The Elder Races | Witcher Explained Part 4 | Witcher Lore

[@arson338]

It's always a super intelligent lizard race every single universe

[@breakerofrocks]

That owes, I think, to the generally exotic 'otherness' that we, as primates and therefore mammals, feel about reptiles overall. They are vertebrates and have integument, and that's relatable, but they locomote with their limbs held out and away from them, so their joint movements in profile set off alarms in our minds screaming to us the potential risk such strangeness entails. I also reckon that most folks associate dinosaurs with reptiles more than with avians, which is actually weird because all birds alive today are technically dinosaurs, but that's just not the commonly thought of relationship and the long reign and distant death of non-avian dinosaurs means anthropoid dinosaurs ('lizard-men') are often acceptable and even palatable as the oldest and/or progenitor race.

[@revanvonheaven8270]

Lizards

[@Creditkae]

Because the reptilian humanoids run the world and write our fiction lol

[@amoore6574]

Even our own…

[@TheDennys21]

I heard *Z u c c* is immortal and was the king of the Vran race.

[@mynameismud888]

I find it interesting and also funny that the the humans were looked at as greedy and cruel, killing and taking lands that were occupied before they arrived. Yet, history says that this is exactly what the Elves did when they arrived to the Vran and the Werebubs. Even going so far as to use biological attacks on the Vran. The Dwarves and Gnomes seem to have not had this impact on the ELDER elder races as it states that some of the Werebubs took refuge with them in the mountains. Did the elves just finally experience Karma?

[@tombprospectorvulcan6440]

Probably plus gnomes were in mahakam before the dwarves and when they met they was chill lol

[@kingt0295]

Dwarves and Halflings are just chill bros that want to make cool swords, Elves and later humans are magically sensitive races with grand ambitions

[@magister343]

Pointed ears are not the primary feature distinguishing elves from humans in the world of the wither. Their eyes and teeth are more important. Elves (and, to a somewhat lesser degree, humans with some elven ancestry) tend to have very large eyes and more intense color in their irises. Pure blooded elves are noted for having teeth which are more numerous, smaller, and straighter than human teeth, and which are uniformly the same size and shape rather than being specializes as incisors, canines, premolar, or molars.

[@aaronellis7232]

I think it's both, right? In "Lesser Evils," Geralt recognizes the half-elf in Renfri's band because of his dark eyes and his pointed ears. I'm still only through book one though, so I could be wrong.

[@Jinkypigs]

@@aaronellis7232 yes agreed. Saying the ear is NOT one of the distinguishing feature is like saying being short, stocky, bearded is not one of the distinguishing feature of a traditional dwarf. Yes there are exceptions, but that means that these are the norms in order for it to be an exception of. And yes there are other features of dwarf but that doesn't make its stocky stature ONE of its distinguishing feature. Seriously idiocy needs to know some limit.

[@Kynreevez]

Neeeeeeeerrrrrd *yelled in Homer Simpson*

[@yellowfellow6032]

Iv got to poo but ya he probly should have sed somthing about the teeth

[@SigFreudian]

Your narration and background music are just superb. Suited for people like me who prefer to listen to podcast but would occasionally need the visuals while snacking.😅 Appreciate it! 🎉

[@Jesse_exploit]

I always felt empathic towards the Elves because of the fact that the Humans pushed them out of their homes but now i realise what the Humans did is just basically karma.

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

Just found this karma for what

[@Walter__Clements]

@@durrangodsgrief6503 Karma for killing off much of the Vran and the other race mentioned in the video

[@szafraniec8164]

​@@Walter__Clementselves were actually the worst in terms of oppressing ofhers, something netflix could not grasp at all

[@bgcvetan]

It is always ironic that things do come around.

[@nathanlima4608]

Basicaly the humans did to the Elves the same they did to the Vran when they arrived

[@mancamiatipoola]

I love the wonderful paintings you use as backdrops for the story. Sometime i lose myself in them examining every detail and lose focus on your narration so i have to go back and listen again. Great artwork choice and storytelling, my frend!

[@TheLorebrarians]

I appreciate it! Yes, there are some very talented artists at work

[@CoolGuyJ84]

Thanks for another Witcher lore video! It's very comprehensive (that as someone like myself who's read the books and played the game didn't even know 1 or 2 things. It's great learning new things!). Also, it's wonderful seeing you use the artwork from one of the Witcher 3 artbooks (I remember the art from that book being really gorgeous), since it's a great visual aid. When you mentioned "elves expanded in relative peace with the other races" (22:40 mark), I'm guessing that's excluding Vran since you mentioned elves drove the lizard race out of their settlements in the beginning of the video? As for suggestions for future videos, 1) Skellige: The history of the isles, customs of people who live there, how they differ in physical/psychological traits compared to Northerners & Nilfgaard, as well as different religion (if I'm remembering correctly, there's a part in the books where Yennefer visits a goddess temple (who is not Melitelle). 2) Much smaller Kingdoms of the continent such as Brugge, Cidaris, Verden etc etc, if there is content worth looking into 3) In-depth videos on some of the monsters: would love to see you do one on vampires.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Awesome, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! And yes, you're right a few violent outbursts by the elves against the vran. Thanks for the suggestions, those are some very exciting topics

[@DiceTry]

I don't know much really about Witcher lore. I had no idea about these races. Such amazing world building.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Yes, the witcher has some rich lore and a very interesting fantasy setting

[@damientaylor1013]

Its kinda sad that the humans and elves dont see that they are so similar to each other both races concor and are an invasive species or am i wrong? im kinda new to the witcher lore

[@sparrowwatch6843]

Exactly, they are doing what all species do, expand when they feel strong enough. I am very bothered by how hurt the elves are but in reality, they are just as bad

[@Beanpolr]

@@sparrowwatch6843 I mean, it makes sense why they're hurt. Many of them had nothing to do with their race's past actions, but are now persecuted just because of what they are. Also, the humans (nowadays) only hate elves because they're told to, and because they're different.

[@rudhra5957]

I mean we do the same Black people, white people, Latin people, Indian people, Asian people, Polynesian people etc

[@ZoeAlleyne]

"Relatively" is doing a lot of work here. The elves were "relatively peaceful".

[@Its_Milkyx]

So learning that unicorns are sentient beings that can travel through space and time makes that one scene in the 3rd game very different 🤣

[@sparrowwatch6843]

Awesome video! But it is ironic how the elven races are so butt heart about being displaced by humans and crying victim, but they did the same to the primitive creatures they conquered. So much for crying victim. Sounds like expansion and dominion is just part of civilizations.

[@thelonelyduck7267]

Yeah but the elves didn't slaughter sentient creatures bases on a few differences in appearance

[@sparrowwatch6843]

@@thelonelyduck7267 did y ou u not watch the video, yes they did, creatures that were sentient and were massively different and had skills

[@hongag9872]

*counterpoints* Elves treating vran the same as humans treated elves: whilst they did take the vran's land they didn't expand over the mountains so the vran still had much land plus there is no mention of elves slaughtering vran is racial purges To expansion and dominion being just a part of civilization: well did the gnomes or dwarves do it in a majorly violent way? maybe your just buthurt over the humans being the bad guys

[@rns7426]

@@hongag9872 great, SJW’s in the Witcher universe. 🙄 🤦‍♂️

[@dmitritrs4867]

@@hongag9872 Seems like humans did no different than the elves , just so happens they did it better ! Loosing the war doesn’t make them the good guys

[@Nocturnie]

I’m new the the Witcher and can’t play the first two games so I’m starting with the 3rd game and your videos are helping me so much with learning about this world

[@animeheadshot1016]

This was a fantastic and informative video! I've watched a lot of other Witcher lore content and this was a great comprehensive look at the elder races. My one critique would be the pronunciation of some of these elder speech words, namely what the elves call themselves. The correct pronunciation is "en-shay." I completely understand the mispronunciation, though, as the word is rooted in Irish/Gaelic, which is notorious for not looking ANYTHING like the way it's spelled.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Thanks, I appreciate it! And thanks for the feedback, I have been corrected on pronunciation a few times and will do better moving forward. (🤞 at least)

[@bartosznaswiecie1179]

Looking at how Andrzej Sapkowski isn't particularly exact with pronunciation- do you have any source on that or is it how you expect it to be pronounced?

[@sw6088]

I’ve seen better

[@Morghast]

Same as Romanji and Engrish. Phonetics vs Written pronounciations.

[@gloferj]

This channel is criminally underrated!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Thanks, hopefully word spreads!

[@MahoneyBadger]

Just finished the books and about to get into the games, this series is helpful.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Have a blast! I haven't personally played the games much but they get a lot of praise. Maybe one day

[@jamesnave1249]

DWARVES! they are by far my favourite, would love to delve deeper into those angry little beardos

[@clarkycat9173]

A bit late to the video but I’ve been binging your Witcher videos today and I’m super excited for when you cover The northern kingdoms!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Love to hear it, mor witcher content is soon to come especially as we approach the next season of the show!

[@karelleet]

Thank you so much for these lore videos, its such a pleasure listening to you speak, and im so gratefull to now experience the witcher games with such a greater understanding which makes the experience that much more meaningfull and interesting

[@hazey0363]

Watched your other 3 videos, I didn't think you were doing more witcher so I didn't sub but now I'm looking forward to this one and the rest, keep up the amazing work!

[@TheLorebrarians]

I appreciate it! Yeah, it's been a balancing act between witcher/MTG/some planned new projects and of course my day job. But I plan on making more frequent witcher videos as the new season approaches

[@gahngis8158]

I will say, this video my favorite part of the witcher is that the elves and humans are both bad. Elves did what the humans are doing now. And even the elder elves are doing now.

[@HidekiRyuga-L]

Yeah but it is incorrect to think they are equivalent. I think the game is alluding to a lot of irl conflicts where this is debated. But the point remains that history cannot justify the present. Which is a lil annoying thing to deal with. Lets say humans do successfully eradicate the elves, then elves become the history and all the wrongs of humanity as time passes will be forgotten. This is just a sad reality. Which is the reason we need Scoetal or a resistance group that picks up arms to fight against those who are in power. And just like in real life these resistances groups are made indistinguishable from terrorists by the governments pushing their own agenda. It is not a fault of modern day elves for the crimes that were committed by their ancenstors 1000s of years ago, but it is a fault of the modern day humans to commit the same crime. If we were living at the times the vrans existed, we should have also supported vrans resistance group. It is sad that that had to happen, but the point is not revenge but to make sure it doesnt happen again. I think there is a lot being said about current state of the world in this regards.

[@valdimarinn]

Just found your channel and gosh darnit it is good

[@TheLorebrarians]

Welcome to the channel, glad you enjoy the content!

[@darthj_der7447]

Watch your language now. 😆

[@willgriff]

Subbed as soon as I read ur comment

[@Spaceman7391]

Great job!! It's great to see you continue the series and do it so so well. I'm a little disappointed I wasn't notified earlier, apparently, the little bell doesn't work as it should. Regardless, I'm here now and glad for it. Keep it up, you've got yourself a fan :)

[@TheLorebrarians]

Yeah, I'm not sure what the YT is up to at times but I appreciate the support and am excited to start more projects in the series!

[@augustagger4616]

Hey Lorebrarians i loved the video! Maybe the next installment could explain a bit about the many central and maybe even peripheral characters of the Witcher universe. Without spoiling any of the plots of course:) I would love to see that

[@TheLorebrarians]

So glad to hear it and thanks for the suggestion! Will probably do a few videos on the characters stories and also one about the complete history of the continent

[@augustagger4616]

@@TheLorebrarians sounds great! Can’t wait 😛

[@nada_puede_malir_sal7999]

solid explanations and loved the smooth yet clear tone of your voice! congrats!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@The_Loreseeker]

>See new Lorebrarians >Watch new Lorebrarians simple as

[@LipeManzoli]

Hey Eric, great video, as always! Could you please add the timestamps to this video as well? Thanks a lot!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Thanks for the heads up, will do!

[@FrontlinePros]

This was great and we'll paced. Thanks for the video 👍

[@TheLorebrarians]

Glad you enjoyed

[@jthehaterh7729]

These videos are amazing for a gamer loves lore but I didn't get into the series tell I started watching the show

[@willbob55]

Thank you so much for these videos! They are amazing, and you have a wonderful voice.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Appreciate it and glad you enjoyed!

[@abeth1518]

We can't get along with ourselvesImagine having these different races(species) on earth for real.

[@Tristan_00715]

it'll be chaos that's for sure.some people if not most can't get a long just because of stupid ass Color difference.

[@rockmanx6857]

Couldn't agree more 👏

[@Ignisan_66]

We had different races on Earth. They all died. Look what happened to the Neanderthals.

[@BEDLAMITE-5280ft.]

You are doing a great service, thank you!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Appreciate it, glad you enjoyed!

[@Jayden_Nite]

Vrans and Werebubs: Living life. Elves:Mine now bitch! *proceeds to commit genocide* Vrans and Werebubs: *leave or die* Elves 😁and live life. Humans: Mine now bitch! *proceeds to commit genocide* Elves: 😲

[@marinac444]

It would’ve been great if you could make something like this concerning Tolkien, especially Silmarillion, I’m a huge fan and I’ve read the books a 100 times but I still can’t absorb his world

[@MahoneyBadger]

There is a KZbinr I follow who covers Tolkien, Geaorge Martin and The Witcher stuff exclusively. If I remember his name I’ll add an edit.

[@TausifAhmad03]

Already covered by several channel very easy to search .. just type Tolkien explained, there are lot of pieces done on each character, story and timelines

[@deanf6036]

They are not on Earth. They are on some other planet altogther. The humans arrived from Earth during the conjunction. This is a pretty important acpect of the lore.

[@TheLorebrarians]

I just call it "the earth" as another name for "world"

[@kaitlyn5324]

Oh dang I’m EARLY! Great video! 🥰

[@szafraniec8164]

Great video

[@TheFos88]

I do believe I have shat in my silver pantaloons.

[@MzShaybutta]

😳😳😳 thank you for this. Watching the series and I'm glad I found this channel.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Of course, glad you enjoyed and welcome the the channel!

[@SamyT1994]

I strongly recommend taking a peak at the books, they are massively better than the series. If you're still interested in the wotcherverse.

[@AdrianDanielGuard]

Another amazing video!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Appreciate it!

[@DrEhrfurchtgebietend]

So what do they mean when they say "Ciri has elder blood"?

[@NUDZZZ]

ciri has elven blood

[@DrEhrfurchtgebietend]

@@NUDZZZ So do those flowers grow everywhere and elves blood is spilled. They talk like her elven blood gives her powers. There are plenty of elves with no powers

[@NUDZZZ]

@@DrEhrfurchtgebietend she had like a very powerful mage ancestor who was an elf. i forgot her name tho :')

[@supergowiak4369]

​@@DrEhrfurchtgebietendvery late but if you watched Dune she is kinda the same as Paul exept instead of benegeserit manipulating bloodline it's elf eugenics

[@phekomoeketsi9721]

sees name chuckles... " i see what you did there"

[@redluke8119]

Great content! Just found your channel and subscribed

[@TheLorebrarians]

I appreciate and welcome to the channel!

[@CarlBriscoe16]

Loving the lore just got into the witcher 💪

[@TheLorebrarians]

Appreciate it!

[@jammydodger222Xxd]

I always thought a werebub was just something geralt made up to make fun or Morvran Voorhis 🤣

[@badstar9670]

Thank you

[@nekrox1]

I wonder how orcs would fare in The Witcher world . As their usual role in fantasy is the one of natural enemies to humans and being far more fertille , not to mention larger and stronger than humans , i wonder if they could become the possible replacement of the human race as a dominant race of the continent . If they were canon that is 😐

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

The best one would be the skyrim orcs

[@wynfrithnichtwo8423]

Waaaaaggghhhhh!!!!!! Lol sorry I had to when I read orcs. I am glad there are no orcs. It would be to close to Tolkien if those were a part of things. Close but not the same, but still I am glad The Witcher is different from many things. True it still has some things in common here and there like elves, dwarves, and gnomes, but it is also still has it’s own manner.

[@brosephstalin2805]

I just realized you do mtg lore too, HELL YEAH.

[@TheLorebrarians]

You bet, I started with MTG so have a bit more content covering the Magic Multiverse. Hope you enjoy the vids

[@Feon83]

One thing i didn't understand. Did the elves and humans came to the continent with the same conjunction of the spheres or were there two of them. In the history of the continent video, you ve mentioned that the elves came into the continent by using magic portals and then men came during the conjunction, but in this video you re saying that they both came during the conjunction, so i am a little confused.

[@supergowiak4369]

Elfs could make their own "conjunctions" to travel the worlds. Humans arrived during natural conjunction 1500 years ago to a diffrent continent within this world then colonized this one few hundred years ago

[@rondelljohnson3111]

Where you learn these from?

[@nataliasclarandi8204]

Lock-Morian, is the Witcher & the Silmarillon related?

[@yurianonio9410]

Hey Eric, my name is lorelovers!

[@LRGoodGame]

Are you Historia Civilis? You guys sounds very similar. Love your videos!

[@TheLorebrarians]

I've not heard of them, but I appreciate it! Might have to check them out

[@Smartalic10]

So the elves kick the vran (sorry if I spelled that wrong) out of their lands…and then eventually would get kicked out by humans…karmas a bitch ain’t it? Lol I’m jk

[@alexanderbieler3897]

Scoiatel is elfish for squirrel, they are called that because of their tailhats

[@trence5]

I hope this show lasts long enough to introduce the Aen Elle and the Wild Hunt. I'd like to see who they cast as Eredin Bréacc Glas.

[@Jinkypigs]

And see them mess up all the lores? No thanks

[@sebastiannazarevscky3496]

well, that time has come. so, what do you think of eredin? how about avalach? :p

[@zodiacpuncher]

I am absolutely devouring these videos and am loving every minute of it. But why did you pronounce Melitele like that? It's "MUH-LIT-EL-AY" not "MILLUH-TELLY." Other than that, I am looking forward to watching more videos like this. You have a very soothing voice. ^w^

[@Infrared01]

I'm new to this world, so forgive me if this is off. Was the author significantly inspired by Tolkien? Because it seems the halflings are almost copies of Hobbits.

[@jasonzaragoza9413]

halfling is literally another name for the hobbit race, it's used in LOTR as well

[@berserk8866]

Great content. One request, please change the way you slide show the images.

[@Rodiacreed]

You need to switch images more often. You spent the first 3 minutes on the same image.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Appreciate the feedback

[@Rodiacreed]

@@TheLorebrarians No problem keep at it 👍

[@GideonF64.9]

I'm a little confused. First you said the Elves pushed out the Vran and built their cities on top of the ruins of what the Vran once created. Yet later you say the Elves expanded peacefully. Am I missing something?

[@TheLorebrarians]

You aren't. I should have specified 'relative' peace. Although elves skirmished with dwarves and the like there weren't huge conquests or loss of life after the attacks on vran

[@jasonzaragoza9413]

the vrans do not exist in the actual lore

[@i.cs.z]

Elves expanded peacefilly, according to the elves. So you know, unreliable narrator and all that.

[@i.cs.z]

@@jasonzaragoza9413 They do, in the "A Road with No Return", alongside bobolaks.

[@phillipj1135]

How it is written elfs and humans knew each other before they arrived on mass on the continent. Also it's a hypothetical example of history being told by the losers and it probably works out because in less a elf is killed in some war they will outlive several generations of human.

[@jammydodger222Xxd]

What I've never understood as well is if the aen seidhe have such a mastery of magic, why were they so easily defeated by humans? There doesn't seem to be a clear answer and it strikes me as a plot hole. In reality there are always two sides to every conflict and very rarely does one group utterly destroy another so easily without a very clear and obvious reason such as technological superiority.

[@TheLorebrarians]

To me it seemed more about numbers than magic or tech. Since humans can reproduce significantly faster and are "fertile" most of their lives they were able to recover their losses much quicker and continue to throw bodies at the elves

[@jammydodger222Xxd]

@@TheLorebrarians ah I see, I didn't realise elves couldn't reproduce as quickly, makes sense though given their lifespan.

[@jameschristophercirujano6650]

Weren't humans already there a thousand years before the Nordlings?

[@jasonzaragoza9413]

nordlings are humans

[@jameschristophercirujano6650]

@@jasonzaragoza9413 Yes. I'm referring to the ones that assimilated the Elven culture in the South. I watched a video that said that humans arrived a thousand years earlier in the South and they assimilated and interbred with the Elves.

[@jasonzaragoza9413]

@@jameschristophercirujano6650 as far as the actual lore goes I believe they all arrived at the same time, it’s simply the humans of the south somewhat coexisted with non humans a little more

[@edcrow7987]

“Death to all humans!” does all this chapter shout. Is such self-flagellation necessary?

[@michaeljohnson7245]

Hear me out ! What if the Lord of the rings universe is one of the spheres in the the witcher universe and in the conjuction beings like elves, dwarves and halflings fell from there into the witcher universe

[@bolerobolero5668]

So argonians and ewoks were first

[@elkudos1]

I think you left out the “Idyllic Farmers” the Halflings.

[@1992zorro]

isn't Yennefer also part elf by his dad side?

[@TheLorebrarians]

Yes I believe she is quarter elf, though I think through her mother's side

[@sophiawilson8696]

Her side

[@ΝικόλαοςΜαυρόγιαννης]

Rayra

[@tenebrae1191]

👏

[@ItachiUchiha-re6fx]

World of Warcraft vibe ...

[@soggybreadst1cks812]

why did you suddenly develop a lisp in the middle of this video when in the others and the first half of this series you never had one.

[@LewisReese33]

💘😻💜💛

[@solahaze8948]

Kinda ironic that what happened to the Vran later happened to the elves. Somewhat poetic. Still horrible.

[@badstar9670]

Screw blood origin

[@stingray4540]

So basically the Witcher races are almost exactly like the LOTR races?

[@justinah7400]

The creator of The Witcher must have loved Tolkien. He stole quite a bit from the Legendarium. Still did a great job though.

[@garreswe]

This is extremely similar to Tolkien. It would have been nice if Andrzej Sapkowski had more original ideas.

[@TausifAhmad03]

Every fantasy story is basically based on tolkian formula, a middle Earth which contains all kind of magical beings Elves, Dwarves, Dragons and what not.

[@medalgearsalad1419]

Sapkowski perfected that formula. We should be grateful

[@niefart86]

My dude, I have read everything that Andrzej Sapkowski wrote. in original language: Polish. From where are you getting your lore? Cornflake boxes?

[@TheLorebrarians]

The novels, the video games, the gwent art book, and the world of the witcher artbook. I know the novels are "canon" but with games and now a Netflix show there are many different iterations and different fans.

[@niefart86]

@@TheLorebrarians My bad, I didn't expand the description where you mentioned your sources. Sorry mate 🙂

[@stiqula]

Unwatchable unless at 1.75 speed.

[@SolidDragonUK]

I doubt that

[@NgaBalkan]

I guess as a special need child you need to get through at that speed so that you can “focus” at one thing before being distracted easily

[@magister343]

Not true. It is fine at 2.5x speed.

[@tkcabasan2521]

I think witcher humans is too racist like mostly chinese emperors in chinese novels

[@logiconlifesupport1899]

I tried watching this 3 times because I'm interested but it was like a sedative in it's delivery ..so sloooow and quiet. I'm not asking for loud and rapid speech patterns at all but please at least don't lull me to sleep

[@TheLorebrarians]

Appreciate the feedback

[@owenwright7538]

Walmart lord of the rings

[@kakawurm]

bruh

[@kaitlyn5324]

Nah. I love LotR, and sure most post-Tolkien fantasy media draws from Tolkien’s works in some way, but that doesn’t make it a “Walmart LotR”. The Witcher is it’s own separate, great work. They’re both fantasy works, sure, but they’re not comparable.

[@BLP04]

Said someone who has never read the Witcher

[@mejuliie]

@@BLP04 can't fault them, as there are literally Hobbits in the Witcher lol.

[@BLP04]

@@mejuliie true

[@whitesimurgh6363]

This version of elves is just sad and disappointing.. they are no better than humans.. in some cases, worst.. slaughtered like pigs! Insult to Tolkien's original design!

[@kingt0295]

The Witcher is a much darker universe than LotR