An entire room of amber cat-like pupils turned toward the three newly arrived witchers.
Kiyan, Aiden, and Gaetan couldn't help showing looks of wonder at the sight before them.
There was Lann, Jerome, and Keldar from the Griffin School (Coën was still recovering from his injuries in the Col Serrai);
Letho, Kolgrim, Auckes, and Serrit from the Viper School;
Vesemir, Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert from the Wolf School;
Gerd from the Bear School;
And even Ciri—only half a witcher, serving as a reserve member—had managed to sneak in.
Since the end of the witchers' Golden Age, the Continent had never again seen such a gathering. Even the few times some had gathered since had typically ended in tragedy.
The veteran masters—Vesemir, Jerome, and Keldar—were all still smiling. Their joy hadn't faded since the meeting began.
Aside from the witchers, three mages were present as well: Mousesack, Yennefer, and Triss. They were to become the Order of Witchers' resident sorcerers.
They were also watching Kiyan's group with interest.
Kiyan was a bit of a special case. He had been rescued by Lann from an underground laboratory in Novigrad while Lann was en route to the Northern Summit. Technically, he had joined earlier than most of the Vipers.
But because he had remained behind in Novigrad, most of the people in Cintra didn't know him. Among the witchers present, only the Vipers who had once fought alongside him recognized him.
The Griffins, Wolves, and Bears had never met him before.
As expected, many in the room cast evaluating glances at the three Cat School members. The Cats were notorious for producing lunatics—and old grudges between the Cat and Wolf Schools only heightened that tension.
But before the atmosphere could turn stiff, it was broken.
Lambert's eyes lit up the moment he saw them. "Aiden!" he shouted, rushing to embrace the long-haired Cat School witcher. The heartfelt reunion immediately softened the mood between Wolves and Cats.
The Viper School members soon greeted their old friend Kiyan warmly as well.
Finally, Lann, acting as host, introduced the three Cat School members to the rest, earning them everyone's trust.
…
Though Kiyan had been stationed in Novigrad, he and Lann had kept up frequent correspondence.
Lann had long known that after Kiyan made a name for himself in Novigrad, other Cats had approached him.
Through their letters, Lann confirmed the identities of the two other Cat School members.
Gaetan and Aiden.
What mattered most to Lann was that, like Kiyan, these two witchers were among the rare few in the Cat School who hadn't gone mad from overuse of potions. They were rational, the kind worth recruiting.
So, upon hearing news of them, Lann immediately instructed Kiyan to keep them close and bring them back to Cintra to join in the rebuilding of the Witcher Order.
…
"I've heard about you, Kiyan," said Jerome, taking the initiative to show goodwill to the Cat School witcher he had never met before, with Lann vouching for him.
Besides Lann's letters, Jerome had also learned of Kiyan through other means.
"Caravans from the outside often bring along popular ballads and news about famous stage plays," Jerome said with a smile. "The Good Neighbor of Novigrad has already spread across the Northern Kingdoms, with Novigrad as its epicenter."
"Other than the Lion—Lann and the White Wolf—Geralt, you, Neighbor Cat—Kiyan, are the most famous witcher in the North."
The other witchers burst into laughter, especially Gaetan and Aiden, who had traveled with Kiyan. It was exactly this reputation that had drawn them to visit their old friend in Novigrad—and they had even seen the play in person.
It was one of Lann's key strategies to reshape the public image of witchers throughout the North—and clearly, it was already paying off.
Kiyan, however, looked visibly embarrassed. He wasn't fond of gaining fame this way and wouldn't have participated if not for Lann's personal request.
"Well then," said Lann, smiling, "let us first welcome our returning brother and our new comrades."
He gestured for the three Cat School witchers to take their seats.
Formally, the five schools sat together around the conference table. Except for the Manticore School, which had been out of contact for hundreds of years and was far away, all the witcher schools on the Continent were now gathered in Cintra.
Lann scanned the circle of diverse eyes around him.
"I told you all long ago that I intended to rebuild the Witcher Order here in Cintra—to revive the witcher's mission and restore the glory of our kind," Lann said solemnly. "Now the time has come to fulfill that promise."
Ciri nodded beside him. "From now on, Cintra will be the stronghold of the Witcher Order—just as Kaer Morhen is to the Wolf School and Kaer Seren is to the Griffin School, Cintra will become your firmest foundation."
The witchers looked visibly inspired—even Lambert, usually the most unruly, sat a bit straighter.
"Once the Cintran Restoration Ceremony concludes, we will issue a formal announcement to the North, declaring the reestablishment of the Witcher Order. Our goal is to recall brothers who are still wandering the world."
"Today is just a preliminary session," Lann continued with a smile. "I'd like to gather everyone's thoughts on some matters: the location of our headquarters, the structure of the Order, the image we want to project to the outside world, and the concerns of each school."
"After all, I'm technically the youngest among you. On these matters, I hope to draw from the experience and wisdom of my senior peers."
Lann spoke with humility and respect.
Of course, everyone knew he was being modest—they didn't take it literally.
Not to mention, aside from Jerome, it was doubtful anyone in the room could even match Lann in strength. Once the Order was officially reformed, the land, funding, and technical foundations would all rest on his shoulders.
And more importantly, it was only because of Lann that these witchers were even gathered in the first place.
But they also understood that this was Lann's way of setting aside his authority to give each school a voice.
Now was the time to lay all their demands on the table and discuss them openly—balance interests, have any arguments they needed to, and shape the future framework of the Order together.
Resources and benefits were one part—but so were values and operating principles.
The previous Witcher Order had fallen apart precisely because of internal ideological rifts. Now, with the Order being rebuilt, they had to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
"There are still a few days left before the Restoration Ceremony," Lann said considerately. "You've all been fighting hard for Cintra up until now, and maybe haven't had time to think about these things. Use this opportunity to reflect on it."
"I'll convene a second meeting soon."
"And today, aside from our main objective, I also want to share some good news—truly good news." As he spoke, Lann turned toward Mousesack.
The old druid, sensing the eyes upon him, gave a nod and stepped forward.
"Everyone, it brings me great joy to announce this: We've made an experimental breakthrough in witcher mutation technology. It's now—controllable!"
With those words, Mousesack dropped a bombshell.
All the witchers in the room—despite not having taken Cat—lit up their pupils.
The oldest among them even began to tremble.
In this new era, many veterans had long abandoned the witcher trials due to their staggering fatality rates. It had been a compromise with their own conscience—a reluctant acceptance that their school might die out in their own lifetime.
But now, hope had returned.
"In the next few days, I, along with these two ladies—" Mousesack gestured to Triss and Yennefer beside him, "—will begin preparatory work for the Trial of Grasses and the Trial of Dreams. If all goes well, the first witcher mutation of the new era will begin shortly after the Cintran Restoration Ceremony."
"At that time, you are all welcome to witness the trial firsthand—let the first witcher of a new era mark the rebirth of the Witcher Order!"
...
Lann dropped his pen and rubbed his temples in exhaustion.
The desk in front of him was piled high with documents—so many it looked like a mountain. Compared to the workload he had back in Brokilon, the difference was night and day.
And yet, this was what passed for a fortunate kind of trouble now.
Cintra, still in the early stages of recovery, had countless affairs to manage: planning the victory celebration, bestowing titles and honors upon the generals who had restored the kingdom, reestablishing diplomatic relations with neighboring states...
Back when Cintra fell, nearly all members of the royal family and most high-ranking officials had perished. As a result, there was a gaping void in the kingdom's talent pool. The younger generation had yet to mature, while the old guard were already overburdened with duties. That meant Lann had to handle the majority of affairs personally.
He'd long lost count of how many meetings he'd sat through, how many documents he'd signed, or how many people he'd received in audience these past few days.
He couldn't help but wonder if Mousesack had deliberately chosen this exact moment to lead the Brotherhood of Sorcerers into conducting witcher mutation research—because ever since Lann had become capable of managing state affairs on his own, the druid had conveniently slipped away to bury himself in magical experiments.
Then again, Lann had been the one to hand him those research projects in the first place, so he really had no right to complain.
"Fetch Enns for me!" Lann finally shouted toward the door, deciding it was time to bring in outside reinforcements.
A guard answered at once. Footsteps echoed, then gradually faded into the distance. These days, Enns also had a great deal to oversee as the Royal Steward—he was no longer on twenty-four-hour standby like before.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---