Tissaia

Biodata

Appearance

• Hair: Black 196.
• Clothing and bearing: Wears robes and maintains an aristocratic elegance; Lynn observes that she could be mistaken for an ordinary noblewoman 196 256 358.
• Expression: Margarita describes her as stern and long-faced 94.

Personality

Tissaia places Aretuza and its students above political ambition. Although she relinquishes the headmistress’s position, she remains closely involved in the academy’s welfare and wants to prevent its graduates from becoming expendable instruments of kings and nobles. Her attachment to the Brotherhood is much weaker than her loyalty to Aretuza 257 267.

She is meticulous, demanding, and strongly attached to order. Aretuza’s atmosphere was notably rigid under her leadership. During her discussion with Lynn, she uses Mage Hand to align their cups precisely, including their distance from the table’s edge 257 258.

Her magical expertise exceeds her political judgment. She initially insists that royal advisers do not interfere in politics, but listens when Lynn challenges that assumption with specific examples. By the Thanedd summit, his warnings allow her to recognize a betrayal that Vilgefortz might otherwise have concealed from her 257 258 429.

Her interest in research is not merely transactional. Lynn’s extraordinary results after secondary mutation excite her as a scientific breakthrough, independently of their alliance. She also considers opposing evil gods and protecting sentient peoples part of a mage’s responsibilities 362 385.

History

Aretuza and the Kaer Morhen Massacre

Tissaia had already established her reputation during Bloody Falca’s lifetime. She later served as Aretuza’s headmistress and taught several prominent sorceresses, including Yennefer, Triss, Margarita Laux-Antille, and Keira Metz. By 1251, she had long since handed the headmistress’s position to Margarita, her chosen successor 94 196 256 429.

During the events preceding the Kaer Morhen Massacre, Tissaia tried to persuade King Vadislaus to abandon his attack. She argued that witchers protected farmers and armies from monsters, that Kaer Morhen had been built with an earlier king’s tacit approval, and that the witchers’ refusal of military service followed Alzur’s code 196 197.

Vadislaus offered wealth and preferential court appointments for Aretuza graduates if she helped him seize the fortress. When she refused to cooperate, he ordered her out and threatened to exclude her students from Kaedwen. Tissaia departed through a portal, warning that he might regret his decision. Lynn and Fringilla later witness this exchange within an illusion of the past 197.

Alliance with Lynn

After noticing Triss’s increasingly frequent visits to Aretuza, Tissaia questioned her and learned about Lynn. She sought him out in Novigrad to determine whether he could become an ally capable of helping the academy 256 257.

Their discussion challenged her confidence in the Brotherhood’s political restraint. Lynn cited the ambitions and private dealings of leading sorcerers, then revealed his connection to the Thyssen family and his plan to obtain territory for witchers. Tissaia initially objected to his abandonment of neutrality, but accepted that his future position could provide Aretuza with refuge 258 259 260.

She agreed to visit Kaer Morhen that winter and undertook secondary-mutation research with Yennefer. During the journey, she proposed placing rescued elven villagers under Francesca Findabair’s protection; Lynn instead kept them with his group 260 264 267.

Protecting the Blue Mountains

When Kaedweni scouts entered the Blue Mountains, Tissaia supported deterrence rather than killing them. She cursed the riders and distributed them among nearby villages, spreading rumors of a dangerous haunting 272 275 276.

She also invoked Sabrina Glevissig’s debt to Aretuza to prevent Kaedwen’s court sorceress from supporting Henselt. Sabrina pretended to investigate the haunting and warned the king that confronting it could endanger northeastern Kaedwen, halting his advance 276.

Preparing for Wider Threats

Tissaia’s support for Lynn eventually grew beyond securing an escape route for Aretuza. She had repeatedly warned rulers about the White Frost and the Wild Hunt, only to find that both kings and fellow Brotherhood leaders preferred their immediate political interests 365.

Seeing Lynn bring witchers, druids, and dryads into cooperation convinced her that they might accomplish more together. She offered to select research-minded Aretuza students to serve at Kaer Morhen and help care for future witchers 365.

Expedition against Dagon

Tissaia joined Lynn’s expedition against Dagon at Lake Vizima, considering participation her duty. She created an ice boat large enough to carry the entire party to Black Tern Island and relieved the mental pain inflicted by Dagon’s roar 385.

During the ensuing battle, she and Triss attacked the Corrupted Vodyanoi with fire and frost while Margarita and Yennefer maintained the protective barrier. The fighting continued from noon until evening 386.

Relocation of Aretuza

After Lynn established his rule over the Duchy of Hengfors, Tissaia accepted his proposal to move Aretuza from Thanedd Island to the Dragon Mountains. The remote location offered distance from northern political struggles and the approaching conflict with Nilfgaard 417.

Her decision rested on trust developed through their cooperation: she believed Lynn would not forcibly conscript the academy’s students. She left to supervise the relocation, with Lynn supplying ships for the move 417.

The Thanedd Summit

Tissaia helped arrange the sorcerers’ summit as a trap for Vilgefortz, having already learned about his dealings with Emhyr from Lynn. She controlled an anti-magic barrier intended to prevent the assembled sorcerers from casting 429.

Vilgefortz broke the barrier using power supplied by a captured djinn. During the fighting, Tissaia subdued Francesca and bound her with a golden chain. She then faced Vilgefortz and his remaining allies until Lynn arrived and severed Vilgefortz’s connection to the djinn, killing him 429.

Abilities & Skills

Magical Mastery

Tissaia combines exceptional spellcasting strength with centuries of accumulated knowledge. Lynn considers her indispensable to improving witcher mutations because of both her power and her understanding of magic 257 364.

• Technical advantage: Her mastery exceeds Vilgefortz’s even when his djinn temporarily gives him greater raw power; given time, she could identify weaknesses in his magic 429.
• Magical assessment: Previously determined that Vadislaus’s daughter lacked the talent required to become a sorceress 199.
• Mage Hand: Precisely moves small objects and intercepts the signet ring Lynn throws to her 258.

Spatial Magic and Enchantment

• Portals: Opens portals for travel and supplies Kaer Morhen by transporting food from a nearby city 197 356.
• Permanent Extension Charm: Triss seeks her specifically for an enchantment providing villa-sized interior space. Tissaia later recognizes the expanded leather bag in Lynn’s possession as the reason for Triss’s request 94 365.

Curses

Tissaia can impose powerful curses without the extensive preparation normally required of other sorcerers 275.

• Curses the Kaedweni scouts used in the staged haunting around the Blue Mountains 276.
• Her immediate casting astonishes Lynn, who notes that other practitioners face demanding conditions and the possibility of backlash 275.

Combat and Protective Magic

• Fire and frost: Uses offensive spells to thin the Corrupted Vodyanoi surrounding the expedition’s defenses 386.
• Ice construction: Creates a large, functional boat for the crossing to Black Tern Island 385.
• Mental protection: Releases a ring of white light that eases the pain caused by Dagon’s supernatural roar 385.
• Weather control: Summons rain with Yennefer after Lynn’s enhanced Igni sets the training ground ablaze 362.
• Restraint: Defeats Francesca and binds her with a golden chain 429.
• Anti-magic barrier: Controls a barrier that prevents the other summit participants from casting. It is ultimately overcome by Vilgefortz’s djinn-powered magic 429.

Witcher Mutation Research

Tissaia works with Yennefer to improve Thomas Moreau’s secondary-mutation method, then collaborates with Mousesack and Aglaïs on making the Trial of the Grasses safer 278 357 416.

The improved Trial combines several measures:

Equipment

• Wand — Used to move and clear training dummies during Geralt’s post-mutation Sign tests 359.

Relationships

• Lynn — Ally and principal research patron. Their agreement begins as mutual protection for Aretuza and the witchers, then develops into shared preparation for threats such as the White Frost 260 278 365.
• Margarita Laux-Antille — Student and chosen successor as Aretuza’s headmistress; shares Tissaia’s commitment to protecting the academy’s students 94 256 377.
• Yennefer of Vengerberg — Former student and collaborator in secondary-mutation research, testing, and medical examinations 256 357 361.
• Triss Merigold — Former student whose visits introduce Tissaia to Lynn’s achievements; commissions the Permanent Extension Charm associated with Lynn’s expanded bag 94 256 257 365.
• Keira Metz — One of the prominent sorceresses trained by Tissaia 256.
• Philippa Eilhart — Identified as a prized student during Lynn’s discussion of sorcerers’ political entanglements; later participates in the summit arranged to expose Vilgefortz 258 429.
• Vesemir — Long-standing acquaintance who welcomes her back to Kaer Morhen and permits access to the Wolf School’s mutation formula and equipment after Lynn vouches for her 266 267.
• Mousesack and Aglaïs — Research partners in improving the Trial of the Grasses 416.
• Sabrina Glevissig — Court sorceress whose obligation to Aretuza gives Tissaia leverage to block Henselt’s expansion 276.

Notable Quotes

“As you wish, Your Majesty. I hope you will not regret this someday.” 197

“Then there's no need to say anything. Just remember our agreement and honor it when the time comes.” 278

“Lynn, I see boundless potential and hope in you. Perhaps, together, we can make this world a better place.” 365