Art by WitchyLizzy
“I may not have all the answers right now, but I’m here to help however I can. Even if you just need someone to listen. I’ll stand by you. Through all of it. Both the good and the bad. That’s what friends do... right?”
“Sometimes, the magic of the Feywild feels like one big dream, but the lessons it taught me are real.”
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Virtual Photography by ObsessedWhyYes
Virtual Photography by Aga
Virtual Photography by ObsessedWhyYes
<aside> <img src="/icons/user_lightgray.svg" alt="/icons/user_lightgray.svg" width="40px" /> C H A R A C T E R SHEET
Name: Amaranth Vel’thyrn (Daughter of Isolde & Darius)
Race: Asmodeus Tiefling
Pronouns: She/Her
Age: 26
Birthday: Ches 19 (Fey Day)
Sexual Orientation: DemiPansexual
Alignment: Neutral Good
Classes: Druid (Circle of the Moon)/Sorcerer (Wild Magic)
Personality Type: ENFP
Background: Fey Lost
Hair Color: Pastel pink and teal
Eye Color: Demonic pixie pink
Height: 5’3” (160 cm)
Weight: 132 lbs
Love interest: Astarion
Best friends: Karlach & Wyll
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Amaranth’s story begins with her birth in the Feywild.
A powerful Archfey unexpectedly approached her parents as her mother was ready to give birth, with an offer to save her and her mother's lives. But its magic came with a heavy price. Her mother would be forever bound to the Feywild. The consequence if Isolde ever tried to flee would be the very life she was given a second chance at.
Amaranth's parents agreed to the deal with Mórrígan, and keeping true to her word, Amaranth was born a happy and healthy child. All that time, she keeps a close eye on the baby girl whose life is entirely in her debt. She reveals her existence to a young Amaranth when she senses magic that slumbers within the child, manipulating Amaranth into believing she’s her fairy godmother. Amaranth grows to view Mórrígan as her second mother, and after proving herself, Amaranth is gifted with druidic powers by the Feywild.
Amaranth's parents were overjoyed that the Feywild chose her. But sadly, they also recognized that she needed to find the right mentor and a circle eager to accept her as one of their own for Amaranth to unlock her full potential. Amaranth refused. Terrified of leaving them and the only home she had ever known, through the tears and screams at her parents.
During one of their arguments, Amaranth accidentally slips up about her relationship with Mórrígan. Once her parents realize who she is, they reveal her connection to Amaranth and their family. Amaranth goes to confront the Archfey, hoping and praying it isn’t true. And for the first time, Amaranth’s trust is shattered by someone close to her. This pushes Amaranth to finally leave the Feywild, in the hope she might find a way to be strong enough to break the curse one day.
Shortly after she left the Feywild, Amaranth crossed paths with a circle of shadow druids, who promised to help her. They perceived how eager and vulnerable she was, and her potential as a weapon. Preying on her loneliness and her wish to free her family. Their archdruid, Ulric, briefly considered killing her on sight. But something about Amaranth was too familiar, reminding him of someone that he couldn’t bear to go through with it.
They treat her as one of their own and welcome her with open arms. And Ulric starts training her privately. As he spends more time with Amaranth, he’s reminded of his wife, who died under mysterious circumstances long ago.
During this time, Amaranth runs into a wood elf on one of her night patrols named Celestria, sent by her Circle to uncover the shadow druid's plans and discover why the Grove had become so sick. Amaranth was tasked with eliminating any intruders on sight, but the two of them quickly formed a bond that grew into a devoted and loving friendship, meeting in secret at the dead of night.
Tia’s influence begins to influence Amaranth. She starts to doubt her new family's intentions and their teachings. She’s constantly exhausted. Finding it hard to breathe. Her body wracked with terrible pain. When she brings it to Ulric’s attention, he dismisses her concerns. Saying it’s natural and it’ll go away with time as she comes into her powers.
Amaranth is at her lowest point. Missing her home, lost in the darkness… wishing the pain would stop when she begins to have strange visions in her dreams of someone she doesn’t recognize. His bloodied body held in chains. Piercing red eyes devoid of life and light. Begging for help if she could hear him before the dream shatters.
Days go by. Amaranth’s every thought consumed by the dream. Wondering where he is. If he’s still trying to reach her. Why something in her soul stirred for the first time the moment their eyes met. If he was even real at all.
Her weakness manifests in her spells as they begin to falter. The Circle begins to shun her. And Ulric, the one person who vowed never to leave her side until they freed her parents… promising to offer them a home here too, starts to treat Amaranth with cruelty. He degrades her in front of the entire Circle. Putting his hands on her and threatening her very place in their Circle.
Tia and the figure in her dreams are all Amaranth has to hold onto now.
The time comes for her to perform a ritual that’s meant to mark the end of her training, when something goes horribly wrong. The spell demanded a sacrifice, something she had no idea of until it was too late. And Ulric finally reveals his true nature.
He knew about Tia, and was aware of the fight between Amaranth and her before the ritual. Knowing the wood elf would come to try and stop her. And with their sacrifice in place, they had everything they needed. But the ritual backfires, and it’s not just Tia, but also the life of the Grove that’s taken. And Ulric squarely places the blame on Amaranth and her dreams. Shouting at her, how it’s not fair that she found her soulmate, when his had been taken from him, as Tia faded in her arms. The wood elf pleads in dying whispers to Amaranth to promise her that no matter what, she’d never allow anyone to change her or stop having faith in people.
When Amaranth refused to follow any more of their orders, confused by Ulric's words, they captured her and locked her in a cage. Forcing her to perform dark shadow magic that caused her an immense amount of pain each time she cast it. After a year of suffering and being trapped, she attempts to escape one stormy night. The chase lasts for most of it, until there's nowhere left for Amaranth to run once she's cornered. It's like a switch, and all her grief and anger finally unleashes as her wild magic surges for the first time. By the time Amaranth regains control, the only thing left is a pile of burnt corpses and ash around her.
Amaranth returns to the Feywild to rest and recover for a short while. As she collapses and her eyes close, she struggles to recall the person in her dreams, until she can’t even see his face anymore.
Amaranth eventually returns to Faerûn, searching for a true path to harness her druidic powers for good so she may be able to break the curse on her parents one day, reuniting with them, as well as help others who were once powerless like her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvjlXIPwRVo
Amaranth and Astarion’s initial bond forms quickly out of necessity when they and the rest of the party become infected with a Mind Flayer tadpole. Astarion’s charm and wit instantly capture Amaranth’s curiosity. Yet there’s also a sense of detachment that sparks her desire to learn more about him as a person.
Astarion notices how this small, rather nosy and talkative Tiefling is hiding something behind her carefree smile and laughter. Especially once they arrive at the Emerald Grove, Amaranth seems deeply troubled by the Rite of Thorns, and even more so when the party finds a note implicating Kagha’s ties with the shadow druids.
When Olodan confronts the party, claiming that she knows Amaranth is the one who Ulric mentioned in his letters, the one who got away, she denies everything. Despite her attempts, Astarion is convinced the tiefling is hiding a darker secret than she lets on.
He tries to get closer to her to manipulate her into his side, knowing this group is his best chance to take down Cazador, and he uses her naivety to his advantage.
When he accidentally reveals his secret about being a vampire spawn, he’s shocked when Amaranth offers her blood to him instead, telling him it doesn’t matter to her what he is. He's simply Astarion to her. And as proof of her trust in him, she reveals her Feywild origins to him.
Under the light of the full moon, Amaranth slips away from camp in her wolf form. As she metaphorically attempts to outrun her fears, terrified she’s growing attached to her companions. Astarion finds her while out hunting, and instantly recognizes her howling at the moon in a field. She falls asleep with her head in his lap as he tells her running won’t help if she wants to be truly free.
While the two of them are sharing a drink away from camp down by the river, Amaranth admits to Astarion that she’s never been kissed before. Seeing an opportunity, he offers to be her first. She consents out of trust, her belief that neither of them has romantic feelings for each other, and the fear that she may not have another chance in the future. They continue to grow closer, and when Astarion offers to meet her after the Tiefling party, she shares her first night of intimacy with him.
On the road to Moonrise Towers, their relationship grows more intense, and Amaranth’s fear of abandonment begins to subtly manifest when she’s with Astarion. Amaranth opens up more about her past with the shadow druids. How she caused her only friend's death, and guilt over her parents. Astarion, in turn, confesses some details about his centuries under Cazador.
One night, while Astarion is having a nightmare about Cazador, Amaranth reveals something to him she's never told anyone. She can shape her dreamscape into anything she desires and can pull others in with her. It’s the one good thing she tells him that came from her wild magic.
She knows how dangerous this can be if she allows the wrong person in, but she trusts him and wants him to feel safe, even if it’s only in dreams.
They share an innocent kiss in her dreams when he fails to seduce her in the dreamscape, after she admits to him that he’s the only person she’s ever felt brought with her there. That she wanted to share a piece of herself — her home, with him, the horrifying realization finally hits Astarion. That somewhere between his scheme and the time he spent with her, he began to feel something genuine for her.
Right before Astarion confesses to her, the two get into a heated argument. Astarion lashes out of guilt at Amaranth that if she continues to leave her heart open for anyone to see, she’ll end up giving it to the wrong person and getting hurt. He’s scared to admit to her that he tried to manipulate her at first because her past, worried that this will irreversibly break her trust in him. He gets some advice from Shadowheart that gives him the courage to come clean. Amaranth storms off after the fight and goes to fight the orthon herself, with Karlach noticing and having to nearly drag her back until she talks some sense into her. Amaranth had been scared up until this point that it wasn’t genuine love she felt for Astarion, but rather she was latching onto him out of overwhelming loneliness.
She eventually concludes that her feelings for him are real after his admission. And while the two have no idea what being in a relationship is like, they promise to start learning together.
As they travel through Baldur's Gate, Amaranth is torn by the implications of Astarion’s plan to become the Vampire Ascendant. She understands killing Cazador is the only way to ensure Astarion’s freedom and guarantee their safety. But she's terrified of what it might mean. Both for Astarion, and their future together, if he gains that power. A power similar to the one she tried to grasp once, and it nearly destroyed her. Inside Cazador’s palace, Amaranth is startled that parts of it look so familiar. And once they reach the kennels, memories rush back. She’s been here before.
This is the place she remembers seeing those red eyes. The ones that
carried so much pain and sadness. It was Astarion. She knew him.
Back when she was under the shadow druids’ control, she used to have dreams of someone as lonely as she was and desperate for anyone to hear them. She remembers his plea for help, how his grief and torment mingled with her dreamscape, and how she was subconsciously drawn to it.
During the confrontation with Cazador, he reveals that after he became suspicious of Astarion’s numerous failures to bring sacrifices back for the ritual, he forced Astarion to come clean about his secret and immediately compelled Astarion to forget her existence. After she escaped the shadow druids, Amaranth was so traumatized and broken she returned to the Feywild to heal, and her memories of him gradually began to fade away due to the magic there.
When Astarion has the choice to either complete the ritual or spare the other spawn, it’s Amaranth’s love and her belief in him that he can be better than Cazador that brings him back to his senses. Astarion realizes that he can be free without having to change. Without losing himself to the darkness that Cazador had centuries ago. And Amaranth was the one who helped him open his eyes.
In the cemetery later that night, Astarion asks Amaranth to recall their shared past together. She can't help but feel guilty that she allowed herself to forget their past. But Astarion reassures her that what matters is they found each other. They're free now and can finally let go of their fears as they share an intimate night over his grave.
Before the final battle with the Elder Brain, they climb up to the roof of the Elfsong Tavern. The sun rises as they hold hands, knowing Astarion won't see it again for a long time once the tadpole's protection is gone. Astarion admits to Amaranth that he’s exhilarated and terrified. He's never had a future to look forward to. And now he does with someone he loves deeply beside him.
With the help of their friends and companions they met along their journey, they managed to defeat the Illithid army and save Baldur’s Gate from the Dead Three’s elaborate scheme. After they say their goodbyes to their newfound family, Amaranth and Astarion decide to travel across Faerun, seeking a cure so that he can walk beside her in the sun again.