The hit 2019 Netflix show The Witcher series, set in a fantasy realm plagued by monsters and ongoing war, is based on Polish writer of the same name. Both the TV and book series feature an array of fascinating characters in a web of complex relationships. This in-depth guide to Geralt of Rivia, the hero of The Witcher, will answer all your questions and prepare you for The Witcher: Blood Origin (released on December 25th, 2022 on Netflix) and season three of The Witcher (releases in 2023 on Netflix).
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Witcher Saga.
Who is Geralt of Rivia?
Geralt of Rivia is the protagonist of both The Witcher book series and the show. Geralt is a witcher, a monster hunter for hire, gradually enhanced through mutations that give him extraordinary magical abilities. His mother, a sorceress, entrusted his upbringing to a community of witchers. Geralt grew up at the legendary School of the Wolf at Kaer Morhen, where he underwent extensive training from a young age to become a witcher.
During the Trial of the Grasses, one of the many arduous tests for witchers-in-training, Geralt survived the various mutations better than most, exhibiting an unusual tolerance for the changes that give witchers their power. As a result, Geralt’s teachers subjected him to even more mutations, eventually making him one of the most powerful witchers on the Continent. These mutations granted him superior speed and strength, resistance to disease and injury, and slowed aging. They also caused him to lose all body pigmentation, leaving him with pale skin and white hair. This is why he is known as Gwynbleidd in the Elder speech, a title meaning “The White Wolf.”
After completing his training at the School of the Wolf, Geralt begins his life as a professional witcher. His many adventures take him all over the Continent in pursuit of the monsters he was trained to kill. While adventuring, he meets Dandelion — or Jaskier as he is known in the Netflix series — a bard and poet who eventually becomes his best friend. Some years into his life as a witcher, he also meets Yennefer of Vengerberg, the love of his life, with whom he pursues a tumultuous relationship throughout the audiobooks.
Geralt is sometimes described as being cold and threatening. He takes his work seriously, often putting his duty as a witcher above all else. But he is also fiercely loyal to his friends and loved ones. Throughout his life, he develops friendships with people from all over the Northern Realms of the Continent. He is portrayed as unflinching, fierce, and mighty in both the audiobooks and the show.
