Escape the Wild Hunt (Book 1 of Ciri's Story)

Chapter 10: Ciri's story

Ciri stays on her bed for an hour before she hears a knock at her door.

"It's open you know. You can come here" Ciri says.

"Uh...uh, it's me, Cullen." says the Templar.

Ciri, surprised, turns her head to him. He continues.

"You said you'd like to see me in private."

Ciri wakes up and waits a moment before saying.

"Do you know how I arrived here?"

Cullen signs no.

"My name is Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon and I was born in 1253 or 1252 during the Belleteyn holiday. I was the sole princess of Cintra, the daughter of Pavetta and Emhyr var Emreis as well as Queen Calanthe's granddaughter. You may not believe me but I live in another world..."

After Geralt of Rivia helped lift Duny's curse, who was Emyr, my father, Duny asked what reward the witcher would like and Geralt proclaimed the Law of Surprise, as it turned out Pavetta was pregnant with me, unbeknownst to Duny. Six years to the day after my birth, Geralt went back to Cintra for me but did not take me with him to Kaer Morhen at that time. In fact, he didn't even lay eyes on me and only spoke with Calanthe, who divulged no information to him.

While I was still an infant, my parents were both lost in a storm at sea and were presumed dead. I spent my youth in Cintra and Skellige under the care of her grandmother and her uncle.

I first met Geralt when I was lost in the forest of Brokilon. I was nearly taken by the dryads, who wished to make my one of their own. I was immune to the ritual for becoming a dryad so I chose Geralt and wished to stay with him after we left Brokilon. However, he decides otherwise and would not take mine with him. Instead, he left mine with the druid Mousesack who was working for my grandmother.

Then came the slaughter of Cintra. During the Nilfgaardian invasion of Cintra, I was kidnapped by a Nilfgaardian knight. I managed to escape and wandered aimlessly for some time through Sodden until I was ultimately adopted by a traveling merchant's wife as a war orphan.

Geralt had helped the merchant survive an attack by monsters and charged for his services with the Law of Surprise. Accompanying the merchant home to his family, destiny reunites Geralt and me once again and this time he accepts his fate, embracing me as his adopted daughter. He took me with him to Kaer Morhen. Triss Merigold, that I consider as a sister, trains me without mutations, with Geralt, Vesemir, Lambert, Eskel, and Coën. It was how it was confirmed that I was a source.

Geralt and Triss later took me to the Temple of Melitele in Ellander where I received instruction from Nenneke, and then from Yennefer, who began my magical training in earnest.

As news of war began to spread, Yennefer and I left Ellander for Gors Velen and ultimately Thanedd Island and Aretuza where the sorceress intended to enroll me as well as attend a conference of mages.

Things did not work out as planned though, not by a long shot. There was a coup during the conference and several individuals including Vilgefortz and Cahir tried to capture me once again, but I escape through an unstable magical portal in Tor Lara. Because of the portal's nature, I was simply ejected in mid-air over the Korath desert.

Unaware of where I was and without obvious recourse, I decided to make her way out of the wasteland by heading west. Unfortunately, I nearly died of exhaustion, dehydration, and starvation. Luckily for me, I met a unicorn whom I nicknamed Little Horse that helped me out of the Frying Pan (a folk name for the deadly desert). I joined the Rats, a group of ne'er-do-wells I met when they were rescuing one of their members, under the name Falka. I became lovers with and developed a relationship with one of the female Rats members named Mistle with whom I got a matching rose tattoo near the groin.

Bonhart killed the Rats and cut off their heads in front off me. He neither killed me and imprisoned me for some time, beating me, mistreating and forcing me to kill in the arena at Claremont.

I managed to escape with the help of Neratin Ceka when Bonhart had taken me to the village of Unicorn on the eve of the equinox. Bonhart killed Neratin Ceka, and Skellen seriously wounded me, disfiguring me, the scare came on my face, with an Orion as I fled the village on my mare, Kelpie.

Later, I was found, near death by Vysogota of Corvo, who hid and healed me at his hermitage in the Pereplut swamp. I stayed with Vysogotha until shortly after Saovine when I set off to find the swallow's tower. Together with Skellen and Rience, Bonhart tried to hunt me down on the order of Vilgefortz. Eventually, I escaped to Tor Zireael.

Being a twin tower to Tor Lara, Tor Zireael had a portal which led Cirilla to the world of the Aen Elle elves.