Noonwraith

A noonwraith is the restless spirit of a young woman who died a violent death shortly before her wedding. Witcher lore ties them to rage or grief so strong that it keeps the soul from moving on. They show up on hot summer days when the sun stands highest, looking like sun-scorched women in long white robes, and they roam rural fields hunting for the unfaithful lover or rival who wronged them.

Most noonwraiths are bound to the spot where they died, usually by an object that meant a great deal to them in life. Killing one for good means finding that object and destroying it. In a fight they can slip into an immaterial state, conjure copies of themselves that drain a victim’s strength, and whip up dust to blind and confuse anyone nearby. They don’t bleed, and most Signs do little against them. The character is drawn from the Noon Witch of Slavic folklore, and in the first Witcher game the cursed bride Alina becomes one.

In The Witcher 3 your first real meeting with one is Contract: Devil by the Well in White Orchard. Odolan needs clean water from the well in the abandoned village, but a noonwraith circles it. The clues lead to a diary, a skeleton and a bracelet at the bottom of the well, and burning them summons her for the final fight. Later, Contract: The White Lady near Novigrad sends you after another noonwraith, and it pays out with a noonwraith trophy.

Across the games

In The Witcher, noonwraiths haunt the fields around the Village in Act IV, at Murky Waters. In the main quest The Heat of the Day, Alina, who is about to marry Julian, goes missing in the fields, and Geralt later finds her ghost there as a noonwraith. To reach her spirit he has to gather the shards of her Nehaleni’s mirror and get it repaired, though even that does not set her free.

In the same act, the blacksmith’s wife wants a succubus to stop visiting her husband. For her plan she needs shimmering dust from noonwraith hair, so Geralt kills nine noonwraiths in the fields and brings back nine handfuls. Temptation pays 500 orens, 8,000 XP and Plants of Barren Lands.

The Heat of the Day (Act IV, main quest)
Temptation (Act IV, secondary quest)

Combat strategy

The whole fight revolves around Yrden. While a noonwraith is immaterial your sword passes right through her, but inside a Yrden circle she is forced into a physical form and takes full damage. Coat your silver sword in specter oil, drop the trap, and hit her with fast attacks while she is stuck. When she splits into three copies, take them out quickly, since she uses that window to recover. Quen helps soak her quick strikes and knockback.

Cast Yrden before you engage and fight inside the circle; recast it the moment it fades.
Apply specter oil to your silver sword for the bonus damage.
Throw Moon Dust to pin her in a solid form if you’d rather save Yrden, or use Dimeritium bombs, which the lore says dissolve her clones.
Each mirror image dies to a single hit, and crossbow bolts work too, so clear them fast.
Don’t waste stamina on Aard or Igni, which do little to her.
Back away from her dust cloud rather than swinging blindly inside it.