Hagspawn

Hagspawn is the name given to any offspring that a hag may have which did not originate from a father of the same species. Hagspawn almost always tend to be half-human, though whether this is due to preference, genetic similarity or simply due to scarcity of other races is up for conjecture. Hagspawn are always female, supposedly an inherited trait from their mothers, and it is said that it takes ten generations of offspring before a male descendant can be produced. Hagspawn are naturally beautiful, superhumanly so, but always have one physical defect that hints at their haggish roots. Hagspawn are characterized for their fiendish and seductive ways, and for their hatred of mankind, which is again inherited from their mothers.

It is not clear whether hagspawn is a term which belongs purely to the direct offspring of hags and other races, or if it counts for the descendants of hagspawn too. It seems that the child of a hagspawn is also referred to as such within hag culture, though whether this is a technical term or negligence due to lack of interest in their second-class daughters is to be speculated upon.

Hagspawn tend to only be produced and raised within the confines of a hag coven- lone hags seem to not reproduce; perhaps their solitude means great personal risk from raising a child, given the persecuted nature of their species. Within a hag coven, hagspawn are treated as slaves by their mothers, carrying out the tasks that the hags find too tedious or beneath them. Hagspawn learn to hunt and craft, and some in old age are taught the arts of witchcraft from their mothers, should they prove loyal and show initiative.

The primary interaction that hagspawn have with the outside world is in their role as lures for the coven. Being generally attractive creatures, hagspawn are known to entice men, and then whisk them away to the hag coven to be added to the breeding dens. Hagspawn with the same mother are considered sisters, though given the nature of hagspawn production, most are likely only half sisters. Any half-sister a hagspawn might have via their father and another hag is irrelevant- they are not counted as relatives in hag culture, and at any rate a hagspawn never learns who her true father is.

Although not so contemptible as hags themselves, hagspawn are tricksters by their raising and hate-filled by nature, and therefore are often just as reviled as their mothers themselves- sometimes more so, as they are the pawns of their mothers' games, on the front-lines, harassing the edges of humanity.

Though first-generation hagspawn, (those with a hag mother,) are treated as second-class citizens, it is known that the descendants of hagspawn are treated monumentally worse. The less hag blood in them, the less value they hold to the coven. Most third or fourth generation hagspawn, it is said, end up being used solely for the purpose of experimentation, not even being deemed worthy enough to train in the art of seduction and subterfuge. Though the right for a hagspawn to breed is in itself a rare luxury, and perhaps not a luxury at all, given the inevitable fate of their children.

Notable hagspawn: Etheldredda