Monday, April 28, 2014

A to Z of Witches. X

X is for Xothia

The Xothia is a the witch of the dwarves.  Back when 3.0 D&D came out a change in the rules opened all classes to all races. That left me with an interesting problems.  I had half-elf, half-orc, and even goblin witches were like, but never considered dwarves, halfling or gnome witches would be like.
I was sitting in a research meeting at work on day, a student was presenting but I didn't need to pay attention. So I set down and wrote these words "for as long as anyone can remember Roryn was the Xothia of the Rock".

The Xothia is the witch of the dwarven people.  Dwarves are depicted as lawful, dour and non-magical.  The Xothia was a chaotic, bright and very magical creature.  In other words, more elf-like.  From this point the ideas just flowed.

I decided that the worst things that can happen to any dwarf are removal from clan and family and shaving off their beard.  The xothia deals with both of these as part of her life.  First when a dwarf learns she is a xothia she moves away from her home.  She is still a part of the community, but she is also apart.
How does a dwarf, male or female, learn they are a witch?  They never grow a beard.
In my world dwarves, male and female, grow beards and these beards are a measure of their standing int he clan.  For dwarves a fully beard indicates virility and overall health. A xothia never grows a beard.  For a male this is devastating; in fact the best way to shame or dishonor a dwarf is to remove his beard.  For a dwarven woman lack of a beard means she would not be able to have children.  It's not true, but it is a belief.

She typically will wear long, brightly colored dresses. Minimal gold jewelry (it reminds them too much of the home they left).  Their homes are bright lit with lanterns that cast light in multiple colors.

The Rock is the home of the Xothia.  Typically 6 to 7 witches will live at the Rock, all under the direction of The Xothia, the oldest witch of the group. In my world the current Xothia is Roryn.
I talked about her when the first Hobbit movie came out.

Over the years I have really gotten to like the xothia.  Dwarves are an interesting race, so the witches of the dwarves should be as equally interesting.   I have not come up with any other xothia other than Roryn, but her story is interesting and I think there is more to tell about her.




Supernatural AtoZ

6 comments:

Sophie Duncan said...

That's a tough back story. The Xothia must be a resilient personality.
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
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Mina Burrows said...

Great post for X. It's kind of sad to have them somewhat removed from their clans.

A Tarkabarka Hölgy said...

Fun concept! :) Reminds me a little of the female dwarf storyline in the Pratchett books. I like it :)

@TarkabarkaHolgy from
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Jolie du Pre said...

I always learn interesting things at this blog. Never heard of Xothia.

Damaria Senne said...

i sounds like the xothia have a very difficult life.

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Sounds fascinating - I've never really thought about dwarves, they aren't a race that has ever begged me to write about them. You make them sound incredibly interesting, however.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings - AtoZ (Vampires)
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