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Since the beginning of the conception of what a witch was and was not, there had been certain rituals and processes in order to introduce a new member into the fold. Largely, those rituals and processes were old and as useful as the pages they were written on, which is to say, brittle and covered in mold. The witches had gone from a simple insular coven to a widespread guild with several smaller covens. One did not have to even be part of a coven to be a witch as the guild recognized that there were many kinds of witches that practiced different forms of magic whether together or alone. Alchemy and artifacts connected the witches together with a common thought to share and understand potions and certain aspects of magic, and of course, business. Joining wasn't too strenuous of a process anymore and could vary from coven to coven, but there were still tests, still, certain traditions brought into the new age to be upheld. It was with that knowledge that the potion maker stood in a chamber far away from home facing three elderly lupin women, each of them wearing heavy robes. Never had Layne thought that she would be joining some sort of greater authority, but here she was.

Becoming a witch was a simple matter of being examined by the leadership of the guild and having it determined whether or not you were worth a damn. As Layne had been told, she might be given a test, or they might just pass her on through, it all depended on the whim of these three incredibly old women. Layne's magic had been examined before, but it felt strange standing here before three robed figures in a dim room surrounded by candles. It felt like some sort of puffed up ceremony meant to make her feel more frightened than she really needed to be, and well, it was kind of working if that was the case. The crones stood there with their eyes closed, but they didn't frown in concentration, in fact, they were smiling.

When the three lupin crones finally opened their eyes, they chuckled and looked at one another before nodding. The tallest of the three, a silver-furred wolf whose robes clung to their lanky form stepped forward and bowed her head before speaking, "I'd love to sit down and chat with you for some time, and moreover before I tell you our assessment let me ask that you relax. We're ah, thinking about renovating to change the rustic look, but tradition dies hard I suppose, that and it is expensive." Layne blinked as the old woman cackled before stepping toward Layne to plant a surprisingly firm grip on her shoulder, "Onto more important things, right? Now. We would love to have you with us. Not often one of your kind comes to us, and moreover, you have someone vouching for you. Now...I believe in the letter it said that you wanted to learn more about artifacts and enchantments, and so we'd like to offer a test."

Layne raised a brow, "Offer a test? Aren't I supposed to take the test...Y'know, to join your guild and what not?"

The old woman laughed, "Yes and no. The requirements have gotten lax and most covens accept people with even just the smallest lick of magic. We don't want to die off, so we teach and nurture new generations. We'd be stupid to become insular again."

Layne couldn't disagree with that, "Well, sounds like a smart plan, but I have to admit with the whole uh, presentation I didn't expect you three to be...So modern?"

The lupin at her front scoffed, "Bah! You can barely read the old ways in the original documents they were put in! Even with my eyesight fading, I can see that plainly, and it doesn't take much to see what is good and bad for the health of a group. Either way, want to hear about this test or not?"

On one side of things, it was already confirmed that Layne would be accepted as part of the guild, and on the other side, there was the fact that the offer of a test might come with something interesting attached to it, and so she asked, "What is this test, and what's the benefit?"

"Hah!" Cackled the crone, "The benefit she says. You'll get along nicely in our guild dear." She then cleared her throat before continuing with a slow voice, "There is a little cave we can send you to, a cave with a pearl at the center guarded by a dangerous beast. If you take that pearl, we would be more than glad to make you something with it and show you our process. This test is also a good way to show how we do trading secrets. Recipes for dangerous journies or other recipes. What do you say?"

Rubbing her chin, the potion maker stood there thinking about the use of being able to exchange information with so many possible candidates. There was a lot to think about, but most presently was the fact that for this particular information she would be diving into some strange cave with a monster that could possibly rip her limb from limb, and well, that was exciting. Learning how to craft enchanted gems and artifacts into products that she could use or sell was the main benefit, yes, but the thrill of the adventure called to her once more and this time without the influence of a weird subterranean slug's spell. A new trinket and fresh knowledge would be the perfect things to take back home to top this trip off.

When a decision had been reached she grinned and crossed her arms, "Any challenge you have I would be glad to accept! So, where do you need me to go."

The crone slapped her back, nearly knocking her offer as the old witch laughed, "Good answer! And you'll be going to a cave beneath this very building, a place where we used to brew before we expanded, unfortunately, there is a big monster in there roaming about making trouble. When you get there you should find the pearl at the center of the room on a pedestal. It is a pretty damn big pearl too. Trust me, you'd be blind to miss it with those pretty blue peepers of yours. Now, we'll teleport you to the chamber and all you need to do is step through the circle that appears to get there if you're in danger or when you complete the task."

Layne blinked, "What if the creature goes into the circle?"

The crone shook her head, "Too big of a thing for that. Now then, are you ready?"

Teleporting had never been her strong suit and so she had only ever had bad experiences with it, but even as she was thinking about the old crone nearest to her was drawing a circle around her with a piece of chalk produced from her sleeve. When Layne finally came to a decision it was with a tentative nod, "I guess--"

"Then we cast you into the darkness in order to retrieve an item long forgotten and with our power, you shall arrive safely into the jaws of danger." Boomed all three crones at once.

Layne winced as a flash of light surrounded her, the air around her burning hot for just a few seconds before it suddenly disappeared along with the bright light. When she opened her eyes fully, she was in the cave as promised, and it looked similar to her lab. She was somewhere at the edge of the cave, sprouting flowers on the wall glowing just enough so she could see where she was and her surroundings. There were bookcases here and there with books coated and lined with dust and mold along with several old cauldrons that appeared to be wasting away with a line of rust kissing the black metal. At the center of the room, a pedestal sat there with a bright white pearl that looked like Layne would need both paws to hold it. She had never seen a pearl that big, but there was no sense thinking about it too deeply. With a small smile, the potion maker stepped toward the pearl with the intent to grab it but stopped as she heard a hiss coming from above.

Ears perked and tail twitching, the potion maker looked up where she saw a reptilian shadow stuck to the ceiling. Yellow orbs peered down at her from a mass of inky black that seemed to shiver as her eyes beheld it. Slowly, it opened its maw and flashed pearly white fangs at her as she heard the hissing again. Backing away toward the pearl she watched the creature carefully while taking note of the glowing circle on the ground meaning that she still had a way out. For now, the monster seemed more intent on watching her, its eyes narrowed and its tail flicking back and forth as Layne reached behind herself to grab the pearl while the creature continued to stare.

The feline focused her gaze on the eyes of the creature and she found that it was nearly impossible to tear her eyes away from those yellow orbs. They brought her deep into the creature's shadowy head and it felt as if her entire being were being drawn deeper and deeper into the creature until darkness took the world around her. In the darkness, she felt a deep dread, and in the darkness, she could only see the yellow of the creature's eyes watching her. That gaze was ever present and it pierced her with a frosty sensation that caught hold of her heart as if it were being gripped by a massive fist. She thought to move, to pull away, but her body refused to obey. She felt and hear shadowy whispers crawling up her leg, all the way to her ear where she could hear their foul words. Macabre images and illusions played in her mind as the shadows danced and twisted around and around for the creature's eyes. In the darkness, she swore she saw the beast's maw opening, except it, was larger than the cave itself. From that gaping maw, she could feel a swirl of emotions catching her body in a wild maelstrom. Twisting through her arms and the rest of her body she felt an intense loathing and suffering, a pain that vibrated through her body as if she were a bell being rung over and over again. Her eyes shook and the pain lanced toward the back of her mind and with that last piece, she closed her eyes.

Layne opened her eyes to the scene of the cave as normal as ever. She was breathing in deep and shivering. There was something nagging at the back of her mind, some ghost crawling beneath her fur that made her want to claw at the back of her head, but instead, she kept on breathing while looking around. She saw the creature right where it been before and avoided its gaze as if she would die from just a simple glance. The feline watched the creature's body, watched with care as she worked through the panic pulsing from that mental attack and worked to regain herself to flee. The beast hissed and this time it dropped down from the ceiling, its body scattering before reforming as it charged the potion cat.

Layne felt her hackles rising as the creature charged at her and she brought a paw up to her front. Without a wand or any sort of focus, she would need a bit more time, but the creature was far enough away that she could let her emotions burn. Latent whispers still crawled up the back of her mind, but she needed to ignore them in favor of what was happening right now. The mark of blue around her wrist began to glow and from her palm, a flaming lance burned through the air toward the beast. For a moment, the creature paused its advance and with an unnatural speed it twisted around the attack and continued its assault. Layne cursed and brought her left paw up, but this time she did not call upon fire to aid her. A cool wind flowed from her back and she felt frost cling to her dress as she raised her arm a whisper of hoarfrost slipping from her lips as several spires of ice broke free from the ground. This time, the creature was struck by one of the many spires. It hissed and seethed as the cold dug into it, but there was no blood, only shadow spilling over the ice.

Layne blinked as she reached behind herself to take the pearl in both paws. She brought it to her front as she started moving, her eyes growing large as the speared beast began to writhe and shift until its body began reforming away from the spire that held it. A natural curiosity made her wonder what in the world this creature was, but the panic she had felt from gazing into its eyes and seeing those hallucinations was still fresh and she wanted nothing more than to escape.

A loud wailing began to sound off from the creature's maw and she heard the sound of claws grating on the stone floor and the snap of crystal ice. The circle was still more than just a few steps away, but she dared not look back. Layne drove herself to keep running and she finally made it within the circle of light on the ground at the edge of the cave. As she turned around she saw the creature's open maw bite down, but its fangs and jaws stopped on the air in front of her. She felt sweat gathering as she watched the creature thrash against an invisible barrier and it seethed with rage as it thrashed about on the barrier just as she slowly started to fade away to teleport back to the crone's chambers.

When she arrived back at the chamber she gasped aloud and dropped to her knees. Her heart was rushing wildly and the eyes of the beast kept on playing at the back of her mind along with the strange images she had been forced to look at. After a few deep breaths, she got up slowly with the pearl still clutched in her arms.

One of the crones leaned down to take the pearl gingerly, the tallest of the three again and as Layne got up the old lupin cackled, "Good to see that you could come back to us. Now, shall we make use of this?"

Layne blinked and looked up at the old woman, "What was that thing?"

The crone grinned, a surprising amount of fangs displaying as she answered the feline, "That's a secret for another time...Just know that there are some old traditions we do not follow anymore because they produce that which we do not care to ever see in this world again. Now come."

Layne watched as the old woman turned to walk away. How in the world did they create that creature? Traditions were old and musty things to be thrown away at the first sign of decay, and apparently, corruption. When she felt like she was ready, she began to walk while pushing those thoughts from her mind. It was time to learn, and then, she could leave this place and go home for a break from the world outside of her store.