Chapter Summaries

Lynn reached Nazair with the witchers to undermine Nilfgaard’s war effort while Cintra held the Marnadal Valley. After learning the empire’s supply network, he led a covert raid on an important supply outpost.

• Cintra and the Skellige forces held the Nilfgaardian advance at Marnadal Valley, while the northern kings hesitated to intervene and Queen Meve prepared to send aid.
• Lynn arrived secretly on the coast of Nazair, where the Syndicate had recruited local elites resentful of Nilfgaardian rule.
• The Syndicate’s local commander told Lynn that Menno Coehoorn’s Western Army Group relied on supply routes and outposts in Nazair, and showed him their locations.
• Lynn led witchers toward an important supply outpost, sending Argenta and five witchers to eliminate the guards on its walls.
• Argenta silently killed the wall guards and opened the main gate, allowing Lynn and the other witchers to enter the outpost.

Lynn’s forces exploited Nilfgaard’s supply crisis and the anger over forced requisitions to take most of Nazair, while the Northern Coalition pressured Menno Coehoorn’s Western Army Group at Marnadal Valley Fortress. Menno, fearing punishment if he retreated, stayed in place as his army ran out of food, and the Northern Coalition launched a massive assault.

• Witchers destroyed Nilfgaardian supply outposts in Nazair, leaving Menno Coehoorn’s Western Army Group short of provisions.
• Nilfgaardian cavalry seized food from Karel Village, and Syndicate members later brought the villagers replacement supplies and discussed their support for Lynn’s operations.
• Lynn ordered weapons distributed to Nazair’s people and suspended attacks on Nilfgaardian supply routes while recruits trained.
• After Northern Coalition reinforcements arrived, Lynn’s Army incorporated twenty thousand volunteers and captured most of Nazair’s towns and cities.
• Menno killed a messenger who reported Nazair’s fall, then sent fifteen thousand troops to reopen the route to Riss-Rhun; Lynn’s Army ambushed and annihilated them.
• As supplies dwindled, desertions and calls to retreat spread through Menno’s army, but he refused to withdraw, and the Northern Coalition launched a massive assault.

The Northern Coalition defeated Nilfgaard’s Western Army Group, and Lynn captured the fleeing Menno Coehoorn and offered him a place in his service. As Nilfgaard reeled from the defeat, Lynn’s forces took Riss-Rhun and made it the center of his rule in Nazair.

• The Northern Coalition broke the Nilfgaard Army after two days of fighting, shattering Nilfgaard’s attempt to occupy Cintra.
• Menno Coehoorn fled through Nazair with a handful of guards, and Lynn captured him while he slept.
• Lynn revealed his identity as Grand Duke and offered Menno land and rank if he entered his service, while warning that returning south meant execution.
• Emhyr var Emreis confirmed the Western Army Group’s defeat, hanged several officers, placed a bounty on Menno, and faced military and financial turmoil.
• The Nilfgaardian garrisons abandoned Riss-Rhun and Eissengray, and Lynn’s army entered Riss-Rhun and quelled the looting.
• Lynn made Riss-Rhun the center of his rule in Nazair.

Lynn strengthened Nazair’s defenses, exposed a Nilfgaardian agent among the people’s representatives, and rejected Cintra’s claim to Nazair while keeping the door open to northern alliances. After meeting the coalition’s envoys, he reunited with Lugos, whose mind had been spared the damage of the Haunted Castle’s evil spirit.

• Lynn assigned troops, witchers, the Syndicate, and a local militia to defend Nazair and impede Nilfgaardian and coalition forces.
• A representative named Russell challenged Lynn over his army’s presence in Nazair, and the Syndicate revealed that Russell’s family and assets were in Nilfgaardian territory and that he was secretly serving Nilfgaard.
• Lynn ordered the Syndicate to let Russell’s ties to Etolia become known rather than kill him.
• Marshal Vissegerd accused Lynn of seizing Nazair’s victory, and Lynn declared that Nazair belonged to Kovir and warned Queen Calanthe against trying to take it.
• General Reynard denied that Queen Meve wanted Nazair, accepted grain from Lynn, and left on friendly terms.
• Lugos told Lynn that the Skellige Isles wanted a friendly northern state south of Cintra, and Lynn reflected that Lugos’s intelligence had recovered because the Haunted Castle’s evil spirit had not harmed him.

Lynn refused to lend his witcher troops to Nilfgaardian nobles plotting to overthrow Emhyr, though he agreed to remain neutral. The nobles killed Emhyr and plunged Nilfgaard into civil war, while Lynn rejected an invasion and planned to strengthen his control of Nazair before targeting somewhere in the north.

• Sander Chester asked Lynn to help overthrow Emhyr, but Lynn refused to lend his witcher troops and offered only a nonaggression agreement.
• Duke Adal aep Dahy and other opposition nobles stormed the palace, and Earl Joachim de Wett’s forces killed Emhyr after a sorcerer was brought down by a dimeritium arrow.
• Nilfgaard’s great nobles fought among themselves after seizing power, plunging the empire into a devastating civil war.
• Drake urged Lynn to invade Nilfgaard and reclaim Maecht, but Lynn refused because an attack might unite the Nilfgaardians against him.
• Lynn decided to develop Nazair and expand his control there before pursuing his next target in the north.

Lynn arranged for Borch’s daughter, Saskia, to slay the golden dragon that killed King Henselt and King Demavend, then take power in Kaedwen. After Saskia began governing Ard Carraigh with popular and military support, the nobles and bureaucrats waited for her to fail, but an unexpected development left them astonished.

• The golden dragon killed King Demavend and carried King Henselt away, but Sabrina’s spell forced it to release him; Henselt had already been crushed to death.
• Lynn confirmed to Borch that both kings were dead and said he planned to help Saskia establish a country where all races could coexist.
• After the kings’ deaths plunged Aedirn and Kaedwen into turmoil, Saskia arrived in Ard Carraigh claiming she would protect Kaedwen’s people.
• Saskia returned a day later with the dragon’s head, and the people hailed her as the Dragon-Slaying Saint.
• Saskia won the support of the common people and soldiers, took charge of Kaedwen’s royal domain, and appointed capable commoners and nonhumans.
• Kaedwen’s nobles and bureaucrats expected Saskia to fail at governing, but something happened that astonished them.

The Dragon-Slaying Saint’s forces united Kaedwen and Aedirn, prompting Queen Meve to recognize the new kingdom while King Vizimir planned an invasion. Vizimir was assassinated, and as Redania’s Regency Council consolidated power, Dijkstra escaped after discovering Philippa’s role in the murder.

• Officials sent from Isparaden took control of Ard Carraigh, reduced taxes, confiscated elite fortunes, and enforced equal punishment for crimes against humans and nonhumans.
• Saskia led an army that conquered Kaedwen and Aedirn, distributing nobles’ wealth to local people as the United Kingdom of Kaedwen and Aedirn was founded.
• Queen Meve recognized the United Kingdom and signed a nonaggression pact and military alliance, while Vizimir arranged with King Foltest to invade it.
• Elves assassinated Vizimir and his nobles; Queen Hedwig, Philippa, and Dijkstra formed a Regency Council that demanded loyalty to young Radovid and crushed nobles who resisted.
• After receiving a secret message, Dijkstra tried to flee Tretogor, killed two men sent to detain him, and escaped before Philippa could capture him.

Lynn and Tissaia used the sorcerers’ summit on Thanedd Island to expose Vilgefortz and his allies. Lynn disabled Vilgefortz’s djinn-powered magic and killed him, leaving the surviving sorcerers to face the aftermath.

• Lynn approved Philippa’s proposal for a sorcerers’ summit, and Tissaia arranged for the meeting to draw out Vilgefortz.
• At Garstang Palace, Philippa accused Vilgefortz of aiding Nilfgaard, and Tissaia confirmed that she knew of his betrayal.
• Vilgefortz shattered the anti-magic barrier, while Francesca, Terranova, and Fercart attacked the other sorcerers; Tissaia subdued Francesca as Yennefer helped protect Philippa.
• Lynn entered the hall after killing Francesca’s Scoia’tael, then swiftly killed Terranova and confronted Vilgefortz and Fercart.
• Lynn’s anti-magic power severed Vilgefortz’s connection to the djinn, and Lynn killed him before he could retaliate.

Lynn executed the sorcerers behind the Thanedd coup, while Radovid seized power in Redania and persecuted sorcerers before Lynn killed him and helped Saskia's army conquer the kingdom. In Tretogor, Lynn received envoys seeking alliances and a marriage pact, but he claimed he was already betrothed and declined Foltest's offer.

• Lynn beheaded Francesca and Fercart, then burned their bodies along with Vilgefortz and Terranova.
• Radovid trapped Philippa with dimeritium bombs, imprisoned her, and took control of Redania; Drake later poisoned and killed Philippa on Lynn's orders.
• Radovid persecuted suspected sorcerers and fought Saskia's invading army, but Lynn infiltrated his camp, killed him, and set the camp ablaze.
• With Radovid dead, Redania's forces collapsed, and Saskia's army occupied the kingdom and moved its nonhuman population to the United Kingdom.
• Mousesack, Velerad, Prince Villem, and Crach an Craite visited Lynn in Tretogor; Lynn rejected Foltest's offer to marry Princess Adda, saying he was already betrothed.

Lynn secured alliances with Lyria, Rivia, Cintra, and Skellige, then married Princess Cirilla in Tretogor. As Nilfgaard’s civil war devastated the empire, Lynn’s army crossed the Yaruga, occupied four southern provinces, and began restoring their livelihoods.

• Prince Villem offered Queen Meve’s proposal to grant Lynn’s family garrisoning rights and military access in Lyria and Rivia.
• Mousesack and Crach presented Queen Calanthe and Eist’s marriage proposal, and Lynn accepted their offer to marry Princess Cirilla.
• Lynn held a grand wedding to Cirilla in Tretogor, attended by rulers and nobles from across the North.
• As Nilfgaard’s civil war neared its end, Lynn’s army crossed the Yaruga River and occupied Maecht, Geso, Ebbing, and Metinna.
• Lynn halted his advance, secured the provinces against counterattack, and began rebuilding agriculture through a work-relief program.

Lynn visited the dying Istredd in Kovir, secured a peaceful alliance with Tankred, and founded the Empire before accepting Jacques's allegiance after exposing his past and warning him about the Wild Hunt. In the Land of the Alders, Auberon received a signal from Elder Blood and regained hope for his people.

• Lynn ordered Drake to eliminate Duke Joachim and Duke Adal, then flew to Kovir after Sheala reported that Istredd was gravely ill.
• Istredd asked Lynn to support Tankred and, if Tankred and his heir died, to annex Kovir while preserving land for the Thyssen family; Istredd died a few days later.
• Tankred inherited the throne, acknowledged the Augustus Family's independence, and signed treaties with Lynn, who then returned to Tretogor and proclaimed the Empire.
• Jacques offered Foltest's crown to Lynn and recounted how Adda had poisoned Foltest before the Order of the Flaming Rose turned against her and restored her striga curse.
• Lynn revealed that Jacques was Alvin, knew of his Elder Blood and plans, and persuaded him to pledge allegiance by explaining that stopping the Wild Hunt could prevent the White Frost from destroying their world.
• In the Land of the Alders, Ge'els brought Auberon a receiver signaling Elder Blood, rekindling the Alder King's hope for the Aen Elle.

Lynn and his allies destroyed the Wild Hunt, unified the known world, and established a stable empire before he and Triss crossed a rift into the world of Baldur's Gate. There, they helped Halsin defeat a goblin camp and set off with him toward the Emerald Grove, where Lynn began telling the story of his life.

• Auberon sent Eredin, Avallac'h, Ge'els, Imlerith, Caranthir, and the Wild Hunt to capture the Elder Blood, but Lynn's forces trapped and annihilated them at Kaer Morhen.
• Lynn defeated Eredin and burned his corpse, ending the Wild Hunt's threat and dealing a devastating blow to the Aen Elle.
• Lynn unified the known world, reformed its government, and built an empire focused on peace and recovery.
• The Lady of the Lake asked Lynn to investigate a rift on Black Tern Island, and Triss chose to accompany him while Cirilla, Fringilla, and Keira stayed behind.
• Lynn and Triss emerged in a dungeon in Baldur's Gate, where they freed Halsin from goblins and agreed to help protect his grove.
• Lynn, Triss, and Halsin slaughtered the goblins at the abandoned temple, killing Minthara and Gut while Dror Ragzlin escaped, then headed toward the Emerald Grove as Lynn began recounting his life as a witcher apprentice.