The dark, grimy, and overall sort of charmingly gross world The Witcher takes place in is one of our favorite settings of all time. What if the horrible lack of hygiene during the Middle Ages was well-represented? But, magic, monsters, and supernaturally beautiful sorceresses also existed?
Well, you can see it in either the game or the shortly coming live adaptation on Netflix. And, it leads to some fun contrast between the god-beings like Yennefer or Triss, and the disfigured townspeople with their buckets of waste and sweat-soaked clothes. The Sorceresses that Geralt comes into contact with are all worth an article in their own right, but this time it's all about the little facts that players might not know when it comes to these Source-utilizing practitioners of Power.
10 Sorceresses Tend To Hold Men And Male Mages With Disdain
There's a real wide divide between the male and female users of Power in this franchise. So much so, that some of them rebelled against the previous Council of Mages and created the Lodge of Sorceresses. This is a band of all-female magic users that do not allow men to join. This lodge actually ended up becoming so powerful that they attempt to start their very own country. It makes sense since most of the other members were already political pillars in a way. According to these Sorceresses, male mages are just too incompetent to handle magic and are constantly only thinking with their "lower ends".
9 They Either Learn Magic Or Go Insane
Now, anyone can learn magic, but to become a powerful Sorceress or Mage, you must be born with an innate tie to the Source. But, those who are, must learn to control it from an early age. Ciri is an extreme example, as her connection is more powerful than most, but any child prodigy that could be defined as a "Source" must be taught to control their power, or they have a very high chance of literally going crazy. This plays into some of the older established magic-users literally going "mad" with power over time.
8 They Age Slower By Default
Using magic by default causes these people to age slower, but, once they join one of the schools for magic, such as Aretuza, they're giving a potion that basically halts their aging altogether. Seriously, most of the Sorceresses look fantastic for how old they are, Yennefer, for example, is 100 years old. This massive divide between the common folk who don't last too long and the Sorceresses further leads the magic users to feel a sense of superiority over the masses.
7 Magic Makes Them Sterile
Much like Witchers, most magic-users are sterile, Sorceresses especially. As far as we could tell, it isn't super-well explained in the game or books, but a lot of media like to oddly associate sterilization as an innate drawback of magic. This is yet another factor that causes Sorceresses to lead pretty solitary lives, never connecting all too strongly with anyone.
And, the ones they do, sometimes become like their surrogate children. For example, Ciri is basically thought of as Yennefer's daughter while Triss takes the place of her older sister. Does this now imply some weird incest vibes since Geralt is her faux-dad and he gets "cozy" with Triss? Totally. But does that stop any of the fans from choosing her? Not at all.
6 Most Sorceresses Started Out Looking Very Different
So this is one of the more commonly known tidbits of knowledge about the Sorceresses in The Witcher franchise, they usually come from a background of disfigurement or are "unattractive" by the surrounding societies standards. Yennefer for example, surprised many surface-level fans when her trailer dropped for the live-action adaptation because it showed her when she was a disfigured hunchback at the beginning of her magical journey. But, once these witches complete a year at the academy, they're rewarded by being "remade" into a more beautiful form. Doing these changes on their own is rather difficult though, which is why many of them keep their appearances mostly the same from that point on.
5 There Are Limits To Their Growth From The Start
Like we said earlier, technically anyone can learn magic. But, everyone has an innate talent or "power level" when it comes to the potential peak of their level of ability. Some mages can only use basic spells, while others can devastate entire battlefields. Regardless of you or any celebrity's opinion on the two main female leads Yen and Triss, they're both incredibly powerful Sorceresses. Yennefer is a particularly strong support mage. While Triss, young as she is, tends to excel at wide-area attack magic of the fiery nature. Of course, Sorceresses can study, train, and learn to use different or more powerful spells. But, their innate "talent" can't be changed.
4 They Lean Towards Having Unique Relationships Or Personal Preferences
Heres a crazy thought, say you saw tons and tons of supernatural/fantastical things in your early years. Then, say you learned how to control and perform feats of literal magic. Afterward, you find out you're able to live for hundreds of years and are seen as wildly attractive by just about anyone. Wouldn't you go exploring, sleeping around, and casting magic every which way? Most Sorceresses would agree, which is why they all tend to be pretty progressive about their inclinations, sexualities, and overall type of relationships.
3 Behind Every King, Tends To Be A Sorceress
Like we said earlier, Sorceresses are the pillars of power behind the scenes in The Witcher series, each one is worth an army on their own. And, depending on the mage, they can destroy or save said country. So, it makes sense that rulers would try to nab them for themselves, pulling them in with promises of money, power, and prestige.
Behind every strong ruler in The Witcher, you can almost be sure there's a mage or Sorceress. Triss herself serves as the Royal Mage for Foltest, the ruler of Temeria. And don't even get us started on the ties between Phillipa Eilhart and King Vezemir of Redania.
2 They Sure Do Love Their Portals
Most of the higher mages and Sorceresses in The Witcher series are able to conjure portals that can take them from point A to B. Yennefer does it constantly, so much so we can't really remember seeing her run at all in the third game. Triss does it less, and teleporting around is Ciri's whole deal. But, like you'd expect, creating these portals takes a lot of magical energy and effort, so they don't use it for everything. And, it seems like they can only Teleport two people at once at most. Still, these things get used around Geralt so often that the cat-eyed playboy actively hates teleporting as part of his character now.
1 They Could All Beat Geralt With Ease
As we said, Sorceresses are dang scary. And, what many people don't expect, but should, is that they're much more powerful than any Witcher. Witchers can use magic, yes, but only the most basic of signs. Most mages chortle at the Witchers magics. They tend to rely on their potions, combat skill, and mutations to serve them more than magic. But, a Witcher kills beasts, not magic-users. Well, the definition of what a Witcher fights is now expanding thanks to all of his cameo appearances. But, most Witchers would assuredly be childs play for a Sorceress to beat, Geralt included. Yes, with proper preparation, a Witcher could probably sneak out a win from a Sorceress, but that chance is still at best a 50/50.