Chapter Text
The skies of Elysium were in an eternal state of borealis, rich pinks and lilacs and indigos painting the horizon at all hours of the day with the dark depths of the astral sea behind, glittering stars of gold and silver speckling the masterpiece.
The city of Dweomerheart below his window of white marble was always changing due to the greatness of never ending illusion and conjuration magic, taking the form of a new, but always magnificent, city of overwhelming beauty and magic. The angels and eladrin and lesser deities such as himself populated the city that should have only existed in one’s greatest dreams, using their effortless and boundless magic to shape the city into whatever they desired it to be.
Gale would spend the next few hundred years of his immortal life in this plane of unimaginable splendor, yet as he stared timelessly at the sprawling wonder below him, he could find no beauty in it.
He had all the power he had ever wanted, he could create worlds and cities and rule over cults in his honor. He had dominion over more portfolios than he had originally planned, and there was no limit to his magical ability. He no longer had to worry about mundane things such as explosive orbs or Illithids or Bhaal cultists or love. He was no longer threatened by death or the promise of a doomed afterlife.
And yet, he only desperately wished he was capable of sleep once more, not from exhaustion but simply for the escape of it, yet that was just one of the many things he sacrificed when he gave away his mortality in exchange for the infinite power of godhood.
It wasn’t even close to the biggest sacrifice.
He had sometimes tried in vain to lie down and close his eyes, perhaps he could will his consciousness to at least wander for a little while. Yet every time he did so he was always transported back to the memory of the last time he saw her. The gut-wrenching vision of her peaceful, breathtaking face sleeping on the pillow next to him as he kissed her forehead goodbye, blissfully unaware that he would be gone when she woke up. The Crown of Karsus would be gone with him.
The guilt from this memory was unbearable, even to an immortal conscious, and so he stopped closing his eyes. Staring mindlessly into the endless expanse of the mocking beauty of the Elysium city is now how he spent most of his time. He was hardly able to feel anything anymore, which was probably for the best.
And so he spent his sleepless days in one long existence where night and day ceased to matter, numbing himself to the scrapped remnants of his mortal feelings.
Due to the deal he made with Mystra, he was unable to congregate any followers or temples on Faerun yet. He could have no influence on the mortal world whatsoever for another 999 years and nine months, not that he was counting. Not that it would even matter anymore.
“I will offer you domain over ambition as well as my domain of knowledge, bestowed godhood directly by my hand without having to rely on unstable Karsite magic. You would be infinitely more powerful and your place in the pantheon would be secure.”
“And why would you ever offer me that?”
“Because I want the Crown in my possession,” she gave him a sickening smile that he would remember for eternity. “And in return for my generosity, you’ll prove your worthiness for divinity by a…trial period, you could say. For a time, you will be unable to have any contact or influence with the mortal world whatsoever.”
“How long is a time?”
“Hmm,” she tapped her chin and pretended to consider, though he knew she had a plan. “How long is an Elven lifespan?”
If dabbling in the Karsite Weave was his mortal mistake, ever agreeing to that deal was his immortal one.
He had sacrificed his mortal love, the one person who chose him for who he was instead of his ability, all for the promise of power and divinity. It had to be worth it one day.
One benefit of godhood however, despite the lack of influence, was the knowledge and enlightenment he had experienced about the secrets of the universe and creation and the limits of the Astral Plane. He could journey throughout the planes and afterlives and see wonders beyond even his archmage imagination.
He could distract himself with beautiful winter Eladrin and celestials, and if he closed his eyes when they ran their hands over him, he could almost pretend it was a wild elf instead.
He had looked down on her, once. After seeing the darkness under her eyes, swollen lips from hours of weeping, and bandages covering her hands and wrists, he couldn’t bear to look again. He had faith that their companions would look after her despite his failure in doing so.
If she was ever in danger, he could do nothing to help her until his deal was up. And then it wouldn’t matter.
As he numbed himself to the aching feeling of her memory, his skin tingled with the knowledge that she had arrived in his domain. The air felt colder and crisper, and the crackling of pure magic whipped through the surroundings like lightning.
It was her right, even if not part of the deal. She could travel anywhere in Elysium that she liked.
“Good evening, chosen one,” Mystra grinned in a soft and mocking tone as she glided over to meet Gale at the window.
“Is it?” he responded without looking at her as he peered lifelessly into the void of space.
“Oh, do cheer up!” she pulled herself to perch on the marble windowsill beside him, forcing him to look at her.
She was draped in lilacs and peonies and jasmine, the endless ocean of stars and the cosmos in the window behind her. She was wearing a shimmering dress of essentially nothing, showing her porcelain skin and clinging to her curves.
“I thought you might be thrilled at the opportunity to see your little pet again.” She was completely amused with herself, her sly smile never faltering as she kept analyzing Gale's face. At these words, she got a slight twitch of his jaw, and this was enough to make her smile wider.
Mystra loved nothing more than to toy with him, to give only to take away, and this was just another one of her cruel games, he was sure.
"Very funny." he responded dryly, but still keeping the bite out of his tone that he wanted to inflict it with. 999 years was a long time to be indebted to someone, even a fellow god.
“Oh, but I’m not joking, unfortunately,” she purred the last word, beaming up at him with the teasing joy of a child. “I need you to do something for me, just like old times. Something in Faerun, and I’m willing to make a small amendment to our deal if you agree to it.”
“An amendment such as?”
“Such as aiding your companions once more to retrieve something stolen from me. Companions including Aluriel Rainsong.”
She spat out her name like it was poison, and Gale was holding himself together as tightly as he could.
After going over the details of what Mystra what asking of him, he still could not feel anything.
It was only when she raised a pale and delicate hand to wave him away as he crashed through heaven and sky to land painlessly on the mortal ground that he believed her.
The surprise of the impact knocked the breath out of him, but his immortality prevented any pain or damage. He clenched his fist, making sure what Mystra had given him was still here, and his eyes squinted to take in his surroundings. It was nighttime, and the familiar buildings and ship sails and towers made their way in his mind as he recognized Silverymoon, the city where he would see her again.
He took a deep and needless breath in, feeling fresh air for the first time in much too long. The seabreeze comforted him as he gazed upwards at the moon he hadn’t laid eyes on in months, the moon he knew that she was looking at, too.
Now he just had to convince her to speak to him again.