‘The Witcher’: What Is Alzur’s Thunder?

If there’s one thing that we know about ‘The Witcher,’ it’s that a lot of different magical elements are involved in the storyline, and we know that the mages are some of the strongest characters in the entire story. In that regard, the mages found themselves in a dire spot when the Scoia’tael and some Nilfgaardian soldiers attacked when Vilgefortz betrayed them. That was when Tissaia needed to use a powerful spell called Alzur’s Thunder. So, what is Alzur’s Thunder in ‘The Witcher’?

Alzur’s Thunder is a powerful spell made to create lightning bolts that can kill its target in a single strike. This is an incredibly potent yet complicated spell that only a few people could ever hope to cast. Ciri described it as a spell of last resort due to the toll on the caster’s body.

The fact that Tissaia had to cast Alzur’s Thunder was what made it clear that the fight against the Nilfgaardians and the Scoia’tael wasn’t in favor of the mages of Aretuza even though they were strong enough to hold their own against their foes. Tissaia, however, changed the tide of the battle with this powerful spell. Now, let’s learn more about Alzur’s Thunder.

Tissaia’s ultimate spell

Episode 6 of season 3 of ‘The Witcher’ was packed with action and drama. That was because this episode allowed us to see the mages of Aretuza in action against an enemy that was set to wipe them all out for the sake of getting their hands on Ciri. And it all started when Dijkstra apprehended all of the mages to prove that Vilgefortz had been working with Nilfgaard the entire time.

Thanks to Tissaia’s efforts, the mages were able to free themselves from Dijkstra. But Vilgefortz proved himself every bit of a traitor as Dijkstra said he was when he opened a doorway that allowed the Scoia’tael and the Nilfgaardian forces to enter Aretuza. It was clear that the soldiers were ready to fight the powerful mages of Aretuza because they tipped their arrows with Dimeritium, which was potent enough to go through the barriers of the mages.

The battle between the mages and the Scoia’tael wasn’t in anyone’s favor, and Tissaia quickly noticed. Using her powers, she allowed the entire place to burn so that the Scoia’tael would find it harder to go up against the mages with flames burning around them.

And as Tissaia saw her friends and companions dying one by one, she decided to launch an attack that she believed would change the tide of the battle.

That was when she decided to cast a spell that was lightning based, as she channeled her chaos through Aretuza and used the entire structure to summon thunder from the sky. Yennefer, who wasn’t in Aretuza at that time, noticed that the sky was getting darker and darker. That was when she knew that Tissaia was about to cast a spell called Alzur’s Thunder.

In the game and the books, Alzur’s Thunder is a powerful spell that can produce a bolt of lightning that’s potent enough to kill an enemy in one strike. However, Yennefer commented about how complicated this spell was because only someone with the diction and oratory skills of the legendary Alzur could attempt to use the spell.

However, in ‘The Witcher,’ it was clear that Alzur’s Thunder was used on a more massive scale when Tissaia used it. She channeled her chaos through Aretuza and used the tower of Tol Lara as a conduit while she summoned thunder from the sky. This allowed the spell to become even more potent as Tissaia attacked her enemies using several bolts of thunder that were powerful enough to kill anyone with one strike.

Yennefer quickly realized that Tissaia was using the spell because she understood that only someone as powerful as her could use Alzur’s Thunder. In Dijkstra’s words, Tissaia was the greatest mage in all of Aretuza, and she could nearly wipe out the Scoia’tael and the Nilfgaardian soldiers with one spell was proof of her power. 

A spell of last resort

Of course, as powerful as Alzur’s Thunder is, we know it’s not a spell anyone can use at any moment. When Yen said that Tissaia was about to cast this spell, Ciri quickly commented that this was a spell of last resort. And that’s because, as seen in how Tissaia used it, it was supposed to be reserved for only the direst of times.

Alzur’s Thunder placed a heavy toll on Tissaia’s body while she was casting it, as it was clear that she was weakened due to the spell’s effects. In fact, her hair turned white right after she cast the spell, as it was obvious that she was reserving Alzur’s Thunder for a moment such as that one. 

After all, if she could cast that spell at any moment, she would have done so already. But the fact that she waited to cast it when she realized they weren’t going to win that fight ultimately convinced her that she needed to use Alzur’s Thunder.

In episode 8, Tissaia eventually commits suicide because she believes that her death was the price that chaos demanded from her after she used such a powerful spell. This was the same logic applied when Yen used a powerful fire spell back in the Battle of Sodden Hill, as she lost all of her access to chaos upon using that spell. But because Tissaia’s spell was much more powerful, her death was the price that she needed to pay. As such, it was a spell of last resort due to the heavy toll.