#fortuneweave

[binyadotorg]

After the turn Sid took at the end of The Hanged Man, I've been toying with the idea of doing a Necromancer playthrough of her.

In my head, she's also figured out a bit of chronomancy, so she's going to make sure her man doesn't 💥 this time. 😅

[binyadotorg]

Shuffling the Fates: Ace of Cups

[Shuffling The Fates on AO3]

Sidero Belt has long been a talented diviner, and her studies that lead to her becoming a Divination wizard only enhanced it. Long has she read the cards to determine other clients' futures for charity or coin, depending on her feelings for them, but when she decides to see what the cards hold in store for her own future? When every card is a potential future, the possibilities are boundless... and sometimes soul-shaking.

The Shadowlands had been difficult for everyone to adjust to, but Sidero and Gale’s companions couldn’t help but notice that the two of them seemed to be having less issues adjusting than the rest of them.

They were all party to Gale’s seemingly random impromptu admission to Sid after a particularly difficult battle. The Harpers were struggling with the loss of one of their own, and here was their damn wizard, admitting that seeing Sid covered in blood and sweat got him hot and bothered. While it made Karlach and Shadowheart laugh, it left Wyll aghast and Astarion shaking his head. Yet, Sid and Gale stood there, oblivious to the darkness and horror around them, making heart eyes at one another.

“About time,” Shadowheart muttered under her breath. “I was wondering how much longer we were going to have to bear with Gale making sad puppy eyes at her across the fire.”

“Darling, I fear they’re going to be far more insufferable than they ever were before,” Astarion replied with a sigh. “Gods, as if he wouldn’t shut up before…”

In the nights that followed, Sid could be found in Gale’s tent after supper, the two of them talking, laughing, sharing books, and Sid continuing to teach him more about Divination. They were the bright spot in the darkness of the Shadowlands; something beautiful slowly blossoming and unfurling despite the horrors that surrounded them and waited around every corner.

“You’re getting a better grasp on them,” Sid commented after Gale had explained a simple three-card reading he’d attempted for her. “I’m not surprised you’re a fast learner, but I’ll admit I had reservations you’d be able to get out of the way of your own brain to interpret them.” A lopsided grin spread across her face as she leaned back on his bedroll.

“I think I may be mildly insulted,” he replied, glancing up with a playful twinkle in his eyes. “I was top of my class you know. I picked up just about every modality of manipulating the weave with ease.” He laughed, placing the cards away and shifting to relax beside her. “You’d probably have hated me.”

“Oh, without a doubt,” she answered without hesitation. “I took my studies seriously, also being top of my class, though I had to work for a it a bit more than I suspect you did.” She poked him playfully as he grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips to place a kiss on her knuckles.

He smiled into her eyes as he placed another soft kiss on her hand. “I’d have charmed the pants off of you… in a manner of speaking of course. I’ve always been a gentleman- my mother would have been horrified if I was anything less than one.”

“I think you buy into your own acclaim a bit too much,” she chuckled shaking her head. “It wouldn’t kill you to be just a tiny bit humble, you know.” She didn’t miss the shift in the look he gave her, the playfulness fading a bit. He gently let go of her hand and laid back on the bedroll, folding his arms behind his head to stare at the ceiling of the tent.

“Trust me, I’ve been humbled, Sid,” he replied quietly. The answer to how hung heavier than the air of the Shadowlands itself- the orb.

Shit, she thought to herself. She turned, propping herself on one arm to face him. “Since Elminster… did whatever it is he did, it’s been quiet, has it not?” Her brow furrowed with concern, but since the elder wizard’s visit Gale hadn’t asked for or needed an artifact to sate the orb in days.

“It has been, yes. It’s an odd feeling, you know, after existing so long with its… hunger plaguing me that for it to be quiet is oddly unsettling.” He turned his head to face her. “It’s been a bit of a relief to not have it constantly in the back of my mind these days, though. It’s allowed me to focus on other things.” He shifted to his side to face her, the distance between them on the bedroll shrinking.

“Other things,” she repeated softly. “Hm, I wonder what those things could be…” Her eyes drifted briefly to his lips.

Gale leaned in slowly, punctuated by a soft intake of breath. “Let me show you,” he whispered as he leaned in, tentatively kissing Sid for the first time.

It was as if time sped up and slowed down all at once in the dim light of his tent. After what seemed half an eternity and barely a moment, they parted- cheeks flushed, smiling at each other quietly for several moments. A rare moment of silence between the two mages.

Sid broke the spell first, clearing her throat. “I should, ah, probably head to bed,” she murmured, shifting away and once again opening the space between them.

Until Gale grabbed her hand.

“Stay here tonight,” he urged quietly. “We won’t do anything more than sleep, I promise, but… the darkness of the shadows is lighter with you beside me.” Her looked at her with his big brown eyes.

Gods those eyes... I’m doomed, Sid thought to herself before moving back to the bedroll. “All right, twist my arm why don’t you,” she replied with a wry smirk. “However, you are now responsible for dealing with whatever snark Astarion has when we both emerge from your tent in the morning.” She laid down beside him as he shifted closer, wrapping an arm around her and resting his head impossibly close to hers; she could feel his warm breath on her neck as it sent a tingle of electricity across her skin.

“A small price,” he murmured with a soft huff. She could practically hear the smile on his face. His arm tightened around her ever so slightly. “Good night, Sid.”

She relaxed in his embrace, smiling in the darkness as he extinguished the light in the tent. “Good night, Gale. Sweet dreams.”

As she closed her eyes, she heard him whisper almost imperceptibly beside her- “I don’t need to dream when it’s already been made reality in my arms.”

Part 1: Two of Cups | Part 2: The Tower | Part 3: The King of Pentacles, Reversed | Part 4: Eight of Pentacles | Part 5: Ten of Swords | Part 6: Eight of Cups | Part 8: The Hanged Man

[binyadotorg]

From a hastily scribbled outline to something I successfully met deadlines for (that's the biggest shock, honestly), I'm so excited and proud to share my piece in the Love & Marriage Baldur's Gate 3 Fanzine next month! Please enjoy this teaser from my submission, "Alphabetized and Disorganized."

Releasing December 13. 💜

For more information: @lovemarriagebg3

[binyadotorg]

Had to update my work laptop because I need to use it next week (haven't touched it in a few months), and I forgot I'd made and put this wallpaper on it 😅

[binyadotorg]

Gonna be looking at Sid & Gale all the time now (no pun intended).

Chibi art by way of the lovely @skelvron-keiman

[binyadotorg]

Shuffling the Fates: The Hanged Man

[Shuffling The Fates on AO3]

Sidero Belt has long been a talented diviner, and her studies that lead to her becoming a Divination wizard only enhanced it. Long has she read the cards to determine other clients' futures for charity or coin, depending on her feelings for them, but when she decides to see what the cards hold in store for her own future? When every card is a potential future, the possibilities are boundless... and sometimes soul-shaking.

It was the first time she’d ignored a portent. In hindsight, it may have been because she didn’t want to deal with the reality of what it meant. When she’d be asked about it later, she’d always say that she never saw it coming.

It wouldn’t be the first time she lied about her divinations. It likely wouldn’t be the last, but it was certainly the one single lie that always hurt the most.

Sidero had been sleeping beside Gale in the Elfsong the night it came to her. She can recall the feeling of fear in her gut, the rapid beating of her heart, the cold sweat on her skin when her eyes opened in the dark of night. Gale had been sleeping beside her, occasionally muttering something mildly unintelligibly in his sleep. As she calmed her breathing, she remembered reaching for his hand- something solid to ground her that yes, he was beside her. Once she had settled back down, she drifted back to sleep, and the memory of the dream was pushed in the back of her mind but not forgotten.

‘I choose you,’ he’d said that night in Moonrise. Gods, it felt like a lifetime ago now. In that moment, yes, he’d chosen her. The truth, however, was that that choice was short lived, and at the time neither of them knew how little time they had.

Those nights in the Elfsong, every last one of them knew they were on borrowed time. Victory against the Netherbrain wasn’t assured, and while secretly they all worried if their last moments were swiftly sneaking up upon them, they talked, acted, plotted, and planned like they would be successful. That they would all live to see another sunrise.

She thought often about that final night before their battle.

In their time in Baldur’s Gate, it had become habit that her and Gale would sneak small gifts to one another. Sometimes it was just a flower he found that he thought was beautiful. She’d often find a book she thought was interesting and might catch his eye, or a rare spell component he’d find useful.

That last night, there were no gifts.

Their companions had gone out to celebrate- or more likely drown their fears. Sid and Gale had chosen to stay behind with the excuse they were going over spell books. The reality was they spent the night in Gale’s bed, wrapped up in one another and taking advantage of the rare moments of silence in the shared space.

Something unspoken and heavy had hung over them that night, and it sat in those quiet moments where they were tracing fingers over skin or counting freckles for the hundredth time. Sid’s dream- which she had spoken to no one about- scratched at the back of her mind like an itch that could never be reached. She reminded herself it was just a dream, it didn’t necessarily mean anything, but deep down she knew it was an empty lie she was telling herself to make herself feel better.

Gale had pressed a kiss to her forehead. He was also uncharacteristically quiet that night as well. Sid hummed softly in response, before finally breaking the silence.

“You know,” she said tracing a finger along his arm. “We haven’t talked about what comes after all this.” They hadn’t, not really. Sure, he’d made mention of cooking her dinner- ‘My mother’s recipe’- but it had never gotten any further than that. The unspoken nature of their future after this battle bothered her more tonight than it had any other.

Almost as if she knew deep down what that meant.

“We haven’t?” He replied quietly.

“No, we haven’t,” she answered, shifting to sit up beside him. She can still remember how he looked in the dim light of the room.

“Perhaps I’m afraid of cursing our chances of success,” he posited. Thinking back now, she can recall how he wouldn’t look her in the eye when he said it.

“I suppose I can allow that,” she responded with a grumpy air to her tone. “However, once the Netherbrain is handled, we’re having that conversation. Immediately after.”

Gale laughed. “Fair enough,” he’d said. They’d left the conversation there as he pulled her down into a kiss, making love once more before their companions broke the rare quiet they’d taken advantage of.

Had he known then what choice he was going to make? ‘I choose you.’

But in the end, he didn’t.

She’d protested as he cast the spell that whisked her to safety. In retrospect, it was the only choice at the time that made sense- their party was spent, broken, and bleeding; none of them equipped to successfully end things. When she saw that look in his eyes as he told her he was playing their trump card- the orb- to ensure they survived she’d cursed herself for ignoring that dream, that damn portent. When she watched from afar as the sky erupted into a brief but achingly familiar aurora, she felt numb.

It was over. It was over, and Gale was gone.

It had been nearly a year since then, and Sid was nothing if not tenacious. Study had always been her strong point, and if she couldn’t find an existing answer, then by the gods, she’d find a way to come up with it somehow herself.

In her small home back in Waterdeep, the table she’d once used for divination readings was scattered with notes, papers, and a stack of books. The titles, however, would cause anyone who visited her to feel a bit uneasy. From her own days studying wizardy- Schools of Magic: Necromancy. More concernedly, however, was a copy of Necromantic Codexes, Their Enigmas. She’d received a package in the mail the previous day with the book on the top of the stack: The Necromancy of Thay. It had come with a letter in a familiar handwriting and tone to the wording.

‘While I don’t agree with your new direction of study, darling, I can’t imagine anyone else but you who’d actually be successful.’

It was signed with a simple, elegant “A”.

Part 1: Two of Cups | Part 2: The Tower | Part 3: The King of Pentacles, Reversed | Part 4: Eight of Pentacles | Part 5: Ten of Swords | Part 6: Eight of Cups | Part 7: Ace of Cups | Part 9: The Lovers

[binyadotorg]

WIP Whenever

Sharing a bit from the next installment of Shuffling the Fates in hopes it’ll kick my ass to finally finish this fucking angst and move onto the two lighter parts that will follow this.

FTR, this one is a direct follow-up to part 2, The Tower.

(If I shared this before, I’m sorry, but I’m so fucking stuck here and I need any motivation I can get.)

[binyadotorg]

Shuffling the Fates

[Shuffling The Fates on AO3]

Sidero Belt has long been a talented diviner, and her studies that lead to her becoming a Divination wizard only enhanced it. Long has she read the cards to determine other clients' futures for charity or coin, depending on her feelings for them, but when she decides to see what the cards hold in store for her own future? When every card is a potential future, the possibilities are boundless... and sometimes soul-shaking.

There is an over-arching story in this: Two of Cups, Eight of Pentacles, Ace of Cups, and The World.

The rest can theoretically be read in any order- with the exception of The Tower and the Eight of Cups, which are related to one another (Eight of Cups being a direct follow-up to The Tower).

Two of Cups

The Tower

The King of Pentacles, Reversed

Eight of Pentacles

Ten of Swords

Eight of Cups

Ace of Cups

The Hanged Man

The Lovers

The World