Three Witch Wars that Nearly Destroyed the Land of Oz
The Hidden History of Oz is one of transplant colonization, expansion, trade, and war. In short, it is a history like any other land. The difference in Oz is that there are points in the history where the Witches – the keepers of knowledge – allow that power to corrupt their responsibility to protect. They betray that power to conquer and divide the land.
In the history of Oz, there have been two Witch Wars. The Third Witch War begins in The Hidden History of Oz, Book One: The Witch Queens. What, exactly, are the Witch Wars? And how do they differ from other wars?
There is a difference between a Witch War and a war between Witches. A Witch War unites the Witches as they seek to conquer all of their enemies and bring the entire Land of Oz under their control. As we review the Timeline for the Hidden History of Oz and the reigns of the Kings, we discover some of the events that shaped the Land of Oz and the Witch Wars.
The First Witch War
The First Witch War started in the reign of King Oz, the Eighth. When the war went badly for the Witches, they went across the sea to the Queen of Dreams to bargain for power to destroy their enemies. In their arrogance, they used the borrowed power before its time, and they killed the seas. The destruction of the seas caused the creation of the Deadly Deserts. The war also destroyed the city of Parradime, which stood at the center of the Land of Oz.
The Second Witch War
The Second Witch War began in the reign of Queen Ozma, the Fifth. When the Munchkins betrayed their sacred trust and used their power to purge their enemies from the land, the Red Sorcerer joined forces with Queen Ozma to protect the innocent. The Munchkin Civil War destroyed the Gillikin city of Rokkamoorah, and sent it tumbling over the cliffs into the desert. The surviving Gillikins followed the Red Sorcerer to the wild lands of the North and settled in that country.
The Third Witch War
The Third Witch War started after the death of King Oz, the Seventeenth, and the assumption of the throne by the king’s brother, Pastoria. This begins in Book One: The Witch Queens, and continues forward until the death of the Witches at the hands of a powerful dreamer – Dorothy Gale.
We know from Baum’s books that Dorothy destroys two of the Wicked Witches (East – Kalinya, and West – Ondri-baba). Glinda takes the power from Mombi (The Marvelous Land of Oz). That leaves no Witches left to carry on the Witch War. Did Dorothy successfully end the Third Witch War? It appears so.
Trouble looms on the horizon. Peace does not long stay in Oz (in the Hidden History series). For the same magic that causes the immortality in the Land of Oz also permits the Queen of Dreams, the dark ruler from across the desert, to walk unrestricted in the land.
“So long as the blood of Oz flows, the Queen of Dreams cannot enter.”
— Glinda, in Book Two: Crown of the Dreamer, Chapter
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