The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Artbook

chapter i
No Man’s Land
Velen, a province in northeastern Temeria, is currently a no man’s land ravaged by the ongoing
movement of soldiers across its terrain. Though nominally controlled by the Nilfgaardians, the
Empire has too few forces and too thin of supply lines to extend its rule further than the immediate
surroundings of a handful of fortified camps. Many inhabitants of Velen have been killed or forced
to flee into the woods, while those that remain eke out a meager existence under the constant threat
of attacks by bandits, marauders, or monsters. These foul creatures, emboldened by the turmoil and
chaos of war, creep ever closer to human settlements in search of easy prey. Many of Velen’s peasants
also whisper about a mysterious and evil power that has awoken in the swamps, one that cannot
be fought with mere steel. The Velen of this time is a lawless and brutal land, in which the weak fall
victim to the strong and the ruthless.