Eskel

Eskel was a calm and reasonable witcher and Geralt's friend from his youth and, according to Ciri, he even resembled him apart from hair color and a long scar which disfigured his cheeks. They were raised together at Kaer Morhen and participated in the trials together.

During their youth at Kaer Morhen, he and Geralt did a lot of things they found funny, like capturing a huge forest bumblebee and then tying it to a jug with thread. Geralt often reminisced about these events and both witchers spent winters in the old keep, like the rest of the School of the Wolf.

When she visited the castle in order to meet with Ciri, Triss Merigold noticed that Eskel emanated even more magical power than Geralt did.

Deirdre the Unexpected Child
this section is from the games and may not be considered canon.

At one point in his life, Eskel saved a knight in dire trouble and was offered anything he wanted as a reward. Given such a wide-open choice, he could not think of anything and instead repeated the fabled and oft-heard request "give me that which you find at home yet do not expect" that he had heard Vesemir repeat over the years.

This is how Princess Deidre Ademeyn, an heir to her father's lands and a child born under the Curse of the Black Sun, became his surprise child. The story goes on to say that Eskel took great pains to avoid ever going back to get his surprise child, sometimes taking ridiculously long routes to avoid being in the vicinity of Caingorn. Later, Deirdre turned highly unpredictable with spouts of violence while also having an innate ability to disrupt and stop magic from being used around her, all things that were believed to be the result of her "curse".

When she came to Eskel asking him for his help he hid in the old mine, just south of Kaer Morhen where he busied himself with clearing a kikimore hatchery and generally brooding about Deidre. In anger of hearing this, Deidre cut Eskel's face whilst fleeing from the witchers.

Life on Path
He never gained Geralt's fame and renown, even though he equaled the White Wolf in experience and skill. Despite that, Eskel has made a name for himself as a lethal and efficient witcher, learned in his trade. He pursued many adventures and, while drunk, revealed that he once slept with a succubus and took fisstech with her.

Eskel returned to the old keep every year for the winter, where he met with Vesemir, Lambert, and Geralt. When Ciri was brought there to be trained, he was skeptical at first but nonetheless agreed to it and helped her if possible. He also had a good relationship with Triss and when the sorceress had comments on how witchers treat Ciri, he listened.

Salamandra's attack
these two sections are from the games and may not be considered canon.

When Azar Javed and the mysterious Salamandra assaulted the keep Eskel was there, as were all his comrades, but it wasn't enough and the attackers got away with the witchers' secrets. After the fight, the witchers split up in order to look for more information on them. Before leaving, Eskel gave Geralt, who was suffering from amnesia after Rivian Pogrom, valuable advise on general fighting.

Later life
Upon Geralt's arrival at Kaer Morhen with Uma, Eskel was out trying to hunt down a forktail and Geralt decided to help him and tracked him down by the smell of a goat Eskel was using as bait. Together, they fought the forktail and followed it to its lair, where they killed it, before making their way back to the keep with a friendly horse race. Eskel partook in The Battle of Kaer Morhen where he defended the inner courtyard of the keep. During the battle, Caranthir opened a portal to the inner courtyard and brought a few members of the Wild Hunt with him.

Eskel dueled Caranthir which almost cost him his life. Luckily, this did not happen as fate (or perhaps Ciri) smiled upon him and saved his life. Caranthir retreated from the battle after being called away, but not before he ordered his troops to kill them. Ciri and Eskel then killed the warriors and continued to fend off the Hunt. After the Battle of Kaer Morhen, Eskel decided to leave Kaer Morhen to travel south towards Lormark.


 * Defending Kaer Morhen
 * Fistfight


 * The She-Wolf


 * Kaer Morhen


 * The Battle of Kaer Morhen
 * No Place Like Home
 * To Bait a Forktail...
 * Ugly Baby
 * Blood on the Battlefield


 * "The calm and reasonable witcher is my peer. We are similar in many ways and people often think we are brothers."


 * All witchers have a great deal in common, but with Eskel and Geralt, the similarities are particularly striking. They first met as two boys of the same age swinging wooden swords at Kaer Morhen. They then went though an ordeal together: the first round of selections, the murderous Changes, the Trial of the Grasses, and training on the Gauntlet - the witchers' daunting obstacle course. They also received hidings together for more than one act of childish delinquency. When they became adults, they walked the Path separately, but still reconvened at Kaer Morhen nearly every winter to wait out the cold, drink to their successes and remember fallen comrades.


 * Though Eskel never gained Geralt's renown, he equaled the White Wolf in experience and carried out his contracts with care and efficiency. Death had almost taken him many times during his hunts, yet in an ironic twist the hideous scar on his face came not from a monster claw but from the blade of Deidre Ademeyn, his highly unpredictable Unexpected Child.


 * Perhaps this traumatic experience lay at the root of Eskel's dislike for Yennefer, though he tried not to let this get in the way of friendship with Geralt.


 * Eskel took active part in the defense of Kaer Morhen, standing bravely in the face of overwhelming odds to fight one of the Hunt's generals. When Vesemir died, he took over responsibility for watching over the witchers' keep.

Trivia

 * In The Witcher 3 trailer called "Sword of Destiny", Eskel can be seen striking at an insectoid and fighting a group of wraiths with Igni sign. However, these scenes don't appear in the final game.