The human kingdoms in the Witcher universe are notoriously racist against non-humans. This has force elves and dwarves to either live as second class citizens or to flee to the woods and join the Scoia'tael. Scoia'tael as resistant groups of non-humans who act as bandits and harass and pillage human communities. Prior, to human arrival, elves and dwarves were the primary sentient species. They lived in harmony with the land and created stunning monuments. Now the old races are dying out and humans are in the ascendance, they feel threatened and strike back. The organized bands did not appear until after the Great War with the Empire of Nilfgaard, in which some non-humans fought for Nilfgaard rather then Temeria. It is suspected that the Empire encourages or supports these bands in some way in order to destabilize them prior to a full scale invasion. They are extremely proud and tend to romanticize themselves and their roles. The games present them in a very grey light as people fighting against injustice, but doing so by killing innocents and creating more hate. Vernon Roche and the Blue Stripes have defeated many of the bands in Temeria, dealing with them in a quite ruthless manner according to legend. Iorveth and his band of Scoia'tael were partially responsible for the murder of King Foltest of Temeria, harboring the actual assassin.
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