The Legend of Yennefer: Chapter 2

Written by - TheFoxBride

“Leave me alone”

The tears had stopped running. Yennefer wiped her reddened cheek, leaving a trail of smattered dirt in tow. 

“Humpback humpback, Yenna’s got a humpback!” The shrill voice of a child echoed throughout the dilapidated barn as several youths had gathered to make fun of the unfortunate girl. “Your mum shoulda thrown you into the woods! Even the pigs won’t lie with you!” they continued.

“Master Nimue”. The Lady of the Lake jerked her head towards an inquisitive face, who until this point had been silent.

“Master? Tell me, what am I a master of?” She shot back sternly and crossed her arms in defiance. The student immediately regretted the question, but as every eye was now staring through him, he uttered back the first thing that came to mind. “Storytelling”.

Muffled laughter and a few eyerolls eased the tension. Nimue cracked her face of stone as a wry smile widened across her tired face. “What is your question?”

“I know you spoke of believing our own myth and reality, but in what basis of truth do these stories lie?”

Nimue felt the warm glow of attention as the group's eyes slowly made their way over to her. “Where did you study magic?”

The young man grew confident and proudly stated, “Ban Ard Academy.” His words were met with more eyerolls, but a few impressed nods as well. Numerous academies of magic had been born as a result of a lengthy peace between the Northern Realms, Nilfgaard, and the various non-human kingdoms of Mahakam and Dol Blathanna. While some of the newer academies had even included the admission of both sexes, Ban Ard was still the crown jewel for the magical growth of young men.

“And at Ban Ard, did you learn about Oneiromancy? About what dreams may come?”

Her question was met with silence and a slow shake of the head.

“I had an apprentice…” The words slowly left her mouth and she caught herself. “I had a dear friend, and a long time ago we studied Yennefer’s daughter for what seemed like years. It could have been decades really, as if time matters to the past. Through research, and my friend’s dreams, we put together what we believe to be the truth, to what we believe to be the living, breathing events of the past. It is from these dreams, that we create our history.”

The silence of the crowd was met with caws from a murder of crows flying overhead. They perched themselves on an aging tree and loomed ominously over the gathering. Unwavered by her new guests, the sorceress continued her tale.

“Catch!” a boy picked up a small rock and threw it straight at Yennefer. It struck the base of her neck and she cried out in pain.

“Stop it!” The tears had returned and congealed with the dirt to create a patch of mud on her cheek. She narrowly turned to look back and caught a glimpse of the boy about to throw another stone.

“I said….STOP IT!” She threw her arms up and SLAMMED them into the dirt. A force of energy rippled along the ground and threw the group of boys into the air, their heads cracking against the hard wooden ceiling. They returned to the dirt below, landing with a thud and lay there in stunned silence as they all dumbfoundedly stared at each other. Nobody dared to move and confusion was evident all around.

Yennefer broke the silence. “Go...away.” the raven haired girl hissed. With fear in their eyes, the boys scurried away. They would never hurl an insult, or rock, at the young girl ever again.

Nimue let the moment breath before a woman in the forefront spoke up. “Is this the first instance of her ability?”

“That we know of. The trauma Yennefer suffered caused her to manifest it in this chaotic power, the only way to fully release her pain and suffering. She would not be able to fully harness it until an unlikely visitor arrived one day…”

If you would like to listen to the narrated version by Lionhart Click here