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Lilith smiled gently as she heard the door to the tower open. Eda had gifted her the tower behind the Owl House to use as her own. She’d spruced up the place, given it a nice name. The Raven’s Perch. Got a lot of candles in it, a few banners with the Clawthorne family seal on them. A perch for her palisman, Pyewacket, when he wasn’t on the staff. Fixed up the top floor for a bedroom, the fourth floor as a living space, the third as an office, the second as a training area, and the first as a foyer. Lilith was nothing, if not particular.
Lilith had fixed herself up, as well. Not only had she gotten her magic back, she had grown a bit more as a person. Luz now saw her as more of an aunt, and Eda finally had her big sister back. For good, this time. She’d ditched her contacts and started wearing glasses again, half moon rims in gold. She’d fixed her hair a little bit, letting it grow just past her chin. And letting a little bit of that red show itself. Not all of it, just letting it remain a shadow. But it told Eda and Luz that Lilith wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Which was good. Lilith had taken up mentoring again. With her heart in a better place for tutoring, she figured another stab at the activity wouldn’t be so bad. She even had a student who, for some reason, was willing to return to her.
Amity Blight.
Amity had been taught by Lilith throughout the renovation of the tower, and saw Lilith as somewhat of a mother figure. Their relationship was still very much a teacher/student affair. But it was beginning to become friendlier. To the point where Amity would often ask Lilith about harder forms of magic, and visit her at the tower from time to time unannounced.
Today seemed to be one of those times…
Lilith in her office on the third floor of the tower when she heard the old wooden door creak open. She was used to this sound by now. Her palisman, Pyewacket, croaked from his perch, “Sad girl, Bright girl, Sad girl, Bright girl!”
“I know, Pyewacket.” Lilith responded, taking a small nut and tossing it into the air, letting Pyewacket catch it and land back on his perch. Lilith adjusted her glasses and watched as the door to her office opened, and Amity blight poked her head in.
“Come in, little adder.” Lilith said, a gentle smile on her face. Lilith placed the small paper she’d been working with down on the desk. “Have a seat.”
Amity smiled softly, before coming into the room. She sat at the desk across from Lilith. “Evening, Miss Lilith.” She spoke softly, like a child to a parent during a conversation. Her hands glued to her side, still in her hexside uniform.
Lilith looked to Amity, and then to a small paper on her desk. “you haven’t got any lesson today, Amity. Do your parents know you’re here?”
“They know I’m not home. But not really why.” Amity said, sighing gently and leaning back in her chair. “I had something to ask you.”
Lilith nodded, leaning forward. “Go on.”
Amity pulled something from her bag, a simple leather notebook. She flipped past the drawings of herself in the arms of some princess from some novel, and pointed to one line she’d underlined.
‘Curses and Maledictions, while dangerous, are not illegal in the Boiling Isles.’ Amity read, then closed the book, “I just wanted to know if you knew anything about curses...when I asked Dr. Lorman about them, she said she didn’t know anything.”
Lilith’s blood ran icy cold. Her eyes widened and her lips curled downwards. “Curses...you wish for me to teach you about curses?”
Amity blinked, then suddenly remembered. “Oh, um….well, I just-I-um-sory, I forgot about you and, y’know, miss Lilith, and I figured that you’re smart and all, and I-”
“Sh.” Lilith placed a hand onto Amity’s head, shaking her head, “It’s part of my life, Amity. I’d ask you to teach me about bullying older siblings, if I wanted to learn of them.”
Amity giggled awkwardly, her arms crossed, “So...will you teach me?”
“I won’t teach you how to bind a curse. You’re too young for that. But I can teach you about them.”
Amity smiled, “Great! Anything I should know before we get started?”
Lilith stood, and walked to one side of the office. She wheeled a small chalkboard into view. “Only this.”
Lilith adjusted her Merlot red shawl over her black dress, before taking a piece of chalk. “This is not a standard lesson. You cannot share these facts with anyone.”
“I understand, miss Lilith.” Amity said, leaning forward in the chair, ready to take notes.
“Let’s begin, then.”
“A curse is a kind of long-form spell. Instead of using up all of its energy at once, like a fire spell or a light spell, a curse takes time to expend its power fully. You, Amity, might be able to cast them more efficiently, due to your experience with abominations.”
Amity wrote things down, then looked up, “Are abominations a kind of curse magic, then?”
“not necessarily. A curse must also bind itself to a living being. You can’t curse a ring, you have to enchant it to give it the ability to curse someone.” Lilith spoke, pacing back and forth in front of the chalkboard.
Lilith drew a diagram on the chalk board.
“You know what this is, don’t you?”
Amity nodded, “A power curve. I guess curses are on the bottom half?”
“No, actually.” Lilith made an adjustment to the diagram.
Amity tilted her head, “I’m not following. Are curses not magic?”
Lilith shook her head, “Curses are definitely magic. It’s just that they take so much power and so much skill, that they don’t fit into perceived notions of magic. Not really.” Lilith began to pace again, “Charms are a story for another day. But Curses, hexes, maledictions, they’re all under their own umbrella of magic. You have to be incredibly powerful, and incredibly skilled, to cast your own curse. Most people just read them off of scrolls, and follow the instructions given by more powerful casters. A good curse can take days, sometimes weeks to bind to paper, just so that someone can actually use it. It truly is a dark skill to have.”
Amity kept taking notes, “And you have to be a skilled caster to bind a curse to a piece of paper itself, right? No just anyone with the words can do it?”
“Exactly.” Lilith nodded, “Curses require a lot of power, but also skill. One wrong word, one wrong bind, and the person binding the curse or casting it can end up in serious trouble.”
Amity’s eyes went wide, “Really?”
“Oh, yes...curses don’t rebound onto the caster, tales like that are nonsense. But if you mess up a curse, make the binds too tight, then it’s possible the curse might never be cured. Curses may be legal on the island, but permanent or incurable curses are still considered a crime unless performed as legal punishment.
“A good curse, Amity, is like a good knot in a rope; it won’t come undone by the hand of the rope, but the person who tied it should be able to untie it easily. Most who curse just think that the more powerful they make it, the more strong the binds they add, the better the curse is.” Lilith’s fist clenched around the chalk, “But that simply isn’t the case. If you cannot undo the curse, then the curse was cast wrong.” Lilith sighed softly, her fist loosening.
“And you may never get the victim of the curse back.” She said, letting a finger trace the line of gray in her hair.
Amity was still writing when she noticed the drop in Lilith’s voice. “Is everything alright, miss Lilith?”
Lilith paused, then looked over, “It’s fine. Do you have any questions?”
“Just one,” Amity began, “You said curses, Maledictions, and hexes earlier. Are those all separate things?” She asked. “I just figured I should know.”
Lilith leaned back on the wall, smiling softly, “You don’t plan on using this, do you, Amity?”
“You’re the one who told me the virtues of versatility, right?” Amity asked, “It’s only a question, I’m just curious.”
Lilith let out a light chuckle, “Curiosity killed the snake.”
“But satisfaction brought it back.” Amity leaned forward, smirking a little.
“Amity, please, this is serious business.” She said. “I shouldn’t have to repeat myself on the dangers of curses.”
Amity shook her head, “I’m sorry. Go on.” She prepared to take more notes, pencil to paper.
“Curse is a broad term. You can curse a person or group of people, but it’s similar to calling ice magic or lightning magic ‘dueling’ magic. If you’re trying to be specific about the kind of curse, you would say Malediction for an individual, and hex for a group.”
Amity wrote all of that down, and nodded gently to herself, “Is either one easier than the other?”
“No.” Lilith said, shaking her head, “One should remember, curses take a lot of skill and power to pull off. If you aren’t casting it directly, it needs to be bound to enchanter’s paper, and read aloud to the victim verbatim.”
Amity nodded, “But wouldn’t it be easier to maledict than to curse?”
Lilith shook her head, “No, it can be a lot easier to hex a group. Usually when you hex, you cast something on a family of people. The curse gets passed down through blood. But if you imagine the curse like snow, you’re going to have a lot more thin patches of ice if the snow gets spread too thin. The larger the group, the weaker the curse.”
Amity kept writing, “And too much would ruin any chance for the caster to undo the curse…”
Lilith nodded. “Indeed.”
Amity nodded, and closed her leather notebook. “I might want to get a few books about this, but I think I’m getting the picture.”
Lilith nodded, “the library in the foyer has a good collection of them. Though, they’re mostly annotated by myself, so don’t read them too close to your parents.” Lilith smiled awkwardly as she erased the chalkboard, “Might be some ‘frustrated’ language in there.”
Amity got up and moved her chair, going over to help Lilith move the board back to the wall.
“Thank you, Amity. My own curse is starting to effect me.’ She sad, wiping her brown, “Though, it might just be age, if you ask me.” She said, looking to the window.
“Is it hard?” Amity asked, “Living with a curse? Will it kill you over time?”
Lilith shook her head, “Only if you let it. Most fatal curses kill you within two years. Eda’s been around for quite a lot longer, even with the curse.” She said, “I assume I’ll be fine.”
“But is it hard to live with?” Amity asked.
“…” Lilith sighed, “There are days now that I wish I’d never taken on half of the curse. Fatigue, night terrors, risk of transformation, it gets terrifying sometimes.” She said, shaking her head. “But it got me my sister back…”
Amity blushed, looking out of the window, “Part of me wishes I had that going for me.”
“...come on,” Lilith said, snapping her finger. Pyewacket flew from his perch, and allowed Lilith to screw him into her staff. She extended a hand to Amity.
“Let’s get you back to Blight Manor,” Lilith said, careful not to use the word home, “I’m sure they’re waiting for you.”
Amity groaned and slung her bag over her shoulder, “If I HAVE to.”
Lilith stretched out her hand, and took Amity’s in it. She sat herself and Amity down on her staff, opened up a latch in the roof, and made their way to Blight Manor.
Another day of lessons completed.