The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt digs into parental bonds, but the parallel to Geralt’s and Ciri’s relationship among elves remains understated despite playing a more significant role in the cut content. A lot of material concerning elves and the Wild Hunt fell victim to cuts between the various re-writes. Some re-interpretations or duplications of phenomena – like Ithlinne’s prophecy, the White Frost, the migration of elven tribes – also occurred. Let’s try to put together a picture that would return some of the flavour and motive coherence to the elves.

Note: you can make out when the content has been written by the line nrs, but I will be treating the material as a whole to illustrate the writers’ considerations in expanding/interpreting the lore.

I. Avallac'h and Eredin Argue at Auberon's Funeral

‘Should I incite the Aen Elle against Eredin? Start a revolution and proclaim Avallac'h the new king?’
—Ge’els, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Mousesack (466274): Elves always fight among themselves for power. Do you trust him only because he turned against his brothers?
Geralt (466276): No. Because he's doing all this for Ciri. Because he's willing to risk his own life for her.

A point that The Witcher 3 could have made clearer was that Avallac’h and Eredin are vying for power. Each believes only he is best suited to succeed Auberon. The World of The Witcher (by Marcin Batylda) calls their rivalry a political chess match. Although both would like to see their people survive and prosper, each wishes to go about it differently and is antipathetic toward the other’s modus operandi. Ciri is caught in the middle – as both means to an end and an end in herself.

This is similar to the books. There is tension between them in Lady of the Lake despite their sharing a cause. Eredin, in spite of distrusting Avallac’h’s efficacy and loyalty (questioning if the Sage is, in fact, operating strategically as opposed to out of romantic displacement), plays along begrudgingly. He is transactional, he does not care what Ciri believes about the purpose of what she is doing for the elves nor how she sees her captors. Eredin champions realpolitik in the realm of mystics and metaphysics; his prime concern is preventing failure (e.g. Ciri’s escape or his superiors’ undependability).^[1] Unlike Avallac’h, he does not believe Ciri could ever come to see things from the elves’ perspective or help voluntarily. Conversely, Avallac’h tries to appeal to Ciri’s elven identity and idealism simultaneously, so her nature would encourage her to feel like it is right to align with the elves’ cause. It is vital for his personal mythology – in which he is the noble, wronged lover – that the Swallow choose freely to be the saviour Lara was not and correct history’s trajectory. But desperation makes him resort to coercion as insurance. Perhaps also, because some methods that they do have, should the natural unfolding of things not work, seem to be beyond the pale for Avallac’h as long as it concerns Ciri – i.e. a laboratory.

So, too, in the cut content.

Ciri (457669): Did you find me just to save me from Eredin?
Avallac’h (457671): No. I want to save my people too. Only I don't intend to hurt you. There will be time for specific plans when we get rid of Eredin.

Notably, while Avallac’h and Eredin both seek control over the Gate of Time in the books, we could argue that they wish to do so for slightly different reasons there too. Respectively, to offer fraternal aid to the Aen Seidhe and seek historical revanche, or to get free reign to explore and raid infinite realities. The impending perishing of the Aen Seidhe either by human hand or through the glaciation of the northern hemisphere could have served as a sufficiently strong and divisive motivation for the games and it is unclear to me why the writers felt it necessary to fabricate a new threat.^[2] (Perhaps to add urgency, or perhaps because while the Aen Seidhe do leave the Witcher world at some point in the books^[3], it is quite a definitive and final event and the writers might not have wanted Ciri to fulfil her destiny as the saviour-Swallow in this way (just yet) – what about the sequels if one population has just disappeared for good?)

In Lady of the Lake, Ciri witnesses a clash of different personalities, philosophies, and approaches to power: subtle co-opting and influencing vs naked intimidation and threats; slow game vs fast gains. This makes it into the The Witcher 3. Fair and black, good and evil, light and dark – it’s their methods to which Ciri’s reductive distinctions apply. The end remains largely the same: to empower and save the elves, and get credit for it. Except they have a different understanding of the means permissible for achieving the greater good. One basic difference, really, ends up determining which approach prevails – Avallac’h’s obsession with Ciri as an individual (driven by his need to heal his personal trauma through her validation) makes him capable of adapting, changing, and winning her trust, while Eredin’s instrumental views leave him unwilling to seek cooperation.

Hence, in The Witcher 3, Avallac’h’s and Eredin’s relationship becomes openly hostile. Plus, the REDs gave their ambitions urgency with the change to the White Frost.

An Argument at Auberon’s Funeral
In one of the sequences inside Uma’s soul/ego, we witness a memory of Avallac’h’s and Eredin’s quarrel at Auberon’s funeral. It is a piece of political theatre. The writers are informing the player that there is another world, a world of elves; and the two most important among them are the Knowing One, an archmage, and Eredin, a warrior. ‘Eredin is the leader of the Wild Hunt and undoubtedly a great warrior. But life is not war where the strongest wins’ (455956). Both have completely different visions of the future, but the writers wanted to emphasize that each wants the good of the Aen Elle, even if in a different way.

Avallac’h (455944): Auberon Muircetach, king of Aen Elle and ruler of Tir na Lia, was an extraordinary ruler.
Avallac’h (458589): His unexpected, sudden death is a great loss to our nation.
Eredin (458591): The death of a king is always painful. But we must remember that life goes on.
Eredin (458593): Our people are on the verge of great change. A great exodus awaits us.
Eredin (458595): Therefore, we must bid a dignified farewell to the deceased and remember the living.
Avallac’h (458598): The Aen Elle face great challenges... Obstacles are mounting... A wise leader is needed to survive.
Eredin (458600): Decisiveness and strength are needed. Only someone who knows what they want will be able to overcome the threat we all know about.
Avallac’h (458602): Strength only fulfils its purpose when it is well directed. Mindless strength is chaos.
Eredin (458604): You speak the truth. That is why we must choose a successor who knows how to protect Aen Elle from destruction.
Avallac’h (458606): I am pleased with the words of Eredin Breacc Glas. They mean that he already knows a candidate for king of Aen Elle.
Eredin (458608): I know. It is Eredin Breacc Glas. Only I know how to find a safe world for Aen Elle. A world that will not be threatened by the White Cold.
Eredin (458610): Thanks to the Sages, we are wiser. But it is not knowledge that will lead Aen Elle to safety, and it is not knowledge that will enable us to wrest it from those who dwell there.
Avallac’h (458612): Without wisdom and knowledge, even the most momentous victory is nothing but bloodshed.
Eredin (458614): I understand that you do not accept me as a candidate for ruler of Aen Elle.
Avallac’h (458616): I have much more respect for you than you have for me. Nevertheless, you are not the one who should take the throne of Auberon Muicetach.
Eredin (458618): I guess you think there is a better candidate for king. Who?
Avallac’h (458620): Me.

An interlude follows during which Uma is struck with shreds of recognition (this is Avallac’h’s ‘bestial side’ accessing their shared memory) and he feels like suffocating, as elves in front of the player’s eyes turn into monsters. The argument though, continues.

Eredin (456092): I think a Knowing One on the throne is a very good idea!
Eredin (456094): But the time does not favour this. (He speaks of his vision for the future of the Aen Elle. The world of elves ruled by him through military power – only such leadership can save them.)
Eredin (456096): It's possible. And in hard times, a heavy hand is needed.
Avallac’h (456098): Only someone who can foresee the direction of the march can lead the caravan.
Avallac’h (456100): Eredin, you speak as if you consider reasoning treacherous.
Eredin (456102): I know you want to fight fate with magic. In my opinion, weapons are safer.
Eredin or Avallac’h (456104): You will not become king of the people of the Aen Elle while I live.
Avallac’h or Eredin (456106): In that case, I will remain one after you die, although you know me and know that I wish you well.

In another interlude, having defeated all the opponents, Uma rises from the ground and tells of how the archmage and the warrior fought for power over another world. Conflicts abounded between the commander of the Wild Hunt and the Knowing One during Auberon’s lifetime. Once Auberon passed, someone suspected he had been poisoned and rumours began to spread that Eredin had wanted him dead the most.

Eredin (458633): The present is always a difficult time.
Eredin (458635): In difficult times, quick decisions are needed, not endless discussions.
Eredin (459237): Therefore, the strength you disregard is the foundation of a good ruler's actions.
Avallac’h (459598): I see you've brought the caedmon of the Wild Hunt. Caranthir... Ge'els... Imlerith... Welcome...
Eredin (459213): Guards!
Avallac’h (459216): Interfere? The fate of Aen Elle is as dear to me as it is to you, Eredin. Except that I am not backed by the weapons of Dearg Ruadhri.

‘They did not want to chain the Knowing One at Auberon’s coffin, but he knew his days were numbered. He outwitted Eredin and fled… He left Aen Elle… He left the land of his fathers’ (456141). Uma remembers ‘that day… I remember the smell of the wind… And I remember thinking about Eredin… How powerful he is and how much he lacks finesse’ (459227).

Avallac’h’s and Eredin’s conflict is rendered inevitable by a lore change that introduces an old threat in a new shape: the time of the White Cold is now imminent for the Aen Elle rather than the Aen Seidhe, and the nature of this phenomenon has changed. (More on this in Appendix B.) Eredin and Avallac’h disagree on what to do – escape and invade another world in hopes of buying time, or have Elder Blood deal with the threat directly. In Eredin’s eyes (as in the books), Avallac’h’s ideas are dangerously self-indulgent, and the immediacy of the threat makes compromise impossible (unlike in the books).

• Eredin's evacuation plan treats Ciri as raw material for forcing open the Ard Gaeth, which will kill her.^[4]
• Avallac'h's plan to close the rifts between worlds from where the White Frost penetrates into material realities requires Ciri to survive and help him.^[5]

Both elves want something that could kill Ciri; the decisive difference lies in the purpose of it, and their attitudes. First, Ciri would not do anything (that could harm her loved ones) without consenting to it anyway, but one elf is not interested in her consent while the other is willing to court it. Secondly, Eredin’s goal is concerned solely with his and his race’s survival, Avallac’h’s aim might doom everyone, but might also benefit everyone. Ciri has no cause for any sympathy toward Eredin whatsoever. Despite being given understandable motives, the narrative does not position him as a tragic figure in Ciri’s eyes.

Avallac’h’s and Eredin’s disagreement over whether Ciri, the individual, matters creates a value conflict and a practical rift: Avallac’h cannot accept a solution that pointlessly wastes someone who is the culmination of hundreds of years of trying to re-capture potential that was thought lost, and whom he is emotionally invested in; Eredin cannot accept risking the (immediate! need of) survival of their whole race over one girl and because of his rival’s naïve hopes in a human mutant’s abilities and worth. Their plans are mutually exclusive. If Eredin’s plan fails and kills Ciri, there is no backup option once the Frost still comes for them. If Avallac’h’s plan fails, they may lack time for evacuation. In Eredin’s eyes, Avallac’h is delusional and in Avallac’h’s eyes, Eredin has no vision; and both deem the other selfish.

Oh, but could they not have hashed it out? Shared power, do you mean?

Because that’s the other side of the equation – power. Not only does Eredin not believe Avallac’h’s plan could work (be it because he underestimates Ciri’s potential or because he does not believe Avallac’h will manage to convince her or because he thinks the Sage is just batshit insane), he thinks that Avallac’h really just wants the same as him – the tor’ch, power over Ciri, and their previously shared goal of being able to explore and invade other realities at will. Dying abroad Naglfar, Eredin assumes exactly this (335707). His convictions become his own obstacle, but what if he has reasons to believe so?

The origin story of the Wild Hunt complicates the matter on a personal level. The Fox and the Sparrowhawk happen to be in a generational conflict as creator and creation. In whose image is the mess?

II. ‘This is how you created us, Father.’

Avallac’h (524322): I once co-created this formation. The members of the Wild Hunt are the result of genetic breeding, which involved very precise isolation of genes.

While Vilgefortz acted as Emhyr's helpful grey cardinal for a spell, I suspect Avallac'h filled the equivalent role for Auberon for longer, though as inverse rather than copy. Among his services to the tor’ch… super soldiers for the military! The Wild Hunt in the Witcher games owes its existence to Avallac’h. Gwent carries this forward. At very least, he bred and reared the generals, or caedmons, of the Hunt. The released game, while majorly about parenting, understates the ‘family drama’ angle on the elven side.

Ge’els (312265-71): You probably know, witcher, that Avallac'h held office in this building for many years.This is where he devised experiments. He paired us up, often by force. He created the Wild Hunt. He showed us how to get into your world. How to suppress fear and conscience... how to track down your beloved Cirilla.

No elf normally takes joy in murder; life is valuable to them in principle, as we hear in Blood of Elves. Consequently, as the Aen Elle were in need of strong warriors, the Riders’ genome was heavily modified (315299). They were created – on Purpose.

> …I'm certain that there is a terrifying, alien force behind the Hunt. A mind completely mad, yet still a mind, not pure chaos. I firmly note that the wraith raiders are someone's, or something's, emissaries and their deeds are governed by a Plan.
—Notes of a Hunt researcher, The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings

I sense the REDs are in this way drawing a parallel between witchers and the Red Riders; both created by mages to serve a greater purpose, their abilities specially cultivated. Culturally, the reception might be somewhat different though, since selective reproduction is already foundational to the cultivation of Elder Blood among the Knowing Ones; the Riders, unlike witchers, are likely not to face persecution among their own kind. (Or perhaps they do, but differently? It’s an intriguing, open prospect.) In Avallac’h’s experimenting with the Wild Hunt we might see some desire to prove Lara wrong. Except nothing he could create, even if it ended up embracing its ‘programming’ perhaps a little too well (as with Eredin), lived up to what Lara’s ‘misalliance’ with Cregennan eventually produced in Ciri.

At one point, the player was able to summon the spirit of the last such experiment Avallac’h studied – an elf called Lanneal – and learned that ‘Avallac'h had been looking after Lanneal and that the child did not feel unhappy. It all sounds rather macabre, but to Avallac'h's credit, he did not treat the results of his experiments as objects’ (517657). The script notes that the children of his work were important to him, and it is worth stressing since he did not get to become a father to a promised child with Lara. At least until Ciri shows up.

This ‘surrogate father’ vibe seems to have been folded wholesale into Caranthir’s origin story in the last stage of writing, and we learn that ‘neither Canaris nor Isilira know about their past or how they came to be’ (517667). (Isilira being another talented elf who was deemed not sufficiently in control of her abilities to become the Hunt’s navigator.) Contrary, Ge’els and – surprise, surprise – Eredin seem to be aware of how they came to be. During the Naglfar Infilitartion Quest, in which Avallac’h and an undercover Geralt board Naglfar to try and drive a wedge between Eredin and Caranthir, Eredin calls Avallac’h ‘father’.

Eredin (359952): I understand. First Imlerith, now my navigator... But you wouldn't gain much from that anyway. I have a worthy successor for him.
Avallac’h (359954): Yes, you deserve each other. Neither of you can control your talents.
Eredin (359956): This is how you created us, Father.

Interesting choice.

In the books, the only hint toward Eredin’s and Avallac’h’s age comes from the unicorns: ‘The Alder King is old. But the Fox and the Sparrowhawk cannot seize power over Ard Gaeth, the Gateway to the Worlds. They captured it once. They lost it once. […] Which is why they dream of Ard Gaeth and power. We shall show you how they have already abused such power.’ At first glance, this seems to imply that both elves were already noteworthy before the Conjunction when the Alder Folk left the world of the Aen Seidhe and chose another more interesting universe (remember, time moves differently within and in-between realities). However, were Eredin the youngest of the trio (which his rash nature supports) then he might have earned his notoriety among the unicorns during the Aen Elle’s settling of/wars of conquest against the human inhabitants in their new home.

At any rate, The Witcher 3 sees Avallac’h abandoning his life’s work. The creator turns against his creations (or vice versa), casting his dice in favour of his faith in Fate – the Swallow – and his ability to sway it. The Purpose for which the Red Riders’ nature was bred no longer suits him, nor serves his interests. The Hunt has been commandeered by one of his creatures who wilfully refuses to listen to him. Eredin thinks he knows better and that a Knowing One’s knowledge is but sentimental fantasy masquerading as prophecy. Particularly now, after the fiasco with Auberon. But who is more at fault for that fiasco in the end, hm? Would Eredin call it agency? Disobedience.

For Eredin though, whose sole purpose in the books is to prevent failure, Avallac’h’s methods and reasons do not make sense; they are dangerous. Besides, Avallac’h is collaborating with the enemy, just like Lara did. He is resolving to cut off the heads of the Dearg Ruadhri to protect a mutant girl who reminds him of his lost love and whom he deems a greater potential – or a threat – than any of his own contributions to elven power.^[6] For Crevan, everything after Lara has always been preparation and lead-up for a second chance. His life’s work as the mind behind the elves’ Plan has never entirely been about the common good (only insofar as elven = his interests), and Eredin, ever since Lady of the Lake, sees through this.

‘Avallac’h is a Knowing One. Knowing Ones have their own code of honour in which every second sentence there’s mention of the end justifying the means.’
—Eredin Breacc Glas, Lady of the Lake

In The Witcher 3, Eredin finds himself as that means; and worse, as means that is being written off in the light of an entirely new Plan. It is quite simply a betrayal. Rich, perhaps, coming from a regicide, but that’s drama for you. Were they ever children, successful projects? Or were they instruments for fishing out Ciri? If not directly, then indirectly – by providing the contrast against which any murkiness in the ‘light’ flies below the radar. The Red Riders are just tools for Sages; no matter how impressive, when they become a threat, they become expendable.

Their conflict is thus a class one as well as generational. And it is about egos. That becomes particularly clear in the vindictiveness with which Avallac’h intends to teach Eredin a lesson – as to a misbehaving child.

Avallac’h (338690): Death is too simple a punishment. Eredin will be humiliated. I will cast a curse of inversion upon him, turning the intelligent and beautiful leader of the Wild Hunt into a mindless, crippled fool.
Ciri (338692): How do you intend to accomplish this? After Auberon's death, Eredin is the most powerful elf in Tir Na Lia.
Avallac’h (338694): That's why I had to flee. There's no room for both of us in Tir Na Lia.
Ciri (338696): You didn't answer my question.

Oh, those masculine egos… Their power struggle is as much an ideological disagreement as it is a male pissing contest. The evasion is telling. Completely obliviously (or not), Ciri ranks them to Avallac’h’s face, and to his mortification. In the books, Avallac’h does not see Eredin as his equal, and now Lara’s daughter has gotten the impression that this truncheon that he created somehow outranks him? It’s like the universe were conspiring to tear into his ego over and over for kicks, because what is it with the women in his life – what does he have to do to make them realize… First Lara went with a ‘lesser man’, now his creation usurps him. Ciri though, is just spitting facts: Eredin killed the king, took power, and you are here asking her for help and plotting revenge. In this sense, the actions Crevan takes for Ciri’s sake, all those spectacular displays of magical ability and cunning, also amount to flexing; ‘observe, darling, what real power looks like.’ (Because obviously it is killing the wild boar that wins the maiden’s approval, isn’t it?^[7])

Correcting Ciri would go against Avallac’h’s dignity; make him sound petty. Except, of course, Avallac’h can be very petty. Just look at the curse he prepares – it is not necessarily practical; were it not for Eredin’s own character flaws and deeds, you might just about call it self-indulgent wank. It is designed to target what Eredin (or Ciri?^[8]) thinks is impressive about himself – the pity Avallac’h has for anyone who believes themselves smarter than him! – and it is not only hard to remove but is also, Yennefer and Geralt note, exceptionally cruel (398331).

‘I do not like to kill. Death is a state in which there are no feelings, and the essence of punishment is to feel it. I wanted Eredin, who considers himself beautiful, to become a monstrosity. The King of the Wild Hunt claims to be a Sage. I wanted to make sure his mind would not reach beyond a tadpole’s understanding of the world.’
—Avallac’h (338827-31)

The curse splits the target’s soul and polymorphs them. The non-degenerate part of the afflicted observes what is happening from the depths, receives all the stimuli, and fights against the animalistic part, but by being deprived of their mental faculties and their body they cannot do anything to help themselves. The curse has two parts, intertwined like a braid, and undoing it requires undoing both parts fully, at the same time, or there will be unpleasant consequences. The subject might regain their appearance, for example, but remain internally split, and, consequently, go mad or have one half strangling the other. That is if they manage to find anyone who knows their true form in the first place. Changed beyond recognition, they would effectively remain at the mercy of the one who placed the curse. A dark fairy tale, indeed.

(The curse backfires. The REDs recognized that Avallac’h ought to take a level in humility.)

Beneath the theatrics, however, lies real terror. It is not only Eredin who is vulnerable to fear. As a prescient character, Avallac’h has glimpsed at a dismal future (how do you distinguish between truth and your own fears in your visions, by the way?) that Eredin’s success would guarantee. The curse may be vindictive justice, but it is death for no result that really haunts the Sage.

Vision of a Cold Future
As Geralt and Uma journey through Avallac’h’s psyche and reach a frozen Vizima.

Eredin (456980): The bastard is bleeding somewhere in there, I know him. He probably won't last and will eventually come out of that hole he's holed up in.
Eredin (456982): Finally we meet... No one escapes the Wild Hunt, fool.
Avallac’h (456988): You've lost us all, Eredin. And my death won't change that.

Uma says that this is the image of his deepest fears… Power in the hands of an irresponsible madman (456994).

Avallac’h (459866): You defeated me, but it was a miserable victory... Your plan didn't stop the White Frost.
Eredin (459869): I once intended to lock you up in a place where you would lack nothing, but you preferred to trick me and ran away like a coward.
Avallac’h (459871): I would lack nothing except freedom... And the lack of freedom is a great loss.
Eredin (459873): You have always been a swindler and a cheat.

Avallac’h (459893): As you wish.
Avallac’h (459911): I always knew more. I knew, for example, that leading the Aen Elle to another land wouldn't stop the White Frost. I told you that... Remember?
Eredin (459913): I lost the Aen Elle? And what was the alternative?!
Avallac’h (459915): I told you my plan many times, but you turned a deaf ear to my words.
Eredin (459917): Your plan made no sense at all.
Avallac’h (459919): And what was the point of spilling Elder Blood by murdering Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon?
Eredin (459921): Her death was necessary. Who would have thought that Ithlinne's prophecy would turn out to be so strong…?
Avallac’h (459923): Me.

In the conversation we witness, Avallac’h accuses Eredin of murdering Ciri, and for nothing, because the White Frost has caught up with them anyway – here, in Vizima (456996). Eredin argues that at least he tried to save their homeland, while Avallach's plan made no sense at all and would have led to their destruction (456998). Avallac’h declares he’ll forgive Eredin for killing Ciri – at which Eredin, clearly stung, orders his men to ‘take this smart-ass fool out of here’ to the scaffold (457002).

Geralt and Uma approach the frozen throne in Vizima. Eredin is sitting on it, dead, and Ciri’s body is resting next to him (471643).

Avallac’h believes Eredin will fail and Ciri will die for nothing. In a way, it’s like the death of Lara all over – what if all the pain was for nothing? What if Lara’s demise was senseless and nothing good could ever come of the misalliance? It’s a shame they cut it, it would have been interesting to see how both elves are actually driven by fear, but on a different scale and also react to it differently.

Eredin’s over-confidence and uncompromising nature are traits that were bred into him, and the irony is that Avallac’h’s own ‘success’ with him produces a result that he also fears the most. The parallel with Geralt is telling: the witcher, too, finds that it is impossible to prevent Ciri from acting on the idealistic, heroic nature he helped cultivate.

Footnotes

Appendix A

The Red Riders

Geralt (310590): Does the Wild Hunt travel too? Does it fly from door to door like a traveling merchant or a woman with diarrhoea looking for a free toilet?
Avallac’h (310592-94): No. The Hunt's soldiers are the result of generations of experimentation. They have abilities similar to Ciri's, though significantly inferior. Thanks to this, they can enter the Spiral anywhere, and Caranthir's power helps them travel between dimensions relatively safely.
Geralt (310596): I understand. The Hunt takes shortcuts, and I'm left with the roundabout route.

In The Witcher 2, we learn that the Hunt enters the Witcher world at the North Pole and can only move from North to South. Their visits to the world can be predicted by tracking specific nebulae in the sky. The riders arrive during a magical storm, from the heavens (520149). They can take to the skies at will to move about and not always do they descend. Every single person who has come in contact with the Hunt has experienced mental instability that takes the form of either insanity or amnesia. The wraiths emit a magnetic field that distorts perception and impedes brain function. Collis formulated a theory that the Wild Hunt are knights who perished in different worlds and have assembled as a cavalcade of vengeance. Another theory posits that anyone who lost their sanity or memory to the Hunt could be healed upon meeting the cavalcade again.

With a tattoo on their neck, symbolising their belonging with the Alder Elves (322513), the Riders and their caedmons form a kind of hive-like pack. Doubtless for gameplay reasons. Each of the generals has a unique effect on the soldiers they command (e.g. as a percental boost to stats or a gameplay effect). They can amplify and disperse various supernatural powers among the soldiers, but the death of a general strips the soldiers of their abilities, weakening them as a whole (317463). Additionally to their genetics and abilities, they make use of the White Frost to protect the Riders (302552). The Hunt’s elemental hounds, too, are cultivated from ice crystals. Per Gwent, it also seems that the Hunt siphons human lifeforce from its captives to propel the Naglfar Drakkar – figuratively and literally.

(Maybe not) Avallac’h (555716): Yes, people don't understand how we can keep slaves. Freedom excites them for some reason. It's as if they knew what to do with it.
Geralt (555717): You probably know.

The Wild Hunt Riders harness entropy to journey through the Spiral (375703), i.e. the energy connected with the White Cold. They have therefore been harnessing and using the very same force that threatens them. The Riders both utilize and must contain that power so as not to have it overwhelm them as they open pathways, tearing rifts in the fabric that separates places and times. Some of the cold from between the stars passes through regardless. Presumably then, a scar or a tear is left behind and from there the cold gradually seeps into realities that have been accessed in this manner. Eventually you get the freezing of worlds – as a side-effect to the kind of interdimensional travel that elves do.

(1176485): Hmm... Let's stick to the analogy of the gate. No door is completely airtight. You can smell things through them, let's say. And when the wind blows, dry leaves fly over the threshold. A tangible trace of what's on the other side.

The very force the Navigators must contain and suppress in order to grant safe passage can therefore become a weapon or a means of uncontrolled destruction. At one point, Isilira – a pseudo-navigator, backup to Caranthir – opens a gate to the White Frost (302548); presumably to a reality where the frost has already taken hold. It’s enough to freeze an entire island on Skellige.

Avallac’h (346958): Isilira has a powerful talent, but she can't fully control it, she's unstable. Most importantly, she can't suppress the effect of the White Frost when she walks the Spiral.
Geralt (346960): I don't understand. After all, frost always accompanies the Hunt now.
Avallac’h (346962): I'll put it this way... Imagine a blooming orchard. If Caranthir opened a portal in it, the frost would cut the flowers. If Isilira did it... The ice would blow the trees to splinters.

A well-trained magician should be able to tame the force she defies while jumping or summoning; and it seems to apply to Ciri herself, too.

In one of the original Epilogues in which Ciri tries the witcher’s profession, she discovers that upon trying to cast a spell/use her powers, she can feel the White Frost breaking into their world anew (316003). The snow does not appear out of nowhere, it seems to be tied to the use of abilities Elder Blood grants; moving in time and space-type abilities. As Ciri let Geralt talk herself out of self-sacrifice in order to close the rift(s) between worlds, the problem remains unresolved.

Eredin

Geralt (569908): When I was traveling with the Hunt, I met Eredin. He talks a lot and tends to underestimate his opponents. You can defeat him a second time.

Eredin’s characterisation does not suffer overly from the cuts, but it also does not win back too much. In the books, he is like a canvas for Ciri’s fantasies; a shameless hint at the veiled ruthlessness of the Alder Elves that Ciri does not want to believe. In the games, he becomes a canvas for players’ assumptions – a foil to Avallac’h, and to Geralt. He gets some more depth, but not by a huge margin, and without the creator-creation drama, his internal landscape really does reduce to a functional type – a military strongman, a good soldier/bad governor, a black box. We do not get Eredin’s perspective free from the mediation of Ciri, Geralt, or Avallac’h; an eternal tragedy of villains who are doomed by the narrative.

If we wanted to draw a plausible progression of character for him, starting somewhere before the Lady of the Lake, it would probably go something like this: loyal subordinate → frustrated tool → anxious/distrusting prepper → usurper/isolated ruler.

The cuts add flavour to his relationships with his fellow elves and Geralt. Whatever ambiguity he may have retained in the books, however, is virtually eliminated by fixing him as Auberon’s murderer (as opposed to hapless killer, or a framed fool). The essence of his motives: fear of failure and power.

For the fun of it, sympathy could be generated if some conditions were different, for example if Eredin:

• did not kill Auberon intentionally;
• sought an empty world to escape to that would not involve conquest and genocide;
• acknowledged the moral cost of conquest rather than dismissing it as necessity (and be willing to admit to some value in humans);
• conceded that the Frost would still get everyone and hence, if Ciri would consider helping them out of her own free will, please;
• got Ciri to relate to him as a result experiments, a freak and mutant, subject to others’ plans for him – as is the case with herself and Geralt;
• demonstrated that his methods stem from trauma rather than inherent callousness;
• showed care for his subordinates and soldiers rather than viewing them instrumentally, treating them cruelly even;
• received a humbling/redemption arc, basically.

If Avallac’h’s tale is about transformation then Eredin’s is about rebellion. We may as well see him (or Caranthir in the released game) as rebelling against being seen as a failed substitute for the elven child that Lara could have had. And while Eredin achieves independence, he cannot transcend his programming.

Eredin chooses force over finesse, expediency over patience, and his trust in the institutions to which he is supposed to be loyal has collapsed in face of existential threat. His mistrust of the efficacy of the status quo remains the connective tissue with the books and the grounds for the coup – everyone but Eredin are weak and impractical. (Including his caedmons.) He was bred for warfare and struggles with trust and more subtle forms of power. Regardless, he remains ‘surprisingly’ perceptive, true to his book persona, though also surprisingly blind and uncaring of the downsides of his brash manner, which is not true to his book persona.

When Geralt and Avallac’h try to turn Caranthir and Eredin against each other, Eredin catches onto Geralt’s ruse instantly. He leads Geralt by the nose and eventually rewards ‘Nithral’ with a shotgun seat in the assault of Kaer Trolde, knowing Geralt cannot refuse and may lead him to Ciri in this way (360117-74). Dh’oine are simple creatures.

Eredin (359962): …Hmm, so my swallow built her nest somewhere on Skellige... What do you think, Nithral... Where? Maybe at Mousesack's?
Geralt/Nithral (359970): Yes, it's definitely with him. Ciri knows Mousesack from childhood, she trusts him. It's an obvious choice.
Eredin (359972): She knows him from childhood, you say? I had no idea... I underestimated you, Nithral.
Geralt/Nithral (359974): It's possible... He’s a powerful druid, she might think that if necessary he'll protect her...
Eredin (359982): Maybe Ciri is in Freya's temple then. Just think... A hard-to-reach, secluded place... Full of praying priestesses... And people finally believe that prayer can protect from evil...
Geralt/Nithral (359990): I don't think so. A witcher would rather trust swords than prayers.
Eredin (359992): Yes... You're right. Geralt wouldn't trust his dear Cirilla to the will of heaven...
Geralt/Nithral (359994): Yes! Avallac'h mentioned that's where they want to hide her.
Eredin (359996): And you only remembered now? Oh, Nithral... You must have hit your head pretty hard in that explosion...
Eredin (359998): I wouldn't trust Avallac'h's words... Especially since he doesn't seem to be protesting... Maybe he wanted to deceive us.
Geralt/Nithral (360000): I don't know. I don't know this place.
Eredin (360002): Too bad... Well, let's keep thinking.

As regards the Hunt’s generals, Eredin runs into the age old authoritarian dilemma: by treating everyone as a potential threat, he can never build enough trust to rest easy; he stokes the disloyalty that necessitates finding ever bigger external threats to maintain group cohesion. Bred for warfare, as said. In instrumentalizing others in this way though, you could say Eredin is a mirror image to Avallac’h, except he does not seem to care should people see him as ‘the bad guy.’

With Avallac’h, Eredin retains a false-friendly, familiar manner that harkens to his book-self who formally submits to the Sage’s authority but also talks shit behind his back and delivers backhanded compliments that needle at extremely personal matters.

[upon being summoned to Naglfar]
Eredin (359665): Let's go. I missed our Sage. Isilira! Check the condition of the ship.
Avallac'h... How good to see you in our ranks once more. How's your health? Is the curse still bothering you? Because it seems Nithral was able to play you for quite the fool.

Eredin (359946): You would have done well to kill him as soon as you began to suspect that Nithral would not betray us. Then he would not have set us against you. But you have always been too soft...

Eredin is also written as obsessed with possessing Ciri; his speech is possessive, literally. One example surfaces during one of Geralt’s nightmares. The Ghost King taunts him: he let Geralt escape for a reason; perhaps the witcher will soon find out why (425831). Then Eredin ‘comments on the sight of little Ciri, sleeping in a lonely cottage on the Isle of Mists. He comments that she's sleeping peacefully, hidden from his sight’ (425837). He tells Geralt a little of Ciri’s backstory as a Child of the Elder Blood, and why he needs the girl: Ciri is his last hope of salvation (425849). The world of the Alder People is dying, and elves, being eternal, see what short-sighted humans cannot see – the White Frost will destroy Tir na Lia and its inhabitants, and Eredin has no intention of standing by and watching this happen (425859). He says that the gates between the worlds must be reopened and only Ciri can do that; if the witcher does not step aside, blood will be shed at their next meeting. Wistfully, he then notes again how ‘the girl is sleeping so peacefully, and so much depends on her’ (425867).

Though it never materialized, Eredin also may have had a Last Wish to pass on to Ciri before his demise.

Eredin (556955): Pass something on to Ciri?
Geralt (556957): You won't have the chance.
Geralt (556959): Save your threats. You've lost.
Eredin (556961): So have you. Avallac'h has deceived us both.
Eredin (556963): He pitted us against each other... And took Cirilla.
Geralt (556965): I don't believe you.
Eredin (556967): Why would I lie?

Ironically, Eredin becomes the utilitarian extremist in his pursuit of Ciri, willing to sacrifice anyone (including his comrades) for the ‘greater good’ of which he is the sole arbiter; a sin book-Eredin projects to Avallac’h. Bred to make hard choices efficiently, his nature is fulfilling itself too well in one regard and yet falls short of what survival requires.

Imlerith

Imlerith more or less is as exactly as we get him in The Witcher 3.

A long time ago, Avallac’h brokered a pact between the Crones and the Wild Hunt – in exchange for the sisters taking care of Ard Cerbin, an oak tree that bears the Fruit of Evil, Avallac’h granted the Ladies of the Wood eternal beauty and longevity. The Fruit of Evil gives strength, deadens reason and awakens bloodlust. You cannot turn your back on the person who has eaten it. Imlerith consumes the Fruit to transform himself into a powerful, murderous beast; he then transfers this power to the Riders, awakening aggression and a primal hatred in them (315181, 322029). For the Fruit to affect the Riders’ in this way, genetic modifications were necessary.

He has an unhealed wound on his leg (310539).
He is wont to wallow in corporeal pleasures.
His weakness is vanity (1058806).

Ge’els | Goebbels

Ge’els is different from all the other Riders (324087), cut from a different cloth. Avallac’h bred him ‘to be a useful, loyal tool’ (534149) and as Ge’els had potential form the start, he decided to see where he would develop by raising him to be a leader and a visionary (534232). He is deemed the Hunt’s weak link in the earlier drafts, their political officer who keeps the riders’ psyche in check (317463).

Having adored Auberon, Ge’els is developed from the beginning as someone least loyal to Eredin whom he did not consider a worthy successor (324087, 324141). Unable to overthrow him, however, they tolerated each other. It is even implied that Ge’els was responsible for the propaganda that helped Eredin take power (460010-14). Still, he remained dissatisfied that the investigation into Auberon’s death was never concluded. Ge’els is different in that he never uses power for personal gain. Loyal and honest, though later also envisioned as manipulative and lying (1000339).

And despite his dislike of Eredin, Ge’els also regards Avallac’h with caution.

Avallac’h (460125): Eredin is behind the death of King Auberon. No one wanted to seize power as much as he did.
Ge’els (460127): Except perhaps you.
Avallac’h (460129): I became interested in power because I know it might fall into unworthy hands.

Ge’els (460131): If I'm going to go against Eredin, I need to have irrefutable evidence of his guilt.
Avallac’h (460133): Is a witness to a crime irrefutable evidence?
Ge’els (460135): A credible witness - yes.
Ge’els (460137): A child of Elder Blood... It's hard to find a better recommendation. I agree. Eredin must answer for his crime. Aen Elle are not barbarians who murder their kings.

For a time, Ge’els agrees to aid Avallac’h (460141), and yet when the curse is to be cast, something goes wrong. Betrayal is implied (338825). Eredin had apparently assured Ge’els ‘that this would only be a stop on the road to perfection. He convinced Ge'els that they both thought alike’ (534113).

Caranthir | Canaris

Avallac’h (464493): Caranthir... Brave, impulsive... But not very bright.

Caranthir (originally Caranthir aep Arhdv'yn Bann) is the most skilled navigator Avallac’h has ever trained. By nature he is risk-taking, impulsive, ambitious, proud, arrogant, insecure, distrustful. Also secretive and pragmatic (1059236). Avallac’h does not believe he can be turned and thus, he must share Imlerith’s fate (344420). In later iterations (534172-74), presumably when the Naglfar Infiltration quest was cut, Caranthir is turned into a loyalist.

Caranthir was born through natural conception and learned to control his power in over 200 years. ‘The most promising are the gene carriers who were born naturally and learned to control their power’ (Avallac’h’s notes, 539689). Interestingly, neither Caranthir (nor Isilira) seem to have known how exactly they came to be (517667).

Most of the characterisation and flavour for Caranthir would have been provided in the Infiltration Quest, which would have also led to his demise. Caranthir is looking for the White Ships – in reality a place where the Ard Gaeth could be opened, i.e. Tor Gval’cha on Ard Hugtand/Undvik. That’s the carrot that Avallac’h and Geralt dangle before him as they set about driving a wedge between him and Eredin. Meanwhile, the stick will consist of suggesting that the moment Caranthir finds the Ships, Eredin will kill him.

Does Caranthir have any reason to believe this? It seems so.

Geralt (346928): Does Eredin really want to get rid of Caranthir? Did you make that up?
Avallac’h (346934): Yes. Eredin prepared a replacement for Caranthir, in case he quarreled with him before finding the Ships... Isilira. An elf with navigator powers... But also numerous flaws.

Caranthir and Eredin, despite working hand in hand, are not on great terms; both ambitious, both capable. They have always been rivals (346920), but Caranthir has suppressed his ambition despite believing nobody can really do what he can (441195). Despite resenting Eredin’s obstinacy and authoritarian streak, Caranthir likes to believe he is indispensable to the Hunt and Eredin, but that is not the case. Eredin is inherently distrustful, especially of those matching him in ability. Caranthir is naïve and inexperienced in politics, and Eredin treats him as such, prone to mocking him and questioning his worth.

Caranthir (332565): Hear me out. We shouldn't open the tower before we reclaim Zirael.
Eredin (332567): Shut up. I don't take advice from fools.
Caranthir (332569): You haven't taken advice from anyone. You haven't for a long time.
Eredin (332571): You, on the other hand, are open to any suggestions. Including from our enemies. From humans, even.
Caranthir (332573): You know that the witcher was covered (adorned/cloaked) with Avallac'h's magic.

In one manipulative move, Geralt tries to convince Caranthir that he would make a much better successor to Auberon than either Avallac’h or Eredin (359488). Caranthir could be someone the Aen Elle would choose (as opposed to getting a tyrant, like Eredin). He should take the chance and cut Eredin’s throat when he least expects it, and Nithral, who has delivered the Knowing One to Caranthir (and has learned his secrets), could help him find the White Ships. Caranthir, however, doubts himself.

Geralt/Nithral (459079): Avallac'h is weak. / (459103): Avallac'h is obsessed with unreal visions and is fixated on a utopia he has created in his head.
Geralt/Nithral (459083): The elves will follow you.
Caranthir (459085): I'm a realist - no one will follow me. You are something else.

Caranthir refuses to talk about his ambitions openly. Should Geralt choose a line of dialogue in which he asks Caranthir to help make himself king, Caranthir will kill him on the spot (466742). The Golden Child knows he is not wholly loyal in his heart, but he also suspects Nithral may have been sent to test his loyalty (459247). As a young elf, Caranthir is torn: he can remain loyal, believing himself vital for the worth he represents, or give into his own ambition and distaste of his superiors’ methods, and accept that his elders’ are manipulating him and may betray him. In this regard, Caranthir is to Eredin as Eredin is to Avallac’h.

Geralt/Nithral (359494): What do you intend now?
Caranthir (359496): We will sail to Ard Hugtand, I will see what these White Ships are...
Geralt/Nithral: And then?
Caranthir (359500): I'll call Eredin.
Geralt/Nithral (359506): If Eredin sees that I'm still alive... He might try to get rid of me again. For good.
Caranthir (359508): That's your problem, not mine.
Geralt/Nithral (359510): I told you already. Once you find the Ships for Eredin, that will be the end of you.
Caranthir (359512): Yes, you told me already. And I told you I don't believe you. And nothing has changed in that regard.

[…]

Caranthir (441187): You ran away, you say... And I think you're in cahoots with the Sage. I don't know why you came here... But that's not important.
Caranthir (441195): Nobody can do what I can.
Geralt/Nithral (441197): Nobody... Except Isilira.
Caranthir (441199): But she... Impossible. He wouldn't dare.
Geralt/Nithral (441201): There are many bad things that can be said about Eredin. But no one can accuse him of lacking courage.

In the end, Isilira’s inability to control the White Frost as she opens a portal ends up killing Caranthir.

Isilira

Isilira was one of Avallac’h’s experiments, hidden by him (but discovered by Eredin), while Caranthir became the Wild Hunt’s navigator. She is hardly as powerful as Avallac’h wants Caranthir to believe she is (331848), but Eredin does not seem to care much about it if the threat of being replacable can help him keep Caranthir in line.

Geralt (346928): Does Eredin really want to get rid of Caranthir? Did you make that up?
Avallac’h (346930): Indeed. Eventually, he'll remove his officers from power, just as he removed me. He's too weak for that yet, but he's already preparing the ground for another coup.
Geralt (346932): Do you have any proof of that?
Avallac’h (346934): Yes. Eredin has prepared a replacement for Caranthir, in case he falls out with him before finding the Ships... Isilira. An elf who has the powers of a navigator... But also has many flaws.
Geralt (346936): Do you know her?
Avallac’h (346954): Do I know her? An understatement... I caused her conception, as well as the other riders. But I've never let her join the procession, she's too much of a risk. Eredin, as you can see, has a different opinion.
Geralt (346956): What are her flaws? Apart from your race's inherent cruelty and sick sense of superiority, of course?
Avallac’h (346958): Isilira has a powerful talent, but she can't fully control it, she's unstable. Most importantly, she can't suppress the effect of the White Frost when she walks the Spiral.
Geralt (346960): I don't understand. After all, frost always accompanies the Hunt now.
Avallac’h (346962): I'll put it this way... Imagine a blooming orchard. If Caranthir opened a portal in it, the frost would cut the flowers. If Isilira did it... The ice would blow the trees to splinters.

As it happens, this is precisely Isilira’s lot and doom.

Appendix B

The White Frost

‘As a result of a change in the angle of the sun’s rays, the margin of permafrost will shift–significantly. Then the mountains will be crushed and pushed back southwards by the ice sliding from the North. Everything will be buried under snow. Under a thick layer more than a mile deep. And it will become very–very–cold.’
—Avallac’h, The Tower of the Swallow

In something like 3000 years, the northern hemisphere of the world Geralt knows will have succumbed to glaciation. The changes underway are noticeable but not immediately catastrophic: not so much as 120 years ago snowstorms by the Alba in January were a sensation, yet now they are quite common, and the snow no longer melts in April. Avallac’h and Nimue explain the mechanics of the climate change that cannot be halted by anybody.

That’s one way to unravel Ithlinne’s prophecy. Prophecies, however, are tricky.

‘And prophecies? They are very confused, with their help, the gods mock at people, Philip of Macedon, in particular, experienced it, to whom the oracle advised "to beware of chariots". Philip was killed with a sword, on the blade of which a chariot was engraved.’
—A. Sapkowski

The White Cold in The Witcher 3 is not the same phenomenon as described in the books. In the game, it’s a magical/metaphysical calamity mixed with vague woo-scientific notions of entropy. Contrary to the books, it threatens the reality the Aen Elle currently reside in; it is not the future glaciation of the northern hemisphere awaiting the world of Geralt, Ciri, and the Aen Seidhe.

‘People believe… With their typical and unsupported arrogance… That what they see around them is the whole world. They think that it is the centre of everything, and that the stars are just specks of gold pinned to the motionless dome of their sky. As is usually the case, people are mistaken, and deeply so… There are an infinite number of worlds. And the thicket of realities they create has no centre.

Individual worlds are divided by both space and time. Some of them we can see in the night sky, others are located further away, where our eyesight no longer reaches, or even in other spaces and dimensions… Sometimes, however, these distant worlds are arranged in such a way that passages, corridors are created between them. Shortcuts that allow you to move between realities. Someone who knows the movements of the stars, who feels the flow of magic, is able to find these corridors. Find the doors that lead to them.

The Spiral…

However, one false move, a small mistake… and you can be transported into nothingness, into icy blackness. Into the same ghastly cold that pours through the cracks between spheres, and sometimes engulfs entire worlds. Travelling (through) the Spiral is deadly dangerous. Unless you have Elder Blood flowing in your veins, like Cirilla. She can go whereever she wants, whenever she wants. She is the Lady of Worlds and Time.’
—Avallac’h (346124-346144)

In the game, the White Cold was conceptualized as the cold that enters realities through the cracks between spheres. The secret paths that lead from one reality into another pass through ‘the cold void that divides worlds’ (1060525) and said ‘cold’ seeps in alongside planeswalkers. Therefore, stopping the onset of the Time of the White Cold involved ‘closing the passages between worlds.’ This is at least somewhat reminiscent of the books’ description of what is it actually like to enter other realities – you rip tears into the various pages of reality.

The image blurred and shattered, as painted glass shatters, suddenly fell to pieces, disintegrated into a rainbow-coloured twinkling of sparkles, gleaming and gold. And then all of it vanished.
[…]
The night air above the lake ruptured, like a smashed stained-glass window cracks. A black horse emerged from the crack.
—Andrzej Sapkowski, Lady of the Lake

Something creaked, just like canvas being torn. The terns rose with a cry and a fluttering, for a moment covering everything in a white cloud. The air above the cliff suddenly vibrated and became blurred like glass with water spilled over it. And then it shattered like glass. And darkness poured out of the rupture, while riders spilled out of the darkness. Around their shoulders fluttered cloaks whose vermilion-amaranth-crimson colour brought to mind the glow of a fire in a sky lit up by the blaze of the setting sun.
Dearg Ruadhri. The Red Horsemen.
[…]
But the air also ruptured in another place, and from the rupture, cloaks fluttering like wings, rushed out more horsemen.
– Andrzej Sapkowski, Lady of the Lake

The Witcher is a textual multiverse. As Ciri demonstrates, it is only befitting to think about the mechanics of its interdimensional travel as metatextual tourism.

By the insides of Tor Zireael, we can deduce that times and places, dimensions and spaces, are like glass splinters reflected in each other in a giant polyhedron solid. Places and times can mirror each other, though not perfectly (e.g. the Faerie vs the Continent). They exist as possibilities. To enter one is akin to ripping open a canvas, tearing a rift in the glass-like fabric of space-time; making a crack in a mirror.

As a portal is opened, a little bit of cold from the ‘in-between’ passes through. That is the Witcher 3’s White Frost, and it can threaten all worlds.