Reference Sheet

[yagababa]

Items and Figures Associated with the Myth

Items:

Mortar and Pestle: Baba's primary means of transportation. She sits in the mortar and steers herself with the pestle. And it's faster than you might expect.
Birch Broom: Traditional for house cleaning, and also useful for wiping away tracks left by the mortar.
Large Brick Oven: Located in Niflheim's kitchen. Be careful you don't end up inside.
Cauldron: Centerpiece to her room and where the magic happens.
Emblems: Because of the unique nature of Baba's room, emblems will appear at random throughout Niflheim, guiding those who seek her. Common emblems are skulls with glowing eyes and chicken feathers.

Figures within Chaos: These beings are also found in Morganda.

The Three Horsemen ("My Bright Dawn, my Red Sun, and my Dark Midnight"): White, red, and black riders who are her emissaries and her warriors. They have appeared in Chaos along with Baba and are often seen riding through the forests during the corresponding time of day or night. They do not yet appear to be interested in interacting with other inhabitants, and it is currently known only to Baba whether they are willingly or unwillingly bound to her.
Soul Friends: Several pairs of bodiless hands which assist in potion-making and usually never leave her room.

Referenced Figures:

Koschei the Deathless: Himself a legend in Russian folklore, Koschei is a tall, skeletal sorcerer who was often a villain in fairytales featuring one of Russia's favorite heroes, Ivan Tsarevich. In some stories, Baba and Koschei are viewed as allies. In others, such as The Death of Koschei the Deathless, she assists Ivan after he passes his tests, which helps lead to his victory against the sorcerer.
Ivan Tsarevich: A traditional folklore hero with many different and oftentimes conflicting stories, he has crossed paths with Koschei, Baba Yaga, and Vasilisa.
Vasilisa: Depending on which story, she is known as "the Beautiful", "the Brave", or "the Wise". The "Cinderella" of her story with Baba Yaga, she seeks help from the witch, and is trapped in her hut and forced to complete tasks in order to live. With help from some of the witch's more sympathetic servants (namely a maid, a dog, a cat, and a birch tree) and a doll gifted to her long ago by her mother, Vasilisa is able to escape Baba Yaga clutches through kindness, resourcefulness, and virtue. Her tale ends with her marrying a Tsarevich and living happily ever after.
Servants: The maid, dog, cat, and birch tree seem only to be referred to in the linked version of Vasilisa the Beautiful in the application.

Baba's Room

Much like Harry Potter's Room of Requirement, Baba's bedroom in Niflheim only appears if someone requires a service of her, materializing at a different location each time. Sometimes, when she is willing to interact with other residents in Niflheim, emblems such as chicken feathers and skulls will guide people to her. Otherwise, she can be summoned by saying "Turn your back to the forest, your front to me." A door will magically manifest nearby with rotting, wooden planks and a keyhole lined in sharpened teeth, paired with an odious stench.

The room's interior is approximately the size of her old, humble hut. She is large enough that one of her great arms can reach from one side of the room to the other and that her nose scrapes the ceiling as she sleeps. In the center of her room, there is a great three-legged iron cauldron. A large worktable is surrounded by shelves that are lined with vials, tools, organic materials, and the occasional book. Great jugs of fluids, like blood and rosewater, are bunched in the far corner beside chopped firewood. Dried herbs hang from twine in front of her singular window. A modest fireplace is almost always burning.

The Building Blocks of Magic

Baba Yaga's magic isn't a wand-waving, spell-slinging, staff-shaking variety of sorcery. She doesn't pull celestial energies from the air or manipulate elements with the flick of a wrist. Curses or cures aren't borne purely of incantations in native or ancient tongues. Rather, her magic is far more practical and material in effect, drawing upon Russian and Slavic paganism and folklore, which are rooted in darker, more macabre narratives and anecdotes. Like many aspects of Eastern European culture, Christianity altered the identity of the witch and the common ideas of magic, demonizing both.

Primarily, Baba's magic is performed through talismans, tools, ingredients, and potions and are combined with rituals, wards, charms, enchantments, and incantations. She is also an augur and practices haruspicy.

Please be aware that while the below list is based on actual, neopagan magic, I made a lot of shit up myself because.

Bird Feathers:
 Chicken: Navigation; direction; purpose; clearing the mind
 Crow: Release; to cause or remove grief and/or fear
 Hawk: Strength; resolve; sharpness; combat ailments
 Eagle: Repel energy; constitution; protection
 Bluejay: Cleansing; happiness; luck
Boline Knife
The Humours
 Blood: Sanguine
 Yellow Bile: Aggression
 Black Bile: Melancholy
 Phlegm: Phlegmatic
Animal Bones
 Rabbit
 Fox
 Cattle
 Shrew
 Bat
 Dormouse
 Jackal
 Deer
 Lynx
 Pig
 Trout
 Horse
Organs and Body Parts
 Skin/Hide
 Teeth
 Fingers and Toes
 Hair
 Eyes
 Tongue
 Heart: A raven's heart is one of the most powerful conduits of magic
 Intestines/Entrails/Liver: Baba is also a haruspex
Ingredients and Herbs
 Ashes
 Valerian Root: Causes nightmares
 Garlic and Salt: Used for protection; to keep unwanted persons away
 Basil: Exorcism
 Bay Leaf: Predict the future
 Coriander: Medicinal
 Sugar and Cinnamon: Opposite of garlic and salt; used to invite and lure wanted persons in
 Rosemary and Rosewater: Cleansing
 Passionflower: Helps sleep
 Sage: Burned for healing and wisdom
 Ginger: Passion; romance
 Toxic Herbs:
  Hemlock, Nightshade, Oleander, Juniper, Mandrake, Holly, Amaryllis, Fly Agaric Mushroom



Help! Baba Yaga just tried to kill me! What did I do!?

→ Were you duplicitous, cruel, or disrespectful to her and her powers?
→ Did you enter her room without even knocking, you fucking cretin?
→ Are you touching her things when she specifically tells you Not To?
→ Did you try to steal her kill?
→ Are you terrible at answering riddles?
→ Are you a massive asshole?
→ Would you possibly taste delicious in a stew?


If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, this is why she tried to kill you. [Don't know if she's planning on putting you into a stew? Watch your windows for Vrána!]



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