Alzur

Alzur was a famous mage and the inventor of many spells, including Alzur's Double Cross, Alzur's Shield, and Alzur's Thunder. He is also known for having created many horrible monsters, some of which still roam the world. He is said to have had a voice and diction which were positively mellifluous. His spells were also used by other mages. Notably, Fregenal may possibly have used the spell known as Alzur's Double Cross to create Viy.
A very old and influential mage named Ortolan mentioned that Alzur, along with his master and teacher Cosimo Malaspina and disciple Idarran of Ulivo created the mutations of the witchers. It is alluded that Alzur did the lion's share of the work though.
==Biography==
=== Early life ===
When he was still a baby, Alzur was found abandoned on the doorstep of a noble estate on the outskirts of Maribor city accompanied by a note: "His mother perished, he's one of yours." The nobles reluctantly accepted him into their households, fearing that he was one of their sons.
However his relationship with his adopted parents was far from ideal as the noblemen of the household wouldn't dare show him affection, for fear it could be seen as an admission of guilt, whilst the noblewomen pitied the poor boy and ensured he was cared for. But pity is a poor substitute for love.Gwent: Alzur's Story Alzur was also reportedly bullied by his siblings for being lowborn, so would often spend his time in the estate's library.
He would be absorbed in his books featuring fantastical worlds and brave tales of mighty heroes. One book in particular peaked his interest; A Guide to Chivalric Virtues by Sir Mateo of Metinna, with Alzur often reading the guide every week. Soon after, he would patrol around the estate and countryside, seeking trials to prove his virtues and helping people wherever he could.
On one such outing, he came across a wagon attacked by bandits. In keeping with his "trial" for valor, he stepped in and confronted the robbers. He was found hours later on the side of the road, unconscious, bloody, and beaten. It took weeks for Alzur to recover and to everyone's dismay, the event left him more determined to prove his valor. He no longer waited for an opportunity to arise and rather went looking for it, often finding himself beaten within an inch of his life.
On one such occasion, rather than his family finding him beaten, they were horrified to discover the charred remains of three would-be bandits, with a shocked Alzur standing before them. The family, fearing for their own safety, called upon the services of a powerful mage (presumably Cosimo) to teach him to control his power.
===Lylianna===
At some point later, Alzur met and befriended a young (for mages) sorceress by the name of Lylianna. He became captivated by her and her ideals of ridding the world of monsters. He crafted a magic lily medallion as a gift, to protect her from danger. This proved insufficient as when the pair injected a human with monster mutagens, it grew out of control and escaped their lab, killing her in the process. Alzur took the medallion and vowed to fulfill her dreams of a monster free world.
===Meeting Snowdrop===
While traveling, Alzur happened across a horde of sirens attacking a nearby caravan. After using his patented thunder to drive off the beasts, he came across the sole survivor of the attack, Galanthea. He calmed the terrified girl and sent her on her way.
=== Rissberg Castle ===
After the death of Lylianna, Alzur started his work to create witchers, with it being speculated that he did this to honor his memory of Lylianna. Together with his master Cosimo and his own apprentice Idarran along with a handful of other mages, they took up residence in Rissberg Castle to begin their experiments. They gathered support and funding from local kings and nobles, with the promise of magically enhanced monster slayers. Alzur would oftentimes kidnap or pay the parents of children, who then they would experimented on.
===Cursed Snowdrop===
Alzur again met Galanthea in need of aid. She had contracted a curse to speak in only song, and begged the mage to help lift it. At first Alzur was reluctant to give his aid, considering the role of curse breaker beneath him. However after 3 days of Snowdrop's non-stop song, ballads, and poems, during which time Alzur attempted to silence her using his magic to no success, he finally conceded. He made Galanthea promise to keep her mouth shut and the two of them journeyed to the town where Galanthea was first cursed.
On the way there, they stopped at an inns and taverns along the way. On one such visit, Alzur went out drinking and dice gambling. When he got back to their room, he found Galanthea snooping through his belongings with the lily medallion strung around her neck.
Alzur flew into a rage, shouting and scolding Galanthea for rummaging through his things. However after some time, he came to his senses and apologized for his outburst, his anger replaced with sadness as he noticed the medallion. The lily brought back his memories of Lylianna and Alzur confided in Galanthea his experiences with Lylianna. Sometime afterward he helped Galanthea break her curse and the two went their separate ways.
=== The War of Daggers ===
Much later, Alzur would be instrumental in the victory of Adalbert of Maribor over the dukes of the city of Ellander, in the War of Daggers. Up until his involvement the war was locked in a hard stalemate for a little over a hundred years, with both sides still about equal in strength. In a decisive battle, Alzur used his famed Alzur's Double Cross to summon a massive otherworldly creature, which decimated the army of Ellander. Ellander surrendered soon afterwards, with Alzur hailed as a hero by the locals.
=== Creating the Witchers ===
Back in Rissberg Castle, his team of mages managed to produce their first batch of witchers. However out of the 38 girls and boys experimented on, only 5 boys survived the mutations. Coupled with the boys lukewarm affinity for magic, the group was dissolved after their backers pulled their funds. However Alzur, Cosimo, and Idarran took the surviving witchers and relocated to Morgraig Castle. There they set up the Order of Witchers and continued to create, train and experiment on witchers, succeeding in their efforts, before eventually departing the Order along with Cosimo and Idarran, leaving the secrets of witcher creation in the hands of their trained mage successors.
=== Death ===
At some point in time after departing the Order, Alzur again used his double cross, this time in the city of Malibor. However the massive viy he summoned as a result proved uncontrollable and resulted in his death, along with the destruction of half the city, before it fled.
== Notes ==
* Alzur comes up multiple times in , particularly regarding a beast that was immune to magic. The beast asked Alzur a question, and by answering correctly Alzur was able to defeat it. Thenceforth, the beast was known as "Alzur's demon".
** Berengar's notes on the Beast confirm that the Beast haunting the Outskirts could be "Alzur's demon".
* In , there's a book called The Double Cross of Alzur, which is an edited and censored edition of Alzur's original work which revealed how to create a viy.
==Gallery==
Gwent cardart neutral alzur 1.png
File:GWENT journey promo art alzur.jpg|Full artwork
==Videos==
GWENT- THE WITCHER CARD GAME - Journey -3 Launch Trailer
==References==
cs:Alzur
de:Alzur
it:Alzur
pl:Alzur
pt-br:Alzur
ru:Альзур
uk:Альзур
nl:Alzur
Category:Humans
Category:Mages
Category:Something Ends, Something Begins characters
Category:Season of Storms characters
Category:The Witcher mentioned-only characters