Chapter 260: The Lion, the Bear, and the King’s Plan
After the jarls briefly discussed their opinions, they began to leave. Some of them, visibly anxious, rushed to organize everything, clearly intending to take advantage of this rare opportunity to win the general consensus and claim the throne of the islands.
Others, however, seemed completely disinterested, as if they had no intention of competing for that position. These jarls were not particularly close to the king either, so after a brief stay, they quickly returned to their lands to attend to other pending matters.
Before they left, all the jarls expressed their thanks to Lann, leaving behind the hostility and wary glances from before. The islanders value the brave, and Lann's show of strength had impressed everyone. Although he was a known ally of Eist, his bravery during the meeting had earned the respect of the others.
Furthermore, no one could deny that he had saved those presents in the banquet hall. This act of heroism forced others to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to him.
Indeed, if Lann had proposed at that moment that they give up the contest for the throne, it is likely that several of the jarls, moved by the favor received, would have accepted.
Lann considered the possibility but was ultimately dissuaded by Eist.
The reason was simple: Eist's initial intention in challenging the ice giant was not only to claim the throne, but also to consolidate his authority and secure the loyalty of the great clans.
If the competitors were forced to abandon the contest out of gratitude, no one could guarantee how obedient they would be to Eist's orders once on the throne.
It was better to save that debt of gratitude to use at a more opportune moment.
In the meeting hall now stood Eist, King Bran, and Lann, accompanied by Crach and Donar.
Three of the seven great clans. That was the force behind Eist.
The powerful Clans an Craite and Tuirseach were already closely related, but the inclusion of Clan an Hindar was a welcome surprise to Lann.
"I'm old now." Donar explained with a smile. "I only accepted the responsibility of being jarl because there are no capable young men in my clan. Becoming king would be too heavy a burden for me."
King Bran added: "I've been trying to convince Donar for some time now. His position has always been close to ours, and his clan was one of the first to pledge troops to support Cintra, even at a considerable cost."
"If Bran steps down as king, no other jarl is eligible for my support. After thinking about it, I believe Eist is the most suitable." The old man smiled and nodded, looking at Lann. "The facts prove that my choice is not wrong. I have not even begun to fulfill my duties, but I have received a favor: thank you for saving my life, lion."
Lann responded with a humble smile.
"Donar's joining is also the basis for me to propose this initiative." King Bran added. "He is on good terms with the priests of the Temple of Freya, and they will definitely spare no effort to fight against heretics like Svalblod, which can make us achieve twice the result with half the effort."
"Don't underestimate them. Although the priests may not be proficient in fighting, they still have various divine arts-the Holy Mother Freya also has the priesthood of prophecy!"
Donar nodded with a smile.
It was evident that King Bran had meticulously prepared the way for his brother.
"But this time, Eist will need your help more, Lann. I must investigate the breaches in the castle's security." Bran said, his face grim. "Allowing enemies to infiltrate to murder my guests is unacceptable. If we don't resolve this, the honor of the Tuirseach clan will be at stake."
...
[Mission Discovered: Silent Fury
The people of Skellige are known for their ferocity and warlike spirit, but even they cannot tolerate the cruel followers of Svalblod. They thought they had eradicated this bloody cult, but now it returns in brutal and blatant fashion. To complete what their ancestors could not and wash away the shame, the king has decided that whoever defeats the cult of Svalblod will be the next monarch. This could be your chance, Lion.]
For the first time, Lann faced two conflicting missions.
First, Eist's quest to hunt down the ice giant and claim the throne. Now, this new proposal to wipe out the Svalblod cult to earn the right to the throne. It was clear that both could not be completed at the same time.
If he had to choose, Lann would rather accept the quest suggested by King Bran.
Even Eist, after some thought, accepted his brother's proposal with some resignation. He was not a stubborn man, and he saw in this mission a safer way to achieve his goal: to become king, win the loyalty of the jarls and avenge Calanthe's death. Compared to the ice giant, the cult of Svalblod, although dangerous, seemed a more manageable enemy.
With this, the next step was clear: accompany Donar to Hindarsfjall Island, seek the help of Freya's priestesses, and eliminate the Svalblod cult.
...
Before officially setting off, Lann had one last thing to do.
While Eist and the others prepared, Lann returned to his reception hall.
When he entered, he was met with a pair of amber eyes, similar to those of a cat. Evidently, the person had been waiting for some time.
The person was the boxer from the banquet who had fought a giant bear alone and defeated it.
The boxer was tall and burly. He towered more than half a head taller than the stockiest Skellige guard accompanying him. His shoulders were broad, his arms thick and muscled. For a moment, Lann had the urge to summon Letho and compare them physically.
He wore a Mohawk and had changed his clothing to cotton-based armor reinforced with chain mail and steel plates. His arms were bare, protected only by leather bracers and elbow pads, revealing his tense, rock-like muscles.
Judging by his skin and facial features, it was clear that this man was not originally from Skellige. However, his hairstyle, clothing and even his character showed that he had adopted the island culture.
As soon as he saw Lann, the man's eyes lit up. With a hearty laugh and a vibrant voice, he approached with determined steps, showing his joy at meeting him and expressing his admiration.
"Lann of Cintra, right? The Lion! I've heard of you, but I never thought we'd meet in such a shocking situation."
"And I never imagined you'd be from the Griffin School! And what are you doing teaming up with wolves and snakes? Is this some new fad, or has something happened on the continent that I don't know about?"
"I always thought you were an earl, but I just heard you're a duke now. Congratulations!"
"I have to say: your magic signs are impressive! That Yrden Sign that distinguishes between friends and enemies and can cover an entire room... How did you do it? If you don't mind, we can exchange knowledge! I'll teach you my unique Quen Sign techniques and you tell me your trick."
The man's laughter was like a roar, and his frank and uninhibited manner made Lann think he was going to give him a bear hug at any moment.
Lann was momentarily taken aback, unsure of how to react.
Fortunately, the man knew how to restrain himself. Although he approached with enthusiasm, he stopped three steps away from Lann and then extended a hand.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Gerd, a witcher from the School of the Bear."
After gathering griffins, wolves, snakes, and cats, Lann finally met a witcher of a new school: the bear.
In theory, the Bear School is also one of the sources of the current bad reputation of witchers. They perfectly fit the stereotype that ordinary people have about witchers: the mutation of witchers will eliminate their feelings.
The founder of the Bear School was Arnaghad, one of the first witchers created directly by the genius sorcerer Alzur. However, in those early days, mutation techniques were extremely unstable and risky, even by Alzur's standards. Against all odds, Arnaghad survived those chaotic experiments and emerged as a completely different case from the rest of the witchers.
Arnaghad possessed tremendous physical strength, allowing him to wield heavier weapons and wear thicker armor than anyone else. His most peculiar trait, however, was his extreme emotional apathy. He showed no anger, sadness, or joy, and maintained relationships with his companions that were completely devoid of warmth.
Arnaghad was also the direct catalyst for the dissolution of the Order of Witchers. To him, the Order's lofty ideal of 'protecting the people by exterminating monsters' was nothing more than a ridiculous fantasy. Once the leader of the Order left, Arnaghad transformed monster hunting into a mere transaction: paid work with no higher purpose.
Arnaghad's followers, who shared his disdain for the Order's ideals, adopted the bear as their symbol and settled in the Amell Mountains, where the harsh climate and inhospitable terrain became the training ground for their apprentices.
As a special individual among the first generation of witchers, Arnaghad conducted additional research into his own mutation. This research resulted in the Bear School's apprentices inheriting his colossal strength, lack of emotions, and extremely pragmatic philosophy: working for money, without ideals or loyalties.
If necessary, they did not hesitate to turn their swords against humans or even other witchers, the only thing that differentiated them from the Cat School was that they avoided accepting contracts to kill people.
Over time, like the other witcher schools, the Bear School headquarters fell.
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