The kingdom was at risk of being overtaken by the witches with more and more people joining them and getting initiated day by day. But what could the king do? Their swords were helpless and defenseless against a witch's hex.
However, as expected from an organization, there was soon an internal conflict and the witches split into diverse factions, dwelling later in a place Dahlia came to know later as the Barren land and of which the evil forest she had been to was just a part of it.
The diversification made it harder for the king to destroy them because it seemed like with each faction he destroyed, two more were sure to grow the next day. Even as divided as the witches were, they were together in the war against the kingdom.
