The broken halves of the mask struck the ground, and the face beneath was revealed.
Sharp and pale looking, ageless in a way that did not belong to men. High cheekbones, narrow features, eyes that looked cold and distant, like someone who had seen too much, and felt too little for it. The faint line of Geralt's blade marked his cheek, a thin cut beading with blood, but he barely seemed to care.
Geralt looked at him in silence for a moment longer than necessary.
Then, "So you are an elven sage," he said, his grip on the sword did not loosen. "Never had the pleasure of meeting an elven sage before."
The elf lowered his hand slowly from his face.
When he spoke, his voice was calm.
"Geralt," he said. "The White Wolf."
"I did not wish for our meeting to take this form," he continued. "But I knew you would not listen if I approached you as anything less than a threat."
Geralt's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That tends to have the opposite effect," he replied.
The elf inclined his head faintly, as if acknowledging the point without conceding it.
"My name is Avallac'h," he said, "And you are correct... I am an elf."
He paused for a second,
"But not of this world."
Ciri, still steadying herself behind Geralt, let out a short breath.
"Oh, that just keeps getting better.."
Avallac'h didn't look at her immediately. "I have spent the last year observing you," he continued, his gaze returning to Geralt only briefly, before shifting.
To her.
"Not you, witchers," he said.
The staff lifted again, though not in attack this time, only to indicate.
"Her."
Ciri straightened despite the ache in her body, eyes narrowing sharply.
"Creep," she muttered.
Avallac'h ignored the insult.
"Do not mistake my intent," he said. "I am not drawn by curiosity alone. I am drawn by necessity."
His gaze sharpened.
"Very few in this world understand what you are," he said to Ciri. "Or the danger you represent if left without proper guidance."
Geralt's sword tilted slightly.
"What is it you want, Avallac'h?" he asked. "You attack us out of nowhere just to make a point.. now make it."
Ciri didn't wait.
"It's obvious," she said, her voice filled with anger. "Same as the rest, they want my power for their own gain, they want me under their control. Another mage thinking he knows better."
Her jaw tightened.
"They will all want to use me, Yennefer said so."
Avallac'h's expression didn't change, "Do not compare me to the mages of your world," he said. "They are children playing with forces they barely comprehend. Arrogant. Greedy and shortsighted. They are nothing like a sage of the Aen Elle."
Ciri scoffed, though her stance wavered just slightly.
"And he speaks of arrogance…"
Avallac'h continued as if she hadn't spoken.
"The end of your world is not a distant possibility," he said. "It is inevitable."
The forest seemed to grow colder around them.
"The prophecy of Ithlinne is not a myth. The White Frost will come, and when it does, it will not stop, it will consume everything."
His gaze fixed on Ciri, "And you, Cirilla of Cintra… are at the center of it."
Ciri's grip tightened on her sword.
"I've heard that before," she snapped. "And I still don't understand it."
"I have only been able to locate you in recent years," Avallac'h continued, his voice unwavering. "But now that I have, I will not ignore what must be done."
He lowered the staff slightly.
"I do not wish you harm, never did and never will."
Ciri laughed. "You could've fooled me," she said. "Attacking us first isn't exactly a great way to make friends."
Geralt lifted a hand slightly to stop her,
"I'll ask you again," he said, "What do you want from her."
Avallac'h finally lowered his staff completely.
"Guidance," he said.
The word came without hesitation. "She is the Child of the Elder Blood, her power is unstable and unrefined, dangerous."
His eyes narrowed faintly.
"And wasted."
Ciri's expression hardened immediately.
"She requires training," he continued. "Proper training, not the crude survival skills you have given her for years."
Geralt didn't react outwardly, but those words bothered him.
"Someone who understands what she is," Avallac'h said. "Someone who has spent a lifetime studying this power."
"Someone like me."
"She must come with me," he said. "This world is not where she belongs for now, not where she can learn what she needs before it is too late. Others will find her. Others who do not share my good intentions."
Ciri stared at him, disbelief written across her face.
"I can't believe this!" she said, almost laughing at the absurdity. "You show up out of nowhere, attack us, and now you're telling me you know what's best for me? are you listening to yourself?!"
"I do." Avallac'h said.
That was enough to irritate Ciri, and she attacked in a flash, space tearing around her as she blinked forward, blade already cutting toward him.
Geralt's voice cut through the air.
"Ciri wait!"
Avallac'h reacted instantly.
The staff came up, intercepting her strike with precision, twisting her momentum aside before she could follow through.
"I have no desire to harm you!" he said, his voice rising for the first time, not in anger. "But you are proving my point with every move you make!"
Geralt stepped in then, blade flashing as he joined the clash.
Steel met wood again, "Enough talking," Geralt said under his breath.
Avallac'h deflected his strike, stepping back just enough to avoid the follow-up.
"You are both blind to what is coming!" he said.
"And you're too eager to decide for others," Geralt shot back.
Ciri attacked again, but this time, it wasn't clean.
Her movement stuttered.
Her breath hitched and Avallac'h saw it instantly.
"So reckless," he said, catching her blade and pushing her back with a sharp twist. "You are exhausting yourself, Your control over your powers is fragile at best."
"Shut up!" Ciri snapped, but her voice lacked the same force as before.
Her next step faltered.
Just slightly.
But Geralt saw it too.
His expression tightened.
"Ciri."
She didn't listen and she moved again, another blink, another strike, it was slower and sluggish.
Her breathing was uneven now, shoulders rising and falling too fast.
Avallac'h didn't strike her.
He stepped back instead.
"Look at you," he said, not unkindly, but not gently either. "You burn through power you barely understand. You think it makes you stronger, but it is killing you faster than any enemy could."
"Shut. Up!"
But her voice wavered.
Geralt moved, he stepped between them, blade raised not toward Avallac'h this time.
But as a barrier.
"Enough," he said.
Ciri blinked, confused for a second.
"Geralt..."
"Behind me."
The tone left no room for argument, she still hesitated, then took a step back, her legs unsteady beneath her.
Geralt didn't look at her, but his voice softened, just slightly.
"Breathe," he said. "Don't push it."
Only then did he shift his focus fully back to Avallac'h.
"…You've said your piece, elf." Geralt said.
His eyes locked onto the elf.
"And our answer is still No."
/-\
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