[Chapter Size: 2200 Words.]
Third Person POV
Northern kingdoms.
...
...
"You're going to war?" Yennefer asked Madara while he spread a map in front of them. They were positioned between the south of Temeria, near Cintra, and Sodden's Hill.
"I'll have to go… after all, I had already planned to take this route to mislead our pursuers, who must be heading north to Renania to look for us… but Ciri is still within reach of their tracking potions. Now I need to deal with this group… I don't trust going north with them still around." Madara commented, eyes fixed on the map.
"..." Ciri remained silent, merely following wherever Madara decided to go, but the idea of heading into war left her uncertain.
"Speaking of which..." Madara continued before Yennefer could say anything. "Can you free Ciri from their tracking? Because it's only a matter of time; they could catch up with us in the coming weeks." Madara remarked.
"Are you giving me another order, you brat?" Yennefer once again disliked being spoken to like this, especially by a child of 12 or 13 years old.
"Only you can do it…" Madara stated the obvious.
"However, you must ask like a normal person. You're being quite rude speaking to a woman like that." She replied with a hint of distaste, and Madara nearly rolled his eyes.
"Either way, I have no choice; I'll do it for the girl." Yennefer sighed as she turned to Ciri. "Let's go somewhere else. I want you to relax." She requested.
"..." Ciri looked warily at her, her gaze shifting back to Madara, silently seeking guidance.
"Go with her. Whether you like it or not, she's the only one who can help us with this." Madara instructed.
"You trust me that much? Aren't you afraid I'll take her away? After all, there are many people interested in having her right now." Yennefer couldn't resist taunting, noticing how at ease Madara seemed.
"If you take her… trust me, I'll find you, no matter where you are… and I'll destroy everything in my path until I reach you." Madara spoke, his tone suddenly darkening, displeased by the sorceress's tone.
The atmosphere grew tense between the three as Madara locked eyes with Yennefer, silently daring her to test whether he was bluffing.
"..." Yennefer couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. Despite wanting to confront this boy for a long time, he didn't seem as easy to manipulate as she had thought, and she realized she was dealing with a real monster after witnessing what he could do and even killing that creature that had almost ended her life.
"Let's go, ugly. We have work to do." Yennefer finally said, standing up and addressing Ciri, no longer looking at Madara.
"Ugly! She called me ugly!!" Ciri stared in despair, glancing quickly at Madara to see if he agreed with those words, but he was only focused on the map.
With no response, Ciri ended up moving forward, occasionally glancing back to see if Madara was watching her, hoping to ask him something. However, he stayed by the map, trying to figure out his next move.
When they reached a place out of Madara's sight, she turned to Yennefer, waiting. "Alright, let's begin. I want you to relax…" Yennefer instructed while Ciri stood before her, watching cautiously, but doing exactly what the mage requested.
"Close your eyes…" Ciri heard, feeling Yennefer's hands touching her head as they began to glow. Ciri did as Geralt's friend said. The sorceress spoke in an ancient Elvish language, and Ciri felt a little scared by it, but she thought this might finally stop her pursuers. She was willing to go on.
She felt pressure as Yennefer struggled to maintain the spell. Moments after she completed the magic, Yennefer sensed resistance coming from Ciri, who looked directly at her, her eyes glowing a vivid green.
"You must prove your worth. He will never trust you with your current intentions..." Yennefer heard a distorted voice coming from Ciri, causing the sorceress to raise an eyebrow while still holding onto the girl as Ciri's eyes ceased glowing. For the first time, Yennefer realized Ciri was a Source.
Yennefer stared at her, seeing Ciri blink several times, returning to herself. The young girl looked at Yennefer with curiosity, not fully understanding what had just happened. And the spell seemed to have ended.
"Well... we can go back... the spell worked," Yennefer remarked in the end, as Ciri sighed in relief, unaware of what had happened, and Yennefer kept what she heard to herself.
"So we won't be hunted anymore? That's good!" Ciri said, satisfied, as they returned to where Madara was. He now narrowed his eyes at them, sensing something had happened, but not knowing what it was. Still, they seemed fine.
Madara's gaze fixed on Yennefer. "You said the battle would be on the other side of the mountains, and that there's a group of mages trying to ambush the Nilfgaardian soldiers in the midst of the fight?" he asked, processing what he had heard from Yennefer earlier.
"Yes," the older woman replied.
"Can you keep Ciri with you?" he asked, attempting to avoid taking the girl into war.
"That's impossible. I must present myself to the Chapter of Mages (an organization of sorcerers and wizards from the north of the continent) in Sodden. Otherwise, I'll be considered a traitor," Yennefer replied with a neutral tone. Madara understood he couldn't force her.
"I see. You said that Geralt is also heading towards the mountains?" he inquired, catching Ciri's attention, and Yennefer nodded.
"I trust no one but you and Geralt with her, and Ciri can't be drawn into this war. She's not ready for it yet. But I need to deal with this group. I'll keep her in a safe place, and if possible, I want you to go there as soon as you can. Can you do that?" he asked. He had met her randomly and was asking absurd things, but he knew her.
Yennefer nodded. "You're asking too much... but yes, I can keep her safe. However, I'll still be in the midst of this battle. If I get hurt during it, I might retreat and stay with her for a while..." she mentioned, doing this both for Geralt and Madara. "There's also a laboratory nearby. It would be good for you to take Ciri there." She pointed to a place in the middle of a forest a few kilometers away.
"Will you take care of her?" he couldn't help but ask, trying to gauge her sincerity.
"Yes... I promise I'll take care of the ugly one," Yennefer said with a slight smile.
"Hey! Who are you calling ugly?" Ciri stomped her foot indignantly.
Madara, with little choice, decided to trust Yennefer. "Alright, then I'll take Ciri there, and I don't plan to use portals," he stated.
Yennefer nodded; she had already informed him that the hideout was about 20 km east of their location.
"I'm obliged to return to Sodden and report to Tissaia about what happened since two mages who were with me died. I'll even bring their bodies and provide a report on what I ended up dealing with, but I'll avoid any mention of you two," she said.
"Thank you," Madara replied, surprising Yennefer with his politeness.
"Alright. I'll see you both at the hideout later. Until then," she said. Madara nodded, watching her open a portal and disappear in the next moment.
"Hey, do you think I'm ugly?" Ciri's voice broke the silence just as the portal closed, making Madara blink in surprise at the question, looking at the girl staring at him.
"No," he replied.
"Just a no?!" Ciri exclaimed indignantly. "So you don't think I'm beautiful?" she grumbled in a huff.
"Whatever," Madara muttered, starting to pack up the map and ignoring her, not wanting to deal with these feminine inconsistencies.
Ciri was shocked by Madara's coldness, but there was nothing she could do except watch him as he finished organizing his things, as he had always behaved this way.
In the end, with a small sigh, she approached Madara as he asked. He picked her up and began moving, leaving that place and heading east, crossing the mountain line between Sodden and Temeria and even passing through Temeria's support army.
They reached Yennefer's hideout a few hours later, as she had indicated earlier. Madara had no trouble entering the location, finding a simple space with only a telescope and a few potion bottles. Nonetheless, the place was spacious as he explored it with Ciri. Mages liked to have their own hideouts and laboratories scattered around the world, but Yennefer didn't seem to have many, and this one was quite simple, rarely used. Still, it was a coincidence to find a place so close to where they had been.
"This place stinks," Ciri muttered.
"It's old. Yennefer probably hasn't come here in a long time," Madara said, examining the place.
"Still, you're going to war, and I'll have to stay here..." she murmured.
"You're not ready yet, Ciri," Madara told the girl.
"You said there were more of those you fought against. Was he really that strong? I heard the explosions, I've never seen anything like it," Ciri murmured, speaking about the subject for the first time, still remembering how she watched the fight from a distance, held back by one of Madara's clones and Yennefer the entire time, unable to approach.
"Much stronger than anything I've faced before," he admitted. "And there are more of them. So it's better if I try to get rid of them all once and for all. Otherwise, we'll be hunted not just by mages, but by other bastards with chakra too..."
"Like you?!" Ciri looked at him in surprise, and Madara nodded.
"I see... I trust you," she said softly in the end.
"Anyway, if you're going to stay here for a few weeks, you should take care of this place," he said, starting to perform a shadow clone jutsu. Several clones appeared to help clean the place as they settled in. Madara took out his belongings, including furniture he had taken from Cintra's castle, so Ciri could have some luxury.
They spent some time there, about two days training Ciri, until Yennefer finally appeared.
"Everything is ready. The battle will begin in three days; the Nilfgaardian army has finally been spotted. Do you believe you'll reach the South by then?" she asked, observing the place a little differently than she had imagined but made no comment.
"Yes, that will be easy," he responded.
"Are you sure you don't want to take a portal?" she insisted, but Madara shook his head.
"No, I'm not planning to arrive at the beginning of the battle. I intend to go through the Sodden mountains," he said, making Yennefer raise an eyebrow, questioning why.
"I believe there's an infiltrator among the mages, and someone must have leaked this operation. They're walking into a trap," Madara said, making Yennefer widen her eyes.
"It can't be..." she murmured.
"I think that's the case. And the traitor is likely Vilgefortz," he said with a serious tone.
"What? That mage?" Yennefer couldn't believe it, but Madara was convinced that Vilgefortz had direct contact with the Emperor, not to mention that he was well-informed about all situations, almost always in control. It was no wonder he was one of the five most powerful mages, perhaps the strongest among them all.
"Anyway, let's get going. Ciri, I won't be able to leave a clone with you, as it will disappear after some time, but you should train. Besides, there's everything you need here. Food, water, training swords… this should last for months, but Yennefer will be back well before I am," he explained.
"Wait, then leave Toto with me!" she exclaimed immediately upon realizing she'd be alone. Toto was the name she had given to the young griffin during their month of training.
"..." Madara nodded silently. "Alright..." He bit his finger and quickly performed several seals before touching the ground with a burst of smoke as a griffin appeared, occupying most of the room.
"A griffin!!" Yennefer exclaimed, preparing to defend herself.
"Toto!!" Ciri rushed to embrace it, while the griffin seemed surprised to be called.
"I want you to protect her," Madara instructed before turning to Yennefer.
"I'm going to start moving now. I'll meet you on the battlefield. If I ask you to leave it unexpectedly, you must do so, alright?" he asked. The sorceress, still eyeing the griffin, turned back to him, nodding as she tried to get used to the boy's commanding way.
"I'm leaving, Ciri," he said, turning to the girl and leaving the griffin behind.
"Alright... just come back soon," Ciri, though reluctant, nodded, trusting that Madara needed to head south to handle the situation. She believed he would return alive because he always did.
---
In the Witcher universe, a Source is a person with a natural but uncontrolled connection to magic. Sources possess extraordinary magical potential but often cannot consciously control their powers... which means they have access to raw magical energy, but it flows in unpredictable and dangerous ways.
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