Witch

**Witches** are supernatural beings who are born with the power to affect change by magical means (Witchcraft). While many witches are the self-proclaimed "Keepers of the Balance," other witches have been known to work against the Balance and use their power for personal gain.

## History

The origin of witchcraft remains unknown, however, it is known that witches have existed for many centuries passing down their knowledge and skills through generations of family lines. Contrary to popular belief, witches do not receive their powers from demons, nor do they worship the Devil. Instead, witches consider themselves "the Servants of Nature," as they make it their duty to maintain balance within the world. "Witchcraft was rooted in psychic energy".

## Magic

Witchcraft is a practice of magic that encompasses many different types of activities including astrology, divination, spell casting, and spirit communication. It includes the practices of many cultures, nations and religions as well as many books and writings dating back to ancient times. Depending upon the individual, some witches practice their power by certain belief systems, such as Shamanism, Voodoo, Wicca, or any number of other magical practices from countries and cultures all around the world. Although the majority of traditional witches are commonly portrayed as being kind and selfless humans who use their powers to maintain balance within the world. It has been proven that some witches are independent thinkers who may go against the Balance of Nature by practicing their powers for dark and sinister or selfish deeds.

## Powers & Abilities

* **Spell Casting**: The power to change and control events through the use of incantations.
* **Channeling**: The power to invoke extra forms of energy by focusing on external forces.
* **Potion Brewing**: The power to brew and concoct potions, remedies and elixirs that have supernatural properties.
* **Telekinesis**: The power to move objects and persons through mental influence.
* **Pain Infliction**: The power to create excruciating migraines through supernatural means.
* **Elemental Control**: The power to control and manipulate the elements of air, earth, fire, and water.
* **Divination**: The power to divine future, past, and present events based off extrasensory perception.
	+ **Clairvoyance**: The power to divine future, past or present events through instinctive knowledge.
	+ **Intuition**: The power to divine future, past or present events through the use of instinctive knowledge.
	+ **Premonitions**: The power to divine future, past or present events through the observation and study of dreams.
	+ **Psychometry**: The power to divine future, past or present events through contact with or proximity to a certain object or person.
* **Projection**: The power to separate from one's body and project the mind to another location or to instantaneously travel from one point to another.
* **Transmogrification**: The unique power to alter the physical structure of objects living or dead, changing their form.
* **Telepathy**: The power that allows witches to access the minds of others through spells.
* **Possession**: The power to jump one's spirit into the body of another, taking control of said host body.
* **Illusions**: The power to alter the senses of others to perceive a false reality.
* **Dream Manipulation**: The power to control people's dreams through spells.
* **Resurrection**: The power to bring someone or one's self back from the dead.

## Weaknesses

* **Disbelief**: The act of denying or disbelieving in one's potential could cause a witch to inadvertently suppress their magical power.
* **Distraction**: Denying a witch from concentrating or giving full attention to their spells, may render them ineffective. Since most spells are spoken verbally and take time to take effect, witches are vulnerable to attack before their completion. Additionally, certain spells require items, tools, and/or special events during casting, therefore they can't be invoked on mere whim.
* **Emotions**: A witch's magic is subject to the influence of their emotional state and may fluctuate according to them when untrained.
* **Herbs**: Ingestion of certain herbs can cause a witch to lose consciousness and prevent them from using magic for an undetermined amount of time.
* **Mortality**: Despite their mystical attributes, witches are still human and share many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings (e.g. age, decapitation, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, snapped neck, etc.). However, witches can temporarily get around this weakness through the use of protection spells.
* **Overexertion**: The excessive use of magic could lead to disorientation, nose bleeds, unconsciousness, and if taken to the extreme, death.
* **Nature**: It is said that nature will always find a balance when witchcraft is performed, thus spells will always have loopholes. This means, among other things, that no being can be truly immortal.

## Spells & Rituals

One of the defining characteristics of a witch is their ability to cast spells; a "spell" being the word used to signify the means employed to carry out a magical action. A spell could consist of a ritual action, a set of words, a verse, or any combination of these. For reasons unknown, the majority of spells used by practitioners of Spirit Magic and/or Traditional Magic are spoken in an ancient language similar to Latin. However, witches who practice other forms of magic have been known to use spells in different languages.

## Notable Witches

* Vincent Marshall
* Winter Samedi
* Christopher Chamberlayne  (Hybrid)
* Lillian Chamberlayne  (Tribrid)
* Baron Samedi
* Alicia Samedi
* Brynne Spellman
* Ambrose Spellman
* Kandice Spellman
* Lutarius Stoteraux

## Trivia

* While the term "warlock" was originally used to differentiate the male witches from the female witches, it appears that "witch" is a gender-neutral term that applies to men and women.
* Lily Chamberlayne *"is the most powerful witch in the world."*
* The term "Seer" is a titular name for witches gifted with seeing into the past, present and future, more than a sub-set of witches.