There be Humans Coming!!! (ATTN Patrick O'Conner)

[Dyste]

A few weeks ago, the princess of Dyste visited the lands of Patrick O'Conner. The large dragonlike species were strangers to these human lands, but over time, they had found surprising common ground and were impressed with how accepting they were of their differences. During that time, Princess Tynah and her 'bodyguard' Dame Lavian Luminus partook in a hunt alongside the colonel the nation had been renamed to. At one moment, the Royal Knight mentioned to the colonel that they may be capable of healing his wounded leg and eye. At the same time, Tynah's husband, the Sage Axi-aru Angelus, had discussed with President General Marai Overhill over sending weapons technology to the island nation, building factories and sending trainers to teach the military to use such devices,in exchange for them as allies. These two plans converged, leading to a diplomatic outing for the colonel.

Airship Royal Docks
Castle Dyste
The Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

Castle Dyste lay due north of the capital city of Valitora, the City of Life. With the increased amount of airships came a need for a place to land them, in particular due to the king himself having his own luxury liner craft. As such, a docking bay had been built a short distance away from the main structure, able to support over a dozen of the crafts at once.

While the cargo would be shipped by sea and arrive in the Undellah Docks, the delegation would be arriving by air. As such, their hosts were waiting at the docks. Princess Tynah was there, of course, alongside Axi-aru and Guts, the young battle warg she had brought home from her visit. "Axi," the black-scaled, burly princess spoke to her golden-scaled, rotund husband, "Do you know where Lavian is? I thought she would be with us..."

The Sage let out a yawn, "Last I heard, my dear, she was assigned by Commander Kel to oversee the cargo ships arriving. She will most likely be joining us later on."

"Oh, right..." Tynah shook her head; she would've normally among that group, but due to her role in the events, she was instead given this assignment. "Are you certain I can do this? I know I was able to do this on their lands, but now I am representing my own country at home, what if I cannot..."

"Well, well, and here I thought you had gotten over her fears of diplomacy. Good thing I am here." Arriving at the docks was a Draconid who bore a striking resemblance to the princess, and for good reason. All Draconids were large, but he was the largest one yet, about half a foot taller than the princess and bulkier as well. While he had put on weight since his active days as an adventurer, his muscles still were prominent on his figure. "I hoped you would gain more confidence on your trip, but I do understand if you wish to let me handle affairs..."

Tynah seemed flustered by this, "N-no, Father, I wish to stay. We can do this together, if that is alright with you." She knew that eventually she might need to take on more diplomatic duties. She was over five hundred, she needed to take some more responsibility as a princess, at least according to her father... not to mention her mother, husband, brother and sisters, fellow knights, the general public...

The king nodded. Looking behind him, a pair of armored individuals entered the room. One was wearing golden armor, and was shorter but more stout, while the other wore black, and more lanky (granted, by human standards they were both large). "Lord Tyroth," the gold-armored soldier spoke to the king, "We have confirmation that our guests are arriving soon."

"Thank you, Lissah," Tyroth replied, "Well, Tynah, looks like you will see if you are ready for this. After all, you wish to prove us wrong, right? GHAHAHA!" In truth, he was fine with taking the lead on this one - meeting foreign dignitaries was one of my main duties as king - but if for whatever reason he was not able to continue his duties, Tynah would be queen. He needed to be sure she was capable of it...

[Patrick OConner]

50,000 feet
Above Catlse Dyste
Bridge of Air Battleship TRNS Georgia

The bridge is calm but busy as sailors move from station to station and strap themselves in at their stations Standing in the middle of it all with arms folded behind his back is the captain of the ship. In front of him is the control for maneuvering the ship which are currently manned by senior enlisted personal. The captain of the ship is a tall man that is thin. His face and demeanor projects the classical air of an officer and a gentleman from his cap to his boots. Everything is is in its place and nothing out of it. He is in command no matter the situation.
Sky Captain Richard Bernard was somewhat miffed today. Standing to next to him ,on his bridge no less, was Colonel Patrick O'Conner. O'Conner was the leader of this diplomatic mission and as such Captain Bernard was subordinate to him. This did not bother him so much as the stupid jarhead being on his bridge during the upcoming maneuvers. Especially when all the others were safely secured else where on the ship but they had already had this argument and Captain Bernard was not winning. His stubbornness lives up to the legend...At least he is standing back just watching. Which the Colonel was. He was watching most unexpectedly like so child back home waiting for the movie to start.
Captain Bernard coughs to clear his throat then speaks in a soft voice that still carries the iron ring of command.
"Commader are we ready?" He says addresses XO the sitting in a station besides him
"Aye aye sir all stations report in and ready sir"
"Signal the bucket heads. Clear to drop."
"Aye aye sir" The XO presses a button which activates the intercom to the MASH trooper bay.
"You are clear to drop"

Inside the cavernous room cranes, tool and all manner of things needed to work on suits is everywhere. From the ceiling hang the Mobile Assault Suits Hardened. The bulky eight and half feet tall massive war machines hang from racks and rails. Further up and back in a separate compartment is the control room which also functions as the command center for drops. Today it to is busy and bustling as outside cranes move suits around to there drop mechanisms. Standing in the middle of this controlled chaos is Lt. Colonel Eva Killgore. She is tall as well, and not just for a woman but men as well. Her blonde hair has been buzzed short and her blue eyes are intelligent and piercing. She looks like an ancient Amazon warrior that stepped out from the pages of legend. The intercom kicks on and the XO's voice comes through
"You are clear to drop"
Lt. Col. Killgore nods and turns to her troops.
"Commence drop" her voice comes out in a husky contralto.
The men and women nod and start pressing button on their control consoles and chatter picks up.
"Whiskey, Bartender you are clear to drop"
"Whiskey six roger"
In the bay the suits hanging from the ceiling start to move along the rails. Outside the ship ports open up and rails move out and the suit travel along the rails then stop. Then the clamps release them and the suits plummet earthward.

Back in the control room, LT. Col. Killgore watches on a massive screen as the troopers plummet down. The radio chatter picks up dramatically.
"Whiskey 2-3 back off coming in too hot."
"Whiskey 3-4 drifting off target correct 30 degrees roll left"
And the chatter goes on as such. LT. Col. Killgore grunts in satisfaction though, as the troops are all pros and quickly correct. It is what she had come to expect from the 1st Mobile Infantry Regiment, she had nothing to worry about as her capable staff handled everything. Today's show would be great training.

As the MASH troopers plummet downward at ever increasing speed, the landing packs on the back activate. A small set of wings pops to help steer. Soon the burst out of the cloud layer and start to maneuver across the sky in what look like evasion patterns. White trails of cloud form behind the troopers. As they approach the ground parachutes pop out and rockets fire as the men land on the dock in front of the king and company. All of them immdentaily salute the assembled party. In the sky there white smoke trails had formed the words "We are glad to be here".

Back on the ship Captain Bernard watches the drop on a display as well. He nods as everything is within parameters allowed. He looks up and issues another order
"Rig ship for crash dive."
XO nods and begins barking out orders as well, though since this was planned most things have already been done.
Captain Bernard looks over at Colonel O'Conner and coughs to get his attention. O'Conner look up from the same display that Captain Bernard was using to watch the drop
"Colonel, you might want to secure yourself. We are about to crash dive."
"Captain for this mission it is just Mr. or Ambassador"
"Aye aye sir" Captain Benerad says with just a touch of sarcasm.
O'Conner nods and walks over to a spare chair and straps himself into it. Captain Bernard Does the same though his is the captain's chair and a bit nicer that O'Conner's which is just a spare one on the bridge for enlisted personal to use. Captain Bernard issues another order
"Begin crash dive" and a alarm start blaring through out the ship.
And the ship lurches downward as it dives. The ship dives downward at a shallow angle heading for the docks and it soon breaks through the clouds as well. The dive steepens and picks up more and more speed. The ship comes in low and as the wind whistles through and around the various exposed metal bits the ships starts to sing. A harmony build and builds until it reaches a crescendo that all can heard for miles and miles around. The ship comes in low and fast but as it approaches the docks it quickly slows as the massive turbine keeping it up go to emergency power until it is at a dead stop perfect distance from the docks. A gang plank is lowered and an honor guard of more MASH troopers march out in suits. All of them are clean and spotless and bright white. And down the ramp strolls O'Conner is a nice comfortable suit and tie instead of the usual dress uniform. It is an odd match given the eye patch and heavily scarred face making him look more like a villian from a british spy movie. Following him is his wife, Rosa O'Conner, who is in charge of the tech team. She is short at 5 foot 2 inches and her red hair, which is long, spills down her back like a waterfall. She is dressed appropriately in a green dress ans flats. And behind her is Captain Bernard and LT COL Killgore both in dress uniforms and display an appropriate amount of medals and ribbons. And following them up is yet another member and this one not human. It is Holo the warg. A massive 650 pound brownish golden wolf. The only reason she is present is because it is nearly impossible to contain her and she will be damned if she is going to be exasperated from O'Conner.
O'Conner is smiling because who would not be after that thrilling entrance? He strides up to King Tyroth and Princess Tynah and smiles at them in a truly genuine one that somehow does not twist his scares to make his face even more gruesome .
"Good day, King Tyroth and Princess Tyna. I must say it is a lovely day and I am actually glad to be here. Let me introduce some people to you all."
He motions to the short (only 5' 2") woman by his side
"This is my wife Mrs. Rosa O'Conner, is heading up the science and tech team."
He motions to the other two
"That is Sky Captain Richard Bernard and Lt. Colonel Eva Killgore. They are in charge of ship and ground team respectively."

[Dyste]

The Dystans were treated to quite the show. Most of them were all too familiar with the style of making a good entrance, seeing as their king was fond of doing so when visiting a foreign land. After the MASH Troopers landed, Tynah looked up with amazement, "Quite wonderful work! It must have taken you lots of training to get that right..." she noticed that on the other side, 'And we are glad to have you as our guests' was written opposite it, "Axi, nobody likes a showoff." Just because her husband could replicate the feat did not diminish it in any way in her eyes. If anything, it impressed her how they managed to make such a display without resorting to the arcane arts.

Than came the ship's descent. At first, Axi-aru was about to put up a barrier in case things turned out bad, but Tyroth held a hand in front of him, "If they did not know what they were doing, they would not do it. Give them a little more faith." The king's judgment was correct in this regard, as they safely stopped in spite of the speedy descent. Not a bad airship,, the king thought to himself. Their own airships were not build for battle, but he could see the merits of it. Perhaps one of the things they would talk about.

After allowing O'Conner to introduce everyone, Tyroth responded in turn, his booming voice carrying past them to everyone present, "Patrick, Rosa, Richard, and Eva, hm? To you and everyone else here today, as King of Dyste, I welcome you to the island monarchy of Dyste. I am Tyroth Blackfang, but I feel that most of you knew that already. Likewise, I presume most of you already know of my dearest daughter Tynah, and of her husband, the Sage of Dreams, Axi-aru Angelus." Gesturing behind him to the two armored soldiers before him, "These are my bodyguards, Lissah Bonecrusher and Buckler, or 'Bucky'. Granted, someone like myself hardly needs protection, GHAHAHA!"

Tynah had a big grin on her face when she saw O'Conner, and Holo behind him, "Hi, Colonel! I see you brought Holo with you. Sorry Lavian is not here right now, she is assigned to the Undellah team at the moment. She told me she will be coming with... er, whoever it was she said she was going to introduce you to, I forget who..." Lavian had promised to have O'Conner meet with her mentor in healing magic back during their visit.

Lissah, on the other hand, was more interested in the MASH. Talking off her helmet, the troops could she she had green skin, short black hair, and green fangs. At seven feet tall, she was actually shorter than the Draconids and Bucky, but taller than most of the humans. "Killgore, right?" she addressed the Lt. Colonel; guess she wasn't the only one with a threatening last name. "I've got to say, those suits are quite something. This thing I'm wearing is no slouch, but it's not easy to make. But you've got to have lots of suits and the people needed to use 'em. I suppose you have a role in training them?" Bucky, on the other hand, remained perfectly still and silent, not even acknowledging the new arrivals. "Don't be too put off by him," Lissah remarked, "He's... not your average soldier, as you'll see later."

Tyroth, meanwhile, addressed not a specific person, but the group in general, "Now, I do not know about all of you, but when I reach a nation from a long trip, the first thing I like to do is to have a good meal. If you please, I would like to treat you all to one in our Great Hall, where we can start our talks; Commander Darkfire and our Head of Research should be there as well. If there are any allergies or requests, I shall make sure the kitchen staff is notified." Turning around, he headed towards the main castle; even if they were not hungry, he was hoping a more relaxed atmosphere would allow for better relations between them.

[Patrick OConner]

Kingdom of Dyste
Docks at Castle Dyste

O"Conner bows to the king and Princess and Sage each in tern as they are introduced.
"Princess Tynah it is great to see you and Guts as well. I will want to Guts later to make sure he is alright. Please do not call me Colonel. I left my rank back home. please call me Mr. or Ambassador for this diplomatic mission. Or maybe Doctor if you wish. I did earn a doctorate a while back. it was in mechanical engineering, but I have not been called that so it might get a bit confusing. As you can see I am not in uniform...and that does feel quite right to me honestly." Rosa snorts next to him and speaks up
"You even complain about the dress uniform, honey. You hate to dress up period."
"True and you hate to leave the lab. Only reason I got you to come was the prospect of magic"
"Yes of course. The chance to study this phenomenon known as magic and to learn from it. Maybe to even apply it to some of our technology. It was a very exciting prospect to say the least."
"That and you were stuck on your reaction-less drive."
"I was not stuck...merely thinking about it for an extended period of time."
"Sure my sweet sure."
O'Conner chuckles to himself.
"Oh I am sorry I need to mention this. The MASH troopers will be serving as bodyguards for me and all the other people involved in this mission. I hope that this is not too much of a disappointment or an issue. This was decided by the President General herself."
O'Conner manages to somehow look apologetic and it really does not suit him. O"Conner grunted in amusement at the kings comment about body guards.
"I objected as well to having guards as well, but I was overruled in that matter."
When the orgess know as Lissah walked up and started to admire, for there was no other word one might give the way she looked at the suits. Lt. Col. Killgore stepped up to her and smiled or tried too. It came across somewhat frosty.
"Yes. Lt. Col. if you please Miss Bonecrusher...I take it that named was earned? Mine is a family name. And yes. These suits are quite something. They are the pinnacle of the nation's technology just like the air battleship we came in. We do have many of them. Enough for a whole regiment here with us. And 7 more regiments back home. Each one is attached to an air battleship so they can be move around fast and hit hard. You can count on these suits to be at the forefront of any military campaign. They are tough, fast and pack a hellavu punch. Only downside is that they are complex and expensive...Actually I do not partake in training them. We have other people that train the men who operate the suits and others that train those who fix them. Your friend seems awfully quite... Is he some kind of machine? A robot I think."
O'Conner smiled at the mention of food.
"Ah yes, a meal sounds great. I have been couped up on that ship for a while with only ship board food to eat. Not that good in all honesty I have been craving meat really. A good steak would be much appreciated. That and a good scotch."
"Patrick. The last thing you need to do is get drunk and cause an incident"
"When have I-"
"Last week you started a bar fight and single handedly trashed the bar and beat up at least a squads worth of soldiers."
"Hey I did not start that..bunch of young airborne snobs did. Showed them what a marine can do."
Rosa rolls her eyes and looks to the king "Yes Your Majesty, a meal would be nice. Please lead the way."
"I hope is is okay if Holo comes along. We can not lock her up honestly. She just break out and she is well behaved I swear."
As the group walks follows the king. The a squad MASH troopers fall in behind the group. Captain Bernard walks up beside the king
"I saw you looking at ship, your highness, I can arrage a tour if you so desire...Oh and please call Captain Bernard, Sky Captain if we are being formal."

[Dyste]

Tynah chuckled over the O'Conner's bantering, reminding her of her own parents. "Well, I suppose if I must, I guess Ambassador or Doctor is fine. And I was hoping you would be willing to help out with Guts, and Lavian's warg while we are doing it." She was certain they were treating them fine, but it was always good to get a second opinion. "Combining magic with technology? Hm... I think I recall hearing about that..."

"You are thinking about 'Magitek', my dear," Axi-aru chimed in, "It is a field that we still have much to discover in. Recently, a human created a device that allows for lightning magic to be converted to electricity to power various devices. We could always use more assistance in the matter, if you are interested."

Lissah sighed, not at all surprised Killgore thought her name was earned. "Actually, Ms. Lt. Colonel, 'Bonecrusher' is legitimately my birth-given surname. Yes, I know, really. Which is why I prefer Lissah, or 'Dame' if we must be formal." 'Sir' or 'Dame' were given to members of the Royal Knights, which Lissah technically did belong to, even if most people often forgot she was due to not having the same duties as most members did. "But anyways, those seem quite impressive. But you're wondering about Bucky here, right? He's what's known as a 'Shield Guardian'. See, when His Majesty was part of an adventuring party, one of our members designed two of them for protection, Buckler and Sheldon. They aren't like robots who use technology, but are magically-animated constructs, controlled by an amulet His Majesty wears. Compared to normal soldiers they have their upsides and downsides, but I don't think they could ever truly replace a living being on the battlefield." Both of the shield guardians has been damaged and repaired multiple times over the years, though neither were worse for wear.

Tyroth was very accepting of the accommodations the guests needed, "Trust me, I know what is like to have more protection than I need. My wife is very insistent on the matter, considering how often I travel. And Holo is fine, I think I might even have a friend for her." While they were walking, Captain Bernard caught up to the king; not a difficult task, as Draconids were not known to be fast walkers. "Oh, a tour of the ship? That would be nice, after the meal. At some point I may get to show you my own ship, even if it more of a luxury cruiser. And regarding formality... personally, I find that up to the individual. If you wish to be called 'Sky Captain', that is fine. In my case, 'Your Majesty' or 'Sire' would be the most formal, though 'King Tyroth' or 'Lord Tyorth' is fine. Honestly, a lot of my subjects simply call me 'Tyroth'!" His name did mean 'Mighty Lord', so it was hardly disrespectful.

Great Hall
Castle Dyste
Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

The Great Hall was the main dining chamber of the castle, where the king and queen ate their meals with staff and guests. In the back was a table with a silver and gold throne, with enough spots for the major guests and their hosts, with other tables set up for the troops. A circular table was in the middle, currently holding drinks such as wines, soft drinks and juices. A kobold wearing a chef hat brought out some scotch, evidently just getting the news about the Colonel's favourite drink.

When they arrived, a handful of people were waiting for them. One, a Dark Draconid, spoke to Tyroth for a few moments, and was given instructions on the food for the chefs, to which he departed the room. Another was a Fire Draconid with blood-red scales standing by the side of the table at the back, with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. His right eye had a scar over it, as did his chest, though the eye itself still seemed to be functional. Sitting by the table on the back, in the silver throne next to the golden one, was a silver-scaled Ice Draconid, who looked at the guests with a calm look on her face, while a shorter green-scaled Wind Draconid sat nearby, his eyes closed as if in a trance. Some other Draconids sat beside some of the other tables, giving the soldiers someone to converse with. And if one looked closely, a large black wolf was sitting near the main table as well.

Tyroth led them to the main table, in order to introduce some of the people present, starting with the Fire Draconid, "This jolly fellow here is our Knight Commander, Sir Kel Darkfire. Now, do not take his scowl to mean he is in a bad mood, though it is fairly likely he is..."

"I AM in a good mood, Sire," Commander Darkfire responded, "Not that you would know how I feel either way." That said, he did look over O'Conner, noting his eye injury. He certainly could relate to that one...

Tyroth merely shrugged it off, "The one who has his eyes shut, that is our very own Prime Minister, Zihark Jemson, also known as the Sage of Truth. I figured he should be present for this meeting, if he has anything to contribute."

"There is much I can do for my nation," the Sage said, still not opening his eyes, "And as for you, Patrick O'Conner, it seems Lavian was correct, that can be healed. I happen to know the Healer she wants to use very well, considering he is my foster father and all..."

Tyroth, again, shook it off, "Best not to ask how he can do that for now. And speaking of Sages, here we have our Sage of Life, not to mention the Queen of Dyste, my wife and mother of my children, my dearest Sarisa." While saying this, the king took the opportunity to get around the table and sit on the golden throne next to his wife, their daughter taking a seat across from them.

Compared to her husband's booming, boisterous tone, Sarisa's voice was more calm and reserved, "On behalf of our people, I welcome you all to Dyste. I had made sure to set up this feast in the Great Hall due to my husband's propensity for them. His waistline is probably is a result of this tradition."

Tyroth grinned, "What can I say, I enjoy foreign policy over a nice meal. Anyways, our meals will be arriving in just a few minutes, so perhaps we can start the diplomacy talks?"

While they were talking, the large wolf was joined by Guts, who appeared to have a fondness for her. The wolf, whose eyes were blank white voids, appeared to be capable of following the speech of the people, and also had some curiosity towards Holo. She thought that perhaps this species may share her own gift...

[Patrick OConner]

Great Hall
Castle Dyste
Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

O'Conner nods at Tynah.
"Of course that is why I am also here. I must teach you things like how to make a tack, shoot, service a rifle and care for your warg. Oh and teach you how to ride as well. I got a few things for that. It should be...fun" O'Conner gleams with a mischievous light.
"As for the guards, I am glad you understand. I was somewhat offended when the President General told me about them. Like I of all people need protection. But I guess all the others need it as well. I can not be everywhere at once."
O'Conner had been eaves dropping in on the conversation Captain Bernard had been having with Tyroth and he made several mental notes as well as some thoughts of his own. This is going to work out just fine. He thought as he took the scotch from the kobold and nodded his thanks to it. O'Conner's good eye darted around the room noting, with a habitual nature, entrances, exits, and the beings in the room. His eye darted to the recently introduced Knight Commander Darkfire.Military man. Wounded as well. Took it to the face too I see. Surly..we are going to get along great. Then to the Prime Minister. O'Conner regarded him levelly. Neat trick knowing who I am with out opening his eyes. Must be magic because no tech here. And finally the queen was introduced -Dignified Intelligent...reminds me of Rosa.
"Well I came here partly hoping that was true, but forgive me if I do not get my hopes up to high. They have been dashed too many times back home, but I cannot wait to meet this Healer."
As O'Conner was speaking the MASH troopers split up and marched over to the entrances and stood there. Their face plates stare blankly out and betraying nothing. With the guards in position the O'Conner, Rosa, Captain Bernard and Lt. Col. Killgore took their seats at the table.
"Before we continue Tyroth" O'Conner worked his mouth around the name "Something I wish to bring up. Back home titles are important...well let me rephrase that earned titles are important. Such as military rank, Dr., and the like. For example let us take Sky Captain Richard Bernard here." The captain looks up and look of worry briefly crosses his face. One can never tell with O'Conner what he is going to do next.
"His rank of captain was hard earned through years of service since he started as an enlisted and worked his way up to command. Now the other part of his rank. 'Sky' That is something very very special. It is granted only to the captains who command a ship with word 'air' in the class title, i.e. air battleships or air carries. We only have 12 such ships in total. And those commands only go to the best and most able officers. So as you can see Captain Bernard is one of the best officers in the Navy. Earning your way, sweat of the brow, whatever you wish to call it. Rising on your own merits is a huge part of our culture and as such things attached to it are very important to us, such as rank and honorifics. Part of the reason we have a hard time monarchies and such. The concept of inherited titles is foreign to us, but hard work, family, friends, and honor. Those are things we understand"

The Lt Col continued her conversation with Lissah once she had taken a seat at the table near her. Her metals jingled a little bit as she sat and her uniform tried to crease but she quickly corrected it.
"So basically he is a magical robot. That is interesting. And your armor is like our suits as well, I assume? Designed to enhance your combat capabilities? Very useful. noticed that the suit is pristine...have you used it any? Ours get used quite a bit honestly. Recently my regiment dealt with some pirates that were harassing our merchant ships. Best part about ours is they are based from a flying battleship so they can move fast."
Killgore paused for a minute to remove a bit of fluff that had settled on her shoulder.
"Only thing I do not like is having to work with the Navy sometimes. Bit of an inter service rivalry, but Captain Bernard is the best, otherwise he would not have command of an air battleship...So Bonecrusher is a family name eh?"
Eva chuckles softly
"Not bad really, though i bet you can back it up eh? I can back mine up. Had to really. the military is still very much a boys club but I proved that a woman can hang with the big boys...and beat most of them as well to get this command post."

Holo eyed the large black wolf with curiosity. She cocked her head to the side as she padded over to it. It was of course smaller than here but the timber warg is the second largest species. She padded over to the black wolf and Guts and sniffed at the wolf. Then she looked into its eyes . They were blank voids to Holo's red intelligent gleaming ones. The black wolf was clearly not a threat but what was it? It was no normal beast but something else and something more. Holo chuffed at the beast attempting to speak with it.

As all of these other things are occuring O'Conner leans forward with a smile on his face.
"Finally we can get down to the meat of the conversation. In the ships that came by sea, I believe it was 10 extremely large merchant ships and at least 3 military transports, and assorted escorts to protect them. On board those ships are basically ready to go factories to produce things like, guns and artillery. We also have plenty of weapons made back home and brought here as well. Plus, trainers to teach your people how to use them. Oh and we also brought a few of our construction regiments to install the equipment. They will want to get started as soon as possible and I would advise staying out of their way. Once they get started they just keep going until they are done. Also Tech teams to help desgin things like airplanes and tanks if your people so desire them. Most of that side will run itself leaving me free to discuss other issues with you Tyroth and possibly train you daughter so she does not injure herself attempting to ride a battlewarg for the first time."

[Dyste]

Great Hall
Castle Dyste
Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

Tyroth listened to O'Conner's explanation about titles to some interest, "I understand how you feel. Titles can be a badge of honour for many people. However, know this about me; I did not inherit my title of king, I earned it. I was raised in a mercenary camp, spent a lot of my youth as muscle for them, and became and adventurer after parting ways with them. It was through my work uniting my people that I was given the honour of being called their king." Tales and records of Tyroth's exploits could easily be found in the nation, and they would get several opportunities to learn more. "And if one of my offspring desire to be the monarch some day, they will most certainly have to earn the trust of our people in order to have that right. Either way, anyone with the title of 'Sage' have spent a long time to earn that status. The youngest Sage in Dyste is Zihark here, and he is in his third century of life. So, they too deserve respect for that. So yes, I may be a king, but I do respect earning status. I love my family, and could always use more friends. Hard work? Well, kobolds are well-known for that, but as far as myself? Depends on who you ask, GHAHAHA!"

"A Healer is our equivalent to a medical doctor," Kel spoke up "So I think that is worthy of respect as well. And Ambassador, if you are worried about the healing... I am not sure how you received those wounds, but I once got my arm sliced off, and a Healer was able to reattach it and make it work fine. The scar across my eye? I would've been blind in that eye were it not for healing magic. I have been injured in the line of duty... more times than I would care to count, to be honest, but I am still on active duty to this day thanks to them." His scars could've been fully healed away as well, but he chose to keep them as a reminder of those times.

Lissah beamed at Killgore's praise of her armor, "Ah, this old thing? Yeah, it's magically enhanced. It enhances my strength even more than it already is, and is so protective most weapons just bounce off it. And it may look pristine, but it's actually been around since before your great-great-grandparents were born. It just is another magic effect Jarl put on it. And yeah, I know, I'm old and all. Orcs don't usually live this long, but I'm not your average orc. And in spite of my age, I'm still as strong as I ever was!" She grabbed her axe and swung it at Bucky, causing a large hole in its side. "Not bad, huh? ... oh, sorry, I forgot, you wouldn't know..." the damage Lissah did to the Shield Guardian began fixing itself. "Yeah, he self heals. Another neat trick Jarl put into him. I have no idea how he managed that one... but anyways, enough of that..." she recalled the Lt. Colonel mentioning having to deal with struggles in the military, "Most people here won't understand the struggle you had to do - Dyste's military has had gender equality since the beginning - but I do. Where I grew up, they saw women as just things to have sex with and raise children. I wasn't even allowed to fight until I managed to steal an axe from the camp. Don't miss that life one bit."

Tynah patted the wolf on the head as she sat down, "Aww, Mishera, you got a new friend there?" Mishera, for her part, didn't seem to mind the affection. "She is the reason I was so interested in wargs, actually; we have been close for a long time. Of course, she is hardly your average wolf and all... not by a long shot." Mishera, meanwhile, looked back at Holo. It had been a long time since she had been able to talk to a human, lacking the vocal chords and all, but animals were a different story. She let out a soft bark; she was intending to greet Holo, to show that she meant no harm, to try and befriend her. She wasn't sure how well she would respond, but she could defend herself if necessary. That said, it had been a while since she had someone to talk to...

Tyroth was about to respond, but then looked at the door to the side, "Speaking of meat..." he saw kobolds laying out several dishes on the tables, many of of which was meat (kobolds being carnivores certainly helped with that). The food was laid out like a buffet, allowing anyone to take any food they wished. Rather unsurprisingly, Tyroth had the largest amount of food on his plate, but most of the Draconids had large portions. "Well, all of that sounds fine, Ambassador, I would not wish to get int their way. Our Head of R&D will probably wish to help out, but feel free to wait until after things are set up before letting him in. So, as far as you go, feel free to train my daughter, not to mention the healing treatments. With regards to our other guests, I do hope we can find things to occupy their time..."

"Well, I imagine there is at least one person who wishes to learn about magic," Sarisa spoke up, which Tyroth took as an opportunity to dig into his own food, "We have several facilities regarding the study of magic. The largest is the Jarlsberg Institute in Calberona, and Valitora has the Royal Magic Academy, which I founded. Of course, Axi-aru, Zihark and I are all masters of magic - that is what 'Sage' means, mind you - so we of course can help in those endeavors. With regards to those who are not here for that... well, just ask and we can find something for you, I ensure you of that."

[Patrick OConner]

Great Hall
Castle Dyste
Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

O'Conner smiles broadly
"Ah some common ground. A place we can build on. So earned your title as king huh? Interesting. I would like to here more. Sounds like an interesting tale fit for the legends of old. And I know as well. I have had subordinates question my work ethic too...all because I like to sleep in my hammock during the day. Especially around in the afternoon."
O'Conner shrugs
"But What can I say, It is warmest around that time and as too how I was injured. That is a rather interesting yet mundane tale I can regale with if you so desire, but it is nothing really- omph" His wife elbowed him in the side.
"Do not listen too my husband In one of his rare moments of modesty. The tale is incredible and one that is known through out our nation and is what solidified his reputation. It is nothing short of incredible"
"Sweety you know that I do not like-" O'Conner stops as his wife gives him a side ways glare.
"Since he clearly wont tell you I will. The short version of it is that he lost the leg and eye in a secret attack during the Civil War. He and about 120 others attacked a secret military base to destroy weapons of mass destruction stored their. If those weapons had come into play, we would have lost a million died. Unfortunately the base was heavily defended and someone warned them ahead of time. Half of the team died and only a quarter were fit for service and that was after 6 months of recovery time. My husband was one of the wounded. He was injured by a booby trap but after patching up his wounds he continued to fight. They say that he used a piece of burning metal to cauterized his leg wound and then duct taped a piece of steel to the stump and then bandaged his face."
O'Conner looks down and sighs then looks back up to his wife.
"Yes I did all that but, it is in the past."
"If you want the full story you are going to have to pry it out of him" Rosa goes on to say "But it is going to cost you a few bottles of good scotch or whiskey. Only thing better known is his drinking habits. I swear you drive me crazy. Now what is this I hear about a head of R&D? And learning magic? I want to meet him and learn magic. The whole concept fascinates me and I can not wait to get to work as well. I hate it when my mind is idle."
"I do too cause then you drive me crazy" O'Conner mumbles to himself "anyway, I can not wait to meet these healers an as you can see i have a little more than just an arm removed."

Lt. Col. Killgore listens intently to what Lissah has to say. She picks up on the mention of strength and smiles to herself.
"You need to have a sparing match with one of the instructors. Sergeant Major Brandon Freeman. He is part of the marksmanship team. He is an expert with a machine gun but is the strongest person in the armed forces. I would pay good money to watch him go toe to toe with an orgess like you. You suit is rally that old? Impressive ours can not last that long. I think the service life is twenty years? not 3 or 4 generations."
She watches Lissah swing the axe and take chunk out of Bucky...and then it start to fix himself. She raises an eyebrow at that.
"Self repair capabilities? Really impressive. I will have to show you what our suits can do sometime."

Holo walks over and keeps talking to the other wolf. The other one seemed friendly enough and Holo liked to make friends. Holo had hoped that by coming with master to this new and exciting place that she could make more freinds...and maybe find some new things to chase and eat. Holo walked All the way over and looked down at the new wolf and then she caught the smell of food. She turned around and barked.

As the kobolds brought out the food Holo barked and it was loud as expected.
"Yeah yeah you fat sack of fuzz I know I know." O'Conner picked a plate off the table loaded with food and slid it over to the warg you started to eat from it.
"What a spoiled warg. I am surprised you even still know how to hunt." Holo looks up breifly and glares at O'Conner but it is a token one and she goes back to eaten as O'Conner chuckled.
"Sweet thing." O'Conner took his plate and started digging into it as well with gusto and Killgore. Captain Bernard and Rosa both ate with far more manners.
"This is wonderful. What is it?" asks Rosa.

[Dyste]

Tyroth was all too happy to share some stories about his past, though he felt O'Conner would need to know the basics first, "Well, I headed an adventuring party known as the Black Fangs. Out of the core members, four happen to be here today; there is me, of course. Kel and Lissah both served, albeit not at the same time," Kel had left them to focus on building Dyste's military, leaving the then newcomer Lissah to fill in his spot, "And Mishera here as well." He gave the wolf a scratch behind the ears, which she enjoyed immensely, rubbing her head against the king. "You can probably tell she is not your average wolf. Well, going into that would be a story onto itself, but just know that she is as intelligent as any one of us, and while she does respond well to affection, she is not a pet, she is a friend."

After listening the the abridged version of the Colonel's story, Sarisa spoke up, "Sounds like you are as stubborn in battle as Tyroth or Kel are. In this case, it is an admirable trait to have." She could sympathize with Rosa's desire to learn, being an avid learner herself. "Well, first off, I should clarify that the R&D head is not a magic user himself, though he is skilled in making Magitek devices with the aid of a Mage. If you want to learn about magic, that is the duty of a Sage like myself. Perhaps this might be to your interest..." she summoned a book, seemingly out of nothing, and handed it to Rosa. It was a leather tome, with 'THE BASICS OF SPELLWEAVING, BY SARISA CRESCENT' emblazoned on the cover. "That is the first book I ever wrote, I made it as a guide for aspiring Mages. I do not expect you to understand everything in it right away, but it is a good place to start."

"Oh, this armor is full of neat tricks," Lissah smiled, tapping the belt. All of the armor aside from the belt itself disappeared, leaving the Orcess with just the padded clothing she wore underneath. It was now quite evident that the armor in no way made her look more buff than she actually was; she genuinely was a powerhouse. Lissah was built like a champion weightlifter, stout in the torso, with limbs like tree trunks. "Pretty neat, hm? Makes it far easier to take off. But if this Sgt. Major Freeman is as good as you say, it's certainly someone I want to meet." Tapping the belt again, the armor around her chest and legs appeared again, though she left her arms and head be uncovered for the time being. "By the way... I understand you might not know the difference, but I am an orcess, not an ogress. An ogress would be a female ogre, and those are nasty, brutish things, unpleasant to look at or be with. An orcess is a female orc; we're more like you humans, just a bit bigger, green, and with two tusks on our lower jaw." Lissah had the tusks two, albeit filed down a bit. "And while not all of us are nice people, that's the case with a lot of species. There's lots of us who can be really charming and friendly; whether I fall into this is up to people to decide, but the fact that I'm a paladin has to count for something, right?"

Tynah herself was taking some of the food to Mishera, who was, no pun intended, wolfing it down. She did wish to spend more time with Holo, but figured that waiting until after they were finished eating would be better. "The meat is from a type of animal known as an auroch," she responded to Rosa's question. "Think of it as similar to cattle, but larger. It is one of our favourites here! So, Col- er, Ambassador... I will get in touch with Lavian after the meal, and she can grab the Healer. She did tell you that it may take quite a while to complete, right? You need not worry about being without anything to do; I shall be with you throughout your recovery!" Whether that would be considered a good or bad thing was up to the individual.

[Patrick OConner]

O'Conner nodded " I was somewhat aware of your long history thanks to your daughter. I think we can swap stories later though I think that we will have to make it 5 to 1 since you have lived so much longer than me. I am only 42 and you are much older than that."
O'Conner eyed Mishera and noted the eyes. They intrigued him because they were different and clearly marked it as something special.
"Yes I noted your friend as I am sure you noted mine" O"Conner waves vaguely at Holo " It is the same situation with her. She is a warg, not just a giant wolf. I told you daughters about then. Bigger, stronger. faster, and much much smarter. Rule one of training a warg is 'they are friends not animals.' I have seen what happens to those who abuse a warg. It is not pretty."

Rosa took the book and tried to contain her excitement. Both at the conjuring of the book and the book itself.
"Thank you so much, though I doubt i will have trouble understanding it." She resisted the urge to read it right here at the table, and it was hard. "I can not wait to read it and learn about magic from a Sage. Your R&D head still sounds interesting. He sounds smart and capable to say the least."

Eva Killgore was fascinated by the magic armor Lissah
"This stuff is incredible. We do not anything close to this...Yes Sgt. Major Freeman is someone you want to meet. He is like you. Big strong and capable. Just go easy on him if you too spar. Last thing we need is to break buildings and walls. I am really and sorry for calling you the wrong thing." Killgore shrugs cause her medals to jiggle again "I honestly did not know the difference but I will remember it now"

"Oh" Rosa says "They sound interesing. We brought some cultural stuff from home with us as well to share with you all as well"

[Dyste]

Tyroth grinned at O'Conner's suggestion, "Well, if we truly made it equal to our difference in age, we would have to make it closer to 20 to 1, GHAHAHA! But, I would hardly get to hear any of yours stories in that case, so 5 to 1 seems fine by me." He patted Mishera on the head, "I am hardly surprised that her eyes stand out to you. She was actually born and spent about a century of life living underground, so that affected her sight. Not that she is blind or anything; on the contrary, she probably overall has better sight than we do. She had to get adjusted to the surface light, but thankfully Jarl made some glasses to help her with that. I wonder if he could have also helped with her current predicament..."

While her father was talking, Tynah had called over a small winged reptile, about the size of a house cat, and handed it a roll of parchment. The reptile flew out of the room. Noticing that their guests looking at the messenger as it flew out, "Oh, that was my message to Lavian. I did say I was going to get her to come with the Healer, right?"

Axi-aru, having laid down on his side on one of the seats, opened an eye, "I think they were more wanting to know about the wind drake, my dear." he said, before seemingly going back to sleep.

"Right, right... that was one of the four drakes our nation has. They are quite intelligent themselves, able to always find their way around and really fast fliers, faster than we are! Wind drakes are very docile creatures, and to be honest, I was worried how Guts would react to them, but he appears to be fine with them!" Guts, for his part, seemed to not really notice the little reptile flying out, being more concerned with his food. "Sometimes I wish I could know what he is thinking."

"I know Mishera can converse with them, but there is the issues of us talking to her. But anyways," the king looked towards Rosa, "I would be interested in seeing said 'cultural stuff', especially if it includes some foreign food. At my age, finding new dishes becomes increasingly hard..."

Lissah patted Kilgore on the shoulder, "No problem, you were willing to admit you made an error, and I can't really blame you for not knowing. But yeah, sounds like Freeman is someone I could have lots of fun with. With the way you speak of him, I kind of wonder if he's single!" The Orcess laughed; she wasn't looking for a long-term relationship at this point in her life, her abnormal age for an orc plus her duties made it hard to commit. "But enough of that, I'm wanting to know a bit more about you. Like these medals; we don't really get these in Dyste, since His Majesty usually gifts great achievements in the military with different rewards. I'd imagine that you have some claims to fame in your own right to have earned those."

Queen Sarisa appreciated Rosa's willingness to learn, "That is a good first step; willingness to learn and an open mind are two of the most important aspects of learning. I may offer some guidance myself, though direct teaching from me may be limited, due to my role as Queen. I know Axi-aru can do it if I cannot," gesturing to Tynah's husband, "He may seem laid-back and mellow, but he is a teacher at the academy." She realized Rosa was eager to also meet their head of R&D, "Well, before you meet him, there are some things you might need to know..."

While they were talking, another figure entered the room, covered in black soot. Oddly enough, he appeared to be human. "Hey, sorry I'm late an' all, but the bloody machine won't act right! But did I hear someone calling my name?"

"No," Sarisa said, shaking her head, "Nobody called your name. I WAS telling them about you and your work, but I thought you were going to meet us later..."

"Ah,to heck with that," the newcomer remarked, wiping the soot off his coat. With a better look at him, he wore a brown coat, had short orange hair, and wore goggles. "They didn't let me stay, so I figured I'd test out my teleportation device out. Missed my mark a few times, maybe caused some minor damage, but nothing we can't fix!" Noticing the visitors, he got excited, running up to the head table. "Don't get to see many humans around these parts. James Tinker, Head of Research and Development. Sorry if I don't shake your hands, I'm kinda worried I might go teleporting off again." He tapped part of his coat, revealing some kind of control panel. After a few button presses, the coat appeared to be cleaning off the soot on its own.

[Patrick OConner]

Great Hall
Castle Dyste
Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

O"Conner laughs with Tyroth at his joke
"Maybe Tyroth maybe but I do have quite a few stories myself. I managed to get around in my time"
"And get into a lot of trouble." Rosa adds
O'Conner smiles at Rosa remark and listen about the drakes. He seems curious about Guts.
"Hmmm Interesting. Back home wargs actually prey on the drakon back home...I am going to be don a full medical examine of Guts and Terror later of course. Right now I am not sure what that means. Could be that he just is not interested in them." O'Conner snorted "You will be able to sort of eventually."
Rosa shakes her head at O'Conner. Her husband was always aware about things like that.
"As for the cultural stuff. We brought food, animals and many other thing from home."
"Like guns, swords, armor, art, things like that." O'Conner adds "I think you will like most of it especially you Tynah"
Rosa turned to Sarisa "I am always willing to learn. There are always new things to see and explore. Part of the reason I became a scientist. I wanted to learn more and more. Once we think we know it all we have closed ourselves off from everything else. Doing so is the height of folly. I have met a few fellow academics that thought as such. Always arrogant bastards. I cannot wait to see what you have to teach me Axi-aru."
"She might even teach you a few things in the process."

Killgore smiles at Lissah relieved that she let her slip go so easily.
"Yeah. Last I heard he was single and I bet he would not mind getting to know you. Espically since he is going to be teaching you how to use a gun. Oh these?" Killgore says motioning to her medals. "These are nothing really. You should see the Colonel- sorry Ambassador O'Conner. He is covered in them. But if you really want to know most of the ribbons here are qualification on various things, the parachute means I am qualified to jump out of planes and the knights helmet means I am Mobile Suit qualified. The rifle on blue field means I have been in combat. The symbol on my sleeve is for my rank and the medals are for various campaign i have participated in. Some of them go all the way back to the Civil War." then she points to the medal dangling from her neck on a blood red ribbon. It is a simple cross with a V in the middle and under neath it is a set of crossed swords. "This is a special medal. It is the Senatorial Medal for Valor with Crossed Swords. This is the nation highest award for courage above and beyond the call of duty. The crossed swords mean I earned over again."

The black soot covered figure entered the room and the MASH reaction was immediate. Four of them brought up there 50 caliber miniguns and aimed them right at him. Killgore spun around her seat and stared at him. O'Conner turned and looked at him and smiled. He seemed rather calm for a man who was half a second away from becoming paste. He quickly explained himself
"It is alright. He is the genius man we heard about." The suits lowered there guns and relaxed.
Rosa turns and looks the man up and down and cocks her head to the side.
"So you are the famous James Tinker I have heard about. Interesting I am Rosa Franklin O'Conner and I will be working with you...Teleportation you said? How did you manage to stabilize quantum tunneling on a macro scale if I may ask?"

[Dyste]

Great Hall
Castle Dyste
Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

The royals took quite a interest in seeing the things their guests brought with them. "Ohhhh, new weapons?" Tynah perked up at that one in particular. "I love trying out new weapons! Every year I try to master at least one new weapon. It becomes harder every year to find new things to master. Father loves weapons as well, though I think he shall like the food most of all." Upon being asked about doing a checkup on Guts and Terror, she nodded. "Yes, that might be a good idea. The first time he saw a Wind Drake, he tried to follow it, but it flew too fast for him. Water Drakes are primarily found in the sea, so he has not come up close to one, and Earth Drakes burrowed when he got too close. I have yet to have Guts meet a Fire Drake yet, that is the encounter I worry about the most. Fortunately, they are the most rare of the four, so it has not come up yet. That said, all four have a bit in common with our own kind, so maybe that had something to do with this?"

"And I, for one, commend your way of thinking," Axi-aru lifted up his head; apparently in spite of looking asleep, he was paying attention to Rosa after all. "You shall find that study magic is not all that different from studying science, based on what humans tell me when they learn. You just need to be open to different ideas. Though I must warn you: magic is not just something one can suddenly do overnight. Many of us devote our whole lives just to being better at spellweaving. Not all Sages are Draconids, but even then, almost all of them are from species with longer lifespans than your own. However, if you simply wish to be able to study magic, even use some spells on a basic, I believe that can be done during the time you are here. I presume you shall be staying with your husband during his healing?"

Lissah, meanwhile, was looking over Killgore's medals, "Ah, so you fought in that Civil War, hm?" Tynah had already informed them of the Civil War among other things, so Lissah did not need to ask what it was about. "I've been in service since before Dyste had a proper military in place. Kel was the King's bodyguard before I came along, so he didn't really have time to help shape it. Good thing I took over that role, even if I got it by defeating him and coming close to killing the king before I got recruited." The orcess grinned; she actually was a bit lucky in that situation, as they were exhausted just recently finished another quest at the time she ambushed them, thinking them monsters terrorizing a local village. Turned out Tyroth and Kel actually stopped the real monster before she encountered them! "Ah, but there I go again, sorry. It seems quite evident that you've certainly earned your rank, Lt. Colonel. Even if the Ambassador has more, it does not diminish your own accomplishments. Commander Darkfire and I used to have a rivalry for who was the best, but we did realize that we each had our own strengths and achievements. Even if I'm stronger in a straight fight, he's a better troop leader, for instance. Likewise, it's not the amount of medals, but what they mean that is important."

The only Dystan who seemed at all on edge regarding James's sudden appearance was Kel, who had drawn his halberd before realizing who it was. Even in that brief moment, one could see the polearm glowing red, as if empowered by some force. "Even by accident, the proper place for teleportation in the castle is the courtyard or the teleportation chamber. Be more careful to adhere to that next time."

"Right, right, ya big red bag of scales, no need t'tell me twice," James sat down at the table after the soot had been cleared. Kel scowled, though that did seem to be his default expression, so one could not tell if he felt insulted, annoyed, or indifferent to that remark. "Ah, nice t'meet you, Rosa. Glad t'see someone with a good lot of sense here. Anyways, I basically condensed the energy our scaly friends here use t'teleport all round the place. Seems strange at first glance, but it's the same sorta thing I did to use their Lightning Magic to power electronics, or how I used ice magic t'make a whole place snow in the bleedin' summer! Seriously, I've only been in Dyste for a few years now, and already I'm findin' ways to let nonmages do things like magic!"

"Of course," Sarisa interjected, "The notes of Jarlsberg Thaumsmith did help with your research quite a bit; I bet you would not find some resources that like back in Great Corneria. Be grateful Lord Walz gave you permission to use them. Speaking of him, I wonder why he did not decide to show up..."

Tyroth shrugged, "Knowing Cori, he felt like a billionare playboy-philanthropist would not fit in well with military types. But either way, we finished our meal, so can we see these cultural things you brought, or were they with the cargo transports? If so, I suppose we can see the ship while we wait for the healer to arrive..."

[Patrick OConner]

Great Hall
Castle Dyste
Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

O'Conner smiles now
"We brought weapons and armor. Most of it older stuff like swords and axes you are all familiar with but also we brought some guns. Most of the modern that have been made up to look nice. And they are all scaled, pardon the pun, to fit beings of your size. Though I would suggest taking the training course that the instructors have prepared for you military as they can kill if mishandled but that is true for many things. But that is only a limited selection . We have art, animals and food as well."
O'Conner snorts at the thought of a warg trying to take a bite out of a fire drake.
"Yes, having a warg catch a fire drake would be a bad thing. Just wait for him to get bigger though. I have seen what a full grown battlewarg can do. It is not something to sneeze at so to speak. Though I will want to begin teaching anyone who wants to ride or keep one as soon as possible."

Rosa looks over at Axi-run, still some what baffled by his misleading appearance of being asleep.
"I have devoted my life to science and the pursuit of knowledge, magic shall be no different. Actually it will since I will be starting from nothing but you get my piont. Yes, I would very much love to study magic in any way I can...Yes I will be staying with my husband can you think of a reason for me not to?" Rosa turned and listen to Tinker about how he had accomplished teleportation. She mumble something to herself about quantum mechanics and special fields before snorting at his mention of no magic.
"Back home we do not have magic. We do everything with science those suits'-Rosa gestures toward them-"the ship that brought us, our weapons, our healthcare. Everything we built was without the aid of magic. Why to refer back to the ship, I am sure that you Mr. Tinker could spend a life time on it and be content to try and unravel all of its mysteries. Thoguh am not sure any one mortal could unravel all of them in a life time. You should came a visit out universities and labs back home. I think you would have a ball."

"Yes I fought in the Civil War. It was nasty and brutal even worse than some parts of the Rebellion,which was another internal war fought a few years later. I doubt, in all honesty of course, that you have an idea of about how bad it got. I say this simply because as far as I know such information has not been communicated to dyste or any one affiliated with dyste. I can tell you about it later but I must warn you. It is pretty nasty all around"
Lt. Col. Killgore stopped and thought about what Lisah hadsaid.
"Wait so you have been in the military for over 5 centuries!?!?! That is incredible.The amount of experience you have. The collected knowledge and wisdom." Eva is now a bit in awe of the orcess but she quickly moved on as well
"Yes I am aware of that. The ambassador even gave me some of these medals. And i think he had a hand in promoting me and getting me my current command. The guy before me was a political appointment that was forced through at the time. He was incompetent to say the least and got himself kill so after he took command." Killgore shakes her head.
"How I am still not sure because the suits are tough and they were just fighting pirates, but I digress. Yes I am aware of the meaning behind the medals. A few carry more weight than the others I suppose."

O'Conner chuckled at the mention of the missing guest
"Yes, I have been told that I can be a little abrasive at times."- this gets a collective snort from the entire delegation present-"but yes a portion of the stuff is onboard the ship I arrived in but most is with the cargo ships. Yes, I think a tour and short flight on board the Georgia is appropriate. Lets go."
And with that O'Conner stands up and leads the group including guards back tot he ship. Captain Bernard is glad to see his ship and quickly boards first to make some preparations. O'Conner stops a the foot of the gang plank though and turns to speak to the draconids
"Now before we board I feel that there are something I must tell you. First this is a working warship. A such certain areas will be off limits for a variety of reason ranging from top secret to because it is very dangerous there. So if a member of the crew asks you to not go there, It will be a very good idea to listen. Second thing is that he ship was built with humans in mind only. So if you can adjust you sizes according that would be great otherwise quit a few places are going to be off limits because of size restrictions. Any questions?"

[Dyste]

James adjusted his goggles; when they were over his eyes, they were opaque, making it unclear if he could actually see with them on, or helping with his vision was even the point. "Yeah, science lets us do a lot of things that people hundreds of years ago would consider magical. And yeah, I know I only have a limited time to research it all, unless I figure out some way to upload myself into a computer, but that seems like a far-off dream..."

Lissah was hardly squeamish or frightened when it came to war stories, but figured that right now was not the right time to discuss it in detail. "In fairness, most of my career hasn't been in the military itself per se, as I'm really more of a bodyguard than a soldier, but I have done my fair share of fighting on the frontlines." Hearing about Eva's old commander, she sighed, "Yeah, I'm all too familiar with those types. Luckily we don't have that so much in Dyste - you wanna be a Royal Knight, you gotta be good enough to get it - but during our adventures, we had to deal with incompetent foreign military leaders all too often. One of them I even had to personally kill, since it was either that or his entire battalion was going to be wiped out for no reason. Not something I take joy in, but when they say paladins are always 'lawful good', there's a time when you need to determine which of the two is more important."

Of the Dystans, Tyroth, Tynah, Kel, Lissah, James and a handful of kobolds decided to see what the airship was like. James, of course, was human and therefore obviously had no size issues, the kobolds were even shorter than the humans were, and while Lissah was taller than any of their guests she was still shorter than the Draconids by about three feet. So, only three of them needed a way to change their size.

Kel snorted, and used magic to make himself about half his normal size. Tyroth, on the other hand, took a different approach; with a puff of smoke, the king was gone, and in his place was a well-built human with auburn hair and wearing noble's clothing the same colour as the Royal Family's scales. "Pretty nifty, right? I used this to blend into human settlements during my travels. I do not have access to many of my abilities in this form, but do not think I am helpless either..." he looked towards his daughter, who seemed worried. "Oh, is something the matter, Tynah?"

Tynah looked around a bit, and sighed, "Daddy, you do know that I am not particularly skilled at this sort of spell..." and with another puff of smoke, the large form of Tynah disappeared, and in her place was a Wind Drake, again with that particular scale pattern. She sat on her father's shoulder, with a frown on her face.

Tyroth patted the drake that was his daughter on the head, "Oops, I forgot; while she can retain her intellect in that form, her vocal chords are not as sophisticated as ours. While I think of a form more suitable, you can proceed with the tour, if you please."

[Patrick OConner]

Airship Royal Docks
Castle Dyste
TRNS Georgia


O'Conner looks over the lot impressed and grateful that they could do this as well other wise it would have been a short tour. O'Conner looked them over again and then stopped on Tynah and a smile creases his face.
"I did not know that Princess Goldy Locks- sorry I mean Princess Tynah could turn into a frankly adorable creature." O'Conner turns around and heads up the gang plank as his wife moans at his comment . At the top of the gang plank a Navy Officer is waiting for the group. He is short and stocky with a protruding brow and heavy eyebrows. His eyes are dark and deep set. He is very well muscled and they seem to even bulge under the uniform. In short, he looks like a barbarian crammed into a navy uniform. He looks like he belongs on some long forgotten battlefield with an axe in his hand cleaving enemies in half. He nods to the MASH troopers and they are dismissed. They turn and head aft.
"I do not think we need them here Ambassador. It would be unwise for anything to befall anyone here...Sorry I am Commander Briggs XO, that means second in command, of the TRNS Georgia. She is the finest ship in the fleet and I hope you do enjoy the tour. For your information certain areas will be off limits. Anything labeled in red is off limits automatically off limits, black and yellow as well. If there is a area designated green stand there because those are safe areas, meaning you can stand there and not worry about losing your head. Also stay close to me please. Last thing we need is a distinguished person to die." Commander Briggs smiles but it does not reach his eyes.
"If you all will come this way we can begin.I thought we would start in one of the main turrets." Briggs opens a hatchway on the side of one of the massive main turrets.
"The Georgia class air battleship has a fully loaded displacement of over 130,000 tons. The primary weapons are the 9 mark IIIb heavy rail guns mounted in triple in three turrets, two fore and one aft. With a 20 inch bore each shell weighs over 2 tons. The shells can he hurled at several times the speed of sound at a rate of 5 per minute. These are not actually the biggest ones. The largest as the Mark IIIa 32 inch guns."
As the group filled inside, as Briggs gave his speech one thing dominates the room. The massive breach of the a single main gun. The area around it is painted bright red. In front of the breach is a massive hatch in the floor that is marked red as well. Hoists are overhead clearly meant to help move the shells and make repairs.
"As you can see the the turrets are heavily compartmentalize and heavily armored." Commander Briggs turns and leads the group out the same hatch way.
"The other primary weapon is the Arrow class cruise missile. unfortunately I cannot take you to see those but those are the hatches over there." Briggs motions to several very large metal hatches outlined in red.
"Those have been declared off limits and are currently classified. As well as the engine rooms and power rooms. Sorry but both of those are just too dangerous and too secret as well. But I can take you to the MASH Bay."
Briggs turns around and leads them through another hatchway while explaining over his shoulder.
"These ships were designed with a very unique feature in mind. To be able to drop a full regiment of Mobile Assault Suits Harden. Those were the suits seen earlier. And Lt. Colonel Killgore is he commander by the way. And to be able to support them for upwards of 6 months of continues combat operation." Briggs takes a left then right then goes down a ladder moving at a brisk pace through the ship's passageways "the ships is equipped to drop them as you saw earlier. We can drop the whole regiment in about 5 minutes or less. And the Bay is where he house them. Suits support, personal, maintenance equipment all of of it." Briggs move faster now through the ship until he arrive at a new hatch way. Hanging over it is a new sign that says "Marine Country, Squids Stay Out" Briggs snorts and undogs the hatch and it swing opens. Inside is a massive room with stations set up along the wall ans suits hanging there as men work on them. Higher up rails are set up and more suits are hanging from them. Overhead are cranes that move supplies and suits around. Men move about and work but the most obvious thing is the music. Heavy Metal Rock plays loud and proud through out the huge compartment. A man scream/sings "For those about to rock, FIRE, we satule you." A large number of the men in the bay are nodding there heads vigorously along with the beat Briggs grimace and motions to a marine to cut the sound and it soon stops.
"Welcome to the MASH Bay Distinguished Guests" At this many people become really focused on what they are doing.

[Dyste]

Airship Royal Docks
Castle Dyste
TRNS Georgia

Tynah the Wind Drake's face beamed at being called adorable, even if she was still annoyed she couldn't talk. Seeing Briggs, Tyroth was reminded of a dwarf he met in his early years, before he was king. He couldn't remember the name, far too long ago. Regardless, it seemed that they were quite concerned for their safety, something he could appreciate. "While I am not as weakened as you might think while in this form, it would be prudent to listen to your advice. I would not wish to cause Lissah undue stress over my safety." he said, patting the orcess's arm. For her part, Lissah was still being a bit cautious, which was part of her job.

After hearing about the weapons, James practically drooled; he nearly went over to the breach before his coat was grabbed by Lissah. "Sorry, I just happen to love this sorta thing. You guys put plenty o'nice weaponry on your ships. I wanted to put somethin' like this on His Majesty's ship, but he said no..."

Tyroth scoffed, "My ship is a luxury liner, meant for diplomatic missions. Trust me, if someone tried to fire on us, they most certainly would have something to worry about." Draconids usually were protection just by appearance alone, but individuals like himself showed that it was not just for show. "Not to say I do not see the merits in warships like this. On the contrary, I am hoping we can build ones ourselves. Sadly, not everyone in Parliament agrees with me on this one. I just hope our Minister of Defense can convince them of this... speaking of which, Kel, what is she doing?"

"The Sage of War is one of the people attending the arrival of the cargo," Kel replied. "She felt that as part of her role, she should see what they are bringing to our nation with her own eyes, and to ensure everything works out perfectly." The aforementioned Sage was the only person in the country to hold both ranks of Royal Knight and Sage, and as such, had very high standards.

The king nodded, "Kyla is not your average soldier, but seeing as you have spent a good amount of time with my daughter, she should be no problem. She recently got third place on a poll of Top Ten Deadliest Draconids... than again, second place was Tynah, so the accuracy might be off!" letting out a laugh, the Wind Drake princess scowled a bit. Patting her head, he continued, "But really, the place looks great so far. What is... oh!"

When the music blared, Tynah grabbed her head and covered it in with her wings, while the kobolds dropped to the ground, also covering their ears. Tyroth grabbed his daughter-turned-Wind Drake and hugged her, "My apologies, Wind Drakes and Kobolds both have sensitive hearing. They will adjust to it, but the sudden loudness caught them off-guard." But, thankfully, Briggs had it cut either way.

Lissah and James were the ones most interested in the MASH Bay; James was wanting to try and work on a suit, while Lissah wanted to try it out. Even if her own armor was full of tricks, there were things MASH could do that it couldn't. "Gotta say," Lissah remarked, "Looks like you've put a lot of work into those suits. Must be the pride of your military if your warships are designed with all this stuff for them."

[Patrick OConner]

Airship Royal Docks
Castle Dyste
TRNS Georgia
MASH Bay

Briggs nods
"I am sorry about that. The bucket heads- I mean Marines, since MASH are part of the Marine Assault Corp, like to listen to loud music especially heavy metal while they work. I should have told them ahead of time to cut it off. I hope no one has suffered injury due to the men's unfortunate taste in music.." Brigg looks over his shoulder and gives the men a moderate glare. A few of them scamper away. Briggs has a reputation that even the toughest and dumbest jarhead has heard of and respects, less he show them how he earned it.
"And yes Lissah. This is the most elite strike force in the military. Only units that hit harder are our armored divisions and they lack the mobility of the Mobile Infantry Regiments. That is the official name for them. This is the 1st Mobile Infantry Regiment. I forgot to mention earlier that these are not the only airborne ships we posses. We have 4 air carrier. Flying air fields basically that work in conjunction with these ships normally. Two battleships to one carrier, which provide air support to the Mobile Infantry. Sorry carrier are ships that carry and support air planes in this case war planes. I assume you know what planes are, machines that fly and in this case carry weapons. You Know...I think it would be a bad idea for a diplomatic ship to go around armed to the teeth. I am sure that Mr. James can take a closer look but do not get in one. You too as well Miss Lissah. I am sorry but you can not try them out. My orders and other reasons" Briggs eyes Lissah and her immense size. Most definitely not able to fit in one.
"If you wish to know more about the suits ask Lt. Colonel Killgore. They are her area of expertise. I just get them to the drop point and maybe providing them with some support." A sailor walks up to Briggs holding a phone and Briggs takes it and listens for a minute then nods and hands it back.
"Seem the Captain wants to meet us all on the bridge and possibly take a short flight if the Distinguished Visitors wish to do so."

[Dyste]

Airship Royal Docks
Castle Dyste
TRNS Georgia
MASH Bay

After the music stopped, they checked the ears of the kobolds, making sure the little ones were fine. "While I am personally fine with some comforts when working," Kel remarked, "I also make sure they do not cause discomfort to others. With Draconids especially; it should be fairly obvious, but nobody in their right mind would want to make one of us upset. I am not sure if the Ambassador has seen the Princess in a bad mood during her trip, but if he has, he knows how she can be..." Tynah glared at her commander; if she wasn't in her current form, shed probably want to duel him for that remark. Noticing this, Kel was quick to add, "But her power is nothing to scoff at, as the Ambassador would likewise know." Tynah seemed content at that, and rested her head.

Given the chance to look, James ran over to one of the suits; thankfully, he had no intention of getting on one anyway, he wasn't a soldier. Instead, he tapped on his coat, revealing a display screen, which he began to type on. "As expected, he's taking notes," said Lissah, who was circling another MASH. "Chances are he'll probably be trying to make his own soon. As for me... I think I get what you're saying. I'm... a bit too beefy to fit in one anyways. If you were worried about offending me, don't be; I'm not going to be insulted by someone saying I have big muscles." The Orcess compared herself to the machine; if her armor was designed differently, one might've confused her for wearing a custom golden MASH suit, as in her armor she was only a bit shorter than the machine was. "I think I'm better off with James modding this thing anyways."

"You do seem to have all your innings played here," Tyroth said about the types of ships; he had messed up a baseball reference, not being familiar with the sport, "Honestly, the real reason we currently lack warships are that, well, Draconid troops can fly, and we are not at war with anyone. That said, I am not naive enough to think we should not be prepared for the worst. Part of being an adventurer is setting up contingencies in case something goes wrong. I am pretty sure the Ambassador has gotten a good sense of how powerful I am, but that does not give me the right to be overconfident in myself or my people. That is why I supported this whole exchange."

While this was going on, the kobolds checked out all around the bay, before they got the message to go to the bridge. "A flight would be a good way to see this ship's mobility," The king replied, "I would ask to race it, but my wife got upset at me the last time I did that. Seems people do not like it when you fly circles around them!"

[Patrick OConner]

Airship Royal Docks
Castle Dyste
TRNS Georgia
MASH Bay

Commander Briggs shrugs
"I am sure the Ambassador has you measure or close to it by now. You mentioned something about your most lethal soldier? Well...He was and probably still is ours. I would bet money on the fact he knows a lot more than he is saying. I would also bet that when Tynah visited he had thought of least 3 different ways to kill her after about 5 minutes. Nothing personal you understand" Briggs adds hastily " It is just him. though i would like to see who is faster. Him with a pistol or say Tynah with a sword or maybe someone else with magic? You may think it is not much of competition but I a sure otherwise."
"The Commander speaks the truth, Sir." Killgore appeared from behind a tool chest having wonder off to yell at her troops and inspect equipment "I have seen him wield a revolver such that it was like watching death do a dance. He is fast and insanely accurate. Inside of 75 or 100 yards depending on the gun you are as good as dead. He can put a round where ever he likes. Ask Tynah she watched him put on a demonstration."
Briggs nods along with Killgore before speaking again.
"And no offense but I doubt that you have something short of major magic that can compete with the main battery on this ship. We even have weapons capable of destroying whole cities in a split second. But enough of this grim talk. If you want ships we can provide them. Our people are used to building things big. Do not mention race to the Captain. He might take you up on it."

O'Conner had wondered over and watched as James studied the suit and mumbled to himself.
"You know I can help you. I designed these babies. Well the original design at least. Some modification have been made but my core design remains intact. Only major system I did not work on was the power pack, that my wife figured out and the armor." O'Conner leans over and examines the digicam painted exterior of the suit James is studying. It the surface is angular and smooth across the chest and most parts, expect of the arms, where ports can seen to attach the weapons and the helmet where various sensors stick out.
"Not a bad design. eh? Come on lets go the bridge.

Commander Briggs leads the group out of the MASH bay and up some stairs. He takes a left then up some more and right through more hatchways and sitars until they arrive at the bridge. Briggs opens one last hatch to reveal the bridge. Inside men are seated in 2 quarter rings with the captain and his chair at the rear. In front of the circling the wall is the windows that cover 270 degrees allowing one to see the front and both sides of the ship. Captain Bernard stands in front of his chair. He turns as the group enters and smiles, back in a familiar environment. Commander Briggs turns and slips back out of the hatch, heading for the CIC.
"Welcome to the bridge everyone. We are about to take off I suggest you brace yourselves." He turns around
"Preparation complete?" Bernard asks
"Aye sir, Cast off finished. Reactors on and powered up. Engines standing by sir."
"Helmsmen take us up. 1/8 power vertical."
The man standing at the center console in from of the captains chairs nods. "1/8 power vertical aye sir." He pushes forward on throttle stick like one found in fighters gently. The ship starts to hum and slowly heaves itself up from the dock ans slowly gains altitude. Once the ship clears the castle and dock the captain issues another order.
"Ahead 1/4 power bearing 000 up 3 degrees. Takes us to cruising altitude."
"Aye aye sir."
Captain Bernard turns to Tyroth
"Anything in particular you want to see her go, sir?"

[Dyste]

Airship Royal Docks
Castle Dyste
TRNS Georgia
MASH Bay

When told that O'Conner had thought of potential ways to kill a Draconid, Tyroth merely smiled, "To be honest, it is a good skill for someone trained in combat to have. Personally, I did the same when I encountered a new monster. The one piece of advice I have on that, is to not assume what you think works as a strategy will work in practice; trust me, there have been several times when what I think is a weak point turns out... not to be." He had heard Tynah talk about seeing the Colonel's revolver skills, so he had no reason to doubt it was not true; in spite of everything else with her, his daughter was an honest person who would not make up such a story. He considered telling them to not underestimate what magic could do, but he felt that they would learn in time what sort of acts it was capable of.

As the group were directed to the bridge, James continued doing the calculations. "Hm, yes, I see... the structure of the suit is sound, and the power source works fine... but what is the metal used for it? I'm wondering if perhaps some of the materials we have here can help improve on it. Ever hear of mythril? About as strong as steel, but much lighter. Lissah's armor is made of mythril alloy - you didn't think it was actually gold, right? - so it may work for these suits. They also work better than most metals for Magitek."

After getting to the bridge, Tynah used her form to fly around the the room, getting a chance to utilize her lighter frame and strong wings to move more gracefully than Draconids, who could fly fast but not maneuver as well as they could. For the king, he knew exactly where he wanted them to go, "How about to the docks of Undellah? We can see the progress of the cargo there. And see if Lavian got my daughter's message; I am certain the Ambassador wishes to get the Healer's evaluation soon."

[Patrick OConner]

2,000 feet above Dyste
Bridge of Air Battleship TRNS Georgia


"Aye aye sirs docks it is." Captain turns and issues orders "New heading bearing 350 all ahead full maintain altitude."
"Aye sir bearing 350 all ahead full maintain altitude." The helmsman pushes the throttle forward slowly and the ship picks up speed rapidly heading for the docks.
"At top speed we should arrive at the docks soon. I suspect though that the commanders will want us to stay out of the way." O'Conner says off handily having dealt with them in the past " Construction regiment COs have little to no patience for people getting in their way. So it will be best that we stay out of the way"

O'Conner turns and chats with James.
"The metal is a new alloy we made. Lighter and stronger than steel but still weights a bit. That is the frame of it and the armor is made of the alloy as well but laminated with..other things. Sorry I can not say more but it is Top Secret. We cut weight in certain areas by using ceramic parts were we can and that saved a lot of weight. Mythril? I have not heard of it but I and my wife would be glad to examine some and study it. Preferable to send some home to be studied as well. If it integrates well with magic that might be a two edged sword.' O'Conner leans in and whispers to James " I have seen a report or two that says something here is causing higher failure rates in certain things. Mainly highly complex equipment and electronics. It has been puzzling. So sticking magic into a suit might not be a good idea yet."


Some time later the docks come into view below. The ships from the Timocratic Republic are clearly seen below. They stand out from the other ships with their grey paint and boxy looking designs. They are clearly designed and built by humans. The transport are docked with a few anchored in the harbor. Further out in the harbor are the warships of the Timocratic Republic Navy. A heavy cruiser, two regular cruisers and eight destroyers. The warships, are clearly human in designed and construction, again but unlike the transports, the warships have a sleek predatory look about them. On board the transports, men swarm are containers and equipment is moved off the ships both by crane and by ramp. From 2,000 feet is hard to make details but it is clear that the men are busy. On the dock machine and draconids move the cargo and equipment off the docks to holding area.
"Well let us do down then?" O'Conner asks and then leads them out and back to the rear or aft end of the ship.

There they board a helicopter, which takes off and then shortly lands down below near the activity on the docks were they disembark. The activity is clearer now and is just a busy if not busier now looking up close. Men stand at strategic locations direction traffic of vehicles and materials. Heavy construction equipment rolls past and semi trucks pulling trailers of cargo. Draconids stand here and there but they most seem to be standing out of the way as the men work. Most of them seem slightly bemused.
"So where is this healer i have heard so much about Tyroth" O'Conner is force =d to shout so as to heard over the niose.

[Dyste]

Undellah Docks
Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

After they had disembarked, Tyroth and Kel returned to their true forms, both of them seeming far more comfortable. The King stretched, "Ahh, much better. To be honest, I have never gotten used to the feeling of garments covering skin like that. I suppose you get used to it if you had to, though."

When O'Conner was asking his question, the noise got to the level where he was barely audible. Fortunately, it seemed someone had already devised a means to overcome this. One of the Draconids noticed them, and beckoning them to their side. Once they got close, all the noise seemed to vanish. "A reversed Zone of Silence?" Kel remarked; his voice could be heard, though nothing outside of their radius was. "An interesting idea. Though I would expect no less from the Sage of War herself."

The Draconid that beckoned them over had azure scales, was slightly shorter than average, and had tattoo-like markings across her arms. She held in her hand a simple wooden staff. "My thanks for the compliment, Commander," she spoke in a calm, soothing voice. "I suppose this is the Ambassador? I am Kyla Waterscale, the only individual in Dyste to hold both the ranks of Sage and Royal Knight. Your Majesty, I am honoured by your presence. And the Princess is looking especially cute as a Wind Drake."

Tyroth looked over his shoulder; his daughter had not yet been turned back. "Oh, my apologies," he put her a few paces away, and ended the spell. While it appeared she was complaining about something, she failed to realize she was not actually in the zone affected, and thus nobody could hear her. "No, do not tell her, let her figure it out on her own. She needs to learn. By the way... where is Lavian? I thought she was with you..."

Kyla brought her hand to her face, "She just left about half an hour ago to pick up the Healer, after getting the princess's letter. Once she has figured out that you have come here, she will most likely teleport back here, so I suggest you wait instead of trying to go for a wild duck chase, or whatever you humans say."

Tyroth sighed, "Well, we should not have to wait for too long for her, so is there anything you wish to get from the cargo, tell us, or ask of us before that happens?"

[Patrick OConner]

Undellah Docks
Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

O'Conner was grateful to be in the zone of silence. It was very loud and annoying and frankly dangerous to be out here with out any ear protection. O'Conner smiled at meeting the Sage of War. She seemed like his type of person. He walked up to her and offered his had to shake which she took and did. Her paw/clawed hand enveploded his.
"It is nice to meet you. I have heard of you and everyone from here speaks highly of you. You know, I was not expecting to meet the Healer right away but I am not complaining. I only hope she is as capable as I have heard. I think my injuries might push her to the limit, but that is for later. It is a pleasure to meet you."
O'Conner smiled at Tynah once she has turned back to normal but did not come back into the zone and tried to talk. It was amusing, honestly.
"No Tyroth. There is not really anything important that needs come off now. Well there are 10 warg pups, but they have handlers and the rest of my other gear can wait as well. I will just need to get it before teaching Lavain and Tynah."

[Dyste]

Undellah Docks
Draconid Monarchy of Dyste

The Sage took O'Conner's hand graciously and shook it. Kyla was known to be somewhat of a perfectionist, but fortunately she viewed being courteous and gracious as part of perfection, and while many Draconids did not understand handshakes, she had enough experience with humans to reciprocate the gesture. "You appreciate my craft, I see. A normal Zone of Silence instead blocks sound within the zone from anyone outside of it to hear it. A reversed one would not be useful in most situations, but here, I find it quite useful. Like with your technology, the right tool for the right situation. And the pleasure is all mine; not everyone in the Ministry agrees with me about the things you are bringing, but they are not soldiers like I am. I was part of the first generation of Draconids to be born into the nation upon its founding, we were quite fragile then, and I do not desire for us to be that way ever again."

After a few more minutes, two white-scaled Draconids arrived. One O'Conner would've recognized immediately as Lavian, looking the exact same as she did when they first met, and Terror by her side. The other, tall but not as bulky, wore a pale green cloak and carried a staff with a green gemstone upon it. The Royal Knight already knew of the Zone of Silence, and passed through (Tynah still seemed unaware, pouting at people ignoring her). "Glad to see you again, Colonel. Terror is doing well, in case you were wondering. I do hope the Princess has not caused you too many headaches; she does mean well, even if at times she can be a handful. But, I suppose you are wanting to speak to my companion here."

The other Light Draconid walked forward, looking over the Colonel, "My name is Nasir Jemson, registered Healer for over five centuries. Since you are not familiar with us, I will explain that we are dedicated to the well-being of others, to the point we have taken a sworn oath to never harm another. I believe that doctors have a similar oath; we do have some kobold doctors, but we are capable of things modern medicine still cannot replicate. While I admittedly do not have as much experience with humans, elves and Orcs do share enough similarities that I should be able to help. If you do not mind, I would like to take a look at the damaged areas to give an evaluation. If you feel uncomfortable doing it here, we can go back to my clinic to do the evaluation there."