The cold wind blew across the wilderness, making the cruel night ever so frigid. Two people sat around a warm, crackling fire as they munched on their dinner — a hot, steaming, grilled rabbit. Letho sipped from his Est Est and blurted out, “I remember you asking for some pointers on using crossbows. I have some time to talk to you about that now.”

Roy was a self-taught crossbowman. He’d been wishing for some professional training. After starting his journey with Letho, Roy could feel Gabriel getting limited in its use. He could use it to kill normal animals, but not monsters. The only way to break the impasse was through an improvement of his skills.

Letho asked him to take Gabriel out and talked about crossbows. “Can’t talk about Viper School’s crossbow skills, since that’s not our specialty. I’ll tell you about the experience a friend from the Cat School shared with me.”  

“You know people from the Cat School, Letho?” Roy asked curiously. If he remembered correctly, Cat School witchers had problematic personalities after taking their special-made decoction during the Trial of the Grasses. They would walk an extreme path, and being a witcher exacerbated that, for they were shown the darkness of the world. Left unchecked, they would spiral into madness.

There were six known witcher schools: Bear School, Wolf School, Griffin School, Cat School, Viper School, and Manticore School. Only witchers from Cat School would accept assassination requests publicly. Because of that, the Cat School was rejected by the other schools and society, making them persona non grata* everywhere. Cat School had a complex relationship with the Wolf School, and was the only one accepting female disciples.

PR/N: Definition of “persona non grata”: In diplomacy, a persona non grata (Latin: “person not welcome”, plural: personae non gratae) is a status sometimes applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection by diplomatic immunity from arrest and other normal kinds of prosecution. Also… I want to join the Cat School xD.

“Everyone says that the Cats are madmen.” Letho rubbed an old scar on his left forearm, and reminiscence showed in his amber eyes. “But that’s obviously nonsense. There are witchers from the Cat School who can coexist with others in peace, but I digress. Let’s talk business. Tell me what you think is most important when attacking with a crossbow?”

Roy fiddled with Gabriel and made an aiming pose. “I aim… then I shoot? Oh, the most important part is the time I pull the trigger. It’s the shooting, isn’t it? That’s the deciding factor between hitting or missing the target.”

“You’re not a total idiot, boy. Yes, everything you do before you shoot is for that exact moment —  the moment you pull the trigger.” Letho circled the campfire and paused for a moment. “The details can be complicated. There are five steps to follow if you want to shoot a crossbow: how you hold it, how you position yourself, how you load the bolts, how you aim, and how you shoot.”

Roy remained calm despite the complicated explanation. He was already ready for that, for he knew complex details were hidden behind every simple task, and they were only revealed when a professional searched for them.

“We have time, so take it slow. Let’s start with the basics — holding the crossbow. Hold it like how you always do.”

Roy was used to holding Gabriel with one hand since it was smaller than standard crossbows, but he could hold it with two as well. Roy followed the instructions and stood up straight, then holding the lower-middle part of the crossbow with his left hand, he held the handle with his right. 

Letho started pushing down on Roy. “You didn’t learn from a master, did you? Your movements are all wrong, but it isn’t too late to correct them.” He told him the crux of the skill. “Remember, you have to center your gravity and relax. Understood? Your shoulders have to be level, and you’re not supposed to support the crossbow with any part beside your hands. Since you’re right-handed, you should point your left elbow and tuck it in. Don’t ask why you should correct your movement every time. You’ll know why after your ten thousandth shot, because the guy who told me this shot at least a million.”

PR/N: Casually notes this down.

The movement sounded easy, and it was simple to follow, but it was hard to maintain at all times, at least enough for it to become second nature. Practice would be boring.

Roy kept cheering himself up though. Keep this up, Roy. This is the first step to gaining power. If I can’t even take this, how am I supposed to pass the Trial of the Grasses?

More than one hour of practice later, Roy was drenched in sweat, but he was starting to hold his crossbow the right way. Letho then went on to talk about how he should load the bolt. “If you want to learn how to shoot, then preparation is key. First learn how to hold the weapon and how to load it.”

Three hours had passed after Roy had learned how to do the second step. As the moon rose to its peak, Roy was starting to stagger from the exhaustion. According to Letho’s way, he had to use his foot while loading the bolt. It took more out of Roy, but it was safer and more efficient compared to loading with hands.

Roy didn’t complain throughout the session. Even though he was already drenched in sweat, he was focused on his training. Letho was happy with his attitude, and he thought Roy might just have a chance to pass the trial. 

“That’s it for tonight.”

When Roy was drying his clothes by the campfire after he had washed himself off, Letho said, “It’s almost time to sleep. Since you asked, now you have two choices. One, I’ll use Axii to hypnotize you. You’ll fall into a deep sleep which will help you recover from your fatigue quickly. Maybe you’ll even get something out of it. Two, you try to recover on your own.”

Roy recalled the good sleep he’d had last night. “Are you trying to sneak more knowledge into my mind, Letho?” he queried. 

“I said that’s going to give you a permanent headache.” Letho rubbed his fingers together. “If you’re fine with the first way, then relax and don’t resist, or it won’t work as well as it’s supposed to.”

Roy gave it a moment of thought. If Letho wants to harm me, I’d be killed before I could make a move. Telling me before using Axii is already a sign of respect. He let go of any misgivings and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

***

It was a peaceful week after that night. No monsters came to attack them, nor did they come across any creature. During the journey, the witcher would scavenge for herbs in the wilderness during daytime to teach Roy about them. When dusk would fall, Roy would go for a hunt with his new and improved crossbow skills. That granted him some EXP and dinner.

Once night had fully fallen, Roy would practice around the campfire, and Letho would be the coach. After buckets and buckets of sweat, Roy was finally starting to get into the important part — the breathing technique. He could feel his shooting skill improve, but it didn’t develop into a skill he could use. He needed real battles for that. Before he slept, Letho would use Axii on him to induce a deep slumber. Every morning, Roy woke up refreshed and reborn.

One week after that, Roy’s EXP bar was already at 280 points. His Constitution was raised by 0.1 points thanks to the herbs he was consuming, bringing it to 4.4. His strength saw the same increase, bringing it to 4.3. At the time being, Roy could memorize more than fifty types of herbs, their effects, where they grew, and how to handle them. Massacre could affect five more types of animals. Roy was starting to enjoy the slow but sure process of growth.

Then, the night came when they finally got out of the remote wilderness. They could see a tall, sturdy wall over yonder. The windows of tall spires behind the wall glimmered, and white smoke billowed from the top. “That’s Aldersberg, the city neighboring the Mahakam mountain range and southern Aedirn’s last line of defense. We’ll be there by tomorrow.”

Roy looked in the direction of the wall, and he saw a gigantic mountain range standing behind it, looming over them. From where he stood, the mountains looked like an ancient monster, deep in its slumber. The infinite snow and the dappled greenery was little more than ornaments for the mountain. 

That was the Mahakam mountain range. It was the giant that separated Temeria and Aedirn, the home of dwarves. Rumors had it that gnomes lived there too. They would have to go through Aldersberg and scale past the mountains before they could arrive in Cintra. But since it was getting late, the pair camped in the wilds.

After another satisfying grilled meat dinner, Letho sat quietly on the ground, facing the Mahakam mountain range. The depressing silence he’d kept along the way faded, replaced by a grounded, peaceful strength.

As Roy stared at Letho’s back, the magical energy the witcher radiated made him feel at ease. Letho said, “Meditation was created by the first Sources. It’s a way to communicate and control chaos energy, or elemental energy, so to speak. It is then left as inheritance for the witchers by Cosimo Malaspina, the founder of witchers. Meditation can calm humans and witchers alike. It can also cleanse negative emotions, heal bodily wounds quickly, speed up recovery, and induce deep sleep. 

“But those who are sensitive to magical energy can sense the elemental energy through meditation. They can harness the power from air, water, earth, and fire. If they aren’t sent to a sorcerer’s academy to tame the elemental energy they channel during their meditation/ they have after they exit meditation, they will be driven mad after their powers get out of control. Worse, their bodies will twist and mutate. That’s why I’ll need you to go into meditation, boy. I need you to tell me if you’re a normal human or a magic-sensitive one.” 

Roy’s heart skipped a beat. So this is it. Then he was confused. “What should I do to enter meditation? 

He was sure Letho had never mentioned anything regarding meditation before that night. If it was possible, Roy wished he was a magic-sensitive human. Witchers were derivatives of mages, making them less powerful than one. However, he saw nothing regarding magic, elements, or chaos energy in his character sheet. There weren’t any skills or mana in there either, and Roy knew he might not be a mage then.

Letho answered his question calmly. “I hypnotized you with Axii every night before you slept.”

“That wasn’t for deep sleep?”

“I did say you might get something out of it, and you took my offer,” Letho emphasized. “To be more precise, you have entered meditation six times, so you’re ready for it. Your body has adapted to the process, but since you didn’t enter it yourself, you didn’t remember it. Tonight, you’ll have to do it yourself and tell me what you feel during meditation.”

I can get something out of it… I thought that was weird. So this is why. Does he trust me enough now to tell me about it? Roy was glad he made the choice to be hypnotized, but he remembered nothing about meditating. All he knew was he slept well every night.

“Don’t think too much about it. Sit like I’m sitting.”

Roy followed his instructions and made a weird sign with his fingers, but it felt natural to him, as if he had done it many times. Roy entered a bizarre state a moment later. He felt warm and fuzzy, as if he was in his mother’s womb again. Every cell on his body was roaring as they absorbed everything around them to heal and strengthen themselves.

The blowing winds and crackling campfire looked ever so distant, and he stared at the Mahakam mountain range, Aldersberg disappearing from his sight. The clouds that swirled above it moved in a random manner, but eventually, they formed a spiral that sucked him in.