Chapter Summaries

Ailin’s completion of the Drowner hunting mission triggered a planetary alignment that brought a black sun and a citywide invasion of drowners to Ban Ard. Haxor died beneath the monsters, and as Ailin accepted a quest to eliminate the creatures, the surviving Cat School witchers walked away rather than help the city without a bounty.

• Jens saved Haxor from the Drowners King, then hurled the monster off the stand, where it crushed the last drowners needed to complete Ailin’s hunting mission.
• Ailin selected Haxor’s location for the planetary alignment, and a black sun appeared as portals opened and drowners rained across Ban Ard.
• Drowners, Giant Drowners, and a Drowners King fell through a portal onto Haxor, killing him before the portals and eclipse vanished.
• Ailin accepted the main quest to eliminate the creatures that had crossed from another world and prepared to fight the monsters in the city.
• Tresius and Guksat abandoned the arena after Haxor’s death, refusing the Wolf School grandmaster’s call to save people without a bounty.

Soyer reflected on the School of the Cat’s lost origins as chaos spread through Ban Ard after the king’s death. Ailin killed the Drowners King, then saw the Chief of the School of the Wolf drop three wounded Large Monsters nearby.

• Soyer remembered the School of the Cat’s founders leaving the Witcher Conclave to restore the witchers’ purpose, and lamented how the school had become notorious for killing people.
• Vesemir, Huus, Bont, and Fred fought drowners in the stands while sorcerer apprentices fled or tried to rally.
• Ailin cleared the surrounding drowners, then used Ghoul Oil and Witcher Hunt to break through the Drowners King’s shield and kill it.
• After Ailin landed, the Chief of the School of the Wolf dropped three Large Monsters nearby, and Ailin looked up at him in confusion.

After the School of the Wolf saved Ban Ard’s apprentices during the Conjunction of the Spheres, Henn Gedimidis arrived and heard what had happened. He offered the witchers ten thousand Oren in thanks, while the King of Kedwen’s corpse remained beneath the Black Unicorn banner.

• Bogdan learned from Radek that Ailin might be the youngest Witcher Master in history after Ailin beheaded the monsters Soyer had left for him.
• Soyer summoned Ailin onto the platform, then covered the mangled corpses of Haxor and Jens as Vesemir asked whether the witchers would leave.
• Henn Gedimidis arrived at the devastated arena, and Tissaia briefly offered help before returning through a portal.
• A Sorcerer Apprentice recounted the tournament, the Conjunctions, the Black Sun Curse, and how the School of the Wolf had saved the apprentices.
• Henn Gedimidis thanked Soyer on behalf of Ban Ard and offered ten thousand Oren, while the witchers’ attention turned to the body beneath the Black Unicorn banner.

After Haxor died during a Conjunction of the Spheres, Henn Gedimidis hired the School of the Wolf to clear Ban Ard of drowners while worrying about the academy’s future and its plan against Kaer Morhen. As the witchers fought through the city, Lady Vesemir learned of Haxor’s death and heard Soyer suspect that Ailin, the Child of Miracle, was somehow connected to the disaster.

• Henn Gedimidis recognized that Haxor’s death left Ban Ard vulnerable to Kedwen’s vengeance and accepted that the academy could not prove the Conjunction was natural.
• Henn Gedimidis commissioned Soyer and the School of the Wolf to kill the drowners for five Oren each, while his sorcerers questioned whether to continue their plan to destroy Kaer Morhen.
• Ailin and the other witchers fought through Ban Ard’s streets, killing drowners and rescuing civilians amid widespread destruction.
• Lady Vesemir stopped Soyer and Vesemir to ask about the monsters, and Soyer told her that a Conjunction of the Spheres had killed Haxor during the apprentice tournament.
• Soyer told Lady Vesemir that Ailin was troubled by a prophecy about the Child of Miracle and suggested the events might not be coincidence.
• Lady Vesemir asked whether Ailin had caused the calamity, and Soyer said he did not know but asked her to reassure Ailin that it was not his fault.

After the Conjunction of the Spheres, Ailin and the witchers cleared Ban Ard’s outer city of drowners and prepared to leave. On the road to Hundred Fruit Garden, two apprentices from the Camarilla Family joined them, and the group continued toward Arland with Radek and Bogdan.

• Ailin and the witchers finished killing the drowners, and the system awarded them an A rating and loot.
• The Sorceress and Vesemir checked on Ailin, while Soyer went alone to claim the commission and warned the others to watch for Tresius and Guksat.
• Residents thanked the witchers and gave them money as they crossed Ban Ard; Ailin accepted a pouch after initially refusing.
• Outside the city, the Sorceress spotted approaching riders and vanished before Radek and Bogdan asked to travel with the witchers.
• Vesemir accepted Radek’s offer to accompany them toward Arland, and Radek introduced Bogdan as someone who had bet on Ailin during the apprentice tournament.

After returning to Hundred Fruit Garden, Ailin discovered that using Giant Drowner Heart Essence Fluid had awakened a Source in him. In a vision, the Alder Folk spotted the Grand Gate and set out to reclaim their glory.

• Bogdan asked Ailin if he could become a witcher, and Ailin told him that attempting the Trial of the Grasses at his age would mean certain death.
• Ailin wondered about the Witcher's Handbook and the monsters it summoned, then returned to his room and checked his inventory.
• Ailin used two Drowners King Heart Essence Fluids and two Giant Drowner Heart Essence Fluids, raising his attributes and revealing a new Source of Water.
• Ailin recalled what he knew about Sources and realized that he might now possess one.
• A black-haired Alder King saw red ripples form a net across the sky, declared that the Grand Gate had appeared, and urged the Alder Folk to reclaim the glory of the Aen Woedhe.

Ailin opened monster chests and obtained the White Honey and Swallow formulas and the Mudslide spell, while growing concerned that the Wild Hunt might discover his connection to Adagath's Gate. That night, Soyer returned from Ban Ard, and Fred immediately asked whether the Sorcerers had paid the promised reward.

• Ailin opened Drowner King's Chests and obtained the White Honey and Swallow potion formulas, then considered the Wild Hunt's possible interest in Adagath's Gate.
• Ailin opened Giant Drowner's Chests, learned the Mudslide spell, and gained a level before opening Drowner's Chests for rotten meat.
• Vesemir worried that the Sorcerers might discover Ailin's connection to the Conjunction of the Spheres, while Lady Vesemir tried to reassure the witchers as they waited for Soyer.
• Ailin spotted Soyer returning to the inn, and the witchers went outside to meet him.
• Fred hurried past Lady Vesemir to Soyer's horse and asked whether the Ban Ard Sorcerers had gone back on their word about the reward.

Ailin and the School of the Wolf received their rewards while Soyer explained Ban Ard’s plan to blame the king’s murder on the School of the Cat. When Soyer asked whether Kaer Morhen would still face destruction, Ailin admitted he could not predict the future; meanwhile, Henn Gedimidis told Professor Tomas Morra that the plan against Kaer Morhen had only been delayed.

• Soyer gave Ailin rare Magic Materials worth 11,500 Oren, while the other young witchers received one hundred Oren each.
• Soyer told Vesemir that Ban Ard had not discovered the cause of the Conjunction of the Spheres and intended to blame the king’s murder on the School of the Cat.
• Soyer asked Ailin whether his prophecy about Kaer Morhen’s destruction still applied, and the Sorceress intervened when Ailin struggled to answer.
• Ailin told Soyer that he would report any future Precognitive Dream through Mary, rather than claim he could predict what would happen.
• At Ban Ard, Professor Tomas Moru confronted Henn Gedimidis over the delayed plan to destroy Kaer Morhen, and Henn said it might be postponed by up to two years.

Henn Gedimidis and Valerius discussed the danger facing Ban Ard and the uncertainty surrounding Jens's research and the Conjunction of the Spheres. After the witchers and sorcerers departed the Hundred Fruit Garden, Vesemir set out toward Arland while Radek and Bogdan planned to travel to Vengerberg.

• Henn Gedimidis reflected on Tomas Morra's hatred of witchers and feared that Ban Ard lacked the strength to face the coming crisis.
• Valerius asked whether Jens had caused the Conjunction of the Spheres, and Henn Gedimidis said they would need to examine Jens's research records.
• Vesemir sent Ailin, Huus, Bont, and Fred through a portal to Kaer Morhen, where they would begin their journey trials under Witcher Masters.
• The Sorceress gave Ailin two bottles of Veridian Sigh, and Soyer praised him, promised the School's support, and told him to keep in touch with Mary.
• Vesemir studied his map with Radek and Bogdan, then agreed to travel with them toward Vengerberg after Radek said he planned to visit his aunt.

Ailin agreed to Vesemir’s route through Vengerberg as the group prepared to leave Kedwen. At Ban Ard, Headmaster Henn Gedimidis investigated the Conjunction of the Spheres that killed King Haxor and ordered a secret inquiry into the School of the Wolf, while considering forbidden necromancy to question Jens.

• Ailin approved Vesemir’s route through Vengerberg, and Vesemir urged the group to leave Kedwen before Adal could react to the king’s death.
• At Ban Ard, Ziko told Henn Gedimidis that an imprisoned elf—not Jens—had opened the successful Conjunction of the Spheres and summoned the first Drowners King.
• Henn ordered Senne to investigate the escaped elves and Farouk to locate and question the School of the Wolf witchers.
• Henn took Ziko on as his apprentice after Jens’s death, then agreed with Nando to investigate Jens through forbidden necromancy.
• Henn ordered Nando to bring back the Sorcerers and apprentices who had left, dead or alive; the list included Bogdan and Radek.

Ailin and Vesemir led Radek and Bogdan out of Kedwen by a dangerous smuggling route, and Vesemir recounted its history and Ailin’s Trial. As the group approached Vergen, four White Widows burst from underground and attacked them.

• Vesemir led the group across the Pontar River and explained that Ailin had killed the Cyclops Old Spearhead during his Trial.
• Vesemir described how Haxor’s persecution of nonhumans and later conflicts had caused the old smuggling route to fall into disuse.
• The group reached a fork near Vergen and chose to continue toward the city instead of resting.
• Ailin and Vesemir sensed danger, raised protective barriers, and warned the apprentices when Ailin spotted four monsters underground.
• Four White Widows erupted from the ground, and Ailin identified them using Appraisal.

Macaque accompanied Professor Thomas Moru on a mission that turned into an attack on Ailin and Vesemir, while Ailin uncovered the hidden sorcerers and defeated their White Widows. The sorcerers were captured, but their motives remained unknown.

• Macaque warned Professor Thomas Moru against attacking the witchers, but Thomas insisted the matter was personal and sent four White Widows after them.
• Ailin recognized the creatures as likely artificial monsters, found the sorcerers hiding near an oak grove, and charged toward them while Vesemir protected Bogdan.
• Ailin used Yrden Sign magic traps to immobilize the White Widows and knocked out Professor Thomas Moru and Macaque before they could finish casting spells.
• After the sorcerers lost control, the White Widows attacked Vesemir, Ailin, and Radek's horse, but Ailin killed all four in about ten minutes, losing one horse.

Ailin and Vesemir captured two Ban Ard Sorcerers and learned their attack was a personal revenge plot, not a response to the Conjunction of the Spheres. Tomas Morra then threatened that all Witcher schools would be destroyed when winter came, leaving the Witchers facing a dire warning.

• Ailin and Vesemir learned from Radek and Bogdan that Tomas Morra hated Witchers and Macaque was a respected potion-maker.
• Vesemir and Ailin decided to camp outside Vergen and question Macaque about why the Sorcerers had attacked them.
• After waking, Macaque explained that Dean Hen Gedimidis had sent them to retrieve Sorcerers who had left Ban Ard without permission, and blamed Tomas for the assault.
• Macaque accused Tomas of abusing his child and using him in genetic mutation research, while Tomas woke and listened silently.
• Tomas threatened to hunt the Witchers, then declared that the Witcher schools would be destroyed when heavy snow covered Ancient Sea Fortress.

Ailin and Vesemir discussed the threat from Ban Ard and decided to postpone choosing what to do with the captured Sorcerers. Ailin listened to Mary's messenger bird and, warmed by her news and concern, found himself missing Kaer Morhen.

• Vesemir trusted Ailin to find a way to protect Kaer Morhen and promised to teach him everything he knew.
• Ailin knocked Tomas Morra unconscious when the Sorcerer began cursing him, then knocked Macaque unconscious when a messenger bird arrived.
• Macaque claimed Ban Ard's anti-witcher faction was small and that the academy would not move against Kaer Morhen that year.
• Vesemir left Ailin to listen to Mary's message while he helped Radek and Bogdan prepare dinner.
• Mary told Ailin that the Half-elves had settled in, the recruits were learning quickly, and she had helped several learn the Ice Lance Spell.
• Mary urged Ailin to be careful, and he gazed north at the evening sky and realized he missed Kaer Morhen.

Ailin answered Mary's messenger bird, arranged for the Witcher Apprentices to undergo the Trial of Grasses, and decided that Tomas Morra and Macaque should be taken to Kaer Morhen rather than killed. After consuming White Widow Heart Essence Fluid and opening chests, he obtained Tomas Morra's White Widow Mutation Formula, but its unusual importance and demanding requirements left him wondering whether it was worth learning.

• Ailin listened to Mary's message, planned to send her potion recipes, and decided eligible Witcher Apprentices should undergo the Trial of Grasses.
• Ailin chose to have Tomas Morra and Macaque taken to Kaer Morhen so the School could seek a way to obtain Tomas Morra's Second Mutation research.
• Ailin bound the two Sorcerers securely, then drank four portions of White Widow Heart Essence Fluid and raised his Constitution to 43.
• Ailin opened the White Widow's chests and obtained the White Widow Mutation Formula, a complete method for mutating Giant Centipedes into White Widows.
• Ailin saw that learning the formula required Xenogeneic Mutagenesis LV8 and questioned whether its benefits justified the effort.

Ailin decided to send the captured Sorcerers Tomas Morra and Macaque to Kaer Morhen, while Bogdan and Radek agreed to go there as well. After receiving Ailin’s message, Vesemir opened a portal to deal with the Sorcerers, and Mary asked to go with her.

• Ailin told Vesemir he had asked Mary to summon Lady Vesemir so she could teleport Tomas Morra and Macaque to Kaer Morhen.
• Vesemir asked Bogdan and Radek whether they still planned to go to Vengerberg, and both agreed to go to Kaer Morhen instead.
• Ailin considered giving Bogdan a chance to become a Witcher after remembering the boy had once asked about it.
• Mary waited for Ailin’s messenger bird, received his message, and saw Vesemir’s expression grow cold as she read it.
• Vesemir opened an orange portal, and Mary asked if she could come along.

Mary asked Lady Vesemir to bring her to Ailin, claiming she wanted to learn potion brewing, and arrived at his camp with ingredients and equipment. Lady Vesemir assessed the danger from Ban Ard and her uncertain chances of extracting Second Mutation knowledge from Tomas Morra before preparing to return to Kaer Morhen, but she stopped Mary from following the others through the portal.

• Mary asked to accompany Lady Vesemir and brought alchemical ingredients and tools after Lady Vesemir agreed.
• Ailin meditated at the mountain camp while Vesemir reflected on the burden Ailin carried for the School of the Wolf.
• Lady Vesemir and Mary arrived at the camp, where Ailin greeted them and helped Mary unload her bags and cauldron.
• Lady Vesemir said Ban Ard would struggle to investigate the captured apprentices soon, but admitted she was unsure she could retrieve Second Mutation knowledge from Tomas Morra.
• Vesemir took Tomas Morra and Macaque through a portal toward Kaer Morhen, while Bogdan and Radek followed.
• Mary tried to leave through the portal with the others, but Lady Vesemir stopped her and asked why she was going back.

Mary joined Ailin at his wilderness camp to learn potion brewing, but she fell asleep before he could finish preparing White Honey. In Tir ná Lia, Avallac and Eredin located three prophetic sites tied to Adagath's Gate, and Eredin left to investigate a human city of towers.

• The Sorceress left Mary with Ailin, and Mary celebrated being allowed away from Kaer Morhen.
• Mary unpacked ingredients and equipment for three potions, then asked Ailin to teach her White Honey.
• Ailin began brewing White Honey and explaining how to prepare honeysuckle, but Mary grew sleepy and leaned against his shoulder.
• Avallac searched a crystal ball while Eredin urged him to find Adagath's Gate before the White Frost arrived.
• The crystal ball showed a city beneath a black sun and snow-white mountains before it shattered, and Avallac identified three prophetic locations.
• Eredin went to investigate the human city of towers while Avallac lamented Lara Dorren and the coming war.

Vesemir returned to camp, and the School of the Wolf agreed to imprison the two captured Sorcerers while formally recognizing Ailin as a Witcher Master. In Vergen, Vesemir told dwarf lord Horton Quiggan about King Haxor’s death and introduced Ailin to the master smith, who was about to help replace Ailin’s leather armor.

• Vesemir returned through a portal after the Witcher Masters agreed to imprison Tomas Morra and Macaque rather than release them or kill them.
• Ailin and Mary set out with Vesemir and reached Vergen, where Horton Quiggan welcomed them.
• Vesemir introduced Mary as Lady Vesemir’s apprentice and announced that Ailin was a Witcher Master, prompting Horton to doubt the claim.
• Vesemir told Horton that King Haxor had died in Ban Ard during the tournament, and Horton thanked him for the important news.
• Horton invited the group into his home, where Vesemir presented him with a parchment and told Ailin it was time to replace his leather armor.

Horton agreed to forge Ailin’s Wolf School Master Set using materials contributed by the School of the Wolf, while Vesemir arranged to engrave its Magic Arrays. In Kedwen, Rado confronted Duke Donato over his accusations against the School of the Wolf and learned the duke had not promised to support him at the coming nobles’ assembly.

• Horton admired the armor blueprint, agreed to forge the set for ten thousand Oren in labor, and asked Ailin to be measured.
• Vesemir explained that the School of the Wolf would cover the cost of a Witcher Master’s armor, and Horton examined the school’s rare monster materials.
• Vesemir said Lady Vesemir would engrave the Magic Arrays, and Horton began preparing to make the armor.
• In Adal, Rado challenged Duke Donato’s claim that the School of the Wolf or its allies might have caused the Conjunction of the Spheres.
• Rado asked whether Donato would support him at the nobles’ assembly, but Donato gave only a vague answer and left.