Talk:Velen/@comment-34465440-20190628183441

The reference to the conversation between Iorveth and Geralt in The Witcher 2 seems to be based on a mix-up of the region Velen and the holiday Velen (the autumnal equinox).

Geralt: Did the elves conquer the Vrans?

Iorveth: No. Disease did, and the climate. Long ago the sources of the Pontar did not freeze over and flowed all year, flowers still bloomed on these slopes in Velen.

The conversation takes place during the start of the third chapter, when Iorveth and Geralt are discussing the fall of Loc Muinne while walking down a mountain path to said town. "The sources of the Pontar" would be found nearby, since Loc Muinne is located near the Pontar in the Blue Mountains, where the river has its source. The region Velen, on the other hand, which is located on the other side of the Northern Kingdoms and has never been mentioned in the saga before, would surely be irrelevant to the conversation.

"These slopes", grammatically, can only refer to nearby or previously-mentioned slopes, which ones in Velen wouldn't be. They would be referred to as "the" or "those" slopes in Velen. In the context of Iorveth and Geralt's conversation and location, "these slopes in Velen", referring to the region Velen, is simply nonsensical. "These slopes" refers to the hilly terrain that they are traversing, so Velen must be the holiday, since they are nowhere near the region Velen.

Bear in mind that the third chapter takes place in July, yet the ground is dead and partially covered by snow due to the colder climate. Iorveth is contrasting this with the time of the vrans, before the climate changed, when the nearby Pontar was flowing all year round and flowers were blooming on the now dead surrounding slopes even on the day of the autumnal equinox – Velen.