Witchers & Monsters

Witchers & Monsters

“ Witchers were created centuries ago to save humans from monsters. They were a brotherhood of mutants, rigorously trained for years and sent out every spring to wander the Continent, hunting monsters and saving the local townsfolk from curses. While many people were thankful to see a witcher when they needed help, the bizarre and frightening nature of witchers (as well as their secrecy and penchant for neutrality in politics) often got them in trouble, and still does. This became especially true a few centuries into their existence.

Witchers’ sole reason for living is to hunt monsters and break curses; their training makes them extremely efficient. In a way, they did their work too well. Witchers, and their silver and meteorite blades, made many species of monsters extinct. And as monster species fell one by one, and monsters became less and less common, witchers began to lose their purpose. Even with very little work in monster slaying and curse breaking, witchers still often refused to work as assassins or mercenaries. This aggravated the kings of the realms—soon, they saw witchers as more dangerous than helpful. By the 1250s monsters were so rare that many species had fallen into mythology—no more than fairy tales to frighten children. It was rare for anyone to see so much as a ghoul, let alone a fiend or a grave hag. The common folk’s fear transferred onto the mutants who had once been their protectors. One by one, the once-proud Witcher Schools were assaulted and destroyed by the same humans that they protected.

At first this relieved the commonfolk, but that would soon change. Many people speculate that wiping out or driving away all of the witchers eliminated the only natural predator of the remaining monsters. Such species have now come back from near extinction. More and more monsters are being spotted around the world, and witchers are needed yet again. Unfortunately most of them are dead. Those that aren’t have largely abandoned the witcher’s life to avoid lynch mobs and execution. “

Brandon of Oxenfurt & Rodolf Kazmer

The Witcher Lore (104/∞)