Relicts - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Database

Chorts are smaller than fiends, true. But still big enough to kill.
– Agnes Thistle, herbalist from the Black Forest

Chorts are the somewhat smaller kin of fiends and bumbakvetches. Yet any witcher who thinks their diminutive stature means they present no danger commits a grave error – the kind that can end his career permanently. These denizens of dark and ancient woods are some of the most dangerous monsters known to man.

Sister crones, hand in hand, terrors of the sea and land, thus do go about, about: thrice to thine and thrice to mine, and thrice again, to make up nine.
Macveth, Act 1, Scene 3

The isolated corners of our world harbor creatures older than humans, older than academies and mages, older even than elves and dwarves. The Crones of Crookback Bog are such creatures. No one knows their true names, nor what breed of monstrosity they in fact are.

Common folk have given these three sisters the names Weavess, Brewess and Whispess, and call the threesome “The Ladies of the Wood” or simply “The Good Ladies.” The Crones act as the true sovereigns of Velen, whose inhabitants they help survive through harsh times in return for unquestioning obedience. They wield powerful magic, but one different from that of mages. They draw power from water and earth and are bound to the land in which they live. The Crones can hear everything that happens in their woods, predict the future, twist the threads of human lives and bring blessings as well as curses.

The Crones seem for all intents and purposes to be immortal. Magic elixirs keep them from aging and allow them to take the appearance of young women. These elixirs and their mystical ties to the swamps in which they live also give them supernatural strength and vitality.

Your package? Your brother picked it up. You know, you two’re damn near identical… Hey! Where you running off to?!
– Hanne Kluger, postmaster

Dopplers, also known as vexlings or changelings, are beings able to take on the form of any humanoid or animal they please. This transformation is no mere illusion able to be shattered with a simple spell, but an authentic and complete metamorphosis. This means no protective amulets or witcher medallions will signal a doppler’s presence - they emanate the same aura as the being whose form they have assumed. This, combined with their incredible intellect and cunning, would make dopplers supreme assassins or thieves - had not nature endowed them with generous and timid spirits which make them avoid the shedding of blood at all costs.

I regret to inform Your Grace that Your Grace’s son fell while hunting a fiend. He died on the spot, along with his squire, his guide, the beaters, his peasant entourage and his hounds.
– Kavin Jell, manager of the Villepin Estate near Vizima

Fiends are walking mountains of muscle capped with horned, tooth-filled heads. Like their rarer cousins, bumbakvetches, they live in thick forests, swamps and bogs. When possible they avoid humans, but when not possible, they kill them, and without much difficulty.

Not too long ago the areas around peasant hamlets were chock full of guardian spirits. Today it’s nigh unto impossible to spot a brownie, bucca or lutin. And godlings, they are always the first to go. Such is the price we pay for civilization’s forward march.
– From the preface to “The World We Have Lost,” by Professor Dorregaray

Godlings (sometimes mistaken for lutin) are woodland creatures dwelling in burrows and moss-covered hollow stumps on the outskirts of human settlements. They are similar to children in behavior and appearance, and, like children, delight in mischief. Godlings are deeply rooted in their home territory and perform acts of care and guardianship to those dwelling near their burrows. They watch over people as well as animals, but, shy creatures by nature, they try to do so while remaining unseen. Godlings are drawn to joy and innocence, and so delight in the company of children and usually only show themselves to the young.

These hard-working and clever creatures gladly perform small services for those in their care, asking only for respect and payment in the form of food or cast-off tools in return. They are easily offended by churlish, ungrateful or simply rude behavior. Godlings also treasure their peace and quiet. When the village a godling watches over becomes too populous or its inhabitants forget the old ways, it will abandon its burrow for good and walk off to destinations unknown.

Blood and Wine

Happened like this… A nasty rain caught me while I was out in the woods, so I thought to myself, “I’ll hide in some hollow, for gods’ forbid I get soaked through and catch a cold at my age. So I crawled into a cave. And there inside, something roars at me! Tore out of there so fast, wind had dried my coat by the time I got home.
Velis Stail, herbalist

Here about the contract. Any idea what this monster is?
Naye, but proper huge it must be. Slaughtered no less than a dozen wolves
– Conversation overheard in Lindenvale

Really wanna see an angry witcher?
Do you?
– Conversation overheard on the streets of Novigrad

We told the prick something lurked in them woods, but he refused to believe it…
– Louis Closster, woodcutter

We never hunt in these woods. Never. Even if it means the whole village starves.
– Mulliver, ealdorman of Hoshberg in lower Aedirn

Leshens dwell in dense, primeval woods. Fiercely territorial creatures, they hunt with stealth and cunning as their only companions. They use their inborn magic to control the plants and animals within their territory – and so when stalking them, half the battle is merely getting near enough to strike. Leshens old enough to earn the appellation “ancient” wield advanced skills and tactics that make them particularly dangerous.

Ate only the entrails. Fussy.
– Geralt of Rivia

Blood and Wine

Gladiator fights in massive arenas are a popular form of entertainment in Nilfgaard. Usually the fighters are slaves specially trained for this purpose, yet at times the arena masters pit humans against monsters. The shaelmaar Geralt had to fight in the tourney grounds was a present from the emperor to his relative, Duchess Anna Henrietta. It had been caught while young and prepared for its ultimate purpose by Nilfgaardian trainers. That does not mean it was tame, however – in fact, its wildness and inborn ferocity had not been dulled one whit. Like all creatures of its species, it was blind but could unerringly pinpoint its opponents’ location using echolocation. The shaelmaar had thick armor and near impenetrable skin. It could also roll into a ball and charge its opponents. Its underbelly, however, was relatively vulnerable and became exposed when its charge failed.

In the end, though the fight was long and difficult, Geralt defeated the shaelmaar and, when the duchess called from the stands for him to finish the beast off, he duly dealt the final blow.

Blood and Wine

The earth’s innards are home to mighty strange and fearsome beasts. Were they ever to decide to ramble up to the surface, we’d all be gutted the very first day o’ the invasion.
– Ramus Vendenratz, Mahakam foreman.

Shaelmaars spend most of their lives deep underground, having no contact with the world up above. At times, however, a shaelmaar will dig its way to the surface and devour any men within its reach. Some shaelmaars also burrow tunnels close to the surface, collapsing buildings and causing tremors in the process.

Since shaelmaars are blind, they find their way by sensing vibrations and listening for sounds. Thus the best tactic when fighting such a monster is to hurl something heavy or noisy against a nearby boulder or wall. Then pray silently that the beast will roll towards the sound and knock itself out upon striking into the obstacle.

Blood and Wine

I was gathering berries, as one does this time of year, when suddenly the trees shook and I saw this… this thing…
– fragment of a story told by a woman returning from the woods.

Spriggans are a subspecies of the monsters known as leshens. One is liable to come across them in inaccessible, unfrequented woodlands. They do not usually attack humans if unprovoked, but when irritated they can be quite fearsome, and, as they possess considerable strength, they are capable of doing great damage. Their appetite is such that they can devour more flesh than an army at a wedding.

Each spriggan has mastery over plants and is inextricably tied to them. Thus if someone destroys greenery in its domain, it immediately comes to punish the disturber.

Sylvans are cruel, greedy and treacherous. Still, I prefer them to dh’oine.
– Yaevinn, legendary Scoia’tael commander

Sylvans and yakshas, a kindred species, are extremely rare woodland creatures whose appearance combines traits of goats and rotund men. These beings usually pose little danger, for they limit their contact with humans to playing harmless (though often bothersome) tricks and eating crops from their fields.

Hearts of Stone

There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in philosophy.

• Bartolomeo Darez, after trying to contact creatures from another plane and landing in an insane asylum.

The Caretaker served with the indifference of a golem, and proved as fierce in battle as it was diligent in its labors. It felt no pain – in fact, each blow it received seemed to give it strength, as did each blow it landed on Geralt with the spade it wielded as a weapon. What is more, the Caretaker was able to summon powerful spirits from the graves it had dug and could heal itself by absorbing them. The witcher had a hard time evading the devastating strikes of its weapon, and his only chance at wounding the creature came when it would stick its spade in the ground to draw on otherworldly energy in an attempt to petrify its foes with fright.

Blood and Wine

A knight errant might manage to kill a ghoul and a peasant with a pack of dogs can at times take down a bear. Yet let us make one thing clear: not even the finest steel armor ever forged or the collar bone of Saint Plegmund himself will give a mortal man any chance of surviving a fight against the creatures that dwell deep beneath the earth.
– veteran Toussaint Ducal Guardsman, briefing new recruits

Blood and Wine

Once upon a time, there was a wicked witch. Every day after supper she’d drink a glass of freshly-squeezed corpse juice…
– Karl Hrimm, writer of children’s fables

Though evil witches are often considered creatures born of the overactive imaginations of fabulists and mythologists, cartoonish characters only a child would ever be frightened of, there are accounts of men who claim to have happened across one of these improbable beings. All these accounts agree that the witch not only did in fact eat men, but had mastered the cooking of humans to a fine art. They are said to be particularly fond of children’s liver fried in butter and served in a saffron sauce, balsamic vinegar-marinated fingers roasted to a golden crisp and, yes, even freshly-squeezed corpse juice. It should be noted here that all the above-mentioned witnesses who swore they saw such a witch were patients of the Ellander Institute for the Mentally Ill, thus the veracity of their testimony is highly debatable.

We’ve offended him, Sven. The Woodland Spirit seeks revenge. This here is him saying we’ve strayed from the old paths.
–Harald of Fayrlund