Damn people! Hopefully someone who hasn't played the Daerhenna DLC in TW2 doesn't stumble in here and has the whole Cynthia twist thing spoiled for them. Though I guess people should play the games before coming to the forums. Ah well.
I do wonder what the practical reasons would be for having Geralt as a spectral rider. Was one of the elven horsemen ill one day and Geralt had to step in and fill the position for a while? I mean the fuck. It's gonna be interesting to have it explained. I really hope the writers don't forget about this detail or try to retcon it so that Geralt wasn't really a rider, or something like that. I hate contrived writing! A twist is awesome but retconning is for lazy writers and BioWare. Tihi.
It seems a bit counter intuitive. The riders grab Yen, Geralt chases them, then offers a switch, which the horsemen IMMEDIATELY accepted. Why would they do all this. To what end would it serve them to kidnap a person only to substitute them for another. It seems to me that the souls of the plane that Geralt occupies in are all the same and what person they grab is irrelevant.
However, I have a theory. Speculations ahoy! What if the only way to become a rider, or some kind of higher ranked rider, is to willingly
accept the position. The Riders needed a new compatriot or perhaps they found Geralt to be the perfect choice for the job but they can't just kidnap the bastard or threaten him into accepting the position. He needs to be willing, that's the catch. So instead of trying to coerce him through threats or blackmail direclty or whatever, they instead just grab Yen, being fully aware that he loves her and would do anything for her. Implicitly manipulating him. Geralt chases the bastards, catches up with them and the Riders see that their plan worked flawlessly. Geralt indeed proposes a switch, his soul for Yens. Since he's doing it willingly, he's eligible to become a Rider, instead of just a lowly slave or whatever happens to the ordinary souls once they get taken by spectres. That would explain why they didn't even hesitate when Geralt offered his soul. I mean fuck, they could've just nabbed him instead of Yen at the Isle of Avallach. They're immortal, they can't be killed. Geralt would've lost and be taken if the spectres willed it. But they didn't.
Instead they had Geralt chase them (maybe that was also a test of theirs? Testing Geralts resolve?) and once he willingly decided to switch places with Yennefer of Vengerberg, they accepted it without flinching. Thus they had a new powerful Rider at their side, able to perhaps reap twice as many souls now whenever the riders passed by?
Well anyway, that's my theory though I should add that I have not read the Witcher books. Nor am I an expert at the Witcher lore. From what I've gathered the abducted individuals seem to be sometimes included in the cavalcade itself, sometime they're in a grass plain where unicorns ride while some other sources say that they're slaves for the mysterious elven race. So again, I'm missing a crucial plot point here as to why the Riders need people at all, and why they would need Geralt amongst its cavalry. But hey, speculating is a lot of fun!
