#mad Witcher Kiyan

[kitsunebattleboxer]

So we know from TW3 storyline with the Mad Witcher Kiyan that a lot of the cat school is made up of Witchers with Elven origins. But I’ve never seen anyone mention that this could be the reason they tend to be more unstable? Essentially they use mutations meant for humans (presumably) on descendants of elves and it’s probably a bit fucked. We know elven and human ancestry can physically mess up a person, like is shown with Yennefer, so were most of these trainees physically disabled in some capacity when they were brought to the Cat School? Is that why more schools didn’t adopt this method? Does it have to do with them being slightly closer to the Source and having a bit of chaos themselves which makes them more prone to mental illness? Thinking of Eskel being shown to have proficiency in signs due to his inclination to magic, it seems unlikely. So it must be something more physical/emotional. I don’t know, just pondering. Also, we under appreciate Kiyan as a fandom, please give this poor lad some love, I beg you.

[unbury-the-gays]

Witcher Kiyan with his demon inside. From our Who sows the wind, reaps the storm fic

Pose reference

[j-hauke]

Poor Kiyan, I haven’t completed the game but it seems like you just kill him and move on. That’s absolute bullshit he deserves better. He was tortured and experimented on, I’m glad you get to give him peace but it’s just glossed over. I have a soft spot for every Witcher and you can’t tell me the name of the monster who hurt him and not let me kill them!

[shy-urban-hobbit]

If these are prompts please can I get a "Good boy" with Lambden? 👀

This went pure angst!! I would apologise but I'm not sorry 😂

It was Kiyan-or rather, the news of him-who bought it on. Aiden had stared at the medallion Geralt presented, along with heartfelt condolences. The medallion which had belonged to a brother he’d thought long since dead when none could find any sign of him, only to find out that he’d spent the last few years in what could only be described as Hell.

Lambert had only managed to get out a cautiously whispered “Aiden?”, recognising the signs in the way his partners pupils were dilating wildly, the way his muscles started to tense and his breathing was starting to grow harsher. The Cat gave a noise between a whimper and a yowl before Lambert bundled him into his arms and made his way to an abandoned part of the Keep at a near run, feeling his Kittens claws digging deeper into the fabric of his tunic with every passing second.

 

 Geralt gently grasped a concerned Jaskier by the elbow to indicate that he should stay put, “Not the best idea, Lark. Aiden’s not in his best mind right now and he’d feel even worse if he hurt you.”

“Geralt’s right.” Eskel said, coming over to wrap an arm around his brother, unable to stand his guilty expression any longer, “Cat Witchers, sometimes when they feel an emotion strong enough it can consume them, is the best way to describe it. Aiden wouldn’t mean to hurt you but he wouldn’t register that it was you. He’d even attack Lambert in that state, has done once before I think.”

The air grew sharp with the scent of Jaskier’s concern, “Well, will Lambert be alright alone with him?”

Geralt drew Jaskier closer to his chest, “Lambert knows Aiden better than any of us. We trust he knows what he’s doing and besides, it’s best Aiden doesn’t feel outnumbered right now. Lambert will let us know if he truly needs help.”

 

Lambert’s back had grown stiff hours ago from sitting propped against the thick wooden door but no way was he moving even for a second, his worry and frustation just as fresh as it had been when he locked the door behind him, accompanied by the first of many bangs and snarls and shouts from the other side from Aiden who could smell him, but couldn’t reach him. When they’d agreed on this plan, Lambert never thought in a thousand years that they’d have to use it. Unfortunately for him it was one of the few things that Vesemir and Aiden had whole heartedly agreed on. If Aiden was to continue visiting the Keep they needed something in place in case something like this happened, Lambert was loath to let him work through it in the forests surrounding Kaer Morhen where he could fall victim to exposure, among other things, and letting him roam the keep when he was in the throes of Cat madness was out of the question. Accidental or not, Lambert knew from personal experience that Aiden hurting someone he cared about when in this state only pushed him dangerously close to it taking hold again. And so, this was the compromise that had been reached, Lambert playing jailer while waiting for Aiden to come through the other side alone and hurting.

It took him a few moments to realise that the room (more like a cell at this point in time) had been fairly quiet for a while now.

“Aiden?”

No response. That worried Lambert more than the constant barrage of noise had and he scrambled to his feet, dropping the key twice as he fumbled to get it in the lock.

“Aiden?”

Lambert’s heart broke a little for his love as he took in the sight before him. Aiden was crouched on all fours in a corner of the room, taking shaky breaths and dripping with sweat and blood. The same blood that was covering the walls in various places from where Aiden had clawed and punched.

“Oh, Kitten.” Lambert made to step forwards only to be made to stop by a flinch and a low growl. Lambert bit his lip, this was bad. He so wanted to gather Aiden in his arms and take care of him now the worst had passed but that wasn’t happening whilst Aiden was throwing him a look suggesting that he was in danger of getting his eyes clawed out if he took one step closer. Unbidden, a memory found it’s way to the forefront of Lambert’s mind.

 

“Will you stop squirming already?”

“It’s not my fault your hands are so cold! You dunk them in ice water before you came back up here or what?” Aiden complained from where he was lying shirtless on the bed.

“My cold hands are going to be the least of your problems in a minute.”

“That a promise?”

Lambert let out a warning growl as he went to dab at the wound on Aiden’s stomach again, the Cat flinched minutely but didn’t pull away this time, allowing Lambert to finish up cleaning and treating it. A flesh wound, it would be gone in a day or so.

“Good boy.” Lambert said absentmindedly and patting Aiden’s uninjured side in what was supposed to be condescension until he both felt and heard the hitch in the others breath. He flicked his eyes upwards, as much as Aiden was trying his hardest to avoid eye contact it was obvious that the Cats pupils had dilated slightly accompanied a small spike of arousal.

Huh.

“Aiden, you want to be good for me, don’t you?” He asked experimentally, letting his hand drift down to Aiden’s thigh as he dropped the cloth back in the slightly bloody water next to the bed.

Aiden tried to fight back a noise of want and failed miserably.

Lambert slowly trailed both hands up to Aiden’s wrists, guiding them above Aiden’s head

“Then behave. Leave these here, let me hear you properly and I’ll make sure you’re rewarded.” He said, squeezing Aiden’s wrists briefly for emphasis and rewarding him with a kiss when Aiden nodded eagerly before curling his fingers into the pillow as Lambert started slowly making his way downwards.

 

Lambert went back to contemplating the figure in front of him. It was entirely different circumstances but it wouldn’t hurt to try. He was always one for experimenting after all.

“Aiden, it’s me.” He took a slow step forwards,  “I just need you to stay there a second, alright?” Another step. Aiden growled again in response but didn’t move as he kept still slightly hazy eyes firmly on Lambert, “Good boy, that’s it. You’re doing so well for me.”

And so it went, Lambert slowly making his way over, keeping up a steady stream of “Good boy, you’re alright. So good doing what I asked, so brave.”

It was when Lambert crouched down in front of him, taking a bloody hand in his and praising Aiden yet again for not attacking him that the Cat seemed to come back to himself a little more, letting out a shaky “Lambert?”

“I’m here, Kitten.” Lambert answered, trying not to wince at the wooden splinters buried under broken nails. He suddenly found the hand replaced with an arm full of shaking Cat, who appeared to be apologising to him over and over.

“I didn’t....” Aiden trailed off, gazing at Lambert pleadingly with watery eyes.

“No, everyone’s fine. You did so well, following Vesemir’s instructions and letting me bring you here. If anyone should be apologising it’s me for leaving you in here alone.”

Aiden shook his head, “No. Didn’t want to hurt...”

“I know, and I love you so much for that.”

He grabbed Aiden’s chin gently and guided it to the crook of his neck when it looked like he was moving to take in the state of the room. He knew Aiden would be able to smell the blood and no doubt feel the pain in his broken hands and the scratches on his arms and face (because of course Aiden would turn on himself when there was nobody else. Fuck, Lambert was an idiot for not considering that) but that didn’t mean Lambert wanted him to see it.

“I’m taking us to our room. Focus on me until we get there. Alright?” he asked, hoisting Aiden into his arms again as he stood and giving another quiet “Good boy.” When he felt Aiden nod against his neck and bury his nose deeper.

[jane-todd-maximoff]

Wouldn’t a witcher x men crossover be cool? Like the witcher is already pretty crossover friendly bc of Ciri’s powers and there are parallels with the themes of discrimination/ experimentation on those with powers and the characters being used as “living weapons/tools”

absolutely! you can pretty much crossover anything with the witcher due to Ciri's powers. I believe that in The Witcher 3 they vaguely implied that she even went to the world of cyberpunk, which is another CD Project Red game. And Expeditiously with the experimentation Parallels. Because we have the process of making Witchers. And as well as Kiyan who was experimented on by a mage and turned him mad. And the experiments that Trask did to mutants.

[lokitapendragon]

[blooodymoon]

Lore-Only Gwent Cards Cat Witchers (Named)

→ Voicelines

School of the Cat

Masterpost

Card Art from Gwent.One My Edit

Card Texts under the Cut

Mad Kiyan We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.

Gaetan “Murder me just to save few crowns? I’m supposed to protect whoresons like that?” ⁠— Gaetan Brehen Known as the Cat of Iello. A moniker earned not from origins, but as a result of slaughtering peasants there. More of a massacre, really.

Gezras of Leyda “Take a contract from Aen Seidhe over a dh'oine any day, as you’re far less likely to receive a knife between the ribs in place of coin.” ⁠— Gezras

[zkretchy]

Every now and then when I go through my Gwent cards I remember Kiyan isn’t with the rest of the cats in the scoiatel camp but instead in the Northern Realms (you get tortured into madness by some mage in Novigrad and suddenly you are in another faction than the rest of your peers, smh)

Funnily enough I do actually have all the Cats...except for Kiyan (to be fair I rarely glance at NR <-<”)

[jayofolympus-writes]

My contribution to The Witcher Flash Fic Challenge #032 was more Kiyan! Much love to @continentcakeshop for all the Kiyan love inspiring this fic, and to @hungarianbee for the lore!

Kiyan's mind is a tricky place to navigate, but if Yennefer is to bring him back to himself, she must find her way through the woods and find the sad man hiding there.

[wolf-and-bard]

Schrödinger the Cat Witcher Headcanons

(yes, I'm basing these on the fact that he's called Schrödinger; thank you to @hiddlesstolemyaddiction for sponsoring this post)

-giant fucking nerd, wittiest witcher of them all™️

-has compiled a handbook of all the assassination techniques known to man- and witcherkind (yes, he's that kind of Cat)

-is he alive? did he die in the attack on the caravan? you'll never know

-Aiden hates him for being a know-it-all, Lambert would absolutely love to butt heads with him but sadly never gets the chance

-wears one of these stupid glasses many of the merchants do (not because he needs it, he's a witcher, but because he thinks it makes him look smarter than his fellows)

-is obsessed with chronicling the Cat School history, especially because a lot of their records got destroyed in the attack on Stygga so he's often hunting texts more than monsters and can be found stealing into the houses of scholars and nobles (if you wake to the sound of pages tearing you know he found you)

-which is why some call him the Record Ripper (he coined that term himself)

-when hard-pressed for actual weapons he will break your skull with a hardcover book or stick you with a quill

-probably met Jaskier once while scouring the Academy's forbidden library section (probably had sex with him in that library because hello? the wittiest witcher of them all™️; absolutely jaskier's type)

-when Lexandre steals the Grandmaster Diagrams, he tries recreating them from memory and considers it his biggest failure that he came up short

-I reiterate: giant fucking nerd

[baekuras]

Every now and then I go back in my Witcher3 save to go look at old buildings I have been at or revisit enemies

Anyway today I revisited Kiyan and it simply reminded me not to rely on the Gwent art because homeboy is showing off half his ribcage and I somehow forgot that little fun fact

[jayofolympus]

Climbing to the Light?! (I don't recognise the title and I am doing a confusion so I wanna know)

It's the sequel to Lost in the Valley of the Night! I renamed it recently in the hopes it would push me to work on it more!

Getting the Cat out of the ruins took most of the night. He shied away from touch, and had to retreat back to his corner three separate times when various night time sounds spooked him. It was pitiful to watch, knowing that this man had once been a Witcher. Knowing that he’d once been one of the fearless, reckless Cats that were known for surviving impossible odds. How many of his nine lives had been lost to whatever had left him in this state?

Berengar’s torch had long since burned out by the time they’d made it to the upper floor, leaving Berengar with only his mutated eyes to find his way. It made for slow going, with Berengar carefully picking his way through rubble, the Cat skittering along behind him.

The moonlight helped them pick up a little speed when they finally made it out of the ruins. It also showed things that even the torchlight hadn’t. Patches where skin was still growing over open wounds. Small areas that were a little too… red; that didn’t quite match the milky-pale of what little unblemished skin Berengar could see.

Coaxing the Cat into following him to the road felt cruel. His bare feet looked battered and sore, and Berengar could only pray he was capable of riding in this state, or the poor Cat’s feet would be bloodied long before they made it to town. Berengar couldn’t carry him if he refused touch.

[unbury-the-gays]

Here soft Kiyan in Adrien's silk robe

Our HC is that Kiyan always secretly steals one from Adrien before he goes on the path. He's pretty sure Adrien won't notice, he has so many of them. But of course, Adrien knows exactly which one is missing. And he knows it's Kiyan's doing.

A.

WIPs below the cut

pose reference

[etcorsolus]

Save A Witcher Bingo - Masterlist

Dreaming. Rating: Mature Pairings: Gen, Aiden & Kiyan & Gaetan Tags: Temporary Insanity, Fix-It of Sorts, Fever Dreams, Kiyan-centric, Rescue Summary: In which, Kiyan is losing his mind, one dream at a time. The prompt was fever dreams.

Sober.  Rating: Mature Pairings: Aiden/Lambert Tags: Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Theft, Break Up, Hopeful Ending, Recovery, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Summary: In which, Aiden needs help and Lambert can't keep trying to give it to him. The prompt was sober.

Hold. Rating: Teen Pairings: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Lambert Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drabble, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss Summary: In which, Lambert is irritated and Geralt has something to share. The prompt was friends to lovers.

A Dance. Rating: Teen Pairings: Aiden/Lambert (The Witcher) Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Mafia AU, Dancing, Ballroom Dancing Summary: In which, Aiden is very convincing and Lambert can't deny him. The prompt was Mafia AU.

The Alchemist. Rating: Teen Pairings: Aiden/Lambert (The Witcher) Tags: Mentions of canon typical violence, Secret Identity, Fix-It of Sorts, Alive Aiden, Mentioned Jad Karadin, Reunions, Established Relationship Summary: In which, Lambert is offered a contract and finds what he thought he'd lost forever. The prompt was secret identity.

As Luck Would Have It. Rating: Teen Pairings: Gaetan/Gweld (The Witcher) Tags: Panic Attacks, Trapped In Elevator, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Pre-Slash, Getting Together Summary: In which, Gaetan gets stuck and it's, maybe, definitely, not as bad as it seems. The prompt was free space.

A Name. Rating: Teen Pairings: Gen, Letho z Gulety | Letho of Gulet & Original Female Character(s) Tags: Found Family, Adopted Children, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, in the form of neglect, Orphans Summary: In which, Letho has a small child following him and decides that he doesn't hate it. The prompt was original character.

My Girl. Rating: Teen Pairings: Gen, Letho & Original Female Character, Egan | Auckes & Letho z Gulety | Letho of Gulet & Serrit Tags: Found Family, Adopted Children, Father Figures, Father-Daughter Relationship, Minor Violence, Minor Injuries Summary: In which, Letho and Aella find home, among other things. The prompt was hybrid.

Mad Kiyan. Rating: Teen Pairings: Gen, Aiden & Gaetan & Kiyan (The Witcher), Aiden/Lambert (if you squint) Tags: I have no idea how to tag this, it's fluff Until It Is Not, Sad Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death Summary: In which, Kiyan deals with his brothers and, years later, Aiden learns the truth. The prompt was Character: Kiyan.

@save-a-witcher-bingo

[kenobihater]

What headcanons do you have about Aiden's relationship with the School of the Cat and its remaining members before he dies?

Sorry for not answering sooner, I was braindead yesterday and wanted to give this the proper mental energy lol.

I hc that Aiden has a pretty good relationship with his school as a whole, though it's far from perfect, because I doubt any witcher out there has a perfect relationship with the organization that whisked them away as children and put them through hell. I hc him as closest with Joël, who I have in the same class as Aiden. I also hc him as close with Gaetan, who acted as a sort of morally questionable older brother. My Aiden wasn't very close with Kiyan, who I have in the same class as Gaetan, because he felt like they brought out the worst in each other. He despised Jad Karadin (because there had to have been some bad blood there for Jad to feel comfortable killing Aiden, either that or he was more of a bastard than I give him credit for) maybe for leaving the Path in favor of becoming a mercenary? I imagine he wasn't angry at the mercenary work so much as he was mad about Jad cutting tires with his fellow witchers, like he was better than them somehow. Anyways, I also hc him as friendly with Dragonfly, who's older than him, and I hc him as having a complex relationship with Gezras.

He looks up to Gezras for his collaboration with nonhumans and his founding of the Caravan and is grateful to him for him coaching Aiden on how best to cope with his emotions (I hc Gezras as having PTSD and latent bipolar 1 triggered by the mutagens), but he wishes Gezras was less cavalier about killing humans, and that witcher recruits had more of a choice in whether or not they wished to become witchers. Aiden doesn't regret it, because his home life wasn't good and he feels like he's gotten the opportunity to travel the world, but he knows Gaetan isn't happy about his lot in life, and when he finally meets Lambert he starts thinking even more about the witchers who were rightfully angry at what was done to them as children.

(Sidenote, I also have an OC named Riedha who I originally slated as Aiden's mentor, but I'm really not sure about that at the moment? I might just move her story to happen waaaaay before the events of the game? Idk, I'll have to think about it more, but it would feel weird not to at least mention her with all of my other cat school headcanons lol)

[inexplicifics]

I love your warlord au so much! I don't know if you're at all familiar with the game lore, but since playing the game I've been dying to see some fic address or even mention the mad witcher Kiyan. I'm curious how he might fit into your au. Was he rescued? Did he never get captured? Perhaps he's been missing and someone finally finds him and the witchers have to decide what to do? Even if this doesn't make it into your stories I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Kiyan’s shown up on page a couple of times, I think; he’s not wholly sane, but what Cat is?

He never gets captured, or if he does, it’s post-Warlord and he’s found and rescued pretty damn quickly.