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You only live once! |  | |
| - Udalryk's war cry, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Audio version: | |||
Udalryk an Brokvar[1] was the jarl of Clan Brokvar from Spikeroog in Skellige Islands.
Biography[]
Udalryk was born as the eldest son of the Jarl of Spikeroog though was soon joined by a younger brother, Aki. While the two got along well enough, their father appeared to favor Aki, going as far as bestowing the family's heirloom sword Brokvar on the younger son rather than following Skelligan custom and giving it to the firstborn son, which was considered to be a serious insult to Udalryk. Enraged at this, Udalryk publicly questioned his father's decision, breaking one of Skellige's sacred laws in doing so, and was subsequently punished by being chained to a pile in the sea for three days. Afterwards, to try and make amends, he and Aki went out on a sailing trip near Ulula's Needle when a storm broke out and Aki fell overboard. Udalryk, who had his hands full with the sails, didn't hear his brother's cry for help until it was too late and Aki drowned.
Having failed to save his brother, Udalryk was overcome with immense guilt and sometime afterwards began to hear voices in his sleep that claimed they were messengers from the gods. These voices plagued Udalryk with strange visions and commanded he harm himself as a sacrifice to the gods, like cutting himself deep enough to leave scars, though he viewed this as a gift to hear from the gods so directly.
Eventually he became the jarl of Clan Brokvar and by 1272 had his own son, who he named Aki in honor of his deceased brother.
- If Cerys and Geralt help him: One day Cerys an Craite showed up to observe and ask questions about the voices he could hear, though Udalryk stayed mostly to himself. Shortly after that the witcher Geralt also showed up, looking for Cerys, but bothered by a recent dream he had, Udalryk merely noted he didn't know where the young woman was before leaving, having his advisor, Hjort, talk to the witcher instead.
- A short time later, both Cerys and Geralt approached him together, revealing they believed the voices he was hearing were related to what happened to Aki all those years ago and the only way to make amends was to lay Brokvar with Aki's remains in the ocean. Udalryk immediately became worried, feeling the gods would be angry for doing so, though Hjort asked him to trust the witcher and that the gods surely wanted him to do this. With that, Udalryk agreed and had Geralt go lay the family sword with his brother's remains.
- However, shortly after Geralt headed off to do so, the voices gave a command once more to Udalryk: this time he must poke out one of his eyes as he had failed to go beg for Aki's forgiveness himself. Shortly after following their orders and poking out his left eye, Cerys found out and questioned why he'd even do such a thing, noting the gods would never ask that of someone. Geralt returned shortly after that and began to question Udalryk on how exactly the voices communicated and if he'd ever seen them, with the jarl responding how he only ever saw them as a shadowy figure and he kept his home dim as most people were unworthy of seeing the gods' true forms.
- If Geralt agrees to Cerys' way: After talking to the two guests, a short time later Udalryk found out Cerys had run off with his baby and the jarl and his guards gave chase, following her all the way back to his old family home. As they rushed in after her, he saw Geralt holding Aki just before the witcher threw the baby into the hot oven and sealed the door. As Udalryk ran over and fruitlessly tried to bang open the sealed door, Geralt fought off the guards. Distraught at not being able to save his baby, the jarl turned on Geralt, asking why he did such a thing, when Cerys suddenly reappeared with Hjort who held a crying, but otherwise unharmed, Aki. At this, a relieved Udalryk rushed over to his son as Cerys and Geralt informed him of the truth: Geralt discovered the voices he'd been hearing were actually from a hym, a powerful and dangerous creature that feeds off a person's guilty conscious and pain, having latched onto Udalryk over his guilt at not being able to save his brother. They had then tricked the hym to latch onto Geralt, who thought he'd killed the baby, but after revealing they baby wasn't harmed, the hym had nobody to latch onto and was subsequently banished.
- If Geralt does the witcher way: Geralt informed Udalryk of what they'd discovered: the "voices" he was hearing were actually of a hym that was feeding on his guilty conscious, and in order to defeat it the jarl had to spend a night in his old family's home while Geralt worked on calling the hym out to fight it. While initially not wanting to do it, Udalryk eventually agreed, allowing Geralt to finally defeat the monster that'd been plaguing him for years.
- Though Udalryk was heavily distraught at first by having lost his contact with what he believed to be the gods' voices, Cerys and Geralt eventually convinced him that he would soon start to feel much better.
- If Cerys is helped during King's Gambit: Grateful for Cerys and Geralt's help, Udalryk vouched for the two's proof that Birna had caused the feast's massacre, remarking he trusted them more than Birna.
Journal entry[]
- Jarl Udalryk was an enigmatic figure to say the least. Some mysterious ill surrounded him, causing others to shirk his company.
- Geralt could not help but notice that Udalryk did seem to be acting strangely, muttering to himself often and showing signs of suppressed panic, as if he lived in constant fear of something - or someone.
- Geralt's private talk with the jarl confirmed the rumors. Udalryk was convinced the gods spoke to him, sending him prophetic dreams and demanding he make sacrifices.
- The tale of the strife between Udalryk and his brother Aki over the family sword threw new light on the jarl's mysterious problems. That the voices he heard demanded he injure himself suggested a vengeful spirit was involved.
- Udalryk's madness deepened ever more, finally prompting him to pluck out his own eye as payment for unspecified sins.
- If Geralt chooses to fight the Hym:
- In the end Geralt's determination and skilled use of his witcher blade saved the day by freeing the jarl from the wraith that was tormenting him. With this, Udalryk could finally know peace.
- If Geralt goes along with Cerys' plans:
- In the end Cerys' ingenuity freed Udalryk from the wraith that was tormenting him. With this, the jarl could finally know peace.
Associated quest[]
Gallery[]
References[]
External links[]
See the GWENT standalone game version card: Udalryk
See the GWENT standalone game version card: