Sometimes, sacrifices must be made. She knew this. From the time she was a little girl, she knew. But she knew she could trust in her god, her patron. He would help her make the right choice...even if it meant giving her life to save her friends. It was jarring, hearing the words. "By dying," Van Richten had said. Dying. The word struck her, making her clutch her friends tighter in her arms. Death. Dying. Leaving her friends to save them. It...It was... It was her duty. It was all she could do to keep Strix and Diath from dying. She listened as the old man explained the ritual, understanding what she had to do and trying to understand the details. Parts of her wanted to be selfish. Small parts in the back of her mind wanted to stay alive. Then she'd have to watch her friends die, with little of hope of bringing them back again. No, they would be...they would be fine without her. Besides, in some way she would always be with them. She knew she would be. They tried to tell her she couldn't. She couldn't die. There had to be another way. No, no there didn't have to be. They had less than a month. This was the quickest way to stave off the effects of this death curse. And so, she prepared to leave them. Her mind was on what she wanted to leave her friends to remember her by. They meant so much to her. She kept a brave face as long as she could as she handed off her belongings and her final letters to her friends. The smile was cracking, though. She couldn't hold up much longer. She excused herself to go outside and face the sunset one more time. Staring at the sunset for what was to be the last time got her. She'd tried so hard not to cry, but the tears wouldn't stop this time. Silently, she let them stream down her cheeks. Paultin sat down beside her. He didn't believe this was the way. None of them did, but she knew it was what she would have to do. She kissed him. It would probably be her only chance to, so she took it. He didn't say much about it. He just let it happen, kind of like he let everything else happen. She smiled a bit. It was a small, sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. It was nearly dawn. It was time to start. It was time to leave this world. She grabbed her friends' hands, that same sad smile on her face. It was her sacrifice to make. And what better sacrifice than one that saved the people you love most?