How Does 'The Witcher: Time Of Contempt' Deepen Character Backstories?

Manolya Kara’s world is defined by what is missing. Her mother is gone, her father is an unreadable stranger wrapped in dangerous secrets, and now, the woman who raised her is losing her only sister to an unnatural disappearance. As the small Turkish coastal town of Akyaka descends into panic over a legendary creature that judges the guilty, Manolya is forced into a war she didn't know existed when she opens an antique box she was never meant to touch. The result? Guided by a snarky demon from the fall of Constantinople bound in the form of a cat, Manolya uncovers the Hellblades: rubied scimitars that bleed red light and force monsters into the open. Swept into the dangerous obsidian dimension, Manolya and her cousins must train under a ruthless weapons master and learn to fight alongside a demon, or become the next victims sacrificed to the darkness.

A particularly dark tale. Not for the faint of heart. He was the all-powerful Magistrate Mathis. The man that accused the witches and then found them guilty in the dungeons of WitchFall Fortress. I had feared ever being one of them, but not enough to be dissuaded from figuring out why he didn't seem to be what he was. So I followed him into the woods one day and discovered the one secret he was willing to wreak havoc to keep. The secret he'd make me pay for ever knowing. And if he couldn't have me on my terms, well he was certainly powerful enough to find a way, wasn't he? The most horrible kind of way... Barely understanding what was happening, I soon found myself in the worst place I could possibly be. Under his complete control...

The era of witches is gone forgotten but for a few that has lived through it. A teenage girl will discover her powers in a most unlikely manners. In a world predominantly governed by humans, how will our squad fare?

Manolya expected a quiet summer with her cousins in their small Turkish coastal town. But a vanished woman, a hidden weapon, and a demon protector drag her into the same darkness that once claimed her mother. Following the trail pulls her deep into the obsidian dimension, where black magic thrives and a long-buried evil stirs awake. Because some family secrets are worth dying for - and others are the reason you will be killed. Can Manolya survive the truth buried in her own family?

Tilla is a witch, who enjoys the simplicity and seclusion that comes with life in a rural village. Little known about her background prior to her appearance in a small country province of Antheon, Tilla is all too content to pass her days caring for the minor needs and ailments of its occupants. Until, one day her peaceful life is stolen from her by the outbreak of war with the neighboring kingdom, Vinhalla. The fighting instigated by a powerful and callous sorceress from the rival kingdom, Tilla is left with little choice but to flee or risk being embroiled in a mystical war of epic proportions. Her life uprooted and destiny uncertain, Tilla enlists the aid of the gruff and handsome werewolf, Luther Bane. The two, discovering trust and even a spark of passion in one another as they struggle to evade the Hunters, monsters, and the likes of kin who seek to harm them. Will their alliance be enough to elude the secrets of their pasts? Or will they find themselves ensnared in a conflict much greater than themselves?

Photo by Anastasiya Doborvolskaya via Pinterest A hundred years had passed since the war against witches reached its conclusion, leading the Kingdom of Londeve to a century-long peace. Everything's all well either for the young village baker boy, Tristan who lives a simple life with his two younger siblings not so far away from the country's capital. As ordinary as he might seem, it is not to be expected that he's actually acquainted with the only living royalty residing in his homeland, Crown Princess Anne of Londevè. Even so, their decade-long friendship never brought any significant change in each others' lives throughout the years, and for the humble young man, it is something to be relieved for. However, fate seem to have its own mischievous way of twisting the humble orphan's life. It was a remarkable encounter that turned his seemingly normal life into a dangerous rollercoaster ride as he got involved with the epitome of misery herself — the manipulative and mysterious lady, Serina Lourdemayne, who has been ironically keeping the peace at the Kingdom as a substitute Queen despite being a witch herself. Will this accidental and unwanted engagement ever reward him? Will they be able to work progressively despite their obvious and huge differences with their loved ones, responsibilities and aspirations in line? Dive into the world of magic and witness the journey of Tristan and Serina together with the noble Paladins as they protect the Kingdom from the coming calamities and from the new enemies that could possibly be more powerful and sinister than the wicked witches the human race had faced before.