Some time after the Baptism of Fire had its Polish premiere in 1996, Andrzej Sapkowski, offered to make available some of his "additional material" for the Witcher series during an interview[1] by the community associated with his official website - including notes on family trees now known as Dynastic descriptions, which have become one of the most significant non-book canonical sources about the dynasties, history and heraldry of the Continent. Unfortunately, they disappeared after some changes on website's server at the beginning of current millennium. They were later recovered however and now are available online (Polish only of course).
Descriptions were selected into five sections: "The Lineage of Cirilla of Cintra", "Cintran Dynasty", "Temerian Dynasty", "Redanian Dynasty" and "House of Thyssen".
The Lineage of Cirilla of Cintra[]
Cregennan of Lod[]
- Nothing is known about Cregennan's parents and childhood, not excepting that he came to the Mirthe school of mages as a waif. Beyond all doubt, one or both of his parents was a mage.
- Cregennan graduated from the magic academy summa cum laude and shortly afterwards became famous as an unbelievably talented (for his age) mage. He pushed for coupling elven and human doctrines of magic and was a great supporter of the idea of proximity and coexistence of the two races. He was liked and accepted by the elves.
- The more and more ambitious and (suprisingly) evermore viable plans of Cregennan were interrupted by his love affair with Lara Dorren aep Shiadhal, an elven sorceress from the group of so-called "Sages". Interestingly, this relationship infuriated humans more than elves. When it turned out that Lara Dorren was with child, Cregennan was accused of treason, dealing with elves, and plotting against his own race. When he refused to sever contact with her and the elves, a treacherous attempt was made to assassinate both of the lovers. Cregennan was killed, but Lara managed to escape.
- The legend has it that "Cregennan's Grave" is located in the enormous glacial erratic near Rinde. In fact he had to be buried closer to the place where he had been murdered, i.e. in the village of Foam by the river Pontar.
- See also LARA DORREN.
Lara Dorren Aep Shiadhal[]
- Lara Dorren was a pure-blooded elf, so not much is known about her place of birth or her parents; the elves do not attach importance to birth places and the relationship between parent and child is usually -- suprisingly to most other people -- completely loose and completely non-binding. However, Lara's mother was clearly an elf named Shiadhal, for elves -- if they decide to refer to a parent in their name at all -- usually use a matronymic, or "mother-name."
- Lara was one of the Sages (the Aen Saevherne), something like the highest, elite circle of elven mages. It is uncertain, however, whether it is genetics, special training, or some unknown rituals which allow one to become one of the Sages; this remains unknown to this day.
- See CREGENNAN regarding her affair.
- After the death of Cregennan, Lara, being in the advanced stages of pregnancy, fled to Tretogor and there by chance she came across the Queen of Redania, Cerro, wife of King Vridank (see REDANIAN DYNASTY). Then took place the event about which there are currently two different versions circulating:
- "The Tale of Lara Dorren," The Human Version
- "The Queen said: 'Do not plead for grace from me, but from those whom your spells have hurt. You had the courage to commit evil deeds, now have courage when pursuit and justice are near. I cannot forgive you your sins.'
- "Then the witch's eyes flashed like a cat's. 'My loss is nigh,' she cried, 'but your's is not far away, queen. You will remember Lara Dorren and her curse in the hour of terrible death. And know this, that my curse will follow your descendants to the tenth generation.' Seeing, however, that the queen's heart was beating strong and fearless, the evil elf witch ceased to threaten and curse her, and pled like a dog for help and mercy..."
- "The Tale of Lara Dorren," The Elven Version
- "...but no pleas softened the stone hearts of the dh'oine, ruthless, cruel people. And when Lara, begging mercy not for her, but for her child, clung to the door of the [the queen's] carriage, at the royal order the thug hit the cord and chopped off her fingers. And when February's frost pressed in at night, Lara breathed her last breath on the hill among the woods, giving birth to a daughter whom she protected with what was left of the smoldering strength in her still-warm body. And although it was night, winter, and in the middle of a snowstorm, spring suddenly appeared on the hill and feainnewedd flowers bloomed. To this day, such flowers only bloom in only two places: in Dol Blathanna and on the hill where Lara Dorren aep Shiadhal died.
- As you can guess, no one knows which of these versions is true. Most likely, neither is truthful, both serving as chauvinistic propoganda. But does that change anything? Where the truth fades into oblivion, lies, fiction, and confabulation take on the burden of the chronicler's duty. Thus, each story has infinite versions, all false.
- Lara Dorren was probably buried where she died, i.e. in the forests near Tretogor, the capital of Redania. However, legend says that the elves took Lara's body and buried it in secret caves, in the famous underground elven city of Tir on Beag Arainne, where dh'oine -- the foot of man -- never stood.
- Lara Dorren aep Shiadhal was one of the most beautiful women of her time, so her exact description has survived:
- Hair: Light Blond
- Eyes: Green
- Height: 5' 7"
- Dimensions (in inches) Bust, Waist, Hips: 34x21x33
Riannon[]
- Riannon was the daughter of Cregennan of Lod and Lara Dorren aep Shiadhal, so she was a half-elf -- according to sources, with an outstanding predominance of elven genes. She appeared so similar to her mother, Lara Dorren, that even the elves were fooled, and this gave rise to the legend of Lara's "resurrection."
- Riannon, as you know, was miraculously born, and yet more miraculously spared the fate of her mother, who bled out and froze to death after giving birth. She was rescued and adopted by Cerro, Queen of Redania. Apparently, the king of Redania, Vridank, was concerned about "halfbreeds," but Cerro herself was a half-elf, she had no children (yet), and she felt indirectly responsible for Lara Dorren's death. So Riannon was not only taken in, but was officially adopted with full ceremony and given all the rights, titles, and privileges of a Redanian princess of the blood.
- Riannon's beauty and grace soon made everyone forget that she was the fruit of her parents' strange relationship, as did the title and dowry of a princess of such a powerful kingdom as Redania, and it wasn't long before suitors were pushing through doors and windows to gain her hand. Since Vridank and Cerro already had their own sons and the succession of the Redanian throne was assured, Riannon was given free choice. This "half-breed" proved that she was not only beautiful, but also wise -- she chose for herself Goidemar, the crown prince and heir of all of Temeria, another powerful kingdom.
- The marriage with Goidemar resulted in the so-called "Houtborg Triplets" (see Baptism of Fire, Chapter 6), three children: Amavet, Fiona, and Adela. As is known today, the true children of Riannon and Goidemar were the twins Amavet and Fiona, while Adela was the abandoned child of Falka the Bloody.
- Riannon, however, raised all three, which brought about a strange twist of fate: Cerro, Riannon's adoptive mother, had chased away and abandoned Lara Dorren, Riannon's biological mother; Falka the Bloody murdered Cerro, fulfilling Lara Dorren's curse; Riannon, Lara's daughter, took in and raised Falka's daughter, thereby neutralizing the curse.
- Riannon died young, being only thirty-five years old at the time of her death. The chronicles say that she died of "...grief, distress, and great sadness..." certainly related to the near-simultaneous death of two of her children, Amavet and Adela. She is buried in the royal crypt of the Temerian monarchs in Vizima, the very same one in which the witcher fought the striga in the short story, "The Witcher".
- Riannon was one of the most beautiful women of her time, so the records of her beauty have survived:
- Hair: Golden Blond
- Eyes: Green
- Height: 5' 9"
- Dimensions (in inches) Bust, Waist, Hips: 34x23x34
Goidemar, king of Temeria[]
- Son of King Gardic (see TEMERIAN DYNASTY), and King of Temeria after the death of his father.
- Regarding marriage, see RIANNON.
- After the death of Riannon and the death of his only son, Amavet, Goidemar married Adda, Princess of Cidaris (see TEMERIAN DYNASTY), and begot a son, Cedric, spawning the line of Temerian kings which has continued uninterrupted up until now, with our beloved ruler, Foltest. This is the same Foltest who began a scandalous affair with his own sister, Adda of Temeria, who was named after her ancestor. A child of this incestuous union, also called Adda after her mother, had some trouble with her teeth at one time, from which she was cured by the witcher, Geralt of Rivia.
- King Goidemar died in Maribor at the age of seventy-eight. He now rests in the crypt of Temerian kings at Vizima -- a crypt made famous now by the fight of witcher Geralt with the striga.
Adela[]
- Adela was born at Houtborg Castle, the daughter of Falka the Bloody and an unknown father. She was given to Riannon, Queen of Temeria, to nurse, because Riannon was imprisoned at Houtborg at the time and had just given birth to twins -- Fiona and Amavet. ( "Baptism of Fire," Chapter 6).
- The secret of Adela's origin has never been revealed. Riannon, even though she knew that she had given birth to twins, raised -- and loved -- triplets. Neither she nor her husband, King Goidemar, ever knew which of the triplets was not their own child. Eventually, Goidemar found out from the mages which child (Fiona) was definitely his own, but he was never told which child was not his. It is worth recalling that the "Houtborg Triplets" were like three drops of water, and that Adela, like Amavet and Fiona, had elf blood.
- In her childhood and early adolescence, Adela was a bit of a mischevious brat, like her brother and sister, and her death was unexpected. When the Black Death epidemic broke out and doctors and priests fled from the hospitals in Vizima, she was one of the first who hurried to aid the sick; that's what Adela, daughter of Falka the Bloody, rebellious and cruel, guilty of the deaths of tens of thousands of people, did. A child allegedly cursed twice over, a girl who would supposedly grow up to be a demon. In spite of Riannon's fits, Giodemar's bans, and Amavet and Fiona's warnings, Adela fearlessly and with great care devoted herself to the infected, sustained the spirits of the dying, and assisted the healers. After a week, she found buboes in her armpits and groin, but she concealed them and continued to help the sick. After four days she was dead.
- She was seventeen years old at the time.
- Adela's body burned on a pyre behind the city walls, along with the bodies of those she helped; the plague was too feared to hold a special funeral, even for a Temerian princess. Queen Riannon never forgave herself for her daughter's death, and it's said that it was remorse that caused her death shortly thereafter. King Goidemar, when he expanded the hospital, renamed it in honor of Adela, and built a small monument for her.
- In one of the temples of Vizima, Adela was worshipped for some time as an incarnation of the goddess Melitele -- a paradox, given that the "saint" was the daughter of Falka, who caused the death of so many people.
Fiona[]
- One of the "Houtborg Triplets," daughter of Riannon and King Goidemar, twin sister of Amavet, adopted sister of Adela.
- Fiona married Coram, Prince of Cintra, son of King Coram I from the famous Kruków family who had ruled Cintra for many years (see CINTRAN DYNASTY). When Coram ascended the throne as Coram II, his son with Fiona, Prince Corbett, was already twelve years old and gauranteed the continuation of the Cintran dynasty. In this way, Riannon's blood was inseperably connected to Cintra.
- Fiona and Coram put up the appearance of a concordant, if not happy, marriage. After her husband's early death and her son Corbett's ascension to the throne of Cintra, Fiona left for Temeria, where Goidemar, her father, still reigned. She lived alone and in oblivion in the Cleves castle near Maribor, where she died at the age of ninety-three.
Coram II, king of Cintra[]
- Son of King Coram I and Rigoberta of Lyria (see CINTRAN DYNASTY), he ascended the throne of Cintra as Coram II after his father's death, at the age of 35, 13 years after [Coram II's] marriage to Fiona , daughter of Riannon.
- He died at the age of 42 as a result of -- it is claimed -- injuries sustained during a knights' tournament. Coram loved tournaments and took part in every possible way, but he was rather a man of poor health, sickly, and not very capable of knightly feats.
- His son Corbett took the throne after him.
- See also FIONA.
Amavet[]
- One of the so-called "Houtborg triplets," it was unknown which of them were the legitimate children of Queen Riannon and King Goidemar and which of them was the bastard of Falka the Bloody, diabolic leader of the rebellion. The first suspicions of "contaminated blood" fell on Amavet, because he showed himself to be "unusual" -- he began to speak at the age of 9 months. But his sisters, Adela and Fiona, quickly proved their own "uniqueness" and once again people fell to conjecture and gossip.
- Amavet began to do everything before his peers. At the age of 12 he started romancing women, including those married.
- At the age of 17 he stated that "these young are lame and can't do it well," and he began an affair with the Marquis Tvilla de Vintre, who was 10 years older than himself. Scandal was averted by discreetly removing the woman -- along with her husband -- from the court and from the capital, and King Goidemar had a long conversation with his son about other men's wives and the dangerous moral complexities surrounding them, among other things. Amavet obediently turned his affections towards single ladies and soon a great outrage errupted when he began a relationship with Ilona Laux-Antille, assistant to Tissaia de Vries. An even greater outrage occurred when Ilona Laux-Antille destroyed any hope of an arranged marriage between Amavet and Princess Deidre, the daughter of the King of Kaedwen, with extremely vicious magic. Ilona was punished with house arrest in Aretuza, while Amavet was sent to the provinces for a long inspection of the border troops. One of the border commanders was Roger, Count Kameny, husband of the beautiful Anna Kamena. What followed was easy to predict. The furiously jealous count realized he was wearing an impressive pair of cuckold's horns, hired some bandits, and ambushed Amavet while the prince was out hunting. The murder was carried out in an extremely cruel way: the prince was strangled, and then the count ordered him to be castrated before stabbing him with his own hand. The bandits then improved their aim with a dozen or so arrows loosed from their bows. When he was captured and brought before the court, the count hid behind ancient law, which allowed an insulted husband to defend his honor. The assassination and cruel murder were based on the fact that Amavet had mocked the count and refused to duel him. King Goidemar, however, was so enraged that he exerted harsh pressure on the judges and the the sentence was made drastically severe. For the first time in over a hundred years, a cruel execution was served to a convicted aristocrat: the count was tortured and torn apart by horses, like all his hired bandits. This incident seriously upset the Temerian nobility -- even those who condemned Roger Kameny for the murder raised a commotion because of such treatment of a titled nobleman. There was even an uprising one year, which Goidemar bloodily supressed with the help of foreign intervention -- the army of King Liam of Cidaris. The price for the help was the later dynastic alliance when the widowed Goidemar who, although he had plenty of other options, married Adda, daughter of Liam.
- Amavet is buried in the royal crypt beneath Vizima castle.
- From Amavet's illicit relationship with Anna Kamena two illegitimate children were born, twins Muriel and Crispin.
Crispin Kameny[]
- Crispin, baron Kameny, bore this name and title thanks to the efforts of his mother Anna, baroness Kameny -- after she won three court trials. The Kameny family -- not without reason -- raised objections and suspicions that both twins, Crispin and his sister Muriel, were bastards and had no right to the title and coat of arms of Kameny. It was the very truth -- Amavet, son of King Goidemar of Temeria and Queen Riannon, was the father of the illegitimate twins.
- As soon as he could do so (at 16 years of age) Crispin conspicuously decorated his shield with the coat of arms of his real father, adding a bastard's border to the Temerian lilies. A scandal broke out, Crispin was arrested and threatened with serious consequences, since the coat of arms was not only arbitrary and illegal, but also royal! He ended up paying a fine to the herald's office and swearing to never again falsley use the royal arms. But shortly after, Crispin caused another scandal -- he wore Kameny's coat of arms, but with a bastard border on it. In so doing, he enraged both the Kamenys, who had always been hostile towards him, but also his mother and sister, who had fought so fiercly for their "legitimacy."
- The scandal was quickly quieted because shortly after this stunt Crispin joined a gang of mercenaries and diappeared, to widespread relief. Even his mother and sister were pleased to be rid of the scandalist, adventurer, and eternal malcontent. The only one who regretted his loss and missed him was -- strangley enough -- Goidemar, king of Temeria. Crispin, though a bastard, was still his grandson. Crispin Kameny joined the so-called "Free Company," a mercenary company which, unlike the usual band of mercenaries, had its own coat of arms. Rumor has it that he began introducing himself as Crispin aep Amavet, emphasizing not only his true parentage but also the fact that his father had elven blood in his veins. However, he still went to war with a shield showing -- not consistently -- the coat of arms of the Kameny family with a bastard border. He disappeared without a trace during the war with the Nilfgaardians, apparently somewhere in Metinna.
Muriel the Lovely Harlot[]
- The Temerian prince Amavet had an illicit relationship with the baroness Anna Kameny, who gave birth to two illegitimate children, twins Muriel and Crispin.
- Unlike her brother, Crispin, who took perverse joy in boasting of being a "royal bastard," Muriel and her mother fiercely defended themselves against the charge of "iniquity." After winning several lawsuits brought against her by the Kameny family, she officially was able to use Kameny's title and inherited considerable wealth from her father. Money -- and extraordinary beauty -- meant that she had no problem finding a husband, despite the ever-growing rumors of her wonton bed.
- "--Muriel the Lovely Harlot?" Sheala de Tancarville was surprised.
- "Much later," Francesca smiled. "Muriel Milusia at first. In fact, she was an adorable, sweet child. When she was fourteen she was already called Muriel the Doe-Eyed; many drowned in those eyes. She was finally married to Count Robert Garramone."
- (Baptism of Fire,Chapter 6)
- When she was married, Muriel was 17 years old. She became a widow at age 24 when Robert Garramone fell in the armed conflict between Temeria and Aedirn. At 25, the hot-blooded widowed Countess Muriel Garramone was already widely known as the "Lovely Harlot."
- "--Have you noticed?" Daniel Etcheverry smiled slightly. "Well, Vissegerd doesn't know my pedigree... In short, I'm related to this Cirilla.
- "Muriel, Countess Garramone, called the Lovely Harlot, the great-great-grandmother of Cirilla, was also my great-great-grandmother. A kind of legend circulates about her love conquests, but nevertheless I listen with reluctance when Vissegerd talks about incest and incestuous inclinations, and going left and right. But I don't respond. Because I'm a soldier."
- (Baptism of Fire, Chapter 4)
- Muriel had with Count Robert two legitimate children -- Adalia, later called "the Seer" and a son called Robert. From her second marriage (with the Count de Ruyter) she had three daughters: Jolanta, Julia, and Joanna.
- Muriel the "Lovely Harlot" died at the age of 64.
Corbett, King of Cintra[]
- Corbett was the only son of King Coram II of Cintra and Fiona, daughter of Riannon. He ascended to the throne at the age of 18 and, shortly after his coronation, married Elen, princess of Kaedwen, and got their only son, Dagorad.
- Corbett's rule was a very bad time in Cintra's history. There was no exaggeration in the songs and pamphlets of the foreign minstrels who called the Cintran court a pigsty, murder house, dive, and brothel. The king neglected government and foreign affairs, instead spending his time on revelry, drunkeness, debauchery, and even sodomy. His lovers and favorites overran the court, forced important state decisions that benefited them, and stole from the treasury with their cups and petticoats, while his subjects and citizens were antagonized by corrupt temple officials and totumfacci. Meanwhile, the king's informers worked diligently, and any who expressed opposition or dissatisfaction with the government were imprisoned, exiled, or sent to the scaffold.
- King Corbett died at the age of 30, by which time he was already beset with syphilis, drunk more often than sober, and a puppet in the hands of his sycophants. It is thought he died from an overdose of some western medicines or uncertain "potions," although poison cannot be enitrely ruled out. His son, Dagorad, assumed rule of the country after his death.
Elen of Kaedwen[]
- The original name of Corbett's wife was Elaine (meaning "beautiful" in Kaedweni) but the name Elen was more pleasing to the Cintran ear, and so her name was changed when she was wed.
- Elen did not lead a pleasant life with the scoundrel Corbett. Her father, King Benda, was enraged at his daughter's treatment in Cintra, and wanted to take her back to Ard Carraigh without a thought for the risk of conflict and the breakdown of diplomacy, but Elen protested. At the time she was not concerned for herself, but rather for her son, Dagorad, who would be left to an unsure fate at the hands of a debauched and dangerous court without her.
- Elen died less than a year after her husband -- if not, he almost inevitably would have been suspected of poisoning her, since the king, especially when he drank, shouted more than once that he had had enough of his "saint-wife" and promised many of his favorites he would marry them and make them queen in her stead.
Dagorad[]
- The only son of King Corbett of Cintra and Elen of Kaedwen and the first king in the history of Cintra whose name did not begin with the letter "C". Apparently, the boy's father had been too drunk to notice that Queen Elen gave her son a name only slightly different from that of her own grandfather, King Dagread of Kaedwen, and by the time he did notice it was too late to change it.
- Dagorad ascended to the throne of Cintra at the age of 12. His reign was a great and persistent struggle to rebuild the reputation of the country and the dynasty, both of which Corbett had ruined. This fight did not, always and everywhere, end victorious. Not only in neighboring countries such as Brugge, Verden, or Sodden, but as far away as Kovir and Kaedwen the opinion still held that "the apple does not fall far from the tree" and that at his father's court Dagorad could have learned nothing but drunkeness, villainy, and debauchery. This opinion had nothing to do with reality, as in all respects Dagorad seemed to be the complete opposite of his father. He was a calm and clearheaded boy who grew into a thoughtful man, loving husband and father, and able politician.
- Early in his reign, Dagorad had a hard -- and, eventually, bloody -- fight right in his own backyard. Arrogant favorites, a court full of sycophants, outraged totumfacci, and all honored members of Corbett's camaraderie neither expected to leave the new king's court afther his father's death, nor to give in and accept the changes the new king wanted to make. They thought they could easily wrap the youngster around their fingers or, if necessary, have him dealt with. A surprise awaited them. The young king acted swiftly and vigorously, and with the support of his subjects and the army soon the head of his traitorous and decadent court rolled down the scaffold.
- Quite unexpectedly, Dagorad took a widowed Temerian duchess, Adalia called "the Seer" as his wife. Their only child was Calanthe.
- The only thing Dagorad had inherited from his father (aside from his name and his crown) was his love of hunting and this is what eventually cost him his life. At the age of 34, he was lightly cut while out hunting, neglected it, and died of a blood infection.
Adalia the Seer[]
- Adalia, later called "the Seer" was the daughter of Count Robert Garramone and Muriel "the Beautiful Harlot." She was officially named Countess Garramone.
- "...an interesting person, Adalia. Strong Source, would have made an excellent sorceress. Unfortunately, she didn't want to be a sorceress. She preferred to be a queen."
- (Baptism of Fire, Chapter 6)
- Adalia was friends with many sorceresses from the school of Aretuza, including her close friend, the famous Tissaia de Vries, but she herself had no desire to become a sorceress. She chose for herself a different career.
- At the time, Bienvenue la Louve was was the queen of Temeria (see TEMERIAN DYNASTY). Ragbard, the duke of Ellander, became her prince consort, but this marriage was disolved after a short time -- widespread rumour said that Duke Ragbard, inspite of his spirited and manly bearing, was a complete disappointment to the Queen. Songs were sung across Temeria which lampooned the Duke's prowess, comparing him to a horse that, even if kissed by a miracle, could only run a short distance.
- However, all the gossip ceased a short time later when the divorced duke began to be seen in the company of the beautiful Adalia, Countesse Garramone. Soon after a grand wedding took place. And soon after that, Duke Ragbard was dead -- rumor had it that he had overdosed on male enhancements -- and the widowed Adalia was no longer a countess, but a duchess! She had devoted herself to a life of politics.
- Queen Bienvenu was (rightly!) afraid of Adalia's intrigue, so she quickly arranged a marriage between the duchess and Dagorad, Prince of Cintra, who was a little younger than Adalia. At the time, Cintra was still ruled by King Corbett and, having broken its ties with Verden, Aedirn, Lyria, and Nazair, it needed an alliance and dynastic ties with the powerful Temeria. Even if King Corbett and Prince Dagorad's ambitions were higher than a widowed duchess, they had to take what Queen Bienvenu offered them: Adalia.
- In this way, Adalia became first princess, then queen of Cintra. And so came the potent incest: Adalia and Dagorad were related. Adalia's real (though secret) grandfather, Amavet, and Dagorad's grandmother, Fiona, were twin siblings, and they shared a great-grandmother, the sorceress Lara Doren aep Shiadhal, carrier of the mysterious gene.
- A gene that later manifested mysteriously and explosively in the person of Adalia's great-granddaughter, Cirilla, called Ciri.
- Adalia herself showed evidence of magical talent on a few occasions. It is not known how much truth there is in the rumour that she once "rose a drawbridge with a movement of her eyebrows," but it is certain that the "Seer Queen's" magic abilities and prophecies were not as numerous as conjectured. Despite the fear she aroused, she was rather gentle and kind towards her relatives, and her marriage with Dagorad was a happy one. The fruit of their union, Princess Calanthe, was loved and doted on.
- After her husband's death (see DAGORAD), Adalia declined to become her daughter's regent until such a time as she remarried, or until a husband was found for the young Calanthe. She left the country and instead settled on the island of Thanedd, at the school of Tissaia de Vries. There -- still not having become a sorceress -- she died at the age of 95.
- Adalia visited Cintra only once after her retirement and before her death: when her great-grandaughter Ciri was born from the union of her granddaughter, Pavetta, and Duny. Apparently, there was a long and thunderous conversation between Adalia and Calanthe at this time, but no one has ever learned the contents thereof.
Calanthe[]
- Calanthe Fiona Riannon was born in Cintra as the legitimate daughter of King Dagorad and Queen Adalia, called "the Seer." Her second and third names were given in tribute to her famous ancestors, but the effect was rather more negative than intended, a reminder instead of her family's incest -- Fiona and Riannon were ancestors of both the girl's parents. She took the throne of Cintra at the age of fourteen, after her father's death. By the time she was fifteen, she had already gained the nickname "Lioness of Cintra" after personally leading the Cintran army's forces at the Battle of Cottbus against the army of Nazair.
- Calanthe was married twice. Her first match was made at the age of 17 to Roegner, Duke de Salm, who was seven years her senior. This was a typical dynastic marriage. Initially, the Lioness Calanthe did not wish to marry at all, and then, when she had finally been persauded into a marriage of duty, it turned out it was not so easy to get married. There were too much vicious gossip circulating about the queen of Cintra. Gossip about her family's incest, gossip about "hot blood," and gossip about numerous romances and adventures. There was even gossip about Calanthe's perverted relationship with her cousin, Queen Meve of Lyria. All this meant that, subsequently, any princes and other suitors politely refused when they were offered her hand.
- The queen had to search far -- all the way to Ebbing, and the principality of Salm. For the young Duke Roegner de Salm marriage to the queen of Cintra was a great honor and exaltation, so, although he knew the rumours, he agreed without hesitation. Calanthe, it was said, almost changed her mind at the last moment and supposedly intended to blow the whole thing up by pretending to be angry with the bridegroom an the scribe... but she changed her mind again when she saw Roegner -- the duke was so damn handsome!
- Whether this was a loving marriage or not no one can say, but beyond doubt -- and contrary to the rumours -- it was a concordant one. Especially when, after two years, their daughter Pavetta was born.
- When Roegner died, Calanthe had several new offers of marriage, including ones from King Ervyll Verden and King Venzlav of Brugge, who was much younger than her. But she refused all of these offers. There was a lot of talk about her various affairs, but either these affairs were fabrications or the queen was very discreet, because nothing remains that could be considered evidence.
- At one time, the queen's fascination with Eist Tuirseach, a jarl of the Skellige Islands, seemed to give credence to rumours of an affair between the two, but this is probably an exaggeration. It is known that Eist proposed to the queen several times, but was always rejected.
- Only when Pavetta turned fifteen and her infamous entanglement with Duny the Hedgehog was exposed, did Calanthe finally decide to accept Eist's proposal. In this way, two royal marriages took place at the same time in Cintra.
- Calanthe and Eist were married for thirteen years, but they had no children. When the Nilfgaardian army passed over the Marnadal Stairs and invaded Cintra, the royal couple stood at the head of their troops at the Battle of Marnadal. King Eist was killed in the fighting, but Calanthe, with unprecedented courage and shielded by a handful of knights, managed to escape, though she was badly injured. With her protectors, she fled the battlefield and made it back to Cintra. When the Nilfgaardians broke into the city and it became clear that the castle would also fall, Calanthe demanded that either she be killed, or she be given something with which to open her veins. When she was refused, she crawled to the window and threw herself from the tower, killing her on the spot.
- The queen's body was desecrated by the Pacemakers from Gemmer who had captured the castle of Cintra and probably burned along with the other bodies of the fallen on huge pyres in front of the city walls. In spite of this, Calanthe has not one, but two cenotaphs. The first is one is on the Skellige Islands, where she symbolically rests alongside her husband, Jarl Eist Tuirseach. The second one, a monument of extreme beauty, is located in Cintra, in the castle's royal crypt. It was built on the orders of Emhyr var Emreis, Emperor of Nilfgaard, just one year after the capture of Cintra. The decision to build a cenotaph was met with a cool reception in Nilfgaard's military circles, but but contributed to an increase in the emperor's popularity among the conqured population of Cintra.
Roegner of Ebbing[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Roegner, Calanthe, Pavetta
Places: Salm (city), Salm, Tonnerre, Cintra, Ebbing, Nilfgaardian Empire
Other:
Eist Tuirseach[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Eist, Calanthe, Crach an Craite,
Places: Skellige Isles, Marnadal Stairs
Other: titles of "king" and "jarl" in the Skellige Isles, Battle of Marnadal
Pavetta[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Pavetta, Calanthe, Roegner, Duny, Geralt of Rivia, Ciri,
Places: Sedna Abyss
Other: Law of Surprise
Duny[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Duny, Roegner, Pavetta, Calanthe, Geralt of Rivia, Eist Tuirseach, Akerspaark, Codringher, Jacob Fenn
Places: Maecht, Nilfgaardian Empire, Skellige Isles, Sedna Abyss
Other: Law of Surprise, conquest of Maecht, curse
Cirilla[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Cirilla, Pavetta, Duny, Calanthe, Windhalm of Attre, Kistrin, Ervyll, Radovid V, Vizimir II, Hjalmar, Crach an Craite, Olaf Stigvason
Places: Skellige Isles, Attre, Verden, Brokilon, Redania
Other: plans for marriage
Cintran dynasty[]
Cerbin[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Becca of Nazair[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Correl[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Eschiva[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Coram I[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Rigoberta[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Coram II[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Temerian dynasty[]
Geddes[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Geddes of Temeria, Dezmod of Temeria, Vinifrida, Gardic of Temeria, Maria Pulcheria, Dambor the Black
Places:
Other:
Vinifrida[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Vinifrida, Geddes of Temeria
Places:
Other:
Gardic[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Gardic of Temeria, Vulpia of Brugge, Goidemar of Temeria, Carezza Charbonneau, Leticia Charbonneau
Places: Aretuza
Other:
Vulpia of Brugge[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Vulpia of Brugge, Gardic of Temeria
Places:
Other:
Goidemar[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Goidemar of Temeria, Riannon, Cirilla of Cintra
Places:
Other:
Riannon[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Riannon, Cirilla of Cintra
Places:
Other:
Adda of Cidaris[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Adda of Cidaris, Goidemar of Temeria, Riannon
Places:
Other:
Cedric[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Cedric of Temeria, Dezmod of Temeria, Geddes of Temeria, Goidemar of Temeria, Gardic of Temeria, Falka the Bloody, John of Attre
Places:
Other: Falka's rebellion
Berengaria Thyssen[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Berengaria Thyssen, Guido Thyssen
Places:
Other: House of Thyssen
Griffin[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Griffin of Temeria, Clarissa of Toussaint, Bienvenu La Louve
Places:
Other:
Clarissa of Toussaint[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Clarissa of Toussaint, Griffin of Temeria
Places: Thanedd Island
Other: Congress on Thanedd Island
Bienvenu La Louve[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Bienvenu La Louve, Calanthe of Cintra, Ragbard of Ellander, Hugo of Rivia, Adalia the Seer
Places:
Other:
Ragbard of Ellander[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Ragbard of Ellander, Bienvenu La Louve, Adalia the Seer
Places:
Other:
Hugo of Rivia[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Hugo of Rivia, Bienvenu La Louve, Ragbard of Ellander, Medell of Temeria, Foltest of Temeria, Griffin of Temeria, Clarissa of Toussaint
Places:
Other:
Medell[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Medell of Temeria, Virfuril of Aedirn
Places: Pontar Valley
Other:
Sancia of Sodden[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Sancia of Sodden, Gutram of Sodden, Ekkehard of Sodden, Foltest of Temeria
Places:
Other:
Foltest[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Foltest of Temeria, Adda of Temeria, Adda the White, Vizimir II of Redania, Dalimira of Redania, Maria Louisa La Valette, Boussy La Valette, Anais La Valette, Old Baron La Valette, Geddes of Temeria
Places: Royal Crypt of Temerian Monarchs under Old Manor in Vizima
Other: The Witcher (short story)
Adda of Temeria[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Adda of Temeria, Foltest of Temeria, Adda the White
Places:
Other:
Adda the White[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons: Adda the White, Foltest of Temeria, Adda of Temeria, Geralt of Rivia, Adda of Cidaris
Places:
Other: striga
Redanian dynasty[]
Radovid I the Great[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Dambor the Black[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Maria Pulcheria of Temeria[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Vestibor the Proud[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Caitlyn of Kaedwen[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Radovid II the Sailor[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Cirra of Cintra[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Radovid III the Bold[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Viviana of Lyria[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Vridank the Elf[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Cerro[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Vizimir I the Old[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Ramona Thyssen[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Radovid IV the Bold[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Fiametta of Cidaris[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Heribert the Quarrelsome[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Diana de Saint-Villiers[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Vizimir II the Just[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Hedwig of Malleore[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
Radovid prince of Redania[]
Contains mentions about:
Persons:
Places:
Other:
House of Thyssen[]
References[]
| Literature | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games |
| ||||||||||
| Misc. |
| ||||||||||