During Unreal Fest Orlando 2025, representatives from CD Projekt RED showed off a technical demo of the upcoming title The Witcher 4. While the demo primarily focused on how Unreal Engine 5 was used to develop the game’s detailed and reactive open world, it also introduced one possibly unexpected character: Kelpie, Ciri’s faithful mount. Like Geralt’s horse Roach, The Witcher 4’s Kelpie is a steadfast companion to Ciri, with the pair’s relationship beginning in Andrzej Sapkowski’s original novels.
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Ciri And Kelpie First Met In Rather Unusual Circumstances
Kelpie first appeared in The Tower of the Swallow, the sixth book and fourth full novel in Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher series. Initially nameless, this black mare was owned by a merchant named Hotspurn, who was an ally of the Rats, a criminal gang of which Ciri (going by the false name Falka) was a member.
Wanting to return to Cintra and claim the throne that is rightfully hers, Ciri left the Rats and traveled with Hotspurn. He was killed shortly after the two met up, and Ciri inherited the mare, who she decided to name “Kelpie” after a vicious aquatic monster that sometimes took the form of a horse. She chose that name due to both Kelpie’s appearance and her ability to easily run through water.
Kelpie remained Ciri’s companion throughout her adventures in the books. She had not previously appeared in the games, although Geralt mentioned her during the quest “Wandering in the Dark” in The Witcher 3 and reminisced fondly about her and Ciri’s bond. Notably, during the Witcher series’ 10th anniversary video, Ciri is shown riding a gray horse who is likely not Kelpie.
The Witcher 4’s Kelpie May Be The Original
Geralt of Rivia explicitly names every horse he rides throughout the novels, games, and TV series “Roach,” and they are not the same creature. In The Witcher 3, he can even potentially obtain a new “Roach” as part of a deal with Emperor Emhyr var Emreis. Geralt has ridden several Roaches throughout his career as a witcher, although the “Equine Phantoms” quest in The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, in which the current Roach gains the ability to speak, implies that all Roaches may share a consciousness or spirit.
However, Kelpie, as she appears in the Witcher 4 tech demo, matches the Kelpie of the novels in appearance exactly. Kelpie is described as such in Tower of the Swallow:
“Black and gleaming like coal, not a light hair on her…[with a] dolphin-like neck, straight and slender, but powerfully muscled, a small shapely head…high withers and a build of delightful proportions”
This implies that the Kelpie Ciri rides in The Witcher 4 is in fact the original Kelpie, having remained with her throughout her adventures. While the exact time gap between the end of the novels and the events of The Witcher 4 is unclear, this would likely make Kelpie quite elderly, although she still physically appears and moves like a young horse in the footage shown in the Unreal Engine tech demo.
The Witcher 4’s story featuring the original Kelpie can be explained, however, by the mare’s unique supernatural nature. Kelpie can be summoned by rubbing a magical bracelet, although it is never clarified where she goes when “un-summoned” or how she came to be bound by the bracelet in the first place. However, her connection with the bracelet, as well as her unusual strength and intelligence, implies that Kelpie is something more than an ordinary horse.
Fan theories about Kelpie have abounded since the books’ initial release, with some guessing that she is actually part-kelpie, or that she originates from a different world or was created by elven magic. Hopefully, The Witcher 4 will reveal more about Kelpie as she and Ciri travel together, perhaps solving the mystery of her origins and powers at last.