[IsaacMM]

I just encountered the King of Wild Hunt in Chapter 1 and he talks like he knows me and Geralt seems to know him too, who the hell is he? He wasn't mentioned any time along the game. So i went re-did the prologue to make sure and in fact he was never mentioned, Lambert only briefly mentions Wild Hunt (without telling what it is) and gives no details. This kind of thing pisses me off, i heard the game had a very good history, how can someone not be frustrated with these holes?

Oh yea, and after i re-did the Prologue, i remember that they mention something a magic storm, what is that? They don't say when it happened or anything, they just say what they did when it happened.

[Corylea]

Remember the very first cutscene?  Not the opening movie with the striga fight, but the cutscene of Geralt running in the rain?  That was the magic storm.

The Wild Hunt wasn't made up by CDPR; it's a common piece of folklore that I guess you haven't run across yet.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hunt

[The Silver]

On the other side, the character of the Wild Hunt as the game and I believe the books also (not sure, only read one of them), is never explained (in the game). Yes, Geralt seems to know him/it and vice-versa.
But why exactly or even how they met before...?

It is similar to Geralts resurrection. He was dead, thats a fact. How he came back to life is unknown (could just be a plot device or something bigger).

Personally, and this is really just me speculating with no real source, I see the Hunt as a Valkyrie/Ferryman figure.
Based on folklore, it seems to gather followers, something that I think happens at the end of the game. Don't want to spoil it for you, Isaacmm.
On the other side the event I am obscuring could also point toward a Ferryman or even devil like existence.

But as I said, that's just my interpretation.

[Petra_Silie]

The game / devs don't leave you in the dark about game- and story relevant cases  ;) You touch on several topics and won't find an answer everytime. Plot important info you receive automaticly update your questlog. This doesn't mean you shouldn't listen at all to what the NPCs say.

[thelazyreader]

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I just encountered the King of Wild Hunt in Chapter 1 and he talks like he knows me and Geralt seems to know him too, who the hell is he? He wasn't mentioned any time along the game. So i went re-did the prologue to make sure and in fact he was never mentioned, Lambert only briefly mentions Wild Hunt (without telling what it is) and gives no details. This kind of thing pisses me off, i heard the game had a very good history, how can someone not be frustrated with these holes?

Oh yea, and after i re-did the Prologue, i remember that they mention something a magic storm, what is that? They don't say when it happened or anything, they just say what they did when it happened.

Is this your first play-through? There is such a thing as patience. You'll learn about the Wild Hunt and much more in due time. You can't expect to become a master of all the skills and knowledge right at the start. There are many books to read and characters to talk to before your Journal gets filled to the brim with such background information.

[kyogen]

In addition to being part of European folklore, the Wild Hunt gives Geralt & Co. some trouble in Sapkowski's novels. I believe that it shows up for the first time as a recognizable threat in the second novel. CDProjekt Red has been wonderfully faithful to the source material. Sadly, only one of two short story collections and the first of five novels is available in English, but more are on the way. They're great, but you don't have to read them to have a great time with the game. The Silver is right to point out that the Hunt's in-game role is as a valkyrie/ferryman figure.

I played the game all the way through before reading any of the literature, and although I was a little disoriented at first, it was really rewarding. Remember that Geralt is also disoriented and unsure of himself. Part of his (and therefore the player's) job is to explore the world and make sense of what other people do and say. In an rpg designed to make player choices have real consequences, uncertainty about the motives and intentions of npcs is absolutely critical, and as GODKINGOFDIVINEROAD pointed out, the game devs make sure that you have access to all of the necessary information for playing the game--you just have to read in-game books and talk to the other characters. Ok, so it's an action rpg, not a straight action game, but involved narrative is why we play such games, is it not? The best advice I could give any player is simply "Don't sweat it." The Witcher is extremely well-designed, and you haven't missed anything. Just pay attention as you play, and you will both figure out the story and be able to put your own spin on it. Have fun!  :)

[Reaper004]

I've begun reading the books and I still can't find where the King of the Wild Hunt came from, but he certainly is an awesome character in the game. I see him as half-guardian angel half-haunting spirit. It's pretty obvious that he had a hand in bringing Geralt back to life, which is of course a good thing, but obviously the King has his own agenda for Geralt, which is a bad thing.

[thelazyreader]

The book 'Spectres, Wraiths and the Damned' gives some general information about the Wild Hunt. Beyond that, a conversation with the Hermit in Act IV after finishing his quest will tell you something about the King himself. DO NOT read the wikia entry about the King of the Wild Hunt: it contains a major spoiler from the books that ruins the mysticism and terror behind the character.

[Petra_Silie]

In "Times of Anger" you will meet the Wild Hunt and the King. It's a very short sequence but it imparts how mighty and eerie he is. The King of the Wild Hunt is surrounded by something mysterious, something hidden and you better don't want to know more… that's the impression I got just from this small scene.
CDPR did depict the King very well. What a pity that the King can die in the game, which makes him mortal and this takes away the respectful fear of the King.

[Corylea]

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CDPR did depict the King very well. What a pity that the King can die in the game, which makes him mortal and this takes away the respectful fear of the King.

Do you think the King is permanently dead?  I don't.  Perhaps you can "kill" this manifestation of the King, but I think he'll manifest again tomorrow.  Hell, for all we know, it was all some sort of test, and the King just faded out when he'd had enough.

[56236]

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CDPR did depict the King very well. What a pity that the King can die in the game, which makes him mortal and this takes away the respectful fear of the King.

Do you think the King is permanently dead?  I don't.  Perhaps you can "kill" this manifestation of the King, but I think he'll manifest again tomorrow.  Hell, for all we know, it was all some sort of test, and the King just faded out when he'd had enough.

I totally support the theory. The King of the Wild Hunt is immortalized in the nature of the world... you can't just kill him? Banish him temporarily, yes, but not kill him.
Anyways... that was just de Aldersberg's vision in his mind, and not a true reality as stated by one of the characters. So, the King was only present in essence.  :peace:

[Petra_Silie]

That will come up with the idea I have of the King of the Wild Hunt. Just in this encounter Geralt had with the King he defeated him. But who know if he crosses the Witcher's path once again.

[Aileane]

King of Wild Hunt (in original the Hunt is called "Gon", not possible to translate it directly in english, comes from a word "gonić" meaning chasing after something) is generally a leader of a great army of spirits and wraiths that travels through the Sky when a tragical event is coming, for example war or plague. it was believed that the King and his soldiers can kidnapp children or even adults who walk alone when the Hunt crosses the sky. In Sapkowski's books the King of Wild Hunt can speak to those who are somehow connected with death, who, as they say, "has the death walking his/her steps". That's the reason they know Geralt and also Cirilla. The Wild Hunt can also be met during many important "holidays" in both human and elven calendar - like Samhain (Halloween in our times) when spirits are believed to walk the earth.

[Corylea]

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That will come up with the idea I have of the King of the Wild Hunt. Just in this encounter Geralt had with the King he defeated him. But who know if he crosses the Witcher's path once again.

And the King of the Wild Hunt can be a trickster, which means that he's perfectly capable of fighting at half strength in order to lure Geralt into a false sense of security.