The shock of impact jolted through his thick hind legs, their great power unleashed as he felt living skin and flesh bend and buckle beneath his unforgiving, ivory hooves. Triumph flared darkly within him— but this was not enough for the night’s shadowed King. Ears swiveled, catching the roaring and labored breaths of the Moon’s knight as he labored to regain his breath; the pound of cantering hoofbeats broadcasted his location in the murky, newly fallen night.

A bellow, telling of the anger of a priest, rent the uneasy evening air. A snort and an amused flash of blackened eyes were all the answers the dark King gave. Bring me your earthquake, his coldly burning gaze roared, for I am the fire beneath your earth, and I will show the meaning of quake.

A shiver of power, controlled and hot, raced up his spine and settled in his deep chest. This was the heat of rage controlled by the shadows of a demon’s past life, a life lived in free reign within the Elephant. The darkness shaped the power, molding it into a weapon, rather than an unwieldy emotion.

He began to move, taking a half-step forward to face the unholy priest, to unleash this destructive force newly controlled within him. But the bellow had distracted him, leaving a moment of opportunity, a half-breath of weakness, in the King. And seize it, Alune did— rounding and striking at his right side, lapis hooves finding solid neck and ungiving shoulder after the buckskin’s movement.

The sickening thud of hoof and flesh hit the night as dual tracks of open flesh became exposed to the stinging air. Pain exploded beneath his cultivated fires, illuminating and destroying the shadows that kept it so firmly in check. Gone was the control, as loose and free as the the two ribbons of hide hanging from his neck and shoulder.

A sound, part trumpet and part roar, shredded shadows and laid waste to moonlit skies. His chest was warm— no, burning— with the tongues of a thousand red flames. They expanded and formed, he could feel their eager screams to be released.

And so, shoulder stiff and neck unmoving, he lunged backwards, ignoring the twinge from the scrape on his haunches. As he moved, left forelimb pushing while his right remained mostly motionless and drug a line through the dark earth, his chest flared once: a warning.

And then, with the heat of molten rock and melted earth, a beast of magma bursted from his chest. But this time, unlike the indecisive wavering on the Flats, the flaming elephant had direction. It knew its victim (he knew his victim) and it charged, flaming ears flagged and tusks sizzling through the air.

Black eyes watched, reflecting the orange glow of his beast. Had he moved far enough away from Alune? Would the explosion cover them both in searing lava? In the gloom, he did not know. All he knew was that he had wielded his power and, as the blood dripped down hanging flesh, that was his darkest victory.

A: 2/3
WC: 514
Damage Tracker: bleeding skin wound on right rump; 2 deep flesh wounds on right neck/shoulder
Summary: @Alune 's attack rips 2 deep wounds on neck/shoulder. He lunges backwards and uses his magic*

*:: [ Magic: EarthxFire | Can summon a mini-magma-elephant that charges opponent/nearest other and explodes on impact ]
:: [ Restrictions | Lasts for 20 seconds in battle and requires considerable effort and concentration ]

TEMBOVU

Beware the weight of a vengeful soul.