There are plenty of men and women in Dracula’s America who claim to be defending the Republic, protecting the innocent or carrying out some higher purpose, although such claims often become rather less convincing when examined closely. The three women at the heart of this Salem coven make few declarations about righteousness, preferring instead to judge themselves by what they do and by the people they choose to protect. They understand that witchcraft is neither harmless nor easily controlled, but they also know that supernatural power is already being used throughout America by considerably less scrupulous hands.
Within the Sisterhood they have assumed the traditional places of Crone, Mother and Maiden, representing different stages of life as well as different approaches to witchcraft. Each possesses only one principal magical ability when the coven first enters the struggle, but their importance cannot be measured simply by counting their powers. The traditions of Salem emphasise cooperation between the three witches, making the relationship between them every bit as important as the individual abilities they bring to the Sisterhood.
The Crone: Prudence Blackwood
Prudence Blackwood claims a family connection with Salem that reaches back to the persecutions of the seventeenth century, although precisely where family history ends and Prudence’s own memories begin has never been entirely clear. The Blackwood name can supposedly be traced through generations of women who were accused, questioned or quietly driven from their communities whenever illness, crop failure or some other unexplained misfortune required a convenient culprit. Prudence rarely discusses those stories, but her knowledge of the old traditions and her instinctive distrust of anyone demanding that witches reveal themselves suggest that she has learned their lessons particularly well.
Her long experience has convinced her that survival depends upon restraint rather than spectacular demonstrations of supernatural power. Witches who advertise what they can do eventually attract enemies, while those who understand when to remain silent often live long enough to pass their knowledge to another generation. Prudence consequently regards Abigail’s enthusiasm for experimentation with considerable concern, although beneath her constant criticism lies a determination that the youngest member of the coven will not repeat mistakes that Prudence has already seen destroy others.
The power associated with Prudence is Bless, which reflects her instinct to protect rather than destroy. Her magic is expressed through old words, gestures and rituals intended to strengthen those under her care and turn misfortune away from them. Whether these practices have any connection with conventional religion is something Prudence refuses to discuss, and she appears quite content to allow observers to reach their own conclusions about the source of her protection.
As Crone she carries the accumulated experience of the coven and accepts responsibility for preserving knowledge that has survived persecution, migration and generations of secrecy. Prudence knows that witches have enemies, but she also understands that uncontrolled magical ambition can be every bit as dangerous as the people hunting them. She therefore sees her task as protecting the other two women without preventing them from becoming what they must eventually become, a distinction that becomes increasingly difficult whenever Abigail decides to investigate something that Prudence believes should have remained undisturbed.
The Mother: Rebecca Crowe
Rebecca Crowe discovered her abilities among communities where professional medical help was often distant and expensive, leaving families dependent upon whatever practical knowledge could be found locally. She learned the ordinary skills of treating wounds, preparing herbal remedies and caring for the sick before gradually discovering that she could sometimes achieve results that neither medicine nor chance could satisfactorily explain. Injuries that should have remained dangerous began to mend beneath her hands, while patients expected to deteriorate occasionally recovered with a speed that attracted both gratitude and unwanted attention.
Experience soon taught Rebecca to conceal the supernatural element of her work behind more conventional explanations. A recovery could be attributed to a strong constitution, a carefully prepared remedy or providence, and she saw little reason to correct anyone who preferred one of those explanations. The important matter was that somebody who might otherwise have died was still alive, while avoiding accusations of witchcraft allowed Rebecca to continue helping the next person who came to her door.
Her particular gift is represented by Faith Healing, a form of magic centred upon preserving life and restoring those who have been injured. Rebecca does not spend much time attempting to determine whether her ability should properly be described as religious faith, witchcraft or some combination of the two, because such distinctions matter considerably less to her than the consequences of refusing to use it. She believes that possessing the means to save someone creates a responsibility to make the attempt whenever circumstances permit.
This conviction sometimes brings her into disagreement with Prudence, whose instinct is always to consider the survival of the entire coven before risking exposure for an individual. Rebecca accepts the logic but does not always accept the conclusion, making her an important counterweight to the Crone’s caution. She also provides a restraining influence upon Abigail, although her approach relies more upon persuasion than prohibition and consequently has a rather better chance of being heard.
The Maiden: Abigail Hawthorne
Abigail Hawthorne is the youngest member of the Crimson Coven of Salem, a quiet girl who seems strangely out of place among the gunfighters, restless dead and supernatural horrors of Dracula’s America. She is rarely seen without Patience, an old cloth doll carried beneath one arm, its faded dress carefully repaired and its face worn almost smooth by years of handling. Abigail frequently whispers to Patience and occasionally pauses as though listening for a reply, a habit that neither of the older witches finds particularly remarkable and which Elias Ward has learned not to question.
The Hawthorne family had maintained a connection with the old traditions of Salem for generations, although Abigail’s mother hoped that whatever strange inheritance remained within the family had finally disappeared. Those hopes ended when Abigail began speaking to unseen companions, predicting the arrival of visitors and leaving food beside her bed for friends whom nobody else could see. Patience appeared during this period, although nobody could remember buying the doll or giving it to Abigail, who explained only that Patience had been lonely and had come looking for her. Several attempts to dispose of the doll ended with it inexplicably returning, after which the family wisely decided to leave matters alone.
Abigail’s Arcane Power is Summon, although she regards the entities answering her call as friends rather than creatures drawn from somewhere beyond the ordinary world. Patience appears to provide a focus for this ability, and when Abigail whispers to the doll the boundary separating the two worlds seems to weaken sufficiently for something on the other side to hear her. The older witches understand that such magic carries dangers that Abigail does not yet fully appreciate and carefully watch over the Maiden whenever she uses her gift.
Her importance to the Crimson Coven extends beyond her own supernatural ability, because Abigail’s presence strengthens the magic of the other witches when they remain close to her. The Mother finds her own power becoming more effective, while the Crone can draw more deeply upon her abilities, making the young Maiden an essential part of the bond that transforms three individual witches into a true Coven. Abigail has little interest in understanding why this happens and simply insists that magic works better when her Sisters are together.
Despite her unsettling abilities, Abigail remains a young girl who worries about Patience’s dress becoming dirty and has developed an affectionate relationship with Elias, whose determination to protect her is considerably stronger than his ability to understand her. On the battlefield she presents an equally strange sight, standing amid the gun smoke in the deep crimson of her Coven with the old doll clutched against her chest, quietly whispering into its ear as something beyond the ordinary world begins to listen.
Her first encounters with the supernatural came through fleeting shapes, unexplained sounds and the uncomfortable impression that something beyond the visible world had become aware of her presence. Instead of retreating from these experiences, Abigail attempted to understand them and eventually discovered that whatever existed beyond the boundaries of ordinary perception could sometimes be encouraged to cross them. This discovery fascinated Abigail and horrified Prudence in approximately equal measure.
Despite her curiosity, Abigail is not interested in releasing horrors simply to discover what they might do. She regards the unseen world as something that can eventually be understood rather than something humanity must permanently fear, although her confidence occasionally exceeds her experience. When the coven is threatened, however, the ability to bring an unexpected supernatural ally into the struggle can make Abigail particularly dangerous, especially to opponents who have made the mistake of assuming that youth means weakness.
The Coven
When the three women first take to the field, their magical abilities are relatively focused. Prudence possesses Bless, Rebecca possesses Faith Healing, and Abigail possesses Summon, while the more dangerous mysteries of Elder Magic remain outside their abilities. What makes them formidable is therefore not an enormous collection of supernatural powers but the manner in which three very different witches function together.
Prudence provides experience and protection, Rebecca brings healing and a determination to preserve life, while Abigail contributes both curiosity and the ability to reach beyond the familiar world when more conventional answers prove inadequate. Their different temperaments frequently produce disagreement, yet those differences also prevent the coven from being shaped entirely by the judgement of one person. Prudence reminds Abigail that magical power carries consequences, Rebecca prevents Prudence’s caution from becoming an excuse for inaction, and Abigail forces both older women to consider possibilities they might otherwise dismiss.
The Salem Sisterhood can use weapons. The faction is not restricted to fighting with Arcane Powers. For the Coven themselves, being a Witch does not inherently mean being unarmed. They remain models drawn from the posse and can therefore have weapons appropriate to the underlying character and the normal equipment restrictions. Their Arcane Powers are additional capabilities, not substitutes for weapons. Osprey also describes the three Witches as female non Hired Gun models designated as the Coven, rather than as a special troop type that replaces the normal equipment rules.
Hiding has become increasingly difficult to justify in an America where supernatural forces are openly shaping the lives of ordinary people. Vampires, necromancers, secretive cults and other practitioners of forbidden arts have prospered amid the violence and disorder of the age, while entirely ordinary human beings have repeatedly demonstrated that they require little supernatural encouragement to behave monstrously. The women of Salem cannot defeat every evil they encounter, nor do they imagine themselves capable of cleansing America of everything lurking in its darker corners, but they have decided that possessing power while refusing to use it carries its own consequences.
That does not necessarily make the Sisters of Salem heroes. In Dracula’s America, however, it may make them the closest you are going to get!