During a large-scale question and answer session, Andrzej Sapkowski explained how the idea of witcher schools like the Bear, Wolf, Snake, and Manticore arose from a simple mistake.
«One sentence about some "school of the Wolf" mysteriously made its way into "The Last Wish". Later, I considered it unworthy of development and incorrect from the point of view of narration, even harming the plot. Therefore, I never mentioned any Gryffindors or Slytherins of witchers again. Never».
However, this turned out to be enough for the idea to take root. According to the writer, it was on this sentence that the authors of video games and other adaptations subsequently built their interpretations.
As a result, the impression arose that the witcher schools are part of the canon, although this is not the case in the books. Sapkowski admitted this was a mistake and noted that it would now be difficult to get rid of it: developers from CDPR seized on the phrase and introduced many fictional schools.
Sapkowski himself sees two ways out of the situation: to remove the extra line from all future editions of "The Last Wish" and hope that the topic disappears by itself, or to expand and clarify it. However, the writer did not specify whether he would personally take such steps in future projects.
Meanwhile, on September 30, Sapkowski's new novel "The Witcher: The Tower of the Swallow" was released in Russia, telling about Geralt's young years.