Dalanesca woke with a start.  Night had fallen over the Blinded Scales, and little to no light entered her chambers.  She found herself feeling startled, wondering what it was that could have woken her so suddenly.  She sat up, listening closely for whatever it could have been - but a pounding at her chamber door rendered such listening unnecessary.  “My lady, please!”  A muffled voice cried out from the other side of the door.  Dalanesca swung her feet quickly out of bed.  

“What is it?” she called, hurrying over to the door and opening it.  Jaraya, one of her younger Magisters, rushed in.  She was carrying a lantern lit with flame, her face bathed in the pale light.  Dalanesca could make out sheer terror on her visage, and tears streaked her face.  Jaraya forcefully shut the door behind her.

“They’re getting out,” she said, her voice trembling.  “They’re getting out and we can’t stop them, we don’t know how to stop them!” she cried, her words coming out jumbled.  Dalanesca firmly grasped the girl’s shoulder with one hand and her chin with the other, steadying her head and holding her gaze to her own.

“Calm down. Who is getting out?” she asked.  In all honesty, she was panicking, but she would not let the Magister see this.  She was worried, but had no clue as to what the girl was alluding to.  Jaraya frantically wrenched herself from Dalanesca’s grasp. 

“They’re getting out of Malum!” she cried.  Dalanesca’s eyes widened.  She remained silent for a moment, staring incredulously at Jaraya.  The most frightening aspect of the information that had just been revealed to her was that the manifestations in Malum were simply that - manifestations.  They were not actual beings.  Something must have happened to release the energies, but she had to figure out what it was. 

“What exactly is it that is getting out?” she asked, trying her best to remain calm.  Jaraya took a deep breath, returning from the brink of hyperventilating.  Dalanesca remained patient with her, knowing that any brash language or harsh reactions to her would not help get the information she needed.  

The girl took a steadying breath.  “I don’t… I don’t know,” she said.  “They look like people.  Like humans,” she said.  “But they’re not.  It looks… their veins are black,” she said, the horror in her voice audible.  “Alaric saw them coming,” she said, tears welling in her eyes again.  “He thought they were travellers… but they just took him down,” she said.  “They didn’t even have weapons… they just strangled him with their bare hands,” she said.

Dalanesca took a breath.  “I’ll get Marth,” she said.  The two were spending the night apart, as she had grown tired and he was still pouring over some books in the Two-Faced Tower.  While she knew that her divine will would inevitably be the greatest asset in solving whatever it was that was happening, she knew that Marth’s intelligence would just as useful.

Jaraya’s fearful voice piped up.  “Please hurry, m’lady,” she said.  The next words she spoke truly grasped the gravity of the situation:  “One of them… one of them reached the transport bridge,” she said.  “I think one of them got back to Revaliir,” she added.  Dalanesca’s eyes widened even a bit further, and she ran out of the room, towards the tower where she could find Marth.

She reached the Two-Faced Tower in record time, and she could hear primal screams echoing from the depths of Malum.  A dark cloud seemed to have risen over the area - she assumed it had to do with whatever was happening.  As she ascended into the area in which she thought she would find Marth, she called out to him.  “Marth, something’s happening,” she said, unsure of whether or not he had witnessed anything yet.  “Malum’s… fractured, or something,” she said, rushing into his quarters, her cheeks reddened and her eyes fearful, hoping that he would have the resolve to assist her in figuring out what was happening.

Marth was standing in his study, looking out the window behind his desk, his brows furrowed at the situation. An acolyte stood behind him, note in hand, ready for orders. “I want you to ensure this message finds everyone in the Fellhunter Fraternity,” he said, “Starting with Count Du Reolar. He’s the only one I am directly associated with.” The young prospective priest gave a stiff nod and hurried out. Marth remained, gazing at the carnage that Malum had been reduced to. While the Magisters had, understandably, prioritized alerting Dalanesca, the clergy had rushed to Marth, so he got the message at the same time as her.

It was not even a minute later that Dalanesca hurried into his study, winded and audibly affected by the events unfolding. Marth registered the anxiety, but he was already zoned in; Dalanesca was now in need of the Redeemer and Destroyer, not Marth. She’s frightened. Luckily, I have some experience with… Magickal catastrophe, he thought to himself. “I’ve sent an acolyte to alert the Fraternity,” he said, letting Dalanesca know he had already begun to act. “As well as instructed all clergy in the realm to move to major hubs for the same purpose.” The Fraternity knew how to fight darkness, but the masses needed to be informed as well. Marth had gone for a wide spread of cities, ensuring that the information spread covered all of Canelux and civilized Pravpora as quickly as possible. He turned around, and saw that Dalanesca had rushed to him in only her nightgown. Part of his facade faded, and he smiled, a reassuring, semi-professional, semi-affectionate smile that served to calm Dalanesca down. He went over to her, giving her a quick kiss before continuing.

“As for planning ahead, we have a number of options. Whatever caused this… temporal phenomenon in Malum, it is now affecting both the Scales and Revaliir. The Skylance has been knocked offline,” he said, frowning, “and the cloud over Malum prevents me from observing what is going on in Canelux. However, through conjecture, we possess some knowledge we did not possess before.” Marth grabbed an abacus, as a sort of visual aid, and began explaining.

“Clearly, Malum’s projections are capable of manifesting in more tangible ways that we realised,” Marth began, leaving the abacus be for a moment. “But the laws of the Blinded Scales still apply. As the activity in Malum intensifies, so does the activity in Sanctus - but since Sanctus represents benevolence and harmony, it’s barely noticeable.” To underline this fact, Marth took a few beads from the bottom of the abacus - painted black - and moved them to the other side, to represent the increased activity. He then did the same with the white beads, further up. “The difference in activity is due to the rift - I’m assuming that exposure to the much larger realm of Revaliir causes Malum to attempt to ‘fill the void’ so to speak, like air rushing to fill a vacuum.” Marth took a deep breath. “I’m thinking… If Sanctus was given the same opportunity, we could buy some time - Sanctus exists as a counterweight to Malum, after all, so it is safe to assume the two will not be able to overcome one another down on Revaliir either,” Marth resumed, while sliding beads to illustrate his theory. “This will at least partially prevent the spread of Malum’s energies into Revaliir, maybe even providing reliable havens for people to take refuge in,” Marth concluded.

He slid in behind his desk, and began pulling out maps and other documentation he typically carried with him while travelling. “That should be first on our to-do list. We know it is possible, we can be certain it won’t do any harm, and it will almost certainly buy us some time to figure out how to close the rift in Malum. If we cannot do so right away, however, we should get to the Conclave.” He stood up, and grabbed the Dragon Lance, rubbing it to make sure its Guardian enchantment still worked. Luckily, it did. “You’re still a young goddess, Dalanesca, and more experienced, knowledgeable deities might be well-equipped to help us here,” he said, as he finished his preparations to leave. “Besides, I can imagine some of them - Moliira, for example - could enjoy the sport of destroying Malum’s apparitions. Either way - release Sanctus, then go to the Conclave.” He looked at Dalanesca and gave her a firm nod. “As Redeemer and Destroyer, I advise you put these two things on top priority.”

Marth’s expression made it quite apparent to Dalanesca that he was already aware of the situation taking place in the Blinded Scales.  When he immediately began to explain to her what actions he had already sent into motion, she did not necessarily feel relief, but the anxiety she was feeling dwindled slightly.  She had not doubted that Marth would spring to action immediately - she was more worried about whether or not he knew what was happening, since it seemed to have begun in the middle of the night.  She was glad he had alerted the Fellhunter Fraternity as well, seeing as Martin had been of great help to them in the past.  

She relished in the brief moment of contact between the two, knowing all too well that now was not the time or place for any major displays of affection - the simple brush of his lips against her own was enough to suffice for the time being.  When he pulled away and continued speaking, she paid full attention to the options that he presented.  It seemed that his scholarly tendencies had momentarily taken over, and for that she was grateful.  She mimicked his frown when he mentioned the Skylance not functioning, but that was to be expected - it depended on the magic of the realm and the absence of balance would upset the power of the magic.  

She remained in quiet contemplation for a moment, wondering how exactly she could unleash Sanctus in the way that Malum had been - when it dawned upon her.  The realm was completely hers to control - all she needed to do to was will it to be so.  As that realization washed over her, she wondered for a brief moment if she had subconsciously released Malum in such a manner, but she swiftly brushed the thought off.  Releasing the energy of something in that manner would require a lot of concentration, and that was not something that could be accomplished without meaning to.

“So I will Sanctus free, and hopefully it will help restabilize the energy coming from Malum,” she said, nodding her head.  “Won’t necessarily get it back here, but it might help tone it down a little.”  She grew silent again, following Marth over to his desk.  “May I suggest we speak with Angela, first?” she said, her voice hinting at the fact that she felt quite strongly about this.  “I trust Moliira greatly, but I have known Angela for a much longer time,” she added.  “I knew her well before I ascended,” she added.  She looked to Marth.  “I’ll get this Sanctus situation taken care of, and then we can go see the Mother,” she said, firmly, as though she had made up her mind.

She walked to the center of the room and sat down right on the floor, crossing her legs.  Her nightgown spilling around her, she looked up at Marth, offering an explanation.  “I figure… all I have to do to release Sanctus is will it to be so,” she said.  Closing her eyes, she remained completely still and silent, focusing every inch of her conscience on releasing Sanctus.  Within minutes, a bright light shone through the windows from the direction of Sanctus, and her eyes slowly opened again.  She did not only look the polar opposite of what she had when she had delved into Myter’s mind - she looked invigorated.  “Wow…” she said, softly, getting to her feet.  “That was… that was different,” she said.  “It was like I could feel all of the energy being released from Sanctus… it was akin to intense happiness,” she added. 

After a moment of reflection, she put her full attention back on Marth.  “What do you think?” she asked, hoping that he would understand why she wanted to ask Angela for her assistance.  It was not that Dalanesca did not trust Moliira - she trusted the drow an impeccable amount.  Something about asking Angela just seemed more correct for the situation.  If Marth agreed, Dalanesca could easily request Angela’s presence without even leaving her own realm.

Marth watched as Dalanesca released Sanctus upon Revaliir, and gave an approving nod. “That should buy some time and grant the people on Revaliir a little reprieve. However, now the Skylance is all but useless - the realm bleeds energy too quickly, and besides, we can’t see past the clouds or light rays.” This problem didn’t seem to affect Marth all that much - it wasn’t the first time one of his tools had been knocked out of play, and until other deities had been consulted, marth reckoned there were still plenty of hands to play.

“Before we contact Angela, let us recap.” Marth sat back down in his chair, looking on his desk. The crisis had left his usually impeccable office something of a mess, which in turn helped Marth stay focused on the crisis at hand - a messy desk was his reminder that he had more important things to think about than keeping his office tidy. “No more than half an hour ago, Malum erupted - without warning - and began bleeding into Revaliir.” Marth grabbed the abacus again, absentmindedly moving beads to symbolize the various events. “I didn’t get to see the opening phases, but I noticed rather quickly. Judging by your… state,” he said, clearly referring to Dalanesca’s light dress and her winded state upon arrival, “you got the message roughly ten minutes after it all happened. You were asleep at the time, so whatever caused this rift, was not so disturbing as to rouse you from your sleep.” Marth furrowed his eyebrows, as he was prone to do when in deep thought.

“It is possible that this means your connection to the realm was somehow weakened - seeing as the drastic change didn’t seem to afflict you. It would also explain why Malum refuses to close on your command.” He spent a few seconds pondering before resuming. “And it’d have to be a damn powerful force to do so. I think it is safe to say that some other deity - or similarly powerful being or organization - is involved somehow.” He rubbed his forehead, rummaging through his knowledge to find a suitable suspect, but drew a blank. “The only other possibility is that you did it, subconsciously - in your sleep. But now that you’re awake and the realm still bleeds, I find that extremely improbable.” He looked at the abacus, frowning. “Not to mention that you seem to have full control of Sanctus, or at least its relationship with Malum. No, I think it is better if we consider the ‘weakened link’ theory first.”

Marth got up from his chair again, narrowing his eyes at the chaos on either side of the tower. “With the tower tapping into both sides of the Blinded Scales, not protected by grey neutrality like the Grey Square, it is safe to assume that neither the Skylance nor any of my other projects - which are unfinished - will be operational until this crisis is resolved.” Marth tapped his foot, growing visibly frustrated with how little progress he was making on his own. “Which means… You and I will not be able to move independently. Which means I either stay here in the Blinded Scales to coordinate our responses, or travel with you.” He sighed, and turned to Dalanesca. “I know you don’t like it, milady, but I think the former is the best option.”

Marth looked out the window again. “Still, let’s play the hands we have before doing anything else. Upon reflection, lady Angela’s connection with nature and the earth should be of great help in assessing which areas are affected by which half of the Scales.” He turned back to Dalanesca with a firm nod. “And if some kind of healing is needed, I have a hard time imagining anyone more qualified to help out. Go ahead and contact her - have her meet us here, if at all possible. I would like to hear her thoughts and testimonies firsthand.”

Dalanesca frowned when Marth made mention of the Skylance not functioning, but she did not let that fact bother her overmuch.  “It’ll function again once we get order restored,” she said, her voice demonstrating the faith that she had in what she said.  Besides, Marth did not look as though he was overly affected, more inconvenienced than anything.  Between the two of them, they would be able to figure out a lot of different ways to accomplish what they needed to without the use of the Skylance.

She walked over to Marth’s desk as he sat down and hoisted herself up onto the surface, sitting down off to the side while facing him.  She remained quiet, nodding to affirm with Marth that she was in agreement of his recap.  She watched him with interest as he grabbed the abacus, but let out a laugh when he mentioned her state of dress.  “Getting dressed was not exactly at the top of my priority list,” she said, though the flush in her cheeks gave way to the fact that she was mildly embarrassed.  “I suppose before I ask for Angela’s presence I should probably make myself a tad more presentable,” she said.  

Turning back to the subject at hand, she thought for a moment, trying to see if she could remember anything she had been dreaming about, but the memories were clouded and she could not recall them.  “I sincerely doubt that I am the culprit behid this, but we cannot rule it out,” she said.  “I am not sure what would weaken me to the point that I was no longer connected to anything,” she added.  “I agree with you - we should venture into that idea a bit further.  

“You mean I’m stuck with you by my side?” she said, feining disappointment.  Even in dire times such as these, she felt humor was mildly important.  “I would rather have you by my side, anyways,” she continued.  “If something - or someone - is weakening my ties to my realm, we don’t know what other aspects of my power could be affected,” she said, the prospect worrying her.  She was just starting to get used to being able to use her powers to the best of her ability, she did not need something dampening them now.  

She nodded, hopping down off of the desk, her bare feet landing silently on the floor.  “I’ll be back,” she said, and moved to the doorway - but rather than continuing to walk, she disappeared from sight, making use of her ability to teleport within her realm.  A few minute later, she re-appeared, fully dressed in her normal garb of black leather corset and leggings with boots, her hair being the only mildly disheveled part of her ensemble.  She gave Marth a quick smile, and with her mind reached out to Angela, begging her to appear in the realm - giving the Triune Goddess full permission to appear at whichever point she wanted, at which point she and Marth would be able to ask her for her help.

Angela was in her throne room playing with Iva. They were playing a guessing game with what her new baby brother’s name would be. Things had gone rather well since Drae’s chat with Rohan’s spirit and even though it pained her not to see him again, she knew it was the right thing to do. Her dress this eve displayed her motherly womb in its full glory. It was flowy dress with long sleeves and her hair was pulled back.

“Is… it…. Rock?! Dirt?”

“No,” she laughed a bit at her child as the girl continued to name off elements and minerals. “You will never guess it in a thousand years.”

“BUT I DON’T HAVE A THOUSAND YEARS! HE IS BAKING RIGHT NOW! What if he gets burnt by then?”

Angela about lost it with her child when Dalanesca called her. Things appeared to be going wrong but Angela couldn’t quite keep the child here by herself. “Do you want to go see Auntie Dal?”

“AUNTIE DAL! AUNTIE DAL!” Iva dressed in one of her many creamed colored dresses danced around. Angela scooped her up and placed the small child on her hip before warping into the goddess’s realm.

When Iva’s brown eyes hit Dalanesca’s the child was squealing and climbing down her mother, only to climb up Dalanesca. “AUNTIE DAL!” Big kisses and a smirk from Angela to the goddess.

A protective hand was over her growing belly as she sighed. “Trouble is never far, so I thought you needed a ray of sunshine.” Turning her head for a moment to look Marth over suddenly a voice popped back up.

“IT’S TREE ISN’T IT! MY BABY BROTHER’S NAME IS TREE!”

Angela laughed harder, “No, it’s not Tree. You have to get a bit more creative than that child.” 

Iva looked from one person to the next before staring right at Dalanesca. “You aren’t going to have a baby too, are you? I heard people say that playing cards keep babies from coming when adults are very bored and have nothing better to do. Mama do we have playing cards for Auntie Dal if he’s.” She did a sassy hand flip towards Marth, “Is getting touchy like Daddy is touchy?”

Angela was snorting at this point trying not to laugh, “If they are being touchy, as you so call it, that is none of your business.”

“BUT IT IS MY BUSINESS BECAUSE MOSS IS IMPORTANT AND NEEDS ALL OF AUNTIE DAL’S ATTENTION.”

“His name isn’t Moss.”

“Well, why the hell not?”

“What?” The goddess shot her daughter a look and the child hid her face in Dal’s arm.

“Heck. I said Heck. Auntie Dal can tell you I am telling the truth.. and that I am a good girl and deserve sweets.”

Angela groaned for a moment and shook her head. “If you ever want a child to test for a while, you are welcome to mine.”

“We aren’t giving Acorn away!”

“HIS NAME ISN’T ACORN.” The goddess snapped and sighed. “We’ve been at this for hours Iva. You are never going to guess it. Now what is going on here? I see hell has started falling from the skies.”

“I don’t think that’s what hell looks like mommy… if it did Auntie Toya would be falling from it.” Angela smirked lightly at her daughter. "Mommy says I won't guess River's name in a thousand years. I'll be old and wrinkly and he'll be burnt in her oven cause he's a bun baking right now." Angela groaned silently.

Marth smirked coyly as Dalanesca reappeared after dressing. “And here I thought I’d have my goddess dressed up in a sexy nightgown all night. Ah, well.” Mere seconds passed before Angela and Iva appeared in the room. Marth walked up and gave a polite bow to Angela - he knew she wasn’t particularly formal of nature, and he didn’t want to appear stiff and concerned in front of the child. The child’s presence is less than ideal, he thought, but she’s the daughter of a goddess. She can probably handle it.

“Lady Angela, how wonderful to meet you at last,” he said, his recently finished dragonscale armour clinking softly beneath his elaborate purple robes. He made a point of putting the Dragon Lance out of the girl’s reach before walking up to her with a playful expression, deciding he might as well keep the atmosphere defused - for her sake. “Hello, there, little princess. My name is Marth.” He looked to Dalanesca with a smile. “And if Dalanesca is your auntie, that makes me your uncle!” he said, booping the girl’s nose playfully. He let the conversation play out for a moment.

“You have no idea,” Marth said under his breath when Iva mentioned Marth being touchy. It wasn’t a secret that he and Dalanesca had a vivid love life, but he saw no reason to overtly shower the young girl with such statements. Instead, he waited until he saw an opening in the girl’s rant - luckily, Angela provided one when she mentioned hell raining from the sky. “You have keen eyes, princess Iva - that is not hell falling from the sky. That is a place called Malum - a place for people’s darkest thoughts.” He turned to Angela, his voice more serious. “Something has happened in Malum - a rift of some kind.” He stepped closer, getting out of the girl’s earshot, and addressing Angela directly. “Malum is bleeding into Revaliir. We don’t know how, exactly, but the projections that wander Malum enter Revaliir as full-blown manifestations.” He took a step back, returning to Dalanesca and Iva. “Dalanesca has opened Sanctus, the home for bright and happy thoughts, in a similar manner - in order to help combat the issue,” he stated. He stopped mid-stride as he got an idea.

He walked right back to Iva, and nonchalantly picked her up, giving her a seat in his arms. “Now, the thing is, we need help. Dalanesca’s apotheosis was recent, and we have very little grasp of what is going on. Our working theory is that she’s somehow had her connection to Malum weakened, for the disruption did not wake her from sleep. However, neither of us know who or what could have caused such a weakening to take place,” he explained, pacing back and forth in the room, casually flipping and tossing little Iva to entertain her. “So any knowledge you have on the subject would be of great help,” he continued, while Iva was dangling from his arms, swaying back and forth. “And if you could keep an eye on Revalite soil and check for corruption, that would be fantastic as well,” he said, before putting his little evil plan into motion.

“Of course… I understand if you’re busy. But if you do help, I promise to make little Iva here a pretty new dress - maybe even a magic one,” he said, smiling innocently at Iva - and not at all innocently at Angela. Refuse now, Marth thought, and your own legacy will plague you for hours on end. It was a petty trick, but Marth’s first priority was resolving the crisis - anything he could do to acquire Angela’s help was fair play in his book.

Dalanesca was barely given a moment to identify the woman and child who had appeared in Marth’s tower before the child was screaming for her and climbing up her form.  She let out a laugh, holding tight to Iva as she scaled up to Dal’s height.  “Iva!  It’s wonderful to see you,” she said, a bit surprised that Angela had brought her with, but happy to see the girl none the less.  She looked to Angela, smiling woefully.  “Angela… thank you so much for coming at such short notice,” she said, her gratefulness truly apparent in her face.  

Iva’s outburst caused Dalanesca to chuckle.  Of course, she was aware that Angela, Mother that she was, was with child, but she hadn’t quite thought that the unborn’s name would be such a hilarity for Iva.  When she asked Dalanesca if she was with child as well, her face turned bright red.  “Um, no, sweetheart… Auntie Dal is not having a baby,” she said.  She chose not to comment on whether or not Marth was getting ‘touchy’ with her, shooting him a knowing and flirtatious glance without Iva being able to see. 

An eyebrow quirked at the thought of the child being named Moss, and the exchange between mother and child.  “Don’t drag me into this, Iva,” she said, scoffing.  “You know that I love you and would spoil you to no end… but you mustn’t tell lies when you’ve gotten into trouble,” she added.  

She turned back to Angela, preparing to address the situation at hand.  “Malum has.. Fractured, somehow,” she said.  “We are unsure what…” she said, trailing off as Marth piped in to explain.  When he had finished, including his offer of making Iva a magical dress, Dalanesca smiled softly.  

“Angela, you know I would never ask this of you unless I felt it necessary,” she said, her eyes pleading.  She shot Marth a glance, knowing that he was plotting something.  Though she could tell it was nothing overly worrisome, she did not need Marth upsetting the Goddess of Fertility, or the two would end up with an offspring of their own, regardless of if they desired it or not.  “If you can assist us with this, I will owe you a million favors,” she said, giving her a hopeful smile.  “I’ve already released Sanctus in hopes that it will help balance the negativity from Malum, but I don’t know how well that will stabilize things.  Do you have any suggestions?” she asked, hoping Angela would have wisdom to share with them. 

Angela gave a smile as she met Marth. “You can just call me Angela. If you are close to Dal I’d imagine we will meet more.” 

“Malum?” Iva said back to Marth as she thought on it.

“I might have some ideas on how to fix it.” Angela gave a smile at Dalanesca. “It might require your Marth to babysit Iva. Gods know if we turned our backs on her, she might bring the whole Blinded Scales down on us!”

Iva began to cackle as if on command. “I’m not evil! I like this place!”

“Ten teachers, an odd number of babysitters, and many lovers later… I think you got yourself all wrong.” She reached over and pat the child’s head.

Iva allowed herself to be picked up by Marth and tilted her head at him. Her red curls were like fire, just like her mom’s.  “I actually have a better idea Marth, but it will require a lot of power. By that, I mean the full power of this place. It might begin to crack the realm but if you are prepared for that Dalanesca then we might just save Revaliir yet.”

Holding up a hand she sighed. “The only favor I want is for you to accept being this baby’s god mother. I’ll tell you his name later but Iva is not allowed to know.” She chuckled a bit as she moved about. “Now excuse me while I make myself at home for this solution to work.” Iva giggled a bit as the Triune Goddess’s power flooded the area.

It was drowning out Dalanesca’s but when Angela began to disperse the Blinded Scales for a platform, it became clear that Angela was merging it with her own temple. “This is temporary, just trust me.” 

Thinking on it for a moment she summoned some clergy. “I need red clay from Apoy, hurry hurry. It is a powerful magic conduit.”

“You could just make some yourself my lady.”

“Oh,  but I never get the color right. Just trust me.” She shooed the clergy member away into a portal. “A lot of it. Try to get it by the bag full.” She dragged Dalanesca over and formed a pot. It looked simple not overly decorative. “You, fill this pot with as much of your power as possible. I’ll sustain the blinded scales so it doesn’t collapse. It’s the reason why I formed it with my own temple. You need to put everything you have into this little pot and just trust me.”

Dalanesca was pleased that Angela seemed to approve of Marth - the fact that she was allowing him to address her by her given name and not her divine titles was enough to prove that the earth Mother was trusting of him.  She assumed that part of Angela’s trust for Marth stemmed from the fact that she trusted Dalanesca. 

She grew quiet as two conversations happened simultaneously - Marth explaining what Maulm and Sanctus were to Iva quietly, and Angela giving Dalanesca an explanation on what could possibly happen - and that Marth needed to keep an eye on the little imp.  Dalanesca inadvertently chuckled as she realized that Angela was requesting Marth be nothing more than a glorified baby sitter- to which he surprisingly agreed, albeit a bit begrudgingly.

Dalanesca nodded when Angela told her that what they must undertake would use a great amount of power and could possibly fracture the realm further.  “If that is the sacrifice that must be made to save Revaliir, then it must be done,” she said.  “My realm can be repaired easily - I am not so sure about the mortal plane,” she added solemnly.  

When Angela made the request for her to be the godmother of her unborn child, Dalanesca nodded, smiling happily.  “That isn’t even a favor!  Of course I would be happy to take that role,” she said.  Soon, however, the happy conversation was over and Dalanesca’s power was overtaken by Angela’s, though it was not wearing her out as it was willingly allowed.  

She could feel Angela’s power overwhelming her own, but she was at peace with the fact.  When the Blinded Scales began to fade into another scene, she realized that the Goddess was merging this realm with her own in order to couple the power more efficiently.  When the pot was formed, Dalanesca instinctively stuck both of her hands into the emptiness of the vessel.  A bright light began to emit from her left hand, filling the space with brightness, while dark black mist began to flow from her right, intertwining with the bright light to form a sort of grey smoke.

She could feel herself beginning to weaken as every ounce of divine power she held emptied into the pot that the earth mother.  “Angela… what now?” she asked, her voice giving way to the fact that exerting so much power was having a toll on her.