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Looking at these interconnected runes—runes that, when viewed together, practically resembled a piece of programming software—Gustave couldn't help but sigh in amazement at the mages of the Witcher world.
When Yennefer told Ciri that magic is chaos, an art, and a science depending on the person who wields it, she truly meant it, and it shows clearly in how the mages of this world operate.
It isn't because they live in a medieval era that the world carries a stigma of being backward, but rather because these mages are so intensely individualistic that they refuse to share their knowledge with one another.
That's why, even though their understanding has already reached the level of modern scientific knowledge, the world itself remains backward and barbaric—creating a sharp and striking contrast between the mages and the rest of the common folk.
From their fashion—which already includes lingerie, eyeliner, and lipstick, with makeup so advanced it sparkles like glittered LEDs, bearing the name Glamarye.
To their use of teleportation as a delivery service, which they could easily make widespread if they simply built stations in every state, much like the post office system on his Earth.
To the existence of bombs and fireworks, tools and materials that could easily be developed into cannon-level ballistic weapons.
To the magical barrier known as the Defensive Regulatory Magicon (or DRM for short), which feels like an operating system firewall when he breaches it with his [Knowledge] ability.
And now to these five etched runes that are essentially a programming language written like a hacking injection script—it is clear that this world already possesses the capability to live in a modern era.
But because of how egotistical and individualistic these mages are, the world has remained stuck in a medieval era for over one thousand years.
If they could work together as a unified whole, he was absolutely certain that these people would surpass even his modern world—especially with the presence of magic, an element that essentially acts as both a cheat and a guide to the next stage of scientific evolution.
As for why he could not simply call it a cheat but must also see it as a guide to the next stage of science, it was because of what lay before him.
As he looked at the script-programmed spells created by his distant cousin—or perhaps uncle or aunt, depending on who they were—Gustave finally caught a glimpse of what could only be described as the programming language of a quantum computer.
In that moment, realizing that his knowledge of science did not yet include quantum programming—since he had not delved into IT science deeply—he fully understood that magic was not merely a convenient, cheat-like ability, but a guiding reference he could study to see beyond the confines of known science.
Just as a two-dimensional creature might conceptualize and study a three-dimensional being by examining the cross-sectional slices of an object passing through its plane, he too could study higher-level dimensions—or, as he preferred to call it, higher-level science.
Because magic itself functioned as a dimensional axis that had already touched those higher realms—an axis he could study even as a lower-dimensional being, much like a 2D creature examining the width-axis cross section of a 3D entity.
So once again, looking at this injection-script spell, Gustave sighed in amazement for the umpteenth time at these Nordling geniuses, who repeatedly forced him to rethink his assumptions about the world's backwardness.
But since he had already come to terms with that during his stay at Regis's winter home in Dillingen, he did not feel down. Rather, he accepted the fact that these people had their own exceptional abilities. He simply reminded himself that even if he used powers brought from another world, it didn't mean the Continent lacked its own answers.
Unlike now, however—because of his anxiety and fear after learning that gods were out there searching for him—he panicked and began desperately scouring for any knowledge that might help calm him, clinging to pride in his identity as a Beyonder.
Even though, deep down, he knew that magic, spirit, and science were all interconnected, he also understood that it was not a simple matter of separating powers into distinct categories.
Because of that pride and arrogance—or, more accurately, his dependency on his Beyonder abilities—his location was nearly compromised, or worse, his mind could have been taken over by his genius cryptographer distant relatives.
But he also knew, taking Tony Stark as his role model, that failure and blunders were simply part of the learning process. Without these experiences, and without acknowledging that he was not perfect, there would be no progression to make him a better preparer.
Taking this lesson to heart, he once again studied the scrap-script programmed spells that were attached to his memory. After a couple of dozen minutes spent downloading the information with his [Knowledge] mysticism ability, he blasted the scraps of runes until nothing remained.
He even created a giant, titanic particle accelerator—like the LHC—to generate a black hole just to destroy these streets, which had already been compromised by the scripted runic spells.
And feeling it was still not enough, he completely erased his divine kingdom and rebuilt it, just to feel secure, even though he knew it had already been destroyed the moment he bombarded it with his steam creations.
Sighing for the umpteenth time, as if he had already given up on the idea of being the protagonist of an era, he felt a swelling sensation in his chest—the moment he was reborn into this world—bursting like a bubble as he witnessed the genius Nordlings firsthand.
Experiencing that initial surge of excitement, only to be crushed by reality later, was just… painful. So he decided to be an ordinary guy with a small gift, someone who simply wanted to survive in this world, occasionally helping civilization along the way.
With all of that resolved, he began reviewing the new mysticism knowledge to see which parts could be used as replacements for modern machinery to design steam armor. At the same time, he added his distant relatives to the list of living genius Nordlings to watch out for.
He also created profiles for these unknown relatives and every mage he expected to meet, using a standardized format derived from the books and aligned with the Aretuza standards mentioned in the texts of this world—much like Batman would do, simply to be as prepared as possible.
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Name: House of Raven of Cintra Relatives.
Level: Master of the Fourth Degree, though he/she seems more likely a Third Degree.
Profession: Cryptographer.
Unique Ability: Script injection of runic spells and creation of a programming language based on the discovered essence of Rune Magic in Stribog, Zoria, Dazhbog, Devana, and Morana.
Weakness: Creating another firewall magic spell with antivirus and making everything completely off the grid so it cannot be hacked. Do not counter-hack the cryptographer, as this could provide ideas and inspiration of programming techniques from the modern Earth.
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Name: Ofir, Rune Mage.
Level: Master of the Fourth Degree.
Profession: Lecturer.
Unique Ability: Unknown, except for exceptional teaching ability—for example, teaching his genius relatives.
Weakness: Acts like a usual toddler to become a student, rousing the empathy of the lecturer observing his student grow.
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As for those who were already dead, Gustave did not include them on the list of scanned individuals, since, simply put, they were deceased. Seeing the profiling now filled with only two people, he couldn't help but reflect on the nature of Nordling genius in general.
From Jan Bekker to the six founding fathers of the Chapter, and finally in this era, he could think of Yennefer, with her biology derived from her Creation Magic; Alexander, the pandemic maniac who, in just one year, was able to weaponize the Catriona plague to some extent;
And now, in front of him, his relatives—who basically embodied what it meant to be a Rune Mage, guided by his cryptographer instincts.
It was like witnessing Europe between the 16th and 20th centuries become the scientific heartland, producing geniuses such as Galileo Galilei, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, Blaise Pascal, Marie Curie, and many other brilliant minds.
Not only that—upon drawing this conclusion, he couldn't help but wonder if the reason the Elves lost so badly was because the Nordlings had so many geniuses, despite the presence of many Aen Saevherne.
Still, this puzzled him, because he knew that even before Jan Bekker became the first mage and the first Archmage, humans had been able to live peacefully on elven lands.
After spending his spirituality to activate his [Knowledge] and [Recall] abilities, he was able to deduce that perhaps it was the Elves' complacency—seeing humans as primitive apes—that gave humans room to maneuver in a society of Elves full of magic.
Unlike Vrans or werebubs—which he had thought posed a real threat to elven society, hence the drive toward their extinction, with the werebubs perhaps being only a side effect, and a handful still surviving in Mahakam—humans were perceived in the Elves' minds as mere monkeys, only capable of waving sticks.
As for why Vrans were seen as a threat while humans were not, he deduced it was probably because Vrans possessed thinking capabilities similar to the Lizardmen of Warhammer Fantasy, or even the early Old Ones from Warhammer 40k: cold-blooded, reptilian logic, a species naturally suited for developing a scientific society.
That's why the arrogance of the Elves grew after wiping out the Vrans, seeing humans merely as apes not worth considering. This arrogance bred a complacency that allowed humans to survive long enough for the bloom of many Nordling genius mages—a period that marked the beginning of their massacre.
Thinking and deducing about the Vrans, with their thinking capabilities similar to the Old Ones, Gustave couldn't help but frown at the possibility that they were, in fact, the very same early Old Ones.
Perhaps, he thought, before the first Conjunction, there had been another one that had not yet been recorded in history. Because the Elves, fond of glorifying themselves as the true inhabitants of the Continent, had rendered the history prior to the arrival of humans a blur—almost nonexistent. This idea gave him food for thought and eventually lulled him to sleep.
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References may break immersion. Just go ahead to the next chapter.
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References
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Yennefer, while teaching Ciri about magic in Ellander, said in a passage: "'Remember,' she repeated, 'magic is Chaos, Art, and Science. It is a curse, a blessing, and progress.' (Blood of Elves, Chapter 7.)
Modern fashion items—such as lingerie, eyeliner, and lipstick—appear in sex scenes and during close-up shots of characters' faces. Glamarye is mentioned when Yennefer, at the gate of Gors Velen, wishes to travel to Thanedd after teaching Ciri in Ellander. (Time of Contempt, Chapter 2)
Fireworks and bombs appear in The Witcher games, with Kalkstein serving as a prominent example of advanced applications of such explosive materials, as he is able to create fireworks that spell out the phrase "Radovid sucks placid c*ck" using only alchemy, as mentioned in Witcher 3 during Geralt's dialogue with Elihal when Kalkstein is burned at the stake.
Teleportation-based delivery services could be widespread, but they are not—demonstrated when Geralt, while eating crabs brought from distant Poviss during the Thanedd banquet, suggests the widespread idea, and Yennefer offhandedly replies, "We're working on it," without giving it any further thought. (Time of Contempt, Chapter 3.)
Teleportation stations could, in theory, be expanded and made widespread. An example from the Witcher games is Keira's teleportation circle, which connects her hut in the northeast of Midcopse to her bathing underground cave. There are also many examples found when exploring mages' hideouts, where blue portals can be activated using an Aard sign.
The Defensive Regulatory Magicon, or DRM, from the Witcher 3 side-quest "Tower Out of Nowhere," is filled with capabilities reminiscent of advanced Artificial Intelligence, suggesting that a form of magical computer already exists in the world of The Witcher.
"Programming skill" is the conclusion I draw from the Ofieri references in Witcher 3—specifically their mention of gematria—and from the passage stating, "Runes and glyphs I first make, then arrange into powerful magic words."
Script-programmed spells come from my interpretation of the Gwent card Runeword, which suggests that certain spells can be cast through engraved runes on one's fingers, much like classical spellcasting.
The five runes that exhibit "Beyonder characteristics," based on my interpretation of their associated Gwent cards, can generate additional cards from different factions—such as Zoria creating a unit from the Northern Realms faction and Moria creating a unit from the Scoia'tael faction—similar to how certain Characteristics can generate Beyonders within a given Pathway.
The winter and summer home traditions of the Witcher people are described by Regis, who said: "Apart from my house and shop in Dillingen, you understand. But I spend my summers here every year, from June to September, from Midsummer to the Equinox." He is referring to "here" as Fencarn (Baptism of Fire, Chapter 3).
Some kingdoms also have separate winter and summer capitals, such as Pont Vanis and Lanexter for Kovir and Poviss, and Rivia and Lyria for Lyria and Rivia.
The categorization of sorcerers into "Master of (Number) Degree" or a leveling system comes from two different sources. One comes from the books; for example, seeing the Tower of Gulls requires fourth-level magic, and in the Thanned banquet, Geralt warns Kira about the illusion caviar she is about to eat (Time of Contempt, Chapter 3; Baptism of Fire, Chapter 6).
The other source comes from the fandom wiki page on Ban Ard Academy, which inspired me to use the term "Master of the (Number) Degree." The titles of Initiate and Apprentice are my own additions; Journeyman and Master come from the TTRPG Tome of Chaos, and Grand Master or Archmage come from the books and the games. (Baptism of Fire, Chapter 6; Blood of Elves, Chapter 6)
However, because the fandom states that all Ban Ard graduates are Fourth Degree Masters, I toned that down slightly. In Witcher 3, Dijkstra mentions to Geralt that there are about 3,000 magic practitioners in the North, of whom probably 10% to 20% are sorcerers, and this is after the Witch Hunt event, which means there are now multiple times that number.
It seems excessive to consider all Ban Ard graduates as Fourth Degree Masters—essentially placing them on the same level as renowned sorceresses like Philippa or Yennefer. So I adjusted it to designate graduates as Third Degree Masters, because while there are many sorceresses, only a handful are truly exceptional.
Jan Bekker is a genius because he was able to wield the Force or Power before systematic knowledge had been taught by the elves, and while still on the ship before the first landing. Just after the Conjunction, he seems to be able to control the weather, which I assume indicates he was already Third or Fourth Degree the moment he arrived on the Continent. (Baptism of Fire, Chapter 6)
Not only that, when Geralt is shown Jan Bekker's portrait by Vilgefortz in Thanedd, he resembles Gandalf—wearing a white gown and halo. Since Gandalf is an Archmage, I assume Jan Bekker holds a similar rank.
Yennefer is a genius because it is specifically stated in Sword of Destiny that she excels in "creational magic—considered the most elevated accomplishment among sorcerers." Drawing conclusions from her ability to conjure crows in the opening trailer of Witcher 3, I also assume she is an expert in biology. (Sword of Destiny, A Shard of Ice, Chapter 5)
Alexander is a genius in epidemiology, as it is directly documented how he has been researching the Catriona plague: "Day 362. My black rat has died—today I found him curled up in his cage." In just one year, he was able to create a somewhat controllable plague, which Keira assumes has matured enough to be delivered to Radovid in Witcher 3.
Alvin is my own interpretation, as he is the only one able to wield Elder Blood fluently without being a main carrier, but rather as someone with a latent gene. According to the notes in The Witcher 3, he is even capable of fighting the White Frost—although he ultimately fails, it still shows that he can contend with such cosmic-level disasters.
However, because he is not a main carrier, there are side effects that cause him to lose his memory in The Witcher 1 when teleporting and slipping through the timeline—past and future—much like a form of reincarnation. Unlike Ciri, who can effortlessly travel through time with just a wave of her hand.
The explanations regarding main carriers, latent genes, and the degree of Elder Blood—explaining why many can wield power like Ciri but only to a limited extent, such as Adalia, Ciri's great-grandparent with seer abilities—are discussed in Baptism of Fire and will be explained further later. Relevant passages can be read in Baptism of Fire, Chapter 6.
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