Mwhotsi

Mwhotsi are a specialized type of human mage who typically practice their craft within the Menayana and Ferkuno regions of Ifyrial, and they have many local names. Mwhotsi intertwine their hair with magic spells that can then be used by the mage in order to defend, ward, or rarely, attack. Usually, these men and women will wind their hair around spells of moderate power which are activated by certain triggers in order to protect the user or activate counterspells, because these spells are desirable to be automatically cast in the moment of need. The mwhotsi are also known to be in connection with the spiritual world, and are deeply rooted in regional mythology and faith. Due to this focus on defense, and spirituality, such mages are less involved in war and conflict, and tend to fit more of an archetype of a wandering wizard, crossing the lands and administering magical and spiritual solutions to those in need.

Most mwhotsi are somewhat weaker than their counterparts on other continents because of Ifyrial being a low magical zone. This makes them more reliant on the trinkets, tokens, and amulets which are both woven into their hair as well as worn around their necks and on their clothing- this approach maximizes the amount of magical power than can be stored and released later, as opposed to draining magic at the time it's needed. Such an approach means that the mwhotsi are also adept at defeating mages from other lands who attempt to invade Ifyrial, because those mages are not prepared for fighting in low-magic areas. However, it does not do them much good in the reverse, as stored artefacts can be useful on other continents too, but generally don't give them an edge over a mage used to working with a higher scale of magical power available to them.

As noted, mwhotsi are found in Menayana and Ferkuno, but this is typically in the lowlands. Moving west towards the Skytooth Plateau, whose magical thunderstorms enhance the air with more potential for magical workings, the mwhotsi tend to fall out of favor for more elemental-focused casters, who focus on using the raw power of the storms to power their spells. Still, the influence of amulets and relics spreads quite far from the Menayana and Ferkuno regions, with their amulets being sold all across northern Ifyrial (they typically do not penetrate through Naga lands) and even in ports along the west coast of Ærellion. The Telgreners, who have little contact with proper mwhotsi and typically obtain these amulets second-hand through orcs, consider the practice one of general barbarism, an unfortunate view as the amulets would be very useful for things like sea travel. Similarly, most Illahic sects consider the mwhotsi to be lesser, largely because they view their connection to spiritualism primitive and therefore dismiss their workings- but even among such communities, amulets proliferate.

The name Mwhotsi comes from the Abakhethiwe name for the practitioners of this type of magic- Mwhotsi weMurzi , which is literally defined as a wearer of spirit locks. Technically, the term Mwhotsi just means spirit hair, but foreign translations missed the nuance and the name has stuck, even coming the refer to locked hair in general in some regions with neither Mwhotsi practitioners or locked hair as a traditional style. Other cultures with specific regional names for the practice are the Ndọrụgbo and Baamorun, who call the style of mage One Mmọzenwa and Son Ndjiagne, respectively.