The Witcher: Elder Blood

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***

- And yet I don't understand, elves are almost no different from humans, but even here.... In a land that has absorbed so much from this people, it feels... I don't know, a silent judgement on them,' I was nearing the end of my stay within the walls of Ard Carraig. We hadn't been in the city long, just a day if you counted back to last night. - Has their past rebellion had that much of an impact?

- Not a word, the conflicts between humans and elves are entrenched in the world. Perhaps if they hadn't had a major rebellion in the past, they would have been treated more tolerantly.... - Vesemir pulled his horse behind him, pulling it a little to the side, closer to the road, to let the carriage pass. - But I'll be honest, I find that hard to believe.

The history of conflict between humans and elves in this world is truly bloody, and it extends far beyond just one race of elves.

It all began with the very arrival on the continent, when the first humans landed from the Ships of Exile on the shores of this land. Once they did so, they began a rapid and somewhat aggressive expansion, conquering the lands inhabited by the Elder races. This is why the Elder races became known as non-humans.

New cities were built on the places of elven settlements: Novigrad, Vyzima and so on. At some point a peace treaty was signed between the two races, though it was broken rather quickly when the Redan forces slaughtered the inhabitants of Lok Muinne, the city where the first human mages were trained long ago.

The massacre in Lok Muinne affected future interactions with the elves when the Ostrowkhi themselves had already broken the peace treaty. Aelyrann, aka the White Rose of Shaerraved, led her people against the will of their elders into a suicidal battle against the humans.

I know a lot about the past events, and it is what my great-grandmother described in her drafts, mentioning in passing the other Elder races and their ways of life. However, I'll be honest, I've already forgotten a lot of things. I had to supplement information from Vesemir.

- Racial animosity, if you say they're still okay in these parts,' I noticed a man with elongated ears walking by. He had sharp facial features, and if he wore a hat on his head, he would be indistinguishable from humans. I was more attracted to his gaze, which was definitely hostile when he glanced at the citizens passing by. - And as for these... What's their name... Red Men, right?

- They fit in fine, they don't get the same treatment as the elves. But you saw it yourself in the inn,' the man grinned, remembering last night. And not just last night, to be honest. We met them on the way to the capital, no more than a couple of times, but each time was memorable.

I can understand him perfectly well, these short guys with strong physique got quite drunk last night, and then had a fight about something. At least they were quickly separated, we had just sat down to have a snack - we didn't want to leave immediately because of the scuffle.

As we continued to talk about the Red Men as we travelled along the road towards Aedirn, a neighbouring kingdom to the south, I managed to learn more about this race, their culture and how they live among humans.

- Don't confuse a red-eater with a dwarf, they don't like that.

- No, it's hard to confuse. But gosh, beards on women, really? - I had already seen one girl from this race, only she was young by their standards, as well as by human ones, so I didn't even let such a peculiarity pass.

- Yeah, they grow back as they get older. In general, I'll tell you so, you shouldn't feud with these small people for nothing, they are mostly craftsmen and merchants, but that's in the cities, and so they often become warriors. They gather groups, robbery or go to the service of those who will take them. They also live longer than humans, if they don't die... So the older Red Men are skilful fighters.

- As are the elves, I take it.

- We had to get to a certain crossroads where Vesemir and I would split up. The way was not fast, so we discussed everything to avoid boredom.

In fact, the junction we needed was the second one we'd met. The first one was closer to Ard Carraig, where we could turn west and follow the road to Redania. We split up at the second, where the road continued south to Aedirn, but first passing through the town of Ben Gleann. It was to this town that Vesemir would have to go, and I would have to cross the bridge over the Lixel River.

At that crossroads, my earlier journey in the company of the witch ended.

- Well, lad, we'll meet again. You know where we can be found,' I said, dismounting from my horse and hugging him goodbye in the middle of the crossroads.

- I'll drop by sometime, but I'll get on my feet, so to speak. I haven't repaid you for your help yet.

- Come on, be careful and stay out of trouble,' he patted me on the shoulder and saddled his horse again. - See you later, Eren.

- Have a good 'hunt', Vesemir.

Now it's time to plunge into this world on my own, without any support behind me.

***

The second day of my solitary journey ended in the second largest city of this state, located near the academy, and called Ban Ard. Yes, the academy took its name from the city. The name translates to Mountain Peak in Elder Speech, which is not surprising since the city is located right at the foot of the Blue Mountains. The Magical Academy is located outside the city walls. I have yet to learn its location, but in the meantime, I decided to rest from my long journey.

The local tavern is often frequented by future students of the academy. I decided to stay there myself, but at this point the boredom ended, because the locals decided to organise fist fights, which I watched for about thirty minutes. I even had a desire to sign up myself, but the problem was that I had to sign up in advance. And there was an opportunity to earn money, which was the second most important task for me, right after learning magic. The organisers of the fist fights even managed to make a grid of participants, apparently not for the first time or prompted by someone.... More likely the former, given their skilful organisation of the whole event.

It was already dark outside, so the fights themselves took place in a room on the ground floor of the tavern. In one corner, the tables had been moved away, increasing the distance for the gawkers. I just sat on the sidelines, looking in their direction; there was plenty of room to see, and there were plenty of people watching in the same way.

- Yeah, did you really want to punch faces with them? - Detmold, a new acquaintance of mine, was sitting next to me, a young boy of sixteen. - You'd have to bruise your nose, if not fix it.

- Let's just say I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have happened. We met in the same tavern not more than an hour ago. I heard him say one thing about the academy while we were sitting next to each other - he was annoyed that he had to wait until the next morning to get in. So I struck up a conversation with him, deciding to learn more about the magic academy and the fist fights that were just beginning.

- Listen, the fact that you were trained by witches, of course, adds to your points in the possession of the blade, but only, there are fist fights, - Detmold did not stop, he wanted to prove the stupidity of my past desire to participate.

- I have something to surprise you without a blade. Well, let's not talk about that. What time do you plan to leave for the academy tomorrow? - I didn't tell him about my short apprenticeship with the witches, so I decided to hide my foresight. Thanks to this ability, I could well pass the legend of a long stay with them. So to speak, with the help of foresight can cover the faults in the mastery of cold weapons.

- Shall we head to the academy? Ah, I forgot, you don't know much about the admission, - he wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand, the boy was getting drowsy - I'm not the only one who has travelled a long way. - We'll have to go to the city administration, there'll be a magician from the academy there. We'll pass the inspection, sign the training papers, and only then we'll be escorted to the academy.

- Hmm, is it hidden from view?

- More like hidden. No, that's not the right word either. I haven't been there yet, but I can tell you it's somewhere in the middle of the forest. It wouldn't be a good idea to wander through it yourself.

- That's right, - Vesemir didn't tell me much about the academy, rather because he didn't have the necessary knowledge. He only mentioned the approximate location, somewhere near the road leading to the nearest village, Badger Yar. - What about tuition?

- With that, well, you can't afford to pay eight hundred marks either, can you? - We had the same problem, we didn't have the money.

- Yes. Until today I didn't even know the cost of tuition, to be honest.

- Actually, it's no big deal, as I've been told myself. We'll just be given another contract, obliged to pay that amount after the training, and we'll have to help the teachers with various jobs... It's kind of normal practice, not many nobles come here.

- You know a lot, I see, have you asked anyone? - While we were chatting in the tavern, Detmold even told me about a few practical training sessions at the academy.

- I worked for an alchemist for over four years. He studied here, so he was able to tell me a lot of things. I also came here under his instruction.

- I see... Well, it's time to go to bed, as I see you're getting sleepy, - Detmold was already half-lying at the table, supporting his head with one hand. The fist fights were already coming to an end, so there was no point in lingering.