ever since watching this video about gale by ash chase it's been my favorite headcanon that gale loses his magical powers permanently to the orb if he chooses to abandon the crown. IT'S SO GOOD it would seriously be the "best" ending for him imo.......
like, mystra's opinions aside (don't care lol) gale's original mistake was thinking he was above mortality and his own personhood just for being a wizard prodigy, and left himself very little to go on once that illusion shattered. it's the same thing he keeps struggling with throughout the whole story, from when he first gets nerfed by the parasite and doesn't wanna tell you about the orb -> the suicide mission -> the crown. his motivations change but the main problem is always that he doesn't see worth in himself/living as a Regular Human Guy.
the orb just being """sated""" already doesn't make a lot of sense but it also just feels underwhelming and antithetical, especially when you romance him. his character arc on this route is all about assuring him that he's a good person who deserves to live and enjoy life, powerful or not, no matter what the gods think. i think losing the 1 thing that "defined" him for so long as a final sort of penance, and making peace with that, would've been SOOOO much more interesting!!
