Chapter Text
“Ciri, you know I hate portals.” Geralt complained for the third time that day.
“Stop whining! Besides it’ll be worth it, you’ll see.” Ciri told him. Since defeating the Wild Hunt, she had been unrestricted in her abilities to travel between worlds, though Avallac’h warned her about over-exhausting herself. Yennefer looked concerned. “You need to be careful, Ciri. No man is worth exhausting yourself for.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got this. Take my hands, this should be relatively quick.”
Geralt sighed and gripped Ciri’s hand and Yennefer took the other. The air crackled and shimmered with energy as Ciri transported them through to Skyrim.
The three of them landed in the forest outside Brynjar’s home. Ciri motioned for them to follow her. “Come on, he should be around here somewhere.”
Geralt looked at Yen, who looked at him and exchanged a somewhat hesitant look. While Ciri seemed to be in love with Brynjar and was confident they would like him, they were skeptical about it. All they hoped was that this man she met wasn’t simply using her or pretending.
The trio came to the large house next to a lake. Ciri looked around for a moment, Geralt and Yen following behind. “Brynjar! Bryn!”
“Ciri?” A voice called back from the lake. Brynjar spotted her and his heart lifted. “Ciri!” He pulled himself out of the lake, still dripping wet and completely naked. He started towards her, but stopped when he saw her parents.
Geralt simply groaned and turned away at seeing the man naked. Yennefer just smiled and muttered, “Well that’s certainly one way to make a lasting first impression.”
Brynjar grinned widely at all of them. “Pardons on my part, I just came from a swim,” He turned to Ciri. “I’d hug you, but I don’t want you to get wet.”
Ciri smiled back at him and whispered, “You don’t have to touch me to make me wet.”
“Of course not. Why don’t you all come in? It’s getting dark out now.”
Geralt nodded, still not looking at him. “Only if you swear to put some clothes on.”
Brynjar laughed. “I promise. Come in.” He held the door open for them to enter. He immediately went to his own room to dry off and put on some clothes. Ciri quickly made herself comfortable.
Geralt sighed. “Does he do that all the time? Walk around naked like that?”
“Quit whining. We just caught him by surprise.” Yen answered. Ciri nodded in agreement. After a few moments, Brynjar came out of his room, now fully clothed.
“Alright, now we can greet each other properly. Ciri!” He lunged forward to embrace Ciri.
“Hey Bryn,” She smiled as his strong arms hugged her tightly. They kissed deeply, expressing how much they missed each other. Ciri could feel the incoming eye-roll and grumble from Geralt. “Brynjar, I want you meet my family. That’s Geralt, my father. And she is Yennefer, my mother.”
Brynjar extended his hand to Geralt. “A pleasure to finally meet you. Ciri talked non-stop about you when she was here,” After shaking Geralt’s hand, he went to kiss Yennefer’s. “And you too. Ciri certainly didn’t lie when she said how beautiful you were.
“She also didn’t lie when she told us how handsome you were.”
Geralt shot her a hurt look. “Ahem. I am standing right here.”
Yennefer scoffed. “Oh please, Geralt, I’m merely stating a fact. No need to get all worried.”
“Right. Thank you very much. Well, you all can make yourselves comfortable,” Brynjar went to the kitchen space. “I wasn’t expecting guests, so if anyone’s hungry, I’m roasting a venison haunch and making some stew.”
Ciri sat at the long dinner table across from Geralt and Yennefer. “
Wonderful. Bryn makes a fantastic vegetable stew, better than most women do, I’d say.”
“Cozy house too. Real homey feel to it. Did he build it himself?” Geralt asked, looking around at the swords and trophy mounts.
“I’m not sure, but I’ll ask later.”
Yennefer also looked at the weapons mounted on the wall. “Impressive. He must be quite an adventurer.”
“I am,” Brynjar came to the table with several bottles of mead. “I’ve done my fair share of delving in Dwarven ruins and ancient barrows. Happened to find quite a few prizes down there.” He pointed to a large battleaxe with a screaming elf’s face on it. “That one right there belonged to the first inhabitants of Skyrim, the Companions. Wuuthrad, or elf’s bane, they called it.”
“Lemme guess, there was big war between humans and elves. I’ll also guess who started it.” Geralt observed.
“If you’re gonna guess it was humans who started it, you’re wrong. We came here peacefully, tried to live in peace and respected boundaries. They were the ones who massacred thousands of sleeping people and burnt them alive. That called for vengeance, and it was well deserved.”
“No race deserves to be completely wiped out like that.” Geralt retorted.
“Gents, let’s not argue about who deserved to die and why. Bryn, is the food ready yet? I’m famished.” Ciri interrupted.
“Not yet. Until then, have a drink?” Brynjar distributed the mead and poured some into a tankard for himself. “There’s no better way to pass the time than drinking.”
“Ciri told us you were doing work with the emperor here. Tell us about it.” Yennefer requested.
Brynjar chugged down the mead. “Right. Well I’ve been commissioned to offer terms of allegiance to a few provinces…to prepare for the coming war. In fact, I’ll be leaving in a few days, maybe you all would like to come with me?”
Ciri nodded before anyone could object. “That should be fun, after all you did promise to take me with you if you traveled.”
Brynjar smiled. “A promise once made, not forgotten,” He stood up and walked towards the kitchen. “I smell it; the stew is ready. Behold, the best vegetable stew to ever put in your belly!” He ladled the stew into bowls for everyone and sliced up the venison haunch along with loaves of bread.
“Tell us about this mission of yours and said war you mentioned earlier.”
“Sure yeah. It’s a diplomatic mission, to secure as many allies as possible. First, I need to get to Morrowind, deal with the Dunmer. Then, on to Hammerfell, then to High Rock. They all used to be provinces of the Empire, but their loyalty is a bit…shaky. Skyrim and the Empire alone can’t take on the Dominion, there’s just not enough manpower and there’s only a matter of time before the fighting starts.”
“One question: when do we leave?” Ciri asked excitedly.
“Soon, I think. As soon as I get the confirmation document from the Emperor, we can go,” Brynjar poured himself another tankard of mead. “Until then, I’m sure we can find something…constructive to do.” He smirked at Ciri, who definitely picked up the hint. Yennefer did as well.
“And by constructive, I’m sure you mean telling us how you met Ciri.”
Brynjar was caught off guard. “Um, what? Oh, right of course. Well, she literally fell from the sky and passed out in front of me. She was clearly exhausted and injured, so I did what I felt was right, and nursed her back to health. And, I don’t mean to sound cliché, but…I fell in love with her the moment she awoke.”
Geralt frowned. He just wasn’t buying it. “You sure you didn’t fall in love with something else?”
Brynjar scoffed. “Geralt! What kind of man do you take me to be? My intentions were mostly pure. Living out here for months on end, one gets lonely. And I, well I have a weakness for conversation, I simply must talk to someone. When Ciri came around, I figured she didn’t mind if I talked a little too much.”
Ciri smirked. “Who said I was ever listening?”
Brynjar gave her a hurt look. “Oh Ciri. You wound me, how could you not want to hear my wonderful stories? Especially after I sat through your long slog of stories.” Ciri laughed at him, but Geralt and Yennefer frowned.
“Relax, Geralt, he’s just joking.”
“Yeah, I do that a lot. But enough about myself. I wanna hear more about you, Geralt. You have to be extremely talented with those swords, to have taught Ciri. She certainly uses those lessons well.”
Geralt stared at Brynjar and he knew he was going to do everything in his power to completely expose him. “I’m sure that wasn’t fun, having your ass handed to you like that.”
Brynjar smiled. “Well I’m certainly not used to it, but I find a woman who can beat the pants off me intriguing. Only because I let her, of course.”
“That’s not what it looked like when you were flat on your ass.” Ciri retorted.
Yennefer butted in. “Careful Ciri. You know a man’s pride is his most sensitive asset.”
“Ha! Second most sensitive asset, I’d say. Don’t worry, my pride is not so easily wounded.”
“How so?” Geralt asked.
“I have a lot to be proud of. I saved Skyrim and Tamriel from destruction, I ended the Civil War and I lead a band of highly respected warriors. I think I can graciously lose to someone like Ciri.”
Geralt and Yennefer looked surprised and internally doubted that Brynjar had done any of those things, that he was over-exaggerating. Yennefer intervened. “It should make for an interesting story, telling us how you did all those things.”
“Oh it will be,” Brynjar opened another bottle of mead and spotted Ciri rolling her eyes. “Oh come on, don’t act like you don’t love my stories. Ok, hmm, I think I’ll start with… the Companions’ story. Alright, thousands of years ago, five hundred great warriors conquered and settled Skyrim. They were called the Five Hundred Companions. Their leader went on to become king, but the order remained and established a city around their mead hall, Jorrvaskr. Here’s the thing: the Companions still are respected and known for the fiercest warriors in Skyrim, needless to say, you have to prove your mettle to be counted as one of them. Well the first time I met them, they were fighting a giant. I would’ve helped but, they had already finished it by the time I could draw my sword. I asked who they were and their leader, a woman mind you, told me to come talk to the Harbinger at the time, who would test my arm and spirit. And he did.”
“Must have been highly respected, that woman, to be leading a band of warriors.” Geralt chimed in.
“Of course she is, but it’s rather common for women to fight. Do they not do so in your world?”
“Not often.”
“A shame. Sometimes women prove to be the bravest and smartest when it comes to war. Anyways, my task was to clear out a barrow where some Silver Hand bandits had holed up. I managed to get us in a sticky situation, so my shield-brother, well he transformed into a werewolf right before my eyes and scared me shitless. We did manage to finish without too much more trouble--,”
“Wait! Did you just say your friend is a werewolf?” Geralt interrupted again.
“Yes. It’s something of a ritual that comes with being senior member, consuming and taking on Hircine’s blessing, but--,”
“Wait! Bryn, does that mean…you’re one of them too?” Ciri asked, shocked.
Brynjar looked dismayed. He’d wanted to tell her, but he didn’t want to do it this way. “Ciri, that was years ago, I didn’t think about what might happen--,”
“I don’t care about that, you lied to me. I asked about this several times, but you still never told me the truth.” Ciri stood and started to walk out. Brynjar grabbed her arm, but she shrugged him off.
“Ciri, please,” Brynjar pleaded, but to no avail. Ciri stormed off and slammed the door behind her. He looked to Yennefer and Geralt for help.
“Give her some time to think. She’ll come around,” Geralt offered, still frowning at him. “I knew there was something off about you, my medallion hasn’t stopped pulsing since we met. How’d it happen?”
“You must think me a monster. I chose this path, this blessing and curse. To be honest with you, I haven’t regretted it either.”
Yennefer glared at him with contempt. “What kind of man chooses to be cursed with such affliction?”
“One who’s young and didn’t think straight. I was living in the present, and in the present, I experienced the rush of air on my face, the thrill of ripping my enemies to shreds, of gushing hot blood. I didn’t think about the future or the consequences.”
“So give me one good reason I shouldn’t draw my sword and kill you now.” Geralt threatened, stretching his muscles.
Brynjar sighed. “Because I know you have a conscience. Because I know you don’t kill without reason or thought. And because I’m in love with your daughter.”
Yennefer touched Geralt’s arm gently. “Geralt, if there’s any time to use those unorthodox practices of sparing sentient creatures, it’s now. I think we can both see past this for Ciri’s sake.”
“Yeah, you’re right I guess. But don’t think I’ll hesitate again if you transform,” Geralt agreed reluctantly. “Ciri. Let me go talk to her, see if I can talk some sense into her.” Geralt stood up and walked out, following the footsteps Ciri left in the dirt.
Brynjar turned to Yennefer. “You don’t think any less of me do you?”
“No, not particularly. I understand having a desire for power at such a young age. However, I don’t understand why you went about that type of method of achieving it.”
“There’s a way to reverse it, the power that binds me to Hircine, but… I don’t want to be rid of it, to be honest,” Brynjar downed another tankard, and his words began to slur. “But, that’s all a bit grim, isn’t it? Let’s talk about something else, yeah? You know, one woman I had relations with, she was like you: long black hair, funny colored eyes. She was a vampire! Hehe, didn’t stop me though, she might have been dead, but boy was she warm when I was done with her!”
Yennefer frowned. “Typical male boasting. And I thought you were different.”
“Oh but I am. What other man can say he saved all mankind? Or can say he bested a dragon? Or even an elder vampire? How many men can say they tamed the cunt of the fiercest woman in Skyrim? Name one!” Brynjar chugged down another mead, against his better judgement and stood up, barely able to stand. “Welp, goodnaht Jennefer, wake me up when Ciri gets here.”