"Alright, this kid here needs some medical attention." Eda said, gesturing to Hunter in one of the many hospitals run by the Healing Coven. "And make it snappy, we don't got all day." She added.

A girl with brown hair in a bun and green eyes nodded, with a fish-hook as an ear piercing. "Can I take a look at the wound?" She said. Hunter nodded, and the girl unwrapped the cloth slowly. When she saw the wound she winced.

"Agh, that looks pretty deep." She said. "What did you say caused this?" She asked, tracing a spell circle over the wound.

"An inner demon." Eda said. The girl didn't seem to have heard the word 'inner', because she simply nodded.

"Yeah, we get a lot of people here because of some demon attacks. Mostly teenagers provoking them." She said. "By the way, name's Viney."

"Pleasure to meet you - no offense, but hurry up, will you? I got customers to swindle - I mean - sell collectibles to." Eda said. Hunter just stared at her.

"Wow. What an amazing save." He said sarcastically. Eda simply rolled her eyes. Viney finished up the spell, and Hunter's arm look good as new. You couldn't tell it there had even been a wound there. Hunter marveled at it.

"Alright, my work here is done. Hope you have a great day!" Viney said, waving them off as they left the room.

+.*.+

Eda was dusting off the table, at her Human Collectibles stand, looking bored. Hunter was info-dumping on King about the book he'd recently read - Palismen Explained.

"Did you know that a palisman's bond with a witch is extremely strong, and they can only be separated by death?" Hunter said, his eyes lighting up as he explained. "They can be carved into any animal, and their personality often reflects the animal that they represent. Not many people know this, but they can sometimes have certain abilities too, if they've lived for more than a century. They can also..."

Hunter continued to animatedly talk about the book, excited to share the information. However, Eda and King weren't exactly thrilled about this new hobby of his. They were glad he was opening up more, but sometimes he got too excited when the topic of books came up.

Please get him to stop, Eda thought, continuing to dust the table.

"Ugh! Please give your voice a break, Hunter. You're giving me an information overload and it's not even noon." Eda said. "It's gonna drive away all our serious customers!"

Hunter looked around. "Um, Eda? What customers? There aren't even any other stalls around." He said.

"This is a bad omen. There must be something terrible happening today." Eda said.

"Hunter!"

Hunter turned to see Gus and Willow running up to the stand, holding a flier.

"Something amazing is happening today!" Gus said excitedly.

"Oh, hey Gus, hey Willow! What's happening today?" Hunter asked.

Willow grinned, holding up the flier that was in her hands. "It's the annual covention! Student witches get to see all types of covens before they're placed in one. There's even a mystery guest this year!"

"Ooh, really? That sounds awesome! Eda, can we go?" Hunter asked.

"Absolutely not." Eda replied. Hunter slumped. "I never joined a coven for a reason. Sure it's like a fun club for witches, but you're also giving up your magical independence to be part of a crooked system."

"Mmm." Willow said, dropping the flier from her hands.

"Eh... but, y'know, no judgement. In any case, I haven't been to one since we were girls." Eda said.

"'We'?" Hunter asked, intrigued.

"I - the - I mean-" Eda stammered.

"Who's 'we'? Do you know someone you used to go with to coventions?" Hunter asked. "You haven't been to one in ages, if that's the case - now we need to go."

"No." Eda refused immediately.

"Fine. Then you leave me no choice." Hunter said with a grin. "All demons can be fit in three different categories - bug, biped and beast. Due to the limited number of categories, demon classification is very broad..."

Eda groaned. "Too much information!" She said. She opened the portal door to the human realm, but Hunter followed her in before it closed behind them. After only a second or two it opened up again, Hunter and Eda walking out.

"Stop it, stop it! I will literally do anything to stop this!" Eda protested.

Hunter immediately stopped mid-sentence, beaming. "Great! Let's get going!"

+.*.+

Eda struggled putting her hood on, grunting. "Gotta keep a low profile."

"Is that cowl really necessary?" Hunter asked.

"Do you think all my wanted posters are for petty theft?" Eda asked. Numerous small objects fell out of her cowl. "Partly." She scooped the things back inside. "But the big whammy is I disobeyed the law and refused to join a coven. If I'm seen, I could go to jail. Again."

"Maybe this informative event will inspire you to join a coven." Willow said, holding one of Eda's wanted posters in her hand. Eda traced a circle, and Willow's cowl was pulled over her face.

Eda sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

As they headed inside, Hunter looked around in amazement. There were several booths set up inside, each with a sign for one coven or another. From the ceiling hung nine large colorful banners, representing the nine major covens. Two witches flew by on their staffs.

"Those are the main nine covens, but there's hundreds of other ones you can join." Gus said, when he noticed Hunter staring at them.

"Really? The book I read on them only mentioned the main nine." He said.

"That's because the main nine are the only tracks that magic schools teach." Gus said.

As their group walked around, Willow listed a bunch of minor covens. "There's the Flower Coven, Artist Coven, Big Dog Coven, Small Cat Coven, Tiniest Cat Coven-"

Eda groaned.

"Also the Grumpy Coven." Willow said with a little snicker.

"What was that?" Eda asked. Willow, Hunter, Gus and King all ran away before Eda could do anything.

After almost getting recognized, Eda quickly rejoined the group. Hunter stopped and pointed. "Is that the Construction Coven?"

"Yup!" Willow said. "They use power glyphs to increase their strength."

"I know I already read about the covens - albeit briefly - but seeing them in person is pretty exciting." He said, his eyes looking around at all the booths as they walked.

"I know, right?" Gus said.

A light-blue version of Gus peeked out from behind him, mimicking what Gus had just said. The real Gus ran over to the Illusion Coven's booth to join the rest of the witches.

"Ah! You've been taken in by the allure of the Illusionist Coven. We like to magic with a hint..." Gus disappeared with a puff of blue smoke, reappearing a few feet to the right. "...of showmanship."

He bowed as Hunter and Willow clapped, along with some other witches who'd been watching.

"Wow! That's incredible. Why haven't you joined a coven, Eda?" Hunter asked, turning to her.

"Watch closely, Hunter." Eda said, pointing towards another illusion track witch getting a sigil.

"When you join a coven, all your other magic is sealed away." She said, watching as the image of a mirror appeared on the witch's wrist. "From now on, that kid will only be able to make illusions. Since I never joined a coven, I can do every kind of magic. That's why I'm the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles."

Eda walked away. Hunter, Willow and Gus quickly followed after her, but King stayed behind at the Oracle Coven's booth when he heard the word 'free'.

Hunter noticed a doorway flanked with guards. "That panel looks pretty popular." He said. He also couldn't help but feel like it was familiar...

Gus gasped. "That's the Emperor's Coven! Do you think they'll sign my forehead?" He gushed.

"Only one way to find out!" Willow said. The two of them head inside, and Hunter was about to follow them, but noticed that Eda wasn't moving.

"You coming, Eda?" He asked. Eda shook her head.

"No way. Out of all the covens, they're the worst. I'll wait out here." She said.

"Alright - well, I'll see you after checking it out." Hunter said with a small wave, before heading inside to join Willow and Gus.

+.*.+

Hunter sat down next to Willow and Gus in a large stadium filled with a chattering audience. He was surprised when Eda sat next to him after a few moments.

"Alright, let's see this mess." She said.

The light dimmed, and everyone hushed up. Principal Bump, the headmaster Gus had told Hunter about over pennstagram, rose from the floor with spirals of green magic, a spotlight illuminating him. The audience applauded him before a mic appeared for him to use.

"Hello, Bonesborough! Students ask me all the time, 'Principal Bump, what's the height of student achievement?'." Principal Bump said.

"Is it this?" A student asked, magically enlarging his head, crushing the student next to him.

"Wow. I failed you as a principal." Principal Bump said, before continuing. "It's being selected to join the best of the best. And there are none better than the jewel of the coven system and enforcers of his will, the Emperor's Coven."

"Hunter!" Gus whispered. Hunter looked over to see Gus' forehead was signed, with Willow and Gus both pointing towards the signature with bright and giddy smiles. Hunter chuckled.

"Feast your eyes on this elite force, each member handpicked to help usher a new age of controlled magic." Principal Bump continued."Members of the Emperor's Coven have access to all - yes, all forms of magic. But... only the best can ascend these ranks. Some day that could be one of you!"

He pointed at someone in the crowd, and Hunter squinted. It was Amity - that girl who bullied Willow a few days ago. He rolled his eyes.

"And now, I'm pleased to introduce the esteemed leader of this coven and this year's mystery guest. You know her, you love her! Lilith!" Principal Bump called, and the audience gasped.

Eda stopped making jokes out of the coven when she heard that name. Hunter assumed Lilith was the 'we' that Eda had mentioned earlier.

A bright flash of light near the ceiling turned into a blue raven sitting on a branch. It flew off the branch to the stage, and landed to reveal Lilith. It disappeared with a screech as she lifted her arms and sent her mask flying. The audience applauded and cheered, but Hunter was more focused on how quiet Eda was.

"Do you know her?" He asked.

"You could say that." Eda said.

"Thank you, all." Lilith said, magically sending her cape and mask to Principal Bump. "It wasn't easy for me to rise to the top. I also started from humble beginnings."

"Like me?" The enlarged-head student asked.

"Now I have the highest honor of enforcing the Emperor's will. So be more! The Emperor's Coven awaits you!" Lilith said. She spun, creating the raven illusion again. It spread its wings before bursting into balls of light.

+.*.+

Eda and Hunter left the auditorium.

"Eda, where are you going?" Hunter asked.

"I'm gonna head home and wash con funk off my skin." Eda replied.

"But we haven't even taken the quiz to determine our coven type!" Hunter said. He held out a thick magazine, flipped to a quiz named 'What Coven Are You In?', and held it above his head. Eda didn't even look as she cast a laser beam through it and walked away. Hunter look back the magazine to read what it said.

"Huh - punky potionist." He read. He walked without looking, though, and bumped into Amity.

"Watch where you're going!" Amity said. She looked up with a glower. "Oh. You're that new kid that Willow mentioned helped her switch tracks."

"Yeah, so?" Hunter asked, putting away the magazine. He wasn't exactly thrilled to be talking to someone who'd been so rude to his friend.

"There have been rumors that you were raised in the human realm - and that you can't do magic. Are those true as well?" Amity asked. Hunter fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, they are. So?" He said, crossing his arms.

"Hm... save for the ears and eyes, you're pretty much a human." Amity said. "I guess the half-witches get drawn together like magnets, huh?"

Hunter clenched his fists. He wasn't just going to stand by while this jerk insulted his friends.

"Look, Amity - it's one thing to say I'm almost a human-"

"Because you are."

"-but it's another thing to bully my friends." Hunter said, fully glaring at her now. "I challenge you to a Witch's Duel."

People gathered around the two of them gasped. Amity took several steps forward into Hunter's face.

"I accept. Let's set the terms for this duel, shall we?" She said. Hunter, feeling uncomfortable with the small space between them, took a few steps back.

"One, if I win, you apologize to Willow for bullying her." Hunter said. "And two, you admit that she could beat you in a fight with plant magic."

"Fine by me. But when I win, not only do you have to tell the whole covention that you're half a witch, but you have to stop learning magic forever." She said.

"Fine." He said. She held out her hand, and he took it. Amity drew a spell circle around it before they shook.

"The everlasting oath is sealed." She said, letting go as the spell circle faded.

That's probably fine, Hunter thought.

"Meet back inside the auditorium in one hour." Amity said, walking away. "Let's see what kind of witch you are."

+.*.+

"Sister?"

Eda stopped and turned, to see Lilith surrounded by several Hexside students.

"It's been so long since I've seen you last!" Lilith said, signing a notebook and handing it to one of the Hexside students. "What are you wearing? You look like some sort of trash collector. Oh wait, you are."

"Oh, Lily. I just had to see the Emperor's Coven in action." Eda said. She bent down to talk to the students. "You know, when we were kids, Lilith was so excited to see the Emperor's Coven, she peed a little."

The kids laughed, making Lilith blush with embarrassment.

"That - That's all for today." Lilith said, ushering them off. She turned to Eda. "You shouldn't even be here. You're a wanted criminal! Unless..." She gasped. "I don't believe it! You're here to join the Emperor's Coven!"

Eda laughed. "In your dreams."

"You think being covenless makes you so much smarter than everyone else. But while you run from the law like a degenerate, I'm mentoring the next generation of powerful witch students into the world." Lilith said.

"Well, I have a student. And I bet he could wipe the floor with any of your prissy little blue bloods." Eda said.

Lilith stepped closer. "Is that a challenge?"

"Oh, it's a promise."

Hunter ran over to Eda. "Eda, I need your help! I kinda sorta impulsively challenged Amity to a Witch's Duel and now I think I'm gonna perish." He said. Lilith stared at Hunter, her eyes wide with shock.

"Edalyn, I believe the Emperor would be very inclined to meet this pupil of yours." Lilith said. Eda held out a hand protectively in front of Hunter (who was confused as to what was going on).

"And why would I do that?" Eda asked. After a few moments of the two sisters glaring at each other, Lilith sighed.

"Fine. If my pupil wins, then your pupil comes with me to meet the Emperor." Lilith said.

"Alright - and if mine wins, you admit that I'm a more powerful witch than you are." Eda said with a grin. Lilith rolled her eyes.

"Fine. For one day, you won't have to hide from the law, because I want to see how good of a teacher you really are." Lilith said, before walking away.

Hunter looked between the two before turning to Eda. "What was that about?"

"Ah, sisterly rivalry." Eda said. "I don't know about that whole 'Emperor' thing, though. She seemed suspiciously shocked to see you..."

After a few moments of silence, Eda spoke again.

"Well, anyway, let's train you up for the duel." Eda said, leading Hunter to a more secluded area of the covention.

"Alright, Hunter - let's start. Now, I'm coming at you with a blast of fire. What do you do?" She asked. Hunter just sat there awkwardly.

"Oh, right. I haven't taught you many spells, huh?" Eda said. Hunter shook his head.

"Boy, I hope you didn't an everlasting oath to stop learning magic or anything - otherwise you'd be toast." Eda said. Hunter fiddled with his fingers.

"Uh - yeah - uh - I would be." He stammered, very much fearing for the worst now. "...Welp, I guess I should say goodbye to learning magic."

"Listen, Hunter." Eda said, resting her hands on his shoulders. "We're not gonna let those snobs win that easy! We are not gonna let them win at all. I have an idea."

+.*.+

Eda and Hunter, and Lilith and Amity, we standing on opposite sides of the dais, in the auditorium the next hour.

"Beloved citizens, the Emperor's Coven proudly presents an impromptu demonstration of the sort of witch we seek every year. Introducing Amity Blight." Lilith said, and the crowd cheered. "Versus..." Lilith gave Hunter a cold, stony look like determination. "Some random witch."

From the look Lilith gave him, he was sure that he wasn't just some random person to her.

The audience stopped cheering. He looked up at the people seated and saw Willow and Gus exchanging worried glances. He fiddled with his fingers, nervous.

"Calm down." Eda whispered, noticing his fidgeting. "You see those mounds? Get Amity to land on one of those and she'll set off my magic traps."

"But that's cheating." He whispered back.

"Nobody will know. To all the eyes up there it'll look like you're performing magic. Just trust me."

Hunter sighed. "The victory won't really feel real, though... actually, I can live with that. So long as I see Amity's face when I win."

"That's the spirit!" Eda said.

A bell rang, screaming. Hunter was still nervous, but determined to beat Amity - while Amity was just a look of complete confidence that she was gonna win. The two opponents approached each other, as Amity cracked her knuckles and Hunter stuck out his tongue.

Amity drew a large spell circle. "Abomination, rise."

An abomination that towered over both of them groaned as it rose out of the spell circle. Amity looked a little surprised at its sheer size, but quickly caught herself and grinned at Hunter.

"Let's see what you've got, half-witch!" She yelled.

Hunter quickly scanned the ground nearby for a mound, and spotted one. He ran behind it, getting ready to pretend to draw a spell circle.

The abomination threw its head at him, and he narrowly avoided it. The abomination regrew its head, running over, before stepping on the mound. Now!

He quickly drew a circle in the air, pretending a spell circle appeared. A towering jet of fire erupted from the mound, attacking the abomination.

Amity was shocked. "How did you do that?" She asked.

"Now why would I tell you?" He said, running around towards another mound, making sure to keep his eyes on the abomination.

The steaming abomination stepped on the mound in front of him, and he pretend-drew a circle. This time, a torrent of air ripped from the ground, sending the abomination and Amity flying into the air. The abomination landed on the ground on its back, while Amity landed in a kneeling position. She glared at him, getting up from the ground.

"I-I saw you that time! There wasn't any spell circle coming form your finger! Just what are you getting at?" Amity asked.

"Not dying!" He yelled back. The abomination stepped on another mound, setting off an explosion.

Amity advanced on Hunter, her fists clenched. "How are you doing that?" She asked, about to step on a mound.

"Don't." He said, before he could stop himself. He couldn't care less about Amity - so why was he helping her?

"Why, Hunter? What happens if I step closer?" She asked.

Hunter heard King's scream getting louder and louder before King eventually landed on his back on the mound. Spikes burst from the ground, Hunter and Amity taking a few steps back from the mound.

"I'm okay!" King said. Hunter sighed in relief at that.

"I knew it! You were cheating!" Amity yelled.

"Oh, Eda. I do believe this means you lose!" Lilith said. Eda groaned. "And now your pupil - Hunter was it - comes with me."

Amity turned, walking away. But Eda noticed a power glyph on her neck.

"Wait just a sec, Miss Protege." Eda said, running over to Amity.

"Hey! What are you-" Amity started, before realizing Eda had taken off a power glyph from her neck. The abomination she'd conjured shrunk to about the height of her knee, though it crumbles completely when its head outweighs it.

"A power glyph from the Construction Coven!" Eda said, holding it up for everyone to see. The audience gasped.

"Ah-ha-ha! Yes, yes, yes-yes-yes! You cheated. Perfect, prissy Lilith cheated. Hot dang, I love coventions! La-la-la-" Eda said, celebrating Lilith cheating, when Lilith yelled back.

"I only did that because I knew you would cheat!" She retorted.

"Still cheated! Welcome down to my level!" Eda said.

Amity rubbed the back of her neck. "But... I didn't know!"

Amity looked between Hunter and the arguing sisters, before running out of there.

Hunter hated himself for feeling guilty.

"Hunter! Help me!" King yelled, stuck in the spikes. Hunter quickly but carefully pulled King out, but it resulted in the shirts he wore to get ripped.

"My offerings!" He said. Hunter patted his head. "You can get more offerings." He said. He looked at the exit, where Amity had ran through.

"Amity, wait!" He said, running through.

"Hunter, wait for me!" King yelled, following behind.

+.*.+

Hunter found Amity sitting just outside the bathrooms at the entrance to the auditorium. He walked over.

"Amity, about what happened back there-" He started.

"Ugh, seriously? Just leave me alone." She said.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you... even if you are a jerk." He said.

Amity stood up, glaring at him. "You made me look like a fool in front of the Emperor's Coven. My future! You think its so easy to be a witch. I have been working my whole life to get to the top!" She yelled, advancing on him. "You lost! You cheated! Say it! Say you're not a witch!"

Part of Hunter wanted to scream and refuse, but he knew better than to do that. Besides... maybe Amity could change?

"I'm not a witch." He said, sitting down. He pulled out a notepad and pen, drawing the light glyph. Confused, Amity knelt down beside him. He tapped it, watching as it turned into a ball of light. Amity stared at it with wide eyes.

"But I'm doing my best to be one." Hunter said.

After a few seconds, Amity looked away. "That's nothing. A child could do a slight spell."

Hunter extinguished the light ball looking away and not saying a word. It wasn't like he was looking for her validation - he was just trying to make up for the duel.

"But, I will admit - I've never seen it cast like that." Amity said. Hunter looked back at her.

"It doesn't come naturally to me - I'm not sure why - so I've had to improvise." He said. Amity sighed. She drew a spell circle and dragged his hand into it. Their hands glowed briefly, and the circle disappeared.

"The oath is unbound." She said, letting go of his hand.

They both stood up. Amity turned to Hunter. "From what I've seen, you don't have any magical ability. But I doubt that'll stop you." She said, and walked away.

"Hunter, you left me!"

Hunter looked down and saw King.

"Oh - sorry about that, King." He said. "Should we get some more offerings for you?"

"Nah. That stuff just weighed me down." King said. Eda headed over as Hunter patted King's head.

"We gotta go." She said.

"How'd you get away from Lilith?" Hunter asked.

"Let's just say she had a real 'snack attack'. Hah!" She said, laughing. "Now let's go before my sister realizes I tied her pointy shoes together."

A distant scream was heard, sounding like Lilith.

"And that's our cue!" Eda said, and the three of them left the covention.

+.*.+

In a large throne room, in the Emperor's Castle, was a throne - with the Emperor sitting upon it, under a giant, green, beating heart. The grand doors opened, revealing Lilith walking inside.

"Emperor Belos, I come bearing news that you will most definitely want to hear." She said, kneeling before him.

"What is it, Lilith?" Emperor Belos asked.

"He is here."