Netflix released the first teaser for The Witcher season 2, and while it didn’t reveal the plot or any of the new characters, it did offer some clues about the story and the paths of certain characters. Created by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is a series of novels and short stories that have been such a hit with the audience that they have branched out to other media, most notably video games, thus expanding its fanbase around the world. As it happens with most successful book series, the Witcher novels were adapted into a movie and a TV series in Poland in 2001 and 2002, and an English language adaptation finally arrived in December 2019 thanks to Netflix. Knowing well how popular The Witcher is, Netflix renewed the series for a second season before the first one came out.
Netflix’s The Witcher approached Sapkowski’s stories differently and instead of only following the title character, it focused on three characters whose stories were set in different places and points in time, with their paths converging towards the end of the season. These characters are Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), the titular witcher; Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), a powerful sorceress with a tragic past; and Ciri (Freya Allan), the crown princess of Cintra who has powers of her own. The Witcher season 1 introduced the audience to these characters and some of their biggest enemies. By the end of the season, Ciri and Geralt finally found each other, bound by the Law of Surprise.
Season 2 will continue expanding this vast universe and telling the story of Ciri and Geralt. Although details about season 2 are scarce, Netflix has already announced the new characters that will join The Witcher (among those other witchers, including Geralt’s mentor, Vesemir), and through them, some details about the plot can be known. What is confirmed, however, is that season 2 will take Ciri and Geralt (and viewers) to Kaer Morhen, the witchers' school where she will train in different disciplines. Netflix shared a short teaser that reveals some very quick looks at Ciri, and while there’s nothing too revealing, there are some exciting clues.
The Lion Cub of Cintra
Ciri’s arc in The Witcher began with the invasion of Cintra by Nilfgaard, in which her grandmother and Queen of Cintra, Calanthe, was badly injured and Calanthe’s husband, Eist, was killed. Ciri had to be escorted out of Cintra but not before Calanthe told her to find Geralt as “he’s her destiny”, and that’s how Ciri’s journey began. In the teaser for The Witcher season 2, in one of the many blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments, a golden lion embroidered on Ciri’s robes can be seen, showing that even though she has now left those clothes behind, she still keeps Cintra close to her heart. Ciri is even nicknamed “The Lion Cub of Cintra,” and even though her family was killed and her kingdom was destroyed, she definitely won’t forget where she comes from.
First Look at Kaer Morhen
The Witcher season 2’s main focus will surely be Ciri’s training at Kaer Morhen. The Witcher season 1 was based on the collections of short stories The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, and the main inspiration for season 2 will be the novel Blood of Elves. In it, Ciri is taken to Kaer Morhen by Geralt to keep her safe from the Nilfgaardian army but also to train her. There she meets other witchers that help her in her training: Lambert (Paul Bullion) teaches her the art of combat, Eskel (Basil Eidenbenz) serves as one of her teachers, Coën (Yasen Atour) helps her with sword combat, and Geralt’s mentor Vesemir (Kim Bodnia) teaches her about different monsters and herbs. In the teaser, Ciri is shown at a very dark place with different artifacts and weapons, implied to be Kaer Morhen.
A more recent image from The Witcher season 2 sees Henry Cavill's Geralt wielding a sword, with the dark background and falling snow suggesting that he is possibly training Ciri at Kaer Morhen (though it's unclear right now whether that's the case). Now that Geralt and Ciri have found each other, the beginning of season will surely see them headed for the witcher's fortress. Geralt is either helping Ciri fight, he is training himself to go after someone in defense, or he's just slain a monster. In the second teaser for season 2, Geralt is shown practicing with the sword in the woods and there's a distinct emphasis on swords in general, which are all used to defend Kaer Morhen from outsiders.
The Return of Cahir?
The teaser also features a quick look at a character in full armor, but who is only seen from behind. This is suspected to be Cahir (Eamon Farron), the knight of the Nilfgaardian Empire who led the chase after Ciri in season 1. Cahir came close to capturing the young Princess, and when he did, Ciri was revealed to be Adonis, a doppler who took her place, allowing the young Princess to escape. Cahir was present at the Battle of Sodden Hill at the end of The Witcher season 1 and he’s expected to return in season 2, more so as there’s still a lot to cover when it comes to his history with Ciri. Of course, there’s also the possibility that the mysterious armored character could be one of the new additions to the series, or even Emhyr var Emreis, Ciri’s father and the real reason why Nilfgaard wants to capture her.
Elder Speech Runes
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the teaser are the runes that appear throughout the whole video. The universe of The Witcher has different languages exclusive to it but based on real ones, and so far, the only one that has been included in the Netflix series is Elder Speech, and the runes in the video are written in that language. Fans have been trying to translate the runes and so far, the most popular translation seems to be “Gynvaelee saifen aep zollkai toranna,” which is believed to mean something along the lines of “ice tower.” Others believe the first part is a reference to Aedd Gynvael, a city in Narok that houses the myth of the Winter Queen, who crossed the land in a sleigh drawn by white horses. As she did so, small shards of ice flew out, and those hit by them were doomed forever. According to Geralt, the Winter Queen is actually the Wild Hunt, a group of specters galloping the sky and who are believed to be an omen of war. Fans believe the Wild Hunt might be behind Yennefer’s imprisonment, and even if they are not but the runes indeed are a reference to them, season 2 of The Witcher might be on its way to being a very wild one.
Ciri’s Visions
Last, but not least, The Witcher teaser features some of Ciri’s visions, and even the video itself is edited in a way that feels like a series of visions that occur throughout season 2 rather than existing solely in one scene. Now, in the first season of The Witcher, Ciri’s powers begin to show, but there’s still a lot to be learned about them. In the book, Ciri actually starts going into trances and having visions after she accidentally takes a sip of White Gull (an alcoholic beverage used by witchers), and as the witchers don’t know how to help her, they call Triss Merigold for help, who makes an important discovery about Ciri’s powers and abilities.