Wayworn Wiki

Witches and Covens

Need to diagnose a curse? Are you looking for ingredients to brew a potion? Do you want to learn for yourself the magical secrets Obojima keeps hidden from those who don’t know where to look? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, you’re likely seeking a witch. Witches are found all over the island. They are found operating out of settlements as resident magic specialists or in wilderness dwellings and strongholds where they develop their craft away from the prying eyes of jealous rivals.

Most witches are linked to a coven—a group of witches sworn to aid the other members and share their arcane secrets with each other. Other witches remain solitary, preferring to stay out of inter-coven feuds. That doesn’t mean that covens won’t try to recruit them, or at least exert influence over them.

Covens are always on the lookout for apprentices worthy of their unique tradition of magic. Individual witches, with the right kind of convincing, might agree to take on an apprentice as well.

If you've been approached by, or know where, a Witch or Coven may be - please contact your nearest AHA Headquarters with information for a sizable reward!

AHA Guild

Much of the Obojima’s past may be unknown, but the guild of archaeologists, historians, and archivists known as AHA believe it is not unknowable. From their observatory headquarters in the Coastal Highlands, AHA oversees a collection of field research teams scattered throughout the island at no less than a dozen ruins and excavation sites.

AHA is directed by a trio of academics—one drawn from each of the guild’s three traditions. Collectively, they are known as the Asloh. The trio is made up of:

Sir Drexel of Yourn Old Speak Translation
Aryn Sparrowhawk Italic text.

The nature of AHA’s work takes its research teams to some of the most perilous and wild parts of the island, so they are always in need of intrepid research assistants and armed escorts.

Courier Brigade

“Deliverance through delivery.” This is the code of the Courier Brigade, an order of postal knights devoted to the safe delivery of parcels all across Obojima, no matter how dangerous the trip or remote the destination. Most of the time, couriers deliver packages, but they also serve as escorts for travelers. Most couriers prefer large flightless birds as mounts, though this is not a requirement of the brigade’s regulations.

Most settlements have parcel boxes that fall under the jurisdiction of a courier, and the larger towns have brigade halls, where squads of couriers reside.

The brigade also maintains a string of forts that protect important crossroads, including the formidable Fort Harglo in the Gale Fields. Here, Postmaster General Escalante oversees the brigade’s operations and personally leads a small group of elite knights who are dispatched to relieve imperiled couriers.

Mariners’ Guild

Thirty years ago, enthusiasts of the world beneath the waves formed the Mariners’ Guild to support submarine exploration. Under the leadership of its founder, Captain Clintock, the guild established four lodges—one at each of the islands’ cardinal directions. These lodges serve as both home and workshop for the divers of the guild, each equipped with a small boatyard and launch, where members can test their latest seagoing vessels.

After an initial boom in popularity, the guild’s membership has diminished over the decades. Of the four lodges, only the north and south ones remain in use, with Captain Clintock’s two daughters, Holly and Paloma, operating out of them respectively.

Society of Young Stewards

Youths all across Obojima are members of their local chapter of the Society of Young Stewards, an organization dedicated to teaching stewardship of nature and general good citizenship. Young stewards earn special badges that mark particular achievements or masteries, such as whittling, making campfires, or demonstrating the best way to calm an angry hill dragon.

Chapter leaders hold ceremonies to honor exceptional service, acts of kindness, and other achievements that exemplify what it means to be a steward. As the saying goes, “Once a steward, always a steward.” Stewards have all kinds of ways that they help the community and the island, and there’s been more than one example of a steward finding an ingenious way to save the harvest, cross a flooded river, or help a lost flock of goats get back to the safety of their barn. The wilderness is a steward’s second home. That means it’s not uncommon for steward camping trips to become imperiled by one of the many dangers the island has to offer. Howlers might descend on a camp, or the stewards might wake to find themselves in the middle of the Wandering Forest. In such cases, adventurers often muster to come to their rescue.

Sword Schools

Obojima boasts a proud tradition of swordplay—several, actually. Each sword tradition has two masters of equal rank who oversee a school and take on worthy pupils to share the secrets of their craft.

Students who train at a sword school earn the opportunity to train alongside, and eventually test their skills against, one of the masters in a duel. These tests are most commonly first to touch, where the combatants use blunted blades to see who can land a blow first. The reward for scoring a touch against a master is something truly special—the opportunity to learn that school’s signature master technique.

The schools are named after the founding masters. Here is a list of the current schools and their locations.

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