AA was letting go Tav/DU with Laezel/Karlach back in patch 5, as epilogues came out.
And at the time of patch 5 Rooney was still working at Larian, what kind of leaving can we talk about then?
According to the vampire brides lore, the brides are actually convinced they can be controlled when in fact they aren't, so... The fact that Astarion can't bring back Tav, who broke up with him or left to hang around the Astral Plane, speaks volumes.
Player: Cazador could compel you - can you compel me?
Astarion: Why would I need to? You're going to be wonderfully obedient.
«Although there are some folk tales that describe the bride of a vampire as its slave, in much the same way that offspring are slaves, a bride is free-willed from the moment of her creation. The creator vampire does have great influence over the bride, however, although this control is totally nonmagical. When a vampire is created in the traditional manner - that is, when a victim's life energy is completely drained away - the new fledgling instinctively understands much about the vampiric way of unlife, and about its own strengths. weaknesses, and needs. Not so the bride. Newly-created brides are generally ignorant of their own capabilities. If in life they heard folk tales and myths about vampires, they might have some vague conception, but often these tales are totally wrong. The bride is effectively dependent - totally dependent - on her creator, to learn how to survive as a vampire. This obviously gives the creator great power over the bride. By lying to her or bending the truth, he can convince her that she must obey his every order or suffer horrible consequences. With time, and through experimentation, the bride might find out the true level of control her creator has over her - that is, none. She is still in a very inferior position, of course, because she is a Fledgling and her creator is at least an Ancient.»
