World — Art of Ainsworth Lin

The World

The World-building collection. Here, you will find the concepts, terminology, and lore elements of the Hedge Witch.

As this is an ongoing project, all elements are subject to change and/or expansion in the future.

The Six Paths

The Witches

The Witches are a humanoid species with a high affinity for magic. This secretive race originated from the great pine forests in the west. Their cultures and traditions can be traced all the way back to the old world and the primordial gods. The majority of witches worship the primordial deity of the moon, known only as The Mother.

Prototype Witches: In early drafts of the story, the witches were shape-shifting eldritch forest humanoids. These witches would disguise themselves as a human with fake skin to integrate themselves into human society. During combat or rituals, they would shed the fake skin to reveal their true witch form.

Wands and the ‘Calling Ceremony’ Ritual

The Calling Ceremony is the bonding ritual between a witch and a wand.

On the night of a full moon, the witch will present their chosen wand before the Mother’s light to receive her blessing. After the prayer, a cut is made across the palm of the witch’s wand hand using a ritual blade. The wand is then placed upon the cut to feed on the witch’s blood, forming a blood pact and completing the ritual. As a blood pact is formed, a wand will change its appearance to match the host witch’s soul. A wand will usually change its appearance a few times over a witch’s lifetime.

Like snowflakes, no two wands look the same. Over the last few centuries, it’s become very popular amongst many witches to further personalize their wands with rings, engravings, gems, and colorful wrappings.

Wands are organisms that grow, like thorns, out of Súmaire Trees. These magic-conducting trees have a symbiotic relationship with the witch species and rely on the witches to nurture the wands with blood. With enough blood, a planted wand will sprout into a new Súmaire tree. In return, wands allow witches to safely channel their magic through them in the form of spell casting.

Every full moon, a wand must drink its host witch’s blood to stay alive. To drink blood, the wand will extend feeding roots to burrow into the witch’s hand. These feeding rituals only last for a few minutes. If broken and/or overworked, a wand will eventually die if it isn’t fed any blood to aid in its recovery.

A witch can bond with a new wand by repeating the Calling Ceremony ritual. Although very uncommon, some witches have been known to dual-wield twin wands.

Familiars

Covens

The Fiachne Coven

The Fiachne Coven was a witch coven located in the Dorcha Forest, along the eastern border of witch territory. For hundreds of years, the witches of Fiachne maintained a friendly relationship with the local human settlements; often trading potions and medicine for food and goods.

On the Night of Black Blood, the Fiachne Coven was attacked by the Mother Coven’s Inquisitors. After weeks of silence, the coven’s human neighbors ventured into the forest in search of the coven.

They found nothing. It was as if the coven had never existed in the first place.

The Fiachne Coven is survived by Zornitsa (The Dawnstar Witch), Aliya (The Night Lily Witch), and Misha.