It took awhile, but they managed to clean up the house from Eda's rampage.
It was fortunate that the damage done to Eda while she was in the owl beast form wasn't
transferred to her regular form, else they wouldn't have had her help, and that would have been awful.
"When I was young, I was cursed." Eda had gathered them in the newly cleaned living
room of the Owl House to tell them her story.
"I don't know why. I don't even know who, and I have given up on trying to figure it out. I just…. Try to ignore it." She pulls out one of the elixirs. "These make the curse bearable. I just drink one of these a day, and the curse is held off. I'm sorry for not telling either of you." She looked to King. "You've lived with me for years, but I thought I had it under control."
"It's ok." King looked up at her. "No more secrets though, right?"
Eda winced a bit, but King didn't seem to notice. "Right. No more secrets."
The next few days were as busy as usual.
Training, selling, scamming, all of the things she had come to expect from Eda the Owl
Lady.
They also added in meditation while trying to lift a series of rocks in front of her.
Telekinesis never activated unfortunately, but it was calming, and a nice break from running, swimming, swinging, and the nonstop exhaustion.
She didn't know why it was taking so long to manifest. When Camila and her had talked about it, she had made it sound like it would come exactly a week from when her legacy manifested.
She had no idea why it was taking so long. Well, she had a theory.
Legacies came from Lorien. And although Earth was far away from Lorien, it wasn't a dimension away from it.
She could manifest her legacies here, she knew that much. Externa had proved that.
She shoved down that little voice of doubt saying it might have manifested on earth.
No. Her legacies had to manifest. They had to.
She also started to wear shorts and other clothes that revealed her ankles. It was nice.
To be honest, she had always preferred shorts, but she could never wear them, (At least not without high socks, but that was a hell she wasn't going to put herself through), because, well…. Mogs.
But there were no Mogs here. If there were, they would have found her already. Especially after the school incident.
It was just one more thing reminding her that she was safe.
"'Emboldened by the dishonor her Rival had shown, Azura lifted her staff and shouted,
'I challenge you to a witch's duel!'" Luz held her favorite book out in front of her, reciting from it. She turned the book around to show King the doodle she had made at a young age of Azura firing a blast of magic off at Hecate.
If Hecate happened to have pale skin and black eyes in the drawing, and Azura happened to have a blue necklace around her neck, well, who could blame her.
"That's nothing! I used to be called the King of artists, you know. That is nothing compared to what I can do!"
Luz smirked at him. "I thought you were the King of Demons? Are you lying, King?"
King blinked. "What!? Of course not! How dare you accuse me of lying to you!" King shook his head. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. What's important is that I used to get offerings to placate my burning wrath!"
"I can offer you more of this tantalizing book?" She knew King would agree. King would pretend otherwise, but she knew she had him hooked.
Before King could respond however, Eda groaned. "Ugh, please stop reading that. Its flowery language is an insult to witches everywhere." She waved her arm, gesturing to the empty space in front of the counter. "Besides, you're scaring off all of the customers!"
"Um, Eda, there are no customers. Or even any other stands. What's going on?!"
Eda glared at the empty space around them. "This is a bad omen… There must be something terrible happening today."
"Luz!" Gus and Willow ran toward the stand, with Willow's hands being occupied with a poster of some sort. "Something amazing is happening today!"
"It's the Covention! We get to see all the different covens to see which one we want to go into!" Willow pointed to the bottom of the poster, which proclaimed there would be a mystery guest at the Covention. "There's even a mystery guest!"
Luz's eyes widened. That. Would. Be. Amazing! And perhaps, if she were a different Luz, who had never lived on the run, she would've jumped at the chance to go.
But she had lived on the run. And she knew that Eda did too. Although Eda didn't have to hide as much, she was still hunted. Eda had told Luz and Camila about the coven system, and the Emperor's Coven who hunted her. Asking Eda to go to the Covention would be like asking a Loric to walk into a Mogadorian base.
"Sorry guys, but it's prob-"
She felt a hand land on her shoulder, and she turned to see Eda smirking at her. "Don't worry about me kid. I'm the most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles! I could walk into the Emperor's Castle if I wanted! Besides, I'm an expert at disguises!" She put up her hood,with a lot of effort puffing it up so it looked almost like a red afro.
It looked sort of ridiculous. But Luz knew that covering up your most identifying feature was more effective than most people thought. And she was not going to argue with Eda about being able to go.
She turned to Gus and Willow and smiled. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
They stood inside of the building the convention was being held in, and Luz was amazed.
Amazed, because this was basically a job fair for witches, which was just amazing! Plus, she had never been to a convention before! Camila never outright said it was a bad idea, but it was obvious she considered it to be, even if she never said it out loud.
On top of that, whoever planned the event clearly did not like Eda. Every single pillar had a wanted poster depicting King and Eda, just like the ones from the Conformatorium.
"So, up here in the front are the main nine covens. But there are hundreds of others." Gus said, walking slightly ahead of them.
"It's like a tree. There's the main nine, and other covens form from them." Willow explained "There's Flower coven, Artist's coven, Big dog coven, Small cat coven, tiny cat coven, tiniest cat coven." Eda groaned behind them, clearly not having a great time. "Also, the grumpy coven."
"What did you say?!"
With a meep, all three of them ran, laughing amongst themselves.
Luz knew it wasn't a great idea to separate from Eda in this situation, but she was the most powerful witch in the boiling isles. What could go wrong?
They arrived in front of a display with a bunch of bricks and wood placed behind a muscular and short witch, who fit his hands underneath the brick and wood, before tossing them high into the air.
Luz watched, mesmerized as she watched the wood and brick form into a small house as it fell. "Who's that?!"
Willow smiled. "That's the construction coven, one of the main nine. They use power glyphs to increase their strength." They watched as the witch took a glyph shaped like a fist out from under his hard hat and stuck it to the nose of… was that the conspiracy theorist?! Small world.
The small demon seemed to go a little power crazy. "I am the Destroyer of worlds!" She threw the small witch off of the display. She grabbed a mallet, and was stopped from doing anything else by some witches grabbing her and carrying her away from the display.
"Woah!"
"Woah!"
Luz jumped back in surprise, away from the voice that had spoken right into her ear.
When she turned, she saw… herself. Glowing blue.
The Blue Luz walked into a blue tent and disappeared, while the two people responsible for creating it smirked at her reaction.
Gus spoke, excitement evident in his tone. "Ah, you've been taken in by the illusionist coven, we like magic with a hint," He drew a spell circle in the air and disappeared, before reappearing a few feet away, "Of showmanship." The other two illusionists appeared next to him, grinning.
"Wow." Luz was amazed, but then she saw a teenager holding out his arm to an illusionist with a thick glove on his hand.
As she watched, the illusionists grabbed the kids arm, and she saw the teenager wince in pain, before the illusionist let go, and where his hand had met the boy's arm, a symbol depicting two blue mirrors had appeared.
She turned to Eda, "Is that-"
Eda interrupted her. "A coven brand? Yep. From now on, that kid will only be able to make illusions."
They continued through the convention, although Luz's mood had worsened.
This was all amazing, and straight out of her dreams, but… It didn't sit right with her.
Something about being forced to lock away a part of yourself, it felt like a horrible thing to force someone to do.
But, still, Eda could be misrepresenting things. Luz didn't think she was, and did trust her whole heartedly, but it was hard to imagine someone forcing people to do that to themselves without good reason.
"Look! It's the Emperor's Coven!" Gus shouted, pointing to a display lined with people in white cloaks and bird masks. "Do you think they'll sign my forehead?"
Willow smiled. "Only one way to find out!" And they both ran into the display.
Luz turned to Eda. "Hey Eda, I know you don't like the Emperor's Coven- not without good reason- but I'm still trying to figure out what I think of all this, so do you mind if I?" She pointed to the entrance to the display.
Eda sighed. "Yeah, alright, let's go." When Luz opened her mouth to protest, she cut her off. "What, you think it's not safe for me to go in there? I already told you to stop worrying about me kid. I'll be fine. There's not a single witch in the Boiling Isles who could fight me and win. So let's go see the coven of Emperor Bonehead and show you why they are so awful, alright?"
Luz pursed her lips in thought. She knew she wouldn't be able to convince Eda not to come with, so instead of trying she just smiled. "Alright, let's go."
"That's the spirit." She patted Luz on the back.
They walked into the display, entering a stadium, with Principal Bump down in the center on a stage, holding a microphone.
"Luz!"
She turned to where she heard her name, and saw Gus and Willow. They both pointed to Gus's forehead, and she smiled when she saw that he had gotten his wish for a forehead signature.
She turned back to Principal Bump when the audience quieted and he began talking.
"Students often ask me, 'Principal Bump, what's the height of magical achievement?'"
A kid in the front row stood up. "Is it this?" He made a circle in the air next to his head and his head nearly quadrupled in size. Unfortunately for him, and the person next to him, he apparently forgot to make his muscles capable of carrying that weight, and his head fell on the person sitting next to him with a loud thud.
Bump looked at the kid with a concerned expression, "Wow, I've failed you as a principal." Bump shook his head, as if getting that sight out of his head before continuing. "No, It's being invited to join the best of the best, and there are none better than the enforcers of His will, the jewel of the coven system, The Emperor's Coven!"
Three mask wearing witches appeared on stage with puffs of blue smoke.
"Feast your eyes on this elite force, Each member hand picked to help usher in a new age of controlled magic." Each of the three guards made a glowing white circle in the air, and out shot fire, water, and lightning. The three elements met in the air high above everyone's heads, exploding.
"Members of the Emperor's Coven have access to all, yes all forms of magic. Ooooh, aaah." The crowd followed Bump's lead, oohing and aahing.
"But, only the best can ascend these ranks, someday, that could be one of you!" He pointed to someone in the crowd, and they let out a squeal. When Luz looked, she was shocked to see that it was Amity who let out the squeal.
The trio of guards disappeared in puffs of blue. "And now, I am pleased to present to you our mystery guest for this year's Covention, the esteemed leader of the Emperor's Coven, Lilith!"
Eda stiffened next to Luz, her mouth agape. "What?"
Luz looked towards her mentor. "Do you know her?"
Eda just looked blankly at the stadium. "You could say that."
Luz gasped. "Mysterious backstory?!"
Eda didn't get the chance to answer, as a raven flew down from the rafters and landed on stage. In a puff of smoke, the raven seemed to transform, revealing a pale woman with long straight dark blue, almost black, hair and blue eyes.
The crowd went absolutely crazy, but was silenced by the woman when she lifted her hand.
"Thank you all." She sounded dismissive, as if she was being forced to do this, and was going to show the least enthusiasm possible. "It wasn't easy for me to rise to the top, I also started from… humble beginnings." She threw a glance at the kid who had enlarged his head, "But now, I have the highest honor of enforcing the Emperor's will. So be more, The Emperor's Coven awaits you!"
When they got out of the display for the Emperor's Coven, Eda seemed troubled.
"Eda, what's wrong?" Luz didn't know who that woman was to Eda, but she was obviously important to her.
Eda shook her head. "I'll explain later. For now, I need to go. I'll get King. You stay here as long as you like. You know the way back to the Owl House, right?" When Luz nodded, she smiled. "Great. I'll see you there kiddo."
Luz walked further into the center, lost in her own mind.
It wasn't like Eda to dip out in the middle of something like this. Ok, well, not in the way she did it. Without sarcasm or jokes. Usually Eda would have insulted the Emperor's coven, or maybe make some joke about needing to go on a thieving spree or a tavern crawl.
But she hadn't. She had just made sure Luz could get home and left. That was just not something Eda would do.
She was jolted out of her thoughts when she felt herself run into somebody.
"Watch it, Nitwit!"
Wait, she knew that voice!
Sure enough, on the floor in front of her was Amity.
"Oh, it's you. Willow's abomination thing."
"Oh, I am so sorry!" Luz reached down and pulled Amity back onto her feet. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
"That much is obvious." Amity glared at Luz.
Luz winced. "Listen, I'm sorry about getting you in trouble." She held out her hand, a friendly smile on her face. "I hope we can put that behind us. I'm Luz, by the way."
Amity looked to Luz's outstretched hand before scoffing. "Whatever. Just leave me alone." She walked off into the crowd.
Well all right then. Looks like Luz wouldn't be getting the real life enemies to friends arc she had been secretly hoping for. Although this might just be the middle stage! Although it never really looked like that in the fic's she had read.
She went off in search of Gus and Willow. She had last seen them at the Emperor's Coven display, so that was probably the best place to start.
When she got close, she was surprised to hear Eda's voice nearby.
"Well, I have a student, and I bet she could wipe the floor with any of your prissy little blue bloods."
A familiar voice answered her. "Is that a challenge?" Was that… Lilith.
Luz headed towards the sound of their voices, and sure enough, there was Eda and Lillith, glaring at each other.
"It's a promise."
Lilith smiled. "Very well then." She snapped her fingers, and the various pictures of Eda curled up and vanished. "Find your student and tell them they will be fighting my strongest student. If my student wins, you will stop this covenless wild witch nonsense and join the Emperor's Coven."
"And If I win, you have to… to… uh," Eda paused for a moment before smirking, "Publicly admit that a covenless wild witch is better than you."
Lilith smirked. "Very well, Edalyn." She drew a circle in the air and thrust her hand through it. "Do we have a deal?"
Eda had a practically feral grin on her face. "Just don't throw a temper tantrum when you lose." She shook Lillith's hand, and the circle glowed for a moment before constricting around their hands and disappearing.
"See you in an hour, dear sister." With that, Lilith left to go find her student.
Luz's jaw dropped. Eda's sister was the head of the Emperor's Coven! The people who were actively hunting her!? That's cold.
She ran up to Eda, yelling. "Lillith's your sister!?"
Eda flinched, "Titan kid, could you say that louder? I don't think everyone in the center heard you."
"Oops. Sorry Eda."
"So, did you hear all that, or do I have to repeat it all?"
"Nope." Luz said with a smile. "But did you have to volunteer me for a fight?"
"Think of it as part of your training. You need to be able to fight when something big is on the line. Can't have you freeze up in the middle of a fight."
Luz lost her smile. " Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Eda's smirk turned to a soft smile. "Absolutely. I trust you will be able to beat whoever Lillith brings to the fight." Eda leaned in, "Besides, between me and you, Lilith isn't that great of a teacher. And that was when she didn't have a job running an entire coven. She would have barely any time to put into training whoever it is you're about to fight. At best, it's some naturally talented kid, at worst, it's some spoiled brat whose parents paid for Lillith's time. Now come on, let's get you ready to kick some ass."
The hour before the duel flew by, and before she knew it, she was in one of the entrance tunnels to the stadium. Eda stood next to her, explaining what was about to happen.
"Ok kid, so, in the case of a duel of apprentices, the mentor's each introduce their apprentice, along with any deeds they have accomplished and their coven track. After that, the duel begins when both sides affirm that they are ready."
"Now, it is not a duel to the death, so don't go too hard on the kid on the other side of the arena. The duel ends the moment one of you admits defeat or is too injured to continue. Your biggest advantage is strength and speed. Even if whoever you're fighting is a part of the construction coven, they won't be able to match your strength. Us witches just aren't built like you Loric in that regard."
Eda gave a smile. "Speaking of that, I have a quick question about your introduction. Do you want me to introduce you as Loric or Human? I can even use an illusion to give you witch ears if you'd like?"
Luz came up short. She knew what Camila would say. 'Don't you dare draw unnecessary attention to yourself! You have no idea what lives in the Demon Realm, or if the Mogadorians have access! Keep the secret!'
But Luz didn't want to hide anymore.
She took a deep breath and smiled. "Introduce me as Number Five."
Eda's smile grew wild. "Will do." She turned and walked to the end of the tunnel that led into the arena. She turned and gave Luz one last look. "Give them hell kid."
Luz's smile was just as wide. "Will do."
With that, Eda walked onto the sand of the stadium.
Luz sat in the tunnel, anxious and ready. So she did stretches to occupy herself.
She heard Bump's voice echo from the stadium. "Hello, Convention goers, I have been chosen to be the referee for this impromptu Witch's Duel. Now, the Mentor's will introduce their Apprentices. Lilith has seniority, so she will go first."
"Thank you, Principal Bump. My apprentice is none other than Amity Blight." Oh. Ok then. "A fine student skilled in abomination magic. She is, of course, quite capable in all of the tracks, as befits my personal student. If she continues to excel as she has so far, I have no doubt that she will also be the next holder of my place as head of the Emperor's Coven."
The crowd went wild. "Thank you Lillith. Now, Eda The Owl Lady, you may introduce your Apprentice."
"Thanks, Bumpykins." Luz could practically hear the crickets sounding out over the audience. "My apprentice is a special one. For she is not of this world. One of the last six remaining Loric Garde, That's right, six, she has spent her entire life training to fight a war against the Mogadorians, who exterminated almost her entire species and killed her planet. Her powers are awakening, and she has come to the Demon realm to learn magic and teach it to her people so they can use it to help them fight. It is my pleasure to introduce Number Five, or as most of you know her as, Luz Noceda!"
Luz walked into the sands of the stadium. There were cheers, although notably less than there had been for Amity. When she locked across the arena, she saw Lillith had a look of shock on her face, and Amity had a look of… fear?
Bump cleared his throat and spoke. "Well, here are our duelists. Amity Blight, Are you ready?"
Amity looked like she wanted to say no, but before she could speak, Lilith spoke for her. "She is ready."
Bump frowned, but accepted it. "Number Five, are you ready?"
She nodded. "I'm ready."
"Both Duelists are ready. And….. Begin!"
Luz took off running. She knew that she could break through Amity's abominations, and from there, it would be easy to restrain her.
As she ran, her hand slipped into her pocket, pulling out the steel ball, and activating Externa.
Amity looked panicked, but used both hands to create a massive spell circle. Out of the ground rose a giant made out of Abomination goo, at least twice Eda's height, probably three times. If Amity was surprised, she hid it well. "Abomination, seize!"
The giant grabbed at her, but it couldn't catch her. She slid between its legs and continued to run towards Amity.
With one fluid motion, Amity held her hands out to the abomination, and a stream of abomination goo streamed past Luz towards Amity.
Amity spun, her hands moving with the abomination goo, and it was flung towards Luz at an incredible speed.
Now, Garde reflexes were amazing, but they weren't that good. The Abomination goo rammed straight into her.
If she weren't made out of steel at the moment, she had no doubt she would've hit the wall of the stadium, as it was, she just tipped over.
When she hit the sand, she heard Amity call out, "Abomination, Encase!"
She felt the goo spread over her, hardening when it formed a half dome around her.
She could break out of it, she had no doubt, but she had a better idea.
The sand.
She reached down and touched the sand, activating Externa.
Her skin rippled. It felt… weird. It was almost like being made out of abomination goo, but slightly different.
Then, she sank into the sand.
It was hard to describe. She wasn't losing her form, she couldn't do that, it was more like she was… swimming in the sand.
It was dark, and she couldn't see, but she could feel footsteps heading towards the cocoon that had encased her.
She followed those, knowing, or rather, hoping, that it was Amity.
When she was under the source of the footsteps, she rose out of the sand, and in one smooth motion, shifted her form to rubber, and reached out, wrapping an arm around her making sure to keep her arm and hands against her sides.
Amity looked at her in surprise, and the crowd went wild.
Amity struggled to break out of her grip, but she couldn't. Although Luz had to admit, she was a lot stronger than Luz thought she would be.
"Do you concede?"
Amity looked on the verge of tears. Then, she said something Luz was not expecting. "Let me win. Please."
"What?"
"Let me win. My future depends on me winning this duel. Please! Just let me win."
Luz winced. "I'm sorry Amity, I can't. Eda would be forced to join the Emperor's coven if I did."
Tears leaked out of Amity's eyes. "Fine. I concede. You win."
Luz set Amity down, and was about to offer her a hug, before she ran off towards the nearest exit.
In her haste, Amity didn't seem to notice the sticker falling off the back of her neck.
Luz followed after Amity, running through the nearly empty Covention center, before she found her in a dark corner of the center.
Amity was sobbing into her hands, so she didn't notice Luz approaching.
Luz sat down next to her, not saying a word. She knew that would probably just make it worse.
Amity's sobs grew quieter and quieter as time passed, before eventually they ceased entirely. She looked up, and scrambled away from Luz when she noticed her. "What are you doing here!?"
"I just wanted to tell you I know what it's like. To have that enormous pressure weighing you down. And maybe I'm wrong, but I think you feel it too. That need to be better. To do better. Because if you don't, if you can't, everything is ruined." Luz rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know, I guess I just wanted you to know that you're not alone in dealing with that."
Amity paused. "I guess you do know what it's like, don't you? Titan, now I feel selfish. Here I am, sobbing my eyes out because I'm not going to get the job I want when your entire life needs to be focused on fighting a war that killed almost every single person in your species."
"Hey, none of that. Don't compare suffering. You're sad. That's not something you should feel selfish for. Just let yourself feel."
Amity let out a watery laugh. "I guess."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Amity paused. "I don't, not right now." She paused, and her voice quieted. "Can we…. Can we just sit here?"
"Of course."
And they did. They sat in the quiet.
After about three minutes an explosion echoed out from the stadium, and Luz laughed.
"That'll be my cue to leave." She got up and made to leave, but a hand on her wrist stopped her. She looked down to see Amity clinging to her arm.
"Thank you." Amity said, letting go. "And uh… If you ever need help in trying to learn abomination magic, I'd be happy to help."
Luz smiled. "Thanks Amity. I'll see you later."
Amity's voice was quiet when she answered. "I'll see you later."
Amity knew the slap was coming before it happened.
The moment she lost today, she knew it would happen.
That didn't make it hurt less though.
"How dare you let that… creature win!" Odalia shouted. "Is this the thanks I get?! Do you know how much Lillith's training has cost us!? Do you have any idea how much this has hurt our reputation!?"
Amity just stayed quiet. She knew talking would just make it worse. She had learned that lesson a long time ago.
It lasted a little while longer, both the slaps and the shouting, but eventually, Odalia got bored.
"I'm sorry Amity, but I do this for your own good. It is obvious that you need to work harder. Can you do that for me?"
Amity kept her eyes on the ground. "Yes mom."
"Good." She walked to the door. "You'll stay in your room today and tomorrow I think, and you'll study. No breaks, not even for food, understood?"
"Yes mom."
"Good." With that, Odalia walked out of the door, closing and locking it with a click.
Amity sat at her desk, which was covered in school work to do and essays to write, and she cried.