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Another glorious morning for the children. They were reciting a poem with Kiyan leading them. It was a poem regarding witchers, written by Dandelion before he left.

Vesemir was in the smithy, still wearing his apron and mittens as usual. Blacksmith apprentices were going about their day, creating new items with Vesemir giving them orders. A few scissors and hoes stood on the wooden rack in the corner, though they left a lot to be desired.

Letho was in the lab, overseeing Vicki and her friends making spirit potions. The kids were young, but they could already make a dozen or so common potions like marigold and spirit potions, though the quality was lacking.

Beyond the woods stood a few scarecrows made of burlap sacks. Serrit was on the farm, teaching the kids how to shoot an arrow. Auckes would usually be there with his brother, but the guy was in Toussaint and still hadn\'t returned just yet.

Roy had handed all the brotherhood\'s coins to Serrit and handed the business management to him as well. Since Roy had to be out and about, Serrit the math whiz became the finance manager.

***

A brown, gleaming horse stood in the stable beside the orphanage. It grinned and made weird noises through its teeth. At the same time, the horse rubbed its head against the witcher. Its ears were pricked up and flapping like little wings.

"Alright, I know I\'ve been neglecting you lately. I shouldn\'t have left you in the hands of the kids. Look, I brought you more food, and I\'m gonna massage you." Roy patted Wilt\'s face and placed a bucket full of carrots, medicks, and corn beside the trough. While Wilt was eating the treat, Roy brushed its back.

Wilt munched on the carrot and let out a happy snort, and then he breathed down the witcher\'s face.

"You\'ve forgiven me? Good boy. Tell me if this feels good."

Wilt whinnied.

Roy patted its neck and scrubbed even better.

***

Lytta was standing under the shadow of the elm tree, smiling at the witcher. A breeze billowed her black dress and fiery-red hair. "You\'re raising a horse and a griffin. You should consider a career as a druid, not a witcher."

She patted the cat\'s head. Gryphon mewed in protest, but she pushed it down her cleavage.

"Perhaps I might learn the ways of an animal tamer." Roy gave Coral a knowing look. "I heard druids are masters of nature, and to an extent, they possess powers akin to wild animals."

Coral raised her head and bit her lip. "Well, should I open a portal to Caed Dhu, then? You can learn from the druids. I\'m eager to see what kind of surprise you might bring back with you."

"That\'ll have to wait. At least until I\'m done with the business at hand." Roy turned around. A witcher in Bear School robes and twin swords strapped to his back approached them. He was none other than Geralt.

"Did the kids get on your nerves again?" Roy smirked at the children who were behind Geralt. They were scrambling to dodge the pendulums that were swinging down on them.

"They\'ve been working hard lately to catch up to Carl." Geralt shook his head. He looked at the couple and joked, "Is it a good time to talk? I\'m not interrupting, am I?"

Roy cocked his eyebrow and put his apron on the stable fence. "Geralt of Rivia, a joker. Never thought I\'d live to see the day."

"I was born with a sense of humor. Oh, very well. Eskel, that old dog, found a woman with horns. And he wouldn\'t stop showing off. Lambert has been out and about lately, and he seems lively. I did not think he would look so happy just being a sword instructor. He must have slept with someone\'s wife or girlfriend. It\'s getting on my nerves." Geralt shook his head, a hint of exasperation hiding in his voice.

Yeah, the guy needs some love, Roy thought. Geralt had been quiet for a while since he joined the brotherhood. At least Roy never saw Geralt sleeping around with anyone. And now, Vesemir, Lambert, and Eskel all had a partner, but Geralt was still single. Poor Butcher of Blaviken.

Roy looked at the sorceress, and Lytta shot him a warm smile, though she was surprised Roy would suddenly turn around.

Geralt\'s lips twitched, and he took a deep breath.

"You\'re not here just to crack a joke, White Wolf. So, what is it this time?" Roy crossed his arms, and Lytta approached him, grabbing his arm.

Gryphon seized the chance to escape the suffocating cleavage. It mewed loudly as it climbed up Roy\'s head, burying its face into Roy\'s short hair, though its eyes were fixated on the sorceress who almost suffocated it earlier.

There was hesitation in Geralt\'s eyes. A moment of silence later, he heaved a sigh. "Do you remember the prophecy you told me back in Kaer Morhen? About the end of Cintra? If memory serves me right, the invasion is soon."

Worry hid deep within his voice. If war were to take place, Princess Ciri, Geralt\'s Unexpected Child, would be deeply affected. She was still residing in the kingdom right now. The prospect of war worried Geralt.

"It\'s mid-August of 1262 now. In less than one year, the war will come. Somewhere during July of 1263." Roy\'s smile was wiped off his face. Grimly, he said, "The Nilfgaardian troops will cross Amell, pass Erlenwald, and invade Cintra." That marks the first Northern War.

"The lands between Yaruga\'s south coast, Amell, and Cintra will be incinerated by the flames of war."

Lytta spaced out for a moment. According to Roy\'s prophecy, she died in the Battle of Sodden Hill, an event triggered by the Nilfgaardian invasion. But everything has changed. She huddled closer to Roy.

The young witcher continued. "The situation is obvious. Cintra\'s king and queen have noticed Nilfgaard\'s goal. Nilfgaardian troops are gathering in Amell as we speak."

"It is as you have said. I\'ve not been in Cintra for a while, but I did hear some news. Cintra\'s royalty has invited ambassadors from numerous kingdoms to talk of a solution." There was a somber look in Geralt\'s eyes. "Verden, Kerack, Cidaris, Brugge, Skellige Isles, and Lyria and Rivia. Those are the ones I know. Perhaps there\'s more."

One of the ambassadors is Raymund himself. He left his wife alone to join this conference and gave Dandelion the opening to sleep with Anna.

"Things are not looking good," Geralt said.

"The conference will yield no results." Roy sighed and patted Gryphon\'s neck. It hopped onto Wilt\'s back and climbed up to its head, all the while swaying its tail. "According to my premonition, Cintra will face the Nilfgaardian army alone. None of the kingdoms saw the threat Nilfgaard posed." Roy shook his head. "They thought Nilfgaard\'s army was a bunch of untrained amateurs who could be defeated with no effort at all. And Nilfgaard is showing them just that by pretending they can\'t break through Cintra\'s defenses."

"But the real situation is very different, I imagine?"

Roy\'s credibility was going up with every passing moment, and Geralt had to ask.

"Exactly. The Northern Realms let their guard down and underestimated the strength and number of the invaders. Cintra fell before the strength of the southern army."

A somber silence fell upon them. Wilt noticed the sorrow in the air, and it licked the back of Roy\'s hand. Gryphon stood up and patted Roy\'s head.

***

To an extent, all three of them were people from the Northern Realms. Geralt might have followed the code of neutrality and stayed out of wars, but he despised wars. Especially invasive ones.

Lytta was a scholar, and she too hated wars. Mages would be forced to join the front lines and take the lives of many with their magic.

"Geralt, we cannot do anything about this." Roy shook his head regrettably. "There are barely a dozen of us. That\'s far from enough to change the outcome of a war. If you try to interfere, all that\'s waiting for you is certain death."

"You misunderstand me. I am but a witcher. I do not possess the ability to save everyone, and I do not wish to see my brothers throwing themselves at imminent doom. Yet, I must try to save Ciri," Geralt answered. He wasn\'t that proactive a person, but after joining the brotherhood, a huge change in his life, he would want to do more changes if he could.

"We must travel to Cintra and have an audience with the queen. Tell them what will happen no matter what." Geralt had resolve in his eyes, his ponytail billowing in the wind. "We must see Ciri."

Geralt looked at the alder woods. He could almost imagine the hellscape Cintra would become once the war broke out. Ciri would be homeless and tormented. Reflexively, he said, "If it\'s possible, let\'s bring Ciri back to Novigrad. She can live with the other kids. Make her one of us."

His voice was almost a whisper. A whisper that most people couldn\'t hear. But in the end, that whisper filled with resolve. "It might not be the same luxury she has, but at least she won’t have to suffer the fate of a princess who has lost her homeland."

Roy paused for a moment, and then he felt proud of Geralt. Looks like I didn\'t waste my time. The old Geralt wouldn\'t have said something like that. He\'d just passively wait for Destiny to hand him everything. The brotherhood is changing everyone.

"Never thought you\'d say that, Geralt. You\'ve been thinking about it, haven\'t you?" Roy agreed with Geralt\'s sentiment.

Geralt nodded. "Ciri and I formed a bond thanks to Destiny. But I could never ask her to lead a life of poverty. Not when she\'s a princess. But now that I know what the future has in store for her, I have no reason to stay idle. We have enough to support her. It is time to welcome my Unexpected Child. It\'s fine even if Calanthe disagrees. But if Ciri doesn\'t want to come, then I shall wait."

Well done. Roy cheered for Geralt in his mind. There\'s no reason to react when you know what will happen. Make the first move and change whatever outcome you can.

"Geralt, Ciri is one of the more important parts of my plan. I shall go with you." For a moment, Roy saw the tomboyish girl with ashen hair and emerald eyes again. "Ciri is a good friend of mine. I need to help her."

"Hold it," Coral interjected. She looked at them suspiciously before finally setting her eyes on Roy. "You never told me you knew the princess of Cintra."

"Don\'t give me that look, Coral." Roy looked miffed. "She\'s not even ten years old. Now that\'s just being paranoid."

The doubt in Coral\'s eyes didn\'t go away. It thickened, in fact.

***

"This is not farewell, Ciri. We\'re the same kind of people, you and I. Destiny has decreed that we meet in the future."

***

Oh shit.

Roy decided to launch a preemptive strike before Coral could tear him apart. He pushed away Lytta\'s fringe, pulling her closer and whispering into her ear, "What were you thinking, my dear Coral? Cast any more doubt on me and I\'ll show you what Clamp can do. You won\'t even have the strength to get out of bed the next day."

Coral felt her heart flutter and her face burn. She shot Roy a dirty look, but the mage leaned closer to Roy and kept quiet.

Geralt saw everything. He let out a long sigh in his heart. Like a wolf that was licking his wound, he remained silent and melancholic. A tiny tear drop welled in the corner of his eye. I wish Yen was that gentle. Geralt imagined something that would never happen.

"Sorry you had to see that, Geralt. Back to the matter at hand. We\'ll be going to Cintra together, but first, we\'ll make a detour to Vizima."

"Why do you want to go to Vizima?" Geralt asked.

"Those brats want to take the pre-Trial? Well, it\'s their lucky day." Roy looked at the boys. They were starting a two-on-two sparring session. "Coral can\'t do the modifications as fast as we want her to do all by herself. It\'d be years before she could increase the Trial\'s rate of success."

Coral nodded. The more she researched, the more she realized it was nigh impossible to modify the Trial all by herself.

"And so, I\'m going to enlist the help of an acquaintance. A mage and genius alchemist who goes by the name of Kalkstein. Ever heard of him?"

All the color drained from Lytta\'s face. "Ciri is one thing, but you know that madman as well?"

"What? Is something the matter?"

"No. He\'s not exactly a criminal, but…" She had a weird look on her face. Coral wanted to laugh, but there was respect in her eyes. "Kalkstein is a gifted alchemist. He\'s an expert in flames, explosions, and matter composition. His mind is filled with bizarre ideas, and he\'s an adventurous soul. But he hates rules the most, and the man is fearless. Once, he experimented on himself just to see how his new bomb would affect magical shields. It was in Ban Ard\'s dorm, and he succeeded. Succeeded in turning the dorm into rubble. Fortunately, he was the only one around, so no deaths, but still, he was expelled. The mage community still talks about it to this day."

She paused for a moment. "Any magic academy graduate has heard of him before. And the man is an unpredictable ball of chaos. Hard to get along with."

Roy\'s lips twitched. He just had a glimpse into the past of that unkempt, mousey man, and he expected no less from that maverick. "He\'s fine. At least he never goes back on his word, and he\'s a genius in research."

"Are you sure you can convince him?" Lytta looked at Roy suspiciously.

"I have to try." Luck plays more of a factor than persuasion skills. If he\'s interested in the Trial, then everything will be fine and dandy.

***

"And Berengar lives in Vizima as well. We\'ll be needing more manpower after the expansion next year. Planning in advance never hurts. I\'ll try to convince him to join us. Even if I fail, it\'s fine. I\'ll just keep talking until he changes his mind."

And Roy gained Geralt\'s respect. I\'ve never seen any witcher who\'s this persistent. And shameless.

There was also a third reason. He needed to see Vivienne and Adda. The information about the first war could be used as a bargaining chip to exchange for some useful stuff. And the Church of Virtue should take the brotherhood\'s side.

***

"One week." Roy held Coral\'s hand and looked at Geralt. Solemnly, he promised, "I will return even if the mission ends in failure."

Geralt nodded. "I shall be waiting for the good news then."

"So, care to open a portal to Vizima, Coral?" Roy took Gryphon and placed it on his shoulder.

Coral sighed.

***

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