The Real Reason The Wild Hunt Wants Ciri In The Witcher

In Netflix's "The Witcher," Ciri (Freya Allan) is a noble-born princess who is forced to leave her ancestral lands when an invading Nilfgaardian army lays claim to her kingdom of birth. Claimed by Geralt (Henry Cavill) by "Right of Surprise," Ciri is swept into a world filled to the brim with chaos magic, monsters, and extra-planar horrors that herald the doom of the world. Her erstwhile protector, Geralt, is known as a "Witcher," a powerful type of forcibly mutated human that has greatly enhanced speed, strength, and endurance that aids in their chosen profession.

At first, Ciri is relatively defenseless outside of desperate situations where she unconsciously taps into her birthright's untapped power, known as "Elder Blood," and it is for this reason that several different factions want to get their hands on her. Not only is she wanted as a political pawn in the grand scope of the world's royal landscape, but she is also pursued by those that understand her true power. This sends her on a collision course with those known as "The Wild Hunt," which is that world's version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. However, fans may be wondering what their true motivation is when it comes to Ciri.

To understand why the Wild Hunt wants to capture Ciri, it is important to know who exactly they are in the first place. Originally elves known as Aen Elle in the books and video games, they came across a human city known as "Tir na Lia," which existed outside of the primary world of "The Witcher." A brutal and despotic faction, the elves enslave humans to fuel the progress of their own society. The city of Tir na Lia hosted a means in which the elves could transverse alternate realms in pursuit of additional slave labor, but due to events of "The Conjunction" before the start of "The Witcher," the Aen Elle are no longer able to continue their plans.

Ciri is wanted by the Aen Elle/Wild Hunt because she is the destined "Daughter of Chaos," and she has a tremendous power inside of her that she has yet to fully understand. Her untapped magic can undo the power of the Conjunction, which would allow the Wild Hunt to continue its trans-dimensional carnage and kidnapping. This was alluded to in both seasons of the "Witcher," when Ciri destroys a magical monolith that dots the countryside on the outskirts of Cintra. The Monoliths are created from stellacite, a foreign mineral that exists outside of normal reality. Normally, these structures are nigh-indestructible and never show signs of weathering, but the power in Ciri is almost boundless. Her destruction of a monolith at the end of Season 1 alerts the Wild Hunt to her presence, and they will be a tremendous foe in future seasons of "The Witcher."