Geralt saga

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Author Andrzej Sapkowski (2015)

The Geralt Saga or Witcher Saga (pl. Saga o Wiedźminie ) is a series of books by the Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski , which is based on Central European fairy tales and especially Slavic legends and also contains parodic elements.

At the center of the adventure is the witcher Geralt von Rivia . The actual saga is a pentalogy ( The Legacy of the Elves , The Time of Contempt , Baptism by Fire , The Swallow Tower , The Lady of the Lake ). There are also two short story volumes about Geralt ( The Last Wish, The Sword of Providence ) and the self-contained single volume Zeit des Sturms , whose novel plot takes place between the two short story volumes. The short story volume Something ends, something begins two other Geralt stories.

All German translations of the Geralt books are by Erik Simon and published by dtv . In 1990 the volume of short stories Wiedźmin appeared in Polish as the first book about Geralt; the five stories it contains can also be found in The Last Wish or Something ends, something begins . In April 2018, Sapkowski first announced a new novel on the saga. This should not be a continuation of the pentalogy, but, as in the time of the storm , a single novel.

Geralt's world

A fan-reconstructed map of Geralt's world

The world of the Geralt cycle is made up of a number of small kingdoms and principalities. The most important are Aedirn (under King Demawend), Kaedwen (King Henselt), Lyrien (Queen Meve), Redanien (King Wisimir), Temeria (King Foltest), Cintra, Cidaris, Kovir and Skellige. The expansive Nilfgaard Empire also plays an important role in pentalogy. In addition to humans, there are also “non-creatures” such as dwarves, elves, halflings and other mythical creatures living in these countries. While the dwarves are best known as craftsmen and warriors, the elves are feared and admired at the same time by the people who often consider them to be inferior. An important aspect of the plot of the Witcher books is the struggle of the elves and other representatives of the "ancient peoples" (e.g. also Brokilon dryads) against oppression and repression by humans.

Most of the people's lands are de facto ruled by sorcerers, mostly officially as advisers to the respective king or prince. Exceptions are v. a. the Empire of Nilfgaard, in which magicians play only a minor role and which is ruled despotic by Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, and the allied principalities of Skellige and Cintra. Another example is Dol Blathanna, the elven principality founded in the course of the saga and ruled over by the elven sorceress Francesca Findabair.

Many mythical creatures and monsters live in the world described. Sorcerers are a small group of mutants who go about their business and kill monsters, provided they are paid to do so. They are mainly recruited from orphans and poor children and after a magical-medical treatment, as a result of which they, if they survive the treatment, are among others. a. much faster and stronger than normal people are trained for professional monster killing. Wizards are also capable of rudimentary magic and have extensive knowledge of healing and herbalism. Another consequence of the treatments (called "mutations") they undergo as children is that their senses are much more sensitive than normal people and that the aging process is slower. Sorcerers are also incapable of reproduction: they are recruited in part from “surprise children” who are promised to them according to the “law of surprise”. The affected children are subjected to the so-called "herbal test" and "transformations", whereby more than half die or go insane. Because of their otherness, witchers are feared or even hated by most people (the books retrospectively mention pogroms against witchers); for this reason, the route to one of its seats, Kaer Morhen, a ruined mountain fortress, is known only to the initiated. On the other hand, they are an important part of the world from their own point of view, because they keep the "evil" (the monsters) in check. Your job is both very dangerous and very lucrative. Witcher are only men, a female body would not survive the "herb test" and mutations. Sorcerers wield two swords, one made of silver (or one made of an alloy with silver as the main component, since pure silver would be too soft) to fight magical and supernatural beings and one made of steel to fight humans and natural creatures. Contrary to what is shown in the games, Geralt only carries one sword on his back, while the other remains with his mare " Roach ".

Background and origin

In 1985 Andrzej Sapkowski worked as a sales representative. Well read and with a penchant for fantasy literature, for example by Roger Zelazny , he decided to take part in a fantasy short story competition organized by the Polish magazine Fantastyka . However, he was concerned about the 30-page limit as he “wrote longer letters”. In this context, classical fantasy seemed unsuitable to him. Inspired by the well-known Polish legend of the shoemaker and the Wawel dragon , a “fairytale-like” reinterpretation of such fabrics came to mind. It seemed unbelievable to him that a simple cobbler should defeat a dragon while knights and soldiers fail. In a world that is plagued by dragons and other monsters, there would certainly also be specialists who professionally hunt such monsters and who would be paid for them. This idea provided the framework for the Witcher saga.

With his short story The Witcher , Sapkowski came third in the competition. Although he initially did not care to continue this story, the success in Poland was enormous, which led to further short stories, which were later bundled in the short story volumes published. His unconventional approach and his writing style were extremely successful, also because fantasy in Poland has so far been viewed primarily as children's stories. In 1990 the Polish reporter publisher published the volume of short stories Wiedźmin , which in addition to the first included four other short stories. A German translation of this volume was not made and now appears obsolete, since four of the short stories are also included in The Last Wish , the fifth in Something ends, something begins . The first volume of his pentalogy was finally published by SuperNowa in 1994.

Sapkowski's work was published for the first time in German in 1993 with the short story volume The Last Wish by Lingen Verlag . In 1998 the short story volumes were reissued by Heyne Verlag . As of 2007, the entire German-language Geralt saga was published by the Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag . In autumn 2019, dtv published a new edition of the pentalogy, with a five-part spine motif , silver-embossed cover images and, for the first time, with a map. New editions of the short story volumes and the individual novel followed in spring 2020.

action

Volumes of short stories

The last wish

The final wish contains a series of short stories that introduce the actual Geralt saga (pentalogy, see below). The short stories are framed by short episodes entitled The Voice of Reason , which deal with Geralt's stay in the temple of the goddess Melitele in Ellander, where he is recovering from a serious injury.

In The Witcher , Geralt comes to Vizima, where King Foltest is looking for someone who curses his daughter, who has been cursed as a striga and comes from an incestuous relationship with his sister, who has lived in the old castle of the city for years and kills people on a regular basis. Geralt agrees to do the job. He goes to the castle at night and manages to disenchant the girl, seriously injuring him by preventing her from returning to her coffin in the morning.

In A Grain of Truth , the witcher accidentally discovers a small castle in a deserted forest where a man named Nivellen who has been transformed into a monster lives. Geralt befriends this one. He initially struggled with his curse, but is happy about how his "monster potency" is received by women who visit him because of this and because of his wealth. It turns out, however, that Nivellen is now living with a higher vampire, a bruxa. A fight ensues in which Geralt kills the bruxa. In the process, Nivellen is disenchanted by chance.

The lesser evil is about a visit by Geralt to the town of Blaviken, where the wanted and feared robber Renfri, known as "Strangler" , wants to kill the resident magician and friend of Geralt, Stregobor, in revenge. Although Geralt shows understanding for Renfri's motives and spent the night with her, he decides to oppose it. Renfri threatens a so-called "Tridamer ultimatum" - either the magician lets himself be killed or she will kill the residents of the city. There is a fight between Geralt and Renfri and their gang at the town fair, in which the witcher kills them all. Residents of the city, who witnessed it but knew nothing about the background, coined Geralt's nickname "The Butcher of Blaviken".

In A Matter of Price , Geralt is in Cintra for the first time. He is invited to a party on the occasion of Princess Pavetta's birthday. Cintra's Queen Calanthe demands that he kill Duny, a cursed man to whom Pavetta was "law of surprise" promised by Calanthe's late husband. Witches usually negotiate the price of their services beforehand. In addition to money, a witcher can also refer to the “law of surprise”, which means that he is entitled to what the client receives but did not expect (as in this case the pregnant woman's child). Geralt refuses the request. During the festival, Duny, also known as the “hedgehog” because of his curse and appearance, appears and is wounded, whereupon Pavetta, who nevertheless has affection for him, reveals magical powers and uncontrollably ravages the hall. In the end, it turns out that Pavetta and Duny had been secretly dating for a long time, and that Pavetta is pregnant - shortly before this comes out, Duny promises Geralt their child according to the "law of surprise". This event is the starting point for the entire saga.

In The Edge of the World Geralt travels with his friend, the bard Delphinium, to a remote village, where he is tasked with rendering a "devil" harmless. It turns out that the devil is a Silvan named Torque, who steals food from the villagers for the starving elves who live in the area. They take Geralt and Delphinium prisoner and want to kill them, which is ultimately prevented by the Queen of the Fields, Dana Méadbh.

In the cover story of the volume, Larkspur finds a magic jug while fishing, from which a genie emerges. The genie begins shortly afterwards to devastate a nearby city, the seat of the sorceress Yennefer. This tries to capture the Djinn and use it for its own purposes, but this turns out to be more powerful than them. Only with the help of Geralt is she able to chase the jinn away. It is the first meeting of Geralt and Yennefer, whose relationship is formative for the entire saga.

The sword of providence

In the limits of the possible , Geralt first meets the mysterious knight Borch Drei Dohlen, and then goes on a dragon hunt with him and the delphinium, who is also met by chance. The sorceress Yennefer, Geralt's former lover, also takes part in this. Geralt discusses with Borch the possibility of remaining uninvolved in conflicts and the “struggle between order and chaos”, a leitmotif of the entire cycle. Borch, it turns out to be a golden dragon that had assumed human form. Dragons are considered to be very rare, intelligent and rational beings. He survives the hunt, which also ends with a reconciliation between Yennefer and Geralt.

In A Shard of Ice, Geralt meets a competitor for Yennefer's favor, the magician Istredd, in the town of Aedd Gynvael. The sorceress cannot choose between them and leaves both of them.

The Eternal Fire takes place in the city of Novigrad, in which Geralt and Delphinium help a halfling named Dainty Biberveldt to get back his fortune stolen by a deceiver or doppler who took on the shape of the halfling. Ultimately, Dainty and his adversary reconcile and decide to do business together.

In A Little Sacrifice, Geralt and Delphinium linger in the coastal town of Bremervoord. There Geralt tries unsuccessfully to mediate between Prince Agloval and a siren named Sh'eenaz, who are in love with each other but are prevented from living together due to different physical equipment. Meanwhile they meet a friend of Delphinium, the young bard Essi Daven, who falls in love with Geralt. A group of pearl divers is massacred under mysterious circumstances. Geralt finds out that those responsible are a rational race of marine life. The story ends with a reconciliation between Agloval and Sh'eenaz (who lets a siren sorceress conjure up her legs and abdomen) and the departure of delphinium, Geralt and Essi.

The cover story has a direct reference to pentalogy - here Geralt goes as envoy to the Dryads in the Brokilon Forest, where he happens to come across 10-year-old Cirilla von Cintra, his “surprise child”, who got lost there. He leaves Brokilon again with Ciri and shortly afterwards meets Mäussack, the druid and advisor to Calanthe, Ciri's grandmother, who brings the child back to Cintra, while Geralt defies providence and disappears.

The final story in the volume, Something More , builds on The Sword of Providence . Geralt runs into the merchant Yurga by chance and defends him against a swarm of monsters. In return, Yurga promises him what awaits him at home, about which he knows nothing (with which he brings the "law of surprise" into play). He is badly wounded in the fight against the monsters. Yurga takes care of him and takes him home with her. On the way they meet the sorceress Visenna, Geralt's mother, who cares for his serious injuries. During the trip, Geralt falls into feverish dreams that represent flashbacks - he remembers past events: a meeting with Yennefer during the Belleteyn summer festival; a visit to Cintra, during which he tells Calanthe that he has no intention of taking away her grandchild; and a meeting with Delphinium, where he learned that Cintra was overrun by the army of the Nilfgaard Empire and that Calanthe died. At the end of the story it turns out that Ciri accidentally ran into Yurga's family during their absence - she is the "surprise" that Yurga had ignorantly promised Geralt.

Time of storm

The single novel Zeit des Sturms takes place before pentalogy, between the action of the short story volumes. Most of the action takes place in the small state of Kerack, where Geralt gets caught up in several intrigues. After arriving in the city of Kerack, he was arrested for flimsy reasons, only to be released shortly afterwards - as it turns out, both thanks to the sorceress Lytta Neyd, known as Koralle. His swords are stolen from him during his brief imprisonment. Through the agency of the coral, with whom he had a love affair, he was hired by magicians from the Rissberg research complex - allegedly to eliminate a demon who massacred the inhabitants of several forest settlements in the vicinity of Rissberg. Geralt runs into a young wizard who actually did the deeds and narrowly escapes him. He ends up in the Pontar area, from where he tries to make his way to Nowigrad in Temeria, where he believes he can regain his swords. On the way there he goes through some minor adventures. Then he returns to Kerack, where he eliminates the murderous wizard and gets caught in a palace revolt, at the end of which he leaves Kerack with delphinium. Towards the end of the book, he also regains his swords, which his former lover Yennefer bought for him in Novigrad. The novel is concluded with an epilogue that takes place after the end of the pentalogy and suggests a possible continuation.

Pentalogy

The legacy of the elves

Pentalogy begins shortly after the war between the kingdoms of the north and the empire Nilfgaard. There has been a truce since the Battle of Sodden lost by Nilfgaard. Previously, Nilfgaard captured Cintra, with Queen Calanthe dying; Her eleven-year-old granddaughter Cirilla, the “child of providence”, on the other hand, managed to escape. After some time she was found by Geralt and brought to the witcher fortress Kaer Morhen, where she is taught martial arts. Since Ciri is plagued by nightmares and has seizures of clairvoyant trances, the witchers call the befriended sorceress Triss Merigold for help. At the same time, Geralt's friend, the troubadour delphinium, is attacked by a renegade wizard named Rience who is looking for Ciri.

After some investigation, Triss realizes that Ciri needs help from someone more experienced - on her recommendation, Geralt turns to Yennefer, his former lover. He leaves Ciri in the care of Nennekes, the priestess of the goddess Melitele, in Ellander, and goes in search of Rience. Meanwhile, Yennefer comes to Ellander and begins teaching Ciri magic. During his search, Geralt discovers that other forces, including secret services, are beginning to be interested in Rience and Ciris' whereabouts. It is becoming increasingly difficult for him to maintain the neutrality that he actually insists on.

Another war is brewing in the background. The kingdoms of the north begin to crush the Scoia'tael riots, guerrillas of young aliens.

The time of contempt

Ciri is brought to the town of Gors Velen by Yennefer. She is supposed to begin formal training in magic at the school of sorcerers in nearby Aretusa; at the same time, a wizarding congress is to take place on the island of Thanedd, where Aretusa is also located. Before that happens, Ciri stubbornly leaves Gors Velen to meet Geralt, who works nearby. This leads to an encounter between Yennefer and Geralt. Geralt then accompanies Yennefer to the wizard's ball on Thanedd.

At the same time, two men who are commissioned by Geralt to research why and on whose behalf Ciri is being persecuted by Rience, are murdered - shortly after they find out that Ciri is a direct descendant of the legendary Falka, a rebel who ended up at the stake, and thus "Child of the Elder Blood".

In the course of the wizarding congress there was a coup and a counter-coup; many wizards die in fighting. Geralt is badly wounded by Vilgefortz von Roggeveen and then has to be cured by the Brokilon Dryads for a long time. Ciri disappears in the portal of the legendary Tor Lara ("seagull tower"), which then crumbles. Yennefer and Vilgefortz also disappear for the time being. Ciri finds herself again in the desert south of Nilfgaard, where she is found by hunters from Nilfgaard after an encounter with a unicorn. They are supposed to bring them to Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, to whom Rience and Cahir aep Ceallach had previously delivered a “false” cirilla. By chance, however, Ciri is freed from the "rats", a gang of murdering and robbing young people, whom she joins under the pseudonym Falka.

In the background of the events, war breaks out between Nilfgaard and the kingdoms of the north; this lasted extremely short, after the occupation of Aedirn by Nilfgaard there was an armistice. An elven kingdom under the protection of Nilfgaard is founded in Dol Blathanna, the queen of which is the sorceress Francesca Findabair.

Baptism of fire

The witcher regenerates with the help of the dryads of Brokilon. When he learns that Ciri is supposed to be in Nilfgaard, he sets out to save her. He is initially accompanied by delphiniums; A short time later they were joined by Maria "Milva" Barring, an archer who lives with the Dryads. Around the same time, the war between Nilfgaard and the kingdoms of the north breaks out again.

At the same time, Ciri, who is now a permanent member of the "Rats", robs and murders, is sought and pursued by Nilfgaard. In Montecalvo, the home of the sorceress Philippa Eilhart, a cosmopolitan convention of sorcerers is founded, the aim of which is to marry Ciri, the Child of the Elder Blood, with an heir to the throne in order to give magic a central place in world history. Yennefer, held captive or hidden in a small nephrite figure by Francesca Findabair since the uprising on Thanedd, is accepted into the convent, but flees at the first opportunity to save Ciri.

Geralt's team grows and gets entangled again and again in events with which the witcher actually wants nothing to do. While trying to get to Nilfgaard in a roundabout way, Geralt and his companions - in addition to Darkspur and Milva, soon also the higher vampire Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy and Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, the disgraced Nilfgaard knight - meet a group several times of dwarves around Zoltan Chivay and experience some dangerous adventures with them. Towards the end of the book, Geralt and Cahir, who by chance get into battle, save Queen Maeve of Lyria, for which Geralt is knighted - ironically, he is given the title Geralt of Rivia, which he had given himself as a young witcher.

The swallow tower

After the Battle of the Jaruga, Geralt and his companions deserted Meve's army soon enough to go in search of the druids from Caed Dhu, from whom Regis hoped to help track down Ciri. In doing so, they cross the Jaruga River again. In the Nordfall in Riedbrune, subjugated by Nilfgaard, the team wins an additional member in Angoulême, a young girl from an armed band of robbers. This band of robbers is supposed to kill Geralt and his companions on behalf of Vilgefortz, but they do not succeed. Ultimately, the witcher and his companions find the druids, but do not find out where Ciri is.

Meanwhile, Ciri decides to leave the "rats". Before she makes it, they are killed by Leo Bonhart, a bounty hunter. This was commissioned by Stefan Skellen, a special agent of the emperor Emhyr var Emreis, to kill Ciri. Instead, he captures them and lets them fight in an arena. In the course of a meeting between Bonhart, Skellen with his team and Rience, Ciri escapes, but is seriously injured. A hermit, Vysogota, saves her life after finding her half-dead in the marshland he lives in. Ciri spends some time with him and hides before she decides to visit the legendary Zirael gate, the Swallow Tower. On the way there she is followed by Bonhart, Skellen and Rience again. Ultimately, she kills the latter and disappears into a portal of the Zirael gate, which leads her into a parallel world inhabited by elves.

Meanwhile, at the first meeting of the sorceress’s lodge, Yennefer escapes to the island of Skellige, from where she deliberately sails to a sea depth in which several ships have already disappeared - including the ship with the parents of Ciri, Pavetta and Duny. With the help of magic, your ship is transported from the sea to the hideout of Vilgefortz, where he tortures you in order to find out where Ciri is.

The lady from the lake

Geralt and his companions spend the winter in the principality of Toussaint, which is dependent on Nilfgaard but largely enjoys autonomy. Geralt meets the sorceress Fringilla Vigo, begins an affair with her - and who spies on him on behalf of the sorceress' box. By chance, however, Geralt learns the whereabouts of Vilgefortz and sets off there with his companions to free Yennefer. Only Larkspur, now in a relationship with the Princess of Toussaint, Anna Henrietta, remains.

After entering the portal in Tor Zirael, Ciri ends up in a parallel world among elves, the people of the alders (Aen Elle). They keep Ciri, whom they call the Lady of the Lake, imprisoned in their world, so that they can bear a child for their king, with whose help they can travel between parallel universes without restriction. With the help of unicorns, Ciri manages to escape, she begins to wander through worlds and times. Several times she ends up in her own world and at the right time, but without realizing it. Ultimately, with the help of the sorceress Nimue (also known as the Lady of the Lake), who is investigating the sorcerer's legend in the future (and from whose perspective large parts of the book are told), she arrives at Stygga Fort, the hiding place of Vilgefortz. There she is captured.

Shortly after Ciri's arrival, Geralt and his crew arrive at the fort. A fight breaks out in which Angoulême, Cahir, Milva and Regis are killed, but Geralt is able to kill Vilgefortz and Ciri Bonhart. After the end of the fight the castle is stormed by the guard of Emhyr - who turns out to be Duny, Ciri's father - Geralt and Yennefer are taken prisoner. Ultimately, however, Emhyr refrains from taking Ciri with him and marrying, and gives all three freedom.

Meanwhile, the battle of Brenna ends the war between Nilfgaard and the kingdoms of the north. A peace agreement is concluded in Cintra.

Yennefer, Ciri, and Geralt return north. On the way they take Larkspur with them from Toussaint, who was nearly executed there because of an affair. Ciri reaches an agreement with the Sorceress' Lodge that she will submit to her plans to marry her to the Prince of Kovir. She and Yennefer meet with Geralt in Riva, where they get caught up in a pogrom against nonhumans. Geralt is fatally wounded, Ciri saves him with the help of his unicorn friend; but they have to leave their world. Ultimately, Ciri ends up in King Arthur's world , where she happens to meet the young Galahad .

Protagonists

Geralt of Rivia

Geralt, the main character of the cycle, is a sorcerer, also known as the "White Wolf". He often uses the fictitious nickname “von Riva”, although he was only knighted by Queen Meve in the baptism of fire as a knight of Riva, as a reward for his services in a battle in which he happened to be involved. Geralt travels the world and kills monsters with his swords, provided he is paid to do so. He doesn't really like people very much, but only kills them in self-defense. In his search for Ciri von Cintra, whom he treats like his own daughter, he travels the world in pentalogy and is repeatedly forced to take one of the sides in the raging war between Nilfgaard and the kingdoms of the north, which is what he finds is repugnant. His white hair comes from the fact that he was subjected to a further development of the "herb test". He was the only one of ten boys to survive, which made his body even stronger and his senses even sharper than with normal sorcerers. A side effect of this was the loss of all pigment in his hair.

Geralt's mother is a sorceress named Visenna. In the story Something more he meets her by chance, she takes care of him after he was badly injured by monsters.

delphinium

Delphinium (actually Julian Alfred Pankratz Vizegraf de Lettenhove) is Geralt's best friend, a great poet and bard . He is popular with women and has repeatedly affairs, such as T. have fatal consequences. He is a loyal companion of Geralt, although he is actually not particularly brave and cannot fight, so that he has to rely on the witcher's defense. Another weakness of his is his narcissism and arrogance.

Cirilla from Cintra

Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, known as Ciri, is the most important figure in pentalogy alongside Geralt. She is the daughter of Pavetta, the princess of Cintra, and the "hedgehog". She was promised to Geralt by the “Law of Surprise” before she was born, but after her mother's death she is raised by her grandmother Queen Calanthe in Cintra. Only after the storming of Cintra by Nilfgaard soldiers and the death of Calanthe is Ciri found by Geralt, but is lost again a little later. The plot of the pentalogy is based on Geralt's attempts to find Ciri. After a while, Ciri, described as having poison green eyes and ash-blonde hair, treats Geralt like her father and Yennefer like her mother. In Kaer Morhen, the seat of the sorcerers, she is trained in sorcery, while Yennefer then teaches her magic.

Zireael, as her elven name is, is the "legacy of the elves", the "child of older blood", Aen Hen Ichaer, the bearer of elven genes with great magical potential. In order to make use of their power, magicians of the Geralt world, as well as the alder people, whose riders are called "the wild hunt", try to abuse Ciri for their own purposes.

Yennefer from Vengerberg

Yennefer is a very proud sorceress and the great love of Geralt. Although he cheats on her several times in the course of the books and although the two argue regularly, their relationship continues. Yennefer does not want to accept that, like almost all sorceresses, she is sterile and feels a strong desire to have children. Over time she becomes a kind of "surrogate mother" for Ciri and confronts other sorceresses to protect them from them.

Duny / Emhyr var Emreis

Duny alias the "hedgehog" is presumably an outcast prince who, due to an evil spell, has the shape of a human hedgehog in daylight. By the "law of surprise" he is promised the hand of Pavetta of Cintra. With the help of Geralt, he is freed from the spell and marries Pavetta. Their daughter Ciri is born. Then he disappears in a sea storm. While his wife was killed, Duny survived and later became Emperor of Nilfgaard. As Emhyr var Emreis, Deithwen Addan yn Carn aep Morvudd (The white flame that dances on the graves of the enemy), he seeks Ciri to make her his wife.

Geralt's companion

In the course of the pentalogy, Geralt wins a group of unusual companions. His search for Ciri was joined by: Maria “Milva” Barring, an archer who grew up under the Dryads of Brokilon, the “higher vampire” and herbalist Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy, the deserted Nilfgaard soldier and noble Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, who was originally commissioned twice by Emhyr var Emreis to kidnap Ciri, both times failing and therefore falling out of favor, and Angoulême, a girl who was previously a member of an armed youth gang.

Other important figures

Other important figures are the magician and Geralt's adversary Vilgefortz von Roggeveen, as well as his henchman Rience; the dwarves Zoltan Chivay and Yarpen Zigrin, friends of Geralt and Ciri; the members of the Lodge of the Sorceresses, in particular Triss Merigold, Philippa Eilhart and Fringilla Vigo; the Redan chief spy Sigismund Dijkstra; the "rats" (Mistle, Flamme, Kayleigh, Giselher, Asse, Reef), a band of robbers to which Ciri temporarily belongs; Ciri's adversary, the bounty hunter and very good swordsman Leo Bonhart; Emhyr's special envoy, Stefan Skellen, who is looking for Ciri in Nilfgaard and is a ridiculed advocate of democracy. This also injured Ciri with a throwing star in the face, which led to her distinctive scar. Furthermore the sorceresses Nimue and Condwiramurs, who research the witcher legend together and finally help Ciri to get back into their world; Nenneke, high priestess in the temple of the goddess Melitele in Ellander and a kind of surrogate mother of Geralt.

Style and reception

The Witcher books are full of, sometimes satirical, allusions and references to fairy tales, literature and historical events. For example, in The Time of Contempt, there is a young halfling named Franklin who tries to capture lightning bolts with a wire - an allusion to Benjamin Franklin . Some of the short stories in particular are grim parodies of classic fairy tales, such as The Lesser Evil ( Snow White ) or A Grain of Truth ( From the summer and winter garden or Beauty and the Beast ). Sapkowski's work also received praise for not following common fantasy clichés, such as escapism typical of the genre , but also for tackling more serious issues such as sexuality, racism, alcoholism or sexual abuse.

Furthermore, it is characteristic of pentalogy that there are several parallel storylines - up to three or four at the same time. Often events are not told directly, but are retold retrospectively by a character, often delphinium, especially in The Lady of the Lake . Occasionally, certain events are told from the perspective of third parties that actually have nothing to do with the main story - a messenger, a spy or even a cat. Often seemingly unimportant characters appear, which only become important in the later course of the plot. B. Nimue, the lady from the lake , was a little girl already in baptism of fire .

The books

Volumes of short stories

  • Wiedźmin , 1990
  • The Sword of Providence , dtv , Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-423-21069-0 , Miecz przeznaczenia , 1992
  • The Last Wish , dtv, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-423-20993-9 , Ostatnie życzenie , 1993 (Note: Although “The Last Wish” was published in the Polish original after “The Sword of Providence”, the people in “ The stories contained in the last wish ”took place chronologically first and many of these stories were already published individually or in the anthology“ Wiedźmin ”in Poland.)
  • Something ends, something begins . dtv, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-423-21353-0 , Coś się kończy, coś się zaczyna , 2000 (only two stories related to Geralt: Droga, z której się nie wraca (dt. the path from which nobody returns ) and Coś się kończy, coś się zaczyna (Eng. Something ends, something begins ).)

The pentalogy

Single novel

Adaptation of the saga in other media

Film adaptations

Some stories about the witcher Geralt were first made into a cinema film in 2001 by the director Marek Brodzki under the title Wiedźmin (German title: Geralt von Riva - The Witcher ) and later broadcast as a mini-series in 13 parts of 45 to 50 minutes on Polish television. Michał Żebrowski played the main role as Geralt . The production received mostly negative reviews. The German DVD release took place on May 3, 2010. The film music was composed and recorded by Grzegorz Ciechowski , for which he was posthumously awarded the Polish Film Prize in 2002 .

Freya Allan , Henry Cavill and Anya Chalotra at San Diego Comic-Con International 2019, who star in the Netflix series Ciri, Geralt and Yennefer.

In 2015 it was announced that a new feature film based on the books about Geralt, also called Wiedźmin , would be shot. The director should be Tomasz Bagiński . Production of this US adaptation was scheduled to begin in 2017. On May 17, 2017, Netflix announced a film adaptation of the novels as an English-language series. The direction of this series should continue to lead Tomasz Bagiński, who was already responsible for the render teaser and the render intro of The Witcher 3 . The Witcher TV series is based on the books only, not the video games, CD Projekt RED is not involved. Lauren Schmidt Hissrich was the producer of the Witcher series . In early September 2018, the British actor Henry Cavill was announced to play Geralt von Rivia. He described himself as a connoisseur and fan, both of the book as well as of the computer games. According to Cavill, the series announced for 2019 will use "a little something" from the games and "a lot" from the books. On October 10, 2018, the other cast was announced, such as Freya Allan as Ciri and Anya Chalotra as Yennefer. The casting of individual roles is not without controversy among fans and connoisseurs of the template, also due to the ethnic composition. Andrzej Sapkowski does not lay claim to white figures and emphasizes that the race of the characters is not given much attention in the books and that it is up to the makers of the Netflix series to decide this in the implementation. The excitement about non-white supporting characters sparked a debate about racism in the game series' fan community. The series was released on December 20, 2019.

Games

The Polish development studio CD Projekt RED has the published 2007 The Witcher is a computer role-playing game created conversion was that in 2011 with The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was continued and in 2015 with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was expected to be completed. These computer games also became very popular and successful outside of Poland, with the series selling more than 33 million times by 2018. These games are based on the Geralt saga, but are not a direct adaptation of the novels. The first game begins around seven years after the last volume of pentalogy. With Gwent: The Witcher Card Game and Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales , two more computer game adaptations followed in the world of Geralt in 2018. Gwent is based on the card game of the same name from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and uses well-known characters and factions from the Witcher saga.

Andrzej Sapkowski has so far distanced himself from both the film adaptations and the video game adaptations of his novel. Sapkowski made derogatory comments about video games several times. Although he stated that he respected CD Projekt RED for their work and the quality of the games, he denied the medium any cultural significance and narrative relevance. The success of The Witcher series is based solely on his novel: “A video game has a different purpose than a book. It works differently. How much substance can you put in your script when the hero walks through a forest and talks to a squirrel? Where is there a literary quality in this? Where is the space for depth or artful language that games could use to express culture? This room doesn't exist. "

Sapkowski also expressed his annoyance about having sold the license rights in one fell swoop and that he refused a percentage profit-sharing, also because he did not believe in the success of the video games. The success of the games annoys him insofar as the impression he had only written novels about the games could arise, criticizing CD Projekt RED for not emphasizing often and clearly enough that their games are based on his books .

He also criticizes the fact that cover images in English-language editions show motifs from computer games, which he has no influence over, however. The great success of the games ultimately only damaged his work. Although he admits that this led to a massive increase in his book sales, he points out that he was a well-known author even before publication: “The assumption that CD Projekt RED has made that the games have increased my awareness outside Poland is completely wrong. I made the games known. All translations in the West - including the English language version - were published before the first game. ”However, this is incorrect. The first The Witcher game appeared in 2007, but the first English translation of his books was only published after this publication. Well-known Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky also denies Sapkovsky's views. He himself makes no secret of the fact that the computer game adaptations of his Metro novels have significantly increased his popularity outside Eastern Europe. He also worked with the developers, but Sapkowski strictly refused. “I'm already part of a generation that doesn't dismiss video games as cheap entertainment. Games can be art, depending on the developer. Sure, they can be junk too. It just depends on the makers. ”Sapkowski should admit that without the computer games he would only be a“ regionally known, Eastern European author ”.

On October 1, 2018, it was announced that Sapkowski was demanding an additional payment of 60 million złoty (around 14 million euros) in license fees from CD Projekt RED through a lawyer. He does not feel adequately rewarded for his intellectual property. According to him, the original license should only apply to one game anyway. On the other hand, CD Projekt RED announced on the Warsaw Stock Exchange that these claims were unfounded, that the license agreement was legal and that Sapkowski's demands were too high. But since one is interested in a good relationship, an amicable back payment will be checked, provided that Sapkowski respects existing contracts. On December 20, 2019, the day the The Witcher television series premiered on Netflix, CD Projekt RED published a press release stating that a final agreement was reached with Sapkowski, which "meets and confirms the requirements and expectations of both sides". Details of the agreement such as B. a profit sharing or additional cash payment were not mentioned with reference to confidentiality provisions. It was made clear, however, that new rights have been granted to the company and the existing rights to games, comics, board games and merchandise will remain in place.

In addition, the Polish pen & paper role-playing game Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni based on the Geralt cycle was created by MAG Verlag in 2001 , and the board game The Witcher: Adventure Game by Fantasy Flight Games in 2014 . As a playable guest character, Geralt appeared in the video game Soul Calibur 6 in 2018 and in the Monster Hunter World expansion in 2019 .

comics

From 1993 to 1995, six volumes of comics were published in Poland based on short stories from the Witcher saga. These were written by Maciej Parowski and drawn by Bogusław Polch. These were collected and republished in 2015 by the Polish publisher Prószyński . A translation into German or English is not available.

The US publisher Dark Horse Comics has also published other comic versions since 2014, which, as a CD Projekt RED franchise, are optically based primarily on video games, but also tell new stories in terms of content. So far, four anthologies have been published: House of Glass (German title: Im Glashaus ), Fox Children (German title: Fuchskinder ), based on a chapter from the novel Zeit des Sturms , Curse of Crows (German title: Der Fluch der Krähen ), and Of Flesh and Flame (German title: Von Fleisch und Flammen ), which is based on the computer game expansion Hearts of Stone . In addition to the publication of The Witcher 3, the comic book Killing Monsters and the compendium Die Welt von The Witcher ( Panini Verlag , Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-8332-2894-0 ) were published.

music

The folk and folk metal band Percival named themselves after a character from the saga. They were hired by CD Projekt RED for the soundtrack of The Witcher 3 . The Polish death metal band Vader created the song Sword of the Witcher in 2007 as an homage to the saga. In November 2017 the musical Wiedźmin premiered in the Teatr Muzyczny in Gdynia , Poland . Accompanied by an orchestra, 51 actors played five short stories. Neither CD Projekt RED nor Sapkowski were involved in this production, which included five performances. In 2010 a musical or a “rock opera” by the Russian band ESSE was created. The song Steel and Silver by the American heavy metal band Visigoth is also about the Geralt saga.

additional

On September 16, 2016, the Polish Post issued a stamp with a motif of Geralt of Rivia, worth 6 złoty . The picture uses an artwork for "The Witcher 3".

Web links

Commons : Geralt Saga  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

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  3. ↑ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-03-24-meeting-andrzej-sapkowski-the-writer-who-created-the-witcher
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