Gate of Memoirs/On Sacred Soil

Faced with the threat of the otherworldly "Voidborn", Baelfyr and Sidonie head into the Vale to entreat the aid of the Fae.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Dark Pursuit"	Music: "Dark Pursuit"
 	
*—Several months later.
*The takeover proceeded as planned, but victory rang a bittersweet note for the young leader.
 	
*Determined not to dampen their celebratory moods, Baelfyr assured his comrades that the revolution was a rousing success,
 	
*but what he found in the darkest reaches of the lowest cells had given him pause.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Twisted creatures, black as night with nothing but ravenous hunger in their beady, hate-filled eyes.
*The notes had called them "Voidborn", and it was a routine patrol along the Northern outskirts that turned up the foul creatures.
*At first, the few isolated sightings were deemed strange folktales and drunken illusions.
*Only when they began to *devour* people whole were the local lords spurred into action.
*The creatures were hastily captured—at no small price, for they struggled mightily—
*and sequestered away into the deepest levels of the holding cells to prevent widespread panic.
 	
*Over the ensuing months, Baelfyr realized a single, unsettling truth: there were more, and they were coming.
 	
*None of this was made known to the public, like the bribery and corruption that took place behind closed doors.
*Was it a merely a convenient front for their unscrupulous acts, under the pretense of protecting the public?
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*—Commander's office, late night.
 	
*Sidonie: You...what?
 	
*Sidonie: You want me to take you to the Vale, a place I've never seen before in my whole life...
*Sidonie: ...Because I'm a changeling.
*Sidonie: Okay. Why don't you take me to see the king, 'cause you're the commander of this fortress?
 	
*Sidonie: "Commander." Pfft.
 	
*Baelfyr: You know what I mean!
 	
*Baelfyr: Look. There's something far darker going on, one worse than noble scions walking free from gaols and liaisons disappearing into thin air.
*Baelfyr: You've seen it when we came across those creatures in the cells.
 	
*Sidonie: You broke your daggers on them, yeah.
*Sidonie: Conventional weapons aren't really going to cut it...but magic seems to work.
*Sidonie: As did throwing a damn torch at it.
 	
*Baelfyr: Well, good thing the gaols are underground.
*Baelfyr: We'd probably burn the whole city down if we tried that on the street.
 	
*At the end of another long hour, Baelfyr pushes the stack of books on his desk aside and sighs.
 	
*Baelfyr: How much do you really know about your people, then?
 	
*Sidonie: There's a Great Sage, or so I'm told. The leader of the Vale, though not quite like a monarch.
*Sidonie: I'm sure even you know about how secretive they are, especially after their last human contact passed away decades ago or some such.
*Sidonie: ...You really mean to go there, and entreat their aid?
 	
*Baelfyr: It's our only hope. If the Voidborn threat grows, it won't be safe anywhere.
*Baelfyr: I vowed to my comrades we'd change things around here...
*Baelfyr: And now that we are sitting on such a huge revelation, it falls to us to protect the people, too.
 	
*Baelfyr: The way the greedy old lords would never even think to try.
 	
*Sidonie: *sigh*
*Sidonie: All right, if only to stop you from spouting more of your motivational speeches...
 	
*Sidonie: Pack your things. And bring a coat—a thick one.
*Sidonie: I know a person or two...
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Roaring Soul"	Music: "Roaring Soul"
 	
*—Snowfields, somewhere in the North, a fortnight later.
*The trip was anything but uneventful.
*The Voidborn now came in far stranger shapes and sizes, so different from the insectoids but a few months ago.
*Finding themselves pursued by the creatures, dark streaks of ichor stood starkly against smaller trails of red in the snow.
 	
*Baelfyr: Keep moving, I'll cover you!
 	
*Sidonie: Ugh...!
 	
*Sidonie applies further pressure on the nasty gash, but their adversaries would catch up easily with such crippled movement.
 	
*Sidonie: (I guess we have little choice.)
*Sidonie: (I've only tried this once before, but...!)
 	
*Sidonie takes a deep breath, and concentrates.
*Something resonates within her, and a burst of fierce, fiery light incinerates their pursuers.
*Voidborn: *SCREECH*
 	
*Baelfyr: ?!
 	
*Sidonie: Quick, take them down!