Baptism of Fire

Baptism of Fire, the fifth installment in Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series and the third novel in the main saga, follows Geralt of Rivia, a witcher—a magically enhanced monster hunter for hire—as he assembles an unlikely fellowship to search for his missing ward, Ciri, while war engulfs the northern kingdoms. The story continues from The Time of Contempt, in which a rebellion on the Isle of Thanedd left Geralt gravely wounded and Ciri vanished.

Geralt recovers in Brokilon Forest under the care of its dryads, magical tree-dwelling beings who rule the woodland. His link to the outside world is Milva (real name Maria Barring), a skilled human archer who serves the dryads by guiding Scoia'tael, elven guerrilla fighters known as Squirrels, to safety. Though reluctant to spy for a stranger, Milva gathers intelligence after the dryad ruler Eithné reminds her of an old debt. She learns that Geralt's informant Codringher has been murdered, that spies are hunting both Geralt and Ciri, and that Ciri has reportedly fled to the powerful southern empire of Nilfgaard, where Emperor Emhyr var Emreis intends to marry her. Geralt borrows a horse and departs immediately, determined to rescue her.

Meanwhile, Dijkstra, head of Redanian intelligence, monitors Geralt through spies and correspondence with the sorceress Philippa Eilhart. He speculates that Yennefer of Vengerberg, Geralt's lover, may have betrayed Ciri to Emhyr. In a diplomatic confrontation, Dijkstra expels the Nilfgaardian ambassador and learns that the Empire urgently wants to capture Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, a young nobleman who failed a mission on Thanedd.

Geralt rides south with his friend Dandelion, a poet and troubadour. When Nilfgaardian soldiers attack them near a river crossing, Milva bursts from the trees and kills the attackers with devastating archery. On a hawker's wagon they find Cahir, the young Nilfgaardian who tried to abduct Ciri on Thanedd and now faces execution by his own empire. Geralt leaves him a knife and a warning.

The trio witnesses the offensive's devastation: cavalry overwhelming Bruggian infantry, Scoia'tael slaughtering survivors, villages burning. They ride eastward through days of rain, passing destroyed settlements and columns of refugees. At night, Geralt confides a recurring dream in which Ciri rides through a village under a false name, accompanied by a crop-haired girl, leaving a trail of death. Cahir follows the company and asks to join their quest, but Geralt refuses.

Interludes reveal the truth behind Geralt's visions. Ciri now rides with the Rats, a bandit gang, under the alias Falka. She scatters coins to terrified villagers alongside her companion Mistle and dances wildly at a village fair, losing herself in a new identity far from anyone who might guide her.

The company grows when they join Zoltan Chivay, a pragmatic dwarf leading other dwarves, a gnome named Percival Schuttenbach, and refugee women and children. At Fen Carn, a vast elven cemetery, they meet Emiel Regis, a barber-surgeon who distills powerful moonshine from mandrake root. The potent liquor loosens tongues, and Regis joins the company. At a refugee camp, a fanatical priest accuses a girl with an intellectual disability of consorting with a vampire and prepares to torture her with red-hot horseshoes. In a trial by ordeal, Regis plucks the glowing iron from the coals with his bare hand, unharmed, hinting he is more than he seems.

A Nilfgaardian raid scatters the camp. In the chaos, Geralt and Dandelion are separated from the others, captured by Temerian knights, and delivered to Marshal Vissegerd, commander of a corps of Cintran exiles, soldiers from Ciri's conquered homeland fighting under Temerian command. Vissegerd accuses Geralt of kidnapping Ciri and condemns both prisoners to hang. That night, Regis infiltrates the camp unseen, putting sentries into an unnaturally deep sleep and freeing the captives. During their escape, Dandelion is grazed by a crossbow bolt. Geralt rides to a rendezvous where Milva and Cahir wait with recovered horses. Cahir, who survived an earlier ambush, rescued Milva from horse thieves during the raid and delivers crucial intelligence: Ciri is not in Nilfgaard, and the kidnappers brought a double to the imperial court.

When Regis tends Dandelion's wound, Geralt notices the barber-surgeon casts no shadow. Confronted at swordpoint, Regis reveals his true nature: He is a higher vampire over 400 years old, descended from beings trapped in this world after the Conjunction of the Spheres, a cataclysm that merged multiple dimensions. Geralt cannot bring himself to kill him. Milva intervenes on Cahir's behalf as well, insisting the Nilfgaardian is a comrade.

On an island in the Yaruga marshes, Geralt tries to dismiss his companions, but each refuses to leave. Regis argues that Geralt's desire for solitary expiation is misguided, and Dandelion proposes they make fish soup. The cooperative meal, each member contributing, becomes a symbol of fellowship. Regis suggests seeking the druids of Caed Dhu in the forests of Angren, who may use magic to locate Ciri. Geralt grudgingly accepts his company: a poet, an archer, a centuries-old vampire, and a Nilfgaardian who insists he is not a Nilfgaardian.

In parallel chapters, Philippa convenes a secret teleprojection meeting of sorceresses, including the elven queen Francesca Findabair and the Nilfgaardian sorceress Assire var Anahid, to propose a secret lodge of 12 women devoted to protecting magic. Philippa hints that the twelfth seat will be filled by an extraordinary individual embodying fundamental dualities. Separately, Assire and her colleague, the sorceress Fringilla Vigo, confirm through magical analysis that the girl Emhyr holds is a double. They conclude the renegade sorcerer Vilgefortz orchestrated the substitution.

The company reunites briefly with Zoltan at a logging site in Angren. Before parting for the dwarven homeland of Mahakam, Zoltan gives Geralt his prized dwarven sihil sword. Regis reveals to the company that Milva is approximately 10 weeks pregnant. Milva initially demands an abortifacient, but after Geralt sits with her by the campfire, offering presence rather than judgment, she changes her mind. She confesses she followed Geralt partly to atone, hoping to help save someone else's child as recompense for giving up her own. By morning, Regis throws the prepared bottle into the bushes.

Geralt reroutes to protect Milva, but the crossing of the Yaruga proves catastrophic. Caught in crossfire between Lyrian partisans and Nilfgaardian forces, several horses are killed. Milva retaliates with devastating archery but collapses after the ferry runs aground, pressing her hands to her womb. She has miscarried.

While Regis tends to Milva, Geralt and Cahir rally fleeing Lyrian soldiers on a contested bridge. Fighting side by side, they lead a desperate defense against Nilfgaardian cavalry. A Nilfgaardian officer recognizes Cahir by name before being killed, underscoring Cahir's irrevocable break from his homeland. Geralt uses the sihil and the Aard Sign, a telekinetic blast, to scatter a burning barricade and lead troops through the flames. He reflects bitterly that this was meant to be his purifying baptism of fire for Ciri but is simply a brutal, senseless battle. Reinforcements arrive and the Nilfgaardians retreat.

After the battle, Queen Meve of Lyria and Rivia, wounded and missing teeth from combat, knights Geralt for his defense of the bridge and grants him the predicate "of Rivia." Geralt bows with a bitter smile: The name he randomly chose years ago as a professional alias has been legitimized by royal decree.