The Sea Witch
 |
This section contains Homebrew non-canon info, created by fans |
The Sea Witch is the former darklord of Craven Cove, although how she became a darklord in the first place has not been specified. She was burned at the stake by the townspeople of Widow's Peak. In retaliation as she died, she cursed them to never again have children, and she cursed the land to be forever infertile.[1] Her daughter, Amelia Hawthorne[2] and many others still believe she somehow survives, but such anxiety is unwarranted. The Sea Witch is still deceased, but her absence might make things even worse, for it means Craven Cove has no lord. Therefore, it will soon crumble into oblivion.[1]
History
The Sea Witch came from a line with elven ancestry, specifically a far-back ancestor named Aurelia. Aurelia was an elf enchantress and Widow's Peak's first matriarch.[3] Despite her lofty ancestor, the girl that would later become the Sea Witch walked down the Barrow Downs without food, shelter, or company. She eventually hunched over in despair, waiting for her life to end. Yet it did not, for a vampire stumbled upon her and took her back to his lair. Her "rescuer" fed upon her blood, yet he went too far and it seemed like she would die. Strangely, the vampire evidenced a conscience and delivered the girl to the town of Widows Peak, where she was eventually saved by a herbalist. The vampire returned to his lair and for the rest of his existence eschewed drinking blood, as it now only disgusted him. Therein, he experienced a gruesome, ignoble death of starvation.[4]
At some point in her life, the girl left Widow's Peak and later returned as the Sea Witch. She lived in a a house on a hill overlooking the town. There, the Sea Witch lived a modest existence providing the townspeople with medicine, healing, divinations, and even curses upon their perceived transgressors. During these years, Widow's Peak was a successful hub for trade. Yet the presence of the Sea Witch had a warping effect upon the surrounding land, making it in some ways a darker and more foreboding place. Over time, the people of Widow's Peak began to resent her.[5]
This is not to say the Sea Witch entirely lacked potential good in her heart. Although in general a sadist[1], she felt sympathy for a stone giant whom came to the beach looking for his lost wife. After learning she had irrevocably turned into a statue, the Giant fell into a terrible melancholy. The Sea Witch fashioned a great mirror such that the Giant could see into the dreams of his eternally slumbering wife. For this boon, the Sea Witch required the Giant to come to her assistance should she ever require it.[6]
Regardless of the balance between the good and evil of the Sea Witch's actions, she became target of blame for every bad event big and small. Thus, she became spurned by those she helped. After hearing rumors about the Sea Witch's curses, the priests of Widow's Peak mobilized the townspeople and gathered a vengeful mob.[1]
With the mob quickly upon her, the Sea Witch signaled for the Giant's aid. However, he failed to respond, too enthralled by the mirror dreams of his beloved. As punishment, she warped the mirror's magic such that the dream became an eternal living nightmare, with the Stone Giant's mind trapped inside.[6] In the end, the mob overtook her, and she was burned at the stake. As she died, the Sea Witch made a pact with an evil power for life beyond death. She also laid her powerful curse the land to be barren and the people to be unable to sire children, until the time the sea claimed them all. The Mists snatched Craven Cove from the Material Plane and made it an island of terror. Yet the Sea Witch somehow truly perished, leaving the realm without a darklord.[1]
Legacy
Despite the many decades that have passed since her death, yet the effects of the Sea Witch's Curse has not ceased. The land remains cursed and desolate. The people of Widow's Peak, now middle-aged at the youngest, become more and more desperate, turning to the primal Cult of the Old Gods where the Morninglord has failed them (or vice versa). The Cult sacrifices the town's own citizens both to the gods[7] and to the Sea Witch in the futile hope the Curse will be undone.[8] Cultist or not, popular rumor has it that she still lives on in her house on the hill. The rumors are entirely incorrect, though this fact does little to make the lives easier for teh people.[1]
Beyond the effects of the Sea Witch's Curse on Craven Cove's people, it has left notable marks on its land. The land was made harsh and infertile. Like a gaping maw, the Yawning Chasm cuts the domain along the middle, as as a mere byproduct of the curse.[9] Grey Gardens, a network of monster-infested unstable and sometimes even floating rocks, was created and is maintained by the Stone Giant's eternal psychic agony. The initial release turned most of the nearby people into monstrosities, including an evil mage now medusa named Little Edie. In her evil, Little Edie organized the monsters and has perpetrated the transformation of people into the Stone Cursed.[10]
The Sea Witch leaves another menacing legacy in the form of an unusually long-lived banderhobb she created while alive. Without duties to execute, the foul banderhobb wanders the domain looking for creatures to prey upon.[11]
Despite the above horrors, the most dangerous legacy of the Sea Witch might be her absence. No domain can exist for long without a darklord, and Craven Cove is proof of this point. It is crumbling and will eventually disintegrate, taking the lives of all within as it dies. That is, unless it can find a new lord, which Craven Cove will take every means possible to achieve.[1]
