‘The Witcher’: How Are Geralt and Ciri Related & How Did She End up With Him?

One of the things that we’ve always known about Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ is that Geralt and Ciri are inseparable, as the only thing that Geralt wants is to make sure that the girl is safe from everyone pursuing her. That means that Geralt’s only goal is to keep Ciri safe and ensure she can care for herself if he isn’t around to protect her. So, what is Geralt’s relationship with Ciri, and how did they end up traveling together?

Ciri is Geralt’s child of surprise. She was his secret reward after helping Pavetta and Duny in Cintra when Queen Calanthe tried to prevent Duny from marrying her daughter. When Duny asked Geralt what he wanted in return, he invoked the Law of Surprise, only to find out that Pavetta was pregnant.

The thing about the entire relationship between Geralt and Ciri is that this was something that was created by destiny itself, as the laws of destiny govern the Law of Surprise. That is why Geralt treats Ciri like his own daughter even though they aren’t even remotely related to one another in terms of blood. So, with that said, let’s look at how Geralt and Ciri are related.

Geralt’s relationship with Ciri explained

Ever since the second season of ‘The Witcher’ began, it became clear that the story would revolve around the journey of Geralt and Ciri while they were together. In season 1, most episodes featuring Geralt showed how he did his job as a Witcher.

But the events of season 2 changed all that as he was more focused on traveling with Ciri and finding a way to ensure she was safe from harm. And this is where it gets interesting because this is one of the most complex yet wholesome relationships in the world of fiction.

In season 1, we saw how Geralt found himself attending a party in Cintra when he decided to work as a bodyguard for Jaskier, who was invited to the same party. This party, however, was a betrothment party that would allow Queen Calanthe, the queen of Cintra, to choose a fitting husband for her daughter Pavetta. That was when a knight appeared out of nowhere to claim his right over Pavetta.

This knight was a cursed man called Duny, who had the face of a hedgehog due to his curse. That was when it was revealed that Duny and Pavetta had long been in a secret relationship with one another and that Duny was simply there to claim Pavetta because she was rightfully his due to the Law of Surprise, which he invoked years ago when he saved Pavetta’s father. 

When a person invokes the Law of Surprise as a reward, the person who is supposed to give the reward should give the person something that he already has but doesn’t know he has. For example, the Law of Surprise covers crops expected to be harvested but yet to be harvested. And in Duny’s case, the surprise came in the form of Pavetta, who was yet to be born.

Geralt understood that the Law of Surprise is sacred and must be honored because it is governed by destiny. Calanthe, however, was not willing to give her daughter to Duny even though she was rightfully his. And that was when Geralt saved Duny from Calanthe, who was about to kill him.

After saving Duny and forcing Calanthe to honor the Law of Surprise, Geralt invoked the same law when Duny insisted on rewarding him. Geralt only did this because he didn’t even want a reward. But because Duny’s honor as a knight was at stake here, Geralt simply invoked the Law of Surprise to get on with it.

But it turned out that Pavetta was pregnant with Duny’s child the entire time without their knowledge, and that was when it became apparent that the child that Pavetta was carrying was supposed to be given to Geralt.

The child that Pavetta carried grew up to be Ciri. She grew up under her grandmother because Duny and Pavetta were believed to be dead. And Geralt simply continued his life as a Witcher without attempting to claim Ciri as his child of surprise.

In that regard, Geralt and Ciri aren’t related because Ciri was never Geralt’s child. It just so happened that Geralt invoked the Law of Surprise, which dictated that Ciri should be given to him as his child of surprise.

After Geralt finally meets Ciri, he treats her like his own daughter. This was unlike the relationship between Duny and Pavetta when Duny fell in love with his child of surprise. In Geralt’s case, he loved Ciri like his own daughter, so he was willing to risk everything to protect her.

How did Geralt and Ciri end up traveling together?

During the events of season 1 of ‘The Witcher,’ Geralt realized that the Nilfgaardian Empire was on its way to attack Cintra. He understood that Cintra had no chance against the large force that Nilfgaard sent, so he went to Cintra to try to claim Ciri as his child of surprise.

But Calanthe didn’t want to give her grandchild to Geralt because Ciri was the only thing she had of Pavetta. And that was why Calanthe kept Geralt locked up and tried to keep Ciri protected in Cintra.

Calanthe eventually realized her mistake when Nilfgaard was already overwhelming Cintra. She allowed Ciri to escape the city to find Geralt, who escaped his captivity. Ciri was captured by a Doppler named the Adonis, only for her to escape and end up in the care of a simple woman named Zola.

Meanwhile, Geralt rode the carriage of Zola’s husband and heard from him that his wife had taken an orphan girl in. That was when Geralt got off and decided to go into the woods, thinking this girl was Ciri. Geralt eventually went to Sodden Hill when he realized the mages, including his beloved Yen, were there to stop the Nilfgaardian Empire from advancing.

Ciri, while in Zola’s house, dreamed of Geralt searching for Yen on the battlefield of Sodden Hill right after the powerful mage used fire magic to burn the field down. That was when she ran into the forest, where she met Geralt for the first time. The two hugged one another and have been traveling together ever since.