to get everything out at once. Ill post a super in-detail post about Daeghun another time.
Daeghun and Duncan reuniting when your KC returns after MotB!
Raucous cheers and the hearty clinking of glass soon followed the return of the lost Knight Captain of Crossroad Keep.
The Phoenix Tail Inn had never been this crowded, Sal observed. Between cleaning up after rowdy greycloaks and breaking up Khelgar's fifth brawl this evening, there wasn't enough of the old bartender to go around. Still, he couldn't help but feel the weight lifted from his heavy shoulders just a little; a weight he hadn't realized was there in the first place until it was gone. And by the looks of it, he wasn't the only one experiencing this through the joyous reunion.
Bright cheery faces, tearful recognition, awed voices breathing out words they never thought they'd utter: "Knight Captain - you're alive."
Duncan Farlong, determined to give Khelgar a run for his money, battled to carve a path in the crowd. If anyone knew what was good for them, they quickly learned to step aside or at least duck so that Duncan could charge his way through. "Out of the way, coming through-- step aside there--" Before long, the scruffy half-elf seized the hero in a fierce welcoming squeeze of a hug.
Sal smiled, the corners of his beard rising with the curve of his lips, and he shook his head. Some things never change. Duncan would storm through hell and fury to get to his lost kin - the kin he never gave up hopes on seeing again, despite firm declarations and mockery aimed at his insistence. And he was right. By the gods, he was right. He watched the slight glint entering Duncan's eyes, the subtle swipe of his fingers across his cheeks when he thought nobody was looking. And that warm, lopsided grin never left his face. Not even for a moment.
But before long, it was time for Duncan to move on. The companions practically dogpiled the poor weary hero in their elation to reunite, and this time it was his turn to dodge or be trampled. Any further shared sentiment with the Knight Captain could wait until they caught enough breath to speak.
The only thing missing from this heartwarming scene was--
A half-shadowed silhouette stood just outside of the threshold of the establishment. The enigmatic elf laid a hand on the doorjamb as he observed the merriment within. It was uncertain if Daeghun stood there, simply content to watch, or out of hesitance. Anxiety. Disbelief... Alienation?
He blinked slowly, his face as unreadable as ever, and Sal caught the movement of his gaze as he scanned the scene. Daeghun took a partial step backwards, half-turning to leave. There was... an expression there of some kind, but it had been so long since the elf had expressed anything other than cold finality and a profound grief bottled up behind a mask of detached resignation. What was it?
But Daeghun couldn't quietly slip away into the woods and dissolve into his surroundings this time. An instance of pure fate stopped him in his tracks with just one word. His name. Called out clearly, though mostly unheard by others caught in the revelry. It couldn't escape Sal, however; no, the wizened bartender couldn't miss it.
"Daeghun."
The elf paused, eyes staring straight ahead before he sighed. He didn't turn around. But he stood still long enough to allow his half-brother to come closer. What ever words exchanged between them would be for their ears, and their ears alone. Sal swiped a rag over the counter to clean an imaginary spot as he squinted in their direction.
Sadly, he couldn't read lips if his life depended on it. All he could scan is the way they stood - rigid, as though beginning a confrontation. Daeghun turned, appearing to gauge the half-elf. Duncan crossed his arms, tapping a foot briefly. Awaited a spoken reply he never got before sweeping his arm behind him, inviting entry to the warmth of the building.
Daeghun closed his eyes and lowered his head, shaking it briefly before opening his eyes back again to stare down the Sunken Flagon's owner. Duncan's mounting and emotive frustration with his lack of cooperation met a screeching halt-- his shoulders slumped. The slight jolt of a scoff. Raising a hand to Daeghun, the subdued half-elf turned away and began walking, finishing his gesture with a dismissive wave. His own face was darkened with a flurry of emotions - too many, at the moment, to express all at once.
Daeghun's arm shot out. Grabbed Duncan's wrist before he could stomp away out of reach.
Duncan froze. Angrily, he spun and stood merely inches from Daeghun, speaking harsh hushed words, gesturing to the Knight Captain without taking his eyes off his brother. Sal didn't know Daeghun well enough - hells, he didn't know Daeghun at all - to decipher the meaning of his reaction. All he could see was a cutting gaze, never leaving Duncan's face despite how his arms waved about almost distractingly. When Daeghun spoke again, he spoke calmly. Measured, yet restrained. Duncan stopped to gawk at him.
Sal spied Duncan's helpless gesture, and how his head turned away from Daeghun to lower his gaze to the floor. His mouth moved to speak haltingly, but Daeghun interrupted as though he hadn't said anything. The wood elf briefly, sharply, turned his head to look outside as he spoke, as though to emphasize his point, soon followed by throwing his hand in the Knight Captain's direction. Speaking harsher now as Duncan remained silent, almost ashamed... of what, of something he did? Or was it something he said in those moments of intense exasperation just earlier?
And then... Duncan smiled. For the second moment that night, a slight jerk of his shoulders accompanied his scoff. Now he raised his head to meet the gaze of his brother again, but the smile took a bittersweet tinge. Perhaps speaking quieter than he had all night, Duncan rubbed his arm and exchanged level, thoughtful words.
Daeghun closed his eyes and Sal could spy, even from where he stood, the intensity of the sigh exhaled through his nose. Neither of them spoke, their standoffish confrontation now subdued in the wake of this exchanging of words. Both men turned to face the direction of the Knight Captain.
Was Daeghun... is that a smile? What ever was displayed on his face, it fled his stern countenance just as quickly. Silently they both observed the delightful reunion of old friends. Sal hadn't heard much about Duncan's adventuring days, but a faint nostalgia practically radiated from the two of them. Watching, shoulders lowering, admiring with pride. Duncan's small neutral comment ending with a smirk. And Daeghun... hesitating again, fidgeting as though he impulsively considered tolerating the crowd, unspoken words written on the subtle shift of his features.
Duncan patted Daeghun on the back in a distinctly brotherly way. Daeghun reacted by tilting his head slightly.
And Khelgar joined his sixth brawl.
Sal broke his eyes away from the two estranged siblings, racing to coax the bar stool out from the dwarf's vicelike grip before he could finish his slurred battlecry.
My personal theory is that Daeghun is such a distant and offhands father most of the time because he's been an adventurer before, he knows how it goes. The day he saw an orphaned baby in the middle of a battle field that he knew he would raise he thought "Of course... a protagonist, it would be best to let them figure things out for themselves." Because that is how things are done in these sort of stories, the child is the chosen one for reasons he can't explain.
(( Because I see all these posts about KC’s childhood on my dash I have no choice but to address some points.
I’ve always suspected that the only reason Ophelia thinks her childhood was great is because she plainly REFUSED as a child to think otherwise. What saved her was her imagination, ability to quickly get along with people and too much childish idealism. Even if Daeghun disappeared for days without a warning, aside from missing him, it wasn’t a big deal because: 1. “He’s my Dad, he’s big, strong, clever and he’s an ADVENTURER, he’ll defeat any monster!”, 2. “Oh, hi, your name’s Bevil? Let’s play~!” If Ophelia needed company, she probably just went out to get it – and since she was outspoken and very polite if she wanted to, she was probably cherished by the whole village.
Imagine Daeghun coming back from the forest and seeing a flower on the table with the note with crudely scribed elven letters: “Welcome back, Dad”. Ophelia probably was making such notes on the morning she noticed Daeghun left, and later she was just picking a fresh flower every day of his absence.
It didn’t matter that Daeghun wasn’t giving her as much attention as Retta was giving her children, for example. “I’m his daughter, Daddy loves me. He HAS TO love me. :3 There’s no other way.” (And I’ve been wondering, since when she learned to lie so well to herself…)
After she started reading, she probably started to romantize Deaghun, to the point of being actually PROUD that she’s alone all the time. “Lone Wolves belong to the forests and wilderness. I am a daughter of a Lone Wolf.” She was building her own legend to cope with Daeghun’s absence. It worked HILARIOUSLY well.
Then came one day in which little Ophie decided it was a SPLENDID IDEA to, like, take her wooden sword toy and GO LOOK FOR HER DADDY IN THE SWAMP. The only reason she survived was because Daeghun heard her crying after she got lost. I cannot imagine him beating KC, but I have no idea, how he would react to such a thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the only time that Daeghun actually used a wooden sick to beat some common sense into her. Or maybe not – because just after that escapade Daeghun realized that he should probably, like, actually TELL Ophie that he wanted for her to sit at home.
This is also the moment Daegun probably started to try to teach her something about the forest, just in case little idiot would follow him again, despite his stern orders. Ophelia learned almost nothing, but she got to spend with her disaster of a dad more time – which was for her another proof that he CARED.
And then there was that one night when Daeghun returned after a longer absence and Ophelia was nowhere to be found, but he went peacefully to sleep because she was probably just sleeping at Retta’s house, and just another day brother Merring came and low-key yelled at Daeghun for not taking care of little Ophie, because at that moment she, Amie and Bevil were all lying in his house, and he was nursing them back to health. Daeghun suddenly heard what his foster daughter was able to get herself into when he wasn’t around to mind her, and he had so vivid flashbacks of Esmerelle’s behavior, that from that point onward he began to spend more time in home. And to teach Ophelia how to use actual weapons. And a bow. And he found out she was pretty good at bowmanship and he felt pride, even though he was telling himself he had no right.
Consider also the following dialogue: “Why you didn’t listen to X?” “I listen only to you! You are my Dad!” “…*heavy sigh* So if I tell you to listen to X…” “I’ll do it! :D “ Suddenly Daegun quickly learned to describe his commands IN EXTREME DETAIL because that little crazy blonde was always finding some loophole.
“Dad, I want to kiss you! Dad, I wanna hug you! Dad, here’s a gift! Dad, listen to this song! Dad, here are some flowers!” It didn’t mean much that Daeghun was rather cold. Like, he was ALLOWING her to do all this and he always accepted her gifts. He HAD to love her. Accepting affection is a clear sign of love, of course that she had to initiate it, though, no action, no reaction, yes? (That also explains why she’s so bold at flirting. She’s just used that she must be the one to make the first step.)
That’s about child!Ophie. Adult!Ophie never truly changed her mindset that much. Her interpretations just became more mature: “he loves me, he has just troubles to show his feelings, he’s absent a lot because he loves solitude and needs it like air, he’s grim but he was always there for me. How can I hold any grudge? He’s my beloved father, a better one than I’ve ever deserved (because I’m a monster who forgot what is fear ect.).“
In a nutshell: Ophelia probably unintentionally terrorized Daeghun into being a slightly better dad.
I also totally headcanon that the first time Daeghun saw Ophelia at his doorstep after she came back from Rashemen, he probably cried for the first time in front of her. And Ophelia was like: “Dad, you sometimes wandered off for days and I was alone, but you always came back to me. How could I not come back when I knew that now you were waiting for me?” ))
