#witcher berengar | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

minne-cerbinna · 9 months

Text

I'm playing TW1 again and I have thoughts about this tiny little sequence in the Chapter 2 quest "Memories of a Blade", which amounts to the only mention of Coën in the game.

When undertaking this quest, Geralt is investigating the origin of the silver sword he was given to slay a cockatrice; he mistakenly believes that it might be Berengar's sword since he knows the other witcher to have been in the area. A conversation with Thaler, from whom the sword was confiscated by the guard, will lead him eventually to speak to the Gardener outside St. Lebioda's hospital in Vizima. This man used to be a mercenary under Pretty Kitty, but has since retired and works as a gardener, and had lost the silver sword at dice poker. When interacted with, he will begin any conversation with "Look how they grow!", referring to the plants in his garden. The player can then initiate the quest dialogue with option one, "I'm more interested in silver swords".

GERALT: I'm more interested in silver swords.

GARDENER: I knew one of you would come by eventually.

GERALT: You lost it playing dice?

GARDENER: I was sure I'd win. Beware, the sharp one plays well.

GERALT: Where did you get this sword?

GARDENER: Five years ago, there was a battle near Brenna. When the dust had settled, our men had beaten the Nilfgaardians. We ceased to call ourselves an imperial province that day.

GERALT: You captured the sword during the battle?

GARDENER: Yes, it was witcher Cöen's [sic]. A strapping fellow and a rare breed. Not very talkative, mind you.

GERALT: Like most of us.

GARDENER: I gave my word the sword would find another witcher. As he lay dying, he mumbled about teeth and destiny. Then he laughed -- at his own death.

GERALT: Yet you lost it gambling?

GARDENER: I kept it hidden for five years. I lost hope I'd ever run into another witcher. Miss Shani knew Cöen [sic]. She works at the hospital.

GERALT: Thanks.

GARDENER: Good luck on the path!

The quest will lead you to speak with Shani, then Zoltan, but neither will provide further information on Coën, aside from Shani mentioning that he died on her operating table -- Shani's dialogue is to provide her backstory as a medic at Brenna and to mention Rusty, and Zoltan simply assesses the quality of the blade to ensure that it is a witcher blade of good workmanship. It has no further significance to Geralt, who, without his memory, has no idea who Coën is and has more pressing matters to deal with than to look into the past of a man who died five years ago (according to the somewhat off-kilter game timeline, anyway). But it's the only mention of Coën in the games, and I find that it's a very interesting way to manifest his presence.

I think it is reasonable to tie Coën quite closely to his sword on a symbolic level, if one considers his appearance in the novels where he not only trains with Ciri, but his prowess with a sword is unrivaled even by the other witchers to the point where she believes that he may be the best swordsman in the world. Additionally, the fact that he fought at Brenna at all means that he offered his sword in the service of the Northern Kingdoms, and when he dies, he is identified by his peers as a "master swordsman" rather than as a witcher, despite the fact that they know of his nature. As such, Coën's sword is a very important possession for him to leave behind.

And from there, there is a connection to Lambert, left unsaid. To go beyond the simple fact that Coën was Lambert's friend, someone dearly loved who was close enough with Lambert and his family to get on with the other wolves and stay a winter at Kaer Morhen, the importance lies with the sword. As with any witcher, Coën wouldn't have much in the way of worldly possessions to bequeath onto someone else in the event of his prophecied death. But he does have his swords, which are established as symbolically important to him. A steel sword could be taken up by any warrior capable enough to use it, but a silver sword belongs in the hands of a witcher, and that is what Coën asked for on his deathbed, for his silver sword to be given to another witcher. While it's very possible that this is meant in a general way, that he just wanted any other witcher to take it up, to avoid the sword being wasted, broken, or dismantled for its composite parts, it also strikes me as possible that he could have intended it for a specific witcher.

Lambert is one of the instructors for Ciri when she's first learning the swordplay and acrobatics associated with being a witcher. Lambert is the one in the first game to provide the instructional descriptions of the Fighting Styles for Geralt to regain his swordplay competencies after losing his memories. And there is another bit of dialogue in TW3 that really emphasises both Lambert's connection to Vesemir, the swordmaster of Kaer Morhen, and the idea of swords as inheritance, as a manifestation of closeness:

LAMBERT: Knew the old man couldn't live forever. Huh, even told Eskel that when it came time, I'd get his sword. Fits my hand perfectly, you know.

Which is a heartbreaking notion in and of itself upon which I could expostulate, the symbolism there in the fraught relationship between Lambert and his father figure reduced to something as simple as a hilt that fits two hands perfectly. But if this is the inheritance that Lambert wants, it makes it all the more pertinent that Coën desperately wanted his silver sword to make it into the hands of another witcher. Lambert, the son of a swordmaster, wants to take on a sword as a memento of someone he has lost, and Coën, the master swordsman, left his sword behind. Even if Lambert were not the specific intended target of the sword, he would have possibly or even likely known Coën well enough to fulfill his wishes, whatever they might be.

And yet Coën's sword never makes it home or into the hands of someone who would value it, like Lambert would, this last memory of his dear friend. Geralt makes use of the sword during his time in Vizima, and then it is lost, replaced by the gifted Aerondight. And so Coën is lost with it, never mentioned again.

#rambles #the witcher #the witcher games #lambert #coën of poviss #shoutout to the dog that wandered through some of these screenshots what a good boy #anyway i am back on my tw1 bullshit #coën my beloved #it makes me so sad that he's never mentioned again #especially with the creation of aiden in tw3 #like #lambert has already done this #he has already found a good man that he considers a dear friend #and then lost him brutally #and yet they don't mention coën at all in 'following the thread'???#wack #like geralt knows this about lambert #he knew coën too #and yet there is not even the slightest reference #i mean in tw1 it makes sense for geralt to not lend much significance to the name of a dead witcher #he has no memory of coën #but by tw3???#he has his memory back he must remember #and to join lambert on his revenge quest for aiden #where lambert has again lost someone very dear to him and does not have anything by which to remember him #there is no reference at all to the fact that two years ago geralt literally owned coën's sword #i mean i get that they might not want to be so specific because like seven people total have played tw1 #but at least mention my boy coën #come on #as an aside i do think it is nice that even though coën is barely mentioned he is remembered fondly

69 notes · View notes

eviedrws · 7 months

Text

little portraits for our witcher ttrpg campaign

Berengar of Maribor, Solveig Stammelford, Mika, Faheem and Refr Eirikson

#the witcher #witcher oc #ttrpg #ttrpg art #dnd #dnd oc

32 notes · View notes

dukeofdogs · 6 months

Text

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game | The cards that could’ve been 60/?

Berengar (Anastasiya Svistunova), Kalkstein (konhis)

Gramps the Cannibal (Kuba Grzybkowski), Roderick de Wett (GaiaCafiso), Reverend (Atukam 72)

Yaren Bolt (Alexandru Munteanu), (Kamil Momot)

#gwent #gwent: unreleased content #gwent: contest #berengar #kalkstein #roderick de wett #yaren bolt

17 notes · View notes

vesemirsexual · 10 months

Text

WOKE school of the wolf CANCELS witcher berengar??? [NOT CLICKBAIT]

#they really did too #katie txt

8 notes · View notes

dat-carovieh · 1 year

Text

With you I'll never be alone

Ship: Eskel x Geralt

Rating: T

Wordcount: 5.8k

Tags: 5+1 things, Baby Witchers, hurt/Comfort, cuddling, platonic cuddling, Angst, parental rejection, Witcher trials, trial of the grasses, Geralt’s additional mutations, light hypothermia, dumb teenagers being dumb, physically hurt Geralt, injuries, retired Witchers, Corvo Bianco, Undefined relationship, Canon typical violence

Read on AO3

One

Eskel could barely see where he was through the tears on his face. It had been a couple of weeks since the Witcher had come and taken him away from his family. He didn’t understand why. Didn’t understand why his parents hadn’t been fighting for him. They had cried but they had not tried to make the Witcher leave. He had tried to run a couple of times while they were traveling but he hadn’t managed to get far enough away, the Witcher had always managed to find him again quickly. Now he was sitting in front of him on the horse as they rode through a huge gate onto a yard where lots of boys of different ages were running around. Through his blurred vision he couldn’t really see what they were doing. The Witcher dismounted and pulled Eskel from the horse as well. He had been sitting on the horse for so long and was so exhausted from traveling for weeks he nearly collapsed onto the floor.

“Stop crying, boy,” the Witcher who had brought him here said in a gruff voice. “Come with me.” Without looking if Eskel was following, he started to walk across the yard. Eskel had to run to keep pace, his legs too short to match the steps of the adult. He wiped away his tears and now realized the boys around him were training with swords. They approached another adult who seemed to be in charge of the boys, at least he was shouting instructions at them. He turned to them as they approached him and looked down at Eskel who felt himself shrink under the piercing gaze of the golden eyes.

“You’re bringing a new recruit, Berengar,” the man said. Eskel couldn’t bear looking at him any longer and averted his eyes, staring at the ground.

“He’s my child surprise, Eskel. I claimed the law of surprise six years ago,” Berengar explained to the instructor.

“GERALT!” the man shouted over the yard and a small boy with a wooden sword in his hand came running. He was around the same height as Eskel and had the same brown hair. His eyes were a piercing blue.

“Yes, Vesemir? Did I do something wrong?” the boy asked and looked up with big eyes. It was clear that the boy, Geralt, liked this man.

“This is Eskel,” Vesemir gestured to Eskel, “our new recruit. Get him some new clothes and show him a free bed in your dorm. He will start training with you tomorrow.” Geralt nodded and then turned to Eskel.

“Hello, I’m Geralt,” he introduced himself. “Come with me.” With that he turned around and walked across the yard, Eskel following him. They entered the building through a huge door and walked along some long corridors.

“Why am I here?” Eskel finally managed to ask. It took a lot of restraint to not immediately break into tears. Geralt looked at him, seemingly surprised at the question.

“You’re a new Witcher recruit. You’re living and training with us now,” Geralt explained as they turned a corner. Eskel stayed silent and continued to follow him. He kept looking around, the halls were high and built from grey stone. Heavy wooden doors lined their way. Once in a while they passed someone, mostly adults walking around, all wearing armour and swords like the two outside. Eskel felt so much smaller than he usually did and so scared. The only thing giving him a tiny bit of comfort was the boy walking in front of him who seemed to be pretty comfortable around here.

They entered a room full of washing troughs and stacks of clothing. The boy pulled something out of a stack and pressed it into Eskel’s arms. He was still overwhelmed by everything and just pressed the linen clothes against his chest, happy to have something to cling to.

“Come, I show you where you sleep,” Geralt said and left the room again. They walked through the big hallways again until Geralt opened another heavy door. Behind the door was a room full of bunk beds. More than Eskel could count. To be fair, he could only count to five which was his age. Geralt showed him one bunk bed in a corner of the room.

“I sleep up there, you can have the bottom bed,” he explained and pointed to the bed containing a simple straw mattress and a woollen blanket.

Eskel changed into his new clothes since the ones he arrived in were ripped from the journey up the mountain. Not long after, he followed Geralt to the dinner hall. It was loud and Eskel quickly felt overwhelmed. Most of the boys were older than him and quite rowdy, yelling and throwing food around. He was thankful Geralt never left his side for the rest of the day.

When they had finally gone to bed and the lights were out, Eskel buried his face in the pillow, trying to stifle his sobs. He knew he didn’t manage to do so. He didn’t want to be here, he wanted to go home. He heard movement from above and clamped his fingers into his pillow. He had woken Geralt with his sobs and now the boy who had helped him through the day would be mad at him. Instead of hearing an angry voice, he felt the mattress dip and a gentle hand on his shoulder. Carefully he turned his head and opened his eyes. He couldn’t see more than a shadow in the darkness. Geralt didn’t say a word, instead he just lifted the blanket and slid under it, lying next to Eskel. Arms wrapped around his shaking body.

“When can I go home again?” Eskel whispered through sobs. Geralt’s arms tightened around him.

“You’re not going home. No one here is going home,” Geralt answered. Eskel knew his fingernails were digging into the other boy’s flesh as his body started to shake more and his sobs became more violent, but he couldn’t help it and Geralt didn’t react to what must have been painful. Eskel felt like his guts were twisting. He didn’t know what that meant. What he was meant to do here. The body pressed against him was a small comfort in all the uncertainty.

“It will get better. At some point it will get better,” Geralt whispered into his ear. They both barely slept that night and when the training started early the next day, Eskel was barely able to stand upright.

Two

Eskel had been absolutely useless for the last couple of days. He had been pacing whenever there had been nothing to do and when they had been training, he hadn’t been able to focus at all. His thoughts were only with Geralt for the whole time. Geralt who wasn’t here, who had to go through another set of trials. Because they wanted to test enhanced mutations. It had already been a miracle that they both had survived their first round of mutations. Before they’d gone into it, they had said their goodbyes, not knowing if they would see each other again. And now Geralt had to go through all of it again, together with some other boys and Eskel didn’t know if he would survive this as well. He didn’t want to lose him, couldn’t lose him. From the day Eskel had arrived at Kaer Morhen, they had been inseparable and had always been there for each other. But the trials were something each boy had to go through on their own.

And so Eskel was now pacing through the small room he and Geralt shared since they had come out of the first trial. He should have been asleep for at least an hour by now. Suddenly there was a short but loud knock on the door and seconds later the door was opened. Vesemir was standing in the doorframe.

“Come with me,” he ordered and turned around, already walking away again. Eskel clenched his teeth. Would that be the moment when they told him Geralt hadn’t made it? Or would he be punished for his bad performance in training? Usually he did great, but he just couldn’t while he feared for his best friend’s life. Vesemir led him down to the basement, where the mutations were handled, Eskel could hear the screams of the boys going through the process. He hadn’t cried in a long time now, the boy who had cried through the nights in Geralt’s arms when he had arrived long gone but right now it was hard not to cry. Would he see Geralt’s dead body in a moment? He didn’t put it past the instructors to confront him with this. He didn’t know if he could handle it. His fingernails dug painfully into his palms, helping him to stay grounded as he followed Vesemir through the room. Around them boys were tied up, thrashing against the pain of the mutations.

When they stopped in front of a table, Eskel was confused for a moment. It took him a couple of seconds until he realized the boy with the white hair was Geralt. He looked different suddenly with his dark hair gone. But he was breathing, his chest rising ever so slightly. He was alive. Eskel couldn’t pay attention to anything except this. A hand fell heavily onto his shoulder and Vesemir bent down to him.

“I wasn’t supposed to let you know, Geralt is alive. But I don’t see the point. Worrying is just keeping you from reaching your full potential,” Vesemir said. Eskel leaned forwards and grasped Geralt’s hand.

“What happened to him? Why is his hair white?” he asked.

“We can’t be sure right now,” Vesemir admitted. He wasn’t involved in the mutation process, since he was the fight instructor, so it made sense he didn’t know. “We can take him up to your room if you think you can take care of him,” Vesemir offered. Eskel didn’t let go of Geralt’s hand as he nodded frantically. Vesemir undid the restraints holding Geralt to the table and lifted him up.

Back in their room, Vesemir put Geralt down onto his bed and Eskel immediately crawled up to him.

“He will be fine,” Vesemir said as he left the room. Eskel could hear that he wasn’t entirely sure about that but all he could do was hope and right now Geralt seemed to be relaxed and asleep so Eskel leaned into his friend, hugging him close.

“You will be fine, Geralt,” he muttered. “You have to be.” Finally, he was able to fall asleep, with Geralt in his arms.

---

Eskel was woken by Geralt stirring in his arms, he opened his eyes. It was still weird to him how well he was able to see in the dark after the trials, but right now it was really helpful. Geralt’s face was scrunched up into a painful expression.

“Geralt,” he whispered, close to Geralt’s ear. Geralt opened his eyes with a quiet, pained moan. “How do you feel?”

“Fabulous,” Geralt answered with a sarcastic tone. His heavy breathing gave away his lie. Eskel pressed their foreheads together and closed his eyes.

“I was so scared I would lose you this time. When they took you for even more trials, I was sure I would never see you again,” Eskel admitted.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” Geralt answered. He slowly lifted his arm and touched Eskel’s cheek.

“I don’t want to, Geralt, you know that,” Eskel said. Geralt hummed but didn’t say anything. Eskel felt him starting to shake in his arms and he clearly tried to hide it but Eskel could hear the little sniffles. He must still be in a lot of pain but he was determined to not show it.

“Can I do anything for you? Are you thirsty? Hungry?” Eskel asked. He must be starving and should at least drink something. Geralt answered with an affirming hum and Eskel tried to extract himself from the bed. But Geralt grasped his shirt and tried to hold him close.

“You have to let me get up if you want me to get you something to eat and drink,” Eskel argued. “I will be back soon, don’t worry.” Geralt let out a low whine but let go of Eskel who quickly left the bed and got the water from the table in their room. He helped Geralt sit up and held the mug to Geralt’s mouth. Geralt would have probably protested that he could drink alone but he seemed to realize that he couldn’t right now.

“I’ll get you something to eat,” he said and let Geralt lie down again. “Be back soon.”

It was the middle of the night, so he didn’t meet anyone in the halls as he made his way down to the kitchen. He stole some bread and cheese before he ran up again.

Geralt was still awake when Eskel returned, even though he had seemed extremely tired.

“You’re back,” Geralt said as he entered the room. Eskel chuckled.

“Of course, I am, I live here,” Eskel answered and stepped up to the bed, helping Geralt to sit up again.

“And here I was thinking you actually came back for me.” Eskel rolled his eyes at Geralt’s antics. Geralt was eating slowly.

“Idiot. I really don’t know what I would have done if I had lost you.” Geralt didn’t answer, he just let his head fall onto Eskel’s shoulder and continued chewing his bread slowly.

---

The following morning, Geralt already felt a little better. When he ran his hand through his hair, he caught a glimpse of a chin length strand and his eyes widened.

“What… what happened to my hair?” he asked shocked.

“Vesemir said they don’t know why exactly this happened,” Eskel explained. He wanted to tell him more but he didn’t know anything himself. All he could do was sit down on the bed again and pull Geralt into his arms as his friend was trying to understand what had happened. It would still take a lot of time for him to at least somewhat come to terms with his new look.

Three

“I bet you cannot balance on this tree,” Geralt yelled, laughing as he stood on the trunk of a tree that had fallen onto the shore and was now partly lying on the shore and partly floating in the water. The ground around them was frozen and a thin layer of ice on the bark of the tree made it slippery but Geralt was holding his balance with ease. It had been ten years since Eskel had been brought to Kaer Morhen and for the whole time Geralt had been by his side.

“What are we betting on?” Eskel asked, laughing as well as he jumped up on the tree to Geralt. For a moment he staggered but Geralt placed his hands on Eskel’s hips and steadied him. He would have been able to find his balance on his own of course, but he didn’t say anything. For a moment they stood there motionless, looking at each other, smiling.

“Cleaning the room for the next month,” Geralt answered. Seemed fair to Eskel. It shouldn’t be hard to walk along a tree without falling into the lake underneath.

“Deal,” he said and Geralt grinned at him before jumping down to leave room for Eskel to move. He carefully took a step; it was slippery but should be working, he decided and took another step. Quickly he grew bolder as he realized he just had to step in the middle of the trunk to get a clear hold. That was until he missed a spot that was frozen over completely and slipped. His foot was sliding down the side of the trunk, the world was slowing down around him and his arms were flailing as he tried to regain his balance but he failed and a moment later he was breaching the surface of the lake. As the icy water closed around him, the world sped up again. The water wasn’t deep where he had fallen and after a moment of orientation, he was able to get his feet on the ground and push his head out of the water. His whole body was stinging and he felt the cold spread through him.

He was shaking as he pushed through the water to reach the shore.

“Oh shit, are you alright?” Geralt asked, but Eskel could tell that he was working hard on suppressing a grin.

“Fucking cold,” Eskel grumbled. He contemplated pulling Geralt into a hug just to show him how cold he really was. His fingers and toes were feeling numb and he was shaking from the cold, so instead he decided to walk back to the keep so he could quickly get out of the wet clothes.

“I’m getting you a towel, meet you upstairs,” Geralt announced as soon as they entered the keep and ran off to the laundry room. Eskel walked upstairs to their room where he started to take off his clothes with numb fingers. Luckily, they had lit a fire this morning before they had left. Since he couldn’t feel his fingers, it took much longer to get undressed than usual and as Geralt returned he was still wearing his trousers.

“Oh fuck, you’re looking nearly blue,” Geralt said and stepped up to him, throwing a towel over Eskel’s head and starting to rub his hair dry. Then he put the towel around Eskel’s shoulders. “Come on, you need to get out of these wet clothes.” With that he turned around to their shared closet and started to rummage through it as Eskel unlaced his wet trousers with numb fingers. This had been a bad idea. It wasn’t the first time they had done something stupid and it would for sure not be the last time but right now Eskel promised himself to not go along with every stupid idea anymore. A promise that would of course be broken soon. He quickly dried himself off before taking the clothes Geralt had given him and putting them on. He started to feel better now that he was dry and wearing fresh clothes.

Geralt stepped up to him and Eskel could feel the warmth on his cold skin from how close they were. Warm hands were resting on his hips and Geralt grinned at him. This grin he had when he knew what he had done had been stupid but also somehow found the thing funny. It probably was funny.

“Sorry,” Geralt said.

“You’re gonna warm me up for that,” Eskel said, already feeling like he was sucking up the warmth from the other body.

“No problem.” With that Geralt closed his arms around Eskel and lifted him up. Eskel let out a short, surprised giggle and took a hold of Geralt’s shoulders. Geralt carried him over to Eskel’s bed and let him lie down before crawling in himself and pulling the blankets over them.

“Feeling better?” Geralt asked, arms around Eskel, their chests pressed together.

“A little, but I think I still need some warmth,” Eskel answered with a cheeky grin.

“Hmm, sure. You know you don’t have to fall into an icy lake just to get cuddles,” Geralt said, grinning as well. Eskel pressed his face into the crook of Geralt’s neck and closed his eyes. He knew.

Four

It had been a decade since Geralt and Eskel had set out on the path for the first time. Eskel was tracking through the woods, looking for the monster tormenting the village. But he didn’t really care about finding the monster, something else was weighing heavily on his chest. Another Witcher had already taken the contract two days ago, but hadn’t returned. A Witcher with white hair and a wolf medallion as the village folk had described him.

"That Witcher probably not coming back ... Well, more work for you, right? Must be great to not feel a thing," one of them had said. Eskel had just nodded, masking how much it hurt him.

Eskel knew only one person who fit this description: Geralt. And Geralt hadn’t returned from his hunt. Now Eskel was following the monster’s tracks, which Geralt had probably followed two days ago, in hopes of finding him still alive. He reached the entrance to a cave and saw a broken potion bottle lying on the ground. So Geralt had been here. Eskel pulled a bottle of Cat from his own stash and downed it before he unsheathed his sword and carefully entered the cave. It was extremely dark and without the potion he would have been nearly blind. A fight in here would probably be difficult. Not far into the cave he came across a Wyvern corpse, a trail of blood leading deeper into the cave. It probably had tried to get away but had bled out before. Eskel followed the trail until he saw a small figure lying on the ground. Eskel could clearly make out the white long hair. He wanted to drop his sword and run over but he knew it was a bad idea, there might be more monsters in this cave so better keep his sword close.

He still hurried over to Geralt and fell to his knees, frantically feeling at his neck for the pulse. It was hard to find anything but finally he did feel it. Geralt’s heart was beating weakly but it was beating, he was still alive. Eskel focused on his surroundings once more to make sure nothing would attack them before he sheathed his sword and picked Geralt up from the ground. He was lying limply in Eskel’s arms. Eskel wasn’t able to make out the injuries but he could tell that Geralt was covered in blood. Just after leaving the cave, he laid Geralt back down to the ground and whistled for Scorpion who arrived there soon after. Eskel took Geralt in. He could see his armour ripped in different places; dried blood covered his whole body.

He had seen injuries like this a thousand times but, still, this time was different because it was Geralt. He carefully started to take off the armour and undressed him. Most injuries were light, at least by Witcher standards but one gash right across Geralt’s chest was still bleeding lightly and would give Geralt another deep scar. Eskel used rags and his waterskin to clean the blood and dirt away, then he emptied half a bottle of Swallow over the gash. Usually, Geralt was supposed to drink the other half but he was unconscious, so it was a bad idea. Eskel had stitched up his own wounds before and always carried the necessary supplies, so now he stitched the wound closed. He dressed Geralt again and started to put up a camp, not willing to move Geralt any more than he already had for an inn room, so he could rest. The fire was crackling lightly as Eskel lied down next to Geralt and closed his eyes, hoping Geralt would wake up again soon.

When the sun was rising above the woods and Eskel was sitting next to the dying fire, cleaning his swords, Geralt began to stir. In the blink of an eye Eskel was by his side, kneeling, with a hand on Geralt’s arm. Geralt blinked up at him and as he recognised Eskel his mouth twitched into something close to a smile for a moment.

“Eskel?” he asked, clearly surprised to see him. Eskel took Geralt’s hand in his and squeezed lightly.

“Good to see you up. Drink this.” With these words he pushed the bottle containing the rest of the Swallow potion into Geralt’s hand. Geralt grumbled something about it being disgusting but he knew that it would help, drank it and then asked for water. Eskel quickly complied and brought some food along with the water as well. Then he helped Geralt sit up and eat.

“How’d you find me?” Geralt finally asked.

“Got a contract on the Wyvern and was told about a white-haired Witcher with a wolf medallion who didn’t return so I tracked the Wyvern and found you,” Eskel explained.

“What happened to it?”

“Bled out after you passed out, still in the cave. I should get the head as proof it’s dead so we can get the reward.”

“Hmm,” Geralt hummed as he swallowed the last of the bread and leaned against Eskel who still had an arm around Geralt to support him. “’m glad you found me.”

Eskel grinned slightly. “Me too, because if not, you might have died in there.”

“Nah, not getting rid of me that easily,” Geralt disagreed.

“Better not,” Eskel answered. Geralt turned his head to look at Eskel for a moment before he lifted his arm and pulled Eskel into a kiss. It had been a while since their last kiss. Since the day they had left the keep after the last winter, to be precise. The first kiss after a couple of months always felt special in a way, new somehow. Eskel closed his eyes and let himself fall into this feeling.

“Missed you,” Geralt mumbled against Eskel’s lips.

Five

Geralt hurried over to Eskel who was lying on the ground, pushed down by a shockwave from his own child surprise. Deidre hadn’t meant to attack him; her wrath had been directed at Sabrina but had hit Eskel instead. Geralt fell to his knees next to Eskel who was moaning in pain. Carefully, Geralt touched Eskel’s shoulder, prompting him to turn his face to Geralt. The right side of his face was covered in blood.

“Shit,” Geralt said as he saw that. It was still bleeding a lot and there was no way of telling how deep the wounds actually were. Geralt didn’t realize what was happening around him, he only saw Eskel in front of him, wanting to help but not knowing how. He turned Eskel around and pulled him up, against himself. They sat like that for a while until Geralt felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You should bring him inside,” Vesemir said in a gentle voice. Geralt nodded, picked Eskel up bridal style and started to walk to the keep.

“You know... I can walk... on my own,” Eskel croaked, clearly struggling to speak. It was probably hurting him to move his lips now.

“No, you can’t. Shut up,” Geralt answered and Eskel fell silent. Usually, he would have argued further but speaking really seemed to hurt him a lot. They stayed silent for the whole time until Geralt had brought him to the room they still shared, now with a double bed instead of the two singles they had when they had grown up here. Geralt laid Eskel down on his side of the bed and got some water to clean the blood off his face.

“So, am I still handsome?” Eskel whispered with a one-sided grin that wouldn’t disturb the injured side of his face. Eskel had always been the most handsome of them all, his own appearance had mattered a lot to him. Now that the blood was cleaned away, Geralt could see the extent of the injury and he knew it would not heal well and leave several deep scars. One would even go through Eskel’s upper lip and there was no way of telling how that would heal.

“You’re always gonna be handsome to me,” Geralt answered and oh, he meant it. But he feared when Eskel would look into the mirror and realize how much the scar would change his appearance, he would be devastated.

“Ugh, you’re so sappy,” Eskel replied.

“You’re gonna get a hot facial scar like me,” Geralt said, pointing to his left eye. Although he wasn’t quite convinced himself. His scar was one big line. While clearly visible, it hadn’t altered his face too much. Eskel’s injury had ripped away part of his nose and his mouth. These parts would change how his facial expressions would be seen by humans. The bleeding had stopped by now, it would only take a couple of days until it would be mostly healed. Geralt pressed a gentle kiss to the uninjured side of Eskel’s mouth and settled in next to him.

“You’re gonna leave me if I’m ugly after this heals?” Eskel asked, half joking. Geralt grumbled.

“Sure, because I’ve always just been with you for your looks.” Sarcasm was dripping from his voice.

“Geralt,” Eskel whined. He seemed to really fear Geralt would leave him. Geralt turned around and pulled Eskel into his arms.

“Of course not, dumbass,” he sighed and closed his eyes. “Sleep now.”

---

As Geralt had expected, it only took three days until Eskel’s face was mostly healed. The skin was still flaming red but a thin layer of scar tissue had grown. Eskel’s upper lip now looked like it was constantly pulled up into a snarl and his nose was pulled to the side. Geralt didn’t think it was too bad. But he wouldn’t have minded, no matter how bad it would have been. Eskel was standing in front of the mirror and didn’t agree with Geralt’s sentiment at all.

“People will be scared of me when I’m riding into town, looking like that.” Geralt hugged Eskel from behind, nosing against his cheek.

“People suck,” he answered.

“People also pay me for killing their monsters, so it’s better if they’re not immediately hating me.” Geralt couldn’t disagree with that.

“Come with me then. Let’s walk the path together for a while,” Geralt suggested. Eskel turned around in Geralt’s arms and looped his own arms around Geralt’s shoulders.

“Are you sure?”

“Would love to have you with me. We can do it together.”

“You fucker really got a vineyard?” The first words Eskel said after he entered Geralt’s property in Toussaint. He had gotten a letter from Geralt, telling him of the contract he had done for the duchess of Toussaint and inviting him to his vineyard. Lambert had nearly fallen off his chair, laughing, when Eskel had told him.

“What’s the old man gonna do with a vineyard? Retire from being a Witcher and grow wine?” Lambert had asked. Eskel had had the feeling that was exactly what Geralt wanted to do but he hadn’t said anything. The next day he had left Kaer Morhen and ridden south. Now, two weeks later he had finally arrived and was greeted at the gate by the proud owner.

“Can barely believe it myself,” Geralt answered and took Scorpion’s reins from Eskel as he got down. Geralt led the horse to the stable where Roach was standing and idly chewing on some hay. She only looked up for a second before turning back to her food. Scorpion joined in and ignored Eskel completely as he took off the saddle and saddlebags.

“You’re really retired now?” Eskel asked, still not believing it, as he brushed Scorpion down.

“Looks like it. Can’t really believe it myself. You know, Dandelion once asked me if Witchers ever retire, I told him no. Looks like I was wrong. I think I will still take contracts around Beauclair from time to time but I quite like the wine-making. I’ve been learning a lot,” Geralt explained. They took Eskel’s bags and Geralt led him up to the yellow house that was towering over all the other buildings. A bald man with glasses left the house and hurried up to them.

“Master Geralt, you didn’t tell me we were expecting a guest. I will get the guest room ready immediately,” he exclaimed and was already in the motion of turning around.

“That won’t be necessary,” Geralt answered. “We’re not gonna need the guest room.” The man looked at them once more but didn’t say anything before returning to the house.

“What...?” Eskel asked, amused.

“Barnabas-Basil, my majordomo,” Geralt grumbled. Now Eskel burst out laughing.

“You have a majordomo? For real?”

“He came with the house,” Geralt grumbled, clearly embarrassed. Eskel collected himself again. It was funny, sure, but Geralt clearly didn’t think so. They entered through the front door and were greeted by a dark but cosy room. A big table surrounded by chairs took up most of the room. Geralt opened a door to the left and ignited the candles with a flick of his wrist. It was the bedroom, Eskel realized. He dropped Eskel’s bags on the chair next to the desk and turned back to Eskel.

“I assume you will stay a while?” Geralt asked, hope in his eyes.

“Who knows, I might start to like the retirement life and you will wish I would leave you alone again,” Eskel answered. Geralt grabbed Eskel by the waist and pulled him in.

“Never,” he said and leaned in to kiss Eskel.

---

They were sitting outside under a tree a little up the near hill, overlooking the landscape, the house and the hills around.

“You know, I still exactly remember the first time we met,” Eskel said, taking a sip from the wine bottle they had brought with them. Barnabas-Basil would probably scold them for not using glasses, insisting a good wine had to be drunk from a glass. But they didn’t care as they shared the bottle, the wine tasted as good as it would from a glass.

“Hmm, me too,” Geralt answered. “You looked so small and scared back then.” Eskel leaned against Geralt’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

“I was the same height you were,” Eskel insisted. “But you’re right, I was terrified. But you’ve been there for me. You didn’t leave my side for the first couple of days, you even held me at night when I was screaming for my mom. I was looking up to you because you didn’t seem to be afraid of anything.” Geralt put an arm around Eskel’s shoulder and pulled him closer.

“You should’ve seen me when I arrived, only four years old, all the other boys older than me. But by the time you arrived, I had gotten used to the keep. And I didn’t want you to feel as I did.”

“You think Vesemir would have put us together that first day if he’d known what a bunch of idiots we would be in our teenage years?” Eskel asked. Geralt chuckled.

“I think he might have guessed something like this and that was why he put us together,” Geralt answered. He grabbed the bottle out of Eskel’s hand and took a couple of gulps himself before putting it down on the table. He pushed Eskel back against the backrest and straddled his thighs. “I think he's happy for us.”

Eskel chuckled. “Maybe let’s not talk about the old man right now,” he said and pulled Geralt down into a kiss.

I wrote this fic for the Eskel Big Bang, check out the art for this fic

#my writing #my Witcher writing #The Witcher #Geralt x Eskel #Eskralt

3 notes · View notes

advena87 · 4 years

Text

Kaer Morhen shenanigans (but mostly Lambert’s)

Just imagine the young witchers in training at Kaer Morhen, raised by tired papa Vesemir. (long post!)

* 3 am *

Lambert: I’m scared.

Eskel: Why?

Lambert: There’s a monster under my bed and it’s really ugly.

Geralt, from the bottom bunk: Honestly, fuck you.

Berengar: Lambert, for fuck's sake, shouldn't you be asleep?

Lambert: I'm supposed to be many things. I live to disappoint.

Geralt, kicking Lambert’s top bunk: Shut the hell up!

Lambert: Ouch! My armkle!!!

Berengar: Your fucking what now?

Eskel: His wrist...

***

Lambert: * threw a bomb in the castle*

Geralt: *falls off his seat* THIS IS WHY VESEMIR DOESN’T FUCKING LOVE YOU!!!

***

Vesemir: I AM AT A LOSS FOR WORDS!

Berengar, narrating: Despite being at a loss for words, he continued to yell at us for 10 minutes.

***

Vesemir: The kids always accuse me of having a favourite.

Vesemir: That’s not true.

Vesemir: I love Eskel and the not-Eskels equally.

*moment later*

Vesemir to young witchers: Alright, listen up, you little shits.

Vesemir: Not you, Eskel. You're an angel, and we're thrilled you're here.

***

Lambert: Did I do something wrong?

Vesemir: You've done so many things wrong, it feels unfair to pick just one.

***

Lambert: We have bad news and good news, which one do you want to hear first?

Vesemir: Good news first.

Lambert: We won't do it again...

***

Geralt: My witcher brothers have always got my back. Except for Lambert. You never turn your back on Lambert.

***

Vesemir: Ah, finally a moment of peace.

*sounds of crashing and destruction outside*

Lambert: Everything's fine!

Vesemir: Everything better be fucking fine.

***

Vesemir: What were you two doing out this late?

Geralt: We—

Vesemir: Five words or less.

Lambert, counting on his fingers: We. Had. A. Fight.

Vesemir:

Lambert:

Lambert: Bitch.

***

Geralt: Vesemir loves me more.

Eskel: He loves us equally, Geralt.

Lambert: I could stab you both and see who he helps first.

Eskel:

Geralt: Oka-

Eskel: I FEEL LIKE THERE ARE STEPS WE COULD TAKE BEFORE THAT

***

Lambert: Vesemir, you have to do something, this fucking goat has shit in the middle of the courtyard.

Geralt: Talk to Eskel, Lil'Bleater yelled at 3am for an hour today. The goat must go.

*later*

Vesemir: Eskel, there are screams in the middle of the night and faeces in the courtyard. I think about implement a no-pets policy in Kaer Morhen.

Eskel: Oh my god, Vesemir, you can’t just throw Lambert out like that.

***

Berengar: We are kind of missing something, guys.

Lambert: Cohesion?

Lambert : Teamwork?

Lambert : A general sense of what we are doing?

Geralt: Eskel is not here!

Lambert : Oh, that too.

***

Lambert: *throws the door open, looking panicked*

Eskel: What did you do?

Lambert: NOBODY DIED

Eskel: WHAT KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT?!

Berengar: Where is Geralt?

***

Vesemir, texting: Answer your phone.

Lambert, texting back: Give me a minute, I lost my phone.

Vesemir: Very well

Vesemir, 5 min later: You're a terrible child. You're killing me. You're killing your father, Lambert

***

Vesemir: You use sarcasm to distance people.

Lambert: And yet you're still here.

***

Vesemir: Coen just died!

Lambert: Its about time.

Vesemir: What?!

Lambert: Sorry I was on the phone with Geralt.

Vesemir: What did he say?

Lambert: Berengar is dead.

***

*After sudden teleportation by accidentally activated hidden portal in the castle*

Eskel: Uh, are we in heaven?

Lambert: No chance, I highly doubt they would let me in.

***

Lambert: I screwed up big time.

Berengar: Lambert, given your daily life experiences, you’re gonna have to be more specific.

***

Lambert, entering the room: Good morning, parental figure.

Vesemir, not looking up from his coffee: Good morning, problem child.

***

Vesemir: If you bite it and you die, it's poisonous. If it bites you and you die, it's venomous.

Geralt: What if it bites me and it dies?

Vesemir: That means you're poisonous.

Geralt: What if it bites itself and I die?

Eskel: That's curse?

Lambert: What if it bites me and someone else dies?

Vesemir: That's correlation, not causation.

Lambert: What if we bite each other and neither of us die?

Berengar: That's kinky.

Vesemir: Oh, my god.

***

Lambert: Ugh. There’s always that weak bitch in the group who isn’t down with murder.

Lambert: *glares at Eskel*

Eskel: Well SORRY I have MORALS-

***

Vesemir: Why is it, when something disastrous and drunk happens, it is always you four?

Berengar: [covered in glitter and wearing sunglasses indoors]

Geralt: [sporting a hickey the size of planet earth on his neck]

Lambert: [with a split lip and a shiner]

Eskel and Lil’Bleater: [covered in pancake batter]

...

Here is: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10 and Daily Lambert

also Keira & Lambert’s love story, Aiden & Lambert’s love story and… this.

...

2K notes · View notes

quia-nominor--leo · 2 years

Text

I’ve been replaying the Witcher games and have some thoughts about Eskel, specifically the line he has when him, Lambert, Geralt, and Yennefer are discussing putting Uma through the Trial of Grasses:

Eskel: See, till now we had a great excuse not to take in apprentices. Seems we’ll need to talk it over.

This line stunned me when I first heard it because I was not expecting it to come from any witcher, least of all Eskel. The process of becoming a witcher is painful and abusive, so to hear him consider continuing the tradition was ... shocking. But I think that there’s a little more to it than just that.

Eskel has always seemed to me like the odd one out in CDPR’s verse, which is the Eskel I want to talk about here. Out of all the witchers we meet he seems to have the least unique characterization. Even though I love Eskel and would like as much content about him as possible, I’m not particularly mad about it - the majority of what we get seems to be reflective of the books and witchers in general, and ultimately he is one of dozens of individual characters that the games work with. It’s clear that CDPR made the decision to have Lambert be Geralt’s ‘second-in-command’ and another of Vesemir’s child-surprises, which is not entirely book-accurate, but is a lot more believable than whatever manic-pixie-dream-girl-wet-dream fantasy we have going on with Triss Merigold.

This specific line is thrown into even sharper relief considering that a few seconds before, Lambert yells at Yennefer for suggesting that Uma undergoes the Trial of the Grasses, and states that the secrets of the Trials should remain forgotten:

Lambert: Wary? That’s not the problem. Those secrets have been forgotten. And that’s how they should stay.

Out of all the School of Wolf witchers that we meet, Eskel is the one who expresses least opinions about the process of becoming a witcher. In the first game, Berengar is extremely bitter about what happened to him and actively turns his back on Kaer Morhen for that reason. Lambert seems to take up his mantle in TW3. There’s an interesting point in the game where Lambert indicates that he isn’t angry about being a witcher but rather he is angry about the lack of choice he had in the matter:

Lambert: Guess I could've been someone worse... Just a shame I had no choice.

The cruelty of the trials:

Geralt: That still gnawing at you?

Lambert: Gnawing? No. Straight old pisses me off. What the fuck was that Trial for? Most who returned from the Circle of Elements died within a year in some swamp, hunting drowners for a crown thirty a head. So exactly what was the point?

The futility of the trials:

Lambert: That's just it -- not everyone made it. Lots of boys died here. Boys taken against their will.

And the fact that he was put through all of that in return for his father’s life:

Lambert: My life... For the life of that prick?

Lambert also expresses concern about putting Uma through the Trial of the Grasses on the simple premise that it will make Uma suffer (which, as a side note, is the moment I realised how much I love Lambert):

Yennefer: Of course not. As I was about to say, I'll only apply the first half of the Trial, because -

Lambert: Because you want to watch him suffer?

Lambert is also the one to call Vesemir out for keeping Sad Albert around and refers to the instruments used during the Trials as “torture devices”:

Lambert: Sure. Every grandpa out there's got an attic full of torture devices.

He also places himself physically away from the group during the Trial, he questions Vesemir’s seeming regret at the process by asking why he kept Sad Albert around, and ultimately walks out in the middle of the Trial:

Vesemir: I had hoped... I'd hoped I would never have to watch this again.

Lambert: Why'd you keep the table, then?

In his own way, Vesemir too expresses reluctance over putting Uma through the Trial of the Grasses:

Yennefer: Have the boys told you what we plan to do?

Vesemir. Yes. Don't like it one bit. But I suppose I have to trust you.

He goes through the trouble of trying his own way to lift the curse from Uma because he recognises that what Yennefer intends to do is not safe (at that point she has not revealed that she wants to subject him to the first part of the Trial of the Grasses). He also keeps calling back to the fact that he had to see the Trial being carried out many times with horrific results and he is not comfortable with putting Uma through it (although, as Lambert points out, he did keep Sad Albert around and justifies it through the sentimental nostalgia felt by old people which has to be considered when putting his statements into perspective).

Geralt’s reactions depend somewhat on the player’s choices, but at a minimum he is wary of putting Uma through the Trial. He questions the chances of Uma’s survival, is concerned about whether the hookweed that Vesemir administers has actually helped dull Uma’s pain, and the player is given the option to question whether the Trial of the Grasses should continue:

Geralt: Listen... We should stop this.

Yennefer: Then Uma dies. Very painfully.

Eskel doesn’t really get an opinion. Later in the process, he does express doubt about putting Uma through the Trial but he does it within the context of Uma potentially being Ciri and what it might to do her, not in relation to what it is doing to Uma as a separate entity:

Eskel: If that's Ciri in there...she could come out of this crippled, wrong in the head, just emotionless. Thought about that?

And, above and beyond all this, is the simple fact that Eskel is the first witcher around that table to talk about how they may need to discuss taking on new boys if the Trial of the Grasses is viable again. But there is no way that I will accept that the reason why he does that is because CDPR Eskel is somehow callous or unfeeling.

So what’s my point exactly?

One of the most distinct perceptions I have of Eskel is that he shows a dislike of expressing opinion and a preference to avoiding confrontation. In TW3, we are told that Vesemir has asked Eskel to see to some beams that need fixing and has also asked Lambert to patch up Savolla’s breach. Eskel doesn’t see to the beams because he is too busy getting drunk with Lambert and Geralt in ‘No Place Like Home’, but he feels the need to explain himself to Vesemir the day after:

Vesemir: So I guess you didn't get a chance to see to the beams in the tower?

Eskel: Uh... No... But we'll, uh, get to that, I promise. Right, Lambert?

Lambert on the other hand makes a conscious decision to not patch up Savolla’s breach, not because he wants to be argumentative with Vesemir but simply because he is of the opinion that it doesn’t need to be done:

Geralt: Savolla's breach. Still haven't patched it up?

Lambert: Vesemir'd like to. Doesn't bother me, though. Not expecting anyone to lay siege and...this way I got a shortcut to the pond.

So Lambert has agency over some of what happens in Kaer Morhen, but Eskel just does what Vesemir tells him to do.

Eskel also makes it clear to Geralt several times that he does not trust Yennefer or approve of the way she treats people. For example:

Geralt: Yen tell you why she wants this?

Eskel: Mean you don't know? And that, uh...doesn't bug you?

[...]

Geralt: No, it doesn't. I trust her.

Eskel: And they say people learn from their mistakes...

[...]

Geralt: Something about Yen bothering you? C'mon, grow a pair, give it to me straight.

Eskel: You grow a pair and admit she tricked you. More than a few times.

This is pretty much in line with how Lambert feels, but instead of directly confronting Yennefer, Eskel just buries it. He goes out of his way to be polite and to reign Lambert in when the latter tries to prod. He only confronts Yennefer once Lambert has started the ball rolling:

Lambert: Fine. Conversation turned serious? Let's talk. Yen, what do you plan to do with Uma?

Yennefer: I said I'll tell you tomorrow.

Eskel: So tell us now. It's after midnight.

I think its also telling that Eskel only reveals his true feelings about Kaer Morhen once Vesemir dies. We’re told that the previous winter, Lambert suggested that the witchers abandon Kaer Morhen and that Vesemir took it badly. Lambert retains his opinion, but Eskel doesn’t give his own:

Geralt: Vesemir's gotten a bit grumpy in his old age.

Eskel: That was nothing. Shoulda been here last winter when Lambert tried to convince him we oughta abandon Kaer Morhen for good.

Lambert: What good's this old ruin anyway? Moldy walls, leaky roof, and it's one big fucking ice cube in the winter.

Eskel: Vesemir didn't say a word. Stood, grabbed his sword, and slammed the door on his way out. Didn't come back for a month.

However, during Vesemir’s funeral, we see that Eskel actually does have an opinion on Kaer Morhen, but he expresses it only once Vesemir has passed:

Eskel: No, Geralt. Place has been dying a while now. Last nail in the coffin today. Time we accepted that.

If Letho is present at Kaer Morhen, there’s a scene which makes me feel like Eskel becomes defensive with Geralt - the one and only time he does. This is opposed to Lambert who is quite quick to argue. The topic at hand? Eskel’s right to an opinion. Lambert in this scene directly confronts the situation, but Eskel’s reaction isn’t to directly argue his case - it makes me think more of him trying to convince himself that his opinion matters.

Letho: None of your business.

Lambert: Wrong -- it is his and mine. Rather not have you behind our backs during the battle.

Geralt: What is it now?

Lambert: Why did you even bring him?

Geralt: I need Letho.

Eskel: Our opinions count, too.

We see Eskel’s reluctance to confront in the first game too. In ‘The Price of Neutrality’ we learn that Eskel actively avoided claiming Deidre Ademeyn and then had a hard time making a decision about what to do with her once she arrives at Kaer Morhen:

Vesemir: He cited the Law of Surprise, and, as they say, destiny proved fortunate - unbeknownst to the prince, his wife was with child [...] As far as I know Eskel never returned to claim the child promised him by the prince. For some reason, ever since then he’s always taken the long way around Caingorn.

Whatever decision is taken, Eskel’s face is ripped apart, but we know that he continues to claim the Law of Surprise when he explains how he got his horse Scorpion:

Eskel: Saved this lost knight once... You know, woods, dark, wolves. The standard. Told him "Give me what you find at home" and all that... No kid this time, but his mare had just foaled.

Overall, this progression makes me feel like Eskel is ignoring his own personal experience with the Law of Surprise, and continues to use it simply because that is what a witcher is ‘supposed’ to do.

Now, back to why I originally started this.

Eskel does what he’s supposed to do. He claims the Law of Surprise even though it hasn’t worked out well for him, he doesn’t instigate arguments with Vesemir or Geralt, he doesn’t really make his own decisions regarding Kaer Morhen. In ‘The Price of Neutrality’ he says that he invoked the Law of Surprise because that’s what Vesemir told them witchers do:

Eskel: I must’ve heard too many of Vesemir’s stories about the eternal Law of Surprise ...

This ‘supposed to’ language comes out in one of his lines to Ciri:

Eskel: Should've stayed in the keep, sat your ass down like you were supposed to.

In a way, Eskel is the most “standard” witcher that we meet in the games. Even in preparing for trying to lift the curse from Uma, Yennefer gives him the task that is most standard for a witcher, i.e. killing a forktail and obtaining ingredients from it. After the battle of Kaer Morhen, his next step is calculated as continuing his witcher work:

Eskel: Try my luck in Lormark. There's always work where there's war. After that, we'll see.

We never hear Eskel’s opinions about witchering, about how he personally feels about it. Even Gaetan, an optional character, gets to say his little piece down in Velen, but Eskel doesn’t.

Does this mean that Eskel is somehow boring or has less personality? I certainly don’t believe so. The simple fact that this man tracked and hunted a katakan then dragged its corpse all the way back to Kaer Morhen because he identified interesting characteristics and wanted to see if he could develop a new way to track these creatures should be enough proof against that (seriously, how did Eskel get that thing up the mountain?). From the little we gather of his life outside of Kaer Morhen, we can also see that Eskel has his own adventures, but he never offers up much details, preferring to sit and listen to what Geralt and Lambert have to say instead.

No, rather, I think that Eskel makes a conscious effort to avoid confrontation. Now, the fact that he immediately wants to discuss making new witchers may be interpreted as him wanting to directly confront the issue, but I disagree. Keep in mind that making more witchers is what witchers are supposed to do. I don’t believe that Eskel wants to make more witchers, but I believe that he feels that since that is what witchers are supposed to do, it is the opinion that he is supposed to express. Its less confrontational to continue a tradition set for hundreds of years than it is to actively argue and speak out against it, which is what Lambert does.

I want to make it clear that I don’t mean this as a negative attack on Eskel or his moral choices. In a way I very much feel that Eskel is the person who is sacrificing his own opinions and feelings because he feels that he has to be the responsible person and consider what may be appropriate for a situation, whether its easier for him or not. I think its telling that at one point Geralt tells Lambert:

Geralt: Whine about it to Eskel later.

Almost as if its completely normal for either of them to go to Eskel with their issues. If you’re not romancing Yennefer, Eskel is also the one who immediately expresses concern for Geralt and asks him if he wants to talk about it, whatever his feelings about Yennefer are:

Eskel: Lambert, drop it ... Sorry, Geralt, that was, uh, insensitive. We didn’t know. You wanna ... wanna talk about it?

The thing is that there is usually a reason why a person would not consider their opinion important. To dip into personal experience for a moment, I’ve generally always been a very opinionated and blunt person, however, the periods of my life where I considered my opinions to be worthless or useless coincided with my feelings of self-hate and/or lack of self-confidence. I don’t think that all people who struggle with those feelings will manifest them in the same way. In some cases you can have people who are dealing with those feelings and instead become loud and cultivate transgressive opinions simply because its the only way they feel they can get attention (I’m narrowing my eyes slightly at Lambert here).

So, in essence I think that Eskel is someone who doesn’t feel like he has the right to an opinion, a right to do things the way he thinks would be good for him, especially if they are not in line with what he is expected to do.

I think that there’s a lot to be said about how Lambert has to live with the fact that Geralt, the famous White Wolf, and Eskel, known for his prowess and Sign intensity, are the two Wolf witchers who remain and the two people who’s standards he has to meet and try to attain, even if he is an excellent witcher in his own right. However, more recently, I’ve been thinking about how at least Lambert can get some distance from that. Ultimately, he is from a different generation of witchers, and we see that he actively spends time away from the School of Wolf and interacts with at least one other witcher from a different school. Eskel, on the other hand, has to deal with a life spent being compared to Geralt. I don’t think he’s bitter about it - his famous line of being a simple witcher doesn’t come off as jealous or resentful:

Eskel: I’m a simple witcher, Wolf. Don’t fight dragons, don’t fraternize with kings and don’t sleep with sorceresses ... unlike some.

But then when he talks about how Vesemir couldn’t tell them apart, the way he says it makes it feel like now there’s something different, whether its the scars or something else:

Eskel: Right... Vesemir used to say he couldn't tell us apart. Like brothers, two drops of water... A long time ago, that. Thanks.

So, Eskel has had to deal with being compared to Geralt for his entire life, has had to slowly come to terms with the fact that Geralt is not the same person he grew up with, and has to come to terms with the fact that he has to continuously take a step back in Geralt’s life, as the latter becomes the White Wolf, becomes involved with Yennefer, and ultimately claims Ciri as a child of surprise which solidifies him into legend, one way or another. I think its very easy to point towards his scars and blame any lack of self-confidence in them, but I think that that also negates and downplays all the other trauma Eskel as a witcher has had to go through beyond the disfigurement. For one, you could consider whether Eskel sees Geralt’s protectiveness of Ciri in stark contrast to his perceived failure to protect Deidre. For another, there’s very little exploration of how the sacking of Kaer Morhen is on its own enough of a traumatic experience to leave intense guilt on the survivors.

Ultimately, all of this converges to what I feel is a person who just ... doesn’t think he is that important in the lives of his fellow witchers and in general. It’s sad because, in the books you can get a sense of how important Eskel is to the story, both as Geralt’s friend and one of the people Ciri considers her mentor. And perhaps its one reason why Eskel, even though he is not a main character, resonates so deeply with people. Its not something that I can personally say I have an exact understanding of, but I can certainly sympathise with the struggle of doing what you want versus being cursed with the conviction that what other people need or want is more important to you.

And in conclusion: thank you for all the fanfic writers and fans who have recognised this in Eskel and have actively aimed to confront this and tease out the trauma. Every little nugget I find of a well-written Eskel is hoarded and consumed because this character in particular deserves so much more than he has so far been given.

#eskel #lambert #vesemir #berengar #geralt #the witcher #tw3 #quiaposts

363 notes · View notes