The Witcher.
As the Monstrum Tome explains to the common people of the world--indeed, there is nothing
more repulsive than these monsters that defy nature, and are known by the name of Witcher--as
they are the offspring of foul sorcery and witchcraft.
They are unscrupulous scoundrels without conscience and virtue--veritable creatures from hell
capable only of taking lives…
In other words, they sound pretty damn villainous--right?
So why would Andrzej Sapkowski dedicate his entire series of fantasy novels to such a
monstrous creation?
Isn’t this a Time for Heroes?
How can such a hated figure lead the path to righteousness and virtue, protector of
the weak and innocent?
Well--it’s probably high time that we found out.
Hello horror fans, what’s going on--and once again welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we resume our Lore Explored
Series--and to my sheer joy, take a look… at The Witcher.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was of course--from the up-and-coming Netflix
series starring Henry Cavil as The Witcher himself, Geralt of Rivia.
And you know, I’m actually pretty stoked about it--and I’m fairly confident that
Netflix, and Cavil as a whole are going to do a great job--and if you’re asking me,
anything that furthers this remarkable and fantastic world is worthy of note.
BUT--I’m also of the mind that, in my head-canon, there’s only one Butcher of Blaviken, and
he exists in CD Projekt Red’s near-perfect video game series--voiced by Doug Cockle.
I hope to be proved wrong, but yeah.
Anyway--housekeeping aside, let’s dive into this Lore Explored--because we’re going
to be doing things a little differently with this episode.
Instead of covering the series as a whole and necessarily focusing on the larger theme--we’re
going to be focusing on the exact role of the Witcher in this fantasy world--where they
came from, their purpose as an organisation--and anything else that comes with being the mutagenic
anti-heroes that they are.
Personally, I think the best way to explore Sapkowski’s world is through the eyes of
a Witcher.
Well, the cats eyes of a Witcher--but we’ll get to that.
First and foremost--I should probably not get too ahead of myself, because if you can’t
tell I’m very excited--and for the none Witcher fanatics amongst you, we should first
give a little overview as to what we’re dealing with.
Back in 1993--Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski released his first novel in the Witcher series,
The Last Wish.
It introduced to us an intriguing character, Geralt of Rivia--a mysterious man who had
been terribly injured in battle, and was resting at The Temple of Melitele--being tended by
mute servants--whilst recounting many of the violent paths that had led him there.
Unlike many other fantasy novels--this one was a collection of short stories--interwoven
by Geralt’s continued mystery, whilst establishing one particular thing very clearly.
This guy Geralt, yeah--he’s seen some shit.
And that, horror fans--is merely the beginning, because as is revealed in The Edge of the
World--Geralt of Rivia is part of an ancient order, whose role in this bloodthirsty world
is to hunt down the many monsters of folklore and legend that plague the countryside or
linger in deep, forgotten caverns--making the world a better place one decapitated Wyvern’s
head at a time--but of course, only for a price.
And that price is important--because now, we can talk about exactly what it takes to
join this hazardous profession and the many pros and cons that come with it.
But to comprehend that, we need to first understand where they come from--and truth be told, that’s
a difficult thing to do--because part of the allure of the Witcher Series--is that the
origin of these mysterious mercenaries is so ancient, so rooted in a world that once
was--that this new world, the one that they protect without question--has forgotten them,
and in turn--you could say that the purpose behind the traditions of the Witcher Order
have been forgotten even by themselves.
You see, it’s a key theme that is thread throughout Sapkowski’s series--the overwhelming
antiquity of the world that it takes place in.
BUT--there is a reason for that.
Because we do know one thing--and we may have an inkling as to just exactly why the Witcher’s
came into being--maybe, anyway.
You see, around fifteen hundred years before Sapkowski’s series takes place--an event
occured.
An event known as The Conjunction of the Spheres--a cataclysm which converged a myriad of multi-dimensional
worlds and essentially forged them together into one.
The one here in question, where the series takes place.
You see, the native races to that world, The Elder Races--were the gnomes, the most ancient--the
dwarves--and the elves--but their existence was interrupted by this event.
Soon came a horde of unnatural creatures from the fragments of the multiverse--ghouls, graveirs,
vampires--ancient spirits of shadow and fire, and ice.
But it wasn’t just monsters that emerged--but men, too.
The race of humans soon appeared--their old world destroyed by The Conjunction of the
Spheres--dazed and confused, without a home.
Well, during that time--these first settlers spread to the North of their strange new home,
partly being taught by their Elven neighbours how to wield chaos as magic--but only a select
few--because, come on, they don’t hand out magic willy nilly.
You see, when these tired and hopeless settlers futilely attempted to colonize these new,
untamed lands--filled with monsters and murder--they needed protecting.
An elite caste of warrior-monks gradually began to emerge--human defenders who braved
the wilds by sheer will alone, and soon found that other ancient magics lurked there.
Out in the wilderness, these warrior monks studied the strange mushrooms and fungi that
grew there--they documented herbs and plant stimulants--and soon, they took that knowledge
and created concoctions that gave them a bold advantage against these monsters.
However, they also noticed something strange.
They noticed that the bodies of their young apprentices developed superhuman speed and
endurance--well, the ones that survived anyway.
Because you see, this is where a concept known as The Trial of the Grasses emerges--the most
important initiation rite to becoming a witcher--rooted in their humble beginnings as herbalists and
alchemists.
And when I say important--I really mean it, because there are only two options with The
Trial of the Grasses.
You pass it--and become a witcher--or you die--with seven out of ten candidates usually
dying in the process.
Ultimately, this alchemical process is integral to the Order of the Witcher.
It mutates their genes permanently--imbibing them with heightened senses, strength, reflexes--and
resistances to essentially all diseases.
In other terms, they literally become a monster in order to fight them--sacrificing their
humanity to become a mutant specifically built to hunt and kill all inhuman prey across their
strange new world.
As a result of this painful and dangerous process--the young survivors would gain cat-like
eyes--whose pupils would dilate to see in the most blinding of light, or the darkest
of darkness.
Hmm--I’m sensing a metaphor there.
As you may imagine--at the origin of this order--it was frighteningly effective--but
the price to be paid was staggering.
First and foremost, all Witcher’s would become sterile--making it impossible for them
to pass on their traits--but also instilling them with an incredibly long lifespan and
prolonged youth--often existing for several centuries and only ever appearing as middle
age.
This unnatural life cycle layed down the foundation that would make the common folk of the world
so weary and hateful of these individuals--despite these Witcher’s being the only line of defence
that they had against the horrors that lingered in the darkness.
You see, soon after The Trial of the Grasses seemed to be a viable option for combating
these monsters--you remember those magic-studying aristocrats that I mentioned before?
Yeah, by that time--the Nordling Monarchy realised that they could use these newly created
Mutant Knights to bend toward their will--and gave them the basis to form their order, finalising
the set of Trials and Mutations that would pave the way toward future generations of
young apprentices becoming Witchers.
Buttt---that was merely a footnote, and the Elven Mages behind the monarchy, as well as
their new human mages--realised that they couldn’t really do anything with these poison
drinking warrior monks--and so quickly pulled the plug on their Order.
Despite that though, the Witcher’s that remained trudged on--and so, splintered and
abandoned by the new Monarchy, they carved out the body of their order--and the many
differing schools that would form the basis of them.
You see, sometime between the Order of the Witcher developing their ranks--after they
splintered from the Monarchy, their membership realised that there were many ways to fight
these monsters--and all of them didn’t entirely agree on the same approach.
They realised that spreading themselves into different areas, and thus specializing in
the art of monster hunting--would strengthen their cause--and also, earn them a pretty
penny in the process.
This act built the basis of the 7 known School of the Witchers.
Now, as a footnote-- there are potentially more--but like we said, there are more mysteries
in this series than Andrzej Sapkowski would like to admit.
Now, perhaps the most prominent of these schools, and the one that Geralt of Rivia belongs to--is
the School of the Wolf, whose ancestral stronghold is in the mountains of Kaer Morhen in Kaedwen.
In it’s days of glory--the School of the Wolf was perhaps the most recognised of all
of the Witcher schools--with its members quickly gaining the renowned reputation of professional
and reliable monster slayers--eventually being led by the wise and noble Vesemir--who would
serve to be the sagely master of Geralt himself.
Next, there is the School of the Cat--a group of ragtag witchers whose headquarters, originally
being in Stygga before they were cast out--are anything from stationary--as at the time of
Geralt, they are located in a travelling caravan in the Southern region of Dyn Marv.
Now, the School of the Cat is incredibly interesting--as unlike many of their counterparts, this group
eventually grew to embrace their repressed emotions--and begin killing for a cause and
a purpose, other than coin.
They would become assassins, lingering in royal courts to supposedly bring about a plot
of Witcher dominance--and because of that, that fear ultimately led to their downfall.
The Monarchy were so weary of The School of the Cat, that they sent an entire army to
slaughter them--destroying their Stronghold of Stygga--and casting them out on the road--seeking
a new sort of vengeance.
Then there is the Order of the Viper--located in the deep chasms of Tir Tochair, who were
essentially extinct at the time of Geralt--although I'm saying nothing, because these Witchers
are of a different breed entirely, and writing them off isn’t the wisest of moves.
The Order of the Viper are perhaps the most alien and secretive of all of their kind--who
dedicated their lives to collecting and compiling ancient tomes and scrolls on the antiquities
of the ancient world and the Convergence of the Spheres that predated them.
And yeah--that’s pretty much all there is to these guys.
Vipers, usually means mystery.
Of course, there is the School of the Bear, a group who hold a special place in my heart--mainly
because these guys are just unbridled badasses.
Located in the keep of Hearn Caduch in Amell--deep in the Mountainous Region of the world--the
School of the Bear sought solace with the Elder Races of the world--establishing ancient
contacts with the dwarves and gnomes that called the region their home.
Despite that though, the School of the Bear sought a solitary path--roaming the world,
heavily fortified in their armor--taking things slowly and decemating anything foolish enough
to step into their path.
You see, although at the time of Geralt, the School of the Bear is thought to be extinct--it’s
heavily suggested that it isn’t.
Bears are solitary creatures, after all.
And then there’s the Griffin School--the one order of Witchers that maintained the
same knightly values laid out by the Monarchy after their poorly-conceived experiment.
Little is known about them--other than the fact that they’re obsessed with magic, and
have a habit of killing every and any Griffin in any given region.
And then, finally--there’s the School of the Manticore.
And--really, guys--that one is anyone’s guess--because the School of the Manticore
is… of a different world, shall we say?
You see, all of these laid the foundation for the very concept of the Witcher though.
These figures weren’t just blustering knights who had a sword and a divine purpose--these
were an order of protectors.
Human beings who saw that the only way to combat evil and darkness that lingered in
the wilderness--was to become a part of it--to adapt, to learn the ways of their enemies
and use it against them.
Listen guys--I could talk about The Witcher Series as a whole for an entire day, week
or month--and maybe we will depending on the direction that this series takes.
If you haven’t been able to tell by now though--if you haven’t taken a look into
this fantastic and vivid lore--you certainly should.
Whether it’s Sapkowski’s series--the Video Game interpretations--or, heck even the 2001
Hexer series--peek your head into this strange and mysterious world--Converge your Spheres--and
I’m certain you’ll like what you see.
Well, there we have it guys--in fear of rambling on too long--that’s my overview of The Witcher.
What do you guys think?
How are you feeling about this new series, do you love it--think it’s lame--or just
want to comment on what T-shirt I’m wearing today?
Then you know the drill--let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below,
as well as any suggestions on where we should next take this series.
Before we depart from today's video though--if you’d like to continue on with our Lore
Explored series--please, make sure to take a look at our newly compiled playlist.
We’ve got Vampires and The SCP Foundation to tickle your fancy--and hopefully plenty
more where that came from.
On that note, unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got time for in today's video--cheers
for sticking around all the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video--or just Top 5 Scary Videos in general, then please--be
a dear and hit that thumbs up button, as well as that subscribe bell, and I’ll be seeing
you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch--you’ve been watching Top 5 Scary
Videos--and until next time, you take it easy.