The Dresden Files > DF Reference Collection
A fresh perspective on Proven Guity (Spoilers for everything)
Jersey:
I think this is all about Lea myself.
1) There was a special connection between Maggie Sr and Lea. Then Maggie Sr dies leaving Lea to play godmother to Harry.
2) I've had a theory that Harry's father was a retired Knight of the Cross. A stage magician would be an excellent cover for a retired Knight considering the church's views on magic. It would help to conceal him from both supernatural predators ad the church itself.
This makes Harry the son of a Knight and a wizard.
Lea assists Harry in overcoming Justin. But her bargain is for his life and he skips out on it. Then proceeds to keep as much distance from Lea as he can.
Fast forward to the party at Bianca's. Lea attempts to make a deal with Michael for Molly (the daughter of a Knight and a wizard). Obviously he says no. But she keeps her eyes on the situation and takes the opportunity to place one of her own agents (the SplatterCon coordinator) close to Molly at the shelter where she sometimes lives and helps out.
Forward again to Proven Guilty where Molly is recently come into her powers. The coordinator makes some suggestions to Molly giving her the idea to use her powers to help her friends with addiction. Probably the same ploy Lea used on Maggie Sr when she was a young girl. Appealing to her idealist nature about the role of the WC.
So now we sum up. Lea has appeared to Maggie Sr, Harry, and Molly (but not Elaine who sought refuge with the SUMMER court). She has influenced or attempted to influence each of them at about the same time in their lives. And along the way the BC gives her the athame. All of this to further her attempt to overthrow Mab.
But Mab has growing doubts about her top lieutenant and she sends the fetches to take Molly. So now Lea leads the attack on Arctis Tor to try an seize Molly for her own. And all the dead winter monsters were ones she had persuaded to join her in overthrowing Mab. Mab kicks all their a##$%. Then she confronts Lea, takes the athame, and freezes her in ice. Now Harry shows up and Mab conceals herself and watches Harry take back Molly. Mab wins.
itari:
--- Quote from: Jersey on July 09, 2011, 03:20:43 PM ---2) I've had a theory that Harry's father was a retired Knight of the Cross. A stage magician would be an excellent cover for a retired Knight considering the church's views on magic. It would help to conceal him from both supernatural predators ad the church itself.
--- End quote ---
Couldn't Malcolm be a vanilla mortal, and just a decent person who had to take care of his talented son?
--- Quote from: Jersey on July 09, 2011, 03:20:43 PM ---But Mab has growing doubts about her top lieutenant and she sends the fetches to take Molly. So now Lea leads the attack on Arctis Tor to try an seize Molly for her own.
--- End quote ---
Lea was already unavailable in DB, sorry.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: knnn on June 27, 2011, 05:55:52 PM ---But when you think about it, other than Molly's mind-control stuff, is there any other Black Magic going on in Chicago? What exactly is the Gatekeeper trying to prevent?
--- End quote ---
I'm inclined to read what the Gatekeeper is trying to prevent is not Molly's fall because Molly is important, but the likely consequences for Harry's relationship to the Council if they execute Molly; that would fit with his explicitly warning Harry on that matter in TC. Dead Molly could easily mean berserk Harry having to be put down by Eb or Morgan, for example.
--- Quote ---I've seen the various theories that they had some hold or bargain over Mab, or that maybe this was a strike to remove the Athame from Mab's possession (heck, I made that one myself at some point), but then this never really explained why Harry needed to come to Arctis Tor - the real attack was already defeated.
--- End quote ---
For completeness' sake, if we're summing up the options, I'd like to throw in another hypothesis:
The real "attack" on Winter is via the means of the athame, warping Mab and Lea, and possibly also via the means of Lea being required to make bargains that are not for Winter's good (like swapping the athame for Amoracchius in the first place). The Scarecrow a) has power entirely outside the nature of any of the other Fetches, which Harry identifies at the end of PG as "Black Council" modus operandi and b) has Harry's power fade out when it somes to near, in ways much more similar to Lord Raith's Outsider-backed immunity in BR than to just being too strong for it (cf. Ursiel in DM, "Grum" in SK). This leads me to suspect the Scarecrow is an Outsider-plus-allies agent who has the run of Arctis Tor.
The frontal assault by some Denarian - supposedly Namshiel though Mab avoids confirming this directly and makes great effort to distract Harry when he suggests it - is a rescue mission. The whole point is to blow away enough goblins and trolls that Harry and company have a hope of getting into Arctis Tor.
Mab's reason for going to such lengths to keep Harry in the dark about this ? Is that if he realised he could claim it as one of the favours he owes her paid.
--- Quote ---- Madrigal is a known cats-paw for the BC. Someone invited him over a year before the convention started. Speculation is that he covering for **something**
--- End quote ---
Harry seems pretty clear that Madrigal is there as a distraction; a known fear-feeder to distract his attention from what the real phobophages are up to. We know that Lucius the Jann actually arranged that invitation for Madrigal, and I find the Scarecrow making a point of killing the unconscious Lucius rather than taking the advantage of surprise rather than using the advantage of surprise against any of its more dangerous foes also indicative of the Scarecrow's motivations.
Also, I'd say that technically we know Madrigal has links to the Circle alluded to in WN; whether this is the Circle alluded to in Changes, or the "Black Council". is entirely unproven.
--- Quote --- that the general BC mode of operation is to give powerful-but-dangerous black magic tools to various people and let them run loose:
- Victor Sells
- Hexunwulf FBI
- Kravos
--- End quote ---
I think it's arguable whether any of those is let run loose at all, rather than attempts to lure Harry into something specific and totally different. Indeed, the deeper purpose for which Kravos is used is pretty solidly established in the text of GP.
--- Quote ---1) Scarecrow is not that important to her that she wouldn't risk him in an attempt to gain something.
--- End quote ---
That seems a kind of weaker motivation than "Getting rid of Scarecrow is important to her." I am not seeing why Mab would need to hide in disguise and do nothing unless Harry's actions there are both important and things she can't do directly. Mab does not strike me as someone who rolls dice.
--- Quote ---Harry accidentally blows up the wellspring of Winter during the fight - wounding Mab (that's right, Harry wounded Mab, not the Hellfire attack), and calling back the hosts of Winter.
Oops...
--- End quote ---
I don't find that plausible because the results of it so very neatly punish the Reds for a transgression against Winter (and not Summer) in DB.
--- Quote ---I bold-faced the part that I think implies that Harry's "pour Summer Fire into Winter's heart" was not by design.
--- End quote ---
I can see how you might read that that way, but to my mind that also works for a reading that being rid of the Scarecrow is what Mab needs Harry there for and trashing the Reds is a side-effect, though a very useful one.
--- Quote ---- Lea attempts to bargain with Michael for Molly in PG.
--- End quote ---
Faerie wanting people's firstborn is a traditional bargaining chip, and Maeve asks for Harry's in SK, so I do not read this as likely very significant.
--- Quote ---- Father Forthill's "hunch" at the end of PG -> it implies that the WG wanted Harry to teach Molly.
--- End quote ---
But remember that at the start of SmF Michael explicitly says that if he does not know who's behind what appears to him to be random good luck he will thank the WG for it. Michael, and to my mind Forthill as well, are philosophically inclined to credit any good they get to the WG, no matter who is actually behind it. (Some small part of me wants one day to see one of them misattribute something to the WG that is a beneficial act of, say, Odin, and then have them called before Odin to answer for that insult. But then I'm mean that way.)
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
Oh, and one other thing:
--- Quote from: knnn on June 27, 2011, 05:55:52 PM ---Harry accidentally blows up the wellspring of Winter during the fight - wounding Mab (that's right, Harry wounded Mab, not the Hellfire attack)
--- End quote ---
To make that work requires one to see Mab's reaction to Kemmler's name in DB as something inherent to her psychology rather than the first sign of her wounding. I find the notion of Mab actually being scared enough of a mortal to lose her composure very much out of character.
I favour the notion that Mab and Lea both are wounded by the means of the athame. Your notion here requires some other explanation to be found for the damage done to Lea as visible in PG, and as starting to affect her at some time prior to DB.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: Grey Knight on July 06, 2011, 07:53:21 AM ---Yes, but do you really think Mab couldn't dispose of any bodies she wanted to?
--- End quote ---
The question would then, be, why would she not want to dispose of the trolls and goblins ?
--- Quote ---We have seen her against Summer, with her exact equal Titania countering everything she did. The Queens balance each other, and The war between the Fae court really boils down to the small pieces. (like Toot in SK :))
--- End quote ---
Every single time we do, the end result benefits both Courts. the war between the Faerie Courts seems to me to be an unfortunate consequence of their nature that in practice the Queens put most of their efforts into working around.
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