Rose Reviews: Baptism of Fire Part 2
Okay, now for the novel spoilers/synopsis.
I complimented the book in my previous post, so I don't need to repeat myself here. Great book. Not quite the wild ride of Times of Contempt, true, but Baptism of Fire delivers in its own ways. If you haven't read the translations yet, I highly recommend downloading this one and keeping it for just after you finish reading Times of Contempt because you are NOT going to want to stop.
As for me - onward to The Tower of the Swallow. And more mods... at some point. Right now, it is hard to not just keep reading. In fact, it took willpower to write up this review now instead of reading more. If that isn't a compliment, I don't know what is.
Until next time!
Okay, now for the novel spoilers/synopsis.
Baptism of Fire opens a before the end of the last novel, and introduces Milva. It turns out that, while he was recovering from his broken leg, Geralt met Milva. She is a human ranger - archer type - who serves as a guide for the Squirrels who come to the Dryad forest for healing. Geralt asked her to seek info on Ciri and Yennifer. She learned nothing about Yen, but she heard about "fake Ciri" in Nilfgaard. Except that, obviously, Milva has no idea that "fake Ciri" is a fake.
So, as noted in the last book, Dandelion shows up and decides to go with Geralt to save Ciri. Milva, after some internal conflict, decides to join them. Her reasons are... complex. Also, she has an awesome bow. However, since they're ahead of her, she needs to catch up.
Meanwhile, Geralt and Dandelion bump into a hawker. They're wearing elf clothes (given to them by the Dryads) and the Hawkers attempt to sell to them. Then, the Hawkers attempt to sell a Man in a Coffin to Nilfgaard, but get murdered for their trouble. The Nilfgaardian troops plan to do the same to Geralt and Dandelion when Milva arrows several of them to death and Geralt takes care of the rest.
The man in the box turns out to be Cahir!!!
Don't remember Cahir? He's the "black knight with a winged helm" that Ciri had nightmares about - until she kicked his ass last book. Turns out he's determined to help Geralt find Ciri. For... some reason? Geralt tells him to fuck off and leaves with Dandelion and Milva.
Milva tries to convince Geralt that going south is suicide, but Geralt could not give fewer shits, so onward.
Not long thereafter, they bump into Zoltan and half a dozen dwarves leading some human refugees (women and children) away from another battlefield. Having south cut off, they head east to try to swing around the battlefront.
This leads to them running parallel to the Yarga river rather than crossing it. Geralt is unhappy, but there isn't much else to do.
The party grows then they come across an ancient graveyard and find an Alchemist hiding in the ruins. He's been making Moonshine, but since the Nilfgaard invasion has blocked any attempt of his to profit on said moonshine, he offers it to the party and then joins the group. He has medical training and smells of Cinnamon. Oh, and his name is Regis.
- there is other stuff going on during all this, but I'll get back to it - I'm following this plotline for the moment -
Shortly thereafter, the party stumbles across a refugee camp. This unexpected development has three results:
A) the women traveling with Zoltan find their husbands alive and well, to the surprise of all
B) the townsfolk think there's a Vampire on the loose because of several mutilated corpses
C) A priest of Kreve is planning to burn a retarded girl as a "witch". Because Kreve = assholes.
Geralt, Dandelion, Milva, and Zoltan attempt to stop the witch-burning, but the priest comes up with the absolutely absurd "if you can pick up a flaming coal then she's not a witch" because... that makes any kind of sense. Usually doing something supernatural is a sign that someone IS a with, not that they're innocent. But whatever - Sapkowski is taking a shot at the Christian church of the Middle Ages and I'm not about to disagree with his opinions on that matter. As a pagan, I'm firmly in the Meletele camp myself. Go Triple Goddess!
Ahem. Anyway, when ever Geralt can't think of a way to refute Stupid and Insane Logic (TM), Regis walks up and takes care of it - by picking up the flaming coal and casually handing it to the priest, who can't touch it because it's fucking on fire. This secures the girl's release (and the priest's humiliation) - and, before any benefit from this moment of awesome can be savored, Nilfgaard attacks. Talk about bad timing!
Everyone gets separated, except for Geralt and Dandelion who end up under a cart. After the battle, they learn that the Temerian army was there too - that wasn't just an attack, it was a full battle. Geralt and Dandelion attempt to make contact, but the Temerians suspect them of being spies and haul them off to the Temerian camp. There, Dandelion is recognized and released - and then Geralt is recognized (by a bitter Cintran) and arrested. They're to hang at dawn, because the Cintria commander is an asshole.
Fortunately for them, Regis shows up to save them. By making the guards fall asleep. And bring Geralt a weapon and disguises. Geralt and Dandelion make their escape, only to accidentally raise the alarm, only for Nilfgaard to show up and make that accidental raising of the alarm an army-saving stroke of good luck. Dandelion gets an arrow in the Ear (the ear LOBE, not the ear hole, thankfully to his fans) and, while he bleeds a lot, he is basically unharmed.
Geralt meets up with Milva and Cahir. Geralt tells Cahir to fuck off again, but Cahir calls Geralt on something - both he and Geralt have been dreaming of Ciri. Again, we'll get back to that in a moment.
Regis is also there - and Geralt asks him to leave. Why? Because he's a vampire. Regis... doesn't really care to leave, thanks all the same, so while he does turn invisible for Geralt's temper, he doesn't actually leave. This comes to a head over fish soup (Dandelion catches some small fish, Cahir catches a large fish, Milva starts the fire, and Regis spices the broth) when everyone but Geralt wants to let Regis and Cahir join the party. Geralt relents albeit bitterly.
Now, I mentioned that other stuff has been going on. Several things fall into that category - the most relevant of which at this point are Geralt (and Cahir)'s dreams.
Ciri has apparently reached a sort of trauma event horizon. She has repressed "Ciri" and become Falka - a girl who enjoys killing but at the same time is childlike. She lashes out at her lover, Mistle, and then feels bad about it later and apologizes. She drops her cotton candy while killing a man, then cries over it and Mistle promises to buy her a new one, just like a child with a dropped ice cream cone. And, while robbing a Baroness, she pulls RANK as a Princess, saying that they should bow to her and that she can speak to them however she likes.
Falka has trouble even remembering "Ciri" at this point. This is actually a common reaction to trauma - the "self" retreats into hiding while another "self" takes over and absorbs all the "bad" elements. It isn't multiple personalities or anything so banal - it's not even really a dissociative disorder. She is simply hiding from the fact that she is murdering people. She hides herself so that she doesn't have to be horrified - she acts like Falka so she can pretend that she's enjoying it.
Ciri is a fucking amazing character. I love every minute of reading her and wish she was in the novel more.
Now, here's where things get even more interesting. During another side plot going on (that I'll get to later) we learn about Falka. She's been mentioned a LOT throughout the series, as a historical figure on par with Hitler. Finally, in this book, we learn the truth.
Falka was a Princess who was rejected by her father for not being a boy - for not being an heir. She led a rebellion in an attempt to change things so that women could rule without Kings. She won briefly - and then lost and was executed. And, for the crime of trying to make men and women equal in Temeria, Redania, and the far north, she is treated like the most evil person in all of history.
True, she was brutal. No more brutal than the Squirrels or the pogoms against non-humans. True, her rebels got out of hand and did awful things. No worse than Nilfgaard's soldiers.
Because she tried to make women equal, Falka is the most hated person who has ever lived.
**approving slow clap** Andrzej Sapkowski, I have rarely seen a better feminist novel than this one. Bravo.
No, seriously, I'm not kidding here. This is a wonderful example of how women striving for equality are portrayed as demons and crushed down. It is beautifully subversive. Furthermore, it makes a feminist point without detracting from the narrative - it doesn't say "look, she was perfect" - because she wasn't. She was a vicious dictator. But she's no different than any of a dozen male dictators who do the same thing and are considered "normal".
You know, I'm starting to think some of the game designers missed the subtly of Sapkowski's work. There is a LOT going on here.
Actually, come to think of it, here's another one my Spouse spotted yesterday. Back in Blood of Elves, Geralt showed Ciri that statue of the elven martyr with the roses. At the time, I thought he was showing Ciri that both sides were worthy of sympathy. I was wrong.
Geralt showed Ciri the statue of the Elven martyr, who died centuries ago, because the elves are still fighting for her. Ciri, if she joins up with Nilfgaard OR the North, could be a martyr like that if she fails to remain neutral. That statue could be Ciri's future. Geralt was saying "Ciri, if you choose a side, it doesn't just affect you - it will affect people who follow you for centuries to come. The only way to avoid that fate is to not take a side."
The thing is, until the war was going and the Emperor had his fake Ciri and all, we couldn't see that Ciri would be that powerful of an influence. But is has been proven that she is - men are already risking death for Ciri, and that's over a FAKE Ciri.
Right now, Ciri's solution is to not BE Ciri, but to instead be Falka - be the evil one that everyoen hates.
If you can't be a Princess, you can always be a Witch. And if you can't be a Witch, you can be a psychotic highway man.
Sorry, mixing my deconstructions. Ahem.
So anyway, Fish Soup.
Geralt, Dandelion, Milva, Regis, and Cahir travel along for a while. To help with Dandelion's discomfort around him, Regis explains that he doesn't require blood, blood is like alcohol, etc. He also notes that in his youth he was a "binge drinker" but - after being decapitated - he rethought his life and swore off the stuff. I feel like I should make a joke about AA meetings here....
He also points out that being bitten doesn't change one into a Vampire (exponential growth and all that). Which is interesting, but Blue Eyes established that one CAN be transformed... just not with a bite. So, one has to wonder how exactly they do it. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the transformee must drink the Vampire's blood. In this universe, that would almost make sense - Geralt often makes Mutagens out of a powerful creature's blood (in the first game anyway). Perhaps the Vampire can introduce a mutagen that mutates the target into another higher vampire?
It's something to think about. Anyway...
Shortly thereafter they bump into Zoltan again. They continue on for a bit together until a new twist comes to light - Milva is pregnant, and has been pregnant this whole time. She wanted Regis to help her abort, but she's waited too long, so all that can be done is a full induced miscarriage, which will knock her on her ass for a week or more (not to mention carry a risk of death).
Geralt and Milva have a talk and Milva decides to keep the baby.
Meanwhile, they've reached Mt. Cabon, so Zoltan is leaving the party again with his dwarves and a new batch of refugees. Before he leaves, he gives Geralt his fancy Dwarf sword (with upgrade runes) to Geralt. Awww.
Since Geralt doesn't want to take pregnant Milva through the DEATH SWAMP, they decide to cross the Yaruga into Nilfgaard territory, scoot up river a bit, and then cross back to avoid the swamp. Good plan, except that they end up crossing into an active warzone. Whoopsie! They run from the Lyrian guerrilla army, get shot at by the Nilfgaardian army, and end up stuck up by a bridge - where a battle between the Lyrians and Nilfgaardians is taking place. Oh, and a kick from a horse (I think?) causes Milva to miscarry after all. So much for that decision.
So, Geralt says "oh fuck it" and heads up to rally the Lyrians and fight the Nilfgaardians. And he does so - spectacularly. With Cahir at his side and Dandelion... around there somewhere.
The battle ends in victory for the Lyrinas. And, we learn that Geralt just saved Queen Maeve of Lyria, who is leadin ghte guerrillas. She knights Geralt for his valor - Geralt of Rivia. Geralt takes a moment to appreciate the irony and --
End of Book.
But wait, you're saying - I skipped a whole other part of the book! True, I did, because it really is like another who book taking place alongside this one. So now over to THAT plotline.
Philippa arranges for a meeting - she calls up seven Sorceresses, one from Nilfgaard and several each from the Northern, Nilfgardian, and Neutral factions during the Thanedd Coup. Philippa has decided that the massacre that occurred there is proof that they need a non-political body to handle issues of magic to prevent senseless shit like that happening again. So, she proposes forming an organization --
Shelia de Tancerville suggests "Lodge of Sorceresses"
-- to manage things, not just in the north, but throughout the world. No matter what happens, they few shall manage things from behind the scenes.
She asks several of her chosen members to recruit a few others. She has plans for one extra seat, but she'd like them to fill the rest with anyone they choose. Two seats to the elves, and an extra seat to Nilfgaard.
The Nilfgaardian sorceress invites another, and they decide to use magic to make themselves beautiful like the northern Sorceress so that they don't look down on them. Also they want to dress as cleavagy as possible because, at Thanedd, it was shown that Northern Sorceress Fashion is "Boob Window that shows Nipples". I guess because, if you're 200 years old and still have a nice rack, you wanna show it off.
And before anyone says anything - Triss is in her mid 30s here, Yen is in her 90s, Philippa is at least a couple centuries old, and the elf chick is around 400. Two hundred is not an unreasonable average to guess.
Anyway, we next have said elf-chick recruiting another elven Sorceress for the seat. And, for her other seat... they decompress Yen! AH HA!! So that's where she disappeared to! One of the major mysteries of Times of Contempt is finally explained!
Also, I had no idea that Compression was a thing from the novels. Very nicely done, Witcher 2 - good call back.
Yen is, needless to say, fairly pissed, but she gets roped into the Lodge thing.
Next meeting, they all show up in person. We get this from the Nilfgaardian sorceresses, which is nice - as noted above, it establishes their fears and then their relief to be treated so nicely. In fact, the meeting starts very comradely and girl-powery, even if it does slide catty later on.
They discuss how to accomplish their "magic is the highest thing" goals and Philippa finally lets everyone in on her plans - to marry Ciri to the King (or Prince rather) of Kovir and create a Mageocracy. Why?
Because Ciri is the last living descendant of Lara down the female line. Lara was the last of her line among the elves - the last to carry the great power of the "Elder Blood" - and now Ciri has it. This means she has prophesy power (which we already knew about) and this is also why she could use Lara's portal in the tower - Ah ha! So that's why she wasn't scrambled. Nicely played.
That would all be pretty impressive until Triss figures something out - Ciri wasn't a "chance" inheritor of this gene. She was a eugenics project. They've been selectively breeding Ciri's ancestors since Lara to try to bring this gene back. And Yennifer was part of it. Yennifer, Ciri's mother figure.
Yennifer, who in Sword of Destiny was seeking any method of having a daughter, has genetically engineered a daughter, arranged for Geralt to be bound to said daughter, and made herself the only person Geralt would trust to train said daughter to use her overwhelming Elder Blood powers.
HOLY SHIT.
And I thought Philippa was an evil mastermind. Fuck me.
This makes me think that the Witcher 1 was originally supposed to feature Yennifer, not Triss. The Alvin plot makes SO MUCH SENSE for Yennifer. Triss, in this moment, is horrified by what Yennifer has done - and yet, Triss attempts to recreate the situation in the Witcher 1, albeit without genetic manipulation. I really do wonder if, originally, it was Yen who was there at the beginning of the script writing - and only later in the game's design, when they realized they wanted Yen to be kidnapped by the Hunt, did they change the story to include Triss instead.
Also, all of Triss's sex cards show a woman with dark brown or black hair, not red hair. When Triss is known for her red hair.
Triss in the Witcher 2 acts much more like the fun-loving Triss we see in the books, whereas the Triss we see in the first game acts like Yennifer (to the point where I thought she was an Expy).
Just a theory.
Anyway, back to the Lodge. With all this discussed (and the history of Lara's blood is what leads through Falka's backstory, hence my aside above) they take a snack break and Yennifer gets a little help escaping from a Nilfgaardian sorceress. Since this is the Sorceress who blinded Yen less than a decade ago, and since they hate each-other, no one will suspect that she helped Yen.
And that's where that storyline ends.
So, to sum up - Geralt just got Knighted, Milva just miscarried, Regis was tending her, Dandelion was... somewhere?, Cahir was with Geralt in the battle, but is elsewhere now. Yen has just escaped and is trying to find Ciri. And Ciri is being Falka and needs to make things up with her lesbian lover Mistle.
Once again with the not-a-cliffhanger-but-still-demanding-answers ending, Sapkowski? Well, you do it well, so I won't complain. And I have your next book ready to go, so that helps me with not wanting to strangle you for this.
So, as noted in the last book, Dandelion shows up and decides to go with Geralt to save Ciri. Milva, after some internal conflict, decides to join them. Her reasons are... complex. Also, she has an awesome bow. However, since they're ahead of her, she needs to catch up.
Meanwhile, Geralt and Dandelion bump into a hawker. They're wearing elf clothes (given to them by the Dryads) and the Hawkers attempt to sell to them. Then, the Hawkers attempt to sell a Man in a Coffin to Nilfgaard, but get murdered for their trouble. The Nilfgaardian troops plan to do the same to Geralt and Dandelion when Milva arrows several of them to death and Geralt takes care of the rest.
The man in the box turns out to be Cahir!!!
Don't remember Cahir? He's the "black knight with a winged helm" that Ciri had nightmares about - until she kicked his ass last book. Turns out he's determined to help Geralt find Ciri. For... some reason? Geralt tells him to fuck off and leaves with Dandelion and Milva.
Milva tries to convince Geralt that going south is suicide, but Geralt could not give fewer shits, so onward.
Not long thereafter, they bump into Zoltan and half a dozen dwarves leading some human refugees (women and children) away from another battlefield. Having south cut off, they head east to try to swing around the battlefront.
This leads to them running parallel to the Yarga river rather than crossing it. Geralt is unhappy, but there isn't much else to do.
The party grows then they come across an ancient graveyard and find an Alchemist hiding in the ruins. He's been making Moonshine, but since the Nilfgaard invasion has blocked any attempt of his to profit on said moonshine, he offers it to the party and then joins the group. He has medical training and smells of Cinnamon. Oh, and his name is Regis.
- there is other stuff going on during all this, but I'll get back to it - I'm following this plotline for the moment -
Shortly thereafter, the party stumbles across a refugee camp. This unexpected development has three results:
A) the women traveling with Zoltan find their husbands alive and well, to the surprise of all
B) the townsfolk think there's a Vampire on the loose because of several mutilated corpses
C) A priest of Kreve is planning to burn a retarded girl as a "witch". Because Kreve = assholes.
Geralt, Dandelion, Milva, and Zoltan attempt to stop the witch-burning, but the priest comes up with the absolutely absurd "if you can pick up a flaming coal then she's not a witch" because... that makes any kind of sense. Usually doing something supernatural is a sign that someone IS a with, not that they're innocent. But whatever - Sapkowski is taking a shot at the Christian church of the Middle Ages and I'm not about to disagree with his opinions on that matter. As a pagan, I'm firmly in the Meletele camp myself. Go Triple Goddess!
Ahem. Anyway, when ever Geralt can't think of a way to refute Stupid and Insane Logic (TM), Regis walks up and takes care of it - by picking up the flaming coal and casually handing it to the priest, who can't touch it because it's fucking on fire. This secures the girl's release (and the priest's humiliation) - and, before any benefit from this moment of awesome can be savored, Nilfgaard attacks. Talk about bad timing!
Everyone gets separated, except for Geralt and Dandelion who end up under a cart. After the battle, they learn that the Temerian army was there too - that wasn't just an attack, it was a full battle. Geralt and Dandelion attempt to make contact, but the Temerians suspect them of being spies and haul them off to the Temerian camp. There, Dandelion is recognized and released - and then Geralt is recognized (by a bitter Cintran) and arrested. They're to hang at dawn, because the Cintria commander is an asshole.
Fortunately for them, Regis shows up to save them. By making the guards fall asleep. And bring Geralt a weapon and disguises. Geralt and Dandelion make their escape, only to accidentally raise the alarm, only for Nilfgaard to show up and make that accidental raising of the alarm an army-saving stroke of good luck. Dandelion gets an arrow in the Ear (the ear LOBE, not the ear hole, thankfully to his fans) and, while he bleeds a lot, he is basically unharmed.
Geralt meets up with Milva and Cahir. Geralt tells Cahir to fuck off again, but Cahir calls Geralt on something - both he and Geralt have been dreaming of Ciri. Again, we'll get back to that in a moment.
Regis is also there - and Geralt asks him to leave. Why? Because he's a vampire. Regis... doesn't really care to leave, thanks all the same, so while he does turn invisible for Geralt's temper, he doesn't actually leave. This comes to a head over fish soup (Dandelion catches some small fish, Cahir catches a large fish, Milva starts the fire, and Regis spices the broth) when everyone but Geralt wants to let Regis and Cahir join the party. Geralt relents albeit bitterly.
Now, I mentioned that other stuff has been going on. Several things fall into that category - the most relevant of which at this point are Geralt (and Cahir)'s dreams.
Ciri has apparently reached a sort of trauma event horizon. She has repressed "Ciri" and become Falka - a girl who enjoys killing but at the same time is childlike. She lashes out at her lover, Mistle, and then feels bad about it later and apologizes. She drops her cotton candy while killing a man, then cries over it and Mistle promises to buy her a new one, just like a child with a dropped ice cream cone. And, while robbing a Baroness, she pulls RANK as a Princess, saying that they should bow to her and that she can speak to them however she likes.
Falka has trouble even remembering "Ciri" at this point. This is actually a common reaction to trauma - the "self" retreats into hiding while another "self" takes over and absorbs all the "bad" elements. It isn't multiple personalities or anything so banal - it's not even really a dissociative disorder. She is simply hiding from the fact that she is murdering people. She hides herself so that she doesn't have to be horrified - she acts like Falka so she can pretend that she's enjoying it.
Ciri is a fucking amazing character. I love every minute of reading her and wish she was in the novel more.
Now, here's where things get even more interesting. During another side plot going on (that I'll get to later) we learn about Falka. She's been mentioned a LOT throughout the series, as a historical figure on par with Hitler. Finally, in this book, we learn the truth.
Falka was a Princess who was rejected by her father for not being a boy - for not being an heir. She led a rebellion in an attempt to change things so that women could rule without Kings. She won briefly - and then lost and was executed. And, for the crime of trying to make men and women equal in Temeria, Redania, and the far north, she is treated like the most evil person in all of history.
True, she was brutal. No more brutal than the Squirrels or the pogoms against non-humans. True, her rebels got out of hand and did awful things. No worse than Nilfgaard's soldiers.
Because she tried to make women equal, Falka is the most hated person who has ever lived.
**approving slow clap** Andrzej Sapkowski, I have rarely seen a better feminist novel than this one. Bravo.
No, seriously, I'm not kidding here. This is a wonderful example of how women striving for equality are portrayed as demons and crushed down. It is beautifully subversive. Furthermore, it makes a feminist point without detracting from the narrative - it doesn't say "look, she was perfect" - because she wasn't. She was a vicious dictator. But she's no different than any of a dozen male dictators who do the same thing and are considered "normal".
You know, I'm starting to think some of the game designers missed the subtly of Sapkowski's work. There is a LOT going on here.
Actually, come to think of it, here's another one my Spouse spotted yesterday. Back in Blood of Elves, Geralt showed Ciri that statue of the elven martyr with the roses. At the time, I thought he was showing Ciri that both sides were worthy of sympathy. I was wrong.
Geralt showed Ciri the statue of the Elven martyr, who died centuries ago, because the elves are still fighting for her. Ciri, if she joins up with Nilfgaard OR the North, could be a martyr like that if she fails to remain neutral. That statue could be Ciri's future. Geralt was saying "Ciri, if you choose a side, it doesn't just affect you - it will affect people who follow you for centuries to come. The only way to avoid that fate is to not take a side."
The thing is, until the war was going and the Emperor had his fake Ciri and all, we couldn't see that Ciri would be that powerful of an influence. But is has been proven that she is - men are already risking death for Ciri, and that's over a FAKE Ciri.
Right now, Ciri's solution is to not BE Ciri, but to instead be Falka - be the evil one that everyoen hates.
If you can't be a Princess, you can always be a Witch. And if you can't be a Witch, you can be a psychotic highway man.
Sorry, mixing my deconstructions. Ahem.
So anyway, Fish Soup.
Geralt, Dandelion, Milva, Regis, and Cahir travel along for a while. To help with Dandelion's discomfort around him, Regis explains that he doesn't require blood, blood is like alcohol, etc. He also notes that in his youth he was a "binge drinker" but - after being decapitated - he rethought his life and swore off the stuff. I feel like I should make a joke about AA meetings here....
He also points out that being bitten doesn't change one into a Vampire (exponential growth and all that). Which is interesting, but Blue Eyes established that one CAN be transformed... just not with a bite. So, one has to wonder how exactly they do it. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the transformee must drink the Vampire's blood. In this universe, that would almost make sense - Geralt often makes Mutagens out of a powerful creature's blood (in the first game anyway). Perhaps the Vampire can introduce a mutagen that mutates the target into another higher vampire?
It's something to think about. Anyway...
Shortly thereafter they bump into Zoltan again. They continue on for a bit together until a new twist comes to light - Milva is pregnant, and has been pregnant this whole time. She wanted Regis to help her abort, but she's waited too long, so all that can be done is a full induced miscarriage, which will knock her on her ass for a week or more (not to mention carry a risk of death).
Geralt and Milva have a talk and Milva decides to keep the baby.
Meanwhile, they've reached Mt. Cabon, so Zoltan is leaving the party again with his dwarves and a new batch of refugees. Before he leaves, he gives Geralt his fancy Dwarf sword (with upgrade runes) to Geralt. Awww.
Since Geralt doesn't want to take pregnant Milva through the DEATH SWAMP, they decide to cross the Yaruga into Nilfgaard territory, scoot up river a bit, and then cross back to avoid the swamp. Good plan, except that they end up crossing into an active warzone. Whoopsie! They run from the Lyrian guerrilla army, get shot at by the Nilfgaardian army, and end up stuck up by a bridge - where a battle between the Lyrians and Nilfgaardians is taking place. Oh, and a kick from a horse (I think?) causes Milva to miscarry after all. So much for that decision.
So, Geralt says "oh fuck it" and heads up to rally the Lyrians and fight the Nilfgaardians. And he does so - spectacularly. With Cahir at his side and Dandelion... around there somewhere.
The battle ends in victory for the Lyrinas. And, we learn that Geralt just saved Queen Maeve of Lyria, who is leadin ghte guerrillas. She knights Geralt for his valor - Geralt of Rivia. Geralt takes a moment to appreciate the irony and --
End of Book.
But wait, you're saying - I skipped a whole other part of the book! True, I did, because it really is like another who book taking place alongside this one. So now over to THAT plotline.
Philippa arranges for a meeting - she calls up seven Sorceresses, one from Nilfgaard and several each from the Northern, Nilfgardian, and Neutral factions during the Thanedd Coup. Philippa has decided that the massacre that occurred there is proof that they need a non-political body to handle issues of magic to prevent senseless shit like that happening again. So, she proposes forming an organization --
Shelia de Tancerville suggests "Lodge of Sorceresses"
-- to manage things, not just in the north, but throughout the world. No matter what happens, they few shall manage things from behind the scenes.
She asks several of her chosen members to recruit a few others. She has plans for one extra seat, but she'd like them to fill the rest with anyone they choose. Two seats to the elves, and an extra seat to Nilfgaard.
The Nilfgaardian sorceress invites another, and they decide to use magic to make themselves beautiful like the northern Sorceress so that they don't look down on them. Also they want to dress as cleavagy as possible because, at Thanedd, it was shown that Northern Sorceress Fashion is "Boob Window that shows Nipples". I guess because, if you're 200 years old and still have a nice rack, you wanna show it off.
And before anyone says anything - Triss is in her mid 30s here, Yen is in her 90s, Philippa is at least a couple centuries old, and the elf chick is around 400. Two hundred is not an unreasonable average to guess.
Anyway, we next have said elf-chick recruiting another elven Sorceress for the seat. And, for her other seat... they decompress Yen! AH HA!! So that's where she disappeared to! One of the major mysteries of Times of Contempt is finally explained!
Also, I had no idea that Compression was a thing from the novels. Very nicely done, Witcher 2 - good call back.
Yen is, needless to say, fairly pissed, but she gets roped into the Lodge thing.
Next meeting, they all show up in person. We get this from the Nilfgaardian sorceresses, which is nice - as noted above, it establishes their fears and then their relief to be treated so nicely. In fact, the meeting starts very comradely and girl-powery, even if it does slide catty later on.
They discuss how to accomplish their "magic is the highest thing" goals and Philippa finally lets everyone in on her plans - to marry Ciri to the King (or Prince rather) of Kovir and create a Mageocracy. Why?
Because Ciri is the last living descendant of Lara down the female line. Lara was the last of her line among the elves - the last to carry the great power of the "Elder Blood" - and now Ciri has it. This means she has prophesy power (which we already knew about) and this is also why she could use Lara's portal in the tower - Ah ha! So that's why she wasn't scrambled. Nicely played.
That would all be pretty impressive until Triss figures something out - Ciri wasn't a "chance" inheritor of this gene. She was a eugenics project. They've been selectively breeding Ciri's ancestors since Lara to try to bring this gene back. And Yennifer was part of it. Yennifer, Ciri's mother figure.
Yennifer, who in Sword of Destiny was seeking any method of having a daughter, has genetically engineered a daughter, arranged for Geralt to be bound to said daughter, and made herself the only person Geralt would trust to train said daughter to use her overwhelming Elder Blood powers.
HOLY SHIT.
And I thought Philippa was an evil mastermind. Fuck me.
This makes me think that the Witcher 1 was originally supposed to feature Yennifer, not Triss. The Alvin plot makes SO MUCH SENSE for Yennifer. Triss, in this moment, is horrified by what Yennifer has done - and yet, Triss attempts to recreate the situation in the Witcher 1, albeit without genetic manipulation. I really do wonder if, originally, it was Yen who was there at the beginning of the script writing - and only later in the game's design, when they realized they wanted Yen to be kidnapped by the Hunt, did they change the story to include Triss instead.
Also, all of Triss's sex cards show a woman with dark brown or black hair, not red hair. When Triss is known for her red hair.
Triss in the Witcher 2 acts much more like the fun-loving Triss we see in the books, whereas the Triss we see in the first game acts like Yennifer (to the point where I thought she was an Expy).
Just a theory.
Anyway, back to the Lodge. With all this discussed (and the history of Lara's blood is what leads through Falka's backstory, hence my aside above) they take a snack break and Yennifer gets a little help escaping from a Nilfgaardian sorceress. Since this is the Sorceress who blinded Yen less than a decade ago, and since they hate each-other, no one will suspect that she helped Yen.
And that's where that storyline ends.
So, to sum up - Geralt just got Knighted, Milva just miscarried, Regis was tending her, Dandelion was... somewhere?, Cahir was with Geralt in the battle, but is elsewhere now. Yen has just escaped and is trying to find Ciri. And Ciri is being Falka and needs to make things up with her lesbian lover Mistle.
Once again with the not-a-cliffhanger-but-still-demanding-answers ending, Sapkowski? Well, you do it well, so I won't complain. And I have your next book ready to go, so that helps me with not wanting to strangle you for this.
I complimented the book in my previous post, so I don't need to repeat myself here. Great book. Not quite the wild ride of Times of Contempt, true, but Baptism of Fire delivers in its own ways. If you haven't read the translations yet, I highly recommend downloading this one and keeping it for just after you finish reading Times of Contempt because you are NOT going to want to stop.
As for me - onward to The Tower of the Swallow. And more mods... at some point. Right now, it is hard to not just keep reading. In fact, it took willpower to write up this review now instead of reading more. If that isn't a compliment, I don't know what is.
Until next time!
