Grandmistress Tissaia de Vries was a sorceress and a member of the Chapter of Sorcerers. She was one of the rectors at Aretuza and the author of The Poisoned Source. She was also extremely obsessive about her appearance and things in general, seeming to constantly clean and organise items neatly.
Tissaia was the one who took a young Yennefer of Vengerberg under her wing. It was she who fixed Yennefer's hunchback and cured her of her various afflictions.
During Time of Contempt, Ciri first runs into her in Gors Velen and is mistaken for a runaway pupil. Tissaia, Margarita Laux-Antille and Yennefer later spent time at a local inn/bathhouse. While there, Tissaia asked for Ciri to be brought before the mages immediately before the Thanedd coup, during which she freed Vilgefortz and Francesca Findabair which in turn allowed Vilgefortz to open the way for Rience, Cahir and the Scoia'tael.
After the coup on Thanedd Island, Tissaia deemed herself largely responsible and committed suicide. Together with the other losses of the coup, her death spelled the end of the Council, making way for the Lodge of Sorceresses.
Her face was proud and fixed. Expressionless. It was quiet in the house. So quiet, the sound of a wilted petal falling on the tabletop could be heard. The sun, as red as blood, slowly sank below the roofs of the houses.
Tissaia de Vries sat down on the chair by the table, blew out a candle, straightened the quill lying across the letter one more time and severed the arteries in both wrists.
In The Witcher computer game[ | ]
- De Vries' Extract is a potion that enables a witcher to see things that are hidden, whether they be behind a wall or spirits.
- An in-game book, Sorceresses and Sorcerers, mentions her sad end.
In The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings[ | ]
She is mentioned by Geralt as co-author of the compendium Masters of Magic on Curses – Selected Writings, with Margarita Laux-Antille.
Notes[ | ]
- De Vries is a common Dutch surname meaning, essentially, the Frisian.
