#ch. cahir

[tothedevilsshow]

he actually meant it, didn't he? that he could learn from him. that in spite of all that had happened he would give him this chance. it wasn't just about proving himself. no, there was an eagerness to be accepted. for geralt to look at him and not see nilfgaard. but to simply see him, as a friend. he doesn't think that he's ever wanted anything more. and it's such a funny thing, a need. something he had never really had before. not until ciri. not until now.

he gives a small nod of his head. but he's quiet. not quiet unsure. but still treading the line carefully. not wanting geralt to wake up and see that he doesn't want him around at all. that he wants distance. that he wants him to get lost forever. never to be part of this again. "yes, i'll learn anything."

He really doesn't know what to tell him or how it is that he's meant to trust him. He was just a boy, true, but there was also a feeling that there was something about him that seemed more than that. More or less. He couldn't quite put a finger to it but it rings about inside of him. He's pretty sure it's not distrust but it's something and Geralt wants to not write him off - that wouldn't be fair. And generally it wouldn't be good considering the fact that he had always been ran from and written off. He didn't want to be named a hypocrite.

"Anything?" He asked as he looked into the boy's eyes. His eyes are eager, he can see it threading through his gaze and across his face as well. "It isn't an easy bit of training." But Ciri had done it, he knew that much. Although that was asking quite a lot from someone that wasn't her.

[revoevokukil]

The way Sapkowski is describing Mount Gorgon, the Devil Mountain, in ch 5 and ch 6 of The Tower of the Swallow, foreshadowing Geralt's meeting in ch 7 with one who proclaims to live underneath it...

If a short while ago the River Yaruga had signified to them a clear dividing line, a border, the crossing of which represented an evident passage to the next, more serious, stage of the expedition, it was even more so now; the sense that they were approaching a limit, a barrier, a place which could only be turned back from. They all felt it, Geralt above all–it could only be thus, since from dawn to dusk they had been faced with a mighty, jagged range of mountains barring their way, rising up in front of them to the south, and gleaming with snow and glaciers. The Amell Mountains. And rising even above the saw-toothed Amell was the forbiddingly majestic obelisk of Mount Gorgon, Devil Mountain, as angular as the blade of a misericorde. They did not talk about it, didn’t discuss it, but Geralt felt what everybody was thinking. For when he looked at the Amell range and Gorgon, the thought of continuing the journey southwards seemed sheer insanity.

...

The Amell Mountains rose up to the south, closer and closer and more and more menacing. And the pointed needle of Gorgon, Devil Mountain, was enveloped in the clouds which quickly covered the whole sky.

...

Gorgon loomed up on the horizon. Ever closer. All year long, glaciers and snows flowed from the angular sides of the huge mountain, which meant Gorgon always looked as though it were clad in white sashes. The peak of Devil Mountain was constantly swathed in veils of clouds, like the head and neck of an enigmatic bride. Sometimes, though, Gorgon shook her white raiment like a dancer. The sight was breathtaking, but brought death–avalanches ran from the peak’s sheer walls, wiping out everything in their path, down to the scree at the foot and further down the hillside, to the highest spruce stands above the Theodula pass, above the Nevi and Sansretour valleys, above the black circles of mountain tarns. The sun, which in spite of everything had managed to penetrate the clouds, set much too quickly–it simply hid behind the mountains to the west, setting light to them with a purple and golden glow. They stopped for the night. The sun rose. And the time came for them to part.

...

‘So let us begin and may Hell assist us! Cahir, Angoulême, to horse. We ride up the Nevi, towards Belhaven. Dandelion, Milva, Regis, make for Sansretour, towards Toussaint’s borders. You won’t get lost, Gorgon will point the way. Goodbye.’

...

The angular blade of Gorgon seemed to rear up directly above their heads. The peak of Devil Mountain was not visible, but shrouded in the clouds and fog cloaking the sky. The weather–as happens in the mountains–worsened in the course of a few hours. It began to drizzle bitingly and disagreeably.

...

The horse trudged over the pebbles, moving at a walk along the bank of the Sansretour, the small river leading to Toussaint. Geralt knew the way. He had been there once. A long, long time ago; much had changed since then. But the valley had not changed, and neither had the Sansretour stream, which, the further they went, become more and more the River Sansretour. Neither the Amell Mountains, nor the obelisk of the Gorgon, Devil Mountain, had changed. There were certain things that simply didn’t change.

...

They rode along a deep gorge, which the swift-flowing and wide Sansretour–now a river–had carved out of the hills. They rode east towards the border of the Duchy of Toussaint. Gorgon, Devil Mountain, rose above them. To look at the summit they would have had to crane their necks. But they didn’t.

...

'You will have to enter that cave. I told you, the druids knew about you, knew about Ciri, knew about our mission. And they learned about it from someone who lives down there. That person–if one is to believe the druidess–wishes to talk to you.’ ‘“If one is to believe the druidess”,’ Geralt repeated sneeringly. ‘I’ve been in these parts before. I know what dwells in the deep caves beneath Devil Mountain. There are various denizens there. But it’s impossible to talk to the vast majority of them, except with a sword.'

[casualwriters]

masterlist !!

moodboard and others Masterlist | Me requests are open for all fandoms listed below! Just a fyi spelling and grammar has always been a struggle for me so I am sorry for that! <3

peaky Blinders-

jealousy- Finn Shelby

dating someone who is deaf

raising a little girl with John Shelby

Hogwarts MoodBoard

The lost Boys -

Eddie S/o being apart of the Lost Boys

There S/o loosing someone close to them

being the oldest Emerson Sibling and dating Paul

full moon gone wrong Paul

The witcher

Arrange marriage - Cahir

Euphoria

Single mother (Fez x reader)

Video Games

Nathan Prescott freaking out and coming to his s/o

Nathan Prescott s/o has anxiety

life is strange ch seeing there s/o draw them

Horror

slasher with a tall s/o

jason dean with naive s/o

Being the Third de'ville bride

Characters dating a demon

Harry Potter

Sirius finding out you're a death eater

Marauders readers having to sleep in bed with their rivals

Harry Potter boys reacting to someone yelling at you

Dc & Marvel Comics

Love in the line of fire Roy Harper

kara Danvers Help their friend during a autistic meltdown

being stuck in an elevator with Dick Grays | Plus size reader

Baulder Gates

surprise Visitor | Halsin

[tothedevilsshowclosed]

“i see what you’re doing.” @ofimaginarybeings​

[witchercommentcrawl]

Crawl Rec: Hansa Halloween Costume by abi-kamikakushi

Hansa Halloween Costume Idea

Fanwork type: Fanart Artist: @abi-kamikakushi Rating: G Characters: Gen. Cahir, Geralt, Angouleme, Dandelion, Milva and Regis. Content Warnings: None Canon: Book

Summary: The Hansa dresses as Regis for Halloween!

Rec: Anyone who loves found family, cuteness, and/or Baptism of Fire needs to see this art. This is so just SO CUTE and I am completely 😍😍😍😍 over it. Each of the characters are owning Regis look in their cute, distinctive ways. I can’t get over how expressive Angouleme’s body is with her little feetsies kicking!

This art is so adorable. So cute. It’s definitely something you want to set your eyes on for adorable Halloween feelings. 

[terresdebrume]

[ID: Three fic covers where the background is the same overlay of a foggy cityscape in various tints, and the series title is written in white all caps at the top, over the hollow silhouette of two crossing swords.

In the first cover, the background is tinted gold. There is a large black sun at the center of the page, over which the title "I'm only human, after all" is written in white all caps. Underlining the title is a crimson red pike. At the bottom, the quote "It's a Tuesday, so someone is threatening to kill Jaskier." is written in white caps above the author's name.

In the second cover, the background is tinted sky blue. In the middle of the page is a night blue motorcycle helmet with black wings, over which the title "Head in the dust, feet in the fire" is written in white caps. Underlining the title is a beige scalpel. At the bottom of the cover, the quote "What is going on with you, Geralt ? Why won't you talk to me?" is written in white caps above the author's name.

In the third cover, the background is tinted purple. In the middle of the page is a black crown, over which the title "No grave can hold my body down" is written in white all caps. At the bottom of the page is the quote "Yennefer didn’t know that Fringilla lives in Nilfgaard, but she didn’t realize a lot of things about the other woman." in white caps above the author's name. /ID]

A set of cover for @ghostinthelibrarywrites' vigilante!Geralt trilogy I'm only human ! I've been meaning to do that for a bit, but I'll put the rest of my (spoilery) rambling under the cut ;)

More fic covers | More fic recs | AO3 link

So I actually decided to make this triptych the moment I saw the note in Head in the dust saying there would be a third fic in the series. When I made my original cover for IOHAA, I had no idea there would be more than one fic and I focused more of conveying "this is a vigilante fic" than anything else. Which isn't wrong, but when it came down to making covers for the full trilogy, I couldn't figure out how to do that without getting something fairly generic and bland in the final result...hence, the new styles.

While all three fics alternate POVs, it feels to me like they each tend to explore one character a little more closely, which inspired the choice in background colors : gold for Geralt, sky blue for Jaskier, and purple for Yennefer. I decided on the foggy city overlay at the very end, to give the covers some texture and do a callback to the Gotham-esque vibe of Novigrad in the series, even though the last one doesn't really take place there outside of some key moments.

The symbols in the middle of the cover represent the antagonists : first Stregobor and Black Sun Industries (hence the color black), second the Black Knight (who god midnight blue because I already had two black things and also for whatever reason Cahir is not linked to black in my mind), and third the Emperor.

The pike and scalpel are for Renfri and the Ghoul, respectively, who are the secondary antagonists in their fics. Crimson is the color of Renfri's shirt/blouse in the show, as well as a neat tie-in to her Snow White roots as a character. As for the Ghoul, since his whole schtick is being too bland to be noticed, I gave him beige because it's basically the blandest color I could think of. (I briefly thought about giving the place of honor to the scalpel, but not only does Cahir loom over the narrative for longer, his symbol is also more in line with Stregobor's and the Emperor's xD)

There's no secondary symbol in the third cover for several reasons. First, in this fic Cahir is very clearly a subordinate of the Emperor, an extension of him, so I don't feel like he deserves the title of secondary antagonist. Fringilla could kinda sorta fit the bill, but contrary to Renfri in the first fic, or what we perceive of Cahir in the second, she never moves against our heroes on her own agenda, always on the Emperor's, so it's not quite how I see her either. (The fact that she changes track in the end doesn't count against giving her that position though: Renfri allies with the main team too, by the end.)

The second reason why there's no secondary symbol in the third cover is that I thought of using a potion bottle, since the Witcher potion is at the heart of the Emperor's plans and Jaskier's most heartbreakingly badass moment, but I couldn't find one that didn't look excessively cartoony even in silhouette form.

I thought of using a white flame for a moment but...nah. It would have been brought in out of nowhere, where this series is concerned, so that was really a split second thought.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the unnecessarily long rant here :D

[andordean]

Fic: Splinters, complete; Cahir/Ciri

He's dressed and half-way done with shaving when she walks in. He finishes and washes the remaining shaving cream off; as he dries his face he catches her appreciative smile.

Ciri walks over, wraps her arm around his waist and presses a kiss to his shoulder as she peeks at his reflection.

"Much better," she declares.

Cahir has to smile. "You're not a fan?"

"Of you looking like you were locked away for months? Not much, no."

"Brat," Cahir says, assessing the results of his work. "And a cruel one, at that."

"I prefer 'honest'," she counters with a grin.

Cahir snorts out a laugh and turns to pull her closer. "Speaking of brats," he says, and catches her hand as she tries to tickle him, "my brother is coming over next week. I'd love you to meet him; I think you'll like him a lot."

Ciri frees up her hand from his grip to poke his chest playfully. “Look at you. From a fuckbuddy to ‘you’re meeting my entire family’ in the space of what, three weeks? Wonders will never cease."

Her joke hits him hard. His hand trembles a little as he touches her cheek, cups her face. Ciri's expression turns sheepish and she opens her mouth to speak, but Cahir puts his finger on her lips.

"It's a wonder I haven't lost you," he whispers. "I've learnt my lesson."

---

The fic is now complete; I may post short sequels at some point, so if you enjoyed the Princess/Asshole story, watch this space!

Thanks a million to @namesonboats​ for dragging my lazy ass; thank you for all the support, screaming, and the patience when life got in the way of the recent updates.

Here’s the entire fic, here’s the final two chapters:

Ch 15 & Ch 16

Hope you enjoy, and thanks again for joining me on this ride! 

[for-the-ninth]

@nirikeehan @oxygenforthewicked @emerald-amidst-gold thanks for the tags! Here's another excerpt from The Life That Left Me, ch. 14. You can find the first 8 chapters here, and previous excerpts under the "my writing" tag. If you want more context for this excerpt, click here.

After having PTSD flashback, Cullen is visited by Shielan, and he questions her motivations. Could he let it go? Sure. But the former commander is more stubborn than a lost druffalo.

***

“With all due respect, Inquisitor—”

“Here we go again.” 

Cullen scowled. To hell with propriety. “So you prevented my execution, sent Cahir to keep my belly full and Elspeth to deliver medicine nearly every day during my withdrawal, then saved me yet again when I scorned your efforts in favor of ending my life. And now, you’re in my quarters—one of a precious few empty bedrooms in an overcrowded castle you set aside for my use—after dark, just to tell me you don’t care.” He threw his hands in the air. “In what world does any of that strike you as sensible?”  

Shielan flicked the ash of her cigarette into the fire, a low chuckle rumbling in her throat. “Does the dog in your brain ever get tired of chasing its own tail?” 

Cullen’s brow furrowed. “Did you hear that from Solas or did he hear it from—” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. My point is—”

“Your point is irrelevant.” She reached into the fire and rearranged the logs, whether for a purpose or to keep her hands too busy to strangle him, he didn’t know. “Everyone in Skyhold gets fed and my apprentice needed experience. You’re not special.” 

“No. No, no, no.” Cullen shook his head. “That doesn’t explain why you saved my life—twice.” He lowered his voice and stepped toward her. “Nor does it explain what happened in the dungeon.” 

Shielan’s body froze, hands still clutching a burning log. “I could’ve left you to die, or better yet, thrown you into a pit with those who survived the Annulment and let nature take its course.” 

The rage he’d thus far kept at bay consumed him. He closed the gap between them, hands balled to fists at his sides. “Maybe you should have!” He shouted, knowing he shouldn’t—knowing others would hear and rumors would spread and he’d been seen as unstable, crazy, dangerous—but he couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I can accept that you hate me, that every mage here would’ve rather seen me strung from a tree than walking Skyhold’s grounds as a free man, that my men think me either cowardly or deranged, that the life I knew is gone.”

“Indeed, you seem to be handling it well so far.” 

Her voice dripped with condescension, infuriating him further. “But I cannot accept another lie from your mouth, Inquisitor.” He spoke her title with the same bitter derision she laid upon his name. “Nor can I sit idly by while the famed leader of the Inquisition lies to her people about who—or what—she really is.” 

Shielan stood and faced him, with a slow deliberation that sent a trail of shivers down his spine. She tossed her cigarette into the fire and stepped toward him, eliminating the few precious inches of space left between them, and he tensed every muscle in preparation for her outrage. 

“You want the truth?” She spoke low enough for his ears alone. “Fine. You were spared from execution because you are worth more to me alive than dead. And I saved your life because I believe you hold the key to dismantling the Templar Order.”

tags: @noire-pandora @charmcity-jess @roguelioness @barbex

[tothedevilsshow]

he likes to watch her when she thinks. when she comes upon something. there's a determination in her that he admires. but that seems so foolish to point out. seeing as he admires everything about her. he loves her. he doesn't think he's ever told her that. he had been a loyal soldier this whole time, perhaps even a friend. but he had never crossed that line. knowing that she would perhaps send him out. this trust between them, he knew, had taken a while to build up so strongly. he didn't want to lose it.

there were times when he would watch her with an ache in his heart. a desperation that seemed never ending. sometimes he still felt her touch in his dreams. he wondered if she ever felt him, too? they had been connected, hadn't they? he had known she had lived all those years ago. when the two of them had been mere children. he knows that thinking like this is not a good idea. so he stifles the thought. pushing it far from his mind. "you know that i would follow you anymore." he says softly, his eyes lifting to her's. "i'll follow you to cintra."

He was right. Who was the best fit for Cintra if not her? The idea was one that she didn't enjoy, the idea that she would have to put someone else in her place. But she drew a small breath as she regarded him, measured the look that glistened there in his eyes. He seemed to believe in her and that made some of her decisions, the ones that she had to make, easier. So she nodded her head, understanding him.

"You're right." She said softly and lowered her eyes. "I think...well, why couldn't I place myself in Cintra?" That was her home, wasn't it? That was where she belonged. Not here playing at Empress. This was just a role that she had to put herself into. "Would you follow me there?"

[hanzajesthanza]

hi hello i am several pages into your cahir tag and had a couple of questions if you feel like sharing your thoughts! when geralt first confronts cahir on the island in baptism of fire, there's the line "cahir said nothing. geralt felt bad. very bad." and i would love to know what your take on that is - 'very bad' in particular intrigues me. also, you reblogged a great analysis post about cahir and ciri that mentions publishing pressure laced with homophobia - do you have any info on that?

i'm so flattered, and also i love talking about these characters so i'll be glad to share my thoughts!

re: "geralt felt bad. very bad.":

the confrontation between geralt and cahir begins with geralt holding it over cahir's head, reminding him that he spared his life on thanedd. in which he calls him chłystku, "Żal mi się ciebie zrobiło, chłystku." this was translated as "I felt sorry for you, whippersnapper," though chłystek can also be "pipsqueak," "brat." what geralt is saying is, you young man (derogatory, with contempt).

cahir is something like 20, well, actually more like 30 to 40 years geralt's junior, and this is mentioned a couple of times times already (observations by dandelion's POV, that cahir was incapable of growing a beard, haha).

geralt is effectively scolding cahir in this confrontation, and cahir is not fighting him, taking the verbal beating.

‘(...) I’m preoccupied with one thought: to get my hands on the people who harmed Ciri. I’ve sworn that those who’ve harmed her will pay for it with their blood.’ Cahir did not speak. ‘Your revelations, which Milva has told me about, don’t change anything. There’s only one conclusion: you were unable to abduct Ciri on Thanedd, despite your best efforts. Now you’re trailing me, so that I can lead you to her. So that you can get your hands on her again, because then your imperator might spare you and not send you to the scaffold.’ Cahir said nothing. Geralt felt bad. Very bad. ‘She cried out in the night because of you,’ he snapped. ‘You grew to nightmarish proportions in her child’s eyes. But actually, you were–and are–only a tool, a wretched minion of your imperator.’

if cahir had piped up as geralt was scolding him here, if he had denied geralt's accusations, if he had bridled, if he had fought him like he had requested in ch. 2, that would have given geralt full rein to lay the smackdown. as the saying goes... "Go ahead, make my day..."

but cahir didn't make his day.

cahir is not really one to debase himself. as in tower of the swallow ch. 5 when he and geralt fight, cahir, like geralt, is obsessed with his own honor:

‘I’m not what I appear,’ said the young Nilfgaardian in a powerful, resonant voice. ‘Unfortunately, I can’t prove it. But I can do something else. Do what befits me, what I have to do, when I’m being slandered and insulted, when my honour is besmirched and my dignity sullied.’

geralt finally has in his clutches the black knight of cintra, his little girl's nightmare. and, like any father, wants to curbstomp him. badly. he wanted to do the same when he first met him, on thanedd:

‘I know who you are, Nilfgaardian,’ said the white-haired fiend, kicking the helmet with the hacked-up wings. ‘You have been pursuing her doggedly and long. But now you will harm her no more.’

but this is geralt: held back by his morals, by his scruples. who he has isn't the black knight of cintra, anymore.

and this is cahir:

There was no black knight of Cintra. There was a pale, dark-haired young man with stupefyingly blue eyes and a mouth distorted in a grimace of fear, kneeling in a pool of blood. (...) The terrified, cowering young man bleeding profusely was no one.

cahir is now only "a young face, which hadn’t grown much more stubble since the adventure under the beech tree." and again, geralt "[is] getting old, [and] starting to develop scruples."

geralt feels bad, very bad (it's just "źle, bardzo źle" in polish, so no weird translation issues from what i can tell) for two reasons:

‘I don’t know what you did to become a nightmare for her. And (...) I don’t understand why in spite of everything I can’t kill you. I don’t understand what’s holding me back.’

firstly, geralt is recalling how ciri suffered because of cahir, how she awoke in the night due to nightmares, nightmares which he could not help her with (and thus enlisted the help of triss, and later yennefer, who actually helped her with the trauma-related nightmares).

secondly, he is unconsciously holding himself back from killing cahir, because cahir is a sad-eyed young man who is no longer the black knight of cintra. geralt, as we know, loathes harming innocents, and can't bear to kill anything that doesn't deserve it. and cahir isn't doing anything (not being a threat, not even talking back) to deserve it.

and then, of course, further motivation to work together: cahir and geralt have in common that they want to rescue ciri, and they are both dreaming of her.

but geralt's inability to kill cahir always gets me, for how it emphasizes their characters: geralt, hounded by his scruples, and cahir, just a young man...

re: ringkvinna's analysis of cahir, imperialism, his love for ciri and about publishing pressure:

(damn, i love this analysis, haha. i also feel similarly about cahir and ciri, the paragraph beginning "In my opinion, it is the only way in which" is especially accurate, i think).

it was once a speculation of mine that a heterosexual romance was pushed for ciri because of homophobic attitudes from the publisher. nowadays i don't terribly stand by this, it's kind of just a theory, a book theory...

but it is true that there were reactions to mistle and ciri:

( John ) Did you know from the beginning that Ciri would fall in love with Mistle? ( AS ) Of course. It was one of the elements of the plan that was ready from the beginning. ( John ) And the scene in the library? ( AS ) And this is one of the things that came after the plan, there was no place in the original plan for Fringilla Vigo. When writing the scene in the library, I played with the idea of ​​writing it against people who say that it is impossible to do such a thing in Polish without falling into a vocabulary of gynecology or foul words. And I came up with an idea with books. But it still did not help, the newspaper that printed "Lady of the Lake" in parts, demanded from SuperNOWA, to cut that scene as pornographic. They were mocked by SuperNOWA. The Russians reacted to my alleged "pornography" even more ridiculously. I noticed while reading the translation that the Mistle-Ciri scene was heavily watered down. The translator, to whom I complained, stated that I should thank him, because at first the publisher demanded - demanded from the translator, I emphasize - to change Mistle into a boy.

Q&A with Sapkowski from the mid 2000's (Reddit, English translation) | F8 Key (Polish original text)

another time he mentioned this:

A. S.: Can I mention this story? Some lesbian elements were considered extremely dirty and without notifying the author, they decided to solve the problem by changing the gender of one of the girls. T. G .: I would have a stroke. A. S .: And Weisbrot strongly opposed (because I wasn't notified) and made them keep the original text. But even so, the whole fragment was strongly castrated. And since the whole story consisted of the three sentences, after the castration very little remained. Because it turned out, you know, that it is a complete pornography. 

"We will not tolerate pornography!" (Reddit, English translation)

(for context, sapkowski had a good friendship with russian translator eugene weisbrot, and actually dedicated lux perpetua (3rd book of the hussite trilogy) to him).

my speculation, then, was that because mistle's assault of ciri happens in time of contempt, and they begin a relationship in baptism of fire, i thought it would be possible for a homophobic attitude to rear its head in-between baptism of fire and tower of the swallow, that: 'ciri should have a male love interest, i hope that she will be delivered from this foulness by a decent boy.'

well, i don't disagree that this a potential thought of a publisher or even a reader, but i also think that sapkowski may have expected this too, and as always, was playing 4D chess with us.

because, in historia i fantastyka with stanisław bereś:

BS: Your women leave the role of the charming concubines. They not only kill as deftly as men, but in addition do not want to go to bed with them, because they prefer their girlfriends. Why, for example, did you make Ciri a lesbian? Why almost all the girls in the "Witch of Derby" tasted the fruits of same-sex love? Or is it some kind of psychoanalytic revenge? AS: I'm not sure. But I am certain that I'm not a lesbian. Although, on the other hand, the attraction that I sometimes feel for women, would claim the opposite. However, so that you do not have any doubts, I declare: I do not intend to shock anyone with such stories. For Russians, for example, as follows from numerous reviews, there were some complaints about these heroines and they even called me perverse and dirty. The Russian publishing house was so outraged that if not for my translator who, like a wolf and a hare in one person, lay down on the threshold and defended the work - they would've changed without the essence of the book, "bringing sex back to normal", that is by simply changing the gender of the characters. However, if there was any intention to show the women in this way - and there was - it was caused by the desire to move away from a stereotype, which states that the appearance of a woman in a transparent bra and lace panties in fantasy pursues one goal: to give rest to a warrior, who should treat this woman as an instrument (read: to fuck). So why can't she be a rest for a female warrior? The fact that I depict female characters in such a way does not mean that I am writing caricatures of real people! I parody the canon. A reader who knows fantasy well, after seeing that a lady in an openwork bra and transparent panties appeared in the book, thinks: "Oh! Another minute and! .. "And then - ay-ay-ay - nothing like that !!! I do this intentionally from purely insidious considerations. However, I was terribly touched by a certain author of fantasy, who stupidly and senselessly deprived his heroine of her virginity. At first he portrayed the heroine in such a way that the reader was 100% sure that she would, like Helena Kurcewicz, wander with her virginal hymn until the last scene of the book, in which she'll give it to the protagonist on the first wedding night. And this author suddenly, for no reason at all, without any seemingly grounded reason, makes his heroine give - excusez moi le mot! - her ass and to God knows who! Oh, how excited I got! "How is it possible?" I exclaimed. But then I thought: no, there is something in it. If I can, then I'll make someone nervous too. The reader will start thinking about, reflecting on which warrior should claim Ciri ... But then! This is the reason that motivated me to describe such female characters in my books. And consequently, this is not projection - in what you suspect me - of my own vaginal complications and phobias. I think if I had such problems, I probably would have known.

Andrzej Sapkowski and Stanisław Bereś "History and fantasy" (2007)

sapkowski often predicts what his readers will think, and then preemptively does something with the story to challenge their expectations.

in the case of mistle and ciri, he wanted to challenge the expectation that any (male) warrior would end up "claiming" ciri, instead it being a woman who takes ciri's virginity, and also showing the realistic, traumatic and devastating reality of this, of rape. all to push back on the fantasy trope of a male warrior "claiming" a girl.

back to cahir, i think that sapkowski may have also predicted that some readers were expecting a boy (as in: male love interest) to 'save' ciri from this relationship, and he introduced the cahir-ciri storyline as something which he knew would not be consummated in the end, which would end tragically.

this 'decent boy' comes across in cahir (who fails, as he is not the grail knight) and later, galahad (who succeeds, as he is the grail knight).

also, for how sapkowski has spoken of cahir and ciri:

Out of nobility (and love, because he protects Ciri), Cahir, a knight and officer, dies. Will a knight and officer defending his lady run away because he "soberly and thoughtfully" decides that it is unwise to fight, even if the opponent is a type like Bonhart? This would destroy the entire legendary history and the entire matiere de la chevalerie! It couldn't be like this! And this is apart from the fact that Cahir, alive, was in no way suitable for me to continue the action.

Sapkowski answers the questions of the active users of "Sapkowski Zone" (2001) (Reddit, English translation) | Active interview of Zone readers with Andrzej Sapkowski (Polish original text)

it's all just playing with tropes, with the fantasy canon...

‘Run away,’ whispered Ciri, seeing who was approaching along the corridor. ‘He’s the devil incarnate. But he only wants me. He won’t come after you … Run … Help Geralt …’ Cahir shook his head. ‘Ciri,’ he said kindly. ‘I’m surprised by what you’re saying. I came here from the end of the world to find you, rescue you and defend you. And now you want me to run away?’ ‘You don’t know who you’re up against.’

[seancekitsch]

uhhhhhh hi sry i been gone all day cahir ch 2 is 1.4k already and i’m no where near done you are getting something BIG and LENGTHY dis fic a GIRTHY one

[gayregis]

favorite assorted underrated regis moments

regis steals

“We also provided ourselves with as much equipment as we could fit into our hands – in fairness, I should add that we threw half of it away later. As Milva noted before we started, if you steal in the dark, you don't know what you are getting.

The most fiscally useful things came from the cache of the vampire, who sees better in darkness than in daylight. Regis also reduced the combat power of the Lyrian army by one fat, mouse-gray mule, which he so ably led from the camp that not once did the animal neigh or stamp. Therefore, the stories of how animals sense vampires and react to their smell with panic must be dismissed as a myth – at least when it comes to certain animals and certain vampires.”

(The Tower of the Swallow, Ch. 3)

regis never shuts up

“However, he [Regis] had his weaknesses, and I do not mean those that grew out of his vampiric nature. Regis was an intellectual and demonstrated this often. He had the unnerving habit of announcing allegations and truths with the tone and air of a prophet, to which we soon stopped responding, because the announced allegations either actually were true, or at least seemed to be sound, or they were unable to be verified, which amounted to the same thing. 

Regis's most unbearable mannerism was that he would answer a question before the questioner had finished with the formulation of his question – or sometimes even before the questioner had begun the formulation. I've always held this as supposed evidence of high intelligence instead of evidence of rudeness and arrogance, properties that fit well in the university environment or circles at court, but are difficult to endure from a companion with whom you spend the day riding stirrup to stirrup, and the nights sleeping in the same camp.”

(The Tower of the Swallow, Ch. 3) 

regis gives constructive writing critique

“What is a half a century?” the vampire smiled. “A moment, a fleeting blink… Oh yes, Dandelion, a small note: Half a Century of Poetry, in my opinion, sounds better than ‘fifty years.’”

“Since I do not disagree.” The troubadour bent over a sheet with a pencil and began to scratch it. “I thank you, Regis. Finally, something constructive. Does anyone else have anything to add?”

(The Tower of the Swallow, Ch. 3) 

regis admits to disliking violence

(...) He [Regis] advised the witcher and Milva with flashing eyes. “I'm a coward,” he confessed shortly. “If I do not have to, I do not want to go through something like that time on the barge and the bridge again. Never again. And I ask to be exempted from the battle group that goes to Belhaven.”

“From that barge and bridge,” Milva replied flatly, “you carried me out on your back when my legs were so weak that they buckled. If there would have been a coward in your place, he would have fled and left me alone. But there was no coward. There was only you, Regis.”

(The Tower of the Swallow, Ch. 5)

regis steals angoulême’s fun sayings

Not long ago, Geralt would have mercilessly ridiculed, mocked, and held for an idiot, anyone who dared to claim that he, a witcher, would feel great joy at the sight of a vampire.

“Oho,” said Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy, who had just straightened a rod. “Look what the wind just blew in.”

(The Tower of the Swallow, Ch. 6) 

regis has a bitch fight but like, politely

[Angoulême continued,] “(...) I want to go with him, with Geralt, because with him I’m not afraid of being caught by the One-Eyed Fulk again, and here in Toussaint…”

“Angoulême,” Regis interrupted her. “You are speaking in vain. Miss Vigo will listen to you, but she will do nothing about it. Only one thing you’ve said upsets her: the departure of the witcher.”

“Whoa.” Repeated Fringilla, turning to face him and narrowing her eyes. “Is that your favourite subject to allude to, Mr. Terzieff-Godefroy? The departure of the witcher? And when is he departing? May I ask that?”

“Maybe not today or tomorrow,” the vampire replied in a soft voice. “But certainly one day. Without hurting anyone.”

(...)

“Indeed,” he said pointedly, “none of us has given more to Geralt than you, my lady.”

“How did I know that you would say just that?”

“It’s not about that, Miss Fringilla”, the vampire began. The sorceress did not let him.

“What’s it about then?” She asked aggressively. “About the fact that he and I are together? About the fact that we have an emotional connection? About the fact that I do not want him to leave now? That I do not want him to decide based on guilt? The same feelings of guilt and atonement that drive you to depart?”

Regis was silent. Cahir also said nothing. Angoulême looked around; she had obviously not understood much.

“If it is written in the books of providence”, the sorceress said after a while, “that Geralt will find Ciri, then it will happen. Regardless of whether the witcher sets off into the mountains or sits in Toussaint. Predestination overtakes humans. Not vice versa. Do you understand that? Do you understand, Mr. Regis Terzieff-Godefroy?”

“Better than you think, Miss Vigo.” The vampire turned the sausage link in his fingers. “However, you must excuse me, I do not accept that predestination is in some book, written by the hand of a great Demiurge, or the will of heaven, or the unalterable judgment of any providence. Rather, it is the result of many seemingly unconnected facts, events, and actions. I tend to agree with you that the predestination overtakes humans… and not only humans. However, I accept much less the view that it could not also be reversed. Because this view is a convenient fatalism. It is a paean to apathy and baseness on a feather bed and the charming warmth of a woman’s womb. In short, to live in a dream. Life, Miss Vigo may be a dream, may end in a dream… But it’s a dream that you must actively dream. Therefore, Miss Vigo, the road awaits us.”

“Go ahead.” Fringilla stood up, almost as violent as Milva had recently. “As you wish! Snow, cold, and predetermination await you on the passes. And the atonement that you so urgently seem to need. Go ahead! But the witcher is staying here. In Toussaint! With me!”

“I believe,” the vampire replied calmly, “You are mistaken, Miss Vigo. The dream you dream with the witcher is, I confess with a bow, magical and beautiful. However, any dream that we dream for too long becomes a nightmare. And from it we awake with a scream.”

***

The nine women who were seated at the large table in Castle Montecalvo stared fixedly at Fringilla Vigo. At Fringilla, who had suddenly begun to stutter.“Geralt rode on the morning of January eighth to the Pomerol estate. And he came back… well… on the eighth night, or on the ninth morning… I do not know… I’m not sure…”“Keep it together,” Sile de Tancarville gently requested. “Please, keep it together, Miss Vigo. And if any detail of the story is too embarrassing, then just move on.”

(The Lady of the Lake, Ch. 4)

regis calmly asks for an explanation

The door opened with a bang. Geralt stormed into the kitchen. His windswept face displayed a blue bruise and purplish-black stripes of dried blood.

“Come on, people, pack up,” he announced without any unnecessary preliminaries. “We’re leaving! In one hour, and not a moment later, I will see you all on the hill outside the city, where the column stands. With bags and baggage, in the saddle, ready for a long and difficult path.”

That was enough. It was as if they had been waiting for this message and had been ready for a long time.

(...)

In no time Geralt and the colourful chicken were all that remained in the kitchen. And the vampire, who was quietly stirring his broth with noodles.

“Are you waiting for a special invitation?” Asked the witcher coldly. “Why are you still sitting here? Instead of packing the mule Draakula? And saying goodbye to the succubus?”

“Geralt,” Regis said calmly, taking a spoonful of soup from the tureen. “It will take me just as long to part with the succubus as it will for you to part with your black-haired girl. Assuming that you intend to say goodbye to her. But just between you and me: you can send the young people out to pack up their things with shouting and noise, but I deserve something more, for reasons of age. Please, grant me a few words of explanation.”

“Regis…”

“A statement Geralt. The sooner you start, the better. I’ll help you. Yesterday morning, you met the steward of the Pomerol Winery at the city gate as agreed…”

(The Lady of the Lake, Ch. 4)

regis upon seeing milva’s death while a bit drunk

“Let’s go,” Angoulême stood up, wiping her tears. “Let’s go! We need to kick some ass!”

“I feel in me,” the vampire hissed with a sinister smile, “a power with which I could smash down this whole castle.”

The witcher looked at him suspiciously. “I don’t think so,” he said.

(The Lady of the Lake, Ch. 9)

regis kicks ass & accidentally scares a kid

A second later the lab became a hell. The furniture was overturned with a crash. The strident pops and cracks from glasses bursting mixed with the hellish howls of the confused people. The decoctions, filters, elixirs, extracts and other magical substances spilled onto the tables and the ground, mixing and combining. Some, contacting, hissed and burst forth in clouds of yellow smoke. The room was immediately filled with a caustic stench.

Amid the smoke and tears produced by the stench, Ciri looked in shock at the thing that moved about the laboratory. A black figure resembling a gigantic bat. She saw the bat hook the minions into flight and release them high in the air, yelling as they fell. Before her eyes, it snapped up one of the servants that was trying to get away and slammed it against a table, where he began to howl and shake, spraying blood on retorts, stills, beakers and flasks.

A fluid from some broken container sprayed a lamp. It hissed, and the lamp exploded.

Ciri had to dodge the fireball headed at her face. She clenched her teeth to keep from screaming.

In the steel chair, which was prepared for her, sat a slender, gray-haired main in a black jacket. He gritted his fangs into the neck of a young minion, which rested on his knees and sucked his blood. The bald man groaned and his limbs twitched convulsively.

Pallid blue flames danced on the tables. Flasks, retorts and stills exploded in the heat, one after the other.

The vampire drew his fangs away from his victim’s throat and look at Ciri with onyx black eyes.

“The opportunity arises”, he said, as if in explanation, “when you just can’t resist the drink.”

“Do not fear,” he smiled when he saw her expression. “Do not worry, Ciri. I’m glad I found you. My name is Emiel Regis and I, although you may find it incredible, am a friend of the witcher Geralt. I came to this castle with him.”

An armed mercenary ran into the burning lab. Geralt’s companion turned his head towards him, hissed and bared his fangs. The mercenary screamed terribly. His scream soon faded into silence or the distance.

Emiel Regis dropped the minion’s body to the ground, stood up and stretched just like a cat. “Who would have thought?” He said. “Such an insect, and yet he had great blood in him. This is what we call a - hidden quality. Let’s go, Ciri, I’ll escort you to Geralt.”

“No,” Ciri said.

“Do not be afraid of me.”

“I’m not afraid,” she protested, bravely clenching her jaw so that he could not hear her teeth chattering in terror. “No, because… Because Yennefer is imprisoned somewhere here. I have to find her as quickly as possible. I fear that Vilgefortz… Please, sir…”

“Emiel Regis.”

“Warn Geralt, good sir, that Vilgefortz is here. He is a sorcerer, a powerful sorcerer. Geralt has to be careful.”

(The Lady of the Lake, Ch. 9)

[tothedevilsshowclosed]

“i’m looking forward to it.” @inprometheanfire​

[hanzajesthanza]

sapkowski did once say he imagined nilfgaard to be like the roman empire:

though i completely agree with above and also don’t see why it can’t be comparable to not only rome, not only russia, not only the united states… but all empires…? — it’s not one or the other, nilfgaard isn’t a 1:1 analogy for one specific historical empire, but rather taking inspiration from multiple historical and contemporary empires; however i wanted to add this source anyways because “the man himself said it”.

+ but to be more detailed, some “roman” elements which stood out to me about nilfgaard:

everything about evertsen’s orders in time of contempt ch 5, but particularly scorched-earth policies in warfare, similar to cunctator’s during the second punic war, “dismantle and remove” resources, art, and people. rome was considered a “slave society”, of which there have only been five total in human history, including athens, the ottoman empire, and the united states.

war was also the main source of income for rome — and the many sumptuary laws which occurred in rome as a reaction to the influx of imperial wealth lifted from the people they invaded also reminded me of how sorcerer/esses in nilfgaard are not allowed to exaggerate themselves with fine clothing, jewels, or makeup…

everything about reidbrune in tower of the swallow ch 5, but particularly the slavery in the quarry — similar to how in the countryside, up to 70% of the population were enslaved people, not to mention mines were the worst, cruellest form of slave labor, resulting in miserable underground conditions and death, but a very common assignment.

and also fulko artevelde’s description as a “stern lord” — the saying “as vicious as roman rule” exists for good reason.

and of course, the description of nilfgaardian citizens “settling” the north, travelling north to take tax-land around riedbrune, “the endowment pledged by the emperor” — which occured with roman military veterans being promised (iirc) land with a ten year period of tax-exemption, from the places they conquered (iirc this happened around north africa and gaul as well).

propaganda against the northern kingdoms as “barbaric”, time of contempt ch. 5 as the nobles describe false ciri, baptism of fire ch. 6 as fringilla describes how the empire (ahem) “was bringing culture, prosperity, order and political stability to the north.” this reminds me of roman dehumanization of just about every other group, but specifically the gauls (which were to their north)…

simply, the geography. a powerful southern empire that devours the northern states. divided by mountains (the alps, the amell range) but that didn’t really hinder them. and of course a famous river in the middle of the city (the alba, the tiber) and a famous river that symbolizes a crossing (the sansretour, literally sans retour, “no return”, and the rubicon, as in caesar’s alea iacta est, “the die has been cast” — you could also view the jaruga as being like the rubicon, as geralt crosses that too, earlier, and it is described by the narration as being a “clear dividing line, a border, the crossing of which represented an evident passage to the next, more serious stage of the expedition…”

simply, the nomenclature. the nilfgaardian empire spread to encompass many territories, but cahir explains that he is not “nilfgaardian” as the term is reserved for people from the city of nilfgaard, whereas he hails from vicovaro. and no one outside of the city of rome, even from the countryside of italy, would call themselves “roman” if they were not from/associated with the city of rome…

sapkowski mentions nilfgaard during the era of pax romana (during this time, rome began to have emperors, beginning with the time of augustus, the first emperor), and i agree with this as the way emhyr is viewed by the nobility reminds me of roman emperors (at least the not-completely insane ones); but as you may be able to tell, nilfgaard also reminds me of the roman republic during the punic wars — suffering great defeats like the battle of cannae, or the battle of sodden hill. and with the utter razing of carthage, i wouldn’t be surprised if emhyr or another uttered “cintra delenda est.“

also re: the modern romanticization of rome, this is a mythological horror, but the abduction (rape) of the sabine women is something which may dispell any further ideas of rome as an institution being admirable. just a little extra, if the third punic war wasn’t enough horror

What do you think about people who compare Nilfgaard to the roman Empire not Russia?

i mean, is that really that big a difference? the roman empire is romanticised in a lot of literature and otherwise art, but they are actually pretty similar to niflgaard, when you look at it.

they did own slaves, they prosecuted christians, annihilated several cities and cultures, engaged in war rape, did all the same things nilfgaard did.

if you choose to romanticise it, go ahead. but know that, like every empire, the 'holy' roman empire was built on blood and tears of the innocents.

[jawanaka]

2, 4, 8, 20 for the writers ask :)

2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

The ending, ha! Or specifically the final scene, which I've had in my head for months. After that. anything else, something new :)

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

For a moment, in her minds eye she can see how that door opens in another time or another universe. See the customer, a distraught noblewoman belly just starting to round perhaps or a merchant’s wife looking for someone, anyone to lift the spell cast on her infant child. She sees the raven-haired sorceress greet them sternly but confidently, ask them to sit down in one of the chairs and explain their trouble. She sees how a beautiful flaxen haired young women with deep green eyes serves the guest refreshments before take her place behind the sorceress chair. How the sorceress gestures to her.

"My daughter Cirilla" Yennefer says, in a tone that does not invite questions about how she came upon this daughter "just returned from her schooling at Aretuza. She will be assisting us in this matter. I vouch for her competence personally."

I really liked this little scene in Yennefers house in Vengerberg, Ciri's vision of what her life might have been like had not certain...events intervened. Unlike many others, it wasn't one I had planned until I started writing the chapter but it came out really well and was a really nice character interlude between plot-heavy bits. I also experimented with tenses in a way I seldom do.

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

Already answered here :)

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Oh, theres a bunch! let's see...(These are all for the Swallow of Nobigrad btw)

I planted the little seed of Nilfgaardian law that Ciri would use to get a companion out of jail in ch 16 already in chapter 17.

The overzised beret Ciri gives Rosa to wear as a disguise in ch 8 and 9 is based on the one Ciri wears while with the Rats in the books (who are also referenced directly in the preceding chapter).

At one point Ciri mentions she could iknvade temple isle and kill the hierarch outright wherefter she points out that that would be a terrible idea, which is a mild critique of another fic where this sort of happens.

For themes I worked alot of dualities, contrasting Ciri with Tamara (another girl struggling with the legacy of a crappy father), with Adda (another princess dealing with a curse/gift). Another big theme that anchors the whole fic is the idea that no one can rule alone and that Ciri needs ti gatger a court of people to assist her.

(as for easter eggs nobody seems to have caught onto Cahirs sister....)

Thank you @andordean for the ask! Original ask to be found here

[hanzajesthanza]

Angouleme for the character bingo

i am so normal about them - did you know that when the guards call her "skittish" in her debut in ttos ch. 5 and fringilla calls her "flighty" in lotl ch. 4, they're actually using the same word, płochy? of which could be translated as "fickle," "thoughtless," "skittish," or "insignificant, trivial" or "unsteady in (her) feelings", or "careless," "untamed," or "reckless" ... isn't that interesting! i just think that's interesting.

i have so many headcanons about them - my entire (planned but not written) fic with her and regis spins around my head... i'm torn on whether to post a plot summary of this on here (basically copying over what i've said in discord messages), or if i want to avoid spoiling any of this and just wait until i've finished it (and who knows when or if i will ever write this)

*projects onto them like a mf* - yes, though admittedly to her detriment, it's a habit i've tried to stop. i find that my excessive editorializing of her spoils her character :p stick to the facts, people! i admit it's difficult if only because we share some similar issues, but the thing that i have to keep in mind is that we have entirely opposite personalities, and even if we feel similarly, her feelings will express themselves differently.

wordless space 1, "i just think she's neat"

everyone else is wrong about them - people just forget about her character, and i'm not only speaking of them forgetting about her existence - that they also do often enough, but they also do not pay attention to her. that's probably my biggest pet peeve regarding her, is that people find her quirky and funny, but do not remember the context around her character... that she nearly escaped the scaffold, and from that nearly the stake, with eyes gouged out and breasts torn by iron-hot pincers? that she genuinely was begging to be hanged when she was introduced as a character, begging for death? or that she has hidden from pursuers in toussaint before? that she has "friends" such as golan drosdeck whom she owed debts to? that she is knowledgeable about the mining operations and the reddishness of the earth, and explains the subject to geralt and cahir? or that she is upset when civilians are afraid of them from killing bandits "because they were evil," so she indeed has a moral compass? that she screams like a banshee when trying to kill nightingale? or that she 'resembled a pretty girl' when given a comb and dress, and that she got tipsy during the october banquet and could be heard throughout the hall? her character actually has so much detail and diversity if you actually pay attention, but hardly anyone remembers her as anything asides from a silly little girl that joined geralt's hanza and provides some laughs for the reader. and then they ask why the female characters are one-dimensional. idk, possibly because it is these reader which made them one-dimensional in their very own minds because they are not strong readers and forget all the detail that's literally written right there on the page... oh, and by the way, it was not a hanza before she joined, because she is the very one which dubs it that in the first place. before angouleme joined, they were just the "company". that is my angouleme rant done 😌

that's a solid design right there - canonically, great: "The girl sniffed again, inclined her head and fixed Geralt with her huge eyes. Nut-brown, not green. Then she shook her untidy mane of light hair, causing it to fall onto her forehead in unruly locks," and personally (if i can compliment the own personal way i see her), i love to give her a silhouette with a short, cropped top and long, flared pants. somewhat like this:

they are so silly - ignore my entire rant above about her being treated like a comic relief character and nothing more... because she is indeed funny and a bright little jester of a girl.

wordless space 2, "squeaky toy"

bastard - literally. she is an illegitimate child born out of wedlock.

character bingo

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