Inside the library, there was a young man flipping through books. Judging by the pile next to him, he had been there for a while.
This young man?
Our Witcher.
Closing the last book, I leaned back in my chair and stretched.
"I have no idea what this necklace is."
Sighing in frustration, I got up, then put the books back one by one on their respective shelves before heading towards the exit. On my way out, I went to the kitchen, grabbed an apple, and went outside, eating it. Lambert, noticing me, walked over.
"So, your research?" he asked curiously.
"Nothing, for now," I replied, shaking my head. I took the necklace to show Lambert.
"Are you sure it's not just a necklace meant to turn men into werewolves?" Lambert said, taking the necklace to inspect it before handing it back to me.
"No, come see."
Throwing the rest of the apple on the ground, Lambert and I headed towards the lake near the castle. I put on the necklace, then extended my hand to release some magic, and the lake's water began to stagnate as if it were no longer moving.
Actually, when I got this necklace, I thought it might contain some kind of moon energy. In my world, I love watching documentaries about space, and one day, I came across someone explaining what would happen if the moon disappeared. So, I tested it, and indeed, when I send a small amount of energy, the water stagnates, but if I send a large amount, the lake's water rises suddenly because the moon influences our oceans and tides.
"Indeed, this could be dangerous. Imagine a bunch of sorcerers using their magic on the necklace; they could create floods or worse," Lambert said, rubbing his chin.
"Yes, that's why I'm waiting for Vesemir to come back from his hunt," I said, taking off the necklace.
"Mmh, when you find him, call me. You don't need to do this alone; it seems more serious than it looks," Lambert said, patting my shoulder.
"Are you sure? You don't have to; it might just be my imagination," I said as we walked back to the castle.
"Aiden, honestly, I'm someone who is narcissistic, unpleasant sometimes, and..."
I interrupted him, saying, "Sometimes? Lambert, you have no idea how much each of us trains our minds with you," I said, smiling.
Lambert looked at me with a smile and said, "At least I don't go unnoticed and stay etched in the memories of my dear Witcher brothers."
"Wouldn't you prefer that the ladies remember you instead of us?"
Lambert looked ahead and said more seriously, "Actually, no. I don't really know what love is. Sometimes, I envy Geralt because of his ease at falling in love or Eskel, who embraces life to the fullest."
Lambert stopped and looked at the landscape unfolding before us as we made our way back to the castle.
"Of course, I want to know love, to settle down in a quiet place to spend my retirement, but the problem is that our profession doesn't allow it. And I'm not even talking about the racism against us."
Lambert turned to me, rubbed his hand on my head, and said:
"That's why I prefer to be remembered by you. You are the family I never had, and honestly, if I can use my strength to secure a future for you and Ciri, the two young ones who joined us, I will do it without hesitation."
Stopping from rubbing my head, he began to walk faster, saying:
"Don't tell anyone what I just told you. I don't need Vesemir reminding me that Witchers are like a family."
Watching him leave, I couldn't help but smile, shaking my head and running to catch up with him.
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Arriving at the castle, I saw Geralt training Ciri on wooden posts, her eyes covered. I remembered this training, which was meant to sharpen our senses, but I didn't really need it since what I call instinct was enough for me.
Geralt had made me do this training several times, but I always managed to dodge.
"Go join them, I'll wait for you inside."
Then, without warning, Lambert headed inside before I could reply. Sighing, I headed towards Geralt and Ciri. As I got closer, I could hear their voices.
"Your feet," Geralt was saying, continuing to give instructions on footwork and balance. Then, noticing me, he said:
"Alright, that's enough, come down." Ciri stopped and looked behind her, probably because she knew Geralt was there.
"With a backflip?"
Geralt smiled and said, "Of course, we're in a Witcher school."
Ciri did a backflip before removing her blindfold, then, smiling at Geralt, she saw me and threw herself at me for a hug.
"Aiden!" she said joyfully.
"How are you?" I asked her, returning her hug.
"Good, because I prefer this to Vesemir's lessons," Ciri said with an annoyed look, remembering those lessons.
"Ciri, you know it's important to understand your enemies' characteristics," I reminded her gently.
"I know, Geralt always tells me that," she replied with a bored look, sighing.
"Speaking of which..."
I looked at Geralt, who was watching us silently with a smile. Seeing my look, he asked me:
"Aiden?"
"I might need you for something quite serious," I said seriously.
"Okay, Ciri, go train with the sword with Eskel," Geralt said, nodding.
"But I want to stay," Ciri pleaded.
"Ciri," Geralt said more insistently.
"Alright," she said, complaining as she left, kicking a poor rock that had done nothing to deserve it.
"Aiden?" Geralt called my attention back to him.
"Look."
I took out the necklace and showed it to him.
"This necklace is enchanted. My medallion vibrates, but I don't recognize the magic."
"That's normal, because this magic is complicated. But the problem is different: I did some tests, and this necklace can, with effort, cause large-scale floods due to the effect of moon magic."
"Moon magic?" Geralt asked, looking at me questioningly.
"It's complicated to explain, but simply put, this magic allows me to control the ocean currents."
"How did you get it?" Geralt asked, still looking at the necklace.
"From a werewolf. He used it to transform at will."
"I see where you're going with this, but Vesemir might have more information," Geralt said, stopping to look at the necklace before giving it back to me.
"I hope so, but he hasn't come back yet." Taking the necklace, I sighed in defeat, but as if the stars were aligned, I heard:
"Uncle Vesemir!"
Ciri's cry made us turn to see Vesemir arriving with a wyvern head, proof that his hunt had been successful. We headed towards him, and seeing us, he came to greet us. Perhaps noticing our serious mood, he asked the question we were all waiting for:
"What's going on?"
I explained the situation to him, and seeing the necklace, he took it and said:
"Let's go inside." We followed him inside, leaving Ciri to pout as she continued her training with Eskel.
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"Then explain it to us."
We were all gathered around the table, looking at Vesemir for more information.
"This necklace is called the Lunar Necklace, an extremely ancient piece, even though it's not the real one. If the real one were present, we would have all the werewolves at our doorstep," Vesemir said as he picked up a glass of wine next to him.
"Why?" I asked, curious.
"Aiden, do you know about the ancient vampires?" As he finished pouring his glass, Vesemir turned to me.
"Yes, I've always been told not to approach them because we would die without doing anything," I replied.
"Indeed, and it's the same with werewolves. But compared to vampires, they have only one primordial wolf, or rather the true alpha. When I started my work as a witcher, I had the chance to meet one of their communities. They didn't seek war; on the contrary, they lived peacefully in their forest and even traded with the neighboring inhabitants," Vesemir explained before taking a sip and continuing his story.
"But one day, a sorcerer discovered a regeneration potion that could heal anyone in an instant, which sparked a ruthless war between the werewolves and humans," Vesemir continued, shaking his head in exasperation at the humans.
Geralt, who had remained silent until then, responded, "The Blood Moon War?" Hearing this, I looked at him curiously, not knowing what he was talking about, before turning my attention back to Vesemir.
"Yes, that's the war. It claimed countless victims, both among humans and werewolves, but the losses were heavier on the human side. However, the leaders had one last card to play: the vampires," Vesemir said, finishing his glass before resuming.
"Of course, vampires are not afraid of humans, but they don't necessarily depend on human blood to survive and can even choose not to drink it for various reasons that would take too long to explain. Nevertheless, they participated in this war, and it ended in a true bloodbath for the werewolves: women, children, the elderly—everyone was killed or captured to make regeneration potions. Seeing his clan being slaughtered, the alpha wolf awakened, and a battle between the ancient vampires and the wolf began."
"And the result was that of the five ancient vampires attacked by the wolf, only four survived, one of them with mortal wounds," Vesemir said seriously.
"The alpha wolf is a nearly divine being due to its extraordinary regeneration, but especially because of its terrible poison that is on its fangs and claws. My mentor explained to me that if the ancient vampires hadn't been present, even if we had gathered witchers, sorcerers, elves, and humans, we would have had no chance at all. Of course, our chances would have been greater if we had summoned demons or other divine beings, but the cost would have been enormous."
"And the wolf?" I asked, curious about what had happened to it.
"Dead, but not really, because the spirit of the alpha remains. And this necklace represents the alpha, even though the one you possess is a fake. However, if you find it on a wolf, that means it is reforming its pack. I think that if you found a werewolf this close to the road, another conflict involving the world could take place."