Chapter Text
One of Tav’s earliest memories includes hiding betwixt the leaves and brush of the lush High Forest and watching the enclave of wood elves practice their magic. She was entranced by their movements as they cast spells, the arcane power flowing through their bodies and grounding itself to the earth through their bare feet. The plant life that surrounded them would blossom and flourish as they cast, the leaves turning greener and the flowers blossoming bigger than Tav had previously thought possible.
She would have to be careful not to spend too much time in the depths of the High Forest, being sure to get back to her home in the civilized high-elf township for her own magic lessons. Her parents would take turns at the head of a class of young high-elves and perform magic of their own, slowly and with the intent to teach the youngest of the enclave. Tav would watch as they cast, their arcane ability seeming more cold and distant to her than the magics cast by the wood elves. The green shimmer that surrounded the wood elves felt warm like the rays of the sun, while the pink aura that surrounded her father as he taught was sickly-sweet like a sugar from another plane.
She would watch her father’s movements carefully as he stood at the head of the class, his hands moving intentionally slowly, and she caught his gaze focusing on her now and then to see if she was catching up. Tav tried to hide a grimace as she raised her arms, moving them in an arch in an attempt to imitate her father’s motions.
“Now, focus on the desired appearance of the illusion while you speak the verbal component…” Her father said. He took a deep breath before chanting the words - “Obtestor illus!”
The class echoed his words, shrill voices of young high elves all attempting to speak the incantation.
A few “oohs” and “aahs” came from the students as their spells succeeded. They had conjured glowing images and illusory effects amongst them. Some took the form of animals, others gave the air around them a glittering and glistening effect. The spells’ effects were entrancing to look at, but Tav remained focused on trying to cast her own Minor Illusion.
“Obtestor illus!” she called out, waving her hands to mimic her father.
She frowned, upset as she looked around the class to see so many magical illusions cast by her classmates. Yet… she knew she hadn’t succeeded herself. She felt nothing when she would chant the spell and perform the physical component. She was supposed to have sorcerer blood in her veins, but casting spells didn’t come naturally to her at all.
She saw her father’s disappointment in his eyes as he turned toward her. This wasn’t the first time she failed a lesson.
The look in his eyes made her feel such shame, it ingrained in her a hatred for magic. It made her feel like an outcast. Her classmates, some of them even younger than her, seemed to be ahead of her within the magic curriculum. But the way they all wielded magic lacked the emotion she so admired from the wood elves in the High Forest. They wielded the magic the same way a carpenter wields a hammer or a soldier wields a sword. It was a tool to them, lacking a certain kind of connection.
For the rest of the class, she watched as her father coached her classmates and encouraged them to keep focus, concentrating on their magic in order to keep it active as long as they could. As the class was drawing to a close, Tav took the opportunity to slip away while her father’s back was turned and he was aiding another student. She ran as quickly as her legs could carry her to the outskirts of the township, towards the depths of the High Forest. She ran into the brush, blinking back tears in her eyes. In her rush, she tripped and tumbled over a mossy rock jutting out from the ground, hidden by the lush greenery on the forest floor. Her small elven frame was thrust deeper into the brush, and she found herself crashed at the feet of a wood elf.
The wood elf looked to be only a bit older than herself, still considered a youngling. Her eyes were wide with curiosity, and her smile was kind as she bent over with an outstretched hand, offering to help Tav from the ground. Tav looked up at her and couldn’t help but smile and take her hand as she got up from the ground.
“Th-thank you.” Tav said in Sylvan, grateful for the kindness the wood elf had shown.
Her parents would often warn her not to go into the woods and associate with the wood elves, that they were “Troublesome” and “Primitive”. Tav never understood their disdain, even less so now.
“I… I’m Tav. What’s your name?” She said, trying not to be rude to her new acquaintance. She found it difficult not to stare, she had never been able to make out the details of the wood elves’ features before now.
The wood elf that stood before her was a young girl like herself, but instead of the golden hued skin Tav was accustomed to seeing amongst high elves, this girl’s skin was an olive green tone. It was lovely, like the color of moss growing on the north side of a tree.
“I’m Francesca.” The wood elf said back in Sylvan. “What… what are you doing here?” She asked curiously.
Tav noticed Francesca staring at her too, likely noting similar differences between their appearances.
“I- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here. I just…” Tav hesitated, averting her gaze towards the ground shamefully. “I just wanna do magic like you do.” She muttered under her breath, just barely loud enough for Francesca to hear her.
Francesca chuckled softly, her curious gaze turning soft with empathy.
As Tav stared at the ground before her, she was startled to see a golden light in her peripheral vision. Taking a glance at Francesca’s feet, she could see a glowing yellow beam flow from the ground to the tips of her toes and up through her body. Tav leapt back in surprise, in awe as Francesca began casting a spell before Tav’s very eyes.
Francesca’s hands moved in an arch, a golden light in her palms. The motion reminded Tav of the sun moving across the sky. Francesca’s eyes began to glow with the same golden light that she held in her hands.
“Ductu ad te!” She called.
Tav watched as the golden light throughout her body gathered in her palms, its light shining brighter, when it suddenly disappeared with a glimmer.
A light breeze blew through the forest, carrying with it the buzz of insects and the music of birdsong. Tav felt the breeze carry something else within it, as its cool and calming air enveloped her.
“Silvanus guide you, child. May you find your own place in this world.” Francesca said, gathering her hand into a fist and pressing it to her heart.
“S-Silvanus?” Tav asked, unfamiliar.
“I have to go, my kin are calling for me. But if you wish to meet me again, I am often in this part of the forest. I would be glad to make a friend of you.” Francesca spoke hurriedly, grabbing a quarterstaff from the tall grass and rushing into the brush leading to the deeper part of the forest. In a blink, Francesca had all but disappeared into the green of the woods, leaving Tav alone with her thoughts.
There wasn’t much silence for her to ponder on as the brush behind her rustled and she heard twigs snap beneath the feet of someone approaching.
“Tav!” Called a familiar voice.
“M-mother?”
“Tav Clearwater- what are you doing out here!?” Her father’s voice cried out, as Tav saw the faces of both of her parents amongst the low hanging branches of the forest.
“I… I…” Tav couldn’t find the words. She knew she wasn’t supposed to come to these woods, and this kind of behavior was very unlike her. She did everything she could to be the perfect child for her parents, trying to make up for the fact she couldn't cast spells.
“Is that… magic?” Asked her father, looking her up and down.
“Could it be? Did you cast a spell?” Her mother asked, the excitement in her voice apparent. Before Tav could even begin to explain, she watched her mother mutter something under her breath and move her hands in a precise pattern. As she completed her cast, her excited smile turned to a concerned scowl.
“... Guidance?” She said aloud, realizing that the magic evident around Tav was not the work of a sorcerer.
“Tav, who did you meet with? What were you doing here?” Her father’s rising concern was evident in his tone of voice.
“I- I didn’t meet with anyone. I just… found them. I wasn’t doing anything!” Tav tried to prove her innocence but her parents had already formed their own interpretation of the situation.
“Come, Tav. We mustn’t stay here, it’s not safe.” Her mother called Tav to her side, outstretching a hand to hold.
Tav sulked, seeing she had once again disappointed her parents, and took her mother’s hand to be led out of the forest.
It wasn’t long after that incident that Tav’s parents decided that it would be best if they were to move to an area with less distractions from their daughter’s studies. They considered moving to Waterdeep, but Tav’s father had little faith that she would be accepted into their prestigious Blackstaff Academy. Instead, they opted to move to Baldur’s Gate and enroll Tav in courses at the city’s Citadel of Strategic Militancy. This training center was often the one that the city’s Flaming Fist defense would attend to learn basic fighting techniques. Although Tav was attending primarily for their combat magic classes, her parents agreed that the courses on basic battle maneuvers could be useful for her to know as well.
It was there at that Citadel that Tav spent a large majority of her time in her formative years. She would study and study and continue to be unable to perform magic. She failed so consistently she came to question her own bloodline. However, she did find solace in the fact that she became adept in physical combat. While the magic lessons pained her, the promise of combat training class kept her motivated to attend her courses diligently and routinely for many years. She watched so many members of the Flaming Fist enter the Citadel and graduate to a position in the City’s military during her time there, many of the professors were concerned she had been attending courses for too long.
“Never too old to learn!” was the headmaster’s stance on the situation, and Tav was grateful for him. He would often be the one to spar with her during her battle lessons, as he was one of the few left at the Citadel that could keep up with her in both speed and stamina.
Headmaster Hart Thornblood was a well established knight and general of the Flaming Fist and faithful worshiper of the Red Knight, an exarch of Tempus, god of battle and strategy. He knew his way around a blade, and presented an entertaining challenge for Tav during her training sessions.
Despite years and years of schooling, magic never came naturally to Tav. Her parents made lives for themselves in the city with their magic prowess, but their daughter failed to grow into her “true potential” as a sorceress.
The feeling that she had failed her parents haunted Tav as she grew up in Baldurs Gate and not a spark of magic came from her studies. She lived with that feeling for too long, with the cruel mindset that her desire to be rid of the feeling would drive her ambition even further to become an adept caster. Despite her efforts and her rigorous coursework, it did not. After a while the feeling of failure was numb to her, and that was when she shifted her focus toward battle strategy and maneuvers. Headmaster Thornblood had told her that she would make a fine tactician one day after seeing her advise some classmates on their attack strategy when facing a formation of animated armor in the training ground. She wasn’t a failure in his eyes, despite him signing the paperwork for her failed combat magic course year after year after year. He would still allow her to re-enroll.
During one lesson around noon in Eleasis (Mid-summer), the sun was high in the sky and its rays were beating on the training ground so much to make everyone in armor sweat through their underclothes.
“Alright, trainees! Swords away, and go git yerselves some pints at the Blushin’ Mermaid. No use fightin’ in this mad heat, the trainin’ grounds’ll turn to mud with all the water yer pourin’ out.” Commander Highgold called down from the spectating stand above the training ground. His dwarven accent was thick and commanding, but also warm like a spiced rum.
The entire class sighed with relief as they all yanked their helmets off, revealing steaming hair and damp faces. There were about 6 of them in total, all of them ripping off the armor that was practically baking them in the sunlight.
“Thank the gods. They don’t call Eleasis “Highsun” for nothin’, eh?” chirped one of the trainees, wringing sweat out of her dampened hair.
A few of the other trainees chuckled. Tav was certainly grateful for the break, a cold stein of ale sounded like heaven for her parched throat.
The group of them all headed out of the Citadel together and began walking towards the city docks that the Blushing Mermaid tavern so famously overlooked, all talking amongst themselves.
The Training Grounds Class of 1492:
Cora Aidengrace - Human Female - Dark skin, long black hair, sarcastic, loves cheap ale, can take a hit like a champ. Gets distracted easily.
Edmund Stillfellow - Human Male - Short, Pale skin, short wavy light brown hair, soft spoken but a good fighter when he is focused. Doesn’t know what to do when he is disarmed.
Kilas Fretter - Tiefling Male - Pale orange skin, light brown hair shoulder length but worn tied up, two ivory horns pointed upwards and inwards. Gives a battle his full effort, but fails to recognize weaknesses of an enemy.
Deserae Fretter - Tiefling Female - Pale orange skin, blonde hair long but half shaven on the left. Two ivory horns curled downwards like a ram. Very observant and can pinpoint enemy weaknesses, but sometimes hesitates when making attacks.
Redd Gregorian - Half-orc male, pale green skin, nose ring, blonde quaffed hair. Superior strength, but not proficient in anything except a battleaxe.
Tav Clearwater - High Elf Female - Golden tan skin, Black wavy hair kept out of her face, Hazel eyes. Can recognize weaknesses of enemies easily, is confident when attacking, cannot wield magic and is sometimes frightened of magic enemies.
“Kilas, I can’t believe you haven't noticed that one animated armor never covers his left flank. He leaves it wide open, yet you go for his right every time!” Deserae piped, swinging her arms as if she was wielding a sword, smacking the right flank of an enemy.
“What are you talking about Des, I always hit him on the left!” Kilas exclaimed. You could practically hear the gears turning in his head. “Wait… my left or his left?”
“His left!” Deserae explained, exasperation in her voice.
“I think Kilas favors hitting enemies on the right no matter who the opponent. That seems to be the first swing he makes.” Tav chimed in as they all walked down the city street.
“At least I take a swing even without a sword in my hand, Edmund.” Kilas retorted, looking over his shoulder at the soft spoken human.
“H-hey! I just don’t like bruising my fists! At least I can wield practically anything, Re-” Edmund began to redirect the focus to Redd’s shortcomings when Redd whipped around shooting a glare at Edmund that could rival a Beholder.
“N-nevermind…” Edmund backtracked and Redd let out a soft grunt of approval.
“You lollygags are too slow! We’ll never get to the Mermaid at this rate! Come on, T, I need ale!” Cora ran up from the back of the pack, snatching Tav’s wrist and dragging her ahead of the group, straight towards the docks.
“Gah! Okay, okay!” Tav was caught off guard, but quickly caught up to the speed of Cora as they ran towards the tavern ahead of everyone.
As they approached the tavern, Tav found herself gazing out onto the docks. The ships coming in and unloading, the pungent smell of fish and seawater assaulting her. She was used to the rather musty smell of the city, but the docks were on another level. The sun’s blinding light reflected off of the choppy waves of the Sea of Swords. It didn’t smell the cleanest, but it certainly looked refreshing in this heat.
“T?” Cora chimed, trying to get Tav’s attention as she was looking longingly out across the sea. They were stood just outside the Blushing Mermaid now.
“Uh-” she started “Can I catch up with you in a minute?” She asked, turning back to look at Cora. Cora couldn’t quite tell what was going through Tav’s mind, but she nodded despite her suspicions.
“Sure thing, girl. I’ll grab you a pint.” She smiled, and let go of Tav’s wrist as she turned to go inside the Blushing Mermaid.
Tav smiled back gratefully, walking briskly toward the docks.
She weaved her way through fishmongers and sailors, heaving crates and barrels full of who-knows-what. The smell of fish and saltwater only got stronger as she passed through crowds of traders, there to buy and sell the goods that were coming in from overseas. Wine from Thay, cheese from Waterdeep, herbs from Amn. Those more delectable smells were masked by the heavy stink of the city.
As Tav walked down one of the docks and approached the water, she couldn’t help but feel giddy. Gods, what she would give to take a dip in the sea to escape this heat - but Mystra knows what creatures lie below in those murky waters. Instead, she took her shoes off and sat herself down at the edge of the dock, her feet dangling near the water’s surface. The tide was low enough that her toes didn’t get wet, but it wasn’t the lowest she had seen it get.
She closed her eyes as she sat at the dock’s edge, letting all the sounds and sensations of the coastline soak in. She felt the light, salty mist of the ocean on her skin, heard the call of hungry gulls and the splash of waves against the hulls of harbored ships. Her mind felt at peace, despite the chaos of the vendors and seamen that bustled around her. The coastal breeze against her skin caused her mind to wander back to the days of her childhood, when the wind would rustle the treetops in the High Forest and caress her face. She had grown accustomed to her life in Baldur’s Gate and her classmates’ company - but she still found herself missing the more rural lifestyle she had in the High Elf township of the High Forest.
Tav took one more deep breath in, soaking in all the coast had to offer before she knew she had to go and grab the pint of ale that Cora was saving for her. She hoped it was red ale - that is - if Cora hadn’t drank it already.
Tav opened her eyes, greeted by the glistening water before her, seemingly endless in its expanse. She leaned over the edge of the dock, eager to see the waves lapping up against the dock supports.
“Ah!-” She exclaimed softly, shocked by the water below her.
She could see a spiral of water at her toes rising up, reaching to the sky as if it was climbing to the sun itself. She peered at it curiously, tilting her head perplexed at the water’s unnatural behavior. As her head tilted to one side, the water shifted in the same movement. Tav straightened her back, startled by the water’s sudden shift. Slowly and curiously, she waved her head to the opposite side keeping her eyes on the risen water formation. As she moved her head, the water moved as well.
Once again she leaned over the dock, looking into the murky waters expecting to see a siren or a porpoise of some kind playing a trick on her. Alas, there were no creatures to be found. As she peered down into the water, she noticed a faint blue light emanating from the waves, its glow creeping upwards to Tav’s toes. The aura was familiar to Tav, the way it anchored itself to her body…
She recalled the way that the yellow glow from the High Forest traveled through young Francesca’s body as she cast spells. Surely this wasn’t magic. From the ocean? Tav was no merfolk, she was of high elf blood through and through. Tav lifted her hands from the surface of the dock she was leaning on, her eyes widening at the sight of a blue glow in her palms. She was casting a spell on the water… making it move. It was her… wielding magic for the first time in her life.
Her grin was impossible to hide. She jumped to her feet in excitement and felt her lose concentration on the shape water spell, but it didn’t matter. She could finally do it! The thing she harbored so much shame for… she had overcome it. She had to tell the others. She had to tell Cora! She might finally pass Combat Magic this year! She hurriedly pulled on her shoes, when she felt the intensity of the midsummer sun fade. Clouds? The skies had been clear all week, surely some rain would be a welcome respite. Turning her gaze upwards, she felt dread sink through her entire body.
Above the city a gruesome tentacled ship was tearing its way through the sky obstructing the sun. Its appendages shot out in all directions, wreaking havoc on the tallest bell tower in the city. One moment there was one, and in seconds there were many, all entering the airspace of Baldur’s gate in an instant through portals that were dark like the night sky. The city was in panic, people racing through the streets, attempting to escape the grasp of the ships’ menacing tentacles.
Tav felt adrenaline coursing through her, leaping into action as she sprinted across the dock and toward the Blushing Mermaid. She had to find her friends and make sure they got to cover. In her peripheral vision she saw one of the ships’ slimy tentacles wrap itself around a civilian, their body disappearing in a puff of blackened ash. What was this enemy? It was unlike anything she had ever been trained to face off against. She kept sprinting, trying to keep the fear of the unknown from her mind, focusing in on the doors of the Blushing Mermaid. She was close, almost there in fact. Her arm was outstretched toward the door when she felt it- the cold wet embrace of the ship’s tentacles around her leg. One moment the tavern door was within her grasp, and the next she was in an endless darkness…
