Is Ciri Geralt’s Daughter in The Witcher?

Everyone can agree it's akin to a father and daughter relationship.

by Jordan Bragais
The Witcher Netflix series poster
Image: Netflix

The dynamic that Ciri and Geralt of Rivia have is one that everyone can agree is akin to a father-and-daughter relationship. From The Witcher’s books to the games and even in the Netflix series, their closeness to each other is very obvious and out there.

This begs the question: is Ciri Geralt’s daughter? It is understandable why people can be confused about this, so let’s find out together.

What is Ciri and Geralt’s Relationship in The Witcher?

Across all of The Witcher’s source materials, the books, the games and the Netflix series, Ciri is canonically not related to Geralt by blood. She is, however, under Geralt’s responsibility by law which makes him technically Ciri’s father or guardian.

This all began from the Law of Surprise that Geralt invoked after he saved the life of Ciri’s actual blood father, a knight named Duny, not knowing what it would bring forth to him at the time. So, much like Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us, they may not be related by blood, but they both treat each other pretty much like family.

What is the Law of Surprise in The Witcher?

The-Witcher-Law-of-Suprise
Image: Netflix

In the world of The Witcher, The Law of Surprise is an old tradition that all of humanity is accustomed to. It is most frequently used when someone saves the life of someone else and that person who was saved is entitled to give something to his savior in return, but if the saved person has nothing to give back in return the savior can thus use the Law of Surprise at that point.

In most cases, the price for being saved takes the form of the saved man’s firstborn child, conceived or born without the father’s knowledge.

- This article was updated on January 23rd, 2023