In every settlement across the lands of the Continent, there is a place where public notices
can be posted.
In a timid fishing village, it might be a few wooden boards clumsily nailed together,
while a great trading city might boast a hundred such sites, anxiously curated by the local
elite.
The messages left at these places are those of every sort, but from the smallest hamlet
to the greatest capital, there is a single constant.
Notices begging for the safe return of missing men, women, and children.
The Continent is not kind, even to those who have worked without pause to temper it.
Beasts of every sort wait within the oldest forests, restless spirits prowl abandoned
fields, and fouler things might still remain within the forgotten reaches of the world,
ready to snatch the unwary and unguarded.
Every day, men, women, and children go missing, and more notices are posted.
But the most dangerous creatures might be those who read such messages with aberrant,
yellow eyes, those who journey to the places where most would fear to tread.
They are said to roam the land, importunate and insolent, nominating themselves the stalkers
of evil, vanquishers of werewolves, and exterminators of spectres.
Rogues without virtue, conscience or scruple, diabolic creations, fit only for killing,
with no place amidst honest men.
It is not the honest but the desperate that they seek however, those willing to pay for
the services of a Witcher.
Legend tells that Witchers are the product of the blackest hells, for surely only a devil
could derive pleasure from suffering and pain.
But their true origins lie in the wild and untamed lands of what would come to be known
as Temeria.
Here, men were preyed upon like cattle by the monsters that roamed the hills and valleys.
The first settlers lived in constant fear and, desperate to protect their lives and
lands, turned to a caste of warrior-monks.
Young men turned their souls and bodies over to these monks, becoming their apprentices.
These first acolytes were exposed to mutagenic mushrooms, herbs, and flowers, brewed and
combined across different concoctions, and experimented upon with dangerous alchemical
elixirs.
Those that survived the painful and dangerous process developed unnatural speed and endurance.
With the help of sorcerers, they mastered combat spells known as Signs, and together
with magic potions, augmented their already formidable fighting skills.
They adopted twin swords, one of silver and one of steel, as their weapons, and through
the use of these weapons became well known.
Despite their great success in taming the wilds of monsters and predators, the Mages
were disappointed in their acolytes, deeming them charlatans capable of nothing more than
mere witchery.
Feared for their abilities and mutations, these so called “Witchers” were pushed
out of normal society, but found constant work hunting monsters in exchange for coin.
The Witchers created several different schools, isolated throughout the land, where they could
train apprentices in relative peace.
This training was gruelling and often cruel, focusing on swordplay, chemical and biological
studies, and rudimentary magic.
Once an apprentice was deemed ready, they partook in the “Trial of the Grasses”,
a dangerous and painful ceremony in which they consumed a special potion that altered
their physiology to grant them the powers of a Witcher, provided they survived.
This practice has never ended, and even now these powers come with a duty, a sort of code
of conduct that harkens back to their earliest days.
Honor, compassion, and wisdom are the core traits of this code but each Witcher is free
to interpret these guidelines to suit their needs.
Some might use this code to justify refusing a particularly unsavory contract that would
undermine their status as neutral protectors of the common man.
Others might be more amenable to even the foulest request, provided the coin was of
sufficient quantity.
Generally however, a Witcher will treat authority with respect, though he is not required to
follow commands, adhere to local traditions, and will not accept coin for human life.
In every case, he should attempt to protect and guard the innocent whenever possible,
though not for free.
For those unable or unwilling to pay for services rendered, a Witcher has several options available
to him, but none so ancient as the Law of Surprise.
This custom, as old as humanity itself, states that someone who is saved must offer their
saviour a boon whose nature is unknown to both parties.
This can take two slightly different forms.
A Witcher might demand of those indebted to them, “The First thing that comes home to
greet you”, often a pet or loved one, or “What you find at home you don’t expect.”
The latter is often used to seize an unexpected child, taken by the Witcher to serve as a
new recruit.
Should those taken by a Witcher survive the Trial of the Grasses and find purpose in the
Witcher’s Code, they set out on The Path, travelling the Continent seeking contracts
and hunting dangerous monsters.
Each Witcher’s Path is different, and can last for as long as they decide.
Most Witchers will travel back to their home keep during the cold season, then return to
the Path with the thaw, while others will not leave the wilds until their Path is done.
When the world still teemed with monsters, and a Witcher’s skills were in high demand,
there was an attempt by ancient Kings and Mages to create a unified “Order of Witchers”
built on higher, knightly values.
Such standards were far too unyielding however, and slowly abandoned.
Today the Order exists only in name, supplanted by numerous schools of Witchers instead.
Each school specializes in different combat and educational styles and are named for and
modeled after various animals.
These include the School of the Wolf, the Cat, the Bear, the Viper, the Griffin, and
the Manticore.
Still headquartered in the valley fortress of Kaer Morhen, the School of the Wolf is
perhaps the oldest and most well respected school on the Continent.
Students from this School train extensively with the sword, perfecting a fighting style
they learned from their namesake - circling their opponent, feinting, and closing quickly
with precise and deadly attacks.
This, combined with the deadly final test known as “The Gauntlet”, makes them formidable
warriors, but it is their tireless study of biology and behaviour of the monsters they
hunt that gives them a superior edge over their prey.
This proficiency and competence has led to their reputation as the most professional
of all the Witchers, and those of the Wolf School are given a degree of respect unusual
for their kind in most cities and courts.
To the common man however, they are still viewed as dangerous abominations.
Today the stronghold of Kaer Morhen is a shadow of its former self, left in ruin by a mob
of peasants provoked into action by mages and priests.
Nearly all within its walls were killed, and even centuries later, only a handful of trained
and fully grown Witchers are left to carry on its legacy.
The School of the Cat is largely considered a failure by the other Schools, as their quick
and agile members frequently violate the Witcher’s Code.
An accidental modification to the potion used in the Trial of the Grasses results in heightened
emotional states rather than suppressed ones, and the Cats can become volatile and opportunistic.
They do not distance themselves from politics, but participate in the games of the royal
houses, frequently taking contracts as spies and assassins to gain political favor.
After one of these political games resulted in a massacre lasting three days and the destruction
of their own keep, the Stygga Citadel, it is said the School of the Cat began travelling
in the Dyn Marv Caravan, moving across the Continent fulfilling contracts and finding
new recruits, including women.
This nomadic lifestyle is very similar to that of the Elves, and it is said that much
of the teachings of the School of the Cat is based on Elven culture.
The School of the Viper most closely resembles their namesake.
These Witchers have been known to accept political contracts, but are most famous for their fighting
style.
Rather than the two swords famously carried by most Witchers, Vipers wield two daggers,
often dipped in poison and used to attack in short, lightning fast bursts.
Their library in Garthur Gvaed, nestled in the Tir Tochair mountains, holds the largest
collection of texts about the Wild Hunt - spectral riders from another world.
Despite this knowledge of the larger dangers of the world, they could still be manipulated
by powerful people, including the Emperor of Nilfgaard Emhyr var Emreis.
He convinced a Viper to assassinate his opponents, Foltest, King of Temeria, and Demavend, King
of Aedirn, with the promise of elevating the Viper School to glory throughout the Continent.
In direct contrast to its peers is the School of the Bear, focused less on speed and precision
in favor of raw power and strength.
They are largely solitary, choosing to travel and fight alone, relying on their heavy armor,
crossbows, and physical prowess to excel in combat.
Their notorious failure to destroy a cabal of vampires ended with the local villages
turning against them, rioting and destroying their home keep of Haern Caduch in the Amell
Mountains.
Few Bear Witchers remain, though some can still be found roaming the Isles of Skellige
or, according to the rumors, maintaining their friendship with the Dwarves and Gnomes of
the Amell Mountains.
Only the barest knowledge concerning the School of the Griffin has survived.
Griffin Witchers were said to adhere more closely to the oldest knightly virtues from
the beginning of their history and specialize in sign magic.
Rumors say they maintained an extensive library at Kaer Seren in Kovir, including several
rare and ancient texts, which were coveted by powerful mages.
These mages accused the Griffins of hoarding knowledge, storming and destroying Kaer Seren,
and much of this treasure was lost.
While little is known of the School of the Griffin, even less can be said of The Manticore
School.
It is posited to reside far in the east near Haarkan and Zerikania, and focuses on bombs,
potions, and alchemy.
Regardless of which school a Witcher hails from, each Witcher is their own person, capable
of the same heroism or avarice that plagues the rest of mankind.
They walk a fine line across the Continent, on the edge of human civilization and the
creatures of the wilderness that lie beyond.
Some are hailed as heroes one day, and cursed as assassins the next.
They are witness to the most horrific creatures and darkest souls.
It is commonly said of the two swords Witcher’s carry that one is meant for monsters, and
the other for men.
A Witcher will tell you that they are both for monsters.
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