The Witcher book series by Andrzej Sapkowski is full of ambitious kings, scheming sorcerers and desperate elves all fighting for their place on the Continent. The Netflix adaptation brings those conflicts to life through both epic battles and subtle betrayals, but sometimes, it's hard to keep track of who exactly holds the power. We’re making it easier to keep track of who the players are and what they’re fighting for.

Since the group dynamics change throughout the series, we’ve broken this guide down by season. Major spoilers for Season 1 and 2 follow so consider yourself warned!

Season 1

Faction: The Elves

Elves are the original sorcerers of the Continent. Five hundred years before humans arrived on the Continent, elves had mastered the ability to control Chaos and work magic, using it to build spectacularly beautiful cities and academies while living in harmony with nature. They shared their gifts with the humans, who used their new power to force the elves from their lands and kill almost all young elven warriors in an event known as The Great Cleansing. The elves who survived have either integrated into human cities, where they are treated as second class citizens, or have gone into hiding in the wilderness.

Who’s in charge? Filavandrel aén Fidháil, also known as Filavandrel of the Silver Towers, was once an elven king. Since the Great Cleansing, he’s been hiding in caves far from the larger human settlements and feeding his people with stolen food. Some of his people want him to fight the humans. The Witcher Geralt of Rivia, a mutant who understands what it is to be hated by most people, urged him to avoid interacting with humanity and find a place to rebuild.

Faction: Cintra

One of the most powerful of the Northern Kingdoms, Cintra was built on the ruins of the elven city of Xin'trea 500 years ago. Queen Calanthe, known as the Lioness of Cintra, was a fierce and determined warrior beloved by her people. She ruled alongside King Eist Tuirseach, an exceptional warrior and sailor and the king of the Northern Kingdom of Skellige. Calanthe underestimated the threat posed by the southern empire of Nilfgaard. Eist was killed in battle and Calanthe was mortally wounded, killing herself after arranging for her granddaughter Princess Cirilla to escape. The people of Cintra were either slaughtered or fled, and they have become refugees throughout the Northern Kingdoms.

Who’s in charge? Nilfgaardian forces hold Cintra, but others have their eye on the kingdom known as the Continent’s Crown Jewel and are looking for Ciri to strengthen their claim. Ciri is Calanthe’s sole heir, known as the Lion Cub for her similarity to her grandmother. She has also inherited an incredible amount of unpredictable magical power from her mother.

Faction: Temeria

One of the largest kingdoms in the Continent, Temeria was once plagued by a striga, a dangerous monster that hunts on the full moon, killing people and eating their organs. The magical Academy of Aretuza is located off the shore of Temeria.

Who’s in charge: King Foltest resisted stopping the striga because she was actually the warped offspring of an incestous relationship between Folrest and his sister. After the Temerian people nearly revolted, Foltest enlisted Geralt’s aid to break the curse and restore the princess to human form. No longer dealing with a crisis at home and finally having an acceptable heir, Foltest became more involved in the politics of the Northern Kingdoms. He helped prevent the forces of Nilfgaard from moving further north by bringing his armies to Sodden Hill, where they fought alongside rogue members of the Brotherhood of Mages.

Faction: Nilfgaard

The largest empire on the Continent, Nilfgaard has conquered most of the south and set its sights on taking over the Northern Kingdoms. The empire’s armies successfully conquered Cintra but were pushed back at the Battle of Sodden Hill.

Who’s in charge? Emperor Emhyr var Emreis is feared and respected by his people, who refer to him as The White Flame. He is the son of the former emperor, Fergus var Emreis, and deposed the Usurper who had overthrown his father.

Faction: The Brotherhood of Sorcerers

The oldest and most influential group of mages on the Continent was created to set policy on how Chaos could be handled responsibly. They train those who show magical potential and then place them in kingdoms to serve as royal advisors, allowing the organization to keep tabs on politics throughout the Continent even though they officially stay neutral in most conflicts. The Chapter forbade Brotherhood members from becoming entangled in the war between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms, but many mages ignored their orders and fought to stop the empire’s armies at the Battle of Sodden Hill. The battle was won, though not without many casualties.

Who’s in charge? The brotherhood is helmed by a group of 12 mages known as the Chapter. Their chair is Artorius Vigo, a traditionalist from the Nilfaargian vassal state of Toussaint. He works closely with his fellow Chapter member Stregobor, a particularly ancient and conservative mage who is distrustful of women and elves.

But who really holds the power? If there was a true winner in Season 1, it was the Brotherhood of Sorcerers who proved that, when their members choose sides, they can stand against entire armies. While the Brotherhood fights amongst itself to decide who will lead, other factions look upon the sorcerers with renewed respect and fear, questioning how much they can be trusted as royal advisors moving forward.

Season 2

Faction: The Elves

What changed? After the Elves lost patience with Filavandrel and his passive strategy towards the humans, they chose a new leader. Francesca Findabair is a powerful sorceress able to conjure food to support her forces. She believed that she had a vision from the elven prophet Ithlinne of how to create a new age for her people, but the dream was actually sent by Voleth Meir, the Deathless Mother, an ancient being who draws power from despair. Voleth Meir persuaded Francesca to form an alliance with Nilfgaard, and she did so to protect her people, including her baby with Filavandrel — the first full-blooded elf to be born in years. But after the murder of the infant, the elves abandoned the Nilfgaardians. Suspecting the slaying was perpetrated by the Northern Kingdom of Redania, who had been spying on Cintra, Francesca used magic to kill human babies there as vengeance.

Who’s in charge? Francesca Findabair remains in charge, though she’s been driven to exceptional cruelty through her grief. She’s learned that Ciri is part elf, the child of Elder Blood foretold in an ancient elven curse meant to bring vengeance upon the humans. She believes finding Ciri is the key to helping her people.

Faction: Cintra

What changed? Nilfgaard conquered Cintra and killed its rulers but was pushed back from further expansion by a group of mages and the Temerian army. The sorceress Fringilla sought to rebuild her invasion forces through an alliance with Francesca, though that partnership was challenged by intelligence officer Cahir Mawr Dyffryn Aep Ceallach and other Nilfgaardian military leaders who distrusted the elves, suspecting that they would lose the desire to fight after Francesca had her child. That led Fringilla to kill many Nilfgaardian commanders and blame their deaths on Redanian treachery, promising Cahir would meet the same fate if he opposed her.

Who’s in charge? In an attempt to impress Emhyr, Cahir and Fringilla claimed credit for killing Francesca’s child and turning the elves against their enemies in Redania. However, they didn’t realize that it was actually Emhyr who had the child killed. Infuriated by their lies, the emperor ordered them arrested and has come to Cintra himself to try to find Ciri, who is actually his daughter.

Faction: Temeria

What changed? Foltest earned a great deal of respect from the mages who fought at Sodden and the other leaders of the Northern Kingdoms.

Who’s in charge? King Foltest remains in charge of Temeria and is trying to position himself as the leader of a new coalition of Northern royals, working closely with the Brotherhood of Mages without fully trusting them.

Faction: Redania

One of the wealthiest and most powerful kingdoms on the Continent, Redania is home to Oxenfurt — the largest university in the North — and Novigrad, which is a major port and one of the largest cities in the North. Redania’s King Vizimir could never have taken Cintra on his own but believes he may be able to wrest it from Nilfgaard, especially if he can gain legitimacy by marrying Ciri.

Who’s in charge? Redania is ruled by King Vizimir, but the most powerful man in the kingdom may actually be the spymaster Sigismund Dijkstra. While he’s only a commoner, the head of Redanian Intelligence is the only person Vizimir really trusts.

Faction: Nilfgaard

What’s changed? After Nilfgaard's defeat at Sodden Hill, Cahir was captured and tortured by the Brotherhood of Mages before escaping with the help of Yennefer. Fringilla, meanwhile, was caught by the elves but formed an alliance with Francesca that grew into genuine friendship and trust. Fringilla was furious when Cahir returned to Cintra and began undermining her leadership, and she considered defecting to the Brotherhood of Mages. Instead, her pride led her to kill many of Nilfgaard’s military officers in order to assert her leadership of the Northern invasion.

Who’s in charge? Emperor Emhyr var Emreis has left Nilfgaard to continue his campaign of conquest and attempts to reunite with Ciri, stripping Cahir and Fringilla of their authority. Emhyr once went by Urcheon “Duny” of Erlenwald, marrying the Cintran princess Pavetta as part of a complex plot for domination over the Continent, which involves control over Ciri’s great magical power.

Faction: School of the Wolf

The witchers of the School of the Wolf are highly trained monster hunters who have undergone magical mutations through a process known as the Trial of the Grasses, which gives them enhanced strength and agility and improved senses. They are never without their wolf medallions, which allows them to sense nearby magic and monsters. Their numbers were decimated when their stronghold Kaer Morhen was destroyed, and no new witchers have been made since. When Geralt brought Ciri to Kaer Morhen to keep her safe, she began undergoing training and soon earned the grudging respect of the other witchers. Her injuries during training also revealed the presence of Elder Blood, essential to the Trial of the Grasses. Ciri volunteered to donate her blood to see if it could be used to create more witchers, but the concoction was stolen before it could be tested. Several witchers were killed when Ciri was possessed by Voleth Meir, leaving the future of the School of the Wolf even more uncertain.

Who’s in charge? Vesemir is the oldest known living witcher and a father figure to all the members of the School of the Wolf. However, the school’s arguably most famous member is Geralt of Rivia, who has spent decades on the road slaying monsters for money, getting entangled in politics and finding surprising new allies and responsibilities.

Faction: The Brotherhood of Sorcerers

What’s changed? The Brotherhood was shaken by its losses at Sodden Hill, spurring its members to regroup and question their current leadership. Tissaia de Vries — who trained many of the Brotherhood’s members as headmistress of Aretuza Academy — and the battle mage Vilgefortz of Roggeveen challenged the Chapter’s power, with the latter taking over the organization.

Who’s in charge? Vilgefortz and Tissaia may be lovers, but their alliance is already falling apart. Vilgefortz has secretly enlisted rogue mages to pursue Ciri while Tissaia is working more closely with the Northern kings. Another wild card is Yennefer of Vengerberg, who became a fugitive from the Brotherhood for refusing to show her loyalty by executing Cahir.

But who really holds the power? Without a doubt, the lynchpin of power on the Continent is currently Ciri. She’s politically important as the heir to Cintra, but it is her magical power as the child of Elder Blood — with the ability to open portals to other worlds — that has the greatest potential to change things. Nearly every faction on the Continent wants to kill or capture Ciri or find some other way to use her for their own goals. Yennefer and Geralt have promised to protect her, and it will take all of their power to do so.