#revivify

George Washington National Forest

Chapter 21 - The Tyrant

Full Chapter and Story on A03

When you wake, the cold hits first. Loneliness follows, creeping into the space where warmth and comfort should be. Instinctively, your arm reaches out, searching for the familiar presence of Gale - the solid reassurance, the soft hum of contentment he always makes when you touch him for the first time that morning. 

But your mind is slower than your instinct, sluggish with the fog of exhaustion. For a kind moment, there’s peace in not remembering. And then the fog lifts. Memory floods in, sharp and cruel, forcing you to relive every word spoken between you and Gale the night before.

What you said to him.

Fool. Reckless, heartless idiot.

Words spoken in anger are heavy, and the ones you hurled at him carried such unbearable weight you wonder if you’ll ever be strong enough to lift them from him. You were scared, and that fear—so vast, so overwhelming—tangled with the love you hold for him until the two became indistinguishable, twisted into something bitter. In your desperation, you spat it out in anger, unable to contain it.

He wants to focus on the crown. The one built from the very magic that threatens to destroy you both. You understand his drive, his vision. He is brilliant and boundless, bursting with hope, light, and more magic than even he fully comprehends. Yet you also know his weaknesses as intimately as you know his strengths, and you are scared you will lose him to them.

His confidence can tip into egotism. His boundless erudition sometimes flickers into pride. These flaws, though rarer now than when you first met him, are a part of him—and in the moments where he is more Gale of Waterdeep than Gale Dekarios, there is a flash of something behind his eyes that could pull a city from the sky.

You sigh heavily, the weight of it pressing against your chest, as you rub your tired eyes and force yourself to rise. The day awaits, uncaring, and Gortash’s coronation looms.

As you dress, the thought lingers: will you have the courage to ask for his forgiveness? And even more daunting—will he even accept it?

Thanks to @triaelf9​ for this art piece!

We’ve been on the receiving end of a lot of questions about the options that Bells Hells has at their disposal at the end of episode 33. We previously did an article about death options in Exandria, but that was way back in Campaign 1, so it’s probably time for an update. As the title heavily implies, we will be spoiling the events of Campaign 3, Episode 33, so read at your own risk!

Content Warning: Some of the art in this article contains imagery of blood.

gentle repose does not work for revivify at this point, BUT it increases the time frame for the spell raise dead! which is an especially funny spell to use on laudna