Etmah

Etmah, otherwise known as Mother Fear, is one of two powerful gods known to exist in this world. She is the spawn of creator god Verkel / Grandfather Truth, and is said to be the ruling deity of mankind. While she takes no corporeal form, only able to possess select individuals, the Realm of Nightmare (her home) can be entered through the Threewaters Caves in Threewaters, Massachusetts. She is incredibly powerful and enigmatic, her goals largely a mystery except for one: stir as much fear as possible.

## Legends of Creation

There are no concrete facts known about the creation of Etmah, however the Lovelywood School for the Unseen has gathered a significant amount of data that collectively paints a broad picture. Supposedly, many eons ago, the creator god Verkel formed the universe. He made it very simple: a world built on truth. Rationality, reason, and structure defined this earth. Yet this light world cast a dark shadow. Verkel created a race of beings, humans, to be his warriors and defend against the shadows, yet upon seeing their power the humans grew frightened. Verkel wished to tame their fear, so he created a new being, Etmah, to command over the fears of man. But she was soon corrupted by the shadow world, and chose instead to take advantage of the power she was given in order to spread its darkness. She waged a war against Verkel alongside her newly formed daughters, the spirits of Passion, Pain, and Pride, but they were defeated. Verkel, recognizing he could not separate this world from Etmah's grasp, banished her to the shadow world, the Realm of Nightmare. Her daughters escaped the banishment but were confined by the children of Verkel, born to fight the war, to be enclosed by the running waters of the world blessed with magical properties (later called the Three Waters). Since then, Verkel and his children have vanished from the Earth, his power never being used since. Etmah, hoping to one day regain her throne, used the last of her power before banishment to create a codified series of spells and powers at her fingertips, later called the Grimoire of Etmah.

## Presence in Threewaters

Etmera Magic is the mystical art spawned by the Grimoire of Etmah. Though the book sat in the Threewaters Caves for many millennia, Etmah was able to project certain parts of it into the visions of scholars, mystics, rulers, and peasants throughout history at seemingly random points, though largely these spells were not very strong. A breakoff from the Massachusett tribe of North America were the first to discover the Grimoire, though this is only known as a single messenger was able to escape the tribe to tell the tale. Supposedly, the daughter of the chief discovered the book while exploring the caves and became possessed by a dark being. She took command of the tribe after killing her father without lifting a finger and threatening the rest of the tribe into submission. Later expeditions into threewaters uncovered the bones of this supposed tribe scattered through the woods, all of them seemingly trying to cross the creek to leave Threewaters. The bones of the chief's daughter were never found.

When the English discovered Threewaters years later, it is said that the wife of the reverend discovered the book buried in the lot that was to become the church and, having learned to scribe from her husband, copied down its contents onto leaflets to send back to England and have examined. Somewhere between being sent and delivered these leaflets got lost, though they began turning up in strange places across Europe. This is believed to be what caused the witching years of Europe, creating a resurgence of witch hysteria that seemed to have died down since the 1400s. The reverend's wife, meanwhile, was found standing panicked over her husband's corpse shortly after and was sentenced to be hanged as the first witch in the Threewaters witch trials. These trials continued and, it is assumed, followed the women who the Grimoire was passed down to until Evanora Orchid, mother of judge Theodore Orchid, seemingly put an end to them by invoking the powers of what she called the "Unholy Trinity." She was the last one hanged in town, as shortly after her execution all those who participated in the trials mysteriously disappeared.