Chapter One
Pain, Darkness, and Cold.
These were the first things that Geralt experienced as he jumped out of the portal and landed onto the cold hard snow with his hands and knees catching his fall. The violent sounds of the portal that he came from still raged on behind him as he gasped heavily from exhaustion. Shortly after, the portal started to dissipate quickly into nothingness leaving only Geralt's breathing to be heard in the vast deafness of the air.
As soon as Geralt was able to catch his breath, he took a bearing of where he was. He looked around and saw that he was in the darkness of a snow capped forest with rocks, trees, and gnarly branches littered about. It was eerily quiet and nothing moved or stirred in the stillness that was ever present save for himself. It was only thanks to his enhanced vision that he was even able to see in complete darkness.
Geralt instinctively took note of what he had with him. He was wearing his fitting black leather armor that covered him everywhere save for his head. Feeling the weight on him, he remembered that he had two long swords strapped to his back. But the next immediate thing that took hold of him was the constant throbbing that he felt in his head.
My name.. Is.. Fuck why can't I… Geralt…
He knew that he was struggling to remember certain things so he did his best to focus on the last thing he did which ultimately brought him here. He gripped the snow with his gloved hands which caused the icy surface to crunch under his fingertips. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing even more going into an almost meditative state. His thoughts were jumbled but immediately certain things began to come into focus. He remembered that he was a Witcher. He remembered his training, sword fighting, the monsters he'd killed, the humans he'd killed, and the excruciating pain from the experimentations that he had undergone.
But his latest memory, which he struggled to focus on, seemed fragmented. It suddenly dawned on him and he remembered the Wild Hunt, Letho, and Yennefer. He remembered Letho, who was also a Witcher like him. Together along with two other Witchers that accompanied Letho, they had tracked down the Wild Hunt in order to rescue Yennefer. They had fought against a multitude of armored elves who came from another world. But no matter how many they killed, more eventually took their place. The situation reached to the point of stalemate and the king of the Wild Hunt presented Geralt an offer. In exchange for Yennefer, Geralt would surrender and join the ranks of the Wild Hunt. Geralt accepted. For a time, he traveled through different worlds going through numerous portals. But this was where his memories got hazier. He had no recollection of what exactly he did when he was with the Wild Hunt. Even worse still was that he had no idea of how he was able to escape them. He could only remember the desperation in his mind and the difficulty that it imposed.
Geralt collected himself and stood up from his kneeled position. He was worried about the slight amnesia that he had and hoped that it would only be temporary. He feared that this might have been due to him going through the portal. Regardless, Geralt decided to try to look for a place where he could get out of the cold. He started to trudge slowly through the snow making his first steps into the unknown of this strange new world.
@ @ @
Meredith ran through the dark cold forest as fast as her feet could take her. She held her fiery torch in front of her to light the way for the night was dark and full of terrors.
"Quickly! This way!" She shouted behind her to the others who were following her trail.
She managed to save as many as she could. She knew the risks when she agreed to help rescue any northern survivors. But now she feared that she would have to pay with her life.
"Hurry!" She shouted in desperation and fear as she looked back.
There were five survivors that were following her closely and they consisted of an elderly man, two women, and a young boy and girl. She had initially started her journey north with ten others on a rescue expedition. They were able to find roughly a hundred survivors and were already heading back south till they were attacked and forced to break off and separate.
Behind them in the darkness, the ghastly sounds of whatever was chasing them could be heard getting closer. They were all exhausted from running but the fear of being killed urged them to push on. One of the women had tripped over a hidden branch under the snow and fallen over. The rest of the group were too focused on running that they didn't realize they had left her behind until she screamed for help. At that moment, they all looked back in horror to realize that she was left sprawled on the ground a good distance away from the light of the torch.
The old man started to turn back, "We have to help her!"
"We can't!" Meredith replied stopping him by his arm, "We have to go!"
"No! I can't just-"
"I'm sorry. We have to go now!" Meredith pulled him by the arm to continue running which caused the others to run as well though with heavy hearts. The old man looked one last time at his daughter and turned away sobbing as he continued to run with the others. Cries of help and panic could be heard behind them until they were suddenly silenced amidst the growing ghoulish sounds.
They continued to flee for however long they could. The path ahead of them seemed to get smaller and smaller until the trees in front of them were so close together that it was almost as if a wall of trees, branches, and snow were before them. Desperately they tried to look for any opening that they could possibly squeeze through. In their haste, they moved the branches around hurriedly which caused the upper branches to shuffle and let loose snow. The snow fell right on top of Meredith's torch causing the light to be put out with a soft hiss. Meredith tried to quickly find the torch that was now buried under the snow but it was too dark. The sound of running footsteps could be heard getting closer towards them as despair finally took over.
With a bit of moonlight, they were able to slightly see the silhouettes of the wights that were rushing towards them. Their attackers were undead humans; soulless shells of their former selves with a singular mind to attack the living. The groans and hisses of the wights were constantly getting louder and would soon envelop them. But their demise was cut short by the sudden interruption of shimmering silver and white. Sounds of clanging and bones breaking could be heard only a few feet away. They couldn't see the clash which was enveloping right in front of them except for the long streak of silver which zigged and zagged whirling around and around. The sounds of the wights began to whittle away one by one until there was nothing but silence.
The next thing they saw were two bright orange eyes looking right at them. The eyes seemed to tower before them which caused their first thoughts to be that the creature was a large dire wolf. But as the eyes got closer, a man's face started to appear with the help of the moonlight.
The first striking feature of the man were his animal-like eyes. He wore black leather armor and had long white hair and a beard. He held a longsword in his hand and had another one still in its sheathe on his back. Around his neck he had a silver medallion in the shape of a wolf's head. And finally, he had a deep scar that cut down through his left eye.
"Wind's howling." Geralt said with his metallic and gravelly voice, "And I'd much prefer to be indoors."
Chapter Two
"So how far is this village of yours?" Geralt asked Meredith as he led the way through the darkness.
"Maybe a few hours." Meredith replied, "I'm not.. I'm not so sure."
She was still shaken up along with the other survivors from what had just occurred. After Geralt had rescued them from the wights, he decided to lead them through the darkness without the need for a torch since it would draw attention from far away and he could see in the dark because of his enhanced sight. So they formed a line and held each others' hands with Geralt leading the way holding onto Meredith's hand. There wasn't any real need for hand holding but it was more for them to hold on to each other and feel somewhat comforted as they moved along slowly and blindly in the dark.
"Why were wights attack-"
"If you don't mind. I'd rather not be talking right now. Lest those monsters possibly hear us."
"Don't worry. Not only can I see in the dark but I have great hearing as well. We're going through a wide open clearing and no one is around us for miles."
Sure enough, they were going through a clear expanse as far as Geralt could tell.
"I still don't want to talk.."
And with that, they trudged on slowly with only the sounds of the wind and their feet keeping them company. This went on for another hour or so until Meredith herself broke the silence.
"Who are you?" Her question was definitely in everyone else's mind but the rest were too scared to speak any words just yet. Geralt remained silent for a few seconds before answering.
"I'm Geralt of…Well you wouldn't know it. But obviously I'm not from around here."
"Are you from one of the northern tribes?"
"No. It's going to be hard to explain so just trust me when I say that I'm not from around here."
"You killed those wights so quickly. And in pitch darkness. I don't know anyone who could do that. If I hadn't known better, I would think you a specter of the dark guiding us to our final resting place."
"Well I do like the sound of rest. But you're the one guiding us. I'm only leading the way. You told me which direction to go, and we're going there."
"Yes. This should be the way back home. Thank you…. Thank you for saving our lives." Meredith held on tighter to Geralt's hand.
"You can thank me when we reach your village." Geralt didn't reciprocate right away but eventually he moved his thumb to caress the top of her hand. Geralt didn't see it for he never turned back to look, but Meredith was smiling.
They had walked on for another good five hours but as far as they could tell, it seemed like an eternity. Off in the distance, they could see a few glimpses of light. Silent praises could be heard from the group with others making slight whimpers of joy. As they got closer, Geralt realized that the lights were very minimal if at all and the small houses that were scattered around seemed empty. The whole town itself seemed abandoned were it not for the few fires that could be seen. In the middle of the town appeared to be a small garrison with walls protecting it. It was this structure in particular that they continued walking towards.
As they neared the gate, the portcullis drew open and a tall man with long black hair and beard wearing a long cape with collared fur came rushing out accompanied with two guards.
"So few. Where are the rest?" The man asked.
Meredith couldn't reply and only made a sad slow nod of her head.
"It's worse than I thought.. No matter. Come in all of you. Quickly." The guards and the man helped the group of survivors as they all walked through the gate.
Geralt followed in slowly making sure to check behind them for any threats. The guards then closed the gate behind them as soon as everyone was inside. Geralt inspected the inner walls. There was a small keep inside and it looked like it was still under renovation with scaffoldings and construction on one side. There were people sitting here and there trying to keep warm by the fire but no one looked happy. Geralt suspected that there might have been a famine recently.
"Hunter!" Meredith shouted as she knelt down on one knee with her arms wide open. Bolting towards Meredith was a shaggy dog that had the features of a wolf along with dark and white fur. Hunter almost jumped onto Meredith and proceeded to lick her face hurriedly. Meredith giggled with tears in her eyes for the fateful reunion of her companion.
Geralt knelt down as well beside the two and extended his palm out towards Hunter. Hunter then made his way slowly to Geralt and began to show affection by rubbing his head onto Geralt's chest. This caused Geralt to smile slightly as he petted Hunter's fur.
"Amazing." Meredith said in wonder, "I've never known him to be so friendly with anyone that quickly."
"I have a way with animals." Geralt said as he continued to pet Hunter.
As Geralt was petting, he looked more closely now at Meredith. In the light, Geralt can better see her features. She was wearing warm winter clothes that were wrapped tightly to her body along with fur that lined her waist and collar. Her hood was down revealing that she had long red hair, white skin, and freckles on her face.
"I'm sure you all must be famished." The man returned to Geralt and Meredith after tending to the survivors. Geralt stood up and took note of the man's appearance under the light of the nearby torches. His clothes and mannerisms gave the impression that he was the lord of this settlement. He had deep set black eyes, black hair, and a black beard. Geralt guessed that the man was around his thirties or forties.
"Thank you for your hospitality." Geralt said courteously.
"We must all do what we can during these harsh times." The man replied, "And what is your name good sir?"
"His name is Geralt." Meredith answered as she stood up to join the conversation,"It's actually thanks to him that we're alive."
"Geralt. Thank you Geralt."
"And this is lord Brandon."
"Please. You're too kind Meredith. I am no lord. Although many already see me that way. My name is Brandon Stark." Brandon offered his hand to Geralt to shake.
"Pleasure to meet you Brandon Stark." Geralt shook Brandon's hand firmly which was met in kind by Brandon.
"Please, stay as long as you like. You are our honored guest." Brandon then looked gravely to Meredith, "Now please. What happened out there?"
Meredith's tone turned somber, "We found people. People from different tribes all huddled up hiding in fear of the Others. Many are suffering just as we are. We convinced as many as we could to come back south with us. But on the way, we were attacked by a large host of them. They're grouping together Bran. They can think."
Brandon paused in thought while Geralt silently listened in.
"That's deeply troubling.. But what about the rest? Where's Juran?"
"Were we the first to arrive?"
"Yes. You're the first. I haven't heard any news for five days since your journey began."
"I don't know. We got separated when they attacked. Maybe your brother will return later."
Brandon fell silent for a few seconds.
"Yes I hope so too.. But come. Let us talk more inside with food and drink. These are perilous times that you've come to us Geralt. But I hope you'll enjoy your stay here with us."
"It's fine." Geralt replied, "Perilous is part of the job description."
Chapter Three
Geralt, Meredith,and Brandon all sat around a small square table in a tiny room with candlelight in the middle. Servants had brought in food and wine but the portions were quite meager.
"I'm sorry Geralt," Brandon said, "but we need to ration our supplies. We still have no idea how long this winter is going to last."
"I'm grateful really. Don't worry about it."
They began to eat slowly as they talked.
"So Geralt, where do you hail from? And were you heading south to escape the undead as well?"
Geralt thought carefully about his next words as he chewed his food. "I come from a different continent. I arrived here by complete chance. Honestly, my memory has not been the best. I got into an accident and now there are things that I just can't remember. I'm sorry but that's all I can give you."
"The forgetting worms I think they're called." Brandon said after chewing his food, "Usually they only happen to the elderly. You must be quite old though you look as strong as a horse."
"I guess you can say that." Geralt replied.
"Well I'm glad you showed up when you did." Meredith said, "Your fighting skills are amazing. You must teach me when you have time."
Geralt smirked, “We'll see about that. I honestly would like to learn more about this place so I'll focus on doing that first. If you have any books I can read, or know any nearby sorcerers, that would be a big help."
"Sorcerers?" Meredith said confused.
"Books?" Brandon said equally confused, "What are these things? Are they common in your land?"
Geralt was surprised. "You guys don't have paper?"
"Another equally strange word Master Geralt." Brandon said, "No we do not have whatever this paper is. I believe you now when you say that you are not from Westeros. But I assure you, we will provide any accommodation necessary for you. We have food, drink, and you'll be provided a place to stay while you're here."
"I see." Geralt said in wonder, "It's fine. Thank you really. I think what I'll do is wait till daylight comes, I'll explore the surroundings then."
Brandon and Meredith both looked at each other in astonishment.
"He doesn’t know." Meredith started.
"Clearly. I don't see how-"
"We have to tell him."
"Tell me what?" Brandon asked.
Brandon shifted in his chair to lean closer, "Geralt, I don't know how to tell you this. But there hasn't been a sunrise in years."
"What?"
"We've been living in perpetual darkness for almost a generation now. There are still some who remember what the sun looked like. But most, the young ones especially, they do not."
Geralt ate for a moment in silence as he processed the information. He wasn't sure what to make of it.
"This sounds like great news!" Meredith's tone was enthused, "If he recently came from a region where the sun touches, maybe we can-"
"It's not going to be that simple Meredith." Brandon replied.
"I know that. But maybe if we-"
"Meredith enough."
"He's right." Geralt finally chimed in, "I know what you're trying to get at but I don't think it's possible. I've forgotten a lot of things so I don't know if I can even go back home myself."
Meredith looking defeated sat there in silence.
"Well that's just great." Meredith said.
They continued eating in silence for a bit while Meredith didn't even touch another piece of her food.
"I think I'm done eating. Excuse me." Meredith stood up harshly and exited the room in a rush.
"Meredith!" Brandon shouted for her but she already left the room.
Brandon sighed. "You'll have to forgive her Geralt. She was born under darkness and it's all she's known. She lost her parents at a young age. She's been through a lot.."
"Excuse me." Geralt stood up and went to follow Meredith.
Brandon remained alone in the room staring dumbfounded at the candlelight. "Oh don't mind me. Just leave me here all alone by myself."
Going through the small corridors, Geralt caught a glimpse of a person entering a room. He walked over and opened the door to find Meredith standing with her back faced towards him. She was crying uncontrollably as she continued to wipe the tears that continued to stream out of her eyes. Geralt slowly made his way over to her and hugged her from behind wrapping his arms around her in a tender embrace. Meredith didn't resist and instead welcomed Geralt's warmth.
"It's not fair.." She said continuing to sob, "Why was I born in this world? Why are we all fucking here in this hell hole.."
Geralt didn't know how to reply to that and just continued to hug her hoping that it would comfort her more than a thousand words could say. Meredith spun around and looked up at him.
"I want to know what it's like. We might die tomorrow."
Geralt used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that were on her cheeks.
"You want to know what the sun is like?"
"No. This." Meredith tip toed up and kissed him on the lips without warning. Geralt was surprised but he understood what she was asking for. He kissed her back having their lips locked together. She then pulled away and with surprising strength, was able to grab and push Geralt unto the bed. He was definitely caught off guard but relaxed a bit more seeing her standing thereand taking off her outer clothing.
"I still need to give you my thanks."
She left her gloves on as well as her inner onesie which had a hood. Her clothing revealed much of her thigh and her sexy figure.
She made her way ever so slowly to him walking with a cat-like grace. He pushed him down and mounted on top of him. She leaned down and kissed Geralt with a fiery passion that she never knew she had in her till now as her body pressed up on his. For once in her life, Meredith felt a sense of safety, warmth, escape, and reckless abandon that she wished this moment would never end.
