The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf explores the backstory of Vesemir, Geralt of Rivia’s mentor, and while the events of the movie happen many years before Geralt’s time as a witcher, four very important apprentices appear at the end of the movie – and here’s who they are. Created by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is a series of novels and short stories that have become one of the most popular universes in the realm of fantasy, in big part thanks to their video game adaptations. The Witcher stories were adapted into a movie and TV show in Poland in 2001 and 2002, and an English version finally arrived in 2019 thanks to Netflix, becoming one of the platform’s most popular titles.
Netflix’s The Witcher opted for a non-linear narrative in its first season by focusing on three characters in different places and points in time, with their paths converging towards the end of the season. This way, viewers got to know Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri (Freya Allan) quite well, but season 1 left a lot of questions about the vast universe of The Witcher. Luckily, the success of the first episodes made way for spinoff projects, the first one being the anime movie The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, which takes viewers many years back to take a look into the story of Geralt’s mentor and father figure Vesemir (voiced by Theo James).
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf explores the younger years of Vesemir, from his childhood to his decision to become a witcher and him taking the role of mentor to the young witchers who survived the attack on Kaer Morhen. Vesemir was the last witcher standing, so he had to take the role of mentor to the young ones who made it out of Kaer Morhen in time, and these apprentices will actually play a role in The Witcher season 2. Here’s who the young witchers at the end of Nightmare of the Wolf are and their role in season 2.
Geralt of Rivia
Of course, one of those young witchers was none other than Geralt of Rivia. Out of the group of survivors, Geralt was the smallest and palest and stood out because he had no hair – and years later, he would become known for his white hair. When at Kaer Morhen hiding with Illyana (Mary McDonnell), Geralt proposes a safe way out, with one of his young colleagues adding that he knows about it because he tried to escape the keep many times. At the end of Nightmare of the Wolf, Vesemir finds the young witchers and tells them to make a decision, and this peculiar young boy tells him that people hate witchers, with Vesemir replying “there will always be another monster, Geralt”. Geralt is the lead of the main series, and The Witcher season 2 will see him training and protecting Ciri, while also looking for Yennefer and battling new threats, both human and monster.
Eskel
At one point in Nightmare of the Wolf, Vesemir tries to convince the other witchers at Kaer Morhen to go out and get drunk, with one of them mentioning staying at the keep to see who survives the trials, which are the intense alchemical processes young apprentices have to go through to become witchers. As not all kids who go through it survive the “Trial of the Grasses”, the old witcher says he thinks Eskel, Lambert, and Remus will survive, and he was mostly correct. Eskel is one of the kids who escaped Kaer Morhen with Geralt, and he will make his debut in The Witcher TV series in season 2, played by Basil Eidenbenz. Eskel and Geralt are like brothers as they grew up together (and some even believe they look alike, with the big differences of Geralt having white hair and Eskel a big scar across his face), and he becomes a widely known name thanks to his professionalism, reliability, and for his relaxed disposition. The Witcher season 2 will see Geralt taking Ciri to Kaer Morhen, where she will be trained by Eskel and the rest.
Lambert
The old witcher was right when he said Lambert would be one of the kids to survive the trials, and along with Geralt and Eskel, he joined Vesemir and was trained by him. Just like Eskel, Lambert will return to Kaer Morhen for the winter and help train Ciri in The Witcher season 2, where he will train her in fencing, as seen in some official images of season 2. Contrary to Eskel and his kind personality, Lambert is best known for his impatience and attitude, and he’s pretty ill-mannered, acting rude mostly towards Triss Merigold. Lambert will be played by Paul Bullion, best known for playing Billy Kitchen in Peaky Blinders.
Cöen
The other witcher who survived the “Trial of the Grasses” was Coën. This young witcher stood out from the rest as he retained scars from early childhood diseases like chickenpox, which is unusual as most witchers are immunized, so he most likely got sick when he was very young. Coën will also help Geralt train Ciri in The Witcher season 2, teaching her sword combat and bonding with the young Princess during her time at Kaer Morhen. Coën is also one of the subjects of one of Ciri’s trances while at the keep, where she foresees some dangerous events.