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There is no good. Nor evil. Only pain. |  | |
| - Gwent: The Witcher Card Game Audio version: | |||
Kiyan, later known as Mad Kiyan, was a witcher from the School of the Cat who was abducted and subjected to brutal torture and experimentation by the mage Ireneus var Steingard. These experiments left Kiyan mentally shattered, turning him into a mere shadow of his former self.
Quick Answers
What school of witchers did Kiyan belong to before his abduction?
Who was the mage responsible for Kiyan's transformation into Mad Kiyan?
What information can be found about Kiyan's life before his abduction?
What kind of experiments were conducted on Kiyan by Ireneus var Steingard?
Where can notes about Kiyan's tragic final chapter be found?
Biography
Little is known about Kiyan's life prior to his abduction. As a child, he ended up at the School of the Cat, where he was trained and mutated to become a witcher. Like many of his fellow Cat witchers, he not only accepted contracts on monsters but also on humans.
One such contract Kiyan undertook was for Prince Adrien of the Sea Cats. The prince sponsored an expedition to Est Tayiar in search of the legendary treasure of King Maeglor of Est Tayiar. Kiyan was tasked by Adrien to act as a bodyguard for the expedition, though his true mission was to kill its members and take any diagrams they found back to Adrien.
Kiyan met the expedition members at Drahim Castle and accompanied them to Est Tayiar. After the team uncovered some diagrams, Kiyan demanded they hand them over. The professor leading the expedition refused. A few days later, Kiyan struck, killing all the members except for Professor Sigismund Gloger, who escaped through a portal with some diagrams. After the massacre, Kiyan delivered the remaining diagrams and the severed heads of the researchers to Prince Adrien. As agreed, they divided the diagrams between them. Adrien also offered Kiyan the position of personal bodyguard, but Kiyan declined and instead took a position aboard the Flying Stag.
After a stop in Bremervoord and en route to Novigrad, the mage Ireneus var Steingard bribed the captain to allow him to share a cabin with Kiyan. The mage intended to study and abduct the witcher for his twisted experiments. However, Kiyan's keen observance made it difficult for Ireneus to act openly, forcing the mage to use psionic spells to subdue him. Ireneus then teleported both himself and Kiyan to his laboratory, conjuring a storm to cover his tracks. The storm ultimately sank the ship, killing the entire crew.
In his hidden laboratory, Steingard subjected Kiyan to relentless experiments designed to test the physical and mental limits of a witcher. The mage forced Kiyan to reveal secrets about witcher training, focusing particularly on the Cat School's elven origins, which Steingard sought to confirm through his research. Kiyan's body withstood the torment, but his mind broke after four days of pain and psychological abuse. Despite Kiyan's shattered mental state, Steingard continued his cruel experiments, delving into even darker practices, including demonic possession.
The prolonged torture turned Kiyan into a crazed and tormented being, consumed by pain and madness. He became little more than a husk, unrecognizable from the witcher he once was. Ultimately, what remained of Kiyan was found in the abandoned laboratory beneath Novigrad's Temple Isle, where Geralt of Rivia encountered him. Geralt mercifully ended Kiyan's suffering, finally putting the tortured witcher to rest.
Fighting tactics
Mad Kiyan can prove a serious threat. Despite lacking any real consciousness, Kiyan's combat skills as a witcher remain. It can use Signs consisting of Quen, Igni, and Aard. Its swings with the Moonblade are fast and can cause bleeding if they land.
Associated quest
Gallery
External links
See the GWENT standalone game version card: Kiyan