Nymphlopedia

Entry 61: Reptille Nymphs

Beginning AN:

While I do want each of the Parts to have (at least?) one "animal group" Nymph, this one in general is a very likely one to get rewritten.

Vince just sat firmly on one particular log in a mud pile, the most solid part of that marsh in what felt like kilometers.

He did not want to touch a damn thing in that biome.

It was thanks to a lot of past experiences. But mostly... he tossed a rock head-

Yep a gigantic alligator - or crocodile, Vince could never tell the difference (it was actually something called a Colossal Crocogator) - lept out and ate it.

And Mollie was riding on its back, pumping a fist in the air, cheering "WHOOO!"

Sonata peeked out from under the muddy waters. Muddy waters that were still clear enough to see down, and know that they went deep, with some barely-visible behemoth shadows Vince could make out below.

Another one - if smaller - came out, with Sonata on its back. With a resident Nymph, boasting a few scales on her legs and arms, at the head.

"Heyyyyy Vince!" She said. "I thought you loved this sort of thing! You know, putting yourself in danger and everything."

"Only if there's a good reason for doing it!" Vince shouted back. Sonata and the Reptile Nymph both laughed. "Like, if I can get something neat or get rich off of it or help save the world... I don't just go exploring dangerous zones for fun!"

"Yeah, well I do." Sonata said. The Reptile Nymph lept off and landed next to Vince - which made Sonata briefly panic, having to manage such a behemoth by herself.

Vince looked to the Nymph of the biome. "I mean, we already have our Naked Empire embassy here! What else do we need?"

"...The other Reptile Marshes, duh." She said. "What, don't you know anything about Nymph politics?"

"...I actually don't." Vince replied. "Tania knows it's important she just cares more about stopping Cthulhu and the Evil Biomes and Lindsey and True King Slime right now so she has too much on her plate to get in to it. Sonata... well..." his eyes wandered to the side a bit and he squinted. "She wants to 'stay out of politics' but at the same time become a well-respected world leader..."

"Hey," Sonata said, "I'm actually doing a good job with that! Being an apolitial politician!"

"Oh, no." Said the Reptile Nymph. "You need to learn about Nymph politics if you want this 'Empire' - it's more of a democracy-"

Sonata groaned.

"to REALLY get off the ground. And, our unique biome-based connections are one of them. Any Nymph type can easily communicate with others in the same biome in different parts of the world, so the most important rule-"

Sonata loudly cleared her throat.

"Behind Rule #1 is that physical, spatial borders aren't as much of a limiting factor. Another is that unlike most races, what we need to survive and cultivate varies a lot more. Humans started their first major settlements in river valleys, for example, because they were the friendliest places to set up agricul- hold on Tania should hear this."

Tania... somehow knew she was being called on, and slid across the waters. Literally, her feet were on the surface and she was pushing it around to move her. Sort of like walking on water, sort of like sliding on it.

"I have been waiting over 490 years for this!" She said, eyes gleaming. "Finally, a lecture in Nymph politics!"

"Blech!" Sonata said. "We don't have the time for this, right Vince?"

Vince shrugged. "Actually, I wouldn't mind hearing it."

"UGH!"

Reptillian Nymphs.

Dryads' barks are worse than their bites. Reptile Nymphs' bites are much, MUCH worse than their barks.

Preferred Environment: Reptile Marsh/Scale Marsh.

Environment Threat Level: Dangerous.

Environment Stats: Wet. Warm. Middle-Fantastic. Uncommon. Large wetlands with an unnusually high amount of reptiles and reptile-like creatures. The fields often have desceptively deep pools of water, several amphibians as well, few trees, and large long stalk plants of various types. Also prone to growing mushrooms more often than the average biome, with fungal biomes being the major exceptions.

Other Names: Crocodile Nymphs, Alligator Nymphs, Scale Nymphs, Turtle Nymphs.

Affinity: Water.

Color: Light Harlequin.

Traditional Costume Weapon: Scales around/on their lower arms and lower legs. Helps control over water and "thin" plants, and to lightly suggest things to cooperative reptilian or amphibian animals.

Vince's Comment: Keeping your distance is your best shot. No, salt won't work, that's just a myth. No, nor would pouring lava, they're actually pretty good at - yeah they can cool it off... somehow. And hairdryers... I'm not sure where these rumors are coming from, but some of them are frankly just bad.

Sonata's Comment: I have no idea why Pan decided to lump up reptiles with amphibians. I'm no zoologist, but I think that's like, kind of animal-racist? Some of them like wearing these tortoise shells, but why? Why would you make yourself look like those Jungle and Tundra and Jagged monsters that just throw themselves at you and hurt like a motherfucker? I'm sorry, I'm too confused to be horny. And that's something that rarely happens with me!

Tania's Comment: Reptile Nymphs.
Nymphae Reptilis.
Another Nymph Variant with connections to a broad category of animals, these with the common theme of functioning well on both the land and in aquatic environment. As usual with these "animal Nymphs" - and I use this term for convenience, really - it shows that Nymph Variants, in of themselves, have a complex relationship with categories and are not just limited to being defined with one or two traits, as misleading as "elemental" names are. This is why I prefer the biome naming system. It makes me wonder if there will reach a point where Nymph Variants can be reliably classified under sub-variants.
Also their venom can dissolve titanium. I find this unsettling. And yes, they all have venom, to different degrees.

Closing AN:

Well I mean I can't ask how this new four chapters a day system feels to you yet since I'm not at the fourth chapter.