[ Geralt still has the claw and flower from the previous winter. There is no shortage of monsters to select from, but one that poses an actual challenge for Nero is a different question.
The beast that eventually shows up at Nero's palace is a manticore. The tip of its tail swells with a deadly venom. Another hourglass accompanies it. ]
This thing is a little like Belial in temperament, but it sure as hell talks less and gives him more of a fight. By the time Nero comes out of it, he's black and blue in enough places it hasn't healed yet, and he's got holes from the claws in his shoulders. At one point, the manticore picked him up by the shoulders and threw him across the arena.
It was awesome.
The offering in return is a little less creepy this time. Nero leaves behind a lion claw, carefully cleaned -- hanging from the hilt of a sword that, at its base, looks similar to his own Red Queen. It's a sword from his past, from the Order of the Sword. From someone who would never wield it again. He and Credo always bonded over their swords, and it sucks to think... it'll never go anywhere again. So now the golden, demon-touched blade is stuck in the grounds of Kaer Morhen, except the blade's now been decorated with wolves. It's as selfish for Nero to see as it is a genuine gift.
A note is impaled on the claw.
Thought you'd like a new sword to play with. Don't burn your eyebrows off, grandpa. She's got sparks.
The hourglass is there, but in pieces. Broken when Nero was thrown onto it. Oops.]
[ On its own, Geralt would not have recognized the significance of the sword other than the ignition it bears and the wolves etched into the steel. But when he picks it up to examine it, a fine crack across the blade catches his eye. Nero did not, he realizes, give him this sword solely for wielding. Not exactly.
I stole my brother's sword...and then broke it, trying to fight a wall. Cracked it right in half.
He runs his thumb over the break. Hm.
The sword finds a home in the armoury, where the few surviving artefacts are stored. He places it next to the first silver blade forged for a Witcher. ]
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yule.
The beast that eventually shows up at Nero's palace is a manticore. The tip of its tail swells with a deadly venom. Another hourglass accompanies it. ]
no subject
This thing is a little like Belial in temperament, but it sure as hell talks less and gives him more of a fight. By the time Nero comes out of it, he's black and blue in enough places it hasn't healed yet, and he's got holes from the claws in his shoulders. At one point, the manticore picked him up by the shoulders and threw him across the arena.
It was awesome.
The offering in return is a little less creepy this time. Nero leaves behind a lion claw, carefully cleaned -- hanging from the hilt of a sword that, at its base, looks similar to his own Red Queen. It's a sword from his past, from the Order of the Sword. From someone who would never wield it again. He and Credo always bonded over their swords, and it sucks to think... it'll never go anywhere again. So now the golden, demon-touched blade is stuck in the grounds of Kaer Morhen, except the blade's now been decorated with wolves. It's as selfish for Nero to see as it is a genuine gift.
A note is impaled on the claw.
Thought you'd like a new sword to play with. Don't burn your eyebrows off, grandpa. She's got sparks.
The hourglass is there, but in pieces. Broken when Nero was thrown onto it. Oops.]
no subject
I stole my brother's sword...and then broke it, trying to fight a wall. Cracked it right in half.
He runs his thumb over the break. Hm.
The sword finds a home in the armoury, where the few surviving artefacts are stored. He places it next to the first silver blade forged for a Witcher. ]