Goodbye Astarion [Astarion X NB Tav]

Part 7

Once upon a time, there was a child who called themselves Tav. The child had a fisherman father, and their mother was the fisherman's wife. They lived in a hut where the Chionthar meets the sea and the three were very happy.

Each day Tav would beg their father to take them with him on his boat. The father would laugh and ruffle their hair. "A boat is no place for a lady, Tavitha." He would then kiss the child's forehead, embrace his wife and leave before the sun broke the horizon.

The child kept asking with increasing desperation to go with their father. Tav wanted to be like him. "I'll be careful, I promise! And I'll be so quiet I won't scare the fish. I can help with the nets, and counting the haul. Please, please let me come with you."

The father looked at the mother and she shrugged with a smile. "What harm could it do? She just loves you and wants to be with you. Let her come, someday she'll outgrow this."

The father relented. "Alright, you can come tomorrow, but you have to listen to my instructions. There's rules on the boat that we all have to follow to stay safe." The father held up three fingers. "Don't jump around or wiggle, stay in the center of your seat, and don't lean over the sides." The child promised enthusiastically.

The next morning Tav and their father boarded his small boat. His rolled up net sat nestled between their feet. The sea sparkled with the rising sun as the father rowed them out into the open water. True to their promise Tav was quiet and helpful, happy to be included.

When the sun was high overhead and there was nothing to do but wait, Tav stared out at the waves. The surface rippled gently and something flashed below the surface. "Father! Did you see that?" Tav knelt on their seat leaning forward trying to see clearer.

"Careful, Tavitha! Sit down." Tav's father warned, reaching towards them.

Tav thought they saw a face looking up at them from the water. "It's a mermaid, father!" They moved closer, Tav's father grabbed for their arm, and the boat flipped.

While the sea had seemed calm, underneath the water ripped and pulled. The current dragged them down and Tav clawed and kicked towards the surface. Tav's face would break the waves and they would be dragged back under even as they tried to scream for help. The undertow rolled and tossed them, beating the air from their lungs. The harder Tav fought the more exhausted they became.

Fighting Astarion's compulsion was like fighting the sea. Tav's body moved with the pull and push of his spell and they were simply a passenger, or a hostage. They struggled, and their muscles burned at the effort but his will was, is, and always will be inevitable.

"Look out, Wyll!" Tav yells as they fling a handful of fire at him. Wyll dives to the side and the projectile slams into the table beyond where he had just stood. The bottles on the table shatter and a pool of flaming spirits spread out from the now ruined table.

Shadowheart moves away from the burning wreckage. "Flagra!" A bolt of light shoots from her hand and collides with Astarion's chest. Tav grunts as some of the radiant power spills over onto them, singeing their arm. "Move, Tav!"

"I can't!" Their voice is desperate. Tav takes aim at Jaheira, a frosty ball of ice gathering in their palm.

Shadowheart's spiritual greatsword crashes into Astarion and the force of the impact sends Astarion and Tav flying apart. The spell Tav had been preparing explodes in their hand when they hit the ground. A patch of ice spreads out around them. Tav slips as they try to get back up, and they decide to crawl out of the ice instead.

Astarion easily regains his footing. He extends one arm with a motion like he's pulling a great weight from the center of Abeir-Toril itself. Four ghouls claw their way out of the ground like a grotesque crop.