The Witcher: How Cirilla Of Cintra Became A Witcher - CBR

One of the main characters in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cirilla of Cintra, was Geralt of Rivia's Child of Surprise. The Law of Surprise connects the fates of those bound to it, and when Geralt saved the life of a cursed man named Duny, he offered Geralt whatever he wished for. Geralt claimed the Law of Surprise, discovering only moments later that Duny's lover, Pavetta of Cintra, was pregnant with Duny's child. That child would become the witcher known as Cirilla of Cintra, and though Geralt avoided his responsibility to his child surprise for years, destiny made it impossible for him to ignore her forever.

Raised by her grandmother, Queen Calanthe after her parents were killed at sea, Ciri was the sole heir to Cintra. Calanthe attempted to keep Geralt from taking the child and refused for years to even tell Ciri she was a Child of Surprise. However, Ciri's nanny told her stories about Geralt, assuring her that he would one day come to train her as a witcher. Infuriated as Calanthe was about this, there was nothing she could do to deter her granddaughter. Ciri became obsessed, convinced that becoming a witcher was her destiny.

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Geralt did not come for her, though he did visit Cintra to get a glimpse at the child, whom he mistakenly believed to be a boy at the time. Calanthe did nothing to dissuade him of this notion, but it seemed destiny would not be deterred. When Ciri was 10, her grandmother arranged her to to marry the prince of Verden. Ciri traveled to Verden to meet him, but she escaped with a group of soldiers and got lost in Brokilon forest. Alone and terrified, she was nearly killed by a giant centipede, but Geralt (who also happened to be in Brokilon) heard her screams and went to her aid.

Ciri did not know who he was until they arrived in Duen Canell and Vergen's governor, Freixnet, revealed Geralt to be a witcher. Ciri knew at that moment who he was and wished to be taken away to fulfill her destiny. But as they were traveling through the forest, they encountered Calanthe's advisor, the druid Mousesack. Geralt left their encampment in the night without Ciri, who woke and cried after him not to leave her.

When Nilfgaard attacked Cintra, Queen Calanthe was killed. Ciri was forced to run, and after the guards watching over her were killed, she was on her own. She camped with refugees for a time before she was taken in by a woman named Goldencheeks. She lived with the woman and her sons for six months before destiny came full-circle again.

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Goldencheeks' husband, Yurga, was a traveling merchant who hadn't been home for some time. While on the road, he encountered Geralt, who defended the merchant and his wares from a monster attack. Yurga offered the witcher a reward, and unwittingly, Geralt chose the Law of Surprise. When they finally arrived at Yurga's homestead, he was reunited with Ciri and knew he could no longer avoid his destiny.

Geralt took Ciri with him to Kaer Morhen to begin her witcher training, but on their travels, he realized she suffered from horrible nightmares that often woke her up screaming. The day she arrived at Kaer Morhen, she accidentally drank a potion called White Seagull that sent her into a trance state. She began spouting strange prophecies that alarmed the witchers, but when it came time to begin her magical training they discovered she could barely even cast the most basic witcher signs. Knowing they needed help understanding her bizarre abilities, they sent for the sorceress Triss Merigold.

Triss helped Ciri become more comfortable at Kaer Morhen, and the two developed a sisterly bond. Ciri finally began her witcher training in earnest. It was Triss who stopped the witchers from administering the harsh potions they used to enhance witcher abilities, as she knew the process would make Ciri barren, a fate she should have a choice in. They took Triss's advice, continuing her physical training, but it soon became evident there was something strange going on within Ciri that not even Triss could help control.

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When Ciri overheard the witchers and Triss arguing witcher neutrality and politics, she expressed her belief that training to become a witcher would grant her the power she craved to punish her enemies. Geralt explained that being a witcher was about protection not vengeance, and Ciri thought he would take her sword away from her. She ran from the hall and nearly fell to her death after screaming they couldn't take her swords away, but Geralt saved her.

Triss eventually explained that Ciri was a Source -- a person with latent magical abilities they don't know how to control. Despite the sorceress's power, she found herself unable to help Ciri and eventually recommended they seek out help from Geralt's former lover, Yennefer of Vengerberg. Geralt reluctantly agreed, and he set out with Ciri and Triss to meet with Yennefer, who would further help to train Ciri learn to control the magic within her.

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Ciri trained with Yennefer alone, writing to Geralt as often as she could, but when Yennefer planned to take Ciri to Aretuza to enroll her at the magical school, a coup on Thanedd Island saw Ciri separated from Yennefer and Geralt and running for her life from the Wild Hunt. Ciri's witcher training at Kaer Morhen, combined with Yennefer's tutelage, kept her alive in the trials that followed Thanedd Coup. In Wild Hunt, it was obvious that, without the lessons the witchers taught Ciri as a child, she would not have survived long enough to even be a part of that storyline.

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