Most people who playedThe Witcher 3would’ve only heard mentions of The Lodge of Sorceresses in passing, and it’s easy to see why this is the case — after all, the Lodge did occupy a major part in the story ofThe Witcher 2, with their betrayal being documented for all to see and their power subsequently waning, as a result.
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That being said, it can be easy to write off the Lodge as nothing more than a stand-in for the typical misunderstood group of antagonists, when their presence is so much more important in the world ofThe Witcher— something that book readers would be more than familiar with. Keeping this statement in mind, here are ten things from the novels about The Lodge of Sorceresses that only book readers would be familiar with.
10There’s A Reason As To Why There Aren’t Any Men In The Lodge
When the idea of the Lodge was conceived for the first time, it was decided that no man would be part of this powerful group. There were two major reasons for this.
The first was the assumption of the Lodge was that men would put their personal needs over the goals of the Lodge, allowing their political motivations to sway their decisions as well.
The second reason was that men already had their turn, as seen in the fact that…
9The Lodge Emerged From The Ashes Of The Brotherhood Of Sorcerers
Before The Lodge of Sorceresses came into the picture, there was actually another group of mages that controlled things behind the scenes in their own manner as well — The Brotherhood of Sorcerers.
However, this entire organization ended up fading away after the Thanedd coup, which saw mages on both sides of the Northern War fighting against each other in what was supposed to be a surprise assault. The consequences of the same were the dissipation of the Brotherhood of Sorceresses and the rise of the Lodge of Sorceresses from its ashes.
The first-ever meeting of the Lodge was full of faces that fans of the video game series would be familiar with. These sorceresses were Philippa Eilhart,Triss Merigold, Keira Metz, and Sile de Tansarville.
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Other members of this meeting were Margarita Laux-Antille, Sabrina Glevissig, Francesca Findabair, and Assire var Anahid — figures that were way more important in the books than the games.
The idea of the Lodge was formulated by Philippa Eilhart, turning her into the de facto leader as a result. In the first meeting, she decided that the Lodge should have a total of twelve members in order to achieve perfection.
In a bid to heed this call, Assire var Anahid brought Fringilla Vigo with her. Meanwhile, Francesca Findabair brought with her two more members to bring the total count up to 11 — Ida Emean aep Sivney… and Yennefer of Vengeberg.
Speaking of the latter…
6Yennefer Was A Late — And Somewhat Reluctant — Inclusion To The Lodge
Given that Yennefer was nowhere near as power-hungry as some of the other members of the Lodge, it was only a given that she would be quite wary about joining this group in the first place.
The only reason why she was considered to become a part of the Lodge was because of the strong bond she had with Ciri, even though…
5The Lodge Was Wary Of Yennefer Because Of Her Perceived Support Of Nilfgaard
Yennefer wasn’t the only person who was somewhat iffy about her participation in the Lodge of Sorceresses— the rest of the Lodge also had their doubts about Yennefer’s inclusion… even though these doubts stemmed from some serious misassumptions.
During the war,Yennefer ended up misinterpreting some of Ciri’s visions, causing the sorceresses to believe that her affiliations lay with Nilfgaard — something that was frowned upon by members of the Lodge.
It’s a rather odd thing to judge someone on, given the fact that…
4The Lodge Was Meant To Be Free From Any Political Affiliations
During the initial moments when the Lodge was being formed, the sorceresses had their issues with Francesca and Assire since they did support Nilfgaard during the infamous Thanedd coup — something that has already been discussed on this list.
However, after deciding that Nilfgaard could execute the two for appearing in these secret meetings, this matter was put to bed… making it rather odd as to why Yennefer received the same treatment for her supposed support of Nilfgaard when the same could apply to her as well.
3The Lodge Wanted A Child Of The Elder Blood To Be Raised Under Their Guidance
In a bid to control the world from the shadows, the Lodge proposed that they groom a child of the Elder Blood under their care to take over the throne and rule the world as they saw fit.
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What made this plan even worse was the person that they were planning to exploit in order to ensure that their power was magnified…
2They Were Willing To Use A Very Young Ciri To Accomplish This
There’s a reason why the Lodge accepted Yennefer as a member even though they had their reservations — after all, Yennefer had a strong bond withone of the children of the Elder Blood… Ciri.
Their plan wasto get Ciri married to Tankred Thyssen, the then-future king of Kovir and Poviss, and then groom their child under the wing of the sorceresses to make him or her the ruler of this kingdom for the supposed “good of the world”.
1The Lodge Destroyed An Entire Castle In Order To Hide Their Incompetence
That being said, the Lodge wasn’t exactly the most competent organization around — after all,Geralt did manage to throw them off Ciri’s scentwith a well-told lie that threw their entire plans into ruin.
Geralt told Fringilla that Ciri was being held in Rhys-Rhun Castle, when the truth of the matter was that she was actually in Stygga Castle. This deceptive trickery hit the Lodge so hard that they ended up erasing Stygga Castle from the face of the map to hide this embarrassment.
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