[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Kaedwen.
...
...
"I understand, this sounds a bit complicated..." Vesemir murmured after Madara gave a brief explanation about the events in the west of the kingdom, far more detailed than they had heard.
"You know very well what this is going to mean, don't you?" Madara asked with a serious tone.
"I know full well..." Vesemir said, but still furrowed his brow. Surely, that would draw the attention of all unwanted eyes to the castle, adding to the king's situation.
Madara stood there, at one side of the table, speaking with his arms crossed. Ciri was beside him, while Triss was on one side of the table, with Isabela sitting down, confused by the conversation they were having. Vesemir was on the other side of the table.
"There's no point in deciding anything now, but I have my proposal. However, let's wait for Geralt, Coen, and Lambert to return so we can discuss it better," Madara said, while Vesemir nodded, agreeing with him.
"About Eskel... Any news of him? He hasn't returned yet, has he?" Madara asked.
"Not yet. He traveled north, but still hasn't come back... I hope he doesn't run into trouble." Vesemir replied.
"I see. In any case, I investigated some of the sorceresses and got a lot of information from them without them knowing, as they tried to get in touch with me," Madara commented again about his activities in the west.
"You basically manipulated them all, without them even knowing..." Triss murmured, accusing him in a way, quite cautious upon learning of this terrible ability that boy had developed, since he didn't seem to have it during the war between the south and north, nearly two years ago.
"Yes." Madara replied to Triss's cautious look, not caring whether the sorceress feared him or not because of his powers.
He could basically put any mage under a genjutsu, extract all the information from their mind, and then erase any trace from their memories — about him or about how he had invaded their mind. There were signs that he could manipulate and even control the actions of people who mastered Chaos and magic, who were already naturally powerful in the art of the mind, but that didn't seem to matter much in the face of those eyes.
This had already happened when Madara placed a sorcerer under a genjutsu and nearly killed one of the kings in front of Tissaia, about two months before the Battle of the Northern Alliance against Nilfgaard.
It was terrifying for Triss to hear and know this, coming from that boy right in front of her. He could manipulate anyone there, and no one would know if he wanted to. Now she understood a little of the fear everyone had of him. He could control the kingdoms of the entire continent if he wished for such a thing.
Madara ignored Triss and turned his gaze back to Vesemir.
"Looks like Nilfgaard is moving again, but I bet Triss already mentioned it," Madara began.
"What are they doing in Cintra?" Ciri asked immediately, wanting to know about her homeland, already having heard a bit that there were non-humans in Cintra with the Nilfgaardians moving them there.
"They're using Cintra as a base. It's a strategic point to launch a new campaign against the North. Cintra is already completely taken," Madara said, while Ciri seemed quite uneasy hearing that.
"No..." she murmured, hating the idea that her kingdom was now under Nilfgaardian control.
"Cintra can still be taken back, Ciri. That's not the problem right now. The important thing is to grow strong enough so we can act," he said.
"After all, you'll need to grow up for the politics of the realms and to deal with the Wild Hunt too... it'll be coming in the next few years."
"Alright," Ciri nodded, trusting Madara's words, as he had been saying that for years.
Triss ended up raising her eyebrow upon hearing what they were really planning — to take Cintra back. Even though she had already heard it from Ciri's own mouth, hearing it from Madara carried more weight.
"Nilfgaard is not acting only in the south," Madara continued speaking.
"There is also a group that has been trying to locate us in the last few years," he said, referring to Cahir, leading a group of spies infiltrating, with even help from the Squirrels themselves, while showing any information about their whereabouts back on the continent.
"And now, they'll probably come to Kaedwen." Madara concluded with an indifferent tone.
"Kaer Morhen will no longer be safe," Vesemir said with a serious tone.
"That's true. But let's discuss that later. Anyway, there are still some things I'd rather talk about with everyone present. We have an enemy I thought I had gotten rid of, and I had already spoken with Yennefer about it," Madara concluded the conversation.
"Alright. Let's wait for the others to decide, then," Vesemir agreed.
"Hey, let's train a bit?" Ciri immediately asked Madara.
"First, I'm going to lie down for a bit," he said, heading to his room. Ciri saw him walking off and quickly followed him anyway.
"Let's go to the lab, Bela," Triss requested, as the hunchbacked girl nodded, following Triss, who watched Madara and Ciri heading up the stairs, then followed the red-haired sorceress.
Vesemir, meanwhile, went back to making potions in his cauldron.
Madara allowed himself to relax a bit after finally sleeping within four walls. Although he always had a bed to summon when needed, he never stayed in fixed places or even in cities and lines, so he usually slept in the middle of the forest, which often meant on top of trees.
"So come on, tell me more about the things that happened in the West," Ciri asked.
Madara took off his shirt and lay down, with her sitting beside the bed, looking at him with anticipation — while also blushing at the sight of his muscular body.
"Alright," Madara knew there was no way he'd sleep at that moment, but he continued relaxing while starting to tell Ciri some details, also asking about her training — although she wanted to keep everything as a big surprise when they actually trained the next day, since Madara had proposed that upon his arrival.
Close to nightfall a few hours later, Madara left a boar carcass for Vesemir to prepare since early afternoon and appeared in Triss's lab, while Isabela was still there.
Triss was making some potions, while Isabela continued her lessons at one of the tables. Triss noticed Madara's entrance and stopped what she was doing to receive him, although she was a bit cautious after everything she had heard about how he manipulated her sisters from Aretuza. She couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy knowing that someone could easily control her — and that this same person was in her room.
"Isabela, could you find Ciri? She needs some help while preparing a few ingredients for the meat I brought, and Vesemir is setting up a fire area." He said.
The girl nodded timidly as soon as Triss gave her a nod, and she began to leave, leaving the two alone.
"How is she doing?" Madara asked, looking toward the door, which closed with a bit of difficulty due to her condition.
"She's not very quick at learning things. In fact, she's very slow... and untalented despite her magical capability..." Triss said sincerely.
"She's not that young anymore, and her life has made her introverted and with no self-confidence. You can't blame her," Madara commented, while Triss nodded, agreeing with the thought.
"She'll have a lot of difficulty in Aretuza, no doubt. However, she's very committed to the idea of becoming a sorceress. And when I said I couldn't sponsor her, since the studies are quite expensive, she began to place her hopes that you might sponsor her in the end," Triss said.
Obviously, Triss had no bond with the girl. Despite being kind and even willing to teach her, splitting her time between her and Ciri — who was originally the reason for her coming — she still had no responsibility over Isabela and couldn't afford to support her. Unlike Madara, who was the one who found her and brought her with some hope in the idea of her becoming a sorceress and being healed.
"Yes, I intend to sponsor her," Madara said calmly.
"I see. Well, if you're going to sponsor her, know that it won't be cheap. But I doubt that'll be a problem when I'm sure from what I've heard, that when Nilfgaard invaded the capital, Emperor Emhyr was frustrated with Cintra's empty coffers. Ciri said you were among the last to leave the castle... and I understand very well why..." she said, not that she blamed Madara for taking all the kingdom's gold, while Madara nodded.
"I just need to know how long, on average, it would take her to study and become a sorceress," Madara asked.
"With her difficulty... I believe three decades, maybe less, if she really applies herself," Triss said again sincerely, while Madara nodded. It wasn't an easy training.
"You want to have, then, a sorceress loyal to you?" Triss couldn't help but ask, noticing Madara's plan. After all, no one would give that much money, especially for someone not very talented in magic.
"Yes. After all... from what I've discovered, it's hard to trust the current sorceresses — no offense," Madara said, fully aware of how manipulative those women were, seducing whoever they needed to in order to achieve their goals, always seeking more and more power. That's why the kings were no longer seeing them favorably in their courts.
"I understand," Triss murmured, though she was indeed a little hurt by that. But she couldn't blame him either.
"Anyway, I'd like a recommendation, and that it be an anonymous sponsorship... or even under your name. But I believe that won't work very well, will it?" Madara asked.
"No. There's no reason for me to sponsor a random person," Triss said.
"I see. But Yennefer would fit very well, since the girl resembles her past..." Madara said thoughtfully, as using an anonymous sponsorship would also draw attention, but Yennefer could use the excuse that she saw herself in the girl.
"She would be the best choice..." Triss said.
"Alright. Keep training her. There are some things I'd like to ask, but let's leave that for the coming days," he said. "Now I'm heading out."
With that, he turned and began to leave the laboratory Triss had set up almost two months ago, since arriving at Kaer Morhen to help Ciri.
A little later, the three witchers finally arrived, with Vesemir asking them to burn their clothes due to the bad smell — soaked in nekker fluid after killing them, since those creatures are quite treacherous, leaping onto them, and when cut midair, their blood would splatter everywhere.
They ate when the meal was ready, while Lambert kept being the talkative one as always, asking about Madara and his activities.
After eating, they all had another meeting, with Madara explaining a bit of the situation to the three before moving on to decisions about what to do now.
"We'll have to leave Kaer Morhen," Madara openly stated his next plan, while Ciri and the others raised their eyebrows, at the same time some had already anticipated it after hearing all the reports and knowing how this place would be in danger in the coming months.
"I believe that traveling and even spreading rumors around the continent will be better, diverting attention from this kingdom. Besides, we have another enemy in the shadows, and we need to eliminate Vilgefortz once and for all, since he is alive and was responsible for manipulating King Henselt in the knights' attack here at Kaer Morhen," Madara said with a serious look.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 207 - The Elder Dragon.
Chapter 212 - Ciri vs Madara 02.
Chapter 222 - The Spirit of the Abutec Manor 01.
Chapter 231 - A Moment of Romance.
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