Nomadi Coven
The Nomadi Witches
“We are not bound to land or law—we are bound to stars, secrets, and the slow turn of fate.”
Overview
The Nomadi Witches are the spiritual and magical heart of the Rovingian (Nomadi) people—a matriarchal, nomadic culture that travels the roads and trade routes of Aerenfall in colorful, ever-moving caravans. These witches are not warriors or political schemers. They are diviners, dream-readers, midwives, spirit-talkers, and lorekeepers, revered by their coteries and sought after by outsiders.
Cultural Role
In each coterie, the witch serves as both spiritual leader and magical authority.
- If a child within the coterie displays magical gifts, the Nomadi Witch is drawn to them through instinct or vision.
- Girls are inducted into the witchcraft tradition.
- Boys may be trained as mages, either under the witch’s guidance or through external mentors.
Only females may become Nomadi Witches.
They guide births, resolve disputes, tend the dying, and interpret the great signs that shape the fate of the road-bound people.
Magic Focus
- Primary Schools: Divination, Spirit Magic
- Techniques Include:
- Reading dream fragments, omens, and star alignments
- Spirit communion with ancestors or fey
- Casting protective charms and emotional balancing rituals
- Fortune-telling via crystal balls, tea leaves, runestones, or song
Spiritual Trials of Initiation
To be recognized as a full Nomadi Witch, a girl must undergo three sacred tests:
1. The Reading of Shadows
She must interpret dream fragments or divinatory signs before a council of elders.
- Accuracy is less important than intuition, compassion, and spiritual attunement.
2. The Spirit Mirror
She gazes into a silver bowl filled with moon-charged water.
- There she meets a chosen ancestor who reveals a personal truth, past wound, or future burden.
- The initiate must accept the vision and speak her true name aloud.
3. The Crossing of Dust
She travels alone to a foreign town and lives among strangers for one night without being identified.
- Success requires charm, subtlety, or fate-guided instinct.
- Failure is not punished—but marks the girl as not yet ready.
Appearance and Aesthetic
Nomadi Witches are instantly recognizable by their vibrant and layered attire:
- Flowing skirts, sashes, and coin-belts
- Gold and bronze jewellery, spiral or eye motifs
- Shawls embroidered with stars, moons, and fates
- Often barefoot or wearing jingling ankle-bells
- Their tents and wagons are filled with candles, trinkets, feathers, mirrors, and sigils
Familiar Spirits
- Typical familiars include:
- Owls (wisdom)
- Cats (intuition)
- Snakes (foresight)
- Some witches are shadowed by spirits in the form of butterflies, moths, or whispers on the wind
- Powerful witches can commune silently with familiars, receiving dream-visions or omens
The Meet
Once every decade, Nomadi witches gather at The Meet—a sacred event where all Rovingian coteries converge.
- Witches lead dream-walks, fateful pairings, and ancestral rites
- Secret knowledge is passed down, and new witches are formally acknowledged
- A Grand Matriarch may be selected to serve as ceremonial guide for the next ten years
Notable Figure: Mamma Vanya
An elder Nomadi Witch known across the Western region.
- “Mamma” is a title of respect; she leads a coterie famous for prophecy and guidance
- Nobles seek her guidance, sometimes journeying leagues to find her wagon
- Legends claim she once battled a House Velisch vampire in a magical duel for an entire night—and won
- She once captured a blight fairy and bartered its release for a favour from the Unseelie Fey Court
- Her tent is draped in constellations, and her crystal ball is said to contain reflections of yet-to-be-born souls
Reputation
- Among the Rovingians: Revered, obeyed, trusted
- Among outsiders: Enigmatic, sometimes feared or romanticized
- Among other witches: Respected for their spiritual insight, if considered aloof
- Among nobles: Sought after for prophecy, matchmaking, or hidden truths
Quote
“The world turns. So do wheels. So does fate.”
—Mamma Vanya
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