Coven Academy

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About the Image

There’s a lot of magic happening in today’s post, so let’s get right to it!

First up are the gorgeous new dresses from Belle Epoque, worn by Serena (left) and Luna (second from right). Serena is wearing Udane, a new release for the current round of Satan Inc. (Treat sim), while Luna is showing off Vaella, a new release for the October round of Collabor88. Vaella features a striking gold snake embellishment and a daring thigh-high slit that adds just the right amount of drama. Both dresses are available in twelve beautiful colors, including the classic black shown here, soft pastels, and rich jewel tones. Whether you’re dressing for a witchy gathering or a glamorous night out, these dresses are sure to cast a spell! Stop by the respective events to pick up a demo and try them for yourself.

Next, let’s talk about those creepy-cute feathered familiars! You might remember last year’s adorable Cluckin’ Cozy Silkie Chickens from Aardvark. Well, the flock has taken a decidedly darker turn this Halloween with the new Fowl Intentions Silkie Chickens. These mischievous little creatures come in a variety of realistic and fantastical colors, with optional accessories including witch hats, horns, vampire collars, and an assortment of rather alarming weapons. (Yes, that includes the tiny knife wielded by our troublemaking Stabby in the story below.) The chickens are available in both holdable versions and static decor, making them perfect companions for your Halloween adventures or spooky seasonal displays. Head over to ACCESS to take a gander at the Fowl Intentions Silkie Chickens, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. These birds are clearly up to no good!

Finally, the wonderfully spooky setting and group pose featured in today’s photo are gifts from the Synnergy.Tavis 25 Days of Halloween calendar. The School of Shadows backdrop was the Day 4 gift, while the Crafty four-person pose was the Day 5 gift. Although the Halloween calendar officially ended on October 25th, it was still available at the Synnergy.Tavis mainstore at the time of this posting, with all 25 gifts ready to collect! If you’re not already a member of the Synnergy.Tavis in-world group, you can join for just L$150 and pick up the entire collection of Halloween goodies. And the fun doesn’t stop there! Group members also enjoy monthly gifts, and there will likely be another festive Advent calendar for the holidays. That’s a lot of treats (and no tricks) for one small group fee!

Complete credits are below the story. Store and event SLurls are available on the Store & Event Links page.

The Story

The final bell at Coven Academy rang thirteen times, which was impressive considering the clock had only twelve numbers.

“Well, that’s unsettling,” Serena remarked as she stepped through the enormous iron doors and onto the moonlit courtyard. She adjusted her gown and shifted the purple chicken tucked beneath her arm. “I thought the final exam was supposed to be the frightening part.”

“That was the final exam,” Ella Rose replied, brushing a few stray leaves from her dress. “The thirteenth bell means we’ve officially completed our training.”

“Or that something terrible is about to happen,” Emi added cheerfully.

Luna glanced over her shoulder at the ancient stone building. “Could we please not say things like that until we’re safely off the grounds?”

The four friends had enrolled in Coven Academy’s special Halloween session three weeks earlier, largely because Ella Rose had discovered an advertisement promising “An Unforgettable Educational Experience in the Ancient Magical Arts.” As a historian, she’d been intrigued by the academy’s centuries-old library. Emi was interested in the potions course, Luna wanted to learn whether magic could improve her baking, and Serena signed up because someone needed to document the experience.

None of them had expected homework.

Or the chickens.

“Remind me why we’re taking these things home?” Serena asked, looking down at the feathery purple bundle in her arms.

“They’re our familiars,” Ella Rose explained. “Every graduating witch receives one. It’s tradition.”

“Most witches get cats,” Luna pointed out.

“Or ravens,” Emi added.

“Or owls,” Ella Rose said.

Serena looked at her chicken, which wore a tiny black witch’s hat and stared at her with profound disappointment. “I got a chicken named Count Cluckula.”

“At least yours doesn’t have a weapon,” Emi replied.

Behind them, Stabby, the small orange chicken assigned to Ella Rose, waddled across the cobblestones with a tiny knife clutched under one wing. He’d acquired it during their second week of classes, and despite three separate confiscation attempts, the knife kept mysteriously returning.

Professor Grimshaw had assured them that Stabby was perfectly harmless.

He’d also advised them not to turn their backs on him.

The green vampire chicken following Luna was considerably less threatening, although his habit of hissing at passing moths had earned him the name Fang. Luna had spent most of their final class trying to convince him that biting the other students was unacceptable behavior.

Emi, meanwhile, had received a certificate stating that her familiar was temporarily unavailable due to “an unfortunate transfiguration incident.” She suspected it might have been the odd teapot in Professor Grimshaw’s office.

“Well, ladies,” Ella Rose announced, “we did it. Four newly certified witches!”

“Technically, we’re only certified in introductory spellcasting,” Emi corrected. “Advanced curses require another semester.”

“Thank goodness,” Serena muttered. “I don’t think my insurance covers accidental transformations.”

They began walking toward the academy gates, their heels clicking against the ancient stones. The air smelled of fallen leaves, woodsmoke, and something suspiciously like burnt marshmallows.

“So,” Luna said, “what was everyone’s favorite class?”

“Historical Enchantments,” Ella Rose answered immediately. “Obviously. That seventeenth-century spellbook was fascinating.”

“Potion Making,” said Emi. “Although I still think Professor Nightshade overreacted to the exploding cauldron.”

“You turned his eyebrows into caterpillars,” Serena reminded her.

“They grew back.”

“Eventually.”

Luna smiled. “I liked Kitchen Witchery. Did you know you can make cupcakes that change flavor depending on who’s eating them?”

“Yes,” Serena replied. “Gavin got the broccoli-flavored one you brought over yesterday.”

“That was a calibration error.”

They all laughed, but a peculiar scraping sound interrupted their amusement.

Stabby had stopped walking.

The little orange chicken stood perfectly still, staring at the academy’s enormous front doors. His knife glinted in the moonlight.

“Oh, no,” Ella Rose groaned. “What’s he doing now?”

Fang suddenly puffed up to twice his normal size, his tiny vampire fangs protruding from his beak. Count Cluckula wriggled out of Serena’s arms, landed on the cobblestones, and began marching toward the doors.

“Cluckula!” Serena called. “Come back here!”

The three chickens formed a line facing the academy. Then, in perfect unison, they bowed.

The massive doors creaked open.

A tall figure emerged from the shadows, wrapped in a flowing black cloak. Professor Grimshaw descended the steps, his silver hair glowing in the moonlight.

“Ah,” he said pleasantly. “I see they’ve remembered.”

“Remembered what?” Serena asked.

“The graduation ceremony, of course.”

Ella Rose frowned. “We already had the graduation ceremony. You gave us certificates and told us not to summon anything larger than a housecat.”

“That was the academic ceremony,” Professor Grimshaw replied. “This is the practical portion.”

Emi folded her arms. “There’s another exam?”

“Not precisely.” He smiled. “Your familiars must demonstrate that they’ve accepted you as their witches.”

Luna looked at Fang, who was attempting to bite a floating leaf. “And how exactly do they do that?”

“By granting you one small magical gift.”

The professor raised his hands, and the courtyard filled with shimmering silver light.

Count Cluckula approached Serena first. He flapped his tiny purple wings, gave a determined cluck, and produced a puff of violet smoke.

Serena’s camera, hanging at her side, began to glow. She lifted it cautiously and peered through the viewfinder. Instead of the courtyard, she saw the academy as it had looked hundreds of years earlier, complete with horse-drawn carriages, flickering lanterns, and students in elaborate Victorian clothing.

“Oh, wow,” she whispered. “I can photograph the past!”

“Only for a few seconds at a time,” Professor Grimshaw cautioned. “And please don’t photograph anything that hasn’t happened yet. The paperwork is dreadful.”

Next came Fang, who hopped onto Luna’s shoe and sneezed a shower of emerald sparks.

A small paper bag appeared in Luna’s hands. Inside were four perfectly decorated cupcakes.

“Magic cupcakes!” Luna exclaimed.

“Careful,” Serena warned. “Remember the broccoli.”

Luna took a cautious bite. Her eyes widened. “Chocolate raspberry! My favorite!”

Fang looked extremely pleased with himself.

Then Stabby marched toward Ella Rose.

Everyone instinctively stepped backward. The orange chicken raised his knife dramatically, spun in a tiny circle, and stabbed the cobblestones.

A golden key appeared.

Ella Rose picked it up. Attached was a small tag reading: For doors that have forgotten how to open.

Her historian’s heart practically skipped a beat. “Does this mean I can open locked archives?” she asked.

“Within reason,” Professor Grimshaw replied. “And preferably with permission.”

Ella Rose was already imagining the possibilities.

Finally, the professor turned toward Emi.

“And your familiar, Miss Yamada, has left you something as well.” He reached into his cloak and produced a delicate porcelain teapot decorated with tiny black stars.

Emi stared at it. “You’re kidding.”

“Not at all. Your familiar is currently experiencing a… temporary identity crisis. Until the spell wears off, I suggest you keep him away from boiling water.”

The teapot let out an indignant squeak.

Emi sighed and accepted it. “I suppose I could use a new teapot.”

“Wonderful!” Professor Grimshaw clapped his hands. “Your training is complete. Remember, magic is a responsibility, not a convenience. Use your gifts wisely.”

With that, he disappeared in a swirl of smoke.

The four friends stood silently in the courtyard. “Well,” Serena said at last, “that was weird.”

“That was AMAZING!” Ella Rose corrected, holding up her golden key.

Luna was already eating her second cupcake.

Emi examined the teapot. “I wonder if he can still make tea.”

The teapot squeaked again.

“Probably not.”

They resumed their walk toward the gates, with the chickens following close behind. Count Cluckula occasionally flapped his wings, Fang hissed at the moon, and Stabby continued brandishing his knife at anything that moved.

“So,” Serena asked, “what do we tell Gavin when he asks why I brought home a purple chicken?”

“Tell him it’s educational,” Ella Rose suggested.

“He’s a veterinarian. He’s going to have questions.”

“Tell him it’s a rare breed,” Luna offered.

“A rare breed of what?”

Before anyone could answer, Stabby suddenly darted forward, raced between Serena’s feet, and stabbed a fallen leaf. The leaf transformed into a tiny pumpkin.

Everyone stopped.

Stabby looked up proudly.

Emi burst out laughing. “I think he just invented pumpkin carving!”

Ella Rose scooped up her troublesome familiar. “You are going to be a handful, aren’t you?”

Stabby gave a satisfied little cluck.

As the four friends finally passed through the iron gates, the academy’s clock struck thirteen once more. Behind them, the enormous building shimmered, flickered, and vanished into the autumn mist.

Serena turned around.

“Um, girls?”

The others looked back.

Where Coven Academy had stood moments earlier was now an empty field, dotted with pumpkins and illuminated by a single crooked lamppost.

Luna swallowed the last bite of her cupcake. “Does that mean we can’t come back?”

Ella Rose examined her golden key, which had begun to glow softly. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” she said with a mischievous smile. “I think we have a way in.”

Serena glanced at her camera, then at the purple chicken nestled in her arms. “Fine. But next time, I’m reading the enrollment agreement before I sign anything.”

From somewhere inside the mist came Professor Grimshaw’s distant voice. “Don’t forget, ladies! Advanced Necromancy begins Monday!”

The four friends exchanged horrified looks.

“Absolutely not,” Serena declared.

Stabby raised his knife.

And a tiny, sinister chicken laugh echoed through the darkness.

CREDITS

Serena (left)

Magika October Hat
Magika Raven Hair
Angel Eyes Baby Hair 17 Hairbase
WarPaint Stellar Eyeshadow
Glam Affair Lumina Spectral Bloom (NEW @ Kustom9)
IKON Sylvan Eyes Hellfire (group gift)
AvaWay Bootiful Kitten Earrings
AvaWay Christina Necklaces
ONYX Nightborn Tattoo Bat Wings (group gift)
Glam Affair Ethereal Idol Spectral Bloom Body Skin (NEW @ Kustom9)
CAZIMI Halloween Spider Nails (group gift)
Belle Epoque Udane Dress (NEW @ Satan Inc.)

Ella Rose (Second from Left)

WINGS EF0508 Hair
Angel Eyes Updo 6 Hairbase
WarPaint Seeress Eyeshadow
Glam Affair Moira (NEW @ Equal10)
IKON Sylvan Eyes Demon (group gift)
Kibitz Deep in the Dark Earrings
Kibitz Deep in the Dark Necklace
GGVG Tania Dress (group gift)
Kibitz Mirren’s Bracelets
KC Couture Sophie Heels

Luna (Second from Right)

TRUTH Collective Mysticism
Angel Eyes Curly 5 Hairbase
Izzie’s Whiskey Smokey Eyeshadow
Glam Affair Liliana
IKON Sylvan Eyes Pumpkin (group gift)
Ysoral Luxe Nose Piercing Lunna
Kunglers Serpa Earrings (S&H gift)
AvaWay Elivra Necklace
Belle Epoque Vaella Dress (NEW @ Collabor88)
RAWR! Rose Moon Bracelets & Rings
CAZIMI Halloween Glitter Nails (group gift)
N-Core Lucy Heels (group gift)

Emi (right)

WINGS EF0410 Hair
WarPaint Bliss Eyeshadow
Glam Affair Nisha
IKON Sylvan Eyes Shadow (group gift)
RabbitHouse Dolceveil Dress (past group gift)
Kibitz Evil Ring Set
Vannie’s Cosima Halloween Pantyhose
KC Couture Thais Heels