The Witcher: Elder Blood

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***

The meeting with the rest of the witches went surprisingly stormy. The constant stay of the younger witches on the territory of the fortress and the surrounding forest is boring, so when the older ones return, there is usually a story about the past year on the highway. Later, such conversations become a habit, witches begin to meet for such stories. I, of course, was not considered a witch, but at the same time a little trained with them and was familiar with all present in the fortress, with the exception of a couple of unknown to me: Vesemir allowed witches from other schools to stay in the fortress, with the exception of renegades who are in the business of killing people for money.

So, as soon as I said hello to everyone in the dining hall, and they were getting ready to eat at that moment, the questions began, accompanied by drinking the alcohol I had brought.

And even though it's hard for a crowd of witches to get drunk from just five bottles of one and a half litres of cherry tincture, it's enough to lift their spirits.

After ten minutes of meeting familiar witches and introducing unfamiliar ones, I and a trio of teenagers, who had grown a lot in the intervening time, were sitting on the sidelines in the dining hall.

The room looked like a large hall with an empty space along the centre from the entrance, flanked by long tables and benches.

Vesemir was still talking to Berengar and hadn't had time to come over to us, so I was being questioned by the trio.

- So you were serious about becoming a peddler after the academy? Don't mages go into the service of all sorts of kings? - Exel asked.

- Maybe they decided not to take him? - Lambert added, earning himself a telekinesis shot from his plate to the face. - What the fuck!?

- What makes you think all mages go into the service of kings anyway? There are many times more mages than the rulers themselves.

Heralt decided to explain to me: - So not everyone is a personal disciple of the rector. We heard about the academy from Vesemir, but he didn't tell us much.

- We didn't talk much during that meeting, and in the morning each of us went further, - I remember the meeting with the senior witch in the tavern. - And as for personal apprenticeship with Hela Gedimdeit - the rector.... - I add an explanation to the questioning looks. - Then there all is not so clear: the kings in the majority of brains can think, and will take just learned wizards in their advisers. Do you think that the only valuable thing in a sorcerer is his magic?

- Well, that's what a warlock is, isn't it? - Lambert looked round at the others, to which they nodded uncertainly.

- Sorcerers live longer than rulers, and sometimes they can be advisors to several, or even serve as advisors to their grandfather, father, and last son. Experience and magic, only together, separately there will be no sense in a counsellor wizard.

Then came the first question from Geralt: - Are you going to become a counsellor later?

His question made me think for half a minute, spent staring at the drink in my glass. Wizards have three paths in this world: The first is political - you get to know the bigwigs in one of the kingdoms, or more than one, and gradually get the monarch to choose you for the position of advisory wizard at the court; the second, the most common - free - you go to seek yourself in the world without belonging to the power; and the third, the most prestigious among wizards - magical - to reach the heights of magic, to advance from the Council to the Chapter in the oldest organisation called the Brotherhood of Wizards.

Serving one of the local kings did not appeal to me, and I considered such behaviour by powerful wizards to be foolishness that had some justification, but foolishness nonetheless. The warlocks had bound themselves into a framework for many years, and they themselves punish their own for breaking their frameworks. While I understood the limits on the study of forbidden types of magic, the weak influence on politics was a mystery. Of course, there are individuals who influence local rulers for their own purposes, but it's one thing to influence the 'top' and another to become the 'top'.

No, serving the local rulers was not my thing, but I thought about promotion in the Brotherhood of Magicians on rare evenings, especially after talking to Jennyfer about this oldest organisation.

A single magical authority that stands over all wizards. Establishing rules and regulating the use of magical elements. Catching and punishing renegades with the help of Pretoria, the search branch of the Chapter. If you set some personal goals, besides the study of magic and exploration of other worlds, it is worth looking at the Brotherhood of Wizards.

- I will not be a counsellor, let the kings sort out their own affairs, or hire other wizards, I'm sure they will find those interested without me, as they were before,' I shake my head and decide to take a sip of tincture. - I have some thoughts about the Brotherhood, but that's in the future, it's too early to look into it.

- Where do the most important ones sit? - Lambert interjected into the explanation, and then added: - ...of your fraternity, if you count yourself among them at all.

- Hmm, how could I not? I've learnt magic, not all of it, just some of it, but it's a start. I live with a sorceress, I socialise most of all with sorcerers... three actually, - I take another sip from the glass. Somehow lately I hadn't thought about the fact that all my communication is limited to the Rector, the girl, her friend and Snowdrop. - And yes, that's where the bigwigs sit.

The conversation went straight from wizards to my life in Wengerberg. I didn't forget to mention the completed monster orders and how I started using Blink in close combat. Geralt suggested sparring the next morning, wanting to see how much progress I'd made and how good Blink was in combat. I decided to accept.

It was on this note that Vesemir interrupted us: 'Decided to get my students drunk, eh, Eren!? - he shouted with a hint of amusement as he came closer to us.

- As if they had enough of my gift,' I greeted him and sat back down. - Just relax a little.

- I see,' Vesemir sat down next to me and sipped from another mug that Excel had moved to him. - The witch assessed the quality of the cherry tincture, not in vain such drinks are considered to be among the best, inferior only to more rare types of alcohol. - So, you didn't just come here for a drink, did you?

- Actually, I've come with a proposition I'd like to discuss with you. Anyway, before I arrived, I went to the lake, researched my destination. I didn't find anything, but come on.

- Let's go and talk at my place. I'd like to finish all the business for the day,' I nodded to the other witches and followed Vesemir.

***

- Wow,' Vesemir said in surprise, after I'd told him the details of my journey to their world. - I've never heard of the Origins coming into our world from elsewhere. I realised your involvement in them long ago, but to have it so complicated....

Vesemir had seen many sorcerers in his life, and had heard a lot about magic from them, including information about the Origins, which was quite detailed. So, since he'd learnt about my short foresight and started teaching me the signs, he'd immediately put me among them, but, of course, it was impossible for him to know about the Elder Blood.

- I agree, it was hard to believe at first, and only thanks to Hela Gedimdeit I was able to understand. Humans created witches, and the elves created... um, what do you call them, worldwalkers, I guess.

The main difference between the Istok with awakened Elder Blood and the usual one is the ability to open portals to 'hidden' worlds. So, it is possible to pass to the worlds connected by the Conjugation of Spheres with the help of deep knowledge in spatial magic, but there are few such worlds, and with time they 'peel off' from each other. The only way to avoid 'peeling off' is to create a permanent portal, which were created by elves in ancient times, even before the Conjugation of the Spheres.

- You say you've been to several worlds? You can't go back to yours?

- I could if I had the right spatial coordinates. Well, coordinates are not in the usual sense, it's more about feeling in a multidimensional plane, in general, such things can only be understood through personal experience.

- I see,' the witch doctor hummed, visibly thinking about it. - And you think, then, that my help may be needed in the study?

It was with this request I turned to the experienced witch doctor. In one of the conversations with the rector when I visited the academy during my artifacting training, he had brought to my attention the dangers beyond any possible diseases and unpleasant environment. Monsters appeared in this world not out of thin air, but from many other worlds, and it's not so dangerous to just jump around different worlds, but it's desirable for me to explore them, and in case of interesting findings - to come to Hela Gedymdate. The old sorcerer is ready to help me in the future, but I need to give something in return, from the discovery of other worlds, for example: new types of herbs, preferably with magical properties; monsters, not recorded in the local bestiary; or even to find a new intelligent race with its own culture - much interesting to the rector, and me, I will not refuse.

- I'll have to think about it, I've never been involved in this kind of business before....

- I don't think anyone has,' I added with a stretching smile.

- I'm not sure of anything anymore. Okay, there is time till the end of winter, I'll probably agree, in theory I'll have to do the same thing, and the payment will be more, - I plan to start next week, but only to open new worlds, research can wait, I'm not going to rush in this plan. - Now for the second offer. What ingredients are you interested in?

Besides Vesemir's help in exploring other worlds, I haven't forgotten about our shop, or rather about the alchemical part: we need rare herbs, fruits and ingredients from animals.

- Here's the list,' I handed over the folded parchment. - It explains everything, from the quality required to the exact prices. The whole list, Yennifer compiled it from Tissai de Vrieux's books, so I don't know much of it.

- Yes, it's clearer, I'll get the boys to rewrite it and give copies to the senior witches. If they're doing orders in Aedirn, they'll bring the ingredients. Herbs and fruits are easier, we often collect them, before the winter, maybe someone will come and sell them.

- Right, here again we'll have to talk to Jennyfer and her future apprentice or assistant wizard, depending on who we find. That's it for now, nothing more to say.

Vesemir put the parchment away in the nightstand by the bed and turned towards me and said: 'Then let's go to the others, we have time before nightfall. I'll see what I've learnt tomorrow morning.