A hard swallow filled her throat. Before her sat a simple little boat. No one aboard, but it was as if an ominous smoke rose from it. "T-This must be it then," she told herself. The rumored boats that acted as guides to Luxuria Mortiferum, or Hell's Gate as many would call it. It was a road to place themselves in front of the deity of death herself, Dalanesca. Even having met her and aided her, heading to her side felt like its own challenge. After all, it often takes a madman to head over to death's door. "It will be fine… It will be fine… She is not as intimidating if you are not on her bad side," she worked to assure herself before gazing at the boat once more. Another hard swallow filled her throat again before finally taking the few more steps forward before seating herself in the vessel.

The moment she was rested, the small dingy moved on its own, drifting out of the port waters and quickly into the vast ocean. There was no one to pilot it, nor were there any tools to help guide it, but the ship still moved on its own. It took turns on its own without hamper from its course. Any waves that even tried to deny its path were calmed before they even dared touched its sides. It made the ride… surprisingly peaceful. Of course, that peace was thrown out immediately when the waters began to part, forming a hole in the ocean that the dingy floated towards before diving on down, a panic scream filling the air for a moment as it fell straight in before closing upon itself, mixing with the ocean once more.

She could feel her heart pounding through her chest as the dingy settled once more, drifting calmly through the dark-filled land. She took the moment to try and see where she was, but all there was was a black void… and the wisps of bodies floating through the waters. Occasionally, a hand would come up and slide along the outside wall of the boat, which simply turned Jesgil even more pale. Hopefully she would land soon…

When in her home realm, Dalanesca always felt a little tug in her stomach whenever someone entered her realm. It was something she had learned, over time, to ignore. Usually, if someone entered with ill intentions towards her, there was a different feeling than the typical tug and that was when she would pay attention, or if someone with strictly pure intentions who she had invited were to visit - but anything else was water under the bridge. This had been just as true when she had been the Justiciar, holding title over balance and order, and the same with death and darkness before her spheres had shifted once more.

Dalanesca presently sat in the armory of her realm, slowly but surely sharpening her favorite blade. It was a long, thin blade - much like a katana, but lacking the curve. The black metal came to a point at the end, and the edges were as sharp as she could get them. Magically imbued hellfire crackled through the folded metal in a strange green pattern almost resembling lightning streaks. She had to admit, that weapon had gotten her out of trouble on more than one occasion. She took the best care of that particular blade, though she liked all of her blades.

While she worked at the blade towards the hilt, she felt that strange sensation tugging at her stomach - not on of ill measure, however. It seemed that one of her invitees had taken her up on the invitation, and was currently floating down Dolor Fluvium. It did not take the goddess long to focus her concentration and figure out who it was that had come to visit her. She smirked to herself, upon realizing who it was, and hopped to her feet, hanging the blade up in its secure location. She felt no need for weapons when she was in her own realm, unless she was heading into one of the circles to spar.

It didn’t take her long to get to the shore of Dolor Fluvium, and in the distance she could see the boat that Jesgil was in making its way towards her. She exerted her will, bringing the boat to land just where she was, stopping it abruptly with a leather boot clad foot on the edge of it as it drifted up. “Long time no see, Jesgil - to what do I owe this wonderful pleasure?” she asked, giving her a grin. The last time she had seen her, the two had been fighting undead hoardes… and now she had come to the Underworld. Either she wanted her reward, or the maiden had gone insane. Either way, Dalanesca had to admit she was happy to see her.

As the Draconian worked to calm her heart, she was able to catch some movement up ahead in front of a boat: a figure moving closer. From where she sat, it was difficult to really tell who or what it really was. For all she knew, it could have been demons like succubus or one of her messorem. However, the boat felt like it gained a sudden tug before taking a minor change in drift as it floated more towards the being before her, as it they were calling it to her for a more personal greeting. However, the closer the ship drifted, the more details could be noted and the deity before her was certainly more recognizable.

The goddess of death and desire was the first to drop the greeting as she rested a boot upon the end of her ship, looking down on her. "H-Hello there Lad–" It was clear she was still shaken from the entrance to the realm, but not enough to lose her words, instead catching them midway and cleared her throat to fix it. She prefers to be informal, she had to remind herself before starting over. "Greetings, Dalanesca," she stated before fighting to get up, praying that her knees would not lose themselves and send her into the waters below. "I am glad to see you are in a good mood today." After all, it was not that long when she turned ruthless because, as the story went, she felt like no one was really afraid of her. She was not scary all the time, but that was only because she did not seem to be so serious. However, she had seen that serious side, and what torment she can cause with it.

"So, uhh…. Is it too late to redeem that offer you made way back when?" Jesgil asked, scratching her cheek, though she spoke of the undead incident as if it had happened years ago, even when it wasn't. It was still easy to notice the bandages around her arms trying to cover her wounds from that incident… The time she called forth so much of her strength that she lost herself.

Though it had been a bit of time since she had last seen Jesgil, the dragon maid with so much untapped potential and power and quite a magnificent weapon, a grin still swept across Dalanesca’s face. She let out a chuckle as Jesgil corrected herself - it was nice to see that she remembered her dislike for titular theatrics. “I’ve nothing to be upset about today,” she quipped, holding out a hand should Jesgil want to steady herself and she stepped out of the boat. She grinned, stepping to one side so that the dragon maid could have enough room to feel comfortable.

As Jesgil revealed what had brought her to Dalanesca’s realm, the goddess shook her head. “Absolutely not too late,” she said, her smile giving off warmth. “I never set a time limit for you, and you came to my side to aid me in my time of need - those undead bastards were much more difficult than I had originally anticipated.” She grew silent for a moment, her eyes scanning over Jesgil’s arms and the bandages that covered them before they made their way back up to her face.

Dalanesca chose not to question the bandages, instead speaking to Jesgil in a rather cheery voice. “So, if you’ve come to reap your reward…” The goddess spun off into a fit of sudden laughter. “Oh…. aha…. Did you catch that? Reap the benefits? Hah! Because I am the Reaper,” she said, between chuckles. When she had finally calmed back down, she continued speaking. “I don’t think that we ever really discussed what your reward would be, if I am to be honest,” she replied, walking away from the shore of the river and gesturing for Jesgil to follow her. “What are you thinking? A weapon? Some mystical power? Someone you want dead, or someone who is dead and you don’t want them to be anymore?” she asked, eager to find out what she could do for the maiden that had aided her.

The Draconian was quick to oblige to the offered hand off the ship, not trusting her sea legs for a moment longer. Her eyes went to look at the small dingy for a short moment before the waves washed over the side, hands clinging onto the wood for a brief moment before slipping back down, causing her to snap right back to Dal's face, pale, though smiling to hold it all together. Still, at least her choice of words were enough to relax her enough to let out a small giggle before thinking for a brief moment.

Just what did she want?

She had taken up this kind of work to be of aid to many other people, so Jesgil thought of herself as selfless, and yet now was a perfect opportunity to spoil herself even a bit. Especially when the reward was coming from the Goddess of Death. Just what could she offer to help aid her?

"Just what can you get, indeed," echoed through the shore before a new figure began to morph from the shadows. It was Jesgil… yet her eyes shined a bright yellow that seemed to have been piercing into her soul. And her voice… it was almost like hers, but it had an odd feel, as if there was 3 of her with different pitches talking at once. "You can get yourself some special treasures that not many can claim for themselves. Of course, asking the Dark Mother for a path on Death, even once, would be too much. But I think we know exactly what you want. You just don't know how to say it."

The Jesgil copy lifted up her arms before undoing the bandages that mimicked hers, letting them drape along the floor, revealing what resided underneath was not skin, but silvery scales that reflected from the lights they had. "What you want is to be free of this blood. To no longer need to worry about the dragon's blood to take you over and turn you into a dangerous beast."

"That's not it!" Jesgil tried to shoot down, but the smirk easily overpowered it.

"Because all that power that the Dark Mother loves is tied behind it! Because your magic is linked to it! If your dragon side would be removed, you would be nothing more than an ordinary girl! An ordinary girl who can do nothing to help those that she needs…" The more words the yellow-eyed Jesgil spat out, the more her body shifted, as if showcasing to Jesgil the body she was trying to avoid. "So instead, you bear your grudge to claim and protect treasure by calling the people you serve as a maid your treasures, all while telling yourself that little chant of yours its to cast your magic, when you are loosening the seal your mother placed on you when you a mere child!"

"STOP IT!" Was all Jesgil could let out before falling to her knees and covering her ears. "Stop it… Please… stop it…" Tears started to blur her vision as the entity simply looked down upon her.

"What you want me to stop is nothing more than the truth."

Being as the strange happenings were taking place in her realm, the Underworld of Revaliir that she had created from her own mind, Dalanesca was of course, able to see the shadow copy of Jesgil that the realm had created. She could have easily stopped it from appearing to Jesgil, but she still didn’t know much about the girl with the powerful axe, and she was curious as to what this apparition would have to say.

There was a bit of a back and forth between the fake Jesgil and the real Jesgil, and Dalanesca stood by, arms folded across her chest as she listened to the exchange. It seemed rather apparent that the basis of the exchange between the two was seated in the origins of Jesgil’s power, though it evolved into so much more than that. Her curiosity was piqued even further as the copy of Jesgil unwrapped the bandage from her arm, revealing what it was that the bandage covered.

Dalanesca continued to listen to each word the two exchanged until Jesgil fell to her knees, shielding her ears from the apparition’s words. At this point, the goddess decided that things had gone far enough, and with a wave of her hand the apparition was gone as it spoke its last phrase. She walked to the place where Jesgil kneeled and knelt down beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

”I see that what you truly want is to wholly be in control of yourself,” she said quietly. She moved to sit upon the ground next to her, giving her a soft smile. ”I think I might be able to help you with that,” she said, reassuringly. With a quick motion she held her hand out towards Jesgil, a simple black chain resting in the palm of her hand with a small piece of black obsidian attached to it. ”Take this as a gift from one friend to another,” she said. ”And I’ll still owe you another reward, but we’ll save that for a later date,” she added.

”That stone… if you wear that, or at least have that on your person, you can be in control,” she said. ”It’s got a bit of me in it. You see, I am Desire. And you - you desire to be in control. You carry that bit of me with you, and you will be able to control yourself. You’ll be able to use your power as you wish, without the consequences that scare you,” she said, still holding out her palm as she waited to see whether or not Jesgil would accept her gift.

She was fighting to control her breathing as Dalanesca came close to her. It felt like another set of eyes stared down into her very soul… No, it was from her soul that the gaze came from… just as sharp as her father's… Just as cold as whenever he got serious… A hard swallow was stuck in her throat before the Lady of Death placed her hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump, but at the same time snap out of her mental trap before being offered what could easily be described as a simple necklace.

Right… she is not just death, Jesgil reassured herself as she held her hand out, feeling the chains slowly fill her palm. With so many calling her the Reaper, it was often forgotten that she also held over the power of Desire. Some  cases being grand of riches or a harem of people to sleep with, yet so many held smaller desires that they hardly thought of it as such. A desire to have control, she repeated to herself as she fixed the necklace around her neck. "So, how does it look?" she giggled once she was sure it was fastened on, to at the very least help cheer herself up.

Still, Jesgil felt like she deserved to know, and worked to undo the bandages upon her own arm, letting them slide down to reveal the numerous cut scars that lined her arms. The most obvious thing was that they were not random cuts, but more of a pattern. "You see, after we went back to Mo'mey for your sword and some drinks, I rushed back to the desert to help fend off the mummies that sprawled the desert landscape. I pushed my power so far that whatever slept inside me started to push out more, to the point where I started to grow a scale coat. I fell unconscious for a bit, though, and stopped the scales from going past my shoulders, but each day, these wounds remind me what happens if I take things too far… At least, until today, hopefully." The last statement had a brief smile towards Dalanesca as her way of thanks.