Chương 342: Epilogue 16. Warcry

Delna screamed again as yet another wave of pain washed through her, blurring the inside of the cottage around her and the attempted soothing words of the other women. She had no idea of how long she had labored and fought to finally get to meet the little one she had been carrying in her belly for all these months, each hour a haze that was further exacerbated by the sweat dripping into her eyes despite the attempts to wipe it away. It was… It was too much. The pain had kept wearing away at her… well, everything.

Her will, her vigor, her very senses. Delna was exhausted beyond anything she had ever felt, enough to barely take heart in the elderly herbalist's words that it should soon be over. It should have been over hours ago. Days? Delna didn't know, only that her mind felt like it was fading. She… she couldn't hold on. Not like this. Not…

The door to the cottage suddenly crashed open in the background, bringing with it a flurry of cold wind that managed to shake Delna enough out of her stupor to at least react and take in the suddenly terrified shrieks of the other woman and the specter that darkened their doorstep. Pale, perfect features crisscrossed with a symmetric web of even paler scars. Hair so white that it was almost translucent, catching the moonlight streaming down from the sky. Dark eyes whose outer edges tilted ever so slightly upward.

Death. Death herself had come to claim Delna. Then the specter moved, the other women seemingly freezing up as a dark chain reached out from seemingly nothing to slam the door shut behind her. In the next moment she was at Delna's side, unspeakably fast.

"Oh Death. I… Please. Take me, but spare my child," Delna managed to croak in the hopes that the deity would listen, but then a jolt of pain to her very being suddenly caused her body to convulse slightly. It was as if ice had been injected into her veins, agonizing in an entirely new way Delna had never experienced before. But somehow, it also brought the clarity of white snow and clean, unbroken ice with it, causing Delna to sit a bit straighter in the birthing seat.

"I am not Death, but she will soon claim both you and your child unless you come to your senses," the specter - no, the woman - spoke, her voice flat and emotionless. In her new state of clarity, Delna even found herself able to reply with a lot more coherency than before.

"No!" she protested, fear rising.

"No. She cannot have my child. I… I need to… Uuuughhhh…" Then another wave of more-physical agony came as she contracted again, causing her words to falter into a long groan of pain.

"Then what will you do, woman? Pain has almost claimed victory over you, no?"

"C-can you take it away?" Delna had no idea why she even asked, but by now she was getting desperate. She really wanted to meet her child. To meet the little life she had worked so hard to bring into the world.

"I cannot. Would not," came the cold reply, causing Delna to slump slightly in her seat. But then the woman continued.

"However, I will tell you of Pain. Pain can be many things. A detriment. A consequence. An adversary. But only the weakest will ever see Pain as only something to be avoided at any cost. Because Pain, your adversary in this moment, can be fought. Pain is tempering. Pain is change. Accepting Pain can lead to strength and carry you through strife to that which you desire. You have that choice here as well, woman who wishes to be a mother.

Will you accept that Pain is here with us in this moment, and fight to your very last breath to still seize that which you desire?" Part of Delna felt like the woman spoke nonsense, wanting to reject the notion outright. She was so tired, hurt so much. But… There was this other part that had showed itself just as the woman entered, in that moment of icy, agonizing clarity. The mother Delna wished to be.

"I… Yes. I will," she breathed, steeling herself.

"C-can you show me how?" The specter of a woman didn't smile, but Delna could still glean a glimmer of approval in her cold eyes.

"That, I can. Let me follow you as you embrace the Pain of the now and strive to seize what heaven you imagine." Then the ice and agony returned, and Delna screamed again. But this time it was a warcry. Dancer on the Broken River let one of her chains close the door once more as she headed out into what passed for blistering cold in the frozen, wintery landscape she was currently wandering.

This had merely been a small segment of her intended journey to better hunting grounds, but then her aura had picked up the struggles of this woman. And much like she had done time and time again in the last two decades, River had diverted her own path to get there. To speak of Pain. Sometimes to guide. Sometimes to witness. Not everyone had the strength and dedication to accept Pain for all that they were, after all. They, once a 'he' to River's mind.

A god was an odd thing like that, shaped as much by people's perception as their own nature. And Pain had become something more to River than the whispers in the first half of her life and the dominator of her father's teachings. Many had succumbed, cursing Pain and the world, but given what River could feel of the spirit of the utterly exhausted woman's aura as she nursed her newly born daughter in the cottage behind her, River felt a bit of satisfaction. Pain had been accepted and conquered.

This was not a matter of conversion, with River standing above such petty gathering and domination of followers to her god. This was about channeling every nuance of her god, and from the almost purring whispers in the back of her mind, she knew they approved. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. River didn't feel the cold as she glided over the snow like a ghost, her gold-ranked body far too resilient for these kinds of temperatures to even be a nuisance.

But she suddenly felt something else - or rather someone - and that realization had her stop in her tracks. She knew she hadn't been detected, as that would be impossible for a peak silver-ranker. She could so easily go another direction, or even pass by within arm's reach without detection. Of that she was sure. But that would not be to accept Pain. And as such, River headed straight for the aura she felt making its way towards the village with the cottage River had just left, still a few thousand paces away.

A few thousand paces that River easily covered in two dozen heartbeats as she started running without leaving even a trace in the snow. She saw the woman far away, blonde hair streaming in the night wind, and River came to a stop right in front of her as she unveiled her presence.

"The birthing woman has persevered. She and the child are well." Fantina LanCaire almost fell over in pure surprise at River's appearance, conjured tentacles reaching out to steady herself as she - much to River's approval - conjured her bow and knocked an arrow even as she was still taking in this development. Good. She had indeed kept working on her path. Then Fantina registered who was standing before her, startled wariness turning to shocked realization.

"Wait– River? What–? How? Fertility's grace, you nearly startled me badly enough to have Death pay us a visit."

"An absurd notion for a silver-ranker closing in on gold."

"And apparently you remain as humorless as ever," Fantina shot back before her gaze turned more questioning.

"And how did you know I was here for a woman in labor?"

"Your aura and your allegiance. Rather obvious, no?" River remarked dryly, which Fantina ignored as she continued.

"But… What? You helped her? You?"

"I did. She needed to accept Pain to be able to conquer it and seize that which she longed for. I felt her need and stepped in as her guide." Silence. Pure, stunned silence. That was the only response River received, mirrored in Fantina's aura as she stood frozen still in the windswept snowy night. Then, she felt the change coming, and the reason was perhaps not as much of a mystery to River as it had been in the past. She had grown, after all. Met and observed many people.

So when Fantina started laughing in delight and surprise, River's eyebrows didn't furrow in confusion as they might have done in the past. She had come to realize that sometimes surprises could truly be a pleasant thing, not just an unexpected consequence to handle. But even now, a mighty gold-ranker rife with much more experience, Dancer on the Broken River found her heart trembling slightly as Fantina reached up and - much like before - started patting River's head.

And if Fantina saw that River even leaned her head forward ever so slightly, then she at least pretended not to notice.

"Fate was truly kind to let our paths cross in this place. That and the guidance of our gods, in collaboration or not. I cannot see any other reason for such a chance encounter," Fantina said as she continued the gentle headpats.

"But it truly warms my heart to see how you've grown, River. Not in power - although I'm certain that is also the case - but in perspective. You seem to be a bit more connected to the rest of the world now. And while it might not be my place, I'm still proud of you." The words and actions once more brought forth a slew of odd emotions in River, but now - after all this time - she had come to understand a bit more of herself.

This was what she had never known while growing up, almost her whole being hardened into what her father and his vision of Pain's work wanted her to be. She had become strong, but at a great cost. She didn't know if it was worth it or not, but she did know that there was part of that strength that she cherished despite the circumstances. It was complicated, as some primal part also yearned for this feeling that Fantina was offering.

It was painful too, both to realize all that she had missed as well as that she would not be able to properly be part of such a bond in a long, long time. Perhaps ever. Such was the cost of her strength. But that was pain she had accepted, as well as the agony of resting in the limbo of this moment; a warm hand patting her head and receiving words of praise in a manner and tone never heard during those formative years. This was River's path now, and she still found purpose in it.

Thus she remained for a time, letting Fantina mother her just a little bit before she eventually reached up and - with gentleness that had not come naturally to her - took the other woman's hand and stopped it.

"Why are you here then?" River asked, finding herself a bit curious as well as relieved by the change in topic.

"Fate or not, this is not normally the place for either silvers or gold to find tempering."

"Oh, Jarvan and I are just passing through, on our way south towards better hunting grounds. We are looking for a new teammate for the final push towards gold as our last one found reasons to stay behind. Although I am not sure if my dear husband is hesitant or not, given that gold rank will mean another few decades spent serving my goddess in body as well as in purpose."

"I did always find him genuine in his affections to you and your family," River offered, having learned that sharing such thoughts might be considered kind.

"With my aura senses, that is."

"Oh I know," Fantina smiled, winking at her.

"I just help him keep up the charade even when he's not present. We'll see which of us reaches gold first. I thought I might be stalling a bit but seeing you here and hearing how you've grown… It does bring helpful perspective. Thank you, River."

"It… The heavens must have willed it," River replied, not knowing exactly what to say and thus saying little. It felt more true to herself.

"Well, I believe I should be off. My goddess did divert me here to help out with a certain birth, and even with what you have managed, a normal-ranked woman always needs tending after such an ordeal. Blessings of the Goddess upon you, River. Now that it turned out that our last meeting was not our final one, perhaps fate will be kind enough to let our paths cross again. Long lives, and all that."

"I… Yes. Perhaps. May you endure to seize your own heavens. Fantina." Fantina said nothing more, only giving River one final smile filled with such a ridiculous amount of motherliness that River's knees almost gave out before she started off through the snow again, accelerating towards the village in the distance with peak silver-ranked speed.

River didn't stay either, continuing on her own journey while her aura picked up how Fantina arrived at the village, the relief and joy at her appearance and all the other hints of what followed. River herself would probably never get such a welcome, but… That was not her path. Pain might not be welcome, but their lessons were still worthwhile. As such, Dancer on the Broken River headed off into the darkness. To where Pain called, and where their nuances waited for her to bear witness.