Between is a neo-Appalachian horror-mystery about survival, secrecy, and the thin line between myth and memory. The town’s magic runs deep—but it’s watching who you let in.“We don’t call this magic or witchcraft. This is just what we do because our momma and her momma before all the way back to before we can remember - we just do what’s right by our neighbor and by our land.”- Mountain Magic
"She - like her mothers - knew the ways of the stars in the sky, the plants in the ground, and the song of the earth. And like her mothers, she could make a poultice that could close a wound, a draught that would ease your head, and she could make sure more babies made it into this world safe and whole than any physician could."- Old Gods of Appalachia
Witches in the this world are not born of covens or grimoires alone — they are born of blood and belonging. Some come from long-rooted families who pass their craft down through worn journals (called Bibles in the South) and whispered rites; others break from those lines to carve their own way, carrying only fragments of what came before. They drift into Between from every corner of the map — from city towers, coastal salt towns, distant farmlands, and foreign soil — drawn by something old that hums beneath the Mountain’s skin.
Wherever they come from, every witch carries a thread of that same current — the living weave that binds soul to soil, dream to daylight. They may work divination, element, bone, or rot, but all share the same inheritance: the gift and burden of touching reality itself. They know the weight of balance — that to create, one must offer; to heal, one must open; to wield, one must listen. No matter their origin or art, witches are united by that rhythm between taking and giving, between the world and the self. In Between, it is not where a witch is from that defines them — it is what they're willing to trade to keep their magic true.
A witch’s power comes from their Root — the living current that shapes how their magic moves through the world — and their Path, the way they reach beyond it. No two witches in Between work the same way. A storm witch may coax lightning from a clear sky while a hearth witch charms bread to bloom with luck. Yet all are marked by the same unspoken law: what you take, you must give back. Their costs are not punishment, but proof — a reminder that magic is part of the cycle, not above it.
Witches of Between and those that anchor here mend what the town forgets. They keep the land fed with offerings and prayer, and they speak to the quiet places when no one else remembers how. Some serve gods, some serve the dead, some serve only the stillness between heartbeats — but all are bound to the hum of the hills, the whispers in the fog, and the deep, breathing dark that remembers every name ever spoken here.
Witches in Between are shaped by four living aspects that reveal how their magic breathes, moves, and settles into the world. A witch’s Pathway is the method — the way their will touches the weave and brings their craft to life. Their Root is the source, the birthright current that hums in their marrow and shapes how their power manifests. Cost is the echo — the price that marks their body or spirit, shaping how they carry themselves through the years. And the Marking is what the world sees when that magic rises: the color of the air around them, the flicker of light on their skin, the sound that follows a spell released.
Together, these aspects define not only what a witch can do, but who they are. Within these pages lie four Paths, ten Roots, and living examples of Costs and Markings to choose from. Mix, match, and weave them together until your witch feels real — a being of power, flaw, and grace. When you’ve chosen, write a short blurb that binds them as one, showing how your witch’s craft, price, and presence move through the fabric of Between.
Together, these aspects define not only what a witch can do, but who they are. Within these pages lie four Paths, ten Roots, and living examples of Costs and Markings to choose from. Mix, match, and weave them together until your witch feels real — a being of power, flaw, and grace. When you’ve chosen, write a short blurb that binds them as one, showing how your witch’s craft, price, and presence move through the fabric of Between.
CONJURATION
Theme: Creation, manifestation, thought made tangible.
Nature: The Weaver imagines, then stitches their will into the world.
Manifestation: Threads of luminous color, quicksilver glow, or tiny moving sigils that flicker when their mind sharpens (only seen by them--this is how they see the intangible others cannot see and make it tangible)
Gift Examples:
Create minor objects or motes of light.
Materializing objects out of thin air that they've practiced creating.
OOC:
Conjuration is a time sensitive skill. Every new creation takes time to build, often they don't come together quickly. Once you've got the spell/ward/etc created the witch can manifest it easily. A new creation needs to be shown in it's stages of creation. Those that use this path often will have an easier time in creating new items/spells/etc.
TRANSFERENCE
Theme: Exchange, empathy, communion.
Nature: The Giver moves life and emotion between things. They can pour love into soil or draw sorrow from flesh; their power thrives in contact. Manifestation: Warmth blooming in the air, a tremor like a held breath before tears.
Gift Examples:
OOC:Absorb pain from another.
Share emotions between people as a way to help someone see a different perspective.
Share energy, luck, or fortitude across a link.
This path can be exhausting for those that fight it. Turning one's emotions off or to ignore the threads of energy can be volatile for the witch, but those that tend this path and learn its bends become true alchemists. Not to turn matter into gold but to bring about understanding of self (or in a more negative way, to destroy someone on a psychological and emotional level).
PERCEPTION
Theme: Revelation, vision, the unveiling of truth.
Nature: The Seer hears echoes, sees memory, dreams true. They live between the world and its reflection.
Manifestation: Mirrors fog, eyes glimmer pale, or voices speak from nowhere.
Gift Examples:
OOC:Read the emotional imprint of an object or place.
Pierce illusions and glamours.
Dreamwalk, glimpsing futures or memories.
This path can cause madness in those that dabble and focus solely on their root. Those that find synergy will be able to part through the linear ideology and view not just the flow of time but the collapse of worlds and the birth of others. Their reality is that reality is multidimensional and anything is possible.
TELEKINESIS
Theme: Motion, flow, the pull between matter and will.
Nature: The Mover bends distance and weight like silk. Objects lift, drift, or crash by their command; they feel every shift like muscle memory.
Manifestation: Wind rises, shadows stretch, or air hums low as the unseen hand passes.
Gift Examples:
OOC:Draw items to their palm or push them away.
Float themselves short distances.
Disarm or protect with kinetic bursts.
On the surface this path is the flashiest and though some skills are easier to learn than others (push and pull), it takes years of practice to get to certain levels. A mental fortitude is necessary to levitate multiple items or even oneself. But those that concentrate and practice can get to the point of being able to move object they only see in their mind's eye.
Domains one can pick (or make one up that's fitting).
Hearth — warmth, food, domestic blessing, boundaries
Grave — bones, ancestors, lingering spirits
Storm — wind, rain, thunder, tempests
Thread — weaving, knots, fate, precision craft
Green — plants, thorns, vines, growth and decay
Grave — bones, ancestors, lingering spirits
Storm — wind, rain, thunder, tempests
Thread — weaving, knots, fate, precision craft
Green — plants, thorns, vines, growth and decay
Ash — flame, smoke, destruction and renewal
River — water, moon cycles, cleansing and reflection
Hollow — thresholds, crossroads, liminal spaces
Song — voice, music, spoken charm, story
Beast — kinship with animals, omen, instinct
River — water, moon cycles, cleansing and reflection
Hollow — thresholds, crossroads, liminal spaces
Song — voice, music, spoken charm, story
Beast — kinship with animals, omen, instinct
Costs help form a witch as it will impact their daily lives.
Bloodletting — a cut, a drop, or more for greater spells
Exhaustion — sleepless nights, trembling hands, aching bones
Memory — fragments of dreams, names, or days slip away
Offerings — food, crafted goods, or personal treasures must be given up
Isolation — each working pushes you further from others
Exhaustion — sleepless nights, trembling hands, aching bones
Memory — fragments of dreams, names, or days slip away
Offerings — food, crafted goods, or personal treasures must be given up
Isolation — each working pushes you further from others
Rot — your body bruises, blackens, or decays prematurely
Debt — each spell owes something to spirits or fae
Voice — your words fray, falter, or vanish for a time
Shadow — your presence feels heavy, uncanny, feared
Time — spells steal hours or days from your life
Debt — each spell owes something to spirits or fae
Voice — your words fray, falter, or vanish for a time
Shadow — your presence feels heavy, uncanny, feared
Time — spells steal hours or days from your life
Offering is something that is continuous and connects the Witch to either Gods, land, or a central source of their power.
Debt tends to be almost contractual with an entity of some sort (like The Stag for example)—they'll give you a well of power to draw from and decide when and what you owe them at their discretion.
Examples of thematic / atmospheric show of magic.
Weather Shift — air chills, humidity grows, ozone hangs thick
Flame/Smoke — embers spark, smoke curls unnaturally
Whispers — unseen voices echo faintly
Bloom — plants sprout, flowers open, herbs stir
Blood Sign — nosebleed, red tears, or dripping fingertips
Flame/Smoke — embers spark, smoke curls unnaturally
Whispers — unseen voices echo faintly
Bloom — plants sprout, flowers open, herbs stir
Blood Sign — nosebleed, red tears, or dripping fingertips
Echo — your voice doubles, layered with others
Shadowplay — your silhouette twists, splits, or glows
Light & Spark — eyes glint, sparks crackle from skin
Silence — sound dims, the world holds its breath
Animal Sign — wings flutter, wolves howl, insects stir
Shadowplay — your silhouette twists, splits, or glows
Light & Spark — eyes glint, sparks crackle from skin
Silence — sound dims, the world holds its breath
Animal Sign — wings flutter, wolves howl, insects stir
Keeper of Briar & Bramble
Pathway: Seer's Pathway (Perception)
Root: Green | plants, thorns, vines, roots that entangle, protect, and ensnare)
Cost: Rot | their flesh bruises, fingertips blacken, or wounds linger as the thorns take their toll
Marking: Bloom | thorny vines creep across the ground or sap beads like blood
Expression: Mentally drawing on specifically thorny vines, bramble, and the harsher plants in the area they are able to defends and ensnares. Their protection is brutal—sharp, tangled, and slow-healing—but effective. The rot always starts in their fingers, darkening with necrosis, slow building bruises blotch them and heal slowly once their magic is spent. Time and salt baths aid in recovery.
Example Magic:
- Brambleheart Ward:
A thorned sigil woven from rose stems, ash, and blood. It anchors at thresholds, protecting the space from ill intent — every lie or curse cast near it tangles itself in invisible vines until it withers.
- Kiss of the Briar:
A spell whispered over a mirror shard or blade. When drawn across skin (even lightly), it seals wounds with living thorn magic — a reminder that every healing carries its scar.
- Crown of Quiet Thorns:
A ritual performed beneath a waning moon. The witch places a ring of brambles around their circle and breathes their fury into it. The next time they are wronged, the offender dreams of walking barefoot through thorns until they make amends.
- The Still Grove Charm
A talisman of dried hawthorn berries and black thread that hums faintly when danger nears. It keeps the wearer calm and grounded even as chaos tries to take root around them.
Keeper of Small Flames
Pathway: Giver's Path (Transference)
Root: Ash | fire, smoke, and the ritual of flame; burning away corruption, guiding the lost
Cost: Bloodletting | each flame must be fed—whether a prick to the finger, or a deeper wound for stronger workings
Marking: Light & Spark | sparks dance in the air and the witch’s eyes glow like embers
Expression: This witch burn paths through darkness. Their magic is practical—illumination, guidance, purification—but always hungry.
Example Magic:
- Candle of Shared Warmth
A talisman gifted to a loved one — wax blended from the witch’s own melted candle. When lit, it fills the room with their scent and aura, providing comfort and protection even from miles away.
- Breath of the Lantern
A small charm or blessing given to those traveling in darkness (literal or emotional). The witch cups their hands, breathes light into the air, and a faint ember follows the recipient home, warding off despair for three nights.
- Hearthlight Benediction
A ritual candle dressed with honey, rosemary, and a drop of the witch’s own blood. When lit for another, it burns with a soft gold flame that steadies grief and quiets restless hearts — but the witch must feed the flame their blood as the candle shortens.
Messenger of Omen
Pathway: Mover's Pathway (Telekinesis)
Root: Beast | power rooted in birds, scavengers and wild instincts, especially omens of disaster
Cost: Isolation | the more magic they work, the less others trust them; they are marked as uncanny, othered, and watched
Marking: Animal Sign | an audible flutter of wings often with a random feather falling within the witch's reach
Expression: She's a liminal watchers, feared for her foresight. Their companionship with birds grants them messages, but their neighbors keep distance.
Example Magic:
- Murder’s Whisper
A spell of carried secrets. The witch sends a word, name, or thought into a crow’s shadow; the message flies where it’s meant to go, reaching the intended soul as a whisper on the wind.
- Featherfall Charm
A small talisman of crow feathers and hematite. When invoked, it slows a fall or softens a blow — perfect for a witch caught between heights or trouble. The charm often cracks after use, requiring a new feather offering.
- Wingbind Knot
A protective ward woven from twine, ash, and feathers. When hung above a threshold, it keeps away those who bring ill intent — their steps falter, their words choke, their breath catches, as if the air itself won’t carry them inside.