Fall of Cintra
A kingdom burned to ash so a child could survive.
The fall of Cintra is the Nilfgaardian conquest of the Kingdom of Cintra in The Witcher. About a year before the beginning of Blood of Elves, the Empire of Nilfgaard attacks Cintra; Queen Calanthe, mortally wounded, commits suicide, and her granddaughter Ciri flees from the burning capital city.
Quick Facts
- Primary aggressor
- Nilfgaardian Empire
- Defending power
- Kingdom of Cintra
Lore & Background
In Sword of Destiny, Dandelion tells Geralt that Cintra has fallen, with Calanthe throwing herself from the castle walls and all of the nobility committing suicide; Ciri is missing and assumed dead. Emperor Emhyr var Emreis sends his spies to find her. The war ends with Nilfgaard's defeat by a coalition of the Northern Kingdoms, though the Empire retains much of its power.
Reader's Guide
In the Netflix series, Nilfgaard invades Cintra in 1263, sacking the city and breaching the castle, and Calanthe sends Ciri away to escape and find Geralt. In Blood of Elves the Northern kings later decide to start a war to regain Cintra, aware that the Emperor is looking for Ciri in order to marry her and so legitimize his occupation of the kingdom.
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