#reithwin

[scoldingdarjeeling]

WIP Someday / Self-indulgent Something / No more interesting times, please

I needed this. Because I realized, after 700 words, that I had changed POV *dies* Detangling that mess was (not) fun. Thank you so much for tagging me, @lucretiouswept!🌻

Tagging (open tag included) @unovafarm, @emmy-and-the-tieflings, @woodsling, @mezzomoment, @goldbootsgirl, @woundedsoul12, @starlightweave & @micnicmabel

Below you'll find a not-so-completed draft.

The downpour made the road near impossible to traverse. A flash revealed not just rider and horse, but another similarly cloaked figure, before the distant rumble of thunder announced their descent into darkness once more.

Thanks to the sorcerer at his side, Zevlor was shielded from the worst of it; an invisible force turning aside the rain, but the radius was short. Step beyond it, and one might as well walk straight into the river.

He led his horse by the reins, adjusting his gait to that of the lame chestnut mare, Clara, who had thrown a shoe somewhere along the road.

Ahead, through the murky depths, firelight flickered—torches lining the perimeter of Waukeen’s Rest. Newly rebuilt and garrisoned again after the devastation left behind by the Absolute’s forces.

The cold bit deep. Even from where she walked just behind him, Tempest could see it in the set of the Hellrider's shoulders, the stiffness in his movements. His armor and gambeson were soaked through.

The mud nearly wrenched their boots off their feet.

Shapes began to emerge through the rain: walls, hastily constructed scaffolding, and silhouettes of guards posted above a heavy, iron-bound oak gate.

Voices carried down from the raised lookout—sharp, alert. The clatter of steel followed as boots ascended logs for steps. Parts of the wall were still under construction, some sections no more than hastily raised palisades.

As Zevlor and Tempest stepped into the reach of the torchlight, a shout rang out.

“Halt! Who goes there?”

The guard looked barely eighteen—his voice cracking under the strain, his ill-fitting ringmail clearly not made for him. Local, she guessed.

Unseasoned...

Crossbows lifted, trained on them.

Zevlor raised his head, taking count without turning it into a show. His hand moved to Clara’s neck as the mare tossed her head, nostrils flaring. He steadied her with practiced ease.

“Travelers, seeking shelter from the torrential rains.”

The old commander's voice carried through. Strong and steady.

The new recruit nearly lost his oversized helmet as he whipped around to confer with someone beyond their line of sight.

“Are there any more of you?”

Zevlor glanced back. One burning eye met hers beyond the hem of his hood.

Tempest had already shifted closer on silent steps, just off his shoulder, her upturned cloak obscuring her face.

“Only the two of us,” he replied. “And my courser here—she’ll need a farrier.”

The guard hesitated, then began to nod, ready to call the gate open—

“Aye, so you say…”

The voice that cut in was different. Unrefined. Dripping with suspicion.

A broader figure stepped forward, shoving the young recruit aside. Plated gauntlets gripped the stone, the fiery emblem of the Flaming Fist painted across the fine fabric covering his chain mail, lending him an air of authority that his face quickly undid.

A double chin, with a sparse beard clinging beneath. Dark, beady eyes set deep beneath a meaty brow.

Tempest stilled.

Exactly the sort of man I'd hoped to avoid...

“No honest folk would travel the Risen Road in this... unnatural weather," he drawled. "At this accursed hour. We’ve received reports of lycanthropes terrorising the northern road.”

The words lingered in the air.

Zevlor did not react—not outwardly. But Tempest saw the shift in him, subtle as it was.

“We’ve seen enough of what walks these roads to understand your caution," he said. "We came by the eastern road, bound for the Sanctuary. And as you can see, blessedly free of Malar's blight."

Tempest’s gaze drifted, briefly, to the darkness behind them. The road they had come from.

Just in case.

[tynithia]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Baldur's Gate (Video Games) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Halsin/Tav (Baldur's Gate), Halsin (Baldur's Gate)/Original Male Character(s) Characters: Tav (Baldur's Gate), Original Elf Character(s), Halsin (Baldur's Gate), Original Tiefling Character(s) (Dungeons & Dragons) Additional Tags: Gift Exchange, Gift Fic, Male Tav (Baldur's Gate), Post-Canon, Half-Elf Tav (Baldur's Gate), Location: Reithwin (Baldur's Gate), Named Tav (Baldur's Gate), Gift Giving, Children's Stories, Established Relationship, Soft, Family Fluff Summary: Ares returns to the restored Reithwin, now flourishing under the lifted shadow curse, to celebrate the Winter Solstice with Halsin and his wards. Written for the fabulous @wilosea​

[shadow-fell]

On Moonrise Towers, the Thorm Family, and the Shadow Curse

Once another compilation so that I don't need to go constantly digging for things. A general timeline of events:

Reithwin town founded by the Thorm family

Moonrise Towers constructed

Melodia Thorm dies

Isobel Thorm dies

Ketheric turns to Shar

Gauntlet of Shar constructed/rebuilt; Reithwin turns to Sharran worship

Nightsong is captured by Ketheric and Balthazar

Flaming Fist sends Art Cullagh to investigate Ketheric

Harpers, Druids, and Flaming Fist team up to fight Ketheric

Mason who built Moonrise Towers + the Gauntlet of Shar makes a deal with Raphael; Yurgir kills all the Sharrans in the Gauntlet/Grymforge save one

Ketheric is killed, Shadow Curse released

Survivors of the battle flee

Ketheric resurrects, turns to Myrkul

Gortash and the Dark Urge bring Ketheric in on the Absolute plan

Ketheric resurrects Isobel (maybe before ^ but probably after)

Isobel flees to the Last Light Inn

Now, expanding on the details, sources, and adding some firmer dates? that's all going below the cut.

Construction of Moonrise Towers

The first, and as far as I know only reference to Moonrise Towers outside of BG3 is in the Code of the Harpers, where it is described as the base of the Crescent Coat, officer of the High Heralds (a group spinning out of the Harpers, referenced by Halsin in game), in 1368.

So, we know when it must be established by - but how much earlier can we go? Pretty far given that the Thorms are elven/half-elven.

Our best boundary is that we know Balduran visited Moonrise Towers before becoming an Illithid. His initial departure from Baldur's Gate and shipwreck happened around 1050 DR, at 300 years before BG1/2, so he has to come to Moonrise Towers sometime after that. FR Wiki states this is ~1150 or later, but I don't know where they're getting that from? I think that's a reasonable timeframe, though.

We know the same architect built Moonrise as the Gauntlet of Shar (from talking to him in the House of Hope), but there's no record of what race he was (only meeting him as a skeleton), and if an elf could easily still be working a few centuries after the construction.

Ketheric is a half-elf for sure, though, but he is an old one. How old exactly is hard to say. 3rd edition gave "old" at 93, with a maximum age of 130-190, while 5e just says "often exceeding 180 years". If we take that he looks the way he did in ~1370 as his death, that places his birth at a minimum of ~1170, but probably later, and the construction of Moonrise Towers ~1200 at the earliest, which is maybe a bit long for Balduran but not unreasonably so.

The other thing of note is that Moonrise Towers has a 'sister' in the Sunrise Spire, a Lathanderian Monastery destroyed in 1177 during a territorial war. Combined with the (undated) fall of Rosymorn Monastery, there is perhaps something interesting about the regional shift from Lathander to Selune, and the construction happening after the destruction further supports a date around ~1200.

Personally, I'd want to push things earlier rather than later - it wouldn't be difficult to say that Ketheric is more elven than human, pushing his age a bit further out, so somewhere between 1180-1200 fits the sweet spot. But really, all we have for sure is "before 1368"

Melodia and the Thorm Family

Melodia Thorm is a human worshipper of Selune, who married Ketheric Thorm and converted him to her worship. They had a daughter, Isobel, who was young when Melodia died (or, at least, Melodia still called her their little girl).

Ketheric is a half-elf; every other member of the Thorm family is an elf - Malus, Gerringothe, and Thisobald all have the longer ears (although the hood makes this less clear on Thisobald).

Malus refers to (presumably) Ketheric as his nephew, making him the only certain branch of the family tree. Gerringothe, we have no idea where she fits in, although as a full elf, we can assume no one is Ketheric's siblings, only parents/aunts/uncles/cousins/more distant relatives.

Thisobald...is complicated. He calls Ketheric father, however, the phrasing is ambiguous (capitalized in a religious sense) in addition to the lack of reference to him in accounts of Melodia/Isobel, and the fact he appears to be fully elven. The two possibilities is that Thisobald and Isobel are half-siblings, with Thisobald's other parent being a full elf, and this being the source of disconnect between him and Ketheric, or that Father is not literal and he is related to Ketheric another way.

We know that Malus Thorm was alive in 986, where he recorded battle casualties from a Dark Justiciar/Selunite/Druid conflict. Given that only the Dark Justiciars are named, it seems likely he was a Sharran at that time. If we take the date as legitimate and not referring to the 1370s conflict, then at least Malus worshipped Shar before Reithwin turned to Selunite worship.

Gauntlet of Shar

Around 800 years before Ketheric Thorm's turn, Grymforge was a city of Shar worshippers. He attempted to revitalize it - creating or rebuilding the Gauntlet of Shar in the process.

And, yes, these two are connected - you can see the entrance to the Gauntlet from one of the points in the lava and through the hall where Nere is trapped. There is a further section not accessible seen from where the Mimic fight is, mainly what appear to be another set of docks.

While we're told the Mason constructed the Gauntlet, given that Shadowheart has heard legends of it, the more likely option seems to be it was rebuilt, since it's quite a large place to construct in only a handful of years. Especially if Malus was a Sharran in 986, it would explain the presence of Shar worshippers before Ketheric's turn.

So, we have the initial Dark Justiciar trials around 600 DR, followed by a decline (with the Gauntlet perhaps lasting past the fall of the city, hidden under Reithwin) enough to establish a myth that can then be built on in the 1370s.

Death of Isobel

How Isobel died is an unresolved plot point, revolving around cut content, so it's hard to call anything "canonical" but the two potential paths are as follows:

In the earliest version, she was killed by Halsin, during a meeting between her (and other Reithwin locals) and the druids, before Shar's influence (and the song of the Nightsong, potentially) drove them mad, and Halsin stabbed Isobel with Sorrow, leaving it cursed). This sparked the conflict between Ketheric and the Druid-Harper alliance.

In a later version, Balthazar killed her, framing Aylin for the deed, which led to Ketheric capturing her and trapping her in the Gauntlet of Shar. Isobel was tethered to Ketheric, and needed to be separated before he was killed

Either way, Isobel has no memory of her death upon being resurrected a century later. It happened probably ~1370, triggering the conflict. While it may have happened earlier (with Ketheric keeping his Shar worship hidden) probably not earlier than 1368.

Conflict with the Harpers

Alright, so this is where we get back into figuring out hard dates. Generally, this happened a century ago - so ~1392, but any time something is that round I always assume it's off.

Again, we know things are business as usual around 1368 because of the Heralds; this means that while Ketheric may have turned to Shar, it wasn't public. However, we do have some dates related to the conflict.

The Harpers try and fail to surrender in a letter by Khelben Arunsun - he's expelled from the Harpers in 1371, founding a splinter group, and dies in 1374. That makes 1369-1370 the most likely timing.

However, the records from Moonhaven and from the Emerald Grove push it to being a later date. Uktar 1371 is the date that the Apothecary and Apprentice arrive from Thay, the start of the Apprentice's journal, which ends with the Dark Justiciars killing him. Toth's logbook is the Apothecary's account, and has a raid in late Uktar and in Nightal; this may be the same year, but more likely later. We know there was at least one failed raid on Moonhaven before it fell completely.

Uktar 1371 we also get the Logbook from the Emerald Grove - they're dealing with far more minor problems and presumably aren't yet at war with the Dark Justiciars, which further supports the idea that the raids on Moonhaven happen in 1372 or 1373.

To account for Khelben's presence, we could assume the failed surrender is from an initial conflict in 1369-1370, that ended with the Harpers retreating, but more likely, the threat Ketheric Thorm posed was enough that the Harpers and Moonstars (Khelben's splinter group) were in alliance - after all, it wasn't a clean split and there was still a great deal of overlap, and he's still the Blackstaff.

The details of the conflict are largely uncertain. We know the Dark Justiciars destroyed Moonhaven, and presumably some other villages, and that the shadow curse claimed the region around Moonrise Towers and Reithwin.

However, we do know how it ended. The Mason made a deal with Raphael to destroy the Dark Justiciar army, which brought Yurgir to the Gauntlet, where he killed all but one (hiding as a swarm of rats). While we only see Yurgir's impact in Grymforge and the Gauntlet, presumably Raphael helped with defeating the entire army.

How Ketheric died and came to be buried in the mausoleum is unclear, but in the final moments of the battle, he cursed the lands around Moonrise Towers with the Shadow Curse, killing many of the Harpers and Druid, and lasting for well over a century, until he came to be resurrected in the name of Myrkul.

My Proposed Timeline

You've read the evidence above. This is therefore a mix of canon, reasonably makes sense in canon, and completely made up headcanon

1492 - Balthazar resurrects Isobel; she flees to the Last Light Inn

???? - Balthazar resurrects Ketheric, he becomes Myrkul's chosen

1373 - Yurgir kills Dark Justiciar Army; Ketheric dies and the Shadow Curse falls

1372 - Dark Justiciars spread out and attack local villages, destroying Moonhaven. The Emerald Grove, Harpers, Moonstars, and Flaming Fist ally together

1370 - The Nightsong is captured, used as the final test for the new Dark Justiciar army Ketheric builds

1369 - Isobel killed by [Halsin/Balthazar/???]. Ketheric completes turn to Shar, forces Reithwin to convert, has the mason begin reconstructing Grymforge

1350 - Melodia dies. Ketheric's faith begins to waver.

1340 - Isobel born

1325 - Melodia and Ketheric marry

1300 - Melodia born.

1200s - Moonrise Towers constructed; Reithwin slowly builds up prominence as a trade stop amon

1170s - Ketheric Thorm born.

1150s-1250s - young Halsin grows up in the lands around Reithwin, where he befriends Thaniel.

980s - Dark Justiciar/Druid/Harper conflict, Malus Thorm attending. Sharrans in the region go further into hiding; Reithwin is known as a Selunite enclave.

600s - Grymforge is a thriving Sharran city. Dark Justiciar trials are held within the Gauntlet of Shar.

[heartsong94]

Excerpts from The Shadow of Ambition, Part 4

Moonshadow - Fiat Lux

--- After his estrangement from God!Gale, God!Durge revisits Reithwin, now free from the Shadow Curse for 4 years. He reconnects with Halsin and Isobel Thorm and finds the courage to visit the Temple of Gale anonymously there and finds Gale's followers to be... lacking and prideful. They are all too eager to forget the tempering shadow that Vesper was to Gale's Ambition.

Except Alric Moros, a paladin who understood their plight. A man who would be blessed by him. Little did he know that he would mark the youth to be Gale's future Chosen.

---

At the end of the tour, they stood once more at the entrance, the other adherents looking on in derision.

Alric smiled. "You seem… pleased, good sir. I’m glad you enjoyed the tour. Not many indulge in it."

Moonshadow hummed. “It’s strange.” He exhaled, glancing back at the towering walls, the glowing sigils, the faces of those who would carry his wizard’s legacy in this mortal plane.

"Strange to see something so right when the world so often gets it all wrong."

Alric considered that, then hesitated.

He shifted, then spoke softly, as though sharing a secret.

“Of all his triumphs, the one we must honor most is Gale’s beloved. The shadow we so often overlook.”

Moonshadow turned fully to him.

Alric’s gaze was steady, unwavering. His colleagues didn't seem to share his enthusiasm as some even scoffed audibly.

“They say Gale’s love for Vesper Moonshadow is unlike anything the realms had ever seen. That even when the gods themselves turn away in discourtesy, even when Ambition burns too bright, the Shadow of Ambition chooses love. Chooses him. Our god. Even now, the Silvershade walks the realms. I do not know what he seeks but I know Gale is by his side. Always.”

Something in Moonshadow’s throat tightened.

Alric smiled.

"And... we honor them. Every moment of love or separation or quiet or chaos. Not as myth. Not as legend. But as truth. Gale and Moonshadow are two sides of the same coin. We cannot honor one without the other. This rift between them will not break them nor us. This is their first time apart and will not be their last. But we hold faith in our god and his beloved. The orb sigil... is it not but an eclipse? And what is Moonshadow if not the shadow of our beloved Gale? We will hold faith. Our god is nothing without his beloved shadow. The others would do well to remember this. Light loses all worth without it's shadow."

Moonshadow did not move for a long moment.

Then, before Alric could react, Moonshadow’s form shifted.

For the briefest moment, the false flesh peeled away from his avatar, revealing something vast, nascent, celestial. The shimmer of a god’s true shape, an echo of the Silvershade, He-of-Silver-and-Shadow, the Child of None.

Alric staggered back, breath caught in his throat. The others looked on in horror, gawking, unable to speak nor think, Moonshadow’s eldritch aura silencing them, churning their thoughts and feelings careful not to break them under it’s weight.

Moonshadow reached out, resting star-touched fingers against the young man’s forehead.

A soft, violet glow spread from the touch—a blessing, seeping into Alric’s very being.

A permanent boon, lovingly woven and whispered into this mortal’s soul.

Precis, Alia, Fero.

A ward against death, once per day. Forever. A small gift of thanks to a stranger for reminding Moonshadow of what he was fighting so hard to save.

A safeguard against darkness and light, against horrors and shadows yet to come.

Alric’s eyes were wide, his voice barely a whisper. "Who…?"

Moonshadow’s smirk returned.

“Gale would be so proud of you, Alric. I know I am.”

Then, just as quickly as he had arrived—

He turned, pulled his hood back over his head, and disappeared into the night after shutting the doors.

There was yet one more road left to walk before he reached Waterdeep.

---

Moonshadow exhaled, stepping into the cool night.

Behind him, the temple still hummed with his presence. He could feel it in the air, in the trembling threads of the Galerian Weave that clung to him like an afterimage.

A moment later— commotion.

The doors burst open. Footsteps rushed into the courtyard. Voices rose in disbelief, in urgency, in awe.

"W-Where is he?"

"Find him—he couldn't have gone far! Lunara’s going to kill us!"

Moonshadow smirked.

They were too late.

He was already gone.

Slipping between shadows, he perched briefly on the edge of a rooftop, watching as the Crownsworn searched in vain. Even the townspeople had begun to emerge from their homes, confused by the sudden uproar. Some muttered questions, others merely gawked at the wide-eyed Crownsworn, who turned frantically in all directions, grasping at shadows like madmen.

"M-Moonshadow?" One voice—a priest's—was barely a whisper, as if saying the name too loud would break reality itself.

A chuckle almost slipped past his lips.

They really hadn't known.

Not when they had scoffed at him in his frayed cloak and worn leather, not when they had questioned if he was here to donate to his own beloved’s temple. They had only seen what they expected to see—a wanderer, a vagabond, a nameless figure passing through the night, not even worth their time.

Only one had shown kindness.

And for that, Alric would never be unprotected. Moonshadow would see to it.

His gaze flickered toward the temple one last time. The banners, the sigils, the soft lantern light spilling onto the streets—it all stood as testament to Gale, to his wizard’s enduring will, to the work he had done in life and the devotion he had inspired in divinity.

It was good.

And right.

And that was enough.

Pulling his hood further over his face, Moonshadow turned away from the temple and stepped back onto the road.

Baldur’s Gate awaited. And then the City of Splendors.

But before leaving, he searched the graveyard for the grave of Art Cullagh. Spared a moment to tend to it, sweeping it of leaves and dirt and wiped the headstone carefully with his cloak and finally hymned a somber prayer to safeguard him in the afterlife. Before setting off, he picked a few wildflowers and placed it reverently over the grave of a fallen friend.

And then like a shadow in the wind, Moonshadow was gone.

---

[negligiblemoose]

The town of Reithwin is mostly abandoned except for the people who are most definitely not supposed to be there.

Rolan was trying to find his family, just like Arabella was trying to find her parents.

Korilla was... there. I don't know why Korilla was there. Honestly, she's probably spying for Raphael.

Anyway, found out that Arabella can do some cool new magic! And we've offered her a place at our camp while we find her parents

[autistichalsin]

Do you happen to how / have made a good timeline of The Shadowlands? What was there before? What it was called? When it fell? IIRC one of the writers confirmed that the rude pale elf in the list of customers banned from the pub was a reference to Astarion. IDK is that was canon or more a joke that stayed in. Having a collected resource on that would be amazing for plotting out fics!

I have no idea if the banned elf was Astarion- I've seen conflicting things on it. But for everything else:

So, the Shadow-Cursed Lands cover primarily the town of Reithwin along with Moonrise, in the Western Heartlands. Thaniel is the nature spirit of this land. (Sidenote: because nature spirits can't really leave the area they embody, and Halsin knew Thaniel as a child, this implies that Halsin grew up somewhere near here, probably in a nearby forest. Since he also mentions his family being buried in High Forest, which is quite far away, it seems likely that they moved at some point, or maybe they lived in the area for a few generations but still considered themselves to have very strong ties to High Forest.)

As for a timeline of the Shadow Curse:

1142: Halsin is born in a forest, most likely near Reithwin. Over the next years, he becomes close friends with the nature spirit Thaniel. Growing while Thaniel stays the same age drives him to decide to become a Druid, as he realized nature, his first friend, needed protecting. After his last family member passes away (Halsin being the youngest son of an ancient line of elves that faded out due to illness and accidents, according to Halsin's writer), Halsin is "turned over to the Druids," at a "comparatively young age" (per his writer).

Sometimes before 1392: Isobel Thorm, Ketheric's daughter, is born. Melodia, Isobel's mother, and Ketheric's wife, tragically passes away.

Sometime between this and 1392: Dame Aylin arrives in Reithwin. She and Isobel Thorm fall in love at first sight.

Roughly 1392: Isobel dies. In Early Access, this was at Halsin's hands, as a fight broke out due to Shar's influence, causing Isobel to attack Halsin, and him to stab her on reflex. In the full release version, this was cut, and no one seems to know exactly how or why she died. Ketheric is devastated by grief, converts to Shar worship, and gathers an army of Dark Justiciars.

Later in 1392: The Archdruid who served the Emerald Grove before Halsin gathers a group of Druids and Harpers (including Jaheira) to face them; they win, with many losses, but Ketheric uses Shar's powers to unleash the Shadow Curse as revenge. Almost all the Druids and Harpers who had survived are then killed by the curse. Halsin takes what survivors he can manage, gets back to the Emerald Grove, and is appointed the new Archdruid. Some days later, he returns to the Shadow-Cursed Lands looking for survivors, finds the Shadow-Cursed version of the previous Archdruid, and is forced to kill it. He keeps his glaive as a "reminder that victory can taste bitter" and locks it away, along with his journal from that day. (In the original, this glaive/dagger, called Sorrow, was the weapon Halsin used to kill Isobel, and had a different journal to go with it talking about his guilt.) This curse, of course, also causes the nature spirit Thaniel to be split in two. One half is trapped in the Shadowfell, while the other half stays in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, eventually becoming Oliver.

Meanwhile, Dame Aylin is kidnapped by Ketheric Thorm and locked away so he can leech her power to make himself immortal.

1392-1492: Halsin spends the next 100 years researching the curse and trying to gain Silvanus's favor to be able to break it. Almost everyone else abandons the land; Jaheira admits to doing so, and a note Halsin wrote laments that the Emerald Enclave wouldn't help even if he asked. The few people who do attempt to go there perish- a Druid from another community got some information from Halsin, tried to enter the land, and then fell to the Curse. Some lines Halsin had in Early Access indicated that his being there when the curse fell and his empathy with the suffering of the Shadow-Cursed Lands/its people were key in his ability to later break the curse.

Meanwhile, Art Cullagh, a Flaming Fist, is trapped in the Shadowfell with Thaniel. They form a very close friendship, and Thaniel repeatedly tells Art that Halsin- and only Halsin- can save him.

At some point, Ketheric converts to worshipping Myrkul in exchange for resurrecting Isobel, becomes his Chosen, and helps hatch the Absolute plot along with Gortash and the Dark Urge.

1492: Shortly before the start of canon, Halsin meets Aradin and his band of adventurers, who tell him they're looking for the Nightsong at Moonrise Towers. Seeing a chance to investigate both the Curse and the modified mindflayer tadpoles he's encountered, Halsin joins them, then is betrayed when they're attacked by goblins and Aradin promptly abandons Halsin to the goblins.

After that comes everything in canon with the Break the Shadow Curse quest and all of its sub-quests.

1493, roughly: In the 6 months after the curse is broken, Halsin (/and Tav, if applicable) repurpose what was left of Reithwin to become a new community for those needing a new start, the narrator noting that it's "hidden from those who are not welcome, open to any who need shelter." Halsin is noted to have "built a schoolhouse in a day" for all the nine wagonfuls of children who joined their community, and become an unofficial leader of the community. He says that the place is unrecognizable in a good way, with the scars rapidly becoming invisible even to those who know what happened.

Sadly, Art Cullagh passes away sometime between the curse breaking and the epilogue, but he remained close to Thaniel until the end, and it is noted that Thaniel and Oliver come to the community often to play.

I think that's everything for the parts of the Shadow-Curse story we don't directly play through in canon!

Random interesting fact that @ride-a-dromedary and I noticed: the name "Reithwin" is one letter off from "Relthwin", the Elvish word for "refuge". That may or may not be intentional.

[killerkatsmeow]

It was only natural that when Nakori and Shadowheart headed to Reithwin, to Halsin's orpahange-commune, that Nakori and Halsin picked up where they left off. Once the netherbrain was defeated, they had no choice but to go their separate ways: Halsin wanted to give people and children new homes and Nakori wanted to be with Shadowheart while she avenged the "home" that was taken from her.

Reithwin, once shadow-laden and barren , was now a shimmering and lively home. Orphaned children ran free, adults moved out of their way calling out soft warnings with smiles. Halsin was overjoyed when he saw them walking, eyes wide with glee and children dangled from his biceps. His welcome was warm, his eyes lingered on Nakori as they shared a smile. He swept his arms as he showed them around, he walked ahead while Shadowheart threaded her fingers through Nakori's.

"We've come for a visit, as I'm told Nakori promised. Just a few weeks, if that's alright with you." Shadowheart answered his question, a knowing yet playful glint in her eye. She knew, of course, the history between Halsin and Nakori. She remembered giving her explicit permission for it to take place. She remembered when Nakori invited Halsin to join the two of them during their time with the Drow Twins. He was always a welcome guest in their relationship though she never spent time with him alone herself. No matter how many times she found him in her dreams.

Their room in Halsin's quarters was spacious with a window that gazed into the forest. Some early mornings, when Shadowheart still slept, Nakori would look out and see him. Halsin. Sometimes, he'd be in ursine form. Other times, he'd be his plain self (clothing optional) walking deep into the forest as his large hand made contact with each tree he passed before he disappeared from her line of sight. She watched him, his appearance something she grew to look forward to and anticipate. She hid behind curtains, wary of being seen but she wondered if he'd known anyways. Known that he had a captive audience in her.

One morning, she joined him. Wrapped herself in a blanket, she braved the early morning chill to walk alongside Halsin. His smile was true as he extended a hand to her. She took it, allowing him to pull her into the mouth of the woods. The conversation was polite and friendly and nostalgic until they came across a babbling brook. They settled next to it, Nakori stretched her legs and placed her feet into the running water. Halsin watched, adoration evident, as his fingers danced through the mini currents.

"I must say: thank you. For coming here, indulging the children with your adventure tales." Halsin's eyes twinkled as they looked over Nakori. She looked the same but somehow more beautiful - same black-red hair, same full lips, same deep skin. But she was different, changed. In a way he could not describe.

"I promised you I would. You know me...never break a promise." Her voice was soft, her eyes danced over him but she refused to make eye contact. Her weakness was his eyes: the color, the sincerity, the patience, the voracity they held within was almost too much to bear if one is not ready.

"When we last spoke, I told you I had...selfish reasons for wanting to see you again." His voice was lower, his eyes on the side of her face, tracing her profile. He wanted her to look at him, just once. He'd been missing her eyes - one green, one yellow , their feline-like shape.

"I remember. I have my own selfish reasons for seeing you again." Nakori's voice was now softer than before, the corner of her lips visible to him as they quirked up in a shy-mischievous smirk. His own lips smiled just a bit in response, his hands burned with the new desire to reach out and touch her own. The hug at the camp reunion wasn't enough, the kiss wasn't enough. He thought he'd be satiated with them but...he needed more.

"Shadowheart. Her consent is-," Halsin began, his back having straightened when he remembered that the road back to Nakori's embrace was blocked by another.

"She understands. Still. I told her about our kiss, I thought she'd be angry. 6 months had gone by so I thought maybe...her mind had changed. We'd gotten closer, her and I. I didn't even think it was possible. But she understands, it's alright." Nakori's eyes finally locked onto Halsin's, her chest tightened with a sharp inhale.

He was still beautiful, still captivating, still worth devouring. And being devoured by.

Relief washed over him, her eyes feel like home, and the confirmation of Shadowheart's renewed consent. It ignited something in him, it had him inching towards Nakori - his imposing figure dwarfed her. His massive hands found their way to her soft cheeks, turning her face this way and that as he looked over her. The feel of her...he once wondered if he'd ever know such bliss and favor again.

"I've missed you. Every time I've allowed myself the thought of you in the privacy of my quarters, I've made love to a ghost...a memory. I never thought I'd have you to myself again, truly." He was whispering now and his words fumbled into one another. She reached up, her cool and thin fingers brushed comforting patterns along up his wrists.

"I've done the same. More times than I'm brave enough to admit." She couldn't break the eye contact, couldn't stop herself from admiring the man in front of her. His hair had grown since she last saw him, hanging a few inches past his shoulders now. His close proximity allowed for the smell of pine, sweet earthy mud, and unmistakable smoke to waft from him to her. His pulse thrummed strong and a touch erratic under her fingers, but it was familiar and comforting no less.

Halsin chuckled at her admission, his heart and mind raced with the image of her. Hand between her thighs as she recalled the nights they'd shared. The mental image pulled a low growl from him and he felt himself leaning in, placing a deep but tentative kiss on her lips. He pulled away, his eyes searched hers for any indication that she wanted more, another kiss or just more of him. Both he was more than willing to supply.

A soft smile spread across Nakori's face. She'd missed him more than she thought she did - she was more than happy and content with Shadowheart. She wanted nothing more in the world than to be with her but there was something about Halsin that she could never forget, something that made him impossible to let go of, to move on from.

The thought danced in Nakori's mind as she leans in on her own, a hand jumped up from his wrist to his angular jaw, pulling him in to close the distance. Their lips touched once more, earnest and slow. Then again, and again. Halsin's hands moved - one settled around the side of her neck and the other found purchase gripping her hip. He pulled back and began to admire the woman in front of him before he placed a few feverish kisses along her jaw and neck, ears perked at the sound of the soft sighs that fell from Nakori's lips.

Nakori thought to herself that she could spend the rest of her life here if she really wanted as she was pulled into another kiss. She felt his hands on her, tightening grips on her hips and waist. She allowed his tongue entrance, they wrestled for dominance. He growled in approval once her hands started roving: fingers tugged on his hair, hands slid down his firm chest and rested atop his ever-hardening bulge.

"Stay." His voice was gruff but no more than a desperate whisper as he worked his kisses down Nakori's neck and her chest as he eased her down into the dirt. His hands shook with need and desire as they worked to pull her shirt over her head and tossed it haphazardly to the side.

"Hmm?" Nakori's voice was nothing but a whimper as his hands expertly handled her now exposed breasts, kneading and pinching. She could feel him, pressed against her thighs as she spread her legs to accommodate him. Halsin paused, he pulled his face from where he buried it between her breasts.

"Please. Stay." His voice sounded more desperate than before. He was begging, or at least was close to begging. His eyes were pleading, his lips quivered - be it with emotion or the urge to claim more of her as his own.

"I want to." Her voice shook, her hands caressed the sides of his face. Her thumb ran along his bottom lip, giving it a slight pull. He sighed, his lips pressed a soft kiss to the pad of her thumb.

"I want you to. I need you to." Halsin's voice was soft and honey-like. They knew that this dream of Nakori remaining in Reithwin fell on Shadowheart and her alone. The realization fell over them, something like blanket as they reached for one another again. Their hands were greedy, pulling the last bit of clothing off of one another. Their lips were greedy, latching onto whatever skin they could, teeth grazing and proding. They were greedy for one another as Halsin pressed himself inside of her warmth, wanton moan and animal-like grunts.

It was familiar. It was new. All at once, but it felt right. This was what they were missing - one another, in more ways than they could count.

[foxs0x]

Reithwin before the curse