Gate of Memoirs/The Price of Knowledge

The dance goes lightly through the grove.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Tremors"	Music: "Tremors"
 	
*The nightmare shrieks, its body pierced by a thousand spears of light as the Hunt unleashes its relentless assault.
*Their final quarry—a ravager of the Void, or an amalgamation of the darkness of their doubts?
*Perhaps none but the brave warriors themselves would ever know.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*The rift collapses upon itself, leaving only the dying whispers of nightmares best left forgotten.
*One by one, the knights bow their heads; an eternity of war brought to a final close as their spirits return to Elysia.
*This is their homecoming—not only as heroes, but as kin.
 	
*The cavalier riding at its front turns to the shimmering forms closest to her.
 	
*Hraban and Harald raise the visors of their helmets, and for once, it is their clean-shaven, smiling faces that look back at her.
 	
*Elaina looks up, one hand shielding her eyes from the remnants of the battle.
*Elaina: (So that was the disturbance...)
*Elaina: (A confluence of time and all its threads...)
Portrait 	Dialogue
 	
*With a single backward glance, the stunning stallion rears with a victorious cry, and the cavalier bursts into a brilliant light.
*Elaina takes a deep, shaky breath, and gathers up the wind-scattered pages and books in her study.
*The elaborate ritual circle had burned itself into the wood, its runes fading and becoming inert.
Music: "Tree of Gaia"	Music: "Tree of Gaia"
 	
*Elaina: I could do without such a huge mess next time, but it is what it is...
*Elaina: Nia? Are you all right?
 	
*The petite girl could only nod, a faraway look in her eyes.
*Nia: ... ...
*Nia: Do you...see things sometimes, Elaina?
*Nia: Or hear people calling your name?
 	
*Elaina: I...do.
 	
*The mage takes a seat next to Nia, and places a hand upon her trembling ones.
 	
*Elaina: Time is complicated, Nia. You've seen it yourself when we pored over tomes together back in the Academy.
*Elaina: Echoes of time past, and even a glimpse of what could have been.
*Elaina: But that is beyond the grasp of chronomancy as we know it.
*Elaina: Even what I had set out to do was ambitious. Had it not been for the hero of the Void...
*Elaina: ...We may have never returned.
 	
*The two spend a moment in silence, the sizzling of magic-seared wood the only ambience in the study.
*If even the Time-Weaver herself could not cross the tumultuous straits of the Veil...
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*...Who else could bend the hand of Fate, and undo the gravest of choices?
 	
*Kyria: .
*Kyria: Thank you for being by my side.
*Kyria: Be it from the unknown past, or the unknown future...
 	
*Kyria: Fare you well.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Where it Rains"	Music: "Where it Rains"
 	
*—The nadir of the Veil.
 	
*Giselle: ...It was all we could hope for.
 	
*May the Light go with her.
*You turn to the Erlking, whose face betrayed only a brief moment's melancholy before it returns to its usual mask of casual nonchalance.
 	
*Gwyll: Ah, that it might end up this way.
*Gwyll: Are you satisfied knowing that for the lucky few, there is a way out?...
 	
*Aoife's necklace, still in your pocket, hums faintly with a hint of warmth.
*Hope. Faith. Love. Duty.
*All of this and more meant the world to the people you have met.
*And for it to crumble in the face of such a ravaging force—be it the Void, or the Queen...
*Was it all worth it?
*Was *anything* worth it?
 	
*Giselle: Chin up, . 
*Giselle: I know it's hard, but... We've got to press on.
 	
*Giselle: Think of all the people you've saved. Of the lives that were bettered, and the truths revealed.
*Giselle: And we've still got to go back to Grand Gaia. Reports don't write themselves, you know!
 	
*You shake your head and smile. Unwarranted optimism, but optimism nonetheless.
*Elysia was doing well, and so were your erstwhile mage friends.
*You have no doubts Kyria represented but one of the myriad inspirations that led their world to greatness.
*From there, it fell to the others to raise the banner—brave men and women both.
 	
*Giselle: Now, let's see.
*Giselle: Where would I take a baby eldritch creature, if its diet consisted of fallen, or stagnating, powerful beings?
 	
*Giselle: A god would be my first pick...but there just aren't that many out there whom we know of.
*Giselle: Any ideas, ?
 	
*Gwyll: Beg pardon. Aren't you forgetting your manners?
 	
*You turn to see Gwyll wearing a disturbing smirk on his face.
 	
*Giselle: Oh, right. Well, thank you.
*Giselle: If Kyria were here I'm sure she'd thank you, too.
*Giselle: We really do need all the help we can get.
 	
*Gwyll: Need I remind you altruism is a fancy lie for children and do-gooders?
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*The fairy-lights abruptly snuff, leaving the harsh, pale moonlight slicing though the dark forest in thin silver.
 	
*Gwyll: As much as I enjoyed observing you first-hand, I think it is time to rein you in...
*Gwyll: ...Lest you get so carried away that you *leave* without my permission.
 	
*Gwyll: Now, we will play this game *my* way.