"Sword of Destiny" by Andrzej Sapkowski is a collection of short stories by a popular Polish writer who writes in the fantasy genre. The works are united by a common character - this is the witcher Geralt of Rivia. In the chronology of books from the cycle The Witcher, this is the second work. In this part, Geralt first meets Ciri and learns about his destiny.
The Witcher
The Witcher is the most famous cycle of works by Andrzej Sapkowski. The Sword of Destiny is one of the volumes of this cycle. The first was a collection of short stories "Last Wish".
This is the second work that tells the story of the monster hunter Geralt. In childhood, he, like all other witches, had a mutation, which led to the fact that he was able to significantly improve his fighting qualities. He became very strong, managed to accelerate the metabolism and reaction force. Its main goal is the destruction of dangerous monsters.
Geralt has his own code of honor, adhering to which, he seeks not to participate in the political intrigues of the rulers, but is constantly involved in the confrontations of the northern kingdoms and the powerful southern empire. Geralt is trying to protect the young princess of the destroyed kingdom, which was intended for him before his birth.
The Limit of the Possible
The storybook "Sword of Destiny" by Andrzej Sapkowski begins with a short story entitled "The Limit of the Possible." In this work, Geralt meets Borch Three Jackdaws and his bodyguards, who come from distant Zerrikania. Having set off on a journey together, they encounter a cordon.
The buttercup gives them an explanation. It turns out that Golopolie regularly attacks the green dragon. Local residents for a long time did not know how to resist it, until the shoemaker Kozoed did not come up with a way to poison the monster. But the dragon managed to survive. He just crawled off the mountain.
Meanwhile, King Nedamir planned to marry Princess Malleora, but her courtiers declared that the groom should defeat the dragon, only then, according to legend, Malleora would be able to marry him. Then Nedamir set up the cordon and went hunting for the monster. Borch manages to bribe the head of the detachment, standing in a cordon, the heroes pass along with a sorcerer named Dorregaray who joined them. Caught under a strong rockfall, they are selected on the plain, where they meet with the dragon. He claims that he forbids them to move on, and if someone is ready to disobey him, then he is ready to fight in an honest duel.
In the book “Sword of Destiny” by Andrzej Sapkowski, this challenge is taken by Eike, who is fighting under the flag of Nedamir. In battle, the dragon cripples him, then Nedamir with his entourage leaves away.
Dorregaray forbids the rest to touch the dragon, but still manages to defeat him and tie him up. Do it Geralt and Buttercup. The enchantress urges hunters to leave as quickly as possible, but those who disobey and bind her.
The dragon manages to break free and defeat the red people and ruble in a duel. It turns out that in reality he only guarded the baby green dragon, not wanting anyone to harm. And the goat poisoned the dragon.
At this time, a detachment of Golopol policeman appears at the scene of the incident, controlled by the same Kozoed, they manage to catch the dragon in the net. Escaping, the dragon calls to his aid zaririnki, which in the battle chop down the police. Freed, Yennifer completes the job. At the end of the story, the dragon deals with Kozoed, killing him, and then turns into the Borja Three Glaki. It turns out that he was a kind of analogue of the witcher among dragons. So ends the first story from the collection "Sword of Destiny" by Andrzej Sapkowski. The Witcher again showed courage, although this time he also encountered a strange and ambiguous opponent.
"Ice shard"
In the next story (“Ice Shard”), the main character arrives in the city of Aedd with Yennifer. There the sorceress comes to meet a local wizard named Eastredd.
Mutual hostility arises between Eastredd and Geralt almost immediately, it almost comes to an open duel. This is a love triangle, only Yennifer knows how to solve it.
Eternal Flame, A Little Sacrifice
In this story, the witcher Sapkowski meets in Novigrad with Ranunculus. Their main goal is to find the Doppler, whose name is Dudu.
In the story “A Little Sacrifice”, Prince Agloval, in love with a siren, comes to the fore. Geralt works for him as a translator. He meets a bard girl, whose name is Essy Daven. They learn that on the seashore, unidentified people killed people collecting pearls. The main character has to investigate this matter.
"Sword of Destiny"
The book of Andrzej Sapkowski is best judged by the story that gave the name to the entire collection. In it, Geralt arrives at Brocklion. Here he finally meets Ciri, destined for him even before birth, begins to realize his true destiny. The story is of great importance for understanding the entire cycle of The Witcher.
The collection concludes the short story "Something More." In it, Geralt rescues the merchant Jurga, while receiving a serious wound. At the same time, he learns that a powerful army of southerners destroys Cintra, to the extent that Ciri remains alive and unharmed.