BASIC INFO
| NAME: | Keira Metz |
| CANON: | The Witcher (3) |
| HOMEWORLD: | Temeria; the Continent |
| AGE: | ~60, looks 25 |
| GENDER: | Female |
| OCCUPATION: | Sorceress |
FIRST GLANCE
| HEIGHT: | 5'4"/162cm |
| BUILD: | Slender |
| HAIR: | Pale blonde, shoulder-length |
| EYES: | Hazel |
| DRESS: | 1 2 3 4 |
| VOICE: | "Nature stinks." |
| DEMEANOR: | Irreverent, blithe, flirty, playful |
INVENTORY
| ITEM 1: | Outfit |
| ITEM 2: | Description |
| ITEM 3: | Description |
| KEIRA METZ
"There are times when a woman should simply not explain her decision. That goes doubly for sorceresses."
PERSONALITY
The most obvious thing about Keira is that she's incredibly charming. She's witty and sassy with her words, sweetly impish, a bit eccentric and more than a little flirtatious-- but all of these (usually!) just enough to endear, not to overwhelm. She's always up for some good time, and dragging others into having a good time with her. She enjoys all the goods things in life, being a bit of a hedonist-- some of her fellow mages cattily call her a nymphomaniac behind her back. But she is also a survivalist underneath the pretty, irreverent exterior. She adapts to changing situations quickly and plots her course to the maximum advantage to herself. She usually has an agenda; she does nothing just because and is very much an opportunist. Fear for one's survival is a powerful motivator, and Keira is determined to reclaim control of her life even if she has to make some ruthless choices or temporary personal sacrifices to achieve it. Having said that, she can be counted on doing the right thing when it truly matters. Though she rarely wants to admit it, her morality is sound enough for the unkind world she hails from. She does not ignore the plight of others for all that she looks out for herself, often turning around and coming back to help despite initial plans to stay out of it. She'll make light of it afterward in her usual blithe manner, it's nbd.
Being a sorceress in the Witcher world carries a stamp of privilege and elitism, and like many of her sisters, Keira also suffers from vainglory. Saying she's high maintenance is putting it lightly. She buys into the fact that she's deserving of respect and prestige, even though the sorceresses' power-hungry actions that Keira as well took part in have justifiably earned them the suspicion of common folk and the hatred of several rulers that the mages used to serve. Living in the lap of luxury for so long has left Keira pretty spoiled. For her age, Keira's pretty naive in some of the ways of the world, which often leads to bitter disappointments. She can get upset and snippy if something doesn't go the way she'd envisioned, her sass turning into sharp snark and harsh comments. Despite her easy superficial charm, she's somewhat closed off emotionally and reluctant to let people in and truly get to know her on a deeper level. It's why she can come across as selfish and secretive with her motivations (like a lot of sorceresses do), which works against her sometimes-- even if she's the first to admit that her motivations are, at times, purely selfish.
HISTORY
Little is known about Keira's early history aside from the fact that she was born in Carreras, Temeria, and that after her magical ability was discovered, she studied in the magical academy of Aretuza. Like most sorceresses, she has also enhanced her physical appearance with magic, appearing to be in her twenties despite in reality being somewhere around her sixties or seventies. (No canon age is given to Keira, this is largely fanon speculation based on some of the other sorceresses' ages and the fact that the mages' magical talent and potency grows with age and practice.)
In 1267, Keira was serving as one of King Foltest's advisors in magical affairs when she and other mages in the North learned that some of their fellow mages were planning to betray them for the Empire of Nilfgaard that waged war against the Northern Kingdoms. Armed with this information, a conclave was called on Thanedd Island under the pretense of figuring out what the mages should do in regards to their positions as advisors to various rulers. In reality, Keira along with several other mages such as Philippa Eilhart and Sabrina Glevissig, planned a coup of their own to try and prevent the Nilfgaard supporters from putting their coup into play first.
As dawn approached, the Northern supporters made their move and Keira, with assistance from spy Sigismund Dijkstra and his Redanian soldiers, began to apprehend the traitors. However, the plan soon fell apart and a battle erupted between the two sides in the tower of Garstang. Keira was overpowered and a fellow mage, Terranova, threw her out of a window. The witcher Geralt happened to be just below, looking for a way inside, and Keira landed on him. Suffering from some broken ribs and a leg, Keira had Geralt carry her so she could show him the way into the tower, meanwhile explaining all that had transpired right before the fight broke out. Keira survived her injuries, but having been exiled by king Foltest, took refuge in Philippa's castle in Montecalvo. Some months after this, she joined Philippa's cause to create a new mage organization, the Lodge of Sorceresses. The founders' aim was to bring the war between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms to a close, while maintaining the mages' influence on the fate of the world. It was effectively an association of the most powerful female mages from both the northern and the southern realms.
In their zeal to create a country ruled by magic, some members of the Lodge hired a rogue witcher called Letho to murder king Demavend of Aedirn and support a peasant revolt in order to turn the Pontar Valley into a separate country under their control. However, relying on Letho became their downfall, as he was secretly working against them for Nilfgaard. Letho killed king Foltest as well, thus connecting the Lodge to a second king's death. The Lodge's consequent fall from power was harsh. Most of the Continent's rulers now viewed the sorceresses with suspicion and hatred, their previous positions of esteem in the society now in shambles. Several sorceresses were thrown into dungeons, tortured, and ultimately executed, their portraits destroyed (especially thorough in Nilfgaard) and chronicles manipulated. Several kings, such as Radovid of Redania and Emperor Emhyr of Nilfgaard openly disdained mages and would either actively see them burned at the stake (Radovid) or do nothing to stop their persecution (Emhyr).
The war waged on and democracies frayed, giving rise to fanaticism and fascism. The Witch Hunters, members of an inquisitorial synod dedicated to the persecution and eradication of magic in Novigrad, Oxenfurt, and Velen, became feared for their harsh and violent ways of treating any mage, soothsayer or hedge witch caught in their net, often interrogating them to their deaths. Though officially without any allegiance, their operations were sanctioned by the Church of the Eternal Fire and monarchs occasionally supported them with gold and firewood for the pyres. During this time, absolute loyalty and humility were required of all mages, but as they were largely accustomed to a very different kind of treatment, this did not sit well with most of them. This, combined with one of Ithlinne's prophecies (about a magical child bringing about the end of the world) being wrongly interpreted, contributed to many deaths at the stakes and by torture, including several members of the Lodge of Sorceresses.
Keira went into hiding, fearing the wrath of the witch hunters. She took refuge near a small country village of Midcopse in Velen, masquerading as a simple cunning woman rather than an infamous sorceress of the Lodge, performing small miracles for the grateful villagers who in turn protect her by keeping her presence a secret. Keira, used to a luxurious life in court, despised every minute spent in the squalid forest cottage getting bitten by bedbugs. Happily, she ran into an old friend, the witcher Geralt while he was on the hunt for his adopted daughter, Ciri. In return for her help in his investigation, Keira gently manipulated Geralt into fetching certain research from an abandoned, haunted tower for her; she believed she could devise a cure for the dreaded Catriona plague based on this research, and use that as leverage to parlay amnesty from king Radovid.
Geralt managed to convince Keira of the folly of her plan; Radovid was insane and hated all Lodge members with passion. He'd sooner have Keira burned than entertain the idea of pardoning her in return for the Catriona cure. Heeding Geralt's advice for once, Keira headed for Kaer Morhen, the ancient witcher keep far in the Northern woods. Once there, she helped Geralt and his friends battle the dreaded Wild Hunt to keep Ciri safe, though she professed afterward that had she known the Wild Hunt would show up, she wouldn't have come anywhere near Kaer Morhen to begin with.
After the battle, Keira departed Kaer Morhen and took up traveling with the witcher Lambert, and the two were hinted to have possibly formed a romantic relationship as well. Years later, after becoming famous for inventing the cure for the Catriona plague, nobody would remember the time she spent as a village witch in Midcopse -- much to Keira's relief.
ABILITIES
MAGIC. Though not among the most powerful mages in her world, Keira's skills are considerable. She has extensive knowledge of the arcane arts, various spells, glyphs, wards, enchanted objects and their practical applications. Her preferred element is air, making use of lightning bolts and levitation spells in battle. Included in her repertoire (but not limited to) are also teleportation ("blinking" for short distances, portals for longer), healing spells (light to moderate injuries), manipulation of natural elements, protective shields, dreamwalking, mind reading, transmutation and illusions. She's also able to sense the magic of others.
HERBALISM/BOTANY: She's well-versed in the multitudes of plants found in her world, as well as their properties and use.
ALCHEMY/POTIONCRAFT: Knowledgeable in the formulae and preparation of various potions, tonics and concoctions ranging from the poisonous to the beneficial. An aphrodisiac "love potion" is among her specialties. Following her canon point, she even devises a cure for a deadly plague, continuing on a fellow mage's incomplete research of the sickness.
QUOTES
β "Do I look like a dairy maid to you?"
β "I'm so pleased the world's still able to astound you, Geralt. I actually envy you that sense of wonder. Common in children, knights errant and morons."
β "Not so fast, Geralt. No humble plea? No offering for the witch?"
β Geralt: "Isn't living in nature's lap supposed to be cleansing, calming...?"
Keira: "Nature stinks. (...) Oh, sod it! Don't give me that look."
β Geralt: "So, bet you saw this question coming: what are you doing here?"
Keira: "Let me think... enjoying the country air? Admiring the unspoilt scenery? Or is it furthering the age-old alliance between the city and its breadbasket? No. I'm in hiding, Geralt."
β Geralt: "If you're scared, turn back. I'm gonna go on."
Keira: "Stop it! That's emotional blackmail."
β "Stop telling me what to do!"
β "My intuition is a fine instrument, witcher. Don't underestimate it. I've some very good feelings about you, for instance... in several domains."
β Keira: "I tried to go to Fyke Isle once. Thought my head would burst, the curse's magic was so strong. (...) At Aretuza, they trained me to detect even the subtlest magic pulses. This was like getting smacked across my haunches with a grain flail."
Geralt: "Funny. Thought you'd go in for that sort of thing."
β "One way only, I'm afraid. You'll have to trust my feminine intuition."
β (referring to her dress) "So, what do you think? Neckline too modest?"
β "I might've also changed your hair color while I was at it. I've always fancied dark-haired men. Oh well. Any port in a storm."
β Geralt: "You used me."
Keira. "Oh, please... I merely seized an opportunity."
β "All right, perhaps I wasn't completely honest. Didn't quite toe the line. But I knew you'd manage, you're so manly and all... Geraltie-pooh. Wipe that frown off your face, or I might think you don't like me anymore."
β "Naturally, you suspect me of the worst. I don't deserve that. My intentions are pure-- like a virgin's tears."
β "Shut up for a moment and look at me! See this? Bedbugs, Geralt, bloody bedbugs! I, Keira Metz, advisor to Foltest and member of the Lodge of Sorceresses, have bedbugs!"
β "If I'm to die today, I wish to look smashing for the occasion."
β "Women only ever beautify themselves for their own satisfaction."
β Keira: "I started off heading in the opposite direction, but then turned around."
Geralt: "What made you change your mind?"
Keira: "There are times when a woman should simply not explain her decision. That goes doubly for sorceresses."
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