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"I don't know what Princess Ciri meant by that, but Gustave still congratulates."
"Hahahahaha, thanks, thanks! Now ask me, Little Guy, why I can know where you are hiding! Ask me! Quickly!"
Sighing to himself, he indulged the girl. "So, Princess Ciri, how can you know where I am? Gustave thinks he is good enough to hide behind the curtain?"
"It's because of this!"
Seeing the main carrier of Hen Ichaer, Elder Blood, already activate the Power residing within her because of Lara Dorren's brief possession, Gustave saw with his [Knowledge] mysticism ability that the magic on Ciri's eyes and hands did not contain the previous will of the carrier, unlike in the original timeline.
In other words, unlike the original, where she sometimes triggered a trance—such as with Triss at Kaer Morhen—now the Elder Blood was so pure that Ciri was able to wield the Power easily without the intervention of something that tried to take control of her.
And that something, he deduced, was the lingering spirit of the previous holder of Elder Blood, or the combined will of every previous carrier—like an Avatar mode.
But unlike the Avatar State in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the previous carriers were essentially friendly guides, the lingering will of the elven sages who became test subjects in the Elder Blood project—or even the entire Aen Elle society as a whole—were basically sadistic and warmongering people who merely tried to act elegant about it.
Although, when reading Time of Contempt once more with his [Recall] ability, it does not explicitly state that she had a lingering spirit and instead attributes it to the Fire Magic itself, he also knew that simply drawing the Fire Power was not enough to change a person in an instant—unless a lingering spirit was already residing in Ciri.
And considering the godlike entity residing in the Fire Dimension once called Ciri "Falka," that meant there indeed was a lingering spirit within the Elder Blood in the original timeline.
But seeing Ciri now, cheerful about it, able to visit him without Calanthe in sight—who would turn extremely protective if her Elder Blood had some flaw—he knew that the hidden menace had already been neutralized by her ancient grandmother, Lara Dorren.
Thus, the Ciri in front of him was able to wield the Elder Blood's Power as if the Power were simply an extension of her limbs.
Unlike in the original timeline—where, although she had the same talent, she needed instinct to manage it only when the situation demanded it, making the wielding rough around the edges.
Although he didn't have concrete proof—since many theories linked her trances to Avallac'h influencing her, or Lady Death causing them, or even to a manifestation of the Chaos side of her Elder Blood—Gustave still thought that this avatar mode being gone was the most plausible explanation.
Because of that, rather than focusing on her easier Power control, he began to consider how this activation had become a beacon not only to Northern mages but to the entire world, or even the entire multiverse.
Because he knew very well that there was a damned good reason why everything had happened the way it did—why Ciri renounced her ability to use the Elder Blood in Time of Contempt, and why, even years later in The Witcher 4 Trailer, Ciri tried her best to purge the Elder Blood from herself, creating a timeline that was relatively peaceful.
Considering from Travel Between Worlds that the Witcher universe was connected to Alice in Wonderland, the Land of Oz, Arthurian legend, and the myth of Orpheus—which might also connect to the entire Greek pantheon—he also knew very well that the beacon was now being spread to every corner of the multiverse because the Lady of Space and Time had been born.
So once again, consequences be damned, he needed to dial his diligence up to eleven, with no slouching laziness this time and without focusing on whether his actions could make him prone to suspicion or not, because he knew there were far greater threats out there—things that could walk the physical plane—that may or may not want to visit this universe.
For example, entities from the God of War series, Hades and Hades II, Percy Jackson & the Olympians from the universe of the Greek pantheon. Fate/Grand Order, King Arthur: Knight's Tale, and Harry Potter from the universe of Arthurian legend. The Kingdom Hearts series, Alice: Madness Returns, and the Alice in Wonderland movies from the Alice in Wonderland universe.
And Oz the Great and Powerful from the Wizard of Oz universe, along with many, many more series and universes he didn't know—or ones he was aware of but had never fully understood because he had never consumed their media.
Although he knew it was unlikely for such beings to arrive here easily—considering the gods and demons of this world would likely intervene, coupled with the very strong Order magic that binds higher entities from walking the material plane—he still decided to prepare early in case something happened, as someone who took Batman and Iron Man as his role models.
So he congratulated Ciri once more—who was currently showing off her trickling droplets of Power—and began ignoring her, wanting to continue his experiment and design crude glove prototypes to protect the ring on his finger.
"It seems Princess Ciri is able to wield magic like a sorcerer. Gustave congratulates you once more."
"Hahahahaha! I am cool, right?! Right?! Hey! Where are you going?!"
"I am sorry, Princess Ciri. Gustave has an experiment to do—wanting to implement what Master Fritjof said about celandine properties when exposed to the Aer Element."
"Huh? What experiment? What Master Fritjof? Uncle Vissegard, Uncle Haxo! Do you know what the little guy is talking about?!"
Raising an eyebrow at the fact that, in just one day after having class, Prince Gustave was already able to conduct an experiment on his own, Haxo noted that perhaps Her Majesty the Queen's decision to place Prince Gustave into a hidden special-education program run by the Ofieri caravan was indeed correct.
But the development still made him frown, a mixture of puzzlement and suspicion tightening his features. He knew that, while prodigies did exist—famed examples like Alzur came to mind—none had shown the ability to take what they learned from books or lessons and turn it into real, tangible results so immediately.
But it didn't matter to him, because as long as it benefited Cintra and aligned with the will of Her Majesty the Queen, he didn't care whether it was a good or bad development for Prince Gustave, even if his brilliance became something more chilling over time.
To him, everyone could burn or prosper for all he cared; as long as it was for the good of Cintra, it was inconsequential. And considering that this little prince was essentially doing exactly that—with the boy's experiment able to rival the scholars of Cintra—Haxo didn't think too much about it.
So, walking over to the alchemical station in search of this supposed "experiment," he only found an iron petri dish in the middle of the table and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
After addressing Princess Ciri's questions, he turned to the boy currently sitting in front of the dish and asked, "An experiment is something that I, the seneschal, and many professors in the academy conduct, Princess Ciri. As for what Prince Gustave is doing, let us ask him directly. So, Prince Gustave—where is this experiment you speak of?"
"Here. Just look at it, Mister Haxo."
Stunned looking at the iron petri dish, Haxo asked again while pointing at this "experiment" that couldn't be called experiment at all by normal standard.
"Excuse me, Prince Gustave. Are you talking about this?"
"Yes, Mister Haxo. Gustave's experiment is this. I just put a petri dish on the table and let the Aer Element touch the substance. By observing the reaction, Gustave was able to conclude that Celindine and Light Essence, when combined, can make a person's skin youthful all the time."
Haxo, wanting to be surprised at the fact that Prince Gustave seemed to have another gift besides brilliance—an ability to perceive things beyond the normal way of seeing—found himself unable to voice his astonishment. Because the daughter of Zahatta Hu'uri, however, beat him to it, focusing on an entirely different point of interest.
"Forever youthful, is it?! Little boy, are you truly certain?"
Looking at the sexy, scintillatingly dressed Ofir woman who looked exactly like Matta Hu'uri—and not only that, but by comparing her features with the Ofir Rune Mage Lecturer in the hidden magic academy, they were likely father and daughter—Gustave nodded. "Yes, Madam…"
"Far too old, 'Madam' feels for me! Lady Matta Hu'uri, you may call me, little boy!"
"Yes, Lady Hu'uri. If combined, Celindine and Light Essence can keep someone's skin youthful all the time. Although I don't yet know the dosage for mass consumption, Gustave thinks it won't be long before he has the product."
"The product you seek to create?! Tell me… like the Glamour of your Northern sorceress' makeup, yes?!"
Still unaccustomed to the Ofieri way of speaking—which has a 10–30% similarity to the Khajiit of the Skyrim series but uses first-person rather than third-person perspective—he filed that thought in the back of his mind and answered Lady Hu'uri's question while heating the alembic once more.
"Gustave isn't sure if the Glamour Lady Hu'uri speaks of is the same as the Glamarye mentioned in the books by famous Aretuza alumni. What I'm making, though, is a soap that keeps someone's skin fresh and youthful all the time—not something that magically makes a person beautiful, Lady Hu'uri."
"Matter it does not, my cute little boy. Haaah… At last, a solution I have found for my future wrinkled, sagging face in this distant land. Oh, little boy… thanks to your bright little mind, my youthfulness I shall keep in the years to come—for me, without drinking the lethal potion my father set aside."
Feeling the two mounds pressing against his tiny head, Gustave silently thanked the undeveloped hormonal pathways in his brain that he didn't feel a thing; otherwise, this hypnotic, erotic-dancer gait and mannerism would have already made him fold.
So, he continued heating the alembic and preparing the station to make soap—even after his maids returned with the materials—while being held and hugged by Lady Matta Hu'uri like a huggable teddy bear. All the while, he maintained a light conversation with Ciri and everyone present, who seemed to have forgotten their initial motivation to find him.
Each of them was absorbed in their own thoughts: one focused on the process of soap-making that could keep them forever youthful like Matta Hu'uri; another marveled at his gift of seeing knowledge, which made Haxo imagine countless scenarios for the development of Cintra;
Vissegard quietly calculated Gustave's abnormal intelligence, already recognizing it as a potential threat to Cintra; and the last little she-devil was simply intent on playing a prank on him, testing his patience—so much so that even someone with experience dealing with children, thanks to his ex-girlfriend, a primary school teacher, could be driven to the edge of insanity.
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References may break immersion. Just go ahead to the next chapter.
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References
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Yes, Oz, Arthurian Legend, Greek Mythology, and Alice in Wonderland are in the lore. Although I would prefer to focus on The Witcher, since I don't have deep knowledge about some of these legends and myths, I decided to include them anyway because, like it or not, they do appear in Witcher lore—even if only as tiny references.
Their inclusion may follow the pattern of other CDPR universes, like Cyberpunk or The Blood of the Dawnwalker, depending on how the plot develops. Unlike Skyrim and many universes connected to the origins of various peoples on the Continent—which are not directly tied to Witcher lore—I will only add those after everything related to Witcher lore is fully covered.
Even though I don't have much knowledge about some of these series, like Fate/Grand Order or Kingdom Hearts, it would be too plain and boring to use only the vanilla, classic Arthurian Legend and Alice in Wonderland mythology. Since this is fanfic where I can use any IP as much as I want, I decided to use adaptations instead of the vanilla versions.
So for this long-term project—while I still need to study these Oz, Arthurian Legend, Greek Mythology, and Alice in Wonderland adaptations—you can tell me their lore and possible plot ideas for their arrival from time to time if you happen to know more about those adaptations.
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The Petri dish is present in the Witcher Gwent card Crow's-eye Rhizome. But unlike modern Earth, where glass dishes are used to prevent contamination, in the world of the Witcher they use iron or metal versions. This means that although they understand the usage of a Petri dish, it is not advanced enough to ensure complete clarity or contamination-free experiments.
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Unlike Vilgefortz, who possesses the gift of a brilliant mind at a young age (my own addition to the story in this fanfic), Alzur has a somewhat documented origin as a brilliant prodigy. In Gwent's Alzur's Story, Chapter 3, the boy spends day and night in the library.
If not for his genius, he couldn't have read or understood the books on his own, especially considering he was shunned by his adopted noble parents and siblings, and left with nothing but his mind while reading in the library.
This is what makes him possess the same level of intellect or prodigy that allowed him to grasp complex concepts, laying the foundation for knightly virtues and the philosophy behind creating the Witchers.
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Matta Hu'uri comes from a Gwent card. Because of her quote, "Sorceresses use magic to hypnotize. I use dance," it is implied that she has at least some knowledge of Northern sorceresses' magic—indicating that she is not confined to living solely on Ofir.
In the Runewright dialogue with Geralt, sorceresses are often referred to simply as "mages" in their homeland of Ofir. So when Matta mentions sorceresses, she is specifically referring to those from the Northern Continent.
This is why I made her the child of a Rune Mage teaching in Cintra, who was also a mentor to the Runewright in The Witcher 3. This provides a historical reason for why she is familiar with the language and nuances of the Northern lands, much like False Ciri, who also has ambiguous origins.
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Regarding sorcerers having children: while it is generally considered rare, there are multiple examples in the lore. For instance, Geralt's mother; Keira Metz, who mentioned wanting to get pregnant during the Thanned Banquet; Margarita Laux-Antille from the Laux-Antille family; Sabrina Glevissig from the Glevissig family; and Ciri, with her Elder Blood.
Even Tissaia de Vries' notes in The Poisoned Source mention her demand that all apprentices be sterilized, highlighting that sorcerers can indeed have children, but it is rare—so rare that many conclude they cannot have children at all.
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