Meet Me In Posada

Chapter 4

They were thirteen when it happened, just after Geralt had finished his second round of the Grasses. He remembers being sore still, his whole body clutching onto a never ending ache-- his skin, his muscles, his head-- when Vesemir and Rennes had crowded the boys of his year into one of the smaller classrooms and gave them the Talk.

Not that Talk. (They had that one the week prior and Geralt was still trying to repress the memory.) No, this one was the other Talk. The one about soulmates.

The other boys were brimming with energy, having had a few weeks already to recover from their own Grasses, and were chattering excitedly amongst each other as the remaining stragglers filed into the room. Geralt was quieter, not feeling up to much talking-- or much of anything after what happened-- and took his usual seat next to Eskel in silence.

"Right then," Rennes says, arms crossed over his chest. "Let's get started. Some of you will be turning fourteen soon, which means that it will be possible for you to have your Swap. I'm sure most of you know about this already, but for those that don't-- at some point between now and your twenty-fifth year, you will switch bodies with an older version of yourself. This switch will last anywhere from a couple of hours to a whole day, the purpose of which is to help you find your soulmate."

"The Swap is one possible scenario of hundreds," Vesemir continues, "it allows you to experience a possible future that exists upon accepting the bond between you and your soulmate. It is not a fixed point. Your choices and how you react to your bond will determine if this scenario becomes a reality. Likewise, your soulmate will experience a Swap of their own as well."

In the front row of chairs, Frank raises his hand. "If the future isn't real, then what's the point?"

"The point is, that you use the Swap to learn about and locate your soulmate should you want to. If you take the necessary steps to do that, then the future you experienced will indeed be real."

"But how will we know that we're taking the necessary steps?"

"That's the entire reason we're having this conversation, boy," Rennes says. "If you know about it, then you'll know to pay attention when it happens. Some humans prepare for this, they write down important things to tell their soulmate for the Swap so that they can more easily locate each other."

"It will be a little different for you, being witchers, of course," Vesemir adds. "Accepting a soulbond is a very serious, permanent thing. It will tie your soulmate's life to yours. For that reason, some witchers choose to actively avoid their soulmates, thinking it morally wrong to condemn a human to the dangers of their job. Others disagree."

"What should we do then?" Gweld asks.

"That is up to you," Rennes replies. "As a witcher, I know you have many choices taken from you. But this one will remain yours. It's true that many of us have sought out our soulmates only to find more pain and suffering, but there have been some that have been happy." He turns to the man beside him, giving a hint of a smile. "Like Master Vesemir and I."

Eskel nudges Geralt's arm and gives him a look. Geralt has known the other boy long enough to understand the question without words.

What do you think?

Geralt shrugs and gestures vaguely at his appearance. With this ugly mug? Who knows. He may not have been out on his own yet, but Geralt knows enough of the world to know that humans don't like witchers. And a witcher that looks even less human is bound to be treated much worse. If his soulmate is a human, perhaps it's best if they never meet, rather than be disappointed.