#How Fire Magic In The Witcher Season 2 Really Works

At the end of the first season of the hit Netflix series, mages working for Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni) and the forces of Nilfgaard cast massive fireballs under Fringilla’s orders. The moment they launch these incredible attacks, however, they burst into flames themselves, consumed by the sheer amount of magical energy that coursed through them. Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) is able to channel some of the fire herself, though in doing so she also pays a massive price. While Yennefer doesn’t die when she channels an already-existing barn fire through her hands, she does lose her connection to Chaos, rendering her without magic from that point forward. 

The other elements of Chaos that come from the world, including water, earth, and air, can all be creative forces as well as destructive. But fire can only destroy and consume, leaving ash in its wake. For that reason, it consumes the mages who channel it. Fire magic requires great sacrifice, which can come in the form of blood, life, or even one’s connection to Chaos itself. It’s no surprise that the ruthless Nilfgaardians are willing to end the lives of their own mages in order to create powerful magic, but Fringilla trained alongside fellow mages Yennefer and Triss (Anna Shaffer) and should have understood the exact cost. Perhaps the Nilfgaardian tendency towards violence has rubbed off on Fringilla more than she’s willing to admit, even as she tries to explain her morally ambiguous reasoning for resorting to such dark magic.