Chapter Summaries

Yavi and Hill fought a dangerous sword duel, with each landing a wound and gaining the upper hand in turn. Hill set up a decisive strike against Yavi’s shoulder, and Mel screamed in terror as the blow came down.

• Yavi and Hill clashed swords, and Yavi’s precise attacks forced Hill onto the defensive.
• Hill changed her style, wounded Yavi’s chin, and disarmed him before pressing him with unpredictable attacks.
• Yavi spotted a hesitation in Hill’s right shoulder and cut her shoulder, leaving both fighters bleeding.
• Yavi countered Hill’s sweeping attack and drove her back, then rushed in as she struggled to regain her footing.
• Hill baited Yavi into attacking an apparent opening, circled to his right, and brought her sword down toward his shoulder as Mel screamed.

Yavi defeated Hill in the swordsmanship match, giving the Popular Election Faction a one-point lead over the Royal Election Faction. The faction celebrated at the Oak Restaurant, while Yavi wondered about Vivian’s absence and remembered Hill as she left.

• Yavi redirected Hill’s strike, broke her sword, and held his blade to her throat, winning their duel.
• Loriess announced that the Popular Election Faction had taken a one-point lead, and Mel checked Yavi for injuries.
• Yavi offered Hill a potion for her injured shoulder, and she accepted before leaving the platform.
• The Popular Election Faction celebrated at the Oak Restaurant, where Mel praised Yavi and everyone toasted their victory.
• Yavi noticed Vivian was absent and, amid the celebration, found himself thinking about Hill and looking toward the night sky.

After the victory banquet, Mel went with Yavi to his room and confessed how exhausted and afraid she felt, saying he made her feel less alone. Yavi used Axii to put her to sleep, and the next morning he downplayed what she had said while they shared breakfast.

• After the drunken crowd left, Mel asked Yavi to take her to his room so they could talk.
• At Yavi's room, Mel embraced him and confided that the pressure to lead others to victory frightened and exhausted her.
• Yavi used the Axii Sign to calm Mel and put her to sleep, then tucked her into bed and stayed awake until dawn.
• Mel woke with a hangover and remembered holding Yavi, but found her clothes intact and the room empty.
• Yavi returned with breakfast and White Honey, then told Mel she had only complained about pressure when she asked what she had said.

After his tournament victory made him a target of persistent attention, Yavi joined Mel’s Popular Election Faction for protection and helped draw new members to it. His studies and cultivation resumed, while rumors spread that joining the faction was a way to get close to him.

• Yavi struggled with attention from admirers and avoided an older student who pretended to fall into his arms.
• Mel chased away girls cornering Yavi in the library and urged him to join the Popular Election Faction because the Royal Election Faction threatened him.
• Yavi agreed to join, and Mel offered to arrange his paperwork, uniform, and protection through the Disciplinary Committee.
• Yavi told Mel to keep the money he had lent her for warm clothes, and they went to the dining hall together.
• Yavi returned to studying alchemy and practicing spell seals, while Mel brought him to faction events where his presence attracted students and defections from the Royal Election Faction.
• Mel told Yavi that students were joining to get close to him, and he asked who had started the rumor.

Yavi’s homesickness disrupted his studies at Oxenfurt Academy, but Dean Loriess gave him a letter from Sicco Jett approving his return home for the winter solstice. He left her office excited, carrying money for the journey and gifts for his family.

• Yavi struggled to focus in class as memories of his family and northern home overwhelmed him.
• Loriess summoned Yavi to her office and told him she had noticed his distraction and homesickness.
• Loriess gave Yavi a letter from Sicco Jett, who approved his trip home for the winter solstice and said he would handle the Witcher Order.
• Loriess gave Yavi a thousand crowns and advised him to buy warm clothes and candied fruit for his younger sister.
• Yavi thanked Loriess and hurried out of her office, eager to go home.

Yavi learned he could return home for the holidays and prepared to travel with Mel, buying gifts for their family. As Mel helped choose clothes for their mother and sister-in-law, Yavi insisted on finding new clothes for her too.

• Yavi told Mel that his teacher had allowed him to go home for the holidays, and they planned to travel together with a caravan.
• Yavi packed his belongings and met Mel on the final day of the year at Oxenfurt Academy before they went shopping for family gifts.
• Yavi collected two longswords from Thomas, who had forged them with silver powder and dimeritium powder.
• Yavi and Mel chose jewelry, perfume, and clothes for their mother and sister-in-law, and Yavi bought several outfits.
• Yavi stopped Mel from leaving and suggested that she buy new clothes suited to her standing in the Popular Election Faction.

Yavi and Mel prepared gifts for Yavi’s family and joined Captain Hawk’s caravan at Oxenfurt’s west gate to travel home. Claire caught up with their wagon, and the caravan set off with the wilderness ahead and the prospect of meeting other students at the evening camp.

• Yavi and Mel bought clothes and sweets for Yavi’s nieces and his younger sister, Amy.
• Mel led Yavi to Captain Hawk’s caravan, and Hawk assigned them a place in a covered wagon.
• Mel explained the caravan’s watch rules as it began moving out of Oxenfurt.
• Claire hurried after the caravan, and Yavi pulled her aboard their wagon.
• Claire said other students were traveling with them, while Mel hoped they would avoid people from the rival election factions.
• Yavi joked about dealing with anyone annoying, and the three settled into a cheerful mood as Oxenfurt faded behind them.

Yavi traveled north with Claire and Mel in Hawk’s caravan, staying alert through a peaceful night at their roadside camp. At dawn, the caravan resumed its journey toward Gray Rock Town as the landscape turned rockier and snow began to fall.

• Yavi watched over the sleeping Claire and Mel as the carriage traveled north.
• Hawk halted the caravan at dusk, and the travelers set up camp and shared a meal.
• Mel told Yavi she had seen Anna and several members of her faction but not the people who annoyed her.
• Yavi checked the wagon and kept watch overnight while Claire and Mel slept; nothing unusual happened.
• Hawk led the caravan north again at dawn, and Yavi watched a snowflake melt in his palm.

Yavi detected an ambush near Redania and warned Hawk, who formed the caravan guards into a defense. As bandits attacked the caravan, Yavi protected Mel, Claire, and the students, killing several attackers while the fight continued around them.

• Yavi sensed at least forty bandits hiding in the woods and warned Hawk about the ambush.
• Hawk signaled the caravan guards to form a defensive line as the bandits rushed from both sides of the road.
• Yavi led Mel and Claire through the panicking students and killed a bandit who attacked a fallen female student.
• Yavi fought off several bandits with his silver sword, killing them as the caravan battle unfolded.
• Yavi used a red-and-green glow to strike down three more bandits who attacked him together.

Yavi helped the caravan repel a bandit attack and killed the bandit leader with a spear, protecting his sister Mel and friend Claire. After the casualties were counted, Hawk offered to refund Yavi and Mel's fares when they left the caravan.

• Yavi held off the bandits attacking the rear of the caravan while Hawk ordered the front to retreat.
• Yavi threw a spear that pinned and killed the fleeing bandit leader, sending the remaining bandits running into the woods.
• Yavi helped Mel and Claire out from beneath the carriage and confirmed that they were unharmed.
• Hawk tallied six guards killed and several wounded, while the goods and passengers suffered no losses.
• Hawk praised Yavi and offered to refund his and Mel's fares, and Yavi returned to his carriage.

Yavi and Mel left the caravan at Saint Thomas City and traveled to Fislo, where Mel reunited with the Morgan family. Yavi revealed himself to Maya and told her he was home.

• Yavi confessed to Mel that he feared disappointing his mother, and Mel assured him that he would always be their pride.
• Yavi gave Claire an Enhanced Grapeshot Bomb as she parted from them at Saint Thomas City.
• Yavi and Mel signed out of the caravan, collected their refund from Hawk, and rode toward Fislo.
• Yavi and Mel arrived at the Morgan castle, where Mel embraced her parents, brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and younger sister Amy.
• Maya uncovered Yavi's cloak, recognized her son, and heard him say, "I'm home, Mother!"

Yavi reunited with his family after more than a decade away and returned with them to the castle. Surrounded by his parents, brother, sister, nieces, and the familiar comforts of home, he settled into a long-awaited family reunion.

• Maya tearfully touched Yavi's face and embraced him, relieved that her son had finally returned.
• Herbert welcomed Yavi home with a firm embrace, and Jess greeted his younger brother with affectionate teasing.
• Yavi met Jess's wife and daughters, then introduced himself to his little sister, who touched his face to make sure he was real.
• The family returned to the castle, where Maya showed Yavi his childhood room, which she had kept unchanged and regularly cleaned.
• Yavi shared honey cake and cocoa with his family as Maya asked about his years away, and she promised they would never be separated again.

Yavi reunited with his family over a lavish dinner, explaining how he came to study at Oxenfurt Academy and earning their admiration for his growth. The next morning, he delighted Amy with conjured gifts while the family watched.

• Herbert hosted a celebratory dinner, and Mel recounted how she had found Yavi at Oxenfurt Academy.
• Yavi explained that his teacher had sent him to study alchemy and Chaos Magic under Loriess.
• Mel praised Yavi for defeating the opposing swordsmanship team and protecting their group from bandits, and Herbert toasted their return home.
• The next morning, Yavi conjured a bluebell and a box of macarons for Amy.
• Maya arrived with the rest of the family and teased Yavi for amusing his little sister.

After returning home, Yavi gave his family treasured gifts, then spent a week helping villagers with monster problems while Herbert and Jace attended a possible military council. His investigation of faint magic in an abandoned lakeside cottage led him to a magically preserved letter whose purpose remained unknown.

• Yavi presented Herbert and Jace with silver-and-dimeritium longswords, and they accepted them.
• Yavi gave Maya a moonstone hairpin, citrus perfume, and a gown, and gave his sister-in-law a starstone necklace, Night Rose perfume, and a robe.
• Yavi handed out snacks to his nieces and Amy, delighting them and bringing the family together.
• A week after Yavi returned, Herbert received a letter and went with Jace to Saint Thomas City for what might have been a military council.
• Yavi helped villagers with several problems, including catching an imp and clearing drowners from the river.
• Yavi investigated magic in an abandoned lakeside cottage, found faint footprints and a magically preserved letter, then dispelled the magic around it.

Yavi read a letter from Kharkov, who had left the Witcher Order to spend his remaining life freely and urged Yavi to cherish his family. In Kharkov’s cellar, Yavi found and claimed his master’s prized Wolf armor, then headed home.

• Yavi opened Kharkov’s magically sealed letter and learned that Kharkov had intercepted his family’s letters and later left the Witcher Order to live for himself.
• Kharkov urged Yavi to spend time with his family and told him not to search for him, while revealing a gift beneath the bed.
• Yavi opened the cellar beneath Kharkov’s bed and found a complete set of enchanted School of the Wolf armor.
• Yavi tried on the armor, confirmed it fit and could change into his ordinary clothes, then left the cabin and made his way home.

Yavi learned that Poviss was mustering troops near Tuck Fortress and that his father had been asked to arrange a match with Lucy. He agreed to meet her, and the family set out for the fortress amid growing border tensions.

• Herbert and Jace told Yavi that Poviss was gathering troops and might threaten Tuck Fortress after the Winter Solstice Festival.
• Herbert revealed that Katz had proposed Yavi marry his daughter Lucy, but Yavi warned that his witcher’s constitution and duties would make marriage unfair to her.
• Yavi agreed to meet Lucy before deciding anything, and Herbert arranged a family visit to Tuck Fortress.
• Herbert led a procession with Jace, Yavi, and one hundred and eighty soldiers toward Tuck Fortress.
• Jace explained that Poviss and Kovir had been at war for three years, with Tuck Fortress now at the center of the conflict.

Yavi and his family’s party traveled toward Tuck Fortress, where he killed three Foglets that attacked from the mist. At the campsite, Yavi reassured his family and shared stories of the monsters he had faced over the years.

• Jace told Yavi that the party should reach Tuck Fortress before noon the next day if nothing delayed them.
• Yavi sensed magic in the thick fog, then used his Signs and silver sword to kill three Foglets.
• Amy admired Yavi’s fighting and asked him to teach her, while Lady Maya worried about what he had endured.
• Herbert doubled the camp’s night watch, and the party reached its campsite before dusk.
• Yavi told his family about facing a frost troll, a higher vampire, and succubi, sharing stories around the campfire.

Yavi and his party reached Tuck Fortress just as the Iron-Treading Battalion attacked, forcing him to face the enemy cavalry alone so his family could enter the fortress. He charged into their ranks under a magical shield, and his family watched from the walls as he disappeared into the black-armored formation.

• Yavi and his party arrived at Tuck Fortress, where Marquis Katz and Herbert greeted each other from the walls and gates.
• The Iron-Treading Battalion appeared on the western plain, and Katz ordered his soldiers to prepare for battle while Herbert hurried his party toward the gates.
• Herbert ordered his soldiers to hold off the cavalry, and Yavi told his father and Jace to escort the family inside while he covered their retreat.
• Maya and Herbert protested, but Mel urged them to trust Yavi, who turned his horse toward the enemy and drew his silver sword.
• Poviss's archers fired a volley, but Yavi's pale yellow magical shield deflected the arrows as he charged into the cavalry ranks.
• Herbert, Maya, Jace, and Katz reached the walls in time to see Yavi vanish into the charging enemy formation.

Yavi unleashed a tornado that shattered the Poviss cavalry’s attack and turned the battle in favor of Tuck Fortress. He defeated the enemy’s elite warriors, captured their commander, and returned to the fortress as the defenders celebrated victory.

• After Yavi vanished into the enemy ranks, he burst into the sky and summoned a tornado that devastated the Iron-Treading Battalion.
• Katz ordered the gates opened, and Herbert, Jace, and the allied troops charged out as the Poviss soldiers broke and scattered.
• Yavi killed five heavily armored warriors who confronted him and left the remaining enemies afraid to approach.
• Herbert and Jace checked Yavi for injuries, and he assured them he was unharmed.
• Yavi used the Aard Sign to uncover the unconscious commander beneath a carriage, then took him captive as the battle ended.
• Katz and Herbert ordered the troops to collect weapons, tend to the wounded, and bring prisoners back to Tuck Fortress.

Yavi returned to Tuck Fortress victorious with Poviss general Frankie Sweet as his prisoner, then joined Katz’s family before the victory feast. The chapter left Katz gathering everyone to celebrate Yavi’s triumph.

• Yavi returned to the fortress, reunited with Maya, and presented the captured Frankie Sweet to Katz and Herbert.
• Katz ordered Frankie taken to a guarded separate cell and invited Yavi to the victory feast.
• Yavi met Louise Clark and Lucy Clark, then impressed Louise with his knowledge of jasmine tea.
• Katz, Herbert, and Jace entered the drawing room and called Yavi to join the celebration.