Title: The Witcher – Baptism of Fire

Author: Andrzej Sapkowski

Pages: 343

Hi all,

Today I can present the review of the story of the Witcher as continues onwards for the three main characters.

In the previous book “The Witcher – Time of Contempt” (003-2022) the world of Gerald, Yennefer, Ciri and all the other people of the different kingdoms would be turned around from what they have been used to for many centuries towards something they never thought would ever happen.

In the latter parts of the chapters it becomes quite apparent that the forces of Nilfgard are a force to be reckoned with. Gerald has sustained severe injuries (as always) after the fighting between the mages at the castle, but ends up in Brokilon where he recovers in agony. Ciri has gone missing but is being actively pursued by both the Nilfgardian king from the south. Yennefer was entangled in the mages battle herself but then completely disappeared.

That is where we were left and that is where we will continue the story for this novel.

• Chapter 1
  • Gerald of Rivia was brought to Brokilon, secretly, and has recovered among the unofficial kingdom of the woodlanders. There he meets an archer called Milva who agrees to go out and into the towns to gather all the news she can of the occurrences since he was delivered to Brokilon. He discovers that Ciri and himself are wanted but their whereabouts are unknown. Ciri is thought to be with the Nilfgaardian kingdom, but Gerald is not entirely sure.
  • The sorceresses have met up in a secret space to discuss their disinterest for the war that was caused by the kings and call for the establishment of a secret order of mages. This order would have at its core the longevity of magic, which is to guide their decisions in the future. Thus, their main interest would be to act for the better of magic and not their king. To ensure proper representation, membership should be made up of all races and from all corners of the world, including from elves and the Nilfgaards.
  • Ciri and the other Rats travel the countryside and rob to make money and have food for another day.
• Chapter 2
  • Gerald meets up with Dandelion and together they head out to find a route that will take them across the Yaruga river into Nilfgaardian territory where Gerald wishes to confirm whether or not Ciri was indeed abducted by their king. They stumble upon a trader who mistakes them for elves (due to their Brokilon disguises). Just then, Another group of soliders finds them and wants to kill them because they are thought to be part of the Scoia ‘tael rebels, but Milva manages to save them when she shoots them down one by one with her arrows.
  • In the traders van they find a prisoner, Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, the same Nilfgaardian knight who tried to catch Ciri when the mages fought at the castle not too long ago. They free him, and are then on their way.
  • The three stumble upon a troupe of refugees who have fled their towns before they could be casualties of the coming conflict. Here, leading the troupe are some dwarves, whom they decide to accompany on their journey. Their leader is Zoltan Chivay. Dandelion tells them where they are heading towards much to Gerald’s discomfort since it would be better if fewer knew of their plans, especially less so people they have only met. However, they get along well with the troupe, especially the dwarves since they are more talkative and on better terms than the humans were with other races.
• Chapter 3
  • The troupe continue their trip which Gerald believes to be heading in the same direction he wants to travel, right before they can drop off the refugees in some settlement. On their way they continuously head for the forested areas since they hear soldiers approaching.
  • One night they decided to travel and make camp further ahead because they believed they weren’t making much progress. They end up close to a forest where they eventually decide to spend the night. This is where they stumble upon someone called Emil Regis, who claims to be looking for specific plants that grow nearby and are needed for his drafts and concoctions which he sells during the summer months in town.
  • Being afraid that the graveyard is no place to be at night the troupe join him and head towards his cottage not too far away, where they will spend the night and recover from the long trek they had that day.
• Chapter 4
  • The troupe rise the following day to carry on with their journey to safety as well as the Witcher’s secret trip. They come across some peasants that halt them on their way to demand them to hand over one of their horses because they wish to use it to find a vampire. Not having this Milva slams one of them so hard they believe him to be dead. They demand retribution and the troupe decide to go with them so they may try and resolve the matter with the elder on diplomatic terms.
  • In the refugee camp they leave behind some of their human followers who managed to be reunited with other family members they were separated from.
  • Soon after arrival the camp is attacked, but not by Nilfgaardian soldiers, but soldiers from a nothern kingdom, Cintria, who are scouring the land for deserters as well as spies. This is where Gerald and Dandelion get caught once again, but the others from their troupe (the dwarves and Milva) manage to escape just in time. The camp leader plans to execute them.
• Chapter 5
  • Milva had managed to escape the invasion. She doesn’t know where to go next, but decides to find the others. She makes her way and comes across some peasants who have taken their horses. She manages to fight off two of them but the others are taken down by Cahir. It seems he had followed them from a distance since they first released him. He doesn’t plan anything cruel for them but had overheard that they were planning on going to Nilfgaard, so he decided to come along so he may return to his family.
  • Another place in the world the elven queen of Blathanna, Fringilla, is preparing herself for the upcoming mages meeting held for the chosen few sorceresses. She invited another elf to be another member of the circle and also plans to suggest another member, Yennefer. It appears that when the battle ensued at the castle Fringilla took Yennefer and hid her away so she may live to fight another day.
  • In the camp Dandelion and Gerald are still held hostage and await their execution the following day. The night brings no rest and they receive a secret guest, Regis. He managed to sneak past the guards and helps them escape, though it is strange to them how he managed to achieve such a task since at the entry to the tent everyone is in a sleep state.
  • They manage to escape to the periphery of the camp, when alarm is raised. They make haste, only to find Nilfgaardian soldiers coming from the woods. They head back for the camp, hoping they can flank and then turn around for the woods once again. They manage, but not without Dandelion becoming wounded. Yet, they manage to flee and are heading for the river where they would meet up with Regis once again.
• Chapter 6
  • The sorceresses have come together for their second meeting. Here it is revealed that their council will have a much stronger foot in the world if one of their members is queen over the northern lands. That member is none other than a descendant from Falka herself. The members tell the tale of her lineage and why she is the perfect and only candidate which will strengthen their council in the future.
• Chapter 7
  • Gerald and Dandelion chance meet with Milva and Cahir and later even with the dwarves. It is here that Gerald reveals to the rest of the troupe that Regis should not be one of their members because he is something that others usually pay him to kill. However, they keep moving together since it has been established that Regis is no threat to them, but proved on multiple occasions to be a valuable asset.
  • They decide to travel in once direction to cross the river, but then decide to travel another since it is discovered that Milva didn’t only travel with Gerald to help him find Ciri, but for some other secret as well, something that has made her ill in recent weeks. So, they travel a much less demanding route and find a boat hidden away at the banks of the Yaruga river. They charter it and travel for the other side. Before they can land they notice black riders and decide to travel further down, and then try and travel to the other side of the river, only to find that riders of another banner are there, trying to get their boat back. They cannot dock on either side so they carry on with the river, only to land upon a bridge, where two forces are fighting it out.
  • They land against the bridge and Gerald decides to fight off the Nilfgaardian forces so the other members can be safe on the boat, and he is then joined by Cahir, who now fights to save their company. They launch a counter-attack and manage to win over the bridge. Just when they try to flee and become scarce, the king from the other bank reaches the bridge and honors Gerald for his bravery in the face of potential defeat.
  • Here, he receives the knighthood and title, Gerald of Rivia. For, he told that he never came from there, but that he always needed to pick a name for others to remember him by, so he chose Rivia, a distant kingdom that few would have known well enough.

To be very honest, the story that we follow in this novel is not very exciting when we compare it to the story we follow in the previous books. Mainly because it seems that Gerald leaves Brokilon, makes some new acquaintances along the way, and rejoins with some old ones and they leave as refugees to safety.

Therefore, the story as it unfolds from this book is rather dull since not many new exciting things occur to the different characters, but some new developments do happen in the book, which seem will play a more significant role in the upcoming books.

Also, the different chapters rotate to tell the happenings of different people in different parts of the country and kingdoms so we learn what has been happening on their side while we follow Gerald on his trip to find and save Ciri.

Summary:

Lots of fighting, and a lot of development in the various kingdoms. The story is less exciting since it centres around Gerald trying to reach Nilfgaard, but not making significant progress on his route there. Interesting developments do happen within the story that were merely hinted at in the previous books, but now confirmed to be true. The book will receive the rating of 3.8/5.

All the best!