Witch Covens

A Group of Darkbane Witches

## **Introduction**

The Witch Covens of the Darkbane are the aerial cavalry of the army, riding Baneish Banshees, and serve under the command of the True Sins. The Witch Covens consist of primarily female Darkbane who are trained in melee and arcane combat. The witches are split up into seperate covens, and have a general disdain for the other covens. The Darkbane Witches are split into 3 known covens, the Darkstone WItches, the Vileblood Witches, and the Razorteeth Witches.

## **Anatomy and Lifestyle**

A witch is similar to a regular Darkbane, only having a few differences. The Witches have a second transparent eyelid that comes down when they are in flight as to not damage their eyeball. They are also more streamline, their bodies being built to be more aerodynamic and quick. Darkbane Witches also have a stronger base strength to cling onto the backs of their mounts.

### **Darkstone Witches**

The Darkstone Witches have a similar anatomy to basic witches, although with one distinguishing factor, that being a birthmark made of Darkstone, which they typically use in combat as a defensive point or offensive bludgeoning weapon, depending on it's placement. The Darkstone Witches are also strong fighters who use Darkstone weaponry, due to them having an abundance of it from the deceased Darkstone Witches.

### **Vileblood Witches**

The Vileblood Witches follow the same pattern as the Darkstones, having a similar anatomy to the basic witch, but they have more distinguished Baneish than Humanoid features, and are generally stronger due to the presence of stronger blood that seems to compose all of the Vilebloods. The Vilebloods will generally have a pair of horns and more accentuated redness in their eyes, as well as even more enhanced senses. Other than these distinguishing features, the Witches follow the same training regimes as the other witch covens.

### **Razorteeth Witches**

Razorteeth Witches are the more brutal of the covens, having the same features as a basic witch, with the bonus of a pair of razor sharp fangs that are fairly durable, and can also be modified with metals to become even stronger and deadlier. The Razorteeth witches are also more brutal in their general lifestyle, having frequent aerial hunts to get food, or simply for amusement.

## **Life Cycle**

Once a Witch comes to the age where they are able to speak and talk, they are thrown into the wilds and must find a young Banshee that will become their mount until it dies or until the witch dies. This process is initiated prior to the training that they would receive, thus forcing the Witches to use their willpower, determination or connection with the natural order to gain the Banshee's trust, and then bring it back to their Coven's training grounds.

After the Witch brings a Banshee back to the training grounds, they would begin their training on how to fight using weaponry, arcane magics, and tending to their mount's needs. The training regimes of the witches are of the utmost importance due to the fact they compose the only aerial combatants that the Baneish army has. These training regimes also are composed of muscle training, wind shear resistance, and obviously riding and aerial combat.

Some of the witch covens train the witches in how to graft different materials onto their mounts in order to strengthen their resistances, as well as how to armor their mount. These practices are kept extremely secret from the other covens, as for fear they would lose their advantage over their opposing covens.