[Chapter Size: 2300 Words.]
Third Person POV
Northern kingdoms.
...
...
Vesemir was gazing at the castle courtyard with a sowhat distant look, observing what was left of Kaer Morhen. He had taken yet another day to restore and maintain the broken structures to prevent the castle from collapsing entirely.
Not that the castle was completely destroyed, but it certainly had its issues, with the entire structure damaged.
The marks of an intense battle on the walls and towers reminded Vesemir of the ti when Kaer Morhen suffered a massive attack by common people and even angry mages. Known as the Massacre of Kaer Morhen, it had occurred over seventy years ago, and Vesemir rembered that day all too well...
A certain group of mages had convinced many influential people, including the King of Kaedwen at the ti, that witchers were beings who should no longer exist. The attack on the castle began, leaving many places in ruins. Still, Kaer Morhen was reclaid so ti later, and once again, the witchers of the School of the Wolf continued to live in harmony... until now.
His thoughts, however, could not be limited to the destruction the castle had suffered during that war. Dark tis had returned, and war was raging once again. Not in Kaer Morhen—it was far from this place—but the North was embroiled in conflict with an invasion from the South. Vesemir was aware of Nilfgaard's invasion and the fall of Cintra at this point, although he had no concrete news about what had happened or was happening in Sodden, where another battle was being fought with the support of Teria. He imagined they were locked in a bloody fight at that mont.
Almost all the witchers were there in Kaer Morhen after Vesemir ordered them to return. He wanted to keep the School of the Wolf in a neutral position, refraining from interfering in the kingdoms' war and letting the kings resolve their issues on their own. And nearly everyone was present, except for Geralt. Vesemir was sure he had received his ssage, but knowing how deeply Geralt seed attached to that girl from Cintra, he had probably gone to the kingdom during the invasion to rescue her. Vesemir could only hope this wouldn't bring trouble to the witchers' order. To be honest, he didn't approve of Geralt involving himself or bringing the girl here.
At that mont, he heard the sound of people quickly approaching the castle's open entrance. Vesemir imdiately looked carefully, sensing sothing unusual. Since that morning, he had woken with an uneasy premonition that sothing quite out of the ordinary would happen that day, though he didn't know what.
A short while later, two people appeared through the gate, and he sighed when he saw who they were.
"What's with that face, Vesemir? Everything alright?" one of the n asked while carrying a large dead creature on his back, a clean shot through its head and dried blood staining it. He approached alongside another witcher. Both looked at Vesemir with a mixture of curiosity and concern over his behavior.
Vesemir seed tense, almost reaching for the sword he always kept strapped to his back. He was an old witcher, and he had the habit of staying ard even there, in the castle courtyard that he called ho, regardless of what he was doing. It was a lesson he also taught the younger ones: always be prepared for anything, no matter where you were.
"Apologies for that. For a mont, I was expecting sothing else. Take the food inside. At least we'll have a good al today," Vesemir said in a weary tone.
"I think you need to rest, Vesemir. Your age is catching up with you," comnted Lambert, the witcher carrying the dead creature, not hesitating to provoke the leader of the School.
"You shouldn't talk to Vesemir like that!" responded another witcher, Coën, standing beside him with a gentler tone.
"Co on, Coën. Can't you see? The old man nearly cast a sign on us just because we showed up! I don't want to walk into Kaer Morhen one of these days and suddenly get hit by a blast of fire," complained Lambert.
Vesemir, however, did not reply or seem offended. He realized he was in the wrong and simply let them pass. Both entered the castle, walking through the long courtyard until they reached the massive castle doors.
Kaer Morhen was enormous, with vast, silent spaces. Despite having many rooms, most were unoccupied. Even with all the witchers present, they didn't fill even a fraction of what the stronghold used to house in its glory days, when hundreds of people lived there. Now, it was far too large for just five witchers.
Vesemir only sighed, knowing Lambert enjoyed provoking others. It was normal behavior for him. Eskel, on the other hand, was calr and friendlier, much like Coën. But the sarcastic witcher had a point: Vesemir shouldn't act as if he needed to kill anything that crossed his path.
There was one more witcher outside the castle—Eskel—who had gone out to gather weeds and other potion ingredients. Besides that, the castle housed only Vesemir and the other four residents—or rather, the last five mbers of the School of the Wolf. The order was practically extinct, as Vesemir hadn't trained anyone in years. The Trial of the Grasses had beco a complete failure, with almost no one surviving it. For this reason, Vesemir decided to put an end to the ritual, which also ant the end of new witchers.
After all, witchers were no longer as necessary as they once were. Monsters had drastically decreased in number, giving way to wars between n over their kings. People now needed soldiers more than they needed monster hunters.
"Maybe I should get so rest... I'm tired, imagining things," Vesemir murmured to himself, glancing at the sun. The day was clear and peaceful, and he thought of taking the mont to admire the sky. However, his thoughts were interrupted by soone knocking at the castle entrance.
"What's this?" Vesemir asked, looking toward the entrance, which curved out of sight of the gate. That strange premonition returned, a feeling that sothing unusual was about to happen. He saw a figure approaching and, for a mont, thought he might be overreacting, questioning his instincts.
"Could it just be Eskel? Am I imagining things? Or is it my age?" Vesemir silently wondered, worried that his ability to sense danger might be weakening. If so, it would be dangerous to keep hunting monsters at his age.
Eskel arrived shortly after, making Vesemir realize his thoughts were exaggerated. However, sothing was different as soon as he saw the younger witcher's face. His expression was unusual. He seed hesitant, which made Vesemir raise an eyebrow.
"Sothing wrong, Eskel?" Vesemir asked seriously.
"I think you'd better see this," Eskel murmured, asking Vesemir to follow him to the entrance.
Vesemir narrowed his eyes. Eskel wasn't one to hide things, but he remained silent. Curious, Vesemir followed to find out what he wanted to show. When they reached the curve of the entrance, they saw the drawbridge open, as they had left it to hunt and restock supplies outside.
But outside, there were two people. Vesemir imdiately furrowed his brow.
Standing there were two teenagers: a boy and a girl. The girl looked nervous, studying them intently, while the boy remained calm, observing them with a calculated deanor.
"What is this?" Vesemir murmured, unable to hide his surprise.
"I'd like to know that too," Eskel replied. "They just appeared... out of nowhere." Eskel explained, as Madara and Cirilla had been waiting for him as soon as they spotted him heading toward the castle. It was better to et a witcher outside rather than simply invade the place.
But to Eskel, it was unusual. He had felt them appear out of nowhere, just 30 ters away from him, when a witcher should be aware of everything happening within 100 ters. For a mont, he almost thought they were assassins.
The boy had greeted him before Eskel could draw his sword, suspecting they might be enemies, and handed him a letter, stating they wouldn't answer any questions until they t Vesemir.
Now, here they were, with Eskel leading them to the castle.
Vesemir analyzed the two carefully, particularly surprised by the boy. At first, his deanor was calm, but as an experienced witcher, Vesemir noticed sothing unsettling. Even Eskel must have been thinking the sa thing—the boy's heartbeat was perfectly steady and calm. Even the strongest knights and generals, despite appearing composed, would show so nervousness when faced with two adult witchers.
Vesemir could sense that the boy was prepared for anything. If Vesemir drew his crossbow and aid it at him, he had the impression the boy would already be ready to react long before the trigger was pulled—highly unusual for a teenager.
This only made Vesemir more curious about their identities and what they were doing there, in the middle of nowhere. The girl also stood out, with her striking platinum hair. Approaching with a friendly tone, Vesemir attempted to diffuse the tension.
"May I ask if you're lost or sothing?" Vesemir inquired.
The girl glanced at the boy, clearly seeking guidance. They didn't appear to be siblings, at least not to Vesemir's experienced eyes, who noticed an unusual glimr in the girl's eyes when she looked at the boy.
"We're not lost. We ca here from the South to Kaer Morhen," the boy replied, causing Vesemir to raise an eyebrow. The boy hadn't directly answered any of Eskel's questions since they first t, only insisting he needed to speak with Vesemir first. Eskel, being his usual amicable self, had accepted this without suspicion.
"You ca from the South? Who are you, and why have you co here?" Vesemir asked the boy directly.
"My na is Madara Uchiha, and this is Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, the princess and heir of Cintra," he stated, leaving Eskel wide-eyed and Vesemir stunned. More than the revelation about the girl, it was the boy's na that struck Vesemir. He had heard it before. Geralt had ntioned it after a peculiar encounter with Yennefer and a vision they had shared about this na.
"You're Madara Uchiha?" Vesemir murmured, while Eskel eyed the boy with suspicion.
"Wait, is this the princess of Cintra? She survived after Nilfgaard invaded the kingdom?" Eskel muttered, astonished.
Madara didn't answer any questions. Instead, he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Eskel before stepping closer to Vesemir, who now regarded him with greater caution.
"Here. It's written by Geralt. He asked to give it to you. We'll wait here until he arrives. He's also coming from the South, but he's not as fast as I am. So, we'll have so ti, maybe a month, before he gets here," Madara replied calmly as Vesemir took the paper.
Vesemir began reading it and imdiately recognized Geralt's handwriting.
["I need you to keep these two safe until I arrive. I'm on my way to Kaer Morhen now. I'll explain everything when I get there. They are not a threat.
Signed,
Geralt."]
Vesemir read the letter, which was short and to the point—very much Geralt's style. He remained silent for a mont, processing the information.
"Do you think he'll accept us?" Ciri asked Madara in a sowhat low voice, but the witchers clearly heard her perfectly. The boy stayed quiet, watching Vesemir and Eskel, who were still scrutinizing the letter.
Eskel glanced at Vesemir, then at the two young people, still trying to process everything. He didn't know about the vision Geralt had ntioned, but Vesemir did. The old witcher seed to be debating whether he could trust it. Geralt's vision had shaken him when he had co to Vesemir for guidance, and Vesemir also understood he would have to deal with this boy, who might pose a threat to all of them—and possibly to the entire world. Yet, Geralt had assured him that everything would be explained upon his arrival.
Finally, Vesemir lowered the letter and fixed his gaze on Madara, who t his stare unflinchingly.
"Before I decide anything... let ask you two questions," Vesemir said, his eyes locked on the boy. "Do you eat human flesh? And do your eyes turn red? I've heard that they do... Are you so kind of vampire?" he asked directly.
Eskel looked taken aback by the question, but it was the girl who reacted.
"Hey, what kind of question is that?! Madara is just like and you! He's not a monster!" she exclaid, her anger overriding her nervousness around the two witchers.
But Ciri felt Madara's hand on her shoulder, shaking his head gently to indicate she didn't need to continue. He turned his attention back to the old witcher.
"Well," Madara said with a slightly sarcastic tone, "I've never eaten human flesh to know if I'd like it or not, but we'd certainly enjoy a piece of that deer you two witchers brought in before we arrived." He spoke calmly, causing Vesemir to raise an eyebrow.
Madara had seen the two witchers entering Kaer Morhen's gates from far away with his Sharingan—after all, that's how he had spotted Eskel earlier.
"And yes, my eyes do turn red, but I'm not a vampire. I'm more like soone... who kills vampires, if that answers your question," Madara added with a small smile, while Vesemir continued to scrutinize his response.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 171 - A complicated situation.
Chapter 176 - We must go to Ard Carraigh.
Chapter 186 - A second attack on Kaer Morhen?
Chapter 195 - The Chaos Between Humans and Non-Humans 03.
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