As the doors closed behind them, Luz and Amity felt a breeze of air and relief wash over them. The guards stood besides the doors once more, waiting for them to depart. They took a moment, looking at the ground in front of them. Then they looked at their winnings.

" Did we just?" Amity muttered.

" I can't move." Luz whispered back, staring at her staff, eyes practically glowing.

" Me neither. I don't want to move again."

The tension was still there, even with this relief wafting in the air. They could feel their muscles tightening as if they just came out of battle. Amity's eyes moved from her Palistrom Wood over to Luz's staff, then to Luz. She looked back. They sort of just stared at each other for another minute before one of them began to laugh, breaking the silence. This allowed them to breath and move again as their fears subsided and were replaced by glee.

" How did we not die!?" Luz yelled out, leaning over, her hands holding her up from her legs. She wheezed out, tears starting to form from the adrenaline.

" I don't know!" Amity collapsed to her knees, trying not to fall over. Their awkward yet happy laughter gave the most notable impression to the guards as one cleared their throat.

" Right, right, sorry." Amity dusted herself off before grabbing Luz by the arm to make their getaway. Once they were out of the room, one of the guards spoke up.

" Why can't we ever have anything like that?"

Out of the room, Luz and Amity paused once more, but this time with more control.

" Okay, so you just did wild magic,"

" Mhm."

" In front of the Emperor,"
" Yeah, mhm."
" And he didn't turn you into a statue for all of eternity."

" Yeah, uhuh, pretty much."

Silence.

" Do you know what this means?" Amity asked, grabbing Luz's arms.

" I get a cool staff and not die in the wild?" Luz squeezed out.

" You're a Coven member, Luz. You have a staff. You're the first human to ever get this sort of chance! Sure, you don't have a super high ranking, but you are in better stances than literally any other witch right now." Amity took a moment to breath, " You're gonna be able to be a witch."

" Just like Azura!" Luz choked, " Okay, can't breath."

" Oh, sorry," Amity let go of Luz, letting her fall back down a bit.

" So, partner, what's our next move? Whenever someone gets a cool new weapon, there's always a training montage." Luz aimed her staff, closing one eyelid like she was aiming a gun or crossbow.

" You can't just start using a staff, you need to learn how it works first. Not to mention the fact that you're probably gonna have to go through some basic training and get a uniform, and that's not even counting in the testing you might have to do-"

" There's a test?...Is it a magic test?"

" It's a paper test. I don't know if you have to do it or not since the Emperor pretty much swore you in immediately. Come to think of it, he didn't say anything about you doing any of the training…" Amity thought for a second. " Okay, staff training montage it is then."
" Yes!"

The two made their way down to one of the many training arenas in the castle. There was one back at the apartment, but it was a bit too small considering how new Luz was, and Amity was afraid she might burn their house down.. Again.

" Okay, so first thing's first. A staff is a powerful thing, much more powerful than your paper glyphs. You need to learn how to control it when it gets too much."
" Stop, drop and roll baby. Always my go to in a terrifying, deadly situation. Saved me from the time I forgot to put water in my ramen before putting it in the microwave. Ah, good times."

Amity snapped her fingers, " Focus, Luz. I'm serious. I have seen the kind of power staffs can hold. If you're not careful,"

" I'll be fine, you worry too much." Luz interjected, " You forget, I'm the main character." She grinned as she raised the staff into the air. Amity took a step back as it began to light up. The orbs inside becoming as bright as the light spell Luz used. Soon, electricity began to zap around it, randomly sprouting out in different directions. Luz's eyes lit up like a light bulb in awe of the sight. " Ohoho," She chuckled, then aimed the staff at one of the many set up target in the arena. She took aim, then fired the bolt at the enemy. The blast of electricity was so bright, the entire room was filled with it's light, and as soon as it left the staff, it hit its target, blowing it to bits and setting its pieces on fire.

The shockwave left behind by this blast sent the pair to their butts and blasting air in all directions. When it was over, Luz uncovered her eyes to see the destruction caused. There was a giant burn mark on the wall and floor, and what little remain of the fighting dummy was nothing but ash. Luz looked over to Amity, who was less than pleased. She could only offer a pained smile in response.

" Yeah, the main character."

" Okay, so that was a bit of a hiccup, but I'm ready this time." Luz exclaimed. Amity put her hand on the staff, pushing it down, a look of disapproval written all over it. " The basics. I'm ready for the basics now." The human assured. Amity sighed in relief.

" Okay, so what you want to start with is a clear mind. Usually staffs have a mind of their own. I've never seen one like this before, it doesn't seem to have a palisman, but that shouldn't be an issue, at least I hope not." Luz nodded, trying to take in the information. " You need to connect to the staff, become one. If you don't, then you'll lose control." She moved the staff and Luz's arms around until it was comfortable and in stance. She nodded in affirmation as Luz closed her eyes. " Really focus on the energy from the staff, the magic in it. Let it meld with your very being. This usually isn't so hard for witches with bile sacs, but for you it might be different."

Luz breathed, gripping the base of the staff, trying to focus. She could feel it. The energy within the staff, flowing through its very being. It felt alive. She tried to harness it, though she wasn't really sure how to.

" Things like this always look so easy in the movies."

" Don't worry, it's just gonna take a bit. Let go of your body and the body of the staff. Merge like your putting pages together. You should be able to feel it. At least I think that's how it works."

" You're not sure?" Luz snapped out of it, looking up at Amity.

" No, no, I'm sure. I just never had a staff so I haven't felt it is all." Luz straightened up.

" So you don't know."

" No…No I don't." Amity admitted. " Look, I only know what they've taught me, but it's good training, I mean it's the Emperor's Coven, they know their stuff." Amity nodded her head, trying to convince Luz, but it didn't look like she was buying it.

" Yeah, learning my lesson the first time, I'm gonna say that it isn't a smart idea to teach something like this without having first hand experience. The Emperor gave you some wood thing, right? The staff wood? Can't you just make your staff and then teach me?"

" Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. I don't know though. Making a palisman takes a lot of time and you really gotta be set on what you want."

Luz put her arm over Amity's shoulders.

" Then we can put this away for the time being, get your palisman made, and then when you're ready, we can try this again. Besides, I should get to experience this place without the looming fear of death and agony over my shoulder ever time I think about leaving the apartment." Luz stared off into the distance, her eyes focusing in on that sentence, the memories were not pleasant.

" Okay, fine, but once we can, we train."

" We can be training buddies!" Luz hugged onto Amity as they laughed.