So you’ve seen The Witcher season one on Netflix and you’re hooked for season 2. Congratulations! Now we all get to wait together for season 2 to arrive. If you haven’t read the books, you probably have more questions than some.
You’re wondering about Ciri and Geralt’s connection, whether or not Yennefer survived the Battle of Sodden Hill, and where Jaskier is just now. Well, in an attempt to offer up some information without presenting spoilers and ruining the mysteries that remain for television audiences, we thought we’d collect some information about the Witcher Home of Kaer Morhen from the books and let you know a little bit about where Geralt and Ciri may be headed.
Kaer Morhen Is An Old Castle
At its most basic Kaer Morhen is an old castle located in the mountains far away from regular prying eyes. It’s technically in the territory of the Kingdom of Kaedwen, near the Gwenllech river. It’s very hard to get to, and that is on purpose. At one time it was particularly large and particularly intimidating, but of course, hidden, for the safety of the Witchers and their trainees. In Ciri’s time, the castle is more of a ruin than a safe stronghold for Witchers or anyone else for that matter.
It Gets Its Name From The Sea
At one point, a very long time ago, Kaer Morhen, was surrounded by the sea, which is where the name Kaer Morhen comes from. Caer a’Muirehen in elder speech (the language of the elves) actually translated to, “Keep of the Elder Sea”. Proof of this sea’s existence can still be found in the fossils of sea creatures that are quite abundant in the land around the castle ruins and can be seen in the stones on top of which the castle itself was built.
No One Lives In The Castle
The last Witcher to actually live and train within the castle was named Vesemir. The castle was attacked by fearful residents, leading to its no longer being safe to occupy. Witchers still visit, live, work, and train in the land surrounding the keep itself, but the Kaer Morhen castle itself has not been used in many many years. Only a small handful of Witchers remain to train, live, and take care of the area.
Kaer Morhen Attacked Over 50 Years Ago
The attack that ruined the castle took place more than fifty years before Ciri was even born. Fanatics who did not trust Witchers attacked the castle and killed a good portion of both the teachers and students who, at the time, resided there. Vesemir, who has not yet been introduced on the Netflix show, was one of the very few who survived the attack when it happened. He is the only known survivor who is still alive in Ciri’s time.
Sorcerers Helped The Attackers
Being hidden in the mountains, Kaer Morhen was chosen because of the safety it offered Witchers and those who were still in training. Random fanatics alone would not have been able to gain access to the castle and its grounds or overpower the Witchers who lived there.
Sorcerers assisted the fanatics in finding and accessing the Kaer Morhen keep, otherwise the castle would not have been conquered by random fanatics alone.
Can Only Be Reached By One Path
One of the aspects of Kaer Morhen’s location that made it particularly safe for such a long time is the fact that it is only accessible by a single path. This path, unsurprisingly, is known as “The Witcher’s Trail”. This was part of the reason it took the assistance of sorcerers to gain access to the keep so many years ago. It is also why the remaining Witchers still return to Kaer Morhen on occasion as well.
The Witcher’s Trail For Training
The Witcher’s Trail not only helped protect the Kaer Morhen castle for many years, it was and is also used for training Witchers, much like a very dangerous obstacle course. Witcher’s must both learn the trail and then practice on it. Often referred to as “The Killer,” by Witchers, the trail leads not only to Kaer Morhen but circles the castle as well, offering more space and opportunity for obstacles and practice. Part of running the trail is learning to control speed and breathing as well as surviving obstacles.
Ciri Trains At Kaer Morhen
This may be a little bit of a spoiler, but it’s certainly not hard to guess that this might be part of Ciri and Geralt’s journey in season two. Ciri will train at Kaer Morhen with Geralt, she will work on The Witchers Trail and learn to use a sword, as Geralt does. She will also be the first person to train at Kaer Morhen in almost a quarter of a century. There are not very many young Witchers remaining in the world and (again, small spoiler here) there are no female Witchers at all.
Ciri Trains For A Year
While the chronology on the show is not exactly linear there is hope that season two may be a bit simpler to follow.
In the books Ciri spends about a year with Geralt at Kaer Morhen, training, running the Witcher’s Trail, and learning to fight. She does not, however, go under the same mutations at Geralt did when he was in training. Many of the necessary herbs and potions had been lost and, as a girl, what mutations might do to Ciri were unknown.
Wind
Kaer Morhen, being located high in the mountains as it is, is known for being particularly windy. It’s a bit of a miracle that Ciri isn’t blown from the peak at any point during her training there. It can be heard throughout the ruins, despite no one using the castle as a permanent residence anymore. It’s just a stop off now, a place of rest and relative safety for the Witchers that remain. Despite its history of destruction, Kaer Morhen does offer safety to Geralt and Ciri for a time when they first find one another.
