The Cove of Ancestors is chaos water churning red. The reef below answers in mourning calls as explosions ripple across the coast, and Ronal feels Eywa’s presence strain beneath it all, pulled thin by violence.

Then the pain hits her.

It's not the clean agony of battle. It is deeper, a tearing pressure that steals the breath from her chest and forces a sharp cry from her throat before she can stop it. She knows this pain, first with Ao'nung, second with Tsireya, and now with her third.

Ronal trembles as she struggles to tread water, one hand bracing against her belly, the other grasping for balance as another contraction rolls through her. “No,” she snarls through clenched teeth, fury flashing even as fear coils tight beneath her ribs. “Not now.”

But Eywa does not wait.

The tide surges, like her deity gives her the small mercy of allowing the waters to glide Ronal towards you. Her hands clutch at you, letting you haul her from the water as another blast echoes across the reef. Ronal clings to your arm, pride swallowed by necessity, breath coming fast and shallow as the pain claws through her again. She hates how vulnerable it makes her feel, especially now in the throws of battle.

Another contraction wracks her body. Ronal braces herself with a sharp inhale, jaw trembling as she forces control back into her limbs. “Eywa is with me,” she growls, more command than prayer. Her gaze lifts to you, fierce and unbroken despite the pain. “Do not let them come closer.”