The Witch of the Wood

The Witch of the Wood is a story from villages located near Northwood Forest in Tierhal. It is a cautionary tale warning people, especially children, not to enter the forest unprepared for dangerous people and creatures. It also serves to warn children away from trusting strangers.

Story

Long ago, when parents did not warn their children of the dangers of dark forests, two boys decided to go exploring. It was late afternoon when they slipped away from their families and ran into the folds of the trees, and they thought there would be no danger.
However, the hours passed quickly, and before they knew it, the shadows had thickened until they could barely see. Desperate, they started running, calling out for their friends and families. And yet they only succeeded in getting farther away from their village and deeper into the forest.
"Are you boys lost?" a voice said behind them. Startled, the two spun around and came face to face with a woman. She had black hair and wore a long green dress. Her eyes were dark and hooded, but her face was kind.
The oldest of the boys stepped forward. "We are," he said easily. "Can you show us the way home?"
The woman smiled. Anyone else would have noticed the cold gleam in her eyes, but the boys were too relieved to see another human. "Of course," she said. "Follow me."

by Lilliana Casper

They walked for a long time before the woman spoke up. "Are you perhaps hungry? I just remembered that we will pass close to my house on the way to your village. Surely your parents wouldn't mind if I fed you."
"Yes!" the younger boy cried out. "I'm starving!" His older brother hesitated. He thought he recalled his grandmother warning them of monsters that lived in the woods. But the strange woman smiled at him and he forgot what he was thinking.
It was only a few minutes until the group reached the woman's house, a small cottage with warm light pouring through the windows. Inside, a loaf of bread sat on the table with jam and cheese next to it. The boys tore into the food, both of them suddenly ravenous.
Their host sat across the table from them and watched. As the food slowly disappeared, they began to notice their surroundings. A painting on the wall showed a bleeding heart. A jar on the sideboard was filled with bones. The oldest boy looked closely at them and realized that they were finger bones.
He shoved up from the table. "Timothy, I think we should go. Mam and Da are surely worried."

"Can't we stay a little longer," his brother begged. The older boy looked and saw that his eyes were glazed over. He realized that his limbs were starting to feel like sponges. His eyes felt heavy. He fell back into his chair.
The woman stood up smoothly and walked around the table. She trailed her fingers through the boys' hair. "Timothy, hm?" she murmured. "Thank you, dear. You'll make wonderful servants."
Far away from the cabin, the villagers sent out parties to search for the missing boys. Come morning, they had found nothing. Weeks later a terrified, half-starved boy stumbled into the village begging for help. It was hours before the people talking to him realized that it was Jonah, the older of the two boys who had gone missing.
After much effort, the villagers managed to get a story out of him. Jonah and his brother were drugged and enchanted by a Hexer who lived in the woods and kidnapped children for servants. The woman could control Timothy more than Jonah thanks to Jonah telling her his name. He was freer than most of the others and pretended to be controlled by telling her a different name. Once he saw an opportunity, he ran for it.
The villagers went searching for the Hexer's cabin but found nothing. Jonah did not remember the way there because he had simply run through the forest until he found anything familiar. Timothy and the other children were never found, and from that day on all parents warned their children never to go into the forest at night and never to stray far from the village.

Historical Basis

It is unknown whether this was a true story or not, seeing as some versions change the names of the boys. However, the detail of the woman being a Hexer was certainly rooted in history, when other Gifteds began to distrust Hexers and caused their power to go extinct. This part may have been added to the story as Hexing went extinct, depending on when it was created.