Chapter Summaries

Ailin and Vesemir sensed a powerful magical disturbance coming from Ban Ard, then discovered that seven young witchers had vanished from the inn. Ailin traced the abduction to a powerful Ban Ard sorcerer, and Vesemir found a note from Vilgefortz arranging a meeting.

• Ailin identified the strange aurora and magical shock as coming from Ban Ard, and Vesemir feared the Wild Hunt had attacked the academy.
• Ailin reassured Vesemir that allies and the witchers’ growing strength could buy them time, though he privately doubted it.
• Ailin and Vesemir found the rooms of Ernie and the other young witchers empty, with no signs of a struggle or escape.
• Ailin used Tracking to follow two distinctive sets of footprints and recognized that a powerful sorcerer had used the Shapeshifting Sealing Charm to abduct the witchers.
• Ailin followed the sorcerer’s tracks to Vesemir’s room, where they found a note from Vilgefortz of Logiwen asking Vesemir to meet him the next day.

Ailin warned Vesemir that Vilgefortz was a powerful Earth Source accompanied by a Sorceress, then strengthened Vesemir with a One-Eyed Nekker's Purification Spirit. After opening his treasure chests, Ailin prepared to spend his skill points and experience orbs before confronting Vilgefortz.

• Ailin stopped Vesemir from rushing after Vilgefortz and warned him that the Sorcerer was an Earth Source who was likely accompanied by a Sorceress.
• Ailin gave Vesemir a One-Eyed Nekker's Purification Spirit, which transformed him into a frightened, translucent spirit before increasing his strength.
• Ailin left Vesemir with a bottle of Nekker's Purified Spirits and returned to his room to improve his own strength.
• Ailin opened his stored chests and gained experience orbs, a Rotfiend's Explosive Bottle, two Ghoul-Troll Spirit's Purification Spirits, and a Superior Ghoul Oil recipe.
• Ailin considered how to use his three special skill points and accumulated experience orbs to prepare for Vilgefortz.

Ailin upgraded his defensive Sign, swordsmanship, and other skills in preparation for fighting Vilgefortz, then discovered that Vesemir’s Perception seemed close to a limit. He and Vesemir prepared to set out that night to rescue the children.

• Ailin upgraded Witcher’s Handbook, Oterrohp Sign, School of the Cat Two-Handed Sword, Igni Sign, and Alde Sign, gaining stronger shields, mental protection, and improved combat techniques.
• Ailin used a Ghoul-Troll Spirit’s Purification Spirit, raised his elemental affinities, and went to Vesemir with another vial of potion.
• Vesemir explained that her enhanced Perception seemed to be approaching a limit, so Ailin withheld the potion because it would increase Perception further.
• Ailin wondered whether attributes could exceed 100 and whether Vesemir’s Perception and Mystery had already done so.
• Vesemir agreed to set out with Ailin that night to rescue the children, and she praised his potion-making.

Ailin and Vesemir tracked Vilgefortz and the abducted young witchers, then prepared to ambush him when he unexpectedly rode toward them at night. The chapter ended with the two witchers concealed and ready to strike as Vilgefortz and a Sorceress approached.

• Ailin used his unusual Tracking ability to follow the trail toward Vengerberg, while Vesemir questioned him about his skills and Witcher's Eye.
• Ailin demonstrated silent School of the Cat footwork and persuaded Vesemir that he should infiltrate because he was best suited to face the danger.
• Vesemir spotted an approaching light and bells, and the two witchers hid beside the road rather than continue their planned approach.
• Ailin and Vesemir recognized the riders as Vilgefortz and a Sorceress, who discussed the Stars of Ilar projection and their plan to catch the two witchers.
• The witchers prepared potions, swords, and bombs, then waited in concealment as the riders drew near.

Ailin and Vesemir ambushed Vilgefortz and another Sorceress after discovering their involvement in abducting children. Ailin broke three of Vilgefortz’s protective Instant Trigger Gems, but the Sorcerer raised stone defenses and began an ancient chant as the badge on his horse rang out.

• Ailin and Vesemir attacked the two Sorcerers by surprise, but Vilgefortz’s magical protections shattered Ailin’s first strikes and blasted both Witchers away.
• Ailin pressed Vilgefortz with sword thrusts and the Alde Sign, breaking three gemstone buttons that held protective spells while Vesemir fought the Sorceress.
• Vilgefortz raised stone spikes and a wall, then cast fireballs to keep Ailin at a distance as Ailin accused him of abducting children under thirteen.
• Ailin continued closing in and asked how many Instant Trigger Gems Vilgefortz had left, while the badge on the dying white horse rang increasingly frantically.
• When the badge tolled thunderously, Vilgefortz dodged back behind raised stone walls, unleashed lightning, and began an ancient chant.

Ailin attacked Vilgefortz before he could finish a powerful spell, then survived Alzure's Lightning Spell and resumed pressing the Sorcerer. Vilgefortz's defenses were nearly exhausted, but Ailin suspected the missing jade statues had changed the balance of the fight.

• Ailin toppled a stone wall and launched himself at Vilgefortz, breaking through the Sorcerer's first two magical shields before his chant was complete.
• Vilgefortz finished casting Alzure's Lightning Spell, and two lightning bolts struck Ailin while the Sorceress knocked Vesemir into the weeds and attacked him with fireballs.
• Ailin emerged from the dust alive and struck Vilgefortz, shattering more of his magical defenses as the Sorcerer panicked.
• Ailin weakened after the lightning broke his potion-enhanced condition, but he continued attacking until Vilgefortz had only one instantly triggered magic gem remaining.
• Ailin wondered why Vilgefortz had not used the Shapeshifting Sealing Charm and suspected that the witchers' jade statues were no longer in his possession.

Ailin fought Vilgefortz as the sorcerer unleashed uncontrollable Primal Magic, forcing Ailin to use the Path of the Beast Roar and Witcher Hunt to survive. Vilgefortz halted the fight by revealing five jade statues containing witchers, while Lydia and Vesemir regrouped and a red-glowing badge rang from a horse carcass.

• Vilgefortz's memories and emotions flooded Ailin's mind, and the sorcerer erupted into a green sphere of Primal Magic that hurled Ailin into the air.
• Lydia attacked Vesemir with a fireball and began chanting Alzure's Lightning Spell while Ailin was trapped in Vilgefortz's Primal Magic.
• Ailin unleashed the Path of the Beast Roar, broke through the magic's blockade, and charged Vilgefortz with Witcher Hunt.
• Five jade statues appeared between Ailin and Vilgefortz, ending the Primal Magic as Vilgefortz identified them as witchers sealed by a Shapeshifting Sealing Charm.
• Vilgefortz called Lydia off, and Lydia and Vesemir stopped fighting and approached him and Ailin.
• A star-speckled badge embedded in a horse carcass rang rapidly and glowed red.

Ailin and Vesemir ended their confrontation with Vilgefortz, who returned the petrified young Witchers and offered an obsidian gem as an apology before leaving. Back at Ban Ard, Vilgefortz witnessed the academy’s destruction and became fixated on an ancient prophecy about the Child of Miracle.

• Vilgefortz returned the jade statues and dispelling tools to Ailin and Vesemir, then left with Lydia through a portal after offering an obsidian gem.
• Ailin warned Vesemir that Vilgefortz was extremely dangerous, but the Witchers postponed freeing the young Witchers until after hunting the Greater Griffin.
• Vilgefortz and Lydia emerged into a Ban Ard engulfed in battle, where a famous tower collapsed, and hurried to his study.
• Vilgefortz searched his books and documents before reciting an ancient prophecy about the Child of Miracle and the coming Era of the Cold Wolf and Blizzard.
• Vilgefortz connected the prophecy’s references to blood and fire with Ban Ard’s destruction and asked Lydia what lay at the core of the Child of Miracle.

Vilgefortz learned that Ailin might be Ithlinne’s Child of Miracle and ordered Lydia to investigate him discreetly before they went to aid Ban Ard against the Wild Hunt. The next day, Ailin and Vesemir set out to capture a Greater Griffin to reach Arland and lift the young witchers’ curse, and Ailin fell asleep while practicing Beast Roar: Primal Tongue as the creature cried overhead.

• Lydia questioned whether a witcher could be the Child of Miracle, and Vilgefortz explained that the title belonged to anyone capable of achieving the impossible.
• Vilgefortz described Ailin’s terrifying gaze, ordered Lydia to gather information about him in secret, and headed with her to help Ban Ard after hearing that the Wild Hunt had attacked.
• Ailin told Vesemir they would try to capture a Greater Griffin for three days before continuing to Arland to lift the young witchers’ curse.
• Ailin and Vesemir crossed the river by a wooden bridge and shallow streams, then returned to the place where they had lost the Greater Griffin’s trail.
• After killing drowners and marking their route, the two witchers meditated while waiting for the griffin, and Ailin fell asleep practicing Beast Roar: Primal Tongue.
• A Greater Griffin screeched overhead and woke Ailin.

Ailin discovered that training in Beast Roar: Primal Tongue had sharply improved his perception and let him hear the Greater Griffin’s cry before it returned. After the griffin escaped beyond a cliff, he refused to abandon the hunt and began testing a new way to use Primal Tongue, which drew a response from the mountains.

• Ailin awoke from a trance with his Perception increased by three points and realized he might have heard the Greater Griffin through Primal Tongue.
• The Greater Griffin returned, and Ailin and Vesemir chased it until a deep cliff blocked their way and the creature vanished from sight.
• Vesemir warned that finding the Greater Griffin’s nest would take time and urged Ailin to consider abandoning the hunt, but Ailin chose to keep searching.
• Vesemir found a natural stone bridge across the cliff, and Ailin tried using Primal Tongue to ask nearby animals for help but learned they could not guide him.
• Ailin used Primal Tongue again, heard gentle voices ask what he wanted, and heard the Greater Griffin screech from the east before he could finish asking about it.

Ailin followed the Greater Griffin’s cries to its cliffside nest with Vesemir, using Primal Tongue to sense the creature and the natural world. They reached the sleeping female Greater Griffin and moved into position to capture it, but a noise woke the monster.

• Ailin turned his horse east and persuaded Vesemir to continue hunting the Greater Griffin instead of retreating.
• Ailin used Primal Tongue to follow the Greater Griffin’s location and reach Mount Adria before nightfall.
• Ailin and Vesemir climbed the steep cliff and discovered the fully grown female Greater Griffin sleeping in a cave nest.
• Vesemir accidentally stepped into a concealed pool of blood, briefly waking the Greater Griffin before it settled back to sleep.
• Ailin and Vesemir crept close with the giant beast snare, but an unusual sound woke the Greater Griffin, which roared furiously.

Ailin and Vesemir lured a Greater Griffin into a trap, and Ailin used the Giant Beast Lasso of the One-Eyed Clan to tame it after surviving its attempts to throw him off. Back at the cave, Vesemir prepared to explain why the Griffin had nested so high on Mount Adria.

• Vesemir distracted the Greater Griffin while Ailin slipped the Giant Beast Lasso over its head.
• The Greater Griffin plunged from the cliff with Ailin on its back, but Ailin endured its mental attacks and gradually fastened the lasso’s clasps.
• The Griffin tried to kill Ailin by diving toward the forest, but the final clasp snapped shut and forced it to turn before impact.
• Ailin returned to the cave riding the tamed Greater Griffin, and Vesemir reassured him that his safety mattered more than the school’s future.
• The Greater Griffin nearly pecked Vesemir when he approached, but Ailin calmed it and introduced them.
• Vesemir asked why the Greater Griffin had built its nest at such a high altitude, then led Ailin deeper into the cave.

Ailin and Vesemir discovered eight Greater Griffin eggs in the cave and set out for Arland with the Greater Griffin. In Vengerberg, Demavend II tried to recruit the School of the Wolf and manage the damage caused by the monster, but the Greater Griffin returned to the palace.

• Ailin and Vesemir found eight Greater Griffin eggs, and Ailin promised Vesemir he would ride one of the future griffins.
• Ailin decided to collect their belongings and travel with Vesemir and the Greater Griffin toward Arland and the Temple of Melitele.
• Demavend II learned the Greater Griffin had destroyed the Vivaldi Bank and ordered his ministers to promise compensation to the dwarves.
• Demavend II's intelligence officer reported that nine suspected School of the Wolf witchers were near Vengerberg, and the king offered them a castle site and triple what Arland could pay.
• The King's Hand urged Demavend II to consider a ceasefire, but an alarm sounded and a knight reported that the monster had returned.

Demavend II faced mounting pressure to end Ard’s war against Kedwen as the Greater Griffin’s attacks disrupted Vengerberg, then seized on the possibility that the witchers had tamed it. Ailin and Vesemir returned to the inn village, where they immediately sensed something was wrong.

• The Greater Griffin appeared at Vengerberg outside its usual schedule, forcing Demavend II and his ministers to flee into the underground chambers.
• The Griffin flew away carrying two live black horses, and officials reported that it had caused little damage as it passed through.
• The King’s Hand urged Demavend II to consider ending the war, while Demavend II privately asked Kut to find and bring back the witchers.
• Kut linked the Griffin and the horses to the witchers’ trail, and Demavend II convinced himself that the School of the Wolf had tamed the beast.
• Ailin and Vesemir landed the Griffin in the woods, calmed their terrified horses with Axii, and returned to the village, where they sensed something was wrong.

Ailin and Vesemir evaded Kedwen’s soldiers and brought seven jade statues to the Temple of Melitele to lift Vilgefortz’s spell. As the ritual began, Priestess Nannick announced that the Old Duke had arrived.

• Ailin and Vesemir found soldiers waiting at the inn to invite them to deal with the Greater Griffin, so they used Axii and escaped on horseback.
• The witchers traveled by Greater Griffin to the Temple of Melitele in Arland, bringing the seven jade statues with them.
• Mother Ianna prepared a ritual to lift the spell, while Ailin suspected Vilgefortz had an ulterior motive for providing the spell-lifting tools.
• As the ritual began, Priestess Nannick arrived and announced that the Old Duke had come.

Ailin helped restore Ernie from his curse, then agreed to help Arland fight the necrophages threatening its villages while Ianna brought him to meet Duke Mason. In Vengerberg, Kut learned that his men had failed to capture the people he had sent them after.

• Ianna completed the curse-breaking ritual, and Ernie returned to his human form and recognized Ailin and Vesemir.
• Ianna told Ailin that Duke Mason wanted her to persuade the School of the Wolf to relocate to Arland, and explained how necrophages were exploiting the Monster Hunter Army’s limitations to attack nearby villages.
• Ailin said he could not decide whether the School of the Wolf would relocate, but offered to deal with the monsters and revealed that he was already a Witcher Master.
• Ianna led Ailin toward the temple entrance to meet Mason, while Lyra began preparing to remove the curses from the other witchers.
• In Vengerberg, Kut berated Yore and Kahn for failing to bring back the men he had sent them to recruit, and Yore suddenly blamed the Greater Griffin.

Kut learned that two witchers rode black horses and feared that a greater griffin’s appearance might fulfill the king’s prediction, so he ordered the matter kept secret while investigating nearby magical traces. At the Temple of Melitele, Ianna presented Ailin as a devoted ally of Arland, and after arranging monster bounties and soldiers to guide the witchers, Duke Mason lamented that Ailin was not his child.

• Kut questioned Yorl about the witchers and the greater griffin, then urgently sent Karn to verify the color of the witchers’ horses.
• Karn confirmed that the two witchers rode black horses, and Kut ordered Yorl to investigate the magical traces and forbade them from leaking the matter.
• Ianna told Duke Mason that Ailin had come to help Arland and brought seven young witchers, prompting Mason and Arthur to praise Ailin’s loyalty and knightly virtues.
• Mason agreed to pay generous monster bounties and send elite Monster Hunter Army squads to guide Ailin and the witchers.
• After discussing Arland’s recovery, Mason told Ailin he wished Ailin were his child, and Ianna sharply interrupted him.

Ailin learned that the Temple of Melitele stood above Arland’s rulers and that Ianna and Nannick planned to make Ban Ard pay for the sorcerer who cursed the witchers. In Vengerberg, Demavend II waited anxiously for the Greater Griffin, then learned that Ban Ard’s sorcerers had infiltrated his kingdom.

• Arthur told Ailin that Duke Mason wanted him to explore Arland before hunting the monsters, while Ianna and Nannick kept the reason secret.
• Ailin told Ianna how a Ban Ard sorcerer had cursed Ernie and the other seven young witchers, and Ianna checked him for injuries.
• Ianna invited Ailin to move to Arland, but he refused, insisting that he was a witcher of the School of the Wolf.
• Ianna and Nannick explained that the Temple of Melitele predated Arland and pledged to avenge Ailin by making Ban Ard pay.
• Demavend II waited beneath Vengerberg for the Greater Griffin, but Kut reported that it had not arrived and that Ban Ard’s sorcerers had infiltrated the kingdom.

Demavend II learned that the Greater Griffin may have been tamed by witchers and ordered supplies sent to the front while preparing a general offensive. He decided to exploit the suspected Sorcerer attack on the witchers to win their favor, and Kott volunteered for the prisoner-of-war camp to help secure the alliance.

• Kott told Demavend II that the Greater Griffin had landed near Vengerberg after two witchers appeared, and that it had not attacked at its usual time.
• Demavend II ordered all warehouse supplies sent to the front lines and called an early royal council, despite Kott's warning that the Griffin might return.
• Kott reported that Ban Ard Sorcerers had likely attacked the witchers, and Demavend II declared that the recent northern anomaly had been caused by another monster attack on Ban Ard.
• Demavend II instructed Kott to use the Sorcerer attack report to push for a general offensive and to spread word that the Sorcerers had attacked the witchers without cause.
• Demavend II planned to send Kott to the front as leverage to win over the witchers, but Kott insisted that he be sent to the prisoner-of-war camp.

After awakening Primal Tongue’s ability to draw nearby animals, Ailin set out with Lyra to tour Arland while considering how to improve Frenzy and teach the Path of the Beast Roar to other witchers. The chapter ended as Lyra kept the reason for the tour secret and Ailin headed into the city to discover it.

• Ailin woke after practicing Primal Tongue overnight and found that his presence had attracted numerous animals.
• Lyra arrived with breakfast, and she and Ailin agreed to tour Arland without Vesemir.
• Ailin examined his improved attributes and wondered how to find the right cultivation path for Frenzy.
• Vesemir put the young witchers through harsh rehabilitation training for allowing a Sorcerer to capture them.
• Ailin considered how to teach the Path of the Beast Roar to the other witchers.
• Lyra told Ailin she could not reveal why he had to see Arland, and they set off into the city.