[Gilrond]

In the brickmakers village when Geralt meets Vaska, she tells him some details about the mage's tower, and on the Geralt's question about who was that woman that caused mage's downfall she dismissively says "unimportant". Then she gives Geralt a tarot card related to the sentry, while saying that the mage made those cards for that woman who was a fortune teller. Is it a hint that Vaska is related to her in some way, may be her descendant? Otherwise how did she come in possession of that card?

[Corylea]

I always took it to mean that Vaska WAS the woman, but there's no proof of that. If she was, though, it puts the whole "And a wicked woman she was, for she took advantage of his might" into a new context.

I love that there are so many smaller stories hidden inside the bigger story in TW1. It's one reason why I tried to do something similar in my "Medical Problems" adventures.

[Gilrond]

Yes, I got that feeling as well, especially when she said "I don't need it anymore".

I didn't play your adventure mod yet Corylea, I'll surely give it a try.

[Gilrond]

The only doubt I had, because one can conclude the mage lived quite a long time before Geralt's story takes place. "The Secret Gates" is referred as a very old publication (thus hard to find), and it relates the story of the tower saying "Old men say that long, long ago a mage lived in the swamp...". So one gets an idea that Vaska can't simply be that woman, unless she has an unusually long lifespan (which was the case with sorceresses).

[Corylea]

I didn't really LIKE Vaska as a person, but I thought she was a great character. And I thought she was trying to do her best for her people, in her own strange way. It seems like she's learned something about life in the years since she was the mage's girlfriend, though her worshiping the fish people could be considered to be her allying herself with the powerful and misusing their power again. But maybe I'm over-thinking things.

As for her age, a long life could be something the mage gave her. And I seem to recall that Vaska's mage wasn't the FIRST mage to try to raise a tower in the swamp. But it's been a long time, and I may be mis-remembering.

[Gilrond]

Possibly there were several, but the book relates to them as one. And possibly her age is something that's related to "taking advantage of his might". Then she's quite bitter, calling herself "a wicked woman", possibly regretting what she did.

I like such kind side stories and nuances in the game, which can be explained in a number of ways. It makes it closer to a interactive book, rather than just a game.

[Grindif]

Corylea said:

(...)It seems like she's learned something about life in the years since she was the mage's girlfriend, though her worshiping the fish people could be considered to be her allying herself with the powerful and misusing their power again. But maybe I'm over-thinking things.

As for her age, a long life could be something the mage gave her. And I seem to recall that Vaska's mage wasn't the FIRST mage to try to raise a tower in the swamp. But it's been a long time, and I may be mis-remembering. ›››

She also looked and, especially, sounded like a very old woman (unlike elders in many other games), even compared to the other grandmas in TW1. I think that it is likely that she either was the woman from the story, or that she witnessed the destruction of the tower, since she knows story details rather well for a simple villager. To me, it seems that she is just a passive servant and worshiper of the voidianoi, rather than someone willing to take advantage of the relationship with the fish-people.


As to books and tales of "old men" I would be skeptical, since peasants in TW often misinterpreted and exaggerated things.