The Witch and the Warlord

The Witch and the Warlord is a fairytale originating from The Northern Clans. According to the Clans it dates back to The Before. The tale is a warning to never venture into Pagan Hills, and to avoid all contact with the people living there.

Summary

The fairytale tells the story of a warlord from the White Crow Clan, who ignored all warnings from his shaman to never venture into Pagan Hills. He lead his war-band into the hills, raiding and burning villages on the way. The warlord eventually captures a beautiful pagan woman and takes her home with him, against her will. Upon return to their village the shaman once again warns the warlord. He says he traveled to the Afterlife and saw the warlord's future. If he keeps the woman captive she will prove to be a powerful witch, and will bring on the downfall of his clan. The warlord laughs. If she is that powerful, surely she would have saved her village, and never allowed herself to be captured. Nothing special happens for months. The pagan woman falls pregnant with the warlords child, and he has all but forgotten about the prophecy. But the woman's unborn child evokes a power in her she never experienced before. The tale ends with the woman taking revenge on the warlord and his clan for capturing and mistreating her. It became the end for the White Crow Clan. And the woman you ask? She returned to her village with her newborn child, and made a wonderful live for the both of them.

Variations

The original fairytale circulating among the Clans had a lot of gruesome details which one would not expect to find in a tale told to children. When it was eventually written down and first published, those gruesome details were toned down a lot. In later publications the fairytale became more suited for the ears of small children.

Cultural Reception

Since its first publication in Folklore of East Eghea the story has become widely known throughout the world. It was later also included in Fairytales: bedtime stories from around the world, with a version more suitable for a younger audience. It has since become a favorite for many children. But due to a ban in Ghynzua the story is slowly disappearing.

Banned in Ghynzua

When the story became more known throughout the world it also reached Pagan Hills. The people there did not take kindly to the story since it reinforces a lot of superstition surrounding their culture. The Pagan Council eventually brought this up during a meeting of the Grand Council. This led to the ban of this fairytale in Ghynzua. Any book including this story is no longer allowed to be sold in Gynzua. Since then the story has disappeared from many new publications with fairytales or folktales.

Date of First Recording

3212 AP

Date of Setting

Unknown

A Witch's Power

In the time where people still believed in magic, it was thought that witches often grew more powerful when they became pregnant. They would keep this power after giving birth. So the more children a witch had, the more powerful she became. For male witches this was not a way to grow more powerful. Instead they would have to rely on more obscure methods to gain power. Or so it was believed.