#love love love the gradual progression of how yaevinn addresses him

[minne-cerbinna]

I have a lot of thoughts about Yaevinn in general but I especially like the association with beggartick blossoms, something that is at best loosely supported by the actual source text of the game, but compels me anyhow.

Beggartick blossoms, though considered a "common" sort of plant, and though they are later reworked into a much more commonly occurring plant, as of the first Witcher game, they were supposed to be a relatively rare aqueous plant, and the particular variety that grew plentifully in the swamp forest outside Vizima happened to grow on land. These plants are valuable because they are used in the production of fisstech; the blossoms are both poisonous and hallucinogenic, and lend these properties to the drug. However, just as refined fisstech can be used as anaesthetic, the unrefined blossoms can be used as an analgesic in small doses in order to treat pain.

Yaevinn is not a highborn elf or an Aen Saevherne, his status as a "legendary Scoia'tael commander" as stated in the bestiary entry for Sylvans in TW3 is not yet secured, and he is just one among the Scoia'tael who have made camp in the swamp forest. This becomes especially marked if one considers the extratextual context that his in-game character is an amalgamation of the three Scoia'tael commandos that were originally intended to appear in the game before being combined in development, and his design is the standard armour worn by all male elven warriors in-game as opposed to something unique; he is distinguished from the default model design only by his hair and the details of the face. He is, by his trade and his nature, a warrior, an archer by the novel text and a swordsman by the game text. He was thorough in his violence, but not senseless; Iorveth, who knew him, described him as having "beautiful dreams", of seeing combat and killing as "poetry". He remained ideologically faithful even after multiple losses, continuing the combat and killing for the sake of his people and his desire to create a better life for them; or perhaps a better way to look at it is not that he remained faithful but that he returned to his ideology every time, that after each disillusionment, he was restored. After all his losses, he still hoped to secure a better future for his people.

Of common stock, of a particular variety. Deadly, associated with visions or dreams, used for restoration -- in the form of medicine or revolution.

There can be an additional metaphorical reading in the commercialisation of the beggartick blossoms in association with Yaevinn's cynicism, his descent from his "beautiful dreams" into the cruel reality of the rebellion, just as these blossoms which were once offerings for vodyanoi divinities now being gathered and sold as drug components.

Another, less metaphorical association that can be made between Yaevinn and the beggartick blossoms is in regard to an optional line of dialogue from Gramps, the old man whom Geralt can escort to the shrine of Melitele upon arriving in the Swamp Forest. He gives an alternate recipe for perfume, which is a craftable item in The Witcher and has an alchemical formula that the player can create. This alternate recipe entails grinding beggartick blossoms and beast fangs in alcohol to create perfume. According to the game's alchemy system, this should not be possible as the proposed ingredients do not have the required alchemical components to create the craftable item Perfume; it can be posited that this is perhaps a simplified or otherwise popular recipe as opposed to a proper alchemical formula. This particular recipe is remarkable to me in the fact that Yaevinn is nearly ideally situated to fulfil it.

Yaevinn does not spend his time at the Scoia'tael encampment; he can instead be found at the druids' grove. Wolves nearby provide a source of beast fangs. The beggartick grows plentifully throughout the swamp, and alcohol can be procured through trade or theft, as he has contact with the druids and the encampment is situated near to the bricklayers' village. The beast fangs would serve no practical use, and the beggartick is plentiful enough that a blossom could be taken at no cost to the unit, therefore it is possible that Yaevinn could create this perfume himself without drawing unduly on resources for the sake of vanity. He's quite likely to possess a bit of a vain streak; while some aesthetic choices could either be considered signs of this vanity or simply be put down to character design -- the distinctive loose hair despite the impracticality, or the very thin brows in a different colour from his hair, for instance -- Geralt will note in his journal that Yaevinn comes across as "conceited" when they first meet. He's very proud and that pride likely extends to cosmetic matters. While a rebel living in a swamp forest cannot be draped in finery, it's a small luxury that he can afford.

I find that it also adds a new layer to his interactions with Geralt. The player's actions affect the extent to which Geralt and Yaevinn will interact, but the initial meeting is inevitable and they find themselves quickly reaching mutual respect, regardless of how things proceed from there. But in this first game, Geralt is amnesic and has very little idea of who he is and who is important to him; and yet he still finds himself drawn to a proud figure, slender and dark-haired, with a stern countenance and a sharp and clever tongue, scented of floral perfume.