History Characters / TheWitcherAenElle

The Wild Hunt is known to most Nordlings as an omen of war, a cavalcade of spectral riders galloping through the skies. In fact they are actually Tir ná Lia's military forces known as Dearg Ruadhi, the Red Riders, warriors of Aen Elle, or the Alder Folk, projecting their wraiths across worlds, hunting for the heirs of the Elder Blood.

* NotSoAboveItAll: Despite being [[CantArgueWithElves haughty elves]] who think themselves superior to all other species, it is implied members of the Wild Hunt have spent so much time out exploring and plundering other worlds and around humans (slaughtering and enslaving them) that they've started taking on human mannerisms and behaviors. Such as Eredin's uncouth personality when he meets Ciri, as well as strange attraction and respect for her and honor, respect towards humans who can fight, and Imlerith spending his free time [[BoldlyComing sleeping with]] a harem of [[SuccubiAndIncubi Succubi]] on the Crone's mountain in Velen.

* VillainRespect: Despite his disdain for humans he does seem to possess a VERY grudging respect for Geralt (during their final battle he says Geralt was taught well, and when Geralt escapes Eredin actually devotes time and effort to reclaiming him, indicating he considered Geralt a valuable asset). He also also tosses Crach an Craite an axe and allows the guy to get back to his feet to die a warrior's death, rather than killing Crach on his knees. In the novels he even has a horse race with Ciri on the Aen Elle world, and is graceful and complimentary when he loses to her, human or not.

* TinTyrant: He is clad in an elaborate, spiky suit of armor that has a skull-like helmet with a tall crown on top.

* {{BFS}}: Uses a greatsword as long as a person in battle.

** [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Eredin]] effortlessly kills Crache an Craite and countless [[HornyVikings Skelligers]] during the climatic battle at the end of the game and, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation per the glossary]], gave Geralt a "long and difficult" battle "worthy of a poem -- nay, an epic -- all to itself.". His last words are not a VillainousBreakdown, but a darkly wry "Avallac'h tricked us both".

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: The leader of the Wild Hunt and an opponent even Geralt is wary of facing.

* SinisterScimitar: Though some of the Hunt wield [[BladeOnAStick spears]] and axes, the weapon of choice for most Riders is usually a curve-bladed sword.

* TheDreaded: Even among the rest of the Wild Hunt, Imelrith was widely feared due to his brute strength. Geralt refuses to engage Imelrith [[spoiler:until Vesemir's death]], and even the Crones dread his presence.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eredin_breacc_glas_by_v_raider_d847oka.png]]

* BadassInCharge: A far more militarily capable ruler than his depressed, ailing predecessor Auberon, actively leading many conquests of other worlds, weilding great power and martial prowess in his campaigns, both before and after he became King of the Aen Elle.

* ImplausibleFencingPowers: He ''annihilates'' Crach en Craite like a child and only Geralt can stop him from carving a swathe through a deck full of battle hardened Skelliger warriors.
* KarmaHoudini: In the books; averted in the third game where he is the final boss which, naturally, goes down by Geralt's blade.

* ArmorAndMagicDontMix: Averted, he's a mage yet fully armored from head to toe just like his coworkers in the Hunt.

* SquishyWizard: Averted with a vengeance. Apart from being a mage of unparalleled power, he is also seven feet tall, wears plate armor, and manages to fight Eskel (whom even Geralt considers to be the guy to beat) to a standstill.

* EvilCounterpart: He's one to Ciri, surprisingly enough.[[spoiler: He's the result of Avallac'h trying to recreate Lara Doren bloodline. Avallac'h trained him like he trained Ciri, and they both possess the same ability to move through space and time, the main difference being that Ciri aids Avallac'h against Eredin, while Caranthir grew to despise his mentor and sided with Eredin. In the end, Ciri dueled Caranthir to a draw, open the way for Geralt to kill him. ]]

* VillainousRescue: [[spoiler: When Ciri loses control of her power following Vesemir's death and starts decimating the Hunt's ranks, Caranthir opens a portal for himself and Imlerith to escape through, turning back at the last second to drag Eredin to safety through it as well]].

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: His poisoning of King Auberon sets the stage for his eventual defeat once Avallac'h passes the information on to Ge'els, of course whether or not he actually did it on purpose is an AmbiguousSituation.

* AmbiguousSituation: Whether or not he really killed Auberon, or Avallac'h is lying. The books leave it ambiguous, with him seeming surprised when he finds out Auberon is dead, meaning it could have been an accidental overdose by Auberon who was also doing [[FantasticDrug Fisstech]] regularly at the time, and Avallac'h is shown constantly lying to Ciri to get what he wants, with Eredin by contrast being entirely open and displaying BrutalHonesty towards her to a fault about her fate on the Aen Elle world and what is in store for her. Warning her about Avallac'h and his ManipulativeBastard nature. The games have Avallac'h use Corinne Tilly to show dream visions of Eredin deliberately having Auberon poisoned. Of course Avallac'h is a powerful Aen Saevherne, and probably could plant illusions or false visions into the oneiromancer. Likewise it could be Ge'els doesn't believe the claim, pointing out to Geralt how untrustworthy he knows Avallac'h is, but sees the political opportunity in ousting Eredin, thus leaving Ge'els the defacto ruler of the Aen Elle, and goes along with the narrative. For his part, Eredin is never asked about the matter, and claims that Avallac'h tricked them all before he died, either as a ThanatosGambit or a case of VillainsNeverLie, just like he had displayed in the books already.

* AdaptationDyeJob: Is described as having blonde hair in the novels. In the games, his hair appear more gray.

* ManipulativeBastard: The very definition of his character from the novels to the games, though he seems to have let up a bit on this account by the time of ''The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt'', though it's entirely possible he is still tricking everyone with more subtlety, as Eredin claims.

* SheepInSheepsClothing: From the start, everyone was suspicious of him to be a SixthRangerTraitor, the FinalBoss's last word is denouncing him, he had secret not even Ciri knew. However, in the end all he did was to [[spoiler: permanently end the White Frost and he had been helping Ciri along the way.]] Of course it's left ambiguous what his true intentions were and are for the future.

* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Whether Aen Elle are immortal or not, it is clear Auberon feels he has lived for too long and is withdrawn and tired of it all after losing his wife and daughter. It is very much implied he is not even really ruling Tir ná Lia anymore, is just a figurehead, with the actual royal duties left to [[BigBadDuumvirate Avallac'h and Eredin]] for the [[DragonInChief most part]]. That said, subverted in that as expressed to Ciri, he does not want to die.

** [[TheArchmage Caranthir]] not only gives ''both'' [[OneManArmy Ciri]] and [[LivingLegend Geralt]] quite a fight back to back, but with his [[DefiantToTheEnd last breath]] he tries to kill Geralt by [[TakingYouWithMe trying to drown him]]. And this ''after'' casually and with chilling ease overpowering five powerful sorceress trying to slow down the Wild Hunt.

* TheUnfettered: Human morality and concepts of honor simply don't enter into their equation, their kingdom coldly slaughters or enslaves humans and Unicorns freely, among the others they massacre in their conquests.

** Symbolized in his Gwent card: "Mysterious Elf". It's a spy card, which allows the player to draw two more cards upon play. It has zero attack value, which means it's worthless to the enemy (as the attack value is usually the counterbalance to drawing more cards). It's a Hero card, which means it can't be re-used by the opponent making a Medic card play. It's the perfect spy card, essentially.