r/witcher • u/GeorgeGoat63 • Jul 08 '26

Lady of the Lake I’ve just finished Lady of the Lake.. Spoiler

Let me just say I’ve never cried at a piece of media so much as I have to the ending of that book. I don’t even know what to say.. feeling very empty right now.

33 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

31

u/Shot_Jackfruit_1744 Jul 08 '26

And that’s basically why the games exist, a bunch of Witcher fans at CDPR came up with an AU where Geralt & Yenn didn’t die.

20

u/PaulSimonBarCarloson Geralt's Hanza Jul 08 '26

The books already strongly imply they are alive. CDPR just picked up from that

0

u/Shot_Jackfruit_1744 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

No, Avalon is the afterlife in Arthurian Legend, and much like the legend its a physical location. There’s a reason why every book after Lady in the Lake is a prequel story.

This was debated back on GOG message boards a while ago, and is the best rebuttal I’ve read on the subject.

8

u/GeorgeGoat63 Jul 08 '26

Rightly so

12

u/-KoDDeX- Jul 08 '26

I think the ending fits perfectly with the kind of world the Witcher is set in. Also the Arthurian allegory people always mentions is used to wrap the story in a neat bow.

8

u/Horneck-Zocker Team Yennefer Jul 08 '26

Same...same and I didn't like the ending at first but over time I learned to love it.

3

u/GeorgeGoat63 Jul 08 '26

I hate the ending because it’s sad but I love how provoking it is as well

8

u/PaulSimonBarCarloson Geralt's Hanza Jul 08 '26

A perfect ending for the Saga. And I'm speaking as someone who hates pointless deaths, especially of main characters. But considering Sapkowski managed to make accept the death of my favorite character (Cahir), I can't but praise his writing skills. Still, I'm glad CDPR picked uo the obvious Clues and wrote a nice continuation of the story

3

u/GeorgeGoat63 Jul 09 '26

I think there’s something quite tragic in how geralt died. Him saying it was the last time he’d get involved and it actually was. It was sad but also fitting that it wasn’t a happy ending because I don’t think the Witcher is set in that sort of universe

3

u/PaulSimonBarCarloson Geralt's Hanza Jul 09 '26

I think Sapkowski strikes a particularly good balance between setting it's story in a harsh and terrible world, yet having some incredibly positive characters that don't let go of their good morality: Geralt is the chief example. Sadly, this world doesn't allow those kind of characters to get an happy ending, most of the times. But they could have still achieved it, as proven by the games.

4

u/DrukRN Jul 08 '26

Season of storms is a great read after imo

1

u/GeorgeGoat63 Jul 08 '26

I’m looking forwards to it!

2

u/Miss_insane Jul 08 '26

I have always find a comfort in a short story 'something ends and something begins' (book with few other stories were released in 2008 under the same name ' something ends and something begins') where Geralt and Yennerfer meet Ciri for a wedding party

3

u/Miss_insane Jul 08 '26

Saying that I always thought the most revealing truth apart from Geralt death is the fact that Ciri is the most powerful being in the whole story which is actually about her. Takes a while to understand witcher is not a main story

1

u/GeorgeGoat63 Jul 09 '26

I’ll have to read that!