The Divine Hunter

hers.” Roy’s eyes shone.
“The witchers in the order put aside their differences and faced all challenges together.
Nobody could trample on them however they wanted, no matter if they were sorcerers or soldiers.”

“That is nonsense!” Auckes shouted, and he stood up.
“Roy, our goal is to rebuild the school, not this ‘Order of Witchers.’ Keep that naive idea to yourself!”

“I have heard of this order as well.” Serrit shook his head calmly.
“Hundreds of years ago, the members of the order vanquished countless monsters for the people out of chivalry.
The order only lasted for fifty years before it disbanded over differences in opinion.”

Serrit continued, “After the witchers started different schools, those differences started to worsen, since every school had their own style of doing things.
Witchers from the Bear School are resilient and cold.
Most of them are men of few words, and they are really practical.
The Cat School is made up of bizarre witchers.
They are violent, extreme, and experts in assassination.
The Griffin School emphasizes holy virtues.
They aspire to help and save those who are hurt by monsters.
They are knights in that sense.
As for the Wolf School…” He looked at Geralt.
“They firmly walk the path of neutrality.
They don’t go too far on any end of the spectrum, and most of their attention is focused on monster-related requests.
The Manticore School is in the east of Blue Mountains.
They don’t really come in contact with the northern regions.
As for the Viper School…you know how we are, kid.”

He concluded, “I can’t imagine the madmen from the Cat School being in the same room as the knights from the Griffin School, let alone working together in an order.”

Roy argued, “Hey, we’re getting along with the White Wolf.”

Serrit snorted disapprovingly.

“Things are different now,” Roy said.
“There are far fewer witchers now compared to, say, a few centuries ago.
Survival is already a big issue, and I don’t think differences of opinion is that much of a problem.
Besides, the order was led by two sorcerers: Cosimo and Alzur.
They might have experimented and created witchers, but they were no witchers themselves.
They could not possibly understand us.
An order of witchers led by sorcerers was bound to disband.” Roy concluded, “But if it is led by a witcher, we will have real unity.”

The veteran witchers were silent, but their arched eyebrows were enough to tell Roy that they were still doubtful about the order.
“If a beehive were to fall from a tree, not a single larva would survive,” Roy growled.
“If we keep doing our own thing, witchers will be a relic of the past in a few decades, at most.”

“But you have to understand that witchers are different from sorcerers.
Most of us are arrogant, lone wolves.
Getting us together in one room is an impossible task.” Serrit paused for a moment.
“And different schools have different recipes for the Trial of the Grasses.
How can we even work together?”

“Looks like you have thought about it, but how can you be sure that we can’t work together if we never tried?” Roy said, “I’m the newbie here, and I am not beholden to any old rules or view.
Remember, we are not trying to topple the monarchy.
That is nothing but a big, fat joke.
We are just banding together in an attempt to survive.
So the people will stop looking at us like we’re less than human.
So we can walk proudly under the sun and develop like any other organization.
Geralt.” Roy looked at the witchers who were deep in thought.
“This is why I invited you here today.”

“You’re young and imaginative, but you only see the problem at the surface.
And that’s why you came up with that preposterous plan.” Geralt shook his head.
“You’re ignoring a lot of obstacles, Roy.
The Order of Witchers? That sounds nice on paper, but even if we gather all the remaining witchers in the world, there’s only about fifty of us at most.
Is there even a need to band together with so few of us remaining?”

“You think there are too few of us? Fine.
Then we can be a brotherhood instead of an order.
And we can train more disciples if we want to grow.” Roy paced back and forth around the table.
“If the disciples are scared of the trial’s death rate, we’ll get some sorcerer friends to help improve the recipe.
Like Coral, like your lover, Yennefer and Triss.
The sorcerers made the recipe, and they can improve it.
All we have to do is pay the price.”

“Roy, do not drag my personal matters into this.” Geralt had a moment of sadness there.
“Do not bring those names up, and cease this foolish plan of yours at once.
Recruiting new blood is just a pipedream of yours.
The people despise us.
Do you know what they call us? Abominations! Monsters! That has been going on for a century, and it is worsening as we speak.
No parent would hand their children to us.
It’s getting harder to gather the ingredients needed for the Trial of the Grasses, and without new blood, your brotherhood cannot grow.”

“Things will change.
Trust me.”

In less than two years, the war would begin, and countless children would become homeless orphans.
With survival on the line, they would never refuse a witcher’s offer when they had it.
Even Vesemir, who had been living in Kaer Morhen for a long time, took in a disciple named Leo.

“That is a naive thought.” Geralt sighed.

“I understand.
Getting all schools to gather in a short time is impossible, but that’s not what we have to think about for now.
For the first step of this plan, the Viper School and Wolf School shall become allies.
The brotherhood will start with two schools first.” Roy looked at Geralt.
“I wish to have a little friendly spar at Kaer Morhen this winter.
Just between our schools.”

Letho, who had been quiet all this time, could finally not hold it in anymore.
He slammed his fist on the table and crushed his glass to pieces.
“You’re making decisions on that scale without asking for my permission? Who do you think you are, kid? Master Ivar? The leader of the school? You cannot make that decision all by yourself!” he said coldly.

“Forgive my impudence, Letho, but let me do it just this once.
I will tell you my answer tomorrow.
You can ask any question you want,” Roy answered apologetically, then he turned back to Geralt.
“I apologize for bringing this up all of a sudden, Geralt, but please don’t refuse me for now.
Think about my proposition.
Think about your mentor, Vesemir.
He has been guarding a deserted fortress for years now.
I’m sure he wants to see Kaer Morhen looking vibrant and lively as well.”

Geralt was silent.
He wanted to refuse at first, but Roy brought up the one person he didn’t want to let down the most.
Vesemir was the person he respected the most in his life.
“Give me some time to think, Roy.
I shall give you my answer tomorrow.”