Alright, Companion!Bard AU. Geraskier primary. Jaskier/Other Witchers secondary. Maybe Yennesker/Geraskefer? This will probably parallel most of season one, unsure yet if at all of season two (or if it may deviate pre-Mountain). No CWs for this first part as it's just setting up. ~900 words.
They say that the best way to hide anything or anyone is to hide it in plain sight. Because it would be so obvious that no one would think what or whom was there would be truly there, in the open right?
It's why Redanian's Secret Service is so obvious about their place in Oxenfurt University. Although, enough people know that it's a convenient front for their other activities. All related of course in the service of their King.
Oxenfurt University keeps another open secret to the world. There are actually eight Liberal Arts one can study and master. But the eighth is rarely taken upon, or completed. It is one of the more difficult of the set, since it does rely so much on reading people, on exposing oneself to a lot of unnecessary strain. And while being a master of this other, more secretive Art could lead someone to live the life of luxury amongst royals, a graduate is usually seen as less than from their peers, and is more likely to get hurt out in the world than the others.
Still, Jaskier, or Julian at the time, was always a godsdamn completionist. And hedonist. And some would probably say masochist. Basically all the -ists that were mostly positive. (He was still too young and naïve to learn yet that what he knew of Elves and some other non-humans were patently false and derogatory. It would still take him some years [and running into a Witcher] to unpack and unlearn all of that.)
The eighth Liberal Art he only learned about when one, he was of age to learn of it, and two, in his second to final year at Oxenfurt. The Univeristy's policy was always as such: As long as you were of the age of majority for your species/culture, and had already mastered at least one other liberal art (or in the final semester of it), then anyone was allowed to attempt mastering this final one. It was also the only path one could pursue with no fear of ending up in massive debt or other complications if one were to fail out or give up on mastering it.
The completion rate to this elusive Art was only one in six students. And majority were of the non-masculine persuasion. Julian had honestly thought it was going to be the easiest of the programs to master. He was very wrong. Oh, he had some natural affinity to it, and used the fact that he grew up very privileged and healthy and pretty to his advantage. But there were always constant lessons that youth and beauty were very temporary. It was one of the reasons why one had to have at least one other Art to fall back on.
This program was the only one that Julian slightly cheated on, desperate to not fail out. Before the final semester in this program, there was a special evaluation. Ones who were susceptible to their emotions (if it hadn't already been trained out), and couldn't separate performance from reality (which wasn't terrible at all), they couldn't become a master. They'd get another grade and still could do a few of the jobs this particular Art availed to them, but it wasn't quite the same.
Despite his ever growing hubris, Julian, only just settling on the name Jaskier, knew himself well enough. Had to, to get this far in the program. He relied on his closest friend, Essi, to help him train and steel his mind, to play the part right. She didn't quite approve of this particular persona, but she was curious to see if it would work.
It did. Jaskier passed the evaluation and in the end, mastered the elusive, secretive, eighth Liberal Art. He was officially deemed a Court Companion, automatically eligible to be any Royal's consort, if they so desired, and would get priority positions in the most elusive of pleasure and entertainment houses. All he would need to do is show off the magicked brand as proof.
Jaskier, of course, was never intending to use it beyond proving to Valdo fucking Marx that he did it, something even that cad couldn't finish. No, Jaskier was content to travel the world as a regular bard and make his mark that way.
And then he was given a summons to the "Faculty of Most Contemporary History". And there, he found himself amongst an even smaller group of esteemed graduates from the eighth Liberal Art. Sigismund Dijkstra was surprisingly a very convincing man. And conniving. Jaskier was ready to turn him down, not wanting to be beholden to anyone. He was young and had his whole life ahead of him! There was a reason he escaped Lettenhove after all.
Unfortunately, as Jaskier was leaving Sigi's office, the man gave him an offer he literally could not refuse.
He was promised that the missions would be few and far between, that it was up to him to take up any other Companion Contract if he so desired. And in exchange, Sigismund wouldn't dig into the Pankratz Family and their political affairs. Convincing, indeed. To protect his sisters, Jaskier swore himself into service.
For nearly three seasons, Jaskier's content, being a bard and mission-less, having only once needing to take a Contract. But then he finds himself in Posada, and meets a Witcher, and finds the lines between his head and his heart beginning to blur.
