You know, I really wasn't planning on making more Baldur's Gate 3/Dungeons & Dragons related OCs since I still know very little about both. My subconscious must've had other plans, cause it was a dream that inspired me to create this unhappy looking mind flayer (remind me to NEVER draw illithid armor ever again, or at least not put in so many details, cause holy f*ck!!).

I forgot some of the specifics, but in the dream I was in the ruins of a castle/mansion that once belonged to an extinct Noble House, guided by this specific llithid. It was stand-offish and rude, yet despite the attitude it was lonely and secretly appreciated my company. It showed me a portrait of the family that once governed the structure, which included a father, mother, an older sibling, and the youngest son. The illithid used to be the youngest, having undergone ceremorphosis no younger than thirteen years old. There was a big sense of "Holy shit...it was just a kid..." as well as sorrow, cause lets be honest, having your life taken away like that before you're even a teenager is heartbreaking to think about.

That dream stuck with me, the tragic illithid within never leaving my mind, so I tried to think of a backstory for it. I did some research on ceremorphosis and if mind flayers can turn children, and the answer is usually no. There's no point in transforming a kid since their brains aren't fully developed. However, one can still experiment with the idea, so that's what I decided to do.
I still don't know how if this can work within the Forgotten Realms, but I did my best:

--

The youngest son of this family was named Thackery, and aside from having white hair while everyone else had brown (he had this in the dream too. I imagine a drow married into the family at one point, so some descendants had drow traits), he was completely normal. There was nothing special about him, no 'chosen one' aspect; he was the most innocent one, and that made him the perfect target for a rival House.

The sadistic and greedy lord of this House (let's call him Torin) would get a hold of a single tadpole (maybe he hired a group of powerful mages to summon one from the Far Realm via a rift. Most of them probably lost their sanity in the process), experiment on it so it would work for his scheme, and when the time was right, he'd infect Thackery with it. Why this poor kid? Cause no one would suspect him for such a dire cause, plus there's a sense of irony with the most innocent one turning on his family and wiping them all out from the inside.

Rather than an immediate transformation like in BG3, Thackery's ceremorphosis would take a week like normal, or it would try to at least. So much about the process was wrong due to the experiments performed on the tadpole, and poor Thackery was bed-ridden the entire time, often screaming and crying out as his mind, body and soul slowly succumbed to the terrible change.

By the time the parents realized what was happening to their son, it was too late to cure him (if a cure even exists). While they argued on what to do, the older sibling, Oris, would take it upon himself and kill his kid brother before he turned. He'd try to do it in Thackery's sleep so he wouldn't feel any pain (haha...), but it was not meant to be.

In the ensuing struggle, Thackery would end up killing his sibling and devouring his brains. No one knows if the illithid hunger was prominent at this point, or if instincts took over as Thackery tried to defend himself.
When Thackery realized he just murdered his older brother, the rest of the transformation commenced in pure body horror fashion, either triggered by the brain feast, the shock and trauma of what he had done, or both. Thackery's form would twist and grow to full adult size (You've played BG3 or at least watched the teaser, you know how painful the change is), giving birth to the mind flayer known as Zal'inx.

From there, Lord Torin's plan came into fruition. The newborn mind flayer, driven by hunger, instinct, and the emotions of its host, went on a feeding frenzy, slaughtering the House's soldiers and servants and feasting on their brains one by one, until it comes across the mother.

There's a theory stating that if a child undergoes ceremorphosis, there is a chance they can maintain the memories and personality of who they once were since they changed so young (or something like that. I tried to look this theory up again to confirm it, but its nowhere to be found). Maybe seeing Thackery's mother (let's call her Gwyneth) would snap Zal'inx out of its feeding frenzy, and when she cautiously approaches it, calling it by her son's name, Zal'inx would telepathically reply in a deep, distorted but horrifically familiar voice "...mom...?"

Gwyneth takes pity on the illithid, still believing it to be her son, and helps it escape without further bloodshed. No one knows where Zal'inx went from there, but during its absence, Lord Torin takes over its former home. Due to Zal'inx's massacre, its House was left with very little protection. They practically surrendered without a fight. What happened to Thackery's father (let's call him Ben) through out all of this? Aside from dying shortly after Torin took over, I have no clue yet.

It would be years before anyone saw Zal'inx again, leading Torin to believe he achieved a flawless victory killing two birds with one stone. This delusion, thankfully, did not last.

Zal'inx would eventually find out Lord Torin was responsible for its creation and the destruction of its home, and go on its own conquest for revenge (it probably involved a lot of thralls). It wouldn't be easy, as Torin knew how to deal with mind flayers given his experience with the tadpole and more, but Zal'inx would eventually emerge victorious after a one-on-one battle (Zal'inx insisted on it, wanting to battle its nemesis/creator as a man would rather than an illithid).

It would later leave alongside Gwyneth, who had been a glorified prisoner to Torin all this time, and release its thralls (some it'll free from its psionic control with no memories of what happened, while others it simply ate, depending). Zal'inx would stay with her until she passes away from old age. It did consider eating her brain so she could 'live on' through it, but reluctantly decided against the idea. She'd been through enough, having lost so much, so she deserved to rest in peace.

Zal'inx would bury its mum and set up a grave the normal human way, and remains in the ruins of its family's castle to this day, as it has nowhere else to go. Zal'inx can't form or join a colony of its own as it's seen as an abnormality even amongst its own kind, and the experiments performed on it during the tadpole stage left it damaged in more ways then one.

--

So that's Zal'inx's backstory, if any part of it doesn't fit with DnD, can any fans out there let me know and suggest what changes I can make? Also, here are some fun and not-so-fun facts about this red-eyed illithid.

- Travelers beware. Zal'inx has only one rule for its hunger: children ages thirteen and below are off limits. Everyone else is fair game, no matter who or what they are. It might allow free passage through the ruins via an offering, but its not guaranteed. It all depends on Zal'inx's mood and how hungry it is.

- The reason why it won't eat children is obviously due to its previous life as Thackery. Everyone knows the soul of an illithid host is destroyed during ceremorphosis (with a few rare exceptions), and while Zal'inx insists this is the case, in truth it is unsure of itself. The memories and feelings of Thackery's life burns bright in a way not even a mind flayer can describe, and that includes the pain and trauma he endured.

Zal'inx can't tell who or what it is, a mystery it might never figure out, and this fractured mindset often causes existential-related panic attacks, as if it didn't have enough problems.

- None of this matters to Gwyneth. Oh she's been informed and mocked over and over about the fate of her son, that the creature he's become is responsible for the deaths of her eldest child and so much more, and yet she can't bring herself to feel any hatred towards Zal'inx.

Certainly she's had doubts, but in the end she blamed Torin more than anything. And no matter what Zal'inx told her, she'd insist without end, "I don't care what you say, what you look like, or what you've done! You are my son, you will always be Thackery to me, and I am not going to lose you too!"

Do mind flayers shed tears? Probably not, but I can see Zal'inx becoming a blubbery mess at these words and giving its mother a hug while mumbling a soft "Thank you..." against its nature.

- While a mind flayer has little use for physical weapons, Zal'inx keeps a drow shortsword on its person at all times. Perhaps Thackery was training to wield it, and thus Zal'inx has it as a keepsake. It most likely used it against Torin during their battle.

- Thackery's father had a throne, one that remains standing within the castle ruins to this day. Zal'inx often sits in it, as it is technically the Lord of the House now, but takes no pleasure in it.

- Like it was in the dream, Zal'inx is a recluse, emo grump, and thinks highly of the mind flayer race despite the fact they rejected it, and will never be its 'people' no matter what it claims. Is it all a facade to hide its pain? Who knows. I think it needs a friend despite its attitude (and a therapist).

- Zal'inx rarely leaves the remnants of its home, usually only going out to quench its hunger, and will fight to defend what remains since its all it has left. If someone needs its help, for whatever reason, they better have a mighty good offering at hand, otherwise they'll have to drag Zal'inx out kicking and screaming.

- It doesn't sit around doing nothing of course. Thackery's dream was to be a blacksmith (his brother would have taken over as Lord of the House had things not gone astray), so maybe Zal'inx has its own forge set up somewhere within the ruins. Another reason why some risk crossing the mind flayer's path and trying to appease it with offerings.

- It will run from hugs. Seriously, you might feel bad for it and try to give it a much needed hug, but it won't allow it (it allows hugs and parental affection from its mum, but no one else). Why it prefers to run away from any hug attempts instead of attacking is anyone's guess.


So there we go. This is what I've got for Zal'inx, and here it is with a portrait of the innocent child it once was behind them.


Zal'inx, Thackery, Gwyneth (C) Me
Dungeons & Dragons © Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Wizards of the Coast
Baldur's Gate 3 © Larian Studios