Chapter Text
My life was interesting, even before I feel through that portal.
I lived alone in the forest, surrounding the Boiling Isles. I'm a wild witch, which is different from a normal witch. I don't have a coven and I prefer to use glyphs instead of spell circles. I'm also the most wanted witch in the Boiling Isles, for a vareity of reasons, only 80% of which are actually my fault. I am regularly hunted by the emperor's scouts, though they haven't caught me yet.
So when I say that the most interesting thing that has ever happened to me so far in my life was waking up in Ohio, you better believe it.
My name is Luz Noceda, and this is how I stumbled across the human realm.
The job was surprisingly simple, for once. The emperor was moving a small batch of relics from their main storage facility to a smaller warehouse in Bonesborough. The relics included some charms, a few talismans, and most importantly, a history of the Boiling Isles. Emperor Belos rewrote most of the Isles history, and this is the only copy left. I have no idea why he didn't just burn it, like the others, but hey, maybe he's a sentimental man, who knows.
The security would be light, as no one really cared about some old charms and a textbook, except for me. If I could get my hands on that book, I could publish copies of it, and finally devulge the Isles true history.
But I had to steal it first.
The unimaginative emperor's coven guards took their usually supply route, with just three scouts guarding the wagon. I followed them along the side of the road, waiting until they were deep in the forest. Cautiously I stepped out onto the road, facing them, glyphs in hand.
"Move off the road," said the first scout in a bored voice. Their partner nudged them.
"No look, that's her."
"What do you mean, her?"
"The Wild Bandit you idiot."
I grinned. I always like it when people recognize me in my blue cloak and brown staff topped with my palisman, Owlbert. After all, I do work hard, so it's nice ot be appreciated.
"Get her!" shouted the third scout, springing from the wagon. They dry a purple spell circle, and abomination goo sprung toward me. it wasn't fast enough, as I was already sending a wall of vines to meet it. The plant and goo collided, stopping each other in their tracks.
I slammed an ice glyph to the ground, sending frost towards the feet of the second guard, freezing him in his tracks as ice formed around his legs and up his body pinning his arms and preventing him from drawing another circle. The first guard was still coming for me, and I shot flames at him, causing him to duck away. I threw another ice glyph at the abomination scout, and he slipped and fell. Another plant glyph and he was immobilized under thick vines. The first scout was still coming though, charging straight at me, so I pulled my favorite little trick.
I grabbed a glyph, held my breath and disappeared.
The scout stumbled in surprise, and I reappeared behind him, pressing an ice glyph to his back and encasing him in ice up to his head.
I breathed and looked around. Three immobilized scouts, and one wagon full of treasures.
Excited, I went to the back and found a few boxes. I wouldn't take everything, I didn't really need anymore charms or talismans, but I was taking that book.
And there it was, shoved near the bottom of the second box. I held it gingerly, this ancient text that held the key to everything. The key to us witches finally reclaiming the Boiling Isles. I placed it in my bag, as well as a handful of the charms, I could sell those for a few spare coins.
Them something at the bottom of the box caught my eye. I leaned forward and pulled out a strange plate, almost like a small mirror, engraved with strange carvings. It strongly reflected the sun's light at me, and I had to turn it away so I wouldn't blind myself. It was an odd find, but who couldn't use a mirror? I was about to tuck it in my bag with the book, when I noticed a speck of what looked like paint on the edge of it.
For some reason, this speck of paint bothered me. It was marring an otherwise beautiful surface, and that simply could not do. My hand lifted, almost without my own permission, and chipped away the speck of paint. The mirror shown even brighter now, if that was possible, and I felt myself leaning forward almost dreamlike, and plunging down.
Down.
Down.
Down.
I awoke at night, on a forest rode, and sat up, blinking hard. Had I passed out? I panicked for a moment, but I found the book and the charms still nestled in my bag. The mirror however, was nowhere to be found. It would be odd for someone to steal the mirror and not the charms, but I suppose everyone has their thing. Real shame though, it was a nice shiny mirror.
I stood up on shaky legs and looked up and down the road. Similar to the one I'd just been on, but slightly different. It was made of dust and grey gravel, not compacted dirt, which curved out of sight farther down. The thin line of trees and shrubbery on each side was less dense than the forest I was from. I spotted a sign at the end of the road and walked towards it.
It was green, and read "Welcome to Langston, Ohio. Pop. 893"
I stepped back, into the center of the road. Ohio? What was that, and who was Langston? I needed to breathe, because the only thing that made sense was that this wasn't the Boiling Isles. I'd grown up there, I practically knew every inch of the Isles. Green signs and gravel roads were nowhere to be found. I knelt to the ground, taking deep breaths in a vain effort to calm myself.
I had been taught about the human realm of course, every witch had, but to actually end up here-
No, this had to be a mistake.
I looked up as a pair of bright white lights quickly approached from around the bend.
Heading straight at me.
Eda had slammed on the breaks as soon as she saw the figure in the middle of the road, but it was too late. Eda's car rammed into her with a loud thump. A normal person would probably be nervous at having almost killed someone, but this was Eda.
She got annoyed.
"What idiot skulks around the middle of the road at midnight!" She said, getting out of her car to observe the damage. "If that person isn't already dead I'll kill them myself..."
She trailed off as she saw a teenage girl, dressed in a blue cloak and carrying a staff, lying at the front of her car. That wasn't that shocking though, Eda had seen plenty of oddly dressed people in her lifetime. What shocked her were the girl's ears.
Sharp and pointed.
Like a witch.