Sigismund

Later, Esterad organizes economic support for Redania in a clever way: through his stakes in Novigradian maritime trading companies, and arranges pardons for Covirian prisoners who are sent to fight for the North against Nilfgaard. In his last conversation with Dijkstra, he gives the head of intelligence a toy soldier, telling him to keep it and hide it well, as one of Esterad's envoys will show him an identical one as proof of who he is. He then reveals that he has proof that Jennyfair was not a traitor, but Dijkstra doesn't want to see it, as the fact of her betrayal proves convenient at the moment. Before they part ways, Esterad gives the spy one last piece of advice: stop the bloodbath he has set up back home in Redania, as the only thing that will come of it is his own death at the hands of assassins.

While searching for Ciri, he tries to enlist Geralt's cooperation, in which he fails. The next day, during the riot on Thanedda, in the early hours, just before dawn, he and his soldiers begin helping Keira Metz surround the Nilfgaardian supporters. When they arrest Artaud Terranova, Geralt stumbles upon them and in an attempted arrest kills Sigismund's men, breaks Dijkstra's leg, and escapes.

Later, King Visimir dies, and with the outbreak of the Second Northern War, the reins of the country are taken over by the Council of Regents actually led by Dijkstra and Philippa, although the widowed Queen Gedviga[7] is formally in charge. After the king's death, the head of intelligence, who has secured membership in the council, rules of Redania de facto. Angered by the failed coup on Thanedda and how quickly the Nilfgaard is taking over other kingdoms, Dijkstra, not yet recovered from his injury, begins to implement repressive policies in Redania. He subsequently attends numerous meetings, the most notable of which is a trip to the King of Covir, Esterad Thyssen. Esterad receives him at Ensenada, where Dijkstra arrives to ask for financial support for Redania in the war. The king, however, refuses him, citing the treaties he has made with Nilfgaard. Later, Esterad organizes economic support for Redania in a clever way: through his stakes in Novigradian maritime trading companies, and arranges pardons for Covirian prisoners who are sent to fight for the North against Nilfgaard. In his last conversation with Dijkstra, he gives the head of intelligence a toy soldier, telling him to keep it and hide it well, as one of Esterad's envoys will show him an identical one as proof of who he is. He then reveals that he has proof that Jennyfair was not a traitor, but Dijkstra doesn't want to see it, as the fact of her betrayal proves convenient at the moment.

The few Nilfgaardian informants who managed to escape Drakenborg fled to Covir and Hengfors, but even there the knife and the lash awaited them. Before Dijkstra could find traitors among the nobles, however, the war was over, and truce terms were needed to end the bloodshed. Having failed to destroy the core of the Imperial spy network in Redania, he returns to his starting point. Dijkstra first appears in the novel Blood of the Elves. He recruits Buttercup as his informant and asks Jennyfair to protect the bard when he is captured by Riens in a town near Bleobheris. The enchantress rescues Buttercup and orders him to hide under Dijkstra's wing. Later, Sigismund manages to relieve the tension when Geralt and Olsen kill the Temeraire, who, though legitimate members of the secret service, were acting on their own at the time, pursuing the White Wolf and Ciri in an attempt to get agents Riens' bounty on the pair. Along with Philippa, the spy inquires with Buttercup about Geralt's current whereabouts; Dijkstra is surprised when Philippa mentions Ciri as well, taking it as a rush to get there. In late June 1267, Sigismund is informed that Emgyr var Emreis has learned of the planned attack on Fort Glewitsingen by the Aedirnians and Lyrians, and the imperial army is now moving to Dol Angra. After receiving word from King Demavend of the attack, he sends a message through the royal envoy Aplegatt to inform Demavend not to carry out a staged attack, as Nilfgaard now knows of their plans. However, he learns too late that this message was never delivered, as the messenger was killed in a random incident[7]. At the end of the month, he joins Philippa on the Isle of Thanedd as part of their plan to eliminate the Nilfgaard supporters before they can carry out their own coup.

As a minor spy of the Novigrad cell of the Redan Secret Service, Sigismund somehow managed to obtain documents proving the incompetence of Michael de Noallier as head of intelligence and the tragic situation of the state into which foreign intelligence had penetrated. On March 12, 1248, King Visimir II received from him a letter intended "for royal eyes only". Upon reading it, the king realized the extent of the calamity in the ranks of the secret services and, in a rage, ordered the Count de Noallier imprisoned and elevated Dijkstra to the position of commissioner of royal security. Within a few years, Sigismund managed to overhaul the structure of the service, replacing the moles with loyalists and expanding its reach from Covir to the Nilfgaardian Empire. He moved to Ochsenfurt, to rented premises at the University, making the Service what he called the "Department of Modern History". Around the same time, he began an affair with Philippa Eilhart, who has since frequently collaborated with the master of the spy network. The biggest problem Dijkstra faced was Nilfgaardian military intelligence. The network of collaborators among government officials and aristocracy, commanding vast sums of money and difficult to penetrate, had been almost untouched by his agents until the First Northern War. And just after the bulletins from Cintra stopped reaching the neighborhoods of Oxenfurt, Nilfgaard agents unleashed hell in Redania. Military stores were burned, cavalry horses were poisoned, and many commanders were found dead. Sigismund Dijkstra, a master scout, had to learn a cruel lesson in humility from his adversary, Vattier de Rideau.

The shock, however, did not last long. Soon after the initial shock, Service agents throughout the Northern Kingdoms began targeting individuals long suspected of collaborating with the Empire. The blood of traitors flowed in rivers, though mistakes were made and some innocent people, especially non-humans, were also killed.

Sigizmund is a well-read and versatile person, and although he did not finish his studies at the University of Ochsenfurt, he can hold a conversation on almost any topic. Dijkstra has a somewhat blackish sense of humor, often makes various kinds of jokes, although he is prone to self-irony. The spy loves and knows how to manipulate people, not being a stranger to dirty tricks, and is capable of betrayal for a higher purpose. He also dislikes it when someone lies to him, especially when it happens brazenly, to his face. Sigi Roiven understands that wars are not good for anyone, and emphasizes that he has always tried to avoid them in his life, both at the state level and in the underground. Dijkstra is shrewd, with strategic thinking skills and organizational skills[9]. He believes that it is easy to wage wars - it distracts from problems - but much harder to make a state, or even a single city, prosper in times of peace. Despite his corpulent figure and broken leg, Dijkstra can stand up for himself, though not as well as he probably did in his youth. When it comes to fighting, he uses a two-handed ax in battle. From the book The Tower of the Swallow, we can learn that Dijkstra was 48 years old at the time of the events. Despite his title of nobility, Sigismund is of low origin, and at one time did not even complete his studies at the Ochsenfurt Academy, only attending lectures. He is a former lover of Philippa Eilhart and the wife of Redania's finance minister Marie de Mercey, and has an illegitimate daughter, Iriana van Troffke[2].

Dijkstra is described as an incredibly huge and obese man with a keen mind, but not at all like a spy. He is tall, heavy and strongly built, over two meters tall and almost 200 kilograms in weight[5][6]. He also has very thick arms and hands, making them quite hard to grip,[7] and his face looks like a “freshly washed hog”[5]. Dijkstra has cold pale blue eyes,[8] and his clothes are usually brightly colored. Although he appeared perpetually sleepy and lethargic during his time in the service, Sigismund is exceptionally intelligent, cunning, and highly respected in the country[5]. The scout was rumored to have never done anything for private individuals and never stole a penny from the state treasury. Emperor Emgyr mentions that Dijkstra "would rather die than give away his informant", from which it can be assumed that Sigismund carefully protected his contacts and informants, even at the cost of his own life.