Witcher 3 endings

Radovid had many faults. He was cruel, impetuous and pathologically ambitious.

But he was a tactical genius – that's undeniable. Commanding forces far outnumbered by his foe's, he handily defeated the invader from the south.

The Redanian Eagle spread its wings, taking all the North, including Novigrad, beneath them.

The 3rd Northern War was a clash between two great strategists: Radovid V, known as "The Stern," and Emhyr var Emreis.

Both seemed invincible, yet both were defeated. Nilfgaard, invading from the south, was repelled in the field, while the North's "supreme leader" fell victim to assassins.

Yet Redania stood victorious, and a man who had thus far operated in shadow took up the reins of power. That man was Sigismund Dijkstra.

The 3rd Northern War ended – the invader from the south achieved complete victory.

Robbed of Radovid's tactical genius, the Northern Realms could not withstand Emhyr's countless legions.

Black banners appeared over Novigrad and all Redania.

With victory in the war against Nilfgaard secured, Radovid proceeded to complete his witch hunt.

As they had in Novigrad, pyres burned in Temeria and Aedirn, lands now "liberated" by the Redanian monarch. In the drive for moral renewal, simple herbalists, pellars, healers and nonhumans – all supposed heretics – were murdered in droves.

For many, freedom beneath Radovid's scepter proved more tragic than servitude to another.

Once firmly in the chancellor's seat, Dijkstra ruled the victorious North in his patently cynical and ruthless manner.

He knew that to preserve peace he would need to prepare for war. Following Nilfgaard's example, he consolidated his rule over vast lands through a broad program of settlement and industrialization.

All for the good of his subjects – though often contrary to their will.

Weary of rebel raids, Emhyr var Emreis conceded, restoring Temeria as a realm in liege to the empire.

When the guerillas laid down their arms, the emperor shifted his forces to other fronts.

Through Nilfgaard's victory, Temerians got their country back, and history, once again, proved a consummate trickster.

Having dealt with Radovid, Emhyr var Emreis did the same with enemies domestic.

The emperor's loyal spies named all who had conspired against him – traders, soldiers and aristocrats alike.

Though their mutiny had only been a murky plan, the emperor showed no mercy. As was his wont.

As long as his armies went from one victory to the next, Emhyr's subjects remained boundlessly obedient.

When a string of humiliating defeats proved var Emreis fallible, the opposition – thus far secret – attacked.

The subjects of the emperor who had danced on the graves of his foes laid him to rest in a tomb of his own.

While the Continent bled engulfed by war, Skellige bloomed under Cerys' enlightened rule.

Unlike those who had come before her, the young queen did not raid foreign shores, looking instead to her people, tending to her land.

The island-bound nation prospered, though its fangs of yore were dulled.

Though the war on the Continent had ended, Hjalmar refused to lay down his arms.

The young king pledged to raid and burn the shores of the Empire of Nilfgaard each spring. He meant to keep his word, even at the cost of drowning his people in their own blood.

Many islanders believed Svanrige would be no more than his ambitious mother's puppet. The young king proved them wrong, ignoring her whims and ruling with an iron hand all his own.

Tired of the jarls and their endless feuds, he resolved to turn the Isles into an absolute monarchy modeled after those of the Continent.

What he resolved, he achieved, but only by shedding his countrymen's blood.

Cirilla Fiona Ellen Riannon, heir to Nilfgaard's throne, chose the life of a witcher, on the Path.

Geralt taught her all he knew, every skill he possessed, then each set off on their own.

Soon word of the ashen-haired witcheress had spread throughout the North – from the Yaruga to the mountains of Kovir…

After years in exile, Ciri returned to Nilfgaard, her paternal home, where Emhyr prepared to name her his successor.

The woman had the necessary qualities. From her father she'd inherited an empress' political instincts. From Geralt she had gained a sense of simple, human decency.

Few monarchs boast both traits – which is quite a shame…

As for Ciri? That's hard to say. Since the events on Undvik, she has yet to be seen.

Which does not mean she is never to return.

While monarchs moved borders and populations, Geralt and Yennefer lived a calm, quiet life far from all things political.

They breakfasted well after noon, more often than not in bed, and passed the days on lazy strolls and long conversations.

Boring, you say? Perhaps. But both had sought this more than anything else.

Hard as it may be to believe, Geralt planted roots – in faraway Kovir.

He and Triss settled down, their home warm and smelling of freshly baked cakes. Guests were always welcome, no matter the day or the hour.

The witcher would take jobs at times, more from habit than need. For Triss earned a true fortune as the mage advisor to Kovir's king.

"And, what of Geralt?" you might ask. Well…

He continued on as before, living hand to mouth, job to job, on the road, ever coinless.

We would meet at times over a glass of strong drink to talk about the old days and speculate what could have, would have, might have been…