heaven / shadowheart

[midway]

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weekend 0, saturday, hot spring

[midway]

[ Okay, the steam, the greenery, and the peace and quiet? Exquisite.

Claude, now dressed in normal ye olde clothes instead of the angel outfit, looks impressed. ]

Okay, now it's starting to feel like heaven.

[sacredpath]

[she is still wearing her angel outfit, apparently because she means to sink directly into the water wearing it. in one of the shallower pools, just dipping her legs in for now.]

It is a significant improvement. Ah - I have been traveling for so long. I cannot remember when I last enjoyed the comforts of a bath.

week 0; monday

[sacredpath]

[let's use the new locations so this is out near the entrance to the lighthouse, but shadowheart has stopped her exploring around when she's suddenly been overcome by affection week. she hears a chirping sound from a bush as the owlbear cub comes trundling back out from whatever pile of trash it was rooting around, some french fries in his mouth.

and shadowheart instantly starts talking to him in a baby voice]

There you are! Getting into trouble, are you? Don't get me kicked out of here, please.

[she will also throw her arms around his fluffy neck and start petting his feathers while she continues to baby voice at him.]

[midway]

[ Well, then.

Claude makes a show of looking around even though Shadowheart is not even looking in his direction. ]

Whoa, I thought you were talking to me for a second. [ He's also overcome with affection... Edges closer to the fluffy baby. ] Who's your friend?

week 1, monday, morning

[midway]

[ He's standing by the large Christmas tree, staring at a present with his name on it. Shadowheart's can also be next to it for convenience. ]

... I know this place knows everything about us, but this feels especially creepy for some reason.

[sacredpath]

[she's opening hers and finding in it... a cute lil wolf plushie.]

What is this?

week 1; thursday

[sacredpath]

[where did claude get shipped off to? she would like to check on him and how he's faring.]

[midway]

[ He's just in bed like a normal unwell person.

Waves when he sees her. ]

Hey.

week 1, saturday, lighthouse

[midway]

[ Hello, Shadowheart. Forcibly places them by the lighthouse at a time where Anders isn't having gay angst there. ]

Tired?

[sacredpath]

[maybe he is there, just listening to them. anyway, she is very tired, yes. worn out and slightly sick looking.]

I have felt more energetic.

week 2; monday

[sacredpath]

[she's at the tea party, sitting at a table amongst the flowers, brewing a pot of tea. she's sitting with her chin in her hand, admiring the view, a distant smile on her face. but she looks up when she sees claude, giving him a smile.]

So nice to see you. Sit, and have a drink with me.

[please feel free to give me some timeline au or effect if you want though! or baby. she can be saying this to a baby, it's fine.]

[midway]

[ I might make him baby later, even though it would be very funny if he was a child right now.

His eyebrows are going up... But he'll wander over. ]

Enjoy the view, Shadowheart?

week 2; friday

[sacredpath]

[okay well she's a little bit hungover looking but sorry to everyone who doubted her and told her drinking on thursday is a bad idea, i lived, bitch.

where are we, the void? she's here in the void.]

A room to myself at last.

[wait...]

Um, awful joke. I find it hard to believe anyone would have hurt her.

[midway]

[ Fair enough. ]

Don't worry, I'm not particularly good at knowing how to grieve either. [ ): ]

week 2, saturday

[midway]

[ Sets them in the void. He is slicing an apple and eating it.

Would she like an appy slice? ]

[sacredpath]

[she seems surprised to receive an appy slice, and unsure how to take it. but she takes it.]

...Hungry for a little snack?

[a small smile, as though that's slightly insane.]

week 3; monday

[sacredpath]

Tell me.

[i have memshares to set up but this is important.]

[midway]

[ THIS STICKER ]

that's demanding

why so curious shadowheart? have i captured your interest?

week 3; monday

[sacredpath]

[i'm throwing us right into it, we're opening a door and are yeeted into the funhouse.

The mirrors lead you and Shadowheart down a path that shows a similar descent into a dark underground temple. The twisting path heads further into the dark, until the reflections that show back to you are only lit by the dim glow of purple lamps.

Shadowheart and three of her traveling companions - Gale, Karlach, Astarion - stand before an altar made of stone, glowing purple. On the altar, an inscription reads, “Brave the Gauntlet of Lady Shar, Surmount Her Trials and Rise a Dark Justiciar.”

The mirrors on the opposite sides of the room reflect other memories, other moments. They’re hazy and dark, you can’t even quite make out what’s down that way, as though parts of the mirrors are hidden from view. But you see reflected in them the story of the Gauntlet of Shar, a legendary place - a secret temple to the goddess buried deep underground in a massive cavern. There, her truest servants will prove their devotion to her by undergoing trials and will be rewarded. You see reflections of Shadowheart asking a woman, whose face is wreathed in shadow, for permission to prove herself, to show that she’s worthy of being made a Dark Justiciar, and being rejected again and again. But the rest of the memories you find that way are dark, and hidden, and there’s a feeling of dread if you even think to approach that particular hallway. There is something quite bad down there.

The better lit path ahead shows the four adventurers still at the ledge overlooking the temple, discussing their options. Shadowheart tries to explain to them what you just saw reflected on other mirrors.

“In order to join Lady Shar’s elite, you had to pass her trials, and then make a sacrifice in her innermost sanctum when you’ve proven yourself. Very few make it that far.”

But all of them are clearly uneasy, not knowing what the sacrifice will be or what it would even mean for Shadowheart to be a Dark Justiciar, other than that she professes it is her innermost desire to do so.

“I’ve dreamed of this place,” she insists, harsh. “This is my destiny.” And then she softens slightly, looking all of them over. Karlach worried, Gale suspicious, Astarion interested in something else that can be found here and skeptical of whatever it is she’s asking. “You know me better than most,” she admits to them, more vulnerably. “But I need to find out whether I’m worthy.”

The skepticism is still there, so she adds - “If I prove myself to Lady Shar, she’ll bless me with power we can use to fight the Absolute, and rid ourselves of these parasites once and for all. Please.”

Other flashes on the walls of other mirrors. A relic buried at the bottom of the temple. The Nightsong, the key to Ketheric Thorne’s immortality. A directive, from a stern, no-nonsense woman with two swords. Find it and destroy it, so Ketheric can be stopped. An image of a fortress, Moonrise Towers, ruled over by a cruel man who cannot die and an army he has absolute control over. Whatever Shadowheart is after, it’s not the only reason to continue. There’s something else important here.

You follow more twisting paths. Despite the reluctance, Shadowheart’s friends help her pass the trials. Puzzles, tests of wit and skill. And at the end of the gauntlet, there is another altar, made a stone, where Shadowheart insists she be the one to cut her hand with a knife and let blood drip down. The altar reveals the prize inside.

From the altar, Shadowheart collects a spear. She’s distracted, and the other side of the mirror reflects back the feelings. Lady Shar herself, encircling, embracing, a presence felt only by Shadowheart, which she does not mention to the others, even as her obvious awe and fear both grow. “I just feel we’re on the right track,” she says, her voice shaky. “I’m right where I need to be, under Lady Shar’s gaze.”

(Video of this part until 2:45)

And despite her misgivings, she goes deeper into the temple. Once they reach the bottom of the temple, arriving at a statue of Lady Shar and a deep pool of water with stairs descending down below, words suddenly are spoken, ones that only Shadowheart can hear. One more test before you. Descend to the Nightsong. Make a sacrifice. Rise a Dark Justiciar..

She kneels before the statue and begins to pray.

The final threshold. You made it, Shadowheart, just as I knew you would. Despite these words also echoing all around, once again only Shadowheart appears to hear this.. Now all you must do is step forwards, and the rest will prove simple.

What do you need of me? Shadowheart’s prayer.

Nothing you are not capable of. The punishing of a wicked Selûnite. All you must do is use my spear to end her light. And then you will become a Dark Justiciar, blessed with my power. You will become my voice to those embrace me, and my sword arm against those who would do me harm.

I will. I will not fail you.

The others ask if she heard something, but she lies, says she was just communing with her goddess, paying respect.

The four descend into the pool and arrive iin another realm entirely, a void of dark shadows, clouds, rocks from some ruin in swirling nothingness, dark purple lightning occasionally lighting up the otherwise murky sky. The Shadowfell, the realm of Lady Shar.

“See my actions, Lady Shar,” Shadowheart prays, speaking out loud now. It seems almost like something she’s doing to calm her nerves, focus her thoughts. “Hear my words of faith. Blessed Nightsinger, witness my adoration. I have emptied my heart of falsehoods. I have vanquished your foes. Lady Shar’s will shall be done, as sure as night shall fall.”

In the platform down below, in the center of it, is a woman. A circle of light surrounds her, and you know that is her prison as much as the chains she is held by. She is a beautiful woman, tall and strong, with pale skin with cracks of gold flecked through it and white hair. But captivity has not been kind to her. She is in rags, dirty, wounded and broken.

More images again on other walls. This woman, called the “Nightsong,” has been kept prisoner here for a century by a necromancer who has sapped the strength and power she was born with for that long to transfer it to the man who rules Moonrise Towers, Ketheric Thorne. But the necromancer is dead now. No one is holding her anymore, except for the spell he cast which has not dissipated.

(Video of this part is here to 2:44, though some stuff is different with dialogue choices and this being an origin playthrough)

“I have felt you come, Sharran” she says, her voice hoarse. “The first in a century.” She looks at Shadowheart directly, expression on her face defiant despite how weak she is. “You, who have come to seek the praise of your wicked goddess. You, who have come to drive a dagger through my heart. Go on, show it to me. Your sword, your knife.” She lunges at you, and she’s held back by her prison.

My spear, child. Shar’s voice also echoes, something only Shadowheart can hear. Pierce her heart with it and become my sword hand, my Dark Justiciar.

“Not a dagger,” Shadowheart spits back, defiant. “A spear. My Lady Shar’s spear.”

“Well, well, well,” she says. “A spear empowered by your goddess to kill the child of a God?” Her voice is furious, dripping with contempt. “But there is much your mistress does not tell you. My death will come at a terrible price, one you will not grasp until it is too late.”

Shadowheart is not alone in this memory. Her companions have stayed silent, maybe surprised by what Shadowheart is doing, but they are looking as though they’re planning to interfere. At least Gale and Karlach are probably not willing to see her murder a woman in cold blood who is currently in chains.

“Her fate is mine to seal alone,” Shadowheart snaps at them.

“The fate you seal is your own,” the woman says. Her voice has lost some of its temper, trying to persuade now. “To be a Dark Justiciar is to turn your heart from everything but loss. You will know no love, no joy, only servitude. Until, of course, your mistress inevitably discards you.”

Shadowheart is still fierce, looking at the woman like she plans to kill her, but if you know her well, if you’re familiar enough to pick up on smaller changes, there’s hesitation, too. What she’s being told is breaking through to her in some way, she’s just resisting it.

“Do you know what I am, little assassin?” the woman, anger back in her voice. “I am Dame Aylin. Out of this hellish realm, I carry my sword for my mother, Selûne. The very sight of me would disgust you if you were a true Sharran. But perhaps you are something more.”

And then Shar’s voice. Shadowheart, do not listen. She seeks to distract, to confuse, to prolong her unholy existence and deny you your destiny. Shut out her words.

There’s another hallway through the house of mirrors that opens at these two conflicting messages. A path through the mirrors, dark, but lit by moonlight; Shadowheart looks down that way, but does not move to travel there. The mirrors in that direction reflect something much older than she is, an ancient war between the goddess of darkness and her sister, the moon goddess. The battles fought in that war, the pieces used, the way one goddess might seek to gain the upper hand against another.

But Shadowheart is focused on Dame Aylin, who is watching her as though she suddenly recognizes her. “Yes, I know you,” she says, as though she’s seen something suddenly. “A lost child, frightened by wolves in the dark.”

Another hallway through the house of mirrors opens in the other direction. And there’s a sense of terror about what lies down that direction. It’s too dark to see that way, but there’s a sound of snarling, howling. There’s pain in that direction. There might be more that way than only pain, but the way is too dark and there’s no way to tell.

Aylin is still speaking. “Much has been promised to you, hasn’t it?” she asks. “But what has been taken from you? What do you know of your own heart, your own life?”

Shadowheart looks down that direction, almost as though she intends to travel that way. There’s a part of her that wants to, wants to see it, and there’s a part of her that’s very, very afraid. She changes her mind, turns away from it. Gathers her resolve.

“Whatever you think you know of me won’t matter,” she says, but she’s faltering a little. “Once I become who I’m meant to be.”

“If you lay your hand on me in friendship, free me,” Aylin says, “I will lay another path before you. But you must decide whether to walk it.”

Enough. Close your heart to her craven words. Strike! Shar’s voice, brokering no more argument, no more hesitation.

“There she is again, isn’t she?” she says, looking directly back at Shadowheart. “Why does she fear truth more than I fear death?”

Reflections on the other mirrors - memories, only half formed, of fear, of duty, of the need to obey. Of kneeling on a stone floor, body growing weak, reciting prayers until they’re right. Of pain. Of growing strong enough to endure it, and the pride in that. Of being told lies and learning to always believe them anyway.

Shadowheart calls the spear to her hands.

There are two directions to take out of the memory, one where Shadowheart plunges the spear into the woman's heart and another where she takes the spear and tosses it off the side of the platform, lets it fall into the abyss. You can decide which one seems like the right path, or else you can explore somewhere else, one of the other avenues that opened up while exploring the memory.

[midway]

[ Shadowheart had already told him that she hadn't gotten her answers before her death, and even though he is curious, and even though it's not in his nature to obey some dubious deity...

He wants to see what happens at the end of the path that Shadowheart had sought for so long, and whether it's worth it. So he'll choose the option where she kills the woman. ]

week 3, friday, flower garden

[midway]

[ Back at the garden... The mood is low. ]

Hey, Shadowheart. Checking in to see what morale is like?

[sacredpath]

[the mood is not good.]

Poor, by my reckoning. What are your observations, my good sir?

[seems bad for you, too?]

It doesn't feel real.

week 3, saturday

[midway]

[ Please accept my shitty starter of Claude lying on a beach towel (fully clothed).

He'll wave at Shadowheart. Sit sit. ]

[sacredpath]

[what a beautiful starter. she'll come sit, yes. she has not run fast enough and her feelings are starting to catch up, but she doesn't really cry about things, either. she's just furiously angry.]

I still hate this. I don't hate it less.

week 4; monday

[sacredpath]

[after the mini cyoa, she can be found at the tavern and bar, having a meal and a drink. if she sees him, she will hold up a drink for a toast.]

To surviving another week.

[her mood is sad, still, but she's doing better, honestly. it was a rough weekend, and seeing the other side of it hasn't dispelled her worries, but she's trying to make the best of it.

anyway she thinks this is the drink honoring elysia but it's not, it's hanaki. so taking a sip and immediately coughing.]

Sorry? What is that?

[midway]

[ He's taking a sip right as she starts hacking, and thankfully is able to control himself to gracefully swallow.

And then he grimaces, vibes a muddled sense of morose and concerned. ]

Did we drink the same thing? It's sickeningly sweet?

week 4; tuesday

[sacredpath]

I think Mizu and Wis'adel have what it takes as a couple, and that's why I set them up to see what obstacles they can overcome together.

[midway]

you're a genius shadowheart and i can't wait to see if taair survives ends up being mixed in it all

i thought we could all use some fun conversation so i created that new rule

well, and i want to see what people will say

week 4; wednesday

[sacredpath]

[after the ball! she is still dressed up, but slightly tipsy and carrying her sandals. but her mood is a good one, happy in an easy way.]

I wasn't expecting it, but that was a lot of fun.

[midway]

[ He has hair.

On his head, to be clear. ]

You definitely looked like you were having fun. [ His mood is amused, but also pleased and fond. ] More people were willing to dance than I thought.

week 4, wednesday

[midway]

[ Is Shadowheart in the hospital. Comes to check in on her.

Don't bleed out... ]

[sacredpath]

[she is in hopital and has been medically tended to, yea. now she's just chilling in one of the beds. she's not in great shape really, and her emotions are still confusion and distress and a general sense of some guardedness that hasn't really been present this week set back firmly in place, but she's here.]

Claude, hello.

week 7, monday, academy

[midway]

[ Hello. He is exploring the new locations... Vibes are vaguely concerned.

But who cares about that, looks at her. ]

I don't know why I expected the hair to be temporary.

[sacredpath]

[why vaguely concerned...]

Why would it be? It took a great deal of time as is.

week 7; friday

[sacredpath]

[this is friday morning sometime, she is not hungover because magic is beautiful, but she's still getting coffee and is a little bleary anyway.]

Good morning. How are you faring.

[midway]

[ He's a little headachey but otherwise alright. Wrinkles his nose at her coffee because he's a tea drinking snob. ]

Morning. Pretty good. It's always nice to wake up after a night of drinking without any regrets.

week 7; saturday

[sacredpath]

[our beach is back! our beautiful beach. she has showered and changed out of whatever hideous outfit i forced her to be in and is instead wearing something simple and comfortable and sitting out on the beach.]

[midway]

[ Comes over to lounge next to her without even asking. ]

I'm exhausted.