These are two extremely beautiful women, and also two extremely powerful women.
One of them was dressed formally, with her black hair tied into a classic bun, wearing a plain skirt, and had a cold face. However, she had curves that were so beautiful that they could not be hidden by the dress. The plain dress actually heightened her charm through contrast, making her arrogant, cold, and making people unable to look directly at her.
Tissaia de Vris, a high-ranking sorceress, a member of the Coven, and now a sorcerer standing at the top of the world.
The other one was dressed like a court sorcerer, gorgeously dressed but without the conservativeness of noble ladies and ladies. The top was sleeveless, low-cut, hollowed out, and the skirt was tulle, semi-transparent, and lace. These designs did everything they could to show the beauty of her body. She wore a lot of black agate jewelry, paired with pleasing black long hair and delicate makeup, and was as attractive as Tissaya beside her.
Philippa Eilhart, the magic advisor of the Redanian royal family, a member of the Supreme Council of Warlocks, and a senior female sorceress. Although she looks only thirty years old, it is rumored that she is over three hundred years old.
In addition to the two ladies, there were three other male warlocks in the house.
This is a truly secret location somewhere within the Northern Kingdom, where high-ranking warlocks gather to hold truly secret meetings.
Viggofortz, wearing leather armor, sat at the head of the group. He was the initiator of this meeting. After leading the warlocks to victory in the Battle of Sodden Mountain, he had gained great prestige among the warlocks of the Northern Kingdom. When it came to the war against Nilfgaard, everyone was willing to listen to his opinions first.
"First of all, thank you all for coming," Vigfortz said modestly. "I'm also very sorry that this meeting invited all ten members of the Wizards' Council and the Supreme Council of Warlocks, but only half of them showed up."
"We have lost a lot of friends during this time," Vigfortz said sadly.
There were ten members in the Wizards' Coven and the Supreme Council of Warlocks combined, but only three men and two women were present at the secret meeting.
"Heng Gedimidis is not feeling well, and Francesca has other things to attend to," one of the men said. "Don't make it sound like everyone died on Sodden Mountain. They won't be happy to hear that."
"Okay, okay." Vigfortz reluctantly accepted the correction. "Thank you for your reminder, Alto."
The warlock who didn't give face was called Alto Terranova, a member of the Wizarding Society. He was short and fat, and one of the few male warlocks who was not good-looking.
"Let's get to the point, Vigfortz," said the last warlock in the room. "I used three portals from Temeria to get here, not to listen to those endless clichés."
The sorcerer who spoke this time was called Fekart, and like Triss he was one of the three royal advisors of Temeria. He survived the Battle of Sodden Mountain, was praised for his bravery in battle, and is now the youngest member of the Supreme Council of Warlocks.
"Okay, okay," Viggofortz said, "We have a lot of topics to discuss today, and I believe everyone has their own preparations. But before that, please allow me to show my hospitality first. After all, everyone has come from afar, and now it's bad weather everywhere."
Vigfortz smiled gently, turned his head and whispered behind him, "Lydia, can you please come in for a moment? I would like to use the best ingredients and Sidaris's aged red wine to entertain my guests."
Lydia van Bredewater, Vigfortz's assistant and personal secretary, walked out from behind the curtain like a phantom, looking at the warlocks present with a smile in her eyes.
The warlocks also knew this famous female assistant and nodded to her.
Lydia clapped her hands, and two maids came running around, their dresses rustling as they set the table.
Finally, Lydia gracefully conjured a flame with her thumb and index finger and lit the candle on the candlestick. Tissaia saw traces of paint on her hands. She kept this in mind and planned to ask the young sorceress to appreciate her latest work after dinner. She knew that Lydia was a talented painter.
The dinner was conducted in silence. The short and fat Alto was not polite. Before the host could speak, he shamelessly took the glass bottle of red wine and reached for food at the same time - and he did it frequently.
Tissaia ate in small bites, focusing most of her energy on arranging the dishes, knives, forks, and napkins symmetrically - in her opinion, those things were still not placed neatly enough, which undermined her sense of organization and aesthetics.
Philippa drank very moderately, Vigfortz ate and drank even more moderately, and as for Lydia, she did not even touch the food or the wine.
The red and gold candles flickered, and raindrops tinkled on the stained glass.
"The weather has been getting worse recently." Philippa suddenly said, "The strong winds and heavy rains appeared without any warning. Otherwise, Cintra, with the support of Skellige, would not have been defeated so badly that we were unable to react."
Viggofortz nodded and said regretfully, "If you really say so, that storm was really one of the turning points in the North. That's why the current situation is so unfavorable to us."
"Well, Viggofortz," Altor seemed to have finally had enough wine and food, and spoke, but at the same time he was looking for the right amount of fat and lean meat on the plate with his fork, "What do you think of the kings' behavior? We want to know your point of view. Tissaia and I are also interested. The Wizarding Society hopes that all members will stand on the same side on this matter. If action is taken, we also hope that everyone will act in unison."
Viggo Fortz nodded and said, "Since I am the organizer, I should start the conversation first: I believe everyone has heard about the public talks that the Northern Kingdom is going to hold recently?"
Naturally, all the sorcerers knew this.
Philippa said jokingly: "The kings decided to open the talks and would not let us participate or help. They would rather spend months on the road than use our portal."
Viggofortz nodded and said, "Yes, this is not good news. The kings have begun to think independently. They have begun to make plans on their own without the advice of their advisors. In a short period of time, their thinking level has risen from tactics to strategy? Not long ago in Soden, they could only ride their horses and shout "attack", and they didn't even think of looking back to see if their troops were left behind or if they were running in the wrong direction."
“No king has ever asked for our permission, and no king will ask for it again,” he said regretfully. “The kings don’t trust us anymore.”
Fekater frowned and said, "We were the first to see the threat from Nilfgaard, and we sent a large number of warlocks to fight against Nilfgaard. Thirteen of us died! If it weren't for us, Nilfgaard would have been rampaging in the North long ago."
"We have no choice, Fecate." Philippa said coldly, "It is precisely because we played such an important role that the kings were frightened by us. It just so happens that we have lost a large number of members now, so the kings have taken the opportunity to take back the rights that should have belonged to us."
"Very good." Viggofortz nodded. "Thank you Philippa for your summary. This is exactly what I wanted to point out. So today we have to think of a way to reverse this situation. Excuse me--"
He looked around, taking in the warlocks' reactions, and said slowly, "Is the Brotherhood worried about how to deal with the kings' plans? There is no need to worry. Just ignore their plans."
"Sorry, what did you say?" Alto's left hand holding the wine glass and his right hand holding the wine bottle stopped in mid-air, "Did I hear you right? You want us to do nothing? Just let..."
"It is already like this," Viggofortz interrupted him. "No king has asked for our permission, and no one will ask for it again. I repeat, we should pretend to know nothing. It is the only reasonable thing to do."
"You mean," said the short and fat Alto, frowning, "that we cooperate with them and continue this dance?"
"Yes, Alto." Viggofortz looked at him with a gleam in his eyes. "You have to dance to their beat, or you have to leave the dance floor. Because the orchestra's podium is too high, you can't climb up to tell the musicians to change the song. You have to remember this. If you think there is another solution, you are wrong. You mistook the reflection on the lake for the stars in the night sky."
Everyone bowed their heads and pondered Vigfortz's suggestion. Although the warlocks participated in politics, they only had the right to make suggestions to the kings. Asking them to directly rebel against the kings? This was not the way for warlocks to act.
"So we just do nothing and wait for the king to marginalize us, and for Nilfgaard to invade when we're weak?"
"No, no, we are not doing nothing." Viggofortz said, "First, we have to replenish the staff of the Wizards' Council and the Supreme Council of Warlocks. If even these two institutions are not fully staffed, how can we manage the Brotherhood of Warlocks?"
对于这个建议，众人倒是没有什么质疑的意见，毕竟面对现在这样严峻的局势，仅仅只能够发挥一半运转效率的术士管理机构确实有些捉襟见肘。
只有蒂莎娅，这位魔法学院的女院长一边整理自己的蕾丝袖子一边补充道：“但是我们也是宁缺毋滥，这两个机构代表了术士们的顶点。”
在蒂莎娅整理袖子的时候，她那专心致志的优雅样子吸引了一边人的目光。尤其是矮胖的阿尔托和年轻的费卡特。
“当然了，蒂莎娅，你的建议非常有帮助。”威戈佛特兹微笑道，“但是我相信对于接下来的人选，我相信你不会反对的：我想推荐一个人进入术士最高评议会的成员：温格堡的叶奈法！”
在威戈佛特兹说这句话的时候，他的眼睛里面闪着不一样的光。对他不了解的术士可能察觉不到，但是敏锐的蒂莎娅却捕捉到了这一点。
蒂莎娅心想：他在计划什么东西。
很久以前，蒂莎娅就注意到了威戈佛特兹有什么地方不对劲。这名年轻男巫的实力日益增长，他的光辉令其它失色，他的战绩和实力逼得其他术士隐隐从属于他。
甚至于，蒂莎娅觉得这男巫处理北境事务的时候越来越像一名棋手。让女院长揪心的是，对于这棋局的规则，她们一无所知。
可偏偏威戈佛特兹目前为止的所作所为都是对北境、对术士们有益的，这让她也找不出不配合对方的理由。
而年轻的费卡特对于威戈佛特兹的异样一无所查，他对威戈佛特兹的提议颇为赞同：“叶奈法在索登山之战作战勇猛，也差点永久付出双眼作为代价，她的实力和资历都足够了。”
“但是有一个问题。”威戈佛特兹遗憾道，“我们找不到她，她在战斗之后就失踪了。”
矮胖的阿尔托嘲笑道：“让这么不负责任的人加入我们的组织吗？别忘了叶奈法甚至抛弃了温格堡的顾问头衔，抛下了自己的职责！”
年轻的费卡特反驳道：“但是这次她是为了去救特莉丝，被我们误以为牺牲了的特莉丝！”
同为泰莫利亚的王室顾问，显然费卡特很看重特莉丝，同时也对救助了特莉丝的叶奈法颇具好感。
“没错。”威戈佛特兹高兴地说，“所以我们怎么不能信任这样的叶奈法呢？费卡特，特莉丝回来之后有说叶奈法去了哪里吗？”
年轻的费卡特摇摇头：“似乎是凯尔莫罕，那个猎魔人的大本营之一，还带着辛特拉的希瑞拉公主。我记得叶奈法传言中和一个猎魔人走得很近，现在看来传闻是真的。”
阿尔托毫无风度地大笑起来：“我也听说有段时间，她跟一个猎魔人很亲近。我没记错的话，他叫杰洛特。看起来他们不是露水姻缘，而且叶奈法对他相当动情……一个猎魔人，哈，猎魔人！”
威戈佛特兹笑道：“这是叶奈法的私事，与我们其实无关。只是她我行我素的消失确实挺让人苦恼，她还带着辛特拉的公主……希瑞拉，是叫这个名字吧？”
威戈佛特兹说话的时候，蒂莎娅暗暗观察着。
来了，就是这种感觉，宛若操动棋盘的感觉。蒂莎娅心中暗道，费卡特的哪一句话引得威戈佛特兹有了变化？是凯尔莫罕，还是猎魔人，亦或者辛特拉的希瑞拉？
“说到辛特拉。”蒂莎娅主动开口道，“最近那里还出了一个新的猎魔人，传闻中早已死去的兰恩·兰尼斯特·雷安伦，有人记得吗？”
矮胖的阿尔托很捧蒂莎娅的场：“当然，之前辛特拉隐隐把他捧成了北境年轻一辈的第一人，结果突然暴毙，没想到现在却突然跳了出来，还成为了……猎魔人，哈哈。”
阿尔托又轻蔑地笑了一声。
蒂莎娅却根本没有理阿尔托，她专注着威戈佛特兹的变化。同样的感觉，他对“兰恩”这个名字也有反应，这些反应之间有什么必然的联系吗？
蒂莎娅没有理会阿尔托，但是有的术士却对他的反应表现出了反感。
菲丽芭突然出声道：“就是这个‘猎魔人’从辛特拉的王都一路杀到布洛奇隆，还打退了芙琳吉拉·薇歌，打散了她的那支所谓的尼弗迦德术士部队。”
这名之前一直没怎么出声的女术士说道：“我觉得这是一个机会。兰尼斯特是王室的继承人之一，希瑞拉公主还年幼，而他有威望，对术士的态度听说也还不错。辛特拉百废待兴，我们可以支持他。”
“哈？支持一个猎魔人？”矮胖的阿尔托夸张地叫了起来，“我们什么时候沦落到这种地步了？”
菲丽芭面无表情地说道：“北境的国王们对我们失去了信任，而这名猎魔人却获得了一个国家的实际统治权，他从某种意义上算是我们的同类不是吗？我觉得这对我们以后的路是一条启发。”
矮胖的阿尔托用目光狠狠拧了一把菲丽芭**在外面的大片皮肤，叫得更大声了：“你在开什么玩笑，菲丽芭？说猎魔人跟我们是同类？而且他不过是收拢了一群难民罢了！哪是什么国家的统治权？”
面对男术士的大喊大叫，菲丽芭毫不留情地戳穿了他，她面无表情地嘲讽道：“如果你这么看不起猎魔人，当初为什么还要去贪图凯尔塞壬的魔法图书馆？你只是嫉妒加上忌惮罢了，还是说兰尼斯特打退薇歌的战绩让你产生危机感了？”
阿尔托猛地一拍桌子站了起来，开始喋喋不休地和菲丽芭争吵起来。
当然，与其说是争吵，不如说是阿尔托单方面地吵闹，菲丽芭只是冷眼旁观。等到好半晌他喊累了，众人才继续议事。
与阿尔托不同的是，年轻的费卡特对于兰恩倒是颇有好感：“兰尼斯特对于术士的支持是显而易见的，他与卡兰瑟截然相反。就是他救了特莉丝，而且我听说他还发掘出了一名颇有潜力的魔法学徒，让特莉丝带过来跟随你做学徒？”
费卡特说这句话的时候朝着威戈佛特兹，也顺便把所有的目光都移向了他。
“没错，但是那个学徒的资质没有你想象中那么好。”威戈佛特兹大大方方地点头，“我打算让他先花上十几年的时间巩固知识，熟悉实验，然后慢慢培养他，以后说不定能够成为辛特拉的王室顾问。”
回答完这个问题之后，威戈佛特兹期待地看向蒂莎娅：“蒂莎娅，在场的人当中你是和叶奈法最熟的人，你能够定位到她吗？”
蒂莎娅摇了摇头：“叶奈法随身佩戴宝石、金属和水晶制作成为的护身符，足以屏蔽任何心灵的探视。只要叶奈法不希望任何人知道她身在何处，就没有人发现得了她。”
又来了，这种感觉，尽管他掩饰得很好，但是他对于找不到叶奈法很失落，是超过了一般程度的失落。蒂莎娅感觉了出来，但是她不知道原因。
“如果找不到叶奈法的话。”年轻的费卡特提议道，“我觉得特莉丝也不错，她在索登山一战中作战英勇……”
威戈佛特兹拒绝道：“特莉丝还是太年轻了，就让她去担任辛特拉的支持者吧，这也不是诸位希望的吗？而且我觉得她自己也乐在其中。”
就在此时，众人基本用餐完毕，威戈佛特兹的助手莉迪亚带着女仆过来收拾残局，为众人添酒。
“感谢你，莉迪亚。”蒂莎娅轻声说道，看着从来不出声的莉迪亚叹了口气。
莉迪亚是一个美丽的术士，也是一个高超的画家，艾瑞图萨魔法学院的光荣长廊里就挂着莉迪亚的一幅风景画，画里描绘了洛德的克雷格南与劳拉·朵伦的相会。
可惜，这样的一位美人，一位画家，却曾经在威戈佛特兹的推荐下参与了一项研究古代墓地工艺品的实验。那些工艺品附有诅咒，因此让莉迪亚付出了重度烧伤、下巴破碎和咽喉部位的变异的代价。
当时参与实验的一共有五名术士，除了莉迪亚之外，有三人横死当场，第四人失去了双眼和双手，然后发了疯。
事后，莉迪亚一直抗拒再生咒语再生皮肤和血肉，只是用幻术维持正常的模样，她失去了说话的能力，只用传心术来作为她唯一的交流方式。也是从那时候起，她真正成为了威戈佛特兹的影子。
一名蒂莎娅从未见过的男学徒跟着女仆们走了进来，一起帮忙收拾那些餐具。
因为是陌生的面孔，而且气质与那些仆人过于格格不入，所以蒂莎娅不免地多看了两眼，直到那名学徒被莉迪亚领走。
很怪，很多地方都变得奇怪了。蒂莎娅又开始整理自己袖口处的蕾丝，她想努力思考，却看不出来到底是哪里怪。
……
夜晚，瑞达尼亚王宫。
The portal opened in mid-air, and Philippa Ehrhart's figure emerged from it.
It was already late at night, but she was not in a hurry to rest. Instead, she walked to the magic communicator made of crystals and gems, muttering something.
Invisible magical waves rippled, and a figure gradually became solid from illusory, projected in front of Philippa.
The girl with the unique short hair, proud and stubborn eyes, and dressed like a court sorceress, turned out to be Fringilla Viego.
One of the highest-ranking figures among the Northern Warlocks actually has a connection with the Nilfgaardian sorceress. If other people knew about this, they would probably be shocked.
"What do you think? Am I right?" As soon as she saw Philippa, Fringilla Vigo couldn't wait to say, "There must be something wrong with Vigfortz!"
Philippa said calmly: "His biggest problem is that he is very close to you, although I am the same now."
After finishing speaking, before Fringilla could mock her, Philippa continued, "But Vigfortz did hide a lot of things. His reaction to Princess Cirilla and Lannister was abnormal. He had more demands, but he hid them from us."
Philippa deduced: "Either his request would hurt us, so he concealed it; or, he could gain a huge benefit from it, so he didn't want us to know and share in the profits."
Philippa thought quietly for a while, then raised her head and drank the wine in the glass.
She asked Fringilla, "Is Lan really as powerful as you say?"
The short-haired sorceress said with certainty: "He used fire magic. Or his sigils are more powerful than fire magic - then this is a bigger problem."
Philippa nodded and said, "In that case, I will contact him when the time is right."
Fringilla asked curiously, "What do you want to do?"
Philippa finally smiled at this time. It was a beautiful smile, a confident smile, and a smile that all ambitious people could identify with.
"Whether it's the North, Nilfgaard, or the Witcher, none of this matters. I contacted you because we have similar ideals."
She walked over to the table and poured a glass of Toussaint wine, then walked around her workbench, which was littered with retorts, crucibles, test tubes, crystals, and many magical instruments, and slowly walked towards her bookshelf.
"We all agree that magic is above all else, but I also believe that warlocks who master magic should get more than they have now."
Philippa looked at the bookshelf for a moment and took out two large books.
"If your description is correct, then this Lann of Cintra may really be superior to the demon hunter, or even superior to the average warlock..."
Philippa said firmly: "We will need him."
The moonlight shone down, faintly illuminating the covers of the two old tomes in her hands, revealing the names written in ancient language - "The Blood of the Ancients (Aen Hen Ichaer)" and "The Prophecy of Ithlinne (Aen Ithlinnespeath)".