Recaps

Arwen and Ida rested before approaching Morgraig, and Ida told Arwen that a spring and healing vines in Brokilon might cure the Hydra Evil God's curse. They found Aiden, a wounded School of the Cat witcher, fighting monsters near the castle, and Arwen rescued him.

• Ida persuaded Arwen to wait until morning before entering Morgraig, and they recovered in a nearby cave.
• Ida examined Arwen and said the curse could not be treated with her magic, but Caer a'Muirehen Valley in Brokilon might heal him.
• Arwen and Ida saw Aiden fighting two slyzards and a Giant Thorny Devil Tree on the road to Morgraig.
• Arwen killed one slyzard with a punch, buried the other with vines, and burned the Giant Thorny Devil Tree with Igni.
• Aiden introduced himself as a brother of the School of the Wolf and thanked Arwen for saving his life.

Arwen, Ida, and Aiden reached Morgraig Castle by a hidden route so they could search its laboratory for a mutation formula and other secrets. Arwen gained the Toxin Spores ability after killing three Giant Thorny Devil Trees, and Aiden opened the concealed entrance into the castle.

• Arwen recognized Aiden as a School of the Cat witcher, introduced himself, and joined Ida in treating Aiden's wound before they withdrew from approaching monsters.
• Aiden explained that he had come to Morgraig seeking a flawless School of the Cat mutation formula, and Arwen agreed to work with him in exchange for directions to the laboratory.
• Aiden led Arwen and Ida around the castle to a hidden door, where three Giant Thorny Devil Trees guarded the entrance.
• Arwen silently approached and killed all three trees with a sword strike, then installed their mutagen and gained the Toxin Spores ability.
• Aiden used a steel needle to trigger the concealed mechanism, opening the hidden door into Morgraig Castle.

Arwen, Aiden, and Ida entered Morgraig Castle’s judgment hall and destroyed a pack of Nekkers, including a Nekker Warrior. They discovered the castle was strangely clean, then Arwen caught a Bruxa who claimed to serve a master, whose voice ordered him to release her.

• Arwen led Aiden and Ida through the secret passage into Morgraig Castle’s ruined judgment hall and pointed out the route to the underground laboratory.
• Ida found Nekker tracks, and the group prepared for battle as dozens of Nekkers and a Nekker Warrior emerged from the shadows.
• Ida blinded the Nekkers while Aiden and Arwen fought them; Arwen killed the Nekker Warrior with Rotthorn Toxin, and the group wiped out the pack.
• Arwen installed the Nekker Mutagen and noted the hall was too clean for a castle abandoned for hundreds of years, while Ida and Aiden agreed something was wrong.
• Arwen caught a hidden Bruxa by the throat, and she warned that he had trespassed on her master's territory.
• An unseen voice ordered Arwen to release the Bruxa, his servant.

Arwen fought the higher vampire and its minions in the castle, using poisoned blood, witcher Signs, and swordsmanship to defeat the Bruxae and Fleders. When the higher vampire attacked from the shadows, Arwen turned and struck it with a powerful punch, sending it crashing into a wall.

• The higher vampire demanded that Arwen release his servant and leave the castle, but Arwen killed the Bruxa instead.
• The higher vampire summoned seven Bruxae, and Arwen drank Black Blood and coated his sword with Rotthorn Toxin while Ida Emean exposed the vampires with Light Shield.
• Arwen killed or poisoned several Bruxae, driving the survivors into the shadows as Aiden protected Ida Emean.
• Eight Fleders dropped from the ceiling, and Arwen cut down more than half of them with his silver sword.
• The higher vampire used Shadow Realm Jump to ambush Arwen, but Arwen spun around and punched it into a stone wall.

Arwen drove off the higher vampire, killed the bruxae, and continued with Aiden and Ida Emean into Morgraig’s underground passages. There, the vampire begged him to save Ileira and their unborn child, but a disguised attacker ambushed Arwen, revealing that Aiden was a vampire.

• Arwen wounded the higher vampire, who fled, then killed two bruxae and installed the mutagens from the slain vampires.
• Arwen discovered that Aiden’s injured arm was infected, but Aiden insisted on continuing with him and Ida Emean toward the laboratory.
• The group found a recently killed woman and reached a rune-covered stone door, where the higher vampire waited beside Ileira, whose body was being kept alive by blood bags.
• The higher vampire pleaded with Arwen to save Ileira and their unborn child, offering the Law of Surprise and even his life in exchange.
• A hidden attacker struck Arwen with School of the Cat swordsmanship, and Arwen recognized the technique before accusing Aiden of being a vampire.

Arwen exposed Valerius, a higher vampire who had impersonated Aiden, and defeated him after suppressing his blood magic with [Magic Suppression Domain]. After installing Valerius’s mutagen, Arwen left Ida Emean convinced that a new god was about to be born.

• Arwen explained how he had recognized Valerius’s disguise, and Valerius revealed his true form and admitted that Ileira was real.
• Valerius attacked Arwen and Ida Emean with [Blood Prison], trapping them in a mass of blood tentacles and destroying Tor Zireael.
• Arwen activated [Magic Suppression Domain], dismantled the prison, and battered Valerius until the higher vampire died.
• Arwen received Valerius’s mutagen and installed it, gaining increased mental power and the [Blood Absorption] talent.
• Ida Emean witnessed Arwen’s domain and decided that a new god was about to be born.

Arwen learned how Valerius had killed Ileira Gauser’s family and discovered that Ileira was dying while carrying their child. After Ileira died giving birth to Virona, Arwen and Ida Emean opened Alzur’s laboratory and found the witcher mutation formula and Cosimo Malaspina’s notes.

• Arwen questioned Ileira under the Axii Sign, and she recounted falling in love with Valerius, her father’s attempt to execute him, and the slaughter that followed.
• Ileira revealed that Valerius had kept her imprisoned and had sought Aiden, then asked Arwen and Ida Emean to save her unborn child and name her Virona.
• Ida Emean helped Ileira give birth, but Ileira died; Ida examined the frail baby girl and agreed to raise her.
• Arwen found Alzur’s laboratory in Morgraig and opened its sealed stone door with Alzur’s Stone Circle.
• Arwen and Ida explored the laboratory, where Arwen found Alzur’s witcher mutation notes, a Trial of the Grasses bed, and Cosimo Malaspina’s notes.

Arwen explored Alzur's laboratory, discovered Cosimo Malaspina's records and three living Koshcheys, and used the Juvenile Kikimore Queen and his own magic to subdue them. He learned that a magical triangle concealed Morgraig and decided to keep the laboratory while Ida Emean studied how to leave.

• Arwen found Cosimo Malaspina's notes describing how he and Alzur created the Koshchey through mutation.
• Ida Emean recognized three living Koshcheys in culture vessels and recounted how one had once slaughtered a Basilisk nest and driven off a lesser dragon.
• Arwen brought out the Juvenile Kikimore Queen, then used Axii and [Pheromone Domination] to subdue the largest Koshchey and imprint all three.
• Arwen and Ida Emean explored the laboratory's luxurious facilities, including its magical freezers and living quarters.
• Ida Emean identified the magical triangle that concealed Morgraig and began studying its pattern, while Arwen resolved to keep the laboratory and use the time to develop his abilities and creatures.

After six years of study at Morgraig, Arwen had mastered powerful magic and alchemy and prepared to leave for Temeria, while Ida Emean took Virona back to Dol Blathanna. He departed through a portal, intending to reconnect with his allies and learn what had happened in the Northern Kingdoms.

• Arwen demonstrated Alzur's Thunder against monsters near Morgraig while Ida Emean and Virona watched from the walls.
• Ida Emean reminded Arwen that they had agreed she would take Virona to Dol Blathanna and send word to Francesca, while Arwen returned to his worried friends.
• Ida Emean and Virona said farewell to Arwen and left through a portal.
• Arwen reviewed his six years of progress, including advanced swordsmanship, mental power, spellcasting, and his mastery of alchemy.
• Arwen left the Kikimore Queen and three koshcheys at Morgraig, then considered the risks of using Alzur's Double Cross.
• Arwen opened a portal and departed to contact Kaer Morhen and Temeria and investigate the Northern Kingdoms.

Arwen traveled to a Redanian town, learned that a basilisk was troubling the eastern woods, and tracked down the witchers hunting it. Aiken and Lambert killed one basilisk in its cave, but heavy footsteps revealed that something larger was approaching.

• Arwen arrived west of the Kestrel Mountains and entered a tavern, where he heard rumors of a monster in the eastern forest.
• Arwen paid a serving girl for information and learned that the creature was a basilisk and that a witcher had been hired to hunt it.
• Arwen traveled toward the alder woods, collected alchemical herbs, and sensed two mutated men inside a cave.
• Aiken and Lambert entered the cave, fought a basilisk, and killed it with their swords and Signs.
• Aiken heard heavy footsteps coming from deeper in the cave, and Lambert prepared to face the approaching creature.

Aiken and Lambert were trapped in a fissure while a giant basilisk attacked them, until Arwen arrived and fought the beast with overwhelming strength and magic. The chapter left Arwen freezing the giant basilisk and the nearby basilisks as Aiken and Lambert watched in shock.

• Aiken and Lambert fled the giant basilisk, and Aiken was badly injured while protecting Lambert from its beak.
• The two hid in a narrow fissure as the giant basilisk called smaller basilisks to attack them.
• Aiken offered to distract the beast so Lambert could escape, but Lambert refused to abandon him.
• Lambert killed a small basilisk that squeezed into the fissure, then an arrow from a black-clad man stopped another attacker.
• Arwen confronted the giant basilisk, battered it with powerful punches, resisted its petrifying gaze, and froze it and nearby basilisks with a magical blast.

Arwen killed the giant basilisk, installed its Eye of Petrification mutagen, and reunited with Aiken and Lambert, fellow witchers from the School of the Wolf. After the group cleared the cave and Arwen gained Stone Scale Hardening, he caught up on Kaer Morhen’s recovery and revealed that he had been in Morgraig.

• Arwen killed the giant basilisk with a dagger, preserved its corpse, and installed the Eye of Petrification mutagen.
• Aiken and Lambert emerged from the rocks, and Arwen revealed his identity to Aiken, who embraced him.
• Arwen gave Aiken a special-grade Swallow potion, healed his injuries, and led him and Lambert in clearing the cave of basilisks.
• Arwen installed Stone Scale Hardening after the fight, while Aiken introduced Lambert and described how witcher apprentices were trained.
• Aiken told Arwen that Geralt and Eskel were working across Kaedwen and that Vesemir and the others had renovated Kaer Morhen.
• Aiken said the School of the Wolf had searched for Arwen for six years, and Arwen told him he had been in Morgraig.

Arwen, Aiken, and Lambert left the cave after defeating the Basilisk, and Arwen revealed a safer second witcher mutation formula and the possibility of a third. In Alder Town, Viscount Lancaster recognized Arwen as the newly promoted Viscount Raven and hosted a victory feast, where an unknown guest approached him.

• Arwen used his spatial ring to store the Basilisk, then told Aiken and Lambert about his encounter with a higher vampire in Morgraig.
• Arwen promised Aiken the improved second mutation formula and said he would perform the third mutation himself.
• Viscount Lancaster welcomed the three witchers and saluted Arwen after recognizing him as Raven, the newly promoted viscount.
• Aiken explained that Arwen's actions in Hydra Canyon had earned him a promotion and made the name Raven famous across the Northern Kingdoms.
• The party returned to Alder Town, where the townspeople held a victory feast and a bard sang of the northern Raven.
• As Arwen ate alone at the feast, an unknown figure approached and asked to dine with him.

Arwen accepted Ivar’s commission to escort a caravan to Ellander in exchange for mithril and left Alder Town after giving Aiken an improved second-mutation formula for Vesemir. In Rinde, Arwen spotted the hidden woman directing the caravan and recognized the heraldry on her ring as belonging to the Margraviate of Talgar.

• Ivar offered Arwen mithril to escort his caravan south across the Pontar River to Ellander, and Arwen accepted.
• Arwen gave Aiken an improved second-mutation formula for Vesemir and said goodbye before departing with Ivar’s caravan.
• Viscount Lancaster learned that Ivar was not from Novigrad but chose not to report Arwen, instead planning to credit three witchers with resolving the Basilisk problem.
• After eight days, the caravan reached Rinde, where Arwen searched for Yennefer and found no trace of her.
• Arwen saw Ivar defer to a concealed woman at a bakery and identified the coat of arms on her ring as that of the Margraviate of Talgar.

Arwen traveled aboard the Seagull with Zuleika, a noblewoman from Targo, after realizing her party was secretly moving toward Temeria. Zuleika revealed that she had hired him because she feared assassins, then considered ending the commission once the ship neared safety, but a fleet of Skellige pirates appeared before she could dismiss him.

• Arwen recognized Targo’s crest and deduced that its party was transporting supplies toward Temeria, possibly to support Estrad Thyssen’s restoration plans.
• Arwen boarded the Seagull and sensed armed people waiting near the forest as the vessel departed across the Pontar River.
• Zuleika summoned Arwen, questioned him about Arwen the Raven, and introduced herself while her knight-captain Eckhart challenged his refusal to remove his hood.
• Zuleika explained that she had hired Arwen because someone in Redania had hired assassins to kill her, then offered him money and compensation as the ship neared Temeria.
• Arwen warned Zuleika to look out the window, where Eckhart spotted more than ten boats carrying Skellige pirates.

Skellige pirates attacked the Seagull, forcing Ivar to offer Arwen the mithril and treasure in exchange for protection. Arwen slaughtered the pirates and claimed the chest, leaving Ivar relieved that he had not angered the witcher further.

• Skellige pirates boarded the Seagull and overwhelmed its sailors and guards while Eckhart led the knights in defending the cabin.
• Zuleika urged Ivar to give Arwen the mithril, and Ivar promised him everything in the chest if he protected them.
• Arwen took Eckhart's longsword, petrified Olaf with the Eye of Petrification, and killed him as the pirates mocked him.
• Arwen swiftly killed the remaining pirates, including their leader, while the knights watched in shock.
• Arwen returned to the cabin, lifted the untouched chest onto his shoulder, and left Ivar relieved that he had not badly offended him.

Arwen left the Sky Gull after the battle with the Skellige pirates and reached Ellander, where he met Iola, a girl with prophetic visions who told him a raven called Xiaohei had gone looking for him. Arwen followed signs of a fresh attack into the northern hills and found survivors describing a winged monster.

• Arwen slipped out through a window as Zerika watched him leave, then Ivar told her he had met the witcher at a banquet.
• Duke Hereward welcomed Zerika to Ellander and learned that Wizard's Robe had defeated the Skellige pirates before leaving.
• Arwen arrived at the Temple of Melitele and met Iola, who said she had dreamed of him and that Xiaohei had flown north to find him.
• Arwen followed fresh blood into the northern hills and found a wrecked wagon, dead woodcutters, and two survivors hiding beneath it.
• The survivors told Arwen that a flying monster had attacked them, and one described it as having lion-like fur and a vulture's beak.

Arwen tracked a Royal Griffin to its cliffside nest, rescued Raven, and killed the monster before meeting the knight-errant Eyck of Denesle. After Arwen declined Eyck’s invitation to travel together, Eyck buried his dead horse and headed toward Ellander.

• Arwen identified the attacks on Martin’s companions as the work of a Royal Griffin, followed its scent, and found Raven trapped in a crevice near the Griffin’s nest.
• Eyck of Denesle charged the Royal Griffin, but it wounded him and killed his warhorse before Arwen intervened.
• Arwen petrified and froze the Royal Griffin, killed it with a punch, and installed its mutagen.
• Raven emerged from the crevice and reunited with Arwen, while Eyck praised Arwen and invited him to join his monster hunts.
• Arwen introduced himself as Wizard Robe and declined Eyck’s invitation, then left with Raven.
• Eyck prayed for his dying warhorse, buried it, and made his way toward Ellander.

Arwen reunited with Nenneke at the Temple of Melitele, learned that a wizard had killed Flavia, and received Melitele’s blessing, which weakened his curse. After modifying Raven to share his vision, Arwen traveled toward the Mahakam Mountains and found five dwarves fighting a monster.

• Arwen returned to the Temple of Melitele, where Nenneke and Mia welcomed him and shared a meal with him.
• Nenneke told Arwen that a wizard had attacked their party after he vanished, killing Flavia and leaving Geralt with a scar.
• Arwen meditated beneath Melitele’s statue and gained a blessing that weakened abnormal conditions and helped dissolve his curse.
• Arwen used the Multiple Triangles spell to mutate Raven’s eyes, enabling Vision Sharing between them.
• Arwen traveled east toward the Mahakam Mountains and used Raven to spot five dwarves battling a monster with a long, stinger-like tail.

Arwen rescued Zoltan Chivay and his four dwarf companions from a pair of manticores, killing the male and letting the pregnant female flee. After introducing himself as a witcher of the School of the Wolf, Arwen surprised the dwarves, who recognized his name.

• Zoltan and the other dwarves restrained a female manticore, but its mate arrived and broke it free.
• The male manticore disarmed Zoltan and prepared to attack him, but Arwen caught Zoltan’s sword and stepped between them.
• Arwen used Sihil to kill the male manticore and sever its venomous tail.
• Zoltan asked Arwen to spare the pregnant female manticore, and Arwen let it escape before warning the dwarves about its vindictiveness.
• Zoltan Chivay, Munro Bruys, Yarpen Zigrin, Yason, Caleb Stratton, and Figgis Merluzzo introduced themselves to Arwen.
• Arwen identified himself as a witcher of the School of the Wolf, and the dwarves excitedly asked if he was Arwen.

Arwen celebrated with Zoltan and the other dwarves, then learned that they had been barred from returning to Mount Carbon after defying elder Brouver Hoog’s rules. The chapter ended with Arwen considering why Brouver had imposed restrictions on the dwarves.

• Zoltan and the dwarves welcomed Arwen with mead and roasted manticore meat, and Arwen told them the story of Hydra Canyon.
• Arwen and Zoltan played Gwent, and Zoltan won with a legendary card depicting Raven the Witcher.
• Zoltan shared the manticore breast meat with Arwen, and Arwen said he wanted to visit the dwarven town to have a silver sword reforged.
• Zoltan and Munro explained the advanced dwarven forging behind Sihil and said they could not take Arwen to Mount Carbon.
• Zoltan, Yason, Figgis, and Caleb complained that Brouver Hoog’s strict rules had made them outcasts from the mountain.
• Arwen recalled that Brouver secretly let the dwarves return when they were in danger and considered that his restrictions might be meant to protect their people.

Arwen reached Mount Mahakam seeking a silver sword and met Garin Fox, who brought him to the Fox Clan settlement while he waited for permission to meet the High Elder. A monster tide attacked Black Creek Valley in the night, and Arwen joined the dwarves’ defense as a Forktail swooped down.

• Arwen parted from Zoltan and climbed through Mount Mahakam’s blizzard until he reached the dwarven guards at a stone bridge.
• Garin Fox welcomed Arwen despite Gome Ziglin’s objections and explained the feud between the Fox Clan and the Ziglin Clan.
• Arwen asked to meet the High Elder to arrange a silver sword, and Garin explained that he would need to wait unless he had a [Lead Ring].
• Garin took Arwen to his home in Black Creek Valley, where Arwen settled in for the night.
• A monster tide of Ghouls and Nekkers attacked the Fox Clan, and Arwen joined the dwarves in fighting it.
• A Forktail swooped into the battle, and the Fox Clan elder ordered the dwarves to bind it with barbed ropes and attack with spears.

Arwen helped the Fox Clan dwarves defeat a Forktail and a monster horde, then stopped Morian from killing Gerald when the Ziglin Clan attacked. The arrival of Great Elder Brouver Hoog and his reinforcements interrupted the battle between the clans.

• The Fox Clan dwarves restrained the Forktail, but Ghouls attacked them and the beast broke free.
• Arwen killed the Forktail with a single blow, helping the dwarves defeat the remaining Ghouls and Nekkers.
• As Gerald thanked Arwen, Arwen caught a war spear aimed at him and warned the Fox Clan of the approaching Ziglin Clan.
• Gerald ordered the Fox Clan to form up, but the exhausted dwarves began losing ground to Morian and the Ziglin fighters.
• Arwen caught Morian's mace, then seized him by the neck when Morian refused to stop fighting.
• Great Elder Brouver Hoog arrived with reinforcements as the blizzard began to subside.

Brouver Hoog punished the Ziglin Clan for attacking the Fox Clan and offered Arwen a weapon-forging reward. After explaining the monster-filled Davor Bottomless Pit, Brouver asked Arwen to investigate it, and Arwen agreed in exchange for a repaired sword and the right to choose five mineral specimens.

• Brouver Hoog questioned Morian Zigrin, subdued him when he attacked, and ordered executions, mine sentences, and reduced tokens for the Ziglin Clan.
• Brouver thanked Arwen for saving the Fox Clan, gave him a lead ring, and offered to forge him a weapon.
• Brouver examined Tor Zireael and said the cursed damage would be difficult to repair, but the mithril Arwen brought made the work possible.
• Brouver told Arwen that monsters had emerged from the Davor Bottomless Pit for centuries and asked him to resolve the danger.
• Arwen agreed to deal with the monsters if Brouver helped forge his silver sword and let him choose five mineral specimens; Brouver accepted.

Arwen cleared the outer monsters at Davor Bottomless Pit with his toxin and led Brouver and the dwarves into the mine, where they found rich veins of ore and fought a Shaelmaar. Deep inside, they discovered a vast, smooth tunnel that the dwarves could not have excavated, leaving them wondering what had happened there.

• Arwen triggered a chain reaction of toxin-spore explosions that killed many monsters around Davor Bottomless Pit and astonished Brouver and the dwarves.
• After the poisonous mist cleared, Arwen entered the mine with Brouver’s party and noticed that some exposed iron ore had not been there when the dwarves last worked the site.
• Arwen and Brouver led the dwarves deeper through tunnels rich in frost iron, silver ore, and gemstones while Arwen dealt with the monsters they encountered.
• A Shaelmaar charged the dwarves, but Arwen stopped it with a Yrden Sign and killed it with a spear.
• At the mine’s deepest point, Brouver and Arwen found a huge, unusually smooth tunnel that the dwarves had not dug.