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Kill as many rulers as we could. Lay the blame on the sorceresses. Breed chaos. Prepare the North, soften it before the invasion. And you know what's incredible? We could not have imagined more fertile soil. No matter what the war's outcome, the Northern Monarchs'll accuse one another, pursue their god-given rights and be at each other's throats for years to come. |  | |
| - Letho explaining his motives to Geralt, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings | |||
Letho of Gulet, also known as The Kingslayer, was a witcher from the School of the Viper. His closest associates were Auckes, Serrit, and a fourth Viper—fellow kingslayers and witchers from the School of the Viper. Letho enlisted the help of Iorveth and the Scoia'tael to assist him in his plan to assassinate the kings of the Northern Kingdoms.
Quick Answers
What is the significance of Letho's title, 'The Kingslayer'?
Who were Letho's closest associates in the School of the Viper?
What role did Iorveth and the Scoia'tael play in Letho's plan?
Which king did Letho kill to convince Iorveth to join his cause?
What is known about Letho's origins?
Biography[]
Letho's origins are not well-documented, and it is unknown if he actually hailed from Gulet. As a child, he ended up at the School of the Viper, where he was trained, underwent the Trial of the Grasses, and became a witcher. Here, he was also educated in the school's repository of knowledge on the Wild Hunt.
After becoming a witcher, the Viper School eventually fell into ruin. The Usurper demanded the school's submission, and when they refused, the Nilfgaardian Army laid siege to and destroyed Gorthur Gvaed after a costly battle. The remaining witchers were scattered across the Empire, becoming internal exiles forbidden from entering most cities, forcing Letho and his brothers into hiding.[1]
Letho once pursued a bounty on a wanted man named Louis in Aedirn. Struggling to find simple contracts, Letho decided to hunt Louis for the reward. He tracked him to the Golden Hanged Man inn in Hagge and successfully captured him. However, when the guard post was closed until dawn, the two spent time talking and eventually became friends, prompting Letho to release him. After that, they occasionally worked together on various jobs.[2]
On July 25, 1270, in the forests of Angren, Letho was near death after being struck by a slyzard's tail. Geralt of Rivia, a witcher from the School of the Wolf, found and saved him while chasing the Wild Hunt to rescue Yennefer. In gratitude, Letho informed Geralt where to find the Wild Hunt and, alongside his companions, traveled with him to track down the spectral riders. They eventually caught up with the Wild Hunt on the Winter Solstice at the Hanged Man's Tree in Nilfgaard. Despite their skills, they couldn't defeat the spectral warriors, leading to a stalemate. Geralt then offered himself in exchange for Yennefer.
Respecting Geralt's sacrifice, Letho and his companions took care of Yennefer. However, she was suffering from amnesia, causing trouble for the group. While they traveled constantly to avoid attention, they were eventually detained and imprisoned. Later, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis offered Letho a deal: sow chaos in the North by assassinating key rulers, blaming the Lodge of Sorceresses for the chaos, in exchange for the restoration of the Viper School.
Killing kings[]
King Esterad Thyssen of Kovir and Poviss was initially Letho's first target, but this changed when he encountered Síle de Tansarville, who contracted him to assassinate King Demavend III and helped organize the assassination. In 1271, Letho infiltrated Demavend's ship on the Pontar and used a Northern Wind-based capsule to freeze most of the ship, killing nearly everyone aboard except for a few protected by Abelard of Hagge's counterspell. Letho then slaughtered the remaining guards and decapitated the king, keeping the head as proof. Following Síle's suggestion, Letho sought out Iorveth, securing an alliance with the Scoia'tael to assist in assassinating other Northern kings.
Because the kingslayers' first attempt on King Foltest's life failed due to Geralt's presence, which resulted in the would-be assassin's death, Letho planned a second attempt on the Temerian monarch's life with Iorveth, while remaining out of Síle's or anyone else's reach. Aware of the imminent siege at La Valette Castle, Letho decided to disguise himself as a monk guarding the king's children—a ruse he maintained by framing himself as a tortured monk and then killing the monk that had treated him. After successfully taking over the castle, Foltest appeared with Geralt, who was now acting as his bodyguard. The king asked Geralt to give him and the children some space, and with his back turned, Geralt heard the attack too late as Letho revealed himself just after killing Foltest. Letho then fled out of a window, escaping with the help of the Scoia'tael, leaving Geralt wrongly accused of regicide. Shortly after this assassination, Letho attempted to betray Iorveth by turning one of his lieutenants against him. When the elf refused, Letho killed his entire unit to cover his tracks and left Ciaran to be captured by Flotsam's guards.
Geralt, now aware of Letho's betrayal, tried to expose him by leading Iorveth to the kingslayer. However, the Scoia'tael were attacked by the Blue Stripes, leading to a battle between Geralt and Letho. Letho prevailed but spared Geralt, revealing that Geralt had once saved his life, and they were now "even." Letho then kidnapped Triss Merigold and forced her to teleport them to Aedirn, killing Cedric in the process.
In Vergen, Letho abandoned Triss and regrouped with Serrit and Auckes. Knowing the Scoia'tael would soon learn of his betrayal, the trio massacred them, leaving only one survivor. Hearing about the upcoming summit at Loc Muinne, Letho headed there, entrusting Serrit and Auckes with assassinating King Henselt or to act as cover while he escaped when their hideout was discovered.
If Geralt didn't save Triss: Letho rescued her from the Nilfgaardians in Geralt's stead. While he was successful in rescuing the sorceress, he was ultimately captured and brought before the kings at the summit, where he revealed that he had killed Foltest and Demavend, and that he had cooperated with the Lodge to accomplish this. When the dragon Saesenthessis attacked, Letho managed to escape.
Knowing that Síle had become a liability, Letho sabotaged her megascope by replacing one of the crystals with a flawed one. Unless Geralt intervenes, Letho is successful, and Síle dies in the resulting explosion. Afterwards, the kingslayer waited in the center of the Temerian Quarter in Loc Muinne to speak with his former companion. Letho offered Geralt vodka, explained his deal with the emperor, the fate of Yennefer, and all that he knew about the Wild Hunt.
If Geralt lets Letho go: the two parted ways, believing they'd never see each other again.
If Geralt fights Letho: the two engaged in a final battle, with Geralt ultimately defeating Letho and killing him.
On the run[]
If Geralt let Letho live: After successfully destabilizing the North, Letho discovered that his efforts were in vain. Emperor Emhyr reneged on his promise to restore the School of the Viper. Worse yet, Letho became a liability, as he was now a living witness to the emperor's schemes. Assassins were sent after him, and with a bounty on his head, Letho found himself constantly pursued by bounty hunters.
At one point, he was ambushed and nearly killed. Realizing he needed a new plan, Letho reconnected with Louis in Velen, who suggested he hide at Reardon Manor, which was overrun by wraiths. Coincidentally, Geralt happened to be in the area on unrelated business.
If Geralt doesn't help him out: the two parted ways, with Letho heading off to take care of his business by himself.
If Geralt helps him out: Letho and Geralt talked for a bit, with Letho explaining his "on the run" situation before a group of scouts arrived, no doubt sent to see if Letho was there. After the two witchers killed them off, Letho asked his former friend for help in dealing with the bounty hunters and the two set out together to track down Louis, an acquaintance of Letho's and the only one who knew where the witcher was hiding, having recommended the manor to Letho. It turned out that Louis sold him out and, not one to forgive such actions, Letho left him to die. He then had Geralt follow him to Lindenvale and told Geralt that whatever happened next, to not interfere, before throwing a bomb at a nearby barn, causing it to explode and several armed bounty hunters to run out of a nearby hut. After a short conversation between Letho and the group's leader, Arnout Vester, one of the bounty hunters shot a crossbow at the witcher and he attacked, killing off six of them before falling over, seeming dead. Letho woke up sometime later, with Geralt waiting nearby, having sensed on closer inspection that Letho had used a substance to only make it appear that he died.
- If Geralt kills the hunters: However, as Geralt hadn't known about this beforehand, he'd killed off all the rest of the bounty hunters in retaliation and Letho told him off, stating his plan was to make it appear that he'd died so the bounty hunters would stop chasing him and spread the news of his "death" but now all the eyewitnesses were dead, ruining that plan.
- If Geralt doesn't interfere: Having let the rest of the bounty hunters go, Letho was pleased to see that Geralt hadn't interfered with his ultimate plan: to make it look like he'd died so that the bounty hunters would stop chasing him and the witnesses would spread the news of his "death". However, he was thankful that Geralt had come along to help as his friend explained if he hadn't spoken up, the other bounty hunters would have cut off his head as proof; instead, they just took his medallion.
- If Geralt invites him to Kaer Morhen: regardless of the outcome with the bounty hunters, having nowhere else to go, Geralt invited Letho to Kaer Morhen, a place where he could lay low for awhile. Taking the offer, Letho made his way there and later participated in The Battle of Kaer Morhen, fighting alongside Geralt and Lambert against the Wild Hunt's scouts initially before the group retreated into the keep's courtyard. After the battle, he then informed Geralt he planned to travel east, past the mountains.
- If Geralt doesn't invite him to Kaer Morhen: After talking with Geralt about where he planned to go, Letho stated he wanted a change in scenery and thought maybe Zerrikania might be a nice place to visit.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings[]
Journal entry[]
- Disguised as a blind monk, the mysterious assassin took Geralt by surprise. Displaying immense self-control and lightning reflexes — not to mention a talent for acting — he murdered the king before the witcher's very eyes. He then leapt out the window of the solar before Geralt could grab him. Surviving the fall unharmed, the assassin fled with the aid of some Scoia'tael.
- The information in Vernon Roche's possession served to confirm what Geralt had witnessed. A man matching the kingslayer's description had been seen in the company of Scoia'tael near the trading post of Flotsam. Finding him seemed like the witcher's only chance.
- The mysterious individual now had a name. It appeared that this Letho, whoever he might be, was playing his own game — one in which the Scoia'tael had become an impediment. Yet his ultimate objective remained a mystery to Geralt.
- Letho had indeed been working with the Squirrels, doing their wet work for them. Geralt would soon learn the answers to many more questions.
- In the ruins of the elven bath, Geralt and the mysterious assassin stood eye to eye a second time. Geralt was surprised by what he learned. Letho of Gulet had been a witcher! What is more, there were other kingslayers, and they and Letho had worked together to assassinate the two dead northern monarchs. The witcher and the assassin were also no strangers — in fact, Geralt had once saved Letho's life. Their discussion ended abruptly as arrows whistled through the air and swords clashed. Letho demonstrated his strength and skills by beating Geralt black and blue. Before leaving, he announced that he was on his way to Aedirn.
- The kingslayer proved true to his word and kidnapped Triss, wounding Cedric mortally in the process. He forced the sorceress to aid him by teleporting them both to Aedirn.
- The magic sent Geralt a vision and gave us another bit of information. Letho had been in the area earlier and had ordered his accomplices to assassinate King Henselt. The kingslayers had been working with Síle de Tansarville, but, just as with Iorveth, their paths had diverged. Whatever finale would conclude this story, Letho claimed it would take place in Loc Muinne.
- I listened to the rest of the tale with bated breath. Led to the summit by Nilfgaardian envoys, Letho publicly accused the sorcerers of commissioning the assassinations of the northern monarchs.
- The kingslayer's intricate plan was revealed too late. Letho had been working for the Nilfgaardian Empire from the very beginning — his mission, to seed chaos before the Black Ones embarked upon a new war. Taking advantage of the ambitions of the Lodge of Sorceresses, its contacts and financial means — not to mention the support of the oblivious Scoia'tael partisans — Letho had eliminated two of the Nordlings' most important monarchs, plunging their realms into chaos.
- On top of that, he had thrown suspicion on the sorcerers, who were just regaining their standing. Thus was the force which had stopped Nilfgaard at Sodden dealt a truly shattering blow.
- Now Geralt had only to confront the kingslayer himself, so that the man could confirm or deny the witcher's suspicions. Only Letho knew the truth of the backroom intrigue which had left the north running with the blood of kings. Now I shall tell you about their final meeting, and its conclusion...
The Witcher Battle Arena[]
Letho of Gulet was one of the playable heroes in the now defunct MOBA and had a lot of interesting weapons, skills, and skins. He was a warrior class hero.
Hero Presentation[]
- Letho of Gulet - a witcher, a mighty warrior also known as The Kingslayer. Letho is a fantastic tank (i.e. a warrior whose main occupation is to keep enemies busy) and is very efficient against mages.
- He excels in one-on-one fights, in which, thanks to his QUEN sign, he can sustain a fair number of magical and physical damage. It's also worth mentioning that his shield, rather than just decreasing damage by a fixed amount, takes the full blow of a given enemy skill and allows Letho to remains unscathed as long as the spell is active. In practice, this means that each layer of QUEN (quantity depending on the ability level) will completely absorb both a mere hand-to-hand attack performed by a mage, as well as a powerful spell that would otherwise take half of Letho's HP.
- Letho's AARD sign is a "crowd control" ability. CC (short for Crowd Control) is usually used to stun, displace and slow down opponents, and it can play a pivotal role in a fight. If cast at the right time, the AARD Sign can put an enemy right in the middle of your group, allowing others to finish him or her off quickly. On the other hand, if used without thinking, it can facilitate an enemy's escape, or move them away from a friendly offensive spell's area of effect.
- Cleave, Letho's special skill, is a perfect finisher ability. You can use it to finish off fleeing and wounded enemies. Cleave makes Letho become invisible for a short period of time, and also gives him a huge speed boost. The witcher can then easily catch up with his enemy, and dispose of them with one powerful strike. Cleave, just like AARD, should be used with great consideration. It's an awesome finishing move, but it can also be used as an escape tool, which will save your skin on multiple occasions. There is one more aspect of Cleave you need to be aware of - when used, it silences the enemy making him or her unable to use abilities for a short time. Thanks to this, Letho can also take the role of an initiator - a fighter who spearheads the fight, taking the most dangerous enemy out of the equation first.[3]
Skins[]
- Primal Instinct - ?,€99 - 1500
- Scoia'tael Rags - €1,99 - 1000
- Crimson Armor - €1,99 - 1000
- Mutation - €1,99 - 1000
Weapons[]
- Kingslayer - €2,99 - 750
- Bone Sword - €2,99 - 750
- Assassin's Blade - €0,99 - 500
- Bone Shredder - €0,99 - 500
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt[]
|
Gotta understand, Louis. You don't betray men like me. | | |
| - Letho of Gulet | |||
Journal entry[]
- Some friends you see after many years apart and you immediately develop a headache. Not out of antipathy, but as a somatic premonition of the hangover sure to follow your drunken reunion. Seeing others, however, gives you an itching pain in your back and a desire to reach for your blade.
- For Geralt, Letho of Gulet had a foot in both of these camps. This renegade witcher of the school of the Viper had the blood of at least two Nordling kings on his hands, the fruit of his cooperation with Nilfgaard's emperor, Emhyr var Emreis. Accused of these crimes, Geralt was forced to chase down Letho to clear his own name. Though both walked away from their final confrontation in the ruins of Loc Muinne alive and unharmed, Geralt did not think he would ever see Letho again.
- It thus came as quite a shock when he happened across Letho in a barn loft somewhere in the war-ravaged Temerian borderlands.
- If Geralt decides not to follow Letho:
- It turned out Letho's former employer was less than satisfied with his performance and had set a variety of blood hounds on his trail. In these circumstances, the presence of another witcher to guard his back was more than welcome. Geralt, however, could not shake the bad taste left in his mouth by their prior interactions and went his own way, leaving Letho to clean up his own mess.
- If Geralt decides to help Letho:
- It turned out Letho's former employer was less than satisfied with his performance and had set a variety of blood hounds on his trail. In these circumstances, the presence of another witcher to guard his back was more than welcome. Geralt remembered the care Letho had given Yennefer and, in a show of solidarity, decided to help his former companion deal with his pursuers.
- If Geralt kills Letho's pursuers:
- In order to shake the hounds off his trail, Letho had decided on a risky maneuver — faking his own death. His plan would have worked perfectly, too, had Geralt's hero reflexes not been a tad overstrung, causing him to butcher any and all witnesses who might have spread the news.
- If Geralt goes along with Letho's plan:
- In order to shake the hounds off his trail, Letho had decided on a risky maneuver — faking his own death. Although Geralt had no forewarning of this, he improvised with aplomb and sent Letho's pursuers off convinced they had rid the world of a kingslayer.
- If Geralt asks him to go to Kaer Morhen:
- After that, there was nothing more for Letho to do but disappear. Geralt proposed he hide out at Kaer Morhen for a while, and after a bit of thought Letho agreed.
- Though some of Geralt's companions did not extend Letho a very warm welcome, the decision to invite him to Kaer Morhen proved wiser than Geralt could have known. During the battle against the Wild Hunt Letho proved his courage and valor while contributing to the victory over the Red Riders.
- If Geralt doesn't ask him to go to Kaer Morhen:
- After that, there was nothing more for Letho to do but disappear. He and Geralt shared a brief farewell and then went their separate ways once more.
Associated quests[]
- The Fall of the House of Reardon (proximity)
- Ghosts of the Past
- The Battle of Kaer Morhen (dependent)
- Blood on the Battlefield (dependent)
Trivia[]
- Letho is derivred from Greek name λήθω meaning "hidden" or "forgotten".[4]
Notes[]
- According to Arnout Vester, Letho's bounty is enough to buy an estate in Kovir.
- In The Witcher 3, Letho talks about heading to Zerrikania if not asked to go to Kaer Morhen, citing a possible reason that it's a matriarchy and he's always had a deep belief "that it's women who should rule the world." Whether this was in jest or what he really thinks, however, is uncertain.
Videos[]
Gallery[]
References[]
External links[]
- See the GWENT standalone game version card: Letho of Gulet
See the GWENT standalone game version card: 
