Plenty of book characters have won my whole heart over the years, but I have never had that experience with video game characters before deciding to give BG3 a try. Every character’s story and character development is so beautifully crafted, but Astarion’s has truly bowled me over. I haven’t done many fandom-inspired strands aside from some Tolkien ones, but when I saw these gorgeous garnet teardrops and remembered I had a handful of star garnet beads on hand, ideas for a Pale Elf strand came together quickly. The stones I ended up selecting all nod to aspects of our favorite bratty Baldurian vampire:
1. garnet teardrops: blood. *obviously* (said in Astarion’s most … Astarion voice)
2. white moonstone: a nod to his “pale elf” honorific, his moon-white hair, and the fact that, up until we encounter him in game, moonlight is the only light source he’s seen in over two centuries.
3. lepidolite: a gorgeous, sparkling purple similar to the color on his jacket when you first meet him.
4. star garnet: because the starburst that sometimes appears in stones like garnet, ruby, etc is called “asterism.” And while there are some really interesting debates about whether the name Astarion comes from ancient Greek or the Elvish languages invented by Tolkien, I personally love the way that our pale elf’s story seems to draw on that of the Minotaur Asterion (whose name means “little star”).
Details:
This piece, like all made-to-order pieces, has a turnaround time of approximately 5 weeks.
Length: 40"
Stones: garnet teardrops, star garnet, round garnet, white moonstone, lepidolite, clear quartz.
Note: while this strand is a core collection piece, it will only be available in this form while I'm able to source the rare star garnet and faceted teardrop beads.