Yazon Varda was a dwarven mercenary from Mahakam and member of Zoltan Chivay's company during the 1260s. He was also a blacksmith and always dreamed of opening his own forge one day.[1]
Biography[]
Meeting Geralt[]
Once, the group waylaid and robbed a rich hawker who tried to flee Dillingen after the townsfolk exposed his trade with the Scoia'tael. The merchant defended his property like a lion, shouting for aid several times before the dwarves attacked him with batons. Intending to fund future enterprises of each individual with the treasure, the group helped load the trunks on a wagon and set off into the forest.[1]
Three days later, in early August 1267, Varda and the rest had been escorting Kernow refugees they found in the forest, specifically mothers and children, to safety. They met Geralt of Rivia and the witcher's own group for the first time on the way toward the Yaruga river from Brokilon. Chivay advised the witcher to join up with dwarves on their way eastward to refuge, which was accepted. When the large group became short on provisions, Munro Bruys and Varda vanished into the dark, only to return at dawn with two full sacks, one with horse grub and the second with jerkies, cheese, huge haggis and other refreshments.
After crossing into Brugge, the group stopped at the river O. Convinced not to carry the treasure any longer, Zoltan ordered Bruys, Varda, Merluzzo and Caleb Stratton to hide it; the rest continued to Fen Carn. Much later, during an unexpected battle between the refugee-killing Nilfgaardians and the Temerian Army, Chivay's company reunited. They evaded death by running to the woods, but Stratton was hit by the 7th Daerlanian Cavalry Brigade. After burying Stratton and mourning his passing, the dwarves continued. They met Geralt and his company once more, in Angren, and Bruys gave each member a strong handshake. At long last, the company decided to return home to Mount Carbon.[1]
Death and legacy[]
Yazon Varda the following year was killed "stupidly", according to Chivay, during one of the many skirmishes of the Second Northern War, during a battle on the Yaruga, one of the last conflicts before the war's end. A couple of months after his death, in early June, just before the Rivian Pogrom, Chivay commemorated him, along with their other fallen companions, to Geralt, Dandelion, and Yarpen Zigrin in Wirsing's tavern.[2]
Notes[]
- In the Russian version of The Witcher, the dwarf in The Hairy Bear is erroneously named as Yazon Varda and not Munro Bruys. He bears the same appearance and also speaks the same dialogue lines as the English version with only the name differing. This is a mistake as Yazon was confirmed as being deceased during The Lady of the Lake, and as such could not have appeared in the game set two years later.