Davyn felt his feet leave the wood of the chair and wrapped his hands around the wool rope.  Gilby hauled on the rope, raising the mage up another few inches.  Davyn gagged and quickly considered his options.  He already knew that there was no escape from this situation that would leave him alive, so he now had to figure what would cause the most damage to his enemy. 

He fingered the wool and felt the natural oils in it.  He curled his lip in a pained sneer.  It would conduct energy, but not well.  Most of it would be lost in the transmission.  But this was his final strike, so what did it matter if there was a little waste?  It was with a true feeling of irony that he realized his actions now would actually help those he wanted to hurt the most. 

The mage closed his eyes and summoned up the life force that he bore deep inside and channeled it through his fingers into the woolen rope.  The raw power flared and flowed in a bright blue light down the rope and through the bars into Gilby’s body.  

The councilor’s body began to jerk and twitch with the influx of energy.  His hands tightened on the rope reflexively as all the muscles in his body0 contracted.   A high keening cry escaped from the thin man’s lips as his skin and eyes began to smoke.  And then Gilby burst into an eerie blue flame.  The high pitched noise continued for a few more moments and then stopped.   

Legolas drew himself up and bore down again, tears flowing freely.  A grunt of effort escaped his lips as he felt something give down below.

“Stop.  Pant like a dog.”  Estra’s command was sharp and he obeyed instantly.   He was incapable of coherent thought at the moment. 

He could see Estra holding something in her hand, wiping something with a rag.  He then closed his eyes and turned his head into Aragorn’s neck, hiding his face from whatever it was down there.   He could feel the king leaning forward, looking eagerly and breathing out in wonder and joy. 

Davyn swung from the rafter, his feet twitching spasmodically as his face turned blue and then black.  His swollen tongue fell from his lips and he breathed his last in a rattling gurgle.  

Thus died Mage Davyn, former servant of Sauron, and last of his kind.

“One more push, Legolas.  One more.”  Estra’s voice was not as sharp as before, but he obeyed just the same, eyes still closed and face hidden. 

He closed his eyes even tighter, hid his face even more when he felt the strange feeling of something being pulled from within him and heard the first cries of an infant. 

Thus was born the child of Aragorn and Legolas.

And the snow hissed against the window panes as the heavens wept.

达文感到他的脚正慢慢远离椅子，他的手死死攥住绳圈。与此同时，吉尔比则拼命拖，把巫师又吊起了几英寸。达文快要窒息了，他绞尽脑汁计算着，他知道逃生已然无望，现下要做的就是尽可能给敌人最大的伤害。

他摸到毛毯中似乎含有一些天然的油脂，脸上浮现出一丝扭曲的笑容。它应该可以传导能量，但效果不会太好，大部分会在传送的途中消失掉，但这已经是他最后的筹码了，就算浪费一些又有什么关系呢？多么讽刺啊，他现在要做的事反而帮了那些他想要陷害的人。

巫师闭上双眼，凝神聚气迫出所有能量，顺着指尖传入羊毛绳，这股原力闪耀着，泛着亮蓝色的光游走在绳索上，穿过栅栏涌入吉尔比的身体。

大臣的身体随着涌入的能量开始痉挛抽搐，肌肉收缩，手不受控制地拽紧绳索，一声凄厉的尖叫冲口而出，他的皮肤和眼睛相继冒出烟雾。随后吉尔比在一片怪诞的蓝色火焰中炸得灰飞烟灭了。爆裂的声音久久不绝于耳，片刻后一切归于寂静。

莱格拉斯弓起身子竭尽全力，眼泪像决堤的洪水般淌了出来。当感觉到下身似乎有什么东西涌出来时，他不禁闷哼出声。

“停，像狗那样呼吸（指加快呼吸的频率）。”艾丝特拉果断命令道，他即刻便照办了。此刻的他根本没办法将思维连贯起来，惟有麻木地服从。

他看到艾丝特拉手里像是托着什么，还用布巾擦拭着。然后他闭上了双眼把头埋在阿拉贡的颈窝里，不管那是什么他都不想知道。他能感觉到国王向前探出身体，热切地张望着，呼吸因为好奇和兴奋而急促起来。

达文悬在椽子下，双脚抽搐着，脸色由蓝变黑，肿胀的舌头从嘴里拖了出来，喉咙咯咯响了几声后，他断气了。

就这样巫师达文，索伦从前的仆人，魔王最后的追随者，死了。

“再来最后一次，莱格拉斯，最后一次。”艾丝特拉的声音不像之前那么高亢了，但他还是毫不迟疑的照做了，只是仍旧埋首紧闭双眼。

当感到有什么东西从他的身体里挣脱出来，当听到第一声婴儿的啼哭，这陌生的感觉让他只能死死闭上眼，把脸埋得更深。

就这样，阿拉贡和莱格拉斯的孩子出生了。

窗外，苍穹饮泣，雪花狂舞。