"Exiled Witch"

Durthans are a secretive order of spellcasters who tap into the darker spirits of Rashemen and fey the Wychlaran have deemed to wicked to consort with. They use their powers to punish their enemies and those who have offended the spirits. The Durthans seek to wrest control of their homeland from the Wychlarans and rule it with greater protection from Rashemen's enemies, even using foreign magic and knowledge to expand Rashemen's power. Most Durthans feel that the only way to protect Rashemen is to be as ruthless as its enemies. Durthans' abilities are greater than other spellcasters while they are within the borders of Rashemen.


Durthans work together, although they protect their identities behind masks and pretend that they are of the Wychlaran order to fool others into thinking they are in good standing. They are more open to using arcane arts and more progressive modern practices of other nations that are traditionally taboo. Durthans are covetous of power, sharing spells with others only if the recipient is useful to the greater cause.


Within Rashemen, they plot against the Wychlaran hierarchy, send angry spirits to punish the careless, and manipulate the secular rulers. Individual Durthans work on elements of these plans or pursue their own agendas, usually with the help of trusted minions and whatever spirits they have bound to their will.


Outside their sacred homeland, the Durthans assassinate or spy upon enemy factions and regions, recruit Rashemi women who might be turned to their cause, and work to recover Rashemi spells and magic items. They are not above using seductive feminine wiles to achieve their ends, which is not traditional behavior for Rashemi women.


In the Year of the Coven, 595 DR, the Durthans attempted to overthrow the order and seize Rashemen. Strife between the Hathrans and their dark sisters lasted for decades, but the Durthans were eventually defeated.


The Durthans secretly used the Erech Forest similar to how the Hathrans used the Urlingwood. They constructed Citadel Tralkarn within the forest. When Thay became embroiled in civil war, the Wychlaran, seized the opportunity to deal with a growing internal threat. In what is now known as the Witch War of Rashemen, the Wychlaran and their commander, the Iron Lord, fought against the Durthans and their allies.


In the end, the Wychlaran prevailed and the Durthans were no more. While the Erech Forest served as the hidden refuge of the Durthans for some time, in the years following the civil Witch Wars in 14th century DR it is home to the witches' ghosts, left to haunt their former home.