Farewell

Exhausted from her battle with the sabretooth, Percy stumbled through dense jungle until she lost her footing and tumbled down a concealed sinkhole. Landing hard on a subterranean stone floor, pain flared through her leg - it was broken.

Grimacing, Percy looked upwards. The opening she had fallen through was at least 20 feet overhead, with no handholds within reach. Trying to stand sent agony lancing through her and she collapsed back down.

Percy was trapped, alone here in perpetual darkness. Even her starry eyes, which gave off a faint radiance, could not fully pierce the shadows surrounding her. She called out for help until her throat was raw, but only silence answered.

As days passed, a grim realization took hold. There would be no rescue or escape from this buried place. She was fading, her life force ebbing away. Soon the creatures of this strange land would come to scavenge her remains.

Percy had wandered far in this realm, perhaps further than any mortal before. But now at the end, deeper truths came into focus. All her arcane knowledge mattered not, save what she passed on to those she loved.

Timothy's face appeared before her mind's eye, conjured from memory. Oh how she missed his crooked smile and their companionable silence together. She hoped he was safe back home.

Marshaling the last vestiges of her power, Percy enacted the summoning ritual Emily had taught her. If she could not return, perhaps she could still send protection to her dear brother.

Weaving starlight and runes into tapestry of magic, Percy called across the dimensional divide to their little dragonling Arch. Innocent Arch - so full of joy and life!

"Go to Timothy, protect him in my stead," Percy whispered tenderly. With the ritual complete, exhaustion claimed her fully. She had spent everything keeping this conduit open in her final moments.

Percy gazed up at the slim crescent of sky visible from her underground prison. A single star glimmered aloft like a beacon of hope, kindling one last spark within her chest.

"Do not grieve for me, Timothy," she murmured, eyelids fluttering as her broken body failed. "I walk willingly into night, having glimpsed dawn."

With those final words, Percy released her burdens and regret. A peaceful smile graced her face as she closed her eyes one last time, embracing the endless mystery that awaited.

The starry radiance within her spirit dimmed, then faded softly into the ether like dust dispersing - returning to the cosmic tapestry at journey's end.