The Elephant King stood, silent and still in the crisp Orangemoon air. It was nearing time to head towards the Basin for the festival Rexanna had invited him and the entire Edge to attend. But the King, on the way to the the Edge’s border, had come across the set of glass target Glasgow had made early in Tallsun. One large, two small.

”You must fully appreciate the glass that you would wield against your enemies. Have your crafters make glass targets and see what types of magic they are most defensible against, and which they are least.”

The Moon Goddess’s instructions rang in his ears; though on the heels of responsibly was a deeply rooted mistrust. Not that the Elephant had truly trusted their shadowy patron goddess. He just had not fully appreciated the depths to which he must mistrust her. He did not expect her to send the herd unknowingly into a battle against her creatures’ bramble thicket. His ears pinned back, head cast aside, and angry gaze fixed on the melted glass heap that had been a glass shield.

He remember melting it with his magma-elephant. It had been a small victory for him: complete control of his deadly magic. Though, now, it seemed he had continuous control over it. He sighed, looking at the remaining two targets. One was pitted and scratched by Tsavo’s lioness’s claws and Rohan’s antlers. The other remained pristine.

Mbwene ambled towards them, her sensitive and agile trunk tracing over the marked glass’s surface carefully—she did not want to cut herself as she had on the glass shiv she gave to Nyx. And then she (again, carefully) traced over the molten, bulbous remains of the glass shield her bonded had melted.

Her bright blue eyes turned back to Tembovu, a questioning look on her face. Why were they stopping here? She felt the rolls of responsibility from the Elephant King, and slowly pressed her tusks against the pitted glass target. Spiderweb-like cracks spread from the weakened points in the glass. But it otherwise held solid.

She snorted loudly, before beginning to amble back to her Elephant’s side.

Roskuld

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M A N O N,

---

She was new to the Edge, and had found herself tracing it's borders and exploring it's many glorious pathways, finding shards of glass almost everywhere. It was voices that drew her toward the clearing where the targets stood - though she remained silent and hidden amongst the trees at the edge of the gathering. Her opalescent eyes studied Tembovu curiously, silver lashes lowering in thought as she scanned the targets. She'd met none of the three Edge members that stood before her, though she could have guessed the child belonged to Tilney - she was as boisterous, and as sweet-natured as he was. Her gaze slipped to the other woman, cast in black and white, stocky and muscular. Handsome, she thought pleasantly. There was no reason not to reveal herself now, so she stepped elegantly through the shrubbery, her mile long legs moving with endless grace.

She stepped out closest to the black and white woman, her gaze sharp but not unfriendly. The glass targets gleamed under the cool orangemoon sun, and Manon glanced at them before walking forward with a regal stride. "Tembovu," she began, her voice low and melodic, "We have not had the chance to meet, but I am Manon, your latest... citizen." She didn't muster a smile, being more inclined to stiff regalities. She turned her head back to the woman behind her and then to Maude, a tight smile appearing upon her soft, sensual lips. "You must be Maude - and I'm afraid I've not had the pleasure of meeting you, lovely one." Her last sentence was aimed at the stocky, handsome woman - her looks had not been lost on Manon, who found pleasure in her own gender, especially the pretty ones.

She moved back to face the targets, her silver plait sliding over her shoulders fluidly. With another glance to Tembovu, she flitted forward, pivoted and slammed her back hooves toward the second, clean target. As a woman of no magical power, this was the best she could achieve - and it was certainly a spectacular act of gymnastics.


ooc; I wasn't sure if we could power-play with the targets! So I played it safe haha

she's morphine, queen of my vaccine

The Elephant King watches in quiet solitude as Edge members slowly meander towards the targets to test the glass’s strength. His great head dips towards Maude’s effervescence, provoking a slight smile to cross his otherwise solemn muzzle. Before he can answer her, an ever-excitable Chico appears (much to Mbwene’s delight) and the King’s thick neck jerks back slightly at the sharp electric stab of his stinger. His companion, however, chortles in amazement—she hadn’t know her main squeeze could do that with his tail. Her ears flap as she drifts towards him, dark eyes admiring and questioning all at once.

His head swings to Ros as she shouts at her companion—though another appears and introduces herself, stealing his attention before he can assuage the Sparklight’s concern. The woman is beautiful and delicate, slender but austere as she says her name, ”Manon”. Though the Elephant’s brows draw up and an amused grin plays at his thick lips as she turns her attentions to Ros, calling her ”lovely one.”

His Moon Doctor appears, the temperamental Tallis embracing this glass-testing exercise by shrouding the glass with his toxic breath. The King had always wondered what magical breath Evangeline’s dragon possessed. But he does not linger long on Eva, for soon Anzanie appears in a huff and he finds his old friend still in with sad eyes. “Anz—“ the King speaks for the first time, low voice soft and gentle and warm and concerned. But he is interrupted by the running shout as another colt—one he had not yet met—charges into the glass. He turns back, nearly cross-eyed, looking for praise, but finds none from the newly arrived Naerys. The Elephant King can feel her silent, brooding stare on his thick hide. Though he says nothing and simply, levelly, meets her teal gaze.

Glasgow’s arrival heralds and answer to all the questions that had been asked of him thus far, and the King nods his great, heavy head in her direction in affirmation of her answers. She is the Glazier that created these targets, so she can be the one to explain it to everyone gathered. Though Alune’s great, earth-shaking charge at the glass both interrupts and punctuates Glasgow’s words.

Silence settles after his Seer’s onslaught on the glass. With slow steps, careful of the glass carnage that now litters the clearing, the King approaches to judge the glass’s resilience against their tests. The first, larger target (that had already been melted by his magic), had a skin that bubbled beneath the toxic chemicals from Tallis’s attack. The second (already pitted) glass target lay in ruin, shattered pieces. Chico’s electric stinger had had little effect (it seemed glass was an insulator for electricity), but the spiderweb cracks had been weak points that Arakh’s head butt and Alune’s charge exacerbated, shattering it into large chunks. The last and final small target had held firm against Manon’s kicks and Naerys’s dagger slash—though a thin scratch stretches across its surface.

His ears perk as he studies, and then he turns back to those gathered, “Thank you all for testing our glass” his deep voice rolls easily over those gathered, “I believe our glass spikes will protect our borders against most, but heat and force applied to weak points will be its downfall.”

And then, with a head dip of dismissal, his waits to see if any have further questions.