[ENGRM] The Deepwood Coven

Recorded by Hehralla of Finae

The legends of the witches of Finae is one heard by many, but known by few. From the stormy winds of the Dragon Coast to the frozen spires of Aleksanne, whispers of mysticism and untold power have dug themselves into the folklore of many cultures and civilizations like spiky burs.

Individual accounts vary greatly, some describing witches as powerful sorcerers capable of strange and terrible magicks that usurp the natural laws of essence, while others describe them as wise sages with years of experience innumerable, serving as respected oracles and omniscient leaders.

The truth of the witches, like the truth of many stories, is both more mundane and more fascinating than any fabricated fantasy about them.

In fact, while witches are still frequently spoken about as esoteric things of legend, the tribe of Deepwood Coven, whose decorated history spans back to the very origin of witches, can be found living in Finae, as a peaceful and self-sufficient commune of hunters.

Of course, finding them is not quite so easy as following a map, and with good reason: through the annals of history, many have sought the power of witches, and sought to exploit or usurp their power for their own means.

As a result, the Deepwood Coven has become increasingly reclusive, though their influence is no less palpable.

In order to fully understand witches, however, one must first understand the inception of the tribe, and their impact on the history of Finae.

According to the elders of the Coven, there once was a group of five elite hunters, each hailing from one of the Great Tribes of Finae. These five hunters, known as the Pentacle, served as guardians of the land, protecting the rich and delicate forests of Finae from beasts and humans alike. They were of mythological strength, and their strength was only compounded by their deep connection to one another, shoring up each other’s weaknesses, and amplifying each other’s strengths to unimaginable heights. 

The legends of the Pentacle surpass the bounds of modern hunters in ways unimaginable, and their abilities seemed more akin to magic than weaving. Some stories tell of the Pentacle splitting the heavens above, causing rain to pour down upon drought-afflicted lands. Others describe their ability to turn back the hands of time, restoring wilted flowers back to full bloom, even in the dead of winter. The most miraculous stories even involve elements akin to an “omnilixir”, a potion that can cure any ailments, brewed from materials known only to those who had glimpsed the Truth of the World.

However, in spite of their incredible abilities, the Pentacle was spread thin across the vast jungles of Finae. Knowing that their time would eventually come to an end, the Pentacle began to establish strongholds known as “Cauldrons”, places of peace and sanctuary, where new hunters would be trained in the arcane arts of the Pentacle. It’s unknown exactly when the term “witch” began to be used to describe the hunters who followed in the legacy of the Pentacle, but it quickly became a term used with pride to describe extraordinary weavers, even after the members of the original Pentacle departed to the Great Sea.

For several decades, witches replaced the role of the Hunter’s Guild in Finae, offering unparalleled protections of the land and its people from outside threats. Hunters from all across Isarine traveled to Finae to learn from the witches, in hopes to inherit the power of the Pentacle, but the witches were extremely selective in who they allowed into their fold. You see, the witches knew that the great power handed down by the Pentacle could not fall into the hands of evildoers, for even though the vast majority of the witches’ magicks and miracles were performed with benevolence, it was also well known that the power of the witches could be used to met out devastating wrath.

By and large, these acts of catastrophic destruction were only carried out in order to protect Finae and her jungles, but it did not stop power-hungry hunters from Dragon Coast and even The Wilds from seeking to wield the immense might to serve their own ends. Despite their fiery ambitions, however, their efforts were quickly snuffed out not by the witches, but by the people of Finae. Having prospered under the might of their legendary guardians, the Finaen people were ever grateful to the witches, and maintained absolute secrecy about the locations of their Cauldrons, even when their lives were at stake.

And so, for many ages, Finae remained under the protection of its great witches, remaining unassailable from would-be invaders, and remaining unplagued by the hoards of ever-savage beasts that roamed the lands beyond.

Then, in Spring of C.Y. 167, the Great Meteor Storm happened.

The Heavens, enraged by the endless folly of humankind, tore the sky asunder, staining it crimson red as tremendous fragments of astral hail pelted the land of Isarine, setting its land ablaze with celestial flames and razing its great civilizations to the brink of eradication. Of all the faction of Isarine, the tribes of Finae were by far hit the hardest, and many of her rich ecosystems were annihilated as a result of the calamity.

For the first time in over a century, Finae’s witches had been unable to anticipate a threat to their home, and were unable to protect the land with their power.

As the people of Finae lashed out in rage and grief at the tremendous loss of life and culture, many turned their fingers to the witches, asking why they were unable to protect Finae from such a catastrophe, citing that the Pentacle of Old would have created a magic barrier, or stopped the astral hail altogether with the combined might of their power.

This criticism and blame tore the witches apart, as internal unrest caused factions to split off from the main body, fracturing the once mighty network of witches into a patchwork of independent covens.

Sensing an opportunity, missionaries from Aleksaria began to flood into the jungles of Finae. They offered new protections under their Divine, Pearl, who had protected the holy capitol of Aleksanne from the Great Meteor Storm. At the same time, hunters from The Wilds and Dragon Coast came to offer their aid to those most devastated by the tragedy, and subsequently bolstered the presence of the Hunter’s Guild within the borders of Finae.

The combination of all these factors left the remaining witches in a fractured state, and eventually, many felt that their role had lost its meaning. One by one, each of the witch factions folded into the Hunter’s Guild, until at last, only one faction remained: the core body, who had continued to operate, unchanged. These witches grew to be named the Deepwood Coven, as the group retreated by from the perimeter of Finae into the world hidden beyond its surface.

With their numbers culled and power diminished, the Deepwood Coven became something of a historical artifact. Their members no longer held the same respect and reputation that they had in years prior, and many regarded them as anti-social cultists who refused to move on from the past.