Lae'zel: Difference between revisions

{{CompanionTab|Lae'zel}}

| hometown = [[Astral Plane]]

|level=1|movement m=9|weight kg=75|str=17|dex=13|con=15|int=10|wis=12|cha=8|con save prof=yes|str save prof=yes|hp=16|ac=16|prof bonus=2|va=Devora Wilde|size=medium|type=humanoid|initiative=1}}

{{NoExcerpt|{{Q|Who am I? Your only chance of survival.|Lae'zel introduces herself.|align=center}}}}

A fierce warrior from crèche K'liir, Lae'zel is a follower of Vlaakith, the Lich Queen of the githyanki. Sworn to obey her queen and serve as a blade against the Illithid, she was captured on her quest to present a Mind Flayer head to her queen. Now, tadpoled and with few options at hand, she must find a way to rid herself of the parasite and finally prove herself as a worthy warrior to the Undying Queen. How she does it, and whether or not she remains loyal to Vlaakith, is something she can decide throughout the game.

Lae'zel has yellowish-green skin, with black accents below her ochre eyes, cheeks and neck. Her scars, most prominent of all one that runs from her nose to her chin, give her the mean look of a seasoned warrior. Black bumpy mottles adorn her face on her cheeks and like all githyanki, she has a small nose and her ears are long and pointed, with ridges protruding on the outer edges. Her hair, kept shoulder-length, is brown and straight, with a few adorned braids running along the side of her head and a small bun on her back. Though shorter than the rest of the companions, and with a wiry, muscled frame, she stands proud and intimidating.

Lae'zel is depicted as xenophobic, arrogant, and quick to anger. Proud of her race, she frequently makes comments to the party detailing githyanki customs and the nature of her people, often as a means to illustrate githyanki superiority. She can be rough in her expressions and often cares little for the feelings of others. In her mission to remove her mind flayer parasite, she does not hesitate to intimidate or harm those who would step in her way. She is fiercely loyal to her queen Vlaakith, desperately seeking to prove her worth to the Lich Queen. Over time with the party, she becomes more accepting of her companions, though never losing her biting edge. Despite her often brutish behaviour, she is keenly observant and frequently understands the feelings of party members. Lae'zel isn't above pragmatism either, willing to go along with a plan she disagrees with or work together with someone she dislikes, as long as the party stand to benefit. Still juvenile to her people, she also shows some youthful stubbornness at times.

When romanced, Lae'zel will slowly begin to soften up to her partner, and start enjoying the small things together with them, even seeing worth in Faerûn as a place to live in.

She hails from crèche K'liir, also known as Stardock,{{ref|[[Baldur's Gate]], party banter between Lae'zel and Minthara.<br>''Minthara: "I would like to visit your home one day, Lae'zel. Where is K'liir?"<br>Lae'zel: "You may know it as Stardock. An asteroid, one of the Tears of Selûne. It's tunnels are home to all manner of creatures to hunt."''}} a githyanki enclave on an asteroid in the Tears of Selûne, an asteroid cluster near the namesake moon.{{ref|name=kliir|[[Campsite]], lines spoken by Lae'zel when asked about her hometown.<br>''"Next time you're able, look to the sky, watch the moon cross it. The Tears follow it. Rocky bodies tumbling through the Sea of Night. One of them is my crèche: K'liir."''}} There, Lae'zel received the customary githyanki martial education, with lessons on how to battle, raid and plunder in the name of Vlaakith. This brutal training instilled a hatred for illithid in her, as well as turn her into an ruthless warrior who would do anything to accomplish her missions. The indoctrination further gave her a racial superiority complex, and contempt for races other than githyanki.

During her time in the creche, she and her clutch battled beholders in a nearby asteroid and infiltrated a neogi spelljammer, slaying its entire crew.{{ref|Campsite, lines spoken by Lae'zel when asked about her hometown.<br>''"My entire clutch battled beholders within the Eye of the Sky's tunnels. We infiltrated a neogi spelljammer and laid waste to its crew."''}} Tested by battle, but still considered a youngling by her people, she sought to prove herself to Vlaakith as a worthy warrior, and be welcomed to the [[Astral Plane]] among her kin.{{ref|name=worth|[[Mind Flayer Colony]], party banter between Lae'zel and Wyll.<br>''Wyll: "Lae'zel - did you ever fight illithid creatures in your training days?"<br>Lae'zel: "Never. The ghaik aboard the nautiloid was the first I ever witnessed in flesh."<br>Wyll: "Really? I figured you would have joined your fellow gith in a colony raid."<br>Lae'zel: "A young warrior is expected to fight their first ghaik with their cousins - kin hatched from the same clutch. The ones who triumph earn a place in githyanki society. The one's who don't, perish."''}} Thus, she set out in search of mind flayers, until then only heard in stories, to battle and present her queen a severed illithid head as proof of worth.{{ref|name=worth}}{{ref|name=illihead|Various locations, party banter between Lae'zel and Gale.<br>''Gale: "Tell me, Lae'zel, what is it like on the Astral Plane? Your home realm intrigues me."<br>Lae'zel: "Githyanki lay their eggs on other planes. They cannot mature in the Astral. I will only be welcomed once I obtain a mind flayer's head."''}} Lae'zel is captured by the nautiloid during this mission, tadpoled in a cruel mockery of their ancestral feud. Kept in a pod, she awaited [https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Ceremorphosis ceremorphosis], doomed to her fate.

The clues left by the githyanki and the corpses of their victims point to [[Creche Y'llek]] in the nearby mountains. Upon reaching the [[Rosymorn Monastery]], the party finds githyanki dealing with looters, indicating that they're in the right place. Once inside, exploring the creche can lead to an encounter with [[Stornugoss|Ghustil Stornugoss]] at the infirmary. She quickly diagnoses the party as being infected with tadpoles, and prompts them to use the nearby zaith'isk, a device used not for healing, but rather purification through death. The machine ultimately fails and Stornugoss flees to inform the inquisitor. An audience is then granted with [[W'wargaz|Ch'r'ai W'wargaz]], an inquisitor dispatched to the creche to help them find the mysterious object Voss was after. The inquisitor quickly reveals that he knows about the party and that they hold the artefact the githyanki are after. Whatever the outcome of this encounter, Vlaakith herself will appear through a projector and reveal that the object is an Astral Prism designed to contain somebody. She demands they kill the prism's inhabitant and earn her gratitude, opening the way inside. Within the prism, the party finally faces the [[Dream Visitor]] and must make the decision to spare or kill them. Upon exiting, if W'wargaz remains alive, he will turn on the party at the behest of Vlaakith, along with the rest of the creche.  

At camp, Lae'zel can be found mulling over the events at the creche. Betrayed by her people, she believes it must be a test of faith from Vlaakith, yet seeds of doubt have been planted in her mind. Voss will appear shortly after, asking to be heard. If given the chance, he will reveal that Vlaakith is a pretender and that the true son and heir of [[Gith]], [[Orpheus]], still lives. Voss leaves not long after, but not before asking the party to meet him at [[Sharess' Caress]] in [[Baldur's Gate]]. Lae'zel can be guided down one of two paths here: remain loyal to Vlaakith, or reject the Lich Queen and find Orpheus. Whatever her choice, the next stop is Baldur's Gate.