King of the Wild Hunt

No enemy is more terrifying than the King of the Wild Hunt, who leads a horde of ghastly riders across the sky. Doom incarnate, he fears no opponent, for he can always decide that his adversary is doomed, which usually determines the outcome of any clash. Over the course of the game, Geralt will have several opportunities to meet the King of the Wild Hunt, as his every step is dogged by the specter.

Template:Spoiler Over the course of the game, the specter appears to Geralt again and again, taunting him each time and twisting everything the witcher has done in an attempt to have our hero doubt himself and his own motives.

We first get a glimpse of what later learn is the King of the Wild hunt and his horde of wraiths near Kaer Morhen in the Prologue. In Chapter I, the specter again appears, this time in the Outskirts along with the ghost of Leo. In Chapter IV, Geralt must be very careful not to summon him as he completes a quest for the hermit. These encounters culminate in a final confrontation at the end of the game and true to form, the witcher is faced with another dilemma.

Associated quests

• Dead Hand of the Past
• Frozen Reflections
• Hunting the Wild Hunt

Journal entry

I am persecuted by the Wild Hunt, a cavalcade of ghostly riders on skeletal steeds. Leading them is the King of the Wild Hunt, the harbinger of war and despair. I know he seeks me, but I don't know why. The King of the Hunt appeared again and appointed one of his wraiths to fight me. He exploited a weakness — the wraith was the specter of Leo. The spectral sovereign appeared in the village of Murky Waters near Vizima. I'm certain his appearance heralds disaster. The King of the Wild Hunt appeared in the Grand Master's vision. I now know that I'm not the only one haunted by fate. The ghostly king seeks Jacques de Aldersberg as well, and wants his soul perhaps even more than he wants mine. I fought the King of the Wild Hunt for the soul of Jacques de Aldersberg — in the Ice Plains, I defeated the specter.

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Monsterbook

Developer CD Projekt's characterization of the King of the Wild Hunt taken from the monsterbook, which was enclosed with the Collectors Edition of the computergame The Witcher for Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic:

This powerful being leads a retinue of wraith raiders in their mad rush across the sky. The Wild Hunt, like a comet, is considered an ill omen, a harbinger of disaster and war. The King of the Wild Hunt is an unusual opponent, if only because he is from another world – a fact well known to Sapkowski's fans.

When we decided that the King of the Wild Hunt would appear in the game, we knew he had a serious part to play. From beginning to end, this nightmarish ruler appears on Geralt's path as an oppressor and portent of misery. The King of the Wild Hunt is linked to the forces of Destiny: he hovers just outside the main narrative, only appearing to remind the witcher of painful events or to provoke difficult discussions.

Our protagonist's most powerful opponent is thus one of the game's most important and mysterious characters.
The King of the Wild Hunt wields a scythe – an attribute of death. Beneath his ragged robes, he wears elements of an ancient suit of armor. The ornaments on his clothing and crown evoke associations with flesh—eating maggots.

"Astride the horse skeletons sat skeletal riders wearing rusty plate armor and chain mail, shredded coats, and dented and corroded helmets adorned with bullhorns and headdresses of ostrich and peacock feathers. Beneath their raised visors glowed the specters' bluish eyes. Their tattered banners rustled. At the head of the demonic cavalcade galloped an armed wraith, a crown upon his helmet, around his neck a pendant beating rhythmically against the breastplate." Template:Sapkowski citation

Gallery

A silver sword may not be enough to defeat this foe.

A sketch of the King of the Wild Hunt

The King of the Wild Hunt with the scythe – an attribute of Death