#iorweth's path

[slysociobluefae]

Me doing the Melitele's Heart quest in chapter I: I hate those wraiths, the ritual took me ages, thank god I'm done

Chapter II with a million wraiths: Surprise Bitch, Bet You Thought You'd Seen The Last Of Me

[walentywki]

in my mind geralt of rivia always sides with nonhumans. geralt of rivia does not care about politics and would do his best to avoid meddling in a king’s (especially henselt’s, who is a bitch) business. and MY geralt of rivia would ALWAYS choose iorweth’s path.

[essskel]

Sorry for the late reply - and in general, we agree, but with time I get less lenient with roche, especially since in my opinion w3 served him a character assassination the size of temeria so I'm not excited thinking about their possible cooperation. The tragedy of iorweth's disappearence in said game aside, his w2 arc really could use actually killing roche, or having a last confrontation, at least.

But I'd like to offer that iorweth's dislike of roche is more personal than 'he's an awful guy who's done irreparable damage to my people overall'. I've reached vergen, and the first time you talk to iorweth you hold an enlightening conversation about his motives, opinions on other approaches to the racial conflict, and his plans. The gist of what concerns roche is: he's been determined to get his hands on him since roche (the choice of words makes it sound like he perhaps got more involved than just giving the orders) slaughtered every elf in the commando he was leading at the time. he implies the badges he wears (missing only the temerian one...) are of the other first leaders of those countries' equivalent of blue stripes.

I highly recommend re-playing or watching that part (especially if you've imported a w1 save, he talks about yaevinn), it gives great insights into his character and personality! In polish his mannerisms alone betray a great deal, though i can't speak on the english dub.

- karanfile

omg you sent this while I was drafting an answer to a different ask and I linked a video to the same Vergen dialogue! I agree, I think it's some of the best insight to his character, and also some of the most damning evidence against Roche and Blue Stripes.

wait, going under a cut bc I wrote too much ->

Also agree that as much as I wanted Iorveth in TW3, I don't actually have total faith that CDPR would have handled his new interactions with Roche in a way that felt respectful to the context - esp after the mess of the failed 'greyness' between their paths in tw2. Geralt would have forced them together, they would have had to come to some agreement about not killing each other, maybe it would have been good, maybe it would have been out of character and flattened their past motivations. Idk, there are probably some benefits to his absence.

I sort of brushed at it with this post, but what I want more than anything for Iorveth in the canon storyline, is for him to escape the notion that he exists in tandem with Roche - which tw3 didn't totally seem ready to do. I want him out! Give him a new conflict! (and a happy ending?? Maybe??) Give him more friendships outside of Geralt! Let him grow and be more sympathetic, let someone who understands his background write him! Or just let him kill Roche - their duel is a great scene in tw2, but man....Iorveth should have just stabbed him.

Also - yes, he does go into his background hunting Roche in that Vergen scene, to which Roche has nothing even close. I wasn't disagreeing that Iorveth has a more personal stake in their conflict, sorry if it seemed that way, only adding what I thought was some background context about their differences in access to support, and that I felt it was in still sort of an extension of Iorveth's desire to protect his people, not satisfy his own need to defeat this one man - but also it WAS that. Iorveth's motivations as a person are pretty impossible to separate from his motivation as a leader.

That wording was messy, I hope I'm making sense, but I'm definitely not disagreeing with you. And tbh, the more and more I try to dissect the writing in the tw2, the more I'm convinced that Roche should have been a villain all along, but also that I need to just focus on something else, because there's so much wrong with the game, and it's such a poorly handled discussion of racism in a genre (fantasy) that famously does not handle racism well.

Won't get into it to much cause tbh I'm not the one to lead this discussion, but because I'm rereading LOTR, I've been doing tandem readings about the racist roots of fantasy races like Elves, Orcs, ect, (One source, but there are many) and why the baseline concept of "this ethnic group is 100% NOT human, and different 'races' are verifiable biologically separate" is just making race science real and not actually adding to the discussion of oppression in the way that the creators (white creators, mostly) who do things like 'Elf racism' seem to think. (A short article abt this, specific to the film Bright) (A longer example that uses star wars as the basis for criticism)

Anyway, conclusions for now ig (I'm off topic, sorry again) is that I want better for Iorveth, and Roche is definitely not the vehicle to deliver that, but also I personally should not be looking to CDPR anymore to deliver thoughtful commentary on racial oppression.

[wilczmin]

why do i have so many tags. shoutout to my past self for doing so much so that i don't have to now.

&    ‘    a wolf with bared jaws at his breast .    *    geralt . &    ‘    nie samo dobro czyniłem w życiu .    *    fc . &    ‘    you’re something more .    *    ciri . &    ‘    the scent of lilac and gooseberries .    *    yennefer . &    ‘    such double loyalty is difficult to manage .    *    triss . &    ‘    all of my horses are called roach .    *    roach . &    ‘    you want to delve too deeply .    *    nenneke . &    ‘    but green sparks lit up her eyes .    *    calanthe . &    ‘    the end justifies the means .    *    emhyr . &    ‘    everyone’s got a father .    *    vesemir . &    ‘    resembling the wolf like a brother .    *    eskel . &    ‘    you’re a real jackass … but i love you.    *    lambert . &    ‘    and he made use of every advantage .    *    coën . &    ‘    from whom an elegant melody emerged .    *    dandelion . &    ‘    the strange nilfgaardian who says he isn’t .    *    cahir . &    ‘    he was astonished at his mistake .    *    angoulême . &    ‘    it’s thanks to her we’re alive .    *    milva . &    ‘    quite remarkable even among vampires .    *    regis . &    ‘    rather help a monster than kill it .    *    dettlaff . &    ‘    ayd f’haell moen hirjeth taenverde .    *    iorweth . &    ‘    lucky i can always count on you .    *    roche . &    ‘    she fought harder than all the soldiers combined .    *    ves . &    ‘    witchers on the path should help each other .    *    letho . &    ‘    he is the most beautiful .    *    villentretenmerth . &    ‘    vagrant ? that a profession now ?    *    gaunter .

[fictional-worlds-are-exquisite]

FINISHED THE WITCHER 2 WOOOO

now i can move onto the witcher 3 game!!!!!!! not today, because i have work in half an hour, but tomorrow i have free!!! gonna spend all day playing it probably.

[bamf-jaskier]

About Iorveth...

I know people have fallen in love w/ a lot of game characters like Iorweth which like !!! yeah his path and quests in TW2 is pretty fun and I know people like the Iorveth/Roche vibes but I feel like I gotta let people know that even though Iorweth is technically a member of the Scoia’tael in the books he’s only ever mentioned in Baptism of Fire and even then he’s a mention-only character.

In fact, here’s all the times he is mentioned:

“Only one of the elves, a Scoia’tael from Iorweth’s defeated commando, recently severely tortured in the Wash House, retained his composure and dignity and was busy carving the words ‘Freedom Or Death’ on a post.”

“Traighlethan,’ the elf from Iorweth’s commando corrected him softly. He looked at the carved slogan once more and struggled to his feet.”

“The elf from Iorweth’s commando shook the warders’ hands off, stepped onto the block without hesitation and allowed the noose to be placed around his neck.”

Now, if people want an elven leader character from the books that is likely to show up in the Netflix series, I would definitely look into Isengrim Faoiltiarna! He’s a big player in the elven world and is very similar in personality and vibes to Iorweth (a lot of Iorveth is based on Isengrim the same way Sylvia Anna is tied to Renfri)

In fact, compare Isengrim’s descriptions Baptism of Fire to the Journal Entry about Iorveth from TW2:

Baptism of Fire (about Isengrim):

“When the tall Scoia’tael leant over him Struycken, who was bound to a pole, blinked in fear. It was said there was no such thing as an ugly elf, that every single one of them was comely, that they were born beautiful. And perhaps the legendary commander of the Squirrels had been born beautiful.

But now that his face was gashed by a hideous diagonal scar deforming his forehead, eyebrow, nose and cheek, nothing remained of his elven good looks.”

Journal Entry (about Iorveth):

“They say all elves are beautiful, that they are born thus. In Iorveth's case someone set out to change this, marking his face with an ugly scar that the elf partially hid beneath a crimson headscarf. Iorveth was a living legend, the elusive leader of a Scoia'tael unit whose members gave no thought to laying down their arms and continued their war against humans.

This is basically the same physical description. CDPR took Isengrim’s character and gave it to Iorveth.

What this means is that if you are a game fan, specifically a TW2 fan, and you like Iorveth, be on the lookout for Isengrim as he is going to be similar in appearance and personality to your fav.

(Also if people are confused about the naming Iorveth and Iorweth are used interchangeably)

[twojowniczka]

Iorweth wasn't sure but... it's appropiate if she is considered his wife already, right? Leaving kids running under Cedric's eyes, Commander walked closer to Toruviel and - almost b l u s h i n g like a maiden - handed her a bouquet alongside some elven sweets. 'I... appreciate you chose that path of life, with me, even if I am not your dream, Toruviel.'

 “These are beautiful! Thank you, sweetie.˝ Despite his romantic gesture and shy attitude, his words carried bitterness, those unspoken words, thoughts were dancing in the air -  all these years and he still thinks that he’s not good enough for her. No, today she’s going to beat this fact. In the beggining, Toruviel needed Iorveth to fulfill her dreams, then their shared interests and goals shaped her emotions, and the she-elf couldn’t shake off the feeling that this was starting to be more. Iorveth wasn’t a mere tool anymore, no, he was the father of her children and the head of the family, the one and only man she placed her hope and confidence in, and fuck, it was worth it. Iorveth was worthy of her  and deserved all the tenderness she could give. Her arms wrapped around his body as she closed their gap, not thinking about anything other than him. 

She kissed him deeply and then rested her forehead against his with a sigh. “ You are my stronghold, my purest treasure. No woman could wish for a better mate, minne. Now, come and help me devour these sweets. ˝

[sjaksozjbd]

I HAVE PROBLEM BECAUSE I CANT DECIDE WHAT PATH I WANT TO CHOOSE HELP ME WHY IORWETH AND ROCHE SO DAMN PERFECT?!?!?!

[upperaedirn]

Look. I know I sound like a broken record at this point but Saskia deserved so much better than what she got. She's not the epitome of goodness, no, but her intentions have always been completely pure and selfless. A crown or a title means jackshit to a dragon. She could have had all the freedom in the world, fly wherever she pleased and never look back, but she decided it wasn't fair that she had all that while others didn't, so she chose to stay and to fight for them. She wanted everyone who's been treated as lesser and cast out of society to have a home and a safe place where they're always welcome and she gave her everything to make that dream a reality.

How many monarchs / leaders / people with power and influence did at least half of what Saskia did for non humans and the common folk? And she did all of that starting only with her skill, her charm, and her good heart. She didn't have any noble family to back her up, no formal schooling, no wealth, no connections, no experience with war and ruling, no nothing. All she had was herself-- and that turned out to be more than enough. Because she's that got damn amazing. I don't know if people realize what a huge deal it is to build up an army from nothing, to unite the most unlikely group of people ever, and to win a war against a much larger, vastly better equipped and prepared army (because she did win that war, no matter how much cdpr refuses to acknowledge Iorweth's path as being canon)

And what did she get in return for all this? All through the game she's ridiculed for "not being a proper woman", insulted and called names. She's poisoned in an attempt to kill and eliminate her, then awakened from coma only to be brainwashed and manipulated. Her whole arc is about being punished, used, and abused by the people around her and by the narrative itself too. Because you know the plot wouldn't have gotten away with what it did if Saskia were around. She has her agency stripped away from her time and again and is not even given a chance to fight back. It's so mcfreaking unfair.

Saskia is a brave, selfless warrior, a natural born leader, she's determination and authority and hope and she deserved so much better.

[va-fail]

Two paths, one destination

[aen-consilium]

what I should do: studying 17-19 century European civil law

what I am doing: keeps thinking about how Isengrim&Iorweth lives were a path through hell, how much torture&rape&humililation they had to experience in their lives and how broken that leaves them.

[advena87]

The War Council v 1 by Advena87

This time in better quality :) These are repainted screens, different in color and the intensity of the effects and textures I used on them.

______________________________________

No więc nie mogę się zdecydować, którą wersję wolę. To nie jest ósmy cud świata, ale chwilę mi zajęło, a nauczyłam się być dumna z rzeczy w które włożyłam pracę. Zatem patrzcie i podziwiajcie :D

[treesinspace]

For the character meme: Vernon Roche (I bet you didn't see that coming :P)

Ha, nobody sees him coming. He is too sneaky, until he makes a really badass entrance ;)

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: His unwavering loyalty (to his men, to Foltest, and to TEMERIA)worst quality: i think he might be a liiittle bit prejudiced towards elvesship them with: Geralt (though mostly because I AM Geralt in the games, and that’s how I started to ship them lol)brotp them with: Also Geralt, and Ves, and Thalerneeds to stay away from: Iorweth, he’s not that bad!misc. thoughts: I did two playthroughs on Roche’s path before i did a Iorweth one in TW2, because i just loved Roche so much. Then I was sentenced to death and he SAVED me! I had betrayed him and he saved me!! I almost criedMore misc thoughts: i fucking love Dijkstra, in the books and in tw3. i was heartbroken when i had to kill him, but… it wasn’t really a choice at all, was it? Anyone who wants to kill Vernon Roche will have to kill me Geralt first

[witcherfic]

Hagebutt July 21, 2020 at 12:34PM

by Hagebutt

This is basically retelling of the videogame The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings in a yes homo way. Nothing more, nothing less.

Words: 1176, Chapters: 1/5, Language: English

Fandoms: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Vernon Roche, Ves (The Witcher), Triss Merigold

Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Vernon Roche

Additional Tags: retelling of assassins of kings game, no iorweth here :/, but a bunch of other characters from Roche's path, presence of sexual scene between main characters is yet to determine, i hate writing emotions and this is full of emotions so :/, Trying Hard, geralt is pining, roche is dumb

[ofvergen]

Does anyone know if during that tiny unmarked quest in tw3 called Strangers in the Night, if you import a save from tw2 with Roche’s path, if the mage guy still blames the “blasted Dragonslayer” aka Saskia for Henselt’s death? 🤔 I suspect that line is the same on both paths, but I’ve only played tw3 with Iorweth’s path imported so I’m not 100% sure.