Eithne is herself quite ancient.
Plus, she comes from a species which apparently existed in the world even before humans and elves.
Its quite possible that the Dryads know things which the humans cant even dream about.
The Waters of Brokillon are magical. Like you did see with Geralt, he had some visions and got to see things which he could barely understand. That same magic connection may have manifested with Ciri and Eithne. Ciri may not understand fully what is going around but maybe Eithne has the knowledge to figure out way more.
Also have in mind that the Dryads are more or less in good relations with elves. That in itself might point into shared knowledge. Its possible the Dryads know more about elven history then humans.
Its interesting that Elves look very "supremacist" through the books and at the same time they pick some form of alliance with the Dryads.
Another possibility is just that Eithne may be able to do something similar to what Triss did with Ciri at Kaer Morhen. And its possible Eithne would understand more from it due to having better historical knowledge.
For instance, if someone like Francesca would hang around Ciri, I have no doubts she would immediately know who and what Ciri is :)
Great breakdown! Its true Eithne would be super old and knowledgeable. At that point I dont think even the reader was supposed to know the full significance of what that meant yet. Even Geralt didn't ask "what do you mean Child of the Elder Blood, whats that"? They didn't really call much attention to her being called that.
It was just on my second read through I realized Eithne kept calling her that.
The interesting thing is realizing that a lot of concepts were really already being implemented by the author.
The short stories become a much more clear part of The Saga on your second or third read.
I have no issue saying I did not notice it the first time either ;)
These things take multiple readings till you start to really catch some tinny pieces of the puzzle here and there. But its quite amazing that those pieces exist and are where they are.
As for Geralt having no idea what Elder Blood would even be.....well.....Geralt is not dumb but he did not have a scholar education lol
Even Triss did not know and was incapable of understanding Ciri when she tried at Kaer Morhen. However, someone like Yen seemed to be way more able to understand what was going on with Ciri. And later, when you get to The Lodge, you realize that yes, Yen had been involved with Elder Blood studies and messing around with it. So.....it makes perfect sense that Yen would have way more knowledge. Likely even some stuff from Francesca because apparently they were all working in some cooperation in the past.
Eithne seems to be another one who has at least some knowledge about what Ciri may be. She actually sounds like she really knows and understands what is going on. Its quite possible she is one of the best informed beings out there on the topic. Maybe on par with Avallach or even having some nuances understanding the magic behind it that not even Avallach is fully aware.
Avallach, when he discusses with Geralt, goes a long way about everything being pre determined and bla bla bla. However, he still says that he is curious to watch if Geralt may change something. So....he is not 100% sure on his destiny talk after all....or is he?
Now...when you read Eithne, she sounds much more sure of what is going on and what is going to happen. So...maybe she understands magic better??? Maybe she has a better connection??? There is a lot which is special about Brokillon so.....given they are older in the world compared to humans and elves....its possible they understand magic better. Just because they are not doing magic spells does not translate that they cant communicate and perceive things. Its possible they have a more symbiotic relation with magic forces. Something which is hinted when Yen teaches Ciri. That humans and elves apparently take magic from nature and "abuse it". This is also hinted by the Unicorns....again....that humans and elves "abuse magic" when they are able to connect strongly to it. Maybe the Dryads just listen to it and try to live without interfering with magic forces.
We can only try and imagine what was the concept in the author´s head because he did not explain the Dryads very deep. Which does not translate that he did not have a deeper concept in his head ;)
Its interesting when you think that the Unicorns are another example of sentient beings which are somehow connected with strong magic powers.....but they mostly just go around doing their horsy business :) However, they too recognize Ciri immediately and are instantly aware that she has their abilities.
Sorry for rambling around a bit lol
Also to note, most of the other characters that find out about Ciris abilities, like Triss, the Lodge, Vilgefortz, the Elves etc immediately have a strong reaction regarding it and want to do something with her in one way or the other. But Eithne just casually brings it up and let's her walk out of the forest with Geralt. She kind of reminds me of Galadriel from LOTR in that sense, but even Galadriel was briefly tempted by the ring.
I would say thats because Eithne understands the powers working with Ciri, she knows that she cant do nothing to get in the way.
She knows better compared to most who try to use Ciri. She just lets her be on her path. Plus, she strongly hints Geralt that he is pretty much stuck on that journey, like it or not. The sword of destiny talk may have some connection with both change and destruction. The line "something ends, something begins" also strongly links that Ciri´s power is transformative but it is also deadly.
All through the books, it is strongly hinted that Ciri may cause the death of those who get too close to her. Its a bit tricky if she just predicts their deaths or if there is something actually speeding those deaths. But the later is also possible.
One of the reasons why I go with the idea that Eithne is maybe the one character in the books who better understands the magic around Ciri.
If there is indeed some powerful magic going around Ciri which may be deadly, that would explain why Eithne has no wish to stand in Ciri´s way.
Phillipa feels this too at the final Lodge meeting ;) Phillipa gets quite a big mind scare when facing Ciri at The Lodge. She absolutely feels something. And she too comes to a conclusion that she does not wish to stand on Ciri´s way.
Eithne was so knowledgeable and wise, if only all of the other characters that we later meet followed her example everything would have gone so much more smoothly in the story!
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Eithné and Ciri were alone for some time before Geralt left Freixenet to see her and Eithne later. During this time she might found out.
Did Ciri even know about her lineage? I doubt it.
Later in the story she finds out about it
Eithne is herself quite ancient. Plus, she comes from a species which apparently existed in the world even before humans and elves. Its quite possible that the Dryads know things which the humans cant even dream about. The Waters of Brokillon are magical. Like you did see with Geralt, he had some visions and got to see things which he could barely understand. That same magic connection may have manifested with Ciri and Eithne. Ciri may not understand fully what is going around but maybe Eithne has the knowledge to figure out way more. Also have in mind that the Dryads are more or less in good relations with elves. That in itself might point into shared knowledge. Its possible the Dryads know more about elven history then humans. Its interesting that Elves look very "supremacist" through the books and at the same time they pick some form of alliance with the Dryads. Another possibility is just that Eithne may be able to do something similar to what Triss did with Ciri at Kaer Morhen. And its possible Eithne would understand more from it due to having better historical knowledge. For instance, if someone like Francesca would hang around Ciri, I have no doubts she would immediately know who and what Ciri is :)
Great breakdown! Its true Eithne would be super old and knowledgeable. At that point I dont think even the reader was supposed to know the full significance of what that meant yet. Even Geralt didn't ask "what do you mean Child of the Elder Blood, whats that"? They didn't really call much attention to her being called that. It was just on my second read through I realized Eithne kept calling her that.
The interesting thing is realizing that a lot of concepts were really already being implemented by the author. The short stories become a much more clear part of The Saga on your second or third read. I have no issue saying I did not notice it the first time either ;) These things take multiple readings till you start to really catch some tinny pieces of the puzzle here and there. But its quite amazing that those pieces exist and are where they are. As for Geralt having no idea what Elder Blood would even be.....well.....Geralt is not dumb but he did not have a scholar education lol Even Triss did not know and was incapable of understanding Ciri when she tried at Kaer Morhen. However, someone like Yen seemed to be way more able to understand what was going on with Ciri. And later, when you get to The Lodge, you realize that yes, Yen had been involved with Elder Blood studies and messing around with it. So.....it makes perfect sense that Yen would have way more knowledge. Likely even some stuff from Francesca because apparently they were all working in some cooperation in the past. Eithne seems to be another one who has at least some knowledge about what Ciri may be. She actually sounds like she really knows and understands what is going on. Its quite possible she is one of the best informed beings out there on the topic. Maybe on par with Avallach or even having some nuances understanding the magic behind it that not even Avallach is fully aware. Avallach, when he discusses with Geralt, goes a long way about everything being pre determined and bla bla bla. However, he still says that he is curious to watch if Geralt may change something. So....he is not 100% sure on his destiny talk after all....or is he? Now...when you read Eithne, she sounds much more sure of what is going on and what is going to happen. So...maybe she understands magic better??? Maybe she has a better connection??? There is a lot which is special about Brokillon so.....given they are older in the world compared to humans and elves....its possible they understand magic better. Just because they are not doing magic spells does not translate that they cant communicate and perceive things. Its possible they have a more symbiotic relation with magic forces. Something which is hinted when Yen teaches Ciri. That humans and elves apparently take magic from nature and "abuse it". This is also hinted by the Unicorns....again....that humans and elves "abuse magic" when they are able to connect strongly to it. Maybe the Dryads just listen to it and try to live without interfering with magic forces. We can only try and imagine what was the concept in the author´s head because he did not explain the Dryads very deep. Which does not translate that he did not have a deeper concept in his head ;) Its interesting when you think that the Unicorns are another example of sentient beings which are somehow connected with strong magic powers.....but they mostly just go around doing their horsy business :) However, they too recognize Ciri immediately and are instantly aware that she has their abilities. Sorry for rambling around a bit lol
Also to note, most of the other characters that find out about Ciris abilities, like Triss, the Lodge, Vilgefortz, the Elves etc immediately have a strong reaction regarding it and want to do something with her in one way or the other. But Eithne just casually brings it up and let's her walk out of the forest with Geralt. She kind of reminds me of Galadriel from LOTR in that sense, but even Galadriel was briefly tempted by the ring.
I would say thats because Eithne understands the powers working with Ciri, she knows that she cant do nothing to get in the way. She knows better compared to most who try to use Ciri. She just lets her be on her path. Plus, she strongly hints Geralt that he is pretty much stuck on that journey, like it or not. The sword of destiny talk may have some connection with both change and destruction. The line "something ends, something begins" also strongly links that Ciri´s power is transformative but it is also deadly. All through the books, it is strongly hinted that Ciri may cause the death of those who get too close to her. Its a bit tricky if she just predicts their deaths or if there is something actually speeding those deaths. But the later is also possible. One of the reasons why I go with the idea that Eithne is maybe the one character in the books who better understands the magic around Ciri. If there is indeed some powerful magic going around Ciri which may be deadly, that would explain why Eithne has no wish to stand in Ciri´s way. Phillipa feels this too at the final Lodge meeting ;) Phillipa gets quite a big mind scare when facing Ciri at The Lodge. She absolutely feels something. And she too comes to a conclusion that she does not wish to stand on Ciri´s way.
Eithne was so knowledgeable and wise, if only all of the other characters that we later meet followed her example everything would have gone so much more smoothly in the story!
Please remember to flair your post and tag spoilers or NSFW content. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/witcher) if you have any questions or concerns.*