Tissaia de Vries

Tissaia de Vries, originally born as Skylark, (d. July ) was a sorceress and a member of the Chapter of the Gift and the Art. She was one of the rectors at Aretuza and the author of The Poisoned Source.
She had dark, smoothly combed hair, shining eyes and thin lips, often dressing in a camaca cape trimmed with dormouse fur thrown over her shoulder. She was also one of the oldest sorceresses alive during the Northern Wars, but appeared young due to magical elixirs.
==Biography==
===Early life===
She came from humble origins as indicated by her original name, Skylark, but this name was almost all but forgotten by everyone in favor of her using Tissaia de Vries by the time she became a powerful and respected sorceress. She would eventually become the headmistress of Aretuza, magical academy on Thanedd Island, where she would educate dozens of young sorceresses under her strict disciplinarian and firm but fair approach to teaching. 
While teaching at Aretuza, she was the one who took the young Yennefer of Vengerberg under her wing. While training her, it was Tissaia who would fix Yennefer's hunchback and cure her of her various afflictions after the young adept tried to take her own life by slitting her wrists. She would cultivate a close lifelong relationship with the younger sorceress, becoming something of a maternal figure and role model to her.
Other famous sorceresses that were specifically know to have studied under Tissaia were Philippa Eilhart and Margarita Laux-Antille. The former Tissaia would acknowledge to be her best student, although their relationship would cool over the years as Tissaia resented Philippa's cold ambition and political machinations, whereas the latter would eventually succeed her as the Rectoress of Aretuza, and remained a close friend. 
Tissaia would eventually take a seat on the Chapter, the highest chamber governing the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, the premier organization for the mages of the Northern Kingdoms, and she would be acknowledged as an Arch-mistress among her peers due to her outstanding magical power and knowledge.
===Interwar period===
In , she met with Artaud Terranova, Vilgefortz and Lydia van Bredevoort, and discussed the northern kings meeting at Hagge, including the political implications the event held, namely the possible plans of a second war. After being asked for his opinion, Vilgefortz ordered the council to stand back and let events unfold, as reacting too promptly to false news could be devastating. While Artaud implied Vilgefortz's word was not law, Tissaia knew he held the power and command in the Brotherhood. Vilgefortz instructed them to send word to the Masters of the Third Degree, the mages on king's councils around the north, and hold a meeting to discuss plans. Tissaia also sent a letter to Yennefer directly, as she was not contactable via telepathy.
===Thanedd coup===
At the end of June, after several students escaped the academy to the main city, she was escorted back to Gors Velen by Rayla, and then she and Margarita Laux-Antille rented a room at The Silver Heron to look for them. One afternoon, she detected Ciri and Fabio Sachs on the run from an angry crowd, through the magical interference set off by Ciri's amulet. Believing her a novice of Aretuza, she scolded her for leaving the school, using the amulet, and spending time with a boy, putting a paralysis spell on the young girl. After Fabio revealed who she was, the two mages took Ciri to Giancardi Bank where Yennefer was able to confirm the young girl's identity, and then all four went back to The Silver Heron to bathe in the cellar bathhouse for several hours until Ciri fled.
After going to bed following the evening banquet in Aretuza, she was awoken by the coup taking place between Northern and Nilfgaardian supporters. As she wanted to remain neutral, she broke Garstang's magical barriers and freed the Nilfgaardian traitors from their dimeritium shackles, giving them an even fight. Later, as the Nilfgaardian attack began to break down, she became emotional and attacked several Redanian soldiers with lightning and fire, bidding them away from Garstang. She found an exausted Triss Merigold carrying the heavily wounded Geralt and teleported them away to safety, and then shortly after that, Tissaia committed suicide by slitting her wrists. Together with the other losses, her death spelled the end of the Council, making way for the Lodge of Sorceresses.
== Trivia ==
* De Vries is a common Dutch surname meaning "the Frisian".
* Vries can also mean "freeze".
== Notes ==
* In Andrzej Sapkowski's Dynastic Descriptions, it's mentioned that a young Ilona Laux-Antille was Tissaia's assistant at one point.Genealogy of Ciri - Amavet
* In , there's a potion called De Vries' Extract.
* In the first game, there's an in-game book, Sorceresses and Sorcerers, that mentions her.
* In , she's mentioned by Geralt as a co-author of the compendium Masters of Magic on Curses – Selected Writings, with Margarita Laux-Antille.
==Gallery==
Denis_Gordeev_Vilgefortz_Tissaia_de_Vries_Artaud_Terranova.jpeg|Illustration by Denis Gordeev in Russian edition of 
Denis Gordeev Tissaia Margarita Yennefer.jpeg|Illustration by Denis Gordeev in Russian edition of 
== References ==
cs:Tissaia de Vries
de:Tissaia de Vries
es:Tissaia de Vries
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it:Tissaia de Vries
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pt-br:Tissaia de Vries
ru:Тиссая де Врие
uk:Тіссая де Фрьес
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