Witchway

 

(Witchway is the setting for Witchway’s Witch by Mitch. Check it out by clicking here!)

 

Other Appellations:

 

The Magic Earth (Alpha), Universe 101617 (Universe 161)

 

Fox Harmonic:

 

Waw

 

Astral Connection:

 

 

L8 D8

 

Witchway is a strong analog world, meaning its history is very similar to our own. The town is in the United States. Billy Joel and Billy Idol exist. The Dreamcast was the best console of its generation. But there are divergences. There was never a Borderland Crisis during the 1910’s. Our Egypt is a client of Earth State, theirs is an independent nation with a race of sphinxes (and reverse sphinxes). There’s no Witchway on our Earth and no Joyous Harbor on theirs.

 

ARGO researchers theorize our world diverged due to different Astral connections. While Witchway has a strong connection to the Astral, it’s not strong enough for the spontaneous empowerment phenomena we know as primary hyperstasis to sweep their world as it did our own. Instead of superpowers coming to them, they have to go to superpowers using what our world (and a few others) call thaumaturgy and what they (and most other worlds) call magic.

 

Thus their world become one of primarily wizards, sorcerers, and witches and a few natural superhumans while ours become the reverse with many natural superhumans and a few thaumaturgists.

 

Magic in Witchway works through the use of focuses. Milly and Morgan use wands as focuses and their Aunt Velouria uses a crystal ball. These focuses have a direct connection to the Astral, and as this connection is innate to the object, focuses can be used by anyone to cast spells–with a major caveat. They risk blowing themselves up.

 

Witches, wizards, and the like have mana, which is known in our world as odic force. Mana is a buffer energy between the physical world and the Astral. By manipulating mana, witches can bring Astral forces into the physical world in accordance with their will. It’s just as Alleister Crowley (believe it or not, the same individual in both our worlds) said–“Magic is the science and art of causing change in conformity with will.”

 

Yes, this means magic works exactly like Green Lensman.

 

If you don’t have mana, you can still use a focus to connect to the Astral–but what you draw from it won’t be focused and it won’t be according to your will. And you will likely blow up.

 

Morgan is an apprentice witch with mana and she still somehow keeps setting herself on fire.

 

Caution Rating:

 

 

2

 

Witchway is a peaceful, cozy world, and the danger it poses to the but the degree of magic that goes on there can create dangers for the unwary travelers. The surrounding countryside is especially steeped in magic, danger, and adventure. Be on the lookout for manticores (they start small and adorable but grow up to be huge and fearsome), giant man-eating plants (they prefer butterflies, but won’t say no to a free meal) and the forest of dad jokes (contact the Weft Authority if you wood like to know more).

 

Multiverse Activity:

 

Frequent

 

Witchway is a bustling center of mystic might, occult observations, supreme spellcraft, and a lot of cool stuff.

 

Basically, you’re going to see a lot of different kinds of people trading a lot of different kinds of things at the Witchway shops. You’ll see ghosts and elves and monsters. You’ll see banana eating kasa-obake, video game playing chupacabras, party girl gorgons, dancing field mice, mysterious stone heads that may or may not be alive (we aren’t telling!), tiny robots, gnomes riding birds, birds riding gnomes, and the greatest paragliding frog in all the multiverse.

 

You’ll see homo lepus from Sub-Terra, faeries from both Courts of Fairy, demons from the pits of Xibalba, adventurers from the Ancient Labyrinth, and humans from…well, just pick an Earth.

 

Witchway attracts magical folk from all across the universe with its market and is known to have particularly good magic wands for sell, easily the equal of anything you’ll find in Croatoan or Nazarth, and also exquisite toad bladders.

 

Try them. They’re delicious!

 

Keywords:

 

Historic Partner, Quantum, Analog, Calendar Analog

 

Description:

 

Witchway is a multiverse-wise Mecca for myriad magical multitudes whose forests crawl with adventure. A casual stroll through the woods can bring one to buried treasure, fairy treasure, illusory treasure, and “the treasure was the friends you made along the way” treasure. It can also bring one right into a manitcore’s den, but what’s an adventure without a little danger? A stroll through Witchway’s marketplace can bring one to magic wands, magic lamps, magic lanterns (not actually magic), and lanterns of certain verdant coloration.

 

Despite all the magic flowing in and out of Witchway, it never feels suffocating in the same other magical hotspots feel. When people visit Resplendent Purity In The Highest, the capital of the Croatoan empire, they’re often overwhelmed by the chanting stones and towers made of floating water columns. Judgement, the hidden Wiseman city of Nazarth likewise intimidates guests with castles made out of giant monsters and several artificial suns that bathe the city in curtains of magical light. But Witchway balances its magic with a rustic charm. Perhaps there’s no better compliment for magical complexity than natural simplicity–wide-open spaces, wildflower covered hills, and evergreen forests.

 

It’s friendly, inviting atmosphere is why Witchway remains high on the Weft Authority’s vacation spots and ARGO’s list of best places to have an adventure.

 

It’s not so high on the list of culinary adventure spots, but some people just can’t appreciate toad bladders.

 

Witchway has always had a Witch–hence the name. The previous one went crazy, and in a magical fit caused the parents of a young girl named Marie to vanish. She was taken in by her friends Morgan and Milly, granddaughters of the Witch, who seek to help her find her lost parents.

 

The current Witch of Witchway is…hard to determine. Both of the Witch’s granddaughters inherited her mana powers. One could say that Milly is the Witch because she’s the oldest…but she’s more than a little lazy and scatterbrained. The Witch of Witchway has traditionally been a helpful, proactive force, and Milly is many things, but she is not proactive. One could also say that the Witch is Morgan, who has just began her training in the mystic arts under Milly, but Morgan is technically more of an apprentice witch than a full-blown Witch.

 

Which witch is the Witch, one might ask.

 

Witchway has been a great friend of ours for years and we look forward to more years of friendship.

 

Individuals of Note

 

Marie

 

 

 

 

Marie is a 13-year old orphan who’s parents vanished under the spell of spell of the resident Witch of Witchway when she became deranged and lost control of her powers. Marie has since moved in with her best friends Milly and Morgan, granddaughters of the Witch. With them, and her pet chupacabra Chupacabro, Marie goes on adventures around Witchway while working with Milly and Morgan’s Aunt Velouria, a seer, to locate her parents through divination.

 

Marie loves adventures. She’s daring and reckless and in a calm sort of way. When not adventuring, she’s more than happy to just go with the flow, chill, and play Dreamcast with Chupacabro. She’s able to go with the flow and roll with the punches in ways more high-strung people, like Morgan, can’t.

 

She is extremely athletic and strong. She is able to dance around the attacks of a wild manticore and survive Morgan’s wand backfiring in her face. She’s even able to beat up a manticore with the help of her little buddy Chupacabro. But she’s not magic, folks, we swear–she gets by on grit, luck, and pluck.

 

Raw Power 5

Durability: 10

Speed: 7

Sanity: 10

Skill: 7

 

Morgan

 

 

 

Morgan is Milly’s younger sister and at the tender age of 13 is concerned about her place in the world. Milly recently began training her in the mystic arts, and the results are spotty, much to Morgan’s frustration. She’s skilled enough to engage other (apprentice) sorceresses in duels, but she also has a habit of setting herself on fire–which is thankfully illusory fire.

 

Morgan is very unlike her sister and Marie. She’s reserved, cautious, and a little dour. She’s the serious one of the trio. She fears that she’ll never be a good Witch and that even if by some miracle she does become a good witch, she’ll be gawked at like a sideshow.

 

She’s learned how to apply a really good full Nelson, likely from watching Marie.

 

Raw Power 10

Durability: 4

Speed: 3

Sanity: 4

Intelligence: 5

Skill 4

 

 

Milly

 

 

 

 

 

Milly is an accomplished, albeit lazy witch who is overseeing her younger sister Morgan’s training in the mystic arts. She tries to serve as a maternal figure for Marie and Morgan, though in practice she’s more like an older, slightly irresponsible sister. She’s very playful and adventurous, always up for pranks and tricks, which makes her very personable but her attitude often rubs her more serious sister the wrong way. She doesn’t mind a bit of danger at all, which makes her more like Marie than Morgan, and is fully capable of taking care of herself even without magic. When out on an adventure, she comes prepared and kitted out because she knows the first rule of magic–magic is a tool, not a crutch.

 

She’s a very popular figure in the Witchway community and is known to party hard at Chuck’s Bar. She is known to make a pretty good lasagna…provided that you probably disable it before eating it…

 

Milly spends most of her time lazing around the house, sleeping late, and occasionally cleaning up–by enchanting her broom to do it for her. She’s fond of singing while she works (and schemes) and cackling at the thought of her fortune (and others’ misfortune).

 

Raw Power 10

Durability 4

Speed 3

Sanity 8

Intelligence 7

Skill 8

 

 

 

Chupacabro

 

 

 

Marie’s pet, also known as Little Buddy. Chupacabro is a true bro and once rescued Marie, Morgan, and Milly from a Manticore den. He tends to get along with everyone except for Aunt Velouria, who he barks at for some reason.

 

He is an avid gamer and will expose you for the scrub you are in the fighter of your choice. Don’t even think of taking him on in Power Stone, you will lose.

 

Raw Power 5

Durability 100

Speed 2

Sanity 12

Intelligence ???

Skill 1 (10 at video games)

 

Aunt Velouria

 

 

 

 

Milly and Morgan’s aunt is a seer who uses a crystal ball in much the same way that Milly and Morgan use wands–though she only uses a real crystal ball for special cases.

 

Her crystal ball links her mind to the Astral, which being outside of space and time, touches all points in space and time, meaning that if one has the aptitude, they can see into the future. Aunt Velouria uses her precognition to scan Marie’s timeline for clues as to what happened to her parents. Results have so far been hazy, but she keeps trying.

 

She has an adventurous side and once helped Milly search for the hidden treasure of W. G. Chace.

 

Raw Power 3

Durability 2

Speed 2

Sanity 5

Intelligence 7

Skill 7

 

Tracey

 

 

 

A very shy witch from a sorcerers’ academy, Tracey endeavored to befriend Morgan, who made quite a name for herself after a misadventure in a manticore den, with…let’s say mixed results.

 

Raw Power 8

Durability: 3

Speed: 2

Sanity: 3

Intelligence: 4

Skill 3

 

Leonard

 

 

A good-natured misfit in several respects. He is the son of sphinxes, and yet he is a reverse sphinx, meaning that instead of being a lion with the head of a human he’s a human with the head of a lion, and that instead of asking people to answer riddles he asks people to give him riddles he can’t answer. He met Aunt Velouria and Milly during their search for the treasure of W. G Chase and teamed up with them.

 

He’s a big philosophy nerd and kept finding himself drawn to big, introspective, metacognition questions like “how does a person know they know something?” much to the disappointment of his parents that felt Leonard needed to focus on practical matters like guarding treasure and paths. Their disproval coupled with general social anxiety has made him antisocial, but his adventure with Aunt Velouria and Milly helped him open up.

Raw Power 1

Durability 1

Speed 1

Sanity 3

Intelligence 10

 

 

Crossover Reports

 

Pike Spotted!

 

 

It seems that Pike, bodyguard and money slave to the Merchant of the Ancient Labyrinth, likes to blow off steam at Chuck’s Bar.

 

Did she get here through the Labyrinth? It’s likely given that it’s corridors have been shown to spread throughout the multiverse. Perhaps the Labyrinth’s halls were attracted by Witchway’s high Astral connection? Or maybe it responded to Pike’s desire for a place that wouldn’t charge her an arm and a leg for a drink?

 

Temporal Anomaly!

 

 

A certain star was seen flashing over Witchway recently–a star that flashed over our skies back in 1945.

 

It’s a strange happening to be sure, but it makes sense when you know that this star was Stardust the Super-Wizard, who caused the Stardust incident of 1945. Stardust studied our multiverse by extending himself across time and space. The Stardust incident is the stuff of history classes, but he’ll be seen in the skies of other universes for aeons to come.