====== Mercyverse Witches ====== =====Witch History===== [[Alpha & Omega Series]] #1: [[Cry Wolf]] * the few witchblood families left in Europe during the Napoleonic Wars had quit killing each other, forced instead to protect themselves from the ravages of more mundane fighting121 * clans of witches213 * a bad time for all in Europe; the Inquisition had taken a terrible toll a couple of centuries before - and when it was over, the witches started fighting for power; only Napoleon kept them from exterminating each other entirely213 * the only Western European bloodline to survive the power struggle was the Torvalis line, which was interbred with the Gypsies213 * witches were still born here and there into mundane families, but seldom had a tenth of the power of the old families214 * the Eastern European and Oriental witches had never established the kind of dynasties the Western European witches had214 * they guarded their spells from each other; so each family tended to specialize214 * witches are so jealous of each other219 [[Mercy Thompson Series]] #10: [[Silence Fallen]] * Spanish Inquisition set off the Witch Wars294 * centuries ago every village had a coven of witches294 * every city of any size had a witch as strong as [[Elizaveta Arkadyevana]] in charge of it294 * humans began it, driving the witches into breaking treaties that had been in place for centuries; by the time it was finished it seemed for fifty years after that they had succeeded in killing off every witchborn person on the planet294 [[Mercy Thompson Series]] #11: [[Storm Cursed]] * back in the days covens dotted the landscape of Europe155 * covens are no more; just make-believe attempts; not enough witches from thirteen families258 ======General Witch Behavior & Facts===== =====Chat Transcripts===== * a witch is born to use magic Chat 2007-11-03 * they are trained in spell usage Chat 2007-11-03 * and they are usually born to different families who are witches Chat 2007-11-03 * some of the things witches can do to increase their power, is as corrupting as sorcery Chat 2007-11-03 * witches do things with mind and body. Wizards have power over the physical -- and both do magic. The ends are sometimes the same, but the means are different. It's far easier to be a powerful wizard and still be a good person then it is to be a powerful witch Chat 2008-07-27 =====Alpha & Omega Series===== ====Cry Wolf==== * witches often hired themselves out181 * there were witches who regularly worked for the various law-enforcement agencies181 * most witches are human and not immortal191 * witches and dead things went together; there were witches that didn't kill but they were far less powerful than their darker sisters234 * magic and fire have an odd, synergistic effect sometimes237 * likely the witches didn't know why it was forbidden for them to try to take a werewolf for a pet or familiar--not that most of them had the power to do it239 =====Covens & Witch Families===== ^ Identified Covens ^ |[[Hardesty Coven]] | |[[London Coven]] | |[[Maryhill Coven]] | |[[Samhain Coven]] | [[Mercy Thompson Series]] #11: [[Storm Cursed]] * a coven of witches was thirteen witches, one from each of the thirteen families288 * if you had a complete coven, then you were limited in power only by your imagination288 * since they are witches, usually that lasted a few months or a year at a time before someone fought with someone else and there would be bodies all over the place; untidy folk, witches2884 * examples of what they did: Stonehenge, the Little Ice Age, a couple of volcanic eruptions; used plagues to discipline rules who worked against them288 * the Great Plague of London killed a hundred thousand people in eighteen months; the London Coven was killed by [[Bran Cornick]]288 [[Mercyverse Short Fiction]]: [[Seeing Eye]] * thirteen members139 * no member related to any other to the sixth generation * each family amassed its own specialty spells, and a coven of thirteen benefited from all those differing magics139 * most of the witchblood families had been wiped out by fighting among themselves, covens became a thing of the past139 [[Mercy Thompson Series]] #6: [[River Marked]] * [[Gordon Seeker]] burned cleaned out a coven; burned the whole town down to do it; Maryhill never recovered ^ Identified Witch Families & Lines ^ |[[Cornick Family Witches]] | |[[Corunda Family Witches]] | |[[Eramus Line]] | |[[Green Family Witches]] | |[[Hardesty Family Witches]] | |[[Keller Family Witches]] | |[[Kikimora Family Witches]] | |[[Mariposa Line]] | |[[Torvalis Line]] | ====Types of Witches==== [[Black Witch]]\\ [[Gray Witch]]\\ [[White Witch]]\\ =====Spell Casting===== [[Alpha & Omega Series]] #1: [[Cry Wolf]] * illusions were among the very basic tenets of witchcraft174 * imprisoning spells are pretty basic189 * a strong enough witch can control any werewolf who doesn't have a pack to protect him; it is forbidden by witch law, but it is possible218 * it usually took witches a while to gain a hold on a lone wolf232 * power circles: some witches used them to set guard spells to keep things they valued safe, and others used them to store power for drawing upon later234 * changing what the senses of others perceived was one of the major powers of the witch234 * most of witchcraft is potions and spells236 * witches could hide in plain sight if they had some sort of hold on you; hide-me spells238 * a witch's creations did not survive their maker280 [[Alpha & Omega Series]] #2: [[Hunting Ground]] * self-sacrifice--as when the witch uses her own blood to fuel a spell -- has some power, but it's difficult to work withHG-120 ====Magic Spells==== [[Magic Spells]]