The Witcher: Every Main Character's Age - CBR

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Menu Follow Followed Like Threads More Action Sign in now Screen Awards MCU, DCU & More Dragon Ball Lord of the Rings Procedurals & Dramas Westerns Zelda Close By Ajay Aravind & Katrine Sofie Kejser Updated Aug 30, 2024 Sign in to your CBR account Add Us On follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

The ages of the characters in The Witcher are a bit of a mystery. Fantasy stories in general often have characters with widely differing ages — for instance, Galadriel and Gollum are thousands of years apart. Between the original books, the video games, and the Netflix TV show, character ages don't just vary; some of them are never even mentioned. This leaves Witcher fans on a wild hunt for information comparing timelines, events, and whatever little information is given to discover the ages of their beloved characters.

The fact that the story itself tends to skip around in a confusing manner, with neither the books nor the TV episodes being released chronologically, Netflix has been kind enough to release a timeline for the show, which is an experience all on its own. This timeline still lacks information, as does the timeline on The Witcher fandom Wiki. Further, statements in the books contradict each other or come from unreliable characters. That said, an official timeline would help resolve the fandom's questions.

Updated on August 29, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: Season 5 of The Witcher has already been greenlit, but it's going to be the last one. On a positive note, the fourth season is yet to be released, so the fandom gets at least a few more years to marinate in the show's magical brilliance. With Henry Cavill's departure, however, whether Liam Hemsworth can fulfill such a significant role remains to be seen. In any case, we've revamped this list of Witcher characters and their ages.

15 Emhyr Currently Wishes To Marry His Own Daughter, Cirilla

Debut: Season 1, Episode 4, "Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials"

Age	Role	Portrayed by
Early 40s	Emperor of Nilfgaard	Bart Edwards

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Originally introduced as Duny, a mild-mannered man who asks for Princess Pavetta's hand in marriage, Emhyr var Emreis is actually the heir to Nilfgaard. At the young age of thirteen (in the video game canon), his father, Emperor Fergus, was overthrown by the Usurper. Emhyr also suffered from the hedgehog-head curse for years, including when he saved King Roegner of Cintra, Queen Calanthe's husband. As a reward, Roegner allowed Emhyr to invoke the Law of Surprise.

The curse would later be broken on Princess Pavetta's fifteenth birthday, after Calanthe accepted the proposal and the couple shares a kiss. Emhyr and Pavetta were married soon after, but they seemingly perished in a shipwreck. However, Emhyr survived and returned to his home kingdom, ousting the Usurper and becoming the Emperor of Nilfgaard. Given that he was likely an adult in the year 1236, Emhyr would be at least in his early 40s at this point in The Witcher.

14 Calanthe Was Once Known As The Lioness Of Cintra

Debut: Season 1, Episode 1, "The End's Beginning"

Age	Role	Portrayed by
48	Queen of Cintra	Jodhi May

Luckily for the fandom, Queen Calanthe Fiona Riannon of Cintra was known to have been born in the year 1215. She quickly became famous for her grace, courage, and combat abilities, explaining why she was hailed the "Lioness of Cintra." Calanthe manages to run her kingdom with surprising efficiency, although she earned the wrath of the elves for killing many of their kind. Ironically for the once-ferocious Lioness of Cintra, Calanthe's death was nothing more than an easy way out of her troubles.

Rather than have the Nilfgaardians take her prisoner, Calanthe chooses to jump out of a window to her death. This was quite disappointing, largely because she was an iconic female hero in a fantasy story, but viewers already knew about her death from the very first episode. On a positive note, she ensured that Ciri escaped the kingdom safely before taking her final action. Calanthe died in the year 1263, making her the 48-year-old grandmother of Ciri.

13 Vilgefortz Revealed His Diabolical Nature In Season 3

Debut: Season 1, Episode 7, "Before a Fall"

Age	Role	Portrayed by
Unknown	Mage	Mahesh Jadu

Hailing from Roggeveen, Vilgefortz belongs to the Brotherhood of Sorcerers as one of their strongest mages. That said, the true extent of his power remained hidden for the first two seasons. Instead, Vilgefortz main roles revolved around retrieving Yennefer of Vengeburg and ferrying her back to Aretuza, participating in the devastating Battle of Sodden Hill, and ultimately wresting control of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers along with his paramour Tissaia.

Unfortunately for Tissaia, she ended up falling in love with a man who would betray her in the most horrible way imaginable. In Season 3, Vilgefortz and Geralt have an all-out battle that the Witcher loses miserably, further highlighting the mage's power. Tissaia takes her own life, leaving Vilgefortz to vanish into the ether. Given his overwhelming power, however, Vilgefortz is at least a few centuries old.

12 Francesca Remains A Warrior Elf With A Deep Grudge

Debut: Season 2, Episode 2, "Kaer Morhen"

Age	Role	Portrayed by
Unknown	Queen of the Elves	Mecia Simson

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Unlike the elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, who can live forever unless they are killed, the elves in The Witcher have a life span ranging from three to four centuries. There are reports of longer-lived elves, but nothing concrete. As such, this makes it much harder to pinpoint the age of characters like Francesca Findabair, the current queen of the Dol Blathanna elves. She began her reign after her husband lost yet another battle against Cintra and Calanthe.

One of Francesca's main storylines features both Fringilla and Yennefer as elven hostages. The three of them enter an ancient temple, hoping to find an answer to their mysterious dreams, but Francesca is tricked by Voleth Meir into making a deal with Emperor Emhyr of Nilfgaard. To her great misfortune, Emhyr has her newborn murdered in cold blood. Francesca spends the bulk of Season 3 hunting Ciri, much like everyone else on the Continent.

11 Mousesack Was An Early Formative Figure In Ciri's Life

Debut: Season 1, Episode 1, "The End's Beginning"

Age	Role	Portrayed by
Mid-40s	Druid Advisor	Adam Levy

Mousesack first entered The Witcher picture when he attended Pavetta's betrothal party, also her fifteenth birthday. He even tries to convince Calanthe not to kill the hedgehog-headed boy or risk the consequences of flouting the Law of Surprise. Mousesack then stays behind in Cintra, simultaneously requesting Geralt to claim Pavetta's unborn child for the same reasons he gives Calanthe. Geralt refuses and leaves, despite Mousesack declaring that the witcher's decision would bring "true calamity."

Mousesack serves as an advisor to Queen Calanthe and her second husband King Eist for years, watching Ciri grow into a fine young woman. When Nilfgaardian forces invade Cintra and break into the castle, the queen has Ciri sent away with Mousesack. Sadly, he is caught after letting Ciri escape and consequently murdered by Cahir. Mousesack may not be as old as Calanthe, but it's safe to assume that he's in his mid-40s at best.

10 Stregobor Is An Active Member Of The Brotherhood Of Sorcerers

Debut: Season 1, Episode 1, "The End's Beginning"

Age	Role	Portrayed by
445+	Mage	Lars Mikkelsen

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According to Netflix, Stregobor was born in 786, which makes him 445 during the hunt for Renfri in Blaviken in 1231. In the books, Stregorbor has a much less important character arc. He's a master illusionist from Kovir and a staunch believer in The Curse of the Black Sun, which makes him hunt Renfri. However, after her death and a threat from Geralt, he returns to Kovir and is never mentioned again with any significance.

In the Netflix show, however, he is an active member of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and the rector at Ban Ard Academy. It seems that the Netflix character is a combination of Gerhart of Aelle, the rector at Ban Ard, and Stregobor the Black Sun believer from Kovir. Stregobor is framed by Vilgefortz in the third season of The Witcher, and the all-out mage war at Aretuza ends with his presumable death.

9 Triss Merigold Specializes In Healing Magic And Potioneering

Debut: Season 1, Episode 3, "Betrayer Moon"

Age	Role	Portrayed by
Unknown	Mage/Advisor	Anna Shaffer

Triss Merigold of Maribor is a great mage specializing in healing and potions, which is ironic, as she is allergic to the potions she creates herself. In Season 3, Triss has now become a teacher at Aretuza, where she realizes that multiple pupils have mysteriously disappeared. In Episode 6, she helps save Geralt after his disastrous encounter with Vilgefortz. There is no concrete information regarding her date of birth, but it is safe to assume that she is somewhat younger than Yennefer.

While studying at Aretuza, Triss befriends Yennefer, who is already a fully-fledged sorceress at the time, and the two of them are already great friends and colleagues by 1249. In the Netflix show, Triss meets Geralt for the first time in 1243 to fight the Striga. She is wrongly assumed dead during the Battle of Sodden Hill. Triss' exact age remains unknown.

8 Istredd's Age Differs Between The Books And The Netflix Adaptation

Debut: Season 1, Episode 2, "Four Marks"

Age	Role	Portrayed by
94+	Mage	Royce Pierreson

Istredd is one of the characters whose age changes depending on whether he's in the book or in the Netflix show. In the books, he is a long-time lover of Yennefer's, and he and Yennefer have known each other for years. Knowing how long mages tend to live in The Witcherverse, they may well have known each other for centuries. In addition, Istredd is known to have studied under a mage named Roedskilde. In the Netflix show, Istredd studies at Ban Ard, the male counterpart to Aretuza, approximately around the same time as Yennefer's studies.

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This would indicate that the show version of Istredd is about the same age as Yennefer. According to the fanon, he was born in 1169, which makes him 4 years older than the book version of Yennefer. Istredd is one of the few people to identify the Leishardrathardlara "gene," which relates to Ciri's powers. In Season 3, he goes on the hunt for the Book of Monoliths, having teamed up with Triss Merigold.

7 Cahir Is Consistently Described As Young In The Books

Debut: Season 1, Episode 1, "The End's Beginning"

Age	Role	Portrayed by
25+	Knight	Eamon Farren

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Neither the books nor Netflix gives a date for the birth of Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach. Throughout Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher books, he is consistently described as being young for his rank of officer and later receives the political title of count. He was 10 when his brother died, though that death does not have a timestamp either. According to a description from Assire var Anahid, a mage not yet in the Netflix show, Cahir gets involved in the search for Ciri after The White Flame has already been searching for a long time.

From this, fans can deduce that Cahir is at least 4-5 years older than Ciri, and 16-18 during the Slaughter of Cintra. In 1267, Geralt guesses that Cahir is 25 years old, making him up to 10 years older than Ciri. Cahir goes through a major psychological upheaval in Season 3, but he thankfully rejects Emhyr's dominance in favor of rescuing Ciri and Geralt.

6 Tissaia De Vries Is Known To Be Extremely Old

Debut: Season 1, Episode 2, "Four Marks"

Age	Role	Portrayed by
300+	Rectoress of Aretuza	MyAnna Buring

In all versions of The Witcher, Tissaia de Vries remains a mystery up until taking Yennefer on as a student. She is known to be very very old, but no one quite knows just how old she is. She is older than the Elf Queen and sorceress Francesca Findabair, though the latter's age is also unknown according to the books. In any case, there's no doubt that Tissaia is one of the strongest characters in the story.

Some fans mentioned that Tissaia was a mentor for Philippa Eilhart, the sorceress who can morph into an owl, who is described by Jaskier to be no less than 300 years old. This means that Tissaia is a fair amount older than 300, as she would already need to be an accomplished sorceress to mentor students. Unfortunately, Tissaia takes her own life out of guilt, bringing an end to at least three centuries of service.

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