Ciri

Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, or commonly known simply as Ciri, is the deuteragonist and lead heroine of The Witcher franchise. She's a princess of Cintra and the daughter of Pavetta and Duny, which was an alias used by Emhyr var Emreis, the emperor of Nilfgaard, as well as the adopted daughter of Geralt of Rivia and Yennefer of Vengerberg. Throughout the game, Ciri is being chased by The Wild Hunt led by Eredin Bréacc Glas, the king of Aen Elle elves and the Wild Hunt who wants to harness the power of of Elder Blood running through Ciri's veins to cause the Conjunction of Spheres to bring the Aen Elle elves into the world of humans. She notably becomes playable multiple times throughout The Witcher 3, making her the only other playable character in the games other than Geralt himself.

She is voiced by Jo Wyatt.

Background
After the Witcher Geralt of Rivia lifted a curse from Duny, the Urcheon of Erlenwald, he demanded from Duny his wife Pavetta's firstborn child, a child he had but didn't know he had, due to the Law of Surprise. Six years to the day after the child's birth, Geralt went back to Cintra for her, but did not take her with him to Kaer Morhen at that time. In fact, he didn't even lay eyes on her and only spoke with Calanthe. The Queen divulged no information to him, not even the child's gender. This child was named Cirilla.

While she was still an infant, Ciri's parents were both lost in a storm at sea. They were presumed dead. She spent her youth in Cintra and the Skellige Islands, cared for by her grandmother. Ciri first met Geralt when she was lost in the forest of Brokilon. She was nearly taken by the dryads, who wished to make her one of their own. The Queen of the dryads, Eithné, unexpectedly let the girl choose her own future. Ciri chose Geralt, and wished to stay with him after they left Brokilon. However, the Witcher would not take her with him. Instead, he left her with the druid Mousesack who was working for Calanthe. Then came the slaughter of Cintra.

During the Nilfgaardian invasion of Cintra, Ciri was kidnapped by a Nilfgaardian knight named Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, though his identity was not known at the time. She managed to escape and wandered aimlessly for some time through Sodden until she was ultimately adopted by a merchant's family.

Coincidentally, Geralt had been helped by that same merchant and transported to his home. Thus, Ciri and Geralt were once again united. This time the Witcher took her with him to Kaer Morhen, where, under the supervision of Triss Merigold she underwent partial Witcher training, sans mutations, with Geralt, Vesemir, Lambert, Eskel and Coën. It was there that it was confirmed that Ciri was a source.

Geralt and Triss later took her to the Temple of Melitele in Ellander where she received instruction from Nenneke, and then from Yennefer, who began Ciri's magical training in earnest. As news of war began to spread, Ciri and Yennefer left Ellander for Gors Velen and ultimately Thanedd Island and Aretuza where the sorceress intended to enroll the girl as well as attend a conference of mages.

Things did not work out as planned though, not by a long shot. There was a coup during the conference and several individuals including Vilgefortz and Cahir tried to capture Ciri once again, and once again failed with the girl escaping through an unstable magical portal in Tor Lara. Because of the portal's nature, Ciri was simply ejected in mid-air over the Korath desert.

Unaware of where she was and without obvious recourse, the girl decided to make her way out of the wasteland by heading west. Unfortunately she wandered around in circles for some time before deciding to use the stars as a guide. She nearly died of exhaustion, dehydration and starvation. Luckily to her she met a unicorn whom she nicknamed Horsey that helped her out of the Frying Pan (a folk name for the deadly desert).

Ciri, who was still undergoing an emotional tribulation, then joined the Rats, a group of ne'er-do-wells she met when they were rescuing one of their members, under the name Falka. Bounty hunter Leo Bonhart was hired by Stefan Skellen to kill Ciri and by baron Casadei to capture her alive. Bonhart killed the Rats and cut off their heads after their deaths. He neither killed Ciri, nor brought her to baron Casadei, therefore not fullfilling his contracts. Bonhart imprisoned her for some time, beating her, mistreating and forcing her to kill in the arena at Claremont, which belonged to his cousin Houvenaghel.

Ciri managed to escape with the help of Neratin Ceka when Bonhart had taken her to the village of Unicorn on the eve of the equinox. He had gone to meet with Skellen and Rience and possibly negotiate some terms to release Ciri. Bonhart then killed Neratin Ceka, and Skellen seriously wounded Ciri, disfiguring her with an orion as she fled the village on her mare, Kelpie.

Later, she was found, near death by Vysogota of Corvo, who hid and healed at his hermitage in the Pereplut swamp. She stayed with Vysogotha until shortly after Saovine when she set off to find the Swallow's tower.

Together with Skellen and Rience, Bonhart tried to hunt her down on the order of Vilgefortz. Eventually, she escaped to Tor Zireael.

Being a twin tower to Tor Lara, Tor Zireael had a portal which led Cirilla to the world of the Aen Elle elves. There she was greeted by Avallac'h, an Aen Saevherne. He explained to her that she had to 'pay the debt' referring to the perceived loss to the Aen Elle when Lara Dorren took Cregennan of Lod as her lover. The elves believed that the latter had 'stolen' Elder Blood from them by marrying Lara. To atone for that 'crime' Avallac'h wanted Ciri to beget a child with Auberon Muircetach, the king of the Aen Elle. That being the only way Avallac'h would let her return to her own world. On their way to Tir ná Lia, the Aen Elle capital, they met Eredin and his Dearg Ruadhri. Ciri was initially quite infatuated with him - he realised that and tried to use it to control her. They also came across a pack of unicorns which appeared to be at war with Aen Elle.

In Tir na Lia Ciri finally met Auberon, who many times tries to conceive a child with her, however he could not - to him she was just a human, a being of no interest for an Aen Elle. Nevertheless he was very proud and refused to admit it. Eredin suggested using a 'potion' which would improve Auberon's performance and allow him to conceive a child with Cirilla. He also told her the truth (probably to gain her trust) - that Avallac'h would never let her go. Knowing this, Ciri found help with the unicorns where she also met Horsey/Ihuarraquax, by then fully grown. The unicorns explained that both Fox and Sparrowhawk had once possessed The Gate of the Worlds, a mystical power known only to those of the Elder Blood but they had lost it. Now they wanted these powers back and for that they needed Ciri. This could not be allowed, however and the unicorns explained to Cirilla how she should escape.

That same day Ciri once again visited Auberon only to find that he had drunk the 'potion' given to him by Eredin. Unknown to Sparrowhawk it happened to be too strong and killed Auberon. That night Ciri attempted to escape Tir na Lia and its barrier by using a boat and swimming with the river's current. She was stopped by Eredin who then revealed his true intentions, being the same as Avallac'h's. The two battled and Ciri proved victorious due to the elf's underestimation of her abilities - she wounded him and threw him into the river. Later on she mounted Kelpie and rode away from Tir na Lia. She met Horsey who offered his help (actually his being by Ciri's side was a part of her bargain with the other unicorns). They came across a huge pile of bones. To her horror, Ciri realised that the skulls had human teeth making them a pile of human bones. Ihuarraquax explained that it had been a human world until the elves led by Fox and Sparrowhawk arrived and killed them all - this also would be the fate of other worlds, including Ciri's own, should Avallac'h and Eredin succeed in once again harnessing the power of time and space. Nevertheless, Ihuarraquax and Ciri realised that they were being chased. Horsey urged Ciri to jump to another world - the only way to escape. She, however didn't know how. The unicorn became her guide and they jumped. This led to the manifestation of Ciri's strongest power, giving her the title of The Lady of the Worlds. That power allowed her to traverse space and time at will. Not being able to control it, however, Ciri had to journey through many different worlds to finally find her own.

At the Stygga castle, Bonhart died at the hand of Ciri.

In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
In the prologue, Geralt experiences a dream where he trains a younger Ciri at Kaer Morhen. However, the dream turns into a nightmare, as the Wild Hunt appears, freezing everyone, including Ciri, with Geralt helpless to act.

Having hidden in another world for over half a year the Wild Hunt found Ciri forcing her to flee. At some point Ciri discovered that Geralt had been captured by the Wild Hunt and managed to free him and send him to the forests outside of Kaer Morhen although he lost his memory in the process.

Several months later Ciri along with an elf called Avallac'h returned from another world ending up in Skellige where the Wild Hunt found and attacked them cursing Avallac'h and forcing Ciri to teleport away. This lead her to appear in Crookback Bog where she collapsed and was found by the Crones. The Crones intended to give her to the Wild Hunt however knew that she possessed Elder blood and could not decide whether to cut her up for her blood or not. Ciri realising this escaped and fled into the nearby forest, narrowly evading Imlerith. Traveling west into Velen, she encountered a young girl who was lost and rescued her as well as a local man from a werewolf. She was then taken to Crow's Perch and taken in by Philip Strenger (known as the Bloody Baron) who alongside with his men she befriended. During a race with Philip the two are attacked by a monster and Ciri was forced to use her powers to save him. However, Ciri realised that Wild Hunt would sense her powers so she left Crow's Perch and headed to Novigrad.

Ciri tracked down Dandelion to enlist his help in repairing a phylactery to lift the curse on Avallac'h, though she excluded the identity of her friend. Dandelion suggested going to Cyprian "Whoreson Junior" Willy. Willy later turned on them, capturing and torturing their friend Dudu. Ciri managed to rescue Dudu but her activities got the attention of the Temple Guard, who chased her towards Temple Isle. Just as an crossbowman took a shot at her, Ciri teleported herself to safety.

Ciri teleported all the way to Skellige, where she fell unconscious, dropping into a lake. Avallac'h found her and gave her to the safety of a native Skelliger, Skjall, and his family. When she came to, Ciri accepted the invitation to heal at the local sauna. But soon as she prepared to depart, the Wild Hunt descended on the village, forcing Ciri to flee once more. She found her way to Avallac'h, who was waiting with a boat. But upon seeing Skjall being cut down by a Red Rider, she attempted to turn back to help him, but Avallac'h stunned her with a sleeping spell and took her to the Isle of Mists to hide her from the Hunt.

Ciri was taken in by a company of seven dwarves, who were also stranded on the Isle. She is later found by Geralt, who had managed to lift the curse on Avallac'h, who gave him a magical firefly to lead him to the Isle. After gaining the trust of the dwarves, whose number had been reduced to five, Geralt is allowed to see Ciri. Seeing her prone form, he assumed her dead, until the firefly merges with her, stirring the young woman awake. Geralt and Ciri catch up on what happened to the latter. Ciri reveals Eredin's motive for pursuing her, explaining that the Aen Elle world faces annihilation, so the King of the Hunt seeks to use her to power the portal to allow his army to conquer the Continent, even at the risk of Ciri's life.

As they prepare to leave, they discover the dwarves had taken Geralt's boat and fled the Isle, before spotting the Wild Hunt's flagship, the Naglfar, in the distance, forcing Ciri to teleport them directly to Kaer Morhen. Upon arrival, Ciri is happily reunited with Vesemir, Yennefer and Triss.

However, the time for celebration was cut short, as the Hunt would soon assault the aging keep. Ciri was ordered to remain inside the keep while everyone else defended her. Triss provided Ciri with a magical amulet to call down a magical fireball. However, Ciri defies orders and goes to help Triss when she came under attack by Hunt warriors. She later assisted Eskel against Caranthir, before the Hunt general hears a war horn signalling him to retreat.

Ultimately, the Hunt breaches Kaer Morhen, freezing everyone except for Ciri and Vesemir. They are then attacked by Imlerith, allowing Eredin to finally get a hold of Ciri. But as he dragged her towards a portal, Vesemir breaks off from Imlerith and engages Eredin, forcing the elf to release Ciri. As Imlerith charged at the elderly witcher, Vesemir used Aard to push Ciri away as the large elf lifts him up by the throat. Surrounded by the Wild Hunt and with her mentor held hostage, Ciri dropped her sword in surrender. However, Vesemir stabbed Imlerith, prompted the general to snap his neck, killing him. In grief and anguish, Ciri unleashed a magical scream that affected the Hunt. Calanthir conjured a portal, which Imlerith fled through, but Eredin desperately stumbled towards Ciri. Calanthir recognized his king would die in the attempt and forcibly dragged Eredin through the portal. But Ciri's power had gone out of control, threatening to kill everyone in Kaer Morhen had not Avallac'h intervened and stopped her.

While cremating Vesemir, Ciri started to regret returning to Kaer Morhen, despite Geralt's attempts to calm her, as she snatched Vesemir's medallion off the pyre. Subsequently, Ciri tried to involve herself in a discussion between Geralt, Avallac'h, Yennefer and Triss over reassembling the Lodge of Sorceresses to fight the Hunt. She becomes angry that decisions are being made without her and departs their company.

A few days later, Ciri becomes disheartened that her training with Avallac'h hadn't be progressing well. Geralt can either cheer her up with a snowball fight or sour her with Lambert's famous home brew.

Ciri later stirs Geralt early in the morning, revealing she had discovered Imlerith was attending a sabbath on Bald Mountain in Velen, as would the Crones, though she hadn't told Avallac'h of her plans. Geralt can suggest visiting her biological father, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, in Vizima first or go to Bald Mountain immediately.

If Geralt and Ciri go to meet Emhyr, the latter addresses her by all her titles as nobles and soldiers kneel before her. He then presents the second half of Geralt's payment as thanks for finding his daughter. Whether Geralt accepts or not affects Ciri. Ciri then engages in private conversation with Emhyr but later stormed out, angry at his attempts to buy her.

A few weeks later, Geralt and Ciri arrive at Bald Mountain and are forced to contend with the local celebration, which ends in them being sent to a sylvan named Fugas for execution. After slaying the monster, Ciri plays a game of rock, paper, scissors, to decide who will face the Crones and who would slay Imlerith. Ciri lost the game and thus went to confront the Crones. She interrupts them while they were stirring a cauldron full of human remains, prompting them to transform from beautiful women into their true, hideous forms. Ciri managed to slay Brewess and Whispess but Weavess managed to escape with Vesemir's medallion.

Their mission a success, the pair head for Novigrad, where Ciri had a multitude of personal matters to take care of. With Geralt, she revisits all the people she had encountered in the city. She was also present when Geralt and Avallac'h bring Ge'els from the world of the Aen Elle to show him proof that Eredin murdered the previous Aen Elle king, Auberon Muircetach, so he'd stop supporting the regicide. Ge'els attempts to sow animosity between Ciri and Avallac'h, but it fails. Corinne Tilly, an oneiromancer, shows everyone through dreams of Eredin's regicide.

After Philippa Eilhart and Margarita Laux-Antille are gathered, they ask to meet with Ciri. If Geralt accompanies Ciri to the meeting, it undermines her confidence. The sorceresses extended an invitation for Ciri to join the Lodge as an equal partner.

The party then travels to Skellige to find an elven artifact called the Sunstone to lure Eredin into a trap. Ciri then expresses her desire to investigate Avallac'h secret laboratory in the isles, suspecting the elf to be hiding something from her. She goes ahead with Yennefer to await Geralt's arrival. After penetrating the laboratory, they find a genealogical chart of Elder Blood descendants; Avallac'h was studying all paths of Lara Dorren, even those thought extinct. They soon encounter a she-elf, claiming to be Avallac'h's lover, who proceeds to insult Ciri, calling her a degenernate half-breed and that Avallac'h despises that he needs her. Her words anger Ciri so much that she wants to tear up the lab. Geralt can support her and aid in the ransacking, cheering her up, or calm her down and fasten Lara Dorren's necklace around her neck, depressing her.

Once outside, Ciri asks to go to Hindersfjall to see Skjall, only to be told of his death. If Geralt refuses, it depresses her. If he agrees to accompany her, they either meet up later or teleport there. Upon arrival, Ciri learns that Skjall was never buried, instead thrown on a corpse heap. After finding his corpse and giving it a proper burial, they are accosted by a band of villagers, who take issue with their defiance against their elders' writ, as Skjall was dishonoured and his name stricken. Ciri threatens retaliation if Skjall's grave is disturbed and reveals Skjall's role in saving her from the Hunt, restoring his honor.

The party then sail to Undvik to spring the trap, with the Nilfgaardian fleet preventing the Naglfar from fleeing by sea and the sorceresses blocking their attempts to teleport. As the battle started, though advised to remain on shore, Ciri realized that Geralt and his Nilfgaardian detachment were frozen and decided to go out and assist. Avallac'h advised her to find Caranthir and break the jewel on his staff to lift the spell. After fighting through Hunt warriors and hounds did Ciri engage Caranthir, eventually destroying his staff, though the effort seemingly knocked her unconscious. Caranthir then attempted to grab Ciri, only for her to teleport away.

After Geralt mortally wounded Eredin, the elven king stated that Avallac'h had tricked them both, pitting them against each other while he made off with Ciri. When Geralt confronts Avallac'h as another Conjunction of the Spheres begins, but Avallac'h drops his sword proving that he did not betray them but was just following Ciri's wish to come here. Geralt then confronts Ciri who tells him that she has to go inside the portal to stop the White Frost. Depending on Geralt's interactions with her, Ciri may either survive or die stopping the White Frost.

Final Fate
Depending on Geralt's interactions with her on crucial points, Ciri will either survive or die during her final battle against the White Frost. There are three possible endings for Ciri.

Ciri dies
If Geralt has made three out of five negative decisions with Ciri, like assisting her to her meeting with the Lodge of Sorceresses or telling her to calm down when she loses her temper after visiting Avallac'h's laboratory, Ciri will feel unconfident of herself during her final battle. She will still defeat the White Frost but will die in the process. Geralt will hunt down and slay the last Crone who escaped Ciri's wrath previously. After killing the last Crone, Geralt will furiously search for the medallion that the Crone stole from Ciri. He will find the medallion but will also be consumed by grief while the hut he's in gets surrounded by monsters. Geralt's fate is left unknown at that point.

Ciri becomes a witcher
If Geralt has made three out of five positive decisions with her, like letting her trash Avallac'h's laboratory or encouraging her to meet the Lodge alone and did not bring her to Emhyr var Emreis, Ciri will defeat the White Frost and survive in process. Later Geralt will pay a last visit to the emperor and lie to him about Ciri's fate, telling that Ciri has stopped the White Frost but paid the ultimate price for it. Emhyr will send Geralt away and tell him that he does not wish to see him ever again. Geralt makes his way to White Orchard where he will recieve a unique silver sword for someone in particular. He will then make his way to the inn to meet with the mysterious person, who turns out to be Ciri. Ciri will accept Geralt's gift and will officially become a witcher.

Combat Style
In certain parts of the story, the player will take control of Ciri. Due to her witcher training at Kaer Morhen, Ciri fights nearly identical to Geralt, though there are differences as well. Unlike Geralt, Ciri is unable to cast signs, cannot drink potions, cannot parry or use strong attacks and does not possess Witcher senses. Ciri instead posssesses three special abilities as a result of her Elder Blood. One of them is called "blink", which allows Ciri to teleport behind her foes and hit multiple enemies in a row, sometimes going in a killstreak. Another ability is called "magic stone", which is recieved during the Battle of Kaer Morhen. It allows Ciri to summon a fireball towards her position, which could however hurt her if she does not move away. The third ability is called "charge", which allows Ciri to dash at enemies and deal a colossal amout of damage to any enemy on her path.

Trivia
* Her voice actress Anna Cieślak also voiced Star Butterfly.