At the Press Room in the Emperor's Castle, the Emperor's assistant Kikimora faced a gaggle of news reporters. These reporters came from the newspapers and the CB. Information in the Boiling Isles was carefully dissemminated, per the will of the Titan.
She climbed up the stool with papers in hand, facing the crowd and the various microphones of the different channels. A camera eye was hovering on each side of her.
The demon cleared her throat and inhaled.
"Good afternoon, witches and demons," she bellowed.
"We have successfully captured one of the most dangerous fugitives in the Boiling Isles. A witch by the name of Edalyn Clawthorne has successfully been captured thanks to the efforts of the Emperor's Coven, led by her sister, our very own Lilith Clawthorne. The fugitive has served as the most egregious example of the dangers we face from the wild witches. She not only refused to join any coven but insisted on continuing to practice wild magic, a practice that rightfully belongs only to the Savage Ages. With all due respect, however, she nevertheless possessed immense power and strength, on par with some of the best witches in the land.
"This, however, does not excuse her continued intransigence towards the very values we stand for: the value of sacrifice, of respect, of fealty to the Titan. It has manifested in such vile anti-social behavior that serves as a negative influence among the people. As a wild witch, her refusal to conform meant that she was a threat to the just system of our Emperor. We cannot allow ourselves to be manipulated by these savages who disrespect both the Titan's will and the honest people of these isles.
"To that end, she has been charged, tried, and sentenced. For the crime of attacking a coven leader and refusing to join a coven, Edalyn Clawthorne's body shall be petrified in stone, today, sundown, at the Conformatorium.
"It is the Titan's will. Thank you, I will not be taking any questions regarding this matter."
The reporters were quickly writing down the information on their notepads, scrolls, and crystal balls. One of these reporters was Perry Porter, a witch reporter from the BBN-HXN channel. He took out his scroll and contacted his boss, news editor Gangly Armstrong. The scroll rang twice before he picked up.
"Hey, Gangly," he announced as he walked out of the room, "you got the press footage from the mult box?"
"Yessir, primed for the edit," the voice on the other end of the line replied. "What do you think is the meat of the story? I was thinking we just get the last bit, the petrification thing?"
"Makes sense. It's the first one in thirty years. Of course, everyone knows the Emperor has been executing wild witches all the time, they're just keeping it hush-hush."
"Open secrets, am I right? I mean, they can't punish us for saying something we don't already know. We have the archive footage for Titan's sake."
"Alright, I'll be getting ready in a few." Perry hung up as he exited the castle on the bridge. Outside the castle was the entry platform with all the media vehicles within. One of these wagons was the blue and white vehicle of BBN-HXN, and sitting on a stool was Waverly Sounder, the technician. The camera was set up right next to the stool, behind which were the various crystal ball monitors, video machines, and other broadcasting equipment. Waverly kicked his legs out and called out to Perry.
"We're doing a live cross?" Waverly asked.
"That's right," Perry replied.
"OK, we better get moving, dammit." Waverly put on his headset, and called out, "Master control, master control, do you read me? Good, tell me when the cross comes." He turned to Perry and said, "The camera is primed and ready to go, just gotta plug in the wireless…" He went away for a moment and plugged a small receiver into the console. "We're good, just waiting for the go signal."
Waverly turned on the crystal ball monitor that was receiving the signal from headquarters. The image of the anchor appeared inside. The ball then flashed to a split screen with the anchor on the left and Perry on the right.
"Begin cross in five, four, three, two…"
"Good afternoon," Perry announced. "Perry Porter coming to you live from outside the Emperor's Castle. Edalyn Clawthorne, known commonly as "Eda the Owl Lady," has been captured and has been brought before the Emperor."
The screen flashed to show the recording of the earlier press conference. Kikimora stood there sternly.
"For the crime of attacking a coven leader and refusing to join a coven, Edalyn Clawthorne's body shall be petrified in stone, today, sundown, at the Conformatorium. It is the Titan's will."
"The announcement is certainly one for the history books," Perry resumed. "Today is a grave day for Bonesborough."
The screen flashed to show archived footage of petrified witches.
"This is the first petrification in thirty years. Certainly one of the more public ones. Ever since the Emperor's ascension, he has often authorized numerous operations to suppress wild witch activity. In recent years, these efforts were led by Coven Leader Lilith Clawthorne, who just so happens to be the sister of Eda the Owl Lady."
The screen faded to show a picture of Coven Leader Lilith Clawthorne.
"She has been known for her ruthless efficiency in capturing fugitives. Now, the situation is certainly fluid, but we expect some tension in the air, as it is very clear that she has garnered some serious respect even within the imperial government. Now, the ceremony will be held at the Conformatorium, we believe that it will be a public spectacle."
The screen went back to Perry.
"The Emperor is almost certainly doing this to send a message to the people of the importance of the coven system. We'll be heading there in the next few hours as we cover all this. Back to you."
"OK," Waverly announced, "time. We're good."
The screen went back to the anchor.
"Alright," Perry said as they packed up their equipment, "time to witness history."