After being a notable absentee for the first two games in The Witcher series, Yennefer made a powerful and resounding appearance in the third game that instantly cemented her as a favorite in the eyes of many fans. This was mainly due to her striking design and strong characterization, all of which have been firmly imprinted in the minds of Witcher fans all over the world.
It's easy to understand why fans were clamoring for Yennefer's presence all this time — she was a major character in the books but had never been mentioned even once in the first game, while the second title brought her and Ciri's name up only near the end of the title after Geralt got his memory back. While the games were faithful when it came to adapting Yennefer's character — for the most part — there are still some rather interesting things about the character that only book readers are aware of.
Updated on January 13, 2022, by Ritwik Mitra: Yennefer is one of the most popular characters in The Witcher. Her relationship with Geralt has been well-documented in the books and makes a much-welcome appearance in the third game as well. Fans of the series who desperately wanted more book characters to get the attention they deserve finally achieved the same in the third game, which is coincidentally considered to be the best game in the series by a country mile. Yennefer's character definitely adds weight to this notion, with book readers being quite familiar with some of her lesser-known oddities and facts.
15 Yennefer Graduated As A Sorceress When She Was 13 Years Old
Most sorceresses tend to develop their talents at an early age and then go about their business. While the show aged up characters to make certain events less uncomfortable, the book wasted no time in throwing young characters over to the deep end.
Yennefer is no exception, with the sorceress graduating at the tender age of 13. Of course, in ancient times, it was common for people to start things off at an early age, so perhaps this fact shouldn't be that surprising either.
14 Yennefer Didn't Get Along With Ciri At First
When Ciri was under Yennefer's guidance, the two didn't exactly get off to a flying start. Ciri considered Yennefer to be too strict and unforgiving, while the latter considered the child to be stubborn and lazy.
It was a disastrous start to the relation but mended over time. Now, Ciri looks at Yennefer like a child would at her mother, which is indicative of the trials and tribulations they've seen each other through.
13 Geralt Confessed His Love To Yennefer During A Banquet In Aretuza
Geralt and Yennefer have had a rather rocky relationship from the very beginning. However, their highs were truly amazing, and one such positive moment occurred during a banquet in Aretuza, the place where sorceresses are trained.
Geralt confessed his love to Yennefer for the first time during this banquet, which is definitely going to remind people of the time they shared with Triss in The Witcher 3. Unfortunately, this moment was not to last, since the Thanned coup took place shortly after.
12 Yennefer Was Blinded During The Battle Of Sodden Hill By Fringilla Vigo
The Battle of Sodden Hill has been documented in the Netflix series as well. However, it has to be said that this battle was way more brutal than what was depicted in the live-action series.
Yennefer didn't get away unscathed and was pretty much blinded by Fringilla Vigo during the battle. It took a while for her to regain her sight, and she still carries the emotional scars of this traumatic event to this day.
11 Yennefer Used To Be Extremely Hard On Ciri During Training
While it was true that Ciri had a ton of responsibility on her shoulders, this didn't justify the grueling training that Yennefer put her through. There was a point where Ciri caught a fever out of sheer exhaustion from all the training she'd had to endure.
It took some stern words from Nenneke to finally make Yennefer see the light and understand how hard she was being on a mere child. The sorceress got her act together, and her bond with Ciri strengthened as a result.
10 Yennefer's Parents Were Truly Deplorable Human Beings
Born a hunchback, Yennefer was constantly criticized and beat up by her father. Her mother did try and protect her at times... until her father decided to up and leave the family.
After this abandonment, Yennefer's mother turned into a carbon copy of her father and started heavily beating her as well.
9 Yennefer Is One-Quarter Elf
The reason why her father ultimately left the family was that he constantly bashed Yennefer's mother for having elven blood, being a halfling herself.
This means that Yennefer was a one-quarter elf as well. Along with this, Yennefer's mother also had ties to mages, which is probably why her daughter ended up developing a natural affinity towards the magical arts.
8 Yennefer Tried To Kill Herself While In Aretuza
Thankfully, Yennefer was saved from a horrid childhood when she was chosen to learn how to become a mage in the reputed school of Aretuza. However, not all went well during her studies in this place, and things reached such a head that she ever tried committing suicide by slitting both of her wrists.
The attempt was unsuccessful, with Tissaia de Vries admonishing her for her weakness but lauding Yennefer for at least being bold enough to follow through with an act that could very well have killed her had she not been spotted.
7 Yennefer's Deformities Were Ordered To Be Changed By Tissaia De Vries
Speaking of Tissaia de Vries, what might surprise most viewers of the Netflix series about Yennefer's deformities being corrected is the fact that these corrections were actually ordered by none other than the rectoress herself.
This was mainly ordered because all sorceresses are meant to be in peak physical condition, which pretty much mandates that even the smallest of deformities must be rectified. In the case of Yennefer, it was clear that her physical afflictions were major and absolutely needed to be removed.
6 Yennefer's Proportions Are Somewhat Off Because Of Her Previous Afflictions
While Yennefer is certainly a picture-perfect beauty in the games and generally conveys the same in the novels as well, it should be noted that Yennefer wasn't conventionally attractive either.
While her deformities had been corrected, her body's proportions still had minor issues — something that was put into the spotlight when Geralt held her by the shoulders only to notice that her shoulders weren't even.
5 Yennefer Felt Jealous About Ciri Possibly Becoming Geralt's Lover
A rather odd point that one needs to discuss when talking about Yennefer in the books is the fact that she was so jealous and possessive about Geralt that she even entertained the thought about Ciri replacing her role in Geralt's life as well.
All this overthinking came to a stark halt after Nenneke uses a few choice words to describe that Ciri is her surrogate child, not her rival — something that put Yennefer in her place.
4 Yennefer Is Adept With A Dagger
While Yennefer's magic is more than good enough to make her a competent and powerful force that no one could mess with in the games, the books gave her another option to use in battle if her magic failed her.
She has been shown to use a dagger several times in the books, with the most notable of these instances coming in the Blood of Elves.
3 Yennefer Had A Tough Relationship With Geralt Because Both Of Them Had Trouble Admitting Their Feelings
Geralt and Yennefer have one of the most tumultuous and violent fictional relationships of all time... but one can't deny that they were very much meant for each other.
However, it was the inability of both these people to admit how they truly felt for each other that caused a ton of friction, with Yennefer constantly going back to past flames like Istredd when things became rocky between the two. However, when Geralt finally admitted his true feelings to Yennefer in Time of Contempt, their relationship became way more stable.
2 Geralt Slept With Fringilla Because He Thought That Yennefer Had Betrayed Her
However, that's not to say that Geralt didn't have his fair share of poorly thought out moments in this relationship as well, with the worst instance coming when he assumed that Yennefer had betrayed him, causing him to enter a casual relationship with Fringilla.
The reality was that Yennefer had actually been imprisoned and was being tortured by Vilgefortz in Stygga Castle, which sent Geralt into a panic as he tried to rectify his mistake and storm the castle in a bid to save the raven-haired sorceress.
1 Yennefer Used Healing Magic — A Rarity — To Try And Heal A Dying Geralt
While Yennefer is shown to be quite adept when it comes to using offensive magic in the games, there's not even the minutest of hints to signify that she's capable of using healing magic.
The books show otherwise, with Yennefer being perfectly capable of casting healing magic... most notably when Geralt was impaled by a pitchfork during the Rivian Pogrom and was bleeding out. The strain of this healing was so hard on Yennefer's body that she ended up passing out after a while.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released on May 18, 2015, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.