Bottling It (A Wayfair Witches' Cozy Mystery #1)
Page 16
Wizards traditionally reside in the human enclaves, most often working in science and technology – though a small few run candle stores, yoga studios, holistic centres and the like. In recent years, witches have – somewhat – relaxed their attitude to wizards. Wizards are now free to work in witch enclaves (wearing a Pendant of Privilege), but they may not reside there (although they are entitled to reside in the enclaves specifically open to others).
These days, many wizards can be found working in the magical devices sector. A growing number of witches are choosing wizard-made brooms.
Mages: See entry for Wizards
Shamans: See entry for Wizards
Wiccans: See entry for Wizards
Werewolves:
Werewolves are an example to us all that, with the right attitude, you can make a curse work for you. There are many conflicting chronicles of how, when and why these beings were hexed. Werewolves themselves have a long-standing policy of neither confirming nor denying any single chronicle.
What we do know is this: during the full moon (and including the day preceding and the day following said moon) all werewolves transform from their humanoid body, becoming wolves for three consecutive nights. But though the change lasts for three nights, during these nights it begins at sunset and ends at sundown. Because of this, the transformation tends not to affect werewolves in their daily lives.
The werewolf curse can be passed on via a simple bite or scratch to any part of the body. The curse has many upsides: unusual strength, longevity (some werewolves have been known to live as long as vampires) and good looks. Rigorous testing has proved that even the ugliest human or witch, when transformed into a werewolf, instantly becomes more attractive.
The lure of werewolf-hood is irresistible to many witches. The well-known actress Veronica Berry has recently chosen to be turned by her werewolf lover, lead guitarist with the Call of the Wild. In a statement to Young Witch Weekly, Veronica said, ‘I’ve been told ad-nauseam that there’s a danger of losing quite a large chunk of my power. Do I care? No. Not when there’s so much sexiness to gain.’
Fans have been speculating that Veronica – already considered an incredibly beautiful witch – will become the best-looking witch in history after the turn.
Veronica is not alone in her feelings about werewolves. In the last year alone, a thousand Pendants of Privilege have been issued to werewolves, allowing them to enter the witch enclaves. The Call of the Wild, and a number of other werewolf rock bands, regularly perform concerts there.
Vampires:
Like the werewolf curse, there are many conflicting chronicles of the origins of vampirism. Many vampires have submitted themselves for testing, and recent findings confirm that vampirism is, indeed, a blood-borne virus – albeit a virus with extremely unusual behaviour. The blood of a vampire is both a poison and an antidote.
Often a human will resist a vampire bite. This is, frankly, the most foolish thing they could do. A willing bitee (as the vampires refer to them) will be drained by only a minor amount. Full penetration of the vein will do no damage whatsoever, and may even give the bitee a burst of energy equal to a strong cup of coffee or a shot of ginseng. After the bite, the vampire will perform a simple act of hypnotism, thus striking the event from the bitees memory and leaving them with nothing but a spring in their step.
If the human resists and manages to escape before full penetration, a vampire bite can leave the victim feeling weak for days. Often humans will complain of flu-like symptoms.
The process of becoming a vampire is a little more complicated than becoming a werewolf: in order to turn, you must drink a vampire’s blood before sunset on the day following the original bite. It is always preferable to drink from the vampire who administered the bite. Drinking from a different vampire can result in many complications (further details of which can be found in the Compendium of Supernatural Ailments). In recent years, the most common complication arising from such turnings has been the virus known as Dayturning (see Dayturner entry below).
Benefits of the vampire virus include: increased strength; near-perfect health (a small number of humans and witches with terminal illnesses resort to vampirism in order to cure their illness. In the majority of cases, the vampire virus does, indeed, provide a cure); ability to transform into a bat; ability to transform into a nearly-invisible vapour; ability to hypnotise; telepathy (the telepathic link can generally be established from vampire to vampire only, however there have been cases of vampires who can read the minds of all creatures); long lifespan.
Problems associated with the vampire virus include: blood-drinking as the main source of nutrition (a small subset of vampires who were vegetarian in their previous life have set up the No Food with a Face Foundation. They are currently researching many alternatives to blood. Promising results have been seen with a vitamin popular in the human world, known as B12); sensitivity to daylight (although the hat and sunglasses sector is quite happy about this); long lifespan.
Dayturners:
(Note: in previous compendia, dayturners were listed in the Others section)
A hitherto rare being, dayturners are becoming more and more common, with fifty new dayturners registered in the Year of the Lizard (2016 AD). Dayturners are vampires who feel the need to feed by daylight, and are incredibly sensitive to the dark. Feeding at night leaves them with serious indigestion (often resulting in hospitalisation). Additionally, venturing outside after sunset results in a rapidly spread rash, for which there is no known cure. Recent findings revealed that the dayturner virus is activated primarily by careless turning practices (drinking from a vampire other than the one who administered the bite). Research into a cure has been suspended due to lack of funding.
Weredogs:
(Note: in previous compendia, weredogs were listed in the Others section)
Like werewolves, the shifting of a human into a dog is controlled by the full moon, but instead of transforming into a supernatural variation of Canis Lupus Lupus, they transform into any of the many breeds of Canis Lupus Familiaris. There is little known about the origin of the species. In the Year of the Cat (2010 AD), outspoken vampire politician Mildred Valentine claimed to have been sent evidence that the weredogs are descendants of werewolves, having come about as the result of long-ago trysts between werewolves and Canis Lupus Familiaris. Both werewolves and weredogs hotly deny this. However, neither side will agree to DNA testing. As for the evidence Mildred Valentine allegedly received? She has refused to produce it, stating that doing so would endanger her source.
Familiars:
Familiars are animals with limited magical capabilities. They usually reside with witches. A witch does not choose her familiar. The familiar chooses the witch. The most common familiar animals are cats, though other animals have been known. The most notable magical ability of a familiar is the ability to communicate in any language it chooses – thus, familiars may communicate freely with their witches. They have been known to converse with other supernatural beings, but only when they want to. Speaking with humans is rarer still for familiars, but not unheard of.
The Unempowered:
Not to be confused with the disempowered, the unempowered witch is, like the wizards, far too often overlooked. In fact, unempowered is a modern term, and will not be found in compendia earlier than the Year of the Cat (2010 AD). Before then, there was no word for these witches. Officially, they did not exist. In the compendia dating from the Year of the Cat to the Year of the Lizard (2010-2016 AD) you will find the unempowered under the listing: Others.
In rare cases, a witch is empowered from the moment of conception, but most do not display any signs of power until a little later (five or six is the norm). The very latest that any witch has been known to come into their power is twenty-one. If they have not been empowered by then, they never will.
Unempowered witches can live in the witch enclaves if they so wish, but only with the use of a Pendant of Privilege. Even then, their access is re
stricted – not by other witches, but by the simple fact that they do not have the capability.
Most unempowered feel (understandably) excluded, and turn away from supernatural life, choosing to live in human enclaves instead. It is becoming more popular for unempowered witches to study wizardry.
The Disempowered:
A disempowered witch is a witch who has been stripped of all power, as a result of crimes committed. This can only occur by decree of the Wyrd Court. The length of disempowerment depends on the crime in question. In serious cases, a witch may be disempowered for life.