A sense of gathering storm—of wind filling the tower before the rain—hung heavily over the two witcher schools.
The Chapter of the Gift and the Art—or rather, Tissaia de Vries's Aretuza Academy—had naturally also noticed that, as time passed, the witcher schools seemed to be growing increasingly isolated.
Not only were they given preferential treatment in supplies, several sorceresses were specially assigned to patrol the vast area occupied by the School of the Wolf and the Griffin School. A great many promises were even made.
It could be said that, once the Dol Dhu Lokke expedition concluded, not only would the two witcher schools earn tremendous profits, they would also, on a legal level, form an alliance with the Chapter of the Gift and the Art.
To be more precise—
Tissaia had made it clear: as long as the Dol Dhu Lokke expedition ended smoothly, she would take the lead in proposing the establishment of the Second Novigradian Union and would formally submit a proposal to include the witchers.
One must understand—the Novigradian Union was no ordinary alliance.
The First Novigradian Union had been established in the eighth century, more than three hundred years ago. The sorcerer leaders Jan Bekker, Giambattista, and Geoffrey Monck signed a non-aggression pact with the ruling authorities, priests, and druids, facilitating the separation of extraordinary powers from state authority.
Sorcerers, rulers, priests, and druids—
In other words, the Novigradian Union of that time encompassed nearly all the powerful forces of the Northern Continent, jointly formulating the rules between the extraordinary and the mundane.
Those rules remain widely recognized and practiced today; they have effectively become the written legal code of humanity across the Northern Continent.
But was the Novigradian Union merely a treaty and legal code restraining the extraordinary?
No!
Though nominally without a single leading power, it possessed laws, tribunals, and formidable armed forces responsible for enforcement and judgment.
It represented the rivers of blood and storms of slaughter that went unrecorded in history after the covenant was established.
Later, due to divergences in their conceptual understanding of magic, the Novigradian Union fractured and ceased to exist as a truly unified organization. Yet not only were its laws inherited and still widely acknowledged—
The Novigradian Union itself transformed into the immense entity that is now the Chapter of the Gift and the Art.
Of course, for the witchers—or more specifically, for the School of the Wolf and the Griffin School—the most enticing aspect was not the power represented by the Novigradian Union itself, but its founding principle: the separation of extraordinary forces from state authority.
Simply put, all extraordinary powers were required to remain independent from the mundane, refraining from interfering in the succession and struggles of secular noble kingship, maintaining neutrality—at least maintaining neutrality on the surface.
Does that sound familiar?
Yes. The goal that the School of the Wolf and the Griffin School had spent centuries striving toward—upholding neutrality—was never meant to be an unattainable ultimate objective achieved only through endless maneuvering.
It had already been enshrined three hundred years ago in the laws governing the extraordinary, set down by the Novigradian Union.
Then why did secular monarchs still coerce and entice the witcher schools into allegiance?
The existence of witchers encroached upon many of the sorcerers' interests—but did druids not do the same?
Druids, from bottom to top, occupied nearly the same political niche in the Northern Continent as sorcerers.
When a king sought a magical advisor, he would choose either a sorcerer or a druid.
That should have bred deep enmity, should it not?
Why, then, had sorcerers and druids not gone to war?
Why had the Rogrides family targeted witchers rather than druids?
The influence and power of the various druid circles—second only to the sorcerers—was one factor. But the more fundamental reason was actually very simple. So simple it was almost laughable.
Because the profession of witcher was awkward.
It was created by sorcerers after the Novigradian Union had been established—and even after it had collapsed.
In the consensus of the Northern Continent, witchers were unquestionably an extraordinary profession. Yet in the legal and political systems of the continent, they were not.
They were like the golems and genetically mutated monsters created by sorcerers.
One could not possibly grant a golem or a genetically mutated monster the same political status as a sorcerer, druid, or priest.
The same logic applied to witchers.
They were an extraordinary profession, yet deliberately—or subconsciously—excluded by other extraordinary professions from the extraordinary system.
In political standing, witchers were akin to golems and genetically mutated monsters.
Do not underestimate this point.
Before the abolition of black slavery, were black people not living human beings?
But if the law and the right to vote did not include them, then in practical life, they effectively were not.
Likewise, since the extraordinary professions explicitly listed in the covenant three hundred years ago did not include witchers, even though witchers were indeed extraordinary individuals—and even though the combined strength of four or five witcher schools had formed a considerable force—kings and great nobles were naturally entitled to covet their power.
After all, secular monarchs and nobles could also wield magical artifacts, alchemical products, and genetically mutated monsters.
Thus, when witchers sought to maintain neutrality, of course those rulers reacted with anger and humiliation.
Therefore, the Second Novigradian Union was indeed of great importance to witchers—especially to schools like the School of the Wolf and the Griffin School that wished to uphold neutrality.
It represented a political redefinition of the witcher profession.
And so—
Although bad news arrived one after another, and the atmosphere at the strongholds of the Griffin School and the School of the Wolf grew heavier by the day, neither school had any intention of withdrawing from the Dol Dhu Lokke expedition.
Of course.
For now, Tissaia's promise was still only a promise.
No one knew how many unforeseen changes might occur during the Dol Dhu Lokke expedition.
And after the expedition ended, if Tissaia wished to successfully promote the Second Novigradian Union, the resistance and trouble she would face would likely be even greater.
In fact, it was highly possible that the plan would collapse midway before Tissaia could even bring about the witchers' inclusion in the alliance.
This was actually the most likely outcome. Erland and Soy were not fools; they naturally understood this as well.
But when hope was already hanging before one's eyes—who could resist biting the hook?
At the very least, Tissaia's character was worth the witchers wagering on.
"Clang!"
Longswords met again and again before the School of the Wolf's encampment, sparks flying.
Klar leaned against the railing of the temporary training ground—its perimeter formed by Aretuza sorceresses who had turned mud into stone with magic—watching Spencer and Ice spar within.
Yet from time to time, his gaze "inadvertently" drifted toward the other side of the School of the Wolf's camp. In a tone of idle boredom, he asked, "Have you felt that practicing Signs lately seems especially smooth?"
"The strength of Ice and Spencer's Quen Sign also seems much stronger than a couple of days ago—"
"It should be because of the Captain—" Erni glanced outside the training ground, toward Allen, who leaned against the stone wall of the School of the Wolf's camp, carefully reading a parchment manuscript, and spoke softly.
"No way," Klar frowned. "The effect of the Witcher's Gaze wouldn't be that slow—what's wrong?"
He noticed Erni suddenly turn to stare at him in surprise. Klar paused and asked oddly.
"Didn't you hear what the Captain said yesterday?" Erni frowned. "Didn't he say that in the next few days we should practice Signs more, strengthen our weaker Signs, and even explicitly hint that as long as we practiced Signs these few days, we'd improve rapidly?"
"Weren't you there?"
"That's not right—I clearly saw you."
"Did he say all that?" Klar froze. "I only remember the Captain telling us to practice Signs more—"
"You must have been spacing out!" Erni sized Klar up and down, his tone certain. "But you're not like Hugh or Silo. The two most serious members of the Witcher Corps are us."
"By the way, when you sparred with me today, you were distracted too."
"What's wrong, Klar? Are you scared?"
"What would I be scared of?!" Klar's face flushed red at the accusation. "I can't wait to charge into Dol Dhu Lokke right now and let monsters' blood stain my blade!"
"Then that's strange," Erni said in confusion. "If you're not afraid of the expedition, then what is it—"
Suddenly, Erni noticed the way Klar was leaning on the railing.
All members of the Witcher Corps were carefully observing Spencer and Ice's duel, waiting to offer feedback afterward about flaws and shortcomings in the fight.
But Klar's shoulders were not facing the training ground directly—they were subtly angled toward the east.
Following that faint intuition, Erni looked over—and immediately broke into a knowing smile.
"What?"
Klar felt uncomfortable under Erni's gaze, as though caterpillars were crawling all over him. His tone involuntarily grew sharp.
"Heh heh heh~" Erni snickered. "I know why you've been distracted. Ever since Priestess Lysa came by last night, you've been absent-minded."
"By the way, when Priestess Lysa came, didn't you privately go looking for her—"
"What did you need to hide from us that you had to see Priestess Lysa in private?"
"Could it be—"
"Oh—" Erni suddenly covered his mouth in mock realization. "Could it be your little sweetheart Nina came too this time?"
"Who came?" Silo, who had been eavesdropping all along, leaned in.
"Who's Nina?" Hughes and Bond, standing even closer, asked in unison.
Klar's face turned crimson, even the tips of his ears burning red in embarrassment. He blurted out defensively, "How could it be because of Nina? After arriving at the Maribor outpost, I—I haven't even seen her yet."
"How do you know Nina came?" Erni killed the match with a single sentence.
The last time they had seen Nina in Ellander, she had only been an acolyte priestess and should not have participated in the Dol Dhu Lokke expedition.
Klar fell silent.
"So it really is because of Nina?!" Clay exclaimed. "Nina really came with the priestesses from the Temple of Melitele?"
Immediately, a commotion erupted outside the training ground.
"Clang!"
After crossing blades once more, Ice and Spencer noticed the disturbance outside. They looked at each other and naturally could not continue fighting.
Hearing the sudden silence of steel striking steel, Allen subconsciously lifted his head. Seeing the chaos outside the training ground, he frowned slightly and closed the Monster Hunting Notes.
"What happened?" He walked over, suppressing the sudden noise. "Why did training stop?"
"Captain, did Nina come too?" Clay asked with a grin, leaning in.
"Nina?" Allen repeated in confusion.
His thoughts had been immersed in the Monster Hunting Notes just now; he had no idea what had stirred the young witchers.
"Nina from the Temple of Melitele—the little sweetheart who's made Klar lose his soul."
"Nina isn't my sweetheart," Klar hurriedly protested. "She's—she's—"
"She's what?" Erni and the other young witchers burst into teasing laughter.
Klar was so furious he nearly drew his sword on the spot to "settle things offline" with Erni and Clay.
"All right, all right." Allen waved his hand. Before Klar lost his reason entirely from embarrassment, he shot Erni and Clay a sharp look to quiet them down. Then he turned to Klar and asked, "How do you know Nina came too?"
Allen had indeed seen Nina at the Temple of Melitele—a freckle-faced girl, one year older than Klar.
She had been an acolyte priestess who helped Lysa take care of Hughes at the time, and seemed to share a dormitory with Lysa.
"It was probably Priestess Lysa who said it," Erni answered on Klar's behalf.
Allen looked toward Klar.
Blushing, Klar nodded. Then, whether out of resignation or genuine concern for Nina, he ignored the surrounding young witchers and asked directly,
"Captain, the Temple of Melitele clearly arrived at the outpost even earlier than the School of the Wolf and the Griffin School. Why haven't they been staying at their camp?"
Not just Klar—Allen was curious about this as well.
The Temple of Melitele's camp was clearly right next to the School of the Wolf's, yet no one had been staying there. If Lysa hadn't suddenly visited last night, he would have thought the temple hadn't arrived—or had decided not to come at all.
But even when Lysa came last night, she hadn't said much.
She had only chatted briefly in front of the witchers of the School of the Wolf, seemingly just to indicate that she had arrived to participate in the expedition. Not long after, she left—and did not remain in the temple camp next door.
Allen felt there was something odd about it, yet Lysa did not appear to be under anyone's control. The only slightly strange thing she had said was to remind them to stay safe during the expedition.
Later, when they inquired with the Chapter of the Gift and the Art, the response they received was that the priestesses of Melitele were tending to the wounded.
But wounded—
The expedition had not even begun. Where would wounded come from?
The witcher masters of the School of the Wolf and the Griffin School had all sensed something amiss. This morning, aside from Allen—who had no channels for gathering information—and the young witchers who remained behind, the others had all gone out to investigate.
"The priestesses of Melitele are tending to the wounded. You'll see them once the expedition begins," Allen could only say this much. "Don't stand around here. Continue training. The more sweat you shed now, the more safety you'll have in Dol Dhu Lokke."
"Klar, you too. Without enough strength, how can we protect the priestesses of Melitele during the expedition—"
"I understand." Klar lowered his head, somewhat ashamed.
Spencer and Ice exchanged a glance, returned to the training ground, and resumed their unfinished duel.
The other young witchers also went back to their positions.
All except Erni.
Seeing that Allen did not pick up the Monster Hunting Notes again, Erni edged closer and asked, "Captain, when exactly is the expedition starting? It's almost been three days, and there's still no sign of departure."
Allen opened his mouth to answer—
But at that moment, a burst of commotion erupted outside the training ground, interrupting him.
Not long after, Vesemir walked over from a distance.
Before Allen could ask, Vesemir approached and announced with a solemn expression, "The School of the Bear has arrived!"
Allen froze for a moment, then drew in a deep breath. Under Erni's bewildered gaze, he said softly, "The Dol Dhu Lokke expedition has begun."
......