i lit a flame in my heart to guide you home

The size of the crowd that gathered for the meeting warmed Alysanne’s heart. She was excited to see so many of her friends - though saddened about those faces that she didn’t see. When would Naerys and Artorius return? Or would they? The name of everyone that she missed ran through her mind - and she still felt baffled by how different it felt to be the one who had called the meeting instead of one who was attending it. She would watch Tembovu for hints and clues about how she should act, oddly enough, and tried to remember how others had acted in her place. Elsa, Kahlua, Mirage… Mauja.

Who was, she noted with a small frown while Tembovu was speaking, absent once again from the meeting.

To her delight, the promotions that they offered out were accepted - and she was thrilled to hear @Sacre speak up with confidence. As sad as she was to see that Evangeline had not been around, she trusted the young stallion with his new station. “You’ll do wonderful, Sacre.” Alysanne had every faith in their young new Moon Doctor and she hoped it showed in the smile she gave him. She would, of course, always be around if there were any questions that he might have.

When @Oizys spoke up, Alysanne gave the filly her complete attention - troubled that the filly would start out assuming that no one would listen to her because she was a child. Sure, she had caused a little bit of trouble at one of the last herd meetings but Alysanne was thrilled with the suggestion that was being put up now. She was certain that they had tried foal lessons in the past - but the herd had not been nearly as big back then. Now, with more foals and more potential teachers for those foals? It was the perfect timing. A few others spoke up in praise of the idea and Alysanne did not have any reservations about adding her own when she had the chance. “I also think that’s a great idea, Oizys. We’ll look into setting that up soon, thank you for speaking up. Anyone that is interested in volunteering to help out with the lessons please let me know. Thank you Glacia and Rexanna for already volunteering.” Alysanne smiled brightly at the two mares, making a mental note to look more into this idea at a later time.  

A frown appeared on Alysanne’s face when Toulouse, the new Specter, spoke up. She wasn’t sure which part troubled her more - the implication that he did not believe in the rank system, despite having gone through the trouble of challenging for a rank, or that he essentially wanted to lead a raid on somewhere east of the Edge. What enemies of the Edge was he talking about? There were dozens of questions bouncing around in her mind but Iona spoke before she could, quietly shutting down his idea - with a good reason. Her green gaze shifted to Tembovu to see what he thought of this, before she tentatively spoke up after Iona had finished speaking.  “I think the sleuths joining up with the warriors for patrols is a wonderful idea.” And it made complete sense too. What better way for the Sleuths to gather information than to actually be out there in the Wilds? Working hand in hand with the warriors that worked to keep the herd safely.

Now that the promotions were taken care of, there was a few more announcements to make. “I visited the Hidden Falls to speak with their Czarina after her… visit to the Edge and our alliance with that herd remains strong. I know the challenge resulted in a lot of conflicting feelings among us as a herd and I do apologize for my actions that led to that entire situation. And I think a trip to the Dragon’s Throat, and perhaps even the Aurora Basin, are far overdue. We are on good terms with these herds, we shouldn’t be invading their borders to get information when we can just ask.” She’d discuss with Tembovu what the best approach to visiting the other herds would be, since she sort of elected herself to visit the Falls without discussing it first.  

“Now, we have a few requests from the ranks and ideas for tasks that can be performed this season. Healers. With the uncertainty of the tides in Helovia, I ask that we practice some non-magical first aid - get everyone with an interest in the healing arts a few basic skills so that if anything were to happen, those without magic could make progress and be able to help.” Her green eyes found Tilney, Lyanna, and Sacre - finding it perpetually strange to not be one of their ranks and hoping that, despite the fact that all the ranks were receiving requests for tasks, they didn’t think she was just trying to micro-manage.

Now she looked to Alune and Arah - smiling at them both. “Seers, we’ve got a herd filled with dozens of unique members.  Perhaps we could start collecting the histories of anyone in the herd that is willing to share?”

And then back to Mesec and Graasvoel, the new Glaziers. “And our new crafters. As you’re learning your skill, our herd is always in need of more offensive and defensive items.”

Once again, Alysanne fell silent and looked to Tembovu to continue speaking.