Afternote

... So now, they are gods. I wish them luck.

I first came upon the idea of writing a Sarevok-and-Imoen story after reading in quick succession two others: Kirwond's Death and Taxes (storyid 1612828) and Dominique Sotto's One Soul (storyid 1611309). The first attempt was a one-off on Gamejag. And, you can see, this was in November of 2006.

And then... oh, gods, then I had to come to grips with the logistics of a Baldur's Gate novelisation. (How do people do that? Mine is far from the longest story here...)

By Parts IV-VI, this story grew to such a size that I already needed to create a writer's notebook: what level of spells are the kids at? Which spells have they already cast? What monsters have the kids already fought? What innate abilities do they possess? What can Pangur do, exactly? What is my Sarevok backstory, and how much do exactly Imoen and Sarevok remember of the past? How do I deal with the games' own inconsistencies (such as who was the mother of the PC)? How do the dreamscapes look? How do I deal with the prophecy? What quotes do I want to refer to later in the story? By the end of Part VI, the combined number of bugs and inconsistencies was enough to overwhelm me. Goes to show the importance of a good editor!

(Part VIII will still probably need a good edit or two. I'm really not good with endings.)

I'm rather curious what your thoughts are on the story – so please, do leave a review or an email.

Some thanks: To Bioware, for creating this game; to you-know-who, for telling me to return to this story; to you all, for reading... No copyright infringement intended – I'm not making any money off this thing. If you see someone do, please PM/e-mail me.

Two more things: major influences and small quotes and references.

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Major Influences

Everybody has their influences. These were mine, and so I think you will like these works if you enjoyed Siblings.

First, Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles. Dunnett rules, and I took so much from her (starting from the concept of naming story parts after chess moves)that, if Siblings was original fiction, I would be probably called for plagiarism. The least I can do in return is tell you: go buy those books. Now. You will be entertained.

Second and third, Frank Herbert's Dune and Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Gaiman's character is better than the comic novels, which feel somewhat dated now, but they both depict gods-in-making, or plain gods.

Finally, the Legacy of Kain game series from Eidos/Crystal Dynamics. It's absolutely wonderful, voiced by Simon Templeman, Michael Bell (Haer'Dalis), Tony Jay and Anna Gunn (who afterwards went on to do Breaking Bad). The games are extremely dated right now, but there are several cuts of only cutscenes on YouTube. For gameplay, try LPs.

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Small Quotes and References

Here is the full list of smallish references I put into the story, by chapter:

3.1: "they love me and despair": JRR Tolkien, Lord of the Rings

3.5: "no light without darkness": a bastardised quote from Ursula LeGuin, Left Hand of Darkness: "Light is the left hand of darkness/and darkness the right hand of light."

3.6: "all flows": Heraclitus

3.6: talking to thunder (datta-dayadhvam-damyatta): TS Eliot, The Waste Land/What the Thunder Said

4.6: "as the halfling burglar said, never laugh at living dragons": JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit

4.9: "Nam hietha arw...": all dragonspeak from Ursula LeGuin, Earthsea (dictionary: see pdf)

5.2: "ano kai kato": alchemy principle

5.2: "sausage inna bun": Terry Pratchett, Discworld

5.3: "Sabishisa-ya hana-no atari-no asunarou": Bashou, haiku

5.4: "Aerdrie Faenya, take care of us": a bastardisation of the Stella Maris prayer

5.4: "give me a well of tears to atone for my sins—I shall not hide it; land is not fruitful without moisture, I am not holy while I remain without a tear": Prayer for Tears, an Irish text (text: see pdf)

5.5: "Bana seni gerek seni"; "Ask olsun/Aşkin cemâl olsun" – Yunus Emre/unknown Bektashi, poems

5.6: "This is the nature of war. By protecting others, you save yourselves" – Seven Samurai

5.7: all talk about shadows: Carl Jung

5.11: "Mazzy, you are a wonderful human being": Star Wars

6.1: "a hive of scum and villainy": Star Wars

6.3: "I see dead people": The Sixth Sense

6.3: "The sound of the Gion Shōja bells echoes the impermanence of all things": Heike Monogatari, translated by Helen Craig McCullough

6.5: "Had I not known that I was dead already, I would have mourned the loss of my life": Ōta Dōkan, a death poem

6.5: "Menin aeide thea": The Iliad invocation (sing, o goddess, of wrath/of Achilles, son of Peleas)

7.1: "The first trumpet sounded": Revelation

7.4: "In the Garden stands the holy tree of life. High in its branches sings a bird. Listen for the voice of the bird, for if you are properly aligned with heaven and earth, she will tell you all things.": William Henry, Oracle of the Illuminati (don't ask)

7.4: "All theory is grey, my friend. But forever green is the golden Tree of Life'": Goethe, Faust

7.5: "It is a beautiful day to die": "today is a good day to die" - Crazy Horse

7.6: "Go then, there are other worlds than these": Stephen King, Dark Tower

8.1: dragonspeak: Ursula LeGuin, Earthsea.

8.1: drow phrases: I have no idea where they are from, see pdf for link

8.4: "Cut off the offending hand": Gospel of Matthew, 5:30

8.5: "Across sea-meadows measureless I go[...]": Adam Mickiewicz, The Ackerman Steppe

8.5: "you deserve your name": Gudrun/Kriemhild takes her name after one of the heroes of the Ring of the Nibelungs

8.7: "Closer by, the black one, shot through the wings enough times, falling down": indirect reference, Black Hawk Down

8.7: "such stuff as dreams are made on" – Shakespeare, The Tempest