Mother Ostankya
Mother Ostankya is a infamous Hag Witch of Kislev. [1]
Legends say that Ostankya is not a creature of flesh and blood, but instead was created by the old spirits from the ground up bones of dark things, mud and grass to be their queen. [2c]
Appearance
She is hunchbacked and wrinkled like a poisonous nut with small tusks, like those of a pig, protruded from her lower lip, her clothes are tatty and homespun. [2b]
Bears
The black bears of the Staslav, although descended from Ursun are marked by the Hag Mother as her servants, and the guardians of the secret trails. When Ostankya leads the men of Kislev to war, they ride bears and whilst Ursun may allow for their killing, but the Witch in the Wood does not. [2d]
Locations
Legends state that she has many homes:
- In Chernozavtra she lives on the underside of a black lily pad on the River Zapadreyka which appears when the Chaos Moon is full. Should it drift east-west, the stanitsa sleeps soudly but it if moves against the flow of the river doom rides from the Chaos Wastes and the local Ataman must make sacrifices to the Hag Mother for her aid. [2a]
- In Korochev she dwells in a hut created from blackthorn and witchwood but which is never in the same place twice. [2a]
- In Zhidovsk her house is carried in the claws of a Frost Wyrm to whom once every ten years she feeds the prettiest girl in the region. [2a]
Weapons and Equipment
A crown of filthy antlers sits on her head and she carries a staff strung with charms and topped with animal skulls. Often she stirs a great cauldron that brings forth fog and and a tattered, witching light. [2b]
Quotes
| Mother Ostankya will punish you
~ A phrase often used to frighten children into obedience. [1] |
Sources
- 1: Total War Blog
- 2: Things in the Wood
- 2a: Page 5
- 2b: Page 6
- 2c: Page 10
- 2d: Page 15