#tavethil

It's actually kinda funny to me, because Tavethil was my first Tav, and I experienced most of the decisions and things through her eyes at first, but I also didn't really know anything about how to build a character in DND and/or roleplay. So her decisions were still my decisions, and when I sat down and wrote her lore months later, I actually made her into a much nicer and organized person than she was in the game, where she was pure chaos and very trust-no-one 😅 but that was just me 😅 anyway!

But when I was making their pics, I realized that I'm an idiot and Tavanna is also kinda twinning often. With a certain ambitious, intelligent, curse-stricken, always-nervously-yapping wizard. Hmmm. Pay no attention to that tiefling behind the curtain 🤣

Physical description/fighting style: Tavethil has fiery red hair, slender but muscular build, slightly sunkissed skin with random freckles all over her body, she has white flame tattoos on her face and a snake tattoo wrapping over her arm (that I can't recreate in the game lol). She has scars all over her abdomen that she never speaks about.

tattoo:

(inspo photo is from vic.ink_ on instagram)

She's very lithe and agile, moves unnoticed like a wraith. She can handle herself in terms of strength but definitely prefers a stealthy approach, her favored fighting style is using a long bow and attacking from a distance. In close combat she uses daggers + she's very skilled in making her own poisons. She uses her warlock powers mostly to reveal hidden danger and sometimes to charm people - favored spells and cantrips: faerie fire, shadow blade, polymorph, eldritch blast (ofc). She is extremely good with spells like calm emotions, hypnotic pattern, fear and dominate person - but uses them less as the story progresses. 

Lore before events of BG3: Tavethil was born to a high elf mother and wood elf father, due to her mixed heritage, she was often ostracized and so were her parents. When she was just a child, she witnessed her parents murdered brutally right in front of her, which essentially sent her on a path of vengeance that sort of ended only before the events of the game but in a way she still hasn't found out exactly, who her parents were in the first place before they met. She grew up in the High Forest, in sort of a commune, she was always free spirited, cheeky and headstrong. She loves animals and finds herself at peace while wandering the depths of the forests of Faerûn. As a teenager, she was essentially recruited by a matriarchal cult, adopted by the matriarch who moulded her into a stalwart assassin, a role she has been fulfilling for years. In her early adulthood, she was trained with poisons and trickery, her task was to eradicate and disrupt the kingdom of Neverwinter, where she was sent on a mission. For years, she was hiding as the lady in waiting for the Neverwinter's queen but eventually she fell in love with her and things got a lot more complicated. She was forced to run away and found herself in Baldur's gate. Essentially, this helped her on her path of severing ties with the cult she has been brought up in. She changed her identity, got her white tattoos, grew her hair that used to be always ear length, into her mane that she has now.

While searching for the people who murdered her parents, she joins a group of thugs, a merry band that organizes heists and does all sorts of shenanigans, called The Serpents (hence the snake tattoo on her arm). Eventually, they help her locate the men she has been searching for most of her life, she unleashes carnage on all of their families, a vengeance so bloody that it makes her recoil from herself. She wallows in self pity and decides to leave this party of people, who mostly only provoke the worst impulses in her.

When she tries to leave, they double cross her and frame her for a heist they organized without her knowledge and she finds herself heading to the Baldur's gate city prison. And that's where the mindflayers snatch her..

During BG3 events (not a complete retelling of the actual game, though) After escaping the nautiloid, Tav is distrustful, scared of doing something wrong and impulsive and drawn to doing the right thing - at least what she believes is right at the time. She is suspicious of all her companions at the very beginning but despite that, she befriends Shadowheart quite early on. She's immediately attracted to Astarion but also incredibly irritated by him. She headbutts him at the beach and that starts off their relationship. After playful ribbing each other for the first few weeks, they become more and more drawn to each other. They often spar together at night, when everyone is resting or asleep. She asks him to teach her how to fight better with a dagger, even though she is quite good herself, she always preferred a bow and she admires his dexterity a lot, essentially trying to achieve the same level despite not being a vampire herself. She befriends Gale somewhat reluctantly at first but quickly he becomes her trusted advisor and she loves to eat whatever he cooks for everyone, always hunting for better supplies for him. She never sees him as a romantic partner despite Astarion's constant remarks (jealous). In after game events, she helps him navigate his feelings when he falls in love with a sorcerer. She runs to the crèche very early on, almost dying in the process - this establishes her relationship with pretty much everyone. Either they are impressed by her defiance and display of bravery, even if reckless and insane, (Lae'zel, Karlach) or they are trying to dissuade her from trying so hard to fight the entire world (Astarion is in that camp).

At Waukeen's rest, they meet Gellha, Tav's friend that she met in Neverwinter, ages ago. A half-orc wildheart barbarian with a heart of gold (and an elk). Gellha joins their party, as she was also infected with the tadpole but managed to slice her way through until attacked by the drow retreating from the burning village. She eventually romances Karlach and they go to hells together

During act 2, Tavethil's relationship with Astarion progresses, he finds out that she's a pretty good lockpick, just asks him to do it for her, so she can spend more time with him (a fact he will never let her hear the end of). They rarely have sex, after the night at the tieflings' party, Tav feels like something is off and while they still maintain a VERY intimate relationship, it's less physical in terms of what you would usually imagine. She lets him braid her hair and is very protective of him, despite his grouchy pouting.

After Moonrise, she is very determined to get rid of the tadpole, the dream guardian (who is a squid, who knew) and every single quest that her beloved companions throw at her. She is very reluctant to go back to the city, though, with all her unfinished business. She's also very self-conscious about the fact that this party of people sees her as very determined to do good, to redeem herself. But in Baldur's gate, she's practically a known criminal, in some circles.

When Astarion starts talking about the ritual, all the controls start popping off in her head and she becomes increasingly more terrified to leave the Shadowlands. She's intrigued by the choices Halsin made, not entirely approving of him leaving the grove but the fact that they manage to clear the area of shadows, gives her a glimpse of hope. She leaves Halsin to rebuild the destroyed Reithwin Town.

As the party enters Baldur's gate, she's always on the edge and she retreats into herself, not letting anyone in, scared that they will find out her past transgressions and judge her harshly. She doesn't confide in anyone, the only one who knows at least a little bit of what's happening, is Gellha and incidentally, Karlach. Tavethil is very surprised by the unnerving support she gets from her but she feels slightly ashamed for withholding information from her.

They destroy the Steelwatch foundry early on, she actually double crosses Gortash, and gets his Netherstone very fast. She's extremely annoyed by Orin and when she kidnaps Lae'zel, she wants to go after her immediately but her companions dissuade her from it.

There's a lot of miscommunication between her and Astarion, she's very vary of anything hellish and after finding out it's Mephistopheles, who's behind it all, she grows even more restless to end it all. Astarion lacks her support at this time, he's frustrated with her insecurity in terms of resisting her urge towards violence (nowhere near as Durge in BG3 but still some form of a bloodlust/taste for vengeance) and hesitancy to charm individuals further. This is of course double-sided - Tav refuses to use her abilities to charm people specifically because she understands how Astarion must have felt when being compelled as a spawn, and she recoils from that - she doesn't want to do anything even remotely similar to others (unless they're like evil evil)

When they arrive at Cazador's estate - this is where my lore diverges into two branches but I will only describe the original one and leave the alternative reality for another time. Because of Tavethil's constant questioning of the Rite and because of past trauma, this… doesn't end up very well. Tav refuses to help Astarion ascend, failing to persuade him and comfort him when he needs it the most, he lashes out at her and wishes her dead, ending their relationship and sending her away.

She practically has to be carried away by Karlach, because she is glued to the spot, non-verbal and shaken to her core. She replays the scene in her head constantly, wishing she could turn back time, tell him she loves him and support him honestly, without the constant pretending they don't really care for each other. (And here is where the trigger point for AU starts, aha!) She is too busy at the moment to actually find a way to alter the reality but it is on her mind.

After that, they still camp at Elfsong, Tavethil ends up alone (sometimes she gets drunk on Ithbank and talks to the statue of Astarion they got at the circus). She focuses all of her strength into helping others, trying to persuade Gale to not use the crown, helping Wyll to reunite with his father, attempting to free Shadowheart from Shar's clutches. Eventually they defeat Orin and reunite with Lae'zel and then all that's left is the brain.

Tav constantly misses Astarion but she is too proud and hurt to actually go looking for him, not that she has enough time between all the stuff going on … But knowing she has hurt him so badly, she decides to "respect his wishes" and disappear from his life. Incidentally, Astarion watches her from the shadows, still keeping tabs on her, even though they do not interact.

Right before the final battle, Tavethil meets an old acquaintance - a daughter of the leader of The Serpents, her old gang. She offers them help in exchange for protection from the gang who now hunts her as well because she, like Tavethil before, decided to do things her own way and refused to kill innocents, which displeased the rest of them. This is how the party finds out about who Tavethil actually was, revealing the missing puzzle pieces from her past, when she finally confesses to them. Karlach is heartbroken, Wyll is appalled, but surprisingly Gale, while shaken, supports her. None of them condemn her or judge her the way she was afraid of.

When they finally fight the brain, she manages to convince Gale to not take the crown, Gellha and Karlach go to Avernus, Lae'zel remains in the city for a while but prepares to leave to the Astral soon, Wyll remains in Baldur's Gate, not quite Duke while his father is still there, but involved in politics. And reparations begin.

Post-game events

Tavethil manages to get her own property in the lower city, through help of Wyll, they start rebuilding what was destroyed. She practically owns a house that becomes the headquarters for this merry band, provided they're all in the city.

Meanwhile, Astarion can no longer walk in the sun, his quest to find a way to enable it, is something that constantly plagues him as he settles with his siblings in the Underdark. He briefly reunites with Sebastian but there's only heartbreak. During his visits to the Gate, he keeps following Tav's movements. I like to imagine that Scratch, who now lives with Tav, can smell him and almost reveals him to her many times.

After a few months, Tavethil makes a break-through in her quest to find a way to supposedly travel through time and space, with the help of Gale and his arcane studies and support from the others. In order to get what she needs, she attends an event in the Upper City, disguised as a noble woman, this is where they reunite with Astarion. The person they're both searching for - an archmage who specializes in the knowledge of the vampiric - is supposed to have answers for them both.

Reluctantly at first, they are forced to work together in order to not give away their position after a fight breaks out. That night is the first time they actually speak and is the beginning of their relationship anew. Tavethil reconsiders her plan towards the arcane portals many times, as she sees how volatile they can be and instead (without her prior knowledge) aids Astarion to find the Sunwalker's ring.

It takes them forever to actually admit to each other, how much do they care for another but they do get there. In the end, they stay in Tav's house in Baldur's gate and prepare for another adventure, as Tavethil discovers more information about Astarion's long forgotten family.

my playlist for her:

She became fiercely protective of her queen. Once content to hide in the shadows, she found herself drawn into the royal chambers and, eventually, into Saebryn's bed.

Perhaps it was the naivety of youth, or perhaps her judgment had been clouded by love. Whatever the reason, the instincts that had always kept her hidden and untouchable began to fail her. No matter how carefully the two women concealed their relationship, Tavethil was no longer as invisible as she believed herself to be.

As their bond grew stronger, the two women became determined to flee together. For months, they carefully planned their escape, intending to fake the queen's death before slipping away from Neverwinter under assumed identities. What they did not know was that Tavethil herself was being watched. Once it became clear that she intended to defy her orders, an entirely different plan was set in motion.

On the night of their escape, Saebryn was murdered by the very people Tav had once called her tribe. The plan they had devised to fake the queen's death was turned against them, and while the kingdom mourned a queen it believed dead, Tavethil mourned the woman she had truly lost.

She swore never to return to the High Forest. For years, she wandered the Sword Coast as a peddler, living on the fringes of society — an outcast to both the high elves of her father's blood and the wood elves whose malice and political games she could no longer stomach.

Eventually, on the road to Baldur's Gate, she found companionship among fellow outsiders: a warm-hearted drow cook whose maternal instincts could not have been further removed from those of her Lolth-sworn kin; a tiefling bard and rogue, rejected by her father for being too flamboyant and for transitioning into a woman; and a firbolg barbarian, shunned by her clan for being too trusting of humans and too eager to explore the world beyond her homeland.

But more about them perhaps next time 😁

A rush of overwhelming terror stupefied her. Her limbs turned heavy, her feet rooted to the cold, hard ground. Tavethil sensed someone touching her shoulder; someone was speaking to her, but all she could hear were faint, muffled sounds, as if she were underwater. It was almost like ringing in her elf ears, like the aftermath of an explosion. Her body felt as though it had been struck by an icy blow. "I'm done with you." She watched him collapse and cry in front of her, utterly frozen. And then, all at once, she snapped back into reality. Karlach's warm hand on her shoulder brought her back in the present moment. "Soldier, I think it's time for us to go," the tiefling said, her voice uncharacteristically solemn, as she attempted to lead her away from the tragic scene in the dungeons. Shadowheart was already halfway up the stairs, eager to escape, fleeing the aftermath of death and torture. "I hope you die screaming."

Tavethil remained rigid, immobile. All she could do was stare with her green eyes wide, her chest rising in uneven, spasmodic breaths. She was rarely speechless—had never, in fact, succumbed to a shock so deep it rendered her mute. She faintly registered the other spawn leaving, covered in blood and tears streaming down their faces, as they hobbled away. And then—nothing. When she opened her eyes, confusion lingered for a moment as they adjusted to the dim light of her room at the Elfsong Tavern. Soon, the excruciating pain in her chest jolted her fully awake. She had no idea how Karlach had gotten her back here from Cazador’s palace. Had she lost consciousness, or simply blacked out, dissociating on the way? The wiry elf stretched her limbs absentmindedly, seized by the restless urge to move, to get up and fix things. Now, after hours of being frozen to the core. But as she rose, the realization struck. He didn't want her to. He was done with her. How could she possibly reach out to someone who wished her dead? How could she turn back time?

For what felt like hours, she contemplated what to do, where to move, who to talk to. Every possibility met an impenetrable wall. A wall she herself had built by attempting to fix him, by not trusting him to do what was right. A treacherous voice in her mind whispered that this was not something that could ever be right. If she agreed to help Astarion to complete the ritual, he would lose his soul–become someone unrecognizable, continuing what his old master had begun.

Nevertheless, a small part of her hesitated.

They had discussed the Rite of Profane Ascension—at least, of what little they knew—although never in great detail. The vampire had always been evasive when she pressed him about his intentions, about what he would do when they finally faced his tormentor. It was clear to her that he wanted to be rid of the Szarr patriarch, his death being the only permanent solution to his problem. What she was less certain of was the lengths her companion was willing to go to.

"A nice, simple plan." During their time traveling together, she had come to know him as someone who approved of actions many would deem unkind—sometimes even malicious or cruel. Tav did not concern herself with his sulking when she refused his suggestions to abandon the gnome slaves in the Underdark, but neither did she dwell much on the poor souls once they had been freed.

It was because of this shared alignment on such matters–despite his grousing and her persistent urge to do better, to atone for the transgressions of her past life–that their bond was so strong. The warlock had come to see his reluctance to help others as a trauma response, rather than an unchangeable core of who he was.

Yet recent events seemed to prove otherwise. Her insistence on changing his mind might well have been her undoing.