" A Road with no return" - introduction by Sapkowski himself. Translation from "Sapkowski zone"

The original Polish version of the introduction, as well as the Story itself can be found here

Introduction

„The Road with no Return”, the second short story I have written was published in the year 1988, in the August issue of the „Fantastyka” magazine, so year and nine months after my debut „The Witcher”, published in the „Fantastyka” in December 1986. And the esteemed Reader needs to know that at that time I was trying to conceive a fantasy novel, that I was collecting various fragments of it, creating situations, characters, scenery etc. And two important things happened. First was how unexpectedly good was Witcher received by readers and fans. The second was to realize that short stories you can publish in “Fantastyka”, but no publisher will take a novel by a debuting in the genre Polish author.

You need to think soberly and realistically. When “Fantastyka” pressured a young promising new author, kindly asking the young promising for a second short story, the young and promising thought realistically and without much thinking without regret cut the pieces of the planned novel to the size of short story and thus “The Road …” was created.

The story at the beginning was not supposed to be connected to cycle about the Witcher Geralt – because I wasn’t planning such cycle then. Not In my wildest dreams. Later when the cycle began to be created I couldn’t escape the similarities onomastic and topomastic , suggesting this is the same Never Never Land. But I was still trying to avoid the obvious, - the best proof is that “bobołaki” and “vrans”, humanoids that show up in “The road…” don’t show in the Witcher, and there is almost no mention of them.

The idea that druid “Vissenna” from “The Road…” is Geralt’s mother came to me relatively late. It was supposed to be a small detail, “Twisting” the plot and storyline of the short story “Something more” ending fixup “Sword of Destiny” and binding together all previous 12 stories about the Witcher, and I confess honestly , without any pressure – felt remorse for the beautiful name Visenna. Which name I dug up, as many other from “Old Polish Encyclopaedia” by Zygmunt Gloger. Visenna came back to the cycle becoming Geralt’s mom. Mom a bit wayward, but nice and showing at Geralt’s life at the exact moment she is needed. Giving him, literally and metaphorically life for the second time. . Second protagonist of “The road” Korin, did not have luck to come back. He had a common name, -that I swear I created myself, I didn’t take it from C S Lewis, about Korin from “Narnia” cycle (Horse and his boy) I had remembered after the fact. “Narnia was too childish for me to come back often and remember all the characters. And the plot demanded loudly the witcher’s mother, the father was the second mushroom in the beet soup ( = unnecessary) The witcher’s pedigree on the male side did not bring anything and lead nowhere. So the idea that it was Korin from “the Road..” was Geralt’s father from “Fantastyka”, who liked this idea for the beginning of the comic book series. Maciej Parowski, the creator of the concept and storylines for the comic books liked “the Road ...”, said it repeatedly and put the short story in the “Co większe muchy” anthology in year 1992. Korin the protagonist of “The road” in the comic became the father of the witcher. The scriptwriter Maciej Parowski didn’t allow Korin to enjoy his progeny for long. Taking from the perversity of the author he adapted Parowski killed off Korin the next day after the passionate night of love with Visenna. Who is curious who, what, why and how it was at the comic book should see for himself, borrowing the archival issues from the collector.

Those who will do that need one more explanation. The idea for vran, humanoid with big red eyes I took from the cover of the SF book that I saw in Berlin bookstore. At that cover there was such a big and red eyed alien. I don’t remember the title, but it was published by Hayne Verlag, famous for artistic and tasteful artwork on the covers of their famous series. At the discussed comic book the cartoonist Bogusław Polk to the red eyes added Vrans the reptile physiognomy and the green husk, That is his own drawer’s “licentia poetica”.

At the end one more thing. When “The road was being published in “Fantastyka”, the already mentioned Maciej Parowski made some editorial corrections without consulting them with the author – who would be careful about the rookie. The victims of editor’s eraser were the phrases that are not allowed in fantasy, because “back then they didn’t talk like this”. In the published in Fantastyka short story I noticed with certain amazement that “pride” has replaced “arrogance”, and “intelligent” became " “smart” etc. Since I defend firmly the theory, that fantasy does not happen in any “back then” and archaization and stylization of language are pointless, from the version you will read in the moment I removed the corrections made by Parowski, and came back to the virgin manuscript. So you have “unabridged” version, as Angloaxons call it. I leave it to your assessment if the text gained by it or lost.