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Luz was very excited to now have her first spell. Learning the light glyph was a major accomplishment for such a screw-up like her. What would be her next spell? Ice? Plants? Fire? Well…either way, she still had months to make progress. She just needed to wait for Eda’s next lesson.
Today, though, she, Eda, and King were at Eda’s Human Collectables stand looking to make the sales needed to keep them afloat. Eda was dusting the table, looking bored, while Luz was reading the first Azura to King. (I hope King may become a fan like me. It would be great to have a fan of Azura as a friend.) “Emboldened by the dishonor Hecate had shown, Azura lifted her staff to the cotton-candy skies and shouted, "I challenge you to a Witch’s Duel!" And look! I drew a flip book,” Luz explained as she showed there were drawings of the two witches at the bottom of the page. She then flips between two pages, trying to do an animation. “Pew, pew, pew!”
“Show me the picture!” King pesters a few times before Luz does so. “Hah! I can draw better than that. (That kinda hurt. After all, writing and drawing are all I am currently good at. However, it is best I not show it. After all, I may burden him or lose him as a friend. I already risked my friendships a few days ago when I opened up about my past and negative feelings.) “You know, they once called me the King of Artists.”
“Wait. I thought you were the King of Demons. Are you just making this up now?” Luz teased, well aware that King was playing a game.
King then revealed that he apparently had offerings given to him in the past (Okay…what is the story behind this game?). Luz did try to offer reading more of Azura, but Eda criticized it. To be fair, Luz knew many people back home who didn’t care for Azura, so this wasn’t new. Eda then said they would lose customers over it. (Wait a second…)
“Um, Eda? What customers? There aren't even any other stands around,” Luz pointed out that there wasn’t any witches or demons to sell to. “What's going on?”
“This is a bad omen. There must be something horrible happening today,” Eda said warily.
“Luz!” Gus and Willow ran up to the stand in their Hexside uniforms. (Great! Now we can visit for a bit!) “Something amazing is happening today!”
“Gus, Willow! Hey!” Luz greeted. “How has school treated ya these last few days?”
“Great! These new plant track classes have been a breath of fresh air after all those grueling abomination classes! Have you done better about being barefoot around others? I know you’ve struggled around us still,” Willow questioned back.
“I’ve…done better. At least I can usually do fine around the Owl House,” Luz admitted. (I guess that could be considered progress.)
“Don’t see why you need to struggle about that junk,” Eda snarked.
“Anyways, what are you doing here? Classes don’t end until 2:30,” Luz asked.
“We got no classes today because…,” Willow held up a flier. “It's the annual Covention! Student witches get to see all the types of covens before they're placed in one. There's even a mystery guest this year!”
(This was…amazing! All the potential friends!) “A job fair for witches! Eda, can we go?” Luz said with excited stars in her eyes only for Eda to tell her no. Luz groaned and dropped to the ground.
“You’re better off, anyway. I never joined a coven for a reason. Sure it's like a fun club for witches, but you're also giving up your magical independence to be part of a crooked system,” Eda explained herself, much to the sadness of her new friends (Kinda rude… but Eda may be overreacting. She did the same with learning from Hexside.) “Eh, but, you know, no judgment. In any case, I haven't been to one since we were girls.”
Luz’s interest was piqued, though Eda attempted to backpedal. Luz finally popped back up from being on her face. “Who's "we"? You have a mysterious past! Now we gotta go!”
Eda tried to say no, but Luz had a counter. She had Eda be read the Azura books by a mischievous King, which she didn’t like, until she caved in. (Kinda feel bad. Hope she doesn’t hate me. But this is the chance to better myself and find a place I belong here. No more being a borderline worthless lesbo outcast.)
Willow was ecstatic to be able to see the outside of the Covention doors again. Luz also was excited as she was bouncing on her feet. (Nice to see Luz so happy after the Owl Beast incident. Maybe there is a plant coven we can join…or at least plant adjacent.) Strangely, Miss Eda was putting on a cowl to hide her hair. (Is something wrong? I know she’s seen as a criminal, but she’s not all bad.) Luz asked what Willow was thinking and Eda gave an answer, “Do you think all my wanted posters are for petty theft?” As if on cue, numerous small objects fall out of her hair. (Is her hair a magic dimension?) “Partly.” Eda stuffed the things back into her cowl. “But the big whammy is I disobeyed the law and refused to join a coven. If I'm seen, I could go to jail. Again.” (Was that it? Then the legal issues could be resolved and she’d be free in no time flat!)
Willow approaches with one of Eda's wanted posters and suggests kindly, “Maybe this informative event will inspire you to join a coven. Then you won’t be in trouble anymore!” Eda responds politely by casting a hex that pulls Willow's cowl over her face. (Not as kind of a response as I would have expected. Oh well. Maybe she’ll come around later.)
Willow and her group of friends entered the building, which was a massive and impressive venue filled with booths and witches, many even being Hexside students. “Whoa. Was I even alive before now?” Luz was in awe at the sight. (And Eda was against this why? Also glad to see Luz is happy to see this for the first time. Maybe there is a coven that humans can join. We may even be able to make one for us somehow. Okay, that’s just wishful thinking, Willow.)
Willow and her friends see several booths are set up inside, each with a sign for one coven or another. From the ceiling hangs nine large colorful banners, one for each of the big nine. Two older Hexside student witches fly by on their Palisman. “Those are the main nine covens: Abomination, Plant, Illusion, Bard, Beast-Keeping, Healing, Potions, Oracle, and Construction. They are based around the main nine magic branches. However, there are hundreds of other covens you can join,” Gus explained.
As the group walks through the hall, Willow decides to list some smaller covens. “There's Flower Coven, Artist Coven, Big Dog Coven, Small Cat Coven, Tiniest Cat Coven—,” Willow then notices Eda groan and adds jokingly in a whisper, “Also the Grumpy Coven.” Eda, however, has good ears and questions her. Willow yips as the kids and King all run away before Eda can respond with another mild hex.
The kids continue to pass by a few other booths (Eda didn’t follow. Did she find a coven that interested her? Or is she plotting a scheme?) with Luz eventually stopping near a stall of note and points, “Ooh, what's that?”
“That's the Construction Coven,” Willow answers the curious human’s question. At the demonstration booth is a bearded witch in a hard hat and Tinella Nosa (Wasn’t she arrested for giving out strange conspiracies? Maybe she’s out on good behavior?) standing next to a pallet of wood and a pallet of bricks. The witch grabs both pallets from the bottom and tosses them in the air. The materials fall down to perfectly construct a small house. “Like we said, it’s one of the main nine. In fact, it looks like Coven Head Mason is heading this booth this year!” Willow noted excitedly as Gus considered if he should ask for an autograph (Can’t say I blame him. If I saw Terra here I’d do the same thing.)
“Coven Head? What is that?” Luz asked.
“See, the main nine covens each have a head assigned to them. They take part in many important tasks for the emperor and represent each of the nine magic branches,” Willow explained (I sounded surprisingly smart there. Wonder if I can do that more.)
“Cool! So what does Construction magic do?” Luz asked, looking eager to learn.
“They create many structures like buildings or statues using a mixture of stone constructs and power glyphs to increase their strength. Think of them as adjacent to your light glyph, Luz,” Willow said as a means of making things digestible for Luz. (Maybe she’ll think of a way to combine the two glyphs one of these days. Seems possible considering Luz.) Mason removes his hard hat to pull off a power glyph from a stack atop his head. He peels the adhesive off the back of one and puts it on Tinella Nosa's nose. Her pupils constrict.
In a twist, Nosa screams out and picks up the witch, throwing him in the air… not that he was bothered. “Ha-a-a! I'm the destroyer of worlds!” She proceeds to take the Construction Coven sign and tosses it. (Titan, she can be very violent when given the chance. I am just glad she has no reason to go after me.)
Many other witches worked together to try and fight Tiny Nose, only for them to begin being beaten up. Luz gave a shocked exclamation, which was mimicked by a blue illusion (Strange. Illusions usually are the color of the target. Maybe it is for show here?).
Gus proceeds to run over to the other witches at the Illusion booth. “Ah! You've been taken in by the allure of the Illusionist Coven. We like to magic with a hint…” Gus disappeared in a cloud of smoke, reappearing a few feet to the right. “...of showmanship.”
“Wow! Acceptance? Comradery? A sense of belonging? Covens sound incredible! Eda, why haven't you ever joined one?” Luz questioned Eda. (So she came back at some point. Did she find the coven type for her?)
“Watch closely, Luz,” Eda began to explain her reason. (So let’s find out what her deal is.) Another illusion track witch is now standing with one of the other ones from the booth. “When you join a coven, all your other magic is sealed away.” A seal in the shape of a mirror appeared on the witch's wrist, light blue lines ran from it up his arms and face. He pales slightly as the lines fade. “From now on, that kid will only be able to make illusions.”
“Really? Aren’t there spells he can use outside of it like fire?” Luz asked.
“Technically, you can use some basic spells like a light spell. Otherwise, once you get your sigil, you got it for life,” Gus admitted.
“And it can’t be changed? What if you want to change covens?” Luz asked, likely wanting to understand our culture. (She’s very cute when she’s curious. I’m told I’m like this with plants. We got something in common!)
“Nope! At best, you can change to a coven of the same magic sigil type. If you change your mind or are unlucky, you’re screwed,” Eda cynically noted.
“Kinda harsh to say…,” Willow was a little disappointed in Eda’s unenthusiastic response. Still, there was always another day.
“Since I never joined a coven, I can do every kind of magic,” Eda demonstrated by creating a fireball in one hand and a ball of water in the other, then making both disappear. “That's why I'm the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles.” She walks away, with Willow, Luz, and Gus hurrying after her, amazed. (Well… she is still amazing with or without a coven.)
Eventually, the group reached a doorway flanked with guards. “That panel looks popular,” Luz said with her infectious enthusiasm. In fact, for once her enthusiasm was too little.
Both Willow and Gus gasped in excitement. “It's the Emperor’s Coven! Do you think they'll sign my forehead?” Gus gushed excitedly.
“Only one way to find out!” Willow cheered. Willow and Gus run inside. Luz starts to follow them, but stops to get Eda. (I guess we’ll see her and Eda later.)
Luz sat down in the stadium of the Covention. So far, this has been a great time. She got to better understand the way this terrifying yet amazing magical world worked and got to spend more time with her new friends to boot. Now she was able to learn more about this Emperor’s Coven she heard be mentioned a few times.
To Luz’s further delight, Eda apparently changed her mind and decided to watch whatever show would come up involving these Emperor’s Coven guys. (She really does care about me!…Or she wants to avoid trouble. Maybe both?) Not long after this, the lights dimmed. Principal Bump rose from the floor with spirals of green magic, a spotlight illuminating onto him. The audience applauds and cheers as he summons a mic with magic.
“Hello, Bonesborough! Students ask me all the time, "Principal Bump, what's the height of magical achievement?"” The principal asked to begin the speech. At this point, one boy used magic to massively increase his head’s size to the point he fell over (What kind of magic is that? Is he in pain? Can he return to normal? So many questions. I hope he’s fine.) Wow I failed you as a principal,” Bump admitted. (Aw, when he’s not trying to dissect people he’s actually kinda nice.) Bump proceeds to grab the flying mic, with some feedback coming from it. “It's being selected to join the best of the best. And there are none better than the jewel of the coven system and the enforcers of his will, the Emperor's Coven.” Three witches dressed in a gray and white uniform and wearing masks appear as Bump is talking.
“Luz!” Both Willow and Gus cry out from nearby. They point to Gus' forehead, which has been signed. (Well, maybe these guys are cool. I just hope they’re not connected to the Conformatorium and that Wrath guy.)
“Feast your eyes on this elite force, each member handpicked to help usher in a new age of controlled magic,” Bump reminded everyone (Likely not needed for the average witch, but cool I get exposition since I’m new here.) as each coven guard traces a white spell circle above their head. One produces a jet of flame, another water, and the third lightning. The three elements come together in a firework that turns to confetti, which Luz grabs. (Yep, I am gonna love this place and its cool magic system.)
“But... only the best can ascend these ranks. Some day that could be one of you!” He points directly at Amity, who brightens and squeals. Eda laughs at the show. (Wait…Amity? What is Amity, that pretty blessing to us, doing here? Well, to be fair this is a Hexside event, so it makes sense she’d be here. Honestly, she’s kinda not too bad when she’s not smug or mean. She may be a good potential friend if she becomes kinder or even be girlfriend material. We could kiss and eventually go farther if we love and trust each other enough.) The three guards grab their capes and disappear in flashes of white light. “And now, I'm pleased to introduce the esteemed leader of this coven and this year's mystery guest. You know her, you love her! Lilith Clawthorne!”
“Wait. Clawthorne?!” Luz realized. A bright flash of light near the ceiling turns into a blue raven sitting on a branch. It flies off the branch to the stage, landing to reveal Lilith. It disappears with a screech as she lifts her arms and sends her mask flying. The audience applauds and cheers, while Eda is looking at her speechless. (Time to talk about Eda’s mysterious past!)
“So, wait. This Lilith…,” Luz gasped in excitement and squeed. “Is she your sister?!”
Eda proceeded to groan. “Yes.”
“So your sister is a part of this Emperor’s Coven then? So, is she just like you?” Luz questioned.
“Not even close!” Eda sullenly answered.
“Who is older between you? Who is stronger? How old are you anyway?” Luz pestered Eda with questions Eda didn’t want to hear.
“Look! My sister is about to be giving a speech!” Eda said (I know this is a trick, but hey. I’m a sucker for speeches.).
“Thank you, all,” Lilith greets everyone as she magically sends her cape and mask back into Principal Bump. “It wasn't easy for me to rise to the top. I also started from humble beginnings,” Lilith is briefly interrupted by the boy with the big head from earlier. (Seriously, is he okay?) “Now I have the highest honor of enforcing the Emperor's will. So be more! The Emperor's Coven awaits you!” (Could I be a part of this someday? Having a great magical future? Wait…baby steps, Luz. You’re still a colossal screw-up barefooter that needs tons of improvement to actually have worth.) She spins, creating the raven illusion again. It spreads its wings before bursting into balls of light. Lilith poses with her arms out, smirking, while Eda glares at her.
“Watch where you—Oh, it's you. Willow's... abomination thing,” Amity scowled upon seeing the beautiful troublemaking jerk.
Amity had to admit. When she came to the Covention today, she didn’t expect to see Luz. In fact, this day of curiously seeing whatever Covens existed past the Emperor’s Coven was supposed to be stress free.(Why is she here?! Does she really desire me to be miserable that much?! I haven’t even been mean to people while here!)
“Uh... Hey, Amity. So, funny story. Not an abomination. Sorry for the confusion last week. I-I'm Luz. The human. Nice to see you again! Hi!” She tries to offer her hand, but Amity smacks it away. (Go ahead and keep up your nice girl act. Catch me off guard before you embarrass me again!)
“Ugh. Put that away. You're the one that got me in trouble with Principal Bump and I never get in trouble. Not to mention you made me late for my part-time job the day we met! So go ahead and just leave me alone!” Amity decided to just walk away. (This way, I won’t be embarrassed.)
However, instead of taking the hint, Luz proceeded to follow her instead. “Well, to be fair, you were okay with him trying to dissect me. Not to mention you were kinda a bully to Willow, so—“ Admittedly, Amity did feel kinda bad at the reminder. She was far from the nicest to Willow. While it wasn’t always her intent to be mean, she had either said things that made her feel small or allow her “friends” to do so with little pushback. (I didn’t intend to be mean, but apologizing would mean showing weakness. Weakness would mean being worthless. Being worthless means I can never be loved or worthy of it.) Still, she couldn’t say that to her, so instead she vented another confused irritation.
Amity stopped and turned around. “You can't be here! This covention is for witches only.”
“Well, I'm learning how to be a witch. I'm receiving magic lessons from a powerful witch and a ferocious demon,” Luz proudly claimed.
Amity was unamused. Was she training under the Owl Lady? The one who never joined a coven even when given a chance to enter the best one? (Does she really believe that? Unlikely. She likely is thinking this is all a game, when it isn’t!) Amity then looked over Luz's shoulder, seeing a cute, though Amity wouldn’t admit it aloud, pet demon walking up covered in a bunch of free stuff. “Is that your ferocious demon there?” Amity noted, still unamused at the lies this temptress human girl was saying.
King walked up to them after grabbing a cupcake, saying he had gotten many offerings…only to be tripped by his own scarf and fall over.
Luz went to go help him up. Both the titan-like jerkwad and the demon pet reached out for King’s dropped cupcake, failing to reach it before Amity steps on it. King gasps. (Not exactly proud I had to do that, but this human girl needs to know she is not on my level and to just stop bothering me.) After giving a sarcastic apology, Luz questioned why Amity did what she did. So Amity decided to be brutally honest. “Because you and your pet are giving witches in training a bad name.” And it was true. She appeared to be treating magic like it was a game. A joke! (I've had to work for years to be the top student. This girl likely hasn’t worked for even ten minutes!)
Luz responded by hugging the cute demon, saying heatedly, “He’s a very good boy and the King of Demons! I'll tell you what, Amity.” Luz proceeded to stand back up. “It's one thing to say I can't be a witch-“
“'Cause you can't.”
“...but it's another thing to bully my friends. Just like The Good Witch Azura said when facing down her rival Hecate at the Bog of Immediate Regret... I challenge you to a Witch's Duel!” Luz proclaimed proudly. (Wait…Azura?! She knows Azura?! Please date me! No, Amity! Bad! Think about what that means later!)
Everyone nearby, including Tinella who apparently abused the power glyphs to attack and destroy, gasped. Amity takes several steps forward into Luz's face and smugly smiles. “I accept. Let's set the terms for this duel, shall we?”
“One, if I win, you apologize to King for squashing his cupcake. Two, you don’t pick on my friends anymore, including Willow. (Okay…not that I was proud to do that anyway…) And three, you admit that humans can be witches too,” Luz set her terms. (Kinda naive to suggest such simple terms.)
“Fine by me. But when I win, not only do you have to tell the whole covention you're not a witch, you have to stop training forever,” Amity gave her harsher terms (Maybe this way the girl will get to not mess with and embarrass me all the time.) Luz the human did agree and ask for a handshake to seal the deal. Amity decided to take it a step further and drew a spell circle around Luz’s sweetly soft hand before shaking.
“That's probably fine,” Luz noted. (If only she knew the Everlasting Oath would magically bind one to keep a given promise. I almost feel bad for doing this.)
“Meet back inside the theater in one hour,” Amity finally walked away, ready to train and prepare herself for her upcoming victory and achieve, not so petty, justice. “Let's see what kind of witch you are.”
Willow had to admit that today was incredibly fun so far. She got to visit the Covention with her best friends, got to see the Emperor’s Coven in action, and even got to see Coven Head Lilith in person at the showcase. Today was like a dream. (If this is a dream, please don’t wake me up!)
Willow decided to look for Luz while Gus went in line to get an autograph from Coven Head Mason, having lost track of Luz after the showcase ended. (I hope she enjoyed the show and got a better idea what Coven to enjoy being a part of eventually. She needs more kindhearted friends that will treat her well like she deserves.) She did eventually find Eda, looking as though she was trying to leave, though without Luz.
“Hey, Miss Eda!” Willow got the older woman’s attention. “So, two questions. Do you know where Luz is? And how have you enjoyed the Covention? Is it better than you thought it would be? (That technically was three questions, Willow?)
“The Covention was a drag! You can enjoy it all you want, Plant Girl, but I’d rather clean the Owl House without magic than come here again!” Eda groaned, much to Willow’s sadness. “As for Luz, I saw her a few minutes ago and told her we were leaving, but she’s yet to come back. She was surprisingly excited to see this crap.”
“Well she is passionate about magic, Miss Eda…,” Willow began.
“Just Eda will do,” Eda rolled her eyes. (Right. Mi-er Eda doesn’t like to be talked to in a formal manner.) “So maybe you can stay a bit longer for her sake. Besides, maybe you can play catchup with your sister, Coven Head Lilith?”
Eda groaned. “As sweet as it is that you want to help your friend and me, and trust me it can be sickening how sweet you guys and Luz are, I’ll give a hard pass. The last thing I need as a further headache. So I’ll be going and King can help Luz get-“
“Sister?” Eda and Willow turn around, seeing Lilith surrounded by several other Hexside students. “It's been so long since I've seen you last!” Lilith proceeds to sign something and hands it to Mattholomule. (Oh my titan! I will get to meet Coven Head Lilith in person! Someone pinch me!) “What are you wearing? You look like some sort of trash collector. Oh, right. You are. And who is this? A student of yours…provided you even teach?”
“T-the name’s Willow Park Miss Lilith. A-and I came with Eda and my friends to check out the Covention,” Willow managed to say, feeling so elated she may have fainted.
“Really? So why did you of all witches decided to come here with children? Last I checked you had no kids,” Lilith chuckled at the thought. (I know Luz isn’t Eda’s daughter, but I think it’s cute she’s helping raise Luz while here.)
“Oh, Lily. I just had to see the leader of the Emperor's Coven in action,” Eda snarks rather than bring up Luz. She then leaned down to talk to the students. “You know, when we were kids, Lilith was so excited to see the Emperor's Coven, she peed a little.”
Willow did her best to refrain from giggling. She didn’t want to insult Coven Head Lilith.
“That—That's all for today,” Lilith gives a frustrated groan as she blushes. She then ushers off the remaining students, leaving Willow, Eda, and her to talk. Lilith then notes to Eda, “You shouldn't even be here. You're a wanted criminal! Unless…” (Does this mean Eda is in trouble now? Maybe we should leave. Sorry Miss Lilith.) Instead, Lilith gasps excitedly. “I don't believe it! You are here to join the Emperor's Coven!” (This could be a great opportunity for Eda! She could join the system in a way that won’t restrict her like she feared! And she won’t have to worry about her or Luz being arrested!) Eda, much to Willow’s surprise, or not, gleefully declined the offer. Lilith, though, wasn’t happy. “You think being covenless makes you so much smarter than everyone else. But while you run from the law like a degenerate, I'm mentoring the next generation of powerful witch students into the world.”
“Well, I have a student. And I bet she could wipe the floor with any of your prissy little blue bloods,” Eda taunted and boasted.
“Wait…you mean Luz? She is a great person, though she’s kinda…,” Willow began only for Eda to cover her mouth.
“Well, you really wanna sell this other student of yours. Still, her friend doesn’t seem as confident. Still, you are thinking of challenging my student?” Lilith said confidently.
“Oh, it’s a promise!” Eda boasted.
Willow then moved to stop the fight. “Look! Maybe we shouldn’t jump into a fight right now! Luz may not want to do one at her level!”
“King, I-I can win this, right?” Luz remembered muttering out, extremely nervous and rightfully self-doubting, after stupidly choosing to fight an extremely superior, smart, cool, pretty witch in Amity. Sure, it would normally be heroic to stand up to a mean bully for her friends. But Luz had no way of actually winning. She was a worthless loser at magic or, well, anything that wasn’t creative. She would just get herself murdered by Amity. Her loved ones would be distraught!
So Luz went all over the Covention hall, desperately looking for Eda to hopefully give her some advice or a way to use a spell like with Owlbert. Finally, Luz found her talking with her sister and Willow (In nicer circumstances I would like to ask if they had fun catching up.) Upon reaching them, she rudely interrupted and popped up between them. “Eda, I need your help! I accidentally challenged Amity to a witch's duel, and I think she's going to kill me all the way dead!” Luz then slumped to the ground.
“Oh, Luz! I don’t know what you were thinking. I get you may wanna help us or something, but a duel is a bit much!” Willow said. Luz couldn’t blame her for having no faith in a lesbo screw-up like her.
Lilith then took notice of Luz. “Mmm, it seems your student has met my strongest protégé,” Lilith noted smugly (Another reminder I screwed up without thinking!) Lilith then kneeled down and looked over Luz. “And look at those ears!” Luz covered them, blushing and feeling even more distressed. (Great! Another person reminds me that I’m a screw-up outcast loser even in the Isles!) “Is she human?” Lilith then chuckles and stands. “Where did you even find one of these?”
“Hey! Luz may be a human, but she is better and more extraordinary than you’d think!” Willow defended Luz. The human found the intent sweet, even though she likely didn’t deserve it.
“Is she now?” Lilith then made a deal with Eda. They both would see how Luz and Amity would do against each other magic-wise and who was better at teaching. In return, Eda wouldn’t have to worry about being arrested for today.
Upon Lilith leaving, Eda decided to get Luz trained for a fight. (She’s wasting her time.) “Come on, kid. Time to prepare for bloodshed.”
“But... whose blood?” Luz questioned, the comment making Luz even more scared for what would happen.
“Anyone's guess!” Eda joked with a chuckle as Luz smiled nervously.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have that violent of talk just yet…,” Willow noted nervously.
The trio went to a corner of the Covention where there weren’t too many demons or witches, with Eda having put on a sweatband. “All right, Luz. Let's start your training. Now, I'm coming at you with a blast of fire. What do you do?” Eda proposed. Luz, however, instead of answering, pulled her hood up and leaned off of the box she was sitting on, landing on the floor in fetal position. (Yep. Don’t even need to give an answer to remind myself and Eda I’m a worthless barefooter screw-up.) “Oh, that's right. I haven't taught you many spells, huh?” Luz shook her head.
“Well…she knows how to do a light spell. She could just blind Amity and get in close without magic,” Willow suggested. It wasn’t a great suggestion, but Luz at least appreciated the idea.
“I wouldn’t do well. I don’t want to hurt her, jerk or not. It’s not like she’s Wrath or Adegast. Besides, I have weak nerd arms. I couldn’t do much,” Luz somberly admitted.
“Didn’t you once lift a thirty pound bag of potion ingredients for Eda once?” Willow questioned. Luz noted that she was lucky that time, which she likely was.
“Well, I guess victory is gonna be hard. Boy, I hope you didn't make an everlasting oath to stop learning magic or anything. You'd be toast,” Eda laughed.
(Oh ?&$@!) Luz nervously sat back up as she tried to ask for clarification. “I-Is there a glowy hand thing that happens, or, uh—“
Meanwhile, Luz got even more discouraged upon seeing Lilith and Amity standing nearby. An abomination that comes up to Amity's shoulders rose from her spell circle on the ground with a groan. It twisted its head off and threw it, hitting a baker's coven witch in the face. Tinella Nosa grabs his hand, chucks him, and then screams.
“I can't believe I'm gonna have to stop learning magic!” Luz miserably stated. (So much for being a human witch. So much for growing to be more than worthless! I should have just found another way to comfort King.)
“It’s fine. Gus and I will still be your friends,” Willow put a hand on Luz’s right shoulder and tried to comfort her.
“Listen to me, Luz. We are not gonna let those snobs win that easy! We are not gonna let them win at all. I've got an idea,” Eda claimed as her sweatband broke off her head. Luz didn’t know what the idea was, but hopefully it could be of use here.
Amity was feeling fairly confident in herself. (I’m rarely ever this confident. Usually there’s a small voice telling me I suck if I’m not perfect.) This witches duel was going to end in an easy and decisive victory and that human girl, Luz, would finally give up on embarrassing her at every opportunity.
Lilith and Amity were standing on the dais in the stadium, while Eda and Luz are standing opposite them. Lilith began her speech explaining things to those not in the know. “Beloved citizens, the Emperor's Coven proudly presents an impromptu demonstration of the sort of witch we seek every year. Introducing Amity Blight. Versus…” Lilith placed a hand on the back of Amity’s neck as she walked forward. Eda, the Owl Lady, stepped out of the way and proudly presented the very nervous Luz. (Not so high and mighty now, huh seductress?)...”some human girl.”
As Amity smirked confidently and smugly, she noticed two things. First, there were suddenly a bunch of bumps on the field. (Is this supposed to be a part of the duel? Never saw the field like this before.) And second, the human and the Owl Lady were chatting quietly. (Please! I don’t need some final reassurance. I’m already a perfect winner. I will NOT lose!)
Finally, the bell rings and screamed. Luz was still nervous (Congrats! You know you’ll lose like you deserve!), and Amity snugged confidently. The two approached each other as the audience cheered. Amity cracks her knuckles, while Luz waves with a nervous smile. Amity makes the first move, tracing out a large spell circle. “Abomination. Rise.” An abomination that towers over the two girls groaned as it rose out of the spell circle. Luz whimpers in fear as the crowd gasps. Amity can’t blame them. This abomination was huge! She never made one even half this size from nothing before. Only her dad or Coven Head Darius had ever done this. (I really have finally reached their level at this young an age?! Amazing! I really am fit for the Emperor’s Coven!) After giving out a surprised gasp, Amity’s smug smirk returned. “Whoa. Show me what you got, human!”
“I'm not good under pressure!” Luz books it as the abomination groans. It twists its head off and throws it at Luz. The girl pants as she runs, being lucky to dodge the abomination’s head as it just misses. (Kinda good to see. The goal is to embarrass her and put her in her place, not kill her.) Luz trips and loses her shoe, but is quick to get back up and continue running, blushing madly for some reason. However, Luz is backed against the wall by the advancing abomination, its head regrown. She sinks to the ground in fear, whimpering, and grows nervous when she realizes she's right in front of one of the strange mounds. She braces as the abomination steps on it. The abomination looks down as a towering jet of fire erupts from the mound.
That could not have been normal magic. (What did she do?!) “How did you do that?” Amity demanded to the half-barefoot girl (Man, she does have cute feet.).
“I, uh—,” The human does jazz hands. “Magic?” Luz lied badly.
The steaming abomination steps onto another mound, this one producing a current of air strong enough to launch it and Amity into the air. She screams. The abomination grunts as it lands on its back. Amity lands, kneeling. “I-I saw you that time! You didn't use your hands! What are you getting at?” Amity demanded, knowing that the human was cheating somehow.
“Not dying!” The human girl lied as she continued to run. The abomination stepped on a mound once more. Said mound created an explosion that knocked it over. The abomination started to sit up with a groan, then stomps toward Luz again. Luz screams and runs.
Eventually, figuring that she wanted, no needed, to know what this cheating magic was, sent her abomination to wait as Amity herself advanced on Luz. “How are you doing that?”
Luz proceeds to see that Amity was about to step on a mound. “No, Amity, don't step any closer!” The girl pleaded. (So the mound is connected to her cheating? I got her now!)
“Why, Luz? What happens if I step closer?” Amity bitterly questioned.
At this point, before Amity could trigger the cheating girl’s trap, King screamed as he fell flat on his back, directly on the mound. Spikes burst from the ground, forcing Luz and Amity back several steps. (Aha! She was cheating! And…what the hell?! She tried to kill me! She deserves to not learn magic now!) At this point, Luz turns to Eda and questions in (likely fake) shock and horror, “Spikes?” The Owl Lady gives her two thumbs up.
Amity yells about how she knew the human girl was cheating! (After all, how else could she do magic? Draw on a paper?!) Lilith then noted about how Eda, and by extension Luz, have lost over this revelation.
“It wasn't my idea to cheat. And when I found out, I tried to stop it, but—,” Luz lied to defend herself.
“Who could believe anything you say?” Amity denied the cheater the chance to lie herself out of trouble as she turned to leave.
“Wait!” Luz tried to stop Amity. “I-I’m sorry…I just…didn’t want to stop learning magic…I was scared…but I didn’t…,” Amity almost stopped as she heard how hurt Luz sounded. If she wasn’t afraid to be weak or didn’t want to pity a cheater, she’d apologize for what happened. But things were much more complicated than the clueless human thought. She wouldn’t have a great loss with not learning magic anyway. She just wanted to have pointless goofy fun with it and not out in the hard work.
As Amity started to walk away, Eda notices something on Amity as[Lilith's eyes widen. For some reason, Eda goes after Amity and she lifts Amity's hair. “Hey! What are you—,” Amity demanded as Eda rips something off of her neck; a power glyph was what was there. The abomination shrubk until it's about the height of Amity's knee, though it crumbles completely when its head crushes it. Eda holds the glyph up to the audience. To Amity’s shock and horror, she realized that she had cheated. SHE. HAD. CHEATED! And everyone had seen her do it in front of the Emperors Coven! She…why?! (Of course I had to have cheated to make such a powerful abomination! I still need a training wand to learn new spells! Like an ignorant toddler! I am so weak and pathetic compared to so many other Hexside students! I could never be that good even if I had decades!)
While Amity was caught up in her horrified self/pitying thoughts, the Owl Lady exclaimed, “Ah-ha! Yes, yes, yes-yes-yes! You cheated. Perfect, prissy Lilith cheated. Hot dang, I love coventions! La-la-la—“
Lilith tried to claim that she cheated through Amity only because she knew Eda would do so. Eda, however, was still not deterred as Lilith still stooped that low. Amity wasn’t registering this much, however, as she was instead still distraught and mortified to realize she still was tricked into cheating.
As Amity was rubbing the back of her neck, she desperately tried to defend, lBut... I didn't know!” At this point, she saw Luz, the cheater who helped cause all this, approaching and Amity ran off (I am such a coward, but I have no choice at this point!)
Amity ran off to the entrance to the theater, sitting down to sulk in a dark corner by the bathrooms. She still felt down, even when away from such a humiliating situation. She…let tears roll down her face as her nose also began so become stuffy. She is just happy that everyone is still in the stadium to not see her be so pathetic. (Why did this happen to me? Why did luck have to be against me? Why did that human girl- Luz- do this to me?! My life is ruined!!!) Eventually, Amity’s crying sulk was interrupted by the last person she wanted to see. “Amity… I'm sorry.” The girl, with her missing shoe back on, apologized.
Luz began to approach her as she groaned. “Ugh, seriously? Just leave me alone.”
“I didn't mean to embarrass you, or make you cry. I just wanted to defend my friends,” Luz tried to defend herself. (She is such a bad liar to claim this wasn’t intentional. Lilith wouldn’t have ruined my life if Luz didn’t enter my life and challenge me!)
“That's all you ever do! First at school, and now this!” Amity distraughtly yelled.
“Yeah, but—,” Luz once more tried to defend herself.
A red eyed Amity finally stood up and confronted Luz directly, “You made me look like a fool in front of the Emperor's Coven. My future! You think it's so easy to be a witch. I have been working my whole life to get to the top!” (After all, this was the life her mom set up for her; the one that would be her happy destiny.) Amity advanced on a saddened Luz, pointing and touching her chest as she did so (Side note. Is it wrong her lack of a chest is enticing to me?) “You lost! You cheated! Say it! Say you're not a witch!” Amity desperately tried to validate herself. She desperately needed to hear this. (This is the only way I can regain even a shred of my value.)
To Amity’s surprise, Luz looks at the ground before admitting what Amity had just admitted somberly. “I'm not a witch.” To Amity’s further surprise, Luz the human knelt down, pulling out a notepad and pencil. Amity was confused as she kneeled down with her. Luz slowly draws out the light glyph, then taps it. She gently cups the ball of light produced, smiling at it. She holds it up to Amity. “But I'm training hard to be one.” Amity stared at the light in awe. (She…can do magic? H-how?!)
(Well… this duel turned out to be more interesting than I thought…)
Willow was surprised to see where all this had gone. Right before the duel and wishing Lu luck, she had reunited with Gus and sat to watch the duel. As cool and sweet as it was that Luz apparently challenged Amity to help her and Luz’s other friends, it also was practically suicide. Thankfully, as awful as Amity was, she wouldn’t just commit murder. But Luz would likely still be injured and humiliated. Gus was way more optimistic than Willow was, though. He thought Luz could win. Eventually, the duel began and Amity summoned a massive abomination. The rest of the duel… didn’t go as Willow expected.
Apparently, Eda tried to help Luz by cheating. (I know I’m not one to talk, but cheating should be avoided, especially in an official duel.) Luz and Eda got found out when King tripped on his offerings and fell into the arena. (Side note. At least it was because he cared about Luz and wanted her to be cheered for.)
However, surprisingly, it turned out Amity was cheating as well. (Call me vindictive, but after everything she’s done I can’t say she didn’t get what she deserved.) She ran off while Eda was taunting and boasting to Coven Head Lilith. Eventually, Lilith got so pissed that she decided to attack. (I guess even professional adults have moments of immaturity)
Eda and Lilith ended up having a duel from there. Eventually, Lilith was spinning her staff. When Eda's attack stops, she pushes her hand forward, her spell circle turning into a burst of magic. Eda takes a few steps back, spinning and drawing a spell circle on the ground. She lifts her hand, creating a growing pillar of wood that splits Lilith's attack. The pillar bends, its owl face hooting lowly. (Man, Hooty is kinda creepy even as a construct.) Lilith stares at it, then teleports away from its approaching beak. Stray magic enters the audience. Willow and Gus had to flee with the audience to avoid getting hurt, but they decided to stick around to still make sure Eda was fine. Luz didn’t need to worry about Eda getting hurt.
Two new owl faces extend from the large pillar. Eda draws four more spell circles on the opposite side. Lilith easily teleports away from all of their beaks, destroying one on the ground, then three in the air with a grunt. Eda smirks and spins her staff, creating an orange shield as Lilith hits it with magic and her staff. The shield cracks, but Eda's expression doesn't change. Owlbert’s eyes glow. He flies into Lilith's face, interrupting her attack. He hoots and pulls her hair.
“Wow, what a smart use of a palisman. Kinda a dirty tactic though,” Gus admitted. “Should I like it?”
Eda proceeded to drop her shield “Say goodnight, sister,” Eda said confidently.
She spins her staff and smacks the butt of it into the wooden pillar. A large owl's face forms right next to Lilith, and with a hoot, it captures her in its beak. All falls silent. Owlbert lands back on Eda's staff. She smiles at her trusted palisman.
“That…was a bit much. You KILLED a Coven Head!” Willow cried out in shock and horror.
“Ah, relax. I just trapped her. She’ll be fine,” Eda reassured.
“Good! At least you won’t be in further trouble and worry Luz,” Willow sighed in relief.
“Yep! That was a cool fight, though! You both were neck and neck!” Gus gushed.
“You think that was impressive? I wasn’t even going all out!” Eda boasted, much to Willow’s surprise (She was more powerful than any witch she ever saw. Just how strong was Eda?). “Now to find Lu and leave before-“
Eda looks concerned when she looked back at the owl tube and sees the flaming hole in the new owl tube's side. Lilith appears directly behind her.
“Enough of this,” Lilith decided to decisively end the battle. Eda gasps. She is thrown into the wall with a scream, leaving a crater. Lilith smirks and spins her staff, ready to knock out Eda and, from what she said earlier, bring her to join the Coven. Willow wasn’t sure if she should be concerned with Lilith breaking her word or not.
“Lily, wait. The curse,” Eda interrupted her sister. Lilith did indeed stop spinning her staff, the gathering magic at her palisman disappearing. “Look at me. Look at my face. The curse is worsening and I can't keep up with it. I don't know how much time I have left.”
Lilith approached Eda. “I'll admit I was surprised when I first saw you today.”
“I just had to see my sister for... possibly the last time,” Eda said with a warm smile.
Willow found this moment to be sweet, as did Gus. However, before the conversation could continue, Eda distracted her sister by throwing a Hex Mix bag at the Coven Head. (Was that an act? And did she just throw a snack bag at a Coven Head?)
Willow and Gus decided to follow Eda’s lead and leave for the day. It was far more exciting than anything they could have expected, if nothing else.
As Luz looked impressed with what she did, Amity wanted to dismiss this. She couldn’t just accept what she was seeing. She turned away, “That's nothing. A child could do a light spell.” Amity saw Luz's expression fall. She proceeds to extinguish the ball of light and turns away, almost looking depressed as she scoops up her notepad. (I…was too mean this time, wasn’t I? Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to show vulnerability for once…or twice technically.) “But... I've never seen it cast like that.”
“It doesn't come naturally to me like it does for you, so I've had to improvise,” Luz explains as she nods to the notepad.
It was then that it hit Amity. (She is putting in the hard work. She is willing to break her back to get stronger. Just…like me…who is this girl? Was it wrong she found it sweet and cute she was so smart and hardworking?) Not wanting to think about this anymore, she did what she felt was right in this instance. Amity sighs. She traces out a spell circle and drags Luz's hand into it. Their hands glow briefly, and the circle disappears.
“The oath is unbound,” Amity notes as she lets Luz go and stands to leave.
“Did it work? Can I still learn magic?” Luz asked her, apparently hoping that this was what she thought.
“Humans have no magical ability. But I doubt that'll stop you,” Amity briefly turned back to Luz as she said this last part, before walking away with a sad frown, feeling the need to go home and think things over more.
Today…was more stressful than Luz thought it would be. She was a part of a duel she would have inevitably lost. She was forced to consider cheating, as much as she hated it, in order to futilely prove she could be more than a screw-up. She also had an… interesting interaction with the pretty and cool goddess Amity where she saw her light glyph , the first non-weirdo club person to see it. She also… had a question for Eda when they and King finally interacted again. (Apparently she had a witches’ duel with her sister right after I left to find Amity. After I embarrassed myself with my meager glyph when talking with her. I’m such a joke!)
“Eda…” Eda stops and looks back at the self-conscious girl. “Do you think I'll ever be a true witch?”
“What? I don't know. And who's a true witch? These suckers? According to them, that means being in a coven, but I never joined one and I'm better than all of them combined. You gotta be your own witch,” Eda reassured.
Luz did brighten at this. “My own witch.”
“Now, let's go before my sister realizes I tied her pointy shoes together,” Eda said as the trio of weirdos heard Lilith yell. “And that's our cue!”
As the trio left, Luz decided to note. “So, you have a sister? Now that's a mysterious past payoff!”
“Oh, you think that's all the mystery I got? Wait until you hear about my parents?” Eda joked.
“What? You've got parents? Well, obviously you had to have, but I was wondering if you were orphaned! I need to know more!” Luz cheered.
“You very much don't!” King commented.
Luz did have a rougher day than she initially thought she would. She fought a losing battle with a bully. She was forced to accept cheating to not lose her self-worth quest. She even embarrassed herself further by showing the light glyph to Amity only for it to be dismissed somewhat.
But not everything was bad. She did have some fun with her friends. She did learn more about this world. And…maybe she understood Amity a bit more? Luz was uncertain how to feel overall, but maybe if she were to work to become a true witch she’d have to continue following Eda’s advice and forge her own path.
Lilith ended up having to take ten minutes to do so, but she finally managed to reach her dressing room, tripping over her tied laces. Lilith managed to stand up with her laces tied. (What was Edalyn’s deal?! Why won’t she just join the Emperor’s Coven?!) “You make it so hard to want to help you, Edalyn.”
The compact mirror on the counter opens, showing off the insignia of the Emperor's Coven. Lilith gasped. (Was it going to be one of the other Coven Heads? The Golden Guard teen prodigy brat? Or even…the emperor?) No, on the mirror was a red demon with hand hair, wearing white robes that covered her mouth. Kikimora…”Lilith, I see you let The Owl Lady get the best of your temper. Just remember what Emperor Belos has promised to you.”
Lilith nods in understanding. “I will capture her, ma'am. You have my word, Kikimora.”
“Very good,” Kikimora looked happy (At least Lilith thought she was. It was hard to read the power climber.)
Kikimora fades from the mirror, allowing Lilith's reflection to appear. “Your days are numbered, Edalyn.”