Iris von Everec Hearts of Stone

Journal Description

When Geralt visited Olgierd von Everec to hear his third and final wish, he learned the rough and rowdy ataman had once been married. At some point he had left his wife, however, and gave her a violet rose as a parting gift. Geralt’s task was to find this rose somewhere in the von Everecs’ abandoned manor. When he arrived there, he discovered the estate was haunted by a malicious wraith tied to Olgierd’s wife, Iris, who had died of loneliness years prior. Her rage and remorse now filled her former house with evil energy.

Geralt gathered up Iris’ remains and buried them in the manor’s garden. He did this both out of simple human decency and cold calculation, for he knew this act would calm her unsettled spirit and lead him to the violet rose. During the funeral a now quieted Iris appeared to Geralt and took him on a journey to a world which existed only in her mind. This “painted world” consisted of her fears and memories, which Geralt now had to confront.

Iris von Everec’s memories first recalled happy days spent in Olgierd’s company, then became darker and darker. In fact, even the sunnier ones had an ominous cloud hanging over them – an uneasy feeling something horrible would soon happen. Iris von Everec had been a sensitive woman and noted subtle changes in her husband’s behavior. She had lacked the courage, however, to delve into their cause.

Olgierd von Everec’s heart had turned to stone, turning him into a monster. Iris hated what her husband had become, but could not stop loving him. The couple endured together in a painful cohabitation until Olgierd ended it by abandoning his wife. Iris never came to terms with their separation, could not, in fact, even bring herself to read her husband’s farewell letter. Yet the violet rose he gave her upon leaving she kept, making it a focal point for all the longing and love raging in her soul. When she died, these unresolved feelings kept her spirit in this world and continued to cause her suffering.

The witcher’s intervention helped Iris accept what had happened to her and her husband. When he asked for the rose, she agreed to give it him, knowing this would put a final end to her pain and suffering – and also her very existence.
Olgierd von Everec’s heart had turned to stone, turning him into a monster. Iris hated what her husband had become, but could not stop loving him. The couple endured together in a painful cohabitation until Olgierd ended it by abandoning his wife. Iris never came to terms with their separation, could not, in fact, even bring herself to read her husband’s farewell letter. Yet the violet rose he gave her upon leaving she kept, making it a focal point for all the longing and love raging in her soul. When she died, these unresolved feelings kept her spirit in this world and continued to cause her suffering.

The witcher’s intervention helped Iris accept what had happened to her and her husband. She was now free to dissolve into the ether, but the thought of this horrified her. She thus entrusted her fate to the witcher, who was unwilling to deprive her of existence. She thus remained in our world by entering a painting which Geralt then delivered to Olgierd. Her sad eyes stared out at him from that canvas for the rest of his life.