#tissaia de vries ;; re: philippa eilhart

[rectoress]

“That is a very serious accusation. Which means the proof will also have to be as weighty. But before you throw your proof onto she scale, Philippa Eilhart, be aware of my stance. Proof may be fabricated. Actions and their motives may be misinterpreted. But nothing can change existing facts. You have broken the unity and solidarity of the Brotherhood, Philippa Eilhart. You have handcuffed members of the Chapter like criminals. So do not dare to offer me a position in the new Chapter which your gang of traitors - who have sold out to the kings, rather than to Nilfgaard - intend to create. We are separated by death and blood. The death of Hen Gedymdeith. And the blood of Lydia van Bredevoort. You spilled that blood with contempt. You were my best pupil, Philippa Eilhart. I was always proud of you. But now I have nothing but contempt for you.”

time of contempt, andrzej sapkowski

[rectoress]

philippa, on the other hand, gets a disappointment jar (on a shelf up high) and tissaia herself puts a pebble in it every time philippa disappoints her

[rectoress]

'Enough!' Philippa slammed her fist down on the table. 'I shall satisfy your curiosity. Carduin. You ask who is a preparing a war? Nilfgaard. They intend to attack and destroy us. But Emhyr var Emreis remembers Sodden Hill and has decided to protect himself by removing the mages from the game first. With this in mind, he made contact with Vilgefortz of Roggeveen. He bought him with promises of power and honour. Yes, Tissaia. Vilgefortz, hero of Sodden, sold us out to become the governor and ruler of all the conquered territories of the north. Vilgefortz, helped by Terranova and Fercart, shall rule the provinces which be established in place of the conquered kingdoms. It is he who will wield the Nilfgaardian scourge over the people who inhabit those lands and will begin toiling as the Empire's slaves. And Francesca Findabair, Enid an Gleanna, will become queen of the land of the free elves. It will, of course, be a Nilfgaardian protectorate, but it will suffice for the elves so long as Emperor Emhyr will give them a free hand to murder humans. The elves desire nothing so much as to murder Dh'oine.’ 'That is a serious accusation. Which means the proof will also have to be as weighty. But before you throw your proof onto the scale, Philippa Eilhart, be aware of my stance. Proof may be fabricated. Actions and their motives may be misinterpreted. But nothing can change existing facts. You have broken the unity and solidarity of the Brotherhood, Philippa Eilhart. You have handcuffed members of the Chapter like criminals. So do not dare to offer me a position in the new Chapter which your gang of traitors - who have sold out to the kings, rather than to Nilfgaard - intend to create. We are separated by death and blood. The death of Hen Gedymdeith. And the blood of Lydia van Bedevoort. You spilled that blood with contempt. You were my best pupil, Philippa Eilhart. I was always proud of you. But now I have nothing but contempt for you.'

- time of contempt. andrzej sapkowski

[rectoress]

“Triss, you have blood on your hand! Whose is it?”

“Lydia’s.”

“Damn it! When? How?”

“Is it important how?” said a cold, calm voice. The voice of Tissaia de Vries. The rustle of a dress. Tissaia was in a ball gown, not a rebel uniform. Geralt listened carefully but could not hear the jingling of dimeritium handcuffs.

“Are you pretending to be worried?” repeated Tissaia. “Concerned? When revolts are organised, when armed thugs are deployed at night, you have to expect casualties. Lydia is dead. Hen Gedymdeith is dying. A moment ago I saw Artaud with his face carved up. How many more casualties will there be, Philippa Eilhart?”

“I don’t know,” answered Philippa resolutely. “But I am not backing down.”

“Of course not. You don’t back down from anything.”

- time of contempt, andrzej sapkowski

[rectoress]

‘Last night,’ said the medium, ‘armed forced in Lyrian livery and carrying Aedrirnian standards committed acts of aggression against the Empire of Nilfgaard. Glevitzingen, a border outpost in Dol Angra was attacked. Kind Demavend’s heralds informed the people of the surrounding villages that Aedirn is taking control of the entire country from today. The entire population was incited to rise up against Nilfgaard -’ ‘That is impossible! It’s nothing but vile provocation!’ ‘You utter that word easily, Philippa Eilhart,’ said Tissaia de Vries calmly. ‘But do not deceive yourself: your cries will not break her trance. Speak on, child.’ ‘Emperor Emhyr Var Emreis has given the order to answer blows with blows. Nilfgaardian forces entered Lyria and Aedirn at dawn today.’ ‘And thus,’ laughed Tissaia, ‘our kings have shown what judicious, enlightened and peace-loving rulers they are. And some of our mages have proved which cause they really serve. Those who might have prevented this imperialist war have been prudently clamped in dimeritium handcuffs and are facing trumped-up charges -’ ‘That is nothing but a pack of lies!’ ‘Fuck the lot of you!’ roared Sabrina Glevissig suddenly. ‘Phlippa! What is this all about? What was the purpose of that brawl in Dol Angra? Hadn’t we agreed not to begin too soon? Why couldn’t that fucking Demavend restrain himself? What did that slut Meve…’ ‘Silence, Sabrina!’ ‘No, no. Let her speak,’ said Tissaia de Vries, raising her head. ‘Let her speak of Henselt of Kaedwen’s army, which is concentrated on the border. Let her speak of Foltest of Temeria’s forces, which no doubt are already launching the boats which have been hidden in undergrowth by the Yaruga. Let her speak of the expeditionary forced under the command of Vizimir of Redania, standing ready on the Pontar. Philippa, did you think we were both blind and deaf?’ ‘It’s nothing but an enormous bloody provocation! King Vizimir -’ ‘King Vizimir,’ interrupted the fair-haired medium in an unemotional voice, ‘was murdered yesterday. Stabbed by an assassin. Redania no longer has a king.’ ‘Redania has not had a king for a very long time,’ said Tissaia de Vries, rising to her feet. ‘The Most Honourable Philippa Eilhart, the worthy successor of Raffard the White, rules in Redania. A person prepared to sacrifice tens of thousands of beings in order to gain absolute power.’ ‘Do not listen to her! yelled Philippa. ‘Do not listen to that medium! She’s a tool, an unthinking tool… Who do you serve, Yennefer? Who instructed you to bring that monster here?’ ‘I did,’ said Tissaia de Vries.

time of contempt, andrzej sapkowski

[rectoress]

（）- something my muse thinks but keeps to their self

Man am I a sucker for “send me muse” lists but I can’t find a single list that I like so can someone rec one or just use this   /  @snarkomancy

so many things! but let’s make this about philippa eilhart, shall we?

tissaia has too many thoughts about philippa (when doesn’t she?) and too many she has never shared let alone to philippa herself. the sad, tragic truth is that for a very, very long time, she thoughts highly of her. yes, she was proud, she was proud from the very first days of her training because she was aware of who she was, what she had been subjected to, what she had suffered. tissaia wanted to free the girl from all this and remake her - granted, according to tissaia devries’ standards and beliefs and ideals, which was a lot. and tissaia knew it was a lot, she knew it would crush her but she also knew that philippa was capable. she saw right through her which is why she knew how to move the girl and manipulate her and bait her. 

she has never told anyone that she thought philippa should win the vote after being nominated to be a member of the council. in her own ways, she worked to get her this nomination. philippa thrives on attention and validation and, after many many many thoughts, tissaia believed that a seat at the council table would nudge her in the right direction once again. unlike her, philippa took to being a court mage like a duck to water but that came with the nagging concern of her straying and let herself be enticed by greed and rotten by corruption. tissaia, despite what she might seem like and sound like, didn’t and wouldn’t lose faith in philippa. was it fair to her? or was she blinded by her belief that philippa was a copy of herself?

just as she never told anyone that she thought, up until a certain point, that philippa ought to succeed her as rectoress. she even planned to approach the chapter about this and make her case. there was a lot of overthinking about philippa because tissaia refused to let that nasty thought win, that nasty thought telling her that she was wrong and that philippa wouldn’t live up to expectations. for so long, tissaia thought that she was destined to be just as great as herself and that she would build her own legacy - again according to tissaia’s own standards and beliefs on magic and the role of a mage. 

and there is a reason she kept all of this to herself. starving phiiippa of that recognition she was how she kept pushing her over and over and over again. tissaia thought that the moment she got it, the moment she knew just how much she meant and represented, she would stop and bask in that hard-earned glory, that she would fall short of being: perfect.

[rectoress]