RE: Spheres of Influence: Alliance
07-02-2019, 11:47 PM
Next to arrive was a massive ship in a possibly-familiar white-and-purple color scheme, proudly emblazoned with the emblem of Antipode Institute. The Nereus, Antipode's flagship and, for the moment, its leader's ride of choice.
A eclectic group of scholars (and exactly one unscholarly type) stepped onto the docks, followed by some kind of hovering, magically-conjured platform that carried various belongings of importance that they'd elected to not just carry themselves.
At the front of the group stood Director Aztra Narilis, a purplish-scaled lizardfolk who stood at about 6'4", with deep blue eyes that matched the blue of the erratic bioluminescent scars across much of her body. Her left arm was some kind of fancy magical prosthetic, and she wore her white-and-purple Director's Robes with about as much dignity and grace as you'd expect from someone whose main specialty is biological fieldwork. Which is to say, she had the sleeves rolled up, the front of the garment completely unbuttoned, and she was visibly wearing shorts that didn't fit the Wizard Robes aesthetic at all. She looked pretty visibly excited to be here.
The same couldn't be said of the lizardfolk man to her right. Dr. Zethya Asanzi, a respected and many-times-published epidemiologist who'd had the misfortune of drawing the short straw among Antipode's various Tenured Academics who wanted nothing to do with this meeting. He stood at 5'10", with pale green scales, a set of robes worn far more properly, and a perpetual sour expression.
Beside Dr. Asanzi stood a dwarf named Dr. Dhunan Graytongue, a... second cousin of the very same Snorri Manytongues and one of Antipode's foremost linguists and cultural anthropologists, brought along just in case of embarrassing cross-cultural incidents or in case of catastrophic translation magic failure. It never hurts to have backup.
To the director's other side was a lizardfolk decked out in frankly excessive naval wear, complete with a big hat, some kind of magical cutlass, a colorful coat, some big Nautical Boots, and all that. They had dull blue scales and stood a head taller than even the Director, and they... didn't look like an academic at all, actually. Admiral Sarata Ssaili, captain of the Nereus and head of the Antipodean navy. They hummed some jaunty tune to themself as the group proceeded onward.
And finally, there was another greenish-scaled lizardfolk woman, dressed not in fancy robes but in something more akin to a well-fitted suit. She was easily the most official-looking of the group, and for good reason - this was Adhisi Vassa, prime minister of Antipode, here to represent the non-Institute side of Antipode's government. And also, here to be the one person in the group who actually knows how politics works. Gotta have one, you know?
The group carried onward, giving looks of varying admiration (or derision) toward the Cube. Depending on which of them you asked, the Cube was either a marvel of engineering or kind of ugly, or maybe somewhere in between. Regardless of all that, the Director approached Captain Ovis, breaking off rather suddenly from her group to do so. Lizardfolk tend to do things very suddenly, much to the chagrin of the easily-startled amongst the world's other species. "Captain Ovis! Good to see you in person." She smiled lizardly. "An interesting building you've prepared for this event. I think we'll get a look at it from the inside now - there'll be time to see dingowls later, I hope. See you at the meeting."
And with that, Antipode's finest weirdos headed Cubewards.
A eclectic group of scholars (and exactly one unscholarly type) stepped onto the docks, followed by some kind of hovering, magically-conjured platform that carried various belongings of importance that they'd elected to not just carry themselves.
At the front of the group stood Director Aztra Narilis, a purplish-scaled lizardfolk who stood at about 6'4", with deep blue eyes that matched the blue of the erratic bioluminescent scars across much of her body. Her left arm was some kind of fancy magical prosthetic, and she wore her white-and-purple Director's Robes with about as much dignity and grace as you'd expect from someone whose main specialty is biological fieldwork. Which is to say, she had the sleeves rolled up, the front of the garment completely unbuttoned, and she was visibly wearing shorts that didn't fit the Wizard Robes aesthetic at all. She looked pretty visibly excited to be here.
The same couldn't be said of the lizardfolk man to her right. Dr. Zethya Asanzi, a respected and many-times-published epidemiologist who'd had the misfortune of drawing the short straw among Antipode's various Tenured Academics who wanted nothing to do with this meeting. He stood at 5'10", with pale green scales, a set of robes worn far more properly, and a perpetual sour expression.
Beside Dr. Asanzi stood a dwarf named Dr. Dhunan Graytongue, a... second cousin of the very same Snorri Manytongues and one of Antipode's foremost linguists and cultural anthropologists, brought along just in case of embarrassing cross-cultural incidents or in case of catastrophic translation magic failure. It never hurts to have backup.
To the director's other side was a lizardfolk decked out in frankly excessive naval wear, complete with a big hat, some kind of magical cutlass, a colorful coat, some big Nautical Boots, and all that. They had dull blue scales and stood a head taller than even the Director, and they... didn't look like an academic at all, actually. Admiral Sarata Ssaili, captain of the Nereus and head of the Antipodean navy. They hummed some jaunty tune to themself as the group proceeded onward.
And finally, there was another greenish-scaled lizardfolk woman, dressed not in fancy robes but in something more akin to a well-fitted suit. She was easily the most official-looking of the group, and for good reason - this was Adhisi Vassa, prime minister of Antipode, here to represent the non-Institute side of Antipode's government. And also, here to be the one person in the group who actually knows how politics works. Gotta have one, you know?
The group carried onward, giving looks of varying admiration (or derision) toward the Cube. Depending on which of them you asked, the Cube was either a marvel of engineering or kind of ugly, or maybe somewhere in between. Regardless of all that, the Director approached Captain Ovis, breaking off rather suddenly from her group to do so. Lizardfolk tend to do things very suddenly, much to the chagrin of the easily-startled amongst the world's other species. "Captain Ovis! Good to see you in person." She smiled lizardly. "An interesting building you've prepared for this event. I think we'll get a look at it from the inside now - there'll be time to see dingowls later, I hope. See you at the meeting."
And with that, Antipode's finest weirdos headed Cubewards.