Project - Blackmoor Land of a Thousand Witches - the Sisterhood

Blackmoor Land of a Thousand Witches - the Sisterhood

Blackmoor is a land of mystery. There are tales of its past with cities and kingdoms, wars and catastrophies, heroes and common folk, but still a place distant and removed from the normal commerce and happenings of the Flanaess.

Blackmoor was never a truly peaceful land. Beneath the surface and around the borders a cold grey presence could always be felt. It was a lifestealing hand that took the sick and preyed upon the newborn. Those who first took up the fight against this presence were the witches. In Blackmoor the witches healed the sick, assisted the clerics of Beory, Telchur, Velnius and Zodal, acted as mid-wives, cared for injured animals, and acted as judges. They were soothsayers and diveners of fate. All of Blackmoor from the king to the smallest village had a witch to advise and heal. Among the Council of Women they were predominantly leaders and were the teachers of the young girls, administering the test and right of passage from girl to woman.

With thw coming of the Grey, as they called the lifestealing presence, they became those who fought. Swords and spears were ineffective against the creatures of fog and mist which began to appear. Magicians was rare, clerics and priests were few, but the witches were many. Every girl who showed signs of power and ability were mentored and encourged to pursue the arduous path of witchery. And as the Grey strengthed, the Sisterhood was formed.

The Sisterhood, in some nascent form, had existed in Blackmoor for centuries. Never had it needed the strength, discipline and organization that the fight against the Grey demanded.

Nine witches form the Nyma Urd who guid the Sisterhood. They  are the most powerful witches not necessarily the oldest. Once a year they may be challenged for their position on the Nyma Urd. There are thought to be a thousand witches in the Sisterhood, but that number has been growing. Certain events have set back the Grey and expeditions into the Land of Black Ice and beyond the very boundry of the Planes of Existence have rewarded the Sisterhood with both artifacts of power but also victories against The Grey on its own plane, that of Fog and Mist.