Gate of Memoirs/Upheaval

In the aftermath of the King's passing, civil unrest breaks out.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Hazama"	Music: "Hazama"
 	
*The missive came late in the day, so by the time you arrived at Noel's laboratory, it was already sundown.
*Still, you'd been looking forward to it all week—Giselle's words weighed on your mind, and you were anxious to continue the survey.
*You lose yourself in the familiar ambience of softly humming screens and the clacking of keys, before Giselle comes up to you.
 	
*Giselle: , we're almost ready.
*Giselle: Noel'll let us know, but before that, there's something I need you to tell you...
 	
*Giselle: You mentioned that Kranus seemed to be able to detect your mental presence, 
*Giselle: even though you're here in Grand Gaia with us, on the Prime timeline.
 	
*Giselle: If you encounter it again, I would like you to stand your ground as long as you can bear to.
 	
*You wonder if it's safe to do so, seeing that your mind seems to unravel within any sort of proximity to it.
 	
*Giselle: We don't have a method for conducting safe ground survey, and there's no doubt that this amount of psychic damage can get dangerous...
 	
*Giselle: But don't worry. We'll be right here monitoring your vitals, so we'll pull you out as soon as we detect any anomalies.
*Giselle: Sound good?
 	
*You're not very convinced, but you've survived worse.
*Besides, if Kranus is allowing you to be a spectator, it's unlikely it will want your mind in shambles before you understand the situation.
*...You hope.
*Noel: All systems ready!
 	
*Giselle: Just in time. Good luck, darling!
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
 Elysia: A Kingdom Divided Episode 1—Dark Horizons—
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Tree of Gaia"	Music: "Tree of Gaia"
 	
*Elysia has seen much in the past thirteen years under the rule of King Gortius.
*His ascension to the throne was praised by loyalists as nothing short of a miracle—the fabled return of the prodigal son.
*However, detractors were numerous—many questioned the legitimacy of his rule, 
*with some going so far as to denounce him a weak-willed man hiding behind an Alethi spy of a queen.
*Though the kingdom appeared peaceful on the surface, internal strife was ever-present between the loyalists
*and those who yearned to return Elysia to the rulership of a pureblood.
*Gortius' daughter and sole heir Princess Evgenia, together with his half-Alethi wife Miriam, was deemed "tainted" in their eyes.
*But history—or fate—is a thing of hard lessons and cruelty...
*Perhaps it was the same affliction that took hold of King Radmuhl, or some whispered the curse of a father wracked with love and hate for his only son...
*Or perhaps, as the rebels claimed, it was the work of dark sorcery from his half-Alethi wife.
*Gortius soon grew deathly ill, and Miriam assumed leadership amid the dissenting whispers.
*Called "the Harpy" behind closed doors and turned backs, the queen was the target of scorn among the nobles...
*...until she proved that she dealt a far harsher hand than her husband, and quelled their discontent with brutal force.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*It was in the throes of this poltical quagmire that their young daughter Evgenia spent her formative years—
*No longer a shy, willful child, but a quietly obedient sorceress.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Where it Rains"	Music: "Where it Rains"
 	
—Outer Elysia
*Attendant: My lady, here are the reports from the Merchants' Union. There should be no further changes.
 	
*Evie: Thank you. I'll take a look when we're back at the castle.
*Evie: In the meantime, please make sure we're cleared to leave tomorrow at daybreak.
 	
*The attendant bows deeply and leaves to confer with the rest of the entourage.
*Evie glances down at the stack of papers in her hands, and runs her fingers through her hair.
*Their ambassadorial trip to the Aleth Republic, Elysia's most controversial neighbor, was coming to a close.
*As a magocracy, their traditions of sorcery permeated almost every aspect of their citizens' lives,
*a fact that the Light-worshipping Elysians were reluctant to accept.
*At best, Alethi immigrants were treated as foreigners, as her mother Miriam was...but at worst, they were derided as heretics.
*After Miriam assumed regency, Evie was sent as an ambassador to finally seal a trade agreement, the last of Elysia's neighbors to do so.
 	
*Evie: (...Everything went better than expected...)
*Evie: (Despite all these generations of stilted relations...the Alethi are surprisingly open to our requests.)
*Evie: Vera, a word, if you will?
 	
*Evie's bodyguard, a shadowy woman clad in black leather, inclines her head.
*Vera: Always, my lady.
 	
*Evie: ...I don't quite understand the backlash against the Alethi.
*Evie: Is it because I was not raised in the teachings of the Light, and so do not recognise the schism that exists between faith and sorcery?
 	
*Vera mulls in silence for a moment, before inclining her head once more.
*Vera: Some people are bound forever to old hatreds, even those which they inherit only by principle.
*Vera: It gives them an identity, my lady.
 	
*Evie: Identity...
*Evie: (An identity molded to another's desire...)
 	
*Evie: What was—
Music: "Source Hall" 	Music: "Source Hall"
 	
*A cacophony of sound erupts from the far end of camp.
*Armed warriors, each with a blue cloth strip tied to their arms or weapons, burst out of the gloom to surround Evie and her entourage.
 	
*Evie: That emblem...You're the ones that call themselves the Lightseekers.
*Evie: So you choose violence.
 	
*Rebel Leader: It isn't violence if you're willing to hand over those papers, "my lady."
*Rebel Leader: You've forced us onto this path. You, and your mother.
*Rebel Leader: What are you hoping to achieve, selling Elysia out to those Alethi scum?
 	
*Evie: I'm afraid you have a terrible grasp of the situation.
*Evie: Trade pacts benefit all involved. Wouldn't you say it's time we put our prejudices against the Aleth Republic to rest?
*Evie: Would you rather we resume tense relationships with the Republic till the end of our days, instead of the compassion the Light preaches?
 	
*Rebel Upstart: Don't you DARE quote the Light when filthy Alethi blood runs in your veins.
*Rebel Upstart: Remember who presently sits on the throne instead of the rightful king!
*Rebel Upstart: That's right! An Alethi witch!
 	
*Evie: You may question our methods...
*Evie: ...But I will not tolerate an insult on the Queen.
*Evie: Vera, on me.