Marth let Dalanesca find whatever it was she wanted, while contemplating how best to turn the villa into a smouldering ruin. When Dalanesca said she was prepared to leave, Marth had already decided how to do so. He looked at Dalanesca and nodded. “Then go. I will join you soon.” He watched as Dalanesca made her way outside, then sat down.

In his mind, the fire was already blazing. The betrayal his former mentor had performed, the evil he had committed, and the total indifference to it all… Pawn… Pawns become queens. I will dominate your playing field, Kavesz, and when checkmate comes, I will have your head. As he sat in the middle of the room, his anger kept on seething. Yet it did not corrupt - neither fear nor sorrow touched Marth as he sat there, brooding over the wrongdoing he had suffered. However, it sank in, and it sank deep. For two full minutes, Marth was just sitting there, as the blaze of his hate grew ever hotter.
Then it erupted.

With a primal scream that could only be described as draconic, heat, light, and sheer force exploded with Marth at its centre. Several walls came down and all the windows in the house were blown out as a thick, viscous fire escaped the mansion’s every opening. Soon, the structure was covered entirely in flames, with thick smoke rising above the heat, then rolling down the column of rising hot air to cover the entire property in smoky blackness. It was from this blackness that Marth stepped out, the chaos of fire and destruction masking his identity from those who had gathered to look. None who looked at him paid him any heed - he was pale, his eyes were normal, and neither he nor his clothes looked burnt.

Marth eventually found Dalanesca, and though he looked utterly exhausted, he kissed her intently as he came up to her. It was plain that he was tired - small wonder, considering the magical energy he expended on setting the house alight - but as he hugged her close, his arms were still strong, fuelled by fury. “It is said that none can love and hate like a dragon,” he whispered to her, “and that you need both to become one.” He held her for a time still, chuckling malevolently, as his rage and his violence was still with him. “So thank you, Dalanesca. By reminding me of my redeeming qualities, you also made me the ultimate destroyer.” He broke the hug, and looked into Dalanesca’s eyes with flaming passion - love and anger dancing around each other, in Marth’s mind creating a violent euphoria. He grinned, his blood screaming from the accustomization of draconic metamorphosis. “Poetic, don’t you think?”

Dalanesca nodded at Marth, understanding that she could not be present for whatever was about to take place.  She took leave of him, casting a glance back at him through the doorway before disappearing from sight.  Within a few minutes, she had gotten away from the grounds, near the location they had been beforehand.  She stood there for a while, nothing happening, wondering what it was that Marth was doing inside.  She had full trust in him, and was not necessarily worried for his safety - she was more concerned that if it took too long, they ran the risk of someone showing up.

After a few more minutes, a scream echoed from the confines of the mansion - a shriek that was most definitely not human.  Fire engulfed the structure, the windows being completely blown out.  She jumped slightly, having been expecting the flames but not necessarily the explosion.  Now, she began to worry that he would be harmed by the sheer force of the impact on the structure - but her fears were assuaged when she saw him emerge from the burning rubble.  His features seemed to have completely returned to normal, and his robes did not even look singed in the slightest.

Dalanesca opened her mouth to speak when Marth approached her, but was unable to do so as he pressed his lips against hers. She could sense his weariness in the demeanor of his body, but his kiss would not have given away that fact.  After his kiss, she lay her head against his chest, closing her eyes and relishing in the moment for a brief second.  She noticed that his clothing and skin did not feel warm, but she was not surprised - he would not have cast magic that would harm himself.

When Marth pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, she felt a surge of desire, his words reaching her very core.  Unfortunately, the situation was not ideal for the actions she wished to take, so she bottled up the emotion for use at a later date, instead sufficing for kissing him hungrily one more time, albeit briefly.  After, she stepped back, distancing herself from him before she made a decision that would end up drawing more attention to them than they needed.  

She averted her gaze to the fire, trying to distract herself.  The mansion was still burning, though much faster than any normal fire would have done.  “Impressive magic,” she said to Marth, watching the blaze.  After a moment, she turned back to him.  “So.  You’ve accomplished that.  Now we must make the decision about how to approach the situation.  Are we to head to Wyllmochvar?  Or do you want to gather more information, first?” she asked, looking at him while awaiting his answers.

Marth considered Dalanesca’s question carefully before replying. “Whatever hope at subtlety we had before is gone now,” he said, nodding at the burning building, now reduced to an orange glow in a sea of black mist. “Kavesz will soon find out that Borza was compromised. He doesn’t know who is on his tail, however.” He pulled Dalanesca away, back to the alley where they’d met up earlier. When he stopped, his brows were furrowed in thought.

He sat down on a crate, rubbing his forehead as he considered their options. “When news of this reaches Wyllmochvar - which it most certainly will - Kavesz is likely to take steps to cover his tracks. I’m guessing there will be some aspect of that which will force him to leave the republic, or at least the city proper.” Another moment of silence as Marth did his customary calculations. “In Wyllmochvar, I’m considered fallen in action. If I declare myself, Kavesz will be the first to know, and he’ll immediately suspect what I’m up to.” Then a light shone on his face, and he grinned. “What better way to force his hand? With my current rank, he’d need damning evidence to take me down, and he has none that doesn’t implicate himself.” He looked up at Dalanesca with a sly smirk. “I can force his hand and gain access to all documents relevant to my last mission in one fell swoop, and in the chaos… Yes, this could work.”

Marth hopped off the crate, energized. “Let’s head back to the Scales for now. I need to contact martin - I will need access to some of his resources for this.” He walked over to Dalanesca and put his hands on her shoulders with a smile. “What do you say, milady? Is it time to tell the young lordling about your… new status, and invite him over?”

Dalanesca followed Marth without hesitation when he pulled her from their current location back to the alley where they had originally been.  She could see that he was deep in thought, his face giving it away.  He made a point - they had definitely lost the completely anonymous edge they had before.  Though their identities were not revealed from this act, there was no doubt that word of the fire as well as Borza’s death would reach Kavesz.  She remained silent as he talked through his thoughts, not wanting to interrupt him in case it would throw him off.  

As Marth continued speaking of the repercussions of different courses of action, Dalanesca quietly contemplated them in her mind as well.  She hadn’t realized that Marth was considered fallen by his home, but it came as no surprise to her considering the stories that she had been told by him regarding Reaver and what the demon had made him do.  He seemed to have a renewed sense of confidence in what was going to happen, his face alight with the prospect of taking Kavesz down.  

When he approached her, his hand on his shoulders, she spoke for the first time since he had begun his explanation of their new plan.  “Can’t wait to see his face,” she said, with a bit of a smile at the prospect of telling Martin about her ascension.  “Though… I hope he is more apt to believe me than you were - that was a lot of work, showing you,” she said, with a chuckle.  “I suppose I’ve managed things a bit better by now, but the fact remains… That was tiresome,” she said with a laugh.  “Showing him the Scales should suffice,” she added.  

Her eyes lay on Marth for a few moments of silence, a smile creeping over her lips as she thought back on the events that had unfolded since she had met him, feeling truly grateful for every moment she had with him - and looking forward to their quest to destroy the rest of the shards of Reaver - that thing that had truly defiled him in the past.  “Question is, do you want to travel to the county the mortal way, or would you like me to expedite the process a bit?” she asked, giving him a rough smile.

Marth grinned at Dalanesca. “He’s prone to go down on his knees before you, I’ll have you know. Let’s try to take it slow with the poor young man,” he said, before pondering how the two should get to Martin du Reolar’s lands. “It’s certainly best to get there fast,” Marth said, “But let’s stop by the Scales first. Get some lunch, maybe find a few hapless acolytes to drag along, for the added deity factor,” he said, with a grin. He then closes his eyes. “Blinded Scales, take us home,” he said, and the realm, like always, obeyed - taking home its mistress and her partner.