Something hit me while listening once again to Raphael list all things Cazador would gain upon completing the Vampire Ascention ritual. Don't have it right in front of me, but he lists things like: gaining back his previous appetites and arousals, become powerful (very vague) and, of course, to ability to walk in sunlight. Hear me out here but;
What if it had not actually made him more powerful, but just reversed the vampire transformation? What if he'd just become a normal elf again?
Because 1. It was a deal with Mephistopheles, a known demon. Demons, who very often make deals without making their patronees read the fine print. And 2. It would've given him all those things, but not at all in the way he'd have thought. Then 3. We all know vampires, including spawn, are at least semi-undead. What if they were there just to act like some weirdly fucked up component for a backwards True Resurrection?
On one hand, IF Cazador would've ascended, yeah sad, Astarion's dead, but what a fucking thing to behold, him losing all of his vampiric powers, and all his previous "friends" turning on him, Tav getting to take revenge for Astarion with Cazador at his weakest.
On the other, if Astarion would take his place, making him a normal elf again, he'd have no unimaginable power or hubris to hide behind that he just caused the deaths of 7000 people.
Just. something I think about sometimes.
It’s giving Pirates of the Caribbean a là Captain Barbosa becoming human at last, just in time for Jack Sparrow to shoot him with his very last bullet.
