What is a familiar....
Lets begin with the explanation of what a witch's familiar is and how it applies to the lore in RWC. It is said that a familiar is commonly an animal shaped spirit or a minor demon. Unfortunately, within the lore of RWC, angels and demons are kept away by the barrier surrounding the pocket dimension in which Nautchwald resides. Due to this we will simply be following the notion that familiars are some kind of spirit that has bound itself to a witch. That leaves us with the question of, what exactly is a spirit? According to the dictionary (google), a spirit is described as the non physical part of a person. That it is the seat of emotions and character found in living creatures, but left behind after death. In short, it is the soul of any living being that can manifest in the physical realm for short periods of time. A spirit can only become a familiar when a witch or magician binds them in a contract and sacrifices a vessel for them. The nature in which the contract is formed varies depending on the situation.
Traditional and common vessels for spirits are cats, mice, ferrets, hares, bats, snakes, dogs, birds. There are also cases of much rarer vessels being used such as wasps, butterflies, pigs, sheep, and horses. There are even cases where more powerful spirits can be bound to human vessels rather than animals, but it is extremely rare. These familiars often have child-like personalities, usually closely identifying with mythical fairies, woodland nymphs, trolls, elves, butterflies, small birds and cats. Familiars are usually portrayed as mischievous and lively, rather than seriously threatening, similar to the imp of folklore and superstition. This form of familiar holds a great amount of purity, a type of energy and a metaphysical power that is directly connected to their charge. This form of familiar acts as a spiritual battery or amplifier for their charge, often to help them focus or harness their spiritual energies.These familiars are usually very closely connected to their charge, often never wanting to be apart. They sometimes find it physically painful or draining when separated.
What exactly does a familiar do? Well, it is believed that a familiar served a witch or magician as a domestic servant, companion, and spy. It is also said that it helps bewitch enemies and can help their mistress or master divine information. The "animal" was often believed to posses magic powers, such as the ability to change it's shape. Within RWC, our familiars will be able to change from both their spirit forms, to animal forms, to humanoid forms. They are also given the basic abilities of a familiar that had been previously stated, but in addition to that, our familiars will also be granted minor magical abilities similar to that of their witch / magician. The familiars can also act as a catalyst for magical energy, and can channel mana into their mistress / Master if they become depleted of mana. A familiar supposedly aided the witch in her magic in exchange for nourishment (blood) from sacrificial animals. Familiar spirits were usually kept in pots or baskets lined with sheep’s wool and fed a variety of things including, milk, bread, meat, and blood.
Traditional and common vessels for spirits are cats, mice, ferrets, hares, bats, snakes, dogs, birds. There are also cases of much rarer vessels being used such as wasps, butterflies, pigs, sheep, and horses. There are even cases where more powerful spirits can be bound to human vessels rather than animals, but it is extremely rare. These familiars often have child-like personalities, usually closely identifying with mythical fairies, woodland nymphs, trolls, elves, butterflies, small birds and cats. Familiars are usually portrayed as mischievous and lively, rather than seriously threatening, similar to the imp of folklore and superstition. This form of familiar holds a great amount of purity, a type of energy and a metaphysical power that is directly connected to their charge. This form of familiar acts as a spiritual battery or amplifier for their charge, often to help them focus or harness their spiritual energies.These familiars are usually very closely connected to their charge, often never wanting to be apart. They sometimes find it physically painful or draining when separated.
What exactly does a familiar do? Well, it is believed that a familiar served a witch or magician as a domestic servant, companion, and spy. It is also said that it helps bewitch enemies and can help their mistress or master divine information. The "animal" was often believed to posses magic powers, such as the ability to change it's shape. Within RWC, our familiars will be able to change from both their spirit forms, to animal forms, to humanoid forms. They are also given the basic abilities of a familiar that had been previously stated, but in addition to that, our familiars will also be granted minor magical abilities similar to that of their witch / magician. The familiars can also act as a catalyst for magical energy, and can channel mana into their mistress / Master if they become depleted of mana. A familiar supposedly aided the witch in her magic in exchange for nourishment (blood) from sacrificial animals. Familiar spirits were usually kept in pots or baskets lined with sheep’s wool and fed a variety of things including, milk, bread, meat, and blood.
Meeting the Familiar....
In the British accounts from the Early Modern period at least, there were three main types of encounter narrative related to how a witch or cunning person first met their familiar. The first of these was that the spirit spontaneously appeared in front of the individual while they were going about their daily activities, either in their home or outdoors somewhere. Various examples for this are attested in the sources of the time, for instance, Joan Prentice from Essex, England, gave an account when she was interrogated for witchcraft in 1589 claiming that she was "alone in her chamber, and sitting upon a low stool preparing herself to bedward" when her familiar first appeared to her, while the Cornish cunning-woman Anne Jeffries related in 1645 that hers first appeared to her when she was "knitting in an arbour in our garden".[14]
The second manner in which the familiar spirit commonly appeared to magical practitioners in Britain was that they would be given to a person by a pre-existing individual, who was sometimes a family member and at other times a more powerful spirit. For instance, the alleged witch Margaret Ley from Liverpool claimed, in 1667, that she had been given her familiar spirit by her mother when she died, while the Leicestershire cunning-woman Joan Willimot related, in 1618, that a mysterious figure whom she only referred to as her "master", "willed her to open her mouth and he would blow into her a fairy which should do her good. And that she open her mouth, and that presently after blowing, there came out of her mouth a spirit which stood upon the ground in the shape and form of a woman."[15]
In a number of accounts, the cunning person or witch was experiencing difficulty prior to the appearance of the familiar, who offered to aid them. As historian Emma Wilby noted, "their problems… were primarily rooted in the struggle for physical survival - the lack of food or money, bereavement, sickness, loss of livelihood and so on", and the familiar offered them a way out of this by giving them magical powers.
In some cases, the magical practitioner then made an agreement or entered a pact with their familiar spirit. The length of time that the witch or cunning person worked with their familiar spirit varied between a few weeks through to a number of decades.[17] In most cases, the magical practitioner would conjure their familiar spirit when they needed their assistance, although there are many different ways that they did this: the Essex witch Joan Cunny claimed, in 1589, that she had to kneel down within a circle and pray to Satan for her familiar to appear while the Wiltshire cunning woman Anne Bodenham described, in 1653, that she conjured her familiars by reading books. In some rarer cases there were accounts where the familiars would appear at times when they were unwanted and not called upon, for instance the Huntingdonshire witch Elizabeth Chandler noted, in 1646, that she could not control when her two familiars, named Beelzebub and Trullibub, appeared to her, and had prayed for a god to "deliver her therefrom"
The second manner in which the familiar spirit commonly appeared to magical practitioners in Britain was that they would be given to a person by a pre-existing individual, who was sometimes a family member and at other times a more powerful spirit. For instance, the alleged witch Margaret Ley from Liverpool claimed, in 1667, that she had been given her familiar spirit by her mother when she died, while the Leicestershire cunning-woman Joan Willimot related, in 1618, that a mysterious figure whom she only referred to as her "master", "willed her to open her mouth and he would blow into her a fairy which should do her good. And that she open her mouth, and that presently after blowing, there came out of her mouth a spirit which stood upon the ground in the shape and form of a woman."[15]
In a number of accounts, the cunning person or witch was experiencing difficulty prior to the appearance of the familiar, who offered to aid them. As historian Emma Wilby noted, "their problems… were primarily rooted in the struggle for physical survival - the lack of food or money, bereavement, sickness, loss of livelihood and so on", and the familiar offered them a way out of this by giving them magical powers.
In some cases, the magical practitioner then made an agreement or entered a pact with their familiar spirit. The length of time that the witch or cunning person worked with their familiar spirit varied between a few weeks through to a number of decades.[17] In most cases, the magical practitioner would conjure their familiar spirit when they needed their assistance, although there are many different ways that they did this: the Essex witch Joan Cunny claimed, in 1589, that she had to kneel down within a circle and pray to Satan for her familiar to appear while the Wiltshire cunning woman Anne Bodenham described, in 1653, that she conjured her familiars by reading books. In some rarer cases there were accounts where the familiars would appear at times when they were unwanted and not called upon, for instance the Huntingdonshire witch Elizabeth Chandler noted, in 1646, that she could not control when her two familiars, named Beelzebub and Trullibub, appeared to her, and had prayed for a god to "deliver her therefrom"
Credits....
http://www.witchcraftandwitches.com/terms_familiar.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Familiar_spirit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Familiar_spirit