As the Second Northern War intensified and many more battles large and small erupted,
towns were sacked, villages burned and crops stolen or destroyed, with the Empire appearing
to be on the precipice of victory.
Although, a harsh winter forced them to delay their final push for a year eventually they
were ready to send 300,000 soldiers to complete their conquest.
Dividing their forces into 3 divisions, the Verden Operations Group was tasked with taking
Cidaris to secure the West flank while the East Army Group secured Lyria, Rivia, Aedirn
and the Pontar Valley, leaving the Center army group to conquer Temeria without fear
of attack from the sides.
Though the East Army group succeeded, the Verden Operation was a disaster, as it was
led by Joachim de Wett, an enemy of the Emperor plotting his assassination.
Having no desire to help the Emperor win his war, Joachim squandered his advantage in numbers
by focusing on exterminating the rebels of Verden, rather then attacking and conquering
Cidaris.
This action, not only delayed the center army’s attack on Temeria, but also led to a civilian
uprising because of cruel methods used to find and kill rebels.
Matters then grew worse, when the Nilfgaard-Loyal King of Verden was murdered by his son, who
now led the uprising against the South, alongside his allies from island of Skellige.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Cidaris attacked from the north, and so the Verden Operation
ended in complete failure.
The defeat of Nilfgaard in the West created a new wave of energy in the north, leading
to increased recruitment and cooperation, as the Nordling states united and allied with
the Dwarves of Mahakam and the famous warriors of the Free Company.
Financing part of the North’s war effort, was the King of Kovir who struck up a friendship
with Djikstra of Redania, and knew it was in the best interest of his people for Nilfgaard
to lose.
In order to get around his declared neutrality, he sent the money indirectly, using a wealthy
Redanian ally as a proxy, an idea inspired by his wife, who was working under orders
from the Lodge of Sorceresses.
With renewed vigor, the North attacked and liberated Maribor and Mayena, only for the
Empire to strike back and once again lay siege to Mayena.
Fearing the loss of their momentum, the entirety of the North descended upon Temeria, hoping
to secure Mayena and continue pushing Nilfgaard South.
Learning that King Foltest was leading a massive army south, Field Marshal Coehorn rallied
his men and cut off the Nordlings to engage in the critical Battle of Brenna.
This decisive battle, involving roughly 90,000 soldiers, was partly orchestrated by the Lodge
of Sorceresses, who wanted a definitive contest to decide the matter one way or another.
Though the battle went back and forth, resulting in roughly 30,000 casualties, the North was
ultimately victorious.
With Nilfgaard in retreat, the Northmen continued to push the attack, taking Brugge, Verden,
and Lower Sodden in the West, while in the east Demavend of Aedirn and Hensalt of Kaedwen
led a joint attack to win the Second Battle of Aldersberg, while Queen Meve and her partisans
pushed them from Lyria and Rivia, forcing Nilfgaard to abandon all their gains north
of the Yargua river.
In 1268, the Monarchs of the North and a representative of the Empire, negotiated the Peace of Cintra,
drawing the border at the Yargua, with Cintra in the hands of a girl posing as Princess
Cirilla, who would act as a puppet for the Emperor.
Though some few knew this girl was a fake, they kept it quiet for the sake of peace.
While most saw this war as a great victory for the Nordlings, business interests in the
south did not agree, as Northern infrastructure, factories, and agriculture were devastated,
and with a peace agreement allowing trade with Nilfgaard, their corporations could flood
the markets and achieve economic victory in the face of military defeat.
Disappointed by their failure to conquer the North, Emperor Emhyr was nevertheless victorious
in his primary mission of finding his daughter, Cirilla, the child of the Elder blood, at
last reuniting with her at Stygga Castle in Ebbing.
Unfortunately, Ciri’s life after the coup on Thanedd was brutal, with even the brief
moments of happiness she cherised, ultimately destroyed and taken away.
In her travels, Ciri was hunted, tortured, and learned to kill both out of necessity
and amusement.
Yet she eventually learned to use her Elder Blood to teleport between worlds, escaping
her human pursuers.
Unfortunately, humans were not the only ones chasing her, and she was eventually captured
by the Wild Hunt, Elves from the world of the Aen Elle, who wanted her to breed with
their king and produce a child to fulfil Ithlinne’s prophecy, and return to them control of the
gateway between worlds.
Living with them for a time, Ciri soon allied with the Unicorn species, enemies of the Elves
who shared these lands, and they helped her escape to eventually reach her homeworld.
Once returned, she went to confront Vilgefortz, hoping to end his hunt for her and rescue
Yennefer, who’d been taken prisoner at Stygga Castle.
Delighted to see she walked right into his fortress, Vilgefortz captured Ciri with ease,
and prepared to impregnate her through artificial insemination in order to obtain her placental
blood.
With no intention of deliver her to the Emperor, his entire history and alliance with Nilfgaard
was simply a ploy so he might have access to Ciri, and use her in his sadistic medical
experiments to steal her incredible powers for himself.
But the happiness of Vilgefortz was shortlived, as Geralt of Rivia soon arrived, accompanied
by a party of loyal friends who helped him clear the castle and rescue his family.
After surviving a long and perilous journey together, Geralt at last faced Vilgefortz
again and this time emerged victorious, slaying the powerful elf.
Though all of the Witcher’s companions were slain in the fighting at Stygga, they succeeded
in helping rescue both Ciri and Yennefer, with Geralt ifghitng alongside with daughter
to finish off the last of the guards as they escaped.
But as they reached the entrance to the castle, the Emperor and a Nilfgaardian army arrived
to take Ciri into custody.
Though both Yennefer and Geralt had to die because they knew far too much, Ehmyr var
Emreis greatly respected the Witcher for all he’d accomplished, and showed some mercy,
by allowing them to take a bath and spend some intimate time together, before killing
themselves.
Ciri meanwhile would be taken south and given the life of a queen, with all the money and
power she could ever want.
However, since almost no one knew Ciri was related to the Emperor, the plan was for father
to marry daughter and produce a child of the Elder Blood who might one rule the Empire
so he might fulfill the prophecy and save the world.
Believing the fate of the world was depending on him, he finally had victory within reach,
but as Emhyr looked upon his daughter, and saw the pain in her eyes, he suddenly realized
he was a monster and couldn’t see it through.
After everything the Emperor and continent went through so he might capture his daughter,
in the end he let her go so she could return to her real father.
After reuniting with Geralt and Yennefer, the three spend some time together as a family
before Ciri attended a meeting with the Lodge of Sorceresses, where she was forced to agree
to an arranged marriage with the future king of Kovir.
Yet when Ciri, Yennefer and Triss Merigold went to meet Geralt in Rivia, and explain
the situation, they learned he was caught up in the middle of Pogram, in which non-humans
were targeted and massacred.
Finding Geralt severely wounded and about to die, Yennefer soon collapsed at his side,
after using up all her energy in futile attempts to heal him with magic.
Determined to save them, Ciri broke her promise to the Lodge and used her magic to transport
her mother and father to another world where they could be healed.
Fearing she would attract the attention of the Wild Hunt, and unwilling to return to
a life of forced marriage, Ciri then took off on her own to explore the multiverse,
and so the last known carrier of the Elder Blood was lost to the world.