Nymphlopedia

Entry 98: Shield Nymphs

"Yeah I'm the sort of 'tank' of the team," said Sonata, "I mean I just picked the best ways to have good defense - armor aside because of Rule #1 - I don't want to actually be involved in close-ranged combat but since the best defense is also for close-ranged combat fighters well... that's just how that all added up."

"Mmm hmmm. Mm hmm. Interesting." Said her interviewer. Another Nymph of course, that one have an odd 'phantom shield' that she controlled, spinning around her. They were seated on rather cozy couches in the middle of a section of the cave where... well, putting it bluntly, everything was super tough. Even harder than the Steel Halls. Everything but the ground, made of a rather grainy material. Lots of shields were decorated on the walls, which were of course made and placed by the Nymphs. They weren't natural.

"And the best weapon in known existence is a sword, so there's that too."

"Mmmmmm... What do you know about this weapon, the Zenith I presume?"

"Jack shit." Sonata replied. "I just heard it from carvings and rumors and scientists are like, 'Yeah it might exist we're like 99% sure but we can't say for certain without proof...' I mean, the Zenith might be a snipe hunt for all I know, but it at least gave me something to do before I met Vince and got focused and started the Naked Empire and stuff. So, I have this list burned in my brain, certain swords I need and where to get them, and I'm looking for them. The last ingredient I need is something called a Meowmere, and we're... not really sure where it's from. Legends say some cat-alien thing forged it, tried taking on Cthulhu, and died, and the Meowmere was among many trophies he took, the Star Wrath... it was either another trophy or Cthulhu himself forged it, either way it's not that important."

"Hhhmm hmmmm... The Star Wrath, that is the weapon you have now, correct?"

"Yep!" Sonata reached and took it out of the ground that it was stabbed in to. "Wanna touch it? Tania hooked me up with this spell that basically makes my swords impossible to steal, you take them and they'll eventually just teleport back to me so I don't have to worry about-"

"Want to test that against our shields?"

"...Fuck yeah!"

The Shield Nymph spun her hand around in a circle and made a solid magenta circle floating in the air, with a fancy pattern on it that included multiple symbols. Sonata just casually flicked the Star Wrath-

The red blaze thingy from it and the following stars hit the surface of that shield, disappearing. The shield was unharmed.

Sonata lept from her seat with a big grin. "WOAH you're neat! Just letting you know, though, the Zenith can slice that in half!"

"I'm sure it can. Well, I believe this concludes your part of the interview, viewers and listeners, thank you for tuning in to our Barricaded Web series, and as always, stay protected."

"...I'm the first of three why did you say it like this is the end of an episode?"

"Because I assumed most people would just watch this for you."

"Aw, thanks! I'm not sure why though but... okay!"

She stood up and walked off.

Vince sat down in her place- oh. As usual, Sonata left quite the ass-print on any couch she touched. It reminded him of how much bigger her ass was than his. He was seriously feeling like Hank Hill compared to that crater left in-

"So Vince." Said the Shield Nymph. "Do you like clothes?"

"Well um... I wouldn't say I like them but... uh... I like armors... more than any of my teammates in fact..."

"Okay. That concludes your interview."

"Wait, what?!" He said. "But Sonata's went on for like an hour!"

"No, it went on for an hour and twenty minutes. Vince, you're Humans. Humans are boring. No offense. I just wanted insight on why you wear those Panawful abominations to Nymphkind, and you didn't give an answer. We can talk about this more later, when ratings aren't on the line."

Vince stood up and walked away, grumbling. "You're lucky I don't like long interviews to begin with! In fact, I should be happy I got that over with while still getting to be on TV!"

"Nymph TV specifically, which is... yeah, you might want to hide your identity for a little while."

Tania sat on the chair next.

"Ah, our last guest!" The Shield Nymph was noticeably more upbeat. "Tania, the Last Dryad!"

"It's a pleasure to be here." She said.

"Tania.

"Do you want to challenge me in a fight?"

Tania sighed. "No."

"Fuck. I thought I had you. Oh well. So... to change the subject... why do you sell seeds for Evil Biomes and boxes to plant Deathweed? Why do you encourage Deathweed farming when that 'plant' thrives from World Evil and thus runs antithetical to Nymph philosophy?"

Shield Nymphs.

They say the best defense is a good offense. Well, these Nymphs take the best offense as a good defense.

Preferred Environment: Shieldzones.

Environment Threat Level: Beneficial.

Environment Stats: Dry. Warm. Fantastic. Rare. Areas made of grainy stone that also have several exceptionally hard materials within. Almost always underground naturally. Holds defense-boosting magic.

Other Names: Barrier Nymphs, Defense Nymphs, Ironskin Nymphs, Endurance Nymphs, "Barrier Maidens." (?)

Affinity: Wind.

Color: Dull Magenta.

Traditional Costume Weapon: A 'phantom shield' of sorts that can usually be on their backs, but may be made to float around them when preparing for combat. Helps them reinforce their defense.

Vince's Comment: HO. LY. EVERYTHING are these Nymphs tanks of the highest caliber. Avoid any hostile ones that go after you, it's just not worth it. You'll need... at least gear on the level of what we've got from killing the freaking Moon Lord to make any noteable progress, it's insane.

Sonata's Comment: For some reason these Nymphs being based around being "defensive" made me think that they were like kind of easily offended? I know it's a stupid thing to think. But no, the ones I met at least were okay with throwing around all kinds of black comedy. Goodness I even think they almost got me offended at one joke, which is NOT an easy thing to pull off! ...I think? Am I sensitive? Huh... these Nymphs and their shields really got me thinking about that.

Tania's Comment: Shield Nymphs.
Nymphae Scutum.
If you're looking for the most naturally defensive and "armored" Nymph Variant, you have found them. By far the Shield Nymphs are almost impenetrable, from their tougher skin to their magic letting them fortify themselves even further. Beyond that, the shields they can create of magic, which are raw essenses of defense itself and are nearly indestructable. Only mighty creatures akin to Duke Fishron can get past them, and even then just barely. This is all without getting in to their own weapons and accessories on top of that. As a part of this, their diet includes more metallic substances than the average Nymph, which... well, it doesn't explain it at a technical level, but it still provides some insight. In spite of their defensive capabilities standing above the rest, they are still, like all Biome Spirits, tough fighters, their offense should not be underestimated either.

Closing AN:

So you might have figured, all the chapters (from Entry 25 onward, before that it was still Sonata and Vince), everything going up to Entry 100, I want Vince, Sonata, and Tania to all appear and have speaking roles, but they don't have to be together, something I kinda played around with way back in the Ocean Nymph entry by not having Vince and Sonata actually together there. So, really close to the end, I realized that I didn't "separate" them as much and wanted to have a chapter that did just that.

Also, originally this "slot" would have "Wasteland Nymphs" but I felt like I already had tons of biomes that could be called "Wastelands." Also also, Jesus yeah this is a shitload of Wind Affinity Nymphs in this last stretch. Thankfully though, we're finally at the last one.