Warning: spoilers for The Witcher season 2.

The Witcher season 2 is now available to stream, and it came with the big reveal of the identity of the White Flame and his connection to Ciri – and here’s what you need to know about him. The fantasy genre is home to many interesting universes with their own (and sometimes complex) mythologies, and one that has gained force is The Witcher. Created by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is a series of novels and short stories that became widely popular when they were adapted into video games and later into a movie and a TV series in Poland in 2001 and 2002. The Witcher got its first English adaptation in 2019, debuting on Netflix to a lot of success, and the streaming giant knew what it had with the series, as it renewed it for a second season before the first one was out.

Netflix’s The Witcher approached Sapkowski's stories differently and in its first season, it followed three characters in different places and points in time, with their paths converging towards the end of season 1 (and confusing the audience thanks to the many jumps back and forth in time). These characters are Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), the title monster hunter; Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), a powerful sorceress; and Ciri (Freya Allan), the crown princess of Cintra who started to discover her own powers. All three of them are back in The Witcher season 2, along with some allies and enemies from the first season and one character who was supposedly dead and will be very important in future seasons of the show.

Related: The Witcher Season 2: Every New & Returning Character Confirmed So Far

Throughout the first season of The Witcher, different characters mentioned “The White Flame”, and while it was implied that he was the one behind the attack on Cintra and the invasion by the Nilfgaardian army, the identity of this person wasn’t revealed. The Witcher season 2, however, finally addresses the real identity of The White Flame and the character appears right at the end of the season, and it’s none other than Emhyr var Emreis, who viewers met in season 1 as Duny, Urcheon of Erlenwald, the man who married Queen Calanthe’s daughter, Pavetta, and thus Ciri’s father.

The Witcher’s Emhyr var Emreis’ Backstory

The witcher season 1 Duny Emhyr

Emhyr var Emries is the son of Fergus var Emreis, emperor of Nilfgaard, who at one point was overthrown by a group of aristocrats led by a mysterious character only known as the Usurper. Fergus was tortured by the Usurper as he wanted the emperor to grant legitimacy to the coup, but when Fergus refused, the Usurper decided to use other ways to try and break him. The Usurper had his mages (led by Nilfgaardian sorcerer, Braathens) torture then 13-year-old Emhyr, but not even seeing his son in pain could break Fergus, which then led the Usurper to murder him. Emhyr’s torture continued and Braathens turned the young heir into a humanoid hedgehog, in part as a joke as “Eimyr” in Nilfgaardian dialect means “urcheon”, an old name for “hedgehog”. Emhyr was then released into the woods with dogs going after him, but he survived and learned there was a flaw in Braathens’ curse, as every night he regained his human form. Emhyr was helped by a few acquaintances and hid at Ardal aep Dahy’s place until he was finally able to escape beyond the borders.

When Emhyr arrived in the North, he started using the name Duny, Urcheon of Erlenwald, and one day, while hunting in Cintra’s forest region, he came across a wounded and helpless King Roegner, Queen Calanthe’s husband. Roegner got lost while hunting in Erlenwald and wandered around before falling from his horse into a ravine and spraining his legs. Emhyr helped the king, and as a reward for saving his life, he invoked the Law of Surprise, which meant he was promised whatever Roegner had left at home without knowing it or expecting it – and it turned out to be Pavetta, as Calanthe gave birth to her later that year. Fifteen years later, Emhyr arrived at Pavetta’s betrothal party to announce that he had come to take what was his through the Law of Surprise, though what no one knew was that Pavetta and he had been seeing each other for a year, and they had secretly fallen in love.

What Really Happened To Pavetta & Duny

Duny and Pavetta in The Witcher

Emhyr’s arrival at the party caused a lot of commotion among the guests, and though he explained what happened to Calanthe, she refused to honor the Law of Surprise and fooled him into removing his helmet, showing his true form. Pavetta’s would-be suitors and Calanthe’s people attacked Emhyr, but luckily for him, Geralt of Rivia and Mousesack stepped in to protect him. Still, Emhyr was stabbed, which unleashed Pavetta’s powers, and he then presented himself as Prince of Maecht and son of Akerspaark. As midnight struck, Emhyr regained his human form, and after a discussion with Calanthe, the queen finally gave her approval to Emhyr and Pavetta, and so the curse was lifted. Emhyr thanked Geralt, who just like him, invoked the Law of Surprise as a reward, and almost immediately after they all learned that Pavetta was pregnant, so her daughter, Cirilla, was now bound to Geralt.

Related: Why The Witcher's Law of Surprise Was Season 1's Most Difficult Story

Some time after Ciri’s birth, Emhyr was visited by Vilgefortz, who was looking to acquire wealth and power that only the emperor could provide, and after telling him about the prophecy, Emhyr decided to return to Nilfgaard (now ruled by the Usurper) and reclaim the throne with Ciri by his side. As Calanthe was always watching their every move, Emhyr and Vilgefortz came up with a plan to fake Emhyr’s, Pavetta’s, and Ciri’s deaths on a sinking ship so they could escape to Nilfgaard – however, Pavetta learned about Emhyr’s plans and smuggled Ciri out of the ship before they sailed away. This prompted an argument between Emhyr and Pavetta, with the former pushing the latter overboard, and so now the only thing he had to do was fake his death as Duny, and so he finally returned to Nilfgaard. There he led a revolt against the Usurper, who he successfully overthrew, and earned the nickname “The White Flame Dancing on the Barrows of his Enemies” after he had his dead political enemies disinterred and used their gravestones to pave his ballroom.

Why The White Flame Wants Ciri

The Witcher season 2 Ciri

Emhyr firmly believes in the prophecy of Ithlinne, which claims that his son will inherit the Elder Blood and rule the Continent, and Ciri does have Elder Blood, which grants her powers and also means she’s related to elves and is prophesied to save them (according to Francesca Findabair). Emhyr, then, wants to capture his own daughter so she can bear his child, as the prophecy says that child will be the ruler of the world. Of course, this is something that neither Pavetta nor Calanthe would have ever approved of, and catching Ciri after the attack on Cintra proved to be a lot more complicated than Emhyr would have expected, as seen throughout The Witcher season 1 and 2. Now that The White Flame’s identity has been revealed in The Witcher season 2 and the audience got a taste of his ruthlessness and desperation to capture Ciri, The Witcher season 3 will go deeper into his story, his shocking incestuous plans, and how Ciri and Geralt will fight against him, his plans, and his allies.

Next: Witcher Timeline Recap: What To Remember Before Season 2