White Orchard is the first explorable area in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It’s where new players first experience what the Witcher world has to offer, and what they can expect from later areas. It also provides context on the state of the land, as the area is home to a Nilfgaardian garrison, abandoned homesteads, and blood-soaked battlefields.
That said, the Nilfgaardian invasion was not the first of White Orchard’s misfortunes. On the contrary, the idyllic countryside region is filled with unfortunate tales of unfortunate villagers. Should the player play through the side quests in the area, they can piece together what happened in The Witcher 3’s starting area.
A Forbidden Love Affair
Before the Nilfgaardian troops invaded, White Orchard was ruled by a lord named Ignatius Verrieres. He lived in a fortress to the east of the White Orchard inn with his son, Florian, and their underlings. Among these underlings was a man named Mislav, who served as the lord’s hunter. He and Florian were in a romantic relationship and would meet in secret. In one instance, Florian and Mislav got together in the fortress’ stables. Unfortunately, one of the stable hands walked in on them and told the lord of their relationship.
Upon learning of his son’s sexuality, Ignatius was furious. He exiled Mislav from his property and thought that was that. Florian, however, was devastated and later hanged himself. Eventually, he was buried in the White Orchard Cemetery. His gravestone says that he died of “apoplexie” and the final line in the inscription reads, “May Melitele forgive him his sins against nature and its laws.”
Meanwhile, Mislav found a hut outside the lord’s property and continued his trade as a hunter. Word of his sexuality had also spread across the region as the player can sometimes hear relevant dialogue from NPCs. The conversation starts with a traveler asking whether the lord had any descendants. To this, a local villager answers no and explains that Florian died. They then go on to say that even if Florian lived, he likely wouldn’t have inherited his father’s lands. The traveler asks why, and the villager replies that they should ask Mislav.
The Lord’s Misdeeds and the Massacre at Hovel
Back in the fortress, the lord spiraled into alcoholism. Before long, the place fell into ruin. This, however, wasn’t enough for Ignatius, so he started going around White Orchard, wreaking havoc among the townsfolk. A diary owned by a villager named Claer lists just a few of his misdeeds.
For one, he killed a man for not taking his hat off quickly enough. In another instance, he trampled the farmers’ fields in a drunken frenzy and didn’t repay them for the damage he’d caused. His most boorish action was attending a village wedding and demanding that he have “the first night” with the bride. It’s never explicitly said when exactly Ignatius began committing these misdeeds — whether they began even before or only after Florian’s death. Regardless, the townspeople had had enough.
Volker, Claer’s beloved, sent a letter with all the town’s grievances against Ignatius to the court in Vizima. The Temerian court recognized the villagers’ plight and waived all their connections and responsibilities to Ignatius — now their former lord. This allowed the townsfolk to set out and build their own settlement, without any interference from Ignatius.
Volker and his group eventually found a spot directly south of the White Orchard inn. They called it Hovel (known as the Abandoned Village in-game) and built their homes there. Claer and Volker, in particular, were excited to start anew. Volker even bought Claer a beautiful bracelet — an expensive one too, as Claer’s mother complained that they should have spent it on plows and hoes. Claer paid her no mind though and promised to never take it off her wrist. All in all, things seemed to be looking up.
The good didn’t last long. A few days after the townsfolk had settled down in Hovel, Claer got word that the former lord intended to pay a visit. In her diary, she writes that Ignatius seemed to want to make a deal and have them return to the old village. He’s supposedly calmed down since Florian’s death (which hints that he’s always been committing wrongs against the villagers). Regardless, Claer, and likely the rest of Hovel, had no intention of going back.
As expected, Ignatius rode to Hovel with his escorts. It’s unclear what his original intentions were. Regardless, the encounter ended in bloodshed. According to the herbalist Tomira, Claer supposedly “said something about the lord’s son.” Based on the aforementioned events, it’s possible that she commented on Florian’s sexuality. This made Ignatius furious, which then escalated things into a full-blown fight that left all the villagers of Hovel dead.
This is where the paper trail ends. It’s unknown what Ignatius did after he killed off his former constituents. However, when the Nilfgaardians invaded much later, they had him hanged.
Geralt’s Actions in the Prologue of The Witcher 3
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By the time Geralt arrives in White Orchard, all this had already taken place. Though one piece of the past still lingers among Hovel’s ruins — Claer. The contract quest “Devil by the Well” has Geralt exterminating a noonwraith that loiters by the old settlement’s well. This noonwraith is Claer as suggested by the bracelet that Geralt finds tying her spirit to the mortal realm. Should the player undertake this quest and defeat the noonwraith, they’d be doing Claer’s tortured soul a favor.
In addition to the “Devil by the Well” quest, the player can also talk to other villagers about the fate of Hovel. Most notable is Tomira, who reveals that Claer was her only friend in White Orchard. She even rewards Geralt for finding the truth of what happened to her.
Overall, White Orchard is an excellent setup for what the player can expect in The Witcher 3 — interconnected stories, unfortunate circumstances, and the need for the player to piece it all together. It’s the same in Velen, Novigrad, Skellige, and Toussaint, albeit on a much larger scale. These areas have their own misfortunes, and as Tomira so poignantly notes, “Tis so in every village, even the smallest. You need only ask.”
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
