In the very first collection of The Witcher saga short stories, The Last Wish, it explained where Geralt got his “Butcher of Blaviken” moniker. It was all due to a troubled woman named Renfri who got the short end of the stick when it came to common decency, thanks to a certain prophecy about a curse. It was a rather significant event in Geralt’s life– one that summarizes the stuff he goes through.

Renfri was such a memorable character that the Blood and Wine expansion for The Witcher 3 made a nod to her in the form of Syanna. Both of them are amoral raven-haired rogues that are out for revenge after the world wronged them. While they do have a lot in common with each other, the developers made certain key differences to make Syanna distinct.

10 SIMILARITIES: “CURSED” AT BIRTH

The Curse of the Black Sun is a prophetic indication for a doomed individual who’s supposedly evil at birth. Both Syanna and Renfri were “diagnosed” with the said condition, causing their families to alienate them and become wary of their behavior.

Both the game and the book handles the nature of the curse ambiguously. Was it actually the curse that made the girls evil or was it the upbringing? It’s a complex fantasy take on nature versus nurture which both Syanna and Renfri explored well.

9 DIFFERENCES: DIFFERENT KINGDOMS

Here’s a notable distinction between the two women. Renfri hails from Creyden. It’s only a small principality that’s a vassal to Kovir and Poviss. It’s by no means a powerful or big kingdom in the sense that Nilfgaard or Temeria is powerful.

Meanwhile, Syanna is an hieress– a royal princess second in line to one of the biggest powers in The Witcher world, Toussaint. They’re one of the most prominent kingdoms in existence and can easily subjugate or wipe out something as small as Creyden.

8 SIMILARITIES: ROUGH CHILDHOOD

Due to the Curse of the Black Sun, both Renfri and Syanna had severe childhoods. Renfri was constantly under surveillance by a sorcerer who eventually hired a thug to isolate her. The thug violated and robbed her so Renfri had to kill the assailant and went on to become a bandit.

Syanna suffered a bit less– being cast out of her kingdom and escorted by knights. Turns out the knights abused and tortured her while carrying out her banishment until she had to escape and become a bandit.

7 DIFFERENCES: SKILLS AND SPECIALITIES

Both of these women became bandits and even had their own ring and gang. However, of the two, it would seem that Renfri is the more successful and street smart as she became a leader as well as the best swordsman in her band.

Syanna took the more cunning and wily approach. She clearly wasn’t as skilled as Renfri when it came to combat or otherwise, she would have taken out knight enemies by herself. Instead, Syanna had to betray and lie to people in order to get her goals done.

6 SIMILARITIES: VENGEFUL

Despite the differences in their trade and abilities, Syanna and Renfri pretty much had the same goal: to take revenge on the people who wronged them and caused them to suffer. For Renfri, that would be the sorcerer who ruined her life starting from birth.

For Syanna, it’s more expansive and involves several knights and even her own blood sister, Anna Henrietta. Syanna did end up taking revenge on the whole of Toussaint thanks to Dettlaff’s penchant for collateral damage.

5 DIFFERENCES: CONNECTION TO GERALT

How the two got involved with Geralt is also unalike. For Renfri, Geralt simply walked into her in a tavern (or so it seems) and the whole meeting felt more like destiny at play– one of the books’ themes. Both of them happened to be in Blaviken at the right time.

Syanna’s meeting with Geralt was a little more orchestrated, taking its roots from Anna Henrietta’s demand for his witcher services. Both Syanna and Renfri did have some sort of romantic or erotic liaisons with Geralt but with the former, it’s less intimate.

4 SIMILARITIES: BOTH MADE GERALT CHOOSE THE LESSER EVIL

In The Last Wish, which introduced Renfri to Geralt’s story, the witcher was at odds with himself and the public regarding what decision to make. In the end, he ended having to kill Renfri and save the socerer who wroned her as the former threatened to slaughter the whole town to goad out the latter.

Syanna, on the other hand, was simply too much trouble. Whether Geralt gives her to Dettlaff or saves her and kills Dettlaff instead, it’s the lesser evil it seems as Dettlaff became the peak representation of Syanna’s violent plans.

3 DIFFERENCES: ALLIES AND ENEMIES

Renfri was a lot more practical in her choice of allies and her choice of enemies. She was able to round up a band of crooks and misfits and became skillful enough to keep them in line. Her enemies are also less powerful, being just several lone old sorcerers who are scared of her.

Syanna’s allies are more volatile– the most significant one is Dettlaff, a high vampire who’s antisocial and emotionally unstable. Her enemies? The whole Toussaint, Queen and all. It’s a higher and steeper mountain to climb, hence her choice of allies.

2 SIMILARITIES: BOTH ARE TWISTED VERSIONS OF SNOW WHITE

Both The Witcher books and games are full of references to old fairy tales and put a dark amoral twist on them. Kind of like Shrek did but more depressing. In both Syanna and Renfri’s case, they’re twisted versions of Snow White.

Much like their fairy tale counterpart, both of them were dark-haired royal beauties cast out “into the woods” and were left to fend for themselves. Except instead of altruistic and wacky dwarfs, bandits and a life of crime found them.

1 DIFFERENCES: THEIR FATE

No matter how Geralt wants to save Renfri due to their spark and their likeness– both being outcasts, it only had to end one way: with her death. She was far too transformed by either the curse or how the world treated her with apparently no chance of redemption.

Syanna’s fate, however, was left to the player’s hands. Half of the gameplay results end up in Syanna’s redemption and being pardoned by Anna Henrietta in what appears to be a fairy tale happy ending save for Dettlaff. Of course, that depends on the players’ choice.

NEXT: The Witcher 3: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Nighwraiths