Sorry itâs been a while, this chapter was uncooperative.. Gonna take a nap..
âSo Edaâs ancestor met me in AtlantisâŠâ Luz sat down on a nearby stump. She felt herself struggling to smile.. It was a small light in comparison to the destruction that happened.. Yet, Eda the second closest thing she had to a mother and the most wonderful person she had met was born because of those past actions.. Who knows maybe there were other small lights? âShe ended up becoming a witch.. â
âYou know the Clawthorne Family has been a very prominent family.. History changing in factâŠâ
âYup.. They were responsible for a lot of reformations..â Amity had a look of pride in her eyes.. Her eyeâs grew a little sad as nostalgia grew in her thoughts.. She used to consider it an honor to study under Lilith.. âThey broke down a lot of caste systems.. Put an end to a lot of insane laws.. People called them Heroes⊠Sadly much of their changes were undone by the rise of Emperor Belos.. But, when people think powerful witches from ancient history they tend to think Lina Inverse-Clawthorne..â
âI think I remember her..â Luz blushed at the memory of the most tsundere witch she could remember. âShe and Gourry were so in love, but he was so dumb..â She laughed at the memory of their arguments, chases, and how they fought over food.. âIt took a long time for him to actually realize that much less confess it..â
âYeah it took end of the world nonsense..â Luz shook her head in utter disappointment at that kind of boneheaded ignorance. âYou know.. I originally thought the reason I was.. punished was darker.. That I tried to destroy the world for the laughs...â
âYeah I heard..â Amity gazed at Luz with concern and worry.. âDonât forget we just saw that your soul was literally ripped apart seven ways.. Soul fragmentation can make people unstable.. Memories can get jumbled up even when the pieces go back when theyâre supposed to be.. My guess is the memories of your punishment got mixed with the memories of your later fragments.â
âI hope thereâs not gonna be anymore problems..âLuz turned away from Amity. This had been a harrowing experience and Eda had pushed Amity to go through it with her.. Letting her see all these issues.. It grated on certain learned instincts.
âHey donât worry Luz.. Weâre with you.. Okay?â
âOkay..â Luz lit up again. She hugged Amity tightly before reaching into her pocket and pulled the bell. âLetâs go..â She rang it twice..
Luz woke up to see Lilith chained with her staff currently lying in Edaâs grip. Amity got up not too soon after and a sour frown grew on her face..
âYou wanna run it by me how Luz was a threat to you and how that justified lethal force?â
âSheâs the lord of darkness! Literally the source of all dark magic..â
âShe was a fourteen year-old girl barely my age struggling with magic. No offense..â
âAnd you had to the gall to kidnap her to threaten just to get an advantage over Eda. How is that civilized? How is that any better than how you say the wild witches were.. If her powers hadnât woke up..â
âBut, she didnât die⊠Frankly Iâm not certain anything could kill her..â
âYou did all this to secure your place with a tyrant..â
âIs it really treason if the civilization isnât worth preserving? ⊠eight hundred thousand peopleâŠâ
â..Excuse me?â Lilithâs eyes narrowed as she looked at Amity with growing fear and desperation. She couldnât believe what she was hearing her apprentice couldnât know could she? âWhat are you talking about?â
âWhat does she mean Amity?â
â⊠Our population is dwindling Luz.. There are witches disappearing from time to time..â Amity pinned Lilith with a glare.. âTheir palismans are taken, artifacts destroyed, and research burned.. Heâs feeding on us isnât he?â
ââŠ..I wonât say another word..â
âRight because of your little collar..â
Everyone turned to look at Luz who was startled before rubbing the back of her head with an embarrassed smile.. âOoh right sorry about that still have Atlantis on the brain.. The contract in her wrist reminds me of the sigil contracts the nobles used to use for their slaves⊠I mean the spell work is almost exactly alike⊠This is reaally uncomfortably for me now..â
âWait youâre saying the coven system is based on Atlantean Slavery?â
âBasically? I mean think about it you can control any potential avenues for the middle class mages.. And keep them from being a potential threat by making them weaker..â
âIn that case were would Lilith have been?â Eda grinned towards her sister eyes filled mischievous mirth
âA highly valued tutor or courtesan. Based on her limiters and tracking glyphs..â
âCourtesan?!â An infuriated Lilith growled.
âHa thatâs rich imagine conservative Lilith as a courtesan..â Eda grinned as Lilith began to blush and fume.. She decided against pushing it any further given there kids in the room. âSo not a noble?â
âI canât really say Atlantean Witches were really weird about family lineageâŠâ Luz had to resist the urge to facepalm. That ideology was so stupid.. Ceifeed had originally noticed a number of genetic illness arising from harmful genes.. He had repaired the damage, but complained about having to do it so often.. So he taught his priests how to fix the problems⊠Some people heard his words and went completely off the wall and started obsessing over linage and blood.. âIf they knew about your ancestor originally being a human slave girl.. Theyâd get all twitchy.. That said no Nobles ever had them.. They were the only free mages who never wore such degrading things..â
âHa looks like between you and me Iâm the only nobility..â Eda laughed to herself.. âThat said human ancestor?â
âIndeed please explain.â
âEdalin she was a first generation witch a real prodigy.. She was born human and acquired magic later in life..â Luz smiled as she thought fondly of the child. âGood kid glad to see she got to become a witch.â
âWait Edalin the Uniter was a human slave girl?!â Lilith shouted with shock she suddenly felt lightheaded⊠And fainted..
âIs she gonna be okay?â
âThat used to happen to her a lot as kids..â
âYeesh someone is a lightweight for heavy truths.â Luz shook her head with amusement.
âYup.. By the way Amity your mom called I told you were spending some time with the dark lord doing some rituals here and she was welcome to pick you up but she backed off did for some strange reason..â
There was silence through the house. Amity looked afraid and worried. Her mom has come here to this place.. Her mother was always an unstoppable force of nature whenever she wanted to get something. It was the same with her father as well. Their way or no way.
â.. Uh Amity are your parents Ceifeed worshippers?â Luz questioned curiously.
âNo theyâre agnostic.. But, I think they may have seen your clash with Emperor Bellows so they definitely believe nowâŠâ
âWait how would they have seen that?â
âSome activist group called anoma-witch broadcasted it on all our arcane transmissions⊠â Amity smiled as she recalled the shock of her family. The twins had dropped their pancakes onto the floor Elmira cried shortly after.. Her father was aghast and shocked at the sheer gall of such an attack on the seat of their government. Her mother on the other hand she looked absolutely terrified.
â⊠Isnât that a good thing?â
âNooo!! I donât want people using that spell!!!â Luz shouted in a panicked voice smashing her hand into the wall. She looked at the ground horrified remembering how that spell was gleefully and carelessly given to the Atlantean military branch who used to it conquer the surrounding nations.. She nearly started hyperventilating before Amity touched her shoulder.. Luz looked to Amity.. âPlease tell me that words from that spell were scrubbed from the audioâŠâ
âIt actually was.. They must have known what would happen..â
âThank goodness.. I can never use that spell again⊠It felt so right..â Luz looked horrified as she remembered how she felt in that moment that sadistic glee in her heart and the fear in Lilithâs eyes.. The thought of watching the life in her eyes drain away. She felt that dark magic wasnât worth it.. âItâs so enticing, intoxicating, and I wonât use it again⊠And I donât want anyone else to use it either..â
âLuz⊠You canât be afraid of dark magic.. Itâs literally half of all spells you use.. â Amity invited Luz to sit with her.. Luz sighed before sitting next to the green haired witch.. âAfter the fall of Atlantis when the gods vanished.. Many of the the spells we witches used no longer functioned.. We were scared afraid that our powers would disappear one day yet they never did.. Magic persisted and grew stronger once more.. Eventually we discovered that much of your and Ceifeedâs energies had been infused in us and the earth.. And we learned how to mold and shape the magic you left us.. This is what mortal magic is⊠Yet despite itâs unpleasant origins it amazing and wonderful.. Dark magic your magic.. itâs half of what you love so much Luz.. You contributed to something wonderful so please donât be afraid of it..â
â.. Yeah youâre right.. You know even at my worst when forced to I began to care for Edalin..â Luz perked up as she thought about all the friends that were supporting her throughout all of this. Willow, Gus, Eda, King, A-And Amity.. She looked at the green haired witch noting the gentleness and compassion.. âThank you so much Amity..â She took of Amity tightly hugging her closely..
As the room was occupied with the drama no one noticed the flow of magic emanating from Lilithâs clothing. A quick concealment ward casted by the Emperor shielded his astral presence from detection.
âWell well Lilith you played your role magnificently. You were so terrified of me and concerned with warning your sister that you failed to notice the scrying sigils in your cloak..âEmperor Belos eyes glowed as he began to search for the Owl House for two things⊠He looked through the living room, before moving to the kitchen, and then through the various bedrooms. The Emperor would sigh in annoyance, as it turned out it seems the Owl lady kept the key on herself at all times.. But, on the other hand⊠The humanâs device was left out on her desk.. âLittle Luz you really must keep an eye on your personal effects like this.. â He gingerly sunk a finger into the device and his mind began to tear through the meager password protection.. âHmm Camilla Noceda..â Belos spent time his time reading through Luzâs texts learning what he could of her.
He began to laugh upon realizing that there was only one more thing necessary to force Luz into his plans.. A few minutes later he cut the connection from the scrying symbols.
The Emperor began to form a new spell using the evocative nature of Old Magic as a base for it.. âI call the one who brought forth the dawn. The one who tirelessly heals during the day and night. The blind one who does not understand the true nature of things..â
âQuaint..â Belos noted as a red circle began to form in the air before erupting into a portal.. It was unstable but it would last for his purposes.. âLetâs see..â He reached in and pulled hard retrieving a middle aged Dominican woman wearing a blue nurseâs outfit. âAh now you must be Luz Nocedaâs mother..â He smiled as a look of fear, recognition, and anger grew in the womanâs eyes at the mention of that name.
âBastardo!! ÂĄÂżQuĂ© le hiciste a mi hija?!!â Camilla stopped speaking as the strange masked man began to shush her and she suddenly noticed how much bigger he was than her.. âWhat did you do to my daughter?! If youâve hurt her!â
âI have done nothing of the sort, but I will if she doesnât do exactly as I say..â
Meanwhile back at the Owl HouseâŠ
Lilith woke up with a headache she was still in chains and her arms were getting pretty sore. She sighed and spun her fingers dematerializing the chains.
âWell done Lilith my faithful servant..â
âEmperor Belos⊠How are yo.. The Coven Brand..â
âIndeed.. You did just as I planned inform your sister and her apprentice that I have her mother..â
âTell them that she will give me the key by midnight or I will have fun testing any number of lethal spells on human physiology..â
âOh that reminds me by the way Lilith youâre fired. You can pick up anything you left behind here, but youâre no longer welcome to employment in my services.. Have fun doing whatever is you like to do in your spare time..â
ââŠ.â Lilith sat there in silence as the connection was severed.. She felt her world falling apart her hand shook as the coven glyph dissolved from her wrist. Years of sacrifice, constantly plotting, and countless hours of competing to stay at the top to be the Emperorâs most favored servant.. And this was her reward after giving him everything⊠A long distance banishment laced with false kindness.. Her head fell into her hands and she began to cry..
Eda Luz and Amity hearing Lilith crying approached her. They noticed she was free and Eda raised her staff, but then lowered it realizing that her tears were very much real. âWell this was awkward..âEda really hoped this breakdown wasnât about the deathhex she sent to Lilithâs mailbox..
âI-I messed up⊠Belos told me I was free to go..â Lilith then slowly looked to Luz in fear.. âI never knew please believe I didnât know..â
âWhat did you do?â Luzâs eyes narrowed as she glared at Lilith.
â⊠Belos placed several spells he was here seconds ago in astral form looking for the key.. He found the next best thing the location and name of your mother..â
âEven if that bonehead got that information itâs impossible for him to do anything with it..â Eda placed a calming hand on Luzâs shoulder. âNothing will come of it.â
âYou underestimate him Edalyn.â Lilith shook her head terror in her eyes. âBelos knows more about the ancient magic than most mortals.. He summoned your mother here..â
âHow!! Sheâs not a mage, dragon, or demon?!â Luz couldnât believe what she was hearing. Her mother the woman who flinched during Halloween had a presence in the astral realm strong enough to be summoned.. How was that even possible!?
âShe gave birth to you.. You are the source of all black magic.. And in order to give birth to you your mother was altered enough to survive your reemergence into this world. Thatâs enough magic for certain summoning rituals to work.â
âItâs my mother!!â Luz screamed.. Her eyes glowed red as she made her way to the door dark bat-like wings began to form on her back.. âIâm going to find her..â
âStop..â Eda sighed at her apprenticeâs foolish attitude.. This was a trap more than likely he was planning something the question is what.. âIâll fly us itâll give us time to discuss a plan.â
âThank you Edalyn..â She gave her a relived hug her wings disappeared as they dissolved into shadow.. Luz let go slowly and began to look towards the door with worry and concern.
âYour welcome..â Edalyn reassured her apprentice gently as they all walked together towards the door.
âHa.. Tell me do you know what your daughter really is?â
âI know that sheâs a better person than youâll ever be..â
âPerhaps itâs all a matter of perspective.. Shabranigdo the demon god of darkness and in the ancient world the lord of black magic and in the modern world the source of dark magic..â Belos gestured towards an ancient demonic statue with fangs, horns, wings, and ruby eyes. Camilla stared at the strange relic wondering what the ancient history of this old god had to do with her and her family. âShe was one of the patron gods of ancient Atlantis and sunk it when it served itâs purpose.. Itâs half of all magic part of the very fabric of our being. And I plan to control it..â
â.. What do your stories have to do with my daughter!?â
âTell me was her birth troublesome? Where there sudden storms on that day? Did ash began to fall from the sky when it was finally over?â
â⊠Yes..â Camilla was stunned by this stranger listing the various events that surrounded Luzâs birth. âI donât see what that has to do with..â
âAll three occurrences are symptoms of a demonic birth.. Usually if there itâs one itâs a common demon.. two occurrence mean a demon of considerable strength. Three occurrences.. The demon god was prophesied to display all three symptoms on the hour of itâs rebirth with a human as the mother.. Shabranigdo the progenitor of the demon race..â
â⊠Are you saying my daughter is the devil?â Camilla scoffed.
â⊠To many people she would be such.. she is the original destroyer⊠Countless civilizations have been destroyed by the spells she created.. Such is her purpose and nature..â
âMaybe..â Belos shrugged uncaringly. âIt doesnât mean I am not right.â
Outside Belosâs PalaceâŠ
Luz Noceda approached the Emperorâs Palace alone the numerous guards moved aside all while her very presence caused the Emperorâs various scrying spells to leave specific blank spots for her friends to exploit.. Numerous restrictive spells around Luz collapsed as she was wreathed in a crimson dark aura. Numerous Witches felt the malevolence from her and backed away in fear.. Several flowers around the palace began to crumble into ash as they aged at an accelerated rateâŠ
Kikimora guarded the chamber the Emperor was waiting in for Luz. She shook at the sheer malevolence in Luzâs presence ancient instincts told her that this was her progenitor, her maker..
âMove aside speck..â Luz spoke with an old cruel authority in her voice ..
â.. M-My lord awaits you..â The demonic woman stuttered as she stepped aside and the door opened for the dark god.
As Luz stepped forward she sighed Amity, Eda, and Lilith would have to move fast.. Belos was powerful she could feel his presence.. It felt corrupted so twisted in a way a mortal could not be.. He was feeding on something powerful enough to give even the greatest of her old servants an impossible task.. And she was comparatively inexperienced, granted she had immeasurable knowledge as the lord of black magic, but Luz couldnât use that knowledge reliably due to the emotional baggage.. However.. She extended a hand and imagined the fire glyph before drawing a crimson circle.. A powerful fireball grew in her palm..
âPerfect..â Luz Noceda stepped inside waking into the chamber. She began to notice two things, this room was dimly lit and that it wasnât the throne room. Emperor Belos was seated in a chair at the end his eyes glowing blue menacingly. âLet my mother go!â She shouted with determination.