[Gale falls into a beat of silent contemplation. He wants to argue that others couldn't have known, not when Cazador was controlling him, forcing him to hunt; he wants to ask about his family, if they wouldn't have searched for him in his absence, but he remembers how well that went last time. Not everyone has a loving mother like Morena Dekarios, and besides, the memories have long faded from centuries of torture, with ones of suffering, agony, and degradation being all that remain.

When he is a god, Astarion won't need to fear, Gale tells himself. He won't need to be a cruel monster, lurking in the shadows, seeking only to feed. He'll be something more than Cazador, something new... something good, hopefully. He's capable of it - Gale has seen that for himself. He just needs help to get there.]

I suppose we'll discover together what kind of lord you'll be. Unless you've some idea of what songs they'd write in your name?