A Scholar's travels with a Witcher

It was a pleasant evening but it wasn't that long before the stresses of the day started to catch up to me.

Francesca stepped up into the position of host admirably and I was proud of her. She set up a way that we could either sit and eat or stand and eat but at the same time we could wander between each other to talk and discuss things. If I had a wish about that evening, well two wishes really, I wish I had had more time to spend with Ariadne and more time to spend with Francesca.

It's a complicated situation with Ariadne but I've since discussed it with other married coupled which said that when they were lucky enough to know or even meet the person that they were going to marry and were betrothed then something else happened instead. They found that they were almost separated from their future spouses. At a time when they should be getting to know each other and learning what each other likes and dislikes, on a practical level even, the two are kept apart. There are two reasons for this. The first is societal. It is important, especially the further up the chain of nobility you are that the lady remain a virgin.

Yes I am well aware of the unfairness of this fact as especially in the male case they are even encouraged to get it on with as many people as possible. The other horror being that this often means that the lady's first sexual encounter is the wedding night after you've just, really, met your husband and I have not met any women, ever, at all, who enjoyed their first sexual experience.

Ever.

So picture the scene. You've just met this man opposite you after the wedding. You're both tired, both a little drunk if not very drunk. You're both sweaty and uncomfortable in the ridiculous clothes that they make you wear and in some cases there are even witnesses standing in the corner of the room who are there to witness the fact that the consummation took place at all.

The man knows what's coming next.

The woman does not.

Does that not strike you as a perfect recipe for horror?

But still, rant over.

I would have liked to spend more time with Ariadne. I wanted to talk about Mark's illness with her as I was still at that stage of grief where I was refusing to believe that it was hopeless. I wanted to talk about the future I wanted to plan things as well as looking forward to exploring some of those “erogenous zones” that she had mentioned earlier. But she was being monopolised by Laurelen and my two sisters who were doing their best, and rightly so, to welcome the vampire into our family. From the looks that Ariadne sent me she felt the same way. We did talk about it later in a slightly more private moment and she explained that it was vital that she appear conservative and traditional in her actions to avoid any of the potential backlash at her position and rank.

My other wish was that I would have spent more time with Francesca. I had always been close with Emma but I had been incredibly fond of Frannie while she had been growing up. She was always so sweet and kind and gentle to everyone that she met. Now as I saw her playing host to so many people including at least two strangers to her, she had come into her own. Graceful, intelligent, witty and charming. As I watched I saw her deflect a barb from Sammy, retort a joke back at Emma herself and put a Witcher at ease when he started to become uncomfortable. She chatted with Princess Dorn as though they were old friends despite never having met before that day. All the while she was getting messages from elsewhere in the palace and directing servants with class and grace.

Emma caught me watching her at one point.

“Our little sister's all grown up.” She whispered to me.

“And surpassed us all.” I said.

Emma nodded. “She's already got the ear of the Empress and as the Empress' star rises then so to will Francesca. She's going to marry some important noble in the Imperial court and when he tries to move her out to some country estate with an excuse of.... the estate needs managing the Empress will tell him to fuck off and that Frannie is needed at court more than he is.”

“Good for her.” I said.

“You helped her get there Freddie.” I thought about this for a moment.

“Nah,” I said. “If nothing had happened she still would have found a way in.”

It was Emma's turn to consider. “You are probably right.”

But as I say, the stresses of the day began to overwhelm me. Sam had retired earlier who is my normal drinking partner for family gatherings but he had pleaded the need to rest as he had a match at the tournament the following day and needed to get his head down. I had already noticed that he was drinking milk rather than wine.

I stayed up as long as I could but Emma took notice and decreed that it was time for us all to go to bed as we all had a busy day tomorrow.

I did wonder why as, what with the Empresses demands I was there earlier than I had first expected to be. The coronation wasn't for another day. I had been looking forward to seeing Sam joust and milling about in the court for a day. Not least of which was the possibility of spending a bit of time with Ariadne and Kerrass.

But it would seem that there were other plans afoot.

“The Empress required you.” Was all that Emma would say, over and over again until she finally admitted that she didn't know why I had been summoned.

The following morning, the day after what was surely one of the longest and most event packed days of my life, I woke up to a stiff back and neck along with a killer headache.

Fortunately living with a Sorceress means that my headache was quickly dismissed. The stiffness though, that would need some work.

There was a messenger waiting for me saying that I was expected at the palace training yards with my weapons. Expected by the Empress no less.

“Fucking wonderful.” I commented to my sister who has the temerity to be a morning person. “Is there any chance. Any chance at all that I might get a couple of hours in a dark and quiet room to process everything that happened yesterday?”

She tried and failed to look sympathetic, instead managing to achieve big sisterly amusement and pushed a bowl of porridge towards me.

“A quiet and dark place alone with Ariadne you mean?”

I shivered. “In that particular case I think I would rather work up to that. Gently and with a large lead in to it.”

“Wuss.”

“Maybe so. I love the woman but at the same time, the prospect of any kind of lust filled shenanigans in a darkened room is still quite, quite terrifying.”

“I still think you're a wuss.”

“Thank you for the support Sister dear.”

“Oh suck it up. You're not the one who has to organise the entire thing.”

“True, but even so, it's a little early to be discussing table settings.”

I was unceremoniously pushed out of the door. I took my leathers, my knife and my spear and walked up to the palace. One of the guards pointed me off in the right direction to where I found Kerrass and a number of other Witchers going through their exercises. I was introduced and had the privilege of finally meeting the White Wolf of legend. He seemed a little quieter than I had imagined from the works of the bard. I didn't have much of a chance to sit and talk with him as I was otherwise occupied. In all truth, he's a good looking man with the handsome good looks of someone who is obviously rather weather beaten and who is blessed with a strongly developed musculature. He, like the other Witchers that I have met other than Letho and the Bear Witcher who I will get to, were a lot leaner than I expected. It makes sense but I always imagine broad shoulders along with heavy muscles. The muscles are there but they're built for speed. In the same way that a fencer stands side on to an opponent in order to present as small a target profile as possible, Witchers think in the same way. Movement and dodging are important and so, massive shoulders and huge pectorals don't really help there.

I got the opportunity to work out some stiffness with Kerrass as well as get some solid training in with some of the others.

Including the Empress who was also there. She was dressed almost identically to how Francesca had been the previous day.

She kicked my ass up and down the training field. She was awfully fast. Frightfully fast. I could just about hold my own if all I worried about was defending myself but every time I tried to formulate some kind of attacking strategy, she taught me the error of my ways.

I also saw Francesca train. She was good. My male pride was a little damaged but I shouldn't have been surprised. She was a gifted dancer already and as a result could pick up the movements with remarkable speed.

But as I say, I didn't really get that much of a chance to watch.

The purpose of the morning's exercise was so that the Empress could properly practice with her new Crossbow. Over and over again I had to re-emphasise the point that I had only had two quick test firings of the damn thing before I had taken it away from the dwarven craftsman's hands. I knew how it all worked but I didn't know the “why” of how it worked. The Empress tried the firing of it several times until she was approaching being satisfied with it's use and it's strength. I demonstrated how it could be taken apart for cleaning and oiling. It was rather off-putting the level of concentration that the Empress showed as she learned how to do that. But then Lord Voorhis arrived and started asking questions.

Because then it was time for the Empress to practice drawing and firing the bow. She started to figure out where she wanted the holster for it to sit and also the small quivers for the bolts. An Imperial seamstress was brought out and seemed most offended to be asked whether she could work the bow and the bolts into a dress, whether a bandoleer or a harness around the Empress' leg could be made. All the while, the Witchers were making their own notes and comments.

I got a general idea that Lord Voorhis, whose position at court seems to be as advisor as well as master of Intelligence to the Empress had a plan of having the Empress' ladies and companions all trained in the use of the bow. He wanted to know whether or not the dwarven craftsman would be willing to build, say, another thirty of the bows, or to instruct an Imperial weaponsmith in how to use the bows. Emma had me well trained though. I told him that I had never known a craftsperson yet who would turn down large sums of money and that he should enquire through my sister who would make the necessary arrangements.

I will admit that the prospect of people walking around with hidden weapons was a bit nerve-wracking. One of the benefits of a sword is that everyone can see it. It's there and it's a sword. But I told myself that people have been coming up with ways to hide knives about their person for centuries. And got on with it.

Eventually though, the need to run the Empire intruded. A man called Talbot arrived and was introduced to me as the Empress' private secretary came to the Empress and simply said.

“It's time,” at which time the Empress abruptly left the crossbow in the hands of Lord Voorhis and told us all that we “have permission to play with her new toy.” I would have left the comment there but Lord Voorhis and the other Witchers gathered round it with exactly that kind of enthusiasm.

I got a bit of training in with Kerrass before another courtier came in and came to me. “The Empress' compliments Lord Frederick. Would you follow me please?”

“Certainly. Should I bring my weapons?”

The courtier looked astonished at the question. “Umm, no?”

I handed them off to a bemused looking Kerrass and quickly threw off my leather jerkin before following the man.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sir?”

“When you say that. Whenever you bring a message to someone you say that the person who sent the message is sending their compliments. Did they actually send their compliments?”

“In most cases milord. Certainly in this one. But if I am to be completely honest. Wars have been averted by a messenger interpreting. “Get that stupid fucker here now or I'm going to rip off his testicles.” or words to that effect to “The Emperor's compliments Milord. He wondered if you could join him at your earliest possible convenience,”

“I see.”

“Yes sir,”

“Important job then, being an Imperial messenger.”

“You could say that Milord.”

I was shown into a private room and invited to freshen up. I did so to find that a clean shirt and doublet had been provided. Then I was led into a large room. White marble stone was on the floor and ion the many pillared walls. There were also plants dotted around the place and a large table on one side of the room that was laden down with food.

I was not alone either. There were two Witchers who were stood together at the food table. I recognised one as being Eskel with his heavily scarred face and red studded leather jacket. He was without swords this time but the man he was standing with was a giant. Easily over seven foot tall and as heavily muscled to go with it. A large beard that was plaited with iron rings and various things that I recognised as being charms of various kinds. He wasn't armoured, instead wearing a shirt and some plain woolen trousers that were marked with a crossed pattern of green and blue squares. He and Eskel seemed to know each other so I wandered over to begin to introduce myself.

As I did so Two Sorceresses were shown into the room. I recognised them both, the first from having seen her in person when she was entering with the Empress the previous day. The other I recognised from the numerous wanted posters that had liberally papered both Novigrad and Oxenfurt during Radovid's purging of magic users. Yennefer of Vengerberg and Philippa Eilhart. If only half of what I knew about these two was true, especially with how they felt about each other then neither one of them wanted to be in the same place for any kind of extended period of time.

I've already talked about what Yennefer of Vengerberg looks like. For those who didn't catch the last issue, lets just say that the descriptions of her beauty have not been understated. Hers is a beauty that promises darkness and passion, storms and flurries. I still can't pretend to know the woman and I'm told that she has mellowed considerably from when she was at her most active but even so...

What can I say about Philippa Eilhart that has not already been said by so many people. The pictures that are drawn of her generally included a lot of cleavage with a strap of cloth over her eyes from the time when, supposedly, Kind Radovid himself had those eyes taken out. I can't answer for that as she certainly had eyes when she came into the room. Whereas the Lady Yennefer's beauty puts you in mind of a storm of lightening, wind and rain, Lady Phillipa is about cold and ice. They reminded me of two stern teachers. The one who, if you made her angry would be furious with you and rage, scream and shout before realising that she had gone too far and then given you a boiled sweet. Lady Phillipa was the kind of person who was cool to everyone. If you angered her or, rather, dissappointed her. Then you would never regain her favour. Beautiful? Yes, but in the same way that a statue is beautiful, or a sword can be beautiful. Cold and hard.

I was famished and after introducing myself to the strange Witcher who introduced himself as Uhtred from the Ursine school of Witchers, I grabbed a plate and piled it high with pastries while at the same time trying to avoid the looks of the two women. The fact that the Witchers were also as uncomfortable as I was was not a reassuring factor.

I was right to load myself up with food though as then, in through the doors strode the Empress. I don't know how she had managed it but she had gone from the rough and ready outfit and manner, dirty and sweaty along with the best of us. To being the cold and assured Empress in the same amount of time as it had taken me to have a quick wash and a bite to eat. Not a hair was out of place and her outfit was a similar kind of coat to the one she had been wearing the previous night. I fancied it might be a bit plainer and darker in shade.

She was accompanied by a few other men. One of which I recognised as the Arch-Chancellor of the University of Oxenfurt. The old man is a seasoned campaigner of such things though. A large man, far too used to the oversized dinners that he's expected to attend but that same excess is adjusted by the same fact that he spends the rest of his time on his feet. He's also, the most intelligent man I've ever known. He'd stomped over to the table with the food and piled his own plate high.

“Coulthard,” He said by way of greeting, jamming a pastry into his mouth.

“Sir,” I said.

He waved his hand dismissively. “You're on the faculty now Coulthard. In fact, I should call you Proffessor really.”

“I'm not sure that I could take that from you sir.”

He laughed, spraying crumbs everywhere.

“Might we expect a follow up text Coulthard? To your “On Witchers,””

“On what subject Sir?”

“On Vampires? With a special mention regarding mating habits.”

He laughed at his own jest.

I considered my response carefully.

“With all due respect Arch-Chancellor. Fuck off.”

“Is the right answer Coulthard. Congratulations by the way. I trust there'll be an invite?”

“Of course sir.”

“Excellent.”

The Empress cleared her throat from where she had been speaking with the two Sorceresses.

“Thank you all for coming. Please take your seats.”

The Arch-chancellor picked up a jug of watered wine and brought it over to the table while giving me a huge wink.

To this day, I still can't decide if I like the man. Sometimes he's genial and friendly but sometimes he just makes my fists itch.

I will also just take this opportunity to say 'Hello sir, thank you for reading.'

So we all sat down around the table, drinks were collected and settled before the servants departed.

“Right then.” The Empress stood up. “I don't have a lot of time so I'll keep this brief. Sitting round the table we have, Lord knight, Franz Helrich, Knight Marshall of Redania, next to him we have Sir Terrence de Carnier of Temeria. Next to him, Arch-chancellor Phillip of oxenfurt university, Proffessor Frederick de Coulthard, Master Witcher Eskel of the Wolf school and Master Witcher Uhtred of the Bear school of Witchers.

“Continuing round the table, Madame Philippa Eilhart, Madame Yennefer of Vengerberg and Knight Marshalls Kristoff and Chabert of Nilfgaard.”

We all nodded awkwardly. I can't speak for anyone else but I considered myself lucky that I knew two of the other people round the table. I noticed that all the military people seemed to know each other though but I didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

“As we sit here the last of my pre-coronation declarations is being made. There are two points to this. The first point is that the remaining Witchers have been working for the betterment of civilisation on the continent for many years. So it has been decided that, from the moment of my crowning. Witchers are to be given the same protections and rights as official Guildsmasters on the continent. This would put them on a par with the Stone-masons guild, the Wood-crafters guild and so on. This is so that what few remaining Witchers there are no longer have to live in fear that they will simply be used as a scapegoat in the matter of....whatever is going on locally. They must be tried properly and according to the law. Breaking of this will be treated just as harshly as if someone attacked or murdered any other guildsman.”

She looked us each in the eye.

The force of her personality was telling. I discussed it later with the Arch-Chancellor and he agreed with me.

Whatever we might all feel personally about the Witchers, and certainly I thought that Madame Eilhart did NOT look happy, the Empress said and it thus it was so.

“The second point is this.” The Empress went on.

“My father asked me to become his heir and to take up this position for him in an effort to quieten down his critics.”

I noticed that the Nilfgaardian knights smiled and squirmed a little.

“I know this but that is not the reason that I accepted the position. That reason is this. Towards the end of the third war with the North, just before the armistice was signed, there was another Conjunction of the spheres.”

The room shifted. The Witchers themselves barely reacted but I thought I could see a glimmer in the depths of their eyes. The two women shifted in their seats. I get the feeling that they knew, Lady Philippa was unhappy, even angry while Lady Yennefer was watching the rest of us. The Arch-Chancellor gasped in shock and surprise while the knights shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

“This proves the theory,” The Empress went on, I don't think she raised her voice but it felt like her voice was overwhelming the rest of us. “That the conjunction is an astrological effect that happened before the Conjunction that brought magic through with it, and that it will happen again. The Lodge of Sorceresses is working to address this phenomenon in an effort to quantify and measure it in an effort to try to find out when it will happen again so that we can properly plan for it.”

“But it will definitely happen again?” The Arch-Chancellor asked.

“Oh yes,” Madame Yennefer said.

“Of course it will, don't be a fool,” Lady Eilhart's voice was a whip-crack. “It is a magical phenomenon and as such this is beyond doubt. Although I would rather that we had discussed it a little more privately before...”

“That's enough,” The Empress said quietly. But her eyes were venomous.

My glance darted from one woman to the other and back. I had the sense that this was an old argument and an old anger.

“This conjunction could not have come at a worse time,” The Empress went on. Ignoring the glares that were being sent her way. “The war has weakened both the North and the South, depopulating vast swathes of the countryside and leaving behind far too many corpses to be properly cared for. Both the Witchers and my knights tell me that the number of monsters out there has increased on an exponential level. This coupled with the mutation of many different kinds of monsters...”

“Forgive me Your Majesty. I am just a simple knight.... Mutation?” I think it was the Temerian knight.

“Monsters are appearing where they shouldn't be. They are adapting to their environments.” The Arch-Chancellor put in.

“In any case.” The Empress went on. She seemed calm but also impatient as though she was longingto get this done so that she could get on to something else. “This means that monster population is back on the rise. We need a counter to this problem. There are other solutions that are being considered but one of those solutions both to deal with the existing monster problems as well as any future monster problems from future Conjunctions, is whether or not the Continent needs more Witchers.”

There was more shifting of weight and uncomfortable looks between us all.

“What is represented here, is the foremost magical expert on Witchers in Lady Yennefer as she has made an extensive study of them. Also the foremost mundane expert in Proffessor Coulthard. We also have two Witchers, military experts and a civilian expert. What I require from you all is a recommendation on several levels, although I don't need it today, I would like your preliminary thoughts and plans by sundown”

She let a small amount of humour creep into her voice.

“First of all, should it be Witchers?

“Secondly, can we make more Witchers?

“Thirdly, presuming we can, should we make more Witchers?

“Fourthly, How do we set about this task?”

“I want your early thoughts as soon as you can ladies and gentlemen. I'll leave you a scribe to record things. thank you very much.”

She just got up and left.

We rose to watch her leave.

Then there was a long period of us standing around looking at each other.

“Well shit,” said one of the knights. “What happens now?”

“I think that the Empress has just asked us to form a committee to discuss and formulate an idea of how to fight an unexpected upswing in monster activity.” It was lady Yennefer that had spoken. She sat down and crossed her legs before folding her hands in her lap, exactly like a school mistress.

“A committee,” Sir Kristtoff's eyebrow's rose sharply.

“Yes,” Yennefer's own immaculate eyebrow rose to meet it. “In which case the first thing we should do is to choose a chair-person.”

“Which will be whom?” Lady Philippa's voice was dripping with scorn. She was sat with her arms folded across her chest and wore a scowl that threatened to tear the testicles off, or ovaries out of anyone that disagreed with her.

“I nominate the Arch-Chancellor.” I said leaning forward. In the corner of the room was a young man in white robe who was busy scratching at a piece of parchment. I recognised shorthand when I saw it. I wandered over and stole a piece of paper and a bit of charcoal for my own notes.

“Seconded,” I thought it was Marshall Helrich of Redania that said it.

“Why him?” Lady Eilhart asked, seemingly outraged at the suggestion that it was anyone at all. But if it was going to be someone, then why not her?

“Because he has experience with this kind of thing.” I said, passing over a piece of paper and another pencil to the Arch-Chancellor. “Forgive me Madam but, The Lodge of Sorceresses is a democratic system if I understand correctly, each member gets an equal vote on every issue that is debated am I right?”

I didn't get an answer although I saw that Lady Yennefers eyes were gleaming.

“The Witchers are lone huntsman and as such have no experience in running an advisory committee. The same with the military men amongst us as they are men who are used to giving their opinions but then the man at the top makes the decision and that person's word is law. The only person I can see who has any experience at all in running committees is the Arch-Chancellor, who, to my mind at least, seems to do nothing else with his time other than sit on committees.”

“Thank you Proffessor,” The Arch-chancellor rumbled in a doom laden voice. “Perhaps one day I should retire and name you to the post as a form of vengeance.”

“Maybe you will sir, but admit it. You love it really.”

The old man harumphed.

“Then there is the first motion.” Said the Arch Chancellor. “I am the nominee for chair all those in favour to raise their hands.”

It was unanimous. The first to raise their hand was me. The last was Madame Philippa who raised her hand in an effort not to be the lone hold out.”

“Well that was easy,” The Arch-Chancellor made a note and poured himself a drink. So, we've got four questions before us which boils down to, in my mind, Who? Can? Should? And How? First though I suggest that we all take a moment to get some food and something to drink from the table and take a moment to order our thoughts. These things can be thirsty work.”

He was right. I've only ever been in committees that decided things like “What colour should the protest placards be,” and things of that nature and those meetings could take all day.”

“So where do we start?” The Chancellor began as we all sat down. “It strikes me that this is a chain of questioning. It's not just about Witchers as a whole, forgive me gentlemen,”

Eskel waved a hand, Uhtred seemed amused by the entire thing.

“But what it's about is the question of how to deal with the Monsters. The Empress has suggested that the creation of more Witchers is a solution to the problem. The idea certainly has merit in that it has been done before, that is the solution that everyone will understand and therefore people will listen if we simply say, there are more monsters out there, therefore we need more Witchers.

“On the other hand, the Empress' history with Witchers might be colouring her opinion on the matter. Since the publications of the bards work on the White Wolf of Rivia and, to a lesser extent, the published travel journals of Proffessor Frederick here, there is a certain.... glamourisation of Witchers that has taken place. A factor that Proffessor Frederick has pointed out on a couple of occasions to his own credit. Are we just saying, “We have a Witcher shaped hole, therefore we need to fill it with a Witcher shaped peg?

“Coupling this with the fact that I, for one, do not want to go to the Empress after my first official job at her request and say, “We disagree with the solution you gave us Your Majesty and we don't have an alternative,” So lets start there. Are Witchers the right solution to this problem or would we, and the Empires subjects, be better served by something else?

“So that is the first question? Opening up to thoughts. Let's keep our first meeting civil if possible and try to put off the hair pulling and name calling until future meetings. Gives us something to look forward to after all.”

“Do you think this will take more than one meeting?” Asked Marshall Chabert of Nilfgaard. He was clearly from Toussaint as the golden paint on his armour gave him away as a knight errant. He also seemed faintly horrified at the prospect of further meetings.

“Undoubtedly.” said the Arch-Chancellor. “Even, in the highly unlikely event of us coming up with a definitive plan and solution to the problems caused by this and future Conjunctions. That plan would still need to be implemented. Then it will go wrong, because it always does, and we will absolutely be called on to fix it afterwards.”

“I see,” Chabert slouched in his chair and poured himself some more Wine.

“So, any thoughts jumping out.”

“Yes, I have a thought.” Lady Eilhart leant forward. “This entire process is a pantomime and we should stop wasting each others time. The matter should be turned over to the Magic users of the continent completely and utterly.”

I thought that the Arch-chancellor was very diplomatic really. He made a small note on his paper and said nothing.

“But how's that madam? The number of magic users in the world has been decimated.” Knight Marshall Kristoff of Nilfgaard.

Sorry for keeping on writing the names and titles down. There were a lot of people talking, often at the same time so I don't want any confusion about who said what.

“Yes, Thrown on pyres of righteousness by knights and people like you.”

“But not me Madam.” Kristoff went on. “Nor by anyone under my command certainly. Also, Magic users were not the only victims of those flames. There were also many non-humans, innocent humans, political victims and even one or two Witchers themselves I understand. Prosecuted for the crime of defending themselves from angry mobs who were marching them to the lynching tree. The fact remains that if the monster population has gone up then there will need to be a solution that comes in many parts.

“I, for one am happy to accept that the Lodge and....Is there a new council of mages yet? No? Then I am happy to accept that the Lodge can, and will devote itself to the matter of the conjunction itself to either prevent or mitigate it's effects. But what about everything that has come through in the mean time. Those things need hunting and destroying. Are there enough Sorceresses and mages to deal with each and every colony of Nekkers on my fathers lands? There are quite a few of them.”

Lady Eilhart bristled and had opened her mouth to speak but the Arch-Chancellor jumped in. “So there we have the first alternative suggested. That the magic users of the continent deal with the problem so Lady Eilhart is that possible?”

“Yes.”

“It is?”

“Yes,”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“So the members of the Lodge, and I'm not going to ask how many of you there are, but the members of the Lodge are going to sort out the problem regarding the Conjunction of Spheres, as well as identifying all the monsters that came through after the most recent instance before destroying them all en masse? That's a lot of work especially as at least one of your number has her hands full advising King Tankred of Kovir and another member is busy running the rest of the world. That's a lot to take on. I imagine that you can do this because magic is unquantifiably powerful. So how long is this going to take?”

Lady Eilhart opened her mouth to speak but I thought I heard something and my eyes quickly darted to Lady Yennefer who was just lowering her hand from her mouth. The sound I had heard was the lady coughing.

Lady Eilhart subsided.

“It is my view that the vast majority of the surviving magic users will not come forth to help.” Sir Kristoff said tentatively into the uncomfortable silence. “The Northerners are not alone in their.... prejudices.” He smiled apologetically to the two women. “The Empire is just as guilty of looking down on magic users and seeking to throw constraints on them, their power and their behaviour both by law and by other means. If I were a magic user I would want to stay in hiding for a bit longer at least to make sure that the persecutions are not going to take up again from where they left off under the Empress.”

There was some more general mumbling of agreement about this, including from me. “I don't know about magic milady but I do know about strategy. The one thing that the rest of us can't do is to deal with the problem of the Conjunction itself. That uses forces that we don't understand. Solving or lessening that problem should be the best use of the magic users time and energy.”

“I agree,” said Lord Helrich of Redania. “There would then be the matter of, with the relatively small number of magic users, where would they go? To deal with what? When? How much is that going to cost? How long will that take? Who has priority? A Dragon that is attacking a tiny, mostly deserted town or the nekker underneath a larger urban area? We need a larger more numerous solution to the problem than a handful of magic users, no matter how talented and beautiful they might be.”

The attempt of charm from the knight marshal was misplaced and only resulted in a look of scorn from madame Yennefer and a sneer from Madame Philippa.

“What I don't understand is this,” the Knight marshal went on. “People keep telling me that there is an abundance of monsters and brigands and that this is brought on by the end of the three wars and the depopulation and demobilisation of the military. We also know that the large standing armies of Nilfgaard are costly and that the empire can't afford to have them standing around, drawing pay and not doing anything. Why not use that one problem to solve another? Use the army to end these threats. It wouldn't take more than a good squad of soldiers to deal with a set of Nekkers would it? With all due respect to the Witchers around the table it would strike me that the simple solution here is the best.

“With all due respect Marshall but that simply won't work?” Eskel said leaning forward.

“With all due respect Master Witcher, but why not?”

“In this case, lets admit that I have hunted more monsters than you. On a regular basis I came across cases where there is a known monster, a Griffin say, that is attacking nearby villagers. The local Lord sends a bunch of soldiers. The Griffin kills the soldiers but becomes injured. Nothing serious but now it's pissed off and sees humans as a threat and goes berzerk. Soldiers and knights simply lack the training to know what they're talking about and will get themselves killed at best, or get other people killed at worst. Believe me Marshall, even the smallest and most timid Nekker or similar Goblinoid has claws that will make mockery of all but the toughest plate.”

“I'm glad to see that you value soldiers lives below local villagers lives Master Witcher,” The Knight Marshall commented.

“That's not what I'm saying.”

“Is it not?”

“Gentlemen,” snapped the Arch-Chancellor quelling the raised voices instantly.

“There is another problem with using knights or men at arms that belong to armies or noble lords.” Said Sir Terrence of Redania. “Best will in the world but what if the knights or soldiers answer to one lord. There is a monster problem just over the border on his neighbours land. Unfortunately the neighbour recently insulted the Lords wife. Would he send soldiers to help? Or would he purposefully with hold aid in an effort to make his point meaning, that more die or the monster has room to breed.”

“Further than that,” Gottfried of Nilfgaard added. “Lets say I hear about a monster threat in, say, the client state of Rivia. Lets say an outbreak of Ghouls. I decide to send a Regiment of men at arms along with twenty or so knights as command. I hear about this threat from the villagers and the traders that come to me from Rivia. I send my forces. In the meantime the Rivian authorities have also heard about this threat. They have set out to deal with it. But then they hear that I, a Nilfgaardian noble have sent out a force of men. I reacted quickly to sort the problem out as fast as possible and the messenger that I have sent is lost or is disbelieved. So suddenly, what the Rivians see is an invading or a raiding force of men. Wars have begun in such a manner.”

“So what would need to happen would be that there would need to be a portion of monster hunting knights or soldiers assigned to territories and then the cases get assigned according to territory,” mused Marshall Chabert.

“Yes in theory,” Gottfried countered. “But what if the force is in one part of their province but there's a monster outbreak elsewhere. In the meantime there are other provinces where the monster hunting regiment is employed to sit around and polish their armour. I doubt very much that the monsters would behave according to our border controls.”

Witcher Uhtred sniggered at the thought

“Monsters do migrate.” Eskel pointed out. “They change and mutate and go where the feeding is easiest but that only covers the less intelligent species.”

“So what we would be looking at would be small units of centrally governed knights who take their orders, only from their own hierarchy that nobles are expected to allow through their lands without challenge.”

Knight Marshall Helrich shifted in his chair uncomfortably. “This isn't as easy as I thought.”

“What about the church knights?” Sir Terrence asked. “We had a group of them in Temeria. The Flaming Rose? Admittedly they were lead by a religious fanatic who tried to usurp the throne but at the same time, they did their best to hunt out the monsters.”

“Yes, but didn't they also decide that magic-users and non-humans were also monsters.” Said Madame Yennefer. The first words she had said aloud were startling. “Also the royal family of Temeria as was as well as anyone who disagreed with them as I recall.”

“Yes, I realised how ridiculous it sounded as I began to say it out loud. But in theory the principle is sound.”

“In theory?” Marhsall Chabert piped up. He was pulling on his moustaches. “In theory yes. But there's a reason that the knight's errant of Toussaint are constrained by so many rules. If you follow them up accordingly it means that they can't really do anything without breaking one of them as they trap themselves in a web of chivalric nonsense.”

“A chivalric nonsense that you follow Sir knight?”

“Well of course.” Chabert explained. “Otherwise, what's the point. But just because I follow it doesn't mean I don't also know how stupid it all is.”

“There's another problem with church knights or any kind of knightly order on that line.” Gottfried again.

“The knights themselves have a tendency to decide what a monster is and what they aren't.”

“And Witchers don't?” Asked Franz Helrich.

“Of course they do. But their codes are solely to do with monsters. Religious orders are founded on religions. What if a village is suffering under the boot of a hag of some kind whether it's a Grave, swamp or sewage Hag. Passing holy knight hears about this but discovers that there's a shrine to Veyopatis in the village. Obviously then this village is heretical and the hag is the village's just punishment. Knight moves on. Village continues to languish.”

“But if the person answers to a higher authority... If the knight gets ordered to do the killing by their local priest say...”

“Ok. Let's suppose. Just suppose that the local priest is good and kind and just. What about the next local priest, or the next one. Running it from the top. Is the master of the knights true, just and incorruptible. If he, or she begging the ladies pardon, is? Is his Secretary? How about his second in command? How about the third? How about the local administrators? Suddenly it gets around that one administrator is taking bribes to send the knights over to one province over the next making it look as though one lord has more armed forces than the other and these knights are just one more political tool over another.”

“Speaking as a Witcher,” Uhtred spoke for the first time. “The number of times people try to use us as political tools is rather....annoying.” His voice was curiously higher pitched than I had expected.

Silence reigned for a bit longer.

“We're nowhere,” said the Arch-Chancellor. “Time for a break. I suggest we return to the table with a mind set of, “Why Witchers?” now rather than anything else.”

“That's a short time between breaks.” Lady Philippa commented acidly.

“This thinking and debating is thirsty and hungry work,” The Arch-Chancellor commented slapping his belly. “You didn't think I got my heroic frame from spending days in the exercise yard did you?”

He ignored her quick retort and went back to the table for another plate of food.

“Ok.” He said as we all sat back down. I noticed that only he had a full plate of food. The Sorceresses had a bunch of grapes to share between them but everyone else was pacing themselves with the jugs of watered wine. There was a better than evens chance that one or two of the knights marshal would be pissed before the meeting was over. Then the thought occurred that maybe this was the Arch-Chancellor's strategy.

“So, We've talked about knights and we've shot down each others points for a little while now. According to my notes here, knights or soldiers are under-trained and under equipped for the threats that they would be expected to face on a daily basis.”

“Under trained? Not that I'm arguing the point but why do we think that?” Gottfried asked.

“What's the difference between a Royal Griffin and a normal one?” asked Eskel. “Of those which is the more dangerous, a female or a male? When? Why is it more dangerous? how do you counter that? Lets say that it's a male Royal Griffin. Does it hunt at night or during the day? What does it hunt? Where does it prefer to nest? Is it better to try and drug it like a cobbler would drug a dragon or is it better to set a trap? Or wait for it to be asleep? If it's asleep, what time of day or night is it more likely to be faster asleep?”

“Right then, I get the picture.”

“That's just royal Griffin's you understand. What about Cockatrices?”

“Ok enough enough.” The knight Marshall laughed a little and waved his hands in surrender.

“Not to belabour the point,” Eskel went on, “But Witchers are trained to think creatively and as individuals, whereas soldiers, whether on foot or on horseback, are trained to think as part of units and to always, always follow the orders of your superiors. Imagination is death to a soldier as when you are given an order you must follow that order instantly and without question, and an imagination defeats that. Whereas a Witcher needs to examine the possibilities.”

“A student of tactics master Witcher?”

“Everyone has to have a hobby.”

“I for one am sold on the idea of Witchers.” Said Marshall Gottfried. “I have had the opportunity to hire one myself and the man seemed eminently sensible to me. Rude and a little bit of an inflated sense of self worth but on the whole they made sense to me.”

“I'm not as convinced,” Franz-Hubert spoke up. “I don't like the idea of an elite fighting unit in the hands of anyone, without some kind of oversight.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, lets say we create a new bath of Witchers. Lets also say that they go out into the world with the best of intentions. Then lets say that they get caught up in one cause or another despite their own best intentions. These people are men after all. And men, no matter how hard they try, can be manipulated. The most famous Witcher in the world, the White Wolf, was easily manipulated many times by, begging the ladies pardon, Sorceresses, Kings and creatures all the time.”

“I'm not saying that I disagree with you Lord Hubert,” Said Chabert, “But the Witcher's code of neutrality is famous enough that even I have heard about it. The White Wolf in question tends to get quite poetic on the subject.

“Yes, but according to that same ballad, the White Wolf also forgot his own neutrality on many separate occasions. And he is just one amongst many.”

“That is why the declaration that Witchers fall under the rules set aside by the craftsman guild charter is so important,” Said Gottfried. “Not only would Witchers be trained to believe in Neutrality but they would be required, by law, to follow that rule. The code of the Witchers which, even to me, seems to shift and change according to which Witcher you talk to, would now be enforcible.”

“That is a valid point.”

“As Master Eskel points out. Witchers are individual fighters. One Witcher can deflect a bolt in flight. I've even seen this technique demonstrated but the manouver needs room to move. In a military situation, the Witcher would have difficulty against two, or three trained bowmen negating his advantage in military situations.”

“True,”

“A guild of monster exterminators is an attractive one,” said Chabert. “Even the Rat-catchers have their own guild. It's just that this would be a different guild. Like a craft guild even.”

“Mmm,” Grunted Franz-Hubert and I had the impression that he was beginning to allow himself to be persuaded. “So, an independent guild of monster-slayers. Independent of crown and church. But why Witchers. Why not normal man? I'm sure that there is a reason that this is the case but what is it?”

“Master Witchers?” The Arch-Chancellor raised his eyebrow in their direction. “I can understand your desire to stay quiet on many of these matters but surely this is a point at which your input could make a difference.”

“Undoubtedly.” Said Eskel. “Unfortunately I am not really in a position to properly define the answer here.”

The two of them looked at each other before they sighed. In the end it was Uhtred that spoke.

“Do you know what a Kikkimore is gentlemen? I know that the honoured ladies will be aware.”

There was some shifting of weight. Even the bravest soldiers still don't want to be the first to hold their hands up in class.

“It's an insectoid species.” I said. “Ranging from the size of large hounds or ponies but can grow up to the size of a decent war-horse and in the case of the hive Queen then they can stand at ten to twelve feet high from foot to shoulder. Organisation of the hive can roughly be acquainted to that of ants or bees but that would be an oversimplification and it would be a mistake to assume that these creatures are stupid.”

“In broad terms that is correct.”

“In broad terms,” I agreed. “I flatter the assembly that they can do without the full lecture and diagrams.”

I saw a couple of smirks quickly subdued including from Eskel.

“I have here a sample of Kikkimore venom.” said Uhtred pulling out a glass vial, half filled with some viscous, unpleasant looking liquid. “There are a couple of hives in Toussaint if you know where to look. They are tolerated here because they churn the soil and their secretions help the ground be of suitable acidic and alkali levels which helps in the growth of fruit bearing plants. It also means that the knights errant have something to train against.”

Marshall Chabert grinned at some kind of private memory. Uhtred continued.

“I went there in an effort to harvest some things for some potions as they can be useful in their purest form as I'm sure the ladies will attest. Kikkimore warriors, the horse sized ones, spit this stuff. It is both a paralytic as well as being acidic.” He removed the lid from the vial and an acrid,, eye-watering scent filled the room. He rose and went over to where the food rested and came back with a large hunk of ham and a small plate.

“Starting with the ham.” He poured out a couple of drops of the liquid onto the ham. I had seen this kind of demonstration before as Kerrass had performed a similar stunt while delivering a lecture at the university. The point of the ham where the liquid touched started to smoke and hiss violently. Then it started to burn before our eyes. As the stain spread the process slowed but it was no less virulent.

“Anyone care for a slice?” The Arch-chancellor quipped. I had forgotten that he had been at the demonstration as well. The smell was putrid in the air. Uhtred tipped the ham into the fireplace.

“Imagine that stuff in contact with a human skin.” he said, “Now the same demonstration but with this metal plate.”

Again, a little drop. Again, similar discolouration, hissing and smoking. After a minute or so the hissing and the billowing stopped. Uhtred showed the plate around, a large circle of darkened metal showed itself. “Not much to look at,” the Witcher said before poking his finger through the circle which crumbled.

“Any questions?”

“Why would you want to harvest such stuff?” asked someone, I think it was Sir Terrence of Temeria,

“Interesting question,” said Uhtred with an unpleasant smile. “Bottoms up.” He drank off the vial of liquid before pulling a face.

“Tastes like ass though. Now a further demonstration. Anyone care to volunteer? more dramatic for a military type than any of our erstwhile scholars though.”

Franz-Hubert rose. “I will as I asked the question.”

“Stand facing me sir Knight.” They did so. “Now then Sir knight. The purpose of the exercise is this. Kikkimore venom is one of the ingredients that we use in our potions to increase our reflexes speed.”

His words began to slur at the end.

“There are some side-effects though as you can see.” He was blinking furiously for a second and his breathing deepened. “Very well Sir Knight. I am going to remove a single hair from your head. Your task is to stop me. If my hand comes away with more than one hair, I fail. Arms down by our sides to begin. Ready?”

“Yes.”

“Then I shall begin.”

There was a pause before Uhtred's hand snapped forward. Franz-Hubert had enough time to flinch away before his hand slapped the side of his head. Uhtred held his hand open for the knight's inspection who then paled.

Eskel passed a cup of milk to the bear Witcher who downed it quickly.

“We brew the stuff to minimise the side-effects and to increase the benefits,” Eskel said. “However to a human it is lethal. Witchers are immune to poisons and diseases that monsters carry around with them. Or the poisons and diseases that come with the habitats that the monsters live in. Monster hunting could be deadly to humans, long before they even get to the monster. Why Witchers over normal men? Let me ask another question Sir Knights. Would you prefer a cheap sword that your castle blacksmith turns out at at a rate of three an hour. Or would you prefer one of the finest works of dwarven steel made with all the artistry and mechanical innovation that the dwarves and the gnomes before them have mustered.”

“I once heard it described as the “boot theory” of economics.” I said. “A poor man buys a shitty pair of boots that wears out in six months. A rick man buys a pair of boots that are three times as expensive but last him for three years. Over that three months the poor man spends twice the amount of money on boots as the rich man and his feet are still wet.”

“Not that we Witchers like being compared to swords or boots,” Uhtred had recovered a little from the diluted potion effects. “But that is what we're talking about. Any number of Monsters, werewolves, Striga's, shapechangers, the many different varieties of Necromorphs... All of them would think nothing of even the finest armour and the best made swords would bounce off their hides. A Witcher is a highly trained, highly crafted monster killing machine. Do the job properly or don't do it at all is one of the things that my school teaches us.”

“So Witchers then,” said the Arch-chancellor after several moments. Any further thoughts?”

There were none. The point had been made.

“So we move on to the question of, can we make more Witchers. This question, I think, goes over to the ladies and again back to the Witchers. Can it be done?”

“The creation of more Witchers?” Lady Eilhart perked up a little bit after, to all intents and purposes, been consumed with an inspection of what was under her fingernails. “Can it be done? I am unsure. The creation of things that are similar to Witchers? Almost certainly. I would recommend some changes in my case. I think that Witchers in general can be rather too wilfull in my opinion.”

Eskel surprised me by laughing aloud. “Really? I am against this situation from the off. But really Philippa, do you hate us that much?”

“Witchers are an anachronism?” Lady Eilhart went on hotly. “They are out of date. There are other, more efficient ways.”

“Which are? Do enlighten us? You say that we can be too wilfull? Is your intention to breed a slave race of super mutants that can...”

“Magic is....”

“Really madam, this has already been discussed and we have moved past the part where this was brought up. But if you wish,” The Arch-Chancellor made his voice stern, “If the Magic users can rid the continent of monsters then why has it not done so? If the magic users cared enough to be pillars of the community then why were they feared so much? If the magic users were so useful then why have they not been of use? Forgive me madam but your protests strike me as nothing more than the fear of a woman who is scared that she is about to become redundant. A fear, I suggest that might become very real indeed.”

“How dare you sir?”

“I dare because I dare madam. You forget that the study of magic is in your purview but the study of history is mine. As is the study of people. The reason why people fear magic users is because of their otherness. They see mages and Sorcerers and Wizards and Witches hold themselves above the rest of us and expect to be bowed down to at every stage. But then when they are asked why that should be the case, the response is always the same. Why are you better than us? Because you control magic. Why can't you change the world? Because magic doesn't work like that. Why couldn't you stop all the people from dying of dysentery? Because magic has limits. So tell me this Madam. Give me some definitive answers right here and now, with time scales as to when these goals can be fulfilled, if you please, and I will march up to the Empress right now and say that the matter should be handed over to you. You ready? When will the Conjunction of spheres happen again?”

Lady Eilhart said nothing.

“How many monsters came through during the conjunction that the Empress just described to us?”

Lady Eilhart said nothing.

“Leaving aside what defines a monster for a moment, how many non human, elf, dwarf, gnome or halflings are there?” Lets make it easy for you shall we? How many Kikkimores in their many various and wondrous varieties are there on the continent?”

“Such things would take time?”

“How much time? When will you have a solution? When can we expect these monsters to be wiped out. A year? A month? A decade? What if you miss one, or two or a dozen?”

Lady Eilhart finally lowered her gaze.

The room was appalled. I had seen the Arch-chancellor lose his temper before but this seemed a little excessive.

“The fact remains that there are monsters. As Master Uhtred and Sir Chabert will tell us, the soil of Toussaint is uniquely capable of producing the best wines. That is due to the volcanic nature of the soil but it is also due to the Kikkimores and the other giant insects that raise the chemical content of the soil. I don't think that the Wine merchants themselves would thank us if we destroyed every monster indiscriminately. By now some “monsters” have become part of the local ecology or have even integrated into society. We need a thinking, self governing solution. Simply waving our hands and saying. “Magic will sort things out,” will not be seen as satisfactory. For perfectly valid reasons too, because it is not satisfactory. None of the rest of us can do anything about the next conjunction of the spheres, that is a magical phenomenon and as such, the Lodge and any other council is welcome, if not required to take a hand in that. But as for the monsters? We need something else.”

Lady Philippa rose to her feet and left the room.

The Arch-Chancellor rubbed his temples a little. “Was it something I said?” he wondered.

“Not invalid points Arch-Chancellor.” Lady Yennefer pulled her chair closer to the table as she spoke. “They could just have been made a little better to someone with Phil's temperament. She lost a lot. We, lost a lot,”

The Arch-Chancellor bridled a little. “We all did under Radovid madam. We all did.”

Madame Yennefer held her hand up placatingly. “I know that sir, I really do. Oxenfurt and the university took some hard blows in those years. Let me answer for my colleague. Can it be done? Yes. Almost certainly but it would need some testing to make it precise. The help of the Witchers that survive would be invaluable but there is one Witcher whose help I would need the most. I notice that he isn't here however.”

“And why is that?”

“Because Sir Terrence of Temeria here would kill him on sight.”

“You refer to the Kingslayer?” Sir Terrence grimaced. “I would at that although I understand he aided in saving the Empress' life. But he killed my King. That is a hard thing to get past.”

“Nevertheless.” Yennefer went on. “He is, as far as I know, the only surviving Witcher from the Viper school and the Vipers knew more about Alchemy than the entirety of the Lodge of Sorceresses put together. If the formulae exist anywhere then they exist in Letho's head. And from what I've read recently,” I was astonished as she nodded to me, “The Kingslayer would not agree to the production of more Witchers and with good reasons too.”

“He is not the only one.” Said Eskel. “I read the same account from our learned friend. Letho is right, what was done to us was monstrous and what we went on to do to each other was equally as monstrous. We have, all of us, independently of each other and together decided that we would never be party to performing any of those things to people again. Not to children. Not to anyone. I dare say that I would not be alone in ensuring my death in such a way that my body would be destroyed before I helped create more Witchers and I would fight to rescue any who were taken against there will to help make this happen.”

It was the way he said it so...matter of factly that struck home with me.

Yennefer grimaced although I suspected that she had known what the response would be for a while.

“So there it is.” said Gottfried of Nilfgaard. “Back to the beginning again.”

“There is one person whose voice we haven't heard from yet,” said Madame Yennefer. “Proffessor Frederick. You have been very quiet through this entire discussion.”

“Yes I have,” I answered.

“May we ask why?”

I smiled. “Partly it's because I was only made Proffessor of Anthropology yesterday and now I'm discussing things with some of the greatest minds on the continent. You might give me a bit of warning before I get to be so utterly overwhelmed.”

The comment had the effect that I wanted in that several people started to chuckle and so the tension broke.

“I understand you also got engaged as well.” said Marshal Chabert. “Forgive me Professor I should have offered proper congratulations, or is it commiserations?” He winked at me.

“I've met the lady.” said Eskel. “It could go either way.” There was a bit more laughter which I accepted.

“Here's my thinking, for what it's worth.” I continued, “I am an outsider who's spent a good amount of the last two years following a Witcher around. I have seen most of what happens to Witchers, the prejudice and the adulation. I have also seen the enormous pressure that they are put under both physically and mentally and I have also seen the anguish of a man who doesn't know if he is less than human or more so. I admire Witchers but on more than one occasion I have been forced to pity them. Which I may say made my friend rather angry when he caught me doing it.”

There was a bit more laughter as I felt the room beginning to relax.

“When the Empress said that she wanted there to be more Witchers I found that I was glad. As a historian and a friend of, I hope, more than one Witcher, I think it would be a colossal shame if the Witchers died out. I think that the continent owes the Witchers a colossal debt which we have repaid....poorly. However I have also been shown a little bit of what the Witchers had to go through and I can understand their reluctance to help produce new Witchers. Especially as most of the students died and more recently, they were killed as scape-goats and excuses. I notice, for instance that although much has been said of the deaths of the magic users and the non-humans, nothing has been said of those Witchers that were fed to the flames or were killed while defending themselves.

“Remember that only thirty to forty percent of students were expected to survive their change. In some cases even that was overly optimistic. And those deaths would not have been pleasant as they literally shat their brains out or spasmed so hard that their limbs shattered. Who do we consign to those odds? Orphans? Foundlings? disabled children? Volunteers? children who would not survive otherwise? those rural communities that sometimes kill one child to save the rest of their families? Even that is an awful prospect so I can absolutely understand the Witcher's reluctance. It is a reluctance that I share.”

“I am not reluctant,” said Eskel “I simply refuse outright.”

“I'm sorry, I mis-spoke so let me be clear. I would destroy what few notes I have on the creation of Witchers before I let them be used in that manner. I don't have a lot though as I went out of my way to avoid the topic in the first place. However there is a mistake here that is not taken into account. That is that the processes themselves have not been refined or adjusted or even worked on at all since they were first implemented what, over two hundred and fifty years ago?”

“About that?” said Eskel. I saw Madame Yennefer nod.

“Then I suggest this.” I went on. “We need Witchers. But we think of Witchers as the people who were produced using the old methods. Surely the science and magic and....knowledge about it all has improved since then. The conditions that the first Witchers worked under were barbaric. Can we not refine them? Let's say this. The Witchers sit down with the Alchemists and the Sorcerers and say. This is what I can do. This is the level that future Witchers need to be able to operate at or better. They need to be so fast and so strong. They need to be able to resist these kinds of poisons and have a reaction speed of this much as well as being able to see in darkness. The Alchemists and the Sorcerers get together and figure out a way to make that work. Then they work on it and figure out ways that they can make the process of becoming a Witcher more survivable.

“I know that the Feline Witchers had a test to see if a child had the necessary, presumably, racial gene to accept their mutagens. Can there be a test that could be administered that says whether or not a person could accept the mutagens before hand?

“I don't know how of course but could that be done?”

“I think it's worth exploring?” said Yennefer.

“Then that's a good place to start.” I said. “Let's work it out. How can we make the process of becoming a Witcher less painful and more survivable. How much of the trials were tradition and how much can be boiled down to hard science?”

“There is always the fear though.” Eskel said. “That the formula would be used by world leaders to make super soldiers which could lead to the bias of racial purety.”

“That's easy,” I said. “Witcher oversight. I understand that Madame Yennefer is linked to a Witcher on a romantic level. The labs and work stations will be kept in his estates. The instant that he is unhappy then he sets fire to all of them. It's not perfect but it starts with choosing the right people for the job.”

“Mmm,” Eskel grunted. He still wasn't happy but I could see that he was more open to the idea.

“Ok then, Madame Yennefer will you undertake to begin this process?” asked the Arch-Chancellor.

“I will. I can think of a couple of names to begin to work with.”

“Including Letho?” I asked.

“Maybe,” she grinned slyly. “He and I don't get on that well.”

“Imagine that,” I said pretending to be shocked. “When the two of you are so known for your gentleness and the charming friendliness in your characters.”

“Just keep him away from the Temerians.” said Sir Terrence rising and stretching. “I'm a relaxed kind of fellow but some of us are a bit more....”

“Direct,” suggested Gottfried.

“I was going to say, “Opinionated,”” Sir Terrence saluted the room and left followed by Franz Hubert and I saw the two of them walking down the corridor outside the room with their heads together.

“Hmm,” said the Arch-Chancellor commented. “If those two don't conspire to have you followed to get at the Kingslayer then I will be surprised.”

“I had a similar thought Arch-Chancellor.” Yennefer commented. “Best not to worry though.” She nodded to the two Witchers. I was surprised to see Eskel look uncomfortable. But I was more surprised as she came round the table to me. “Well done,” she said taking my hand and shaking it firmly. “Very well done,” before turning on her heel and leaving.

“Be careful,” was what Eskel said as he walked past me. Uhtred nodded companionably.

“What was all that about?” I asked the Arch-Chancellor.

“Who knows? Sorceresses and Witchers.” he shrugged and gathered up the considerable amount of notes that he had made. “I'd have nothing to do with them if I were you.” He sniffed hugely. “Bit late really considering your circumstances. Oh and Proffessor,”

“Sir?”

“Get used to calling me Phillip would you?”

“Yes sir. I'll try sir.”

He cuffed me round the ear. A habit that he had used during his teaching days.

For the rest of the day, nothing happened. Believe me when I say that I've been over the events of that day over and over again in an effort to see if there was some kind of clue that I missed. Something that I could have done to prevent disaster or otherwise make events turn out differently but sooner or later, I had to come to the decision that there was nothing that I could have done. Nothing that I could have said that would have made life different or end up with a different outcome.

After the meeting it was mid afternoon. I had a bit more lunch with the Arch-Chancellor where we talked about my Thesis, which he had read, although he did have some pointers. I asked him what he thought of the Empress and what he thought of the process of the meeting as a whole. I remember one exchange that I found very telling.

“If we think,” he said while chewing a piece of sausage. “If any of us think for one moment think that that meeting would have gone a different way, then we would have been sadly fucking mistaken. The Empress had already made her mind up. There will be a new Witcher school sooner or later because the Empress has decided that we need one. She convened a committee to talk it through in an effort to let a certain number of experts and things come to the same conclusion.

“But if we had obstinately refused to support the creation of new Witchers then we would have been portrayed as being backward looking stick in the muds. You notice who were the members of the committee. You notice that there weren't any churchmen present, of any religion. How much are you willing to bet me that Lady Eilhart invited herself rather than being invited. I'd bet money that the Empress wanted Lady Yennefer and one other mage for balance. Yennefer brought Lady Eilhart. The Empress invites you, the newest professor whose best friend is a Witcher. If it wasn't you, I would suggest that Dandelion would have been here as the next most suitable academic expert on Witchers, Proffessor of poetry though he may be and despite Duchess Anna Henrietta's requests.

“Two Witchers,” he went on. “One a Wolf who is wrapped so tightly round the Empress' finger that he doesn't even know it, and the other a bear. Did you know that he's the only bear that is visiting? Four bears and five Cats, but the Empress didn't want a feline Witcher who would only remind everyone of what happens when the process can go wrong.

“The Empress is an incredible mind and she's learned her tactics, strategy and politicking at the feet of the masters of those arts. The Witchers, Queen Calanthe, Emperor Emhyr and the school of having to live in the real world on her wits alone. She's going to leave everyone standing, if she can survive.”

“If she can survive?”

“Oh Yes. She's already bringing change just by being a powerful woman. Off the top of my head I can think of several dozen stick in the mud old Lords who are already hating the fact that she even exists. If there hasn't already been an assassination attempt on her life already I would be astonished.”

I grunted in agreement.

The Arch-Chancellor then went off to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city and to make his report. Emma was due to be in negotiations for the rest of the day. What I wanted was to find somewhere quiet and dark where I could set about processing all the incredible things that had happened over the last couple of days.

Failing that I wanted to find Ariadne and spend some time talking with her. I wanted to plan for the future and to throw around ideas like, where are we going to live and what are we going to do with ourselves but mostly I just wanted to sit and look at her, knowing that I had the right and the privilege to just sit and look at the woman that was going to be my wife. Also, I wanted to spend some time getting used to that fact. I was still very aware that I needed to reconcile the fact that I wasn't marrying a human woman but marrying an elder vampire. I was under no illusion. That was going to take work.

But time was a luxury that I didn't really have. I also knew that I would regret not going around and seeing the sights of Toussaint when, arguably, the relatively small Duchy was at it's best so instead I went down into the town and watched some street performers, attended a wine tasting and watched a brief piece of street theatre. A blatant piece of propaganda by a troupe who were clearly trying to get noticed enough to play somewhere bigger and more important. They weren't going to be successful.

My target was the tourney fields though. I've attended tournaments before but I had never been to one with this amount of pageantry, pomp and ceremony. As Sammy was taking part I managed to find that our family had been given some space in the stalls. Francesca was there along with Mark and Laurelen. Mark was cheering Sam on when it came round to his turn to tilt and, much to my pleasure, he and Laurelen had found some common ground in that they both had a fascination of the sport of jousting and spent the time commenting on the technique and virtues of the various contestants.

I spent the time catching up with my little sister. Chatting and joking. She interrogated me about Ariadne mostly asking me the same questions over and over and over again. In turn I asked her about the many men that were paying court to her. A thing that she was clearly enjoying immensely. It seemed that the Empress had declared that she wasn't going to be allowed to marry for some time yet and as a result she could just sit back and enjoy the poems and the gifts, the dancing and the sly looks and winks.

I was so happy for her. She deserved her happiness and she was clearly thriving with it. I told her that in no uncertain terms I absolutely needed to inspect whoever it was that she intended to allow to court her to ensure that the man wasn't a cad. She seemed dismayed at the prospect much to my amusement. She received a message as the evening fell which she showed me saying that the Empress wanted her so she kissed me on the cheek and left.

I spent the rest of the early evening with Mark and Laurelen, cheering on Sammy before returning back to the villa to change for the evening's excitement. There was a ball that night up at the palace and we were expected. We had been told that Emma would already be there so once again I found myself escorting a beautiful blonde haired Sorceress up the hill towards the palace to the misplaced envy of just about the entire world.

The ball was pleasant enough although the room was a little too stuffy for my taste and many times I had to escape into the evening air just so that I could breathe. I also struggle with the food at these kinds of things. It's always these little nibble bits that never quite fill me up while at the same time being massively rich and overwhelming so I always end up feeling far too full but not in the least bit satisfied. I managed to get in a few dances though. Many with my sister and at her urging I took Laurelen out onto the dance floor for several turns around the place. According to the Sorceress the two of them had tried dancing together and although the Toussaint courtiers approved of the two women being in love, the sight of them being so blatant was possibly a little bit too much for the more conservative lords that were attending from the far reaches of the Empire.

The highlight of the evening was when I got to dance with Ariadne. She had clearly been learning to dance for some time but despite being tall, beautiful, graceful and elegant she was also endearingly clumsy at the dance. She promised that she would be better before our wedding day, a promise that made me flush tot he amusement of many of the nearest dancers.

The evening came to an end much sooner than I had anticipated though as several people, especially Emma, suggested that we might be better off conserving our energy for the day ahead. The coronation was going to be long and arduous and it was possibly unwise to be partying the night away so we retired early. We were not alone in doing so.

I wish I could say that I was restless that night. That some kind of premonition kept me awake or that I tossed and turned. I wish I could say that I had nightmares. But I didn't. I slept like a log.

We woke early and had a sizeable breakfast before we all trooped down to the baths to ensure our cleanliness. I shaved, again, and had my hair arranged by the local barbers until I met my sisters exacting requirements before I was fitted with my proper, pomp and ceremony clothing. Shoes to a mirror shine, colours so bright as to hurt the eyes with not a thread or a stitch out of place. Emma was similarly attired in our formal colours while Laurelen wore a dress which complimented those same colours while not actually saying that she was part of the family. A political decision which clearly caused both of them a little pain. I remember resolving to doing something about that when we returned to Redania.

Heh. The things that we remember.

For those people that are not aware of how these things work, the Empress had spent the night outside the city somewhere where she could prepare in private. She would then ride up to the palace so that the subjects would be able to see her and be seen by her. We also knew that she would be surrounded by an honour guard made up of the Witchers and the Imperial guard led by Morvran Voorhis and would be accompanied by her ladies including Francesca as her sword bearer. There were also guardsmen all over the rooftops like black crows watching everyone moving around. We had already been warned that anyone who carried anything larger than an eating knife out of doors would be arrested on sight. Sam met us having come up from his pavillion looking a little bit the worse for wear as he had lost a couple of his bouts the previous day and was now out of the running for the championship. But even my amateur eye told me that he had done well to get as far as he had. He was unarmed and wearing a slightly more martial version of the clothing that I wore that Emma had sent down for him. Mark would be sitting with the Church delegation.

Before the Empress was due to be crowned, Heralds and pages were sent out in order to bring us to our correct seating. The more important you were the later you were fetched which meant that those Kings and Queens that were in attendance were the last to be gathered and escorted in to the front of the congregation so that they could look down on the rest of us and so that we could see our “betters” being brought into the room.

We were summoned just before lunch time and it was almost comedically like when we used to set out on family outings. Things like my sister asking us all, “Now, do you need to use the chamber pots?” for which she was teased by Sam and I. Sam, as the eldest, escorted Emma while I had Laurelen on my arm. Again I saw the kind of wince in her eyes that she would be so kept from her love that I took it upon myself to gently mock everything that was going on around us in an effort to make her smile. I was largely successful and I think I heard Sam doing the same for Emma but I still felt the injustice a little keenly. Apart from anything else I would much rather have been sat next to Ariadne sharing those little jokes and observations whilst giggling like school children.

But we marched into the palace ballroom that had magically been decorated overnight. The assembled plumage of all the nobles was already such that I felt a colossal headache coming on and it was only going to get worse as the day dragged on.

On and on it went. I have reason to believe that the Empress actually arrived at the palace a good hour before she came into the ballroom to be crowned but it was taking so long to get everyone seated that she was forced to wait and, I suspect, sneakily had something to eat to keep her strength up.

But then, finally, after the last rulers had been seated, exchanging glares with the attending Sorceresses, the fanfare sounded and the Empress was there.

The Witchers came first, scanning the room and prowling around and peering into corners suspiciously. Then in marched the Empress. In every way that her previous outfits had been subdued and austere, she made up for it with this outfit. Still martial in appearance she was not wearing the huge skirts with under hoops that the Duchess of Toussaint wore. She wore a silver dress that glittered in the lights. By what artifice it was managed I don't know but the entire dress seemed to shine and reflect all the colours that were already in attendance. It was though she was dressed in a summer storms rainbow. The shining silver of rainfall with those colours glowing through. Her silver hair piled on top of her head behind a circlet that would shortly be replaced by a crown.

The dress was cut so that she could still walk with a decent stride and we could see that she had trousers and boots on underneath. Like everything there was a message here. She was still ready for action at a moments notice and that we should know that she was no shrinking, gentle, meek woman that powerful men could order around. This was a warrior Queen. A Fighting Empress that would fight us on the same battlefields that we used without regard for her gender.

It was a powerful sight and a stirring sight as she walked down the aisle to sit on the throne on the dais.

But I wasn't looking at the Empress. I was craning my neck and looking around trying to see.

“Where's Francesca?” I asked Laurelen innocently as I saw Sam and Emma also looking around.

I looked around and saw Kerrass standing at the wall watching the assembly. He caught my eye and I saw him shake his head.

“Where's Francesca?” I asked again.