[NikolaNeiju]

"In the world with Darkness, there is always Light. An Eternal battle that was thought to be evaded after centuries of suffering, once fought between divine entities... Now the echo's of long unseen power is utilized by mortals in their own conflicts."

Witchcraft, also rarely dubbed as the Black Magic. Is a direct counterpart to White Magic, where as the latter utilizes one's faith and dedication to holy patrons, as well the Stars to briefly tap into the powers of these higher entities and conjure miracles. Witchcraft, instead. Takes a darker path. Where one sells their soul to a higher entity of Hel, thus gaining access to wide arrange of abilities. A single witch, given they are clever. Are a menace, a whole coven? Becomes a force to reckon with.

Whether it would be putting emotional strings over one's mind, or taking their mind to metaphysical realm. And much more,  Warlocks and Witches are known for being deceptive, and of course. They possess lots of knowledge, very little of them have sane mind due to the forbidden arts taking toil and clawing at their psyche. But those who are able to overcome their hunger for power become a mastermind among mortals.

Witch (female, and more traditional term) or Warlock (male), are what the users of Witchcraft are called. Though the process of becoming one varies from culture to culture, the most popular way through which one makes a connection to their Dark Power is called Book of Shadows. A powerful artifact, Grimoire of intense strength through which all the knowledge of the forbidden arts is conjured from. It is not exactly known how these books came to be, though many scholars tend to agree that these were created directly by Demons that were powerful enough to transfer fraction of their depraved power all the way from Hel to Eternia.

Each book is unique and can't be copied, but it can be destroyed/purified by powerful White Magic. And once again, the contests vary from culture to culture, and from book to book which is why entire covens and hierarchy system is built around such books, there has been however. Observed a general tendency for books to have something in common.

The books contests are murky except for only one page, where user must call out to Hel and offer them their soul, slashing their hand and writing their blood into the book. This ritual is often called Ritual of Initiation, and is one of the very first rituals that the Witch learns should they be the one to write their name in. One must keep in mind though that the ritual is highly dangerous, which often carries great pain, and can outright kill weaker magi if the Dark Powers of Hel do not deem them worthy to be 'blessed' by them. Which is why an experienced Witch, is the one who usually initiates aspirants into the Coven. Upon completion of the ritual, most of the pages become clear. And one is able to learn forbidden arts.

On more rare occasions, Dark Powers may call out to people. Tempting them to find their Grimoires. Such phenomenon is observed in people who have had interaction with Book of Shadows or Dark Patrons in the past, as well as had history of family members who sold their soul to a dark power, be it ancestor Warlock or Witch, or cursed by one of them. Should these individuals be left without supervision. They eventually find their downfall and spiral down into becoming Warlock/Witch.

Dark Patrons & their Champions

Dark Powers, or known as simply. Patrons, are higher entities that come from Hel, Void, and dark corners of Eternia in general. They are malicious, all-powerful spirits who manipulate people into marking their souls to be taken by the Patron upon death. They feast and thrive from the essence that is collected by the Witches and Warlocks. And are able to grant great boons to those who are exceptionally proactive in their efforts in order to increase their effectivity as a essence hunter. 

Champions, or more commonly referred to as Coven Supremes in traditional hierarchy. Are the said individuals whose effort was recognized by the Dark Power, thus they were granted boons by them. In hierarchy of Covens, it is often known as the right to become (or fight for the position if there's already an active one) leader of the Coven. The boons that are passed down onto the Champion... Again, is based on the Patron himself, for example. Dark Power of knowledge would grant their Champion immense wisdom, and ability to pass down such wisdom to others. Patron of Ice could grant nearly mythical levels of Ice magic prowess. And so forth.

Champions also have the full access to the Book of Shadows, often being able to create rituals of their own. Or conjure the most powerful of rituals, such as plagues, mass curses. And so forth.

In the event where there's a fight between two champions, the losing side may lose their boons. However one should know that Dark Power does not necessarily care about who wields the power, or their intentions. As long as they keep the essence and signed up souls coming in, they could retain their powers. Even if technically the rank of Supreme is passed down to other.

Witchcraft and it's capabilities.

A Warlock and Witch are capable of collecting Essence through variety of means, Essence is akin to blood, but in ether form. Either through ripping directly from it's victim, or drawing it from the very land around them through Sabbaths, they collect it to please their Dark Patrons, and for... Other, uses.

Black Magic has many uses, most spells that come from this branch are called Rituals. There exist incanations that a trained Witch or Warlock might cast on the fly, such as Hex, and Dreamwalk. These rituals are universal and are common. However, depending on the Book of Shadows, a Witch or Warlock might have access to various other Rituals, depending on it's power. Preparations are required.

Such as candles, magical circle drawings, which why it is encouraged that Witches make their rituals pubic, although it creates a risk of an ambush by those seeking to destroy the dark forces. A group of dark acolytes, or even other fellow users of the Black Magic contribute GREAT effort. Some rituals require different type of magical catalysts, be it crystals, sacrifices in blood (willing and unwilling), and essence. All to nudge a favor from their Dark Gods.

Some of the most powerful rituals are known to be Demon Summoning, it is exceptionally rare. Mythical Magic to some. In history, the only coven who was able to come so far and achieve such ritual was Elysium Coven. Which is why most information about it was either burned in holy fire, or simply, didn't exist due to it's exceptional rarity.

 Essence is also utilized in items, and depending on the quantity of essence spent... It can empower the item or gear piece in question, or give it new properties.

It is told that through series of well-developed rituals, gatherings of fortune, and tremendous power, a witch may go a step beyond being a Champion to a Dark Power. Although there is little to no information about such...

A group of witches and warlocks working together is usually called a Coven, Covens vary in their culture, beliefs, and efficiency. Most are born out of a passing demon who managed to convert people into cultists, or a peculiar individual with hunger for power, and knowledge. Cults and Covens have less popularity in terms of religion due to being actively hunted down. And as such, most of them remain a secret group, and warlocks, witches within wear disguises to hide their true identity. Using false one as their forefront, and their true one for gathering information, and building bonds. It is not uncommon for Covens to be heavily based on conquest and destruction, though some, either due to choices of Supreme, or the Patron. Their focus shifts on studies, etc.

The hierarchy within Covens is not strict. It is apprentice and elder relationship, with apprentice witches/warlocks and acolytes being those who are starting to tap into forbidden arts. And elder witches being masters, who have learned wide array of curses, and other rituals available at hand, in case where a new Witch or Warlock does not have access to a mentor, they end up studying the Book of Shadows in order to tap into advanced techniques. Supremes, naturally, are a step beyond Elder Witches and thus possess advanced abilities of one.

While Witches are mostly known for forming a Coven, Cults are often defined as less strict form of worshipping, being more or less, a tight-knit group of individuals working together. Both Cults and Covens however, capitalize from staying under the radar of more advanced factions, until they grow up in numbers and power. Afterwards? They will start taking everything by storm. It is not uncommon to see monsters and demons working as a brute force while Witches stand in the back, and attend to the business of pleasing their Patron in order to bring prosperity upon the entire coven, and it's forces, thus bringing chaos, death, and misery upon the lands.