Geralt is commonly dismayed by this phenomenon and is often reminiscent for the days where being a witcher was cool, even if he’s never really known them. During the books, the time where witchers were highly sought after for things that go bump in the night is starting to pass, and instead, Geralt’s people are either looked down upon out of fear or keenly sought after by lords as implements of war. A common thread weaves between it all, though – Geralt is a consummate professional who hates when his job mixes into the petty politics of the civilized world, even though his work almost always does. Through the many books and stories, Geralt made himself a laundry list of friends and foes, and he has slain countless beasts, both magical and mundane. I mean, do you trust Madonna? Not without her suspiciously absent last name you don’t. So, he pretends to be Rivian, even down to their suspiciously American accent. Before taking off and seeking adventure, he was urged by his mentor, Vesemir, to create a surname so that people would trust him more. Geralt isn’t actually from Rivia – he’s from Kaer Morhen, one of several witcher strongholds dedicated to the training of future witchers and the curation of witcher legends. He was subject to many more experiments and, at the cost of his skin’s pigment, is one of the most capable witchers ever made. Geralt was not unlike his peers when he started, but he took to his training, and especially the genetic procedures, more naturally than them. Witchers are chosen and sequestered into isolation at a young age, where the genetic modification process is started and they are taught the ways of magic, swordplay, alchemy, and general survival. Witchers are highly trained hunters who are genetically modified to exhibit physical and mental prowess far beyond normal human capacity. In these books, Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, a fancy word for monster slayer. So much so, Polish sci-fi author Marek Oramus once compared Geralt to Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, a popular private detective who appeared in novels and short stories of Chandler’s between 19. Andrzej Sapkowski showed a great sense of irony and dark humor in his twisted takes on fairy tales.Though very much high fantasy, his characterisation and focus on politics and social issues showed a pretty harsh reflection of late 80’s/early 90’s Poland, similar to the manner in which hardboiled noir fiction was a harsh criticism of the inadequacies of our culture in the 40’s and 50’s. Geralt debuted in a collection of short stories of his exploits called Wiedzmin in 1986. To understand Geralt involves going back to the beginning, before the games, and into the short stories and novels that started it all. People were eager to step into the weathered boots of Geralt of Rivia, but I’m sure many people had questions. It was many players’ first foray into the thick and juicy world of The Witcher, especially for people who didn’t own a PC or Xbox 360, as the first two games never left those consoles. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt had over 1 million pre-orders just a week before its release, making it a certified big deal.
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