Witch Assassins are a title of higher ranked witches, whose primary objective and role is to kill clan enemies.
Description[]
A witch assassin is a witch of one of the Pendle witch clans whose profession is to hunt down & assassinate the enemies of her clan. Though the assassins of the Deane & Mouldheel clans are little more than poison brewers, the Malkin assassin is very skilled in direct combat. She is ruthless, fast, and very dangerous. The assassin of this clan often has a reputation which is feared all through the County and may exceed even that.
Allocation of a new Malkin assassin[]
"Three pretenders to the position of Malkin assassin were trained annually... The challenge always takes place north of the Devil's Triangle, where the villages of the Malkins, Deanes & Mouldheels are located." - Grimalkin describes the allocation of a new assassin
Every year three challengers were trained to face the current assassin so to keep the assassin as deadly as possible. The fight was located north, but the current assassin would choose her battleground from there. Then the current assassin and the challenger would battle to the death without spectators. The two opponents can use any method they wish to bring the other down, then cut off the dead witch's thumb bones & show them to the clan as proof of victory.
Notable witch assassins[]
Grimalkin - the current witch assassin who defeated Kernolde the Strangler. Known as the deadliest witch assassin ever. Uses knives which she throws very accurately (threw a knife into the thin eye slit of one of the Ordeen's servants during combat).
Kernolde the Strangler- the previous witch assassin who was known for her pits and traps. She would trap her opponent and come and skewer them. Her chosen location for combat was the Witch Dell where she was allied with the dead witches. Her most powerful ally was Old Gertrude. She was defeated in combat by Grimalkin.
Needle - the witch assassin before Kernolde. She thought Kernolde cheated when they fought. She was buried in the witch dell where she became an undead witch. She then challenged Grimalkin to a battle and was dismembered.
Thorne - Although technically not a witch assassin, she would have been if not for her death at the hand of a kretch. She was personally taught by Grimalkin.