Witchcraft

Witchcraft is a word used by the people of Styx to describe any magick or supernatural force which they do not understand but most of the time it specifically speaks of the beliefs, practices and magick wielded by the people indigenous to the region around Lake Aphon that inhabited the area of Styx prior to being driven into the Leshivoi Forest by the Sumraki-Ashaī.

The beastfolk and other races that inhabited these lands had a wide spectrum of beliefs but many revolved around the veneration of nature and the spirits of nature.

Whereas the people of Styx primarily worship Serkatha and the Saints the pre-Stygian civilizations which certainly endure within the Leshivoi Forest worshipped the minor and major spirits of the land as well as nature itself.
There are still those within Styx who follow these Eldest Ways, some of the Sumraki-Ashaī adopted the beliefs of the primary keepers of these lands and cling to them secretly but the society of Styx fears and demonizes them.

The term witchcraft is often derogatorily applied to magick associated with nature (like druidic magick) or magick influenced by a belief in anything that does not align with the Code of Serkatha as the Church of Serkatha teaches it.

Witchcraft in all forms is studied academically at the Academia Ars Magicka et Mundana but it is highly taboo as well as illegal according to the laws of Styx to practice it and the acccusation of witchcraft is often wielded by the Temple Parliament as a tool to persecute undesired actors and political opponents. In Umbraen Elvish the term for a practicioner of such magick is "Vedmak".

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