‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’: A Breakdown of How Xin’trea and Cintra Are Connected in ‘The Witcher’
The Witcher series opens with the grand conquest of Cintra by Nilfgaard. Among the Northern Kingdoms, Cintra was feared by many for its grand power. It is also where Princess Cirilla (Ciri) was born. But in The Witcher: Blood Origin, fans learn how the Conjunction of Spheres occurred and how the Cintra they know in the series is connected to the elven city Xin’trea.
[WARNING: This article contains spoilers for The Witcher: Blood Origin.]
Xin’trea was built on the bones of a dwarven city in ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’
Xin’trea has been in a Thousand Year war with Pryshia and Darwen, leading the city to famine. Through Princess Merwyn in The Witcher: Blood Origin, fans learn Solryth was the one who built Xin’trea. She was an elven warrior whose ships were led by two stars in the sky to the continent. But the land belonged to the dwarves. Solryth conquered their land, took over, and built the future capital city on their ruins.
Before elves and humans, dwarves had a much richer history tied to the continent. While Syndril is responsible for uncovering the monoliths’ gateways, in The Witcher: Blood Origin Meldof reveals dwarves had buried the monoliths for fertility. But the conquest of the dwarves would soon repeat itself with the elves after the Conjunction of the Spheres.
In The Witcher: Blood Origin, Syndril’s lifelong work on monoliths was taken from him. It used for evil by Chief Sage Balor and Merwyn. Unknown to them, the gateways created tears between worlds. The Witcher: Blood Origin finale has Syndril perform an act of heroism to stop Balor from using the monoliths to cause further damage. As a result, the Conjunction of the Spheres occurred.
Worlds collided and merged into one plane where humans, elves, dwarves, and monsters coexist. The recent in The Witcher: Blood Origin is the start of how Xin’trea would become Cintra.
Cintra was an elven kingdom before humans took over
The Conjunction of Spheres caused humans and elves to intersect five hundred years before The Witcher. While elves reigned supreme on their plane, they would soon face war and conquest. Elves would soon be seen as inferior like the dwarves.
Cintra was created during the eastern expansion of humans across the continent. They wiped out major elven cities along the way. The creation of the kingdom parallels how Solryth created Xin’trea. In the original series, Cintra was ruled by Queen Calanthe before being overtaken by Nilfgaard and the White Flame. But there is a unique connection between Cintra in The Witcher and Xin’trea in The Witcher: Blood Origin.
The prequel series established that Fjall of the Dog Clan, who protected Xin’trea, seeds a child with Eile, a warrior elf of Pryshia. Ithlinne’s prophecy claims a future child born from the Lark’s seed with singe the final song to end all times. Fans quickly deduce the prophecy is about Ciri or Princess Cirilla of Cintra.
How will ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’ tie in ‘The Witcher’?
While the prequel series does not take place in the books, it does help flesh out certain details in the original series. Fans now further know the importance and creation of Ciri’s bloodline in The Wicher. She was proven to have Elder blood and a descendant of Lara Dorren. But The Witcher: Blood Origin reveals Ciri’s bloodline was created with elven blood and prototype witcher blood from Fjall.
Furthermore, Seanchai tasks Jaskier to tell the story of the elves, the Conjunction of the Spheres, and the seven warriors. According to clues, Jaskier could have met Seanchai during The Witcher Season 3 or after into the fourth season. By the end of the story, Jaskier questions who Ithlinne’s prophecy is referring to. Knowing Ciri is special, he will likely put the clues together and warn Geralt before it is too late.
The Witcher: Blood Origin is available on Netflix.
