She's Not What She Seems - The Story of Yennefer - Witcher Lore & Mythology 

Alpha Agui This to me just confirms that Yennefer is the best for Geralt and Ciri Geralt because of the destiny thing, no matter how much you like Triss, he will end with Yen Ciri because, if Geralt was a Father and Vesemir an Uncle, then Yen is one hell of a mother (which also destroys Geralt ‘s argument that she would be a bad mother)

I want to be called Cirilla of Vengerberg, daughter of Yennefer. - Ciri

Well when i read that in the books, i got quite emotional... she never called ciri her daughter till the last moment.

Triss to Ciri in Kaer: “Hey little sis!” *awkward hug* yeah, Yennefer is the one imo

@@lessgetit4841 yeah if Triss called her "my lovely niece", that would have been better since they (Geralt and Triss) had a relationship

Triss is a Traitor

@@apelos6439 YOU AGAIN? GO FIND LIFE!

Jesus Christ, and I thought "Team Edward" vs "Team Jacob" was annoying. Way to be more mature than a bunch of teenage fangirls, guys.

I prefer Triss over Yennefer because she is an unpleasant, selfish, and not so much of a good person. Plus, she wants to fight all the time so I rather spend my time with Triss.

I like Yenn because I like girls with bitchy attitudes.

Thats what we call a minority. Netflix: definitely polish

Well the show will get 1 season if they do something like that. Lets hope they wont

literally the only word there that says she's not black is "pale," and light skinned black ppl exist. your racism is showing.

*when you try too hard*

@@chromeclaws Nowadays it's hard to tell if this is stupidity or just plain sarcasm

He sure did *coughs* Hey!where is the unicorn! Dammit!!! Where would they make love now? Oh i know!Sheep skin Sheepy!sheepy! Sheepy! Ah man,no sheep

to be fair: with the unicorn it wouldn´t be family-friendly ;D

@@anghbalahr2971 nothing more family friendly than a unicorn that promotes love.

666 likes I smell satan

@@itsme-jane2492 uhh when will u ever burn this thing

slink bradshaw or lilac and goose berries

difference between bandwagons and fans right here

to dream of raven locks entwisted stormy, of violet eyes glistening as you weep.

The wolf i will follow into the storm

In the netflix show it'll be lillac and curry

Thats exactly my thoughts of her either

Yennefer is the perfect Gem, trapped inside the Eye of a world destroying hurricane. If you can weather that storm, greatest of rewards lays within.

shes good for geralt but abusive not the type of woman ill spent my life with

@@ZurielWraithblades and the man that weathered that storm was none other than geralt

@@james-nf5ck not abusive if you have seen the blood and wine anding

1. Ortolan. BTW, he liked Yen and called her "little Yennefer". 2. Not exatly true, Tissaia de Vries postulated sterilization of adepts in her book, but it was a postulate, there is no information whether it was done - and if, it happened later. Rather most sorceresses were sterile just because of magic and maybe of Ortolan' potion. And that's why there were exceptions.Visenna did not expect that she could become pregnant, but this happened. If the sterilization were artificial and professional, there would be no exceptions.

Thats the same reason why i choose her either

grace calis she’s very strong now. But I get what you mean. Yen has had a hard life and triumphed. Just like Geralt.

Honestly, picking between Triss and Yen was the hardest decision in gaming. My first playthrough I wanted them both. That didnt work out so well sadly. Its too bad. It would have made an awesome threesome. I wound up choosing Yen because the first time I tried it with just Triss, I had to turn down Yen in her quest. When I did. I damn near shed a tear. I noped that shit and loaded a previous save. Its just too cruel to turn her down. Maybe that is how she manipulates us all. lol. I dont give a fuck though. She is too perfect to pass up. Triss just seems like a side bitch in comparison.

@@ChefofWar33 I honestly can't bring myself to like Triss. She just seems like a selfish manipulator who took advantage of Geralt when ge lost his memory.

This is not love, is compassion😂

Could dialogue between Nazeem and Yennifer good god

I wonder if she'd teleport him to a giant camp instead of a lake

U don't know? There aren't suppose to be any pussssssie

@@princessplate209 From two miles above the lake.

#Skyrim#4#ever

“She cares only as long as he is useful to her” Debatable. She seems genuinely heartbroken if you turn her down at the end of the Djinn quest.

@@alexfilma16 gets her memory back. Nah fuck geralt. She only cares for herself.

Hashii Tang Hell yeah preach!

I liked Triss much more, but I've always had a weakness for redheads.

@Lavian Vi: That is absolute nonsense.

Honestly if she did not have a vulnerable heart she would have become a serious threat to the realm. Her tenacity and sheer fucking will. Imagine what she would have conquered and destroyed. How powerful she could've become. It's what endeared her to me. She's sensitive underneath all that attitude. I like the concept of a monster hunter being the person that tethers her to humanity. Geralt's greatest monster was the love of his life.

Sounds toxic AF

[2/2] Essentially, the pattern is that each character’s first appearance is a false and misleading one. And so, as with the rest of the cast, you can bet the same thing applies to Yennefer. She was introduced as the ice-cold witch, the archetypal dominatrix with ulterior motives who wields her sexuality as a weapon. As I said however, the catch with the Witcher is that “appearances always deceive”; which is a phrase the first book makes a point of repeating. In reality, her sarcasm isn’t token of her being mean-spirited and evil but a defense mechanism to cope with the shitty hand she was dealt at birth. So is her being initially self-centered even in her relationship with Geralt. When your whole life has been people who are designed to care for you (like your parents) abandoning you and the only reliable constant in your life is yourself, it’s both difficult and unrealistic to suddenly put someone else above you and accept that said someone genuinely cares for you overnight. And it *did* happen overnight. See, another trope Sapkowski wanted to poke fun at was the insta-romance. In the last chapter of the first book, Geralt and Yennefer fell head over heels for each other and rode off to the sunset to their happily ever after, less than a week after their first meeting. And then Sapkowski was like “Ha! You seriously thought this was gonna work out? *WHEEZE* “. And so the first two chapters of The Sword of Destiny happen and coincidentally, these are the two chapters people use to justify oversimplifying Yennefer’s character to “evil” and “bitch” thereafter, despite them being two of a great many chapters and extremely early in her character’s journey. Yennefer’s deepest desire was to have a family, so she sought commitment but clearly wasn’t ready for what that entails. On the other hand, Geralt was unable to give her the emotional security she needed in order for her to feel safe investing in their relationship, because at that point of his character arc he still had the emotional IQ of a teaspoon. In the short story collections their relationship was unhealthy because that’s what Sapkowski had to do in order to get his point across- point being insta-romances are stupid, they suck and they don’t work out. After he was done poking fun at the trope it was finally time to subvert it and find a way to make their relationship work out. Now introducing *something more* aka Ciri. Apparently, there are people who believe that Geralt and Yennefer are together only because of Ciri. I believe they are onto something, but are looking at the right things from the wrong angle. Simply put, their relationship wouldn’t work out because neither of them was willing to outgrow their insecurities and false preconceived notions of themselves and each other. When Geralt ended up with Ciri at the end of The Sword of Destiny however, he had no choice but to pull his shit together and be a father to her, developing and maturing through the process. On the other hand, when Ciri was send to Ellander to apprentice under Yennefer, she -for the first time- stopped pursuing her all-consuming quest to cure her infertility to think that maybe she doesn't need a cure because~ maybe~ she already has the family she's been dreaming of since she was a child. Letting go of her obsession over her infertility was a huge step for her character because it helped her focus not on what she could gain, but on what she has yet to lose. It’s not at all random that in the saga Yennefer and Geralt do not reunite until they have individually spent alone-time with Ciri and have grown to be better people first. Only then their relationship took a turn for the better and became consistently functional ever since their reunion in Hirundum during Time of Contempt. So it isn’t really that they are together because Ciri is in the picture, but rather because of the people they became thanks to Ciri. Last thing that I feel is very essential to understanding Yennefer stems from the themes of her character. Destiny, infertility, humanity and dehumanization- the very first chapter of The Sword of Destiny features both her and Geralt as two very powerful people, powerless in front of their inability to lead normal lives. However, one theme that for some reason tends to fly under the radar with Yennefer is sacrifice. It’s ironically fitting, considering Yennefer starts off her character arc as a self-centered person- albeit having her reasons. Sacrifice has accompanied her character since the very first book- in The Last Wish Nenneke points out that when Yennefer became a sorceress, she sacrificed one of her gifts (maternity) for another (magic). In The Sword of Destiny we get to see how she deals with the consequences of that sacrifice and most of her problems with Geralt occur because she's not willing to sacrifice anything anymore. It’s only when she developed further during the saga that she was willing to sacrifice her reputation and pride when she bargained with Philippa, asking her to save Geralt’s life in exchange for her dying a traitor in his eyes. Later she lost her freedom for Ciri's sake when she was caught by Vilgefortz but preferred being tortured half to death instead of revealing any crucial information. And seriously, there’s a whole chapter in The Tower of Swallows where she has this epic argument with - arguably- the skelligan goddess in Hindarsfjall who is asking her just how much of herself she is willing to sacrifice for Ciri and Geralt, how do some people miss this in her character development, the books aren’t even trying to be subtle about any of this... In the end of the books she made the ultimate sacrifice and gave her life for a chance that Geralt’s might be saved (although depending on your interpretation, she gets better). And despite all that, somehow some people still consider her “a selfish bitch who doesn’t even love Geralt” when the whole point of her character is that she went from the textbook femme fatale to a loving and self-sacrificing mother and partner. No one argues against the characterization “bitch” because they think it's inaccurate in terms of attitude. Yennefer can be mean and rude, no one denies that. It’s just that these are two of her most superficial traits and there is so much more to her than this, that the problem with people characterizing her that way is that it’s dismissive and it simplifies a well-rounded character who was meant to be viewed very differently at the beginning of her journey compared to the end. So I guess what I want to say is, don’t just read a book people, make sure to also read into it. And again, if you understand all that and still dislike her that’s perfectly fine. Just make sure you understand first. Don’t dismiss and don’t simplify.

That was amazing, and I agree with you. You must get full marks in all your school/work essays.

Aww, thanks. I usually write essays like that mostly for myself (I'm into storytelling lately so it's a way of keeping notes) but it always makes me happy to see other people respond to them positively.

Chief Purrfect I am a writer and I spend a lot of time on my novels, but here on the internet normally people don’t apretiate these kind of things. They only give likes to short, funny and sarcastic type of comments. It is good to know there are people like me in here too.

That's true. Getting into storytelling, I have a new appreciation for stories because I can now see that it can be as tough and complicated as fun and rewarding, I wish you luck and patience with your novels.

My ex in a nutshell

I can relate to her. I really wanted to be a father but I cannot.

@@TheFlyOnYourWall sorry to hear that.

Jack C Dont worry bro neither can Geralt and he's a badass

@@TheFlyOnYourWall you can adopt you know. Plenty of kids out there need a good home just saying. My girlfriend is adopted and though I have a daughter she wants to adopt another. It would be good for my daughter to have a brother or sister so that's probably what we"ll do. Anyway think on it.

I wanna be father too but i dont have girlfriend

You are correcting the guy about the stuff that was in books, yet you still write her name as Yennifer

I just finished reading The Last Wish and it specifically said her necklace contained diamonds.

some say all hardships happen for a reason whether its a higher power or just fate being cruel. its individuals like you who embody a deep and raw power. you cant change the world so you change yourself. but one can never truly change themselves fully. Theres a reason why magic users in stories very often have dark pasts. pain can be an unfortunate catalyst for great power. i know this first hand

I'm happy you found peace and prosperity

Yup.Agreed

I’m in! ;}

Team Yen For Life

#teamtriss bigger tits

Yeahhh😍

Jamie Flynn Facts

I suppose if you're into troglodytes instead of women, sure.

Your use of commas need work.

Hobestly she is exactly what i like in a female. Too bad its so rare

I prefer Shani

Deinareia they never interact in the books

They never interacted once in the books, only Geralt had a run in with her. Personally from what I took from that chapter, I truly don’t believe she got rid of Geralt because he was a hindrance. A mother who didn’t care probably wouldn’t of bothered to give the baby a name. Plus I doubt she would make herself sick healing him, be so tentative towards him, refuse pay for her services, and cry and tremble listening to Geralt talk about parts of his life, and what he planned to say to his mother if he met her, if she didn’t care. There’s no proof, but I think she gave him up because she knew somehow, through a vision, whatever, that his life would be better without her. He wouldn’t have a family, the friends, the fame, the journey, the ballads, the legend, if he stayed with her. I don’t know, but I think it was for a good reason.

Preach... 😢💗😣

I'm almost done with Blood and Wine and I've played the main story 3 times with different endings l,heart of stone .I don't want it to end !

1 year later, so now we have the netflix series. :p

nah they shit.

@@cheymilion3168 no u

Exactly, when you understand her it's impossible not to love her character.

That screaming part was cringe af

Really, the ones you know, all like this?

Folly Ventures agreed. Absolutely love The Witcher such a masterpiece.

But... You are Supposed to Slay Monters...

@@escabio1147 what does that has to do with anything?

What have you done, Geralt?!

@@pelinalwhitestrake9306 what?

Not Todd Howard, you could say he still is 'slaying' monsters. and no im not saying sorry for that terrible joke, i even hesitate to even call it a joke

Ouhhh yes, i did it just to watch How it will be and her face Brokes my heart. Jesus it was so Hard to play it.

Wouldn't happen if she didn't treat me as her little squire.

@Dream Chaser Lol how does she do that? Geralt does what he wants, he did so in the books, said no if he felt like it, and in the games he also isn’t bound to Yen’s hip. He’s off looking for Ciri in a way Yen admitted herself she can’t do. They’re equals. When Geralt’s skills are needed, he does his thing. And when Yen is the one who’s skill is needed, she takes over. If Geralt was a squire he wouldn’t be left on his own to do anything.

so like so yen ending is far better then triss for geralt.i dont like triss,i didnt read books,but i played all game and its enogh to understand something

@@dreamchaser3012 LOL true

They did can’t wait for the next season already

Seriously. I didn't know about Yennefer's story and after watching that bit and connecting the dots, my mind just blew. I have far more respect and love for Yennefer's character now than I did before.

but Yennefer's look in game is far more beautiful than Anya (the actress). Not complaining so much, because the actress did a good job

Taurus Dragon she was definitely sexier dressed in the game, but they at least still payed homage to it in the series, like all of her outfits had interesting strapy stuff, still giving it a kind of subtle s&m vibe.

@@taurusdragon4763 The actress was good and shes pretty......the only problem with that is Yennifer is supposed to be striking. Its not just her eyes and beauty, she is hard calculated beauty from someone who has never been such. I still say Eva Green would've been a better pick.

I think Shani's the ugliest.

superitgel : more like he saw theses flaws but he still cares about her. Magic couldn’t remove or change deformities entirely

@@Lapaki-doodles but like man wasnt it like all the normal people had kind of asymetrical faces? what the hell they pointed it out so loud it seems like shes abnormal

I read the books, hated them. Hated almost all of characters too. The Dwarves and Regis were cool.

Did you skip skellige everytime? How was her desperation to save her child not obvious. Taking the scorn of entire Islands on herself to get a Chance to find her.

@Jamie Flynn same lol

You can choose both has lovers?

@@Someone-vq6jk Romance them both.

Huh I didn't notice. I dumped her ass and didn't engage or pay attention to her at all after that unless a quest demanded it

Amen

PLAY THE FUCKING GAMES NOW! There are minor differences between the Books and Games BUT most are small and the Games ARE Flipping Amazing!

flames of chaos did you read the books?

Lucas Biermann Nope I haven't BUT I have looked up a lot of details about them....Like Triss is really a Bitch/"Traitor", Dandelion and Triss have different Hair Colors, Yen is BEST GAL no fucking question, Nilfgaard IS Evil Embodied FAR FAR Worse then the Northern Kingdoms have ever been...ETC.

@@flamesofchaos13 About Tris... She is not a traitor it's complicated. Yen... Geralt Andrzej Yen have their nad and good moments... mostly bad... and because of those geene spell it is complicated. Nilfgard... this is complicated... Better read thr books 😁

*Flames Of Chaos* Don't take people's comments on the internet to heart, best experience the story and characters yourself whenever able and form your own opinion. I sometimes read the comments of people who- at least claim to- have read the books and wonder if we've read the same ones lol. Things are never simple in the books. Triss in the books indeed betrayed the main cast, was never more than a one night stand to Geralt and ended up being more of a pain than anything to him but she never did it out of spite and it's complicated, and yes, she looks like a different person there. Only thing off with CDPR's Dandelion imo is that he isn't blonde, that's all, character design is on point. Yennefer is written to be the best gal at least when it comes to who should Geralt end up with in the story and I 100% disagree that she had "mostly bad moments" because her character development throughout the books is absolutely stellar in contrast to Witcher 3. Nilfgaard is not Evil Embodied and neither is Emhyr. They are not any more unethical than the Northern rulers, they just happen to be the antagonists. Only thing that comes in black and white in the Witcher are Yennefer's clothes. That's why no one can experience it for you.

Yennefer cheated on geralt

@@omiorahman6283 kid you know nothing. I bet you went on reddit or some other forums to find the answer you were looking for. True fans know whats up. If you were ever truely a fan youd know how geralt and yennefer have a special unique relationahip and the reason its strong and it has nothing to do with sex well not mainly, but still youd know what im talking about.

@Grumpsalot the guy she knew before geralt? Well was she loyal to him? In the end she ended up being being loyal to a certain witcher. She never cheated on geralt, but they werent in a relationship at that time.

@@rainshadows7086 she cheated actually

@@otrof6203 You can't read or what? Look at earlier comment

RIGHT?! The cast just feels... Off. Henry Cavill is too pretty to be Geralt! And Eva Grern would have been amazing!

You know, THIS. I love this. Eva Green has that quality. Unfortunately, it's some other person they chose.....

omg I was talking to my cousin about the same thing, Eva Green is the perfect Yennefer!

Totally agreed with you! Eva green would be perfect!

HE IS A LAMBERT YOU RIGHT.

Do yourself a favour and play them, I'd definitely recommend playing the trilogy. Witcher 3 is still my favourite game, and Witcher 1/2 are fantastic as well.

I was unable to make it through 1 and 2. 2 had a great story, which was clear from the get go. I hope you like them. Witcher 3 is the one to get excited for though.

Hagrid Potterz nah 1 is too old to play now and 2 can be tedious after 3. I suggest playing only 3 to it's fullest, Including the dlcs

Played 1 and enjoyed it to fullest man those soundtracks are best I have ever heard and the whole atmosphere of witcher 1 despite being old graphics and gameplay is enjoyed it to my fullest

It is! Do it

SM113 omg same, triss constantly nags you about everything

triss is obnoxious

Bruh, if you find Yen irresistable while finding Triss obnoxious, there is really something wrong with you.

@Rasuke11 that's because triss is allergic to magic. Funny thing considering she is a sorceress

She was healed with magic after Sodden, the physical scars were healed as well. She instead has mental scarring which is why she doesn't wear low cut clothing. There's no illusion magic used. Totally agree about Triss being a mangled mess otherwise

@@jennytargaryen Not allergic to magic, allergic to magic potions

@@the_dropbear4392 as far i remember she can only use potion on herself not magic

No when ill Geralt asked which potion to give her and she said she was allergic to magic potions, not magic

I actually hated the books and the characters. They were toxic and unlikeable. The author also wrote some inappropriate things about underage girls. The books are messy and first starts out with pretty cool short stories to a novel all about Ciri. It's called "The Witcher" not "The Adventures of Ciri". Geralt, Yen and Ciri were all jerks too.

Kate Beckinsale would have been perfect. I just don't see Yennefer when I look at Anya. I do however see Ciri when I look Freya. Anya also has zero chemistry with Cavil.

I mean, you don't have to switch teams to choose Yen. You can still prefer Triss but go for Yen in your next playthrough.

@@hagridpotterz7802 THIS IS BLASPHEMY

Even though Triss cares about Geralt she still manipulated and took advantage of him when he lost his memory. Yen may not show it but she's down with what geralts wants as seen in Blood and Wine. She actually wants to settle with Geralt while Triss on the other hand want to play puppet for some court while disregarding what Geralt wants (settling down). Triss is nice but my canon Geralt belongs to Yen. I just prefer snarky bitches that are into unicorns.

When Geralt lost his memory, Triss had no way of knowing that Yen was even *alive* . Why would she tell Geralt about Yen when, first, Geralt wouldn't remember her anyway, and second, when she doesn't even know if she's still alive? The last time Triss saw Yen, Yen was dead.Telling Geralt about her would serve no purpose. Besides, during Witcher 2, Triss is actively trying to help Geralt get his memories back, and even says "I'm prepared to travel to the end of the world with you to save Yennefer. I owe you that, I owe her that." "Triss on the other hand want to play puppet for some court" Uh, no. Triss wants to go somewhere where she will be safe and not discriminated against. That place is Kovir, and she was offered the position of royal advisor by the King of Kovir, who is also a good ruler that doesn't despise mages and instead greets them with open arms (you know, instead of *literally* putting them on the stake and hunting them). It's one of the very few places where people don't hate mages. Why wouldn't Triss want to go there with Geralt? "while disregarding what Geralt wants (settling down)" But she's not? If Geralt and Triss went to Kovir, they *would* be settling down, in a place where Witchers and mages aren't hated. edit: spacing

Triss' relationship with Geralt is only there because she took advantage of amnesia and lied to him, essentially. Did you read any of the books? That lie came back to bite her once Geralt regained his memory and yet somehow she still feels like trying to re-engage the relationship. In general she's a terrible human being as far as Geralt, Yen and even Ciri would be concerned. Refused to help Yen out of fear of the lodge (Philipia to be exact) Realistically she does have some redeeming qualities but she's ultimately a minor character who had to cheat her way to a period in the spotlight. "That place is Kovir" Obviously.... If you like Triss, that's ok and i'm not knocking you for that because like I said, she's redeemable but she's nothing more than a parasite once you've read the books if you choose to judge her from that. From casting seduction spells upon Geralt to flat out manipulation.

Agree

Like your mom. 😏😏😏😏

You don't say...

@@ivanarmas764 holly shiitt

Nah, torrents are free

Ivan Armas whhoaaaa