Who Is the White Flame in ‘The Witcher’?

And why does the White Flame look like Shadow the Hedgehog’s dehydrated cousin?

Somebody needs to get this man’s quills some CONDITIONER because right now they look like some kind of eldritch horror frosted tips straight out of some nightmare version of a ’90s movie. He CANNOT appear in the next Sonic movie looking like this. Somebody needs to tell his agent to GET ON THE PHONE with The Witcher‘s makeup department ASAP. This CANNOT be good for his brand.

Now that we’ve gotten that important piece of business out of the way, here’s everything else you need to know about the White Flame in The Witcher.

So who is the White Flame?

As you know, the Nilfgaardian army is invading the kingdom of Cintra. As The Witcher unfolds, we learn that the commander of the army is the mysterious “White Flame,” a name that is WAY COOLER than this shriveled marsupial-looking dude deserves. At the end of The Witcher‘s second season, the audience is introduced to this mysterious and shadowy figure, and in the third season, we begin to see the White Flame in all his spiny mammalian glory. But to get into the “who” behind the White Flame, we need to delve back into the past. Yes, that’s right: it’s time for a VILLAIN ORIGIN STORY.

In a flashback to events that happened over a decade before Cintra’s invasion, Geralt of Rivia reluctantly accompanies his bard frenemy Jaskier to the betrothal feast for Princess Pavetta, Queen Calanthe’s daughter. The party is interrupted by a masked knight named Urcheon of Erlenwald, also known as Duny, who shows up out of the blue declaring his right to marry Pavetta.

What gives Knuckles here the right to do that? It turns out Duny had saved the life of Pavetta’s father, King Roegner. In return, he asked for the Law of Surprise, an archaic law of the Witcher world that is confusing to understand. Basically it’s a mystical IOU. If you do something for someone and they can’t pay you back, you can invoke the Law of Surprise to claim whatever unexpected gain that person receives in the future—”Oh, so you found $100 lying on the ground after I invoked the Law of Surprise? That money is mine now.” In the king’s case, this unexpected gain turned out to be his own daughter, Pavetta (because I GUESS unborn children are just currency in this world?!). Therefore, Duny stakes his claim to Pavetta’s hand.

But there’s a TWIST. Duny is cursed to look like a dollar store version of Shadow the Hedgehog. Rather than give her daughter to this manhog, Queen Calanthe orders her soldiers to kill him. Duny fights back and is helped by Geralt (a believer in the Law of Surprise himself). After the fight, it is revealed that Pavetta and Duny have been in love for some time. THANK GOD. I mean, it still feels like grooming, but at least it’s not COMPLETELY non-consensual. When Queen Calanthe nearly kills Duny, Pavetta unleashes her handy-dandy magic abilities and nearly destroys the throne room with a telekinetic storm.

Eventually, Queen Calanthe consents to the marriage of Pavetta and Duny. After a kiss on the mouth from Pavetta, Duny returns to his human form as his curse is lifted. Thankful for his help, Duny insists on rewarding Geralt with the Law of Surprise (oh no, not again). Geralt, however, promises not to claim the reward and rejects the concept of fate (big mistake). Immediately after this, Pavetta experiences her first signs of morning sickness. Yep, she’s pregnant. And Duny … YOU ARE THE FATHER.

(Wait—why didn’t having sex lift Duny’s curse …? Was there a “no kissing” rule or something? What kind of kinky shit is this? Whatever.)

Years later, Duny and Pavetta’s daughter Ciri is under the care of Queen Calanthe after her parents are reportedly killed in a shipwreck. With Nilfgaard on the verge of invading Cintra, Queen Calanthe instructs Ciri to find Geralt of Rivia, claiming that they are destined to meet due to the Law of Surprise.

The Witcher season 1 delves into the brutality of the Nilfgaardian army under the leadership of the White Flame. They massacre EVERYONE in Cintra when it falls. Nevertheless, the White Flame still has fangirls. The sorceress Fringilla Vigo—who was assigned to Nilfgaard—speaks highly of the White Flame. She says he gave her a higher purpose. Yikes. As the season goes on, it becomes clear that Ciri is vital to the White Flame’s plans to conquer the kingdoms of the North. By the end of the season, the Conclave of Mages—led by Yennefer—thwarts Nilfgaard’s plans at Sodden Hill Keep, keeping the North safe for a little while longer.

During the second season, the White Flame is revealed to be Emhyr var Emreis, Emperor of Nilfgaard. SHOCKER. Later in the season, Emhyr himself shows up in Cintra and is revealed to be Duny. BIGGER SHOCKER.

In the third season, we don’t see much of Emhyr/Duny. We do however learn that he was teaming up with the sorcerer Vilgefortz in order to further his plans for conquest. The series hasn’t revealed what exactly happened during the shipwreck, how Duny became the Emperor, or what he plans to do once he finds Ciri.

But The Witcher books do…

Abandon all hope of not being spoiled, ye who scroll past here.

How Emhyr’s story unfolds in The Witcher novels

In the books, it’s revealed that Duny and his sorcerer ally Vilgefortz hatched a plan for Duny and Pavetta to fake their own deaths. But why? Well, sometime after Ciri’s birth, Vilgefortz came to Duny and told him about the prophecy of Ithlinne, which states that Emhyr’s son will inherit the Elder Blood and rule the world. And guess who has the Elder Blood? Ciri. Because of this, Duny decided to return to Nilfgaard, overthrow the Usurper and ascend the throne as Emhyr. He then dug up the corpses of his political adversaries and used their gravestones to pave his ballroom. What a psycho.

After this interior decorating move from hell, Emhyr became known as “The White Flame Dancing on the Barrows of his Enemies,” or the White Flame for short. It turns out that Pavetta wasn’t a fan of Duny’s plans for political revolution from the jump. So what did he do? He pushed her overboard while they were still on the boat. Seriously, what an asshole.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: How does Duny intend to bear a child who will become ruler of the world if his daughter is the only person with Elder Blood?

Think about it…

Did you just throw up in your mouth a little bit? Me too.

YEP. In The Witcher novels, Duny wants to IMPREGNATE HIS OWN DAUGHTER SO SHE WILL BEAR HIM A CHILD TO RULE THE WORLD. Someone needs to send this hedgehog back to the pet store, ASAP.

(featured image: Netflix)