‘The Witcher’: Why Do Elves (& Everyone Else) Desperately Need Ciri?

The story of ‘The Witcher,’ naturally, revolves around Geralt of Rivia and his quests as a monster hunter. However, perhaps more importantly, Geralt is the protector of Ciri of Cintra, a child of immense power that is hunted down for that power, not just by Elves but essentially every creature known to exist. The question is, why do Elves and others need Ciri so desperately?

The Elves want Ciri because they believe that she is the prophesied Child of the Elder Blood that will save all the Elves. Others, on the other hand, want to kill her, as they believe she will bring forth the end of the world, while some simply want to harness her unfathomable power for their own nefarious purposes.

One thing is certain, though – Ciri holds incredible power, and that’s why everybody wants her. Luckily, she has Geralt of Rivia to protect her and help her become a Witcher herself, whereas Yennefer – the prolific sorceress, is there to help her become one of the most powerful mages in the world. Let’s learn more about Ciri, her bloodline, her power, and why she is so desperately sought.

Who is Ciri?

If you’re a casual fan or haven’t followed the storyline of The Witcher that closely, you might think that Ciri is simply a Princess who needs to be protected from the enemy. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth – Ciri doesn’t need protection for being a Princess – she needs protection due to her heritage, ancestry, and unfathomable power she holds.

Let’s start from the beginning.

Ciri of Cintra is the daughter of Princess Pavetta, the daughter of Queen Calanthe of Cintra, and Emhyr van Emreis, the rightful heir of the Nilfgaardian Empire. However, when Pavetta got pregnant, Emhyr went by another name – Duny.

His father, Fergus van Emreis, was imprisoned and removed from the throne while Emhyr was banished and cursed to look like a humanoid hedgehog, left in the woods to be chased by dogs. When he reached Cintra, Princess Pavetta felt sorry for him, and the two eventually fell in love – or so did Pavetta think.

When Duny proposes to Pavetta, Queen Calanthe rejects, ordering the guards to kill him, but Geralt of Rivia is present and saves Duny’s life. In return, he requested the Law of Surprise – to take what Duny already has, but doesn’t know. The Witcher was referring to the unborn baby that Pavetta was carrying, but Duny didn’t know. That baby – was Ciri.

A while later, Duny learned about the prophecy of Ithlinne – a powerful elven sorceress who prophesied a Child of the Elder Blood to save all Elves and bring forth the end of the world. Duny wanted to marry his own daughter Ciri and have her bear a child for him – a child he believed would be the Child of the prophecy – a child of ultimate power. As Pavetta discovered his plan, Duny killed her and disguised himself to go back to Nilfgaard and reclaim his throne.

He did so and then sent out his armies to attack Cintra and get Ciri. Cintra was destroyed, but Ciri, as we know, escaped with Geralt of Rivia. The thing is, Emhyr might’ve been wrong – the incredibly powerful child was already there. That child was Ciri – the last bearer of the Elder Blood.

What is Elder Blood?

Again, to understand Ciri’s power and significance, one must go back – way back – in the past. About 1200 years before Ciri was born, an event called the Conjunction of the Spheres happened.

It was an event that saw different worlds and dimensions pass through the same point in space and time for several moments. It resulted in creatures, monsters, and species from various worlds and dimensions crossing over into other worlds – namely, the Continent, which Elves so far ruled.

Along with various creatures, humans came to the Continent as well. At first, they tried living in peace with the Elves, but soon started the fights and the wars, and before you know it, the humans took over control of the Continent while the Elves suffered.

That wasn’t something they could tolerate because, as we learn later, they, too, are conquerors and expansionists in nature. Their empire on the Continent was actually built over the ruins of their enemies, who ruled the Continent before – Dwarves.

So, the Elves started doing genetic experiments and augmentations to create the ultimate Elven sorceress, who ought to marry another Elven sorcerer and bear children so powerful that the Elves could defeat the Humans and reclaim the Continent and beyond.

The ultimate sorceress was Lara Dorren. However, she messed up their plans when she decided to marry Cregennan of Lod, a human that advocated peace between humans and Elves. Their plans fell through, but all of Lara’s descendants still carried the incredibly powerful bloodline of Lara Dorren, later known as the Elder Blood.

Then came the prophecy of Ithlinne we had already mentioned – a Child of the Elder Blood shall save the Elves while everyone else would die, bringing forth the end of the world.

Ciri is the last living descendant of Lara Dorren – the last person in the world carrying the Elder Blood. That’s why her power is so immense and why her life matters so much, not just to Geralt of Rivia – but to everybody.

Why do Elves need Ciri?

Now that you know (a shortened version, if you believe me) who Ciri is and why she is so important, it’s evident why the Elves need Ciri so desperately. They have been oppressed and suffering for ages, despite being conquerors in the past themselves.

The Elves believe that Ciri is, in fact, the prophesied Child of the Elder Blood that Ithlinne talked about in her prophecy. The Elves believe that Ciri can help them be saved. In other words, they want to use Ciri for their gain, as she is the last person in the world carrying the Elder Blood. 

Ciri has the power to venture into other worlds without portals and shift the Spheres themselves almost effortlessly. The plan was to have Ciri shift the Spheres and time to the point before the Conjunction ever happened – before the humans ever came to the Continent.

That being said, it sounds as if their cause is noble when you take it out of context. In reality, their cause is no better than anyone else’s, including the infamous Wild Hunt after Ciri in The Witcher Season 3 and The Witcher 3 video game.

Who is the Wild Hunt?

The Wild Hunt was believed to be a group of wraiths galloping on undead horses through the sky, believed to be omens of war. However, in reality, they are a group of Elves – the Aen Elle elves, to be precise.

When the Conjunction of the Spheres occurred, a group of Elves used portals to leave the Continent. They ventured into another world and conquered it. They lived in prosperity for a while, but soon, they wanted servants. The only intelligent species in that particular world that was left after they slaughtered humans – were unicorns.

They weren’t good servants, but they were powerful, so the Elves – now known as the Aen Elle Elves – forced the unicorns to open Ard Gaeth, aka the Gate of the World – giving the Elves full access to all the existing worlds to conquer.

That’s when they formed the Red Riders, later known as the Wild Hunt – a group of riders to gallop into other worlds and bring back humanoid servants. When they heard of Ciri and her power, they joined the hunt to use her for their own gain.

Why do others hunt Ciri too?

As of now, it seems that everyone is after Ciri, and more enemies emerge every day. Her father, Emhyr, is after her to harness her unfathomable powers, and so are most others. Many creatures hunt Ciri to use her power of opening Monoliths – bridges and pathways to other worlds – as they simply want to find their way back to their native worlds.

One such creature was Voleth Meir, a powerful entity known as the Deathless Mother, who possessed Ciri’s mind in The Witcher Season 2 just to have Ciri open her a way back to her own realm.

We could go on for hours until we listed everyone that’s after Ciri, but the truth is – everyone is after her for the same thing. Ciri is likely the most powerful being in the world, and everybody wants to capture her to harness that immense power and use it for their own gains and purposes.

Some, like the Wild Hunt, have more sinister intentions, like conquering world after world, while others are just trying to find their way home. We can only say that Ciri isn’t going down without a fight, and neither is Geralt of Rivia, who feels more and more like a father and mentor to the young, powerful girl.

The second part of Netflix’s The Witcher Season 3 is coming out on July 27, 2023, exclusively on Netflix.