Magda is a witch known as the witch of Duva and as Sankta Magda, the patron Saint of bakers and abandoned women.
Biography[]
The Witch of Duva[]
Magda lives in the woods of Duva. One day, a girl named Nadya stumbles upon her home while running away from her family. Magda feeds her and gives her a place to stay for the winter, and in return, Nadya helps with chores. At her request, Magda temporarily turns Nadya into a raven so that she can spy upon Karina Stoyanova, a local baker whom Nadya suspects to be behind the disappearance of local girls. Magda helps Nadya solve this mystery.
Magda takes Nadya under her tutelage, and Nadya becomes a powerful witch.[2]
Sankta Magda[]
Magda lived at the edge of town, envied for living in a nice plot of land. Magda offered cures and potions to people, delivered babies and fed them her porridges and tonics when their mothers couldn't feed them. She lived alone and had no husband or family.
In one of the bad years for Ravka when crops failed and cattle died, people were starving. Magda was accused by one of the wives of a powerful leader of the town of being a witch and bringing this bad situation upon the village.
Before the mob could catch her, Magda ran to the familiar woods where she used to gather the herbs and plants to make her cures. Still, the situation of the villagers didn't improve, despite getting rid of Magda. The situation got worse without her presence as babies suffered from hunger without Magda's help. Later on, people began to wonder if Magda had not been the only witch in the village.
Two sisters were accused of making deals with creatures from the other side—the cold woman who lives at the bottom of the river, the shadow man who is found behind doors. The sisters stayed home trusting their father and brothers would protect them. Instead, they hid the girl's clothes and shoes so they couldn't run. The sisters prayed to the Saints, in that moment Magda appeared and told them to come with her and live as free women.
The elder sister was hesitant and reasoned the harsh weather could kill them if they ran to the woods without their clothes and shoes. She also accused Magda of being friends with demons. The younger sister was convinced Magda was a messenger from the Saints instead, and agreed to go with her. She begged her older sister to come but she wouldn't. The younger sister followed Magda into the woods, preferring to die a free woman than in the pyre like her sister. As soon as she spoke she was lifted and suddenly found herself sitting inside a hut beside a fire. She was wrapped in furs with a pot of soup before her. There were other women stoking the coals in the oven, drying herbs, and tending to the garden in the night.
The girl's father and brothers went into the woods to hunt for Magda and the girl. When the night fell they smelled delicious foods, as they were starving they went mad with it, stumbling deeper into the trees, and were never heard of since.
The village continued to starve no matter how many girls they put to death. But the girls who prayed to Magda would often find themselves swept up and carried into the forest. She is known as the patron saint of abandoned women, and bakers.[3]
Physical description[]
When Nadya meets her, Magda is old but not ugly. She has long gray hair styled in a braid, which she ties with a red ribbon.[2]
Powers and abilities[]
TBA
Appearances[]
- The Demon in the Wood (mentioned only)
- The Witch of Duva
- The Lives of Saints
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In The Demon in the Wood, Eryk thinks of how he and his mother met Magda of the black woods.
References[]
- ↑ The Demon in the Wood
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Witch of Duva
- ↑ The Lives of Saints, Sankta Magda