Claire sent the boy for the wizard, and the old esper came, knowing what she wanted. 'Please,' Claire said, breathlessly. 'That's my daughter out there. I have to help, I have to stop this.'
'Kra'ineba...' the wizard stammered. 'If you don't help me, she'll die, and I want no more bloodshed!'
The old one nodded, and Claire felt the magic that held her in the tent release. She ran out to find a ferocious battle, one raging only because her daughter was part Celestial and able to keep herself sharp. But her mistake was coming outside, into Mirin's view.
Mirin raised her hand and Victoria shot a blast of energy into Mirin's side. Claire rushed forward into the fray just as Ruthivan slammed his massive paw down. Claire felt every bone in her body shiver, then crack. Pain flooded her body until she could no longer feel anything.
She lay on the ground, every short inhale sharp and stinging, until even that ceased. Claire's last moment, her last vision, was Ruthivan on his knees with his mouth moving but no sound. She tried to smile, but never knew if it ever showed on her face.
All was a blur as her spirit recoiled from her shell and crept down into Toril to rejoin with the heartbeat of the planet.
