Witches and witch-hunters

Morgan_R said:

So, my current WIP involves a young person who becomes an apprentice to a witch, who's loosely based on Baba Yaga. It's interactive fiction, so there's going to be a number of ways this can play out. But I'm thinking that the MC's father is not pleased to have his child lured or kidnapped to serve this witch, and sends some sort of witch-hunter(s) after them. I'm trying to figure out exactly who these witch-hunters are. The obvious angle would be to make them be from some religious order, but... perhaps too obvious. Mercenaries? A rival witch? I'm just trying to figure out what would be the most interesting choice, given that you can choose to either side with them or help the witch fend them off. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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Historically religious authorities were quite wary of witches. For example, after some internal studies in the early 17th century, the Inquisition recommended that any reports of witches be answered by a prohibition about discussing witches in the region. On the other hand, professional witch hunters (mercenaries) in the exact same period could arrive in a small town in Germany and burn 20% of the entire population in a few months. Generally the mercenaries were funded by the town council and used extreme torture and generally the witch craze in a particular town would end after a few of the town council were burned alive. Then the mercenaries would move to the next town.

Since I'm writing about witches at the moment, I will only remark that, for my money, witches would be too sneaky to sign up to hunt a witch and in any case they can get money by other means.

I'll offer a further point -- in Baba Yaga, the witch's "life" is hidden in an egg somewhere (IIRC) so in effect the witch is some kind of undead being (ie life and soul not in body and so not vulnerable). The witch might be hunted by some other kind of otherworldly undead being or other supernatural creature so as to aquire some kind of power. If the MC's father is some sort of monster with underworld connections, he might be able to get the connections necessary to have the witch hunted.

I love Baba Yaga!

For standard witches, I would expect mercenaries. Possibly the authorities could be called in. For Baba Yaga, a magical opponent would be ideal. With each choice I can see how the knife might cut both ways. Even the religious option could end with the religious authorities wanting to burn the daughter as well.

I have a book on my wish list that you might find helpful. Since I haven't picked up a copy yet, I can't vouch for how helpful it might be to you. Baba Yaga: The Ambiguous Mother and Witch of Russian Folklore

Also, a super fun link is Taisia Kitaiskaia's Ask Baba Yaga column, which is a Baba Yaga version of Dear Abbey.

Since I assume Hansel and Gretel are unavailable, I'd probably also suggest some kind of mercenary or soldier-of-fortune. It was neither religious figures nor other vampires who did a lot of the vampire hunting in literature. I don't see why you can't have something similar for witches.

The simplest answer is to have a religious order dedicated to hunting down witches. Like a fantasy version of the Jesuits or Templars.

Must they be professional witch-hunters? Having amateurs or interested third parties from the town try to save the girl would present some opportunities for conflict and failure and raising the stakes. Maybe local hunters, unemployed young men looking for money or to prove their manhood, the girl's relatives, a love interest, the girl's friends…

If its set during the time of Ivan the terrible the Oprichniki would make good candidates. The Oprichnina was Ivan's secret police force. The members dressed and behaved like monks, but they were cold blooded killers. They mostly hunted down political enemies, but I'm sure they wouldnt have had much love for heretics either.

That's interesting. It would be cool to have a band of mercenaries going after the witch. That way it wouldn't be religious and it would add a little mystery and action to the story. Who are these guys? It would be interesting to play with.