Warning! SPOILERS for The Witcher: Blood Origin
The Witcher: Blood Origin depicts many infamous historical events in the Witcher canon, one of which was who became the first Witcher in existence. While much of the monster-hunting organization is shrouded in mystery and prejudice from those they protect, most know that the enhanced reflexes and strength of the Witchers are attributed to genetic mutation and experimentation. Now, Netflix has revealed who first developed the process to create a Witcher and why they did so.
The Witcher: Blood Origin takes place 1,200 years before the events of the main series, expanding upon the revelations of season 2 of The Witcher. In particular, the mini-series expands on the height of the power of the elves, at the end of which an elven sorcerer uses a magical monster to perform a coup on three kingdoms. This monster is what necessitates the creation of the first Witcher in The Witcher: Blood Origin, as the creature easily decimates even the strongest of the three kingdoms’ normal warriors.
Blood Origin Reveals The First Successful Netflix Witcher
While Witchers have propagated enough to form a storied order in the original series, The Witcher: Blood Origin reveals that the first genetically-enhanced monster hunter was an elf named Fjall (Laurence O’Fuarain). Originally a Dog Clan warrior entrusted to guard the Xintr’ean princess Merwyn (Mirren Mack), Fjall was exiled after he slept with the princess. Once he and Éile (Sophia Brown), otherwise known as the Lark, discover that one of their essences can be combined with a monster’s via magic to increase their abilities, Éile was originally going to become the first test subject. Fjall refused to allow this and took the first rudimentary elixir instead.
Blood Origin Hints At A Secret Previous Witcher
While Fjall was able to survive the harrowing process by which Witchers are made, The Witcher: Blood Origin reveals that developing the ritual did not come without its costs. Syndril (Zach Wyatt) and Zacaré (Lizzie Annis) tried to save their mother from an unnamed calamity in their first attempt at the Trial of the Grasses. While she survived the physical transformation, her humanity did not. The dialogue between the two mages suggests that she became a monster. This caused the pair to hesitate to try their experiment again. While tragic, it would technically make the Syndril and Zacaré’s mother the first Witcher, albeit an unsuccessful one.
Throughout seasons 1 and 2 of The Witcher, the process through which a Witcher is created is revealed alongside mystique and danger. The Witcher: Blood Origin has validated this reputation with its depiction of the first successful monster hunter in Fjall and with its hints that the process killed one other subject. Fjall’s legacy as the first Witcher can be seen in Geralt’s generation, and it’s interesting to see how the original process developed into the one it became.
