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sparklyhologramenemy · 5 years

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Sikh Punjabi Baby names from Gurbani | [Boys & Girls]

Are you searching for Sikh Punjabi names from Gurbani?

Then You are at the right place.

Here in this article, You will find list of Sikh names from Gurbani.

Unique Punjabi sikh baby boy’s’ and girl’s names list from Gurbani.

Sikh Baby Boy Name Starting With Letter

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Sikh Baby Girl Name Starting With Letter

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Gurbani

What is Gurbani in Sikhism?

Gurbani (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ) is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib.

In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib, are called Gurbani.

Among Amritdhari Sikhs, a few texts from Dasam Granth which are read as Nitnem, like Tav-Prasad Savaiye and Chaupai, are also considered Gurbani. In Adi Granth, Gurbani is a sound which comes directly from the Supreme and the text is a written form of the same in worldly language and scripts.

It is also called Gun Bani.[1] Gurbani are explanations of qualities of the Primal Lord and Soul which a Sikh should comprehend and with which he can attain the supreme state.

Sikh historical writings, unauthentic writings or apocryphal compositions written under the names of Sikh Gurus and other writings by Sikhs are not considered Gurbani and are referred to as Kachi Bani. Source :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurbani

Punjabi sikh Baby

Punjabi Sikh Baby names from Gurbani (Top 100)

Name

Meaning

Vinaydeep

Lamp of modesty

Rajdeep Kaur

Best of queens

Vijaypreet

Love for victory

Shukarian

Gratitude, Prayers

Gurinder

Lord

Saihajseetal

One absorbed in peace and bliss

Channan

Full of fragrance like sandalwood

Ikleen

Absorbed in one

Uttambir

Brave warrior

Samundar

Remembering

Vaaheguroo

Wondrous enlightener

Sundarjot

Light of beauty

Satsangat

Good company

Livjog

Absorbed in union with God

Simratdeep

Light of lords remembrance

Sangatprem

A lamp

Siddharth

One who has accomplished goal, Successful, A name of Lord Buddha, Achieved all wishes

Shabadpreet

Love of the holy world

Yashwant

One who has achieved glory, Always famous

Sahilpreet

Kour

Princess

Ekamroop

Embodiment of oneness

Gargot

–

Birindar

The brave god

Kamaljot

Light of lotus

Visraman

One who is carefree

Sachjog

Absorbed in the true one

Prabhleen

Absorbed in gods Love

Gurneesh

Gurus grace

Sanghi

Elixir obtained from holy congregation

Agambir

Brave as God

Sukhnam

Bliss from naam

Hualeena

Light

Jassi

One who sits

Purandhri

Same as Gayatri

Oopajai

Dwell, Reside

Samarajit

New, Fresh

Satminder

Temple of the true God of heaven

Vinaybeer

–

Variyam

The brave one

Avaninder

Lord of the earth

Tejwant

Full of splendour

Sachprem

One in whom truth is predominant

Jakkhleen

One absorbed in worship

Vikramjit

Victorious brave

Sukhliv

Absorbed in the Joy of gods Love

Sijal

Correct

Harsleen

–

Yaadveer

Steadfast in gods remembrance

Samarvir

Hero of battle

Akalsimar

One remembering the eternal God

Tarlochan

Three/third dimension, Cross over worldy desires

Zoha

Morning light 93rd Sura of Quran

Vijayant

Victor, Name of Indra

Tapanpal

Protector of warmth

Sangatjeet

Goddess Laxmi

Uddampal

Protector of effort

Manjodh

One who battles against the evils

Anumati

Apane, Consent

Wasimbir

Handsome and brave

Komalroop

Embodiment of peace and beauty

Zhagar

Pass through worldly cares

Pujya Sritha

Goddess Lakshmi

Mahinga

Dear, Expensive

Kul

Family, Total, Entire

Santokhpal

Victory of satisfaction

Savreen

Multi talented

Uttamcheet

Of exalted consciousness, Of exalted mind and awareness

Yashbir

glorious

Ravneet

Morality like Sun

Sachgian

Truly godly person, Rainbow, Absorbed in the true one

Sukhmandir

Temple of peace

Sikhal

Pinnacle

Udaipreet

Rising Love

Tejnaam

Glory of the lords being

Simranpreet

Lovingly remembering God, Love for meditation

Surinderpal

–

Mandiraa

Cymbals, Home, A dwelling

Sewakprem

One who loves the service of God

Sumandeep

Flower

Kavneer

Great poet

Uttamsaroop

Most beauteous

Mankiran

–

Shashipreet

Love for the Moon

Prabhgun

One having godly merits

Vinaybir

Brave and modest

Upinder

Of the God in heaven

Tavleen

Engrossed in God

Gursheen

Gurus pride

Mayray

Of mine

Amritpreet

Lover of immortalizing nectar

Vikrampal

Preserver of bravery

Pushpita

Decorated with flowers, One that has flowered

Alpana

A decorative design

Sawinder

Beautiful God

Uttamprem

Love of the best

Komaljot

Soft and peaceful light

Jeba

–

Uttamjog

Exalted union with God

Tejdeep

Lamp of glory, Reign of glory

Punjabi Sikh Girl

Sikh baby Girl Name list from gurbani (top 100 punjabi girl names)

Name

Meaning

Beena

A musical instrument

, Wise, Far-sighted

Geetleen

Absorbed in the songs

of bliss

Kanchanjot

Golden light

Sach

Contentment

Anisha

Close, Intimate,

Good friend,

Continuous

Gurshakti

Power of Guru

Gurbani

Sikhs religious prayer

Sarableen

One who prevades in all

Davinder

Dhianni

Chhab

Beauty, Splendor, Brilliance,

Fashion,

Form, Figure

Guriya

Guidance

Mithra

Friend, The Sun

Zobia

God gifted

Sanghi

Elixir obtained from holy

congregation

Ikjot

The one light, Gods light

Ikleen

Absorbed in one

Asis

Blessing, Prayer

Babli

–

Tegroop

Beautiful sword

Harneez

Equal treatment to all

Faal

Oracle, Fruit

Satsimran

Contemplation of truth

Prabhgun

One having godly merits

Hetpaul

Protector of Love

Hargeet

Lords blissful songs

Guninder

Lord of virtues

Sirisatsimran

Supreme contemplation of truth

Ridhima

Spring of Love,

Full of Love

Meher

Benevolence

Premjyoti

Lamp of Love

Hoojoe

Guard

Kamalla

Foolish, Demented,

Crazy for naam

Kanwaljot

Light of lotus

Amritpreet

Lover of immortalizing nectar

Jusmeet

Glorious friend

Mahansukh

Great happiness

Ayushmati

One who has a long life

Sijal

Correct

Sangita

Music

Prabhleen

Absorbed in gods Love

Palvinder

Loving

Satroop

Sat (God) light

Prabhsimar

One who remembers God

Gatsimar

Liberation through meditation

Tanweer

Radiant, Illuminating,

Enlightening

Ajooni

Beyond transmigration,

Incarnation (God) (1)

Asankh

Countless

Sehajleen

Easily absorbed in God)

Zaitun

Olive, Fiery,

Sower of seeds

Ajinder

Victorious

Avnoor

Beautiful

Sijh

Sun

Paramseetal

Most peaceful and Happy

Zaaminah

–

Kanwarsukh

Happy Prince

Gurneesh

Gurus grace

Bebe

Lady of the house, Lady, Bringer of Joy

Ekamroop

Embodiment of oneness

Ekampreet

Love for ones God

Sahjara

Coastal lamp

Kalapi

Peacock, Nightingale

Padmalaya

Lake of lotuses

Gurmail

Gurus friend

Chhabba

Gold, Silver ornament (1)

Sanjeevani

Immortality

Anoushka

Favor, Grace

Manprem

Affectionate heart

Nimrat

Nirmal

Saihajamrit

Love for coast

Haroop

Beautiful God

Gurneet

Gurus moral

Sulhara

Kind

Kanwalnain

Princely eyes

Ashima

Limitless, Protector

Saihajsukh

Resident of the blissful realm

Naamroop

Embodiment of naam

Gurleen

In serve of teacher

Prageet

–

Sachsukh

Embodiment of truth, True servant

Tannu

Body

Anindita

Beautiful, Virtuous, Venerated

Aparijita

Undefeated, A flower,

One name of devis

names

Akalya

Wish

Garinder

Lord

Purandhri

Same as Gayatri

Sarabjeet

Winning all

Jotleen

Absorbed in light of God

Anumati

Apane, Consent

Yakeen

Trust, Belief, Lord Shiva

Satleen

The one absorbed in truth,

In God

Gurmander

Gurus temple

Sangeeta

Musical, Music

Lakhmi

Goddess of fortune

Divyajyot

–

Prabhkirat

Lords praises,

Dedication to God through

honest and Hard work

Kulminder

King of the family

Shaleen

Modest

Mridula

Soft or tender

Rubani

Soul Bani

Guramrit

Guru ka Amrit, Holy Amrit

Gurbani Name list with meaning (Best 200 Names)

Name

Meaning

Sarvottam

The best

Updesh

One who preaches

and counsels

Thaldeep

Lamp of the world

Waheguru

Wonderful enlightener

Sudhman

Pure of heart,

Mind, And soul

Tekjot

One who takes

support of the divine light

Gurka

Belonging to Guru

Gatleen

Merged in freedom

Sarabroop

Embodiment of all

Shabadleen

Absorbed in the holy word

Sajinder

One in equipoise

and tranquillity

Sehajleen

Easily absorbed in God)

Sachjog

Absorbed in the true one

Simranpreet

Lovingly remembering God,

Love for meditation

Abani

Earth

Sukhjeevan

Peaceful life

Sinda

Gratitude

Uttamtek

Exalted support

Sijal

Correct

Samarjot

Lamp of war

Uddampreet

Love for effort

Vandit

To whom salutation

is given

Subhpal

Auspicious protector

Amodini

Joyful or pleasurable

or Happy girl

Sarnagat

Refuge, Shelter

Satsantokh

True content

Tatvichar

One who reflects

the ultimate truth

Simratdeep

Light of lords remembrance

Seemant

Margin, Limit, Light

Vishalpreet

Immense Love

Kiransukh

Happy rays

Avaninder

Lord of the earth

Sujanroop

Embodiment of

intelligence

Hetpaul

Protector of Love

Parmindar

God of gods,

Highest God

Tajinderdeep

Splendid light of God

Gurpinder

Guru of kings

Surinderjot

Light of gods

Saileshdeep

Cherishing peace

and tranquillity

Shehbaaz

–

Sobhapreet

Virtuous Love

Bakshi

Blessed

Tarunpal

Protector of youthfulness

Tekgur

Gurus support

Yaadinder

Gods remembrance

Prabhkirat

Lords praises,

Dedication to

God through honest and Hard work

Trishanbir

Craving for bravery

Gunjeet

Victory of virtue

Uttamgiaan

Exalted knowledge

Satnam

One accepting

gods being as true

Geetleen

Absorbed in the

songs of bliss

Kulpreet

Love of the family

Shukarian

Gratitude, Prayers

Ekampreet

Love for ones God

Surjit

Conqueror of the Suras,

Victorious devotee

Eveneet

–

Saranjot

Protection by light

Xamak

Twinkle, Shimmer

Teknam

One who takes

support of the lords name

Tamanpreet

–

Sooriya

Hero

Uttamveer

The exalted bravery and courage

Shantsaroop

Embodiment of peace

Yuvrajpal

Protector of the

crown Prince

Swaranjeet

Gold winner

Samran

Hero of battle,

Lamp of equality

Zoreed

One who meets

Hualeena

Light

Vinaydeep

Lamp of modesty

Satinderjeet

Victory for

the God of truth

Supreet

Loving,

Loved by everyone

Talveen

Imbued in colour

Saraljeet

Victory of simplicity

Premleen

Absorbed in gods Love

Sawaranjeet

Gold winner

Mahangun

Treasure of great virtues

Swarajpal

Protector of own rule

Upinderjot

Light in the

proximity of God

Naamnirmal

One who is holy

through naam

Sarabshaant

Fully contented and peaceful

Sawarajdeep

Light of self-rule

Sarabnidhan

One who has all treasures

Umeed

Hope, Expectation,

Wish, Desire, Trust, Greed

Gurnoor

Pleasant face of God

Sahildeep

Victory for all

Zaitun

Olive, Fiery,

Sower of seeds

Swaranroop

Embodiment of gold

Savraj

Self-rule, Independence

Ujjalreet

Living a holy way of life

Aradhana

Worship

Shabadtek

Support of the holy word

Santjeet

Saint, Holy person,

Tranquility

Gauravpreet

Love for glory

Sakh

Morning Sun

Khahish

Hearts desire

Vishwpal

Protector of the world

Upinderpreet

Love for the proximity

of God

Tejindar

God of grandeur,

Splendor of God

in heaven

Sukhpraan

Peaceful and joyful life

Ujagarpreet

Brilliant Love

Dishmeet

–

Yuvraj

Prince, Heir apparent

Sukhmehar

Peaceful through

gods grace

Sojala

Dawn

Tejinderpal

Glorious protection

of God in heaven

Sarpreet

Favour or fortune

of gods Love,

Reservoir of Love, Mysterious

secrets of Love,

Essence of Love

Sukhbirpal

Protector of warrior of peace

Sangatroop

Love for good company

Sarbjeet

All victorious

Simratjeet

Victory in remembrance

of God

Anindita

Beautiful, Virtuous, Venerated

Bebe

Lady of the house, Lady, Bringer of Joy

Sinap

Wisdom

Asmani

Celestial, Divine, Heavenly

Anahita

Graceful

Sundardeep

Beautiful lamp

Uchitjot

light of the right

Sharandeep

Satpaul

the one who abides

by the truth

Saihajdhun

One with blissful tranquillity

Sukhsirjan

Who creates happiness

Sucham

Pure goodness

Surinderjeet

Triumph of God,

Lord Krishna,

One who is victorious

over gods

Samdeep

Victorious in war,

Lord Vishnu

Zobia

God gifted

Upkeerat

Of exalted glory

and praises

Uttamleen

Immersed in the

Love of divine

Shabadras

Enjoying elixir of

the holy word

Tajindermeet

Splendid friend of God

Udaibir

Rising brave

Harmansukh

Peace from gods heart

Vamanbir

Impatient brave

Simarjeet

Victory in remembrance

of God

Anumati

Apane, Consent

Komalroop

Embodiment of

peace and beauty

Sukhrang

Coloured in the

Love of Lord

Sagalpreet

Immortal life

Suchdeep

True lamp

Divjot

Divine light

Sumanjeet

All victorious,

Who win the power of God

Uttamjodh

The exalted warrior

Uttambir

Brave warrior

Thakurpal

Preserver of the

Lord master

Sohanpreet

Love for beauty

Sajjanbir

Beauty

Tavleen

Engrossed in God

Huzra

Prudence

Suchdev

Pure deity

Sadeepak

Bravely upholding the truth,

Achiever

Uttampad

Zulfa

First part of the night

Subhkaram

Good fortune,

Virtuous deeds

Kanwarsukh

Happy Prince

Sardar

Chief, Noble Man

Ikjot

The one light,

Gods light

Gurvaid

Divine Knowledge

Vajrajit

Lord Indra

Vijaybir

Victory of brave

Sukhshant

The one who is

in bliss and peace

Upinder

Of the God in heaven

Satjeevan

The one living the

truthful life

Sangatras

Victory of good

company

Livnoor

–

Shabadchet

Remembering the

gurus word

Sachbhagat

Love for patience

Taruth

–

Zulakha

First part of the night,

Having a small

and finely chiselled nose

Garinder

Lord

Sangatprem

A lamp

Rimpi

Full of Love, Pretty

Yuvrajpreet

Love for the crown

Prince

Sachdeep

Light of truth

Vikramjit

Victorious brave

Karamat

Karimah is dignity,

Honor

Sujanpreet

Love for intelligence

Uchitdeep

Lamp of the right

Vinaypreet

Love for modesty

Aradhna

Worship

Sijh

Sun

Shabaddeep

–

Ripujeet

Victor over the enemy

Veerindar

A brave godly person

Thalbhoop

Master of the planet

Vanjeet

Lord of the forest

Amanpreet

Love with peace

Shantprakash

Light of peace

Asrit

One who is dependent (on God)

Tarntaran

Swim, Ferry across (1)

Teghbahadur

Courageous sword

Sadka

Practice

Hamreet

Beloved of God, Friend of God

Sukhdev

God of happiness

Ikmoorat

Form of the one supreme being

Livchit

Absorbed in consciousness

Haramrit

Gods immortalizing nectar

Sahib

Master, Gentleman, Companion

Gurnamaskar

Obeisance to Guru

Uchitkaram

Right deeds

Samarajit

New, Fresh

Avantika

City of ujjain, Princess of ujjain

I hope you have chosen a name for your baby from the list I have provided in this post. If you are still searching for Punjabi sikh baby boys or girls names from gurbani click here.

from WordPress https://sikhnamelist.wordpress.com/2018/03/05/sikh-punjabi-baby-names-from-gurbani-boys-girls/

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superdecade · 7 years

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Levidromes

A levidrome is a word that when spelled backwards makes another word. Well, at least not yet. It is not in the Oxford English Dictionary. Levi Budd is a six-year-old boy from British Columbia in Canada who has coined the term 'levidrome' after spotting that the word 'STOP' spells 'POTS' backwards. After realising that there is no such word in English for this phenomena, a social media campaign has started to get this word in popular usage (hence this post). I wrote a short Python script this morning that will pull all of the levidromes from a dictionary file. The full list is copied below.

youtube

aa ab aba abac abba abo abos abut acca ad ado ados ae aga agar agas agenes ah aha ahs aia aider air airts ajar aka al ala alan alif alma alula am ama amahs amas amen amene amir amis amla amman an ana anal anan anana anes anew anger animal animes anna annat anon ante apod araara arak arb arbas are ares arf aril arret arris arum arval aryl assam asses at ataata ate ates aua auks ava aval avel avid avo awa ay ayahs ba bac bacs bad bag bal bals ban bans bard barf bark bas bat bats bed beef ben bens bib bid big bin bins bird bis blub bo bob bobac bobak bod bog boh bok bon bonk boob boord bor bos bots bows boy bra braced brad brag braw bro brod bros bru bub bud bug bulb bun bunk buns bur burd burg bus but buts cab caba cabob cam camus cap card cares cep ceps cire cires cis cit cite cito civic clat cod cor cos cot cram cran crem cur da dab dace dad dag dah dahs dal dam dap daraf darb darg dart darts das daud daw daws day de deb debut decaf decal decarb dedal deed deem deen deens deep deeps deer dees deet deets def defer deffer deffo deg degami degged deid deified deifier deil deke deked del deled delf delis deliver delos dels deman demit demits den denier denies denim denis denned dennets dens depart deport depot depots derat derats dere dered deres deros derris dessert desserts deus devas devil devils devots dew dewans dewed dexes deys di dial dialer dials diaper dib did died dif dig dim din dinar diol diols diram dit div diva do dob doc dod dog doh dohs dol dom don dons doom door dop dopa dops dor dorb dormin dorp dorps dort dorter dos doser dot doy drab drac drail dram drap draps draw drawer draws dray drey drib drier droob drool drow drows drub duad dual dub dud duel duo dup dups ea ean eas eat ecad ecce ed edile edit ee eel eels een ef eh ehs eke eked elide elides elutes em eme emes emir emit emits emmets emong emos en ene enema enes enol enows er era ere ered eres ergo eric eros ervil eses esnes espial esse et eta etas etat etats eten etic etna euk eve even evil eviler evils ewe exul eye faced farad fe fed feeb feer fen fer fet fid fier fig fila fir fires fled flog flor flow fool fra frab fret fro gab gad gag gal gals gam gan gans gaps gar garb gas gat gateman gater gats gay ged gel gelder gem gen get gib gid gif gig gins gip girt girts git gnar gnat gnats gnaw gnaws gnome gnus gob god golf gon gons goog gorp gorps gos got grad gram grub gu gub gul gulp guls gum gums guns gup gups gur gut guv guy ha habus had hadedah hah hahs hajjah halalah hales hallah hallan halos han hap haram hay he heh henry hep her hey ho hob hod hoh hon hoo hoop hop hos huh hup id ikat imaged io iris iron is it itas iwi jar kabob kaiak kak kam kara kat kay kayak keek keel keels keep keet keets ken keps kier kips kirks kis kiths knaps knar knit knits knob knop knot knots know knub knuts kob kook kor korat kow krab krans kue la lab laced lacer lad laded laer lag lager laid laipse lair lam lamina lana langer lap lares larum las laud lava lavra leat leben led lee leek leep leeps leer lees leet leets leg leir lemel leper les let leud leva level lever levins levo lez liar liard liart lias lied lies lin lion lira lit live lived livre lobo lod loges loid lone loof looks loom loons loop loops loord loos loot looter loots lop los lotos lug luxe lyra ma mac macs mad madam maes mag mak mal malam mallam mals mam man map maps mar marah marc marcs mard marg marid marram marrum mart mas massa mat maws may me meed mees meet meets meg mem merc meter mets mew mho mid milks mils mim mined minim mips mir mis mm mo mod mom mon moo mood mool mools moops moor moos moot mop mor mos mot moy mu mug mum mura mural mures murram mus mut muton muts na naan nab nae nag nah nala nallah nam named namer nametag namma nan nana nap napas nappas naps naras narc narcs narks nas nat naw ne neb nebel ned nee need neep nef neg nek neks nelis nema nemas nep net nete nets neve neves new nib nid nil nimrod nip nips nis nit no nob nod nog noh noil nolos nom non nona nonet noo noon noop noops nori nos not notes notum now noy nu nub nun nur nus nut nuts nys oat ob oba obey obo obol od oda odas offed offer ogre oh ohm oho ohos oi oiks om on ono oo ooh oohs oom oon oop oor oot op oppo orb orf os otic otto oud ova ovel ow owt oxo oy pac pacer pad pah pal palp pals pam pan pans pap par pard part parts pas pat pats paw paws pay pec peed peek peel peels peen peep pees peh pelas pen peons pep per perp perts pets pig pin pins pip pir pis pit plap plug po pod poh pol pols pom ponk poo pooh pool pools poon poons poop poor poort poos poots pop port ports pos pot pots pow pows prat prep prod prog pud pug puh pullup pup pupils puris pus put puy radar rag raga rager rages raggas rail rait raj raja ram ramis rang ranid rank rap raps ras rast rat rats raw ray re real reaps rebus rebut recal recap recaps reccos redder redes redia redips redleg redraw redrawer reed reef reeks reel reels reens rees ref refed refer reffed reffo reflet reflow regal regar regna regnal regos reh reif reified reifier reik reiks reined reird reknit reknits reknot reknots relaid relit relive reliver reman remeet remit renies rennet rep repaid repaper repel repins repot repots res resat resod retag retem retool retrod retros revel reviled reviler reviver reward rewarder rewets rexes ria rial rias ribas riel rif rim rima rime rims rip rits rob roc rod rok rolf rom rones roo rood room rooms roop roops roots rosies rot rotator rotavator rotor rub ruc rucs rug rums run sab sabir sabra sad sadis sado sados sae sag saga sagas sagenes saggar sail sair sakis sal salep salles sallets sam sama samas samen san sanes sap sapan sappan saps sar saran saros sarus sat sate sati sav saved saw saz scab scam scares scot scram scran scur seals seam seat secret seder sedes sedile seed seeks seel seem seems seep seer sees segar segol seil seined seiner seis seisor seities sekos sel selah selahs seles sellas selles seme sememes semes semina sena senas sene senega senegas sennet senor sense ser sera serac seracs seral sere sered seres seric serif serons serres serum sese sesey sessa sesses set seta seton setule seven sexed sexer sexes sey seys sha shad shah shahs shakos shales shama shay shaya she shod shoo shtik si sib sic sidas sies sik sikas siled silen sim sima simar simis sin sined sinnet sip siri siris sirra sirred sirs sirup sis sit six skat skeer skees skeets sken skeps skier skio skips sklim skool skran skrans skrik skua slab slaes slag slaid slam slap sled slee sleek sleep sleeps sleer sleet sleets slim slipup slit slive slived sloid sloom sloop sloops sloot sloots slop slug smart smees smew smir smits smoor smoot smug smur smut smuts snab snag snap snaps snark snarks snaw snawed snaws sneb sned sneed sneer snib snig snip sniper snips snirt snit snivel snod snoep snog snool snoop snoops snoot snores snort snot snow snub snug so sob soba soc soccer sod soda sodas sog soger soh soho sokahs sokes sol solah soled solon solos som some son sonnet sool soom soop sop soras sorb sore sored sorter sos sotol sow soy spacer spaer spag spam span spank spans spar spard spart sparts spas spat spats spaw spaws spay spaz spec speed speel speels spek speks spets spider spik spiks spim spin spins spirt spirts spit spod spool spools spoom spoon spoons spoor spoots sports spot spots sprat sprits sprod sprog spud spug sris stab stag stang stap staps star stared start stat state stats staw staws steed steek steeks steel steels steem stellas stem stemme sten stenned step steps stet stets stew stewer stime stimed stims stink stinker stir stirps stob stonk stonker stool stools stoop stoops stoor stop stoped stoper stops stot stots stoved stow stows strad strap straps straw strep stressed stria strig strips strop strops strow struts stub stum stums stun stunk sturts sub subah suber succus sued sulu sulus sum sumac sun sung sup suras sus susus swad swam swang swans swap swaps sward swat swats sway swey swob swone swop sword swot swots syed syes syn ta tab tae tael taes tag tak taki taks talc tallat tam tan tang tanna tao tap taps tar tared tarok tarp tarps tart tas taser tat tate tats tav taw taws te teed teek teel teels teem teemer tef teg tel telfer ten tenet tenner tennes tennis tennos tenon terces terf terra terret tes tet tets tew ti tiar tic tid tide tig til tiler tils time timed timer tin tink tinker tins tip tips tirrit tis tit toc tocs tod tog tom ton tonk tonker tons too tool tools toom tooms toons toot top toped toper tops tor torot tort tot tots tow tows trad trail tram trams trap traped traps trat trats tressed trew trig trins trips trod trons troop trop troped trot trow tsar tub tuba tubed tuber tug tum tums tun tup tut two ug ulu ulus um umu un urb utu vas vat vav vid vug wad wan wang wans wap waps war warb ward warder warts was wat wats waw way wed wem wems wen wena wert wet wets wey wo wok wolf wolfer won wonk wons wop word wort worts wos wot wots wow xis ya yad yag yah yahs yak yam yap yaps yar yard yaw yaws yay yebo yeh yerd yes yeses yew yews yo yob yod yom yon yos yrneh yug yup zaps zas zel ziz zuz zzz

It is interesting to note that some levidromes are also palindromes. I wonder whether we need a new word to describe this phenomenon also? Furthermore, there is no word in English for "a word that you make up in order to make another word make sense". I suggest: "emordivel" ?

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tavtime · 9 months

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a collection of favorite Act 2 moments:

#these are my idiots and I love them 💕#baldur's gate 3 #astarion #shadowheart #karlach #gale #halsin #thisobald thorm #isobel #dame aylin #sura tav

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tavtime · 9 months

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What the Harvest Hopes For

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3 Rating: M Chapter: 1/? Words: 6.5k Ships: Astarion/Tav, Shadowheart/Tav, Halsin/Tav, Lae'zel/Tav, Karlach/Tav, Wyll/Tav, Gale/Tav, others tba

Additional Tags: Polyamory, Novelization, Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, others tba

Summary: There is nothing like impending doom to make you realize how casually the powerful play dice with the lives of the small. Unfortunately for them, Sura Tav has decided she doesn't appreciate being used as currency, and she is no longer playing.

Read below, or on AO3

---------------

There were worse ways for terminal freefall to end. Sura was certain she should be able to find it in herself—once she recovered from the shock of being gently dropped on her head in the sand, rather than having it dashed across the beach—to appreciate that.

It took a moment.

At least this place felt like the material plane. Prior to today, she’d had experience with no other, but unfortunately she now found herself in a position of some expertise. The ground under her palms was crumbly sand where she pushed herself up onto hands and knees, and the light, though it made her squint, was bright midmorning sun; it held none of the sickly quality of the fires of the Hells. The slate-blue water lapping at the shore before her smelled faintly of iron, the ores of distant hills. Was she lucky enough for this be the Chionthar? Or one of its many tributaries? Gods above, where was she?

The dizziness of falling passed. In its wake a throbbing remained in the back of her skull that was worrying, but manageable. The reek of smoke and scorched flesh focused her attention, and she looked around. Nothing was familiar. A ranger’s first steps, then: seek a vantage point, take the measure of her position and resources.

The still-burning nautiloid loomed over and above her. The carcass of the vast gutted beast had strewn itself over the landscape in hideous tableau, limbs still twitching out their death across the rocky shore.

From further up the beach came the sound of moaning. Her hand went to her hip. Good: she had her hunting blade, still in its sheath, as well as the pack she wore strapped across her hip. Her abductors hadn’t bothered to disarm her. Had that been simple arrogance, or something more sinister? Mind flayers fought like the aberrations they were, with tooth and tentacle and brutality. She was abruptly grateful to still have need of her knife... for however long that would last.

The parasite behind her eye squirmed at the thought. Nausea rolled over her. She shook herself of it, and pressed on.

Past a lump of smouldering tentacle half again her height and breadth lay a body. The half-elven woman with the long plait of black hair, who had fought so ably aboard the ship, was the source of the sounds. Caught at the edge of consciousness, her fingers still clenched tightly around her many-sided trinket. What name had she given, again? Little more than an hour had elapsed since Sura had prised her from that pod... though it felt much longer.

Sura saw no immediate evidence of injury. She nudged the woman by the shoulder. “Shadowheart, was it? Can you hear me? Say something, if you’re able.”

Without warning the woman sat bolt upright. Sura jerked back, one well-honed reflex away from being headbutted.

“Whhh...” Shadowheart groaned. Her hand flew to a pack of her own at her belt. She nestled her artefact inside before buckling it closed.

Sura extended a hand. Rather than taking it, she instead grasped Sura’s forearm, braced herself, and staggered to her feet. She took a moment to steady herself. Then she tilted her chin up, and met Sura’s eyes.

“You survived? I... I survived? How? Did—”

a thrumming between them. This woman’s terror, crawling behind her ribs, and crawling between Sura’s own, the fear of fire and the fall and the long long high howl of wind in her ears, the rapid approach of the ground and the promise of oblivion... and then the stop, and the sand, and then nothing—nothing—

The channel that had opened between them clamped shut. Whether she herself was responsible, or the stranger, Sura couldn’t have said. Perhaps both.

“—uuugh,” Shadowheart said. She shuddered. “By the Hells, that is unpleasant. We need to find a healer, and get these things out of our heads. Immediately.”

“Agreed.” Sura spied a shield stuck into the nearby sand. She recognized it as the one Shadowheart had wielded before. Two long strides brought her to it. She tugged it free, and handed it to her. “And shelter and food, for preference. Arming ourselves wouldn’t go amiss. The bastards left me my knife, so that’s something. I don’t know how well I’ll hold up to another fight, but we can buy ourselves time to run, should the need arise.”

Shadowheart’s mouth quirked. “Don’t sell yourself short. Back on that ship, you put a bolt between the eyes of that fiend without pausing to aim. It was... impressive.”

Sura shrugged. It would have been more impressive if she’d been able to keep hold of her pilfered crossbow. Her blade’s bone handle was a comforting weight in her palm, and she was relieved to have it. But before she was almost anything else, she was an archer. The lack of a ranged weapon chafed.

Farther up the coastline she could make out the scraggling edge of a forest. A ridge of terraced cliffs rose away from the water, and walking paths cut the treeline at irregular intervals to the north. Her heels itched to make for high ground, and the cover the trees would offer. It was also as likely a direction as any in which to search for help. The two of them began to pick their way along the beach, eyes alternately scanning the ground for bodies, living or dead, and the skies for threats.

“If you see any kind of bow or bolts, pick them up,” Sura said over her shoulder. She knelt at the side of a human man’s corpse, eyes wide and glassy, seeing nothing. His pockets yielded nothing, but a travelers’ pack was half crushed beneath his weight. She rolled the body over, and stripped him of it. It proved a boon: she found a handful of gold within, a large and handsomely embossed leather drinking flask, and a wrapped loaf of hard bread. She slung it over her shoulder. “You’re trained in melee, correct? You had a mace before.”

Shadowheart raised one eyebrow, but nodded. “Yes. I’ll take anything you can find. I can shoot as well, if I need to. And I’m no sorcerer, but I can work enough magic to tend to simple injuries. Or fight.” She knelt next to another corpse, a dwarven woman who had suffered burns all down one side of her body. Her eyes closed for a moment, and her lips moved silently. Her hand hovered over a face that might once have been beautiful, but was now little more than a twisted, molten ruin. She closed the woman’s one remaining eye. Then reality reasserted itself over piety, and her hands dug into still-intact pockets.

They moved on. By the end of the beach they’d secured a second pack for Shadowheart, and a battered but serviceable longsword. They took it off a man who, judging by the quality of his plate, must have been a guard of some kind. Arming and provisioning themselves was one matter, but both shied from undressing the dead; the man had lived his final moments in that armor. Regardless of what other use they might have been able to put it to, their unspoken consensus was that to strip him of it was an indignity too far.

The day had not yet quite made highsun by the time they reached the treeline. Near the shattered body of the nautiloid lay a ruin, mouldering into the hill. A temple, if what remained of the architecture was anything to go by. The forest had long since begun the slow process of digesting it with root and rot. Still, the air around the place hung heavy with remnant magic. It reached out to Sura, the taste of it almost familiar; it prickled beckoning fingers over her skin.

Come, she thought she felt it ask of her, a whisper in her mind. Come.

Any other day—but not this day. She turned her back on the place with regret. If she lived long enough, she might see her way to returning, but for now, her priorities had to lie elsewhere.

Past the temple, the beach melted into steep, rocky outcroppings that marched up into the forest. Shadowheart’s eyes picked an uneasy trail up into the sundered body of the great ship. “We’ll have to turn inland. Unless you have a way to scale the cliff face you’re keen to share?”

Sura tipped her head back, studying the cliffs. “I might make it on my own,” she replied. “Maybe. Couldn’t bring you with me.”

“What, really?” She cast a critical eye over first the rocks, then the looming ranger. “You don’t, by chance, have a mountain goat anywhere in your ancestry?”

A bark of laughter. “I said maybe. I might also fall to my death. That’d be at least as helpful as leaving my sole ally behind with only her complaints for company.”

Shadowheart snorted. She turned to look at the ship again, her face somewhat less pinched. “I suppose there’s nothing for it. We’ll need to cut through.”

“Keep an eye for anything useful... or suspicious. Drop back if you see movement.”

“Indeed.”

Down the facing side of the ship, a crack split the creaking hull as though it were no more substantial than torn parchment. They crept inside, blades in hand, eyes darting into corners shadowed or lit by flickering fire. Shadowheart followed at Sura's heels. She noted, with no small amount of pleasure, that her new companion watched where she stepped, and chose the same careful places to let her feet fall.

The githyanki with their dragons had rent the ship at the seams. Overhead, the sticky, fleshy walls were torn open, a wound that showed the sky. Sense-memory came over her, all at once, unbidden and unwelcome—the rotten meat texture of those walls under her hands. The pod that entrapped her had been more maw than metal, wet and ravenous. Bile rose in the back of her throat. She bit her tongue; tasted blood. Behind her, Shadowheart gave an audible gag. Their eyes met in a moment of shared revulsion: she’d felt it, too.

Sura forced a breath out between her teeth. She refocused her eyes on the corridor ahead and whispered, “Do you think anyone else will have made it?”

“It’s possible?” Shadowheart likewise focused ahead, keeping her voice low, her feet moving. “I don’t know how we survived, yet here we are. If it had been just me, it might’ve...” She trailed off. Shook her head. “Whatever protected us surely did so for a reason. It may well be that we aren’t the only ones.”

“You didn’t happen to see which way our gith friend went, by chance?”

Shadowheart’s face regained its pinched expression; she looked as though she’d bitten into a lemon. It was, Sura mused, unexpectedly endearing. “I wouldn’t call her a friend so quickly. If she lived, it seems she’s moved on without us.”

Sura inclined her head. “She may have done.” The githyanki had certainly been eager enough to charge forward, once she’d oriented herself to the direction “forward” lay.

A hand on her shoulder. Sura turned to find Shadowheart pulled up short.

“And yet you didn’t.”

“I didn’t what?”

“Move on. Without me.” She worried at the corner of her lip, then said, “I know it would have been easier to leave me in that pod. To leave me behind. You didn’t do that. I simply... thank you. That’s all. It means something, that you risked that for a stranger. I won’t forget it.”

Sura nodded, once, in acknowledgement. When she didn’t offer anything further, Shadowheart resumed her place at her shoulder, and they crept forward again.

--------------------

During its descent, the ship had cracked into fore and aft sections. They exited the lower section to the west, and found themselves on a wilderness trail that wound in one direction down to a rotting dock, and in the other up along a ridge that would take them through the upper portion of the ship. The fork that trailed down to the dock was short, and at the end of it they discovered a cache of fishers’ supplies—as well as the corpses of several unlucky fishers. With as much respect as possible, given the circumstances, they made quick work unburdening the dead of their possessions.

“Poor bastards,” Sura said. She squatted at the foot of the dock. Shadowheart stood over the bodies, reciting under her breath what Sura could only assume were clerics’ rites for the departed. “How many people do you think were just... here? Wrong place, wrong time, worst day of your life?”

“I don’t want to imagine.” She turned. “What have we got?”

Sura sighed.

“We’ll be able to feed ourselves tonight, at least. Another flask for water—here.” She handed it over; Shadowheart stowed it in her pack. “A pair of daggers, at least one of which might sell for a respectable price, and a handful of gold. A few odds and ends. We might beg a bargain with a half-decent healer... if we can find one.” She tapped her own bag at her hip. “Beyond that, I have a roll of cloth for bandaging. Needles and thread. Pocket whetstone. You’re welcome to any of it.”

“And your knife.”

Sura drew the blade from its sheath at her hip. It glinted in the afternoon sun, a long smile of silver and bone well-worn to the contours of her hand. She examined it for a moment. “And my knife. Which you aren’t—welcome to, that is to say. No offense intended.”

She thought she felt a flicker of something like approval pass between them. Shadowheart nodded. “Noted. And understood.”

“And you?” Sura asked. She gestured at the pouch strapped to Shadowheart’s belt. “Did you start this day with anything useful in your pockets?”

Shadowheart’s hand hovered over the buckle that held the pouch closed. “Not—no. Nothing worth mentioning.”

“Understood.” Sura returned her nod. Then she stood, hefting her pack onto her back once more.

They resumed their trek up the ridgeline. The soil shifted less underfoot as they gained elevation. Shadowheart kept her place a few steps to the rear. Sura scouted ahead, eyes sharp, ears sharp.

Twenty paces off from where the trail leveled out atop the hill, her arm shot out, barring the way. She fell back on her heels, and felt Shadowheart still behind her.

“There’s a man,” she murmured. “Look. Side of the trail, near the bushes.”

“I see him. What do you think? Friendly?”

She was saved having to answer when the man turned and spotted them. He was an elf, well-groomed but clearly out of his element. He had an insalubrious pallor obvious even from this distance, though whether it was due to injury, illness, or simply his natural coloring, she couldn’t decide. He seemed to have been—washed out, somehow. Or faded. Like a painting left too long in the sun.

“You there!” He cried. The accent was Baldurian, and oppressively upper-crust. The kind of accent that unfailingly commissioned her most illegal, most expensive jobs. He waved at her. “Over here! I need help!”

His voice and posture betrayed no insincerity. They approached warily. Neither of them lowered their blades.

“What do you need?” Sura asked.

The man pointed into the underbrush. “There’s one of those brain things in there. With the legs? Horrid.” His lip curled. He shuddered. “You’re armed, and seem competent. You must kill it! Before it gets away!”

Further in, the brush rustled. “Move back,” she muttered. She stalked past him, her feet silent on the rocks.

One step. Two. All at once there came an undignified squeal. A boar crashed out of the underbrush, legs wheeling, wild with fear. It careened off along the trail back in the direction they had come. In her surprise she fell back half a step. It was for this reason, and this reason alone, that she saw the swing of steel an instant before it flashed toward her neck.

On instinct, she dropped her weight onto her back heel, and sent the other foot sweeping out to kick at his knees. She had several inches of height working to her advantage, and she was muscled where he was lean. It should’ve been enough to upend him without dignity into the dirt. But he was fast —gods, he was fast. Much more so than she anticipated. And stronger than he looked; a fact that became apparent when he grappled her to the ground and pinned her, arm like an iron bar across her chest and a dagger putting dangerous pressure under her jaw.

Sura went still. Her eyes rolled up to meet Shadowheart’s, who had dropped into a combat stance and stood frozen, watching. Sura offered her a slow blink. It was met with confusion, a stitching of eyebrows; then her brow smoothed out. She felt a push in her mind, gentler than before. Wait? Shadowheart seemed to be asking her.

Wait.

“Stay back,” said the man. Her eyes swiveled toward his face, as much as she was able; she saw him grinning, and not at her. She heard Shadowheart scoff. “Unless you’d like this to get messy.”

“I need her alive,” Shadowheart snarled. “If you’d like to see messy, I’ll gladly oblige you.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he cooed. His attention refocused. “And now, my dear, if you’d be so good as to answer a few questions. Honestly, please! I’d hate to be forced to mar such beautiful skin. Nod, if you would.”

Barely breathing, Sura nodded.

He shifted his weight against her back. He was strong, but now that he was faced with keeping her pinned, the position was taxing for him to maintain. She thought she might be able to leverage her height advantage against him. She just needed the right moment.

“You were on the ship, weren’t you? You and your testy companion.”

Sura nodded. Gently, she pressed her heel into the dirt. Yes, there was leverage there. If she could just...

“Excellent.” His voice took on a new sharpness. “Then you’re going to tell me what in the nine Hells you and those tentacled freaks have done to—”

His arm convulsed. Distantly, she heard Shadowheart cry out. A roar and swell of pain broke behind her eyes. It overwhelmed even the sensation of the blade nicking her throat. Like a membrane rupturing, what was between them fell away:

fear is what he lives, and consumes; fear is what he is, dark nightstalking roaming fear in the dark, restless wicked, often dull often bright, never freer than in the dark—never freer than in the dirt—daystalking stranger in the dirt and has taken—will give—will be made to give—NO

Sura took her moment. She planted her right heel in the rocky soil and the palm of her left hand against his shoulder, and shoved. They fell apart at right angles to each other. The connection between them severed. Sura leapt to her feet and spun, knife drawn.

The man clutched his head. His eyes clenched shut. “Gods below, what was that? I saw...” He hesitated. “I saw myself, through you. And through you, as well.”

Shadowheart narrowed her eyes. “As we would’ve explained, given a friendlier introduction, we appear to share a common problem. We were abducted and infected with parasites, as you were.”

The man’s eyes flickered between the two of them. Slowly, deliberately, Sura lowered her knife.

With a flicker of wrist and blade, the man followed suit. He didn’t so much smile as smirk. She was beginning to think it might be the resting expression of his face. “So you were taken, just as I was? And here I was, ready to impale you upon the sharp end of a dreadful suspicion. It seems I must apologize.”

“It couldn’t hurt,” Sura agreed, mildly.

“It might,” Shadowheart muttered under her breath.

It was as though a switch had flipped. His prior viciousness dispelled; his voice and posture were all easy charm. “My name is Astarion, and I humbly beg your forgiveness. I’ve had a rather trying day. I was in Baldur’s Gate when those monsters snatched me up. I must admit, I was not what you’d call prepared for it.”

“I... understand that, I suppose.”

“And isn’t it nice to be understood? Now that we’ve greeted each other in such an intimate—if, admittedly, unorthodox—fashion, might I have the honor of knowing your name?”

“Tav.”

“Is that a surname, or...?”

She narrowed her eyes. She felt blood bead on the skin of her neck, seep into the high collar of her jerkin. “It’s what you can call me.”

To his credit, he didn’t flinch. “As you like, of course. And you, my lady?”

The answering silence stretched out for so long that Sura wondered if she might not answer at all. Eventually, though, she did. “Shadowheart.”

“Splendid! Somehow I get the feeling it suits you quite well.”

Sura choked on a laugh, which she surreptitiously hid behind her hand.

“Now that we’re all on a more level footing, tell me: do you know anything about our shared conundrum?”

“The worms are mind flayer parasites,” Shadowheart replied. She watched his face closely as she said it. “We have to find a way to be rid of them as soon as possible. Otherwise, we’re all going to... change.”

He looked taken aback. “Change?”

Sura nodded. “We’ll transform. Into them. Illithids.”

Astarion’s eyes went wide with shock. Out of nowhere, he broke into laughter. It surprised her. The sound wasn’t a happy one, and it tapered off as quickly as it started.

“Of course we will,” he sighed. “I don’t know what I expected.”

“We’re going to find a healer, if we can. Or someone with more knowledge of these things.” Sura looked him over once more, and came to a decision. She extended a hand. “We’ll do better together until we understand what we’re dealing with. What do you think? Willing to go our way?”

He stared at her hand for a space of seconds. Then he took it, and she noted the startling coolness of his skin, which she mentally filed away for later contemplation. He fell into step beside her, and they started up the path again. Shadowheart trailed him, still radiating suspicion.

“Do you have any idea where we are?”

“None, I’m afraid,” he replied. “I’m not even sure how I’m still standing, to be frank. One moment I was plummeting to what should have been an inelegant demise, and the next—the next I was flat on my back. I can’t say how it happened, although it seems to have come out in my favor just the same.”

“There’s a lot of that going around.”

“So I gather.”

Shadowheart chimed in. “Before we found you, we were heading for higher ground. If the use these trails have seen is any indicator, there’s a settlement of some kind nearby. We’ve been gathering what supplies we find to hand as we go. You should do likewise.”

Astarion considered this. “Canny. Healers with the skills we seek don’t work for free. And here I am without my coin purse. Ah, well! There’s always someone else’s to be had, if one is determined.” He grinned.

“Do you have anything useful to hand?” Sura asked. The blood had begun to dry at her collar, and she flaked it off idly with a fingernail as she walked. “No need to ask if you’re armed.”

His eyes tracked the movement of her hand. “Unfortunately not. I’m only lucky disaster caught me fully clothed.”

“Aren’t we all,” Shadowheart deadpanned.

--------------------

The upper segment of the ship had fared better, structurally speaking, than the lower one. Sura’s instincts told her this did not bode well. Upon finding a gap in the walls large enough to squeeze through, she was almost immediately proven correct. They had barely set foot inside when half a dozen intellect devourers swarmed down at them from an unseen hideaway somewhere far above.

Sura’s blade minnowed through the air, quicksilver slices. While she dropped two of the putrid things, Shadowheart thrust her blade directly through a fourth. At her left elbow Astarion moved in a blur. A second dagger appeared in his hands, twin to the first, from out of Gods only knew where. The fourth and fifth brains died under his onslaught of slices in seconds.

A cry from her right. Sura and Astarion turned as one.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the sixth brain had skittered up the wall, and pounced. Shadowheart caught it, and it was all she could do to hold it out at arm’s length. Tentacles wormed out from it, entrapping her arms, as it tried to drag itself toward her face.

no no no, forgive me, my Lady, not like this, please, not like this

Sura’s knees buckled under the force of it. She was in Shadowheart’s head, again, or Shadowheart was in hers, panic icing her joints and screaming in her veins. Ghosts of tentacles wrapped her wrists. A cry that wasn’t her own echoed in her mouth.

The moment fractured. From the corner of her eye she saw Astarion plunge a dagger deep into the meat of the brain. Sura wrenched the dying abomination free from Shadowheart’s grasp and heaved it away. It hit the wall with a grotesque squelch, and fell to the floor in a pulpy heap.

For a moment there was only labored breath and the crackle of fire. Shadowheart picked up her sword, eyes shuttered. Sura nodded at Astarion. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

The connection between them throbbed in her mind, luminescent in some indefinable way that had little to do with sight or tactile sensation. It called to her; compelled her to worry at it, like a loose tooth. What was it capable of, she wondered, when not pulled to the fore of her awareness under duress? And so, experimentally, she poked at it.

Holding his gaze, she constructed a thought: well executed. She pushed it toward him along that tether, the idea of the words and the heft of emotion, the adrenaline and satisfaction of a hunt successfully shared.

He visibly startled. His shoulders flinched in on themselves, and his knuckles whitened around the hilts of his daggers. But then he relaxed once more, with effort that she could not see written in his posture but could feel echo back along the bond between their minds. Something else followed it, too, much more deliberate: curiosity, pleasure, and a thank you.

Maintaining the link wasn’t difficult. Just the opposite, in fact. Closing it once it had been opened felt a little like trying to swim upstream against a strong current. The parasites seemed to crave interconnection. Was that usual, for mind flayers? She supposed it must be.

With an effort of will, she forced the link closed, and turned away from Astarion. Shadowheart had hurried on ahead, and called back to them, “Come on. I can see a way through.”

--------------------

“What,” Shadowheart bit out, “is that.”

That, as far as Sura could tell, was a problem—for somebody, anyway. Whether she should make it her problem was a question she was still weighing.

The rock face ahead bore a waypoint sigil, of the kind commonly used by travelers in rural areas as fixed points for magical or mundane reckoning. Ordinarily these were placid, imperturbable enchantments intended to be reliable over a span of centuries. This one’s behavior, however, was anything but calm: it hissed and roiled, stray wisps of Weave swirling palpably in orbit around it. As if the sigil’s behavior weren’t enough of a deterrent for anyone with a functioning set of survival instincts, a hand and forearm protruded from its center, groping for purchase.

Sura gave an embittered sigh. It looked like a trap.

She shouldered the others behind her. “Hello?” she asked tentatively, keeping well back, out of reach of the hand.

“Oh, thank the gods!” came the reply. It was a man’s voice. He echoed, as though he were calling up from the bottom of a well. “Erm, I seem to have gotten myself into a bit of a predicament. I don’t suppose you could... er, give me a hand, as it were?”

“Depends. What will you do once I pull you out of there?”

“Nothing untoward, I assure you!” He gave a shaky laugh. In his position—whatever exactly his position was, she was a little unclear on this point—she expected she’d be none too calm, either. “I am but a traveler who has made a minor, albeit unfortunate, miscalculation. Upon my life, I swear I mean you no ill intent. Now please—help a fellow out?”

“Do you make a habit of this kind of thing?” Astarion asked her. He was keeping well back, she noted, and offering precisely nothing in the way of help. “Intervening in the troubles of passers-by?”

“Are you complaining that I stopped to help you when you asked?”

His pursed lips gave no answer. He rolled his eyes.

“Right, then.” She grabbed the outstretched palm with her own, and braced her feet. “One, two, three—oof.”

With no great amount of grace, a man popped free of the wall. The momentum sent her sprawling back, and he landed in her lap in a mess of flailing arms and rumpled indigo cloth. They lay there, momentarily stunned, until she shoved at him and, one after the other, staggered upright.

“Well, that was a better landing than I’d any right to hope for,” he mused.

She raised a brow at him.

“Ah, not that I meant—I mean, you’re quite comfortable—but that wasn’t—anyway!” His cheeks flushed, but he carried on. “Apologies. I’m Gale of Waterdeep, wizard, at your service. And you are... wait. I know you.”

“... excuse me?”

“Well, in a manner of speaking. You were on the ship as well! I clearly recall seeing you. You rather stand out.”

“He’s not wrong,” Shadowheart said. “It’s the hair. Is it always that shade of copper, or...?”

“It’s a bit more than the hair, darling,” Astarion murmured. “Have you ever seen an elf so remarkably...” He made a show of looking her over, letting his eyes travel very slowly from her feet to her head. “... statuesque?”

Sura crossed her arms, straightened, and loomed down at him. With good posture, she had half a head on him; it was very effective. “Half-elf, thank you. If you’re quite finished.”

He grinned.

“Ahem,” Gale cleared his throat. “As I was saying. Since we were likewise unwilling guests of our repellent hosts, am I correct in assuming you were also treated to a most unwelcome insertion in the, er, ocular region?”

The worm wriggled behind her eye. She grimaced. “Unfortunately.”

“Are you aware of what fate this spells out for us, precisely? Our impending short, painful future of hideous transformation, then to become decidedly more tentacle-ridden?”

“You seem to know a great deal about our situation.”

“I am a man of broad studies,” he replied. “Which is why I can assure you, with some confidence, that it would behoove us to do all in our power to avert this fate. It will be... unpleasant... for us, should we fail.”

Shadowheart stepped up beside her. “We’re looking for a healer. You don’t happen to know where we could find one?”

Gale shook his head. “I do not. I don’t even really know where we are. But as I fell from the ship I did catch a glimpse of what looked like camp smoke—to the northeast, I believe? Hard to keep track when you’re plummeting to your demise. But it’s the only place I can think to start.” He hesitated. “I don’t suppose you’d like a helping hand in your search? Our goals are in alignment, after all. It may pay dividends to split our burden between us.”

Underneath the verbosity, he was nervous. Sura could all but see his pulse in his throat, the dilation of his pupils. She glanced at the others. Astarion pointedly studied his nails, but he voiced no objection. Shadowheart met her eyes and nodded.

She extended her hand to him again. He tripped over himself in his eagerness to grasp it.

--------------------

Over Gale’s nattering, which had shown no sign of abating as they walked, the lack of birdsong ahead was her first clue that something was wrong. She noticed it seconds before she noticed the shouting: two strident voices raised in argument, neither of which she recognized.

Shadowheart and Astarion heard it when she did. Shadowheart’s hand clamped onto Gale’s shoulder, and he too fell silent. “Something up ahead,” she said quietly.

Sura strode to the front of the group once more.

In a clearing between yawning trees, a pair of tieflings were in the midst of a spectacular row. Suspended from the sagging branches above them, Sura recognized the githyanki warrior who had earlier come to her aid. In Sura’s admittedly limited experience reading gith body language, even from where she was standing, the tension in the woman’s shoulders and fists expressed barely-restrained rage.

“Leave it for the goblins to kill!” shouted the female tiefling to her partner, a man who might, for the resemblance between them, have been her brother. “Come on, Damays, it’s dangerous, let’s just—”

“You heard Zorru!” he shot back. “These things slaughtered our kin without a second thought. What if it gets loose? Think, Nymessa! If it turns up at camp with a hoard of goblins at its back, what then?!”

“You can’t seriously expect me to—oh! Hello.”

The pair turned to face her, wary. The man—Damays—pushed himself in front of his companion. Sura ambled forward, palms open, smiling and friendly. “Well met! Were you here when that ship crashed? Hell of a thing.”

Her tone and easy smile had the intended effect: they eased back, temporarily mollified. Damays said, “We did. It rattled our camp; we came to check it out. Found this thing”—he motioned to the cage in which the githyanki swung above them—“unconscious nearby. We’re were, ah, having a friendly disagreement about what to do next.”

From the cage the woman’s eyes bore down at her. The parasite churned in her head. A psychic channel opened again, though this time the sensation of connection was... precise, almost elegant, done with something like confidence, or practice:

Get me down. NOW.

The gith woman’s voice rang through her, clear as the city bells that clanged out the dawn. Behind her, she felt more than heard her new friends flinch. They were held aloft; interconnected with, and within, each other.

Sura pushed back. Give me a moment to get these people out of here.

The woman fumed. Every second you waste, the parasite consumes more of us. We have no time—

With an effort of will, Sura closed the connection.

“I have some experience with—these creatures,” she said, crossing her arms. “Your friend is right, they’re dangerous. Leave her to me. I’ll deal with it.”

Damays considered her. “What do you plan to do with her?”

Sura pulled her knife from her belt, and casually began to pick at her thumbnail with the tip. She shrugged. “Friendly chat.”

The man looked like he was on the verge of arguing, but then thought better of it. With a sigh, he said, “Better you than us, I suppose. Thanks.”

“No problem. You should clear out while you can. That crash’ll attract scavengers soon enough, and I don’t mean animals.”

Behind him, Nymessa tugged at her friend’s wrist. “She’s right and you know it. Come on! I won’t breathe easy until we’re back behind the walls.”

"By way of thanks,” Gale chimed in, over her shoulder, “would you be willing to point us to this camp of yours? We’re in want of a decent healer, with all possible haste.”

Damays nodded. “North and a bit west. It’s a druids’ grove—but be careful. We’ve had trouble with goblins on the roads. They’ve been more bloodthirsty than usual. We’ll let whoever’s at the gate know to expect you. Their healer’s name is Nettie. She should be able to see to you.”

Sura nodded. Without another word, the tieflings turned tail and vanished into the trees.

With their audience gone, the githyanki warrior wasted no time. “Get me out of this thing,” she hissed. She banged her palms against the side of her cage, setting it to swinging. The boughs supporting it groaned ominously.

The group considered their options.

“Gale,” Sura said, eyeing the cage speculatively, “that enclosure has a hinged base. Do you have a spell you can hit it with from here?”

“My friend, I thought you’d never ask,” Gale replied. He made a show of shaking his sleeves away from his hands. “Stand back.”

The air crackled around his outstretched hands; sparks sprang from nowhere, coalescing between his fingertips. With a soft “ignis,” the flame leapt from his outstretched palm, through the air, to the latch holding the hinged door closed. It gave immediately. The wood snapped, and shattered, and the githyanki warrior fell to the ground, snarling curses in a language Sura did not understand.

She picked herself up and squared her shoulders. “It seems you still have hold of your better judgement. Auspicious. I am Lae’zel of K’liir. I know of the cure for the parasite, and we must hurry. You will follow me.”

In the face of this barrage, the group pulled up short, as one. “You... know of the cure,” Astarion said, not bothering to camouflage the disbelief in his words.

“Is your hearing addled? I said as much.”

“And what exactly is the cure?” Sura asked.

“We must report to a ghustil for purification. Immediately,” Lae’zel said. Her fingers flexed around the hilt of her sword, and her jaw clenched. “The longer we wait, the more of us is lost. One of those—red creatures”—she gestured in the direction of the vanished tieflings—“revealed that his kind have seen githyanki. A crèche must be near. We must find this Zorru of whom they spoke. I will have their location out of him, and then we will go and see this nightmare ended.”

Sura scowled. “And how will you convince him to tell you that, exactly?”

“The only way she knows how, I expect,” Shadowheart said. “Can you truly trust her so readily? She clearly has no regard for others. I suspect that will include us, the instant it is convenient.”

Lae’zel raised her chin, and glared at Shadowheart down the bridge of her strange, small nose. “You are allies, for the moment, and so I will overlook this... slight. The surrounding environs crawl with foes. We will make better time together, and time is of the essence. Come with me. I will not make this request again.”

“For my part, I say we go with her,” Astarion chimed in, from the back of the group. “If this healer at the grove can’t or won’t help us, I don’t believe we’ll find a better fallback plan.”

Gale nodded, slowly. “I’m inclined to agree. Few hold more knowledge of illithids and their ways than the gith. It’s a good bet.”

Lae’zel raised her gaze to meet Sura’s, and held it.

“... fine,” Sura relented. “Let’s see what this grove has for us.”

#baldur's gate 3 #astarion #shadowheart #gale #lae'zel #karlach #wyll #halsin #sura tav #tadpolycule

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