Gaunter O'Dimm

Gaunter O'Dimm, sometimes called Master Mirror or Man of Glass, was a powerful individual, creating pacts with people in exchange for their souls and being able to control time with a mere clap of his hands.
== Biography ==
Not much is known about Gaunter before his meeting with Geralt, but he stated that he was a former mirror merchant-turned-mangy vagrant because of the war.
=== Meeting in the White Orchard inn ===
In May , Gaunter O'Dimm visited the inn of White Orchard, and was approached by the witcher Geralt, who was searching for Yennefer. O'Dimm asked to buy the witcher a drink, and that he knew about Geralt and Yennefer based off Dandelion's ballads.
Pushing for an answer, Geralt continued asking whether he had seen Yennefer, so O'Dimm told him local rumors he had heard and advised him to go to the nearby Nilfgaardian Garrison to continue his search. He remarked that he didn't need a reward as one day he may need Geralt's help and then suddenly disappeared.
=== "Helping" Geralt ===
When a captive Geralt was on a ship en route to Ofier to await execution for unknowingly killing the Ofieri Prince, Gaunter O'Dimm mysteriously appeared. He offered to help free Geralt in exchange for a small favor. When Geralt agreed, O'Dimm burned a mark on his face as a sign of their bargain. He then caused a storm to destroy the ship and gave Geralt an opening to escape.
The two later reunited at O'Dimm's rendezvous point at the crossroads of Yantra at midnight. There, O'Dimm contracted Geralt into helping him finish up a different contract: to grant three wishes to the immortal Olgierd, telling him once the wishes have been granted he will free Geralt of his pact.
O'Dimm reappeared when Geralt went to confront Olgierd. As it turned out, their pact required a proxy to fulfill Olgierd's wishes. After Olgierd gave Geralt his first two wishes (to show his brother Vlodimir the time of his life and to bring him Maximilian Borsodi's house) O'Dimm appeared before Geralt, offering his help as the contract did not forbid it. He informed Geralt that Vlodimir was already deceased and thus provided a vial of von Everec blood to perform a Blood Summoning. However, he refused to make things easy on Geralt, telling him to rely on his wit and intelligence when it came to Maximilian Borsodi's house.
Gaunter O'Dimm's true identity remained a mystery throughout most of the story, though he appeared to be a powerful being as he could take souls, grant wishes, see things for their true nature, cause ghosts pain, and even manipulate time itself, making Geralt increasingly suspicious of the true nature of O'Dimm. Despite asking who and what he is, O'Dimm refused outright to reveal his true name to Geralt, warning him that all of those who have ever learned who he really is have suffered a terrible fate. While seemingly untouchable to conventional attacks, Geralt did learn that O'Dimm possessed one weakness: he loves to make deals, deals with anyone who asked, so long as recompense was provided in the form of their soul. Playing into this, he will also take up challenges where one's soul is at stake, as he almost always wins (with the exception of one person, centuries ago, who managed to beat him at his own game).
However, his deals were often filled with conditions and wordplay loopholes through which O'Dimm could manipulate the mark and claim his payment. The clearest example of this trickery was shown with one Professor Premethine Shakeslock: O'Dimm came to the man offering him protection from his powers, as a "reward for all (his) hard work" in collecting information about O'dimm's past. Master Mirror drew a circle upon the floor and filled it with runes, stating that this Sigil in particular granted Shakeslock total physical protection from Gaunter and his power, but warned the Professor that should he ever attempt to leave, he'd be instantly at Master Mirrors mercy.
Through the tasks Olgierd made him do, Geralt learned that Olgierd had previously made a pact with O'Dimm for the restoration of his wealth and power so that he could once again be of nobility and marry his noble-born love. However, O'Dimm delighted in difficult decisions and made Olgierd choose between sacrificing Iris or Vlodimir before granting his wish; Olgierd chose his brother, causing him to die the next day. However it was shown that as a "side effect" of his fulfilled desires, Olgierd had developed a heart of stone: losing his capacity for any emotions over time, culminating in the eventual death of his wife.
=== The plot thickens ===
After fulfilling Olgierd's final wish, Geralt encountered O'Dimm again at the Alchemy tavern where he was stopped by a drunk patron inviting him to drink, which caused O'Dimm to lose his patience and stop time itself so he could have a chat with the witcher. Through questioning, O'Dimm told Geralt that he was neither demon nor djinn and that it was not his fault that the negative intentions of his clients caused them to suffer, explaining to Geralt that he gave people exactly what they wished for. When questioned about who he was, O'Dimm became deadly serious and told Geralt that those who know his name had either gone mad or had died, and he was showing the witcher a mercy by not telling him. He ordered Geralt to bring Olgierd to a meeting at the Temple of Lilvani to complete their deal, then killed the interrupting drunkard with a spoon through the eye on his way out before restoring the flow of time.
Looking for more information on O'Dimm, Geralt, thanks to Shani's help, eventually found the Professor Shakeslock in Oxenfurt Academy, where he had cloistered himself in his house out of fear of what he had discovered. He told the witcher that Olgierd had hired him to research O'Dimm's identity and to figure out how Olgierd might get rid of him. He had "pored over countless tomes, delved into obscure incidents and analyzed folk legends" and came to believe that, in short, O'Dimm was "Evil Incarnate."
He further explained that O'Dimm was just one of many names belonging to the entity, a record of whose presence could be traced back thousands of years and across different cultures, and was a being who appeared to relish in meddling with human affairs, taking their souls, and sowing misfortune. However, O'Dimm had one weakness: he could be tempted into pacts where one's soul is at stake and he must always keep his end of the bargain.
The professor revealed that simply studying about O'Dimm had caused him to go blind, which had in turn attracted the attention of O'Dimm himself. O'Dimm had then drawn the professor a magical circle of protection as a reward of sorts, telling him that he would be safe as long as he remained in the circle. However, he then made the ceiling brace above the circle weaken, creating a death trap for the professor should he leave the circle. Geralt managed to get the information he wanted out of the professor who proclaimed that he felt happy just to be useful again. This reaction corresponded to the failure of the ceiling brace, causing structural damage and shaking the walls with enough force to cause a bookcase to fall. Geralt managed to hold the bookcase upright but the professor tripped over a bottle as he backed away, causing him to fall outside the circle and to break his neck on a small pile of books, instantly killing him.
O'Dimm greeted both Geralt and Olgierd at the temple ruins by walking down from the sky as though down a flight of steps, telling Olgierd that he is here for his soul as agreed. Olgierd disputed this by stating that O'Dimm could only claim his soul as per their agreement; by granting him three wishes through a third party and for the two of them to "be standing together on the moon," which Olgierd thought to be impossible. Still grinning wickedly, O'Dimm revealed that through Geralt he had granted the three wishes and, with a gesture, blew away the dust and dirt off the temple floor to reveal an old tile design of the moon, thus fulfilling his side of the bargain evidenced by the contract itself bursting into flames. At this point Geralt could do one of two things:
# Do nothing and let O'Dimm take his due payment, leaving Master Mirror quite satisfied, after which he will cheerfully absolve Geralt of the pact and tells Geralt what a pleasure it was to work with him as he offers him an additional reward (which Geralt can decline) before he walks off with the skull of his victim.
# Try to help Olgierd by playing for his and Olgierd's souls.
 O'Dimm would take him up on that offer but on his own terms, and promptly sent Geralt to a hellish and twisted landscape filled with shadowy versions of monsters Geralt had fought before. He told the witcher a riddle which he needed to solve to find O'Dimm and catch him before the timer ran out. To add to the challenge O'Dimm also created illusions and distractions, among them: an illusion of Shani about to fall off a cliff, numerous dead ends and pitfalls, and continuous taunting as Geralt tried his luck. 
Geralt initially concluded that the answer to the riddle is "mirror" and eventually managed to find a palace of mirrors, though O'Dimm altered the landscape while causing each mirror he approached to shatter, all the while mocking Geralt and speaking confidently of his victory. After several attempts, Geralt was able to reason through the problem and came to the realization that he needed to find an unbreakable mirror and released a dammed pool for a water fountain in order to look at himself on the water's surface. As he looked down, he saw O'Dimm hiding in his reflection and pulled him out of the water, which revealed O'Dimm to have eyes like a snake while his cheek and jaw bones become demonic. O'Dimm spoke to the witcher in three languages deriving from another world before being banished as agreed.In sequence:Antillean Creole French: Ouw se on coq é coq lá sé rwa an lé pil firmié ay., meaning You're a rooster and the rooster is king only atop his pile of manure.
Georgian: Shen ggonia momige, ara sts'debi. (შენ გგონია მომიგე, არა სცდები), meaning You think you've won. No, you are wrong.
Ossetian: Man amaran nai. Asauznan fala fashtama azdahznan. (Мӕн амарӕн нӕй. Ацӕудзынӕн, фӕлӕ фӕстӕмӕ аздӕхдзынӕн), meaning I can't die. I'm going now but I'll be back.
=== O'Dimm and the chalice ===
By the end of the third war, when Geralt rode through White Orchard again, one of the five remaining dwarves from the Isle of Mists mentioned O'Dimm as "Mr. Mirrory or something like that", the recipient of a chalice they had lifted from someone.
== Personality ==
Gaunter, while a primarily antagonistic entity, is a creature of extremes and ambiguity. While Shakeslock called him "evil incarnate", Gaunter doesn't fit so neatly into general nor absolute definitions. For the most part he is passive and almost never takes overt actions towards his aims. He often obscures his goals and desires and even the one definitive aim he has (the collection of souls) is wrapped in a veil of inscrutability as Gaunter never makes it clear which souls he is actively interested in or why.
Gaunter seems to take pleasure in the suffering of others, however he is only ever shown tormenting or harming people that have given him "just cause". He torments and savors the fear of those he makes deals with but only ever seems to make deals with malicious individuals who either are or capable of hurting people for their own ends such as Olgierd whom he rightly described as "a degenerate monster". In spite of this, Gaunter makes no distinctions between the severity of one's "misdeeds" as he horribly cursed a noblewoman from Toussaint and ruined her life while twisting her into a monster for insulting him and refusing hospitality when he came to her door seeking a handout. He also ruthlessly tormented Olgierd's brother's ghost after the spirit refused to leave Geralt's body when Gaunter politely directed the ghost to return to it's rest. Gaunter seems to use any excuse to enact torments on others and uses their "offense" as justification to punish them while taking pleasure in their misery.
He is also very strict with rules and agreements. He claims, firmly, that he never lies nor cheats and always sticks to an agreement. This also extends to social contracts such as using manners and following local custom. When he cursed the noblewoman it was due to being refused hospitality when he came to her home in the guise of a beggar but in her homeland it was custom to offer beggars that come to one's door some form of hospitality. He also kills a man in a pub for the "crime" of interrupting his conversation with Geralt by putting a spoon through the man's eye while Gaunter had stopped time. On the other hand, Gaunter seems to take delight in also finding loop-holes in agreements or contracts he makes to get what he wants while further tormenting the one's he makes deals with. His fulfilling Olgierd's conditions for claiming Olgierd's soul were physically impossible if taken by common definitions but Gaunter found ways to fulfill those obligations without contradicting the wording of the agreement (Showing Olgierd's dead brother the time of his life by having him possess and use Geralt's body to attend a party, having a faction that uses the sun as a crest to conquer another faction at night thus "making the sun rise" at night, and having them all meet on the moon by meeting Olgierd on a floor tiled mosaic of the moon).
For all of Gaunter's devious and maliciousness, he can also be surprisingly good natured, fair, and even benign towards others. He engages in light hearted banter with common folk such as talking to women about baking while also enjoying the simple pleasures of the company of others and having a good drink. He speaks in a disgusted tone when talking about the sins of others like Olgierd while giving genuine advice to people he takes a liking to such as giving Geralt advice about making Shani happy and later (based in the player's choices) tells Geralt what he needs to know to save Ciri with a tone of sympathy in his voice. In fact, if Geralt performs all of his tasks for Gaunter an lets him take Olfgierd's soul, he rewards Geralt for his service with no strings attached nor clever wordplay to bring Geralt misfortune.
== Journal entry ==
: Geralt has escaped a great many predicaments, sometimes of his own doing, sometimes aided by others. One of the strangest helping hands was that extended to him by Master Mirror. The witcher was on an Ofieri ship, held captive and bound for a date with the gallows... when, out of nowhere, in came Master Mirror. He reminded the witcher of their first encounter, when he helped Geralt find Yennefer in White Orchard. Now he was offering help as well -- this time, for a price. In exchange for freeing Geralt from the ship, he demanded Geralt meet him at a certain crossroads. When the witcher agreed, a strange mark appeared on his face. It was as though Master Mirror had put a stamp on him to show they had entered into as pact – a suspicion later confirmed beyond all doubt...
: Gaunter O'Dimm explained he and their mutual acquaintance, Olgierd von Everec, had entered into a strange pact. Their deal stipulated O'Dimm must grant von Everec three wishes – yet could not do so on his own, but instead had to call upon the services of a proxy. And who better to provide such assistance than a witcher? Since O'Dimm made agreeing to be this proxy a condition for receiving help off the Ofieri ship, Geralt had little choice but to agree.
: Master Mirror appeared once again – suddenly and out of nowhere, as usual – after Olgierd proclaimed his first two wishes. Mirror told Geralt of a way to show Olgierd's brother the time of his life, even though this life had in fact ended years earlier. He equipped Geralt with von Everec blood and the knowledge of how to summon Vlodimir's ghost. Just how O'Dimm had managed to collect a vial of von Everec blood was never made clear, but then again, burning question marks hung over everything this strange figure did.
: Master Mirror made an appearance at the wedding Geralt attended with Shani and the ghost of Vlodimir, who inhabited Geralt's body so that he may enjoy one last night of earthly revelry. When midnight struck, Vlodimir was unsurprisingly in no mood to abandon the pleasures of the witcher's flesh. Yet Master Mirror intervened to put an immediate and cruel end to Vlod's stay among the living. Geralt later told me the cries of torment Vlod's ghost made haunted his dreams for months to come.
::If Geralt seeks out Professor Shakeslock:
::: Geralt came away from his meeting with Professor Shakeslock knowing of a way to outfox Master mirror. The demonic pact-maker could be lured into a wager: win it, and he would be defeated once and for all.
:If Geralt chooses to help Olgierd:
:: Geralt soon discovered Professor Shakeslock's words were true. Master Mirror could indeed be defeated at his own game. Geralt made a bet with him, wagering everything on one battle of wits, and won. By solving Master Mirror's riddle, he drove the demon from our dimension - though I fear he may yet return. His kind always returns.
: If Geralt doesn't intervene:
:: Geralt decided to deliver Olgierd to Master Mirror's murky hands, thus completing their bargain. Geralt knew it was over at once, for in that moment the mark which had appeared on his face on the Ofieri ship disappeared like charcoal smudges drenched in a rain shower. That was the last Geralt ever saw of Master Mirror. I do not think he was missed.
== Associated quests ==
* Lilac and Gooseberries
* Evil's Soft First Touches 
* Dead Man's Party 
* Scenes From a Marriage 
* Whatsoever a Man Soweth... 
== Trivia ==
* Gaunter O'Dimm's initials form an acronym: G.O.D.
* Randall Flagg- character from novels written by Stephen King - has a lot of names and one of them is "Walter o'Dim", who is a seemingly supernatural being of uncertain origin in the series The Dark Tower. Gaunter also shares similarities with Leland Gaunt from "Needful Things" - an evil entity who grants human wishes in exchange for evil deeds. It was later confirmed by Karolina Stachyra, senior writer in CD PROJEKT RED, that he was indeed inspired in part by these two.Eurogamer: The making of The Witcher 3's greatest villain
* His pact with Olgierd bears resemblance to the pact in a story from Polish folklore between the devil and a nobleman named Mr Twardowski. In this story, the pact specifies the devil can only collect the nobleman's soul when the nobleman visits Rome which, of course, the nobleman has no intention of doing. This allows him to escape his pact until he stays at an inn called Rzym (meaning Rome in Polish), and the devil comes to collect. Similarly, Olgierd's pact is only fulfilled when they stand on the moon together, which they do when O'Dimm tricks him into meeting Geralt at a temple with a large mosaic of the moon on the floor.
** In the Twardowski legend after his deal with the devil, Twardowski uses a magic mirror to bring back the ghost of the wife of Polish king, Sigismund II Augustus.
** One version of the legend says that while being in the devil's claws he started to pray which resulted in devil dropping him on the moon. Twardowski is said to live there since then.
* Gaunter's character seems to represent certain aspects of the characters "Holländermichel" and "Glasmännlein", from the German fairy tale Das kalte Herz by Wilhelm Hauff. In this story the benevolent forest spirit "Glasmännlein" grants the protagonist 3 wishes. Later in the story, the protagonist makes a deal with the evil sorcerer "Holländermichel" who takes his heart and gives him in a heart of stone in return and an infinite supply of money.
== Notes ==
* Only two men from the North ever beat him at his challenge: an unknown person and Geralt of Rivia (if the latter chose to challenge O'Dimm to save Olgierd's soul).
* Shortly following both instances where he unfreezes time and subsequently disappears into thin air, a person immediately mentions the word "devil" in a sentence. On both occasions he also had a wooden spoon.
* Gaunter was designed by CD PROJEKT RED to perfectly blend into the background throughout Open Sesame and so it happens that he is always there, controlling Geralt even though he does not know,Kotaku: Riddle That Players Couldn't Quite Solve first as a beggar during Evil's Soft First Touches, then as a peasant in Open Sesame: The Safecracker, and then as an aristocrat, and later crossbowmen, in Open Sesame!.
* There is a bug when Geralt meets O'Dimm in White Orchard, the floating name above his head says, Gaunter O'Dim, missing the second "m".
** The reason this happens is probably because prior to he was a minor character thus his name remained the same for all languages when meeting him in White Orchard. However, it was later altered for the English translation of the expansion.
** In the Polish (original) version his name is always spelled with just one "m" "Gaunter o'Dim" including his Journal entry and cards. Thus it could be said that the meeting in White Orchard is the only time his name is spelled correctly.
**However, it may actually be an oversight as the name also differs between the Polish and English version by the "o". In the Polish version it's spelled with lowercase "o'Dim" while in the English version it's capital "O'Dimm". And while the additional "m" does not appear in the English version, when meeting him in White Orchard, the capital "O" does.
* While his name isn't directly mentioned, it's heavily implied that he's the beggar that turned Marlene de Trastamara into a spotted wight in the through the following:
** A letter found inside the abandoned house states that the beggar sold mirrors.
** It was mentioned that the beggar broke his spoon before casting the curse, just like O'Dimm did before wrecking the ship that was holding Geralt captive.
** O'Dimm's theme music plays in the background while Geralt explains Marlene's curse to his majordomo.The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - 
*Gaunter O'Dimm's theme music can be heard in the Rivia map in . By hearing the theme, the player can earn the Through the Fourth Wall achievement.
*In , you can come across a written contract that is heavily implied to be a pact with O'Dimm.
*While Gaunter can use magic and create magical effects, it's implied that unlike most of the powerful beings in the witcher universe, his power is an act of will alone needing no components, incantations, or rituals as he exclaims to Geralt that he can't stand spells and calls normal magic wielded by spellcasters as "mere hocus-pocus". He also seems to have no inherent weakness to his power (like how iron or silver can be effective against types of magic or creatures) and only seems bound by whatever limits he agrees to (terms of contract or his word) while being unable to peer between dimension though being able to find out anything within the realm he is currently located.
== Gallery ==
Tw3 cardart neutral gaunter odimm.png
Gwent cardart neutral gaunter o dimm.png
File:O'Dimm as a beggar.png|O'Dimm as a beggar
Tw3 Gaunter as a peasant.jpg|O'Dimm as a peasant
Tw3 Gaunter as a soldier.jpg|O'Dimm as a soldier
Tw3 Gaunter at auction house.jpg|O'Dimm as an aristocrat
Gwent cardart neutral master mirror.png
File:Gwent cardart northern kerack marine.png|Gaunter O'Dimm in the background.
File:Gwent cardart nilfgaard usurper officer.png|O'Dimm talking to a young Usurper.
File:Gwent cardart syndicate jacques miraculous child.png|O'Dimm's legs in the background
File:Gwent cardart syndicate dies irae.png|Gaunter O'Dimm to the right of the figure.
File:Gwent cardart syndicate smuggle.png|Gaunter to the left of the figure.
File:Gwent cardart nilfgaard angry mob.png|Gaunter to the right of the figure.
== References ==
== External links ==
*
ar:جونتر أوديم
cs:Gaunter O'Dimm
de:Gaunter o'Dim
es:Gaunter O'Dimm
pl:Gaunter o'Dim
tr:Gaunter O'Dimm
pt-br:Gaunter O'Dim
ru:Гюнтер о'Дим
uk:Ґонтер О'Дімм
Category:The Witcher 3 characters
Category:Hearts of Stone characters