Into Three, From Seven-Sevens

Into Three, From Seven-Sevens is a book uncovered through use of Study-related Inquiries.

## History

One with more interest in hags than most is the former resident of Hazelglen, Arnica. Having nearly been subject to one such ritual to transform her to add to the number of the Hallowed Circle, her interest has long since been a personal one.

## Research

### Completed by Arnica

At stark contrast to the image that is conjured into the minds of most that have the misfortune of musing about hags, it is in the interest of hags to promote fertility amongst their subjects and those other settlements around which they reside. Many hags may do this secretly, weaving magical rituals from afar, but more commonly most at least somewhat frequently don the visage of an elderly crone or herbalist, serving as a midwife for those that might otherwise be lacking in more formal medicinal aid. Otherwise, they may claim allegiance to roaming groups of healers, so wary must folk be of individuals as such working alone, lingering within a village for a time before moving on. In truth, this domain is a matter that most hags excel at, and settlements under the watch of a hag - or even more so if they are part of a coven - produce inordinate amounts of children, with twins, triplets and more more frequent than conventionally likely.

The purpose of this promotion of fertility is rooted, as all things for hags, in sinister intent. New hags are not born, not in the traditional sense, but they are instead created through the corruption of birth. The process of doing so starts with an newborn or infant, an unwilling victim that is snatched and devoured by a hag, who subsequently and near spontaneously births a daughter that is often given to the family in return. In many instances, this swap may take place without the family knowing, occurring under the guise that the midwife needs to inspect their baby a few days after birth. It will only be when the child starts to display the features that would title them a hexblood - although it should be noted that this is not the only way a hexblood comes to be, as per my previous findings on such a topic - that a family might take note. Despite this, many villagers may instead take the signs of the hag's influence as proof of their blessing from the lands of the Feywild, and instead revel in their manifestation. A hag may go further and claim, when questioned, that the signs are the lingering presence of the fertility rituals that have aided the family to give birth, the cost of providing new life to those either too old or impotent to achieve such things without aid. These excuses may also be used in the case where male children inexplicably turn female, for a hag only ever births daughters.

The purpose of doing so only becomes apparent should a hag lose a member of her coven. The Rule of Three defines the habits of hags, and so the loss of one of their coven sisters demands a quick response to ensure their power and control does not wain. At the age of thirteen, a hag may snatch up one of her daughters, who up to this point is most likely to have enjoyed a simple life alongside the individuals they presume to be their parents. Some such individuals will give up their daughter willingly, particularly so if the hag has cultivated a relationship of fealty from her subjects, but more commonly, it is witnessed that extensive use of enchantment magic to charm and herbal competency to stupefy both daughter and foster parents is the more common route. While the hag evokes ancient ritualist magic beyond the comprehension of most, and for sake of sanity and decency have no place in being detailed fully here, or in any civilised text, the daughter bathes in the spontaneously mulching remains of the bloodline that raised her, their deaths and decomposition the foundation of the corrupt life being created. The longer reaching the bloodline, the more powerful the hag is said to grow in life, and so, it is common for long lineages and heritages to be indiscriminately targetted to imbue a daughter and hag-to-be with rare magics unpredictable in nature, power and extent. Although the hags' obsession with threes is well-known, superstitions also surround the magics of a seventh-born child of a seventh-born, an individual of such potential that hags are known to circle like sharks, drawn from afar.