And when exhaustion and pain drained the last remaining strength from her body, the realization kicked in. It was over. No matter how hard she tried, no matter the sacrifice she was willing to make, nothing could change it. Her past self wouldāve been furious, horrified at the fact that this was how she'd die. After everything she had survived, the great hero of Baldurās Gate would fall to this? Yet, Maleane didnāt have enough strength left in her bones to care.
Everything around her was fading, like a handful of sand slipping between her fingers; the chaos of the room, the midwifeās voice, the weight of the druidās hand on top of hers. Slumber was calling out her name and Mal wanted nothing more than to rest. To be done with all the pain and horror and heartbreak. And so, despite every single person around her pleading otherwise, she laid her head down on the blanket, let her knees rest on the carpeted floor, and then, as the final chord to the melody, closed her eyes.
When Maleane woke, she was still in a dream. Nothing changed. The tent looked exactly the same, but motionless, like a painting with a varnish of silvery white light washed over it. The night was bright and pale like the face of the moon, and for just a brief moment, Mal felt at peace.
And then the pain pierced her insides once more, this time filling her with determination. Clinging to the newfound hope, the drow gathered just enough strength to push, again and again, until relief finally found her battered body. And then came the most beautiful music sheād ever heard. A soft humming of the harp, entwined with the resolute shriek of a newborn child. Her own blood. Ā