Geralt of Rivia
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Geralt of Rivia (Polish: Geralt z Rivii) is a fictional character and protagonist of The Witcher series by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, as well as its adaptations.
In Sapkowski's books, witchers are monster-hunters who receive special training and have their bodies modified at an early age to provide them with supernatural abilities so they can kill extremely dangerous monsters and survive. These modifications (which involve herbal preparations, magic potions and virus innoculations) leave them with inhuman reflexes, dexterity and the ability to open and contract their pupils at will (giving them improved night-vision). These modifications also leave them sterile and they are said to be completely devoid of human emotions (this is later discovered to be false)(see albino bias). Witchers are mistakenly called "mutants", although their condition is not congenital.
In the stories, Geralt, the central character, is said to be one of the best witchers. He is said to have resisted the "changes" during his childhood better than most, which encouraged his makers to perform even more dangerous experimental procedures on him. Because of these additional procedures, Geralt lost all body pigmentation, but is considered to be one of the best witchers in the world. Because of his pale skin and white hair, he is also known in Starsza Mowa (Old Speech) as "Gwynbleidd", the White Wolf.
Despite his name, Geralt does not really come from Rivia (although he is described, during his first visit to Wyzim, as having an "unpleasant" Rivian accent), but young witchers were encouraged to make up surnames for themselves by master Vesemir, to make their names sound more trustworthy. His first choice was Geralt Roger Eric du Haute-Bellegarde, but was dismissed by Vesemir as silly and pretentious.
Geralt exists in an ambiguous moral universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At the same time cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to Raymond Chandler's signature character Philip Marlowe. The fantasy world in which these adventures take place owes much to J.R.R. Tolkien, while being also heavily influenced by Polish history and Slavic mythology.
Geralt was the son of sorceress Visenna and (presumably) a warrior called Korin. Shortly after being born, Geralt was taken by his mother to the Witchers' Place - the Kaer Morhen stronghold. Geralt survived numerous mutations during the Trial of Grass, thanks to which he gained practically superhuman physical and mental abilities (increased reflexes, speed, strength and enhanced hearing) surprisingly well. Because of that, as one of the few he was selected for additional experiments, and of the few he was the only one that survived. His white hair, completely lacking pigment, are a side effect of these experiments. After finishing the witcher training, he embarked into the world on his horse called The Roach (he gave the same name to every horse he owned) to become a monster slayer for hire.
Even though Geralt did not believe in destiny, he demanded the unborn child of princess Pavetta and her husband Duny as a reward for his services. As the child turned out to be a girl, he did not take her. However, fate or blind chance causes Geralt and Ciri, the daughter of Duny and Pavetta to cross their paths thrice, and after the death of her grandmother, queen Calanthe, Geralt ended up taking care of the girl and loving her as his own daughter. His best friend was Dandelion the bard (Polish: Jaskier), while his lover and the love of his life was Yennefer.
After seemingly being killed by a mob during a slaughter of non-humans at the end of the Witcher saga, Geralt story continues in the recent computer game. Geralt returns to life with no recollection of the details of his sudden reappearance. He is rescued by the last remaining witchers in the world and taken back to Kaer Morhen. It is hinted that in the game, he will reluctantly uncover a conspiracy concerning the Witchers.
In the film (2001) and the subsequent television series (2002) he was portrayed by Michał Żebrowski. Geralt is also the main hero of several comic books, a role playing game and a recent (2007) computer game ("The Witcher"). In the original Polish version of the game, he is voiced by Jacek Rozenek and in the English version by Doug Cockle.
