Radovid V's History
Early life
Radovid was born in 1255 in Tretogor to the royal pair, King Vizimir II and Queen Hedwig of Malleore, as their third child. He grew up with two older sisters: Dalimira, informally known as Dalka, and Milena, who was known as Milka in a similar fashion. Dalka eventually dedicated her life to the priesthood after her failed engagement with King Foltest of Temeria, who instead chose to marry his own sister Adda, while Milka attended Aretuza to become a sorceress Millegarda.
When Prince Radovid was 9 years old he was formally engaged to Cirilla, Princess of Cintra, when she was 12. The engagement was formalized between his father and Queen Calanthe, Ciri's grandmother, but the king broke the engagement off after half a year without giving any explanation and Ciri and Radovid never even had a chance to talk to each other.
Regency years
The ambassador knew that Dijkstra was exaggerating, but not inordinately. Prince Radovid was still a minor, Queen Hedwig distraught by her husband's tragic death, and the aristocracy intimidated, stupefied, at variance and divided into factions.
Redanian situation in 1267, Baptism of Fire
On the day of the outbreak of the Second Northern War with the Nilfgaardian Empire, his father had unexpectedly fallen victim to an elven assassin.[4] A fact unknown to practically anyone was that it was Philippa Eilhart, at the time fighting on Thanedd Island, who hired the elf in order to gain more direct rule. Redania fell into chaos, as usually happens in such circumstances, and Queen Hedwig was not in a state to control things.[N 3] The aristocracy started to organize itself into factions, attempting to tear some land out for each and every one of them. Several practically licked the boots of Nilfgaardian emissaries led by Shilard Fitz-Oesterlen and were ready to rule with Nilfgaardian blessing, only to be caught off guard and stopped by the famous Redanian Secret Service. There remained but a handful of those who were spared, those with important enough social status and armed might to maintain peace, like Duke Nitert.
Nitert was put in charge of the Regency Council appointed to save the realm from a total civil war and they managed to do so, by hanging everyone they deemed traitor in specially modified fortifications with internment camps - most infamous of which would be Drakenborg. Its members, however, overlooked their underage crown prince and none of the Northern Kingdoms' elites, not even Philippa who took it upon herself to raise him, expected him to grow into a firm monarch who would repay all humiliations he and his mother had suffered during the interregnum.
Beginnings of reign
A king, who – after paying back all the insults borne by himself and his mother – would pass into the history as Radovid V the Stern.
Radovid at Novigrad parade, The Lady of the Lake
A young but decisive, unrelenting King Radovid V's deed quickly earned him the epithet of "the Stern".
The following is considered game canon only and may contradict Andrzej Sapkowski's works.
He began his reign by taking care of various nobles who ruled on their lands rather independently from Tretogor. He proved a capable political actor, manipulating events to the advantage of both his own position and Redania's. He utilized Redania's famed spy network to foster links with multiple potential allies, picking and choosing as he saw fit while ensuring those discarded were destroyed. In all his political actions, he attempted to embody the idea that a king should be ruthless towards his foes and generous to his friends.
Time in Vizima
King Radovid meeting Geralt for the first time
Looking to secure relations with Temeria, Radovid made his way to the kingdom's capital of Vizima in 1270. However, while there he eventually came into contact with Salamandra through some "mutual acquaintances" and thought he could make use of the criminal organization but ultimately concluded not to do so. Despite this, the witcher Geralt of Rivia happened across some of the criminals communicating via a mirror with the king, who only revealed he wasn't backing the group before closing off communications with the witcher.
Eventually, though, his hideout was discovered by the witcher. The two conversed for a bit, with Radovid revealing why he was in Vizima before asking the witcher's opinion on Adda the White, who he was seeing as a possible way to combine the two royal families. The two then parted ways.
If Geralt saves Adda: With Adda's curse lifted once more, Radovid then proceeded to marry her to solidify the two kingdoms' union.
If Geralt doesn't save Adda: With no other way to combine the two kingdoms, Radovid returned to Redania to reign over by himself.
Consolidating his power
Back from Temeria, Radovid V began to gather his armies and erect fortresses. To counter the sorceresses' rising power, he invited the Order of the Flaming Rose to Redania and granted them lands.[8] He made several military reforms, espousing the idea that a soldier was only as good as their breastplate. He ensured that his armies were well-equipped, allowing his quartermasters as much gold as was needed to keep his infantry in solid armor. Aware that human soldiers were neither as strong as dwarves nor as dexterous as elves, identified their key advantage: their numbers. A mass of humans, led by a capable of commander, could overwhelm an individually superior force. His final military philosophy concerned the effectiveness of heavy cavalry, and he would suggest that any battlefield problem could be overcome by a gallant charge. These tactics would see him through several successful military campaigns, culminating in a subjugating nearly the entirety of the Northern Kingdoms and the defeat of the invading Nilfgaardian forces of Emhyr var Emreis' third invasion.
In July 1271, Radovid came to the deliberations at Loc Muinne, followed by a number of regular soldiers and knights of the Flaming Rose who were meant to ensure that peace talks remained peaceful, as well as step in if things did not go Redania's way. Shortly after arriving, the King imprisoned Philippa Eilhart with the help of Nilfgaardian delegation. To avenge his father, he had her eyes gouged out and meant to execute her before she escaped.
Third Northern War and further life
When the Third Northern War broke out, Radovid remained the only monarch to have the strength to resist Nilfgaard. Taking advantage of this, during the winter break, he invaded a weakened Kaedwen and absorbed the Kaedwenian Army into his own. He also had Temerian partisans[9] and Kovirian mercenary companies at his disposal,[10] and considered utilizing the Crescent Moon, an influential independence movement in the Nilfgaard-conquered Nazair.
However, both Radovid and Emhyr had set their eyes on Novigrad, as whoever controlled the free city would not only have control over the ports, but its hefty treasury as well, therefore making victory likely for the one who gained control of it. To try and weaken the city for his taking, Radovid employed the services of Whoreson Junior, one of the "Big Four" of Novigrad's underground crime bosses, enticing him with money and a grand estate in Oxenfurt in return for turning on the other bosses and bringing about their downfall.
His plan worked to a degree, but once it was clear that Junior had outlived his usefulness, Radovid decided to reveal his location to Geralt - who sought revenge on Whoreson Junior for unrelated reasons. However, Radovid took advantage of this and called upon Geralt for a favour; while onboard his flagship, the HMS Oxenfurt-Tretogor, Radovid asked the witcher for his help in finding and apprehending Philippa Eilhart.
