The World Around (Part 1)

Despite noon and summer weather wasn't that hot in Nazair. A country bordering the sea and mountains had its unique climate. It was cooler and when everywhere the sun was scalding, Nazair drowned in coastal storms and heavy rains.

This place wasn't exactly his home, neither he enlisted it as part of his ambition, as the handsome man standing on the balcony never had the greed for territory or money. He found them secondary, absolutely irrelevant to the true purpose of his life.

Wealth? Influence? Women?

All of that will welcome him one way or another. He just needs to be powerful enough.

"What do you see while gazing at the lands below?" - he asked the retainer standing behind. A tall man with a vicious look and a build of a warrior directed his attention to the horizon and knew better than anyone to stay silent. It was neither his place nor his position to speak out.

A devilishly handsome man turned his head slightly and gave a quick sharp look at the stalwart figure.

"It is good that despite all inconveniences you brought me during these days, you still know your place." - he said nonchalantly and again looked at the landscape with a tinge of bored superiority. As if even beauty of nature was something he can mold and control on a whim. - "Do you know what I see? Well, why am I even asking you that? Naturally, you don't, not with the level of education and intelligence you have. Never the less, I find it necessary to properly explain to you my viewpoint so we can have the same mutually beneficial cooperation we had until now. Otherwise, I will be forced to find another partner to do the job."

The handsome man took a step forward and with sharp movements took the glass of wine from the table. His body was as well trained as any seasoned warrior, because a significant part of his life he spent on a battlefield, fighting as a mercenary for lords, nobles or kings.

All that mattered was who paid more.

In his view, politics was just that. A play of people in a position of power to gain more wealth and influence. They waged wars to achieve their selfish desires. One here, another there. Plus thousands alive or minus that number didn't even register in his calculations.

He never cared about trivia.

"What I see are means and tools. The little porter in the docks exists, so I won't have to carry my luggage. It is his job to take care of this trivial task because that way people like me will have more time for greater things that little trivial porter can't even fathom. The soldier I hired exists to take care of my enemies and remove inconveniences I might see in front of me. Otherwise, there is no meaning in his existence." - the handsome middle-aged man moved his hand and swirled the wine and looked at its clear bloody color. He liked that color. He found it the most truthful. - "They all are a system. A structure of social interactions and jobs, talents and resources. They are there to serve as tools to help me and take away part of my burden. The same goes for you. You exist to relieve part of my burden as well and accomplish the tasks I entrusted to you. You are my tool. An efficient one. When tools break down, one can replace them easily for the entire system to never stop working. That's how Empires are governed. Therefore, they exist to serve as tools of tremendous scale for the ruler to achieve ambitions of the heart."

He took a sip and turned around, staring straight at his retainer.

"It's been two years and you still can't find her. This is rather disappointing." - he said in the same mild tone with a slight smile present in the corner of his lips.

"I'm incompetent, Your Excellency." - shuddered the man and bowed. He wasn't keen to admit his mistakes deep inside the heart, but feared his master more than anything in this world. Feared and wanted to continue using his name as a backing.

That smile would have seemed to be polite and kind to someone who never knew Vilgefortz, but half-elf saw what he can do while having it on his face.

Vilgefortz was a man of tremendous power and intellect, but more than that, he was astonishingly brutal as well. That all birthed both trepidation and admiration in his loyal subordinates.

"Indeed, you are. But finding her is no simple task, I understand that and willing to wait. To be absolutely truthful, my reason to call you here is not about our precious girl, but another matter." - Vilgefortz returned to his working room and sat behind the desk, inviting the man with a glance. - "Tell me, what happened in Rinde? Why did you lose so many trained subordinates? Where is the primary target of your task?"

"All went well. We stationed in Vergen as Your Excellency ordered and could intercept the woman. It took some effort, she is a strong mage, but eventually, we successfully compressed her and intended to transport here in that state, but in Rinde my spies found another person of Your Excellency interest." - said Rience. - "I knew that as a witcher he will be a formidable opponent, so I left to gather reinforcements."

"That I already know, Rience. Don't waste my time. Explain, how despite the company of two dozens well trained mercenaries you still lost the fight and even fled yourself without a single man remaining alive?" - Vilgefortz placed a glass of wine with an audible clink. He traced the staff by the table with fingers lightly, creating waves of magical pressure. It was a warning. A clear and undisguised threat.

Rience nervously glanced at the origin of mana wave with his cowardly eyes and traced slick black hair with a hand.

"Your Excellency, he was way stronger than suggested in reports!" - said Rience hurriedly. He knew that on such occasions pleading for mercy was pointless. Vilgefortz was a man of logic. Although he found it bothersome to put guilt on his subordinates, the punishment was necessary for any failure.

But so went for a reward for every victory.

"Indeed, that should be the case." - easily admitted Vilgefortz. - "But is it an excuse for your defeat? Didn't you take precautions against that? Rience, I thought you are a cautious person."

But what Vilgefortz didn't tell him is that he knew how cowardly Rience really was. Sometimes, that trait was beneficial. Rinde events meant to be different precisely because Rience liked to stay out of danger and do things with ample preparation. But he still failed. That meant that the young witcher, who went by the name Alan Violergos, was not only strong but very good at hiding it.

Even his surname was vaguely familiar, but Vilgefortz couldn't remember where or when he heard it. That made him irritated because even mental search through magic showed no results. That was very suspicious.

"Your Excellency, it was not him alone, but another witcher of Chimera School. He is the last one in the school. His name is Coen, and he fought with the boy hand in hand with great synergy, as if they were doing it for years. They slaughtered all our people right in the middle of the street. Your Excellency, I ordered the attack because I thought they both were drunk, but that wasn't the case. It was a trap!"

"So they outsmarted you, that is your excuse?" - asked Vilgefortz evenly. - "Rience, ah Rience. You must understand that I don't tolerate failures. I never did. But your blunder can be another opportunity. Now tell me, how come you never saw the other witcher before attacking?"

"This... I don't know. We seized several people from the inn and they all said some idiocy, Your Excellency. They said the witcher appeared out of thin air in a flash of green light."

"Wait... out of thin air?" - Vilgefortz narrowed his eyes. - "From here I need you to be very accurate in your explanation. Tell me exactly what the witnesses' testimony was."

"Well... just after a flash of green light, the naked man fell on the table."

"There were no portals or mirror-like objects from which he dropped on the table?" - Vilgefortz almost failed to hide the excitement he felt right now. He spent years studying the spacial force and magic and knew exactly what traveling without portals meant.

A direct interference into dimensional continuum through bloodline power!

"No, Your Excellency." - Rience said affirmatively and breathed a sigh of relief. Seems like he could preserve his life today.

"Good." - he said with a heavy nod. - "Looks like luck is on my side. Change priority target from Lion Cub to the young witcher. How did elves call him? Uidewen? Ah, Sky Flame. How poetic! How fitting! They always were good at choosing dreadful names that brought disaster to mankind."

Vilgefortz stood up and walked to the balcony.

"Rience, don't stop the search of the girl. I still need her." - but Vilgefortz already thought about his agreement with Emhyr Var Emreis. Using a woman as a magic bloodline transplant was way harder than a male. It was better to have similar genders. If young witcher turned out to be some collateral unregistered possessor of Elder Blood, that would be great. But Vilgefortz still had some misgivings. The genealogy of Lara Dorren went through centuries of research, and it was highly unlikely for a bastard to appear out of nowhere.

However, such noble power could only be in the hands of him, Vilgefortz. Others were not worthy. If young witcher turned out to be a descendant with Elder Blood, it was of utmost importance to control the force properly and to have it in proper hands.

Vilgefortz tapped table several times with his index finger, producing rhythmic, yet unsettling sound in the room shrouded in silence. Later, coming to another decision, one of the most influential mages of the world gave another order.

"As for the woman, she is in a compressed state. Leave her like that. Let's see if our precious new subject Uidewen can figure out how to remove the spell. If he alone can't, we will watch other sorceresses of the North. Put some spies near Yennefer and Triss entourage. They seemed to be the only mages close to the boy. For now, locate him as soon as possible and notify me. It will be better to send an appropriate force to hunt him down. Also, I want to hire some high-quality mercenaries, take care of that."

"Yes, Your Excellency." - bowed Rience and Vilgefortz waved his hand, creating a portal for the man to escape the highest leverage point of the castle.

Vilgefortz stood still for some time and gazed at the distant sky.

His face revealed a confident yet crazed smile.