Birne

Formerly agriculturally prosperous, Birne is a small and hard-off community in Malosia. It holds a terrible secret, unknown to most of the village's people save for those of Birne's founding families. The earliest families of Birne were witches. Taught by the Laginate Cabal on how to appease the Fair Folk of Cineris Forest, the founding families entered an agreement with the Fair Folk of the forest, making regular sacrifices in return for agricultural prosperity. The families lived in (and continue to live in) Birne for many generations, as witches in each generation continued to make sacrifices. At first, animal and other minor sacrifices pleased the spirits of the forest, whom only occasionally demanded human sacrifices. However, over the centuries lesser sacrifices have begun to lose their power, and humans were required sacrifice more and more often. The witches have been unable to keep up with the demand of the woodland spirits, therefore causing Birne's agricultural commodities to fail.