Gale of Waterdeep

Gale's mannerisms are friendly and genteel, his speech eloquent and verbose but relaxed. He feels a profound appreciation for arcane magic and the Weave, saying "it's like music, poetry, physical beauty all rolled into one and given expression through the senses." He has a romantic side, being inclined towards grandiose displays of devotion, though these do not always succeed in pleasing their target. Above all, he is extremely ambitious, frequently striving to empower himself and deepen his mastery as a wizard. In addition to his magical studies, Gale enjoyed drinking wine, cooking and writing poetry. As a result of being denied a pet cat as a child, the young Gale conjured his own tressym, named Tara. Tara accompanied the young wizard since that day and they spent much time together, except when Gale stayed with Mystra. Gale respected Tara as if she was a person, and would even ask the tressym to leave the room if he needed to change his clothing. According to Gale, he had an intimate and loving relationship with the goddess Mystra. Gale's arcane talents impressed Mystra initially and she approached Gale to mentor him. Later, their relationship became intimate and Gale became Mystra's chosen. This intimacy remained until the day of his folly, leaving the foolish wizard heartbroken. In his youth, Gale was a prodigal practitioner of the Art. He likened his skill as a wizard to that of an actual artist, who manipulated the Weave in the same manner a virtuoso did music.[1]

In his youth, Gale studied as an apprentice in Blackstaff Academy. He was already confident about his arcane skills and decided to use the Blackstaff to open a portal to his dorm. However, the portal he opened led not to his dorm but to Limbo with an annoyed slaad standing right in front of the portal. Fortunately, the then Blackstaff managed to intervene and seal the portal in time. After becoming a chosen and spending time with Mystra, Gale sought more recognition from her and wished her to reveal more arcane secrets to him so he could serve her better. However, his request was declined by the goddess, and Mystra only smiled and told him to be contented. To prove himself worthy, he sought out an ancient "tome of gateways" that contained within it a portion of the Astral Plane, described as a "fragment of primal Weave locked out of time" that had been separated from the former goddess of magic. He wanted to reunite Mystra with her missing piece of magic, but failed in his endeavor. As a result of his failed labor of love, Gale's body became the host to a Netherese destruction orb. The orb would continuously beat, absorbing energy from the Weave, counting down to an ultimate destruction that was capable of tearing down cities. Unknown to him, the orb did indeed contain a piece of ancient Weave—but it was the Weave of Karsus, which still sought to supplant the original Weave as its maker once intended. The orb could only be stabilized by allowing it to break down parts of the Weave around it, and as it began by draining Gale's own connection to the Weave he found his magical abilities greatly weakened. After his folly, Gale isolated himself in his tower for a year. His tressym Tara figured out the solution of absorbing the Weave from magic items and went looking for suitable items for the depressed wizard. Most recently, Gale was taken prisoner by illithids upon a nautiloid. A mind flayer tadpole was inserted into him through his eye, an act that would normally begin the process of ceremorphosis. However, the spelljammer was taken down by a host of devils and crashed into the Sword Coast, on the northern bank of the River Chionthar. Rather than become a mind flayer himself, Gale was granted limited psychic powers, akin to those others referred to as True Souls of the Absolute. He soon met up with another passenger of the ship, who shared his mysterious new power.

I hail from Waterdeep, the City of Splendors. I'm a wizard of considerable acclaim, and a scholar of exceptional accomplishment. I have a cat, a library, and a weakness for a good glass of wine.