Creature Feature: The Johanssen Witches

Though it wasn't the first time that we crossed the line to include some or our more outlandish characters on Birchwood Isle, the Johanssen Witches are the first time that we did it openly, with the introduction of the Archer Somers canon family. The family is filled up now with every character taken by a member of Birchwood Isle, but there are plenty of Johanssens left for members to pick up (as the canon families in this line are released).

The Johanssens aren't the only witches on the island, but their line is unique for several reasons that you might find interesting. If you'd like to consider playing a Johanssen witch as these characters become available, you'll want to read through this information before taking that leap. Members who have joined this line have asked for further information, and we hope that what we provide is sufficient to help you understand them.

Note that future "creature features" might feature other witch lines. Each has its own unique qualities!

You should know several things about the Johanssens from the beginning.

1. This is a female line of witches. Both female and male lines exist on Birchwood Isle. The Johanssen line is female. Each woman in this line is morally obligated to birth seven daughters. Other children (whether she has more than seven children or mixes with a male line to produce boy children) do not count toward the total of seven children.
2. These witches have active powers. Most of the Johanssen witches are pagans, and practice witchcraft the way that modern pagans do. However, they also have active powers which means that they have abilities in addition to their ability to perform spells. If you need a point of reference, Practical Magic is a good example of the types of powers Johanssen women possess.
3. Each woman has unique powers. In this line, most of the women have one or two active powers, and these powers are unique, meaning that not every woman will have the same powers as the other women in her family. The exception to this is the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter.
4. Every seventh daughter of a seventh daughter inherits the powers of her sisters. She will also inherit the active powers of every other witch who came before her. This is the reason that continuing the line is so important to the Johanssen witches. The youngest girl of the youngest girl will always be the most powerful.
5. The seventh daughter of the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter (etc) is not yet born. Saren Somers is the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter (Ruby Johanssen) and she has six biological daughters. At the moment she is pregnant with the seventh daughter in her line.
6. Abrielle Somers is currently the most powerful witch in the line. Nobody's quite sure why, except that a prophecy said she would have a very special child. She is now seventeen and pregnant with an unusual child. Most Johanssen women don't have boys, and Brieley is pregnant with a boy child. He is so powerful that she has absorbed the power from her baby.
7. The current line goes back seven generations. The seventh daughter of the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter hasn't been born yet. Saren Somers is currently pregnant with her.

Unless otherwise indicated, most of the witches in this line have moderate-to-strong powers, with Saren and Brieley Somers having especially strong powers. A small handful of the witches in this line have weak powers. Males in this line usually have no powers except under special circumstances.

There are currently four males in this line. They are two sets of twins  born to a set of twins: Monica's boys are Jason and Jamie Johanssen and her twin sister Bridget's boys are Ashley and Gabriel.

More families in this line are opening up regularly, and some spots are still available in the (Carissa) Johanssen-Rhodes family as well as in the Bridget Johanssen family. These branches are being written up as we speak, and will be released as canon characters.