Baldur's Gate 3 Oneshots & Short Stories

Revivifying Tav - Gale

Gale is the only one who sees Tav fall during battle in the mage's tower. But not where they fall to.

Content waring: character death, mentions of violence

Act 1, no spoilers

Word count: 1092

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It's been hours. Hours of mania, of stumbling half blind into the deepest pits of the Underdark. Gale trips on the cragged rock for the 15th time - or is it the 16th? Wyll's lost count. He and Shadowheart share a look, a look they've been sharing since the battle ended. Shadowheart looks ahead to Gale and attempts to speak, cautiously.

"Gale, it's been hours, we need to-"

"We're not leaving without them!"

He snaps. His voice is equal parts anger and desperation. He stumbles over the rock again. Wyll places a friendly hand on Shadowheart's shoulder, a silent moment of both understanding and mourning. Gale was the only one who actually saw it during the heat of the battle. Everyone heard the crack of your ribs as the battle-built automaton kicked in your chest; heard your final scream as you fell into the abyss. Only Gale saw the surprise in your eyes - surprise which quickly turned to resignation as you were ejected from the top of the wizards tower. As if being the lover you had chosen wasn't weight enough, that final expression was his wound alone to carry.

Wyll and Shadowheart continued in silence. Rest would have to wait, no matter how many fresh scars they'd been adorned with. They had found themselves at a beach of sorts, a subterranean ocean lapping onto the cold shore. The way Gale's light spell glistens off the waves would almost be beautiful if not for the dour mood. As if sensing something, Wyll looks up from his feet towards the beach. He stops in his tracks and his face falls, his voice barely a whisper.

"Gale..."

Gale follows Wyll's gaze as he points towards the shore. Shadowheart gasps with a hand over her mouth, and Gale finally sees it too. The waves pull back to reveal a hand that's protruding from an all too familiar robe.

"TAV!"

The scream is ripped from Gale's throat and he sprints forward. His knees crash upon the sand with force and desperation. He masters all his strength to pull you from the surf, but the lifeless waves are relentless. Wyll joins his side and together they reveal your body: battered, bruised, broken, and now horribly bloated. Gale is forced to stumble away from your corpse to vomit from the sight of his lover in such a state. Shadowheart is there kneeling beside you in a heartbeat, already reciting the words to a resurrection spell.

Gale finally returns to your side, observing the unfamiliar divine magic with fear and trepidation. He can't do anything but watch as your fate is left to the hands of goddess he knows so little of. He can't do anything but watch. That divine glow fades, and the crackle of magic dissipates. Gale's face tightens with worry as everything becomes still, not a sound but the lapping waves echoing through the Underdark. Finally breaking the stillness your body jerks, and violently jerks again, before you cough up all the water that filled your lungs. Everyone releases a collective breath.

You roll onto your side to allow gallons of water to flood out of you. You feel nothing but all encompassing pain: pain inside your lungs, your muscles, your head, your bones. You feel familiar hands on your shoulders as Gale pulls you into his desperate embrace. Your eyes are slivers as you look up at him and you're shivering violently. The pain is too much to allow you to move. Gale frantically looks over your body. His shaking hands push the wet hair from your face and wipe away the blood that decorates your skin.

"Tav! Tav, oh gods! I- I thought you were gone! You can hear me, right? Please tell me you can hear me."

Wyll places a hand on his shoulder, interrupting his frantic ramblings.

"Gale, they're going to be okay. They're breathing, are they not?"

Gale leans down, putting his ear by your mouth. Your breath is shallow and shaky, but it brushes against his cheek all the same. You want to comfort him, to reassure him. You wish to tell him that it would take forces beyond the gods to pry him from you. The best you can manage, however, is a simple breath. A breath that is enough to prove Wyll's point. Gale exhales, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly.

"Right. They are. Thank you, Shadowheart."

All of you stay that way for a few moments, allowing your bodies to feel heavy and still.

"I don't mean to ruin a moment, but I'd much prefer to take a rest back at camp rather than in the middle of the Underdark."

Shadowheart speaks. Gale nods as he takes a final glance at your now sleeping form. Wyll squeezes his shoulder as a form of reassurance. Shadowheart walks alongside Gale, keeping an eye on his emotionally and physically drained state. Wyll walks at a careful pace behind them carrying your body.

When you finally awaken, your shivers are minute and the pain has subsided. Gale is sitting beside you, legs crossed, book in one hand, and his other absentmindedly stroking your hair. You smell the fire and a brew of floral tea. You turn your head slightly to get a better look at the wizard, finally alerting him you're awake. His eyes widen as the book is hastily discarded. Both his hands gently stroke your hair and he leans over you. You watch his eyes dart over all your features, his eyebrows pinched together the way they do when he studies. Second by second his anxiety calms.

"Tav, love, how are you feeling?"

You bring your hand to cover one of his.

"Better. It's nice to see you again."

You smile. He breathes a breathy laugh, a smile finally painting those gentle lips. His forehead drops down to yours.

"How is that you manage to be so charming even in such dire circumstances?"

Your smile grows at the question, for the answer is as easy as breathing. Before answering, you tilt your head, stealing a kiss from the wizard. His lips taste like lavender and elderberry.

"Because you make the world worth saving."

The air is thick with unspoken promises of an unknown future, except for one thing - that you shall remain side-by-side through all of it. Through the Underdark, the parasites, the Absolute, all of it. Like strands of the Weave itself, your fates are entangled, holding electrified mystery. Gale kisses you once more, his soft touch no less passionate. He lifts the blanket of your bedroll and joins you. Your head rests against his chest as his arm encircle you, leaving all the day's pain out in the cold darkness.