Does Ciri Become a Witcher in the Books or Games? (& Will She in the Show?)

While season 1 of The Witcher dwelled more on uniting Geralt and his child of destiny, Ciri, we saw more of a father and daughter relationship in season 2 as Geralt was doing everything in his power to keep the princess safe. This included training the girl how to use a sword and allowing her to prove herself as someone capable enough in a fight. But while Ciri does get trained in the art of fighting that the Witchers use, does she become a Witcher in the books or games?

Ciri doesn’t officially become a Witcher in the books because she never underwent the Trial of The Grasses, but she did regard herself as a Witcher at one point. In the games, one of the potential endings shows us how Ciri officially takes the Witcher mantle. The show, however, will probably follow the books.

We all know that Ciri is someone strong enough to probably take on any kind of trial that the Witchers have to go through to officially become a Witcher. However, in the books, she never went through any of those trials and was never really regarded as a true Witcher despite what she thought of herself. Still, Witcher or not, she is a trained fighter with a host of magical powers at her disposal.

Is Ciri A Witcher In The Series?

The Witcher primarily focuses on Geralt, who is the titular Witcher character of the series, the books, and the games. For those who don’t know, a Witcher is a mutated human that became as such through a process called the Trial of The Grasses, which allowed a person to transform into a mutant. Thanks to the improved physical prowess, honed senses, lengthened lifespan, and magical powers that Witchers possess, they are tasked with killing monsters that terrorize the continent.

Season 1 of The Witcher was primarily about Geralt and the other central characters’ backstories, all while we were introduced to how Princess Cirilla of Cintra became the Witcher’s child of destiny. While Geralt did indeed claim Ciri, it was not until the final moments of season 1 that he and the princess were finally united.

Meanwhile, season 2 shows us the father and child relationship that Geralt and Ciri have. Ciri regards Geralt as the father she never had. Meanwhile, considering that he can never have a child of his own, Geralt also regards Ciri as the child he can never have. He is so protective of the girl that he believes that teaching the princess how to fight and defend herself is the best way to keep her safe.

Of course, there is a good reason why Geralt wants Ciri to know how to defend herself, considering that there are plenty of forces, natural and supernatural, wanting to get hold of the girl for her power, which is something that Geralt did not find out until the latter portion of season 2.

Whatever the case may be, we saw that Geralt was willing to train Ciri in the way of the sword and teach her how to defend herself the same way the veteran Witcher Vesemir taught Geralt and the rest of his Witcher brothers. And on Ciri’s part, she wants to get stronger because she wants to take revenge on Cahir, who she calls the black knight, because of how it was Cahir who was primarily tasked with the responsibility of capturing her.

In the series, we see that Ciri became quite serious with her training to the point that she pushed herself way too hard on the training grounds to the point of bleeding. The same happened when she and Geralt encountered the leshy responsible for killing Eskel.

Vesemir and Triss discovered that a certain flower called feainnewedd was growing on the grounds where Ciri bled. Take note that this flower only grows on spots where something called Elder Blood is shed. And this prompts Vesemir and Triss to believe that Ciri possesses Elder Blood.

It was also mentioned that Vesemir that Elder Blood is one of the ingredients used to create the mutagen that is injected into prospective Witchers during the Trial of The Grasses, which is the process of transforming an ordinary human into a Witcher. As such, Vesemir talked the girl into giving some of her blood so that they could create more Witchers again. However, wanting to be strong like Geralt and the rest of the Witchers, Ciri asked that she be the first person to take the mutagen.

When Ciri was right at the moment of getting injected with the mutagen, Geralt stopped Vesemir, who woke up to his senses while realizing that he had committed a mistake. Meanwhile, Ciri told Geralt that she was the one who convinced the old Witcher that she wanted to become a Witcher, regardless of whether or not she survives the transformation process.

So, essentially, Ciri is not a Witcher in the series because Geralt stopped her from taking the mutagen. But what about the other forms of Witcher literature, such as the books and the games?

Does Ciri Become A Witcher In the Books?

While Ciri may not be a Witcher (yet or probably never) in the series, what about the books? It is important to note that the books are the original sources of the Witcher story, considering that much about the Witcher series draws its inspiration from the novels. So, does Ciri become a Witcher in the books?

Officially, Ciri does not become a Witcher in the books because she never underwent the Trial of the Grasses even after Geralt’s character arc ended. However, throughout the entire story, she trained hard enough and learned the very same style of fighting that the Witchers use. She has also become quite proficient with the sword and in the use of her magic. So, as such, while she never became a Witcher in an official manner, she does have the strength and capabilities of a Witcher, except for the augmented physical attributes that Witchers possess.

Then again, in the final part of the books, Ciri does refer to herself as a Witcher when she wondered what a Witcher could do in the world when there were essentially no longer any monsters left to slay. So, from there, we could assume that Ciri saw herself as a Witcher even though she never underwent the Trial of the Grasses. After all, she was raised and trained by the best Witcher on the continent.

Does Ciri Become A Witcher In The Games?

While Ciri does not officially become a Witcher in the books (even though we can assume that she sees herself as one), what about the games? Does Ciri become a Witcher in the video game version of The Witcher?

The thing about a lot of different role-playing games is that you can have multiple endings to the same game, depending on the choices you make during the game. Of course, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt isn’t different because it does have multiple endings that you can follow.

One of the endings in The Witcher 3 actually shows us that Ciri decided to become a Witcher both in the official and explicit fashion. What that means is that she does not only see herself as a Witcher, but she is actually officially a Witcher. 

However, she still doesn’t have the genetic mutation that Witchers have. Still, considering that Ciri is one of the most powerful characters in the entire continent, it is fair to say that her powers give her abilities that are far better than what any Witcher has. Because there is no point for her to take a mutagen, it is fair to say that she was excluded from the deadly trial.

Will Ciri Become A Witcher In The Netflix TV Show?

So, given that Ciri becomes a Witcher either explicitly or officially in both the books and the games, will she become a Witcher in the Netflix live-action version of the story?

As of the moment, we cannot be certain about what the showrunners are planning when it comes to Ciri’s fate as a possible Witcher. Even though the series has been quite faithful to the book versions of The Witcher, we saw in season 2 that the showrunners are not afraid of altering the story. That means that they could either take the book route or the game route in terms of Ciri’s character arc. But they could also give Ciri an entirely new route in her story in the series.

Nevertheless, it would be quite nice to see Ciri officially becoming a Witcher in the series. That’s because this could open up more possibilities for The Witcher to come up with different spin-offs or sequels that focus more on Ciri’s new Witcher character. While none of those may be in the books, the popularity of The Witcher may prove to be more than enough to warrant a spin-off or a sequel with Ciri as the new titular protagonist of the series.