Dhuna

The Dhuna are an olive-skinned folk with jet-black hair and expressive features. They are practitioners of witchcraft, a craft that has both protected them and led to their long history of persecution.

Appearance and Dress

• Females: Dress in linen robes, cloaks, and tunics with sandals or boots.
• Males: Wear shirts, breeches, and cloaks with knee-high boots of soft leather.

History and Origins

The Dhuna are believed to be related to the Sarista gypsy folk and the Zandir. Persecuted for practicing witchcraft following the Phaedran Cult Wars, their ancestors sought refuge in the forests of Werewood.

• Sacred Groves: They settled in hidden groves demarcated by circular rings of ten-foot tall runestones, where they remain today.

Society and Lifestyle

• Covens: Dhuna live in communal groups called covens, ranging from small family units to large fraternal orders numbering in the hundreds.
• Dwellings: Simple huts made of stone and earth with woven thatch roofs, often hidden by spells, charms, and the dense woods.
• Marriage: Views on matrimony are liberal; both males and females may have more than one spouse.
• Diet: Vegetarians who subsist on berries, mushrooms, roots, and tubers found within the woods.

Witchcraft and Powers

The Dhuna possess strange powers that contribute to their mysterious reputation:

• The Evil Eye: The reputed ability to cast curses with a look.
• Witchwomen: Said to possess extraordinary talents, including the ability to capture a man's heart with a single kiss. [^1]
• Suspicion: Due to ongoing persecution by Aamanian witch-hunters, they are highly suspicious of outsiders.

The Three Orders

All Dhuna covens align with one of three general Orders:

• White Order: Focus on the creative and fertile aspects of nature.
• Black Order: Employ the destructive forces of nature.
• Grey Order: Seek a balance between the two, favoring neither.

Religion and Custom

• Rituals: Covens meet in secret among ancient runestones during specific solar and lunar cycles.
• Witchgates: These play a role in rituals and may be used to summon entities from other planes.
• Burial: The dead are interred with their possessions in hidden caves warded with runes. Dhuna avoid these places to ensure the deceased's sleep is undisturbed.

Language and Names

• Tongue: While some speak Low Talislan, the primary language is the arcane Elder Tongue.
• Names: Archaic sounding names reportedly dating to the Forgotten Age (e.g., Alasta, Abramelus, Perdurabo, Nagina, Mecasefir).

Adventurers

Dhuna rarely leave Werewood for fear of persecution. Those encountered outside are often outcasts or individuals seeking to share their witchcraft secrets in distant lands.

[^1]: This reputation for seductive magic has historically fueled much of the prejudice against them in more conservative lands.