TentacleLord

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

Nickolas Rienbach - Westroad Encampment

"Of course, Sir Hug-." Nickolas barely had time to nod in acceptance before the unexpected outburst from Gaius cut him off, and the ensuing rage from all parties left the dark mage looking solemnly after where the immature strategist had stormed off to. He made a mental note to talk to the wyvern rider about this incident, but that would have to wait. Instead, there was the more pressing matter of the lives in the village. He lightly strode up to the captain of the convoy, and tapped him on the shoulder after Marcus had said his peice.

Nickolas bowed to the fellow northerner, gripping the Flux grimorie to to his chest. "Sir Hugh. I will personally apologize for finding fault and discrediting Sir Gaius' plan in front of the convoy later. However, I urge you to put your plan into motion immediately, before the denizens of the town come to any more harm." He glanced around, slightly disappointed that the tactician hadn't simply walked off to the edge of camp within easy talking distance. "The occupying bandits have had no less than two hours warning since we got here, and the likelihood of them spotting us only increases when it gets dark enough to force us to use torches."

The dark mage glanced over to his fellow practitioner with more than a little curiosity as Syrena's voice, free of stutters, drifted over to him. He paused to consider his actions before exaggeratedly doffing a wide grin to mirror the Plegian's, and winking at the young girl. "Don't worry, little miss, I have no doubt you'll be able to contain your power. Your talent shines through even now. On top of that, I'm certain that you'll be just fine with Sir Franky acting as your guardian." The grin faded slightly. "And don't worry about hurting or killing. Just leave that to... those of us who have already sullied our hands."

Kuur Salcair - Westroad Encampment

"...Alright." She slowly nodded to Kel's request as the latter had already taken off to argue with the tactician about the viability of sending fliers to take down archers(Kuur didn't care, either way, she wasn't the one who'd be hurtled to certain doom if she messed up). She tucked the carcasses of the animals away in the storage wagon with the intent to skin and grill them later. Satisfied with her work, the archer turned to watch the proceedings with a growing feeling of annoyance that peaked when the man who towered over even her reacted like a spoiled child.

"This is...slow." Her brows knitted together, a sure sign of her displeasure. "No... productiveness. I'm... going ahead to... scout." She had been raised on a caravan that constantly ferried goods from one end of the massive Panoplian desert to the other, which meant that if you weren't moving, you weren't helping. There was no room for people who couldn't pull their own weight.

She vanished into the grasses near the side of the road with her bow out and at the ready, an arrow already nocked against the string as she made her careful way toward the edge of the village in the hopes of catching at least one of the guards unawares.

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

Nickolas Rienbach - Encampment Outside Bandit-Raided Town

Nickolas' walk alongside the caravan was rather pleasant and unevenful, something that he particularly enjoyed when away from the biting cold of his home-country. He'd never seen wildflowers that weren't as hardy as weeds when it came to the frosts that covered his old home year-round, and the delicate, sweet smelling flowers that lay along the side of the road had only come to his life as a result of the war. Small blessings, he supposed. He spent the tactician's two hours of planning resting and simply conversing with any who passed by, doing small card tricks with little bursts of flame or ice.

As he listened to the plan, his already pale face drained of color, leaving him white as fresh snow. When he spoke, his voice was shaking slightly. "As I can place everybody but Red, the assumption goes that Red is the little miss, correct?" He peeled open his Flux tome, looking for all the world like he was just enjoying a light read of the almost acidly sweet tome. "Then I do have a question."

"Are you mad? You want a flyer to charge a group of bowmen, then you send half your magic forces to clean out a building one magic wielder could accomplish easily, and then throw your least experienced mage and yourself at the largest and most powerful of their forces?" He wasn't happy, nor even pretending to be, that was for sure. "One of whom, if Sir Wyvern Rider description is apt, is either a mage or an assassin, neither of which are the seemingly sure kill you assume they are!" Nickolas was panting now, gesturing wildly at the collection of buildings. "This stinks of the well-intentioned slaughter for at least little miss Syrena and yourself, and I will physically restrain you two if I have to."

He whirled on his heel, striding boldly up to the taller man and still managing to look imposing even at the nearly nine inch height disparity and the sheer ridiculousness of his last statement. Pale flames flashed behind his eyes. "Now then. I do, in fact, have another question." He put on the same smile that he'd worn for Syrena back in the courtyard, abet now void of all of the warmth and kindness and now only laced with a chilly anger. "Would you like to make an addendum to your plan now, or later, Sir Tactician?" The facade of anger slipped a bit as he added: "Please?"

Kuur Salcair - Encampment Outside Bandit-Raided Town

She had been ready for combat in the first thirty seconds of the announcement, and then the tactician had promptly vanished. The Panoplian archer had made it nearly thirty minutes before she whisper-mumbled some excuse about 'going hunting' at Lilith, and wandered off into the woods with her bow and quiver of arrows, surprisingly stealthily for her large size.

Kuur returned only minutes before the tactician revealed his plot, proudly bearing no less than two rabbits and what appeared to be some sort of weasel, noticeably not lacking any of the perfectly preened arrows in her quiver. She wandered up to the side of the convoy with her prize, proudly showing off her catch with no lack of subtly despite the fact that she wasn't actually speaking; Something that didn't seem to faze her gloating in the slightest.

The archer caught Nickolas' rant in its entirety with an utterly impassive face until he finished, before blinking and turning to face the weaver of strategy. As if in direct contrast to the outburst of the northerner, Kuur simply nodded slowly and tested the draw on her bow, aiming it at the distant image of the town. Her lips twitched up in a self-confident sneer. "...I have no... problems."

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

@Prince of Seraphs

Obvious issues with the scientific premise are rather easily resolved when it is considered that this was penned in 1990, before there was definitive proof that their DNA would and has totally decayed by this time. Secondly, and might I add, most importantly, it's a sci-fi horror novel. There is absolutely nothing not self-consistent in the logic and science introduced in the book. In reference to the frog DNA, this refers to the fact that some species of amphibians are capable of changing their gender when the local environment has a huge disparity between the genders. This is called sequentual hermaphroditism; the most famous species capable of doing this is the clownfish. In the book, because the dinosaurs' genome had decayed at least in part by the time InGen began harvesting it, there were huge gaps in it. There wasn't a way to create an animal from it, so they began filling gaps in wherever they'd fit; they used birds, amphibians, lizards, and basically anything that'd fit.

So, no, these aren't real dinosaurs. They're genetically engineered animals using dinosaur DNA as a base. The method the scientists of Jurassic Park used to control the population was both make sure that the diets of the dinosaurs were controlled so that the only source of lysine on the island came from InGen's food stores, and that every single 'dinosaur' created was female. This is especially easy to do in cold-blooded lizards, as it's simply a matter of what temperature you keep the egg at during its gestation. However, because of this bastardization of the dinosaurs genetic sequence, especially with amphibian DNA, there were unforeseen side effects, the most obvious and relevant to the story being that all of a sudden, most or even all of the species of dinosaur on the island were capable of this sequential hermaphroditism. due to the aforementioned dominance of the female gender. This, in turn allowed aforementioned breeding and the troubles caused by it.

Anything else, Prince?

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

Everything wrong with Jurassic Park is that it isn't the book, which is vastly superior. Although there's not plot holes in that movie so much as there is editing errors and whatnot, given the times.

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

Nickolas Rienbach - Basilmeron Castle Courtyard

Nickolas had just finished taking his last armful of papers to the cart(Nodding agreeably to the massive tactician and his load as he passed by) when he heard the young girl's squeak and the dull thud of his tome impacting the ground. He rapidly snatched up the sickly sweet-smelling Flux tome as he turned around, making his energetic way over to the fallen grimiore and the stuttering girl. He listened with a neutral smile, nodding in understanding at her plight.

"Ah, alright, little miss. I'll just pack it right up." He picked up the tome, dusting it off and placing it next to the mount of papers that made up his contribution to the organized disaster that was the back of the convoy. He returned back to the corner moments later to retrieve the hulking lumpy pack, and hauled it onto his back. He tucked the Flux tome under his arm as he grunted at the sudden change in weight nearly overbalanced him. Slightly panting, he straightened up and proffered his hand toward the cart. "I take it that you're already packed, little miss?"

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

Nickolas Rienbach - Basilmeron Castle Courtyard

"I have the same issue with light and healing magic." He grimaced exaggeratedly, glancing around and spotting the curious wyvern in tandem with his young companion's skittish jump behind him. Nickolas stared at the offending beast thoughtfully before glancing down at the cowering girl. His expression changed back the reassuring grin. "Don't worry, little miss. I'm sure that he's a big softy on the inside, he won't bother you." He winked. "I'll be sure to tell him off if he does." The dark mage stood up at the last call for storage, careful to keep himself between the young girl and the wyvern. He gasped in mock suprise at her stammered question.

"Oh, yes, I nearly forgot! The convoy!" He dusted himself off, glancing around at the collection of people stacking their things inside the covered wagon. "I brought all my research materials down with me, placed them in the corner over there. Don't want anyone to trip on them, would we?" A tall sheaf of papers stood unsteadily in the aforementioned corner, coupled with both tomes that Nickolas could claim ownership of. Beside them, a lumpy pack lay lopsidedly against the tall stone wall of the courtyard, giving off the same musty scent as the one that was near permanently ingrained into the dark mage. Nickolas gestured to them and sheepishly grinned. "Big pile, I know. I might need some help with all of the papers." His pale eyes twinkled. "And I have tome over there that reminds me a lot of you, little miss. Perhaps you'd like to see it?"

He kept his cloak as wide as possible to keep the girl covered from the draconian beast as he wandered over to collect his luggage, leaving the Dying Blaze tome in the area for the nervous mage to grab.

Kuur Salcair - Basilmeron Castle Courtyard

Kuur didn't make another comment to the pirate before he left off, but her eyebrows unknitted halfway through his speech about nationality and remained uncrossed even as he left. She turned back to Lilith as the latter mentioned Panoply's decency in its non-burning state. "Agreed." She pulled out the bow and examined it for imperfections(Which she knew there were none) and prepared to hand it off as the Captain gave his last call for putting stuff in the convoy. The tall woman nodded slowly, still fingering the inlay of her weapon as Lilith walked off. "See you...later."

She had surprisingly little to pack onto the convoy save for extra arrows and blanket dyed in rather rare and expensive colors, along with a small pack containing the barest essentials and tiny trinkets from her home. Once certain that all of her belongings were either on the convoy or on her person, Kuur nodded, seemingly satisfied. She headed off toward the front of the convoy, stretching in preparation of walking alongside the wagon when they set off.

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

Nickolas Rienbach - Basilmeron Castle Courtyard

He started in surprise as the girl's fingers caress the flame and caused it to burst to vivid life with such ferocity that Nickolas immediately glanced at her tome in abject bewilderment, half expect it to be cracked open and actively drawing power. He'd never felt the flames become that intense so quickly before, even with his study of the Dying Blaze tome that he'd recently managed to get his hands on. The dark mage was still staring in amazement as the girl slammed her hand on to her obviously modified tome and shut out the fist-sized inferno with a noticeable pop. Nickolas looked up as the girl began to stammer her apologies.

"No, no, little miss, it's quite alright." The smile that crossed his features was as gentle as the dark mage could make it as he withdrew his hand to examine it for any side-affects of the willful possession of his spell. Finding none, he glanced up again to the stuttering girl and figured his best course of action was to calm her down with some sort of knowledge. He tapped the side of his nose when he was certain he had her attention. "You can usually smell it on the mages, little miss. What their strongest magic is. Lighting mages smell like hot iron, fire mages smell like burnt wood, the ones that deal primarily with stone magic smell like clean dirt, and so on." He chuckled, quite amused by the oxymoronic image that 'clean dirt' created. "I think it has something to do with the tomes, really. Although I don't think I've ever seen someone so talented with fire before."

He chuckled again, although this time he was doing it to hopefully set the girl's mind at ease. "It's a quite a gift, you know, although a bit unrefined. Without a tome, I can only do what amounts to parlor tricks and sleight of hand with any of the elements."

Kuur Salcair - Basilmeron Castle Courtyard

Kuur remained mute for the next few seconds, simply examining the large pirate man's stature for any obvious flaws until Lilith's kindly tone shook her out of her revere. There was an uncomfortable pause as the tall young woman thought about her response in relation to the large pirate man, and would ignore him in kind unless he interjected again. "I meant... the kind of people that... take such good care of their weapons are... rare. I didn't... expect that." She paused again, still watching the axeman warily. "I am from... Panoply. We don't all... want this war."

As the axeman's more direct question came to light, Kuur turned to face him fully, still tensed in preparation for a fight or flight response. "You are... irritatingly dense." Her eyebrows knitted together in a sure sign of her annoyance, although her lilting voice remained as void of emotion as ever. "And...also correct in your... assumptions. Does that mean... you will leave?"

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

Nickolas Rienbach - Basilmeron Castle Courtyard

The dark mage simply sat down so that he was now even lower than head height for the young girl, calmly letting her stutter out the first words he'd heard from the young girl since he'd joined up with the Reclaimers nearly five days prior. He seemed totally at ease with the situation and her two-step retreat, and calmly folded his legs and placed both hands in his lap as pale eyes remained level on the young blonde girl.

"I'm just getting to know everyone, little miss! Don't worry, I don't bite." He chuckled, seemingly amused by his little joke. "Ah, yes, where are my manners? My name is Nickolas. You can call me Nickolas, Nick, or whatever floats your boat." He flashed another smile. "I like to fancy myself a student of all kinds of magic, although sadly enough the nuances of healing magic always evade me." The smile faded into an expression of mock seriousness as his brows furrowed together.

"And let me guess, before you tell me... you're a..." He held up his right hand, palm forward, and theatrically sniffed the air. A moment passed, and then a look of absolute and total concentration crossed the dark mage's features before he snapped his fingers and a tiny flame, no more than an inch in height, hovered a tiny increment above his right thumb. "An anima mage, right? One who deals with fire?"

Kuur Salcair - Basilmeron Castle Courtyard

"Nice to... meet you." Kuur's voice was a bit stronger now, but it was still soft and lilting as she took time to consider each word carefully. Her face was utterly void of any sort of emotion until the mention of her archery was brought up, and a flash of pride caused her lips to twitch up at the edges. "Yes. I am an... archer." She reached behind her to find her bow, made with wood reinforced with iron and stained a dark brown, and simply touched it. "I don't miss... my targets."

She shifted, the slightly smug expression vanishing as if it were simply a mirage in the desert. She made no move to continue that line of comments, despite lovingly stroking the iron inlay of her bow and tracing the well-oiled wood.. Instead, she gestured to the whetstone and the beautifully kept sword that Lilith was sharpening. "You're very careful... with your weapons. I didn't know that people out... here... did that... to-."

The sudden arrival of the pirate, however, seemingly halted all progress the archer had been making with her permanently fouled-up socialization skills. She stopped talking immediately, and instead stepped backward at the rough man's approach, watchful of any sudden movements by one of the most physically imposing men she'd ever seen.

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

It's really no trouble, and honestly most likely my fault. No need to apologize.

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

Lilith Merdox

After the someone spoke up, and the thief made her announcement, everyone got over their initial awkwardness and started conversing. Lilith stayed where she was and made no attempt to talk. She kept her eye on a man whose clothing proclaimed him as a tactician, who was currently talking to each person in turn.

Awhile later, Lilith noticed a woman, almost as tall as she was, trying to creep over quietly. Lilith pretended she didn't notice her until the woman was right in front of her. (^) "Lilith Merdox, I'm a mercenary." She responded, purposely speaking louder than normal, as a contrast to the other's whisper. "So, you're the archer." She stated.

@Crimson Raven

Just wanted to let you know that Kuur is tall as a person, not just as a woman, as she's six foot one. That'd be a bit bigger than even Lilith. However, I noted that I didn't actually put that in the bio, so I've gone ahead and added it now, just to prevent future confusion on anyone's part.