User blog comment:Aftenshnoshnikr/Witch Of Izalith, Chaos Sorcerer Supreme/@comment-5337347-20130703112713/@comment-1852943-20130703205303

There's been a lot of discussion on this subject, in the chat room and various threads (I can't remember all of them, sorry). Form what I've pieced together, from item descriptions and NPC dialogue, the Witch and her Daughters of Chaos were purely fire sorcerers. They apparently taught fire sorcerery to others back when Izalith was an active city and, like you said, they used catalysts since it was a form of sorcery afterall. Unfortunately, as the Izalith Catalyst description tells us, knowledge of this flame sorcery has long since vanished. For example, the Demon Firesage doesn't display an ability to use fire sorcereries anymore, and the Daughter of Chaos outside the BoC is in fact a pyromancer, as she wields a pyromancy flame instead of her catalyst (she drops a catalyst upon death, but does not actually use it to cast her fire attacks).

As for whether the Witch of Izalith was a pyromancer, I don't believe she was. Pyromancy was not mentioned in any lore until after the Witch's failed attempt to duplicate First Flame. The description on the Ascended Pyromancy Flame tells us Quelana of Izalith was the mother of pyromancy, as opposed to the Witch. And, some of the most powerful pyromancies' descriptions tell us they use the power of the BoC, reinforcing the likelyhood that pyromancy was not discovered until after the fall of Izalith. Finally, we have it in writing on the Demon's Catalyst, the Witch of Izalith was engulfed by Chaos, creating pyromancy.

In regards to her children, the Orange Charred Ring's description tells us about the Witch's son, his sores were inflamed by lava from birth, but considering the rest of her children appear human, the son who became Ceaseless Discharge was likely twisted into that form by the BoC, in the same catastrophe that twisted Quelaag and Quelaag's sister, and which destroyed the city of Izalith.