Follow my lead
Istredd's eyes comb over the ballroom. Among the great and powerful mages of the continent, there is one figure who draws his attention more than the others.
Even in the ridiculous doublet which he clearly despises, Geralt cuts a striking figure. In the midst of the wealthy and powerful who are coiffed and primped and decked out in the finest fabrics and enchantments, his simplicity somehow catches the eye.
There’s a stillness to him, Istredd thinks. A surety and solidity that pulls people in, like the forces which set the stars above in their rotations.
The sharp staccato of the Melange dance begins, and Istredd takes his place opposite Geralt and Yennefer, acknowledging them with a nod. The opening bars of the dance are simple: a step, and then another, a turn, and a step. Geralt raises one arm, and Istredd mirrors the movement. They step toward and past each other, the back of their hands barely brushing, the brief contact leaving a thrill like an enchantment crawling up his arm.
Geralt turns. Istredd turns. They pace apart and the music crescendos, syncopated beats building. They swing to face each other once more, and Istredd is drawn toward him, eyes glued to Geralt’s gleam of silver and black, stepping first to one side, and then to the other.
They come closer, and closer, face to face now, and then the music stops. They pause for a moment’s silence, like a gulp of air, and the tiniest hint of a smile plays at Geralt’s mouth. Istredd looks down at his lips, and then back up, and there’s a heaviness in the air like rain about to break.
And then the music comes crashing back, and Istredd is swept away back into the throng of dancers, his heart hammering in his chest for no good reason. The musicians beat out the final bars of the Melange and Istredd ends up back where he started, staring across the crowd at Geralt.
Then there are speeches and the usual pandering, but Istredd’s mind is elsewhere. He nearly jumps out of his skin when he feels a presence behind him and a gravelly voice says, “Do something for me, Istredd.”
Geralt’s voice is rich and deep in his ear, and he wants to say, “Anything.” Instead, he turns to face him and gives a sharp, professional nod.
That hint of a smile is back as Geralt says, “Follow my lead.”
And then Geralt’s hand is cupping his jaw, and his other hand loops around Istredd’s waist to pull him in, and Geralt kisses him like there’s not a single other person in the room.
Istredd melts into him, and it’s really not a hardship to follow, with the way Geralt’s tongue is grazing at his lips and he’s nipping playfully at his mouth. Istredd puts his arms around Geralt’s hips, bringing their bodies into line, and he’s aware of the shocked murmurs of the crowd around them.
Let them fucking murmur. He feels Geralt smile against his mouth, and then Istredd finds himself dropped into a low dip, almost parallel with the floor. Geralt’s arms are strong and firm around him, and he doesn’t fight it. He lets himself be swooped into a scandalous horizontal line, Geralt’s mouth hot on his own, and the gasps from the crowd intensify.
Follow his lead, Geralt had said, so Istredd throws one leg around the back of Geralt’s thigh to really sell it, grinding their bodies together from face to foot. Geralt moans into his mouth, and the sound of Tissaia hissing about appropriate behavior for the occasion carries through the buzzing gossip of the crowd.
Geralt pulls back by just a fraction so that their eyes meet. The amber irises are sparkling with amusement as he says, “Do you think we have their attention?”
-
Yen stretches out on the silk sheets, decadent and sated. She runs a hand through the silver tangle of Geralt’s hair where it spreads over the pillows.
“You know, when I asked for a distraction earlier, you kissing Istredd wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
Geralt smiles one of the rare, slow, genuine smiles. She really likes those ones. “It worked out pretty well in the end, didn’t it?”
Yen looks down to where Istredd is fast asleep between the two of them. She lays a fond hand on his shoulder and lets out a laugh. “I guess it did.”
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I'm playing TW1 again and I have thoughts about this tiny little sequence in the Chapter 2 quest "Memories of a Blade", which amounts to the only mention of Coën in the game.
When undertaking this quest, Geralt is investigating the origin of the silver sword he was given to slay a cockatrice; he mistakenly believes that it might be Berengar's sword since he knows the other witcher to have been in the area. A conversation with Thaler, from whom the sword was confiscated by the guard, will lead him eventually to speak to the Gardener outside St. Lebioda's hospital in Vizima. This man used to be a mercenary under Pretty Kitty, but has since retired and works as a gardener, and had lost the silver sword at dice poker. When interacted with, he will begin any conversation with "Look how they grow!", referring to the plants in his garden. The player can then initiate the quest dialogue with option one, "I'm more interested in silver swords".
GERALT: I'm more interested in silver swords.
GARDENER: I knew one of you would come by eventually.
GERALT: You lost it playing dice?
GARDENER: I was sure I'd win. Beware, the sharp one plays well.
GERALT: Where did you get this sword?
GARDENER: Five years ago, there was a battle near Brenna. When the dust had settled, our men had beaten the Nilfgaardians. We ceased to call ourselves an imperial province that day.
GERALT: You captured the sword during the battle?
GARDENER: Yes, it was witcher Cöen's [sic]. A strapping fellow and a rare breed. Not very talkative, mind you.
GERALT: Like most of us.
GARDENER: I gave my word the sword would find another witcher. As he lay dying, he mumbled about teeth and destiny. Then he laughed -- at his own death.
GERALT: Yet you lost it gambling?
GARDENER: I kept it hidden for five years. I lost hope I'd ever run into another witcher. Miss Shani knew Cöen [sic]. She works at the hospital.
GERALT: Thanks.
GARDENER: Good luck on the path!
The quest will lead you to speak with Shani, then Zoltan, but neither will provide further information on Coën, aside from Shani mentioning that he died on her operating table -- Shani's dialogue is to provide her backstory as a medic at Brenna and to mention Rusty, and Zoltan simply assesses the quality of the blade to ensure that it is a witcher blade of good workmanship. It has no further significance to Geralt, who, without his memory, has no idea who Coën is and has more pressing matters to deal with than to look into the past of a man who died five years ago (according to the somewhat off-kilter game timeline, anyway). But it's the only mention of Coën in the games, and I find that it's a very interesting way to manifest his presence.
I think it is reasonable to tie Coën quite closely to his sword on a symbolic level, if one considers his appearance in the novels where he not only trains with Ciri, but his prowess with a sword is unrivaled even by the other witchers to the point where she believes that he may be the best swordsman in the world. Additionally, the fact that he fought at Brenna at all means that he offered his sword in the service of the Northern Kingdoms, and when he dies, he is identified by his peers as a "master swordsman" rather than as a witcher, despite the fact that they know of his nature. As such, Coën's sword is a very important possession for him to leave behind.
And from there, there is a connection to Lambert, left unsaid. To go beyond the simple fact that Coën was Lambert's friend, someone dearly loved who was close enough with Lambert and his family to get on with the other wolves and stay a winter at Kaer Morhen, the importance lies with the sword. As with any witcher, Coën wouldn't have much in the way of worldly possessions to bequeath onto someone else in the event of his prophecied death. But he does have his swords, which are established as symbolically important to him. A steel sword could be taken up by any warrior capable enough to use it, but a silver sword belongs in the hands of a witcher, and that is what Coën asked for on his deathbed, for his silver sword to be given to another witcher. While it's very possible that this is meant in a general way, that he just wanted any other witcher to take it up, to avoid the sword being wasted, broken, or dismantled for its composite parts, it also strikes me as possible that he could have intended it for a specific witcher.
Lambert is one of the instructors for Ciri when she's first learning the swordplay and acrobatics associated with being a witcher. Lambert is the one in the first game to provide the instructional descriptions of the Fighting Styles for Geralt to regain his swordplay competencies after losing his memories. And there is another bit of dialogue in TW3 that really emphasises both Lambert's connection to Vesemir, the swordmaster of Kaer Morhen, and the idea of swords as inheritance, as a manifestation of closeness:
LAMBERT: Knew the old man couldn't live forever. Huh, even told Eskel that when it came time, I'd get his sword. Fits my hand perfectly, you know.
Which is a heartbreaking notion in and of itself upon which I could expostulate, the symbolism there in the fraught relationship between Lambert and his father figure reduced to something as simple as a hilt that fits two hands perfectly. But if this is the inheritance that Lambert wants, it makes it all the more pertinent that Coën desperately wanted his silver sword to make it into the hands of another witcher. Lambert, the son of a swordmaster, wants to take on a sword as a memento of someone he has lost, and Coën, the master swordsman, left his sword behind. Even if Lambert were not the specific intended target of the sword, he would have possibly or even likely known Coën well enough to fulfill his wishes, whatever they might be.
And yet Coën's sword never makes it home or into the hands of someone who would value it, like Lambert would, this last memory of his dear friend. Geralt makes use of the sword during his time in Vizima, and then it is lost, replaced by the gifted Aerondight. And so Coën is lost with it, never mentioned again.
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Things I have learned while reading The Witcher series
Anyone who thought netflix was confusing because of different timelines. The first two books/short story collections are just like that.
I significantly prefer the book version of how sorcerers don’t physically age and how they loose reproductive ability
Every story is a dark version of a fairy tale. Ciri is little red riding hood, Renfri is Snow White, etc.
I love Renfri no matter the media
Jesus Christ the smell of lilac and gooseberries is mentioned any time Yennifer is even mentioned
I am still very pro yen/geralt/jasiker
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