The gates of Kaer Morhen groaned as they opened, the stone courtyard welcoming them back from the Royal Wyvern hunt. Vesemir was already there, waiting for their return.
He stood near the entrance, arms loosely folded, though his eyes were not relaxed. They moved over the three of them the moment they stepped inside, checking for injuries, anything wrong, especially on Ciri and Seb. Old habits of Papa Vesemir.
"How did the hunt go?" he asked, voice steady.
Geralt stepped forward, brushing a bit of dried blood from his glove. "Smoothly, I would say." he said. Then, after a brief pause, he added, "Thought Seb was the one that took it down."
Vesemir's brows lifted slightly. "Is that so?"
He stepped closer, placing a firm, approving hand on Sebastian's shoulder.
Sebastian didn't seem particularly proud of it. "It was a team effort," he said simply.
Ciri walked past them without a word, her steps quick, a bit too quick and disappeared deeper into the keep.
Sebastian's eyes followed her.
For a moment, he shifted as if to go after her, to say something, but he stopped himself. His expression softened, just slightly, as he understood what's going on inside her mind.
'I know what she's thinking…'
His gaze lingered down the hallway where she had vanished.
'She sees me as a ceiling right now. Something she can't reach.'
He exhaled quietly.
'And it's bothering her… more than she lets on.'
A faint shake of his head.
'She doesn't realize what she has. What she'll become.'
Vesemir's voice pulled him back. "So," the old witcher said, stepping away, "a royal wyvern huh."
Seb blinked once, refocusing. "Yeah."
"I suspected it would be a wyvern," Vesemir continued, pacing slowly. "But a royal… those aren't common. Not around here."
Sebastian nodded slightly. "Ciri figured it out before we confirmed it," he added, almost casually.
Vesemir paused mid-step and turned his head toward where Ciri had gone.
For just a second, there was something like quiet pride in his expression.
"Impressive child," he said.
****
Inside the keep, down the hall, came the sound of wood striking wood, sharp, repeated. Ciri had already found a training blade.
Vesemir listened to it for a moment, then turned back to Geralt, "This still doesn't sit right with me," he muttered. "All of this. Monsters getting closer to our keep like this… We need to get to the bottom of it."
Geralt nodded slowly. "That's all I've been thinking about on the way back."
He hesitated, just briefly. "I have a theory."
Sebastian spoke before he could continue.
"You think it's because of…"
He lifted a hand, pointing subtly toward the hallway, toward Ciri's room.
Geralt met his eyes. Then gave a single, quiet nod.
"Possibly," he said. "Something tied to her magic. Or… I honestly don't know."
Vesemir's expression hardened slightly, concern settling deep in the lines of his old face.
Geralt continued, "I'll need to confirm it with Yennefer."
There was a brief silence before Geralt glanced at Sebastian again,
"You had that same idea the whole time, didn't you?"
Sebastian didn't deny it. He nodded.
Geralt huffed quietly. "Good thing you didn't say it in front of her."
Sebastian shrugged faintly. "I might be young," he said, "but I've got a fair sense of when to keep my mouth shut."
Vesemir smiled, and then he let out a low chuckle.
"That much is clear," he said. "All of us can attest to your maturity."
Then his expression shifted as he turned slightly, his gaze drifting toward Ciri's room in the distance.
"But this isn't something we can ignore," Vesemir continued, voice firm. "If it's true… if she's drawing them in somehow without realizing…"
He exhaled slowly.
"I know we can't send her away, that's not an option."
Geralt shook his head immediately. "No."
"Of course she is one of us now, but we must find a solution," Vesemir said. "And we need to do it fast. Before something worse than a wyvern decides to come knocking."
From down the hall, the sound of Ciri's training grew sharper and faster.
Geralt listened to it, his jaw tightening slightly.
He was afraid of one thing, running out of time before understanding what's going on.
****
In the following morning, they had all gathered in the main hall of the keep.
Geralt leaned against one of the pillars, arms folded and his eyes moved more than usual, watching and thinking.
Vesemir stood near the table, one hand resting against its surface,
Yennefer stood opposite him, dark curls resting over her shoulders, violet eyes sharp… and she tilted her head slightly, looking at Vesemir, a playful smile on her face.
Vesemir narrowed his eyes immediately. He knew that look, and he didn't like it.
Yennefer turned her attention away from him, toward Sebastian.
"Tell me," she began, her voice smooth and calm, "is there anything more you wish to learn Seb? With your magical affinity I have… a few ideas."
Vesemir shot her a sharp look.
Geralt exhaled quietly through his nose.
Sebastian froze for half a second, then coughed. "Oh..." he started, scratching the back of his neck, already stepping back half a pace, "no, I think I'm good. For now."
Yennefer just smiled watching him, Sebastian pressed on quickly, "I'm focused on my… uh."
"…Elder Speech," he added, as if remembering it mid-sentence. "Still needs work. A lot of it, you can help me with that."
Yennefer's smile didn't fade If anything, it deepened slightly.
"Of course it does," she said.
Geralt sighed and Vesemir muttered something under his breath that sounded suspicious.
Yennefer let Sebastian off, for now and turned her gaze toward Ciri.
"We should resume our training today," she said, tone shifting, becoming more direct. "You've had enough rest."
Ciri, who had been leaning against the table, straightened slightly.
"I don't want to," she said plainly."I'd rather train with my sword."
A beat of silence followed.
Yennefer's eyes narrowed just a fraction.
Before she could respond, Vesemir stepped in.
He placed a gentle, steady hand on Ciri's shoulder.
"Then you'll train with your sword," he said simply. "No sense forcing yourself to do something you don't want to."
Ciri glanced at him, surprised for a moment, then gave a small nod.
"Thank you."
Vesemir gave a faint grunt in response.
And then a subtle, but unmistakably the medallion hanging on his chest vibrated softly.
Vesemir froze for a moment.
His hand remained on Ciri's shoulder for a fraction longer than it should have.
Then he slowly lifted his gaze, and looked at Geralt.
He didn't say a word because Geralt saw it, so did Sebastian.
They were silent for a moment.
Sebastian's eyes shifted briefly to Ciri.
She hadn't noticed.
Or… maybe she had.
'That's not enough to confirm it… it could me or Yennefer's magic but...'
His thoughts moved quickly,
'But it keeps happening around her…'
He exhaled slowly, almost inaudibly.
'One thing we can't ignore is that her magic is unstable… tied to her state of mind? Her emotions?'
His gaze lingered on her for just a second longer.
'Is there something I can..'
He stopped as something clicked.
Then, just as quickly he snapped out of his thoughts.
"By the way," Sebastian said suddenly, turning toward Vesemir as if nothing had happened, "when do I get my own?"
Vesemir blinked once.
"Your own?"
Sebastian gestured toward the medallion at Vesemir's chest.
"That."
"Ah," Vesemir said, nodding slightly. "The Wolf Medallion."
"We can make one for you. No trouble at all." Vesemir smiled as he said that.
Sebastian raised a brow. "That simple? I've read somewhere here that there used to be… more to it."
Vesemir's expression shifted, something older surfacing behind his eyes.
"There was," he said.
He straightened slightly, voice taking on a quieter, more reflective tone.
"The Trial of the Medallion."
Geralt's gaze lifted slightly.
Vesemir continued, "It wasn't just about getting the medallion. It was an exam. A way to see if the adepts remembered what they'd been taught… and whether they could survive using it."
Sebastian knowing exactly what he was going to say, he faked an interest. "What kind of trial was that?"
Geralt answered this time.
His voice was calm, but there was a certain weight behind it. A painful memory.
"Would-be Wolves were taken to a lake not far from here," he said. "They had to cross it, and it was cold enough to kill you."
Ciri turned toward him, listening closely now.
"On the other side, if you are lucky to survive it.." Geralt continued, "there were caverns, pretty old ones and it is home to a cyclops."
He paused briefly.
"Old Speartip we called him."
"The task was simple," Geralt went on. "Get through without waking him."
Sebastian let out a quiet breath. "That sounds… simple, just like you said."
"But it wasn't," Geralt said flatly.
"After that," Geralt continued, "they had to climb Troll's Head. Deal with the rock trolls there, this usually means they only needed to talk with the trolls to let them pass."
Ciri frowned slightly. "Talking to trolls... for some reason that sounds worse than fighting them."
"It usually was," Geralt said.
"And at the top," he finished, "a Circle of Elements. Activate the medallion there, and the trial was complete."
"All of this seems... pointless and cruel, I fail to see the whole meaning of all this but I'm no Witcher." Yennefer said quietly.
Geralt didn't agree or disagree. "We all had to do it."
That was all, Ciri stared at him for a moment, processing this piece of history.
Then Sebastian spoke again.
"Now I want to do it even more."
Vesemir frowned immediately. "That won't be necessary."
Sebastian shook his head slightly.
"It was meant for a group, wasn't it?" he said.
He turned, and pointed toward Ciri.
"I'll take part in it," he said. "Alongside Ciri."
/-\
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