[Tables]
"Let's hope you shape up before the next war, then. Shouldn't be too much of a big deal. Severing spines certianly requires a lot less finnesse than serving food, after all. Unless you're my wife." Matthias chuckles nervously. "How did you acquire this familiar, by the way? We have to earn our contracts with Manifestations. You usually engage in combat, and if it thinks you're good, it offers some terms, which depend on its alignment."
The last battle's curtains will open on stage![Tables]
"Oh, in our world it chooses you. Oftentimes it will attach itself to an object and wait for someone it likes to come by. Occasionally people will find them and haul the object around in an attempt to purposely bring them out for their cause, but it's not very often that these creatures awake."
Wylfing sighs. "The annoying thing is that you can't deny it, you have no choice but to accept it. And it's not like you can try to kill it, even in it's young stage it can defend itself; it's been rumored if it's desperate enough it can attempt mind control."
Phoebus puts down some sort of cheese, "Of course the added bonus of near immortality and a creature no one even want to poke for fear of being killed does tend to balance things out. Hell, your physical capabilities increase as well, Wylfing here can practically fold himself into a pretzel."
He laughs, "It's quite the help in the bedroom."
edited 30th Jul '12 10:48:04 PM by Aqueos
Bet you didn't see that coming[Balcony]
Sanderson grinned, but it was not entirely kind. "People have thought that before. They have been wrong, too. Infantry in some form will be with us as long as we occupy places where only people can go." He shrugged. "Being small has advantages. So does walking. We might cover them with armor or replace humans with biomechanicals, but they're still infantry."
Linna shook her head. "Don't argue tactics with him. It's one of his true passions." Sanderson managed to look hurt, for a moment, but grinned.
Nous restons ici.[Tables]
"Oh, you're a couple? Funny, I thought you were brothers." Matthias props up his head with his arm. His hand smushing his cheek makes him look bored.
Estela sends a grape across the room to sting his face and he sits up.
"Where were we?" He picks up the grape and eats it. "Ah, yes, these familiars. So, they're not all dragons? And do they have a special name or class for people like you? Do you form part of an aristocracy?" The kid probably has some ultra-idealistic sense of social justice and all that delightful, dramatic sort of thing.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!Hors D’Oeuvres
Guinevere jumped a little when she heard the voice. She looked around, trying to see who it was that was trying to talk to her this time. Then it occurred to her that the voice hadn't been a sound; rather a thought - one that wasn't her own doing.
Am I hearing things?
The answer to that proved to be "no" when she noticed the falcon sitting on the table in front of her. She hadn't seen anything like it back in Briton; not even as an Uffern-spawn. While its appearance wasn't particularly scary on its own (she'd seen things much nastier, courtesy of Uffern and its Lords), but the way it talked, and the fact that it could talk for that matter, was making her rather nervous. She glanced back at Estela and Caer, hoping that one of the two could explain this.
Caer was about to bring up another subject when she noticed Guinevere's glance. "What's up, Gwinny? It looks like something's bothering you, and I rarely see you get flustered." Guinevere motioned towards the falcon, bringing it to Caer's attention.
Caer looked it over, her facial expression remaining neutral, before turning back to Guinevere. "You seem to be particularly good at attracting unusual conversation partners, aren't you?"
Icon by Civvi the Civilian![[Tables]]
Wylfing can't help but be slightly amused, that wife of Matthias's appeared to be trying to keep him awake.
"Well, as a whole we're called the blessed, which I suppose is quite the fitting name. At one point we did form an aristocracy of sorts, but things have fallen apart on that front. The king tried to kill off familiars, and the blessed out of desperation went to the elves and demanded their aid. He was a tad insane, it's said his familiar and him didn't agree, and hence he began his crusade. Killing all familiars seemed a bit much though"
Wylfing felt a bit odd explaining the story, the time he'd first been told it by an elf he'd felt like a small child, and he almost felt like he was forced into an elvish storytime. They got really uppity, he hoped he wouldn't be like that after another two hundred years or so.
"Of course their aid was using a ritual to basically have people and their familiar be reborn as a single elf wiped of memory, in fact occasionally the elves even siphoned of magic potential and gave it to some of their own people. I'm about the only human blessed left." He picks up a sushi roll and examines it, glistening roe adorns its upper surface. He's clearly done for the moment.
Phoebus continues. "The last generation of blessed did become quite corrupt and take over the government. It was inevitable I suppose, they're not all obnoxiously powerful, but still no ordinary person can really hope to fight against one. As for familiar form, neither of us have really seen any, but from what I found in the royal library, it appears generally they either take the form of a dragon, a pheonix, a griffon, or no extra form at all. They're true form tends to be a manifestation of the soul of the user. It's an odd sight. From what I found,it also seems that the dragon is the most crptic, and the soul is practically capable of synching with the user."
He chuckles a little, "Still though, you aren't the first people to think we're brothers, we fooled the elves and the resistance for quite a while. Well until they walked in on at least, and then literally tossed us out for their joining ceremony with no explanation. Odd creatures elves, you'd think they'd explain to foreigners but nope, you've gone beyond the first kiss you must be joined in partnership and life forever. Supposedly I've gotten immortality from that through Wylfing and his familiar, but we've yet to see."
Wylfing shudders, "Still though, that was really really scary, you're hurled outside naked, the elves magically bind you down, keep away your familiar, and enter some ritual. I really didn't want to reboot my life."
edited 30th Jul '12 11:36:46 PM by Aqueos
Bet you didn't see that coming"I was made for such a position," Kazue said, "well, I should clarify that I was made for the security forces, but of course also displayed high aptitude, leadership, and tactical sense in order to become the leader."
"I lead the wolf squad teams as our main security force, and while so far our jobs have been pretty uneventful, I expect this to change dramatically once we discover faster-than-light travel," Kazue said, "but it's mostly been training exercises so far, as there's only a few thousand individuals to protect and monitor, and they're surprisingly well-behaved. Sayori's pranks notwithstanding."
I guess I might have forgotten to mention, but Charles and Kazue should both look approximately in their 20's.
Daniel looked on at Kazue in confusion. He didn't quite understand how travelling faster than light would change anything, nor did he know how fast light travelled, or even that light travelled at all. He was under the impression that light arrived instantaneously with the sun and the moon. With this new information in hand, he wondered whether Sunlight travels faster than Moonlight. But that was a question for another time.
"Who's Sayori? Is she here with you?"
20 is still young for that post, right?
edited 31st Jul '12 1:27:15 AM by Elfhunter
If I knew how I know everything I know, I'd only be able to know half as much because my brain would be clogged up with where I know it from[Dining hall, Standing to hors d’oeuvres]
The two of them returned to the hall just as the light was beginning to fade behind them, and Lauchlan was somewhat distressed to find that none of the tables were completely empty and no one seemed to be ordering.
Corbin noticed this also, and frowned in annoyance. He did not feel like sitting down with any of his previous conversation partners.
"You know, I never did grab any of those apple things, after all that mess," Lauchlan muttered.
Corbin chuckled, quietly and started walking to the table of hors d’oeuvres again.
"Come on then, we may as well."
The two of them arrived and Lauchlan was quick to find some of his favourite cinnamon apples, which the chef had cored and stuffed with sweet dates, which were impossible to find at home.
Corbin was busy picking out something that he himself liked when Lauchlan spotted the girl. She had the ears and what seemed to be the tail of an animal. He gawped openly and convinced that it must be some kind of trick or a costume, but then the tail twitched and the ears swiveled in response to her conversation and Lauchlan felt about ready to fall over.
"Lauchlan, now is not a good time to catch flies" Corbin hissed.
Lauchlan snapped his jaw shut quickly and looked at his shoes, ashamedly trying to reel is shock back in. OK, so in some places there are women who sleep openly with one another, and in other places the people have the ears of animals. I'm sure it must be perfectly normal wherever she's from. Lauchlan thought, distracting himself by biting into his apple.
edited 31st Jul '12 6:58:33 AM by Lockedbox
Colin shrugged. "And I know pretty much nothing about tactics, so..." He laughed. "You probably have a bit of a leg up on me in that department. And I'm fine with that; let the people who are good with tactics do tactics, and let me do the stuff I'm good at."
He paused for a moment. Just how had they gotten to this subject? He thought back, attempting to follow the train of conversation, but it meandered quite a bit and he soon lost it. Colin wondered how many conversations went this way; yeah, most were straightforward, but still, they had started with bionics and now were on infantry with no definite middle ground.
"So you're a soldier," Colin said to Sanderson, "and you're a stockbroker," he said to Linna. "Just how did you two meet? It seems a bit weird to me that people with two different jobs like that can meet. But, like I said, I'm not a social person, so maybe that's more normal than I'm thinking." He frowned. "Actually, it might be, given what some of my friends are like."
"No, she's not here. We decided not to bring her along as there's no way (I can conceive) of her actually being able to stand still for longer than five minutes without making a scene," Kazue said, "she's another hybrid-human, like me, cat-type. Her position is ... I guess 'fun coordinator'? I don't think she really has any official position."
Somebody else is gaping at me now too, Kazue thought, noticing Lauchlan and glancing over at him. I'm not sure if I should be happy about this or not...
Oh, absolutely - she's like the head of the police/secret service. Also, Daniel asks about Sayori, but not about Kazue's 'made for this position' comment? :P
In other news, feel free to barge in, Lockedbox. :P
Daniel followed Kazue's gaze which were now set on a man standing at one end of the table enjoying an apple. It didn't look like she knew him, and the latter appeared to be averting his eyes. Was there something going on between these two?
I was trying to keep the conversation away from my verse, since pursuing that point would lead Daniel to talk about chimeras, or even himself. That's right, Daniel was 'made' too :P
that's your cue Locked Box :D
If I knew how I know everything I know, I'd only be able to know half as much because my brain would be clogged up with where I know it from[Balcony]
Linna smiled faintly. "He wasn't always a soldier. Micheal here," the use of Sanderson's first name, unlike nearly everyone else, "used to drive a K-Eleven suit for the Advanced Police. I suppose it would be easiest to describe them as part Robot Crimes and part Special Weapons And Tactics. But they only had ten suits to cover one of the largest cities in the world, the deployment schedule was high..."
"We got torn to shreds over time." Sanderson was direct, resigned. "I came in with the first group of ten. Six months later we'd lost thirty-four people. I was the only person from groups one and two left, and default leader of the K-suits. That kind of thing results in mild fame. And it makes a great addition to your resume when someone wants to build improved models of K-suit, so USSD hired me for just that. I was out of town for a few years, but Linna still recognized me when I came back."
Linna grinned and put an arm around Sanderson's shoulders, though not without trying a little bit due to a noticeable height difference. "And he's a lot more fun than the usual salaryman types I go out with. Even if he's not officially Captain yet."
"Acting Captain." Sanderson said. "Brevet rank. I don't have the time-in-grade yet for the real thing."
edited 31st Jul '12 11:51:54 AM by Night
Nous restons ici.Corbin noticed Lauchlan's guilty expression a mile off, and sighed exasperatedly. If he had his way he would just ignore whoever it was that he insulted and get on with things, but knowing Lauchlan, he would spend the rest of the evening guilty and sulking until he plucked up the nerve to apologize.
"I'm sorry about him, This is Lauchlan, and he's rather easily shocked" Corbin said, deciding to bite the bullet for once. "and to play the devils advocate you do look like something out of a side show" He muttered, intending the last few words to be for his own ears only.
Lauchlan spluttered in surprise as Corbin thrust him into the spotlight, but he managed to eke out a suitable apology none the less, hoping that the strange animal girl and her companion didn't have short tempers.
sorry I took so long, I fell asleep before I saw the posts
edited 31st Jul '12 6:48:47 PM by Lockedbox
[Tables]
"Hmph. I think you need to stay away from these elves if possible. They sound horrible." Matthias tries a sushi roll. Hm. Delicious.
"And the king. You, er, got rid of him, right? He doesn't sound nice either. He sounds a bit like Lord Pallone, actually. The human's Republic performs twisted experiments on magic users? Guess we'd better kill off the entire race!"
[Hors d'oeurves]
"Oh. That's Tempest." Estela pats the falcon's beak and it nibbles affectionately. Although its body doesn't seem solid, her fingers don't pass through it. "My Manifestation companion. She won't harm anyone I don't want her to. I think she was worried you were bored, Guinevere."
<Indeed.> Tempest begins preening herself.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!"Don't worry about it. I do seem to be the only hybrid-human around here, and while they're quite common where I'm from, I suppose we might not exist where you live?" Kazue said to Lauchlan and Corbin.
"Kazue Kuroki of New Humanity at your service," she said.
@Elfhunter about Daniel: Figures. :P
"Okay, now that is strange," Charles said, as he and Nati stared at the empty floor where the Regent had previously been. He waved his hands around her previous location, finding nothing but thin air, and said, "I could've sworn there was an alien here a minute ago..."
<Cause unknown, but a local disruption in space-time seems likely, as I am currently reading nothing in this location,> Nati sent to Charles, <either that, or an extremely sophisticated cloaking device.>
<Okay... what now?> he sent back, <Oh, wait - it looks like Kazue's found some people to talk to, let's see what's up with her.>
The two of them then began walking towards Kazue's group.
Description of Charles and Nati: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13430846260A37289100&page=3#71
- they're approaching but haven't announced themselves yet.
edited 31st Jul '12 7:30:44 PM by Sonzai
[Dining Hall]
Nick grabbed another potato, before he and Adam went back to their table.
"I wanna check out the balcony after this." Adam said, "It'll kill some time before the main event."
"Good idea." Nick said, his mouth stuffed, "Just let me finish this and we'll be set."
Adam shrugged, before getting up and walking away. "I'll meet you in the hall."
[[Tables]]
Wylfing leans a bit towards Matthias, "The elves are in many ways the greatest of creatures, their dedication to nature is simply awe inspiring. Individually they're not much stronger than a human, and they're about on the level of a human blessed when it comes to everything else.... I'm not at full strength yet, but I can at least show you some of what they're capable off."
He nonchalantly takes an empty plate, it had been by Phoebus, and throws it in the air, rotating as if it was a flipped coin. As it descends towards Wylfing he lifts his hands, and on the way down he strikes the plate in synchronicity so rapidly it retains its position; his hands and the plate making an almost indistinguishable blur. After a few second he lets it fall another inch before striking it with finger tips in the almost perfect center, and it flips almost straight up into the air. It flips back down and he stops it with magic an inch from the table, a foot or so from where he had originally gotten it.
He continues as if nothing has happened. "The elves are master craftsmen if they choose to actually take resources from nature, it's very rare any of their goods are originally elven made, the have a tendency to use things humans have already "defiled" as they say it, things they can't return to the wild anymore. All considering what they make is quite amazing. A few of the elves will dare to use new materials, but it's frowned upon. We'd rather not deal with them, but.... well it's inevitable."
He sighs.
"They'll do anything for mother nature, no matter how horrific; hell half the reason they participated in the war and helped me at all was just for the sake of "snuffing out a few more polluting humans." Sure they don't want to mess with me, but if anything I'm mostly intimidating and surprisingly insignificant."
Phoebus finishes off a deviled egg. "Their nature magic is fascinating however, you haven't seen a siege until you've seen a stone wall cracked open by nothing but a bunch of weeds. Hell, you haven't seen magic until you've seen them turn a smoking crater into a meadow."
Bet you didn't see that comingHors D'Oeuvres
Guinevere looked back at Tempest, then back at Estela. Her facial expression looked very confused. Had she been able to talk, she would have said something along the lines of "Um...."
Caer didn't look quite so flustered. "Manifestation?" she asked.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!"No definitely not. I've never even seen a regular wolf yet alone... well, I doubt there's anyplace quite like yours, that much I will say." said Lauchlan, barely stopping himself from saying something truly unfortunate. The woman's features where distracting, and he had to stop himself from staring impolitely. It wasn't just her ears either; she was freakishly tall for a woman, and having to actually look upwards to chat with here was somewhat of a novelty.
"In case you haven't noticed, Lauchlan here doesn't find the time to get out much," quipped Corbin, chuckling at Lauchlan's naivety. He may not be an expert, but he doubted Kazue's kind where particularly rare in the grand scheme of things.
"And this, is my friend Corbin," said Lauchlan, keenly embarrassed. He'd argue the point, but Corbin was speaking the truth, if a rather poorly worded truth.
Corbin gave an empty grin and nodded in a lazy greeting.
"So, do I want to know what happened to the old humanity?" Corbin asked, somewhat tactlessly.
I know you've explained it already and you don't have to do it again, but this is all I think Corbin would say in this situation
edited 31st Jul '12 8:29:25 PM by Lockedbox
"Well, I didn't exactly come completely alone," Kazue said, motioning to Charles and Nati.
"Charles, pleasure to meet you, and this is Nati, my personal assistant," Charles said to the group.
"But as for what happened to the 'old' humanity..." Kazue said, trailing off slightly, "there was a disaster, about 40 years ago, where all civilization, and virtually all life was wiped clean from Earth and the inner solar system. We don't know who or what did it, or even why. Whatever it was, it was far beyond any technology or power I've seen. And it's my job to ensure it doesn't happen again."
"It's a long shot, but I don't suppose any of you have seen or heard of anything like that, have you?" Charles said.
It's really not a problem. :P Just have everyone act in character, and you'll be fine.
edited 31st Jul '12 9:09:59 PM by Sonzai
"Not on my side, at least," Daniel answered the man who had just entered the conversation. "The Purge came pretty close, but even that was just mass genocide by really strong beings. Anyway, that was well before my time."
"By the way, Daniel Harper of Gaia," he extended a hand in Laughlan and Corbin's direction, "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself before, I didn't want to interrupt your conversation."
Just woke up :D, let's start the three way...conversation
If I knew how I know everything I know, I'd only be able to know half as much because my brain would be clogged up with where I know it from"Interesting," said Colin, nodding. "One of my best friends is a possibly-insane vigilante." He grinned. "If nothing else, life certainly never gets boring around him, let me tell you."
He paused for a moment, tapping his fingers. They'd probably want to know about the "why" or "how", but was it a good idea to tell them? Sure, it didn't look like anyone else from his world was here, but Jonathan always got a little touchy about his past, and Colin didn't want to betray his trust. At the same time, though, how would he find out? And would he even mind? He had been opening up a little more recently.
In the end, Colin decided to go ahead. "Long story, but I'll file it down as best I can. About twelve years ago, a demon took control of the government. Jonathan was in a failed rebellion and got captured and punished. Now he wants revenge, and his path intersected with that of another friend of mine. That's where we met." He shrugged. "Kinda simple, really."
[Tables]
"I would advise you to be a little more respectuful of nature as a race, and not just to make peace with them. It will do you all good in the long run. I hope I don't end up being too overbearing about giving advice. Ever since I had children, it's become a sort of instinct."
Matthias picks up the plate and rubs his thumb on the edge. "Even in my world, it's easier to work magic associated with something you love or seems to correlate with your personality. I'm not surprised by the elves' skill with the things you describe."
The plate becomes a heap of white powder. He idly traces a spiral in it. "Porcelain is made of minerals. From the earth. The Fenrir family has been closer to nature than any other of the Vesper nobles, thanks to our relationship with the Wolfram." The powder slowly rises and reshapes itself into a small statue of a howling wolf, which slowly solidifies. "I could reshape metal and rock and rock just as easily. But plants live and breathe. I don't quite have that connection. My sister does. The Threads move more easily for those who can truly overcome our body's limits and sense them."
[Hors d'oeurves]
<My brethren and I are fusions of free energy and still-bound energy recently released from a freshly dead fleshling.> Tempest speaks to both Caer and Guinevere now. <I give Estela certain advantages in using magic. In return, she lets me tether myself to her body, allowing me to exist. Existing is actually quite nice, you see. Estela is lucky. Most of my brethren are much more demanding.>
edited 31st Jul '12 10:04:18 PM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!

"Head of security, huh?" said Daniel, attempting to change the direction of the conversation. "It's a pretty big post for someone so young. Tell me more about how got to you position."
If I knew how I know everything I know, I'd only be able to know half as much because my brain would be clogged up with where I know it from