Blood and Wine - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Database

Blood and Wine

If this world has ever known a ruler who enjoyed the absolute admiration of her subjects without the need for systematic repression or a particularly cruel hangman, it was, without a doubt, the sovereign of Toussaint, Duchess Anna Henrietta. Called Anarietta by those who knew her well, she was the widow of the late lamented Duke Raymund and one-time lover of a very famous and talented artist who would prefer to remain anonymous.

A few years prior, when the witcher and a band of friends were visiting Toussaint, Anna Henrietta had had the pleasure of meeting Geralt of Rivia. When a mysterious Beast began attacking her courtiers, the duchess thus knew exactly whom to summon…

While searching for the Beast, the duchess proved that, when the need arose, she was able to throw off the chains of convention and get her hands dirty with direct action alongside the witcher. Even if she had to do so in a state of relative dishabille.

Surprisingly enough, the duchess handled the rigors of the trail as adroitly as she did those of palace audiences. Geralt quickly saw how, even when stripped of her sumptuous gown and wrapped in a coarse cloak, Anna Henrietta remained the same confident and tenacious ruler as ever. Yet then again, this should not have come as a surprise, for the Toussaint court on a daily basis hosted battles of cutting remarks, malicious half-truths and bald-faced lies that were just as fierce as any fought with sword and cannon. The duchess was an unchallenged master of this courtly warfare, and the witcher had the chance to make use of this experience.

Geralt was to complete his contract and bring her Dettlaff’s head on a silver platter.

Luckily, the duchess’ wrath burned with an intense but short-lasting heat. When Geralt managed to stop Dettlaff, Her Grace forgot all about his previous missteps and even awarded the witcher the Order of Vitis Vinifera, Toussaint’s highest honor.
music stops, lights are shuttered and people hang dark curtains in their homes. They say all those who were fond of the duchess do likewise, even those who live far away, in the North…
It was not hard to predict how Geralt’s time in Anna Henrietta’s company would end. Eventually, the witcher fall into Her Grace’s disfavor with a typical witcherly lack of grace. Who could have foreseen handing the duchess’ sister over to a vampire would end badly for him? Not Geralt, it seems. Knowing Her Grace’s fiery character, he was quite lucky he didn’t leave the duchy a head shorter.

Blood and Wine

Barnabas-Basil Foulty, the majordomo of Corvo Bianco, was a gentleman’s gentlemen if there’s ever been one. His whole life he had served distinguished nobles - the Kniebihly family, for example, or Admiral Rompally, for another – for he would never tolerate an employer who detracted from his personal dignity. Since Barnabas-Basil remembered the times of Monsieur Bolius and Baron Rossell, he was a wellspring of anecdotes about the vineyard’s past. He knew every corner and every secret of Corvo Bianco. An excellent administrator, he offered a wealth of good advice concerning the modernization and management of the estate.

Geralt could not have hoped for better help. One could even say that, by entrusting Corvo Bianco to the hands of that marvelous majordomo, Anna Henrietta had given the witcher the most beautiful present he’d ever received, for a home without someone capable to care for it is no home at all.

Blood and Wine

The young bootblack whose name Geralt never learned was an extremely charming scamp, in that cheeky, lovable rascal, street urchin sort of way. He also demonstrated striking entrepreneurial flair, so much so, in fact, that it got him into trouble at times. Geralt saved him from one such scrape by fending off a group of men intent on giving him a thorough tanning. The bootblack had done his share to deserve this, having spilled his wastewater in front of their shop every day in an attempt to muddy more boots and drive more customers his way.

Geralt took such a liking to this enterprising little shoeshine boy he decided to invest some coin in his business. He did not have to wait long to see the effects of this investment. The bootblack used these funds to improve his stall and purchase additional equipment. Business was booming!

Geralt’s path crossed that of the bootblack again later on. Once more, the reason had something to do with Dettlaff. The lad was able to tell Geralt and Regis how the letters with the Beast’s victims’ names on them had been delivered to Dettlaff. It can be truly amazing how much useful information one simple child laborer can possess.

Blood and Wine

One of the people Geralt encountered at the Beauclair court was Captain Damien de la Tour, the captain of the Ducal Guard. He was absolutely and unconditionally (to say “unthinkingly” would be unfair, yet not entirely inaccurate) devoted to his position and worshipped the ground the duchess walked on. If you want my personal opinion, he was most definitely besotted with her.
He came across as a typical soldier, i.e., a thickheaded lackey who, seeing Geralt, immediately decided he must prove who had the more massive unmentionables. Geralt treated this challenge with dispassionate superiority, yet accepted it nevertheless and in doing so earned himself another enemy.

After he bloodied himself side by side with the witcher, Damien decided the White Wolf was actually an altogether decent fellow who wished only to help. One could even say they shook hands and made up. In their hearts, at least.

In the end, what appeared at first to be inconceivable took place. Captain Damien de la Tour stopped looking at the White Wolf like a fox outside a hen house. All it took was for Geralt to save Beauclair from the Beast’s attacks. Once that was done, the two men became friends, in their gruff, manly way.
When Anna Henrietta was treacherously murdered by her own sister, Damien blamed himself most of all and wanted to fall on his sword, as he felt befits a man of honor. The only thing stopping him was the thought that Her Grace would never have forgiven him that. Damien spent many years deep in mourning, often thinking about how the tragic events had come to pass and who was responsible. This meant not only the duchess had died, but all chances for a friendship between him and Geralt of Rivia as well.
After Syanna’s death, Damien fell deep into mourning, for he took to heart anything that caused his duchess pain. He was not only the main executor of her orders, but also her close companion and sympathetic ear. He dealt with these emotions in the gruff way of a soldier and respected the rules of propriety, which kept him from casting blame during the mourning period, even though, according to him, that blame should fall squarely on a certain witcher from Rivia…

Blood and Wine

Milton’s murderer was very swift. Even with years of witchering under his belt, Geralt could barely keep up with him. Soon, it became clear the killer was as clever as he was fast, by entering an old warehouse where he set a trap for Geralt. In this way Geralt had his first face to face encounter with the Beast of Beauclair – and discovered it was a higher vampire named Dettlaff.

A fight immediately ensued which might have ended very badly for the witcher, had he not been saved in the nick of time by an old friend, Regis, who put a stop to their battle. After that, Dettlaff fled away in a puff of fog…

When Geralt went to Orianna’s residence with the duchess, he was certain Dettlaff was somewhere far away, safe in Regis’ care. He was wrong, as he found out while watching both vampires stroll into the room, his surprise quickly turning to irritation. In the conversation which followed, the duchess had no idea she was talking to the murderer she so wished to have slain. In fact, the Beast of Beauclair even came off as… charming.

Afterwards, Geralt set off for Dun Tynne, but not before first extracting a promise from Regis to keep Dettlaff at a safe distance this time.

At Dun Tynne Geralt was dragged into a fight against bandits with considerably superior forces at their disposal. There’s no knowing how this might have ended, had the proverbial cavalry not ridden to his rescue. Birds in service of Geralt’s vampire friends had been following him the whole time. Thanks to them, right at the battle’s pivotal moment, Dettlaff and Regis appeared to fight at his side.

Believing he was battling the men responsible for his beloved’s kidnapping, Dettlaff killed with unseen passion. He only stopped when there was not a being left on the battlefield giving out the least sign of life.

Syanna was to meet with him alone and explain everything. If she failed to do that, Beauclair would be awash with blood. No one had any doubts Dettlaff meant exactly what he said.

Regis and Geralt brought Syanna to Dettlaff. The vampire then murdered her without blinking an eye, Geralt attacked him and a final fight took place in which Dettlaff was defeated. Yet no man can truly kill a higher vampire – that takes another higher vampire. As he died, Dettlaff harbored no hard feelings for Regis, knowing death was his best option, there no longer being anything in this world he wished to live for.

Geralt and Regis arrived at the meeting with Dettlaff, but without Syanna. As predicted, Dettlaff flew into a rage. This time, however, Geralt was ready for him and stood to fight. After an exhausting battle, Detlaff had been defeated.

Yet no man can truly kill a higher vampire – that takes another higher vampire. As he died, Dettlaff harbored no hard feelings for Regis, knowing death was his best option, there no longer being anything in this world he wished to live for.

Regis and Geralt brought Syanna to Dettlaff – and the vampire murdered her without blinking an eye. Geralt understood the vampire’s pain and did not hinder him in his vengeance. Dettlaff appreciated the witcher’s neutrality and stated he had no more quarrel with him. He also had no reason to stay in Beauclair and decided to leave. As his friend, Regis decided to go after him. He knew Dettlaff would need him now more than ever.

Regis and Geralt brought Syanna to Dettlaff. Clearly not having grown one iota less enraged with Syanna, Dettlaff slashed out at her with his razor-sharp claws, hoping to rip her to shreds. She was saved, however, by a magic ribbon taken from the Land of a Thousand Fables, which transported her to a safe place in the nick of time. Dettlaff, more furious than ever, then attacked Regis and Geralt. In the fight that ensued, Dettlaff was defeated. Yet no man can kill a higher vampire –that can only be done by another of its own kind. As he died, Dettlaff harbored no hard feelings for Regis, knowing this was the best option for him. There was no longer anything in this world he wished to live for.

Blood and Wine

the killer led Geralt to an old warehouse, where it set a trap for him. A fight ensued, and at a crucial moment Geralt was saved by Regis, a higher vampire and old friend. Here I must explain that, years ago, Regis had joined Geralt’s band of fellow travelers (of which I was a proud part) and set off with us in search of Ciri. Together we lived through many fascinating adventures and Regis proved himself a loyal friend, the kind you can trust with your life. Sadly, the expedition ended tragically for Regis. He was killed by Vilgefortz, who reduced him to nothing more than a wet stain.

Hence the witcher’s immense surprise at encountering his old friend – after all, he had seen Regis die with his own eyes. But the thing is, that was not Regis’ “final” death, nor even his first. As a young man, Regis had been a bit of a free spirit and overindulged in the drinking of blood. This lifestyle led to him being butchered by angry villagers. Regenerating from that took him fifty years – or nearly no time at all, for an immortal. When he was back in full health, he kicked the habit of blood drinking for good.

For years, we’d all thought he was gone forever. Yet there he was, standing in front of Geralt in that dockside warehouse.

Regis explained he had regenerated and come to Toussaint to find Dettlaff, a friend.

Such were the dramatic circumstances bringing Regis and Geralt together again in Beauclair. They did not have long to enjoy their reunion, however. They could hear others approaching and Regis, not wanting to risk an encounter with angry humans, agreed to meet back up with Geralt at the cemetery where he had made an altogether comfortable temporary home for himself.

Dettlaff. In light of this, Regis insisted they find a peaceful solution to the “Dettlaff problem.”

Geralt and Regis decided that an aid was needed to find Dettlaff, a certain potion called Resonance. To brew it, Regis needed some bodily tissue from the object of their pursuit. Luckily, Geralt had earlier found a dismembered hand belonging to the murderer. Another ingredient needed to brew Resonance was saliva (or salivary glands) from a spotted wight. Having discovered that one such creature resided nearby, Regis sent the Witcher to hunt it down.

the blood of a higher vampire. Geralt thought this would prove no trouble until Regis explained only the blood of a vampire in a highly aggravated state would do. They thus would need to invoke maddening bloodlust in Regis, who had abstained from that vampiric vice for years.

Regis brought Geralt to Tesham Mutna. This grim place had been used by vampires ages ago to raise humans like cattle. Geralt later said even the air in that place smelled of pain and fear. Regis could not vouch for how he would handle the upcoming ordeal and had Geralt lock him in a hanging cage, from which he was to watch as Geralt butchered.

Having placed bait to lure out monsters, Geralt began his slaughter. Blood flowed at Tesham Mutna once again, and Regis nearly went mad with desire. In the end, the two friends came to possess the blood of a higher vampire in a state of aroused fury.

Geralt imbibed the Resonance potion Regis had prepared, allowing him to see a fragment of the day Dettlaff had committed his most recent murder. The trail led the friends to the shuttered up toy shop where Dettlaff had been staying.

Sadly our heroes did not find Dettlaff at home. They did not leave empty handed, however. After searching the shop, Geralt found a letter which revealed Dettlaff was being blackmailed. The blackmailers had kidnapped his lover, Rhenawedd, and threatened to torture her if he did not do as they said. Thus Dettlaff had killed the targets they designated. After a short consultation, Geralt and Regis decided to split up. Regis was to wait for Dettlaff, while Geralt would go to Anna Henrietta and report on the investigation’s progress.

In their pursuit of the blackmailers, Geralt and Anna Henrietta found themselves at a private residence used for meetings of the Mandragora – an exclusive club for the boheme of Toussaint. The residence’s owner turned out to be a woman named Orianna. To the witcher’s great displeasure, later that evening they were joined by Regis, in the company of… Dettlaff. In the conversation that ensued, Geralt gathered Regis and Orianna were old friends.

The entire conversation had a rather surreal nature, seeing as how the duchess had no idea she was speaking to the dreaded Beast himself. Its key outcome was the conclusion that the blackmailers were holding Dettlaff’s lover at a place known as Dun Tynne. Geralt pulled Regis aside and they conferred briefly. Geralt was firmly against revealing this information to Dettlaff. To his thinking, this could lead to serious trouble. I must say, I agree with the witcher’s reasoning. When a higher vampire loses his self-control, trouble always ensues. Bloody trouble.

Geralt went to Dun Tynne alone, leaving Regis behind to watch Dettlaff. Or such was the plan, but life has a habit of making a mockery of men’s plans. The vampires kept tabs on Geralt’s progress through the use of avian allies and thus were the instant he found himself in dire straits. They reacted at once. Soon, Dun Tynne was drenched in blood.

Regis helped Geralt gain an audience with the mysterious vampire known as the Unseen Elder. Thanks to this Elder’s help, Geralt and Regis found the place where Dettlaff had been hiding. Events then unfolded at a rapid pace. Dettlaff flew into a rage and a fight ensued. Geralt managed to defeat him in a bloody battle, but a higher vampire can only be truly killed by one of his brethren. This was perhaps the most difficult decision Regis had ever faced in his life. He killed his friend, having decided Dettlaff’s failure to adapt to this world was a burden his friend could no longer bear.

Regis helped Geralt find a way to enter the Land of a Thousand Fables. There Geralt found Syanna and brought her to a meeting with Dettlaff. As Regis had feared, his friend proved incapable of restraining his rage and killed his one-time love. He then said he bore no ill will towards Geralt and Regis and wished to go his way. The witcher let him do so. Regis decided to accompany his friend and followed after him, hoping to help him regain spiritual balance.

Regis helped Geralt find a way to enter the Land of a Thousand Fables. There Geralt found Syanna and brought her to a meeting with Dettlaff. As Regis had feared, his friend proved incapable of restraining his rage and tried to kill his one-time love. Yet right before his blow struck, Syanna disappeared, whisked away to a safe place by the magic ribbon she had taken from the Land of a Thousand Fables. Dettlaff then vented his fury on Geralt and Regis. A fight ensued. Geralt managed to defeat Dettlaff in a bloody battle, but a higher vampire can only be truly killed by one of his brethren. This was perhaps the most difficult decision Regis had ever faced in his life. He killed his friend, having decided Dettlaff’s failure to adapt to this world was a burden his friend could no longer bear.

Regis helped Geralt find a way to enter the Land of a Thousand Fables. There Geralt found Syanna and brought her to a meeting with Dettlaff. Alas, during this meeting Dettlaff proved unable to control his rage and killed his one-time love. He then said he bore no ill will towards Geralt and Regis and wished to leave, but Geralt refused to let him. A fight ensued. Geralt managed to defeat Dettlaff in a bloody battle, but a higher vampire can only be truly killed by one of his brethren. This was perhaps the most difficult decision Regis had ever faced in his life. He killed his friend, having decided Dettlaff’s failure to adapt to this world was a burden his friend could no longer bear.

Blood and Wine

Guillaume de Launfal was the very model of a knight errant – the placard boy for Toussaint, if you will. When Geralt first met the young man, he was valiantly tilting at a windmill… which, to be fair, turned out to be hiding a ferocious giant.

The matter turned out, as is matters’ wont in Toussaint, to be an affair of the heart. Guillaume was tormented by unrequited love for the duchess’ lady-in-waiting, Vivienne de Tabris. He suspected her frigidness and distance must be the result of some malicious curse. Geralt, a professional curse-breaker, naturally took the contract. To get a chance at an audience with Lady Vivienne, he had to take the wounded Guillaume’s place in the knights’ tourney.

The witcher determined Vivienne was indeed afflicted by a curse and had been since before she was born, a dark malediction which caused her to transform into a bird every night. Geralt offered to try to cure this cumbersome condition.

He reported back to Guillaume on what he had learned. Guillaume rose to the occasion and offered to take the curse upon himself in order to free Vivienne from it.

The witcher determined Vivienne was indeed afflicted by a curse and had been since before she was born, a dark malediction which caused her to transform into a bird every night. Geralt offered to try to cure this cumbersome condition. Vivienne asked him not to reveal her secret to anyone, so Geralt did not tell Guillaume about his plans.

Guillaume convinced Vivienne to undergo a ritual which would transfer her curse to him. According to Geralt, once transferred the curse’s effects would be weakened, but he was not able to make any guarantees concerning the young knight’s fate.

As soon as they had performed the ritual, Vivienne felt the curse had been lifted. As for Guillaume, he did not notice any significant side effects.

Geralt performed a ritual freeing Vivienne from the curse. She decided to travel abroad in order to enjoy the life she had left to the utmost.

Guillaume and Vivienne’s story had a happy ending. Geralt ran into the couple in Beauclair. It turned out Guillaume had grown a few feathers on certain parts of his body. Vivienne considered them rather flattering, so all was well.
Guillaume felt like he had been rejected and drowned his sorrows in wine. Geralt tried to explain to him one cannot force love on anyone.
Geralt never found a moment to spare to help the lovelorn Guillaume with his dilemma.

Sadly, Guillaume later died when the vampires attacked Beauclair. Geralt happened across his body. It seemed Guillaume had died in battle, defending the city from a terrifying threat.

Geralt contemplated what the fate of Guillaume and Vivienne might have been, had the vampire onslaught not occurred.

Personally, I feel myself choked with sadness when thinking about poor Guillaume… perhaps I’ll compose a ballad in which the two star-crossed lovers live happily ever after?

It can be done. In poetry, anything can be done.
Getting himself into trouble clearly counted among Guillaume’s favorite hobbies. The second time Geralt met him, he had to rescue the knight from an enraged shaelmaar trying its best to rip him to shreds in a packed arena.

Wounded yet grateful, Guillaume asked the witcher to meet with him about a very urgent matter.

Blood and Wine

Geralt had first encountered the Lady of the Lake when his search for what had been stolen from Kaer Morhen took him to the village known as Murky Waters. There a mysterious female being dwelled in the murky depths of the village’s namesake waters and watched over the residents living on the shores. Such was their esteem for their underwater guardian, they erected a monument in her honor. The Lady of the Lake once had many knights in her service, but they had all died, as valiant knights tend to, during campaigns in far-off lands. She now lived in near solitude, so was glad to accept Geralt’s company, the witcher being someone she liked and respected.

Once the witcher had believed the Lady of the Lake was some kind of local goddess, but their reunion at Lac Célavy made him realize she did not dwell only in Murky Waters. Instead, the Lady of the Lake calls home any place where virtue and chivalry are honored.

Blood and Wine

Milton de Peyrac-Peyran was a baron from Toussaint and a member of Anna Henrietta’s inner circle of knights. This good-humored nobleman never met an overloaded banquet table he failed to unload of its burdens, yet nor did he ever shirk a fight against heavily-armed bandits or any other enemies of the duchy. Geralt had met Milton years ago, under very peculiar circumstances that deserve to be recounted properly and at length. Their roads crossed again when Milton came to the witcher as the duchess’ envoy, to ask our hero to journey with him to Toussaint.

Milton made for good company. Was he also a good man? That I do not know. Geralt told me later some incidents from his past gnawed on his conscience. We shall never know precisely what moral burdens he carried, for Milton de Peyrac-Peyran perished in the palace gardens, the Beast’s fourth victim. May he rest in peace.

Blood and Wine

During the soiree organized by the Mandragora, Geralt met Orianna, a valued patroness to many local artists. There was something about this woman that made most who met her feel somehow ill at ease. She could not break the witcher’s iron-hard self-composure, of course, but she did give him the impression she was no normal aristocrat – and his impressions were usually spot-on.

Regis’ charismatic friend was revealed to be a fellow vampire, though nowhere near as civilized and humanitarian as he. She owned an orphanage outside the city which, as the witcher discovered to his horror, she used as a sort of blood cellar, visiting it whenever the urge struck her to drink some blood straight from an orphan’s neck. Geralt swore that if they ever met again…

Blood and Wine

Not all knights errant in Toussaint were embodiments of virtue, but if I had to choose one among them who did personify their chivalric creed, it would be Palmerin de Launfal. He is all the more admirable for the fact that, years ago, he was no stranger to the pleasures of eating, drinking and making merry in a variety of fashions. With time, however, he abandoned vice and drew closer to the knightly ideal. Geralt realized this when Palmerin came to him as an envoy from Anna Henrietta. The old-fashioned and somewhat naive knight immediately made a good impression on him, for while he did take formalities and courtesies a tad too seriously, he was anything but pompous or grandiose.

Blood and Wine

A horse is more to a witcher than merely a means of locomotion – just ask any bandit who has taken a well-aimed hoof to the head during combat. Additionally, many a witcher has talked over the nuts and bolts of his current contract with his horse while staring at the stars shining above the lonely road, though Few would ever admit to this.

Geralt named his every mount Roach, though no one really knows why or what Geralt had in mind with this name. When asked, Geralt would dodge the question or give an evasive answer. Perhaps this had just been the first word that came to his head? Roach, for her part, seemed to accept the name with no reservations.

Geralt would grow annoyed and curse whenever Roach panicked and tossed him in the middle of a battle, as well as when she would suddenly turn a different direction than he wanted while he was riding at full gallop towards some urgent destination. In truth, though, he was very attached to her and would never trade her for any other horse. Not even one which, when summoned, would never stand helpless in front of a seemingly easily surmountable obstacle, such as a low fence or stray piece of timber. Nor even one which would sometimes, in some incomprehensible fashion, wind up dancing on some peasant’s roof. ”Well,” Geralt would say with a shrug. “A witcher’s horse isn’t a normal animal. Constant contact with magic beverages and Signs must have left a mark.”

While completing a contract in Toussaint, Geralt had the chance to find out exactly how serious Roach took her role and how well-versed in the arcana of the witcher’s trade she was. He also discovered she was an entirely pleasant conversation partner.

Blood and Wine

Anna Henrietta, full of sisterly love and compassion, spent years mourning the absence of Syanna, who had officially been declared missing and presumed dead. When she surfaced again, however, their reunion was not one of familial joy. Syanna despised Anna Henrietta and did not wish even to speak to her.

This reluctance might have had something to do with the fact that, moments earlier, Syanna had been unmasked as a murderer…

Though the investigation had already revealed almost all the key details of the mysterious murders – Geralt now knew their means, method and perpetrator and had even prevented their continuation – he still did not fully understand why this whole plot had been hatched in the first place. Yet he did not have to try hard to learn this last bit of information. Syanna did not hide it had been a simple matter of getting revenge on those who had forced her into exile. Vengeance is one of the oldest motives in the world, one which has brought many doom and few relief. As for Syanna, it brought her to a cell in the ducal palace.

Yet something continued to bother Geralt, a detail as minor yet difficult to dismiss as a pebble in one’s boot. Syanna had had a plan, an elaborate, precisely worked out plan… yet if so, what was its grand conclusion? By the time the witcher understood how the plan was to culminate, it was already too late. During a reconciliatory embrace, Syanna killed Anna Henrietta, the last of the people whom she blamed for her exile. Moments later she died as well, shot down by the captain of the ducal guard.

the murder of Anna Henrietta.

Luckily, Geralt was able to get her to listen to reason and she decided to await her sentence patiently. She knew her sister well and could be confident Anarietta would not let any harm come to her.
she made no secret of the fact that her elaborate murder plot was about getting revenge on the people who had forced her into exile. Vengeance is one of the oldest motives in the world and has brought many doom and few relief. It was to bring Syanna face to face with a higher vampire who was simultaneously a serial killer, her slighted beau and, it seemed, a being still deeply in love with her…

When Geralt brought Syanna to the meeting with Dettlaff, he never expected this story would end with such a finale. Though several days had passed since their last meeting, Dettlaff had not managed to rein in the wrath he felt toward Syanna. He attacked her, and if not for the magic ribbon Syanna and Geralt had purchased in the Land of a Thousand Fables, he would have torn her to shreds in an instant. Yet the ribbon had been created to transport the ducal daughters to a safe place if they were ever threatened – and what place could be safer than the most protected part of the family palace? Syanna thus escaped Dettlaff’s claws and landed straight in the palace dungeons.

What could go wrong when an ancient vampire meets the woman who took advantage of his unconditional love to manipulate him into committing a string of murders? Sometimes I get the feeling Geralt did not bother to consider this question before taking Syanna to her meeting with Dettlaff. I suppose he must have counted on love overcoming the vampire’s hurt pride. If he’d have asked me, I would have told him it wasn’t a matter of pride at all. Dettlaff had simply realized the woman he had placed on a pedestal did not actually exist. In her place was a petty and malicious weaver of plots, whom he killed without a second thought.

Sylvia Anna… A lovely name, don’t you think? This beauty should come as no surprise, given it’s the name of the daughter of a duke and the sister of a duchess. Yet the fate Syanna (as her intimates called her) met was not as beautiful as might have been suspected for one so well-born – though, as it turns out, she had in truth been born rather inopportunely. She came into this world during an eclipse and thus fell victim to the panic surrounding the Curse of the Black Sun, which was said to affect young girls from ruling families birthed in similar circumstances. Though Geralt had serious doubts whether this curse truly existed, many claimed it caused horrible mutations which filled its victims with cruelty and a desire to kill.

Syanna’s parents certainly seemed to be among the believers in the curse, for they deemed her too dangerous to be allowed to remain at court and forced her into exile. Syanna then fled to Nazair and soon, for all intents and purposes, dropped off the face of the planet.

Blood and Wine

The hermit who lived on the isle on Lac Célavy had become the guardian of the duchy’s Five Principle Virtues. This virtuous man watched over the boulders on which the virtues had been engraved and put any knights who came by through a trial to prove they embodied them. When the witcher arrived at the isle and met with the hermit, it seemed to him it was not their first encounter. Only later did he find out how right he was.

the sword Aerondight.

Blood and Wine

should he risk a visit to the Elder’s domain, or try to find Syanna?

Regis’ reservations about visiting the Unseen Elder were not at all unfounded. Though in the end Geralt was able to convince this being to help, he almost had to pay with his own and Regis’ lives. Luckily, however, all ended well and Geralt and Regis left the Elder’s cave alive and unharmed (though perhaps a little shaken up), with a guarantee Dettlaff would soon meet them at Tesham Mutna.

Blood and Wine

Vivienne de Tabris was Anna Henrietta’s lady-in-waiting. She was a tight-lipped, secretive, inaccessible person, but her beauty fascinated men. Geralt saw proof of this when he took a contract from Guillaume, who was in love with her and suspected she might be afflicted by a curse. In order to get an audience with her, Geralt had to take part in the knights’ tourney, where Vivienne was acting as the patroness.

By following Vivienne and examining the evidence, Geralt discovered Guillaume was right. Vivienne had indeed been struck by a powerful curse before she was even born. This curse caused her to turn into a bird whenever the moon was out. Geralt listened to the story of the curse, then offered to try to lift it. He warned her that this would not be a simple matter. The curse could be transferred to another, but Vivienne did not want to agree to that. It could also be removed entirely, but then it was possible Vivienne would only have a few years left to live.

Geralt decided to tell Guillaume what he had learned. Guillaume offered his help in lifting the curse – and declared he was willing to take that burden upon himself.

Geralt kept the information Vivienne had confided to him secret, even though Guillaume was determined to help her any way he could.

Thanks to the information Geralt had gathered, Guillaume convinced Vivienne to let him take the curse upon himself. According to Geralt, the spell would have much weaker effects once transferred. Vivienne believed Guillaume had the best of intentions and decided to trust him.

The three of them performed the ritual, lifting the curse from Vivienne. As for Guillaume, he noticed no immediate changes.

Guillaume tried to convince Vivienne he only wanted what was best for her, but she preferred to remain independent. She and Geralt conducted the ritual together, lifting the curse.

Guillaume and Vivienne grew close. The curse caused the knight to grow feathers on strange parts of his body, but that did not bother him overly much. As for Vivienne, she was rather fond of them.
Vivienne felt free for the first time in her life. She decided to make maximal use of the time remaining to her and set out to travel the world.