Oh, we could go even deeper than that. I don't think world domination or being the hidden master behind everything was his plan. At least we don't know that for sure. I think he and Emhyr are pretty similar. They want to have Ciri because they know that her blood is the key to save the world. Did Vilgefortz want to have "real" power? I don't think so. I think he was just the culmination of the arrogance of mages and it was his perverted and ambigious nature that wanted to study the elder blood. But to be honest, Sapkowski let us pretty in the dark about his ultimate motives...
Well, then it seems we have to disagree on a quite fundamental level. I think pretty much the opposite is true. Maybe it has something to do with how we interpret "well ruled" I don't call an autocraty led my mages a well ruled country. And race proteced? Seriously? You call Tissaia a fool and a dreamer and you defend Philippa for trying to make a "race proteced" state? Nobody seems to want such a state. And it wouldn't stay well and healthy very long that way...
I only feel disgust for the typical "the end justifies the means" character. Philippa is such a character. That's deeply unethical and I'd never support such a position or person. And to be honest, she's just filled with arrogance and hybris. And she fails constantly because of that...
Neither Dijkstra nor the king of Redania were any true allies to her. They were just mere tools for her. I don't know which duality you mean to be honest. Dijkstra wasn't her lover because she loved or even liked him. She slept with him in order to make him a stronger and more loyal servant.
I don't think Philippa is truly patriotic. She would sleep with Emhyr if it would benefit her goals any day.
That wasn't Tissaia's fault - not that she would care about it much anyway. But she basically just made the playing field even. Don't forget that it was Philippa who brought Dijkstra and his men with her to Thanedd. She wanted the conflict as much as the Nilfgaardian supporters wanted it. Philippa just thought she could win it that easily. It was basically HER mistake that she misjudged the situation and that she misjudged how Tissaia would react. Philippa fucked the situation up at Thanedd because her plan didn't work. Tissaia just acted like she was expected to act, at least like a less self-indulged person than Philippa would have sorted out. It was the first of her many failures and flawed plans. So don't blame Tissaia for the events at Thanedd. She is the least one to blame for them if you ask me. Her suidice honors her even more because she took the responsibility for other people's mistake, people like Vilgefortz and Philippa. And still her death is tragic because with her one of the last upright and principle-led mages of the council died.
Yes, but she talks about people of her surroundings. Of people close to her. Not about people far away in Aedirn. She saw that she failed as a mage in the eyes of the people. She realized that she wasn't able to prevent the mages from killing each other on Thanedd. She realized that she misjudged the situation. And she decided to go for the ultimate consequence of her own failure.
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