Gate of Memoirs/Skin-Deep

The suffering of another life etched indelibly into a soul that can never forget its torment.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Dead God's Law"	Music: "Dead God's Law"
 	
*The battle rises to a fever pitch as the underground pulses with thrown magic and clashing swords.
 	
*Though sheltered, this all-out assault had ignited something in the reclusive former princess.
 	
*A blast of light knocks a creeping guard onto his feet, moments before he could bring his mace down onto Xenon's turned back.
 	
*Estia: Let me help, Xenon!
 	
*Xenon: Right!
 	
*With bolts of pure Light and a cleaving sword, the knight and his lady kept Miriam's elite guard at arm's length.
*At the other end of the fray, Evie was locked in combat with her mother—a dueling dance wrought with tension and trepidation.
 	
*Evie: I knew it. You were planning this all along, weren't you, Mother?
*Evie: Vera was reporting to YOU!
 	
*Miriam: Strange how you never suspected a thing. I was beginning to think you preferred yourself to be watched.
 	
*Evie: I...I trusted her!
 	
*Miriam: Do you think she does not care, Evgenia?
*Miriam: Do you think this an act of betrayal, when I was only looking out for your best interest?
 	
*Evie: You were thinking of *killing* Lady Estia!
 	
*Evie: This isn't...right!
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Back in the hall upstairs, Elaina stands alone in a haze of magical residue and dead bodies.
 	
*Elaina: This could've been avoided if they were smart enough to turn tail after the first warning blast.
*Elaina: Perhaps a little too willing to gamble their lives on me.
 	
*Elaina: ...No...Wait.
 	
*Elaina examines the pallid skin of a felled assailant, devoid of the pulse of life.
 	
*Elaina: ...They already knew she was going to run.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Elaina: These were sacrifices.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Future Resolve"	Music: "Future Resolve"
 	
*Elaina's entrance was nothing short of explosive; the lingering shards from her magic were embedded deep in solid stone.
*A thousand thoughts blazed through her head, coming to a screeching halt as she found herself among the phantom red threads of life essence
*being siphoned toward the back of the fray.
 	
*Miriam: Ah yes. One of the top mages of the Light of the Grand...
*Miriam: I cannot say I'm surprised in the least.
 	
*Elaina: You're rather wily, Your Majesty...I'll give you that.
*Elaina: Life essence in an Alethi ritual only means one thing.
*Elaina: You were content to sacrifice the lives of lessers for such brutal spellwork.
 	
*Miriam: ...Well done. But it is too late!
 	
*Miriam: Observe, mage.
*Miriam: You will tell all of what you witnessed here today...
 	
*Miriam: ...The true darkness that lurks beneath this veneer of purity!
 	
*With a downward swipe, Miriam completes her sigil, and dark tendrils rip out of thin air.
 	
*They begin to coalesce around Estia, and before long, she was engulfed by the spell.
 	
*Evie: (This is—!)
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*—Underground Altar, two years ago.
 	
*Evie: Mother—
*Evie: (Oh, what's this?)
*Evie examines the loose sheet of paper on the floor amid the multitude of books scattered along the desks.
*Evie: (Alethi sigils? I've never seen these before.)
*Evie: (Aren't these banned in Elysia?...)
 	
*Miriam: Evgenia.
 	
*Evie: Yes.
 	
*Evie hastily tucks the loose sheet back under a book.
 	
*Miriam: ...Shall we begin? There are a few matters regarding the Alethi trade pact I would like to discuss.
 	
*Evie: Of course, Mother.
*Evie: (...What was Mother doing with...that kind of magic?)
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*A split-second dissonance across the Echo...
*Another crack in the Veil—of dissonant memories and trauma...
*Experienced by one, but imprinted on another.
*Writhing. Howling. Crying.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Shocked beyond words at the grotesque transformation, Xenon falls to his knees.
 	
*Miriam: Lady Estia.
*Miriam: How do you like your true form?
*Miriam: How do you like knowing there was always a disgusting creature hiding under your skin this entire time?
 	
*The misshapen beast claws at its disturbingly humanoid face, lashing out at everything within reach of its monstrous paw.
 	
*Elaina: ...!
 	
*Evie: How could you?!
*Evie: How could you do such a thing?!
 	
*Evie: MONSTER!
 	
*Miriam: SILENCE!
*Miriam: I will not hear another word from you...
*Miriam: Why do you enjoy commiserating with such pitiful fools?!
*Miriam: Do you not see—THIS?!
 	
*Xenon: My...My lady...
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Xenon: ESTIA!