The Divine Hunter

Within the dingy shack stood four witchers around a Gwent board. A glass of beer that reeked of malt and common hop sat beside every witcher. A moment later, the young witcher played a card and grinned toothily at the caped witcher. “You lose.”

“Holy shit.” Auckes scratched the back of his head. “Roy, are you sure you’re just fourteen? You won against me two times in a row. This is one big loss for me,” Auckes grumbled before gulping the beer down. He wiped the foam off his lips with his sleeve and reluctantly took a shining Gwent card out of his pocket. “I just got this card, and now I lost it to you.”

“What did I tell you?” Letho scoffed at him. “I told you to stop at the drinks, but you just had to play a round of Gwent with him.”

“Oh, what do you know? Gwent’s the best way to judge a person. And this kid here is just plain disrespectful to the veterans.” Auckes craned his neck and glared at Roy. “Listen here, kid. I’m going to win that card back. Don’t hold me back, Serrit. Three rounds per witcher. Calm down and let me finish my chances!”

Just like with Letho, Roy couldn’t see through Auckes and Serrit’s stats. As a full-fledged witcher, their battle experience far surpassed that of Roy’s, and aside from the difference in looks, they had different personalities as well. Auckes was outgoing and a bit of a talker, while Serrit was quiet and brooding. He had a hook nose, and his eyes were slanted, as if he were cooking up a scheme all the time.

“And here I thought you forgot all about them.” Auckes looked at him, and Roy felt a little guilty. After all, Roy did neglect his parents in this world, and aside from a letter, he never contacted them in the last six months.

“Don’t worry, kid. Their business in Novigrad is going well. Without you dragging them down, they’re living a great life.”

“Is that so? That’s good to hear.” Roy heaved a sigh of relief, though he felt slightly crestfallen as well.

“And they want me to tell you about the good news. It’s a surprise.” Auckes smirked at Roy, and Serrit looked at Roy weirdly.

“What surprise?”

“Your mother is two months pregnant. You’ll have a brother or sister the next time you see them. So, are you surprised?”

“Wait, pregnant? I’m going to be a brother?” A frown creased Roy’s forehead, and he had mixed feelings about the matter. He stayed silent for ten seconds, and he heaved a sigh. “I’m not there with them after all. They’re alone, so it’s normal they want a kid around.”

The witchers noticed Roy’s sadness. They looked at one another and allowed Roy a few moments of silence. Then Letho said, “Kid, you have to understand one thing. From the moment you chose to undertake the trial, you already said goodbye to a normal life. The environment you’re in and the people you meet will be vastly different from what you were used to. Your path has diverged from your parents’, and eventually, you’ll never meet them again.”

“You’re saying I’ll eventually cut ties with them?” Roy was slightly angered, but he was also confused.

“This isn’t a matter of morality. We’re essentially vagrants. Tramps. When you eventually decide to settle down, Moore will already be long gone,” Letho commented. “You’ll know what I mean in due time.”

Roy stared down in silence.

Auckes gave him a mug of beer. “I have something to add to that as well.” He patted Roy’s shoulder. “Generally speaking, the northern nations do not take to witchers too well. If you meet up with Moore and Susie too much, it’ll affect their lives. We’re not forcing you to make a choice here, but you have to be prepared for what’s to come. From what I know, no child can go back to their family after they become a witcher. They’ll have to cut their family out of their lives.”

***

“Let’s not talk about Moore. Come on, it’s Gwent time.”

Roy shook his head and cleared his entangled thoughts. Someday, he would have to travel to Novigrad and face this demon head on to find his answer. “I’m sorry, guys. I’m not in the mood to go for another round of Gwent now.”

“What about some drinks? It’s a tradition here. Newbies have to drink with the vets until we drop.” Serrit shot him a glare.

“Sure, but allow me to ask you one question.” Roy looked at Letho. “During my journey with Letho, he kept telling me that the school is on the brink of extinction, so did we come to Cintra to revive the school? Can you tell me how dire the situation is? Are we the only Viper School witchers left?”

“Hah, told you he’d ask that question,” Auckes bragged to his brother. “Kid, we’re not the only ones left. Kolgrim is searching for lost weapons of the Viper School all over the world, while the strongest witcher of our school—Ivar Evil-Eye—was never heard from again after he went missing twenty years ago. There are two more as well, but those fools aren’t even worth mentioning.” Auckes sounded angry.

That was a considerable amount of witchers for any school. After all, the number of witchers was on a general decline. “So how did we get to this point? And is our base located in Nilfgaard?”

“You have a lot of questions, kid.” Auckes snatched the mug of beer and took a swig, then a forlorn look appeared in his eyes. “The campus is located in the mountainous region beside Nilfgaard. Tir Tochair to be exact. It’s a fortress called Gorthur Gvaed.” Auckes looked proud bringing that up. “There’s a tower there, and you’ll have to go up a dizzying spiral staircase to get to the top. A moat a few hundred feet deep surrounds the fortress. It’s impenetrable. But well, it still couldn’t fight against the decline. The reason for that is quite complex.”

Letho continued, “For one, Nilfgaard is getting stricter on law and order within the empire.” He laughed to himself. “But heathens like us can easily break the law with our power, and the empire does not tolerate that, so they actively oppress us. Their propaganda makes it hard for witchers to survive in the south. The people start to distrust us, and the Law of Surprise is dark magic for them. They would never give us their children as payment for the requests they make, so we have less kids to train. We did try to take in kids who lost their home in the war, but people think of that as heresy, so they report us.”

Roy agreed. Even in the north, there was a general decline in the number of kids who were given using the Law of Surprise, and the people’s prejudice against witchers deepened with every passing day.

“With the harsh environment and dwindling number of recruits, the school went into a decline, but I believe that this situation will change. The people and the nations’ misunderstanding regarding witchers will one day be crushed.” Letho clenched his fists.

“However, the fatal blow against the school happened twenty years ago. That was a disaster.”

“Disaster? What disaster?” There weren’t many records regarding the Viper School, and their actual address was covered in a veil of mystery as well. It was impossible to know what kind of disaster had befallen them.

“That disaster was wrought on by the Wild Hunt.” Letho looked at Roy. “You know a lot of things, kid. Have you heard of the Wild Hunt before?”

Letho explained, “Legends have it that Wild Hunt is made up of immortal phantom knights who cover themselves with rusted armor, and they are armed with swords in the shape of lightning bolts. They ride their mounts and terrorize the skies. The Wild Hunt usually appears during winter or the long night before a war. They ravage the lands, destroying orchards and houses, and they usually take some humans with them. Mostly young children.”

“The Wild Hunt is no legend.” Letho gritted his teeth. “More than twenty years ago, because of Ivar and the fools’ absence, the Viper School didn’t manage to defend themselves against the Wild Hunt’s onslaught. The children who had passed the trial were taken away, and that effectively cut off our legacy, forcing us to disband.”

“Wait!” Roy was surprised. “Are you saying that the Wild Hunt has targeted you guys more than once?”

“That is correct.” Serrit had an icy look on his face. “Every school has their own trial, while our school used to send new witchers to face off against the Wild Hunt every decade or so. It’s a trial of sorts. The Wild Hunt has been our nemesis ever since the school’s inception. Our great founder, Ivar Evil-Eye, has a dream. He wants to defeat the Wild Hunt and end their reign of terror. Remember this, kid. That is the mission of all the Viper School’s witchers. It’s our ultimate goal, and it’s as important as reviving the school.”

“Because…” Letho had a look of admiration in his eyes. “Because he gained a special ability during the mutation. He could see countless worlds, hence the title ‘Evil-Eye.’ He can see all the plundering and pillaging done by the Wild Hunt through his Evil Eye, and that was why he created the school with the mission to defeat the Wild Hunt in mind.”

***

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