Chapter Text
With Lorrokan dead, Gale offered to take up the job of taking care of Ramazith’s Tower, claiming that he was Lorrokan’s apprentice. Since he was an archmage from Waterdeep, Rivalen Blackhand was more than happy to accept Gale’s offer.
Miranda, Astarion, and Shadowheart came along with Gale, using a Seeming scroll to disguise themselves as Gale’s assistants. Astarion drank an invisibility potion and used his set of lockpicks to break into the librarian’s office.
“What are you doing?” one of the security automatons asked.
Miranda smiled innocently and said, “We were just getting something from the librarian’s office. She’s so busy downstairs. We thought we’d help her out.”
Her natural charm surprisingly worked on the automaton. The four of them quickly went inside and looked around the librarian’s office. Astarion spotted a book that was askew on a bookshelf. The book opened a portal that led to the vaults.
From the entrance of the vaults, the four of them went down a hallway. Astarion unlocked a door marked “Ramazith.” Then they entered a chamber with three other doors. Astarion disarmed all the traps in the room while Gale, Shadowheart, and Miranda tried to figure out which door to go through.
“Who’s Silverhand?” Miranda asked.
“It must be referring to Laeral Silverhand, one of the Seven Sisters,” Gale said. “She was a Chosen of Mystra.”
“That sounds like the door we should go through, then.”
The door lead to an identical chamber, only with more doors and traps.
“I see all the types of magic,” Miranda said. “How do we figure out which one to go through?”
“Karsus specialized in Abjuration,” Gale said.
“That sounds like the best guess,” Shadowheart said.
The third room had four doors: “Shadow,” “Wild,” “Demon,” and “Silver.”
“There’s shadow magic and wild magic,” Miranda said. “Making a pact with a demon would also give someone arcane abilities. Silver is the only one that doesn’t fit.”
“It might be referring to the half-elf house of Algarond,” Gale said. “Donya Silver was a powerful wizard from the Unapproachable East.”
“That definitely sounds like something connected to Karsus,” Miranda said.
Opening the door marked “Silver” led to a lever that Astarion pulled.
“Maybe if we take one of the other doors, it will lead us back to where we started,” Shadowheart said.
Sure enough, going through the Shadow door took them right back to the first chamber, only this time, the door marked “Karsus” was opened.
The four of them immediately went inside Karsus’s vault. Miranda’s eyes immediately went to one of the books placed on a shelf. Astarion, however, was drawn to the three display cases. Two of them contained large books. The third had a purple gem.
Miranda took The Annals of Karsus off the bookshelf and gave the book to Gale. While Gale read through the book, Astarion preoccupied himself with unlocking the three display cases in the Karsus vault.
“This is no mere journal,” Gale said. “It contains Karsus’s original plans for the Crown’s construction, his designs for godhood.”
“Are you saying Karsus wanted to become a god?” Astarion asked. “And I thought I was delusional for wanting to become a Vampire Ascendant!”
“Didn’t the crown kill Karsus?” Miranda asked.
“Not exactly,” Gale said. “It was what he did that sealed his fate. The book states that the Crown and Netherstones were originally one construct, seemingly sundered at the moment of Karsus’s downfall. If we can collect the crown’s setting and the three Netherstones, and with the correct invocation of certain spells and gestures detailed in these notes…I think I can reforge it.”
“I hope you mean to return the Crown back to Mystra,” Miranda said. “We all know that Raphael wants it. I’m not the biggest fan of Mystra, but by all rights, the Crown of Karsus belongs to her.”
“What if we considered a third option? Think of it. The power of the gods in mortal hands at last. We’d be free of doctrine and dogma, confined only by the limits of our imaginations. I promise you, the gods will never grant us such a blessing, no matter how much we worship and adore them.”
Shadowheart and Astarion looked to Miranda, then took cautions steps back. Her eyes were filled with the kind of fire only gold dragons could create, the fire of righteous anger.
“We rescued the daughter of Selune, who fought by our side and helped us bring down the Avatar of Myrkul and a foolish wizard who dared to repeat that same mistake. Does Dame Aylin mean nothing to you, Gale?” Miranda spoke in a harsh tone, just like Dame Aylin did before she broke Lorrokan’s back.
Gale refused to be intimidated. “Selune and Dame Aylin are one thing, but I worshipped Mystra for years and in that time, she granted me the barest sliver of power I was ready to wield. Even with the fate of the world at stake, she had little more to offer than the means of blowing myself up at a more convenient time. She’s done nothing to help us! Mystra wanted the brain obliterated because of the Crown. She fears a world in which such power is beyond her control, ready to be claimed by Karsus’s successor.”
Miranda folded her arms and glared at Gale. He remembered when Miranda directed her wrath at others. She never got angry at him, though. And he hated when she got angry.
“The Crown could easily destroy you,” Miranda said. “It killed Karsus, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“Do you think I had not considered that? I have no intention of repeating his folly. Powerful as he was, Karsus lacked some advantages I can lay claim to. I know Mystra, intimately. And I carry a fragment of the Weave within my body. Karsus achieved many things, but he never managed that.”
Miranda’s hands clenched into fists. She spoke in a very sharp, low, commanding tone. “Gale, I’m urging you to drop this delusion of yours now. The Crown cannot be reforged so that you can go play god.”
“I see,” Gale said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “I suppose I’m asking you to take a leap of faith even the most loyal of friends might struggle to land gracefully.”
“This isn’t about a leap of faith,” Shadowheart said. “It’s about becoming a god. You know what the gods hate above all else? Hubris!”
“Shadowheart is right,” Astarion said. “Miranda had to talk me down from going through with the Rite of Profane Ascension and it took me a while to realize she was right. I can’t believe you went from suicidal to having a god complex!”
“You don’t understand! I’ve spent so long feeling…inferior, shut out from my destiny over such a simple act of youthful enthusiasm.” Gale stared at Miranda and Astarion. They had no idea what it was like for him. Miranda was a powerful sorceress with a natural ability to wrap everyone around her finger and didn’t need to study the intricate workings of the Weave in order to wield its power. Astarion may have lacked those same talents, but he was still someone Miranda kept around while Gale often stayed at camp. Not to mention, he was annoyed at their loud, incessant, flagrant affection for each other.
“We are all fools in love, Gale,” Miranda said. “However, you are not a youth anymore.”
Gale sighed. “Perhaps I got carried away with the thought this Crown could give me back what Mystra took. Cure me, even.”
“I think the best solution is that if you’re going to reforge the Crown, give it to Mystra and seek her forgiveness. Now, if we’ve gotten all we need, let’s get out of here.”
###
Just as everyone was leaving Sorcerous Sundries, they found Elminster out in the town square, waiting for them. Being the powerful wizard he was as well as the Chosen of Mystra, he caught onto what Miranda and Gale were doing and ordered Gale to have a discussion with Mystra in the Stormshore Tabernacle.
A stream of pure, undiluted Weave emanated from Mystra’s statue.
“There was a time that I would’ve given my right arm to speak with Mystra again,” Gale said. “The left one, too. Maybe a knee.”
“For all my grievances with Mystra regarding what she did to you, I think you’re more than ready to talk to her,” Miranda said, trying to keep her tone as gentle as possible. The walk to Stormshore Tabernacle was filled with an uneasy silence. Gale wasn’t sure if Miranda was giving him genuine encouragement or if she was just being polite.
“You’re right. I am a strong, capable wizard. And this is no more than a casual reunion with an ex-lover. My omnipotent, omniscient ex lover…I always wondered what being nervous would feel like. I hate it.”
Miranda laughed softly. “Now you know how I’ve been feeling these past months,” she said.
Gale hated how beautiful she looked when she laughed. She was more of a goddess than Mystra in his eyes. If I took the Crown for myself and ascend into godhood, I could make her a goddess, Gale thought. I could be the god of ambition and she could be my consort, the goddess of sorcerers. Astarion would be nothing compared to me.
“Any words of wisdom to impart before I go?” Gale asked.
“Seek her forgiveness, Gale,” Miranda said. “It might be your only hope of curing your condition.”
Gale sighed. “You’re right. A heartfelt apology is the surest way to the goddess’s heart and her favor. Wait here for me, please. I won’t be gone long.”
###
Gale found himself in the middle of what he assumed was Mystra’s dimension, possibly the Astral Plane. Mystra stood before him in a purple and black dress befitting a queen. Her long, dark hair cascaded around her shoulders and her purple eyes looked upon him with a cold expression.
“You discovered what lies at the heart of the Absolute, the Crown of Karsus. Yet you disobeyed my instruction. Why?” Mystra asked.
“I didn’t want to die. And when I saw the Crown, I thought I might have to, if I only understood its power. Besides that, Mystra, you should know how much of a risk the Orb is to everyone in the Sword Coast. You can use Divination. What do you think would’ve happened if I used the Orb back in the Mind Flayer Colony?”
Mystra closed her eyes and went into a meditative stance. She saw a vision of mind flayers taking over the Sword Coast. The elder brain was gone, but all the infected members of the Cult of the Absolute wouldn’t be taken with it. It was one possible outcome.
“Perhaps you were wise in regards to that,” she said. “However, the past cannot be undone with self-pity, nor can a future be forged. Only with the truth will you see the way ahead. The fragment of magic you tried to return to me was not of my creation. It was the Karsite Weave. It is a corrupted, half-born magic wrought in the brief moment Karsus ascended to godhood. It hungers for power just as he did, and it can never be sated. You unleashed something that would consume all magic in existence, and yet you thought only of preserving yourself.”
“It wasn’t like that. I only wanted to prove myself worthy of you. I had no idea.”
“You were already worthy. What you lacked was patience and it cost you dearly. When the Karsite Weave entered your body, your gifts were the first thing consumed. The only reason the orb sleeps is because I have allowed it to feed on the true Weave. A temporary measure, but one that will not be enough to save you. If you choose not to use the orb to end the Elder Brain, find a way to separate Crown from host. Then surrender the Crown of Karsus to me.”
“You have my word,” Gale said. “When the Absolute is vanquished, I will surrender Karsus’s powers to you.”
“Thank you. May the Weave’s light guide your purpose, and its wisdom guide your hand.”
###
In the blink of an eye, Gale returned to the Stormshore Tabernacle. He saw Shadowheart praying to a statue of Selune while Miranda and Astarion knelt at the altar together, like a couple about to take marriage vows. He could easily imagine himself kneeling next to Miranda in such a way.
Everyone’s attention turned to Gale as soon as he reappeared.
“The Wizard of Waterdeep has returned,” Astarion said. “How did it feel standing in the presence of your former lover?”
“Relieved. Drained. Proud of myself, for having the courage to go to her in the first place. And, if I’m being honest, a bit light-headed. I knew the orb was no ordinary ball of magic, but for it to be Karsus’s malignant creation…Gods, how did I not see that?”
“You were blinded by your desire for Mystra and your desires for power,” Miranda said.
“At least now, I’m armed with the truth. And Mystra’s expectations.”
“I hope that means that you have put your godly delusions to rest,” Shadowheart said.
“But of course,” Gale said with a nervous laugh.
“Good,” Miranda said. She turned to Shadowheart and said, “We’ll return to Elfsong Tavern and gather everyone. We’re gonna find the Sharrans here and find your parents.”
Shadowheart laughed nervously. “We’ll probably deal with Shar herself.”
“We just dealt with Mystra. I have faith that we’ll get through it. We’ll need all hands on deck for this.”
Gale nodded, unsurprised that she didn’t want him as part of a smaller team.
If Shar can take away memories, maybe she can take away the feelings I have for Miranda, Gale thought. It’s the only way I think I’ll ever get over her.
