The Witcher: Vesemir Is the Oldest Witcher, but He's Also So Much More

In the world of The Witcher, witchers play an essential role aiding society in controlling the monsters and supernatural beings that infiltrated the Continent after the Conjunction of the Spheres. Though they have never been great in numbers, their abilities made them an important part of the world in which they live. Vesemir of the School of the Wolf spent centuries personally battling monsters and sharing his knowledge and philosophy with young witchers-in-training.

Vesemir played a significant role in Geralt of Rivia's life, becoming a stern but affectionate father figure to Geralt after his mother, Visenna, left him in the valley just beyond Kaer Morhen because she was unable to care for him. Vesemir stood strong, watching his friends and mentors die over the years, witnessing the attack and destruction of Kaer Morhen and rebuilding in an effort to maintain some sort of structure within the School of the Wolf. Unfortunately, Vesemir was only a fencing instructor with no knowledge of the methods used to create new witchers. When Geralt's story began, there were only four remaining witchers at Kaer Morhen and no actual hope of creating new ones to follow in their footsteps.

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Much like Cirilla of Cintra, Vesemir was a Child of Surprise. Claimed by a witcher named Deglan sometime in the 11th century, he was there when the school constructed Kaer Morhen and spent most of his life thinking of it as his home. In the 12th century, Kaer Morhen was attacked by an angry mob, and most of his brethren were killed. Vesemir was spared, possibly because the mob didn't realize he was still alive, and though Grandmaster Rennes took over with Vesemir as his second-in-command, the school itself never fully recovered.

Vesemir led the villagers of Fox Hollow in Toussaint against a vampire horde, helping them capture the head vampire and cut his body into numerous pieces to bury so deep he would never be whole again. This event deeply affected the vampire Regis, who later became a companion and ally to Geralt in his search for Ciri in Andrzej Sapkowski's books. Regis, seeing what happened to the higher vampire, gave up drinking blood.

Even as the renown of Kaer Morhen began to diminish, many of the remaining witchers, including Vesemir, still spent their winters there. In CD Projekt Red's game canon, the only witchers to remain at Kaer Morhen were Vesemir, Eskel, Lambert, Coen and Geralt. Geralt brought his child surprise, Ciri, to train as a witcher, and Vesemir developed a similarly affectionate bond with her to the bond he shared with his former students in the past. He taught her about monsters and herbs, but did not participate in her combat training. In the games, she referred to him as Uncle Vesemir and enjoyed playing pranks on him when he fell asleep during their study sessions together.

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Vesemir played a significant role in the first Witcher game, being the first person Geralt spoke to after regaining consciousness. He acted as a guide of sorts, walking the amnesiac Geralt through the keep where he'd spent most of his life and trying to refamiliarize him with their home. He could be found in the keep when Geralt visited, and he played a role in the attack on Kaer Morhen by the Salamandra. In his codex entry, Geralt says that, despite his age, Vesemir was still lively and robust. Much like all the other witchers, he wintered at Kaer Morhen and set out each spring on the path to continue to make a living at his trade.

Vesemir did not appear in the second game, Assassins of Kings, but he returned to play a major role in Wild Hunt. He was on the road with Geralt, the two of them searching for Yennefer, and talked with Geralt about the dreams he'd been having. After arriving at White Orchard, Vesemir stayed at the inn while Geralt took on numerous quests in his search. The two separated once Geralt found Yennefer, with Vesemir heading back toward Kaer Morhen in hopes of hiding the path from oncoming war.

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Vesemir reappeared later in the game, when Geralt returned to Kaer Morhen with Yennefer and eventually Ciri. When the Wild Hunt attacked the keep, Vesemir was killed by Imlerith after he stabbed the Aen Elle with a hidden dagger. Imlerith reacted by snapping Vesemir's neck, and the old witcher's death wrought intense grief from everyone who knew and loved him. After his funeral, Ciri took his wolf medallion as a memento, but she later lost it in her fight against the Crones of Crookback Bog.

The Hearts of Stone DLC introduced Geralt to a former lover of Vesemir's and, depending upon the timing of his encounter with her, he either had to inform her of Vesemir's death or return to Kaer Morhen to ask Vesemir about her.

The fact that he was considered the oldest living witcher spoke to his strength, skill and vitality. His long life allowed him to mold the lives of numerous witchers in the School of the Wolf. He was a father to numerous fatherless boys, raising them into powerful and accomplished men, and without his influence, it's hard to imagine the kind of man Geralt himself might have become.

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