Forgotten history
When Valeria came along with Annie and Delilah to the Draco Vinculum to interrogate the Sorceress, she never expected to hear anything about Chroniclers, Supreme Warlocks, and the Dark Master, let alone hear any hints of a wider conspiracy that implied there was a traitor on the Court of Ancients. She did not know what to make of it. Suddenly, she found herself wishing she stayed on Hurricos, rounding up Gear Grinder thieves.
"Well, this has been fun, but I have to get back to maintaining the peace. I'm not sure what you gals are looking for, but I hope you find it," Valeria wished.
"We understand. This is something we have to do ourselves, anyway," Annie responded.
"That, and this will involve swimming, and you and bodies of water do not mix," Delilah added. She recalled one time where Valeria went to Sunny Beach to try out the new salmon burger at the hybrid restaurant/paddling pool, only for the static electricity on her skin to fry most of the restaurant attendees when she sat down and her feet touched the water. Thankfully, they were only stunned, but ever since, the Turtles had banned Valeria from ever setting foot in that world again. Amy was still working on a way to ensure Valeria can swim or at least touch water safely, but all her efforts have been fruitless.
"Don't I know it. King Fromit still hasn't forgiven me, but it was an accident. I can't control my static," Valeria replied.
"We know, we know. As thanks for helping us out here, I'll allow Amy extra time to work on remedying that," Annie offered.
"Mighty kind of you. Stay safe out there," Valeria said and portalled out of the prison. Based on the information that Annie and Delilah got from the Sorceress, they were able to deduce that the only real obstacle to the White Isle was the vast ocean. Confident that they could handle whatever the Isle threw at them, Annie and Delilah used their orbs to portal themselves to the sky surrounding the Isle. The realm lock on the Isle meant that they had to settle for arriving tens of kilometres beyond the coast. They found themselves flying in the sky, but they soon felt heavy and sluggish, and every flap of their wings took more energy than the last.
"Must be a gravity spell. We'll have to swim the rest of the way," Annie deduced.
"It's been a while since I rocked my mermaid form. Crystal always said she loved it," Delilah replied. Valeria was an exception to this rule, but Sentinels had the innate ability to transform into beings that humans would call mermaids when swimming. This allowed them to breathe underwater, communicate with sentient undersea life, and navigate strong currents with ease. Annie and Delilah then dove into the ocean and, on contact with the water, transformed into their mermaid forms. Annie's mermaid tail looked like it was made out of sapphires. The tail was mostly light blue in colour with a darker blue pigment in the middle, and a transparency to it. Instead of the halo Annie usually wore, the headpiece turned into a crown, and her swimsuit retained the shade of blue that she usually wore and looked like the top of a full one-piece. Delilah's mermaid tail was dark in colour, with a red pigment in the middle. While she still kept her horns, her tail fin was spikier than Annie's.
"Shawn has yet to see me like this. I worry that it will set off his primal instincts," Annie disclosed. Annie's lover Shawn had the unfortunate side effect of uncontrollably transforming into a beast whenever he got too emotionally charged, and Annie hadn't ruled out arousal as one of his triggers, so she never showed him her mermaid form.
"You should see Crystal's mermaid form. Oh boy, the things she can do with that tail fin," Delilah hinted, but when she noticed Annie's unimpressed look, she was brought back on task and the pair swam towards the White Isle.
On the Boiling Isles, Lynn, Lucy, Toffee, Caramel, and the Hexside Squad, having returned from the Loud House to discuss Lucy's enrolment and Lisa's probe, set out to the Owl House to ask Eda for help navigating the treacherous Wildlands. Principal Bump had returned to Hexside to finalise Lucy's schedule as well as convene with the Triad to discuss the next steps in regards to dealing with the Malefic Order.
"Who is this Edalyn Clawthorne, anyway?" Lucy asked.
"Eda the Owl Lady was my magic teacher when I first came to the Boiling Isles, and she was also the one that took me into her home when I got stranded here. She may be a little eccentric, but she's just a kind old lady," Luz answered.
"When I first met her, I thought she was a little cuckoo," Willow recalled.
"I actually thought she was going to eat me," Gus added.
"She, along with her sister Lilith are the most powerful witches on the Isles, or at least they were before their harpy curse stripped them of their powers," Amity explained.
"Which they have since learned to master. Having no magical powers does not make you powerless," Hunter mused.
"Interesting, and you think she can get us through the Wildlands?" Toffee inquired.
"Knowing Eda, she's probably been there a few times," Luz replied.
"Sounds like a solid lead," Caramel commented.
"And here we are at the Owl House," Luz presented the house she called her home away from the Human Realm. While it still retained its owl aesthetic, Hooty the House Demon no longer resided there, choosing to take a position as co-curator of the Bonesborough museum, once construction had finished. While Lynn wasn't impressed by the Owl House, Lucy was in awe.
"The most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles lives in this dump?" Lynn scoffed.
"Come now, Lynn. Powerful sorceresses need not the lavishness of gold-rimmed towers or rooms full of shiny objects," Lucy waxed poetical.
"Makes a change from Mewman castles," Toffee observed, having lived most of his life in a world where powerful magic users lived it up in royal castles that towered over the populace.
"Could use a bit of exterior decorating, if you ask me," Caramel chimed in.
"I think it's perfect," Lucy rebutted. Just then, the door of the Owl House opened, and Luz's eyes lit up upon the sight of old friend. King had seen Luz coming and had thrown the door open to greet her. He ran up to Luz like a dog greeting its human upon their return home and leapt into her arms. The two embraced and nuzzled each other.
"Awww, King, I missed you too," Luz cooed. She gave him a few pecks on his head as a token of her affection, and King then noticed the old crew had a few new additions. Lucy was lost for words at the sight of King. Normally, she found small, fluffy animals distasteful, with the exception of the pets of the Loud House, but in King's case, Lucy thought he was the cutest thing she had ever laid eyes on.
"I see you've made some new friends. Who are the lizard people? Who's the goth girl and the mopey, sporty one?" King queried. Lucy was taken aback by King's words. Not because he called her goth, she readily embraced that moniker, but he called Lynn mopey. She turned to look and saw Lynn with her eyes staring at the ground beneath her. Lucy found this odd, because she would normally be the one doing that while the rest of the family had fun in the sun, or whatever it was that they were doing.
"King, this is Toffee and Caramel, they're brother and sister, and they're here on important business," Luz introduced.
"He's not actually a King of anything, is he?" Toffee asked.
"Nah, it's just what we call him," Luz clarified. She then directed King's attention towards Lucy. "This one is Lucy. She's a human, like me, who comes from a big family of one brother and many, many sisters," Luz continued.
"How do you see out of those bangs?" King inquired.
"Perfectly well, thank you," Lucy responded. When King extended his hand for Lucy to shake, Lucy then yanked King out of Luz's arms and started hugging him tightly herself. "Wow, he even feels adorable, and you lived with him for months? Is this what normies call 'jealousy'?" Lucy mused. King was struggling to break free of Lucy's grip.
"Take it easy! I am not a plushie!" King pleaded. He eventually broke free and leapt back into Luz's warm embrace. She then directed him towards Lynn.
"The one unusually down in the dumps is Lucy's sister Lynn. She's been like that ever since we got back from the Loud House. Is everything OK?" Luz finished off the introductions. Lynn simply waved her hand in response. Lucy grew increasingly concerned.
"I haven't seen her like this since that six-game losing streak back home," Lucy observed.
"I….. think I might know why. Let's just let her process things," Amity suggested. Amity figured that Lynn was still down after she disclosed to Amity that her beloved brother had told Lynn to her face that he resented her, and that Lynn still hasn't forgiven herself for her mistakes, nor has she stopped blaming herself for what happened to Lincoln. Even though Lucy knew all this, since she overheard Lynn talking to Amity about it, she decided that now would not be a good time to bring this up. Another sign that told her to park this for now was Edwin motioning towards something in the sky while he was perched on Lucy's head. She looked up and she could see two winged figures flying towards them.
"What are those?!" Lucy asked in an alarmed tone. She readied her palisman staff as Lynn snapped to attention and got her wand out, but Luz and the rest of the Hexside Squad calmed them down.
"Relax, guys, that is Eda and her sister Lilith," Luz assured. Sure enough, the two harpy ladies touched down to greet Luz and her friends.
"Luz! You came to visit! Human life too boring for you, huh?" Eda teased. Lilith then noticed the extras that Luz had brought along.
"Are these your human friends? I don't recognise them," Lilith observed. Lucy was eyeing the pair with great interest. From everything she had heard about the powerful Owl Lady, Lucy had a picture in her mind of a wizened old lady with long, flowing grey hair. Suffice to say, Eda met Lucy's expectations, though she didn't expect the wings and the hook-arm. Lilith, on the other hand, Lucy did not foresee, though if she was as powerful as her sister, their mission would be that much easier.
"Eda, Lilith, the two lizards are Toffee and Caramel, a brother-sister team sent here to retrieve something from one of Belos' undiscovered vaults," Luz explained.
"Well met, Clawthorne sisters," Caramel responded, putting on her best diplomatic face.
"They're certainly… different," Toffee noticed.
"Well, when you have to adjust to a harpy curse that strips your magic but gives you this form, there is an adjustment period," Lilith quipped. The old Toffee, the one that wanted to destroy magic and its users, would've been intrigued by this curse, maybe even study its power so he could unleash it. But that wasn't him anymore. Thanks to Caramel, he had changed for the better.
"And the two other humans are Lucy and Lynn Loud, another sibling team," Luz finished off introductions. Eda quickly took note of the bat palisman sitting atop Lucy's head.
"You have a palisman at your age? You must be gifted indeed," Eda complimented.
"Thank you. His name is Edwin," Lucy replied. Eda then detached her palisman from its staff.
"And this is Owlbert. I'm sure the two will be good friends," Eda responded. True to Eda's word, Edwin and Owlbert hit it off, each playfully showing off their flying skills to the other.
"Wait until he meets Stringbean," Luz joked. Lynn then loudly cleared her throat.
"Can we please stay on task here?" Lynn interjected.
"Alright, alright, starting to miss quiet Lynn. Eda, we're not here for a social call," Luz hinted.
"I'd almost be disappointed if it were. How can I help, kid?" Eda asked.
"We need to go through the Wildlands, Miss Clawthorne. There's something there we ned to find," Lucy answered.
"First of all, drop the 'Miss Clawthorne', just Eda's fine. Second, you want me and my sister to lead two lizards and a bunch of kids through the most dangerous, most deadly, most forbidden area of the Boiling Isles?" Eda inquired, with a stern look on her face.
"We wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, Eda," Lucy replied. Eda thought for a second, then her stern look swiftly changed into delight and trepidation.
"It's just like old times! I've missed this. Being a Headmaster doesn't allow for adventures these days. Maybe if we're lucky, we could see the Malefic Order's final resting place. I'll say this for Belos, he may have been a genocidal maniac, but he sure did us a favour by getting rid of those crazies," Eda remarked. The mood then turned from slightly serious to downright dour. "Am I missing something?" Eda probed, reading the room.
"Eda, they're not extinct," Amity chimed in. Eda's mood then changed from joy to concern.
"Luz, tell me everything," Eda instructed.
At the Sanctum, Sylvia, Morgan, Zella, Amy, Shawn, and Crystal were gathered in the meeting room, all of them determined to get some answers out of the Court regarding their origins and the truth about the Dark Master. The Court had always maintained that he was an evil sorcerer that practiced dark magic to summon abominations and brainwash entire armies to his cause, and that it was only through the combined efforts of four exceptionally powerful Sentinels that the First Court were able to imprison him. With what they had just learned, all of that was thrown into question.
"Before I call the Court, are we all agreed that we do not take deflection and evasion as acceptable answers, from any of them?" Sylvia asked.
"Aye," the rest answered at once.
"To get to the truth, no matter what it takes?" Sylvia continued.
"Just call them already," Crystal responded.
"Alright then, here we go," Sylvia then used her orb to summon holographic projections of the four dragons Ignitus, Volteer, Cyril, and Terrador that made up the Court of Ancients. Ignitus, the de facto leader of the Court, looked confused.
"Sylvia? I instructed your sister Annie to oversee the Boiling Isles matter. I don't see her, or Delilah for that matter, with you. Has anything happened over there?" Ignitus inquired.
"Neither Annie nor Delilah are on the Isles. Annie instructed me to lead the investigation into Belos' demise while they left to deal with…. personal matters. Zella and Amy have just returned from there with news," Sylvia updated.
"I see. Well, is he dead?" Ignitus probed.
"Well and truly, councillors. A new ruling body known as the Triad now oversees the rebuilding and recovery of the Isles. They consist of trusted beings that fought against his tyranny," Zella updated.
"That is good to hear. When I heard of that Day of Unity, I knew there was a reason we never trusted that snake," Cyril affirmed.
"Indeed. I had been preparing defensive strategies in case he ever came here. Now they will be better served elsewhere," Terrador added.
"There's more, councillors. Two of the Loud children have set foot on the Isles looking for a way to defeat the Order. Also, Toffee and Caramel are there as well, at the behest of Fairy World. The denizens of that Realm believe that the Spirit of the Dark Master is hidden in one of Belos' vaults, one not found by the Triad," Sylvia updated.
"You have got to be kidding me. What could the Louds possibly hope to find there?" Volteer wondered.
"It gets worse. Lucy has been enrolled at Hexside, so extracting her would be difficult, if not impossible," Amy revealed.
"One human at a witch school was bad enough, now there's two," Cyril moaned.
"Now, now, let's not be too dramatic. Lucy Loud, from what we've seen, may well be an excellent fit for that place. But I do agree that we do not want further cross-dimensional contamination. The last thing the Isles needs is the human race treating it as a tourist destination, or something along those lines," Ignitus cautioned.
"Still, I have high hopes that a marriage between those two worlds can fortify relations. It is for that reason I have been keeping an eye on Luz Noceda and Amity Blight," Cyril hoped.
"Yeah, that's the reason," Volteer dismissed.
"Enough. We can get to the diplomatics at a later time. You did well bringing us this information. In the meantime, we should discuss the Spirit of the Dark Master. You said the fairies believe Belos had it stashed away somewhere?" Ignitus recalled.
"Are you asking us to get to it before Toffee and Caramel do?" Sylvia queried. The Court quietly discussed amongst themselves about what to do with the Spirit, until Ignitus addressed the Sentinels again.
"No. We believe the fairies are more than equipped to seal that object away in their Realm. We will be monitoring the situation closely. Should they retrieve it, we will communicate our desire to lend assistance promptly," Ignitus resolved.
"With all four light-keepers identified and the Mind, Power, and Spirit of the Dark Master accounted for, I believe that concludes our business, if there is nothing else," Cyril summarised. Sylvia decided now was the time to go on the offensive.
"Actually, there is something else, something major," Sylvia interjected.
"And that is?" Ignitus asked.
"Tell us something, councillors. How long have you been keeping secrets from us?! How long have you sat on the knowledge that the Dark Master was one of your own?! How long have you kept us blind to the fact that it was HE who made the first of us?! What other secrets are you hiding?!" Sylvia demanded. To say the Court was disturbed by Sylvia's tone would be an understatement. The dragons of the Court had always enjoyed a respectful relationship with the Sentinels. The dragons allowed the Sentinels to do their own thing and be their own selves, and the Sentinels were more than happy to help out the Court with anything they needed. Never, in their many years of working together, had a Sentinel openly disrespected or defied the Court in any way, until now.
"Where is this coming from?" Ignitus interrogated. Terrador's stance, unlike Ignitus, was one of understanding.
"I…. think I might have the answer to this one. I take it Annie told you what she learned in Amphibia?" Terrador hypothesised.
"No, I did. I was there, remember," Shawn clarified.
"What did Annie learn?" Volteer probed.
"In short; everything, straight from the Dark Master's mouth," Terrador answered. The rest of the Court gasped in horror.
"She never mentioned that in the report," Ignitus recalled. Sylvia thought that the Court had some gall to get on Annie's case about omitting details when they had been keeping some big secrets of their own.
"Oh, that's rich! So only you lot can keep your books closed while we have to open ours to you!" Sylvia ranted.
"Let me tell you something, since apparently I have no choice. If Annie told me where she was going, I would follow her to the ends of the multiverse!" Shawn added.
"That goes double for me and Delilah!" Crystal interjected.
"To think, we followed your every order, and we did it gladly, thinking you had our best interests at heart! Shows what we know!" Morgan vented.
"We also didn't ask for much in return. Ancestors, we didn't even ask for this Sanctum, yet we accepted it as a gift from you anyway, because we thought you appreciated us!" Zella called out.
"And we're still not asking. No, we DEMAND to know the truth! Did the Dark Master lie to Annie or did you lot keep the truth from us all our lives?!" Amy interrogated. These outbursts made the Court pause for thought. They never imagined that their secrets would come out like this. They had always planned on telling at least Annie and her sisters the truth, when they thought they could handle it, but to be outed like this was something they were not prepared for. Terrador shook his head in defeat and acknowledgement.
"I have always maintained that you should know the truth, but I was bound by the will of the Court. Seeing your boldness in challenging us has convinced me that I can stay silent no longer," Terrador resolved. The other dragons looked at Terrador in disbelief.
"Terrador, we agreed," Cyril insisted.
"I don't care what High Justice Red says! These Sentinels have served us faithfully for years! They deserve to know!" Terrador argued. Ignitus sighed heavily.
"You're going to tell them no matter what we say, aren't you?" Ignitus guessed.
"Even if it gets me thrown off the Court," Terrador stood firm.
"So? What's the truth?" Sylvia questioned. Ignitus sighed again.
"All of it. The Dark Master was a dragon. He created the first of your kind, though you were not called Sentinels. That was the name the first Court came up with. Rather, the first of you were his Marauders, generals that led his armies to conquer other worlds, and the spell he used to create them, that the first and subsequent Courts used to create the Sentinels, was of his own design," Ignitus revealed.
"And even then, the first Court couldn't master the spell they stole from him, so it was taken to a sorcerer called Odin, who was able to re-work the spell to create similar beings for the first Court's rebellion against the Dragon Empire. He called them Valkyries," Volteer exposited.
"Only the Dark Master found out and sent his own forces to take the spell back. Four Valkyries made it out of Asgard before its destruction at the hands of Ragnarok. Using other spells Odin had created, these Valkyries were able to capture four Marauders, use their combined powers to imprison the Dark Master in the Realm of Convexity, and split his power and his spirit from his body," Cyril continued the tale.
"But the effort to contain him cost the Valkyries and Marauders their lives, and their spirits were left to wander the Realms, finding hosts that they deemed worthy to house them. These hosts would be unaware that the spirits of light and darkness necessary to forge the Key to Convexity needed to release the Dark Master's body from its prison would be inside them. All the while, the work to destroy the fragments of the Dark Master's mind began. They were well hidden, but the Sentinels before you found and destroyed all of them, save one," Ignitus concluded.
"And now that one threatens everything we've worked for. If you're going to ask how the Malefic Order knew that they were the ones carrying the spirits of the Marauders, we don't know. We're hoping that, in the course of investigating and fighting them, then that truth will be revealed, and that is everything," Terrador assured.
"Now that you know the truth, the choice is yours. You can help us fight the Order, or you can leave and go about your own lives. We wouldn't blame you if you did," Ignitus offered. This had the Sentinels split firmly down the middle. While Morgan, Amy, and Zella maintain that they needed to work together to stop the Order, Sylvia, Shawn, and Crystal did not feel comfortable working with beings that kept such massive secrets from them. This discomfort stopped short of resentment, at least for now, but they still had reservations.
"Forgive us, councillors, but we need time to convene and discuss this issue. Once Annie and Delilah return and we have deliberated, then we can give you our answer. Not before," Sylvia insisted.
"We understand. We'll await your call," Ignitus replied, and the conference was terminated.
Meanwhile, back at the Owl House, Luz had just finished relaying everything that had transpired in the Room of Recollection to Eda and Lilith. Everything from what happened at Royal Woods, the Order's return, and the missions of the Louds, Toffee, and Caramel respectively. Eda didn't pretend to understand half of it, but she was open-minded to inter-dimensional travel, having once possessed a portal to the Human Realm and travelled through it herself numerous times. Lilith was having a harder time absorbing it all. The histories clearly stated that Belos wiped out the Order years ago. Then again, the histories also said Belos was a benevolent healer and mentor and look how that turned out. Still, there must have been some hint of survivors, or Belos would've told at least the Emperor's Coven. Or at least, that's what she thought when she was in Belos' employ.
"You know, some part of me always figured that there were survivors. But I never could've imagined this. You have my condolences, Louds," Eda consoled.
"Not our first bout with inter-dimensional wackjobs, but thanks," Lucy responded.
"Back before Belos came to power, the Malefic Order, as you call them, were fledgling witches just like any other. Before the coven system, they formed their own group, but they were scholars, studying all aspects of magic. Everyone revered them as wise sages. Then suddenly they delivered warnings of a rising tyranny threatening to consume the Isles until nothing is left. The witches of those days dismissed these warnings as the ramblings of an old seer," Lilith recollected from her history books.
"You know what they say about hindsight. Maybe if they were taken more seriously, we wouldn't be in this mess," Eda guessed.
"Lincoln did say they were desperate to stop Belos, and that his removal was the only reason they're trying to summon this Dark Master now," Lucy recalled.
"Still doesn't forgive what they did to him!" Lynn butted in.
"No, it doesn't, but I can understand where they were coming from. If we could bring them here, they could see that he's gone, they'd stop their mad quest, and justice can be done without violence. Their atonement could begin by helping to rebuild their home," Lucy suggested.
"Not a bad idea, if it can be done," Willow agreed.
"Yeah, there's been enough death," Hunter added.
"Whatever we decide to do, we need to find them first. You say your sister launched a probe into our world to study us, but it crashed in the Wildlands?" Eda queried.
"Yes, but we meant no harm. We only wished to see the world the Order came from," Lucy answered.
"And the black box from this probe can help you find an object the Order seeks and seal it away?" Eda then questioned Toffee and Caramel.
"It is imperative that we find it before they do," Toffee insisted.
"I see, well, getting through the Wildlands won't be easy, but we've faced worse. Get your palisman ready for anything. You'll need your wits about you," Eda instructed, and Luz, Amity, Willow, Gus, and Lucy prepared their respective palisman for the journey.
At the White Isle, Annie and Delilah made it to the shore, where they transformed back into their normal selves. Using Delilah's flames to dry off from the refreshing swim, they found themselves at a large gate, flanked on either side by large dragon statues, which seemed to be watching them. This greatly disturbed Annie and Delilah, but they pressed on. Reflecting pools of water dotted the white-sanded coast, and floating rocks hovered in the air. Suddenly, a voice called out.
"It has been a while since your kind visited this place, but are you Sentinel, Valkyrie, or Marauder?" the voice asked.
"We are Sentinels of the Dragon Guard. I am Annie and this is my twin sister Delilah," Annie announced.
"Tell me why you have come here," the voice demanded.
"We seek answers about our origins and the Dark Master," Delilah answered. Silence fell, as if the voice had left the conversation, but the wizened, sage-like entity spoke again.
"Are you worthy to hear the answers to your questions? Only the Trials will tell," the voice challenged. Just then, orbs attached to spider-like metallic bodies jumped out of the reflecting pools and attached themselves to sockets surrounding the door. Once all the sockets were filled, the door opened slowly, and on the other side, a bright light engulfed Annie and Delilah. This, they surmised, was one of the Trials the voice had referred to. All they could do was press on and be ready for what came next.
Author's note: Originally, I had planned to include the trek through the Wildlands and the Trials of the White Isle in this chapter, but that would drag out the word count, and I like my chapters digestible. In real life, work has started up for me again, what with the academic year starting, so these chapters may take longer, but I have a good idea on what I want to do now. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. All properties belong to their respective owners. Enjoy.