Six years old it may be, but fans of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are still discovering new things about CD Projekt RED’s sprawling open-world RPG.
No doubt in anticipation of this year’s inaugural WitcherCon convention, many have been returning to the Continent to relive or experience Geralt of Rivia’s third adventure and in doing so, Reddit user Iridonia has spotted a minor but nonetheless incredible detail in the titular Wolf’s use of sign magic. Due to the dangerous nature of their profession, Witchers are equipped with all manner of survival tools during training, including the ability to cast potent spells. Unlike the sorceries used by Yennefer, Triss and the rest of their order, the aforementioned seasoned monster hunters utilize hand gestures to project offensive and protective wards.
These come in five flavors (Aard, Igni, Yrden, Quen and Axii) all with their own specialties, though it’s the latter which Iridonia calls particular attention to in their post. As they point out, the sequence of movements made by Geralt whenever he conjures the Axii sign actually mimics those used in the international sign language hand alphabet. As a deaf individual themselves, Iridonia admits that it took them “ages” to spot the parallels, though they stop short of quantifying exactly how long it went unnoticed.
Whether the remaining four signs adopt sign language conventions also isn’t clear, though anyone interested in doing the research for themselves can do so by booting up their copy of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
As for whether gamers will ever see a direct sequel to the acclaimed series’ third entry materialize, previous comments on the subject provided by CDPR appear to suggest the studio would rather tell an all-new story set in the same universe. As for who would inherit the mantle of protagonist; an answer could be waiting to reveal itself when WitcherCon kicks off on July 9th, so stay tuned.
