#thanedd

[craybii]

Musings on Tissaia & Francesca at Thanedd

Just finished S3 and can I just say, these two badasses were the standouts of the Thanedd Coup for me.

The unspoken equality between them as Tissaia stands on one side with all the mages behind her and Francesca, the elven queen directly across from her with the Nilfgaardians and the elves.

The way they look at no one else but each other before it all goes to hell, each woman knowing that the other one is the largest danger and threat there - Tissaia representing the human mages of the new order and Francesca representing the ancient order of the times when elven mages built Aretuza.

Finally, the epic moment when Tissaia prepares a deadly spell to kill Francesca (when Tissaia was the very same woman insisting Francesca was not their enemy in S2 while Stregobor and the Brotherhood were losing their shit over the elven exodus to Cintra).

And then the moment it all climaxes in a tragic trade of sorts - Tissaia destroys what Francesca loves most (Filavandrel) in front of her very eyes, so Francesca destroys and burns down what Tissaia loves most (Aretuza). All the other sorceresses - Rita, Sabrina, Keira, Triss, Fringilla, Marti, even Yennefer - are secondary to these two ladies in that moment - truly hell hath no fury like a sorceress scorned for these two proved it then and there. 

And then, once Aretuza is in flames thanks to Francesca, how Tissaia falls into a numb state of sorts - she climbs the tower to resort to the most dangerous and life-draining spell known to mankind to destroy the elven invaders she once defended. This spell destroys everyone and everything - all the northern mages flee out of the way - only Francesca (and Fringilla) stays to fend off the lightning. Finally, when Tissaia can no longer keep up, the moment is perfect when all the northern sorceresses step in front of Francesca, making it clear she will not get to Tissaia so long as they live.

Ultimately, all the sorcerers were good - Rita who stayed there from start to end and defended Tissaia - Marti and Sabrina who destroyed people left and right and Bianca, Tissaia’s poor friend. But Tissaia and Francesca’s magic was by far the most epic of the entire battle. The absolute sheer destruction was amazing to watch. And the way they clearly targetted each other throughout the battle was perfect.

You know what the saddest thing is in the end? - in the books, few people were as close to Tissaia as Francesca was - here, they are mortal enemies instantly.

Side-note: I love how Philippa starts up shit and then escapes the moment it all goes to hell lmao

[astaldis]

@bylightofdawn

Inspired by this post

Some music to go with it:

[windflowerofskellige]

In a move surprising literally no one, I am once again thinking about Philippa Eilhart. Dress and how Philippa is dressed in the books as a whole are very important to her characterisation but the outfit I think is peak characterisation is her Thanedd Banquet Dress.

We consume this banquet from Geralt's point of view, we see the politics at play, are told the politics at play, but Geralt does not have a wider understanding because he is not a politician. The outfits are meant to describe a lot about the characters, they're easy to pick out at first, Sabrina, Keira with her Ankh juxtaposing her dress so sheer you can see the mole on her left breast, etc. And then Dorregaray of Vole talks with Geralt. Geralt has been pulled every which way told everyone is spying for someone and Dijkstra and Philippa are the most obvious yes? No. Dorregaray points out Philippa's dress is trimmed with an extinct fur, Diamond Ermine. When Philippa comes to steal Geralt away he points it out explicitly, he even adds that the species was officially declared extinct twenty years ago. No, corrects Philippa Eilhart, it was thirty years ago. She even mocks it, saying that she thought about instructing her dressmaker to trim it was raw flax, but then the colours wouldn't have matched.

This says nothing to Geralt, this says EVERYTHING to the reader. The two most notable aspects, the trim of her dress is a fur that is extinct now. The trim of her dress is ermine.

Ermine has historically been defined by heavy sumptuary laws and is a status symbol of royalty. The pointing out of its extinct nature serves to show you the reader she's been at this longer than we suspected.

This dress trim tells us many things about Philippa Eilhart Geralt doesn't know, that he will see through Keira's eyes next chapter more clearly. Philippa Eilhart is not Redania's spy, Dijkstra is. Philippa Eilhart is Redania's Queen Regnant, a puppet master. She has brought Redania's spy, and is there dressed as Redania's Queen in the interest of Redania as well as to have an alibi for the usurping of Vizimir the Second of Redania.

As Tissaia says in the next chapter, Redania hasn't had a King, not for a very long time. This dress shows that.

[ahh-fxck]

"Are you expecting me to remember all those names?" "I thought you went to Oxenfurt!"

I love how at Thanedd in S3, Geralt tries to pull the "hurr durr I'm a big dumb brute" ploy on Yennefer and she's just like "Honey you've been using that trick since some of these idiots were in diapers. Don't try to play with me, I SEE YOU." Cracks me up every time.

[ehay]

Loading screen for Aretuza Quest prologue…

[30secondstospn]

"They rode straight from Hirundum to Thanedd: Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri and Dandelion."

Time Of Contempt - The Witcher

[upmala]

‘What are we going to be doing, Yen?’ ‘Circulating around the hall, greeting people, paying them compliments, engaging in conversation . . . Stop tugging your doublet and flattening your hair.’ ‘You wouldn’t let me wear a headband . . .’ ‘Your headband’s pretentious. Well then, take my arm and let’s go. Standing near the entrance is considered a faux pas.’

“Time of Contempt” Andrzej Sapkowski

[ormakona]

Fercart of Cidaris was a mage and advisor to King Foltest of Temeria, along with Triss Merigold and Keira Metz.

He was also one of the youngest members of the Council of Wizards, the lower chamber within the Brotherhood of Sorcerers. He was a supporter of Nilfgaard during the Thanedd coup, where he was killed.