The Wild Hunt and Emhyr (Spoilers)

[game-over300]

The Wild Hunt and Emhyr (Spoilers)

Hello guys this is my first post if this subject has already been discussed I apologize

So after taking a look at this forum , read all the books and play witcher 1 and 2 I learned a lot about the Wild Hunt and also discovered that Emhyr is a better strategist than I already thought .
But something came to mind, Emhyr is fully aware of the Wild Hunt ( but not sure EXACTLY is the Wild Hunt as Geralt knows ) and probably know the damage that the Wild Hunt can do.
It has been said in several interviews that compared the Wild Hunt that war is nothing.

With this information in mind I have this question

*The goal is to conquer the north Emhyr to defend themselves against the Wild Hunt with a Grand Unified Empire ?


If he knows about the Wild Hunt the war can burn resources of both the northern kingdoms as the Empire Nilfgaardian this can only make things easier for the Wild Hunt.If this is the case that why Emhyr knowing the damage he may suffer continue with the conquest?


PS: And yes I know the possibility of Emhyr just know that the Wild Hunt was returning only when it was too late to make changes in their plans to conquer the north, and forgive my bad English

 

[Lahiri.308]

(Spoiler warning)
Interesting point.. I do think that Emhyr has a greater purpose in conquering the northern realms than purely expansionism reasons. In the books, he wasn't giving much of a shit about his victory or defeat in the war, all he could care about was finding his daugher Cirilla, and his invasion of Cintra was just a pretext to do so. So probably he has something else in mind, and it might be related to the Wild Hunt. I just hope we can somehow see Eredin in his elf form in The Witcher 3, and not only in spectral form.

 

[vivaxardas2015]

Well, Dani's Sun and Stars, I can't really say that Emhyr can possibly have any good intel on WH intentions. WH's plans and precise time-tables of the conquest are something only they know. Emhyr already spent way too much time chasing a prophecy, and now probably should concentrate on here and now, not on some possible otherworldy invasions.
He conquered a crapload of countries already, so he obviously is interested in the conquest and expansion of the Empire. Realistic and thus a very good reason in my eyes. To me it will be rather contrived if in TW3 WH plays a big role in his plans, and I don't want anything contrived and otherwordly because already there is a danger of turning TW3 plot into "save the galaxy from the reapers"-type of thing. Less it is about humans fighting alien invasion the better.

 

[Belzebutinov]

Even assuming Emhyr wants to conquer the North to present a unified kingdom against the Wild Hunt threat, I have to ask: what exactly would it change? The Wild Hunt is not an enemy you defeat on the field of battle. Massive empires, great armies... These mean nothing to the Hunt. The Wild Hunt is a handful of riders, and if you can physically beat them down, then you're probably just as well off with a small number of experts - say, a particular witcher for instance - than with a large army .

 

[caspartine]

I think you might be overthinking this. Nilfgaard sees the Northern Kingdoms as barbaric and uncivilized. Common Nilfgaardian basically doesn't see the war as an act of aggression and hunger for land, but rather as spreading the civilization, law and order. Think of Roman Empire. Expanding the empire and its riches is a good enough reason for Emhyr.

More importantly, to the point of your post - WH is something people sometimes see in the sky, especially at Saovine. A cavalcade of ghosts that take people. This is a common knowledge. But who knows, what they really are, what is their purpose? Same goes for Ithlinne's Prophecy. Everyone heard about it, but how many actually realize, what's it about, what's behind that? Who, off all the big players in the saga, knows, what Lara's gene does, what is Ciri capable of doing?
I don't think Emhyr has bad dreams about WH, he knows very little in this manner.

 

[BroccoliSouP]

First of all I would like to point out that there is saga and the game. So we have basically two story lines. One from Sapkowsky(vanilla) and "extended" version from CDPR. Even that CDPR produces high quality stuff I am not sure if Sapkowsky would agree with Witcher games story and of course game can´t simply have as impressive story as saga has.

Now if you read books you can simply recognize Nilfgaard as allegory to huge countries lïke Soviet union(which doesn´t exist already) or China and northern kingdoms as allegory to western countries. He could also take some inspiration from cold war and both world wars. The wild hunt always appers before war same as comets do(you can see one in The Witcher 2). Also he has many to do with fate and death(same as Geralt does) and maybe it is intrested in elder blood as well. Also if you read 1984 from Goerge Orwell you will know that war is the good way how to get rid of overproduction and keep people under control.

In the games Nilfgaard is denitely intrested in wild hunt. Cynthia spoils it to Geralt. She bacially says that she read in reports that Geralt is the only one who returned(pun unintended) from claws of wild hunt. It would simly not make sense to conquer the world to remove threat of wild hunt. Something what can group of Witchers solve(witchers from school of viper specialized on this). Also Wild hunt is not taken as some bigger threat for whole country but it is Geralt´s nemesis.

 

[GuyNwah]

I don't think Nilfgaard's interest lies in either a 1984'ish perpetual state of war or a strike at the Wild Hunt. Emhyr's hold on power is at least in part founded on satisfying a wealthy and powerful merchant class, one that would rather make money than wage war for war's sake. For Nilfgaard, war is a means to an end, a way of acquiring valuable territories and keeping an expensive standing army well motivated. They use the spreading of advanced civilization as a justification for this, but the aim is to make the Emperor's supporters rich. This is not different from the motives and policies of other empires, most notably Rome.

Certainly the Wild Hunt is of great concern to them. But I agree with broccolisoup in this: they want to understand the Wild Hunt, whether they need to combat it, and if so, how. I expect they will show their cards in TW3, and their plan may be anything from removing the means of war by reducing the North to tributary kingdoms to a strike against the gate that the Wild Hunt uses to enter the world.

 

[BroccoliSouP]

I don't think Nilfgaard's interest lies in either a 1984'ish perpetual state of war or a strike at the Wild Hunt.

It is positive side effect but yeah...not a main goal.

 

[Ðarkstar]

Considering Emhyr used Letho to stir chaos in the North, it's possible that the invasion on the north is harder than they expected and Nilfgaard tries to strike a deal with the wild hunt (pretty much Letho no.2).

Another thought would be that Emhyr is using Geralt and Yennefer to find Ciri. He would know full and well that both Geralt and Yen lost their memory thereby the possibility that their memory returns to them, they may find Ciri. The Wild Hunt would simply be a matter of convenience to the emperor.

It's hard not to over-think this subject since we know incredibly little about what's going to happen in TW3 aside from the obvious Wild Hunt.

 

[GuyNwah]

Considering Emhyr used Letho to stir chaos in the North, it's possible that the invasion on the north is harder than they expected and Nilfgaard tries to strike a deal with the wild hunt (pretty much Letho no.2).

Another thought would be that Emhyr is using Geralt and Yennefer to find Ciri. He would know full and well that both Geralt and Yen lost their memory thereby the possibility that their memory returns to them, they may find Ciri. The Wild Hunt would simply be a matter of convenience to the emperor.

It's hard not to over-think this subject since we know incredibly little about what's going to happen in TW3 aside from the obvious Wild Hunt.

War causes destruction: some of it is necessary, some of it is wanton. But Nilfgaard does not desire the destruction of the North. It would be a poor provider of natural resources and consumer of Nilfgaardian goods if its population were decimated and reduced to even more abject dependence and poverty.

Stirring the pot, by decapitating Hobbesian kingdoms and blaming the anarchy on their most dangerous enemies, is exactly what Nilfgaard should be doing if they desire a war of minimum destruction.

Geralt and Yen are not just the bait for Ciri but also the only known survivors of the Wild Hunt. This is by itself of great interest to Nilfgaard, especially what happened to Geralt. We know Yen was let go; we don't know how or why Geralt escaped (or was allowed to think he escaped).

 

[BroccoliSouP]

Yeah... Emhyr letted Ciri go and now he would want her back? Also he didn´t want her because of elder blood but Cintra and he married doppelganger instead so no need for Ciri this way.

 

[GuyNwah]

Yeah... Emhyr letted Ciri go and now he would want her back? Also he didn´t want her because of elder blood but Cintra and he married doppelganger instead so no need for Ciri this way.

I wrote confusingly. Yes, the Emperor has no political need for Ciri. He and the people are satisfied with False Ciri, and he has given up the idea of fathering her child. But the Wild Hunt still needs Ciri, unless they have acquired the power of the Gate of the Worlds by another means, and I do not think that likely. They must entice her to return, because they cannot reach her in her new world -- and Geralt and Yen are the only ones she would return for.

 

[Pedrolago]

I wrote confusingly. Yes, the Emperor has no political need for Ciri. He and the people are satisfied with False Ciri, and he has given up the idea of fathering her child. But the Wild Hunt still needs Ciri, unless they have acquired the power of the Gate of the Worlds by another means, and I do not think that likely. They must entice her to return, because they cannot reach her in her new world -- and Geralt and Yen are the only ones she would return for.

And there you have the plot for the whole game series, simple, well written and true to the books, I believe CDPR wrote it like that from the beginning since they originally wanted to release witcher 2 and 3 way earlier. The books end in a semi cliffhanger, by the end all parties interested in Ciri are eliminated except for Eredin and the Lodge, the lodge needless to say has no chance of getting to her, and if you assume eredin and avalach can't too then the books end in a well satisfying finale. However Eredin still would do everything in his power to get to her, so it makes perfect sense to continue the story that way, Eredin kidnaps Geralt and Yennefer from their "island" in order to find a way to Ciri or draw her out( imo the latter), having seen him doing so in her dreams she travels back to the northern kingdoms to save them, so the lodge will probably try to get to her as well. Meanwhile back in the south Emhyr (who even though has given up his quest to prevent Ithline's prophecy is still a ruthless ruler with expansionist ambitions, like many emperors in history) has married false Ciri and is waging war against the north, but will probably become involved with Ciri in some way. So staying true to the books Ciri will arrive in the northern kingdoms bringing with her death and bloodshed(and hopefully an unicorn or two).

Damn thats a good story, good thing CDPR is helping to make the saga popular here in the west.

 

[game-over300]

Well, Dani's Sun and Stars, I can't really say that Emhyr can possibly have any good intel on WH intentions. WH's plans and precise time-tables of the conquest are something only they know. Emhyr already spent way too much time chasing a prophecy, and now probably should concentrate on here and now, not on some possible otherworldy invasions.
He conquered a crapload of countries already, so he obviously is interested in the conquest and expansion of the Empire. Realistic and thus a very good reason in my eyes. To me it will be rather contrived if in TW3 WH plays a big role in his plans, and I don't want anything contrived and otherwordly because already there is a danger of turning TW3 plot into "save the galaxy from the reapers"-type of thing. Less it is about humans fighting alien invasion the better.

I also thought that the emperor did not know much about the Wild Hunt until I see Cynthia (who despite the device not be his real goal) that tells Geralt specific information about the wild hunt. And the emperor has (or had) been with Yennefer, and she had info on Sorceresses and I doubt very much that they have not found anything about the wild hunt.

In the games Nilfgaard is denitely intrested in wild hunt. Cynthia spoils it to Geralt. She bacially says that she read in reports that Geralt is the only one who returned(pun unintended) from claws of wild hunt. It would simly not make sense to conquer the world to remove threat of wild hunt. Something what can group of Witchers solve(witchers from school of viper specialized on this). Also Wild hunt is not taken as some bigger threat for whole country but it is Geralt´s nemesis.

yes of course this game will be more focused on Geralt but do not think the emperor will not take action against the Wild Hunt especially with the intelligence that was collected


but hypothetically speaking if they (wild hunt) capture ciri this would not be a big problem for the witcher universe?

and another thing the discussion of topics in this forum always this fun? many interesting views about witcher 3 bet CD Project is proud

 

[vivaxardas2015]

Meanwhile back in the south Emhyr (who even though has given up his quest to prevent Ithline's prophecy is still a ruthless ruler with expansionist ambitions, like many emperors in history) has married false Ciri and is waging war against the north, but will probably become involved with Ciri in some way. So staying true to the books Ciri will arrive in the northern kingdoms bringing with her death and bloodshed(and hopefully an unicorn or two).

Can't wait for coming of Ciri with all the bloodshed and unicorns she can handle (and she can handle A LOT). Emhyr will definitely get involved, she is his daughter after all. He abandoned his a bit unconventional plans concerning her not because of some external pressure or failure, but because he actually loves her. So if something bad happens, he wouldn't just say - screw it, I don't have time for this, I have a war to win, but will help her out.

 

[shawn_kh]

I've always had this idea that Ciri was the one that helped Geralt escape, and that is why he is the only one that has ever escaped the hunt. Ciri can jump between universes, so she found the hunt and freed Geralt. I guess she herself got captured in the process. If the hunt has Ciri, they know that Geralt would come for her as soon as he regains his memory. This theory also explains the absence of Ciri from both games, because I'm sure if she was free to do so she would have found Geralt before Triss.

 

[caspartine]

And there you have the plot for the whole game series, simple, well written and true to the books

Except Emhyr's true interest in Ciri wasn't what everyone thought it was. He just wanted to find his

Spoiler

daughter

.

 

[BroccoliSouP]

I've always had this idea that Ciri was the one that helped Geralt escape, and that is why he is the only one that has ever escaped the hunt. Ciri can jump between universes, so she found the hunt and freed Geralt. I guess she herself got captured in the process. If the hunt has Ciri, they know that Geralt would come for her as soon as he regains his memory. This theory also explains the absence of Ciri from both games, because I'm sure if she was free to do so she would have found Geralt before Triss.

I really like that part where Ciri went to save Geralt. This is very good idea!

but hypothetically speaking if they (wild hunt) capture ciri this would not be a big problem for the witcher universe?

Please, not another saving of the world. This is why I love Witcher series. Noone is trying to save the world from greater evil.

 

[Nucta.397]

Emhyr, being Nilfgaardian, knows perfectly well, what is the Wild Hunt. He constructed a great scheme to become part of Elder Blood dynasty. Now, in any case, his descendants will rule the world, open interdimensional gates and so on. Emhyr won't be the Child's father, he will be his/her grandfather, still the Child will be of his lineage. Ciri escaped elven world and elves do not have any means of controlling her (except hurting her family). So, Emhyr let Cirilla go and conceive the Child in her own time. Elves recently found some new source of power (presumably, in Alvin) and prepared to wage a war on inhabitants of the Witcherworld. Now they both (Eredin and Emhyr) entered the race: who will be the 1st to conquer the Witcherworld. It's always easier to take a defensive position in war, so Emhyr is ready for elves to arrive.

These are my thoughts on the subject.
No idea, what CDPR will make of it.
Let them surprise me.

 

[Pedrolago]

He just wanted to find his

Spoiler

daughter

.

And have a son with her to save the world from a prophecy that was highly misinterpreted by everyone, but at the last minute he decided that after all the ends did not justify the means, and let her go. But I would not go so far as to say he would do anything to protect her, even though we see at the end that he undoubtably loves her.