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With more enchanters (and Enchantresses) making themselves known to us in the show, The Path is taking a minute to give you some names to watch out for, living and dead. During the current state of things, everyone should stay inside and stay safe. Witchers and Sorcerers are immune to disease, but we aren’t.
1. Philippa Eilhart
This art isn’t going to be accurate to how we will see her in the show (she’ll still have her eyes for the length of the show), but she’ll be one of the most important characters in the show. Philippa is the mage for Redania and often works with her current lover, Sigsmund Dijkstra. I’ll let Jaskier describe her best.
“Philippa Eilhart, although very attractive, was decidedly very unlikeable.”
“Apart from that, Philippa Eilhart was an important figure in the Council of Wizards, and King Vizimir’s trusted court magician. She was a very talented enchantress. Word had it that she was one of the few to have mastered the art of polymorphy. She looked thirty. In truth she was probably no less than three hundred years old.”1Page 198 of Blood of Elves, Chapter 5
Phillipa is one of the strongest mages we’ll see in the series, and not just magically. Her political power is only surpassed by her magical power, and the two go hand in hand. So much so that she’s a member of the lower chamber of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, The Council of Wizards, a prestigious honor only held by four other mages.
2. Geoffrey Monck
You may remember the Djinn (Air Genies) from Season 1, and you, like many people, may have wondered how the Djinn got captured in the first place. It goes back to Geoffrey Monck, who had a habit of kidnapping Djinn and forcing them to do his bidding. Every single Genie on the continent was captured by Monck. Genies, as representations of pure energy, are incredibly powerful, and Monck used them like supercharged batteries to do his will.
Widely considered one of the greatest mages, Monck was one of the very first human mages, learning magic in the Elven fashion and later having a boy named Gerhart of Aelle learn Elven Magic as well2Page 134-135 of Time of Contempt. Monck was one of the founders of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and fought to enforce those rules, killing many other wizards.
3. Francesca Findabair
To those who used the Scoia’tael Gwent Deck will recognize Francesca. She’s one of the few elves of note, having a seat in the Chapter, the higher chamber in the Brotherhood of Sorcerers. However, she is more famous for being “The most beautiful woman in the world,” according to Yen3Page 117 of Time of Contempt, Chapter 3. She’s not just good looking, but a political mastermind. Francesca Findabair is one of the world’s experts on the Elder Blood, her father being an elven Sage, she and was herself involved in tracking the gene to Ciri4Page 269 of Baptism of Fire, Chapter 6. As the Elder Blood, Sages and Magic becomes more important to the story, Francesca’s knowledge will be important.
4. Sabrina Glevissig
Sabrina Glevissig is actually in Season 1 of The Witcher, doing very little, though she is important. Hawk-eyed and strong-willed, Sabrina is the court mage of Henselt and lives in Kaedwen. She’s probably one of the most aggressive mages we meet, with a strong anti-Nilfgaardian bias. I’ll let Codringer describe her best.
“Sabrina Glevissig, who interrupts the speeches of Henselt of Kaedwen, banging her fist on the table and ordering the king to be silent and listen.”5Page 20 of Time of Contempt, Chapter 1
5. Margarita Luax-Antille
You’ll note that most of the people on this list are women, and that is because of Margarita. After Tissia de Vries steps down as Aretuza’s rectoress to take a seat on the Chapter, Margarita takes her place. She doesn’t care about politics or war; all she cares about is Aretuza and her students. She also, adorably, has a close friendship with Yennefer. So much so, that Yennefer entrusts her to teach Ciri magic.
‘Will you give her to me, Yenna?’
‘That’s why I brought her here.’
‘Which class shall I put her in? Does she know the basics?’
‘She does, but she can start at the beginning like everyone else. It won’t do her any harm.’6Page 85 of Time of Contempt, Chapter 2
6. Gerhart of Aelle, Hen Gedymeith
You may remember him from earlier. Hen Gedymeith is the oldest living mage7Page 134-135 of Time of Contempt in the world, learning the magic of the Sages from Sages, though he was not a true sage. His study of Elven magic is second to none among humanity, and he is the de facto leader of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers. In Sapowski’s work, generally, age is equivalent to power, though not always (See: Vilgefortz).
Regardless, through sheer knowledge, he probably knows more than any other living mage. He’s gotten to the point where he doesn’t even bother using magic to cover up his age and wears only modest wool8Page 117 of Time of Contempt, Chapter 3 instead of the usual luxurious clothes. Interestingly, he does suffer a heart attack, which makes the “Mages are Immortal and don’t suffer from age” stuff questionable.
7. Assire Var Anahid
Assire is the first Nilfgaardian on this list (though not the first Nilfgaard-Aligned mage) and is rather interesting. Don’t let this image distract you, as she’s only recently started using magic to make herself appear younger. Interestingly, Assire is Cahir’s Great-Aunt and is a figure of note in Nilfgaardian politics. Nilfgaardian magic users are kept on a very short leash, as Assire says best.
“No one knows that I am taking part in this meeting. I was asked to keep it secret, which I have done and will continue to do. For my own sake, as much as yours. For were it to come to light, I would not survive. That’s the servility of the Empire’s mages for you. We have the choice of servility or the scaffold. I took a risk. I did not come here as a spy. I can only prove it in one way: through my own death. It would be sufficient for the secrecy that our hostess is appealing for to be broken. It would be sufficient for news of our meeting to go beyond these walls, for me to lose my life.’9Page 35 of Baptism of Fire, Chapter 1
And Don’t Forget-Fringilla Vigo
Fringilla is an interesting character, an anti-establishment, powerful mage, and a major part of Nilfgaardian Politics. But in the books, she’s a minor character, showing up at a few meetings and is a major character only in the early portion of book five. But she’s not a major antagonist. If anything, she’s a minor ally to Geralt.
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