The Path
Geralt, known as Gwynbleidd by the elder races and Butcher of Blaviken in Redania, is a notorious if not infamous Witcher,
a professional monsterslayer and curse breaker, mutated through a ritual known as Trial of the Herbs and equipped with both fighting skills and magic capabilities referred as signs; among those, only a few are openly known: Aard, Igni, Yrden, Quen, Axii, Heliotrop, and Somne.
Despite these inhuman features, witchers' preferred tool remains the sword, of which Geralt carries two: silver for monsters and steel for humans. Other tools used by witchers to hunt down their preys are concoctions to enhance reflexes
and artifacts to detect and view unnatural phenomena, such as the magic lamp and the witcher medallion, whose chain reacts with vibrations in the presence of a monster.
Monsters vary wildly in shape and form, from the plant-like yellow and green archespores, to saurian forktails, passing through insectoids such as arachnomorphs, goblinoids like the creatures known as Goblin Bombardment(TMP)|Redcaps or more ancient beasts like the Sylvans.
Whatever the appearance, all monsters reached the world in the same way: in a catastrophic phenomenon known as the conjunction of the spheres, where several dimensions collapsed and were briefly linked together; one of the most prominent events to happen during those times was the arrival of the vampires
.
The Edge of the World
Trained in Kaer Mohren, the fortress of the witcher school of the Wolf, Geralt travelled far and wide through the continent from the plutocratic Kovir and Poviss to the rich and distant Ofir, home to their fabled oases,
striding through elven ruins, the Nothern Kingdoms'vast fields and the perilous Jay forest. But of all these journeys, to really start the legend, was the one in Vizima, where he broke the curse that turned Adda, King Foltest's firstborn daughter, into a Strige.
The fame and payment did not come without Repercussion, having suffered serious injuries during the ritual, he had to be tended by Nenneke, priestess of Melitele, in the temple of Ellender. There, convalescing, Geralt found time to reminisce about his past, on how he met
Dandelion, his bardic friend; on how he happened to find Yennefer of Vengerberg and to link their fates together with his Last Wish.
After the eventful meeting with the sorceress, Geralt went Unexpectedly Absent, and continued its wanderings that led him to numerous adventures filled with bizarre encounters, in many of which he surprised monsters with his mercy, like with a normal family of werewolves, an endangered Pheonix and
Dudu, a friendly doppleganger posing as an halfling merchant.
The two lovers eventually reunited during the Hunt for Villentretenmert, a golden dragon revered in Zerrikania whose remains Yen hoped to harvest to find a cure for the sorceresses' infertility, once again Geralt refused to take the life of such a noble beast actively opposing Yarpen Zigrin and his Reavers. The creature responded with kindness and honesty, revealing that the union between the witcher and the sorceress would have never produced a child.
The two fell apart again.
Something More
The Fate had a surprise in store for Geralt.
During one of his pilgrimages through the wilderness, Geralt reached the ancient forest of Brokilon, where he was welcomed by the gory sight of the harsh treatment reserved for trenspassers. Brought to the head of the dryads and long-time acquaintance Eithné, he was introduced to a young girl staying at the sylvan court, being initiated to the Dryadification.
Geralt immediately recognized her as the child he was fated to once a long time before when he proclaimed the Law of Surprise to Duny, the Urcheon of Erlenwald, knight and father to the girl. She was Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon or, put simply, Ciri.
Ciri, once heir to the Kingdom of Cintra, managed to escape the Nilfgaardian Army during the the Slaughter of Cintra, one of the most monstrous events in the war between the Nordlings' Fierceness and Great Sun
Having prevented her transformation, Geralt decided to avoid fate once more and to leave her in the care of Mousesack, a druid and an old friend.
Years later, Geralt invoked the Law of Surprise again in exchange for his services to a merchant called Yurga, having protected him from nefarious monsters and saved his cart, he fell unconscious and started a new series of feverish dreams while being transported to safety: he dreamt of Yennefer at Belleteyn, of Visenna, his mother, of Pavetta, Duny and their daughter Ciri.
After several days of travel, having come back to senses, the cart finally reached the merchant's estate, where the Yurga's wife, Złotolitka, had welcomed an orphan to their household unbeknownst to him. Once again the inescapable fate brought the little orphan, Ciri, to Geralt.
Something Begins...
While Ciri's past was stirring political turmoil among the powers in the north and the Empire, Geralt was raising the girl as his daughter on the path of the Witcher in Kaer Mohren. During her upbringing the child showed strange behaviours and magiclike powers.
To investigate this weird happenstances, Geralt invited Triss Merigold, a young witch and friend of Yen he had the pleasure of "getting to know" in one of the numerous breakups. After an initial hesitation, Geralt decided to accompany Triss to the Temple of Ellender with Ciri, so that she could have a proper education.
There Ciri developed a sisterly friendship with Triss, and got to know Jarre, a coetanoeus scribe-in-the-making. After some time, having shown further signs of a magic talent, Ciri was joined by Yennefer who took the role of mentor in magic and swiftly become a mother figure for the little orphan.
The fate of the tumultuous continent was to be decided at Thanedd Island, home to the Mages' Conclave, where a coup was being organised by Imperial forces to dispose of the dangerous northern wizards who humiliated its army at Sodden Hill.
The leadership during the attack was given to Vilgefortz, a powerful and ambitious wizard, and the elven mage Selvala, heart of the wild|Francesca Findabair who managed to sneak in a boat with Scoia'tael's troops, chaos ensued and many fell on both sides, and even among those who wished to remain neutral.
Amidst the havoc of battle, Ciri managed to flee to the topmost tower on Thanedd, Tor Lara or Tower of the Seagull. On the last floor she found Benevant's chaotic portal, which in her frantic search for an escape was activated and teleported her to the Korath desert, a barren land far far away.
The Trail
After a serious beating during the coup, Geralt was miracolously teleported to safety by Tissaia and reached Brokilon where, once again, he had to pause for his wounds to be tended.
During the convalescence, Milva, a human living with the dryads, was sent to gather information and returned after months of search to relay that Ciri was in Nilfgaard and the emperor meant to marry her.
This made Geralt, still recovering from the injuries, decide to start his search for the girl and abruptly started his journey, soon followed by Milva.
Passing through the woods the two found Dandelion and Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, a Nilfgaardian deserter brought in chains by two mercenaries after being captured by Isengrim and his commando.
After being initially skeptical of the young knight, Geralt accepted him in the group, and the four of them travelled together in the search for Ciri.
The journey continued with ups and downs, the group met Zoltan Chivay and his dwarven friends heading towards Mahakam, briefly departed from them and discovered a new and unlikely ally, again after a cold start and some perilous escapes, in
Regis
, a higher vampire.
Geralt's hansa, now comprised of five elements, set again path towards Ciri, wherever she may have been, and soon found themselves caught in the war.
After a furious battle fought alongside Meve in Angren, queen of Rivia and after being knighted Geralt of Rivia, the witcher discovered that the girl in the Empire's grasp was but an impostor and the real Ciri was nowhere to be found.
Following Regis' suggestion the group travelled towards the Caed Dhu druidic circle. The journey led them to a new ally, the young thug Angoulême, and unforeseen dangers. Having gained a bounty on their heads, and being followed by imperial agents and members of the Thanedd Coup, the group had to disperse and Geralt was alone.
The End of the World
In his solitary detour the witcher met Avallac'h, the otherwordly elf showed Geralt the signs the ancient elven civilizations left in the world long before humanity even existed and told him about Enchantress' Presence|Ithlinne, an ancient elven augury and her prophecy about the Faultline|the Final Age, the End of the World and the importance of Ciri's blood in all of this.
In the meantime the girl, after many ordeals and flanked by the bounty hunter Bonhart, was following the path set by her destiny to Tor Zireael, the Tower of the Swallow.
Determined to go back to Tor Lara to escape her stalkers, Ciri activated Tor Zireael's portal; immediately she found herself in an eldritch and lush world, ruled by an ancient Elven race without escape. There she met with Avallac'h, the sage, and Eredin, the Captain of the King's Guard.
The elves told her the story of her lineage, her elven bloodline, and the power of her blood and offspring, capable of saving the world from the End. The girl was, thus, ordered to go and meet King Auberon to bear his child, Ciri reluctantly agreed. The monarch, decrepit and addicted to fisstech, repeatedly failed in his goal and was found dead a few days later before he could succeed.
Ciri fled, followed by Eredin and his knights, until cornered by a herd of Unicorns, atavic enemies of the elves. While the unicorns wanted her dead to prevent the elves from gaining power through her blood, she was eventually saved by one of them, Ihuarraquax, an old friend she met in Korath. The unicorns fought the incoming elves and she was teleported away.
Geralt arrived in Toussaint and slowed in his search, took some contracts while his hansa rested for a while; during one of these task he overheard Leo Bonhart and imperial agents talking about their associates, among which Vilgefortz, about Yennefer's imprisonment and Ciri's whereabouts and of a castle where they would meet. Geralt immediately gathered his party and ventured forth to save Yen.
In the meantime in Brenna encampment Jarre joined the Poor Fucking Infantry and fought for the northern kingdoms, which united to fend off the Nilfgaardian assault, achieving a miracolous and decisive victory.
Geralt and his companions stormed Vilgefortz's castle at the same time Ciri, unbeknownst to them, teleported there to save Yennefer and is made prisoner.
The group defeated the imperial agents, losing Milva in the battle, Geralt and Regis continued on looking for Yennefer, while Cahir and Angoulême tried to reach Ciri.
In a homicidal fury Geralt dispensed of anyone standing between him and his lover, in the meantime Bonhart freed Ciri to fight her in a last duel.
Ciri fled and encountered Cahir and Angoulême, effortlessly murdered by the bounty hunter. She decided to fight, and after a strenuous battle she came on top, leaving the assassin in a pool of blood, and run to find her loved ones.
Geralt, Yennefer and Regis sought and tried to destroy Vilgefortz, the vampire was annihilated by the wizard, but the witcher eventually managed to be victorious, killing the powerful opponent.
...Something Ends
The three then united, having left behind a trail of corpses, friends and enemies alike, rejoiced for a bit but soon found themselves overcome by Nilfgaardian forces led by the Emperor Emhyr himself.
Emhyr decided to have a personal chat with the reunited family, revealing to be Duny the Urcheon and Ciri's father, that following Ithlinne's prophecy he would have needed to marry his own daughter so that their child could save the world and rule it.
That said, his majesty departed with the girl, leaving the couple alone, offering them the chance to take their own lives instead of being executed by his men.
Before it was too late though, Ciri joined Geralt and Yennefer once again, telling them how the imperial troops left and the Emperor decided to let his plan off and let them live.
The three went to Toussaint where they rejoined with Dandelion, and then divided in two groups, Geralt and the bard heading to Rivia, while Yennefer and Ciri went to the Sorceresses's Lodge, successor to the mages' conclave.
In Rivia Geralt with Dandelion Yarpen and Zoltan was caught in the midst of a Pogrom against non-humans, while defending his dwarven friends he was stabbed by the mob.
Ciri, Yennefer and Triss arrived in Rivia soon after the end of the ruckus and found Geralt on the verge of death. Yennefer tried to revive her lover, but passes out along him.
Dandelion, Triss, Yarpen and Zoltan bade the last farewell to the couple as Ciri teleported the three of them away through the Fabled Passage.
At last the two partners awakened in a new land, together in peace.
