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The meadow was dark… at least it had been, until the very heavens seemed to have been set on fire, enveloping the tall grass and trees in a blindingly bright light.
Lyra stumbled backwards, wondering if that spell had been a good idea in the first place.
She had missed him, sure, but was it really worth endangering the balance of things to get his attention?
Maybe not.
No… most definitely not.
As the light dissipated, Lyra cautiously opened her eyes, her heart pounding in her chest. She gazed upon the meadow, their meadow, where their love had blossomed, the place where their journey had begun.
The memory of that starlit night sent a shiver down Lyra's spine, and her body tingled with anticipation and nostalgia.
That, and an imminent urge to smack her head against one of the nearby trees.
The sorceress bit her lip in conflict. Maybe if she opened a portal to the Nine quickly, she could pretend that nothing had happened. Pretend that this was just some spell gone wrong and join Karlach and Wyll on the path they carved through Avernus.
Facing devils might be easier than facing a God…
Yes… yes ! Her insides screamed.
Lyra patted down her robes.
What was it again? Coin of Mammon to the left? Uncut Diamond to the right? No-- she groaned in her mind, trying to remember the easiest way to open said portal and get out of Toril when her hair stood on end from the sheer presence of raw weave behind her.
No—not the weave she commanded but something else, a perversion of it but just as powerful in its own account, if not more so, considering the one who was wielding it.
“Your prayers have been answered, little one,” his rich baritone sounded behind her, making Lyra stop in her tracks.
A deep breath later, she turned around, willing her body not to betray her feelings and thoughts wrecking her brain at the moment.
A futile attempt, considering that the man—the God in front of her was aware of what was going on in her mind anyways.
As a mortal, he had been good at reading her, now as a god, well… Lyra suspected there was nothing much she could keep from him now.
Crown be damned! Ambition be cursed !
She sighed, watching his silken-clad figure standing in the meadow before her, his godly features illuminated by the moonlit night. Lyra would have been awestruck had she not spent a significant amount of time with him in Faerûn’s wilderness and gotten to know all his little tics and quirks.
Of course, the changed Gale in front of her shared little with the man she had learned to love during their journey to stop the mind-flayer invasion.
His eyes were two white orbs shining down at her. Looking into those eyes, which were once full of warmth and curiosity, filled Lyra with a sense of regret rather than joy at this long overdue reunion.
And by the gods! How could glowing eyes feel so…dark?
She tilted her head. “Do I need to bow? Kneel? Grovel ? I don’t know the appropriate protocol, Gale…”
His laughter surprised her in a good way.
“I think protocol went out of the window when you decided to pull that little stunt of yours, my dear sorceress,” he chuckled, pointing his finger at her.
“Be glad it was I who answered and not one of the other gods. Believe me, but not all are reacting kindly when called to the material plane by someone who refused to be their chosen.”
Ahhh, yes,… a sore topic still.
“But you are-- a generous god, are you not?” She asked, holding his gaze.
Might as well get any smiting out of the way from the start, no?
A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he stepped closer. “The most generous, I might say. After all, ambition gives everything desire craves.”
That sounds about right…
His hand went out to cup her cheek softly, his skin feeling closer to marble than anything closely human.
“Changed your mind, darling? Did you roam this forsaken plane long enough to know that your true worth lies elsewhere? With someone else?”
The way he said it rubbed her the wrong way. She had missed him and had thought about taking him up on his offer of taking her to the heavens, to Elysium, with him, but still, she had second thoughts.
Especially after seeing how different and changed he was from the man she fell in love with.
“This realm is not half-bad, mind you…” she began before he interrupted her.
“True… you’re in it. And the smart mortals who worship me are in it,” his sly smile turned into a full-blown smirk. “You should see it… feel it how the numbers are rising. The amounts of prayers doubling by the very minute.” He chuckled softly, the thought alone seemingly giving him more pleasure than anything else this realm had to offer.
Lyra nodded. She had heard about the temples being erected in his name and the prayers being sent out to the new God of Ambition.
Ambition was one trait that would never die out… even though the most ambitious mortals tended to do just about that.
“Come on… do you truly prefer this realm to Elysium? You should see it. The beauty… the vastness of it all. You’d never want to come back here.” Gale said, waving at the meadow around them. “This… middle-of-nowhere…” he added with a slight wrinkle of his nose.
Middle-of-…
Did the devil himself possess her favourite wizard? No...
The pang went through her heart instantly and with precision, which would have put Astarion’s aim to shame.
Gale had no idea where she had called him to, and neither did he care about it.
The man who once moved the stars for one unforgettable night with her was dead.
The wizard who would have blown himself up just to save her and life on Faerûn as they knew it was gone.
All that was left of Gale Dekarios was one thing: his ambition. The one thing that would stand the test of time and space.
Oddly enough, his biggest flaw was also his biggest strength, and it was still one of the things she loved most about him. It had brought him this far and it would bring him even further.
That didn’t mean his ignorance about the place that meant so much to her mortal heart didn’t sting.
The God’s voice was soft as he spoke. “Lyra, my sweet sorceress. I know I’m not the man you fell in love with. I am much more now. Now, I have everything I ever wanted except for one thing. You.”
Old Lyra would have made a joke about the corniness of it all, but Gale wasn’t the only one that had changed.
He rested his forehead against hers, sighing deeply. “If you knew how much restraint it costs me to not just go against Ao’s rules and take you with me to Elysium right this very second…consent and free will be damned,” he paused, his eyes shining a little brighter, a hint of hunger within them.
A simple expression that made her shiver to her very core.
Why did he still have to be so bloody beautiful?
Damn, his godly splendour!
“You asked me if you should go to your knees when you saw me. Well… I’m about to go down on mine and beg for you to come with me. Let me show you the beauty of divinity. Become my chosen and join me in Elysium. I know for a fact that you never lacked the ambition, love. You just need a little…push.” He whispered, kissing her cheek and making the weave inside her tingle with anticipation.
If confliction had a face, it would wear hers.
Gods! Why could nothing in this blasted life ever be easy? Why must every choice made have such a profound impact on the path you landed on?
Had Lyra not known better, she would have cursed the Gods, but she knew there was but one person to blame.
Herself and her mortal free will.
Had she not-- would she not--
By the Hells!
“If I join you… will I still be allowed to visit Toril from time to time? Be able to see my friends?” she asked, struggling to keep her voice steady.
Gale’s expression remained unchained as he spoke. “You may see them, but you might not be as interested as you might think. Priorities change with divinity.”
Even as a God he didn’t lose any of his honesty. It was comforting.
Lyra nodded. It made sense, in a way, and his whole demeanour spoke more than any words ever could.
Divinity changed… everything.
But being reunited with him, with her first love, the one she still loved with all her heart, was worth it… right?
“I won’t force you. I would never force you. But I want nothing more than to have you by my side until the end of time. In a way, you made me into what I am today, and it just doesn’t feel right with you up there.”
‘…made me into what I am today…’ words she never wanted to hear despite fully well knowing they were true.
Lyra sighed.
Creating a God, rule number one: don’t fall in love with him. Failed miserably.
Gale watched her expectantly. He was still as patient as before, another comforting fact.
“I’m ready,” she brought out, despite her heart pounding against her throat.
Gale’s smile widened. “Of course you are my sweet sorceress. That’s what you called me for, after all. The minute I heard your sweet prayer I knew that you were ready to be mine again.” His lips met hers, a familiar yet new sensation.
“You would have made such a devout follower, but I prefer you at my side, my love.” He whispered against her lips.
Lyra pulled back, taking in the meadow for one last time. Somehow it appeared darker than before… like watching it through a darkened lens or like it was a picture from the past. Still here but the moment that made it into what it was had passed.
“Come, my darling. Let’s put this dark meadow behind us, for heaven is aching for a new goddess. One that will put the others to shame, and you’re the only one to blame,” Gale purred with a wink.
Her eyeroll was imminent.
“Is poetry and corniness mandatory up there?” She asked.
Gale’s laughter filled her ears as he pulled her with him. “For any self-respecting God or Goddess? Yes.”
Lyra let out a groan.
Nothing was ever easy, was it? Neither in this plane nor heaven. Some things always stayed the same.
For better or for worse.