Tales Of Light And Blight

by RySenkari

Written for Lumity Week 2020, this is a seven fic anthology that will chronicle the story of the human Luz and the witch Amity as they experience love, strife, and adventure across space and time, from the confines of Amity's secret library room, to their first kiss and first date, to their battles in the future.

1. The Next Chapter

(Author's Note: Tales Of Light And Blight is being written as part of Lumity Week! This story, and all the other stories featured in this work, are part of an anthology, and unlike my other anthology stories, most of these are loosely connected to each other, with 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 able to be enjoyed in sequential order. They're not, however, connected to any of my other Owl House stories. Thanks for reading!)

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Day 1 – Azura Book Club ("The Next Chapter")

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It had been more than a month since Luz and Amity had begun their weekly Azura Book Club sessions in the secret alcove of the Bonesborough Public Library. They'd discussed their favorite moments from each of the five books of the series, and had become familiar not only with each other's favorite characters and moments, but with each other in general... after all, they couldn't spend ALL their time talking about The Good Witch Azura.

They'd laughed and argued and quizzed each other, and had grown quite close through their shared love of Azura and enthusiasm for magic. Even though their opinions on the books differed, sometimes greatly, they found plenty to agree on as well, and while both of them thought that they were a slightly bigger Azura fan than the other, they could also acknowledge that they were both serious Azura fans through and through.

But after a month of meeting late into the night, talking about Azura and magic and home and everything else, they found themselves meeting with nothing to talk about at all... at least related to Azura. They'd discussed each of the five books in depth, debating the motivations behind Azura's defection from the Sapphire Sorcerers, or her anger at being rescued by her former friend Lyrica. They'd discussed their favorite ships (though both of them agreed, Azura and Hecate were made to be), they'd discussed their favorite spells (Luz favored the Firestorm spell and Amity favored the Absolute Zero Blizzard, which was ironic as the two of them specialized in the opposite type of magic), and they'd discussed their favorite books (Luz liked the fifth, while Amity preferred the third)... and now, as the two of them entered the secret alcove for the sixth time, they didn't know where to begin.

"So, uh... read any good books besides Azura lately?" asked Luz innocently, curious about what other long running works of fiction the Boiling Isles had to offer.

"Not unless you count the spellbooks Lilith's been having me study," said Amity. "I love studying, but even I get sick of it after a while..."

"You, sick of studying? Pssssh, no way!"

"Oh come on, you sound like Ed and Em when you say that. Just because I'm the best student at Hexside doesn't mean all I do is study, you should know that better than anyone! Too much studying doesn't leave me with time to do anything else, like catch up on other books... I barely made it in here today."

Luz felt a little bit guilty, even though she was only joking. She waved her hands in an apologetic manner, but Amity just smiled and shook her head, as if to say she wasn't offended.

"It's okay, Luz, I know you hardly ever see me without my face buried in a book."

"Well, I hope Lilith eases up on you a bit," said Luz. "Anyway, we've already talked about all the Azura books they've come out with so far, unless... unless you've got Book #6 lying around somewhere?"

"I didn't even have book number five until you let me borrow your copy," said Amity. "Actually, I was wondering if you knew where I could find it, but since you're asking me..."

"Yeah... no luck on my end either. Book #5 is the most recent one to come out, and it's been like almost two years! I don't know what the author's been up to lately, but I hope the TV series they just announced doesn't go too fast, or it'll overtake the books!"

"Wait... TV? That thing you told me about where you can see moving pictures of people?"

"Oh yeah, TV! I'll have to bring that one Eda has in her shop and... wait, I helped her sell that one. Oh, maybe my phone can...no, it's broken. Well, actually..."

Amity couldn't help but giggle at Luz's attempts to figure out where she could find this mysterious 'TV' to show her, but as Luz continued to verbally ponder, Amity reached over and placed a hand on hers, trying to calm her down.

"It's okay, you can show me whenever," said Amity. "Anyway, I was thinking... since there's no sixth book out yet in either of our worlds, maybe we can talk about what we think might happen in the sixth book?"

"Oh, right! Speculation! I used to talk about that on the message boards back home! In fact, I started writing a fanfic about the sixth book, but I stopped a few chapters in because I didn't think it was very good and I don't want to get 'jossed', so I-"

"What's 'jossed'?" asked Amity.

"Uh... there's this guy named Joss Whedon, and... well, it has to do with TV, I'll tell you when we get a TV in here, but anyway, it's when you write a fanfic about the next part of a show... or a book, and then the book comes out and it's totally different and suddenly your fanfic is WRONG! And then a bunch of people come into your comments and are all like, 'that didn't happen, you're stupid!' and 'what are you going to do now that this character you wrote about is dead?' or 'too bad you put them together, that ship got totally sunk!'"

Amity giggled again... unable to resist smiling at Luz's dynamic energy and wishing she herself had that kind of enthusiasm, even about Azura. She herself had never written fanfic, though she might've if she had more time... but she could understand perfectly what Luz was talking about, and was curious about what she'd written.

"Well, Luz, what did you write in your fanfic before you stopped? Maybe I could give you some feedback."

"You... want to read my fanfic?" asked Luz, blinking her eyes and smiling. Wow... Amity wants to read my fic... this cute witch girl from a whole different world wants to read my fanfic! Oh man, what if she doesn't like it? Maybe I should just summarize it for her.

"Maybe you could summarize it for me?" asked Amity. "Your phone's broken, so you probably can't access it here, right?"

Luz let out a quiet sigh of relief, glad that Amity (and her broken phone) had made the decision for her.

"Okay, well as you know, at the end of book five, Azura and Hecate joined forces to take down the Demifiend and saved the City on the Lake from certain destruction. So at the start of my story, they're living together in Hecate's mansion."

"Ah, Azura moved in? Surprised she trusts Hecate enough for that, even after what they went through."

"Well of course she trusts her, they beat the Demifiend together! Plus, as we both know, they're totally sweet on each other. I didn't write their first kiss yet, but there's a lot of flirting!"

Luz giggled, while Amity blushed slightly, putting her hand to her cheek as she imagined Luz writing those cute scenes... and for a moment, thought of herself and Luz flirting the same way, though she quickly dismissed that thought from her mind.

"And what about the rebellion?" asked Amity.

"Oh, Azura and Hecate are going to be joining the rebellion for real this time!" said Luz. "In fact, the very last scene I wrote was Azura sneaking into their rebel fortress in the hopes of joining."

Amity had a bit of a surprised look on her face as she listened to Luz continue to talk about her fanfic, and what she thought would happen in the sixth book of the series. As Luz spoke, Amity's face grew more and more skeptical.

"So Azura would be all sneaky, because she knows the rebellion is really on edge since Empress Shala's crackdown, and of course since she tricked them into helping her last time... it'll put her in a really vulnerable place, and- Amity, what's up? You look like you're kinda upset."

"Upset? No, it's just... I don't think Azura and Hecate would join the rebellion at all. I think they'll be working with Shala to bring it down."

"Really? Azura, working with the empress? Hecate maybe, but not after becoming friends with Azura. Don't you remember when Shala had those wizards arrested in book four?"

"Those wizards were plotting a terrorist act," said Amity. "They were rightfully punished, which is why, if you remember, Azura declined to free them from prison."

"Yeah, but Azura was distracted with Hecate's attack on the Desert of Dinah, she had to go stop that! I thought we talked about this a couple weeks ago!"

"I didn't want to bring it up then, but I did think your assessment of Azura's motivations at the time was a little bit inaccurate... then we got to talking about how cool Azura's fight with Hecate was and it didn't come up again."

"So wait..." said Luz, who now looked as skeptical as Amity had been when listening to Luz's theory about Azura joining the rebels, "...you think Azura is going to work with Shala to put down the rebellion?"

"I doubt she'll be as heavy handed as Shala would be if she was acting on her own, but yes, I do."

Amity looked quite certain of this, and she continued to speak, as Luz looked more and more distraught.

"In fact, I think Azura and Hecate both will begin working with Shala to find all the disparate tribes and unify them for the good of the empire. I think book six will mostly focus on putting down the rebellion... with some Azura and Hecate romance of course, and then book seven will probably focus on Shala's war with her sister Simera, the true architect behind all the discord in the realm."

"Simera? Azura's mentor, Simera? Are we talking about the same Simera here?"

"Of course we are! Surely you haven't forgotten the time Simera stole the Staff of Kaymus, Shala's birthright!"

"That staff was Simera's birthright, and a gift for Azura!"

Luz couldn't believe what she was hearing from Amity, and conversely, Amity couldn't believe what she was hearing from Luz. As Amity continued to espouse her book six theories, listing all the reasons why she thought each rebel tribe deserved to be brought to justice, Luz felt like her friend had betrayed her. Sure, they had disagreed about the rebellion and its motives before, but Luz didn't think the disagreements ran that deep, and she certainly didn't think Amity could possibly support the Empire.

"Amity, the Empire are the bad guys, remember? I mean, sure, they do keep order, and some of the rebels have done some nasty things, but it's a war and that's what happens in war! You can't seriously be excusing the Empire's tyranny, can you?"

"Tyranny? Luz, without the Empire, there'd be chaos, and not even Azura and Hecate working together could put a stop to all of it!"

"But the Empire bosses people around! They restrict people's freedoms! Where they can go, what they can do, what kind of magic they can use..."

"Uh, Luz, the Empire doesn't restrict anyone's magic," said Amity.

"Yeah they do, the Emperor's Coven-"

"Which Empire are we talking about, Luz?"

As Luz looked into Amity's eyes and saw the stern look on her face, she realized what she'd just said, and an uncomfortable feeling began to overtake her, like her stomach was twisting inside her body. She felt her face turn bright red, and tried to bring the conversation back to the books.

"I um, I got confused, I just... of course I meant the books! But the Empire in the books doesn't restrict anyone's magic, you're right, silly me!"

"...you were talking about the Empire of the Boiling Isles, weren't you?"

Luz shrunk away slightly as Amity leaned in, continuing to glare a hole in her with her fierce looking eyes, and she could also see that Amity's cheeks were starting to redden up like they always did when she was upset.

"I mean... sorta, maybe?" said Luz nervously. Not only was she worried that she'd just upset her friend, but in the back of her mind, she also worried that Amity might react even more strongly, considering how much people here seemed to admire the Emperor. No... Amity wouldn't hurt me. Why am I even thinking that? We're friends, aren't we?

"Ugh, guess I should've expected that from someone who'd hang out with the Boiling Isles' most wanted criminal..."

"Hey!" shouted Luz, her courage returning as she stood up to defend Eda. "Eda might be a criminal, but she's a good person!"

"If she was a good person, she would've joined a coven!"

"Why, so the Emperor can take all her magic away?"

"Not if she joins the Emperor's Coven! She could use her magic to protect the Boiling Isles, instead of... you know, pranks and stealing and crime and whatever she uses it for! Come on, Luz, do you think the Empire just wants to control everyone and boss people around?"

"Yes! At least... that's what Eda says it does, anyway. Look... I don't know much about how things are here... so I guess... I guess I don't have any right to say anything... but I still don't think it's right that the Emperor takes away people's magic! It's not right in the Azura books and it's not right in real life either!"

Amity let out a sigh, and the anger faded slightly from her face. As much as she disagreed with what Luz said, Luz did have a point... she was only a human, and didn't know much about what happened on the Boiling Isles. She didn't know the stories about the chaos before the rise of Emperor Bellows, about the wars and the fear and the rulers who came before... she didn't know why the Boiling Isles needed the Emperor's Coven, how it needed the coven system to ensure the terrible violence that characterized life on the Boiling Isles before the Empire never happened again.

At least, that's what Amity had been told... all of that violence and strife had happened before she was born... before Lilith was born too. She'd heard the stories, but all she'd ever known was peace, a peace that she was taught came from the Emperor's benevolent reign.

"Luz, it's okay... you're not the only one who disagrees with the Emperor," said Amity, standing up and placing a hand on her shoulder. "And honestly... sometimes I don't always agree with him either. Not everyone here on the Boiling Isles agrees with the way things are. Don't tell her I told you this, but even Lilith has her disagreements with the Emperor. And as for Eda... I think she's kinda cool too. ...don't tell Lilith I said that either!"

Luz giggled, and smiled at Amity.

"Your secret's safe with me, Amity," said Luz. "...but I meant what I said before, I don't think it's right that the Emperor's Coven are the only ones who can practice more than one type of magic... or that they lock people up in the Conformatorium... or that they're hunting down Eda."

"Lilith has her reasons," said Amity, "and so does the Emperor."

Luz looked down at her hands, then back up at Amity. She thought about the Azura books, and her fanfiction, and her theories... and about another theory she'd had when she'd been brainstorming ideas for her take on Book #6.

"When I imagined Azura teaming up with the rebellion... I imagined Hecate teaming up with the Empress... Azura and Hecate had become friends, maybe more, but then the rebellion intensified, and Azura joined one side, and Hecate remained loyal to Shala..."

"I see," said Amity. "I imagined that Azura and Hecate would serve Shala together, but you're right, if Azura did join the rebels, I'm not sure Hecate could stay with her."

Luz and Amity were looking away from one another as they spoke, and hesitated to look back up. Neither wanted to say what they were sure the other was thinking.

"Amity, we're friends now, right?"

"Of course, Luz," said Amity, putting her hand on Luz's shoulder again. Luz finally looked up, and the two smiled at each other, blushing as they looked into each other's eyes. "And I'm glad we're friends."

"I'm glad we're friends too, Amity..."

"And... Eda's also my friend," said Luz, trying to keep herself from getting angry or sad as thoughts of what might happen continued to play within her head. "And I'm sure you and Lilith are good friends too, right?"

Amity nodded, then bowed her head and sighed. She began to pull Luz closer, trying to fight back her emotions as Lilith's teachings started to echo in her mind.

Don't show weakness. Uphold peace and order. The Emperor's Coven is your destiny.

"Luz, whatever happens, I'll always be your friend."

"Amity-"

Amity pulled Luz in and hugged her tightly, holding her close and for a few brief moments, blocking Lilith's voice out of her mind, while trying to remember the fun times she and Luz had been having and would hopefully continue to have for many, many more weeks to come.

"Don't worry about it, Luz..." said Amity quietly. "You've always walked your own path... just like Azura. I don't know what's going to happen, either to Azura or to us... all I know is I want to keep being your friend."

Amity parted from Luz, and Luz could see a tear coming down her friend's cheek. She gasped and reached to wipe it away, but Amity did it herself, taking a deep breath and trying her best to smile.

"You know, Luz... I think your theory might be right," said Amity. "After what you said about Azura, I think you might be right, I think Azura's going to join the rebels in book six."

"Really? I mean, she has always tried to uphold peace and order, and she put the smackdown on the rebels more than once, I could kinda see her helping Empress Shala, but I also think that in doing so, she could make Shala more open to changing some things about her reign!"

As Luz continued to theorize, she and Amity sat back down on the floor. Luz continued, telling Amity how Shala has been more flexible since the events of book four, and that she showed mercy to a group of rebels in book five, inspired by Azura and Hecate's newfound friendship.

"I think book seven is gonna be all about bringing the Empire and the rebels to the negotiating table, so they can sign a peace treaty!" said Luz excitedly. "They'll team up to fight an even more powerful evil that threatens the entire realm!"

"Think it'll be a villain from a previous book, like the Dread Warlock Mortanian, or a brand new force of evil?" asked Amity, leaning in excitedly.

"But I thought they killed Mortanian dead in book three?"

"You don't think they really killed him off, do you? They never even found a body!"

"Ooooh, good point, but what about when Azura was tormented by his ghost later on?"

"It might just be an astral projection," theorized Amity. "Remember, in book five, Hecate found a spell signature that only Mortanian knows how to cast."

"Mortanian and Simera," corrected Luz.

"Simera only cast a variant of Mortanian's signature spell, only Mortanian can cast the true Curse of Everlasting Torment! That's why Azura needed help to break out of it even though she could break out when she was training with Simera."

The two girls continued to argue and theorize, too caught up in their discussion of Mortanian's mortality to drift back to the real life Empire that loomed over both of them as long as their mentors remained at odds. Though Luz and Amity both knew in the back of their minds that they might be brought into conflict in the future, they also appreciated the friendship they still had... and hoped that their friendship would hold strong through any trial it faced.

And as they finished their discussion and stood up to leave, Amity wanted to reassure her friend one more time that their bond was still as strong as it had ever been.

"Luz, if you want to talk about things besides Azura... I'm here to listen. The Boiling Isles, the Emperor, Lilith, Eda, anything. I won't tell Lilith... I won't tell anyone. I promise."

"Amity... I trust you," said Luz, reaching over and hugging her friend again. "And look, whatever happens with Eda... I won't fight you."

"...I wouldn't hold it against you if you did," said Amity. "I know what Eda's done for you. If it comes down to it-"

"It won't," said Luz. "And I won't fight you, no matter what."

And I hope I don't ever have to give you a reason to, thought Amity. Because if it ever came to it, I know you would.

Luz was the bravest, most determined person Amity had ever known... in real life or in fiction. As the two girls parted from their hug, Amity felt the weakness that Lilith had taught her so hard never to show.

And I don't know if I could bring myself to stop you.