Witches of the Woods

The witches of the woods are a group of magic users that live in the dark forest southwest of Autara. They are mainly female and most if not all of their members are magic users. They are seen as very wild and terrifying to the people of the cities as they often scare and play pranks on travelers as well as sometimes kidnapping people and children.
The witches are seen by outsiders as being made up of one unified body, but in actuality, they are made up of numerous loose alliances between different villages. Each village has a head witch, an elder normally, that makes most executive decisions.
Most witches are female, this is due to any male children born to the witches being abandoned. Most witches simply abandoned the male children near busy roads of nearby villages so the child will be found.
The witches live in domed huts made of bark and branches over a wooden frame. They house multiple people at a time and have a central hearth. The witches live in small villages scattered around the dark forest and gather their food via hunting and gathering.
Part of the reason the witches are seen as so strange, besides their very isolated existence, is the way they dress. They wear clothing made from leather, hide, and handwoven fabric; and decorate their clothing with homemade beads, feathers, fringe, and pigments. They also wear clothing styles quite different from the neighboring Autarans, with clothing designed for practicality in the woods so clothing doesn’t get snagged on branches or thorns; no long flowy clothing for the witches. They also wear soft moccasins like shoes or simply go barefoot.

Relationship with Magic

All the members are magic users, or can at least do some basic magic, and have developed their magic cores. They are not as strict on the rules of magic as the people of Artura are, they cast both light and dark magic and may not have qualms about dark curses to the point where some may have dark marks from misuse of magic.
Magic is highly valued by the witches and is seen as the focus of their lifestyle. They see magic as being their nature and as such don’t see any magic as “evil” only gray, and if one needs to curse someone then it must be necessary.

Current Leaders
The Mother Witch

Ethnic Phenotypes

The witches look extremely similar to their Autaran neighbors, with fair skin and brown hair being extremely common. The main difference between the two groups is that the witches tend to have green, yellow, or orange eyes.
Due to their xenophobic ways, the witches lack a lot of diversity and physical diversity.