Swampwitches
The Swampwitches are an enigmatic group of healers, seers, and mystics who dwell in Mirefen Hollow. To the people of Boghaven, they are both protectors and omens; keepers of ancient knowledge and the first to sense when the swamp stirs with dark intent, although they don't live in the town itself.
The Life of a Swampwitch
Once initiated, a Swampwitch is bound to the Hollow. They live on the outside of Boghaven, often in houses of twisted roots, floating huts, or burrows beneath ancient trees. They answer only to the swamp, offering their services when the price is right and sometimes when it isn’t.
A Swampwitch’s magic is deep and strange, tied to the mood of the Hollow. When the swamp thrives, their spells are stronger, but when the swamp grows angry, their magic becomes wild and dangerous.
Public Agenda
The Swampwitches act as the guardians of balance, ensuring that neither the town nor the swamp tips too far out of the natural order. They are called upon when a curse takes root, when a child is born with eyes like swamp water, or when the frogs fall silent before a storm.
Assets
Swamp magic
History
Long before Boghaven was a town, before the roads and the bridges, there were the First Wanderers; outcasts, exiles, and lost souls who found refuge in the swamp’s embrace. It is said that they heard the whispers of the Hollow, learning to read the roots, listen to the frogs, and call upon the shifting mists.
Legends say the first Swampwitch was Ylveth Miretongue, a woman who could speak with the dead and see through the eyes of the Croak King. She was the one who bargained with the swamp, ensuring that those who would later come seeking refuge within it would not be claimed without cause. Her words bound the town that was later made and the Hollow together, making Boghaven possible for those who live in it now.
Over the centuries, others followed in Ylveth’s footsteps, learning the old ways and studying the magic woven into the very soil and water. Today, the Swampwitches remain, though their numbers are few, but their influence is widely felt.
Tenets of Faith
The Swampwitches have no rulers, only traditions passed from one to the next:
- Never take more than the swamp offers, because it will take something back.
- Swampwitches take new names when they join the Hollow, leaving their old lives behind. To know a witch’s true name is a powerful thing.
- The debt must always be paid, whether in flesh, blood, or whispers; the swamp always collects what it is owed.
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