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50 Sentences - The Cleric and the Ranger by skywolf666
Fandoms: Baldur's Gate (Video Games)
01 May 2025
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Summary
Snippets of moments between Shadowheart and Cyrene (Tav) across the three acts of Baldur's Gate 3.
Series
- Part 1 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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Summary
There were certain luxuries that came with returning to civilization that almost every single member of their ragtag troupe had been keen to take advantage of, and with the rental of the top floor of the Elfsong at such a pittance of coin, it seemed there was something of a competition brewing for which one in particular was the most coveted. Soft and comfortable beds, fresh and hot meals, clear and soapy baths, or a wide variety of alcohol seemed to be the most favourable answers for what was the best reward for their past several tendays of hard marching and even harder battle, and even for a ranger as accustomed to the wilds as Cyrene was, she had a difficult time begrudging anyone for their want to forget their troubles for as long as they could. For a night or two, at the very least, they all could put down their burdens and enjoy the small luxuries now that they had finally arrived within the city, and Shadowheart for one fully intended to make sure that she and her ranger would make the absolute most of this momentary indulgence.
(Act 3 - Arrival in Baldur's Gate)
Series
- Part 18 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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Summary
The truce that Shadowheart and Cyrene had forged between them was a tenuous, fragile little thing, where much was left unsaid, where actions were taken with delicate secrecy, and eyes turned aside because they had agreed they did not want to destroy what little they had built together with hotly spoken words they could not take back once they were said. That promise however had been made in sun-kissed lands where it was far easier to ignore the ramfications of what it meant to worship the Lady of Loss, but now they were steeped in Shar's misery, in Shar's cruelty, and there was no more ignoring the death that stretched out in all directions no matter where it was they walked. The sins that had been wrought in Reithwin, in Moonrise, could not be ignored, could not be forgiven, and when silence became tacit approval, even a woman without faith found that she had reached the limits of what it was she could abide from a devout Sharran.
(Act 2 - Moonrise Towers)
Series
- Part 8 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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The circumstances that Cyrene was currently facing were the farthest thing from ideal that the ranger could possibly imagine for herself, but she buried any thoughts of despair or frustration down as deep as she could possibly manage. There was no point in lashing out or succumbing to hopelessness, and weak as she was, she still could plant her feet and hold a weapon, and she had never much needed more than that to have confidence in her ability to make her own way before. With the whispers of her former magic beginning to return to her veins now that she had begun to steady herself amongst her fellow infected, the single fear that had been weighing heavy in the back of her mind was one she was finally ready to confront head-on. It had been long, long days since she had last seen the faces and forms of the companions she had forged the bond with, and she could only truly hope that the tadpole buried in her skull had not robbed her of the true strength she knew as a beastmaster, and that the difficult roads ahead of her were not ones she needed to face wholly alone.
(Act 1 - Emerald Grove)/(Ranger Companions Have A Voice)
Series
- Part 2 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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Summary
If there were secrets to be found, it was a Sharran's duty to both uncover and weaponize them if such knowledge would prove to be useful in their service to the Lady of Loss. What it was that Cyrene had been hiding however had been a secret not meant to be shared, and Shadowheart felt herself entirely unsure of what it was she was meant to do with the knowledge she now had in her bloody hands. It wasn't as if she had asked to be protected when the priest of Loviatar had glanced at those who had instinctively flinched at the sound of the whip falling, but that hadn't mattered an ounce when the ranger had stepped forward to catch and hold his attention. Now, fresh wounds marred an already well-scarred back, leaving those who had witnessed the torture to wonder over the history that they were clearly never meant to know.
(Act 1 - Goblin Camp/Loviatar's Blessing)
Series
- Part 3 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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It was really the abruptness of it all that had made Shadowheart decide to give chase when she had been jolted awake by the sudden absence of Cyrene from their shared bedroll. The ranger was a creature of swift thought and swifter action, always relying and trusting to her instincts over anything and everything else, but rarely did she ever seem to truly rush. Yet, from the thrown sheet, the untouched weapons or armour, and the glaringly unused pair of boots by the tent's still-fluttering exit, Shadowheart couldn't use any other word to describe the state she'd obviously been in when she left. The worry settled like a stone deep in her stomach, icing her heart with a wave of foreboding, and she didn't much think twice to get up to follow.
Shadowheart had made that promise to herself, after all. Cast out as she was, reviled as her former goddess had said she would be, so long as Cyrene wished for her, she'd have her reason to continue existing. All of the hells themselves would need to drag her kicking and screaming down to the very depths of Nessus before she ever again sat still and pretended she did not love the damned woman with every fibre of her being.
(Act 2/3 - On Road To Rivington)
Series
- Part 14 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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There should have been fear, Isobel mused as she clenched and unclenched her hands, but instead there was only a strange sense of exultation that swelled in her chest and made her stand totally straight. She had spent too many months with her head bowed, with her lips pursed tightly together hiding and denying, and she had quailed and withered endlessly beneath the white lies and the avoidance and the silences. She was not practised in that kind of stealth, and in truth, every last bit of her hated the need for the masks no matter the danger it may have put her in. She was and always would be Isobel Thorm. She was the faithful cleric to her Lady of Silver, she was Melodia's treasured little girl and Ketheric's wayward star in the sky, and she was Aylin's devoted love, and no amount of death or resurrection would take those gifts away from her, and she was at the end of her tether in trying to hide such things for a single second longer.
If this ranger wished to have her truths, Isobel would give them to her, and she would not be afraid of the consequences.
(Act 2 - Last Light)
Series
- Part 11 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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The decision to go by the name she had chosen for herself rather than return to the one her parents had gifted to her at her birth was not one Shadowheart had made lightly, and though she did not wish to rethink her choice, there remained the lingering wonder of the life that she had been stolen so coldly away from. An accidental slip of the tongue was not something harsh or painful, not truly now that they had secured their victory and their peace, but the sound of "Jenevelle" on her mother's lips still made her hesitate, and made her wonder. Indulging just once in the fantasy of what could have been, to say she had thought of it and was burying it wholly couldn't be that terrible of a request to make, could it?
Had her partner been anything but a woman bound by the laws of the Feywild in ways still not wholly known, perhaps it wouldn't have become a little more complicated than Shadowheart had intended it to be. She could only be thankful that Cyrene was free with both her secrets, and the odd power that the spoken word could hold over a person with or without the added kick of magic.
(Post-Game - Pre-Epilogue)
Series
- Part 26 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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In the aftermath of the trials inside of the Gauntlet, of battling for Moonrise, and slaying a man who could not die, there were pieces upon pieces to begin plucking from the ground where they had been so effortlessly shattered. Accepting the new reality for what it was should not have been so entirely daunting, but the reframing of the past several days was something sorely needed for the both of them. A simple night orchid, pressed into a homemade bookmark with careful, reverent fingertips was a surprising key for the last few locked doors that Cyrene and Shadowheart still yet needed to walk through together.
"I didn't know you kept it... I never asked. I should have."
"I wanted so badly to ask you to join me."
(Act 2 - Gauntlet of Shar Aftermath)/(Direct Sequel to: The Choices That Make Us)
Series
- Part 13 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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Summary
It was something they had spoken so lightly of during the long, heavier days of their journey, and Cyrene glanced at her surroundings speculatively now as she wondered at the task she had set ahead of herself. It would take a little bit of doing, a little more finesse and magic, but the ranger was relatively certain that she could accomplish it once she got to work. The seeds and flowers had already long since been planted by patient and gentle hands, and in the ever-present shade of the treeline, the familiar blue-and-lilac blooms waved at her expectantly in the breeze. To see the glade erupt in a concert of the colour would be a task indeed, but she would see to it gladly. Celebrating Shadowheart's nameday had to be marked with something special that only she could offer, after all. The only caveat was that she didn't expect that her present wasn't the only one set aside for that night.
(Post-Game - Pre-Epilogue)
Series
- Part 27 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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A single rejection was not quite enough to deter her, not when Shadowheart well understood that there would never be any reward that could make the loss that Shar demanded be worth it at the end of the chain of ceaseless sacrifices. Nocturne had refused her open hand once, but when the tiefling had called for her, wishing to have a proper farewell before she slipped away from the city, the former Sharran was well prepared to try again to turn her aside from the shadowed path she wished to walk. She knew the lessons, the tenets and the demands, and she had broken them just as much as she had felt the lash of betrayal from her former goddess. It hadn't been Selûne she had reached for in the depths of the Shadowfell, and just as Cyrene had before her, Shadowheart extended her hand immediately and gladly to her old friend. The path ahead didn't need to be walked alone if she did not wish for it, and she would wait there at the end for as long as needed before she caught up if she had to.
(Act 3 - Shadowheart: Daughter of Darkness)/(Direct Sequel To: For Those Who Survive)
Series
- Part 20 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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Shadowheart was no stranger to conflict, to the lingering wisps of anger and frustration that would be all that remained when she parted from those who refused to listen, refused to understand, and needed to be left behind. What had happened in the forge was not at all like what she had trained to know, trained to endure, and she was at a loss with what it was between her and the redheaded ranger now. There was guilt, there was regret, and moreover there was an odd sensation of distance that she dearly wanted to close. They had left the Underdark behind them, returning to the sunlight and the open air, and heretical as it was to welcome the warmth of the day, Shadowheart knew a good chance when she saw one, and she leapt upon it the moment it was within her hands to grasp. She could not entirely be blamed for her impatience, could she?
(Act 1 - After the Underdark)/(Direct Sequel To: A Moment of Friction)
Series
- Part 6 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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It was strangely difficult, taking in the moment after when night fell hard over the smouldering city, and all that had taken place earlier that day now weighed heavy on slowly reflecting shoulders. It wasn't like Cyrene to linger, to think and wonder over a battle now finished, but much was changing, and much remained to be confronted in the days to come. The victory was bittersweet, marred with rapid-fire farewells, an unsettling sensation of quiet within her own head that she wasn't sure what to do with, and an idea of peace, shared with breathless sincerity by both Shadowheart and her parents. The roof of the Elfsong was a momentary sanctuary as she took in her surroundings, a breath, and then familiar, welcome company she hadn't been seeking, but had always been needing, even from the start of what had brought her back to Baldur's Gate. A future was won, whether or not she was ready for it. There was no way to move now but forward.
(Act 3 - Aftermath of Final Battle)
Series
- Part 25 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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There were almost too many ways to describe the moment before the plunge, and twice as many ways to compartmentalize the stress that came with it. As a ranger, Cyrene was well acquainted with that cold, heavy moment before she loosed her arrow and set the world aflame with action that could no longer be held back. Planning out moments further, when the momentum ended and there was time to breathe again, however? That wasn't something she had much experience with, and she wasn't very experienced with speaking to familial-like figures, either. There were many new steps to take, but she resolved to walk the path ahead towards creating a peaceful future for Shadowheart, and for her parents regardless. A simple secluded cottage, surrounded by wildlife, flowers, and animals... She couldn't quite think of a better place to settle for herself and her companions, either.
(Act 3 - Before The Final Battle)
Series
- Part 24 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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Cloudy-coloured eyes had laughed, mad but genuine in a promised threat that Bhaal was merely beginning his plans for the city, for them, no matter how it was they twisted and turned in defiance. A shapeshifter had the potential to rip apart everything and anything that stood in their way with a perfect disguise, familiar words, and a cleverly hidden weapon. One comrade was taken captive, and another was bleeding out slowly in an alleyway, with an idle warning that they would not be the first, nor the last before Orin was through with them all. Fear chilled Cyrene's veins, and movement was easy, natural, even if it meant leaving an enemy behind to teleport away to safety. She'd be damned in every way she knew, and in many she did not, before she ever allowed Orin's success with any of her comrades, or the woman she loved.
(Act 3 - Orin the Red)
Series
- Part 23 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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Shadowheart having confidence in her ability to melt away into the shadows, to hide and last out an hour, felt like well-earned arrogance when she considered her training as a now-former Sharran. So long as darkness existed, being able to hide in it one way or another had to come easily to her, and she had been eager to test herself in the game she had been asking for. A critical error, as she was trying to hide from a ranger of all people, and had insisted on using the nearby forest outside of the city as her hiding grounds. True, there were rules, there were handicaps, but she was in new, unexpected territory amongst the trees and bramble, and she hadn't expected just how easy it was to fall into the footsteps of every last prey animal she knew, and now could count herself amongst. What was more thrilling, really? The hunt, the competitive want to succeed, or the eventual fate of being found? In any case, Cyrene would soon give her a clear and unwavering answer, just as she always did, and she'd enjoy knowing it, simply because she could.
(Act 3 - Baldur's Gate/Hide and Seek in The Woods)
Series
- Part 22 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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Listening quietly, listening attentively, had always been a sign of respect between the two of them. Cyrene did well truly wish to hear Shadowheart speak of her faith, and of her relationship with her goddess, but outside of those moments between them when they were at ease and at rest, there were limits to her patience. The forge had not been a kind place for the ranger to be in, and a moment of callous disrespect had flared her temper. It was to be expected of a Sharran, but that did not ease the flicker of wrath, or of disappointment. She didn't wish to fight, but accepting an apology not meant was also not an option. All she could not say, the few things that she could, and the strange, tentative relationship she didn't wish to break... It was a horrific balancing act, and she was not so sure her feet were steady these days whenever that cleric was concerned.
(Act 1 - After the Grymforge)/(Post Party)
Series
- Part 5 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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It was a true comedy of errors that led to her current situation, along with a prank that Shadowheart hadn't really thought Karlach had in her, but she supposed that was her own fault for expecting the tiefling to not immediately jump on the best target that ensured a bit of chaos for her friends. She hadn't entirely meant to find a dress of all things hidden away in their room, but she had decided to try it on at her friend's behest... Playing with fire did indeed mean burnt fingers more often than not, but it was very hard for her to feel guilty... Doubly so when those familiar summer-green eyes pierced her though, and Cyrene's absolutely brazen question cut her to the quick and demanded an answer she really did not have any choice but to give.
"You make a Faithless woman want to worship, Shadowheart. What do you want to do with that?"
(Act 3 - Baldur's Gate/Elegant Robe)
Series
- Part 21 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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For the two of them, Baldur's Gate was merely another symbol of something taken from them, something stolen, hidden away, and then perhaps broken outright. Though their return had never been a choice, it did not mean that they could endure it stoically, or in perfect silence. Scars throbbed, wounds opened and bled, but forward momentum remained their only course... Tripping, stumbling, cursing, but they would keep advancing, despite it all. It wasn't as if they knew any other way to live... But in between their troubles, during their short, stolen moments of rest... Maybe they could start to heal, if the nights would last, and they didn't lose their grips on one another.
(Act 3 - Shadowheart: Daughter of Darkness)/(Cyrene: The Silent Ranger)
Series
- Part 19 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)
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Hindsight was always perfect in vision, and the revelations that usually followed were never pretty to look upon. It was difficult to admit so much had gone on that she had been blind to, but Shadowheart didn't intend to waste her second chance at the new life she had been blessed with. The difficult part, of course, was knowing full well the woman who had been instrumental in bringing her to where she was now didn't believe an ounce that her involvement mattered. A challenge to make Cyrene see sense was a lofty one, but she was nothing if not competitive, and a gift was burning a hole in her pack as it was.
(Act 3 - Pre Baldur's Gate)/(Ranger Companions Have A Voice)
Series
- Part 17 of Shadowheart and Cyrene (BG3)