Marth welcomed Dalanesca next to him in bed, wrapping his arm around her. He chuckled a little at her statement, grinning as he answered. “Speak for yourself. How Reaver ever let me rest at all - before you entered the picture - is beyond me.” He kissed Dalanesca’s forehead, before sinking back into his pillow and drifting off to sleep. “Love you, too,” he mumbled, before blissful rest pulled him away from the waking world.

The next morning, Marth woke up before Dalanesca. He’d always gotten by with relatively little sleep, but by the light entering the windows, even he had been sleeping longer than usual. He gently freed himself from Dalanesca and crept out of bed, spending the time between his waking and Dalanesca’s grooming and washing himself. By the time hit seven bells, a magister knocked on the door, and Marth was dressed in his robes. He opened the door slightly and accepted the platter the magister delivered - complete breakfast for two, with Marth’s choice continental breakfast and a note upon which ‘Dragonfire’ was indeed written. Smiling to himself, Marth went over to the table and put the platter there, before heading over to the bed and gently shaking Dalanesca awake. “Breakfast is served, my lady,” he said with a smile, before heading back to the table and helping himself to his own breakfast.

“I sent word ahead to the Tower. I want to leave from there, to… Double-check something. I also want to show you something up there,” he said, while arranging his breakfast according to colour and nutritive value as per his habit. He’d received word that the observatory’s mechanisms were now running, and he was eager to show Dalanesca - he was proud of his brainchild, and to him it was important that Dalanesca was at least slightly impressed by the initiative. He wasted no time eating - while courtesy dictated he should wait for Dalanesca, he was hungry, and he didn’t figure she’d care much at any rate. “I figured I’d grab some book from the library as well, and bring it through customs,” he said between mouthfuls, elaborating on his plan for Egjora. “By declaring it as an import, a parcel for Borza, we can get his address, and should anyone question why we’re on his property - a passing guard while we’re entering or leaving - we’ll have a receipt showing we’re delivering a package.” Marth had actually gotten that idea from a shady-looking prospective priest. Upon remembering that fact, he made a mental note to keep records of each prospect’s profile, and make sure to talk to people of various backgrounds to learn new things. This position may prove more fascinating than I originally anticipated, he mused as he chewed a bit of bread, butter, egg, and bacon. “It’ll also provide us with an excuse should we find the house occupied for any reason,” he finished, before looking at Dalanesca for confirmation. “Good plan?”

As Marth shook her awake, Dalanesca slowly opened her eyes and allowed things to come into focus.  She lazily watched Marth walk back over to the table where their breakfast had been laid out.  She noted that he was already dressed, which indicated that he had been awake for some time before he had roused her.  “Morning,” she called out softly, fighting the urge to stay in bed.  She pushed the covers off of her and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up.  She sat there for a few moments, fully unclothed and partially awake, and stared groggily at Marth as he spoke to her.

She got up off of the bed, dragging one of the soft sheets with her and wrapping it about her form.  It was clear that she had slept quite soundly the night before, and even as a goddess was struggling with grogginess.  She made her way over to Marth, still wrapped in the sheet, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting down at the table.  She eyed the food for a moment, before reaching out to grab a chunk of bread off of the tray.  Raising an eyebrow at Marth, she asked him a simple question.  “You want to show me something?” she questioned, watching him arrange his food and finding comfort in his small habits.  “What have you done to the tower now?” she asked, with a bit of a smile.  

She bit off a chunk from the bread she held, nodding at his comment regarding a book easing them through customs.  “That sounds like it will work,” she said, as soon as she had swallowed the bit of food that she had been working on.  “On that note, you’re not the only one who has requisitioned something specific,” she said, with a quirked eyebrow.  Setting the bit of bread that she held down on the table, she got up, dropping the sheet and headed off into the separate part of her room where her bureau was kept, without saying another thing to Marth.  

A few minutes later, she came back, fully clothed, in an outfit quite unlike anything she had worn around Marth before.  The garment was a very elegant looking dress, with a bit of her own flair thrown into it.  The bodice at the top was a corset constructed from black leather, and lace, with the skirts falling in an A-line around her legs, also of black.  Over the dress, she wore a jacket of sorts, also made of black.  She wore her typical boots on her feet beneath the dress.  She gave Marth a smile.  “What do you think?” she asked.  She formed her right hand into a fist and rapped on her sternum, an odd metallic clang sounding out.  “Light plate, streamlined into the bodice, front and back,” she said, with a proud grin. “And,” she said, lifting up the skirts of her dress.  “Underneath as well,” she added, showing that her legs were protected in black metallic plate.  “I’m not sure what material the smith used, I did not indicate - but so light, I can’t even tell it’s there,” she said, with a grin.

“I assumed something like this would be useful,” she said.  “It works as a disguise of sorts.  A bit less conspicuous when compared to the assassin’s garb I normally wear, wouldn’t you think?” she said.  She grabbed a leather strap off of the vanity near the table and wove her hair into a plate falling to the side, tying it with the scrap of leather.  “Now,” she said, standing near the doorway.  “Shall we head to the Tower?” she asked.  “I can’t wait to see whatever it is that you want to show me… I’m sure whatever it is will be quite impressive,” she added.

Marth looked upon Dalanesca’s disguides visage as she returned, saying nothing as she explained the various parts of her new attire. He looked her up and down, realising he’d never seen her in a dress before. It’s… Quite becoming, he thought to himself, managing to forget the mission at hand, and indeed the plate of food right before him. He simply sat there, drinking in the details on Dalanesca’s new dress, his calm expression masking the sensation brewing within him: lust.

Suddenly, he stood up, walked over to Dalanesca, and swept her off her feet. He promptly carried her to the bed, his face calm, collected - one might even say relaxed. “I apologize, Dalanesca, but that dress has many virtues, all of which serve to enhance your own,” he said, before putting Dalanesca down on the bed, lifting the skirt of her dress. As he did so, he finally allowed his face to reflect his true feelings, grinning broadly. “And seeing that dress on you… I simply must have you,” he said, as he counterproductively worked on loosening Dalanesca’s bodice. “Or you are certain to drive me crazy throughout the day,” he finished, as the top of the dress finally came loose, and Marth could begin kissing the flesh beneath.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Marth untangled himself from Dalanesca’s legs, having spent himself in Dalanesca’s embrace. He took a moment to catch his breath, before he finally stepped away, giving an ever so slight moan. “I’m sorry,” he said between breaths. “I just… You… Wow.” He shook his head with a bit of a laugh, smoothing out his clothes. “I don’t know what came over me! I hope you enjoyed yourself, despite the brief nature of my service,” he said, as he walked over to his armour to strap it on. He looked up at Dalanesca again, with a grin. “In my defence, however, that dress is absolutely gorgeous,” he said, as he buckled his plates into place.

Finally, the time came for his cuirass. Marth was proud of the fact that he learned from his mistakes - his mistake last time was trying to put the cuirass on without help. He looked at Dalanesca, who seemed more or less ready to leave. “Can you help me with this, milady? I seem to recall the solo effort going rather poorly last time,” he said, his smile now warmer, as his body no longer screamed for him to claim Dalanesca’s affection in such a physical fashion. “After that, I can give you the tour of my… Customizations for the Tower,” he finished, winking at Dalanesca slyly.

Dalanesca quirked an eyebrow at Marth as he looked her up and down, wondering what thoughts were racing through his mind.  The look in his eyes was certainly not indicative of thought regarding their upcoming journey, but something a bit more carnal.  When he stood and lifted her up, she let out a bit of a laugh, as she could tell what was coming when he began to carry her over towards the bed.  “Is that so?” she asked playfully, as he laid her down on the bed.  She shifted her body to easily assist him in lifting her dress as well as loosening the top, eventually emitting a soft sigh of ecstasy as his lips met her skin.

She sat up as Marth got up and walked away from the bed, softly laughing at Marth’s words.  As he smoothed out his clothes, she in turn resecured her own clothing, tightening the bodice and smoothing out the skirt of her dress, before pulling her jacket back on.  “I have no complaints,” she said, standing up from the bed as well.  She could not help but smile at the grin on his face.  “I know it does,” she said, confidently, without an air of arrogance.  “I wouldn’t wear it if it didn’t,” she said, and there was a soft truth to her words.  She was not an overly vain person, but she cared enough about her appearance where she paid attention to the clothing she wore and how it fit her.  “And thank you,” she added, giving him a smile.

After she had arranged herself properly and had a long drink of water, she stood near the doorway, waiting for Marth to finish readying himself.  His armor was a bit more time consuming to put on than her own, but it seemed that he had learned from his past mistake and he requested Dalanesca’s assistance.  She smiled and obliged him happily, walking over to him and assisting him with the cuirass.  “Sounds lovely,” she said, helping him fasten it into place.  She caught his wink and raised an eyebrow at him.  “You seem awfully excited about whatever it is that you’re going to show me… how do I know you don’t just want to have your way with me there, as well?” she asked, a devilish glint in her eyes, though she knew that was most certainly not the case.  “In all honesty, however, I’m quite interested to see what it is that holds your attention so much,” she said.  She smiled at Marth, feeling happy that he had begun to make the realm his own, in a sense, creating what he wanted created - he seemed happy - much happier than they had when the two had met, and she liked to think that she had at least a bit to do with that.

She stepped out into the hallway, standing just outside the door.  “But after you show me… whatever it is… To Egjora?” she asked, waiting for him to join her and lead the way to the Tower.

Marth finished adjusting his armour, grabbed the Dragon Lance, and accompanied Dalanesca out of her bedchambers. "If milady so desires, I could always find a flat surface to accommodate your needs," Marth said with a sly wink. "However, I've been tinkering a bit, trying to figure out how the laws of the Blinded Scales and Revaliir differ." He looked at Dalanesca with a big smile, showing that his research had indeed made some progress. “And more to the point, how said differences can be exploited. And I’ve come to a number of conclusions, which has allowed me to build a rather particular magical device.” He continued to smile, excited to show Dalanesca the fruits of his research. “I can show you in greater detail once we get to the top of the Tower.”

Marth elected to take the rest of the trip in relative silence, though he opted to take Dalanesca’s hand in his own as they walked. The journey to the Two-Faced Tower was short, though, so the silence only lasted for a few minutes. A long flight of stairs later, and Marth and Dalanesca stood in Marth’s observatory, dominating the top of the Tower.

The observatory was not as laden with books and paperwork as one might imagine. In fact, there was only a single shelf, filled primarily with charts and notes, and a single chute down to the library in Marth’s study. The rest of the room was covered in small tables, upon which were situated a number of gyroscopes, globes, measurement devices and some intricately interconnected crystal balls, shards, and rods. The walls appeared to be movable, and the room sported a large number of valves, levers, and pulleys. However, there was another feature which dominated the room entirely - a massive telescope, seemingly connected to the room’s array of crystals, inscribed with arcane sigils, and a star-chart around the bracer ring of each lens. At the base of the telescope was a platform, inscribed with yet more arcane symbols; Apparently rotatable, these symbols seemed to correspond with coordinates on Revaliir itself - latitude, longitude, and even elevation.

“I call it the Skylance,” Marth explained. “It allows me to see any part of Revaliir I desire. By stimulating the magic circle with magic energies, I can adjust the Skylance to point anywhere I desire.” He stepped up to the platform, in front of a table of instruments, and demonstrated. He channeled magic into the instruments as he turned them, causing the magic circle to shift into a different shape, corresponding with different coordinates. As a result, the whole observatory began to shake, and the round room slowly rotated fourteen degrees counterclockwise, and the Skylance lowered itself by a few inches. “There, the telescope now points towards a market square in Egjora.” He stepped aside, to allow Dalanesca to see into the lens - which indeed showed a bird’s-eye view of an Egjoran market square. “This is not all, however,” Marth continued. “The Skylance also functions as a cannon. Energies that would rapidly deteriorate or grow unstable on Revaliir, can here be harnessed safely and efficiently. That’s what the crystals are for,” he explained, gesturing towards the crystal array. “For now, I have only managed to code two magical patterns into the Skylance - one of which is an interdimensional bridge,” he continued. “While you can travel essentially anywhere you want - and send me anywhere as well, most likely - I have found myself unable to travel in any way more complicated than to one of the Blinded Scale’s wayshrines, or the location on Revaliir in which I last found myself. The Skylance overcomes that problem,” he elaborated, as he pointed at a button marked with ‘TRAVEL’ in a plain, boring font. “However, the Skylance, like I said, also has a second function,” Marth said with a grin, and pointed to another button - red, with a plainly militant font forming the word ‘DEVASTATE’. Marth smirked slyly as he explained this second button. “This collects the strongest energies from Malum and Sanctus respectively,” he said, pacing a little back and forth. “Energies that, when unleashed upon Revaliir, can no longer coexist and results in a violent magical storm at the point of entry. Imagine, if you will, a sandstorm, with grains of sand both hot as the sun and cold as the grave, ten times as fast and violent as any natural storm.” He looked at Dalanesca with a violent glint in his eyes. “This is what happens when the Skylance fires. On Revaliir, I would be forced to expend a lot of energy to remotely control the Skylance, but it allows me to call in a magical artillery strike capable of leveling a house in seconds.”

Marth let his explanation sink in for a moment, before his smile turned more innocent. “I have, of course, employed safeguards to prevent accidental firing. The remote control will only respond to my magical signature, and the button will not budge unless it is your hand or mine pushing it,” he explained. “Furthermore, I have connected the firing mechanism to the Blinded Scales itself - meaning it cannot fire at a target you would be inherently reluctant to harm,” he explained. “Such as civilians or a close friend.” Marth grinned at Dalanesca, clearly quite pleased with himself. “So what do you think? If you want to start the teleportation process, feel free to do the honours,” he said, pointing at the button that read ‘TRAVEL’.

Dalanesca scoffed at Marth, making a ‘tsk’ sound.  “No, not at the moment,” she said, laughing softly.  “Besides… this garment is a bit more difficult to get on and off than you would think,” she said, in reference to the dress that she wore.  She raised an eyebrow again.  Tinkering sounded as though it could be dangerous - but she had trust in Marth to be safe while he was working on things, and she knew that the realm would stop any true disasters from taking place.  “Exploitation?” she said, feigning shock with a wry smile.  “You continue to surprise me every day, Marth Coralax,” she said, a silly air about her voice.  She wrapped her hand in Marth’s and walked along with him, enjoying the peaceful silence between the two as they made their way to his Tower.

When they entered the Tower, Dalanesca remained relatively quiet, not saying anything to Marth.  She drank in the differences in the Tower between the last time she had been there and now, noticing that it was much less cluttered and much more organized.  Of course, the large telescope in the middle drew her attention, and she followed Marth to it, listening to his explanation on what she would soon know as the Skylance.  Not only was she intrigued by the apparatus itself, but also by Marth’s demeanor towards the situation as a whole.  Dalanesca knew that Marth was an intelligent person, but she still found herself surprised by the sheer brainpower that had to go into creating something like the Skylance.  “Impressive,” she finally said, her voice quiet.

She took no note of the violent glint in Marth’s eyes - she was not worried about his behavior - at least not while they were in the Blinded Scales.  She was fairly certain that, unless given a catastrophic event occurred, she would be able to help maintain at least some semblance of balance for him outside of the realm, as well.  She was glad to hear that he had safeguarded the contraption to only be functional for Marth or herself.  “Good fail safe,” she said, giving him a smile.  “It’s impressive, love,” she said, though her voice sounded a bit more proud this time.  She leaned up to him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek.  “For good luck,” she affirmed, before reaching her hand out and bringing it down on the ‘TRAVEL’ button, putting the Skylance to the test.

Marth opened his eyes again, to find that the realm had put both him and Dalanesca in the goddess’ personal chambers. He put away his lance before calling on a magister, telling her to provide lunch for him and Dalanesca. Once that was done, he lied down on a rug, stretching a little. His blood was still singing with fatigue after the brief metamorphosis - and Marth suddenly realised that Dalanesca hadn’t seen what had transpired within Borza’s mansion.

“I transformed today,” he began, his voice somber. “For the first time I was completely transformed. Not into Reaver - not even close - but I…” He held up his hands, looking at them, mesmerized. “I grew claws. I grew taller. I grew scales. I could feel the weight of wings on my back, my sense of smell sharpened.” He put his hands back down, sighing. “I’ve seen it happen before. Whenever a fight got intense, Kavesz would undergo the same transformation.” His hands involuntarily curled into fists. “It was terror to behold. He lost all grasp of arcane magic - there was only the blaze of his breath, the beating of his wings, and the tremendous strength of his arms.” Marth remained quiet for a long time. “I certainly hope Reaver cannot take over when I am in that state,” he concluded, visibly paling at the idea. “The results could be devastating.”

No matter the situation she found herself in, Dalanesca always felt a sense of relief when she returned to the Blinded Scales.  Her life had not been particularly at risk on this mission, but the familiarity of her chambers was warm and welcome.  She was pleased that Marth requested lunch for the pair, as she would have done so had he not.  It had been a long morning, and food sounded pleasing at the current moment.  She watched Marth as he went to lay on the rug, frowning slightly at how tired he seemed to be.

While he took the time to describe to her what had happened when she had been absent from the mansion, her frown deepened.  He seemed truly worried about the transformation that he had undergone.  While she had not experienced it herself, from his description she too felt some worry.  If Reaver were able to take over control when Marth had undergone such a change, the devastation would be irreparable.  

Dalanesca situated herself on the floor next to Marth, her hand coming to rest over his own, though it was clenched into a fist.  “Marth, you know that I will do everything in my power to avoid that from happening,” she said, solemnly.   Her fingers trailed up his arm a bit, in a subconsciously comforting manner.  “That is why we must fight, with all the capability that we have, to destroy every shard,” she added, still just sitting next to him. 

After a moment, she stood, walking away from Marth.  She removed her overcoat as she walked, draping it over one of the bed posts.  She made her way to the window and placed both hands on the window sill, leaning forward slightly as she looked out over Sanctus and Malum.  She was frowning, thinking about what Marth had said.  True, she was a goddess and her divinity kept Reaver in check while they were in her realm - but when they ventured out into the mortal realm, it was unpredictable. She parted her lips to say something to Marth, though she merely drew in a sharp breath and decided against saying anything.

After a moment, she spoke, her voice soft and unsure.  “When do we want to depart to see Martin?  And how many magisters shall we bring with us?” she asked,  attempting to focus on the task at hand.  All of the talk about his change had made her feel a bit sad, but she was trying not to reveal her emotions to Marth.  Every so often, the subject of Reaver made her envision what life would be like without Marth - and she did not want to think of such things.  He had not been a part of her life for very long, but the time that he had been was very crucial to her.  She could feel the heat in her cheeks and the burning in her eyes as she attempted to brush the thought away.  

Marth smiled a bit as Dalanesca sat down next to him, placing her hand on his. “Of course, I know that.” He then let out a sigh. “But the strategist and academic in me cannot help but worry about the consequences,” he continued, rubbing his forehead. “But of course, you’re right. We have to get those shards - they’re disasters waiting to happen, every last one.” He savoured the brief while she was sitting next to him, letting the safety of the Scales settle in again.

He looked at her as she moved over to the window, once again thinking about how lucky he was. But he snapped out of it when she begun to speak - they still had practical problems to deal with. Marth got up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Easy. We eat, we rest up a little, then we go. We bring four magisters - two male, two female. Two black, two white.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek, before pulling away and relieving himself of some armour pieces. “Don’t worry too much about it. Martin will come around - he’s a devout young man. If you have a hard time, the Earth Mother will be able to convince him beyond a doubt.” Just then, a magister knocked on the door, and Marth went over to fetch the tray of food.

Marth placed the food by the table, and began setting up his meal. “Don’t overthink this aspect too much, milady. We don’t really need to tell Martin about your ascension to get resources, and he knows that I know this. We have no reason to lie about it.” He began arranging his food as per his habit, his mood lightening. “Besides, we still have the Skylance and your own abilities. We have time to resolve this properly,” he finished, as he began to devour the meal. He was eating quickly, recent events having clearly whetted his appetite.

Dalanesca closed her eyes as Marth wrapped his arms around her waist, relishing in his welcome closeness.  She nodded in agreement with his words - there was no use in stressing herself out over what had been and what could be.  They needed to replenish their stamina and nourish themselves, or they would absolutely useless out in the field.  His words on which magisters to bring with made sense to her - bringing a good balance with would further help in the order of their party for travel.   

She smiled when Marth told her not to worry about whether or not Martin was going to believe that she had become divine.  She could not blame herself for being trepidatious about the prospect of revealing such to another, as she could easily recall what had taken place when she had attempted to reveal her divinity to Marth.  He had essentially looked at her like she was a stark raving lunatic, and it had taken some serious proof to convince him otherwise.  She nearly chuckled when he mentioned the Earth Mother - her fellow deity, Angela.  She had more in common with Angela now than Marth was aware of, but she did not feel that this was the time or the place to share that with him - not yet, anyway.  It was not that she wanted to hide it from him, there were just other pressing matters at hand and the information she was withholding had no bearing on such matters.

She made her way over to the table that Marth had brought the food to and joined him, not taking anything but merely staring at the spread that had been brought to him.  She shifted her gaze to watch him arrange his plate, and at this moment realized just how much she loved each of his little habits that he possessed.  “I’ve no intention of lying to Martin,” she said, offhandedly, as she reached out and grabbed a hunk of cheese off of the tray that had been brought to them.  She bit into it and chewed thoughtfully for a moment, before continuing to speak.  “I don’t think it will be too difficult,” she said.  “I’m much more in control of my power than I was at first.”  She finally reached out and began to fill her plate with food, after realizing just how hungry she actually was.

“Will we be asking Martin to join us when we travel to Wyllmochvar?” she asked, before beginning to devour the food on her plate much more quickly than Marth had ever witnessed her eating before.  She hadn’t realized it, but her food consumption had dwindled a respectable amount since her ascension - she had been busy, after all.  Having a good, square meal in front of her was a welcome feeling.  After a moment she froze, and laughed at herself.  “Sorry, I’m eating like a soldier,” she said, chuckling.  “Guess I keep forgetting to eat,” she added, lightheartedly.