Magic is a core element of The Witcher franchise, and when it was revealed in Season 2 of the Netflix series that Yennefer lost her power during the Battle of Sodden Hill, it was a devastating blow as fans wondered if she'd lost her magic forever. For a sorceress like Yennefer of Vengerberg, magic empowered her in ways she couldn't have imagined before Tissaia de Vries brought her to Aretuza. Her magic was chaotic, however, fueled by an overwhelming amount of emotion that Tissaia encouraged her to set aside. When she finally came into her power, Yennefer was nigh unstoppable.
She took the world by storm for centuries, taking whatever she wanted and making it her own, but in time she realized that wasn't enough. In order to achieve the power she craved, she made great sacrifices, including her womb and fertility. At the time, she didn't care about the cost, but as she moved through the epic life she designed for herself, she realized something important was still missing. Yennefer had never known real, unconditional love, and more than anything, she wanted a child. She wanted someone to love her with no strings attached. Destiny doesn't always answer in the way one might expect, but it had plans to give her a daughter that she nearly sacrificed to regain her lost power.
A key figure in the disastrous Battle at Sodden Hill, Yennefer's frustration and emotion grew as she watched her friends and colleagues suffer at the hands of Nilfgaardian forces led by former Aretuza alum and sorceress Fringilla Vigo. When it seemed all would be lost and their efforts would fail, Tissaia rescinded her advice to set her emotions aside and told Yennefer to give in to Chaos. Allowing Chaos to pour through her, she channeled one of the most forbidden elements of magic: fire.
In the end, fire magic may have won the Battle of Sodden of Hill for the Sorcerers, but Yennefer paid a heavy toll for giving in to Chaos. As fans discovered at the beginning of Season 2, Yennefer was not only captured by Fringilla, but she lost her magic as well. Because she believed magic was the only thing she could truly count on in life, she would go to disastrous lengths to get it back -- even making a deal with a dark entity to sacrifice a young girl.
When Fringilla's party was captured by elves, they were brought before elven sorceress Francesca Findabair. Together, the three sorceresses encountered a powerful demon known as Voleth Meir, the Deathless Mother, who presented herself differently to each woman. In exchange for their heart's desire, they would each have to do her bidding. The deal she struck with Yennefer promised the return of her power if she captured Ciri and delivered her to a black door outside Cintra. In the past, Yennefer had rarely thought about the consequences of her actions, so long as they served her desires, but her affection for Geralt and Ciri made her waver. Even if it meant never regaining her power, she changed her mind and stopped Ciri before she got too close to the door, but not without potentially damaging her relationship with Geralt forever.
When the party returned to Kaer Morhen, Yennefer followed, and it was a good thing she did. Ciri was possessed by Voleth Meir, and the demon went on a rampage that killed several witchers. Yennefer did everything she could to help during the fight, but without her magic, she felt useless. She offered her body to Voleth Meir to free Ciri, and after traveling through a portal to the demon's home, they released it. Voleth Meir joined the Wild Hunt, and upon returning to Kaer Morhen, Yennefer discovered her power had returned.
Does Yennefer Lose Her Powers In the Books?
Andrez Sapkowski's Witcher books tell a much different tale than the Netflix adaptation when it comes to Yennefer. During the Battle of Sodden Hill, she didn't lose her magic but was instead blinded by Fringilla Vigo. Her vision was restored later, but she suffered nightmares and anxiety about the incident for the rest of her days. Yennefer also didn't happen upon Geralt and Ciri by coincidence at the Temple of Melitele in the books but instead was (begrudgingly) invited by him to help Ciri learn to control her abilities after Triss Merigold's efforts at Kaer Morhen failed. Voleth Meir did not even appear in the books, but Yennefer would go on to prove herself to both Geralt and Ciri before all was said and done, becoming a mother figure to the girl and finally recognizing her destiny.
What Happens to Yennefer's Powers In the Game?
In CD Projekt Red's trilogy of Witcher games, Yennefer almost seems like an afterthought until the third game: The Wild Hunt. She is occasionally mentioned, but for most of the first two games, Geralt suffers from memory loss. In the second game, Assassins of Kings, there are brief vignettes of memory when he remembers the pair of them running with the Wild Hunt, but they aren't actually reunited until The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. During the game, Yennefer's powers are at their peak, and there is no mention of her having lost them at all, which makes perfect sense considering the game was released more than three years before the Netflix series.
The Witcher Season 3 debuts Part 1 on Netflix on June 29, with the rest of the season debuting on July 27.
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