An account written in retrospective consideration of Witches.
From the Reconstruction Archive, 533 Sela
Documented by Magister Tyrus, The Archive
As we slowly move ourselves from the long-cast shadow of the Blood War, we enter a time of introspection on our place as Mortals and Devout. Prior to the Blood War, our generation had not experienced such widespread violence nor constant danger. We, of course, know of the Great Wars of the past, where both Mortal and God alike fell, sometimes at one another’s hands. But it is quite a different matter when one experiences a War directly rather than from a dusty sheaf of parchment. The Falling of a God is not something most Mortals see in a lifetime, let alone the Falling of several.
Violence was the currency of the Blood War. But the violence of the Gods and their followers was relegated to (mostly) agreed upon places far outside the largest centers of habitation. While those living at any and all Godscross sites were ordered to evacuate, many found their hometowns and cities largely untouched by the physical warfare. (Interrupted trade routes and supplies notwithstanding.)
Incidental violence, however, was quite a different matter. Indeed, the Blood War provided ample chance for opportunists to make themselves known. Chief among these are the Witches which remain perplexing to even the most astute of scholars.
The Witches at Blackbird Hill
Obviously, witches have been in the world as long as any other type of Mortal. Despite their long term habitation, however, comparatively little is known about them–little outside, of course, their application of “magic.”
Witchcraft remains hotly contested. Leading theorists continue to posit it as a siphon, wherein witches siphon divine magic that has manifested in the Mortal Realm. This process significantly weakens magic, but, through unknown communal processes, witches are able to amplify their gathered power.
Superficially, there seems to be little wrong with this. As historian of Circadian magic Aljera Rodrasma once wrote, “on the surface, witchcraft seems no different than the work of opportunistic scavengers feasting on an available corpse.” However, at both the processual level and the personal one, witchcraft seems, at best, dangerous and, at worst, immoral.
Various theorists of witchcraft and other magics generally see witchcraft as a corrupting magic. Arcanical ethicist Colm Vaspid claimed, in his seminal text The Environmental Ethics of Witchcraft, “it is not simply that Witches are diligent scavengers. While some may operate within this limited scope, greater witchcraft is inherently corrupting. Witches pull from the very fabric of the land and use its threads to stitch their own forms of magic. You may ask, how is this any different than divine magic? Systematic study of areas devastated by witchcraft indicate their withering and general declining environmental health. This is not a coincidence.”
Beyond the (debated) environmental effects of witchcraft, witches themselves have a predisposition towards violence. For reasons still unknown, large incidences of death often attract Witches who seemingly siphon expelled arcanical energy from the land. In ancient history, this gave Witches the moniker “carrion birds,” as they would descend upon sites of massive death.
This was particularly apparent during the Blood War. One group of Witches, called The Witches at Blackbird Hill, became notorious for their continual appearance during the Blood War. After a great battle, they would arrive. They are documented as an unusual site: a hoard of a dozen of so witches, wearing white gowns and flower garlands, armed with bronze sickles. They would float across the battle field, seemingly “harvesting” the air as they, laughing and singing, claimed to draw forth the very souls of the dead.
While this may be unseemly, to all but the most vigilant follower of Kasamei it is questionable if it is immoral (assuming their claims of reaping are even true). However, a known and significant contingent of Witches create violence and death to harvest their own powers: rather than waiting to scavenge a place of touch by death, they instead commit heinous crimes in the name of attaining power. The Hyrnedhnai, Mynaira, and Toto have been particularly victimized by such atrocious strategies.
All of this aside, a Witch on their own is no great threat to even a newly minted Devout. Their power is weakened through its process necessitated dilution. However, Dagna Lionhardt has warned against underestimating Witches. In a statement before the High Council, the Paladin stated, “A Devout is like a Lion, and a Witch is like a hyena. On their own, they are easily torn asunder by the lion. But, as their numbers mount, the lion must consider its nearest escape.”
But what of newer dangers?
These are themes explored in the following accounts:
The Strange Pursuits of Rodney McQuinn
An account of Magicians and the Philosopher’s Stone.
The First Excursion
An account of the first descent into the Abyss.
Glossary:
The Blood War– The upheaval in the pantheon started with Hyrnedhna’s murder of Mynair, resulting in the fall of T’rer, and the ascension of Behoden and T’zyri.
Dagna Lionhardt– A well-respected Paladin of Beodhen who has long fought against Witches
Kasamei– A celestial goddess associated with the natural cycle of life and death
Lionhardt– A longstanding Great Family in service to Beodhen.
Witches– magic users who seemingly channel magic by siphoning it from the landscape; the specific nature of their powers is unclear
Zealot Larp 