Had a mage, but her magic required sacrifices that I can't accept. [He barely knew Shireen, but the idea of a child, any child, being harmed for the sake of some spell, it sickened him. Melisandre would have been useful in the war to come and she truly believed in what she was fighting, but there were some actions he couldn't forgive...especially if they might be the reason he returned.] We had three dragons, but one was lost.

[His fault, something else that didn't sit well with him. Now the enemy had one too and they were more outnumbered than before.] The further south they go, the more numbers they collect. [He rubbed his eyes, aging before Geralt's eyes. This had taxed on him for so long, he felt as old as Maester Aemon.]

It does me no good being here. The war is coming and I'm here. My family, my home...they're facing destruction and the mages brought me here.