The Witcher: Blood Origin teaser trailer is here, and it looks epic. Netflix has unveiled a new trailer for The Witcher prequel spin-off series, hauling us to back the wretched lands of the Continent, set to a very sombre song, vocalised by the travelling musician Éile (Sophia Brown). In The Witcher universe, music plays a vital role in exposition, sometimes serving as a premonition for things to unfold in the story. With the presence of a musician as part of our merry band — which includes Elven warrior Scian (Michelle Yeoh) and vengeful Fjall (Laurence O’Fuarain) — fans will be thrilled to see how subtle foreshadowing is implemented in The Witcher: Blood Origin.

Set in an elven world, 1,200 years before the events of the mainline series of games, The Witcher: Blood Origin explores The Conjunction of Spheres, a fateful event which fused the monster, elven, and human realms into one. The teaser opens with the aforementioned vocals, which accurately describe the going-on in the footage, be it the visions of flaming battles or the rumbles of war. It offers a look at the picturesque locations, as our trio of outcasts embark on a blood quest, giving rise to the first prototype Witcher in an epic-scale conflict that involves sacrifice and dark magic. The latter comes courtesy of Lenny Henry’s (The Sandman) Chief David Balor, who seems to have an army of sorcerers by his side.

While the series was initially touted as a six-episode series, The Witcher: Blood Origin teaser now states that it will merely be four parts long. The shortening of runtime poses questions as to how Netflix intends to tackle the aforementioned events, which are set centuries apart from each other. As per an interactive map from the studio, the first Witcher was created by mages 967 years after the Conjunction event, amounting to a 233-year difference between the two timelines. Let’s hope they don’t butcher the narrative.

Declan de Barra, who wrote two episodes in the Henry Cavill-led The Witcher series, returns as creator and showrunner in The Witcher: Blood Origin. The series also stars Mirren Mack (Sex Education) as Merwyn, Jacob Collins as Eredin, Lizzie Annis as Zacaré, Huw Novelli (The Capture) as Callan “Brother Death,” Francesca Mills as Meldof, Amy Murray as Fenrik, Nathaniel Curtis (It’s a Sin) as Brían, Zach Wyatt as Sundril, and Dylan Moran as Uthrok One-Nut.

Meanwhile, The Witcher — the mainline show — was recently renewed for a fourth season, but without Cavill. After three seasons of playing the Geralt of Rivia, the lead star has exited the role, paving way for Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games films) to take over. “My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for season 4,” Cavill said on his Instagram handle, last month. “In my stead, the fantastic Mr. Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf.”

The Witcher: Blood Origin premieres Christmas Day, December 25 on Netflix.