Renuald aep Matsen
Renuald aep Matsen is a Nilfgaardian officer in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Where the ambassador Shilard Fitz-Oesterlen is the Emperor’s voice in the North, Matsen is his iron fist. He is a veteran of the Impera Brigade, a unit known for fanatical loyalty to the Emperor, and his shield carries the brigade’s salamander. He carries out orders without a second thought, which is exactly what makes him dangerous. The two men are not friends: Shilard voices his distrust of Matsen in a letter to the Emperor.
In The Witcher 2
Matsen appears in Chapter 3 at Loc Muinne, where he commands the Nilfgaardian knights escorting Shilard to the summit. On Vernon Roche‘s path he can be seen drilling soldiers near the market square, and on Iorveth’s path he appears alongside Shilard in the cutscene where Triss Merigold is decompressed. If Geralt spared Letho, Matsen and Shilard bring the kingslayer with them to the summit.
His big moment comes if Geralt chooses to rescue Triss in Where is Triss Merigold?. Geralt takes Shilard hostage to force the Nilfgaardians to release her, but Matsen does not care about the hostage’s value: following his orders, he kills the ambassador on the spot. Geralt then has to cut his way through the Black Ones, and Matsen follows Shilard soon after. The key Geralt takes from the commander opens the dungeon where Triss is held.
Good to know
- In The Witcher 3, Matsen turns up as a Nilfgaardian gwent card: Renuald aep Matsen.
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