Just as warty slime-slathered toads croak out into the fetid swamp in search of kindred company, so too do sorceresses seek their own kind, driven to gather and scheme against all that is good and worthy. The coven gathering the worst of them - the knab of those utterly depraved and swollen thick with the pus of magic - was the Lodge of Sorceresses.
The first fiends of this Lodge were Philippa Eilhart, Lady of Montecalvo, Triss Merigold of Maribor, Keira metz of Carreras, Margarita Laux-Antille, Síle de Tansarville of Creyden, Sabrina Glevissig of Ard Carraigh, Fringilla Vigo of Beauclair, Francesca Findabair and Ida Emean, elven women, Assire var Anahid, and Yennefer of Vengerberg.
On the summit of Bald Mountain they gathered, witches all, to swear fealty to their devils and demons, their masters and lovers, and to promise to bring doom upon those living in peace in the Northern Realms. 'Twas they who stood behind the murders of Demavend, King of Aedirn, Foltest, King of Temeria and many other noble men besides. 'Twas they who sent plague and pox against decent, god-fearing folk.
Yet take comfort, dear reader, for their deeds shall not go unpunished. Our gracious leader Radovid, fifth of his name, saw through their lies and swore their deaths, deaths as inevitable as they shall be painful.