The series adaptation of “The Witcher” has become a fan favorite within a very short time and the second season has just arrived on Netflix. Reason enough to finally catch up on the first season, or to refresh it again. In this article, we introduce you to the most important characters, places and events so that you are quickly up to date again. In the “The Witcher” quiz you can also prove your knowledge. Since this is a summary of what has happened so far, you should definitely watch the first season of “The Witcher” before you continue reading.
The Witcher Cast
Geralt
Geralt of Riva is not only a witcher, he is one of the best sorcerers ever. On his travels through the northern kingdoms, in search of orders and monsters, his fate intertwines with those of Yennefer and Ciri, Geralt’s “Child of Surprise”. Witchers are usually considered emotionless. However, Geralt’s relationships with Yennefer and Ciri, whom he sees over time as his own daughter and wants to protect her from the invasion of Nilfgaard and other dangers, paint a different picture than that of the emotionally cold witcher.
Ciri
Ciri is the daughter of Princess Pavetta, from whom she inherited a special magical gift, as well as the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe. Before her birth, she was promised by the law of surprise to the witcher Geralt as a prize. When he wants to get her, Calanthe refuses to do so. Nilfgaard’s army marches into Cintra shortly afterward and Ciri flees. On her escape, she receives help from the elf Dara. Together they find refuge in the Brokilon until she also has to flee from there and meets Geralt.
Yennefer
Yennefer is a sorceress who was once sold by her stepfather to Tissaia de Vries to study at the Academy of Sorceresses. After her training, she is chosen by the King of Aedirn as his advisor. An incident with a djinn crosses Yennefer’s and Geralt’s paths. They feel deeply for each other, but Yennefer considers these feelings artificial after some time. She does not stay by Geralt’s side and instead joins the sorceresses and wizards’ resistance to Nilfgaard.
Queen Calanthe
Calanthe is the queen of Cintra and grandmother of Ciri, who, according to the law of surprise, is entitled to Geralt as a prize. When Geralt wants to get Ciri to protect her, Calanthe refuses. After the army Nilfgaard invades Cintra, Calanthe regrets this decision and sends Ciri in search of Geralt.
Tissaia de Vries
Tissaia de Vries is a sorceress and member of the Chapter of Wizards. She buys Yennefer from her stepfather to train her at the Academy of Sorceresses. She originally campaigned for Yennefer to be sent to Nilfgaard as a consultant, but nothing came of it.
Withcer Season 1
The events are shown in each episode of the Netflix series “The Witcher” usually do not take place at the same time, but take place at different times. At this point, we want to bring some order to the timelines and trace the history of the first season chronologically.
Born in 1192, Yennefer is sold in 1206 in Vengerberg by her stepfather to the sorceress Tissaia de Vries, after Yennefer instinctively worked magic and thus attracted the attention of other wizards. Yennefer was trained at the Academy for Sorceresses on the island of Thanedd and was to be sent to Nilfgaard as a consultant in 1210. But during the ceremony, at which the rulers are introduced to their magic advisers, the king of Aedirn chooses Yennefer as his advisor – much to the displeasure of the other sorceresses and wizards. Yennefer spent the next 30 years as a royal advisor in Aedirn, her former home.
Geralt of Riva arrives in Blaviken in 1231 in search of payment for a slain monster. There he makes the acquaintance of the young woman Renfri and the magician Stregobor, who both demand the death of the other from Geralt. Geralt doesn’t want to have to decide between them, but Renfri doesn’t let up, which ultimately leads to a confrontation over the death of Renfri and her gang. Geralt is expelled from Blaviken by the inhabitants and the fight earns him the nickname “Butcher of Blaviken”.
In Posada, a mountain village in the elven state of Dol Blathanna, Geralt meets the Bard Knight’s Spur in 1240, who accompanies the witcher without being asked to experience adventures for new songs. In search of a supposed monster, the two are captured by Filavandrel, the king of the elves. However, he can be convinced to let the two go again. Knight’s spur also receives Filavandrel’s lute as a gift. In 1243 Geralt came to Temeria and was to take care of the strategy that had been afflicting the country for several years. It turns out that the monster is the cursed daughter of Temerien’s king Foltest. Geralt manages to break the curse.
Together with Rittersporn, Geralt takes part in a banquet in Cintra in 1249, where a husband is to be found for Princess Pavetta, the daughter of Cintra Queen Calanthe. Suddenly, a knight named Duny from the Alder Forest appears and lays claim to Pavetta. He invokes the law of surprise, as he once retretted Calanthe’s husband’s life. And although Pavetta is in love with Duny anyway, a tumult breaks out that can be ended under the influence of Geralt. The witcher himself then claims the child of Duny and Pavetta through the law of surprise, because de saved Duny from death. The following year, Ciri is born, but Geralt does not assert his claim for a long time.
In 1256, Geralt met Yennefer for the first time when she was supposed to heal her knight’s spur after an incident with a djinn. The witcher and the sorceress get closer and run into each other again and again over the next few years. In 1262, the two meet again during a dragon hunt. They also find that their respective destinies are inextricably linked. Geralt is also revealed that he should no longer deny himself the claim to Pavetta’s child and travel to Cintra.
In 1263, Geralt arrived in Cintra to claim his right to Ciri, the princess of Cintra. But Queen Calanthe refuses and imprisons the witcher. Shortly thereafter, the invading army of the southern Empire of Nilfgaard stands at the gates of Cintra. Calanthe realizes too late that the witcher is the last chance for Ciri’s survival. When she wants to get Geralt out of prison and entrust him with Ciri, he has already fled. Calanthe now instructs the Hofdruiden Maussack to flee with Ciri and bring her safely to Geralt. During the escape, however, the two are separated from each other. Ciri initially manages to escape to a refugee camp. There she meets the elf Dara, with whom she goes into hiding in the Brokilon forest.
Meanwhile, the chapter of the wizards gathers in Aretusa to discuss the current situation with Nilfgaard. Yennefer also ends up there. The chapter decides not to interfere in the conflict. But a group of apostates, including Yennefer, decide to stand in the way of the Nilfgaarders.
Ciri leaves Dara and the Brokilon but soon has to defend himself from a group. For the first time, she releases a tremendous power that was previously unknown to her. Shortly thereafter, a woman named Zola finds the confused Ciri and takes her in her home, near the hill of Sodden. Geralt, meanwhile, roams the remains of the refugee camp where Ciri had been accommodated for a short time and fights against ghouls. He barely survives the fight. A merchant named Yurga finds the injured Geralt and takes him home. Meanwhile, Yennefer fights together with the renegade sorceresses and wizards on the hill of Sodden against the army of Nilfgaard, which they can defeat in the end with great losses.
In a farmhouse, it turns out that Zola and Yurga are married. Through their intervention, the fates of Geralt and Ciri, who meet for the first time in the couple’s home, are now intertwined.
The Northern Kingdoms
The story of “The Witcher” takes place in the Northern Kingdoms, the northern part of the continent. There are a number of different empires and principalities, the most important of which are briefly presented here.
Cintra, the southernmost of the empires and adjacent to the Nilfgaard Empire, is ruled by Queen Calanthe, the grandmother of Ciri. At least until the Empire of Nilfgaard begins its campaign of conquest against the north and captures Cintra.
Temeria is located in the heart of the northern kingdoms and is ruled by King Foltest. Here, Geralt fights against a group of men who turn out to be the king’s daughter and lifts the curse that weighs on her. The island of Thanedd, where the Academy of Sorceresses is located, where Yennefer is trained, belongs to Temeria.
Between Cintra and Temeria is the hill of Sodden, where some sorcerers, including Yennefer, and their allies stood against the invaders from Nilfgaard. The area is a strategically important point that connects Cintra with Temeria.
North of Cintra and west of Temeria is the Brokilon, a dense and dangerous jungle for most people. It is home to dryads, goblins and other magical beings. The Dryads are led by Eithné, who gives Ciri shelter in the Brokilon on her escape.
The small kingdom of Aedirn is located east of Temeria. The capital of Aedirn is Vengerberg, the home of Yennefer. After completing her training as a sorceress in Aretusa, Yennefer becomes an advisor to Virfuril, the king of Aedirn.
The coastal town of Blaviken is located in the Kingdom of Redania, which lies north of Temeria and east of Kaedwen. In this area, the first episode of “The Witcher” begins, in which Geralt meets Renfri and Stregobor. The fight in the marketplace against Renfri and her gang ultimately earned Geralt the nickname “The Butcher of Blaviken”.
