Becoming a Vegan Monk...

Lambert escorted the recruits to a room in the 2nd floor of Kaer Morhen and pointed to the rows of bunk beds lined up against the wall.

"Alright kids, home sweet home. You will be given your last normal meal in an hour after you get yourselves comfortable..."

The recruits found partners to bunk with and made sure everything was fine, Reima bunked with Reidun the most familiar boy out of the group.

Reima "So how did you end up here?"

Reidun "I'm an orphan and tried to steal from one of the Witchers... Eskel I think his name was?"

Reima "Either you weren't paying attention or you are really unlucky... But this is a chance to make a new life for yourself, while being a Witcher isn't glamorous it can't be said that they are poor."

Reidun nods his head and they continue chatting.

They also meet some of the other recruits, Theun, Erik, Emerens and Jacob on either side of their bunk. Theun has darker skin and is slightly taller than Reima, Erik looks like a traditional Nord from Skyrim with his broad jaw and ginger hair, Emerens looks like a posh swedish person and Jacob looks the most boring out of everyone with his brown hair and normal face.

Jacob "So have you guys heard about what trials are done here?"

Reima "I only know that they change your body to be not entirely human..."

The other boys look leering at becoming some sort of mutant but don't add anything else.

Lambert comes through the doors and gets the recruits to collect a plate that has bread, cheese, and a small amount of dried meat.

"I would suggest you savour it as this will be the most pleasant meal you will have for around a year. Eat up, we will begin training in around 30 minutes."

Reima's group sit on the side of their beds and slowly eat their meals. The cheese is a lot stronger than any cheese Reima had eaten before, the bread was slightly stale and the meat was as tough as old boots.

"If this is the best meal I'm gonna eat here I might just jump off the tower." he snarks

Reidun "I don't know about you but this is pretty good..."

Jacob "Yeah, the best meal I've had in a few seasons."

Erik nods to their statements while Reima tries to choke down the food. His fragile modern day taste buds protesting the whole time.

After their meal they are lead into the court yard where all the Witchers have wooden swords and loose thin clothing. Vesemir walks in front of the recruits and introduces Geralt, Lambert, Eskel, Aubry and Frank. Aubry has dark red hair and noticeably less scars than Frank who's head looks like it was shoved into a meat grinder and had a black hairball spat onto it.

Vesemir "You will be trained in physical combat with all kinds of weapons including swords, spears, axes and even bare handed. Physical training will be done in the mornings at dawn and in the evenings, in between these sessions you will be studying with me or Eskel on monsters, herbs, potions and anything you might come across during your lifetime as a Witcher... This includes some rituals, folklore and basic medical knowledge. You will also be on a diet of wild mushrooms, herbs and whatever else I can pull out of the ground... This is all you need to know for up to a year depending on how your training goes."

The recruits nod as they listen to Vesemir

Vesemir "Now, we will start with basic forms that the school of the wolf uses. This will be different to any martial discipline you might have learned elsewhere, mainly due to us not fighting humans but fighting monsters. You will split off into groups and watch us demonstrate forms, footwork, and posture. Any questions?"

No one speaks up, the around 20 recruits split off to the different Witchers while picking up wooden weapons from the racks, Reimas heads to Vesemir due to him being the most knowledgeable and well-learned Witcher present.

The group spends around 30 minutes demonstrating each form and explaining the uses of each in different situations, after that they allow the recruits to attempt the forms while correcting them when they do one incorrectly.

Vesemir stands back with Geralt as this is happening and observes those with talent and spot two who exceed the group by far, Reimas and another boy called Arie. "We have some good seeds for these trials, perhaps the revival of the school is not far in sight."

Geralt nods with his arms crossed. "I remember you saying some of the knowledge of the trials was lost... Did you recover it?"

Vesemir grunts "No, but I believe the trials I concocted will work. The techniques that were lost improves the rate of survival... I think they were used to reduced the toxins from the second trial but decreased the strength of the mutations, I can only hope my efforts are not in vain."

Vesemir shakes his head to rid himself of doubt as a wooden sword comes flying from the recruits...

Vesemir "I know your all excited but I have no idea how a weapon can go flying from form practice!"

The recruit who lost his sword made the walk of shame with his head down to collect his wayward sword... "Sorry Grandmaster Vesemir..."

Vesemir slaps him on the back "Get back to practice and focus!"

He turns to the almost grinning Geralt "Shouldn't you be teaching? Well, go ahead."

Geralt shrugs and walks to correct the footwork of the closest recruit.

"Feet further apart, what are you a ballerina!?!"