#Coven system

[kingoftheu]

I’m sorry but it’s funny that Belos managed to impose a Puritan fear of Wild Magic over the Boiling Isles but wasn’t able to impose the slightest bit of Puritan Homophobia over that same time period.

[rainestormcoven]

I love the small detail of Jerbo being part of the sigil removal. He says in Any sport in a storm that he wants to update the system, and in the finale we see him being apart of that!

[i-am-a-scholar-of-magic]

The Emperor’s Relics: Artifacts Of A Lost Time

Among the many positives of “The Owl House” is its rich setting. Though many - including myself - might say we were not given enough detail about the Boiling Isles, there is no denying that the show’s setting is rich and fascinating. Why else would we want to know more?

One such example of worldbuilding that was established but never elaborated on is the relics in the castle’s Relic Room. The artifacts, said to be incredibly powerful, are only seen in “Agony of a Witch,” in which (HA!) Luz tries to steal one to help Eda and Willow and Gus use a few for fun. Though described by Kikimora as “reminders of our great Emperor’s overwhelming power,” Lilith refers to them as “decrepit” and “useless,” implying that they have vastly declined in power over the years and are now used as propaganda. 

Curiously, though seeming to intend to have a relic for each major coven, only eight are depicted, and only three of them elaborated upon:

The Green-Thumb Gauntlet: A glove carved of wood, the gauntlet is described as allowing the wearer to grow any plant they can imagine. Willow herself uses the glove to grow trees with fists to knock down an armored door. 

The Oracle Sphere: Described by Gus as telling the user how to become their best self, he uses it to conjure a purple-tinted illusion of himself that merely tells him,” You’re always your best self.”

The Healing Hat: Written as able to heal any disease or break any curse, Luz attempts to steal the hat to cure Eda. The hat is destroyed in a confrontation with Lilith, but given her description of the “decrepit” relics and bizarre nature of Eda’s curse as non-native to the Boiling Isles, it is probable that the hat would not have cured her - else Lilith might have tried long ago.

After these, the relics are only shown visually, but it was a fun thought experiment to wonder about each:

Golden Harp: Presumably tied to the Bard Coven. *I like to imagine that the harp intuitively plays music to cast any spell the user might imagine without having to know how to play the harp. 

Globe of Abomination Clay: Presumably tied to the Abomination Coven. I imagine it contains an incredibly ancient and very strong Abomination, likely holding far more clay than it seems. 

Golden Vial: Presumably tied to the Potions Coven. I like to think that the phial can produce large or infinite amounts of any potion that is poured into it. (This was admittedly based on the White Phial from “Skyrim.”)

Silver Mirror: Presumably tied to the Illusion Coven. I imagine the mirror can capture minute details of whatever it sees, and so aid the user in creating far more specific illusions. 

Golden Bell: Presumably tied to the Beastkeeping Coven. I imagine the bell can be rung to influence any beasts within its audible range. Specifically, it can summon them to the user, calm them down and put them to sleep, or enrage them into a frenzy. 

These all seem to exclude the relic of the Construction Coven, though there is a faint possibility we see this relic later. Mason, head of the Constriction Coven, is seen wielding a hammer emblazoned with the fist sigil of the coven. Assuming this is the Construction Reic, I like to think it can break down and then reshape any solid material it strikes, in the image of alchemy from “Fullmetal Alchemist” or Overhaul from “My Hero Academia.”

Even a year after the series’s conclusion, it is beyond evident that the setting of the Boiling Isles, with all of the rich details that often act as a framework with more than enough space for us to fill in the gaps ourselves, continues to be a rich mine of creativity in worldbuilding. Who knows what else is waiting to be conceived of that patchwork of glorious setting?

Thanks for reading! More to come …!

[childlikegoblinqueen]

SCOM Next Chapter Preview!

Pretty noose is pretty hate...

Tomorrow's chapter is ALMOST THERE and Hunter has a ton of rage -- but this mostly closes out the False Golden Guard arc as it had been established A YEAR AGO?!?!?!?!?! I hope you all enjoyed that ride.

After this we will be heading to the Inner Circle Parole Hearings. Or at least the first of the three.

Preview for tomorrow below.

“I JUST WANTED YOU IN MY LIFE!” Hunter shouted. “I N-NEVER NEEDED TO BE YOUR PROTEGE. I JUST WANTED TO KNOW YOU CARED ABOUT ME AS MY OWN PERSON!”

[vickysaurus]

"Those are the heads of the main nine covens. Each one excelled at a magic school like Glandus, St. Epiderm, and, of course, Hexside."

Some early bird cameos! I spot Darius, Eberwolf, Terra Snapdragon, and Adrian Greye. Notable by their absence is Raine, who wouldn't become coven head until season 2.

[yardsards]

okay so like, the small covens like we saw in covention are fascinating because like.

they definitely aren't included in "paint the land in nine bright hues". and we've never seen anyone with sigils other than the main nine. so presumably those covens don't brand anyone

but i doubt belos would allow a bunch of witches to walk around unbranded, just because they're in some other kind of coven

so i imagine witches need to get branded into one of the main covens but after that can choose to join one of the smaller covens instead of joining into the club/organization aspects of any of the main covens

and some small covens might only allow witches with certain sigils in. like maybe the tiny cat coven only allows witches with beastkeeping (or emperor's coven, maybe) sigils in. maybe there's an engineering coven that only allows construction, abomination, and oracle witches to join, or a nature coven that only accepts plants and beastkeeping, or a theater coven that only accepts illusionists and bards. others like the baking coven might allow anyone in but might be legally barred from accepting sigilless witches.

i almost wonder if covens like this existed BEFORE belos's coven system. because allowing groups other than his main nine to start calling themselves covens and acting like they're on par with the main ones sounds like something belos wouldn't allow unless they had ALREADY been calling themselves covens for a long time before his system. cuz it'd be easier to look at a pre-existing minor coven say "okay but you ALSO have to get branded into one of these covens" than "hey, you have to quit this group that you've been in for years with your closest friends and join this other group INSTEAD"

like, it seems like special little clubs with like-minded individuals with similar skillsets would form on their own, without someone like belos forcing their creation. i can see something like that existing in the "savage ages" because there there's been clubs and secret societies and guilds and unions for a long long time in real life

maybe belos even stole the idea of calling his main groups "covens" from those pre-existing covens. and maybe potions/illusion/healing/etc. covens already existed back then but were on the same level as all the other covens, instead of there being a hierarchy of major vs minor covens. it'd make it easier for people to accept his ideas of they just seemed like an extension of pre-existing concepts

ooor maybe they're all just subsidiaries of one of the main nine covens and will only accept witches from that one coven (baking would maybe be potions, then? and cat covens would be beastkeeping, writing would be bard, fashion would be illusions, etc.). who knows.

[wolfdude-8]

You probably expected this tier list at some point. I'll briefly explain why I like (or dislike) each coven:

Beast keeping: I'm an animal nerd. Need I say more?

Illusion: The potential. If I had illusion magic, I would use it to make myself pass as a man until I ACTUALLY pass.

Bard: I like the thought of my sounds actually being heard.

Healing: I think it'd be convenient to be able to heal myself and others just like that🫰

Oracle: Always had a bit of a fascination with ghosts and seeing the future.

Construction: Reminds me of earthbending from Avatar.

Abominations: Who doesn't love a goofy goopy fella? But I imagine it's a pain to clean up.

Potions: I think it has endless potential (and I think my own personal headcanons make me love it a little more).

Plants: I think I'd be shit at keeping earth plants alive, so I don't think I'd fare much better with Boiling Isle plants either.

Emperor's Coven: Ironically enough, it's the coven I always forget about.

[toriplaytimech2]

Bound by Interlocks AU

Let me explain the AU;

Eberwolf, the esteemed leader of the Beast Keeping coven, carries a clandestine secret hidden beneath their gloves. They conceal Interlocks, revealing their true identity as a Palisman whose owner is none other than Evelyn Clawthorne—an ancestor to Eda and Lilith. Tragedy struck when Evelyn and Eberwolf were forcibly separated during a fierce encounter with the Emperor's Coven's scouts.

Seeking solace within the depths of the ancient woods, Eberwolf's path crossed with that of the former Golden Guard—a figure also known as Darius's mentor. Recognizing the significance of Eberwolf's hidden nature, the former Golden Guard offered them shelter within the ranks of the Emperor's Coven. It remained a guarded secret, known only to Darius's mentor, that Eberwolf was, in fact, a Palisman.

I will explain this in a story featured on; Archive of our own!!

[stanlunter]

(Translated post of person who don't wanna me to give her credits)

!TW! : opinion

"One of the main problems in TOH is the lack of ideological confrontation between the protogonist and the antagonist.

And you will say "it's not true, the heroes are for free magic, the villain is against!🥺" And yes, that's obviously true, but actually..

Let's think about it more deel. What do we have to start with? A coven system where one witch can use only one kind of magic. And what do we have in contrast? Eda, who doesn't obey the system and refuse to be in it, she can use all kinds of magic. And that's the problem - first of all, Eda doesn't even care about the system, she doesn’t even try to change it, more tham that, the Coven system itself doesn't realy bother her, she barely has any problems bc of that (most of her problems were bc of the curse). And secondly, Eda just doesn't use all these kinds of magic, the Coven system doesn't defining her life, Eda still running away from it not bc this system bothers her, it's mostly out of principle and just to spite her sister. The show just didn't show us why the Coven system is bad, the only thing we have is "it reduces freedom", but who even cares? I mean all laws are reduce freedom at some point, but it doesn't make them unnecessary or even bad. The Coven system doesn't affect on withes badly and we saw it multipe times. Yes, Dana never showed us that wild magic was bad either, since for some reason wild withes "were good all this time", even in the middle ages (but the problem is that we know that they litteraly exterminated all Vee's race, but we don't talking about this tho).

So yes, also we haven't seen the significant advantages of using all kinds of magic over one. Eda defeated Lilith not because she had the ability to use all kinds of magic (they both had tho), but just because she was more talented.

All Hexsquad members have their clear magical specialization, and at the same time they don't suffer from it at all, they are, the other way around, very strong magicians that beat coven soldiers who litteraly can use all kinds of magic without any problem. And Eda and Raine also almost defeat the coven leaders not bc they used many kinds of magic, but bc of the curse.

None of Belos' ex subordinate left him bc they were disappointed in the system or realized that it's wrong: Lilith did it because he lied to her about healing his sister, Hunter did it because Belos was planning to kill him. Others did it bc they find out Belos wants to destroy their world. Do you see any ideological confrontation with coven system here? Me neither.

There weren't shown any reasons why such successful magicians as Rain, Darius and Emberwulf suddenly decided to oppose the Belos system (and no, we don't talking about genocide).

The only time Dana tried to show the advantage of using all kinds of magic over one is the episode when Luz went to school. And honestly it was as ridiculous and implausible as possible.

In conclusion, the only answer on "Why is using of all kinds of magic is better than using of one" we get is basicly "Because Belos is a bad person".

Bravo!"

[starcoffinxd]

Headcanon that the covens didn't go away after the glove to remove the sigils was made. A lot of those witches had already been using the same kind of magic for years and while many would likely have tried branching out, they would still mostly use the magic associated with their covens.

[huntlowbrainrot2]

Lot's of people are discussing the attention drawn to Hunter's hands. (Both in the show, and in promotional/extra art.)

I reeaaaalllly hope they don't have to chop off his hand (or anyone else's) to remove the coven sigil. 😥

[kingoftheu]

New TOH Fic

After Belos is defeated, the Boiling Isles doesn't have a government. Darius organizes an attempt to fix that issue. But there are a lot of problems facing the Boiling Isles in this brave new world. And not everyone is happy with the new order... Featuring Politics! Reconstruction! Raine Whispers' Patented Bad Acronyms! The Moral Complexities of Rebuilding in the Aftermath of a Dictatorship! Fiscal Policy!

[wilygryphon]

The way I've envisioned the nine covens working is a translation of our world.

Abominations - Technology

Bard - Music and Literature

Beastkeeping - Animal sciences

Construction - Building and Visual Arts

Healing - Medicine

Illusions - Performance arts

Oracle - Business and communications

Plants - Environmental sciences

Potions - Cooking and Chemistry

Yup. Basically. (Particularly robotics for Abominations.) But the categories should still have comprehensive rules and an explanation for what they cover. If it was all explained by commanding spirits and binding them to crystals for the television and Internet aspects, then it would be easy to understand. But we haven't been given that explanation. (The most we got for connecting them was the spirit in the crystal ball that said "You're gonna get in trouble" in The First Day.)

[peterstanslizzie]

Disney really ROBBED us ALL! 😭

RANT TIME🎙:

The fact that we have such well-designed coven leaders and we only got properly introduced to 5/9 of them so far when there are only 3 45-minute specials left is a TRAVESTY 😭

I would love to spend another FULL 20-episode season getting to know the other coven leaders (Oracle, Construction, Healing, Potions) but WE DON’T have that opportunity! Do we even know their names?! 😥 UGHHH

Heck, I would love to learn more about Eberwolf, Darius and Terra as well! I still feel like we barely know them!

What a wasted opportunity! I will definitely be holding on to those Season 3 specials for dear life! 😭

[i-am-a-scholar-of-magic]

Almighty Alchemy, The Power of Potion Magic

Introduced early in the series, the coven system of the Boiling Isles divides magic into nine broad categories or “tracks,” one of which a witch or demon must choose by law to specialize in while giving up the others. Each branch has its own unique facets and places where it overlaps with some of the others, but they are all fascinating. 

One of the very first to be hinted at is Potion magic.

Represented by the color yellow and a sigil of a flask filled with bubbling fluid, Potion magic involves - as the name suggests - brewing potions that have their own magical effects independent of spell circles. While this may seem underwhelming at first glance, a closer look shows its fortitude. 

Potion magic is first hinted at in “Witches Before Wizards” by Eda, when she explains her various small businesses, one of which is selling “elixirs and potions.” (Incidentally, this business is never mentioned again after the episode, with the loss of the portal and Eda’s human junk stand making it seem as if she’s out of work entirely.) The process of brewing potions is given its first glimpse in “The First Day,” when Luz and other students are given the assignment to create a fog brew, a potion that generates thick mist when smashed onto the ground like a smoke bomb. 

The first major potion to have plot relevance is Eda’s elixir, introduced in “The Intruder.” This golden brew acts to suppress her curse and is implied to be both expensive and very hard to come by. Eda - who is later revealed to have been in the Potions track while attending Hexside - seems unable to create the elixir herself, adding credence to its difficulty. 

Aside from the elixir, potions take something of a background role in the series. However, a very interesting facet is their sheer breadth of effect. In many ways, they are tied to almost all other forms of magic. Potions like Eda’s elixir are clearly medicinal, and Lilith brews a scrying potion early in season 2 that has clear ties to Oracle magic. After her magic is crippled, Eda begins using explosive potions like grenades, not only recalling her expertise in the art, but acting as a possible tie to Construction magic. Finally, the subplot of the episode “Reaching Out” is about Eda, King and Edric collecting ingredients for a “blabber serum” - or truth serum - that reveals that having well-rounded magic is crucial to collecting potion reagents, which are all apparently plants and animals of the Isles, hence needing a strong foundation in Plant and Beastkeeping magics. Lilith’s quest to find the reagents for her scrying potion only reinforce this point, as she bemoans her own crippled magic that makes the collection so much more difficult. 

It is also hinted by the coven leader Vitimir that exceptionally talented or learned witches can produce potions from their own bodies. During the brief battle during the Day of Unity, he lowers his ever-present mask and breathes what is implied to be a corrosive mist at Darius to attack. While this may be a power of his demon species, it seems more likely to be tied to his expertise. 

Finally, Potion magic - or at least the coven governing it - seems to have a tie to a certain elemental magic. Three of the major characters that have been in Hexside’s Potions track seem to favor fire as a weapon. Eda and Lilith show this several times, particularly in their first duel in “Covention,” and Boscha demonstrates this affinity with her trademark grudgby move of setting the ball on fire and throwing it at other players. This link actually makes a lot of sense when you consider that control over fire would be very handy for heating potion reagents for the brewing process. 

Though it seems boring on the surface, the series gives strong, continual hints that Potion magic is a force to be reckoned with in its own way. It just takes know-how and creativity. 

Thanks for reading! More to come …!

[y3t1cr4b54ndb4t5]

if KND were in TOH,, here's the covens they'd major in::

Nigel - Dual major of Oracle and Abomination

Hoagie - Triple major in Construction, Potions, and Illusions

Kuki - Triple major of Healing, Beast Keeping, and Bard

Wally - Dual major of Construction and Healing

Abby - Triple major of Bard, Oracle, and Potions