Witches

Witches and warlocks have been on the fringes of our world since the dawn of mankind, weaving their spells and enchantments across many people.  The power of magic has always held a fascination for man.  The users of this magic have also held a fascination for us as well.  Witches have been respected, feared, and hated through the long years of our history.

Spellcasters such as Roger Bacon were respected for the good that they did for their fellow man.  Bacon was a Franciscan monk that was known for skills that normally would have found him burned at the stake for witchcraft.  He used his might for the good and benefit of mankind until one of his closest friends lost his life to a demon that he had summoned from the netherworld .  When this happened , Bacon destroyed one of the richest troves of knowledge that has ever existed, wanting to keep them from hands that had no business with them..

Others such as the witch Baba Yaga were feared, for not only was she a witch, she was also a cannibal, devouring any that came into her  clutches.  Baba Yaga resided in the deep birches of ancient Russia away from many of the people.  She was one of the most powerful sorceresses of her day, being served by creatures that she had created or had enslaved with her spells and enchantments.

Of all the witches and warlocks there were, few if any were hated more than the one known as Dr Faustus.  Dr Faustus was a theologian of evil bent who wasted all of his learning by making a deal with Satan, the patron of most witches, warlocks, wizards, and sorceresses.  One night when he had grown older. leading a life of hard drinking and carousing Faustus called upon the name of Mephistopheles, using incantations meant to gain the attention of this evil being.  At the stroke of midnight, a man in a friar's habit in a bright flash of light.  After sometime of haggling, Faustus finely agreed to sell his soul for 20 years of power and the servitude of the demon.  With the demon lord's help, Faustus traveled throughout the world, attending witches' orgies, learning from powerful magic weavers, and falling deeper and deeper into the ways of debauchery and evil.  Faustus was faithfully served by his demon thrall.  He was made young again and had all of his basest desires realized with beautiful women and demonesses. One month before his contract came due, Faustus sent his demon away and began to sing the praise the glory of the one true God.  None of this mattered in the end, for on his final day, he was at an inn and had retired for the night.  At exactly the stroke of midnight, a great sound was heard, sounding like a great beast.  The noise rose up the stairs and stopped at every door until it reached Faustus' door  When it reached his door, the door gave way and a great scream  sounded, then the sound of something been dragged down the hallway.   The next morning when sunlight finally rose above the horizon, the other patrons came into the hallway, eventually braving themselves to look in his room.  His room was like a slaughterhouse, with blood and some body material.  From his room was a blood y trail.  At the end of the trail lay Faustus.  He was found a half-eaten corpse lying upon  a pile of manure in the barn.  And so came the end of the great Dr Faustus.  Powers of spells and enchantments were strong indeed, Many like the evil Faustus paid a great price for this power though.

Ways of learning the Craft

Ways of Learning witchcraft were many and the power it conveyed was limited only to the person who was practicing the craft.  There were also two types of magic-white magic and black magic.  Most of the magic is practiced by people of today, it consists of herbal and spiritual belief.  These witches are not witches at all, but practice a religion that believes in pagan rituals and a strong respect for the Earth and all the power that is alive within the world.  Black magic is magic learned by study with either another wizard, or someone schooled in these arts. in some other way.  The majority of spells were cast by using something associated with the victim and other items that could range from the blood of an animal to something from the spellcaster himself.  The affects  of these spells were limited by the power of the caster himself as well.  One not schooled highly in these arts might also step into something that he was not prepared for.  More than one wizard lost his life trying to summon a demon that he was not prepared to control.  For this reason, many sought out a special school in a secret location in the German Alps.  The student had nothing to want for, all his needs were met by a hand appearing from the wall for whatever the apprentice wished,  be it food or other necessities.  There was a price for this though...the last person from the classroom lost his soul to the school's master, the Devil himself.