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Only for the good and just. Right, damned hypocrites. |  | |
| - Gwent: The Witcher Card Game Audio version: | |||
Brehen, also known as the Cat of Iello, was a rogue witcher from the School of the Cat. He was notorious for his cruelty, often willing to kill not only monsters but also humans.[1]
Biography[]
Early life[]
Brehen in his youth
The witcher mutations Brehen underwent were not entirely successful. As with many other Feline witchers, the experimental alchemical formulae heightened his emotions, resulting in unpredictable behavior and infamous bouts of erratic temperament. His training focused on speed, precision, and agility—skills that proved useful in both monster hunting and more casual bounty hunter jobs.[2]
The Iello massacre[]
In the 1240s, Brehen visited the town of Iello, where a confrontation escalated into a bloody carnage that claimed many lives. The event became known as the Massacre of Iello, earning Brehen his infamous nickname.[1] Compared by some to the Butchery of Blaviken,[3] Brehen's slaughter was regarded far less charitably, even among other witcher schools, which subsequently barred him from their ranks.[1]
Meeting Geralt[]
Four years after the Iello massacre, Brehen encountered Geralt of Rivia at the The Wild Boar and Stag inn. Believing Geralt sought to take his contract from King Foltest in Vizima, Brehen attempted to provoke Geralt into a duel by taking a priestess hostage. Initially confident, as Geralt was unarmed, Brehen backed down when Geralt's swords were swiftly delivered by a dwimveandra who was feasting nearby. After releasing the hostage, Brehen admitted that he was no longer welcome at the Cat School and believed Vesemir had issued a death sentence on him. Geralt dismissed the idea, asserting that witchers do not kill each other, but warned Brehen that if another Iello massacre occurred, he would break that rule and hunt him down.[1]
Facing the striga[]
Brehen eventually arrived in Vizima to discuss the contract King Foltest had offered to free his daughter, Adda the White, from her curse. When Foltest threatened to hang Brehen if he harmed the princess, Brehen laughed, refusing the contract and attempting to leave. However, certain nobles, frustrated with the striga's rampage, secretly convinced Brehen to kill her and lie to Foltest, promising to pay him themselves.
What followed is somewhat unclear. Velerad claimed that Brehen resigned after witnessing the striga in action, while others suggested he was bribed by Ostrit to allow the monster to continue her killing spree to stoke public resentment against Foltest.[4]
In reality, Brehen did confront Adda, showing little concern as he declared she wouldn't be the first royal to die by his sword. However, the striga ultimately overpowered and killed him.[2] His body was buried in secret by Temerians, and a fabricated story was spread, claiming that he had fled in cowardice.
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game[]
Season of the Cat: Brehen reward tree[]
- Scroll 1: As a member of the Feline witchers, Brehen's training focused on speed, precision, and agility – a skill set perfect for the nefarious acts of assassination ofttimes connected to the School of the Cat. So, despite his versatility during combat, one could say the most flexible thing about Brehen was his morality... and they'd be right.
- Scroll 2: Like most of his kin, Brehen was a rogue and an outcast. Prone to bouts of heightened emotion and erratic behaviour – attributed to the school's warped mutation process – Brehen's volatile nature was infamous. Mostly due to his hand in the massacre at the town of Iello, which forever branded him with the shady moniker: Cat of Iello.
- Scroll 3: Upon travelling to Vizima – where he intended to claim the reward for curing King Foltest's daughter of her monstrous curse – Brehen had a chance encounter with Geralt at The Wild Boar and Stag tavern. Believing the rival witcher was out to steal the bounty for himself, Brehen confronted the White Wolf. Whether it was confidence in his own fighting prowess, or the knowledge that Geralt was currently unarmed, Brehen attempted to coerce his opponent into a duel, declaring that only one of them would make it out alive.
- Scroll 4: As luck would have it, a fight between the Cat of Iello and the Butcher of Blaviken would not take place. Instead, an impromptu delivery of Geralt's swords shifted the dynamic of the situation, and Brehen's confidence seemingly vanished along with his advantage. Not wanting to risk facing the Wolf's fury on equal footing, the Cat conceded and vanished into the night, never to meet Geralt – nor any other witcher – ever again.
- Chest : Brehen never considered saving the princess. Even if the myths were true – and he seriously doubted it – reaking the curse would be a lot more work and certainly more dangerous. The risk just wasn't worth the reward. Besides, witchers were made for killing and Brehen had no intention of exhausting himself any more than he had to. The bounty would still stand if he claimed self-defence and no one else would be around to prove otherwise. So, on the next full moon, with weapons prepped and decoctions consumed, the Cat of Iello crept into the vaults beneath the forsaken palace, ready to end the murderous reign of the striga once and for all. Upon seeing her muscular physique, deadly-sharp claws, and hideous form, Brehen showed no fear nor concern. On the contrary, he scoffed at the sight of the cursed princess and sneered mockingly: "You're not my first royal." Alas, she would be his last.
Notes[]
- According to Velerad's words in The Witcher short story, two witchers took the striga contract: one young and inexperienced, who was turned into a meaty mess; and an older, sarcastic one, who accepted the contract after being promised by nobles a reward for killing the monster instead of trying to break the curse. That older one was said to leave the palace without fight. However, according to Gwent: The Witcher Card Game's director Jason Slama, in CD PROJEKT RED's The Witcher franchise, as in Netflix's The Witcher, it's assumed that the castellan's words were a lie intended to avoid scaring the public, and that the witcher's death was covered up.
- Sapkowski has never confirmed the names of the witchers who took the contract. Gwent assumes the older witcher to be Brehen. In the TV series, however, the witcher Remus was the only one to attempt it before Geralt.
Gallery[]
