Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, known as Ciri, is the Lion Cub of Cintra and the bearer of the Elder Blood. She is Geralt’s ward, Yennefer’s protege and one of the most hunted people on the Continent, wanted by kings, mages and monsters alike.

Ciri was born to Princess Pavetta of Cintra and a man named Duny, who was later revealed to be Emhyr var Emreis, the future Emperor of Nilfgaard. Her grandmother was Queen Calanthe, the Lioness of Cintra. Her bloodline runs back to Lara Dorren, an elven sorceress, and carries the Elder Blood, a rare inheritance linked to the ability to move through space and time. Her fate was tied to Geralt before she was even born, by the Law of Surprise.

Her childhood ended when Nilfgaard invaded Cintra and Calanthe fell defending her kingdom. Ciri escaped the burning city and, after a harrowing flight, was reunited with Geralt, who took her to Kaer Morhen. There Vesemir and the other witchers trained her to fight, while Triss and later Yennefer taught her magic. For a girl who had lost everything, the old witcher fortress became the first place that felt like home.

Her powers are as dangerous as they are valuable. Ciri can teleport across the Continent and, in some cases, between worlds, though the abilities appear unpredictably and cost her dearly. After the coup on Thanedd, she escaped through a portal and ended up alone in the wilderness, where she joined a band of young outlaws called the Rats and took the name Falka. Everyone with power in the North and beyond, from Emhyr and the Lodge of Sorceresses to the mage Vilgefortz, wants to find her. Her name in the Elder Speech, Zireael, means Swallow.

In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt she returns as a young woman and a playable character, pursued by the Wild Hunt, who want to use her Elder Blood to save their dying world from the White Frost. Depending on the player’s choices, her story can end with her becoming a witcher, ruling Nilfgaard as Empress, or dying. Whatever the outcome, she is the emotional center of the story, curious, stubborn, quick-tempered and far stronger than she looks.