Although he plays a pretty big role in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis is only on screen a handful of times in the game. In the first two games, the leader of Nilfgaard was only mentioned and never made an appearance. However, players may be surprised to discover that the Emperor is a major character in the books that the games are based on and that his backstory is one of the most important arcs in the entire series.
Due to his limited screen time, there are many interesting details about Emhyr var Emreis that players may have missed, or that are never mentioned in the game.
10 He's Voiced By Game Of Thrones' Charles Dance
In The Witcher 3, Emhyr is voiced by none other than Game of Thrones' Tywin Lannister, Charles Dance. This casting is fitting, as Tywin and Emhyr are similar characters in many ways.
Seeing how cruel and calculated that Emhyr var Emreis can be in the Witcher book series, it's not surprising that they wanted Charles Dance to bring the character to life. Tywin and Emhyr are both cunning, malevolent rulers that are often relentless in fighting for their goals. However, players might be shocked to know that Emhyr might be a bit more sadistic than Tywin ever was.
9 He's Absolutely Ruthless
In the games, players aren't given much information about Emhyr other than what villagers and characters say about him. Often times, this doesn't present Emhyr for how ruthless he can really be.
For example, one of Emhyr's titles that players will often hear is "The White Flame Dancing on the Barrows of his Enemies." Without context, this doesn't mean much. In the books, it's explained that Emhyr gained this title by having all the bodies of his major political enemies dug up and used their gravestones as flooring in his ballroom.
8 He Was Turned Into A Hedgehog
When Emhyr was young, his father was usurped from the throne and he was tortured by a sorcerer. The sorcerer turned Emhyr into a humanoid hedgehog as a way to make fun of his name, which was close to the Nilfgaardian word for "hedgehog."
After this curse was placed on him, Emhyr was released and forced to fend for himself. The curse would break at night, which allowed Emhyr to use his human form for a few hours at a time. He then took on the name Duny and began to search for a cure for his curse.
7 He Lived Much Of His Life In Exile
After he was cursed, Emhyr var Emreis fled the South and lived a life in exile. With his curse, he was unable to live a normal life during the day, which made things difficult.
At one point, Emhyr ran into a distressed and wounded man who he decided to help. This man turned out to be the King of Cintra. When Emhyr learned this, he invoked the Law of Surprise as his payment for saving his life. In Witcher lore, the Law of Surprise is an old custom that dictates that a person must give up the first thing that they find that they didn't expect, or something that they have but aren't aware of.
6 Emhyr & Geralt's First Meeting Is The Basis Of The Play In Witcher 3
The first time that Geralt and Emhyr actually met is satirized in The Witcher 3 main quest "The Play's The Thing." In this quest, Geralt must work with the poet Priscilla to help save Dandelion by putting on a play.
The play tells the story of the night when Geralt and Emhyr first met. Years after Emhyr saved the King of Cintra's life, he interrupted the princess's birthday party to claim his prize—the princess's hand. This caused a fight in which Geralt saved Emhyr's life, leading Geralt to also invoke the Law of Surprise. This incident is what enshrined Geralt's destiny with Ciri.
5 Their Past Is Complicated
When Geralt invoked the Law of Surprise, his destiny with Emhyr's daughter Ciri was set into motion. Emhyr was never going to be okay with this, especially once he learned of Ciri's power.
Yet both he and Geralt want to protect Ciri, which had led to their interesting dynamic. In both the books and the games, Emhyr and Geralt are forced to work together to keep Ciri safe. However, when Geralt learned of Emhyr's plans for Ciri in the books, he was disgusted with the Emperor and refused to help him.
4 Emhyr Originally Intended On Marrying His Own Daughter
When Emhyr learned of the power that Ciri possessed, he made some pretty horrific decisions on how he could take advantage of this. When he learned that the prophecy predicted that Ciri's son would rule the world, he reclaimed his throne and made plans to father a child with Ciri.
Fortunately, when he met with Ciri in disguise, he realized that what he was doing was abhorrent, letting her go without revealing his identity as Emperor. Even though he changed his mind in the end, this shows the unforgiving lengths Emhyr will go to retain some form of power.
3 He Married A Fake Ciri
While Emhyr is searching for the true Ciri, one of his men brought him a girl who resembled Ciri to try to pass her off as his own daughter. Emhyr knew this, as he recognized that it wasn't the real Ciri.
He had her sent away for a short time until he decided to marry the False Ciri as a way to grow the empire even further. Once she became Empress, it's insinuated that Emhyr did start to gain feelings for her. Although she's not mentioned in the game, she is featured on a Gwent card.
2 Emhyr's War Wasn't Popular
Although Emhyr appears well-liked by the Nilfgaardians in The Witcher 3, much of his subjects seem to feel very differently. It is no surprise that the conquered lands of the Nilfgaardian empire feel a little hesitant to bow down to their new ruler, but Emhyr's home country is also pretty fed up with him.
Throughout most of his reign, Emhyr has used much of the resources, money, and arms of Nilgaard to build the empire. Most of this comes from unprovoked conflict. It seems that a large portion of Nilfgaard knows that the war is only a show of strength from the Emperor, while they have to deal with the consequences.
1 What He Wants From Ciri Might Be The Game's True Ending
Many players chose the ending for Ciri which led to her becoming a Witcher, but it's possible that this wasn't the best choice. It can be hard for players to let Ciri become the Empress, especially once they've learned of what Emhyr has done in the books but, when the choice is left up to Ciri, she chooses to step into that role.
Ciri only doesn't become the Empress when Geralt chooses to withhold information from her. Although players might see this as a necessary evil to keep her away from her father, it only creates a narrative where Geralt is taking agency away from Ciri, which is much more like something Emhyr would do.