The Witcher: Elder Blood

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***

A new day in the walls of the fortress, located among the high mountains, near a flowing stream, began with sharpening the blade. It was not the first time I had held a real sword in this world, but it was the first time I had ever held my own blade. I had inherited it from Vesemir, who had decided to advance my training, which had been going on for several months now.

After my considerable success with the sword, Vesemir decided to give me one of the swords of former witches. There weren't many of them, because they were given to the younger generation, and the weapons were left over from the witches who'd died in the attack on Caer Morhen.

I got a regular two-handed sword. It had a comfortable hilt, the blade was about ninety centimetres long, and the entire length of the sword was just under a hundred and twenty centimetres. It didn't weigh much, no more than two kilograms. It was made of steel, there was no silver, but I'm not a witch doctor, and I don't intend to get into their profession, and therefore there is no point in silver swords.

After the morning warm-up, only I had time to wake up and wash myself from a simple wooden bucket, brought to the yard by one of the guys, when Vesemir called me to come with him. He needed to sharpen his blade, and he immediately thought of me, a man who had never sharpened these swords.

He first showed me himself, explained how to do it properly, and watched my actions, to which he nodded contentedly.

In my right hand was the sharpening stone while my left held the sword at an incline. I tried not to press hard, wetting the bar each time, sharpening leisurely. What can I say, I enjoyed training with the sword more than I enjoyed monitoring its condition.

I didn't count the time I spent, I think it took about an hour at least, which made me mentally exhausted. Now I can breathe easy - it's done, so it's time to start today's training.

First, I took the sword to my room, the same room where I woke up for the first time in this world. There were many such rooms, often empty, but there were not many residents left in the fortress. I left my sword and went outside to Vesemir's courtyard.

The most spacious place in Caer Morhen, when it came to training, was in the courtyard opposite the main gate. That was where I, and the rest of the witches, did our training.

I went outside when the sun was already at its zenith, giving off warmth from the incoming rays. The light breeze was just right, blowing coolness around my body in a timely manner, pleasantly combining with the hot day. The training sword was back in my hands, so familiar that I didn't want to let it go while I was energised. I inhaled a full chest of pleasant air, and, having already spotted the waiting man, went straight to him.

- Get into a stance, today you will practise your foresight, - Vesemir addressed me. - I'll speed up... As usual, in general.

- But let's not do it like last time, where you started at full strength.

- I told you, I wanted to test your reaction, but it didn't work,' he smirked.

The last time I got hit in the shoulder, it hurt all day.

I'd managed to get a handle on my peculiarity over the past few months, identifying the main trigger for its activation, as well as managing to use it on my own sometimes. The foresight activated when I was in any kind of danger, such as an injury or a blade wound.

As I realised later, that time, during the training on the Windmill, the precognition was activated because of a possible injury from a stick in the mechanism aiming at my kneecap. I do not possess the physiology of witches, so such injuries should be 'bypassed'.

It took me over a month just to figure out the main trigger, and I spent the same amount of time trying to use the ability without the activator, but I was struggling.

When I discussed the possibility with Vesemir, he suggested that I practice foresight in separate training sessions. In these, he would try to hold back less, striking in such a way that my ability would point to the attacks themselves, giving me time to think.

Because of such training, my training began to increase rapidly. Sometimes I managed to withstand a few of Vesemir's blows when he didn't hold back..... That's a good result.

The sparring didn't only happen with the older witch. I trained with the younger generation even more often, though I was not even close to their skills, but I could withstand their pressure longer.

- Ready,' I answered the mute question, setting myself up for the initial flurry of attacks.

The first blow was aimed at my left shoulder, and Vesemir attacked from above with a downward vertical strike. I was able to deal with this attack on my own, and the next one too. Vesemir's foresight worked on the third one: Vesemir made a deception, changing the direction of the blade before the blow. I couldn't parry such a blow, I was inexperienced, so I had to block it.

The witch doctor immediately took a step back, increasing the distance for the swing. This time it was a stabbing blow, it had to hit his chest, which the foresight worked, so I was able to dodge it by taking a quick step to the side.

Two more times I heard the sound of blades clashing, and then I felt the pain in my forearm - I didn't have time to fend off the third attack, though the ability worked properly. I dropped my training sword in pain.

- I must have overdone it... What's wrong with your arm?

- I'm fine, it's nothing serious, - I answered Vesemir, having examined the place of the blow. - A bruise will definitely remain, but it's bearable.

- The foresight didn't work? - he asked, after examining my arm.

- It did work, but I didn't react in time. I'll have to get used to it, so that I don't get lost when I return to real time.

- Right, let's do it again. I'm going to go at the same speed now. Hold on a little longer,' he stood in front of me again, waiting for me to give him the go-ahead.

- I'll try...

This time he kept to the same level, roughly equal to the beginning of the last sparring session. I was able to cope with it, though my wounded arm was giving me unpleasant sensations.

Vesemir didn't take too long, and after waiting for me to get used to using my ability, he decided to stop.

- That'll do. Let's finish for today, I have to tell the kids about the Brookses. Don't take too long either, I need help with the firewood tonight.

- Then I'll practise the signs so I don't get tired before the time,' he went off in the direction of the main entrance to the fortress, leaving me alone on the site.

Chopping trees by hand and then carrying them inside the courtyard is not an easy task. I'll get some help with the job, but it's definitely worth refraining from a serious training load, concentrating on the Signs in this interval is definitely not a bad choice. There is no physical exertion when using them.

The use of magic itself implies controlling the forces of the Primordial Chaos, such mystical forces, but for me the use of Signs, which is a type of magic, consumes some internal reserves. Sometimes I can feel a similar energy outside my body, but I'm not very good at controlling it.... Okay, I can't control it at all. I'll have to learn it at the magician academy.

When Vesemir learnt about my peculiarity, he classified me as a kind of Istoki - people who have magical properties at the genetic level. He told me about the unpleasant consequences if an Istok did not learn to control their powers, namely sudden harm to those around them, when magic gets out of control in the form of a burst of energy or changes in the environment. I haven't had any such surges, unless moving into this world can be classed as such.

Vesemir also told me that some warlocks might be 'hunting' for the Origins for different purposes, at least that was the case before, but now he wasn't sure, but he advised me to be careful, which I agreed with. Of course, the teachers at the academy will probably realise that I'm an Istok, there's nothing to be done about it, but don't go blabbing about it everywhere.

Let's not talk about it for now, it's better not to get distracted before training with Signs. Today I decided to train the second learnt of them, namely the Sign of Kwen based on the element of earth. It creates a magical barrier around the person using it, preventing them from being wounded.

According to my mentor, that is Vesemir, this sign, as well as many others, can be brought to a higher level of use. Thus, in its improved form, this Mark allows you to do reverse damage to your opponent, you could say knocking them back immediately after hitting the barrier. It's a mixture of Arden and Quen.

I concentrate on the desired result, trying not to be distracted by my surroundings. I straighten my left arm forward, and then use my fingers to form the desired shape for the Mark of Kwen on my hand. The energy inside me stirred again, lightly felt, immediately moving into action. A sphere has formed around me, almost invisible, only slightly rippling.

I had to maintain it, as I hadn't yet learnt how to maintain the effect without constantly maintaining the Sign. It took a paltry amount of energy, and I tried to stand for as long as possible to get better accustomed to it, sinking into a kind of meditation. I don't know how long it took, but I was interrupted by a rock thrown in my direction, immediately bouncing back against an almost invisible sphere.

- Ha, not bad, even the Sign didn't go off,' I heard from behind me. Lambert was already standing there with a group of other guys. - Come on, we've got trees to cut.

- I'm coming,' his legs were a little stiff, so I had to stretch them.

As I followed them into the forest, I couldn't understand how I got used to this life. Even flashed the thought, to try myself as a witch, only relying on the magic learnt in the academy, but dismissed it. It's such a business, will pay little, it's better to go to the mercenaries then, and there you can create your own team.

There are a lot of options, it's hard to decide in advance. You can follow in the footsteps of other mages, that is, in politics, to help kings, or open a shop. Boring, though. I was thinking of a place like a casino. Combine it with a pub and you can make a lot of money in this world. It will not be possible to make all sorts of machines, but without them options will be ... I wonder if it's possible to make a slot machine with magic. Alright, we can think about that if we manage to make money for the building itself.