Witch

Witch was a term with multiple meanings in the Realms, but was most frequently misapplied to any kind of wizard and commonly carried a connotation of evil.
==Types of Witch==
* A "witch" could refer to a type of wizard, usually female, who gained instruction in the ways of magic from an extra-planar patron, such as Graz'zt. Those who used this meaning referred to males as "warlocks".Warlock in this case does not refer to the 4th edition character class, Warlock, but there are definite similarities. In the Feywild, this entity was typically an archfey or the goddess Sehanine Moonbow.
* For Elminster and those of his generation, "witch" referred to any self-taught herbalist or spellcaster of arcane magic. Such witches usually lived a rural life, in villages or land that bordered wilderness, and mainly concerned themselves with making a living through casting spells applicable to daily life. 
* Bubudow were witches that specialized in the use of medicinal herbs.
* Mediums, also known as spirit channelers, were witches that specialized in necromancy and communicating with the dead. The entities these witches gained instruction and spells from were spirits.
==History==
In 1100 DR, the term "witch" began commonly being used in some areas of the Realms as a pejorative for female spellcasters and servitors of hags. Such as in Chessenta, Turmish, and the Vilhon Reach. Such usage would last into the 1300's DR, being especially common among the Bedine of Anauroch.
In the 14 Century DR, one could sometimes find spellsingers being referred to as witches in the Western Heartlands. Around that same time, it was not uncommon for superstitious people in the Vast to label mages as "witches" and burn them on a stake. and fearful citizenry of Ravens Bluff were referring to local Eilistraean drow as "black-eared witches", and people on the continent of Kara-Tur were occasionally using the term to refer to individual women who were wu-jen.
On Eleint 13, in the , the wizard Alice Clarkson was burned at the stake by the villagers of Mossbridges under suspicsion of witchcraft after a rash of cow killings. Shortly afterwards, the true culprits were revealed to be two trolls and a gnoll.
By the late 15 century DR, the term "witch" had taken on a negative connotation in the Moonsea region.
==Notable "Witches"==
Notable individuals in the Realms that were referred to by others as witches or had the title of witch included the following:
* Athaeal, an elven woman who was known by some as the "Witch-Queen of Evermeet". 
* Ayana No-Shui, a powerful female wu-jen that served as the prime counsel of chieftain Shan Khantayan in the 14 century DR.
* Bentha, a sorceress who traveled with the Nashkel Carnival, was referred to as a witch by the overzealous witch hater Zordral.
* The Callidells, a family of hedge-witches in the Moonsea that conducted unholy rites until they were slaughtered by the Skullspike tribe.
* Eye of the Deep, a Chultan woman and piratical druid who was known by some as a "sea witch".
* Delshara Windhair, a powerful female wizard on Orlumbor who was known by some as the "Witch of the Waves."
* Frost Witches, a group of female wizards that worshiped the winter goddess Auril.
* Ghutan Dox Ayani, known by others as the "witch of Tsing", was a female wu jen that lived in T'u Lung in the 14 century DR.
* Green Hag of Lizard Marsh
* Ihtafeer, a raksasha in Amn who masqueraded as an old woman known as "Adratha the Witch".
* Ingrid Liansdottir, a drow in Svartalfheim who was known as the "witch-mistress of Yggwyrd".
* Laeral Silverhand, a powerful sorceress who used to go by the title "Witch-Queen of the North" and, centuries prior to that, by the title "Witch-Queen of Stornanter".
* Lizardfolk Witch, a female lizardfolk skilled in brewing potions and a former shaman of Ibrandul.
* Mrs. Cragmoon, a female wizard and potion vendor in Amn that was referred to as a "witch" by some in the city of Athkatla.
* Tenya, a young Umberlant cleric who sought revenge against a group of fishermen for the death of her mother, was referred to by them as being an “evil witch”.
* Udi, a powerful female Bawani wu-jen who was decreed an outlaw by the Bavanese.
* Umar Witch, the namesake of the Umar Hills who had been terrorizing the region, returning every century and capturing and torturing unlucky souls.
* Witch of Glavvim, a sorceress shrouded in mystery who was the subject of many stories around the Zehoarast Floodplains.
==Trivia==
* Hamadryads were one of many races in the Feywild known to occasionally be granted magic and take on the mantle of a witch.
* In the North, solitary witches were said to often gravitate towards places where moonglows still operated.
* Some witches were known to create scarecrows by binding into them evil spirits or the spirits of demons.
* There was a variety of fungus in the Feywild known as a witchcap.
* There were a number of establishments in the Realms that featured "witch" in their name, including the Crying Witch, the Guardian Witch, the Witch-Duke's Bride, and the Whispering Witch.
* There were also a number of spells in the Realms that featured "witch" in their name, including witch bolt, witchfire, and witchweed.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===External Links===
* 
===References===
===Connections===
Category:Arcane spellcasters
Category:Kits
Category:Wizard kits