The Church of the Eternal Fire is a powerful force inThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt; felt throughout the city of Novigrad and even in the far corners of the Continent. The group’s beliefs center around the symbol of an undying flame, and how it can supposedly lead its followers out of the darkness.
Though the Eternal Fire appears to be a benevolent group, the actions of its followers portray anything but. In the events of the games, Geralt comes across many dubious priests and even more contemptible guards. InThe Witcher 3, in particular, the player experiences this firsthand.
RELATED:The Witcher: Notable Characters from the School of the Cat
The Origins of the Eternal Fire
The Church of the Eternal Fire’s humble beginnings are documented not in the video game series, but the series’ pen and paper role-playing game. InThe Witcher: A Game of Imagination, it’s said that the first human colonists who arrived atthe Continent ofThe Witcherwere the ones who founded the religion. They were exploring an abandoned town when they noticed light emanating from one of the palaces.
Inside, they found an individual sitting by a large bowl withfire crackling within it. When spoken to, the individual explained that they were guarding the Eternal Fire, and that as long as the flame was lit, the settlement and its people would endure. After which, the individual disappeared, leading the humans to believe that they’d witnessed a divine occurrence.
Following this, the humans took refuge in the abandoned town known asNovigrad inThe Witcher 3, building their church around it. They made rules against using magic as they believed this would sully the Eternal Fire. Also worth noting was the fact that they welcomed non-humans at the time. It seems the Church’s disdain for dwarves, elves, halflings, and the like only came much later. The only exception was the druids because they had accused the people of Novigrad of polluting the surrounding rivers.
RELATED:Metroid Prime 4 Should Follow CD Projekt Red’s Lead
The Eternal Fire’s Military Arms
As the Church of the Eternal Fire became more influential, the group grew its military arm. In theevents ofThe Witcher 3, the Church has three armed groups under its wing — the Temple Guard, the Order of the Flaming Rose, and, to a certain extent, the Witch Hunters. The Temple Guards are the most commonly found around Novigrad, as it’s their job to protect the Eternal Fire and the citizens of Novigrad. They’re also stationed in the surrounding settlements.
The Order of the Flaming Rose inThe Witcheris composed of more high-ranking followers of the Eternal Fire as the group is referred to as a knightly order. It sought to protect the downtrodden from all forms of evil as well as promote the beliefs of the Eternal Fire. However, many of its knights were known to discriminate against nonhumans and magic-users. They were also overly devoted to the Church’s creed to the point of fanaticism. That said, King Radovid V took their power away from them in the events ofThe Witcher 3, forcing some of the former knights to establish a drug business to keep themselves afloat.
Finally, there are the Witch Hunters. Though not officially under the Church of the Eternal Fire, the organization openly supports the Witch Hunters’ actions. The group is composed of fanatical individuals that seek to eradicate all forms of magic and magic-users, includingthe powerful sorceresses ofThe Witcher3, within Novigrad. With the support of the Church and even King Radovid V, they grew to be even more formidable than the Order of the Flaming Rose.
The Church of the Eternal Fire in The Witcher 3
In the events ofThe Witcher 3, the player can come across multiple quests involving individuals affiliated with the Eternal Fire. The first one will likely be “Funeral Pyres,”aWitcher 3quest in Velen. Here, Geralt accepts a job to burn the bodies of the fallen in nearby battlefields. However, he learns that this was merely the priest’s way of burning evidence of his involvement in the local fisstech trade. Confronting the priest about this prompts him to try and bribe Geralt, showing that even priests of the Eternal Fire aren’t above scummy drug trades.
Another quest related to the Eternal Fire can be found in Novigrad. It’s anunmarkedWitcher 3questthat triggers when Geralt happens across a priest near Hierarch Square. He’ll be speaking about all the scum in Novigrad to a small crowd of peasants, and when Geralt approaches, the priest will insult him. The player can then talk back, intimidate the priest, or simply leave. Choosing one of the first two options will cause the priest to send guards to attack the Witcher at a later time, which effectively portrays just how much the Church dislikes nonhumans and “freaks” within the city.
The most notable quest, however, has to be thequest “Carnal Sins” inThe Witcher 3. In this quest, Geralt can encounter two wretched followers of the Eternal Fire. The first is none other than Reverend Nathaniel Pastodi, the current supervisor of the Novigrad morgue and a former torturer who particularly enjoyed maltreating women. Late into the quest, the player can find him in Crippled Kate’s, abusing Sweet Nettie with a hot poker. Geralt can then decide to either kill or spare the reverend. Though if he were spared, he’d likely continue torturing women, with the Church doing nothing to stop him.
The other follower of the Eternal Fire is not a human, but akatakan inThe Witcher 3— Hubert Rejk. Despite being a vampire, the monster believed in the tenets of the Eternal Fire and sought to cleanse the city of Novigrad through violence. Thus, he targeted locals who acted or spoke against the Church and made an example of them, hoping that it would spur the people to follow the Eternal Fire once more. If the player reaches this point in the quest, they must kill Hubert and rid the city of at least one fanatic. Though, unfortunately, many others are likely to sprout in his place.
Overall, the Eternal Fire is a dangerous cult with even more dangerous beliefs. They breed hatred and prejudice against non-humans and magic-users, often with little justification. Despite this, they’ve grown to be a powerful sect and will likely have a hand at shaping Novigrad and the rest of society — for better or for worse.
The Witcher 3: Wild Huntis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
MORE:The New Witcher Game Shouldn’t Forget Other Schools For Its New One
