WiC Reads: Blood of Elves

CHAPTER TWO

Once again, I’m surprised by how little Geralt factors into this chapter. Don’t get me wrong — he’s there and he’s important — but this chapter is very much not told through his point of view. Chapter One put Dandelion in the driver’s seat. This time it’s Triss Merigold, a young (or young-looking, anyway; it can be hard to tell with magic types in this world) sorceress who comes to Kaer Morhen at the witchers’ request to help train Ciri, who we gather is very important to the future of the witching order. (Is that a correct way to describe it? Eh, we’ll figure it out.)

In The Sword of Destiny, Geralt and Ciri talked a lot about how important Ciri was to the witchers, how she was Gerart’s “destiny,” but I never really got a sense of what that meant practically. It’s starting to come into focus for me now. Although Sapkowski never says this outright, it seems like the order of witchers is dying, with their number at Kaer Morhen being relatively few, and none of them particularly young. I liked the opportunity to get to know the remaining witchers a little better, from wizened Vesemir to brash Lambert. I imagine I’ll be spending a lot of time with them.

Anyway, getting fresh blood into the order must be a big deal, that is, if Ciri can survive the trials. Sapkowski is doing a good job of laying down anticipation for those. She is also, apparently, a “Source,” which has something to do with magic. I’m not as intrigued by that on account of its vagueness, but I’m sure we’ll be filled in eventually.

As for Triss, she’s written likably, a smart young bluestocking who sweeps in to bust up this old boys’ club, none of whom know what to do with a young female charge. It’s fun, although her extreme competence clashes a bit with her almost schoolgirl-like infatuation with Geralt, with whom she once had an affair. The characters are more vibrant in this novel than they were in the short story collections, but they still feel a tad shallow. But again, it’s early days.

I don’t like the modern prose used in this fantasy world. When discussing Ciri’s health, Triss uses words like “metabolic rate,” “adipose tissue,” and “hormonal system.” They sound anachronistic and break my immersion. I think I’d like it better if the characters had some understanding of this stuff but didn’t use language so clearly plucked from our time. But that might be the fault of the English translation.