The Witcher Explained | Part 1 | Witcher Lore

[Music] hey lore lovers my name is eric with the librarians youtube channel and welcome to the first installment in a series of videos in which we'll learn about the characters creatures events and settings of the witcher universe these videos are meant to act as a cursory guide for those new to or unfamiliar with the witcher books video games or television series as well as a nice refresher for those returning general and surface level detail will be given to the lands the history the magic the creatures and the characters that fill the world in order to paint a vibrant picture of the witcher these videos should act as way posts and guides we won't be fleshing out minor details or delving into the rich history and lore that lies below the surface such topics weren't their own dedicated videos which will appear in the months to come today in part one we'll spend some time exploring the mountain steps the frigid tundras the peaty bogs dense forests fertile fields and salty waters that comprise the world as well as some of the major political powers that lay claim to such lands but before we begin if you're a fan of lore and storytelling or if the witcher is dear to you consider subscribing to the channel where lore videos are uploaded regularly the support is much appreciated alright let's dive in the world of the witcher is one filled with magic and monsters with races other than humans with untold treasures and undiscovered histories within the greater world are large empires and kingdoms where armored soldiers patrol paved highways great cities stand tall along rivers and deltas and act as hubs for trade and commerce kings and their vassals guard smaller villages and homesteads with daring nights and regular militia where farmers till the fields and live a harsh life beyond the reach of humanity there are vile creatures and beings of myth that lurk about forests and mountains are populated with dwarves and elves and in great fortresses young apprentices learn the ways of sorcery and magic much of what transpires in the witcher occurs on a large and central land mass known only as the continent although the lands settled by men are vast the continent is vast or still and much of it lies untamed and undiscovered many explorers have tried their hand but the continent hides its secrets beyond lands too remote or too dangerous to be thoroughly charted but what has been charted is large enough to support vast empires large kingdoms and countless other cities towns and villages as well as wide expanses of wildlands it's interesting to note there hasn't been an official map released that's certified by witcher creator and author andrei sapkowski due to the ever-changing story but many iterations have been deemed more or less accurate for our purposes the continent has three natural boundaries that extend along the north east and west to the north the snow-capped dragon mountains form a sheer and awe-inspiring barrier preventing settlers from reaching the lands beyond the mountains are named so due to the large population of dragons that roost atop its peaks and within its caverns taking as snacks any humans who wander into their hunting grounds settlements and even kingdoms exist to the far north relying on mining and trade to support them economically the kingdoms of kovir and povis lie to the west along the coast and the great kingdom of caidwin also extends its border ever northward the reclusive bastion and school of witchers karamorin lies at the crossroads of the dragon mountains and blue mountains shrouded in secrecy within their shadows the briny waters of the great sea lap against the shore that marks the western edge of the continent although small islands settled by humans dot the waters near the continent anything further remains undiscovered perhaps a new continent lies beyond the horizon or an old one long forgotten in memory and lost to time the natural borders of the east are a conglomeration of mountain ranges that run north to south as follows the blue mountains the fiery mountains and tier two care ruins of old elvish settlements can be found in the foothills of the blue mountains and the surviving contingents of free elves take up residence deep within the mountain range pushed to the edge of the known world by the ever-expanding humans the source waters of two mighty rivers emerge from the blue and fiery mountains the uruga and pontar rivers slice across the continent bringing fresh water to support fertile farmlands large kingdoms and commerce before dumping into the great sea the mountains of tiertoker support one of the few remaining enclaves of gnomes which had all but been obliterated in the early years of human conquest beyond the eastern fringes of the fiery mountains through the elskardeg pass lies a hostile and parched landscape known as the korath desert inhospitable to all but the most well-adapted creatures and rumored to hide the ruins of a long forgotten race the korath acts as a buffer between the northern kingdoms and the distant mysterious lands of zaracania and hawkland home to tribes and cultures suited to the steps and arid wastelands of the continent interior these lands are connected to the outside world by a small trickle of travelers and merchants rash and foolhardy enough to brave the journey bringing back tales of warrior women and cults devoted to worshiping dragons not much is known of the southern border of the continent which no doubt ends where the vast southern empire of nilfgaard touches the sea there are tales told by the merchants of skeliga and novograd of a land that exists beyond the continent further south simply called beyond the seas where exotic principalities of ophir and zhang vibar hold equally exotic flora and fauna these tales would be nothing more than that if not for the occasional presence of these foreigners in port cities as the boundaries of human cities end as the heavily trodden roads become reclaimed as villages slowly transition into wilds there exists creatures beyond comprehension many of which frequently prey on humans and other races they are the monsters of the continent a video in this series will be dedicated to discussing monsters but i would be remiss if i didn't mention them here monsters and magical creatures are an integral part of the witcher universe and have been on the continent since the conjunction of the spheres they take myriad shapes and sizes some help some hinder some kill and others protect but they are prevalent everywhere that humanity has not extended its grip and in some cases despite human settlement and they are the primary reason witchers professional monster slayers came into being much of the known world can be divided nicely into two camps the northern kingdoms and the empire of nilfgaard the ammo mountain range acting as a natural buffer between them nilfgaard is a grand engine of conquest built by blade and blood and it has conquered nearly all lands south of the ammo despite its current standing nilfgaard had humble beginnings as a city-state among other kingdoms and principalities of the south but that didn't last long through subterfuge diplomacy or swordpoint it quickly annexed and conquered neighboring cities until it grew powerfully enough to challenge even the existing southern kingdoms but nilfgaard saw itself not as an equal to these principalities but as a superior force a superior culture a superior people they used their superiority and cunning military tactics to carve large swathes of land kingdom after kingdom fell to the nilfgaardian juggernaut as it marched north or was wise enough to submit before annihilation the once great kingdoms of matina ebbing and gesso fell to the emperor among numerous other duchies in city-states more recently the kingdom of nazir just south of the ammo mountains succumbed to nothing guardian aggression and the duchy of tucson has bent the knee paying homage to the emperor as a vassal state peoples that fell to conquest were assimilated into nilfgaardian culture which is quite different than the cultures of the northern kingdoms they were also expected to learn the language of the empire and swear oaths of fealty to their overlords kings who sued for peace were typically allowed to retain their titles and status but were required to gather levies and gold and men for their empire as nilfgaard continues its inexorable march north the empire and its ruler become major instigators to the stories that unfold in the witcher series they act as aggressors as they continually march on the northern kingdoms seeking to conquer all of the known continent this sets into motion a myriad of events that swirled around characters the likes of geralt of rivia yennefer of wengerberg and cyrilla of sintra and pushes them towards their destinies [Music] the northern kingdoms stand in opposition to the empire of nilfgaard in more ways than one and are the kingdoms principalities and cities that lie north of the ammo pass collectively referred to as nordlings the people of these lands are hearty and battle seasoned from centuries of bitter wars both between kingdoms of men and against races of non-humans but the name that connects these people is where their union ends for their animosity toward nilfgaard is only slightly stronger than their resentment distrust and contempt for another the geopolitical landscape of the northern realms is ever-changing kingdoms have risen and fallen with new kingdoms born from the ashes to suffer a similar fate in the current age the north can be separated into the four kingdoms and several other smaller kingdoms dutchies and marches the four great kingdoms of the north are the most significant and powerful nations in shaping the continent they are redania temeria aedern and cadun the rushing waters of the pontar river separate rodania and caidwin in the north from temeria and adron in the south and the kestrel and mahakam mountain ranges separate rodania and tamaria in the west from caidwin and adern in the east these natural boundaries facilitate rivalries and conflicts amongst the four kingdoms and we will begin with the older kingdoms of the west which were settled earlier than those east of the mountains the kingdom of verdania lies north of the pontar and stretches to the coasts of the great sea in the west although it shares ancestry with temeria the two have a fierce and often violent rivalry large swathes of sweeping farmland and fertile fields land rodania the moniker of bread basket of the north and indeed its grain supplies much of the other kingdoms rodania's capital is a city of chatogra and the kingdom is also known for the brilliant university of oxenfurt where the greatest minds converge to seek and share knowledge of the continent in order to further humankind's enlightenment the free city of novograd sits at the mouth of the pontar delta a shining beacon of civilization and commerce the largest city and trading port in the northern realm and perhaps the whole continent the streets of novograd are bustling with traders peddlers and merchants selling exotic wares from around the world south of the pontar lies rodania's rival the kingdom of temeria tameria is ruled from its capital city of vizima by the powerful king fultest who has led his great armies to victory in many battles tameria acts as liege lord to the vassal states of the lander to the northeast mahakam and the thanid islands to the west where the sorcery school of eratusa trains young mages the kingdom is in frequent conflict with rodania over the land surrounding the pontar and has often extended its power south over other kingdoms too small to fight back the great kingdoms of adern and cadun lie east of the mountains and are younger than their western neighbors but like them the pontar river divides the lands of adern and cadun and is the point of much contention between the two rival kingdoms cadwin is by far the largest of the four kingdoms extending all the way to the dragon mountains but its climate is harsh and the land is densely forested the people of the east harbor more hatred and contempt for non-humans since they have more recently come to blows in their expansion cadwin and aderin have pushed the elves east well into the blue and fiery mountains the most notable locations within cadun are the bannard school of sorcerers where like eratusa mages are trained in the ways of magic and the witcher fortress of kermoren where witchers are taught how to survive and thrive in their deadly profession south of caidwin is adern the final great kingdom adron is ruled from its capital city of wengerberg and although the non-human dwarves have a neutral relationship with the kingdom many in aden persecute elves and have pushed them from their ancestral homeland of dol blathana to further its ambitions ensure its defenses adron has been a strong ally to the lesser kingdom of lyria and rivia besides the four great kingdoms there exist many lesser kingdoms and duchies throughout the northern realms the kingdom of lyria and rivia lies south of adron and has itself once been two distinct kingdoms the marriage of queen meave of lyria to king reginald of rivia united them and the kingdom is known for its hearty and valiant forces led in battle by queen meave herself the regions of sedaris carrick brugga verden and sodon have all at some time been independent nations and have all at some time been conquered or otherwise forced to bend the knee to the great kingdoms they are volatile lands frequently in conflict especially those south of the aruga as they were the first to be targeted by the nilfgaardian empire the powerful but small kingdom of sintra lies along the coast of the sea south of the aruga and was ruled by the proud militant queen kalanthe sintra shared an alliance with the isles of skeliga due to the kalantha's union with king ice tursak the islands of skelega were among the lands first settled by humans and it is a nation of equals more than any other where common folk hold nearly as many liberties as the nobility the people are as harsh and briny as the waters that surround them a nation of shipwrights and maritime commerce skeliga is reputed to have the most elite naval force in the known world the final kingdoms exists to the far and frigid north kovier and povis was once part of rodania in early history but it is now an independent kingdom in its own right due largely to the massive reserves of precious and strategic metals in the mountains of their lands kovya maintains neutrality in much of its affairs of the continent and has the wealth to support the most elite mercenaries and condottieri to protect its interests the small duchies collectively known as the henchford's league were once part of kovir's eastern marches but have since gained their independence through civil strife and uprisings the lands of the continent are vast and variable from the frothy beaches of sedaris to the scorching deserts of korath from the frigid tundra of northern caidwin to the exotic lands beyond the sea within them unfold the stories of great kingdoms and legendary characters the conflicts between nations and the relentless expansion of humanity against this backdrop the tales of the witcher are told thanks for watching part 1 in our series explaining the world of the witcher leave a thumbs up if you liked the video and subscribe for more content and now i want to hear from you let me know your favorite region of the continent as well as suggestions for future videos in the comments below huge shout out to alex joaquim pianist composer and long time friend for creating the intro and outro music links to the references used can be found in the description below until next time go forth and explore the lore you

Channel: The Lorebrarians

Views: 375,817

Keywords: Witcher, Lore

Id: EuTyqn92yJY

Length: 17min 2sec (1022 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 18 2021