Thaniel

{{Spoiler warning|[{Baldur's Gate III]]}}

Thaniel was the nature spirit that was connected to a stretch of wilderness the Western Heartlands near Moonrise Towers.

"Thaniel is no ordinary child - he is the very spirit of this land. If this Fist knows where he is, then perhaps we can save him...save everything."

- Father Halsin.

Description
Thaniel appeared as a young, non-Asmodean tiefling child with tan, pock-marked skin, short-cropped black hair and two antlers that resembled those of a juvenile deer. As a spirit, Thaniel did not grow, appear older, or otherwise mature as any mortals would.

Whenever Thaniel appeared the smell of lavender manifested in the senses of others.

Abilities
The spirit Thaniel possessed a strong connected to the land he had bonded. He could feel the individual roots of every tree found throughout.

Relationships
"I had a friend when I was young, long ago. He played with me in the forests where I grew up...but eventually, I realized no one else had heard of him. It was Thaniel, of course. Nature was my very first friend. I get older, but he hasn't changed a day."

- Halsin.

Thaniel maintained a strong bond and friendship with Archdruid Halsin of the Emerald Grove. The spirit bonded to Halsin when the elven druid was but a mere child. After Halsin learned of the troubles that came to plague Thaniel and his lands, the mighty druid dedicated himself to restoring the spirit to its rightful home.

History
In the, Shar's devotee Ketheric Thorm brought the shadow curse upon Thaniel's lands, a deed that warped and maligned them for many decades. As a result, Thaniel's physical form was rendered in two halves, each of which remained on a different plane than the other. Thaniel as he was known became trapped in the Shadowfell, while a second new portion of Thaniel, known as Oliver, remained in what came to be known as the shadow-cursed lands.

Thaniel remained trapped and weakened and asleep in the Shadowfell, while Oliver was continually twisted by the shadows that plagued the land to which his spirit was bound. Each half of Thaniel's spirit remained in their respective locales for over a hundred years.