Skellige is a kingdom of rocky islands in the Great Sea, home to sailors, raiders, poets and people who settle disagreements with axes and then write songs about it. The Skellige Isles are made up of An Skellig, Ard Skellig, Undvik, Spikeroog, Hindarsfjall and Faroe. Each island has its jarls and clans, and the king is chosen by those clans at a gathering in Kaer Trolde. The great clans include an Craite, Tuirseach, Dimun, Drummond, Heymaey, Brokvar and Tordarroch, and most of them have at least one ancestor who did something heroic, ridiculous or both.
Skellige in The Witcher 3
Geralt sails to Skellige in Destination: Skellige following Ciri’s trail, and arrives just in time for the funeral of King Bran. With the throne empty, the jarls gather to choose a new ruler. The two favourites are the children of Crach an Craite: clever Cerys and fearless Hjalmar. Other candidates include Bran’s son Svanrige, Udalryk an Brokvar and Lugos Drummond, while Bran’s widow Birna plays her own dangerous game behind the scenes. Who wears the crown depends on which of Crach’s children Geralt helps more, and the result is revealed in The King is Dead – Long Live the King.
Faith and culture
Skelligers worship the goddess Freya above all, and her garden on Hindarsfjall is one of the holiest places on the isles. Their warriors are famous throughout the North, their druids keep the old ways, and their gwent players are, frankly, a menace.
In the books
In the saga, Skellige is bound to Cintra through Eist Tuirseach, who marries Queen Calanthe. That alliance means Skelligers fight and die alongside Cintra when Nilfgaard invades, and it is why Crach an Craite feels honour-bound to protect Ciri for the rest of his life.