At the Coven Convection…

Luz was being led by her friends as they presented her with different ones, while Blueberry Parfait and Eda were glaring at each other.

"There's the Storytelling Coven, the Puppet Coven, Carnivorous Plant Coven, the Dancer's Coven, the Inventors Coven, the Big Cat Coven, the Tiny Cat Coven, Big Tiny Cat Coven… The Grouchy Ladies Coven." Willow giggled as that comment was picked up by the Palisman and the Witch.

"Hey!"

"Oi!"

The kids then scurried away.

"I am not grouchy." The Swan Palisman huffed.

"Woah, what's that one?" Luz wondered as it looked like a construction site.

"That's the Construction Coven, the builders, and workers of the Demon Realm. They can build an entire town in under an hour and cultivate power patches to increase strength." Willow explained as the Head Coven Witch, Mason provided Tinella Nosa with a power patch.

The effects were instantaneous as she howled with new power, tossing Mason like a log before going for the hammer!

"I am a destroyer of worlds!" She roared as the Construction Coven members tried to stop her.

"Stop, that is the opposite of construction!" One of the members ordered.

"Yazza Wowzah." Luz gasped.

"Yazza Wowzah."

Luz gasped at the sight of her illusion self.

"You've just witnessed the power and theatrical antics of the Illusion Coven." Gus chuckled as they were all in a theatrical pose.

"Comradery, friendship, cool skills! Eda, how come you never joined a Coven?" Luz wondered as her teacher wanted her to see the flip side.

"Look over there."

The young princess then spotted a boy with curly hair as the Illusion Coven was doing something.

"When you join a coven, they mark you with a sigil."

The sigil then was placed on the boy as his veins turned boy.

"See that? Now all that poor kid can do is Illusion Magic from now on. That is why I am the most powerful Witch in the Isles." Eda warned.

"Yes… the Sigils have a double side to their power." The Palisman coughed.

"Double Side?"

"In the war, the emperor found a way to unite and synergize (synchronize and energize) magic by unifying others into a more powerful unit, I.E. Covens. Think of an invisible web and the Sigils act as connecting points. The strength of the witch is the strength of the coven and vice versa. In a way, they never truly fight alone. However, magic always comes with a price. Because of the strain and energy needed, it blocks off the other powers of magic to fuel the sigil and connections."

"Yeah, plus it keeps them on a tight leash. If any step out of line, the Coven Heads could activate a paralyzing spell and track them. Real nasty stuff." Eda commented as Parfait took a deep breath.

"Yes, a contingency was implemented but the Coven Heads know not to abuse their status and privileges, considering the penalty."

"Tell that to Snapdragon who last week did an unauthorized harvest on Reanimated Bone Loch." Eda scoffed as Blue became a statue still.

"She did what?"

The Palisman then sharply turned to see the Plant Coven Head, they made eye contact.

"Snapdragon." She barked, and the old woman immediately begins to scoot away, "OI! SNAPDRAGON!"

She growled in frustration as Eda laughed.

"Please excuse me, I have a pesky weed to find." She groaned then left shouting for Terra Snapdragon.

"That was fun." Eda muttered, "So yeah, kid. The old guy wants everyone to be in a Coven because he wants to control everything. Super paranoid of Wild Witches since the war. The thought alone of not being in control terrifies him, but not a lot of people know that."

Luz frowned at that.

Why was her dad…?

She was then dragged by her friends to the Coven of Covens, the Emperor's Coven.

"Man, it's the Elite. The Emperor's Coven!" Gus squealed as Luz smiled.

"So, this is D- I mean the Emperor's Coven. Gosh, I heard a lot about them." Luz marveled as some of the Coven members blushed a bit at her acknowledgment of them, happy to be wearing masks.

"The best of the best, they can wield all magic and have the Mark of Mastery," Willow added.

"We're gonna go inside and see if they can sign our faces!" Gus grinned as he dragged his friend Willow.

"Mark of Mastery?" Luz questioned.

"Kid, these guys are the worst of the worst. No offense but these guys are total snobs." Eda scoffed and then noticed that there were some old associates staring at her.

Not good.

"Well, I'm going inside and checking out." Luz declared, "I'm still new to this world and want to keep an open mind. Besides, these guys… well, they come over a lot to look after us. I at least owe it to them to learn more."

"That's very kind of you." One of Coven's members smiled as one of them escorted her in.

Eda groaned.

"Well, I'm waiting out here."

She may have spoken too soon as she spotted her rivals begin to gather. Seems not a lot were happy about her bounty being revoked.

"Kid, wait up!"

"Phhft… Friends of yours?"

She didn't answer as the Coven members laughed a bit.


In the stadium…

Blueberry Parfait then made her way back to the group as she sat next to Luz, covered in dead plants.

"What happened?" Luz wondered.

"Snapdragon overstep herself and I took custody of her plants as punishment." She moaned.

"So, these guys have the Mark of Mastery? What's that?" She wondered.

"The first Sigil and the most powerful. This sigil grants full control of all magic and still connects to the coven. It's so powerful that very few could handle its power and could die from it. To determine who is able to withstand it, Witches would take the Mark of Mastery Exam to prove it. The Emperor's Coven is truly the most powerful."

"Yeah, and uptight jerks."

"The Exam is often different depending on the Witches taking the test, could represent the Nine Covens, The Titan's powers, the Isles as a whole, and so on. Test Takers are forbidden from speaking about what the test is like."

Then came a hush in the room as Principal Bump introduced the Right Hand (besides Parfait and the Flock) Lilith.

Eda was not pleased to see her.

But hey, she can now rub it in her face.

Since she's in the only coven who knows, it will be all the sweeter.