May 1272
Harry stood on a battlefield and stared impassively as he walked past all the Nilfgaardian bodies that had just tried to invade his kingdom. Seems they had gotten rather bold recently from their success further South. He was tempted to go on a massacre and show these annoying Southerners what true power was.
"Burn the bodies, melt the armor. We can't afford monsters coming to feast on them." Harry yelled out. That was pretty standard in his kingdom and lots of places in the North actually. He then started to slowly walk away from the scene. His army had managed to deal with the invaders easily enough, mainly because they had not yet fully crossed and only part of their force was here.
He knew he could fix the problem by also putting a border on the Redanian side but he was hesitant to do so with how many refugees were crossing over. He wouldn't want anyone to be stuck with Radovid, the insane asshole.
"I am leaving. Send a raven if you need to tell me something." Harry said as he disappeared in a swirl, leaving the men in awe.
He reappeared back in Ard Calleigh where he had taken to living for the time being. He continued to let Cassandra run the kingdom for the most part but he was still in charge of the military.
His forces now numbered between fifty and sixty thousand soldiers and growing. He was also starting a unit of magic users as well as a guerilla force. They numbered close to fifty but they could certainly do some damage with their abilities. He had taken to watching their training under Shaella in Pont Vanis. Boy, she was not happy about that but Harry had hinted that it would be in her best interest if she insisted on 'aiding' the Empire. If the Lodge wanted to get in his good graces then they sure as hell were going to have to work for it.
Besides them, he also had himself plus his dragons. That made him the strongest force in the North by far. Redania had an impressive number of soldiers given its size due to Radovid spurring them all into a fanatical, patriotic, frenzy. Of course, Radovid also had a bunch of Witch Hunters patrolling his lands. He still remembered when that blasted church had approached him for entry into his empire.
"What did you just say to me priest?" Harry asked coldly as he stared hard at the quivering man in bright red and white who gulped and steeled himself.
"Your grace, I meant no offence. I only wished to point out the benefits of-…" The priest tried to say only for Harry to cut him off once more.
"I heard what you fucking said. Do you not think my ears work priest? Or perhaps, you believe me too incompetent to process the words coming out of your mouth?" Harry suggested with genuine anger in his eyes.
"No, your grace. I simply wished to say that allowing the church entry into your Kingdoms would give the people-…"
"A way to express irrational hatred on those born more gifted than them perhaps? Are you dull in the head priest or are you willfully ignoring the fact that I myself am a powerful magic user? Now, you come into my city, look into my eyes, and have the AUDACITY to proclaim the greatness of your two-bit fucking fire cult. The same cult that has been burning my fellow magic brothers and sisters at the stake for nothing more than being born with more than you. You dare ask ME, for permission to bring your hate onto my lands? No. my answer is and always will be no. In fact, I declare any member of the church of the Eternal Fire an enemy of the state and demand the head of any member who steps onto my lands." Harry demanded in front of his court. The priest gawked at him and the rest of the court looked rather surprised by his declaration.
"I-…"
"You have three days to get out of my kingdom. I would get going if I were you since you don't appear to have a horse." Harry told him darkly before making a dismissive motion with his hand. He had never seen a priest run so quickly in his life.
That had been fun to say to that little prick. The church would get what was coming to them one day. If they wanted to solve this with violence then he would be more than happy to oblige, and he knew there were others that would be happy to oblige as well. Radovid had made a lot of internal enemies during his reign. He briefly wondered where Phillipa Eilhart was lurking. He bet she would spend a fortune to have a shot at the king.
He sighed as he made his way into his main office now that he had given Cassandra the main one of the keep. Inside, he found a familiar face waiting for him. It was Luther the head servant of the keep.
"Luther," He said in greeting, "What can I do for you?"
"Your grace, your acquaintance, Geralt of Rivia is here to see you and he is here with an older gentleman as well." Luther told him. Harry smiled at that.
"That is good. Where are they?" Harry asked him.
"They are waiting in the courtyard since Lady Cassandra is currently holding court in the main hall." Lither told him.
"Good, thank you Luther. You are dismissed." Harry said before walking off towards the courtyard. Harry moved down through the keep and outside into the courtyard. Luther was correct, Geralt and Vesemir were standing off to the side and talking to each other quietly. They got a few looks from soldiers and people moving in and out of the keep but no one bothered them, which was good since he would have punished any who did.
"Geralt, my friend." Harry yelled out with a smile. Geralt and Vesemir stopped as they looked over at him. When he got close, he and Geralt grasped arms in greeting and Harry smiled at the stoic man.
"It's good to see you again. It's good to officially meet you Master Vesemir, I have heard quite a bit about you from back in the day when you were out and about. An impressive reputation." Harry said as he moved over to respectfully shake his hand. The man returned it easily.
"Well, to be known by a King of your status is quite an honor." Vesemir said back respectfully. Harry waved that off.
"None of that, any friend of Geralt is a friend of mine. You may call me Hadrian." Harry told him easily. Vesemir nodded at that.
"Very well the, Hadrian." He seemed to try it out. Harry nodded in approval before looking at Geralt and became more serious.
"It has only been a few months Geralt, I take it you are not here on a social visit, especially since you are arriving with company. What can I help you with my friend?" Harry said as they began to slowly walk shoulder to shoulder around the keep with Vesemir trailing behind them.
"A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter, from Yennefer." Geralt said as he looked to him. Harry smirked.
"And now you march to your death, is that it?" He asked in amusement. Geralt shook his head.
"No, she said she needed to talk, she said it was important and to find her. I know she is heading North, I was wondering if you could help point me in the right direction." Geralt replied. Harry hummed at that.
"She's not exactly keeping a low profile. If I were you, I would go to White Orchard. Nilfgaard took it over last month and she seems to be going North for some reason. I assume she has some task in the Northern Kingdoms. Velen has been left alone for the most part, I hear some Baron pledged allegiance to Nilfgaard in exchange for continued control." Harry told him.
"Any idea why she would be going North? I somehow doubt it's just to meet me." Geralt asked. Harry shrugged.
"Hmmm… There was a magical burst somewhere in Velen about a week and a half ago. Pretty noticeable too. Maybe she wants you to help her find out about it." Harry suggested. Geralt gained a thoughtful expression.
"Still seems strange for her. And you don't know anything about the burst?" He pressed. Harry shook his head.
"No, I figured it was just an experiment gone wrong. It felt like dimensional energy so probably a portal, or something similar to it, was made incorrectly." Harry told him. Geralt nodded.
"I guess that will do." Geralt said to him.
"You're not leaving, already are you?" Harry asked. Geralt nodded.
"We have to leave, Yennefer seemed pretty serious about getting there as fast as possible." Geralt said. Harry groaned.
"You never want to catch up Geralt. Well…fine. Make sure you take some supplies for your trip, and I will not take no for an answer." Harry said as he watched Geralt try to interrupt. He seemed to bow to Harry's wishes though, and allowed it.
"Fine." He grunted. Harry smiled at that before calling out for a servant. One quickly ran out to him and bowed before the three of them.
"What can I do for you, your grace?" the bowed young man asked. Harry looked down at his bowing form.
"These men, need supplies for a journey all the way to White Orchard and then some. Make sure they are fully outfitted before they leave no matter how much they try to downplay their need. Am I understood?" Harry asked sternly. The man nodded frantically.
"Of course. Right this way gentleman." The servant said gesturing out of the courtyard and back into the town.
"Good luck Geralt. Remember, I am only just a letter away. Also, let me know if that explosion turns out to be interesting. If Yennefer is involved, it must be." Harry said kindly and Geralt nodded quietly as he always did.
"Thank you, Hadrian." Vesemir voiced out. Harry smiled at the man. He was older and clearly more experienced in talking and diplomacy despite Geralt's fame as far as Witchers go.
"Your welcome, Master Witcher." Harry responded back easily.
He said his goodbyes to the two men before leading them out of the busy keep. He watched them go until they disappeared further down the street. He had a gentle smile on his face until they disappeared from his view. His smile dropped and a crow landed lightly on his shoulder from an invisible call he had just sent out.
"Go to Velen and explore that magical blast."
Harry watched the crow absorb the order and take off and fly high up until it disappeared from view. Harry frowned as he thought on what he was just told. Yennefer was a powerful sorceress and her asking for help even from Geralt on something was rather strange, especially if it did turn out to be a magical matter.
Emhyr wouldn't just send one of his best mages into the Northern Kingdoms, which would no doubt be hostile to her in its current circumstances. Something must be important for him to send her specifically and there really wasn't anything else that may concern Yennefer save for that explosion he had felt.
He made a grunting noise in his throat. He would wait for his crows to let him know what it found. He would not jump to any conclusions just yet. Hopefully, Geralt would actually send him some news.
Several Weeks Later
Geralt's POV
Geralt walked out of the Emperors solar and moved through the castle back to Yennefer. It was all almost overwhelming to here what was happening.
Ciri had apparently returned to this world and was already making waves. He should have known Emhyr summoned him for something to do with her, the man wasn't exactly known for being friendly with others. What's worse, Yennefer had already seemed to agree to aid the man in finding her.
If there was one thing Geralt was sure of it was that Yennefer loved Ciri and would not be working with Nilfgaard if she felt they would be a threat to her. Then again, even if he found Ciri, he couldn't imagine her willingly coming back and becoming Emhyr's heir again. They weren't exactly on best terms and Ciri wasn't a flowery girl who would enjoy sitting in dresses, making decisions, and being courted by those seeking power.
He sighed at the whole situation. He wasn't sure how he kept getting in these complex situations that no Witcher had any business in being in. He cleared his head as he got back to the room where he knew Yennefer was waiting for him.
He hesitated for a moment before he entered. He and Yen had not really talked much on the trip to Vizima beyond simple conversation. Of course, it could just be because of the retinue of soldiers and lack of privacy during the trip.
He shook his head at that, he knew it wasn't true. They hadn't cleared the air about all that had past since they last saw each other. He was sure that she knew what he had been up to. He had no idea what her reaction was going to be what with what had happened between him and Triss. Sure, he hadn't known at the time due to his memory loss but he doubted it would matter to Yen.
"Are you going to stand out there all day?"
Geralt looked up at the door as he heard the familiar voice come from the other side. He shook his head once more thought this time in a small amount of amusement before reaching for the handle and opening the door. He scanned the room and saw Yennefer standing over by the fireplace that had a picture of a young Cirilla in a dress sitting over it.
Yennefer was eyeing the picture and Geralt walked over and joined her in eyeing it. If he were honest, it was an amazing picture, everything from the annoyed scowl on her face to the stiff posture simply screamed Ciri. For a moment, he almost felt some deep nostalgia overtake him as he thought back to simpler days when he trained is surrogate daughter out in the yard of Kaer Morhen.
"Yennefer about the last few-"
"Don't… There's nothing to say about it Geralt. We both know what happened and while I am not exactly pleased by it, I do not hold it against you. Let us simply move past it and focus on our current task." Yennefer said as she looked over at him sternly.
Geralt looked at her and saw the way her eyebrows scrunched together as she looked at him seriously. He was temporarily taken by her beauty and was hit by emotions he had not had in a long time. She was beautiful, elegant, yet the scariest thing he had ever laid his eyes on.
Although he showed nothing on his face, he saw her raise an amused eyebrow at him and the hint of a smirk come across her lips. She must have read his thoughts, not that it bothered him. He had never felt the need to hide anything from her.
She leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. He felt the place where her lips had pressed against him warm up and send a pleasant feeling into him. He made a pleasant hum as he felt the feeling spread and course through him. He looked at her in question.
"Make no mistake, I missed you as well Geralt." She told him pointedly.
Her words were almost as pleasant as the kiss she had just placed on him. He gave a small smile before nodding.
"So, where do we go from here?" Geralt asked her.
"Someone matching Ciri's description has been sighted in three different places; Velen, Novigrad, and on Skellige. I figured you can check in Velen and Novigrad while I go check in Skellige. We would cover more ground that way." She pointed out. Geralt nodded at that.
"Are we sure that this is Ciri and not some ghost or doppleganger?" Geralt asked.
"We are not positive, of course, but given what we know and the clues we have found, I believe that it is legitimately her. The timing of both that magical presence in Velen as the sudden appearance of someone who looks exactly like her can't be ignored. Plus, the power behind that magic certainly points to Ciri as well. Not to mention the Wild Hunt's appearance pretty much confirms it."
Geralt nodded at her words and looked into the fire place as he thought further on what she had said.
"And if we find her, are we actually bringing her back to Emhyr?" Geralt questioned as he gave her a look. Yennefer seemed to grimace at that.
"I admit, it is not the solution I had hoped for but I believe it to be the best one available." Yennefer confided quietly.
"You think Ciri is going to go along with this?" Geralt pushed.
"I think she will understand this is the best solution." Yennefer said back. Anyone else would think she sounded confident in what she had said but Geralt knew better. He could see the subtle shift in her posture and the way her fingers twitched as she spoke. In truth, Geralt doubted she truly knew what Ciri would agree to. All she probably wanted to do was convince her to stay so her adopted daughter would not leave so quickly again.
Geralt tensed as another thought came into his head, a certain memory he had been purposefully not trying to think of mainly because it had seemed so… unbelievable.
"There… may be another way." Geralt said slowly. Yennefer looked at him with clear confusion in her eyes.
"I assume you know of Hadrian Black, the current king the Avalonian Empire?" Geralt questioned.
"Of course, I assume every person on the planet knows of him at this point. He almost singlehandedly created his Empire and is undefeated in any conflct. He created a kingdom, and took over two and all in less than a decade. Most would consider that impossible." Yennefer said to him. Geralt nodded.
"Well, as you know, I knew him as the Black Mage before he became King and after a certain issue with an assassin years ago, he told me something… strange. He confessed to know Ciri from a different world, his original one, the one we read of in his journal all those years ago." Geralt told her. Yennefer's lips parted as she looked at him in clear surprise.
"When did he tell you this?" she demanded.
"Do you remember when I killed Rience? That night, he told me and Dandelion a story of how an adult Ciri came to his world and played an important impact on his life. He spoke of how he came to this world on accident but has been working to aid Ciri since his arrival without disrupting the events surrounding her too much." Geralt told her. Yennefer's face scrunched up in thought and she started pacing. Geralt watched her.
"You stopped and saw him in on the way to see me did you not? Did you remember this then?" She asked. Geralt shook his head.
"He erased my memory of the conversation from my mind but I believe it was more to prevent me from accidently changing something before Ciri left. I am not sure if he would try to do something again to me." Geralt told her. Yennefer frowned at that before going back to her pacing. Geralt simply let her. This whole plotting and planning thing wasn't something he excelled at so he decided to wait for Yennefer to finish.
"You think he means to help Ciri and that is all? He does have responsibilities to his Empire now." Yennefer pointed out.
"I think he would. He spent many years planning on how to aid Ciri from what I remember. I doubt he would simply throw out all that work." Geralt said back.
"You know him Geralt, I am asking you on your personal feeling, what do you think he would do?" Yennefer asked looking seriously at him. Geralt looked down as he thought on all his encounters with Hadrian or Harry as he use to be known as.
The man had been nothing but a friend to him for as long as he had known him. Now that he thought on it, it was likely because of his relationship with Ciri, at least to some extent. Despite the whole issue with him getting his memory erased, he did trust Hadrian. The man may have been mysterious but he had always treated Geralt with kindness. If he looked at the deeds he had done as King, he also approved of the way he acted. The man had morals and if he didn't like something in the world, he did his best to change it. It was something different then like, more of respect.
"I think we should consider telling him about this. Not only because of his possible relationship with Ciri but also the resources he has that we could use. It's no secret that even Nilfgaard hasn't found an actual way to counter his power, armies, or dragons. His kingdom is also extremely wealthy." Geralt pointed out. Yennefer considered his words. Her face was hard as she thought on what he said before it softened, then a small soft smile appeared on her face.
"I remember the first time I met him. I asked him if he could heal my organs so I could bear a child. He refused but told me of how I would one day have a daughter anyways. I would just have to keep my eyes open for the opportunity." Yennefer revealed. Geralt processed that information. She had never told him that but it made sense. Hadrian had a long time to plan out and familiarize himself with all those who Ciri surrounded herself with.
"Not as surprising given all that we now know." Geralt said easily.
"I will leave it up to you whether or not to contact him. If you decide to do it, make sure you wait until you are at least out of Vizima. We will need to be discreet. I doubt Emhyr would appreciate us contacting this man despite his supposed relation to Ciri." Yennefer pointed out. Geralt agreed with that at least.
"I will make sure I am out of sight. When do we depart?" Geralt asked her.
"Tomorrow morning."
"…Does that mean we have some time tonight then?" Geralt asked with the clear suggestion in his voice. Yennefer gave him a sly smirk.
"So eager. Unfortunately, we have no time for pleasantries tonight. It's already late and I doubt your stamina has decreased since we last saw each other. We don't have all night you know, we have to get up early." Yennefer told him.
"I'll still be able to get up." Geralt pointed out.
"I won't."
Geralt chuckled as he moved away from her. Tomorrow, they would ride to the North together.
One Week Later
Harry's POV
Harry stood in the town of Ban Glean, in the southern part of Kaedwen. It is where he had assembled most of the military might of Kaedwen as well as three of his dragons. He was in a tent full of the various lords of the land as they went over some of the losses they had over the past couple of weeks due to either skirmishes or raids.
Elven raiders had been sneaking in through the forest that laid between the Kestrel and Mahakam mountain ranges. Since the forest was on both the Redanian and Kaedwen lands, they would simply crossover at Redania and then move over to Kaedwen, around his wall. Luckily, you could not bring any sort of real presence through the woods and really only the Squirrels, or Scoia'tael as they preferred, could come over in any real number.
"They are going to pick at us and try to weaken us over time. Once Nilfgaard realizes they can't get past your wall, there is only one way they could get into Kaedwen, the pass through the Kestrel Mountains."
Harry looked at the Lord who spoke as they all huddled around a map. The man spoke the truth. Emhyr would know this by now and would be focusing on taking Redania from Radovid before trying to deal with him. That being said, it was clear the man was using his elven allies to try and soften him up while he was delayed.
"Could we not convince them to abandon Nilfgaard for us? Surely, with the policies you have implemented you have shown our kingdom to be a friend to all people and would treat them fairly." Another much younger noble asked.
"No. At this point, it's not about the rights or benefits they would get, it's about getting even with those in the North who wronged them and treated them like they were lower than dirt for so long. They simply want us to hurt and they won't stop until they show us all what it's like." Harry responded quietly without taking his eyes off the map. The room went silent at his words but Harry continued to try and puzzle out where to find their enemies. His eyes drifted over to the mountain range itself.
"They're hiding in the mountain ranges." Harry said out loud after a moment of thought. All the assembled lords looked at the mountains and the older more experienced ones frowned at this.
"The mountains…that's a lot of land to search through. There's also no way to send any sizeable force into the mountains to route them out." The lord who had first spoken said. Harry looked at the map intently.
It made sense that they would hide there, it was somewhere where they had a much easier time getting to then normal men and armies would. It was also easier to defend since they would have the high ground the whole time which means they could pick them off while their men would have to only try and defend themselves. It would take a very powerful force to get up and attack which would be impossible considering how hard it would be to get up the mountain.
"I have a plan. I will have my scouts go in and find their encampments, then I will use the dragons to route them out of their locations and back down the mountain. We will have our men waiting at the bottom to deal with the stragglers." Harry said to all of them. He heard a murmur as they thought about what he had said.
"That could still take a lot of time, no offence your grace but we are still not sure they are in the mountains, although I agree that it would make sense for them to be there. There are no scouts that could possibly scout the whole range in any sort of timely manner. That could take months if not years." Another of the lords pointed out to him. Harry shook his head.
"Do not worry about that, my scouts have magic at their disposal and will be much less hindered than others." Harry told them. That seemed to assuage the fears of the men.
"In the meantime, we need to protect the villages closest to the mountains. Lord Kalder, you will take your men and protect every thing south of the pass. Lord Hartley, you will protect the northern half. If you need reinforcements, you are given leave to request men from the various nearby lords to aid your quest." Harry ordered. Both the Lords he had called upon bowed and agreed to his orders easily. Both could field the biggest host in the Kaedwen and were each powerful in their own right.
"What of the rest of the Kingdoms under the Avalonian banner? Will they not be aiding us?"
Harry looked up but could not identify who spoke. He didn't need to though as he saw the question mirrored in all the assembled mens eyes.
"Kovir and Poviss, will be sending spare resources from their stores to supplement the fact that Kaedwen will be missing out on much of the collection of their own resources. Avalon and the various settlements around it will be working to send weapons and armor down to outfit as much of the army as possible. It will work on a loan system of course but it will have to do. " Harry told them easily.
"What about men?"
"As of right now, there is no need for more men to be sent to Kaedwen, the situation right now is still not too problematic nor desperate. Should that change and I believe you can no longer handle the foreign threat, then of course, I will send more men down to reinforce you."
That seemed to satisfy them all. With that, Harry concluded the meeting and had them all leave the room. He sighed as he watched them shuffle out to most likely go back out of the town and sleep in their encampments. The inn was already overflowing with how many lords that were here.
He left the meeting room himself and moved over to the home he had been lent for the brief time he was here. It was owned by a mage named Henry who seemed to own an importing and exporting business which wasn't that surprising considering his skill in magic wasn't that impressive. Harry had been thankful and had accepted the offer of the man despite the fact that he barely spent any of his time in the house.
He entered the home and heard a caw as soon as he entered the room. He looked up in surprise and looked at the crow that was sitting perched up in the rafters of the house. It flew down to him as soon as it had been noticed and landed on his shoulder. He smiled as he looked at it as he was finally getting some news.
"What do you have to report little one…"
The crow placed hits forehead against the side of his head and immediately memories came flooding into his mind. He observed them thoroughly.
The crow had gone to Velen and seen what all the commotion was about. It got to the sight of the explosion but he noticed there was a surprisingly lacking amount of damage. Actually, it looked more like some fight had happened in the forest. He continued as the crow flew around the forest following the signs of what appeared to be something or someone that had made their way through the forest from the initial sight.
After a while, it came upon the corpse of several wolfs and then a werewolf. Harry started to frown at that. The fact that a werewolf was dead did not surprise him, it was how it looked to have died. He had assumed it was a foolish mage that had caused the explosion further in the forest but the hybrid had deep cuts all over its body that suggested it was killed by a sword. With the depth and nasty look of each cut, it would have to have been made by a Witcher or one of the rare humans of equal skill.
As he came to that, he almost immediately concluded this to be the truth as he further noticed the precision of each cut. Witcher's were pretty rare these days but he supposed it was possible. Did that mean that this Witcher had killed the mage who caused the explosion or did they perhaps simply come upon the scene?
Of course, it could also have been… Well he didn't even dare to actually hope for that. Although, the pieces did add up surprisingly well, now that he thought about it. Witcher training, and from the sight of dimensional energy in abundance in the area. Come to think of it, if it wasn't an explosion than it was more likely a controlled but powerful burst. A controlled burst of that much energy though could only be done with someone with a large amount of power. He could do it but there weren't many on this planet who could do so without several power stones.
Harry was brought from his musings as a knock suddenly came from the door. He frowned and was jarred from the memories his little friend had provided by the noise. He frowned and moved back towards the door. It was strange for anyone to be coming by this late in the day. Extending his sense out into magic, he sensed no danger coming from outside. Perhaps a simple late-night visitor then. He opened the large doors and looked out.
There was a guard for the town carrying a torch and a nervous looking man with him in a uniform that showed him to be some sort of courier.
"Sorry to bother you, your grace, but this man insisted that he must see you as soon as possible. He claims to be carrying a letter for your eyes only." The guard said as he looked at the man suspiciously.
"Thank you. I will take it from here." Harry nodded to show his appreciation towards the man for escorting the courier up here. He looked at the courier who reached into a pouch he was carrying before giving him the letter. Harry gingerly took it before then thanking the man and watching him disappear down the street. He closed the door and turned around back into the house as he eyed the letter carefully.
He sensed no magic from the parchment. Looking at it showed the parchment wasn't of any particular notable quality which meant it was not likely sent by someone of noble status. With the suspense growing, he finally broke the seal and opened the letter. His eyes scanned over the contents growing more and more pressed as he continued to read on.
Once finished, he dropped it on the ground as his mind started racing with what he had just absorbed. Geralt had written to him after all, and the results were more than even he expected. Ciri was back in this world and in the Northern Kingdoms.
The time had finally come for all he had worked for to come to fruition.