The flaming red-haired sorceress Triss Merigold is easily one of the most renowned characters in The Witcher, with her presence being strongly felt over the course of the first three games. Starting out as a headstrong sorceress, Triss quickly becomes aware of the selfish nature of her actions and tries to distance herself from the White Wolf in The Witcher 3... unless the player doesn't let her, that is.
That being said, there's no denying the fact that people who've only played the games don't know everything about Triss, especially since the book definitely does delve into her character in greater detail at times. Keeping this in mind, here are ten things about Triss that only book readers are aware of.
Updated on January 14, 2022, by Ritwik Mitra: Triss Merigold is easily one of the more recognizable and beloved characters from the Witcher games. She's one of the few major characters to appear in all three games, with her appearances being quite notable in each entry. Book readers were quite surprised when they saw Triss in such an important role in the video games, although they never really complained. After all, these people were quite familiar with the character and knew certain facts that aren't present anywhere else.
15 She Was Born And Raised In Maribor
Given how important Triss' character is, it's pretty surprising that the games don't really delve into her history all that often. After all, even book readers got a glimpse of that... and Triss wasn't even a focal character in them!
Triss was born and raised in Maribor, before exhibiting latent magical powers that were later developed in Aretuza. The rest, as they say, is history.
14 Ciri And Triss Developed A Sisterly Bond
Given that most people know just how close Ciri and Yennefer are from the books, it's a shame that people don't talk about Ciri's relationship with Triss as well. After all, the two aren't exactly strangers.
In fact, Triss and Ciri actually became really close after sharing their backstories with each other. Ciri even looked up to Triss as an elder sister at a point, which is quite a surprising fact given that this doesn't really translate in the video game adaptations.
13 She Was Pretty Close To Yennefer Long Before The Games
Triss and Yennefer might seem rather frosty in The Witcher 3, which is understandable given the interest they both share in Geralt. However, the games make them look like begrudging teammates at times, which is quite unnecessary.
After all, Triss and Yennefer actually became steadfast friends while bearing the trials and tribulations of life in Aretuza. They might've drifted apart over time, but both characters definitely have a bond that stretches way back.
12 Triss Got A Nickname After Being Discovered To Be Alive After The Battle Of Sodden Hill
The Battle of Sodden Hill was one of the most brutal fights in the Witcher series. A total of thirteen sorcerers and sorceresses died during these events... but this tally was actually fourteen with Triss' inclusion.
The sorceress was pretty much left for dead during the battle, with no one around to recognize her at the time. However, Triss came back from the dead and was later referred to as 'the fourteenth of the hill'.
11 She Had All Of Her Hair Burnt Off During The Battle Too
The Netflix series did a pretty decent job of showing how Triss was injured heavily with flames. However, the books took it a step beyond with another gruesome detail.
All of Triss' hair was burnt off during the attack too, which rendered her unrecognizable. It's no wonder why people assumed that she had died during this grueling battle.
10 Her Looks Are Quite Different From Her Video Game Counterpart
The first thing that most people would notice about Triss in the games is that her visual features are quite striking, with her flaming red hair and strikingly green eyes being extremely notable in that regard.
However, these features are more of an exaggeration than what is present in the books. In the novels, Triss actually has auburn hair and has blue eyes instead.
9 Ironically, She's Allergic To Magical Treatments
One of the weirdest things about Triss that was never even mentioned in the games is the fact that she's actually allergic to magical treatments of any kind, whether it be potions or anything else along the same lines.
This leads to a situation where she's unable to treat her own wounds with magical concoctions — something that ends up serving as a huge detriment during one particular instance in the books where.
8 She Sustained Heavy Burns On Her Chest During The Battle Of Sodden Hill
While the Netflix series might've done the Battle of Sodden Hill justice, the extent of Triss' wounds is still unknown as of this point.
In the books, these wounds were quite major and left a permanent scar on her chest — something that she was unable to get rid of due to her aforementioned allergies.
In fact, this burn wound was so horrific that it was a miracle she didn't die from them.
7 Everyone Assumed That She Had Died In This Battle
It was reported that a whopping fourteen sorceresses had died in the Battle of Sodden Hill, with Triss being labeled as one of these victims. However, as the books would soon show, this declaration was rather premature.
While there is a stone obelisk at the memorial site with her name etched on it, Triss Merigold actually ended up surviving this battle — a fact that would've surprised no one who'd played the games (given the fact that the games are a continuation of the novel's story, after all).
6 She Manipulated Geralt Into A Relationship With Her
Most people who adore Triss simply have to understand the fact that she was quite manipulative in both the books and games when it came to courting him... although her attempts were definitely more disturbing in the books.
After all, she ended up spiking Geralt's meals and drinks with a love potion that pretty much forced him to develop feelings for Triss, resulting in a short yet passionate relationship that eventually ran its course when Geralt was free of the effects of these potions. Surprisingly, he wasn't angry at Triss for doing this and still considered her to be his friend.
5 She Wanted To Be The First Sorceress To Try Out The Witcher Trials In Decades... On Ciri, No Less
In The Blood of Elves, Triss becomes quite adamant about trying out the Witcher Trials once again on a human — something that hadn't been attempted in decades due to its inherently risky nature. The recipient of these trials? Ciri herself!
Thankfully, Triss soon came to her senses and realized what an awful idea it would be to subject a child to such grueling torture... but that's not to say that she let Ciri off the hook when it came to using the child of the Elder Blood.
4 She Was Actually For The Idea Of Ciri Being Used As A Tool For The Lodge Of Sorceresses
The Lodge of Sorceresses was just as devious and conniving in the books as they've been portrayed in the second game, and one need only look at their plans of impregnating a young Ciri and raising the offspring in their own way to understand why this is the case.
What makes this idea even worse is that Triss even wholeheartedly backed this plan as well, which is quite hard to believe for fans of the games who'd fallen in love with her character.
However, that's not to say that Triss wanted this to happen of her own accord.
3 She Was Painfully Subservient To Philippa Eilhart
The worst thing about Triss' character in the books that people simply have to accept is the fact that she was extremely meek and shy, preferring to follow the people in power as opposed to carving out her own path.
This is why she was so subservient to Philippa Eilhart, the founder and head of the Lodge of Sorceresses. It's been shown numerous times in the books that Philippa Eilhart had Triss wrapped around her fingers for the longest time, pretty much forcing the auburn-haired sorceress to do her bidding without expecting a rebuttal of any sort.
2 She Finally Did Something Truly Courageous Near The End Of The Book Series
At the end of The Lady of the Lake, Triss finally managed to develop a backbone in an attempt to help Yennefer and Geralt survive the onslaught occurring during the Rivian Pogrom.
They managed to cast Merigold's Hailstorm, a powerful spell that ended up shifting the tide in the favor of the trio... but for the briefest of moments before things went south quick.
1 Her Presence In The Books Was Quite Muted, Compared To The Games
Given Triss' presence in the games, one wouldn't be faulted to think that she played a major role in the books as well. However, the reality is far from it.
The truth of the matter is that Triss wasn't a major character in the books at all. Her roles were fairly minor, with perhaps the bulk of her time in the spotlight coming in The Blood of Elves. Following this book, she became more of a background character than anything else.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released on May 18, 2015, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.