Circle of the Crone

*Surrounded in her cottage by imps, potions, gutted corpses and arcane trinkets, this vampire is a witch in the popular sense of the word. On a whim, she can wither a favoured vessel, sour vitae, raise a storm, or torment an uppity neonate from afar. Her maleficia can be trivial or terrifyingly destructive. Regardless, she's a bad person to cross. Her anger is brutal and savage as nature herself, and her allies - cats, bats, insects and birds - are everywhere. In a good mood or when placated with proper gifts, she might cast a spell or two for someone else's benefit. She might even make a living from fulfilling such wishes. There's a catch, however. Always.*

**Nickname**: Witches, Apostates (derogatory, used by the Mother's Army)

**History:**

The history between the Circle of the Crone and the Mother's Army is tangled to say the least. Witches of the Circle claim that they have come first, and that the Mother's Army are deluded offshoots that have grown too large for their own good. The militants of the Army claim in reverse that the Circle was founded by those members who were too weak to hear the Crone and follow in her footsteps, and abandoned their holy quest in the pursuit of personal interests.

Nevertheless, the Circle doesn't have much of a history. They certainly originate from the forests of Eurasia, and were present since ancient times, but they were almost always content to play a background role in the Danse Macabre, pursuing personal desires or esoteric goals over worldly conquest.

**Ethos:**

Much like the Mother's Army, the Circle believes vampires to be purely natural creatures, their condition no different than any other state of being. They also venerate the figure of the Crone, though while the Mother's Army views her as a terrible mother of monstrosities, the Circle prefers to think of her as a wise and cunning sorceress, the greatest of witches. The Circle considers the Crone to be the first of their number, the creator of Crúac, their peculiar brand of blood magic, and an example to emulate and follow. Naturally, how one does so is purely up to the given group of Witches.

In general, Witches tend towards a belief that they are entitled to do as they please, but also frequently foster a holistic sense of purpose and destiny. Many of them believe that it is their task to play the role of Baba Yaga in the Danse Macabre, punishing the rude and foolish, while rewarding the polite and cunning. They have no grand desire to save the world or bring forth a cataclysm. They simply wish to continue existing as they have always done, mired in their own personal worlds.

**Membership and Structure:**

The Circle is a small covenant, yet surprisingly widespread. The majority of its members are women, but they do not turn away men who display favourable qualities. When Embracing, they tend to look for candidates that display a strong mind, and a good grasp on reading people. Witches rarely Embrace more than one or two Childe in their unlives, but they treat them rather well (or strictly in some cases), and seek to transmit their traditions and knowledge to them.

Witches don't really have a strict hierarchy. When more than one Witch is present in a single area, they tend to form a Coven: a group of 2-5 Witches that closely cooperate with each other. The leader of such covens is inevitably the most experienced vampire of the group. In cases where multiple Covens appear in a single area, their relationship can run the gamut from friendly to hostile, though the Covens always unite against outside threats.

Outside of the Covens, the lineage of a Witch can be surprisingly important. This is not a question of Embrace, but apprenticeship. Witches who were trained by prestigious and famous Witches have significantly more clout when it comes to dealing with Covens outside their own territory.

Two exceptions to the individualism and close-knit group mentality are the Walpurgisnacht and the Samhain, two nights on which Witches from a large geographical region gather together to share stories, gossip about their respective areas, and celebrate their patroness in communal rituals.

**Role in Princedoms:**

Though the occasional witch queen or king does happen, the Circle as a rule doesn't really lead vampire courts. They are usually content to remain on the periphery, especially if they are the singular representative of their covenant, as is often the case. An individual Witch is typically either the mysterious arcanist a vampire might seek out to solve a difficult problem, or the court mage and occult advisor of the ruling Prince. Rulers belonging to the Prima Invicta, given their usual lack of interest in esoteric matters, are particularly fond of keeping such vampires close to themselves.

On their personal front, many Witches live alone or only with their apprentices, but some devise and run small pagan cults that serve their varied purposes.