WITCHES 2.0

WITCHES 2.0

Witch divergence is a poorly-understood quality of witches, one that is the reason why there many more types of witches past the seven primitive types. It’s also the reason why there aren’t any more Omni Witches. So, what is witch divergence?

Witch divergence is the tendency for witch types to ‘mutate’, becoming a witch that has a difference appearance and ability than that of their parents and ancestors. For example, think of an Omni Witch. This Omni Witch has a child, and, normally, the child would be an Omni Witch as well, as witchiness is passed through genetics. However, instead of having a beautiful little green-haired baby, this one’s got white hair and a tail. As the child grows, they show an adeptness at manipulating air, but can’t do anything else, not like your wide-ranging wielding of nature.

This was the reality for a lot of Omni Witches, but it affected Aetherial Witches, Sun Witches, and Abyssal Witches too. However, different primitives possessed different rates of divergence; that’s why there’s no Omni Witches, but the rest still exist. Witch divergence is defined on a spectrum, kinda like one of those political compasses, with an axis for slow-rapid divergence, and an axis for narrow-wide divergence. Slow-rapid means how quickly the witch types diverge: as Order, Chaos, and Crimson Witches have no known divergences, they’re considered to have the slowest divergence, while Omni Witches were bred out of existence fairly rapidly, hence a high rate. Narrow-wide means how many divergences are created: Sun and Abyssal Witches have only a handful of divergences, which means they have narrow divergence, while the Omni Witches have dozens of permutations.

Witch divergence is a mixed bag. Typically, descended types have abilities that are more specific than those that they are descended from, though, as a witch’s inherent power can vary wildly, sometimes these witches can be far more adept/powerful at handling their specific ability than those that they are descended from. However, many types of witches have been bred out, due to their children diverging quickly, with the Omni Witches being the posterchild of this. All known divergences are descended from Sun, Abyssal, Aetherial, and Omni Witches, with many types having further diverged from their own descended types.

Sun Witch descended types include:
•	Cinder Witch – the Cinder Witch’s abilities involve fire and heat, descended from the Sun Witch’s heat manipulation abilities. If you think of some witch casting fireballs, then a Cinder Witch is the one you’d have in mind. However, Cinder Witches typically have a much more advanced grasp on manipulating and using fire and heat when compared to their ancestor type. Though they lose out on their invigorative abilities, the Cinder Witch also doesn’t have the passive ‘cause people to go crazy’ aura, though they do have a general aura of warmth around them. Cinder Witches frequently share the same hair and eye colors of the Sun Witches, though they lack their light ‘halos’, and possess cracked, flaking ash around their eyes, with orange/red/yellow/white/blue light that glows through the cracks.
•	Kineto Witch – the Kineto Witch is a functionally extinct descended type, as, while there are still Kineto Witches still around, the children of Kineto Witches are one of their descended types. Kineto Witches possess the ability to manipulate energy, in almost every state, which affords them quite a high degree of potential. As well, they can imbue energy within anything they choose. Kineto Witches are slightly taller than average, and possess an aura of warmth, but besides that, they’re pretty difficult to tell apart from regular people at a glance.
•	Voltaic Witch – the Voltaic Witch is a descended type that comes from the Kineto Witch. The Voltaic Witch’s abilities center around electricity, such as the generation, manipulation, and amplification of. Voltaic Witches typically have either cyan or blonde hair, black lines that stretch from the bottom of their eyes to their chin, and thin, black, wire-like tails.
•	Fission Witch – the Fission Witch is another type descended from the Kineto Witch. The Fission Witch’s abilities involve nuclear energy, primarily from splitting atoms, which predictably makes them incredibly dangerous. Fission Witches are usually less on the side of spitting radiation everywhere, and more for just blowing the shit out of things as spectacularly as possible. Fission Witches are typically shorter than average, clocking in at around 5’5”, and have asterisk-shaped pupils, along with a slight blue, glowing ‘aura’ around them.

Abyssal Witch descended types include:
•	Frost Witch – the Frost Witch runs parallel with the Cinder Witch, much like their ancestor types, in that they typically have abilities involving the generation and manipulation of coldness, which usually also involves ice. Like the Cinder Witch, the Frost Witch lacks person manipulation-type abilities, though they do not have the same abyss aura as the Abyssal Witch, though they do have an aura that saps the heat from around them. Frost Witches are usually shorter on average (around 5’4”), and often possess frost that collects on their body. Some Frost Witches possess horns and spikes made out of ice erupting from their bodies.

Aetherial Witch descended types include:
•	Life Witch – the Life Witch’s abilities are similar to the Aetherial Witch’s life manipulation, as well as the Sun Witch’s invigoration abilities. The Life Witch, while unable to bring life back to something that’s dead, can cause life to spring from the lifeless, such as causing plants to sprout from barren dirt. More adept Life Witches can even turn lifeless objects into living things, such as turning a rock into a turtle. Life Witches are typically fairly chubby, buying into the ‘motherly’ appearance, and possess pearly blue eyes that lack irises.
•	Reviver Witch – the Reviver Witch is a type descended from the Life Witch, and they possess an ability that represents an extension of the Life Witch’s ability: the ability to bring back the dead. Reviver Witches have many different methods in their disposal, as well as different types of ‘undead’ that they can create, from a reanimated skeleton, to a mindless zombie, to a sentient corpse, and so on and so forth. Particularly adept Reviver Witches can fully bring the dead back to life. Due to necromancy being illegal in most areas of Lorid, Reviver Witches typically do not exercise their main ability (legally/in the open, at least), but are often used for their ability to accelerate recovery/regeneration from wounds. Reviver Witches are a bit shorter than average, and maintain very youthful appearances, even despite their long lives, and possess irises with rings both around them and within them.
•	Death Witch – the Death Witch runs opposite of the Life Witch, in that their abilities are centered around death. Whether it’s casting a malaise that eats away at the soul of the victim, a fatigue that slowly but inevitably intensifies, or just straight up casting death onto someone, the Death Witch is here for death. Though, this can sometimes be sad, as Death Witches aren’t really hard-wired towards killing, so there are plenty of normal Death Witches who refuse to use their abilities, but get shunned anyway. Death Witches are often pretty short, rarely rising above the 5’5” level, and can be detected through their black eyes with white pupils, as well as white, gem-like orbs that sprout from their body.

Omni Witch descended types include:
•	Air Witch – the Air Witch’s abilities are much like the abilities of other Omni Witch descended types, in that they’re pretty straightforward. Their abilities involve the manipulation of wind and air. Air Witches have a significantly more bestial appearance than other witches, with white fur that covers large parts of their body, draconic eyes, horns, and large, thick, lizard- (or dragon-) like tails.
•	Terra Witch – the Terra Witch, sometimes referred to as the Dirt Witch, has the ability to manipulate earth and rock, and are among the most powerful of the first-generation Omni Witch-descended types. Terra Witches typically possess brown blotches on their skin, and are typically very sturdily built, body-wise, as well as very tall (average being around roughly 7’), with vibrant green eyes.
•	Metal Witch – the Metal Witch, which descended from the Terra Witch, has the ability to manipulate metal, much in the same way that a Terra Witch can, although a Metal Witch is confined to just metal. Metal Witches are another example of rapid divergence, as they’re in a unique state: while there are plenty of Metal Witches still alive, almost every child of a Metal Witch is further descended, meaning that, effectively, there are no more Metal Witches being born. Metal Witches typically have metal scales covering their arms, as well as metal teeth and metal horns, the composition of which can be somewhat random. As well, Metal Witches have completely black eyes.
•	Ferrous Witch – the Ferrous Witch is one of the first descended types to come from the Metal Witch, as well as one of the most common. The Ferrous Witch can manipulate iron as their primary ability, though they have a few other small quirks that come with that. Ferrous Witches can generate sparks and even fire, as well as utilize mild magnetism-based abilities. The standard Ferrous Witch has orangey-reddish skin, with blotches of grey and black, and often has horny, irregular iron growths that sprout from their head.
•	Cobalt Witch – the Cobalt Witch is another Metal Witch descended type, and they’re an example of a witch with a pretty narrow specialization. Cobalt Witches can manipulate cobalt, which seems like something that doesn’t have much use, but the Cobalt Witch has a few other tricks up its sleeve. They can actually create cobalt through transmuting other matter, as well as emit radioactive bursts and salt things with cobalt-60. They can also turn things blue. Cobalt Witches possess vibrant blue skin that seems to shine, hair that ranges from black to gray, and glassy eyes.
•	Aurum Witch – the Aurum Witch is, yet again, another Metal Witch descended type, although Aurum Witches are among the rarest. Aurum Witches can manipulate gold, and, like the Cobalt Witch, can transmute matter into gold, which predictably makes them quite notable. And rich. However, since making a shitload of gold would devalue the hell out of it, most Aurum Witches are actually part of a guild, one that promises to make enough gold to make money, but not enough to significantly impact the world supply. Aurum Witches also have the ability to amplify sources of heat and electricity, which they can subsequently manipulate and utilize. Aurum Witches often have tanned skin, with golden blonde hair, and frequently have blocky ‘tiles’ of gold that slightly stick out from their skin. The nails and inside of the Aurum Witch’s mouth are a bright yellow color as well.
•	Hydrargyrum Witch – the Hydrargyrum Witch (which I will refer to as the Hg Witch from now on), is another Metal Witch descended type. The Hg Witch, like the other Metal Witch descended types, can manipulate a specific metal, in their case mercury, and they also possess the ability to transmute it. As an extension of their manipulation abilities, they can easily create mercury compounds, such as gases and salts, which can prove extremely dangerous, as well as weaken certain metals by turning them into mercury amalgams. Additionally, the Hg Witch can also liquefy themselves and travel as a liquid, which can prove to be a pain when trying to contain one. Hg Witches possess black eyes with gray pupils, and have shiny gray skin and hair. Mercury sometimes leaks from their tear ducts and mouths.
•	Aktis Witch – the Aktis Witch is another Metal Witch descended type, and they are even rarer than Aurum Witches. Aktis Witches possess the ability to manipulate actinium, which naturally comes into use even less than cobalt manipulation, but the Aktis Witch can transmute matter into actinium, which certainly helps. Like the Cobalt Witch, the Aktis Witch can emit and utilize radiation, although their ability is much more powerful. Aktis Witches are immune to the effects of radiation, and live for an exceptionally long time; there isn’t a single recorded instance of an Aktis Witch dying of old age, or conditions typically related to aging. Aktis Witches possess pale, slightly glowing blue hair, as well as iris/pupil-less eyes that glow and are of the same color. Rectangular ‘bars’ of actinium sprout from their shoulders and backs, and the insides of their mouths are black.