We analyze the profile of the famous sorcerer Geralt de Rivia, from The Witcher saga, both in books and video games and in the recent Netflix series.
The famous witch protagonist of the novels of "The Saga of Geralt de Rivia" (by the Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski) already accumulates a long career and many adventures behind him. We could meet him for the first time in the Polish magazine Fantastyka with a series of stories that were published from 1986 and until the present time has appeared in a saga of books, various comics that expand and complement the story, 3 main games (and as many secondary ones) by CD Projekt RED and even in a couple of TV series. The popularity of the White Wolf has been increased thanks to the recent Netflix series entitled "The Witcher" and therefore, it is time to look back and review the history of Geralt de Rivia.
Note: reports marked as "Hunter of lore" contain spoilers of the saga and characters they talk about.
From human to sorcerer; Geralt's transformation
We know little about Geralt's past and his biological family. Among the memories of the sorcerer are some details of his mother, Visenna, who tell us that she was a sorceress specialized in healing who left him when he was very young in Kaer Morhen, the Wolf School located between the Blue Mountains, to the north from the kingdom of Kaedwen. As for his father, it was presumably the warrior Korin, who helped Visenna defeat Fregenal's koshchey (he appears in the 1993 “Droga bez powrotu” comic and in the first episode of the TV series “The Hexer”).
Even so, Geralt's true father figure can be considered Vesemir. This is the oldest and most experienced sorcerer of Kaer Morhen, who was responsible for raising and training a future generation of sorcerers, in addition to making them go through the hard process involved in mutagenic experimentation. Specifically, Geralt proved to have an unusual tolerance to the painful test of herbs (intake of special alchemical ingredients that affect the physiology of the subject; only 3/10 children survive the process) and therefore he was exposed to stronger experiments that They gave him the white hair that characterizes him (and they don't have other fellow wizards from the Wolf school like Eskel or Lambert), as well as superior strength, greater speed and incredible endurance. In fact, it is the only sorcerer to date that has managed to survive these extreme experiments.
Kaer Morhen, the Wolf School
We know little more about Geralt's childhood and youth, since all the works in which he appears narrate his adult adventures and the exploration of his past only comes to us through memories. Even so, showing that the past always reaches us, Geralt met his mother again years later. After saving a merchant named Yurga from a group of nekkers, the sorcerer was injured and the man took him to his farm in wagon, in order to save him. When he woke up, Geralt ran into the look of a sorceress he knew well. A ghost from his past, who had returned to save his son's life. Although the sorcerer wanted to ask his father a thousand and one things, he had no chance to do so, since he fell asleep.
“I always wanted… I was thinking about what I would tell you if we finally got to know each other. I was thinking about the questions I would ask you. I judged that this would produce me a perverse joy … Tomorrow, in the sunlight, I will look you in the eye, Visenna … And I will ask you my question. Or it may not be because it is too late, "Geralt tells his mother, to which she replies:" No. Now you go to sleep. And when you wake up you won't want it anymore. Why are we going to have to look at the sunlight? What does this change? You can not recover anything, change anything … No, Geralt. Now you go to sleep. And I … was your dream. Beware". After this meeting, which is blurred between dreams, mother and son do not meet again.
Geralt "of Rivia", Gwynbleidd, the White Wolf, the Butcher of Blaviken …
As for his full name, Geralt is usually referred to as "de Rivia." It is not due to its origin, but because at the time of choosing a surname, as part of the pending tasks of the students of Kaer Morhen before being sorcerers, the protagonist ended up taking “de Rivia” as his last name since his first option, "Geralt Roger Eric du Haute-Bellegarde", was too "dumb and pretentious", according to Vesemir. The fates of fate made Geralt years later help Queen Meve of Lyria defend the Yaruga bridge in a complicated battle. Once they got the victory, the Queen granted her the formal title "De Rivia".
Other nicknames that he is awarded throughout his wanderings around the world are that of Gwynbleidd, which translates into the Elvish Language as "White Wolf" (this nickname was given by the dryads after his stay in the Forest Kingdom of Brokilón) . As for another nickname, in this case less graceful, Geralt is also known by those who despise him as "Butcher of Blaviken", due to an unfortunate event that occurred in that city.
These facts can be read in the short story "The Lesser Evil" (in The Last Wish) and narrate how the sorcerer ended the life of Renfri's bandits (represents a dark version of Snow White) and the leader herself, because they wanted to end the lives of the villagers of Blaviken. The citizens, witnessing the massacre of the bandits and ignoring their evil plans, blamed the sorcerer for being a ruthless murderer and gave him such a nickname, which would mean a weight behind Geralt's backs throughout his life.
“There is only the Evil and the Evil Major, and over them two, in the darkness, is the Very Greater Evil. The Evil Major, Geralt, is something you cannot even imagine, even if you think that nothing can surprise you anymore. And you know, Geralt, sometimes it turns out that the Very Greater Evil grabs you by the throat and tells you: "Choose, brother, or I, or that one, a little smaller," Renfri warns Geralt before confronting him. At such times, the sorcerer shows that he is not one of those who is unperturbed in the face of injustices and that he prefers to be the one who wields the sword rather than staring without doing anything while innocent beings are killed. Despite the circumstances, Geralt knows how to choose the one he considers the lesser evil.
Hired monster hunter, with a moral code
Having successfully passed the tests and after years of training, Geralt was ready to perform his function: being a wizard and killing monsters in exchange for a few coins. These creatures appeared in the so-called Conjunction of the Spheres, a phenomenon that took place 1,500 before the story of Geralt de Rivia and that marked the arrival on Earth of dangerous and supernatural creatures such as ghuls, moira and vampires, among many others. With their arrival, it was necessary to have a way to end them. Thus the sorcerers were born and for that reason the hard process by which the children had to go through to be it is something more understandable, since a normal human being does not have the necessary resistance or force to end these dangerous creatures.
Carrying two swords on his back (one silver to kill the monsters and another steel to do the same with humans) and accompanied by his faithful mare Sardinilla (all the mares he would have throughout history would have the same name ), Geralt undertook his journey full of adventures (and misadventures) in which he ended up with hundreds of different monsters, learned the importance of meditating and taking the necessary potions in order to enhance his abilities before going out to combat and made use of the signs (Aard: telekinetic energy to push enemies or objects, Igni: igneous discharge, Yrden: magic trap that stops opponents, Quen: protective shield and Axia: enchants the mind of an adversary, just as the Jedi do with force) that he learned as part of his training years.
Although he was on the verge of death on multiple occasions, the sorcerer proved to be the strongest in his class and able to overcome virtually any obstacle. In it we find a man with his own moral code, who always tries to position himself on the side of the innocent (sometimes he is the beast he has been ordered to hunt and not the peasant who pays him). Among its own rules, there is that of not ending the life of any dragon, beings that it considers of great nobility and intelligence. As the entry in the journal dedicated to Geralt in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (supposedly written by Jaskier, his faithful friend the Bard) indicates precisely:
“Here is our hero: undergoing mutations and rigorous training with the sword and witchcraft in his childhood, he has become a superhuman monster hunter. Always without white, always despised by those he protects, he wanders the world in search of work. Fate takes little pity on him and accumulates obstacles in his path, but nevertheless he continues slowly. He has more scruples than fleas a beggar, doubt seizes him even when a band of ruffians assault him with knives along the way. He is a good man? I do not think so. Are you trying to preserve your humanity? I think so".
The promised daughter: Cintra's Cirilla
We cannot talk about Geralt without mentioning one of the people who has most influenced his life and personality: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, better known as Cirtra de Cintra or simply as Ciri. Fate united them forever at the moment when the sorcerer asked to apply the "Law of Surprise" (an ancient custom under which a man must grant the prize requested by the one who saved his life) after saving Duny , the hedgehog (who later would end up becoming the emperor of Nilfgaard, Emhyr var Emreis). Daughter of the aforementioned and the powerful Pavetta, Ciri would be the key to saving the world.
Geralt's role is that of protector and in some ways also that of father. Because one of the consequences of the mutation process that sorcerers undergo is that of becoming infertile, they could not have had biological offspring naturally. Being with her, it is proven that Geralt has a hard time educating her in a conventional way. Even so, Ciri learns a series of lessons and skills, essential for the hard life that he will have to live, thanks to the sorcerer's teachings.
Geralt's great love: Yennefer de Vengenberg (and others)
Another of the most important women in Geralt's life, in this case in the romantic sphere, is Yennefer de Vengenberg, a powerful sorceress with whom she establishes an unbreakable, but at the same time complex and tumultuous bond. From the moment he meets her, Geralt falls in love with her and tries to protect her, even if it is not always the right way:
“It had been a good twenty years since the sorcerer knew the black-haired sorceress as a raven's wing. Their friendship and the feelings between them had been born from a common adventure in which a djinn had been implied that granted a wish to Geralt, a desire that intertwined their destinies indissolubly. However, since then their relationship had been quite stormy, rich in ups and downs, crises and breakups. The love of Geralt and Yennefer is the irrefutable proof of the claim that opposites attract, ”Jaskier details in the journal entry on Yennefer of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Despite Yen's crush, that's not something that prevents Geralt from sleeping with many other women. His rough appearance and slightly sullen character seem to be irresistible to many ladies. In the wide range that his lovers compose we find both powerful sorceresses and warriors, conventional humans, etc. Among all of them, one of the most notable is Triss Merigold. The sorceress of Maribor (intimate friend of Yennefer), lived the occasional love affair with Geralt in The Blood of the Elves, in addition to having a much greater prominence in the three main games of The Witcher.
In The Wild Hunt the decision to choose between Yennefer or Triss is in the hands of the players, but anyone who truly knows Geralt will know that he would always end up choosing the sorceress of black curly hair and fragrance of lilac and currants. In addition, it is she who performs the role of Ciri's mother, since having descendants became her main desire after losing the ability to have her own children (by undergoing a series of processes with which she gained in beauty and power but lost in fertility).
A lonely sorcerer … with many friends
Although Geralt strives to pretend that he does not need anyone by his side and that he is better off alone, it is one of the lies he tries to tell himself. Throughout his adventures he meets a large number of humans and creatures with whom he befriends. Some of them fight side by side with him in dangerous battles, such as the dwarf Zoltan, while others are responsible for chanting songs and poems that produce grunts of exasperation by the sorcerer. Of course, we talk about Jaskier, whom he has known for more than a quarter of a century when the bard offers the following reflection (which we find in the journal entry referring to Geralt in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt):
“Geralt de Rivia is a really exceptional character. A brief encounter with him might tempt us to call him a mere swordsman, a simple monster hunter, a crude practitioner of a dirty trade, but if you look more closely you will soon discover that he is a man of unfathomable depths, of views unique and with a great experience that covers the whole world. On the surface it is introverted, reserved and one could even say that grumpy, but underneath there is an overflowing sea of goodness, a good sense of humor and a great willingness to help your friends, either with good advice or by wielding the sword masterfully. He is a man of abrupt appearance and sometimes disastrous manners, but who nevertheless enjoys great esteem on the part of beautiful sex. It is, to sum it up, a walking contradiction. ”
So, Geralt is a deep character with many nuances. Despite showing slightly different versions if we read it in the novels, we play it incarnate in the games or see it in the series, the sorcerer is still himself. A man who, despite all the traumatic experiences he carries behind him, has not lost the humanity that characterizes him. A sorcerer who will fight until the last moment to defend those whom he estimates and who will not surrender without opposing battle. Until his last breath, he will fight to fight the injustice that stains the dark fantasy world built by Andrzej Sapkowski.
