AN:

It's been a while since I saw the finale, and I have a list of ideas to expand on the source material. I'm sure some concepts didn't cut in the shortened seasons.

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Chapter 19: Covention Part 3

Metalwork's Coven

Curious teens surrounded the Metalworking coven stand. Razor crossed his arms in the interest of this supposed upstart.

Near the back, Shirou stood at the center of the forge. His eyes focused on the glowing steel before him. He took a deep breath and flexed his muscles, readying himself.

The young man carefully lifted the three-pound piece of steel from the furnace with his tongs and placed it on the anvil. He raised his hammer and began to strike the metal, each blow ringing through the workshop. The hot, humid air of the forge filled his lungs. Strangely, it felt natural.

Despite the feeling of being watched by a friend, at the end of the day, this was meant to be a demonstration for others to follow. As much as Shirou would like to craft an enchanted sword from his own imagination, he had to stick to the fundamentals at their peak. The skill of its making had to be possible for the teens around him to emulate. Still, some of the abstract concepts of his tracing could be applied to most forms of craft and construction.

Judging the concept of creation.

The Longsword is a sword primarily designed for two hands but light enough to use in one. Swords of this type range from light and agile weapons used as personal sidearms to large and imposing swords of war capable of powerful shearing blows and devastating thrusts. The sword presented here lies somewhere in between these extremes. The sword was made first for cutting, then, after the development of plate armor, for thrusting with the point. The benefits of swords that were good at both were recognized, and "cut and thrust" swords came back into fashion. The classical "longsword" of the 14th and 15th centuries was the Type XVIa.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

Overall Length: 44"

Blade Length: 36.5"

Blade Width: 1.75"

Quillon Width: 8"

Grip Length: 5"

Balance Point: 6.38"

Weight: 2.6 lbs

Duplicating the composition material.

Swords of this category have been present in bronze and steel. While not exact, the piece of metal in his hands was comparable enough to 1045 Carbon Steel in composition.

Imitating the skill of its making.

This broadsword features long blades that slowly taper, producing a versatile, balanced weapon. Its blade has a flat hexagonal cross-section, allowing for effective thrusting and excellent cutting performance. Additionally, a narrow fuller runs along one-third of the blade, further enhancing its capabilities. The thickness of the blade tapers dramatically towards the point, ensuring excellent balance for cutting maneuvers. Overall, this broadsword combines optimized characteristics for thrusting and cutting, making it a formidable weapon.

The key to forging a good sword was in tempering. The metal must be heated and cooled several times to ensure strength and flexibility. Thankfully, what normally took hours in the human realm was dramatically shortened because of the magical properties of the metal in this land, presumably the mineral deposits from the Titan's body. Heating and cooling the metal, he started shaping it into a traditional English longsword.

Shirou sweated profusely, knowing that creating a sword was a physical and mental process. The metal against metal echoed through the forge. He swung his hammer with precision and skill, each strike landing exactly where he intended.

The steel slowly began to take on the form of a blade, with the rough shape beginning to emerge. As the blade began to take on a more refined shape with a length of about 40 inches, Shirou turned his attention to the edges. Using a series of carefully placed strikes, he began to hone the sword's double edge, ensuring it would be sharp for display when it was complete. On the side, he prepared a two-handed hilt about 10 inches long 12.

After the first minute of tempering, Razor started to notice the differences. The strikes against the metal were more evenly distributed throughout the length. Compared to him, Shirou wasted little strength correcting inaccurate strikes. The alternative change in sharpening stone grit was new when sharpening the blade despite having a more coarse block at his disposal. The angle and force of pressure allowed a better grind with minimal material loss. There was a level of efficiency he had not seen before.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Shirou stepped back from the forge, his work complete. The longsword he had created glowed a bright red, still hot from the intense heat of the forge. He lifted it carefully, examining the blade from every angle. The sword gleamed in the fading light, its blade sharp and true.

The teens swooned at the creation. The sword was beautiful, with a straight blade that tapered to a deadly point. The handle was wrapped in leather, providing a comfortable grip for the wielder.

Razor barely noticed his hands reaching for the blade, and Shirou obliged. He could feel the balance was perfect with the warm weapon in both his gloved hands. Every person was different, but somehow Shirou could estimate the perfect material mass and length for Razor's body type. Running his hand across it, he knew the blade was sharp enough to cut through the thickest hides.

Off to the side, Shirou grinned at his work. Inside, an older man gave an amused smirk. The boy was holding back, but it was a firm start. "So, what do you think."

Razor carefully placed the sword back on the workbench. He could even hear a few people offering to buy it. The young teen huffed to hide any embarrassment. "You're the real deal." A genuinely lovely sword, a faithfully historical sword, and a real performance sword.

Elsewhere

Following her sister's appearance, Eda left the tent, with Luz following after.

The girl frowned. "Eda! Where are you going?"

She scoffed. "I'm gonna head home and wash the con funk off my skin."

Luz sagged. "But we haven't even taken the quiz to determine our coven type!" She pulled a thick magazine out of her pocket and flipped to a page named "What Coven Are You In?". She held it above her head, but Eda didn't even look.

Instead, Eda cast a laser beam through it and walked away.

Undeterred, Luz continued to read it, walking without looking. "Ooh, a punky potionist. Eda, you were in that track. Do you know any of these recipes?" Before she could receive an answer, she bumped into something before falling to the ground with a grunt. Ahead of her, she heard the same. Luz opened her mouth to apologize, only to see a familiar teal-haired girl.

Amity groaned. "Watch where you—!" His mood dipped. "Oh, it's you. Willow's... human friend."

Luz coughed into a fist. "Uh... Hey, Amity. Sorry about your War Games loss last week. You win some. You lose some." Getting back up, she re-introduced herself. "Anyways, I-I'm Luz. Hi!" She nervously offered her hand to help the girl, but Amity smacked it away. A frown creased Luz's lips.

Amity pulled herself up and dusted her clothes. "Ugh. Put that away. I'm sure you and that redhead are why Willow acted up that day. And for the record, I never lose to anyone." As she walked away, a mumble escaped her lips. "I can't."

Shaking away the feeling, Luz followed her. "Acted up? Willow was trying her hardest to do well."

"Well, maybe half-witches like her should know their place in the world. There's only so much room at the top for those worthy of it."

Luz's eye twitched at the insult to her friend. "And who gets to decide that?"

Amity's thoughts started to fill with strings of overlapping words. Past instructions and criticisms started to blur before she forced them back. She stopped walking and turned around. "That's just how the world works. There are winners, and there are losers." After a moment, Amity raised a brow at the Latina. "It's bad enough that other Half-witches like Willow are here, but you can't be here. This covention is for witches only."

Caught off guard by the accusation, Luz attempted to answer, pulling up the brochure. A quick skim of the second page gave her hope. "It doesn't say that. Besides, there are Witches and Demons here too. Nothing says a human can't be here."

Amity rolled her eyes at the technicality. "Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that you can't do magic like a witch or demon.

Luz huffed at the statement. She already learned one spell and was sure a million more were on the way. "Well, I'm learning how to be a witch. I'm receiving magic lessons from a powerful witch, mage, and ferocious demon."

Amity narrowed her eyes before looking over Luz's shoulder. "Is that your powerful mage and ferocious demon there?

Luz turned around to see Shirou and King. The former was wearing a pink Kiss the Cook apron, and holding a tray of fresh cupcakes, while the latter was decked out in merch, munching on cupcakes.

King squealed in glee. "Cupcakes in my tummy-tum makes the King say yummy-yum!"

Off to the side, Shirou was explaining the ideal situations and ratios to use powdered, raw, and liquid sugar.

One of the Bakers coven members stared at him with stars in his eyes. "So you'll join us?"

Shirou scratched the side of his cheek with a nervous smile. "As fun, as that may be, I still have prior commitments, but I don't mind stopping by occasionally. I'd love to go through your cookbooks."

King finished up one of Shirou's cupcakes in one bite. Looking up, he spotted the girl. "Oh, hey, Luz!" He gestured to his shirts and trinkets. "Look at all my offerings—" He tried walking toward her only to trip on his scarf. "Wah!"

A bit flustered, Luz went to help him up. They reach out for his dropped cupcake, only for Amity to step on it.

King gasped at the loss of Shirou's delicious treat.

Amity scoffed with a haughty tone. "Oops. That was an accident." Not a second later, she noticed a shadow casting over her.

"Excuse me." A cold tingle went up her spine.

The girl turned around only to meet a familiar pink apron. Her neck craned upward to see a very stern-looking Shirou. The redhead gestured to the now crushed cupcake. "Aren't you going to apologize to me and my friend for stepping on my hard work?" Behind him, members of the Bakers Coven nodded in agreement, giving their own intense expressions. To step on another chef's food was a grave offense.

Amity seemed to wilt under their gazes. "Oh… Uh… Yeah. I-I didn't mean to… I'm..." The last world couldn't leave her lips.

King picked up the ruined cupcake. "Goodnight, sweet child."

Shirou lowered himself and patted the boy on the head. "I'll make a fresh batch for us later."

Luz's expression tensed. "Why are you being so mean, Amity?"

Amity turned back to Luz, if only to escape the looks of the others. "Because I have to. You and your pet are giving witches in training a bad name."

King scratched his face with his hind leg. "I'm not a pet!"

Luz got down and hugged King. "He's a very good boy and the King of Demons!"

Shirou raised a brow. Was calling a demon a pet considered speciesist? "I would hardly call Luz's enthusiasm for witch culture negative, and King is just being a good friend."

The mint-haired witch stamped her foot. "She's treating my education as just child's play, fun and games. She would never make it in an actual magic school."

Luz held a pained expression. "As if I haven't heard that before," she muttered. Standing up, she glowered with her own stern glare. "I'll tell you what, Amity. It's one thing to say I can't be a witch."

Amity rolled her eyes. "'Cause you can't."

Luz wasn't dissuaded. "It's another thing to take it out on my friends. Just like The Good Witch Azura said when facing down her rival Hecate at the Bog of Immediate Regret... I challenge you to a Witch's Duel!"

Everyone aside from Shirou gasped. Seeing this reaction around them, the young man frowned. 'Did Luz challenge her to a fight?'

Amity stepped closer, some would say within "kissing distance," and smiled smugly at the human girl as she said, "I accept. Let's set the terms for this duel, shall we?"

Still standing her ground, Luz narrowed her gaze and said, "If I win, you admit that humans can be witches."

Amity smirked at the conditions, figuring that the human girl would come up with something a bit more creative, but on principle, she would not let her win. "Fine by me. But when I win, not only do you have to tell the whole Covention you're not a witch, but you have to stop training forever."

That last condition shook Luz. She just learned how to create light with that glyph she found. Maybe in a week, she could figure out that power glyph. If she lost, then she'd have to stop training.

"Luz, you're asking for a duel. Are you sure you know what-" Shirou's words fell on deaf ears.

"Do it Luz! You are a witch! Kick her butt!" King egged on as he looked up at her.

Then again, it's not like Amity could force her to do anything if she lost. If she lost, she would avoid Amity and continue studying at the Owl House. With her doubts assured, she steeled herself. "Fine. Let's shake on it."

Still holding her smirk, Amity drew a spell circle around Luz's wrist, and once she did, Amity reached through the circle and shook Luz's hand as it began to glow. "The Everlasting Oath is sealed."

Luz's jaw dropped, looking at the lingering glow until it faded. "That can't be good."

Amity placed her hands on her hips. "Meet back inside the theater in one hour." As she walked away, she gave one final retort. "Let's see what kind of witch you are."

Luz kept staring in the direction Amity left until a sharp pain hit her forehead.

Shirou had flicked her. "Luz. What the heck was all that about?"

"I-I... Uh..." Luz's mind raced to give an answer Shirou would like.

The redhead rubbed his temples. "I didn't interfere because I thought this was normal for witches your age around here, but that is not the case." He turned to their demon friend. "King? What did Luz get herself into?"

King waved it off. "Like I said. It's a duel. They'll kick each other's butt, literally. The first one to surrender or get knocked out loses."

"Seriously? I've never been in a real fight before!" Sweat dripped from Luz's face. "King, I-I can win this, right?"

King chuckled. "Oh, yeah. No."

"An irresponsible master as usual." As Shirou facepalmed, Luz whimpered. "Don't think I forgot about the 'Everlasting Oath' she mentioned."

Luz fell to her knees. "I accidentally signed another magical contract. Didn't I?"

"Yup..."

She pulled at her servant's coat. "You've gotta help me. I can't lose my one chance at learning magic. Can't you use Rule Breaker?!"

"Yes." The hero looked at her with a deadpan expression, unlike Luz jumping in relief. "But why should I?"

Her jaw slacked. "What do you mean why? I'm your master."

"You got yourself in this mess. I expect some effort from you to get out of it."

Luz held up her left hand, presenting her other contract. "Don't make me use a command seal."

Shirou was unfazed. "Really? You'd waste your seal on a duel against another girl your age instead of a possible life-or-death situation?"

"My dream of being a witch is in a life-or-death situation!"

He crossed his arms. "Let's say I do negate your Oath. You'll lose the respect of me, Amity, and everyone else hearing about the upcoming duel."

Hearing this, she turned away from his gaze, mumbling. "Not like it would be any different from home."

The servant took a breath. "This is your moment to try and step up, proving them wrong. I don't know the exact rules of duels here. You could argue that a servant is analogous to a familiar summon. If that is the case, it's possible for me to join you in the-" He barely finished his sentence before a weight slammed and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you..."

A gentle hand patted her head. "Yeah. Yeah... But don't think I'm going to be doing all the work. You have to dig yourself out of this. It would be overkill to send me against that Amity girl."

AN:

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