Ditchwater Sal

Ditchwater Sal is a major antagonist in the 2007 film Stardust. She was a Nomadic witch as well as an accomplished con-artist known to most information networking beings of Stormhold. She has a secretive dark past under a coven-like order of witches which Lamia also comes from and her true powers of sorcery are kept well hidden.

She kidnapped and enslaved the Princess Una to do her every bidding through an enchanted chain that could only be irrevocably broken when she (Ditchwater Sal) was well and truly dead. If not, the chain would automatically repair itself when broken. She was shown to have a habit of transforming innocent people into animals, as seen with Una (whom she transforms into a blue bird when her services were not required) and Tristan Thorn.

Ditchwater Sal was also shown to have some skill in prying information out of her targets through herb magic, as seen when she tricked Lamia into telling her about her search for Yvaine by spiking her food with Limbus Grass (a magical plant that will compel - for a time - whoever eats it to answer truthfully to any question asked).

However, despite her manipulative nature and potent dark magic, Ditchwater Sal was still a tactical realist. When she recognised who Lamia truly was after glimpsing under her mask, she immediately shrank to her knees, surrendered and begged for mercy, as she was forced to acknowledge the undeniable fact that Lamia was stronger. It is perhaps this timely deference that saved her from being instantly killed by Lamia during their first encounter, for the superior witch only placed a spell on her as a punishment of sorts: she would be unable to see, hear, touch, or smell the star that she had been told of even if it stood before her.

Unfortunately for Ditchwater Sal, Lamia was not in a merciful mood during their second encounter. Though she tried to fight back with her own magic, Lamia's magic and sheer conviction still overpowered hers. Lamia embarrassed and killed her by vanishing her head from her body.

Powers and Abilities:
Though she was seemingly the least evil and threatening of the four witches shown in the film, Ditchwater Sal was nevertheless a dangerous and temperamental witch with a proclivity for deception.

Examples of powers she displayed were:
 * Knowledge of Herblore: Ditchwater Sal was shown to possess an extensive knowledge of basic drugs, poisons, herbs, and botany. She knew how to utilise the Limbus Grass to her advantage, and also possessed a large collection of magical flowers, including the protective Snowdrop.
 * Transfiguration: Ditchwater Sal was pefectly capable of transforming people into animals.
 * Psychokinesis: Ditchwater Sal was able to influence objects with her mind, as seen when she blast away the door to her wagon, after Princess Una locked her inside while she sleeped.
 * Shielding: Ditchwater Sal was able to temporarily fend off Lamia's magic by projecting waves of her own magic to act as a deflective shield. Her magical discharges were shown to be a dark, smoky grey energy.