Ketheric Thorm’s Grief Turned Reithwin Into a Shadow-Cursed Ruin

In the shadow-cursed lands of Baldur's Gate 3, the ruined town of Reithwin sits beneath Moonrise Towers like a broken ribcage half-buried in black earth. Before the darkness swallowed the Chionthar riverbanks, Reithwin was an ordinary community with a tavern, a temple, and a toll-house. But beneath that quiet surface, the Thorm family had already begun to bend the town toward catastrophe long before any shadow magic touched the soil.

This account contains spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3 Act Two.

A House of Light and Darkness

More than a century before the events of Larian Studios' RPG, Ketheric Thorm and his wife Melodia were devoted followers of Selune, the goddess of the moon. They ruled Reithwin from Moonrise Towers as relatively benevolent leaders. The family held influential positions across the town: Ketheric's uncle Malus worked as a surgeon in the nearby House of Healing, his cousin Gerringothe served as tollmaster, and his son Thisobald brewed ale at the Waning Moon. Melodia and Isobel Thorm helped guide the town's worship of Selune.

The family's fall from grace began with a visit from Dame Aylin, the immortal daughter of Selune. Aylin fell in love with Isobel Thorm, and the two began a relationship. Ketheric was skeptical, fearing the immortal would eventually abandon his daughter. Then Melodia died of an unnamed illness. That loss alone pushed Ketheric toward madness, but the death of Isobel soon after became the breaking point. His grief curdled into a blade, and he aimed it at the goddess he once served.

Shar's Influence Began to Take Hold

Ketheric turned to Shar, Selune's sister and sworn rival. Working with the necromancer Balthazar, he lured Dame Aylin into the Shadowfell and bound her in a soul cage. With Aylin imprisoned, Ketheric built an army of Dark Justiciars and seized total control of Reithwin.

Shar's influence spread through the town like dry rot through floorboards, invisible from the street but hollowing every support from within. Some members of the Thorm family embraced the change eagerly. Malus Thorm began performing sadistic medical experiments. Gerringothe hoarded tolls to finance Ketheric's army. Thisobald brewed poisons and used the tavern as a listening post.

Not everyone accepted Shar. A secret Selunite resistance formed among the mason's guild, with hidden meeting places beneath the guild and the Last Light Inn. The head mason, who had designed Moonrise Towers, felt personally responsible for Ketheric's tyranny. Yet the resistance was eventually crushed as frightened townsfolk sold out their neighbors to the Justiciars.

Family Member	Role in Reithwin	Fate After the Fall
Ketheric Thorm	Lord of Moonrise Towers	Turned from Selune to Shar, later Myrkul
Melodia Thorm	Selunite leader	Died of an unnamed illness
Isobel Thorm	Selunite leader	Died under unclear circumstances
Malus Thorm	Surgeon	Embraced Shar and performed cruel experiments
Gerringothe Thorm	Tollmaster	Amassed wealth for Ketheric's army
Thisobald Thorm	Brewer at the Waning Moon	Brewed poisons and spied on townsfolk

A War and a Devil's Bargain

The Harpers and druids of the Emerald Enclave eventually intervened. Jaheira and Halsin were among those who fought against Ketheric, and both later help fill in the gaps of this period. Halsin identified the land's fading spirit as Thaniel and viewed Ketheric's alliance with Shar as a threat to nature itself. The combined forces battled Ketheric across Reithwin and the Underdark forge known as the Grymforge.

The war was brutal, and it might have ended differently without the head mason's desperation. Having survived the destruction of the Selunite resistance, he made a devil's bargain with Raphael. In exchange for his soul, Raphael enlisted the orthon Yurgir and a band of merregons to hunt down the Dark Justiciars in the Grymforge and the Gauntlet of Shar. The slaughter crippled Ketheric's army at a critical moment.

The Final Blow: The Shadow Curse

Weakened and beset on multiple fronts, Ketheric was eventually killed. But his cruelty did not end with his death. When his body was placed inside the Thorm Mausoleum, a curse erupted across the land. The shadow curse was like a photographic negative of the living world, replacing every warm tone with a smeared, vengeful inversion. Undead rose from the battlefield, plants twisted into blighted mockeries, and the remaining light died.

The Harpers and druids suffered heavy losses and were forced to abandon Thaniel and the land to Ketheric's lingering hate. Residents who had survived the war either fled or fell to the curse. By the time of Baldur's Gate 3, Reithwin had stood as an oozing husk for nearly a century, waiting beneath Moonrise Towers.

That long silence ended when Ketheric found a new master, Myrkul, the god of necromancy. Risen from death and serving the Absolute's plot, he began a second conquest, proving that even a defeated tyrant can leave wounds that wait for a century before bleeding again.