Sword of Destiny

Braenn and Geralt resume their journey to Duén Canell, the capital of Brokilon, in the morning when they are startled by a piercing scream. Rushing to the source, they discover an enormous scolopendromorph (giant centipede) attacking a young girl. Working together, the witcher and the dryad swiftly dispatch the creature. Geralt initially assumes that the girl is a young dryad, but the girl introduces herself as Ciri and reveals that she is a princess. Ciri explains that she was sent to Verden to meet Prince Kistrin, a potential husband, but she decided to escape because she dislikes Kistrin and his father, King Ervyll. Geralt offers to accompany Ciri back to Verden; a suggestion met with resistance from both Ciri and Braenn. Braenn insists on taking both Ciri and Geralt to Duén Canell, with Geralt shouldering the burden of carrying Ciri. As they press on, the journey continues until night.

Braenn admires Ciri’s remarkable skills, alerting Geralt to the fact that Ciri’s entrance into Brokilon dictates that she now belongs among the dryads. However, Geralt remains silent on this point, inwardly lamenting Ciri’s apparent fate of living out her life in Brokilon as a converted dryad, fighting in the dryads’ losing battle to maintain control of the forest. Geralt engages Ciri in conversation, and the young girl shares that her parents are deceased, and she resides with her grandmother, a queen. Ciri also states that marrying Prince Kistrin is impossible, alluding to an unspecified destiny.

Ciri implores Geralt to tell her a story. Crafting a tale about a cat and a fox, Geralt narrates their clever strategies for outsmarting hunters. The fox boasts numerous tactics, while the cat relies on one method—climbing a tree. When the hunters arrive, they capture the fox, but the cat remains safely perched in the tree. Both Braenn and Ciri listen attentively to the story. Geralt playfully teases Ciri, suggesting that she should consider climbing a tree the next time she is threatened, rather than running away. Frustrated by Geralt’s teasing, Ciri expresses annoyance before the trio settles down for the night.

The trio arrives at a grove of towering trees, proceeding through it in hushed and reverential silence. Following this serene interlude, Braenn covers Geralt’s eyes with a blindfold, Ciri guiding him through the remainder of the journey to Duén Canell. During this guided journey, Ciri queries Geralt about the dryads’ use of the term “Gwynbleidd” to address him. Geralt clarifies that it translates to “white wolf.” In response, Ciri expresses her admiration for the beauty of the path.

Upon reaching Duén Canell, Braenn leads Geralt to a dwelling crafted from a living tree, where Frexinet awaits. The dryads are skilled healers and have tended to Frexinet’s injuries. However, Frexinet admonishes Ciri for her escape, revealing that returning to Verden is now perilous due to King Ervyll’s potential retribution.

Expressing gratitude for Geralt’s rescue, Frexinet deems it a manifestation of destiny. He discloses that Geralt once saved him from a curse that transformed him into a cormorant, prompting Ciri to inquire about the definition of a witcher. Before Frexinet can elaborate, Braenn interrupts to retrieve Ciri. Ciri realizes that the dryads intend to prevent her departure from Brokilon. Eithné, the dryad queen, arrives, emphasizing the inevitability of destiny and asserting that no one can escape it.

Ciri departs with Braenn on Eithné’s orders, while Geralt faces the dryad queen’s lecture on entering Brokilon without consent. Despite sparing Geralt’s life, Eithné attributes her decision to their past history rather than to his role as an envoy. Contemplating Frexinet’s fate, Eithné ultimately opts for leniency, tasking the man with service to the dryads as penance. As Eithné departs, Geralt clarifies Frexinet’s obligation—to sire at least one dryad child to secure his exit from Brokilon. Resigned to his destiny, Frexinet seeks Geralt’s assistance in aiding Ciri’s escape, but Geralt soberly asserts the futility of such an endeavor, predicting that neither would survive the attempt.

Geralt finds himself in Eithné’s abode, where the queen adamantly refuses to relinquish the child. Geralt, who has been tasked with delivering King Venzlav’s proposition—that the dryads exchange a portion of Brokilon forest and accept another less coveted area along with the promise of the king’s protection. This proposal is meant to sway Eithné with the promise of peace. However, Eithné refuses, staunchly defending the forest that the dryads have guarded for over two centuries. As negotiations reach an impasse, Ciri expresses her desire to stay with Geralt, introducing a new dimension to the discourse. Geralt is unwilling to witness Ciri’s potential suffering upon consuming the water of Brokilon and contemplates leaving. However, Ciri implores him to stay beside her as she drinks the water. To Geralt’s surprise, no immediate transformation occurs.

Eithné, identifying Ciri as one who carries “Elder Blood,” presents the girl with a choice—to remain in Brokilon or to embrace her destiny. Ciri resolutely chooses the latter. Geralt, attributing Ciri’s lack of transformation to Eithné’s intervention, expresses gratitude for the dryad queen’s supposed role in shaping destiny. However, Eithné is frustrated by Geralt’s ignorance and challenges him to drink the water himself. Succumbing to the queen’s insistence, Geralt experiences a disjointed vision of his destiny, glimpsing figures that resemble an older Ciri, Yennefer, and Queen Calanthe of Cintra. Eithné cryptically reveals that Ciri can save Geralt, and his vision plunges into sudden darkness.

Geralt awakens in the forest a considerable distance from Duén Canell, with only Ciri by his side. Expressing his displeasure at Ciri’s failure to disclose her true identity, Geralt learns that she is the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe of Cintra. Ciri contends that she was initially unaware of Geralt’s identity. She recounts his past assistance in lifting the curse from her father, Duny. In a twist of fate, the narrative reveals that Ciri is bound to Geralt as a “child surprise”: the result of the infamous Law of Surprise, which he claimed upon aiding her father years ago.

Geralt contemplates Ciri’s potential connection to the Elder Blood as the two navigate the forest. They encounter a road, and while Geralt aims for Brugge, King Venzlav’s territory, Ciri intuits the existence of unknown dangers in that direction. Nevertheless, Geralt presses forward. Shortly afterward, they are confronted by Verden mercenaries. The soldiers accuse the dryads of attacking a caravan, but it is clear that the mercenaries killed the merchants themselves to incite a war against the dryads. Ciri astutely points out the implausibility of dryads causing the damage, prompting Geralt to defend himself against the soldiers.

Amidst the skirmish, the dryads and a man on a gray horse emerge from the woods to aid Geralt in the battle. After the conflict subsides, the dryads retreat into the forest, and Geralt greets the newcomer, Mousesack. When Mousesack inquires after Ciri’s well-being, the girl emerges from a tree. Mousesack scolds her for climbing instead of fleeing, and the three begin their journey to Cintra.

Mousesack, a druid, reveals that Calanthe no longer supports the proposed marriage between Ciri and Kistrin. He opts to head directly to Cintra. Recognizing the intertwining threads of destiny, Mousesack urges Geralt to accompany them, emphasizing the significance of the three encounters between Geralt and Ciri. Despite Ciri’s connection to him, Geralt ignores destiny’s potential impact and refuses, expressing no desire to reshape Ciri into a witcher.

Growing irritated, Mousesack lectures the witcher on destiny and his responsibility to Ciri, which in no way requires her to become a witcher. While leaving Geralt with the decision of whether to take charge of Ciri’s fate, Mousesack warns of dire consequences for denying destiny, but his warnings go unheeded. Geralt departs from the group, prompting Ciri to scream after him, pleading for him to stay. As Geralt rides away, Ciri cries out that he is her destiny.