List of characters in The Witcher series

The fictional universe of The Witcher saga was created by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski in his^[1] series of books (The Witcher Saga). The following is a list of notable characters from the series.

Character list

Geralt of Rivia

Geralt of Rivia (Polish: Geralt z Rivii), known also as Gwynnbleid (Old Speech: "White Wolf", given to him by the Dryads) is a witcher and the protagonist of the Witcher series and its adaptations. He is also known as the "Butcher of Blaviken".

He has been described as a character embodifying "the neo-liberal anti-politics" spirit of the Polish popular culture of the 1990s.^[2]

Yennefer of Vengerberg

Sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (known as Yen or Yenna) (Polish: Yennefer z Vengerbergu) is a fictional character, created by Andrzej Sapkowski for his Witcher stories. Yennefer first appeared in the collection of short stories, The Last Wish, featuring in both "The Last Wish" short story and "The Voice of Reason" frame story. She went on to appear in numerous other Witcher stories and is one of the main characters of the Witcher saga.^[3] In the 2001 movie and 2002 TV series she was played by Grażyna Wolszczak.^[4]

Yennefer is Geralt's "soul mate" although their relationship is difficult and full of drama. Both Geralt and Yennefer are sterile, which adds another level of tragedy to the mix. Yennefer has a hard time accepting the fact and tries various methods of restoring her fertility. Yennefer ends up becoming a mother to Ciri while teaching her and watching over her while she was at Ellander.

Yennefer was born on Belleteyn of the year 1173. She lived in the capital city of Aedirn, Vengerberg. She is one of the most powerful mages on the continent and is surpassed by only a handful. She is the youngest member of the Council of Sorcerers and later she became a member of the Lodge of Sorceresses. During the Battle of Sodden Hill she was blinded by Fringilla Vigo, a Nilfgaardian sorceress. Her sight was magically restored.

Yennefer was famous for her beauty, even though during the events of The Swallow's Tower, she was 94 years old. She always dressed in black and white clothing. She used lilac and gooseberry perfumes. She had violet eyes and raven black hair. Before becoming a sorceress, she was a hunchback, but had her deformities fixed by Tissaia de Vries while being an apprentice although Geralt is able to see the subtle clues that let him figure out the truth.

At the end of the books, Yennefer ends up getting mortally wounded while trying to heal Geralt and along with him gets taken to another world by Ciri where they live on an island.

Cirilla (or Ciri)

Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon' (known as Ciri, the Lion Cub of Cintra, Zireael and the Lady of Time and Space), is the princess of Cintra, daughter of Pavetta and Duny (also known as the Urcheon of Erlenwald) and granddaughter of Queen Calanthe. She is also Geralt's and Yennefer's adopted daughter, around whom much of the plot is centered. Ciri is a descendant of Lara Dorren and has the Elder blood which gives her access to powers that allow her to cross space and time. Ciri has ashen grey hair and green emerald eyes, a trait that runs in her family.

Ciri was trained under the watchful eyes of Geralt, Coën, Vesemir, Lambert, Eskel, and Triss while at Kaer Morhen and would become quite talented with a sword. Later, she would end up training as a sorceress while living with Yennefer at Ellander. After the Thanedd coup, Ciri became separated from Geralt and Yen and found herself in the Korath desert after she created an unstable portal. After her time in the desert, she would end up joining a gang called the Rats, but would get herself captured by a bounty hunter by the name of Leo Bonhart and was forced to fight in an arena. She would later escape and flee to the world of Aen Elle. During her time with the Aen Elle she was going to be forced to procreate with the King, though in the end she did not. She would later flee that world and after traveling through time, she would finally be reunited with Geralt and Yen. She would travel with Geralt and Yen for a few months before their untimely deaths.

At the end of the books, Ciri ends up taking Geralt and Yennefer to another world while she finds herself in the world of Camelot.

Triss Merigold

Triss Merigold of Maribor, a sorceress and a friend of Geralt and Yennefer. She took care of Ciri for some time and is like an older sister to her. She was member of the Lodge of Sorceresses. Triss is in love with Geralt.

The image of Triss Merigold from The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings appeared as cover girl in the Polish edition of Playboy in May 2011.^[5] She also appeared in a live model calendar for the game in Russia.^[6]

Dandelion

Dandelion (Polish: Jaskier) is a poet, minstrel, bard and Geralt's best friend. The Polish word jaskier actually refers to the Buttercup flower (Ranunculus). Some of his more famous ballads were about the relationship between Geralt and Yennefer. By the time of the saga he was already in his 40's though it was said that he looked like he was in his 30's and was often mistaken for an elf. He accompanies Geralt in many of the short stories and ends up joining his hansa while searching for Ciri but left it before the deadly assault on Stygga. He would later rejoin Geralt and witness his and Yennefer's death at Rivia.

King Foltest

King Foltest is the king of Temeria, and involved in an incestuous affair with his own sister that produced a daughter, although both the mother and child die in childbirth. They are buried in the family crypt beneath the family castle. However, 5 years later the situation and magic of the fantasy setting cause the daughter to become an undead beast called a Stryga that kills villagers and forces the royal family of Temeria to abandon their castle and let it fall in ruins. King Foltest forbids anyone to destroy the Striga and eventually hires Geralt to lift the curse of the daughter he dearly loves. Geralt is successful, and the girl returns to life as a 15 year old, but uneducated and must be taught to speak and behave as a person.

Maria Barring

Maria Barring (known as Milva) was a talented female archer who was one of the few non dryads who was tolerated in Brokilon. After guiding the remains of the beaten Scoia'tael commandos during the second war she joined Geralt's quest to find Ciri. She would later reveal herself to be pregnant and would struggle between choosing an abortion or keeping the child. Eventually she decided to keep it, but in the end it didn't matter as she would later miscarry after getting wounded during the Battle for the Bridge on the Yaruga. During the hansa's stay at Toussaint she struck up a relationship with a baron. She would later perish providing cover fire for the rest of the hansa during the assault on Stygga.

Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach

Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach (known as Cahir) was an intelligence officer in the Nilfgaardian army who would later join Geralt's hansa. Cahir was from Vicovaro and had five siblings and would end up falling in love with Ciri after he saved her during the attack on Cintra. However, Cahir was supposed to capture Ciri and bring her back to Emhyr, but she fled and he was forced to come back empty handed which lead him to getting thrown in prison. He would later get another chance to redeem himself during the coup at Thanedd but would once again fail. He would later end up joining the hansa as he wanted to protect and save Ciri. Due to him being a Nilfgaardian and more specifically the black knight who haunted Ciri's dreams, Geralt would have a hard time trusting him, but this would later change. Cahir ended up perishing in a duel against Leo Bonhart during the assault on Stygga in an attempt to buy some time for Ciri and Angoulême.

Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy

Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy (known as Regis) was a higher vampire and a member of Geralt's hansa and was well over 400 years old by the time of the books. Regis would later join the party after rescuing Geralt and Dandelion. However, due to him being a vampire Geralt was reluctant to let him join though the rest of the members had an easier time with it. Regis was often fond of telling others how wrong they were about their knowledge of vampires and would enjoy having intellectual conversations with the other members of the group. Unlike other vampires Regis did not drink blood due to him becoming addicted to it at one point when he was younger. During the hansa's stay at Toussaint he developed a relationship with a succubus. Regis was quite powerful and was perhaps outside of a Djinn, the most powerful monster in the Witcher novels. Unfortunately for him his powers did not help him during his fight with Vilgefortz who ripped him apart and melted him into glass. However, due to being a higher vampire and having regeneration powers he is still technically alive but by the end of the novels is still in his melted state.

Angoulême

Angoulême was a fair hair girl who resembled Ciri. In fact she looked so much like Ciri that when Geralt first saw her for the first time he had to cast an axii on himself to clam his nerves. She was from a rich Cintran family but would later renounce her family and join a gang called the Nightingales. She would later end up joining Geralt's hansa after getting captured and becoming a crown witness in the investigation of the Nightingales. Geralt would later demand her release if he was to kill the Nightingales and because of this she would end up joining his hansa in return for what he did for her. Angoulême was quite fond of swearing and dreamed of opening up a bordello. Angoulême would later perish during the assault on Stygga. She died from blood loss from a wound she received while protecting Ciri.

Philippa Eilhart

Philippa Eilhart was King's Vizimir's advisor and remained in Redania's court after his assassination which was something that she herself arranged. Philippa was a very powerful sorceress and was one of the few to have the ability to polymorph. She was a close ally to Dijkstra and would occasional sleep with him even though she was a lesbian. She was a member of the Chapter on the Conclave and was the leader of the Thanedd coup and the founder of the Lodge of Sorceresses. Philippa would arrange the coup in an attempt to get rid of the pro Nilfgaardian mages and strike first; however, her plans would backfire as the conclave would end up collapsing leaving the North weakened. Philippa along with the rest of the Lodge (besides Yennefer) attempted to use Ciri as a political tool in an attempt to create a state run by mages, however, in the end her plans failed. After the events at Rivia, Philippa would end up dying during a witch hunt and would later end up becoming known as Saint Philippa.

Dijkstra

Dijkstra was the spymaster in Vizimir's court. He considered himself to be close friends with Philippa and was in love with her. Dijkstra would later help Philippa in the coup at Thanedd but became crippled after Geralt would snap his leg. Dijkstra was considered to be a tall man and didn't look like a typical spymaster. He would later end up becoming one of the key reasons why the North won the second war against Nilfgaard as he managed to secure aid from Kovir which allowed him to get mercenaries and supplies for the Northern armies, however, due to being a commoner and not a noble the leaders of the North would look down upon him. At the end of the novels he was forced to flee Redania and the North after Philippa tried to have him killed when she thought that he was getting close to finding out what happen to Vizimir.

Vilgefortz

Vilgefortz was a member of the Chapter of the Conclave and was a very powerful sorcerer. Along with being one of the most powerful mages in the world of the Witcher he also happened to be one of the greatest fighters and displayed his skills when he beat and crippled Geralt in a duel at Thanedd. Vilgefortz was not a typical mage as he didn't decide to become one until he was already well into an adulthood and was already an experienced mercenary. Also unlike the majority of sorcerers who tended to freeze their ages when they were older so they look distinguished he happened to look like a man in his 30's and was quite handsome. He also happen to be one of the rare offspring of a mage as most of them are sterile. During the first war with Nilfgaard Vilgefortz proved to be crucial for the North winning as he led the mages during the battle of Sodden hill. He along with his fellow mages were considered heroes in the North, but he would later end up switching sides and working with Emhyr in an attempt to get his hands on Ciri so he could have the elder blood from the child he planned to put in her. Vilgefortz was later killed during the assault on Stygga at the hands of Geralt though it was no easy task as he seriously wounded Yen and Geralt and turned Regis into melted glass.

Leo Bonhart

Leo was one of the most famous bounty hunters on the continent during the events of the books. He was nearly seven feet tall though he was described as being ghoulish and had fish like eyes. He was an incredibly dangerous sword fighter and he easily defeated the gang of Rats and also claimed to have killed three Witchers and had their medallions as proof, though Yennefer questioned if he actually defeated them in a sword duel or if he killed them through other means. Leo was hired by Steffan Skellan to kill Ciri though he ended up capturing her and would use her as a pit fighter. Ciri would later escape him and he would unsuccessfully give chase. He joined an alliance with Vilgefortz and Steffan Skellan and would later end up killing Cahir during the assault on Stygga but he himself was later killed in a duel against Ciri.

Eredin (King of the Wild Hunt)

Eredin is a figure that leads a horde of ghastly riders across the sky. In The Swallow's Tower, he and Avallac'h lure Ciri to the tower, which led to her imprisonment in the world belonging to Aen Elle. There, the duo tried to force her to beget a child with the king of the Aen Elle elves to harness her powers. Eredin ruined the plan by killing the king. Ciri managed to escape with the help of unicorns, but not before learning that elves has massacred humans on the Aen Elle world.

At some point, he tracked down Geralt and Yennefer on the Isle of Mists, kidnapping Yennifer to use her as bait to capture Ciri. Geralt pursued him, and with the aid of Letho of Gulet and two other Witchers confronted Eredin. In the face of hopeless odds Geralt offered Eredin a deal: his soul for Yennifer's. Eredin agreed to the deal and let Yennifer go, only to take Geralt in her place. Geralt served Eredin as a member of the Wild Hunt for some time, until Ciri ultimately freed him with Avallac'h's help. After this, Eredin tried to reclaim Geralt without success. In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Eredin resumed his hunt for Ciri, coming into conflict with Geralt. Eventually, Eredin was lured into a trap at Undvik in the Skellige Isles. Geralt confronted Eredin on the deck of his flagship and the two faced off in a vicious sword fight that spanned both the deck of the flagship and the cliffs of Undvik. Eventually Geralt won the duel, taking out Eredin's eye and slashing his throat. As he died, he revealed to Geralt that Avallac'h had manipulated them both and had taken Ciri.

References

Further reading

• Katarzyna Kaczor (2006). Geralt, czarownice i wampir: recykling kulturowy Andrzeja Sapkowskiego (in Polish). Słowo/obraz terytoria. ISBN 978-83-7453-651-6. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 

External links

• (Polish) Anika Radzka, Kinga Kwaterska, Teoretyczne mądrości. PRZESTRZEŃ W FANTASY - TEZY DO DYSKUSJI. WIEDŹMINLAND, CZYLI TŁO DLA BOHATERÓW
• (Polish) Two maps of the Wiedźmnland
• (Czech) A map from the Czech translation