Leshens in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are creatures that the player can encounter randomly as they explore the world. Though rare, a few spawn in dense woodland areas populated by wildlife. Some also feature primarily in the game’s side quests, most notably with the contract “In the Heart of the Woods.”
Regardless of how the player encounters these creatures, they’re no doubt one of the harder enemies to beat in The Witcher 3. As such, it’s best to be prepared, with a flask of Relict oil and the Igni Sign.
Fearsome Forest Spirits
Leshens are eerie-looking entities with deer skulls for heads and limbs made of tree branches. They reside deep in primeval forests and are fiercely protective of their territory. It’s said that these creatures were born from nature’s will to protect itself and the wildlife that resides within it. Thus, leshens are hostile towards humans that wander too deep into their territory.
These woodland spirits are also fearsome enemies. Leshens can call on wolves, crows, and other forest animals to fight alongside them. They can also take control of the roots of the forest to sprout from beneath the earth and entangle their foes. These abilities allow them to keep their distance, even from the likes of a witcher, making it difficult to even strike them. Still, so long as the humans stayed away from a leshen’s territory, they’d be safe from harm.
However, as time passed, humankind started building their settlements closer to the forested lands and making use of its natural resources. As the people gathered more lumber and stone from the ancient woods, the leshens’ anger grew. The unknowing villagers had made enemies of these powerful Relicts. Many then grew to fear the leshens, swearing to never tread on their territory, “even if it means the whole village starves,” a quote from the bestiary entry reads.
Other townsfolk, however, began to worship the forest guardians. This can be seen in the contract quest “In the Heart of the Woods,” one of the game’s more complex witcher contracts.
“In the Heart of the Woods” — A Contract Quest in the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
“In the Heart of the Woods” takes place in Fayrlund, a village in Skellige. When the player arrives there, they’ll find a band of villagers gathered around the body of a man mangled by tree branches. Joining the conversation reveals that there are two sides to the issue. The elders of the village believe that the murder was an act of revenge from a so-called Woodland Spirit. On the other hand, the younger townsfolk believe the Spirit to be nothing more than a monster that needs to be killed.
Should the player progress with the contract, they’ll find that the Spirit in question is an ancient leshen. Geralt will also surmise that the creature has likely “marked” one of the villagers. This then prompts the player to talk to both the elders and the younger townsfolk, which will ultimately decide how the quest will end. This choice also affects Fayrlund’s future.
If the player sides with the young villagers and agrees to kill the ancient leshen, the townsfolk will have to kill the marked villager or drive them out permanently. Doing so will ensure that the leshen is killed and does not resurrect. This suggests that the older the leshen, the more powerful it becomes as the process of marking isn’t seen in any of the standard leshens in the game. After successfully killing the leshen, the witcher can return to the village only to find that the younger townsfolk have killed the elders of Fayrlund, saying that they got rid of the Spirit’s “accomplices.”
Alternatively, siding with the elders will prompt the player to head to an altar in the woods and sacrifice five wolf hearts to the Woodland Spirit. During the cutscene where Geralt burns the wolf hearts, the ancient leshen can be seen in the background, simply watching the witcher. This seems to imply that the leshen understands what Geralt is doing and accepts his offering. When the player returns to the village, the younger townsfolk will have just begun killing off the elders, and the player can choose between protecting the innocent townsfolk or simply walking away.
More Than Mere Monsters?
Regardless of how the player goes about this quest, it shows an interesting side to leshens. In other side quests — namely, “Lord of the Wood” and “Abandoned Sawmill” — the enemy leshens don’t exhibit the same level of awareness as the Woodland Spirit. Granted, leshens in these quests aren’t labeled as ancient leshens, which lends credence to the notion that older leshens are more powerful, and maybe even more intelligent.
That said, perhaps the elder’s stories of how the ancient leshen protected and provided for Fayrlund aren’t as farfetched as they seem. According to the village elder, the Woodland Spirit ensured the townsfolk were fed and that their women gave birth to strong children. He even spoke of an old ritual that the local hunters would undertake, though not all survived. Perhaps the village and the forest spirit had some form of symbiotic relationship, wherein the ancient leshen helped train their hunters to be the best in the land. In return, the townsfolk protected its territory.
Though if that’s the case, why was the ancient leshen killing the villagers seemingly at random? Was it truly because the townspeople of Fayrlund were no longer following the “old ways” or was the ancient leshen simply killing for its own enjoyment, as the younger folk believed? As yet another alternative, perhaps there was a deeper reason for the creature’s actions that was simply overshadowed by the townsfolks’ bickering.
Unfortunately, there’s no definitive answer to why the ancient leshen acted the way it did. That’s up to the player to decide, just like the choice of whom should lead the village of Fayrlund.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.