Nara and their un-named sootdog as done by BadCoyote. (Dog's design was by 11monsters (http://11monsters.deviantart.com/)

In their position as a mediator between worlds, witches often need protection from both the physical and ethereal. Not every client is 100% satisfied with the result of dealing with witches and on rare occasions will even go as far as to directly attack. Witches are not all-powerful - most of the power they do have is borrowed or bought from others - so they find ways to hire or raise their own help.

Sootdogs are a common choice of guardian as they are intelligent, loyal, and extremely durable. Although they are sightless, they have the ability to track down anyone through mundane or magical "scents".

They first manifest an inch or two high in piles of soot as a result of a basic ritual all novice witches learn. They grow slowly, and for the first 10 years or so they can be dispersed by a sudden gust of wind or a sneeze (although they will reform after a short while). This particular dog has been with Nara for a couple hundred years.