CDPR confirmed what many of us already suspected: The new Witcher teaser actually did reveal a new school: The School of the Lynx
So let's recap all the Witcher stuff that just happened in the last couple of days, because it was so much that my head is spinning (also from all the Tequila since I moved to Mexico, hello):
- First, CDPR announced what we thought is The Witcher 4
- Then they clarified that the next Witcher game is not The Witcher 4
- Then it was rumored that Vesemir was going to be the lead character
The last point in particular is important since that rumor was sparked by the medallion that makes up the Witcher "4" teaser: It's very similar to what Vesemir sports in the Netflix anime. Now, CDPR has broken its short silence on what the medallion actually stands for.
New School of Lynx Coming to The Witcher Series
The new school being added to the game is The School of Lynx, and it seems to have been invented for the new game. CDPR's Robert Malinowski confirmed the new school in an interview with Eurogamer:
Some mysteries should not be so mysterious. I can confirm that the medallion is, in fact, shaped after a lynx
Of course, many fans already deduced the lynx similarity, since it wasn't exactly... hard to deduce. This marks the 8th school in the Witcher universe, after the Wolf, the Cat, the Griffin, the Bear, the Viper, the Manticore, and the Crane. Notably though, the Lynx is not a school found in the books, which only feature the Cat, the Wolf, and the Griffin. Thus, it's another school specifically created for the upcoming Witcher game.
Coming back to the Vesemir theory above - that's all down the drain now, since Vesemir is a part of the Wolf school, and a story taking place during his younger days can now effectively be ruled out. Also, since Ciri is a part of the Cat school, she can't be the lead either, meaning it seems like we will get an entirely new protagonist for this new Witcher saga.