THE WITCHING HOUR
The Witching Hour is more a state of being than a set of characters. It is represented by three mysterious women who stand for the feminine principles of wisdom and self-revelation. Many people fear such inner knowledge and consider the women to be evil witches rather than divine guides. The word "witch," however, comes from the same root as the words "wit" and "wisdom."
These three women, also called the Witch Queen or the Hecateae, are one of the most powerful of magical forces in the world. They are even respected by the seven Endless. Since, the Hecateae are the weavers of fate, they devise, spin, and ultimately cut the tapestry of mankind's destiny. In the same vein, the names Fata, Fortuna, Faery, and Wyrd all refer to fate and destiny. Because of this, they see the past, present and future of all men, gods, and enchanted beings. This triple goddess is also a single being manifested as three women: the maiden (life-giver), the mother (preserver), and the crone (death-bringer). These Weird Sisters are among the oldest recorded gods and are known to all mythologies.
Names are very important to the Witch Queen. She was known to the Greeks as the Moerae (Clotho, who spins the cloth of life, Lachesis, who measures it, and Atropos, who cuts it), to the Irish as the Faery Morrigan (Ana, Babd, and Macha), to the Hindus as Kali (Parvati, Durga, Uma), and to the Germanic Vikings she was called the Wyrd or Norns (Urth, Verthandi, and Skald). The Romans called her Fate or fortuna, and the pre-Roman Latinum called he "Uni" or "One." To the Medieval mind, she was called Fata Morganna. In the modern world, she's known as the Witch Queen, and her three aspects are named Cynthia, Mildred, and Morgaine. The Witching Hour scribe mistakenly referred to Morgaine as Mordred, a fact the crone is quick to point out to all concerned.
The Sandman once summoned the Hecateae to find his lost tools. To do this, he used a ritual that is commonly used among the mystical community for this purpose. The components of the ritual must be brought together at midnight, the Witching Hour. Once she has been summoned, each of the Hecateae will answer only one question. Remember, each of the three has a different personality. One is youthful and playful (Cynthia, the Maiden), one is pleasant and motherly (Mildred, the Mother), and one is eerie and ill-tempered (Morgaine, the Crone).
SUMMONING THE FATES RITUAL
Effect: UN Summoning
Casting Time: 15 minutes (150 rounds)
Necessary Components: a crossroads, a gallows, honey, snakes, and a black ewe at midnight during a crescent moon
Special Restrictions: once summoned, the Hecateae will answer only one question each
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