Triss or Yen? My Take on The Witcher 3 Dilemma

Yesterday I took to the Steam forums looking for an answer to what I thought was a bug in The Witcher 3 (having talents in delusion but being unable to use the skill in conversations--apparently it won't work unless you have it as one of your select "equippable" talents).  One thing that surprised me were the number of threads with very detailed analyses about which sorceress Geralt should choose.  Should he choose Triss Merigold or Yennefer of Vengerberg?  For fun I thought I would weigh in.

As someone who has played all the games AND read the short stories (the ones translated into English anyway), I feel like I have a decent understanding of all three characters.  The games seem to draw on some events which are depicted in the stories but mostly tell their own separate stories using similar characters and locations.  I'm going to base my analysis on facts from both.

Both have unique personalities.  Who do you choose?

Triss Merigold is actually a fairly minor character in the stories.  She doesn't really show up much, but is involved in some of the larger events that occur--namely Ciri's magical training.  In the stories Triss is described as being overly giggly and comes off almost like some flighty airhead (she's also a brunette).  She doesn't really seem like someone who should be taken seriously.  The games, on the other hand, paint her as a warm, friendly, and sweet character.  She doesn't seem to be like many of the other sorceresses--ambitious, cunning, and constantly plotting.  Triss is the one who nurses Geralt back to health in the first game and aids him in his quest to regain his lost memory in the second.  As Geralt regains his memory he remembers Yennefer and things start to get more complicated.  Throughout the second game players are presented with multiple opportunities in which Geralt can opt to state his undying affection for Triss or brush aside her companionship.  As The Witcher 3 unfolds it's apparent that Geralt has broken off his relationship with Triss.  He has fully regained his memory, and it seems that his declarations of love weren't genuine.  When you're exploring her ransacked house in Novigrad you stumble across the Rose of Remembrance that Geralt can give her in the second game.  It's wilted and dying.....(according to the lore in the game the rose is supposed to stay alive as long as love exists in the relationship).

Geralt's relationship with Yennefer is much more complicated.  In the stories Geralt and Yennefer meet merely by a series of strange accidents (this is explained very briefly in The Witcher 3) involving the bard Dandelion and a magic lamp.  Dandelion unwittingly faces the wrath of the djinn in the lamp and has to be taken to the local sorceress, Yennefer, to be treated.  Yennefer then comes up with a plot to enslave the djinn and use its power for herself.  Geralt is roped into her plan but the djinn proves too powerful for Yennefer to control and Geralt is forced to release it by making one last wish--his wish is to tie his fate to Yennefer's--and thus their relationship begins.  Throughout the stories Yennefer and Geralt have a powerful connection and seem fated to be drawn together.  Once Ciri arrives on the scene it is Yennefer who realizes that Ciri is mostly likely a very powerful magical "source" and dedicates herself to Ciri's training.  Geralt and Yennefer become parental stand-ins for Ciri (in the stories Ciri is an orphan who is rescued by Geralt after the slaughter at Cintra).

In the first game there is very little if any mention of Yennefer.  The second game sees Geralt regaining his memory and distinctly remembering a sorceress with raven hair and violet eyes.  He also remembers the strong feelings he had for her.

I have felt like Yennefer from the game matches more closely with her character from the book.  In the book she very ambitious and is highly involved in the plotting and planning carried out by the Lodge of Sorceresses.  Unlike Triss, she isn't a sweet, lovable character.  She clearly craves power and position and can seem callously obsessed with advancement.  In the early parts of The Witcher 3, she is very distant and cold.  It's later on that players are given a better idea of the relationship between Yennefer and Geralt.  The quests in Skellige bring them together and Yennefer opens up much more and eventually confesses her feelings.  There is a bit of uncertainty about their relationship because of Geralt's wish from the djinn--were they drawn together by fate or simply by the spell of the djinn?

When it comes down to both these sorceresses, who seem like polar opposites, I generally opt for Triss Merigold.  There's a strong indication in the games that Triss is almost taking advantage of Geralt's lost memory to cultivate a relationship (this is also hinted in the books--that she seems to have a sort of "crush" on Geralt who is clearly paired up with Yennefer) and this is a strange underpinning.  Triss is sweet and loving where Yennefer seems distant and too focused on her own ambitions.  Yennefer can be bristly, impatient, and stubborn.

Phew.  Video game romance is complicated.  If you want a better idea about the characters from the games I would highly recommend reading the short stories.