Of all of the almost certainly wrong things said about Gale, the idea that Pish Posh Gale Dekarios would build his tower in Dock Ward is almost the wrongest.
Of course, it is impossible to assign Gale Dekarios’ tower a truly canonical address. Neither the official maps nor the texts place it with precision (the map above is an amalgamation of all official WotC and FR sources on Waterdeep from my World Anvil account) and the in-game rendering offers only suggestive vistas. Yet speculation is half the pleasure of Realmslore, and I find it whimsically satisfying to imagine his residence “on Wall Street, between Ignorance and Bliss.” The phrase suits him — at once earnest, ironic, and a little self-aware — a wizard who built a monument as much to his pride as to his craft
Cartography and District Character
On the official Waterdeep: Dragon Heist map, the Dock Ward is a sprawl of wharves, warehouses, and fishmarkets pressed directly against the piers. The Sea Ward, in contrast, is elevated above the harbor, its streets aligned with the Sea Wall that fortifies the city’s northern and western edges.
As Steven Schend — long-time Realms Author and the “voice of Waterdeep” (writes almost all current Blackstaff lore)— explains:
“Dock Ward is utilitarian poor… People here are tools of commerce. Sea Ward is plebeian rich… People here are feted as Old Money… Sea Ward is also on the water but up on a slight bluff unlike the docks.” [1]
This distinction is crucial: Sea Ward is maritime, but it is above the working waterfront, elevated to avoid flood and filth.
In-Game Evidence
The balcony view from Gale’s tower in Baldur’s Gate 3 strongly supports this placement. The scene shows:
• The Sea Wall itself running below his tower.
• Calm harbor waters and private moorings for gondola-like craft.
• No cargo cranes, no rigging, no working docks — the very heart of Dock Ward life.
Instead, the impression is curated, patrician, and elevated — a shoreline for prestige, not commerce. (The Dragon Heist map even shows small strips of land outside the Sea Wall, but these are tidal flats, ground that would be underwater at high tide — precisely what we see in the in-game view from Gale’s balcony.)
Other things to think about
It’s always helpful to remember that the Sword Coast is HEAVILY Europe flavored, and real world cities like Waterdeep exist.
This arrangement mirrors the logic of real-world maritime cities:
In Venice, the mercantile docks bristled with trade, while patrician palazzi rose along the Grand Canal, their entrances at water level but their living quarters lifted above the bustle.
In Dubrovnik, the city’s wealthy families and civic leaders claimed residences along the fortified sea wall, overlooking the Adriatic from a position of security and grandeur.
In both cases, the wealthy placed themselves on the water but not of the docks — precisely the condition Steven Schend ascribes to the Sea Ward.
So~
Gale’s tower is situated on the Sea Ward seawall, likely along Wall Street. From this vantage, the self-styled Wizard of Waterdeep commands a sweeping view of Deepwater Harbor, visible to all who enter by sea, yet removed from the toil of Dock Ward. It is a placement befitting both his ambition and his ostentation — whimsical enough to be imagined “between Ignorance and Bliss.”
Notes
[1] Steven E. Schend, Discord commentary on Waterdeep wards, quoted in context of fan debates (2023).
[2] Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (Wizards of the Coast, 2018), district map and descriptions of Dock Ward and Sea Ward.
[3] Visual references from Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios, 2023), cutscene of Gale’s conjured tower.
[4] Historical parallels: Venice (cf. Frederic C. Lane, Venice: A Maritime Republic), Dubrovnik (Robin Harris, Dubrovnik: A History).
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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Chapter 47: Unrepentant Vagabonds
Chapter from ongoing fic Forms of Imprisonment. Full story on AO3
Pairing: Spawn Astarion (post-tadpole) x OFC
Word Count: 2.8k
Warnings: 18+, mdni. See AO3 for other chapter-specific warnings.
a/n: The gang runs into an old friend, meets the Mad Mage, acquires a new pet, and plays a game of poker. This chapter was me trying my hand at some more campy/fun interactions. ALSO I got sidetracked and started a Gale fic, because the pipeline is real. You can read it here.
———————————————————————
The Undermountain is just as unsettling as Celeste remembers.
Halaster’s lair, according to Gale, was nestled far within a network of hidden passageways and tunnels. To Celeste’s dismay, they entered through the alley of the Yawning Portal again, Astarion reaching for her hand tentatively as they descended through the hatch. Thankfully, they took a left before continuing down the same path Astarion had brought her down weeks ago, and soon were deep enough underground that Celeste was confident Vanrakdoom was too far to be of concern anymore.
For most of the trek, Celeste kept her eyes to the gray granite floor, taking extra care when they’d descend the railless staircases, Astarion’s palm on the small of her back to reassure her. The lower they went, the colder the atmosphere became, and the familiar scent of damp earth filled her nostrils. Throughout their journey, their companions stayed silent, aware that one misplaced step or a too-loud word could result in certain death.
Finally, Gale presses a hand to a wall in a dark corridor and disappears through, the rest of them following through the illusion apprehensively. Illuminated by a series of acid green torches, the hall glows faintly as Gale approaches a bolted shut door, and raps his knuckles against the wood three times.
“Master Blackcloak is not accepting solicitors!” A small voice snarls as the door cracks open. A quasit stands in the frame, looking up, assessing.
“Hello, Shovel.” Gale’s arms are folded as he looks down at the creature.
“Is that really you, Meaty? You fleshbags all look the same to Shovel!”
“Shovel?” Celeste whispers to Astarion, raising an eyebrow.
“A quasit.” Astarion answers in a low voice. “Demons trapped in service to whoever summons them. This one’s called Shovel.”
“Yes, but why Shovel?”
“She came with the name. Felt wrong to change it.” He responds with a shrug.
The demon continues on in a shrill tone. “And you brought Fangy!” She springs forward, wrapping her claws around Astarion’s calf.
“Oh, for the love of-get off!”
“Seems quite taken with you.” Celeste observes.
“Astarion let her eat his camp portions.” Karlach reveals, “he’s more softhearted than he lets on.”
“Let’s not get carried away, my fiery friend. After all, stale bread was wasted on me,” Astarion says as he struggles with Shovel, who appears to be having fun biting at his leg, hanging from his pant leg as he shakes his ankle wildly.
“He made a mess, lying on his cot and tossing food about like he was feeding the pigeons.” Minthara says disapprovingly.
“Can you all shut up?” Astarion snaps, finally dislodging the quasit.
“Gale, why does Halaster have Shovel?” Shadowheart asks.
“Well, we…arranged a trade. Halaster is a collector of creatures, Shovel needed a home, and I…” he pauses, bringing a fist to his mouth as he clears his throat, “was in need of night orchids.”
“Cuuuuttteee.” Karlach elbows Gale in the ribs as his cheeks begin to turn pink.
Shovel guides them through the door, scurrying down the hall.
“Come, Meaty, master Halaster is eager to see you.”
They follow the quasit inside and Celeste’s gaze drifts to the walls, lined with displays of various oddities, skeletons, and jars of mysterious substances.
“A little unnerving…you don’t think he’ll add us to the display?” Astarion murmurs, taking in the surroundings. “Gale, how did you get tied up with an archmage of such an ominous reputation?”
“Believe it or not, Elminster introduced us.”
“Elminster?” Astarion asks, surprised. “I would have thought the wizard too much of a do-gooder to associate with someone in the Undermountain.”
“Only proves how little you know about Elminster, then.” Gale says as they reach a vast, circular room, filled with mechanical contraptions, piles of books, and large aquariums of strange-looking fish. At the far end, a man with long white hair and a frumpy wizard’s hat bends over a terrarium, dropping in a beetle for a fat, purple toad waiting with an open mouth at the bottom. When he notices them, he leaps forward, rushing toward Gale and engaging him in a vigorous handshake. The mage’s wrinkled face contorts into a pleasant expression, his gray eyes gleaming.
“Mystra’s Chosen returns!” He exclaims. “Your tressym has made herself quite at home here, once again, in your absence.”
“I appreciate the favor, Halaster, but we’ve discussed this. I’m not Mystra’s Chosen anymore.”
“Right, well. You’re still my chosen insurance policy.” Halaster waves dismissively.
Shadowheart’s head jerks up. “What is he talking about, Gale?”
“In the case of Halaster’s untimely death, the magic of the Undermountain would destabilize. That alone should deter anyone from challenging him, but just in case…Mystra’s Chosen has the power and knowledge to set the…security system back into place.”
“But you’re not her chosen.”
“Tell that to him.” Gale points a thumb at the mad mage.
“What makes you so confident the wizard wouldn’t kill you and take the Undermountain for himself?” Minthara asks Halaster curiously.
Halaster’s attention settles on Gale with a chilling expression.
“He won’t.”
The two exchange a warning look, silently communicating thousands of words, and Celeste looks away uncomfortably.
“Sounds like a nasty contingency plan…for both of you.” Wyll says.
“Who have you brought for me, boy?” Halaster asks, tiring of the conversation as he peeks around Gale, gaze lingering on Celeste and Astarion.
“These are my friends. We need your help to gain access to Vanrakdoom so we can permanently put an end to Shar’s operations here.”
“I would like nothing more than to evict the Lady of Sorrows’ followers from my dwelling.” Halaster strides over, hands clasped behind his back as he circles the group like a carrion bird. “Did you know Shar enthralled me and tried to convince me to steal Mystra’s silver fire a century ago? Things got very messy. Had to go to the Hells to rescue Elminster to make up for the ordeal.” He says to Gale.
“I’m well aware of your history, Halistar-”
“I’m not.” Nocturne cuts him off. “You rescued Elminster from Avernus?”
The more Celeste came to know the tiefling, the more she admired her thirst for lore, collecting stories like one would collect precious gems.
“I tried, but Alassra Silverhand beat me to it, bastard. Still, Mystra forgave me and cured me.”
“Cured you? Of what?”
“Of my insanity, of course.”
“Right...” Wyll says under his breath, pulling Nocturne closer with a subtle touch on her belt.
The Mad Mage pauses in front of Celeste and Astarion, his eyes narrowing.
“You two reek of the heavens.” He lifts a wrinkled hand to lift up Celeste’s chin, and she stiffens, trying to remain composed as his gnarled fingernails come dangerously close to grazing her skin. He releases his hold on her and turns to Astarion. “And a fresh blood oath. Intriguing.”
“He can smell magic?” Celeste hears Karlach whisper to Gale behind her.
“Our lives are bound.” Celeste explains before more intrusive questions might be asked, “In order to free me from an oath my father made to Shar before my birth.”
“Broke Fangy, she did!” Shovel squeals, pointing an accusatory claw in Celeste’s direction. “Used to stink of blood and sweet undeath, now just rotting fleshbag like the rest!”
“A free vampire spawn?” Halaster muses, somehow gleaming the information from the quasit’s lamenting. Perhaps in their madness, he and Shovel had formed their own language. “And cured, at that. Rare, indeed.”
“More or less.” Astarion mutters, avoiding eye contact.
“How?”
“I’m Selûne’s granddaughter, in a sense, I’m Moonborn. It was the moonmaiden’s promise, in exchange for freeing me from Shar’s claim.”
“I doubt he needed much convincing to be bound to such an alluring anomaly of magic...” He muses, before addressing Gale. “I’d love to add them to my collection.”
“Excuse me, we’re not cattle to be bought and sold!” Astarion snarls.
“He’s right, Halaster. I brought them as a courtesy, so you might witness the way the weave has affected them, but I believe you’ve misunderstood my intentions…”
“Fine, fine.” The archmage grumbles, “Though the last of her kind and the first vampire spawn to walk in the sun in millennia, you’ll have to excuse my enthusiasm.”
“As long as my head doesn’t end up stuffed on your wall of horrors.” Astarion says in disgust.
“Come,” Halaster ushers them into an adjoining room, “I have maps.”
On a spacious table, a replica of the Undermountain is on display, hidden tunnels and passageways carved into its surface. Dependent on the angle of viewing, fragments disappear to reveal more detail. Beside lies a hand-drawn map, notes scrawled in the margins. Underneath the table, Tara naps in a wicker basket, her wings wrapped around a small, black mass of fur naps, its back rising and falling with its breath. The creature’s three tails hang over the side of the basket, appearing almost like tentacles.
“Is that a…displacer beast?” Wyll inquires with some disbelief.
“What? Oh, yes.” Halaster says, disinterested. “An orphaned cub. I traded a Wish spell to a Warlock for it. Seems to have taken to the tressym quite nicely, but despises me.”
“Her mothering nature does usually get the best of her…” Gale muses. Tara yawns and stretches before blinking at him expectantly, and he stoops and scratches behind her ears.
As if summoned, the kitten - roughly the same size as Tara herself - jumps out of its bed and sniffs at the air before weaving between Celeste’s ankles.
“Seems to prefer the company of women.” Halaster grumbles.
“Nasty kitty.” Shovel growls with displeasure. The displacer beast turns on her, tackling her to the ground and chewing on her leg.
“Master!” the quasit shrieks in dismay, before Halaster plucks the small creature off by the scruff and shoves it towards Celeste.
“Take it.” The archmage says, “They’re expensive to feed.”
“I-” Celeste is interrupted by the creature being forced into her open arms. She squeaks in surprise, adjusting her grip as the cub squirms.
“A fine gift.” Minthara says, “A formidable ally, given the right training.”
“Absolutely not!” Astarion cries, taking a step back when it swats at his curls from Celeste’s arms.
“Astarion, it’s just a baby.” Karlach says, suppressing a smile as he struggles to keep himself out of its reach.
“That will grow into a full sized, uncontrollable beast!” He seethes, ducking as the cub gives his hair a pull. “A bloody abomination is what it is.”
“Oh come now, it’s the size of your head. What’s it going to do, nibble your ankles to death?” Wyll mocks him, assessing the small creature.
“I will not be hunted in my own home.”
“Well, it’s my home, so I suppose that settles it.” Gale announces, giving Shadowheart a wink. She beams in response and holds out her hands towards Celeste, requesting a turn with the cub.
“Fine. Can we be done with the godsdamned petting zoo? I thought we came here for information.” Astarion mutters, eyeing the animal with a scowl.
“Yes, quite right. Down to business.” Gale agrees, joining Halaster at the table. He leans over the map as the archmage traces a route with his finger.
“If you take this passageway, you’ll gain covert entry to Vanrakdoom. I’ve installed several traps planted along the passage, but you should have no trouble…”
———————————————————————
After their meeting with Halaster, he granted them a quick portal back to Gale’s Tower. Although the amenities of the attic paled - and paled was hardly a strong enough word - compared to the lavish offerings of the House of the Moon. When Celeste dropped her bag on the bed, she somehow felt at home.
With a frown, Astarion walks over to the boarded windows, splintering planks of wood as he pries them backwards. The nails that held them in place separate from the frame, with sharp cracks, leaving behind tattered and peeled wallpaper in their wake. He discards the wreckage in the corner and continues his demolition, lip jutting out in determination. The moon filters through what could only classify as a gaping, square hole in the wall, and Astarion smiles at his work.
Celeste pinches the bridge of her nose.
“We’re going to get all sorts of pests in here.”
———————————————————————
Upon discovering Astarion missing following a much-needed nap, Celeste makes her way downstairs to find him sitting at the kitchen table with their companions, engaged in an unfamiliar game of cards. Tara and the displacer cub are tucked away beneath the table, dozing atop Gale’s feet as he appraises Astarion with a disgruntled expression.
“Darling, come, join us. You can watch me decimate our friends at Azoun’s Hold ‘Em.”
Astarion fans his cards in one hand and holds out the other to invite her into his lap. She takes a seat, crossing her legs, and he secures her to him with an arm wrapped around her middle, showing her his draw.
She examines the game laid out before her. “I’ve never played.”
“Funny, Astarion said the same thing when we started an hour ago, and somehow he’s won every hand.” Gale says irritably, not looking up from his cards.
“You were a fool to believe a vampire who spent nearly two centuries haunting the taverns of Baldur’s Gate would not know how to gamble.” Minthara’s glare shifts towards Astarion as she speaks.
“Ah, ah! Former vampire.” Astarion drawls, sipping at his wine and returning his attention to Celeste. “Lucky for you, it’s a simple game.” He hands his cards over to her so she can see what he’s holding, then drops the arm at her waist a bit lower to rest his hand on her hip. “All you have to know is that I’m going to win.”
Wyll snorts, drawing a card from the top of the deck and laying it face up on the table. “Alright, show ‘em.”
“Watch this.” Astarion purrs in Celeste’s ear, before tossing three nines out. He grins as Gale drags a palm across his face and slams his head against the table, slapping down a pair of twos and a seven.
“Bullshit!“ Karlach roars, rising from her chair. “That’s your third time with pocket triples.”
“Easy, Karlach.” Shadowheart says with an amused smirk, leaning behind Gale with her arms encircling his neck as she observes the game. “You’ll get him next round.”
“Dishonest wretch.” Wyll mumbles.
“Is it so hard to believe I’m just lucky?” Astarion asks with feigned offense, gold scraping against the surface of the table as he rakes in his winnings. “Honestly, you all take this so seriously. It’s like you hate fun.”
“Easy to say when you’re winning.” Karlach grumbles. “Sleep with one eye open tonight.”
“Oh darling, I don’t sleep at all.” Astarion chuckles. Under the table, he parts the slit of Celeste’s dress and slips a card into the waistband of her underwear, snagging its corners on the lace. The edges scrape against her skin and his fingertips trace circles on her thigh, a quiet request for her discretion before he draws his next hand.
“I never agreed to helping you cheat,” Celeste hisses in his ear.
“But you agreed to be bound to me for a lifetime. Surely you considered the consequences.” He counters in a hushed tone, nipping at her earlobe. “Be a good girl and I’ll split the pot with you, hmm?”
She scowls as he deftly exchanges a ten from his hand with the queen at her hip to complete his royal straight.
“Oi, lovebirds! No private conversations. Let’s keep things moving.” Karlach gripes, pulling a cigar from her pocket and trimming it. “Someone get me a light, please. I can’t do these myself anymore.” She says, holding it out. Before Gale can utter a spell, Celeste reaches forward, ignoring Astarion’s grunt of surprise as she shifts in his lap, and takes it from the tiefling. As she flicks her wrist, it ignites with a pop, and a cherry burns at the end. A trail of smoke drifts trails behind as she hands it back.
“Impressive.” Karlach examines it before puffing at it satisfactorily. “New trick?”
“What else have you learned?” Gale interjects, leaning forward, eager to abandon the game in favor of discussion.
“I haven’t done a lot of experimenting.”
“Fascinating, nonetheless. I would surmise that after the ritual, your abilities may rival Aylin’s. If you were limited to enhanced skill with a blade and illusionary magic before, the expanse into even the simplest of evocation magic could indicate much further reaching-”
“Can’t this all wait?” Astarion whines.
“Jealous, all that power used to bring you back from the dead burned out before you could perform a few spells, too?” Shadowheart sneers.
Astarion scowls, and his grip on Celeste’s waist tightens.
“On second thought, perhaps I’ll collect my winnings and turn in for the night.” He says, snatching his bag of gold and hoisting Celeste over his shoulder. “After all, we have a day full of Sharran slaying ahead of us tomorrow. Best get some rest where we can.”
“What in the hells!” Celeste pounds at his back with her fist as she hangs upside down, the card in her waistband slipping loose and fluttering to the floor. Karlach stands, chair flying back against the stove, and points.
“I knew it!” She calls out, “You owe me fifty coppers, fucker!”
Astarion smirks and continues up the stairs.———————————————————————
a/n: I just finished my honor mode run and earned my golden dice and somehow, Shovel did not die during my playthrough? Our little quasit friend had so few lines (presumably because their health was so low, it probably isn't intended for them to withstand so much of the game?) that I found myself making up headcannon about her.
August was a long month, and I think we could all use a little levity (particularly since the next chapter may or may not be heavy. Don't say I didn't warn you.)
[Seemingly all of a sudden, Gale began hacking violently. They coughed into their hand, and something wet escaped their throat and onto his gloved palm. Gale looked down.]
“Now I get that you’re probably not going to trust me. I don't blame you honestly.. So! In the hopes of giving you some peace of mind, I’m giving you an imp’s bond. It’s kinda like a blood pact except… no blood because I get queasy easily. If I break the bond, I will literally die. Like poof! Gonezo.”
They make an X motion above where their heart is, leaving an orange glowing line after, it fades quickly. “It's done! So are you ready to hear the plan?”
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(Just ask me if you’d like a bibliography and footnotes..because me, being who I am…I have one)
There is an endless tide of discourse around Gale, the Orb, and the matter of his hubris. Too often it reduces him to a modern caricature, overlooking how profoundly his story is rooted in the oldest traditions of the Forgotten Realms. Few characters are as tightly interwoven with Realmslore as Gale Dekarios.
Unless one has played in the Realms, it is easy to underestimate the scope of Gale’s might. He is not simply a promising wizard, but an archmage and Chosen—a mortal whose command of the Weave is so complete that nearly any spell Mystra permits lies within his grasp. To find modern parallels for such stature, one might look to figures like Doctor Doom or Ozymandias. Like Doom, Gale embodies the paradox of the sovereign intellect: cultured, imperious, steeped in both sorcery and scholarship, convinced that only his genius can shield the world from ruin. And like Ozymandias, he bears the burden of singular brilliance—the belief that he alone perceives the errors of gods and men, and that it falls to him to reorder creation itself. Both comparisons reveal the same truth: Gale is a man of dazzling vision and apocalyptic potential, whose brilliance and hubris are inextricably entwined.
Gale’s place in Realmslore is made even more remarkable by his relationship to Mystra. Every other living Chosen—Elminster, the Seven Sisters, and their kin—were appointed by an earlier incarnation of the goddess, before the Spellplague tore her from existence. Gale alone was elevated after the Second Sundering, when Mystra was reborn and her power restored. In that sense, he may rightly be considered the first and only true Chosen of this age. Such a distinction is more than honorary. To be Chosen is to have one’s mortal frame suffused with the raw currents of the Weave, but in Gale’s case, the timing suggests something even greater: that he may have served as a weave anchor, a living conduit by which Mystra steadied her reclaimed divinity within Faerûn.
This sheds light on one of the most curious details of his story: Mystra’s claim that the Orb “consumed only his power.” By the rules of Dungeons & Dragons, a wizard’s magic cannot simply be taken away. Unlike clerics or warlocks, whose gifts may be severed at their source, a wizard’s power is knowledge—permanent, internalized, unstrippable except by amnesia or antimagic. Even the loss of a spellbook robs them only of their repertoire, never their capacity. That the Orb can drain Gale implies it feeds on something beyond spellcraft: his deeper essence as a Chosen, his very function as a living locus of the Weave.
In Dungeons & Dragons, wizards—especially archmages, who are almost universally cast as villains—are defined by an unending pursuit. They can master more spells than they can ever prepare, creating a built-in hunger to acquire arcane secrets. This mechanic reflects a long tradition in lore: the wizard as tireless seeker, always reaching for the next piece of forbidden or forgotten knowledge.
Gale’s own words place him firmly within that tradition. Asked about his pursuit of Netherese magic, he does not question the choice itself: “Oh, I don’t doubt my methods. It was my execution that was rather lacking.” Reflecting on his years as Mystra’s Chosen, he confesses: “I sought to cross her boundaries. I tried to convince her. I pouted, I pleaded, swore my ambition was only to serve her better.” From the beginning, being Chosen was not the summit of his ambition. He pressed always for more—for mysteries beyond what even Mystra would grant.
This conviction led him to the Orb. His pursuit of Netherese magic was not necessity but proof: an attempt to measure himself against the greatest mortal spellcasters in history. In his own words, it was “an act of power draped in romance.” Power came first, with romance only in the vision of laying such mastery at Mystra’s feet. To Gale, the Orb was not rebellion but vindication, the ultimate demonstration that her mortal lover could rival even the wonders of Netheril.
The Orb itself, however, is best understood not as mere relic but as something akin to a vestige—a fragment of Karsus’s unclaimed soul, crystallized at the moment of his hubris. Like other vestiges in D&D lore, it is willful, lingering where no god will claim it, seeking resonance in a mortal frame strong enough to bear its hunger. By the logic of both lore and mechanics, cursed or sentient artifacts do not bind at random; they are drawn to likeness. Feeding on pure Weave, the Orb would seek only one who already carried its current within him.
This is why it bound itself to Gale. He acknowledges as much in Act III: “The Orb chose me.” The player character may even affirm it: “Created by one powerful wizard, drawn to another—it makes sense.” In that moment, the Orb ceases to be merely parasitic and becomes something greater: a shard of Karsus’s ambition, recognizing itself in Gale’s brilliance. To wield or to destroy it, then, is not simply a matter of power, but of destiny—whether Gale is fated to repeat Karsus’s folly, or to surpass it.
It is tempting to read Gale’s exile as a lesson learned, a humbling that tempered his ambition. Yet his behavior tells a different story. Cast out after pursuing Netherese power, he emerges chastened in tone but not in impulse. At every turn, his words and choices reveal the same pattern: a willingness—even an eagerness—to court ruinous forces so long as they promise knowledge or might.
He disapproves of surrendering the Necromancy of Thay to Astarion, not because the book is too dangerous to be handled, but because he himself yearns to uncover its secrets. He voices an almost morbid curiosity about what might happen if he adopted the biology of a mind flayer, as though even that corruption might be another experiment. He entertains overtures from Mephistopheles’s heir with a scholar’s fascination rather than revulsion. With the lightest provocation, he is willing to dabble in shadow magic or other forbidden arts, as if no domain of the arcane should remain closed to him. Even at the very end, should Tav embrace transformation into a mind flayer to defeat the Netherbrain, Gale’s first words are not praise for their courage or sacrifice but eager speculation: that it will take him months to unravel the workings of their psionic powers. Most tellingly of all, he entrusts the care of Tara—his dearest companion—to Halaster Blackcloak, the Mad Mage of Undermountain, infamous for cruelty, instability, and his attempt to steal Silverfire itself from Mystra. That Gale would leave what he loves most in the hands of one who once sought to rob his goddess of her divine gift speaks volumes. For all his talk of redemption, he remains willing to consort with Mystra’s enemies when it suits his ends.
And here the truth comes into focus. We cannot know what Mystra felt for Gale—no mortal can claim to know the heart of a god. But her actions were both predictable and appropriate, shaped by her portfolio-sense: the divine instinct that alerts every deity when their domain is threatened. As the goddess of magic, her charge is to preserve the Weave against any force that might destabilize it. Gale’s demands, however impassioned, placed her portfolio at risk. His fall, then, was not born of cruelty or abuse on her part, but of his own restless pursuit—a hunger so deeply woven into him that exile, the Orb, even the Netherbrain’s defeat could not divert it.
It is this hunger that made him legible to the Orb. For what is the Orb if not the vestige of another mortal who reached too far, a fragment of Karsus’s ambition left unclaimed by the gods? In Gale it found its likeness: brilliance bound to appetite, devotion tangled with hubris, the conviction that to press past divine boundaries is not folly but destiny. Mystra could not indulge it, for her domain demanded otherwise—but the shard of Karsus recognized in him the same refusal to accept the limits a god would set, and claimed him as kin.
