Julian Alfred Pankratz

Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove, better known as Dandelion, was a poet, minstrel, bard, and close friend of the witcher Geralt of Rivia.
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Not much is known about Dandelion's family except that he was of noble birth and was a cousin of Ferrant de Lettenhove, the royal instigator of Kerack.
He received his early education in a temple school, where, according to Geralt, literacy was "beaten into him with a cane". However, he didn't truly get into poetry until he was 19, after being inspired by his love for Countess de Stael. Dandelion studied the seven liberal arts for four years at Oxenfurt University before later becoming a professor, but only taught students for a year before leaving the academy to travel the world. He would, however, visit Oxenfurt from time to time to give guest lectures.
Within a very few years he gained worldwide fame and became known as one of the best minstrels in the Northern Kingdoms, with his best known song was the Ballad of the Lion Cub of Cintra.
=== Meeting Geralt ===
In the mid-to-late 1240s, Dandelion first met Geralt at a fête in the town of Gulet in Aedirn. There, the poet had knocked up a girl under the musician's podium, and her four sturdy brothers were looking for him all over town, threatening to geld him and cover him in pitch and sawdust.
The so called Valley of Flowers seemed just right the right location for the duo's swift escape, as it was supposed to be the edge of the inhabited world, the last outpost of civilization. It was in the small town of Upper Posada, located in a part of the Northern Realms that later became Dol Blathanna, that the pair had their first adventure together, involving a nasty sylvan and an encounter with Dol Blathanna's native inhabitants, the elves. During this adventure, Dandelion received his priceless lute from Toruviel.
=== Temple of Ellander ===
Later, in 1252, Dandelion was in Vizima and heard word of Geralt being injured and recovering at the Temple of Melitele in Ellander. He visited the temple and spoke to Nenneke, trying to win her favour, despite her annoyance of him flirting with one of the priestesses.
After, he went and saw Geralt and the two spent time discussing Dandelion's education, as well as the lack of work for the witcher. Later that day, the two left for the city of Ellander. Once they arrived in the city, they were confronted by Dennis Cranmer, Arthur Tailles and Count Falwick, and Geralt was forced to duel Tailles. After the conflict the witcher and the bard returned to the temple and said their goodbyes before leaving.
=== After the First Northern War ===
In 1263, during the First Northern War, Dandelion was around the Yaruga, but fled far north, unknowing of Geralt's fate. He went to Pont Vanis, in Kovir and Poviss, to join King Esterad Thyssen's court. After a long time, he left the king's company to go to the Hengfors League, into service with King Niedamir. He also became an associate of the Redanian Secret Service, answering to Sigismund Dijkstra, who requested information on King Ervyll after Dandelion visited Verden.
=== Bleobheris ===
In 1266, he performed a concert reciting stories of Geralt and Ciri to over a hundred at the giant oak Bleobheris in Velen. Donimir of Troy, Sheldon Skaggs and Radcliffe were among those who attended.
After sneaking away from the concert, he travelled to a nearby town and visited the brothel Mama Lantieri's. At the brothel, he was approached by the mage Rience, who was looking for Ciri. After refusing to give up information and attempting to run, Dandelion was tortured by Rience and two other men in the pigstys behind the brothel. Yennefer then appeared, scarring Rience's face, and creating a portal for the two of them to escape.
=== Oxenfurt ===
After Yennefer's help, in early 1267, Dandelion went to Oxenfurt, to report details of Verden to Dijkstra. In the marketplace he marveled at the sights and services, noticing he was being tailed by two men, and so rode on to the Oxenfurt Academy, where he signed in at the main gate and watched the students and tutors hard at work.
As he entered the academy, he saw the young student Shani, and proceeded to pretend to flirt with her, as to detach attention from the two men following him. After she promised to deliver a message to Geralt, Dandelion went up to the men, who were spies working for Dijkstra. They led him to the spymaster, joined by Philippa Eilhart and Ori Reuven for the meeting. Sigismund revealed their true interest was Geralt, and asked the bard for information on his location. Dandelion played dumb, having already seen Geralt in Oxenfurt, and so Philippa pushed for information about Ciri instead. After the bard promised to try and arrange a meeting, he left the building and spent several hours lingering around the academy, visiting different faculties, until it got dark. He used the night to sneak across the city to Wolfgang Amadeus Goatbeard's house, a brewer friend of his where Geralt was staying. After entering through the attic window, and discovering Geralt and Shani naked, Dandelion revealed Dijsktra's main objective was to find Ciri, and so if Geralt didn't flee, he would be forced to give up information. As the three went to leave through the window, they were interrupted by Philippa who polymorphed from an owl, and told them Dijkstra was under strict orders from King Vizimir II and Shani revealed she knew Rience, as he had visited a local store owned by Myhrman two days previous.
That night, the four went to the docks where they broke into Myhrman's house, and Geralt and Philippa tortured him for information on Rience. They were able to obtain an magic amulet that Geralt used to message Rience, and before dawn they prepared to meet him. While Geralt dealt with the Michelet brothers and Rience, Dandelion and Shani stood on the palisades watching. After the last brother fell, Shani cried out and attempted to run and heal them as she was a medic, though Dandelion held her and told her it was too unsafe.
=== Meeting Ciri ===
After Oxenfurt, Dandelion stopped in the city of Dorian in Temeria, where he told Codringher and Fenn of the events with Rience, somewhat limited by his promise of secrecy with Geralt. He next went with Geralt to Hirundum, the Hofmeier family farm, where he would spend nights discussing political matters with Bernie while Geralt hunted a monster. They were deep in a conversation during the stormy night of June 29th, when the young girl Ciri rode up to the farm, followed by Geralt and then Yennefer, all from different ways. The next morning's talk between the sorceress and witcher included an invitation for Dandelion to accompany them to Thanedd Island. The following day they all went to Thanedd, and during the reception at Loxia, Dandelion spent his time collecting gossip from the arriving mages.
After the reception, Dandelion found some minstrels and performed ballads to them throughout the night, including Elusive. In the early hours of the morning however, a large-scale coup took place between the Brotherhood, with many siding with the North or Nilfgaard. Dandelion fled the conflict, and being told of Geralt's injuries and location by Triss Merigold, after the beginning of the Second Northern War, he travelled to the city of Brugge. There, he met with King Venzlav and told him of his mission to find Geralt so as to receive safe conduct through Brugge, which was met with a royal guard envoy. By early August, they escorted him to the Ribbon river near Brokilon, though left Dandelion somewhat short of the riverbank, fearful of the dryad's arrows. He rode his horse Pegasus deep into the forests where he found and began singing the ballad Elaine Ettariel to the dryad Fauve and her friend, who led him to the healing Geralt. He told the witcher of the events of the Nilfgaardian invasion, including details of the fall of Rivia and Aedirn. Fauve returned and the three of them noticed a group of Scoia'tael breaking through the tree line; Geralt left to aid them and so Fauve spoke quickly to Dandelion and then returned to the underbrush. After an hour, the witcher came back with Pegasus and another mare given to him by the Scoia'tael, before they set off from Brokilon to Nilfgaard, as Milva had told the witcher of a false Cirilla (unknowingly) who had been transported there.
=== On the road ===
Geralt and Dandelion began their journey south following the Ribbon to the Ceann Treise falls, where they planned their march to Verden, and then further onto Cintra along the Yaruga. As they set off and a heavy storm hit, they were surprised by two havekars, Kolda and his boss, though were quickly let go due to the traders mistaking the pair for elves because of their Brokilonian clothes. As they went to leave, however, Imperial agents arrived to grab the havekar's tied-up prisoner: Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach. While first furious at the belief the traders had killed Cahir, due to him being tied up in a coffin, the meeting then turned into a mutiny when the Imperials attacked their so-called "allies". Milva then arrived, having been following Geralt's trail, and helped the witcher kill the remaining Imperials. Spotting the coffin again, the group opened it and untied Cahir, and upon Geralt's first unveiling and near-distain of the Vicovarian, they ambivalently decided to spare only his life, untie him, and leave him there to fend for himself, this being the second time the knight received mercy from the witcher, though he was warned of his doom should they meet again.
Despite Geralt's warning, Cahir took off after the group, though he never directly approached them. It was only several days later when the group, fed up with knowing someone was following them but not sure who, confronted them only to find Cahir once again in their presence. As Geralt demanded Cahir fight him, the knight stated he didn't wish to fight but to join them in rescuing Ciri. Geralt strongly objected to this, threatening to kill him once more but Cahir, unwillingly to pull out his weapon like Geralt demanded, reiterated that he didn't want to fight, leaving the two in a stalemate. Only when Milva stated she could put an arrow in his horse to prevent Cahir from catching up with them as they continued on did Cahir mount and run off.
Eventually, while travelling through the forest, they came across the dwarf Zoltan Chivay and his company. The dwarves told them of their plan to travel to the Turlough Hills, then the Old Road to the river Chotla in Sodden, before continuing onto the Ina. Zoltan, after hearing of the three wanderers journey south toward enemy clutches, invited them to join the dwarves on their march east, which was accepted.
Category:Characters
Category:Human
Category:Redanian