SINJARIAN WITCHES
In the darkest histories of Men, when they first wandered under the stars and came across the Elves of the far east there was great fear in seeing the Fair Ones. Yet, there were a few who saw them for who they were, creatures of immense longevity and much wisdom to offer. These were the children of Men called the Ishata. In their brief dealings with the Fair Ones, they learned much of nature, animals, the turning of seasons, and the signs of the heavens, and with such knowings, they went back to share with the Hunters and Gatherers of their own kindred peoples. But great was their fear of learning so much so quickly. Men feared what they did not know, they feared and disliked feeling intimidated by not knowing and so shunned, disown, and held great disdain for the Ishata; the Witches! Witches, men, and women of enchanted learnings were outcasts wherever they arose among the growing number of Men who sought War instead.
In time the Ishatas found one another secluded in woods, living in marshes or hiding in dank caves. In their finding of like-minded ones, they either shared or learned from one another and their bands grew with their bonds. The Ishata became a people unto themselves. They were sought out in secret so as to determine the rise of a King or doom of coming armies and when their use was over again they returned to being condemned for not abiding by the standards of ignorant and feeble-minded rulers. Ever as Men grew and move west, under the sunlit world, so too did the Ishata yet ever among themselves those Witches, Wizards, Sorcerers, and Seers went.
From among those eastern Men who fled Harad, came also those disowned loners who sought a place for themselves. They shared all they knew, all they had, and all they were - among themselves. They became deeply loyal to one another, and as a distinct people came to be called, the Sinjarians or the Loners. As the Sinjarian Witches traveled the coastline of the Great Sea they passed through hills and woodlands, but as a gathered people did settle at the westernmost beginnings of the Blue Mountains at last. Among those discovered caves they claimed as their own, for the city dwellers called them uncivilized even to the joy of those outcast folk. The Ishatas drank from the nearby springs and ate from foothill woodlands. They desired only peace.
In the passage of time, the Ishata delved into the sheer rock face cliffs of the mountains and carved in great detail, embellished designs of enchantments and painted them with bright colorings. So that even on moonless nights, the village of Sinjar could be seen as far as the tent village of Slavath or from the high walls of the city Mithar. For their carved embellishments radiated even in the pitch of night!
The other people of the land of Eriduah viewed Sinjar as the cursed caves of Pagan evildoers for they lived by their own rules. They paid the mandated taxes of whoever ruled the realm and followed the peace of the land but others about them spat and cursed their kind. Yet if ever a lost traveler happened near the rocky cliffs of Sinjar they never hesitated to lend aid or cast their healing spells to speed them on their journey’s way.
Their leader was a Shaman, a father figure unto his people who encouraged but seldom ruled over them but sought council, ‘for the heart rules a man alone’, so they confessed one to another as an oath. Male and female both were called Witch, and each possessed a gifted talent unto themselves. Their families were the community itself. Men came and went to whichever bed they so choose, and the woman lay with whom they would, their only jealousy was for the care and safety of one another as a whole. The children of the Ishata called the Shaman father, and the face of any woman was mother, for she was unto them the very embodiment of the Goddess. Though the Witches of Sinjar knew the Vala of Lindol, they worshiped them all under the visage of their own names, ‘for the gods knew who they were and who called upon them no matter the tongue used’.
But the Ishatas were vehemently opposed to any who strove against their customs or reviled their traditions and sought to change them. The Sinjarians could be accepting, gracious hosts and most loyal to one another, and in need, could be just as hostel to those who wronged them. For their manners did outsiders find them in contempt, disdain, and paganistic ways most loathsome. The Sinjarians themselves respected the laws and kings of the land and followed as they would but never compromised their love for whom they would or reverence unto their guiding Spirits and the old way. As far back as ages past in the eastern lands of Harad their mythic tales spoke of when men first met the elves under starlit skies, thus did they still dance and rejoice in those memories handed down.
