The White Wolf, the Butcher of Blaviken. Who Was Geralt of Rivia?

Who is Geralt of Rivia?

The White Wolf, Gwynbleidd, the Butcher of Blaviken, or Vatt'ghern. Geralt of Rivia is known by many names. 

The character of the Witcher Geralt was created by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The Witcher is a series of novels and stories about the mutant warrior. So far, 8 books have been published. 

The complete series includes the prequel novel (explaining what happened before the published stories) called The Witcher I. Season of Storms, collections of short stories called The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, and a five-part saga containing Blood of Elves, Time of Contempt, Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow, and The Lady of the Lake.In Polish, the novels are called Wiedźmin, The Witcher.

Geralt was the son of the sorceress Visenna and, presumably, the warrior Korin. He was left by his mother with the witchers at Kaer Morhen. 

At Kaer Morhen, Geralt was trained to become a witcher, and passed the Trial of the Grasses - an incredibly painful trial which kills seven out of ten apprentices. 

Using mutagens, powerful elixirs and magical items, the witchers created mutants with sharpened senses and reflexes that could wield simple magic. The trial granted the witchers immunity to most diseases, and to witcher alchemy, deadly for most humans. 

Geralt survived the Trial, emerged with white hair and infertile.  But, unlike many other survivors, Geralt did not completely lose the ability to feel. He was attracted to women. Geralt’s femme fatale was raven-haired sorceress called Yennefer. 

Why Geralt of Rivia? Although Geralt himself claims to come from Rivia, and is able to imitate the Rivian accent, he does not come from Rivia. He only adopted that surname to be more trustworthy.

(Source: www.tbsnews.net)

Professional Monster Hunters

The purpose of a Witcher is to slay monsters who are dangerous to ordinary people. Even though witchers protect people by hunting down bloodthirsty monsters, they are hated and feared by the mob, because they are seen as dangerous mutants. Which is why, about a hundred years before Geralt was born, the mob tried to wipe out the witchers. As a result, the witchers are very rare in the times of Geralt of Rivia. 

Geralt uses two swords for his work, a steel sword for humans, dogs and wolves, and a silver sword for monsters. Witcher's Silver sword is made of meteorite ore and enhanced with runes. Other weapons used by the Witcher are steel daggers or silver daggers.

Witcher can cast simple magic spells, the signs. Some of the signs are casted by arranging the fingers in specific way, or by using the sheer power of the will. The known signs include:

• Igni – a gush of flames that wounds opponents. Igni can also be used to incinerate opponents or to make a fire.
• Aard – the most commonly used sign. It is a telekinetic wace used to destroy obstacles. It helps witchers get through blocked doors or destroy walls standing in the way.
• Quen – a protective shield around the witcher that absorbs physical and magical damage.
• Yrden – a magical trap placed on the ground that immobilize opponents. You can see the Yrden sign used a lot in the videogame The Witcher. In the novels, Geralt only uses it once in a fight against a striga.
• Axii – a charm with a hypnotic effect on any living creature. The Witcher can use the Axii sign to temporarily turn his opponents into his allies, or to calm a horse.
• Heliotrop – similar to Quen. It protects the Witcher against magic attacks. It is made by crossing one’s wrists.
• Somne – the Somme sign is only used in the novel Season of Storms. The sign Somme can put someone to sleep, and may leave them open to some form of suggestion, implant false memories or cause dreams.

Join Geralt in a Fantasy World Full of Monsters

Plunge into the exciting world of Geralt of Rivia with the videogame The Witcher. 

The game The Witcher was released in 2007 and has two sequels: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (released in 2011), and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (released in 2019).The Witcher 3 is also available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch. 

All episodes walk you through the adventures of Geralt, in a fascinating medieval fantasy world. In Witcher 3, you get to briefly play for Cirilla, too, who is the heir to the kingdom of Cintra. Princess Cirilla, or Ciri, is the heir to the throne, but she is bound by her fate to Witcher Geralt, who teaches her how to use the sword. 

The Witcher, Season 2 Coming Soon to Netflix

Did you enjoy the season 1 of The Witcher series on Netflix? You probably did if you watched it. Henry Cavill made sure of that by his impressive performance in the lead role of Geralt. 

The story unveils in a medieval fantasy world called Continent. The first series is based on the stories told in The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny. 

And we have good news for all the fans of the first series! The second series is coming in December 2021 to Netflix. The season will include eight episodes, continuing the story from season 1. Get ready to see Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer again! Season 2 is based on stories from the book Blood of Elves. 

Set up a reminder in your calendar for December 17, 2021, and make sure to have a lot of coffee ready. All eight episodes will drop at once!