The Last Wish Summary: A Guide to Andrzej Sapkowski’s Dark Fantasy Masterpiece
Every reader approaches a new fantasy series differently.
This article focuses on what actually happens in The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski.
The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher is a collection of interconnected short fiction framed by a recovery sequence.
If you want to know exactly what occurs inside its pages before committing to the series, the following sections lay it out plainly.
TL;DR: A Monster Hunter Who Refuses Easy Answers
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher—a mutated professional monster slayer.
Across six short stories, he takes jobs, gets caught in local conflicts, and repeatedly discovers that monsters come in many forms.
The framing story places him recovering from a striga attack at the Temple of Melitele.
Key episodes include lifting a curse from a beast-like nobleman, choosing between two evils in Blaviken, witnessing a royal banquet where a hedgehog knight claims a princess, encountering starving elves, and binding his fate to a sorceress through a djinn’s wish.
The collection ends with a prophetic vision of Geralt’s violent death. Central facts: destiny binds him to an unborn child named Ciri, and his relationship with Yennefer begins through magical entanglement.
The Last Wish Summary: Every Story, Every Curse, Every Choice
Spoiler Warning: This section recounts the complete narrative including the ending.
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski opens with Geralt of Rivia recovering at the Temple of Melitele in Ellander. He is badly wounded after a night spent fighting a striga in the kingdom of Temeria.
King Foltest of Temeria had hired the witcher to lift a curse from his daughter. The girl was born as a feral, flesh-eating striga because of an incestuous relationship between Foltest and his late sister Adda.
Geralt spent the night inside the creature’s sarcophagus to break the curse. In the final moments, the striga’s claws tore into his neck before the curse lifted and she transformed back into a fourteen-year-old girl.
While Nenneke and the mute priestess Iola tend his wounds, Geralt slips into a series of memories. Each memory is a self-contained adventure from his past.
The first memory takes Geralt to a remote mansion ruled by Nivellen. Nivellen was cursed to look like a beast with a bear’s head after his gang robbed a temple.
Nivellen lives with Vereena, a woman he believes is a harmless forest spirit. Geralt discovers that Vereena is actually a bruxa, a type of vampire.
After a violent fight, Nivellen impales Vereena on a wooden stake to save Geralt. Geralt decapitates the bruxa, and the act of true love breaks Nivellen’s curse.
The next memory places Geralt in Blaviken. He is caught between a wizard named Stregobor and a bandit leader named Renfri.
Stregobor wants Renfri dead because of the Curse of the Black Sun. Renfri wants Stregobor dead because he ruined her life.
Geralt refuses to choose the lesser evil. But when Renfri threatens to massacre innocent people in the marketplace, he is forced to act.
Geralt kills Renfri’s gang and then Renfri herself in a bloody street fight. The townspeople do not thank him, and he earns the title “Butcher of Blaviken.”
Another memory shows Geralt attending a royal banquet in Cintra. He is there in disguise at Queen Calanthe’s invitation.
The banquet is interrupted by Duny, a knight cursed to look like a hedgehog during the day. Duny claims Pavetta, Calanthe’s daughter, by the Law of Surprise.
Calanthe tries to have Duny assassinated. This triggers a chaotic battle and awakens Pavetta’s destructive magical power.
Geralt and the druid Mousesack calm the magical storm. Calanthe eventually accepts Duny and the curse lifts.
Geralt then claims his own Law of Surprise from Duny. He demands “that which you already have but do not know,” which turns out to be Pavetta’s unborn child, Ciri.
In another memory, Geralt and the bard Dandilion travel to Dol Blathanna. They are hired to deal with a crop-stealing sylvan named Torque.
They discover Torque is helping starving elves driven into the mountains by human expansion. The elves capture Geralt and Dandilion.
A girl named Lille reveals herself as Dana Meadbh, the Lady of the Fields. She commands the elves to release the prisoners.
The final memory explains how Geralt met the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg. Geralt and Dandilion accidentally release a djinn that injures Dandilion’s throat.
Geralt finds Yennefer in the town of Rinde. She heals Dandilion but uses mind control to manipulate Geralt.
Yennefer tries to capture the djinn for herself, nearly destroying the town in the process. Geralt uses his third wish to tie his fate to hers.
The djinn departs, and Geralt and Yennefer survive. Their turbulent romance begins.
Back in the framing narrative, Geralt faces a challenge from two knights. He defeats Tailles in a duel without physically touching him.
Before leaving the temple, Iola touches his hand and receives a vision. She sees Geralt’s violent and bloody death.
Geralt acknowledges the vision and rides south with Dandilion. Andrzej Sapkowski ends the book with the witcher’s future uncertain but bound by destiny.
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Summary by Chapter
Spoiler Warning: This section covers major plot events for each grouped section.
The Curse of the Striga and the Sanctuary of Melitele
Recuperating at the Temple of Melitele in Ellander, Geralt of Rivia reflects on his near-fatal duel in Wyzim. He fought a feral striga born of incest to lift her curse.
Spending a night inside her sarcophagus, the witcher survived the monster’s brutal claws, though his neck was severely mangled. Under Nenneke’s maternal care and the silent companionship of Iola, his physical and psychic recovery begins.
True Monstrosity and the Curse of Nazair
Wandering through a desolate forest, Geralt discovers the bodies of a merchant and a woman bearing strange, non-wolf bite marks.
This leads him to a magical mansion ruled by Nivellen, a nobleman cursed to look like a beast with a bear-like head. Nivellen lives with Vereena, whom he believes is a harmless spirit, but Geralt uncovers her true identity as a deadly bruxa.
A fierce battle follows where true love breaks Nivellen’s curse.
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The Illusion of Choice and Blaviken’s Tragedy
Geralt arrives in Blaviken and is caught between Stregobor, a wizard hiding from the Curse of the Black Sun, and Renfri, a vengeful princess turned bandit leader.
Both demand that Geralt choose the lesser evil by killing the other. When Renfri threatens a marketplace massacre, Geralt slaughters her gang and Renfri herself. He earns eternal exile and the dark title of “Butcher of Blaviken.”
Destiny and the Law of Surprise
Attending a royal banquet in Cintra under disguise, Geralt witnesses the sudden arrival of Duny, a cursed hedgehog-man knight who claims Pavetta by the Law of Surprise.
Queen Calanthe attempts to orchestrate Duny’s assassination, triggering a massive explosion of Pavetta’s latent magical inheritance. Geralt and the druid Mousesack contain the tempest.
Calanthe relents, Duny’s curse is lifted, and Geralt claims his own Law of Surprise, binding his fate to their unborn child.
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The Edge of Civilization and Starving Elves
Geralt and Dandilion journey to Dol Blathanna, where they are hired to deal with Torque, a crop-stealing sylvan. They discover Torque is secretly aiding proud, starving elves driven into the mountains by human expansion.
The elves, led by Filavandrel, capture the pair and prepare to execute them.
They are saved by Lille, the human avatar of the Goddess of the Fields, who commands the elves’ reverence.
Bound Fates and the Last Wish
Geralt and Dandilion release a djinn that severely injures Dandilion’s throat. This forces Geralt to seek help from the independent sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg in Rinde.
Yennefer manipulates Geralt to capture the djinn for herself, but the creature threatens to destroy the town and kill her.
To save her, Geralt uses his third wish to tie his fate to Yennefer’s, initiating their deep romance. The section concludes with a dark, prophetic vision of Geralt’s death as he departs the temple.
Characters In This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Geralt of Rivia | The titular mutant witcher who destroys monsters for money and is bound to a child of surprise. |
| Dandilion | A famous, verbose troubadour who is Geralt’s loyal companion and best friend. |
| Yennefer of Vengerberg | A powerful sorceress whose fate is magically bound to Geralt’s. |
| Nenneke | The High Priestess of Melitele who serves as a surrogate mother and healer to Geralt. |
| Iola | A mute priestess of Melitele who serves as a psychic medium and shares a dark vision of Geralt’s future. |
| King Foltest | The King of Temeria who hired Geralt to lift a curse on his daughter who had become a striga. |
| Nivellen | A nobleman cursed to look like a beast with a bear-like head who runs a magical mansion. |
| Vereena | A powerful bruxa (vampire) who lived with Nivellen and fell in love with him before her death. |
| Stregobor | A wizard who hid in Blaviken and sought to have Renfri killed due to the Curse of the Black Sun. |
| Renfri | A deposed princess turned bandit leader seeking blood-soaked vengeance on Stregobor. |
| Queen Calanthe | The proud, fierce, and calculated Queen of Cintra who tries to manipulate destiny. |
| Pavetta | Calanthe’s daughter who possesses a latent, destructive magical inheritance and loves Duny. |
| Duny | A cursed knight who looks like a hedgehog-man during the day, whose destiny is tied to Pavetta. |
| Mousesack | A wise Skellige druid who detects magical energies and helps Geralt restrain Pavetta’s power. |
| Torque | An intelligent, crop-stealing sylvan in Dol Blathanna who secretly helps starving elves. |
| Filavandrel aen Fidhail | The ancient, proud, and embittered king of the starving mountain elves. |
| Lille | A quiet village girl who is actually the human avatar of Dana Meadbh, the Lady of the Fields. |
| Chireadan | An elf living in Rinde who is in love with Yennefer and helps Geralt. |
| Count Falwick | A hostile Knight of the White Rose who attempts to run Geralt out of Ellander. |
| Tailles of Dorndal | An arrogant young knight who challenges Geralt and accidentally scars his own face. |
Have you read The Last Wish? Share your thoughts on Geralt’s adventures or your favorite story from the collection in the comments below.
