So here's a funny thing. Disney has two cartoons airing about a teenage girl transported to another world.
'But Blaze!' I hear you say, 'Everyone and their Aunt Minnie have made that connection between The Owl House and Amphibia. Hell, both series had their first episodes posted on Youtube as a promotional stunt! What is the point of bringing this up?'
Background, geniuses. Now pay attention.
Like a lot of people, I watched both pilots and compared the two. I ended up gravitating toward The Owl House more strongly. It was presentation, honestly. Eda had a sly demeanor that was entertaining as all hell, King was hilarious, and Luz was a bundle of sunshine and awesome. And unlike Amphibia's Anne, Luz seemed to actually WANT to be in the new world, having felt like an outsider back home and finding a better chance for acceptance on the Boiling Isles. Basically, The Owl House just resonated with me better than Amphibia did.
(also, I really like owls)
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch the episodes when they first came out. Thankfully, Disney Plus got me all caught up, and I got the same feeling I got when I first saw Gravity Falls, Frozen, Ducktales 2017, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: that I was watching something special.
And like many fans, I started to speculate on the characters, their world, and what might come next. I started thinking about what Lilith might do for redemption, about how to get Belos off their backs, about the beautiful relationship between Luz and Eda, and about what might end up happening with Luz and Amity.
So here we are. Me exploring some of those questions. I honestly don't know where I'm going with this, but I feel the need to get it down. I wouldn't expect an overarching story like Blood Ties or Gold Light, Green Light. This is more experimental. This is me taking some of my ideas and some of the various pieces of fandom speculations and going "Okay, what do I do with this?"
I feel like it's a statement of how quickly I can actually get stuff down that I've only got a few chapters ready, and we're less than a month away from the Season 2 premiere. Let's hope for both faster production for me and for good things this summer.
Hope you all enjoy the ride. I think I will.
The Owl Coven
Chapter 1
The Raven's Scheme
It had started with a child's errant wish and a sister's question.
Deep in the woods of the Boiling Isles, nestled in the trees and overlooking the sea, there was a house. Once home to one of the most powerful witches on the Isles, it now boasted a much more dour mood.
King looked around the breakfast table, yellow eyes darting between the other residents. The little demon could be a selfish and ego-driven soul, he admitted it, but for the past two weeks, he'd found himself as the sole voice of reason in the house.
It was getting weird.
He looked over at Eda, catching her scratching at her blackened gem. He knew that, as powerful as she used to be, the loss of nearly all her magic was a bitter pill to swallow. And while the youngest member of the household was trying her best, it was hard for Eda to change to a completely different way of magic. It was hard for an adult to make such a drastic change. Eda was trying, and she appreciated her apprentice's efforts, but the growing pains were harsh.
And it wasn't helped by the Owl House's newest resident. King knew that Lilith's presence was just as much a matter of practicality as it was emotional for Eda. Despite the, to put it mildly, rocky history, Eda stilled cared about her sister, and Lilith felt the same. However, past hurts were hard to fully forgive, even though both were trying. And now Lilith was in the same situation as her formerly-estranged sister: nearly powerless and hunted by the Emperor's Coven, her own former colleagues.
The sisters ate their oatmeal in silence, a thick band of tension between them. But the emotional turmoil nearly paled on comparison to the youngest at the table.
Luz Noceda was a teenager. Her emotions ran hot and fast, as expected for a girl her age. Usually, she was a bright person. She rarely got angry. But she'd grown attached to Eda in such a short period of time. The bond was, dare King say it, magical in its strength. So the fact that Lilith had hurt Eda so badly ensured that she was high on Luz's 'bad guy' list. However, Lilith was also trying to make up for it. She'd gone against her former boss, risked her own life, and sacrificed her magic to try and undo her mistakes. Luz knew that. The two Liliths, the villain and the repentant, grappled in her mind with such force that King could practically feel it. Every now and again, he'd catch Luz giving Lilith odd looks, like she still wasn't sure of everything.
Eda saw it too. Her heart ached whenever she saw it. Luz was important to her, in so many ways. The poor kid was already dealing with the fallout of the confrontation with Emperor Belos, and now she was living under the same roof as a former enemy. She knew it would take time before Luz was fully comfortable around Lilith.
Luz has no idea of the conversation Eda and Lilith had had. The one where Eda had point-blank asked Lilith when exactly she'd become the sort of person who would hurt a child to accomplish her goals. The one where Eda, even while tentatively accepting Lilith's explanation of mad desperation, had told her that if she ever laid a hand on Luz in harm again, then sister or not, it would be the last thing Lilith ever did.
The one where Lilith realized that she hadn't kidnapped some odd pet or unlikely houseguest, that the human wasn't some convenient leverage over her sister, but that Eda loved Luz like a daughter. The one where Lilith, seeing the steely glint in her sister's eyes and hearing the growl in her voice, decided she'd be safer pissing off a mother bear than testing Eda on this front.
Eda shook her head a bit, dismissing the thought. She waved her hand, intending to summon a napkin, but only a pitiful spark left her fingers. Grunting in self-deprecation, she physically reached for the center of the table.
Luz finished her breakfast and stood up.
"What time is it? I don't want to be late for school."
"Bump is still keeping the Emperor goons away, right?" Eda asked with a hint of worry, "I still see them sniffing around Bonesborough."
"Yeah, I saw him yelling at a guard yesterday for 'storming in willy-nilly and scaring the students'."
"Knew there was a reason I liked him," King chuckled.
"Well, keep your eyes open," Eda said, "And if you see anything funny, use the secret passageways to hide until I can come get you."
"Okay, Eda," Luz nodded solemnly. After the recent near miss, she'd by lying if she said the idea of the Emperor's Coven lurking about didn't give her the willies.
Lilith finished her oatmeal and stood up, grunting a bit as her back audibly popped.
"That sounded like it hurt," King said.
"What hurts more is the muscle aches," Lilith replied.
"Side effect of the curse," Eda hummed, "It gets worse after a transformation, but the aches are always there in some way."
"How did you deal with it for so long?"
"Practice," Eda shrugged, "Now, I forget, what's on the agenda today?"
"We'd acquired a cutting of a rare plant, remember? We were going to do some potion testing."
"Oh, yeah. We've been brainstorming a lot recently, it's hard to keep track. Still need to send Hugh that special oil as payment."
"This is why I keep a planner, Edalyn."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
Luz tuned them out as she made up her lunch for later. The sisters had been spending the last two weeks brainstorming ideas for how to deal with the curse they now shared. But from what she'd overheard, they weren't any closer to a cure than they were separately. It hadn't been long, but still.
"Although if nothing else, the plant oils might help with the muscle aches," Lilith was saying.
"If muscle aches are the only thing it's good for, that'd be super disappointing," Eda countered.
"Too bad someone torched the Healing Hat," Luz scoffed, "Willow, Gus, and I were this close to getting it. I imagine it would have gone better with a sneaky witch and a woman on the inside."
"Wait," Lilith said slowly, "You think that I destroyed the Healing Hat?"
"I was there!" Luz snapped.
"Not what I meant," Lilith replied, "I meant, you thought that was the actual Healing Hat?"
There was a silence throughout the room. Luz had told the story of the failed heist, but until now, Lilith hadn't giving the affair much thought. Truth be told, given what happened next, Lilith didn't like thinking about that day.
Luz gawked at her for a moment before finding her voice.
"Are you…was that a fake hat the whole time?"
"The Emperor has always been wary about certain artifacts being too open, even in his own castle. On days when public tours are conducted, he often trades them out for convincing fakes. Not all of them, mind. He's not as concerned with, say, the Plant Coven's relic. But the Healing Hat is definitely on the list of the ones he prefers to keep closer to the chest."
A wide smile began to cross Luz's face.
"Then we have a chance! If we can steal it—"
"Let me stop you right there," Lilith said, "We are not creating a heist on the Emperor's Castle. Did you forget how well that worked out for you and your friends?"
"But this'll be different! We'll have a woman who knows exactly how the castle works on our side! You can get us in no problem!"
"Absolutely not. Do you really think you'll be able to just waltz in, take the hat, and walk back out? Emperor Belos—"
"Is not invincible!" Luz argued, "He's powerful, but not all-powerful! He can be tricked, he can be worked around. He's not a god, and I've proven it! I hurt him, I cracked his mask, probably made him bleed under it! We just have to be clever."
Luz slid over to Eda throwing one arm around the older witch's waist.
"And we have a super-clever witch who's been dancing around Belos and his goons for ages!"
"Butter me up, why don't you?" Eda muttered.
"Luz, be serious," Lilith replied, a deep frown on her face, "We're talking about breaking into the secure vault!"
"Do you have the access codes?" King asked.
"Yes, they're only changed on a yearly basis, but…wait, no, I am not going to help you steal from the Emperor!"
Lilith's shout rang through the kitchen. Eda frowned and patted Luz on the head.
"Kid, go get ready for school. King, help her. I need to have a private talk with my sister."
The girl and the demon beat a hasty retreat, and Eda rounded on her sister. Her heterochronic gaze penetrated deep.
"You know, I noticed that you still refer to him with reverence. You still talk like he's this great and glorious leader, get this little tone in your voice. You still frown when I mess around with his name. Now, I get it. You've been a coven stooge for most of your life, but after everything he put us through, I'd have thought your opinion on him soured."
"Edalyn, it has-"
"Then why do you still refer to him as 'Emperor' with that suck-up tone?"
Lilith was silent, her eyes flicking away. Eda sighed.
"Look, you know I hate having to be 'that girl', but if it's the only why you'll listen, then so be it. Look me in the eye now, because I don't want to repeat myself. Lily, be honest: what do you owe that man? You gave him years of loyalty, hardly asking for anything in return. The one thing you specifically asked for, that you swore up and down he would provide, was a cure for my curse. And how did that go again? Oh right, he reneged and tossed you aside like old newspaper. He almost killed me, Lilith! And then when he decided that you weren't loyal enough to him, he nearly killed you. So again, I ask, what do you still owe him?"
Eda turned to the sink to wash the dishes, putting an end to the conversation.
"Think about it," she said, and then nothing more.
oOo
Lilith sat on the couch, working over a few spell equations. She took a sip of her tea and sat back. She'd been in a sort of fugue since she'd sat down, her mind focused on her equations to the detriment of all else.
Or at least she'd thought. Instead of the near-legendary focus she was known for when working on something, her mind was in two places.
"What do you still owe him?"
Her sister's words kept ringing in her mind with regularity. And a seed of doubt was swiftly blooming.
She'd spent years as a member and then leader of the Emperor's Coven. She'd dedicated herself to enforcing his order. She'd seen him perform great feats of magic. She was a believer.
But now that she was thinking about it, this wasn't the first time she'd had doubts. All the moments she's suppressed, the questions she'd stopped herself from asking, the thoughts of worry and doubt, it was all coming back to her.
Her teacup shook in her hand as she remembered the screams of condemned witches as flesh turned to stone. She might not have done the deed, but she was complicit in it. How many of them were like Edalyn? How many were simply outsiders and had been put to the sword through little to no fault of their own?
Memories flooded through her. Feelings long buried erupted forth.
The teacup fell to the floor, cracking against the ground and spilling forth its contents. Tears dripped down and joined the cooling liquid.
"Oh, Titan, I've been a fool."
She sat there for some time, taking in the full horror of memories long suppressed.
Horror turned to anger. How did she miss this? She should have known better! Had she been so blinded by Belos' power that she missed all the hurt she was spreading?
But what to do now? Even if she were at full strength, she couldn't fight Belos herself. And he and his order were so engrained in the society of the Boiling Isles that simply removing him would unleash unquantifiable chaos. She had to play this smart, but where to begin…
Lilith found herself glancing over at her papers. She did a double-take.
The equations themselves were standard, but the way they were arranged on the paper made them take on a familiar shape.
In her single-minded focus, she never realized she'd been unconsciously sketching a floor plan of the Emperor's Castle.
A small chuckle fell from her lips.
"Seems my heart has already decided."
oOo
Eda rolled the jar in her hand briefly. Then she opened it and peeked inside.
"Good quality, but I'll need to get more."
She wrote the item down on a list and replaced the jar amongst its fellows.
It was actually funny, considering her otherwise wild lifestyle, but Eda found that taking inventory of her potions ingredients was an excellent stress-reducer.
Before she could continue, she felt a tapping on her shoulder. She jumped a bit and whirled around.
"Geez, Lily! Give me a heart attack why don't—wait, have you been crying?"
Lilith didn't immediately answer, but she did rub her eyes a bit to wipe away any remaining moisture.
"How would you run a heist of the Emperor's Castle?" Lilith asked.
Eda stared for a solid minute before smiling.
"Now you're talking sense, sister. But if we do this, we're going to need some insurance."
"Oh, I've been thinking about that," Lilith replied casually, "You asked earlier what I owed him."
"And?"
Lilith didn't smile. She showed her teeth.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
oOo
The office was opulent, as to be expected from someone of his status. But beyond the elaborate wall hangings and fine wood that comprised the furniture, he kept his office fairly understated. The shelves were full of books, but no knickknacks. No trophies adorned the walls between the tapestries. There was no marble fireplace as had been rumored for years. Aside from the desk and chair, shelves, and another pair of chairs before the desk for visitors, the only other item of furniture was a large crystal ball seated on a small table.
Emperor Belos paused, pen hovering over his paperwork for a moment.
"Something is wrong."
He got up and walked over to the crystal ball. The seemingly decorative object was actually an access point to the castle's security system, and with a touch of his hand, he started cycling through views of various rooms.
"No…no…that's not it…"
He paused at a view of the kitchens, seeing an enchantment on a bit of cookware run awry.
"Tempest in a teapot. Pesky, but manageable."
He continued going through views, stopping at a pair of his guards apparently talking about something. Tapping a rune at the base of the crystal ball, sound started to filter in, and he immediately regretted it.
"Well, that's very wrong, but it's not that either," he muttered, turning the sound back off.
Grumbling, he made his way out of his office and toward the throne room.
"Ah, Kikimora," he said, running his assistant just outside, "Have you noticed anything strange in the past hour or so?"
"I can't say I have, my lord," the little demoness replied, "Why do you ask?"
"I just have the strangest feeling that something in my castle isn't right. I checked my personal access to the security, but nothing seemed amiss."
"Well, today is the day we check certain parts of the system. Perhaps it's in one of the areas that are down for maintenance? I don't see how, though. We have a potent guard presence, just in case Lilith and the Owl Lady decide to seek revenge. So whatever it is, it won't be them."
"I would not underestimate Lilith. She can be very resourceful," Belos replied, opening the doors to his throne room, "And her sister is, admittedly, very devious. Titan knows what those two might—"
Belos stopped abruptly. The throne room was littered with the forms of his coven members. All were either frozen, wrapped in vines, or outright knocked out.
And standing in front of his throne, inspecting the slowly thumping heart behind it, was Lilith Clawthorne. She turned and gave them a wicked smile.
"About time you showed up."
"—get up to," Belos finished quietly, then sighed, "I suppose I should have seen this coming."
"Sorry about the mess, but they just wouldn't listen to reason," Lilith replied casually, "And all I wanted to do was discuss my severance package."
"You dare!" Kikimora stared, but Belos raised his hand and she fell silent.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have you thrown in a dungeon cell right now."
"You do that and it will be the end of everything."
Lilith walked closer, releasing her staff to let it float by her side.
"How many years did I work for you? How much time, energy, and loyalty did I pour into your cause? How many things did I do in your name? How many of those things were terrible? How much blood have I spilled for you? How many hearts were broken? How many secrets did I help you keep, secrets that would set your reign ablaze?"
She stopped a few feet from him, a grim smile on her face.
"The humans have a turn of phrase. 'Skeletons in the closet'. It means that a person holds a lot of secrets, many of them very dark. Your closet has a veritable boneyard locked behind the door…and I have a key."
Belos felt a chill go down his spine as Lilith gave a mad laugh.
"I spent the last three days writing everything down. I have detailed descriptions and memory photos of everything I ever knew. And what I knew is massive is scope. I know secrets that would shake the earth, events that if known would rock the Isles…"
Lilith's grin was like that of a wolf.
"I know where all the bodies are buried."
She pulled a small notebook out of a pocket of her cloak.
"Would you like a sample? This notebook contains a record of every petrification in the last thirty years. You know, the period of time you claim had no petrifications? Let's see here now…"
She thumbed through the book, stopping at a random page.
"Vincent Alsier. Occupation: farmer. Notation: claimed to be developing a breed of livestock that could provide extremely nutritious meats. Prior convictions: none. Prior malfeasance: none. Crime: covenless. Deemed a wild witch and petrified."
She flipped to a new page.
"Samantha Ringu. Occupation: teacher. Notation: loved by the children in her community. Recipient of a community hero award for saving three children from drowning. Prior convictions: none. Prior malfeasance: none. Crime: covenless. Deemed a wild witch and petrified."
She flipped to a new page and smiled.
"This one is my favorite. Ariana Nightingale. Occupation: medical researcher. Notation: claimed to be incredibly close to a full cure for dragonpox. Prior convictions: none. Prior malfeasance: none. Crime: covenless. Deemed a wild witch and petrified."
Lilith looked up from the book.
"I remember reading her notes. They were complicated, but she was nearly there by my estimation. A doctor close to a breakthrough that would have eradicated a dangerous and difficult to treat disease, and what was done with her? Turned into a lawn ornament because she wouldn't dance to the Emperor's tune. Now, how do you think that would go over with the public if it were known?"
She snapped the book shut with a sound like thunder.
"And then there's my sister. While she has a laundry list of offenses, none of them were violent crimes. A nonviolent offender suffering from a manageable-but-debilitating chronic condition sentenced to a fate worse than death. Exactly what part of this seems like justice?"
She threw the book at the Emperor. It hit his chest and slid to the floor.
"There's plenty more where that came from. I made multiple copies and set up a system with several redundancies. I contacted several people I trust, and Edalyn called in favors from people she knew in the criminal underworld, people so deep below the ground that you'd never find them if you searched for another fifty years. If they don't hear from me by the end of the day, then all that and so much more gets unleashed. It'll be all over the Isles within days. Within a week, every able-bodied witch and demon will be howling for your head. Your empire will crumble like a sandcastle in the surf."
Belos fixed her with an angry, glowing-blue gaze, but made no move toward her. He knew her well enough to know when she was bluffing…and when she wasn't. The notebook floated into his hand and he looked through it for a moment before looking back to Lilith.
"What do you want?"
Lilith pulled a file folder from her cloak pocket, holding it up.
"It's all in here. A list of demands, a contract draft to make it all nice and neat, and a PO Box number in Bonesburough you can contact me through. But I can tell you right now the biggest item on the list."
The grim smile that Lilith had been wearing for their entire conversation disappeared.
"You stay away. You leave me, my sister, and anyone under our protection alone. No coven members staking out Bonesburough, no arrest warrants, no veiled threats toward Hexside, no nothing. If someone even so much as mentions us in your presence from the final contract signing until the end of days, the only words that should cross your lips should be 'Eda Who?' You stay away from us, we'll stay away from you. We live as we will, and your secrets remain secret."
There was a long moment of silence. Kikimora, who'd been watching the exchange with mounting horror, crept forward and accepted the file from Lilith. She looked over the first page.
"You can seriously expect us to—"
"I can and you will," Lilith cut her off, "When you get right down to it, it's all a very simple case of mutually assured destruction. If Emperor Belos wants to destroy us, he better be prepared to lose everything in the attempt."
The only sign from the Emperor was a tightening grip on the notebook.
"I'll expect your letter by the end of the week. Tick-tock, my lord."
Lilith's staff flew to her hand and she sat astride it, floating up above their heads.
"Oh by the way, we'll send the Healing Hat back via mail. We're just keeping it for a bit while we make sure the curse is completely gone. And you should upgrade the protections on the secure vault. Good day."
Belos didn't even flinch as Lilith zoomed an inch above his head as she flew out the door. In fact, despite Kikimora's attempts to speak with him, he remained silent.
It was a solid five minutes before he spoke.
"Well…crap."
How do you cut down an authoritarian leader?
Find the secrets he's buried and sanitize with sunlight. Do it long and do it hard.
One of the main things for authoritarianism is projecting strength. If you undercut those claims, show just how twisted that strength is or how it's weakness masquerading as strength, then the house of cards comes tumbling down.
Because this kind of ideology has ABSOLUTELY NO PLACE in a civilized society, especially one that would claim to value its citizens.
No, I'm not just talking about the Boiling Isles, but since we're on the subject, Belos is an authoritarian leader in the trappings of a religious cult, forcing the society around him to conform to his standards. The coven system, regardless of the good it might do as a magical analogue to trade guilds like I've see some theorize, still restricts the magic of their members, which cannot be healthy. And anyone who refuses to dance to that tune is branded a criminal. If they're lucky, they might be able to keep their heads down for a time. But they'll have a Sword of Damocles hanging over said head, e.g. the threat of petrification, a death sentence by another name.
I do hope the second season explores some more of this, because what we've seen already has some dark stuff bubbling under the surface. And just because I'm defanging the Knight of Cerberus in this story doesn't mean I'm not aware of what might be waiting in canon's future.
And before I leave you, one last thing:
I don't own The Owl House. It is owned by the all-powerful Walt Disney Corporation, and created by Dana Terrace.
Be polite in the reviews. Insults and flames will be fed to Tempest the Gyarados.