After centuries of pushing back the elder races, humanity ruled most of the continent
east of the great sea, with the united Empire of Nilfgaard in the south, while the North
was divided into rival kingdoms.
By the 13th century, these Northern Realms included the neutral states of Kovir, Poviss
and the Hengfors League, while the more aggressive kingdoms were Redania, Kaedwin, Temeria, Aedirn,
Lyria, Rivia, Cidaris, Verden, Brugge, Cintra, Sodden and the island of Skillige.
Though each of these realms had governments to administer everyday operations, larger
decisions were often influenced by the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, who sent their powerful agents
to serve as advisers to the Northern Kings.
Officially, Kings had the final say, and in some cases exercised their power by banning
magic users from their lands.
But the Brotherhood represented a vast network of highly trained sorcerers, each of whom
had their own small army of spies, informants and allies, meaning that in most cases they
were able to convince or manipulate rulers into doing whatever they wished.
And where that failed, they might have the ruler replaced.
In the south, magic users where given far less deference, forced to abide by strict
rules and regulations set by the state to prevent them from abusing their power.
United under an Emperor who held absolute authority, Nilfgaardian politics were ruthless
and highly competitive, both for those seeking royal favour and those working against the
ruling dynasty.
After gathering support from a number of influential families, a nobleman known to history as the
Usurper led a coup, killed the Emperor and assumed power.
As a result, from 1239 to 1257 the Empire fell under the rule of a man determined to
expand his domain, marching north to conquer the lands of Ebbing, Maecht, Metinna and Nazair.
Despite his victories, the Usurper had many enemies within the Empire, and so a conspiracy
was hatched to bring back the old dynasty.
Working through a Northern sorcerer named Vilgafortz, who had his own secret agenda,
they contacted Emhyr var Emreis, the son of the murdered Emperor, who after being cursed
and exiled, posed as the Urcheon of Erlenwald to travel north where he happened upon the
King of Cintra and saved his life.
Invoking the law of surprise for his reward, the King was honor bound to give Urcheon whatever
was found upon returning home but was not expected.
In this case, the King found his wife pregnant with their daughter Pavetta, and so the child
was destined to become the wife of this southern Knight.
Some years later, Urcheon met the Princess, and while he did not feel love, he saw a great
opportunity for a better life.
Pavetta however, loved him deeply and eventually convinced her mother Queen Calanthi to accept
their marriage.
Through this union his curse was lifted, and soon enough they had a daughter of their own,
they named Cirilla.
But everything changed then Prince Emhyr was contacted by the sorcerer Vilgafortz, who
not only promised financial aid and military support if he returned south to depose the
Usurper, but also argued that there was a far larger issue at play, and that the very
fate of the world may rest upon his shoulders.
Teaching the prince about the Elven Prophecy of Ithlinne, he explained that she foresaw
the doom of their world through an inevitable white frost.
However the prophecy also offered hope, that the world might be reborn through a child
of the Elder Blood.
Thousands of years earlier, the Elves used magical gateways to travel freely between
the worlds of the multiverse, conquering and enslaving whoever they wished.
Yet their use of this Gateway required the help of the Unicorn race, sentient horse-like
beings with powerful magical abilities.
Using and abusing the Unicorns, they eventually rebelled and took the portal for themselves,
leaving the Elves to start a breeding program for the Elder Blood gene, creating a line
of magic users so powerful they might one day regain control of the gateway.
Yet their plan fell to shambles, when the carrier Lara Doren fell in love with a human
mage, abandoning her responsibilities to marry this man and birth his half blood child.
Although the Elder Blood gene would never be as powerful as it was under a full blooded
Elf, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers took up the challenge of trying to ensure this unique
mutation survived through a breeding program of their own, involving the rulers of the
North.
But in the end, they failed to properly understand and keep track of it through the generations,
until it was lost and later unexpectedly reappeared in the 13th century inside Princess Pavetta,
daughter to the Queen of Cintra.
The gene was then passed to Ciri, her daughter with Emhyr var Emreis, meaning their child
was the key to Ithlinne’s prophecy, and through her line the world might be reborn.
Believing that his daughter was the key to everything, he made a plan to fake their deaths
in a boating accident and escape into the south.
But Pavetta grew suspicious and smuggled their daughter away before they set out to sea.
Upon learning what occurred, Emhyr grew furious and pushed Pavetta into the sea where she
drowned.
The ship meanwhile, was magically transported to safety by Vilgafortz, with Emhyr as its
only passenger.
Believing that the fate of the world rested recovering his daughter, the Prince gathered
his allies and overthrew the Usurper to take his rightful place as Emperor, and once in
power, enacted a purge to eliminate all those who stood against him, leaving many to name
him the White Flame dancing on the Barrows of his Enemies.
After consolidating power, Emhyr focused on raising a mighty host to invade the North,
starting with the conquest of Cintra, where he might at last capture his daughter.
In 1263 AR, the First Northern War began with the invasion of Cintra, in which Nilfgaard
won the battle of Marnadal valley before marching to the capital and killing the Queen in a
terrible slaughter.
Though Princess Ciri was captured by a Nilgaardian Soldier, she managed to escape into the wilderness
alone and scarred, finding shelter wherever possible until her inevitable reunion with
the Witcher Geralt of Rivia.
A highly trained monster hunter trained in the Wolf School of Kaer Morhen, Geralt was
present at the feast where Princess Pavetta declared her love for Urcheon of Erlenwald,
and even played a role in events by saving Emhyr’s life and ensuring the law of surprise
was upheld.
As a reward for his efforts, he too invoked the law of surprise, only to quickly find
out Pavetta was pregnant.
Although Geralt did not want to take the girl away from her family, Ciri knew they were
destined for each other, and awaited the day they would be together.
Learning that they failed to apprehend his daughter, Emhyr eventually put his old ally
Vilgafortz in charge of the hunt.
In addition to attacking Cintra, Nilfgaard also invaded the kingdom of Sodden, capturing
half the realm through their victory in the First Battle of Sodden.
Yet here they met their end, as the Kingdoms of the North finally rallied together and
halted any further expansion.
Joining the allied armies, was the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, who knew their rights and freedoms
were also at stake in this clash of civilizations.
The war then culminated in the Battle of Sodden Hill, where up to a hundred thousand warriors
clashed leaving the North victorious, and Empire in retreat.
This costly battle resulted in 30 000 casualties, including 13 dead sorcerers from the brotherhood
and did not change the fact that both the Kingdoms of Cintra and Sodden were gone.
Signing an uneasy peace, Nilfgaard retained control of Cintra and Upper Sodden, while
Lower Sodden went to the Kingdom of Temeria.