The Dresden Files > DF Reference Collection
A Badelynge of Quackiness [spoilers for every book Jim ever wrote or ever will]
Ms Duck:
Believe it or not, some people have asked me to put a master index together again. So here goes nothing ! (like my repuatation or your sanity)
Moly and Mab (updated for Cold Days)
Mab and Little Chicago
Lovecraft Alliance
King Arthur and Harry
Marcone and The Erling
Gothic Vampires
Marci is Evil
Pancake Universe
(feel free to comment if you like. When i finish copy editing stuff, ill just add it to the index)
Further discussion may be found in "A Badelynge of Quackiness, Part Two" -Serack
Ms Duck,
As new Quackiness is generated, just say the word and the curators will facilitate its proper place in the Badelynge in a manor similar to how the "Pancake Universe" addition got in. I like how the ongoing discussion of newer editions is contained in newer threads, so in general pratice, this topic will remain locked when not trying to open formation for new editions to the Badelynge. -Serack
Ms Duck:
Molly and Mab
By Ms. Duck
Theory, originally written after Small Favor
Updated October 2012
--- Quote ---“You should not presume wizard. I adore Freedom. Anyone who doesn't have it wants it”
--- End quote ---
Weight of Evidence for Molly and Mab
This all started with the headaches. Harry has them, we all know this. There have been a few suggestions as to why; Lash coming back, permanent brain damage at the end of WN, perhaps he has strained his magic too much, but then I realized we know at least one cause for this headaches; he has them in SF, when Mab messed with his head while she borrowed his blasting rod, and reprogrammed his head to forget he had ever had it. While discussing this, I wondered well then, if she caused that headache, what else could have happened during the books that she could have taken or messed with?
Which gives us, in discrete mathematics, our starting point?
Statement: Mab caused the headaches.
I am not saying this is the truth, I am stating it as the point of argument. In discrete math, you start with an assumption, then build on it one point at a time, as a test to determine if the original point is true. (For all rational numbers N, if N is F(N) is true, then F( N+1) is true; if you then can reverse it from the final conclusion, the theory is true ; this is called the principles of incursion and reduction.)
So, following this point, what other headaches could have been caused by Mab? It was He Whom Walks who first noted that in the book Turn Coat, that little Chicago was not mentioned. Which is strange, as Harry was desperate to find Thomas; and in every other book, Harry mentions it in every other book, and it had been repaired form it's damage taken in WN as it was used in SF. Furthermore, when Harry does refer to the table, it is covered by a heavy tarp; which are the same words he used to describe his missing memories of the blasting rods on SF, page 312. And we know Mab caused those headaches, it describes the headaches, right on that very page.
Additional point, Namshiel's missing coin. We have been assuming That either Marcone, Hendricks, or Gard took it. But Marcones says he did not, Hendricks has shown no signs of it, and Gard was driving. But what if there were other people on the island, undetectable to mortal eyes? Mab cannot interfere directly in mortal affairs, but she can claim anything Harry owns or has rights to. His “life, his fortune, his future”; once he defeated Namshiel was defeated his coin by right of battle was Harry’s and Mab could step in and claim it. ( I will admit this one may be stretching things, but it’s just a side idea.)
Statement :Mab fixed little Chicago in PG.
This backtracks a bit, but it's a major mystery as yet unsolved. Someone, persons unknown, went into Harry's apartment, past his wards, past Bob, and fixed the error in LC that even Harry did not know about. It's also strangely the point that gets the most objections. Many people seem to think Harry himself fixed it unconsciously; and that neither he, nor Bob, nor the shadow Lash remember him doing it.
I do not consider this a question of unconscious action but an indicator of serious mental issues. Remember, magic requires active belief, concentration, and conscious desire. That's why black magic is so addicting, you have to want things. That's not your id taking you for a sleep walk, that's an alternate personality.
Neurovore's classic objection that either Lash or Lasciel did it has a similar flaw. If either the demoness or her shadow could control Harry that completely, he would still be bound by the coin. All they had to do was make him walk up, dig it up, and take it.
Eb, Elaine, Ivy, or the Gatekeeper have a different problem; why would they have snick in, fixed things, and then disappeared? Why not stay around to help? Now it has been argued the Gatekeeper might have had issues with provoking the time line, but how did he get past the wards in the first place to get in?
Lea had the motive, being an agent of Mab's and she was largely behind the events of PG, and Lea might have gotten thru the wards from her garden on the other side, but, Lea was an ice statue at the time.
So how did Mab get past the threshold and the wards? I argue first the threshold was no impediment whatsoever.; Mab is the lawful owner of the property by the laws of Magic and Harry's own agreement. Even if that were the case, the threshold would not have slowed her down worth a darn.
“even if there HAD been a threshold, it wouldn't have done diddly to stop any number of supernatural baddies. The fetches in PG hammered down the /Carpenters'/ front door, and that's a threshold like the rock of firkin' Gibraltar. The loup-garou sneered at such things. A threshold wouldn't slow down a Denarian for a moment, nor would it stop ghouls, ogres, or any number of largely physical (as opposed to manifested spiritual) beings. And even if the skinwalker had been something summoned from the Nevernever into a manifested physical body, the toad demon was one of those too, and IT stomped through Harry's pathetic threshold in the very first book”-JB
Which leaves questions of how Mab got past the wards, Past Bob- something I consider a point in her favor actually; of all the suspects she could mess with Bob the easiest; and most importantly, how could she have predicted this chain of events?
Statement: Mab knows what the future holds.
--- Quote ---“One day, wizard, you will kneel at my feet and ask me to bestow the rank of knight upon you.”
--- End quote ---
That Mab has foresight I consider a given. Considering she cannot lie, too many of her statements are made in the future tense for it And she is not bound by the white council's laws of magic, but only by the laws of her own nature. But the manipulations Mab makes are more than just the machinations of someone with a gift of prophecy, she is too accurate at that, and at the same time, too bound.
There is another possibility. Mab might be a time traveler. Assume someone traveled back in time, and that the laws of this world have some sort of limit on 'paradox'; much like the classic sci fi stories such as 'all you zombies'. The traveler would know, or remember, in some general sense what happens, but as they come closer and closer to their original moment of leaving they become more and more bound by paradox. .less and less free to take action.
This would explain much. At the start of her time travel, she would be largely free to act, but would have to become more and more circumspect in her actions as she approached the event, and frankly, after being a god for who knows how long, this would tick you off. Quite a few people have speculated bought Lea's statement “ the doom that confronts us all” and what deal the Black Council had made with Mab to tie her hands in such a manner she had to arrange PG just to be partly free of it. The answer, if I am correct, is it does not matter. Mab had to agree to such a deal, because she remembered she had agreed to this deal.
Statement: Mab may be a time traveler.
--- Quote --- “Well there is a whole law of magic about messing with time, and given it's a law of magic, Dresden is going to have to break it eventually. “-JB
--- End quote ---
Well then who is she?
Well, we have some clues.
First, JB has been planning something important between Molly and Winter since before the series was even published.
--- Quote ---“If so, that would imply that I was thinking about seven years ahead. I mean, I would have to be, to have written something like that back when I did Grave Peril, which was way before the books actually *sold*. It would mean that I'm doing a lot of stuff on purpose, given that, you know, Molly actually wound up /in/ the Winter Queen's fortress, with Lea (Mab's chief advisor) actually /right there/”.
“Ask yourself why Mab had Molly brought in. What chain of events did that set in motion? What secondary effects came about because of it? Ultimately, Mab can always go to the Wyld and draw in more muscle to replace fallen thugs. If worst comes to worst, with just a few "seed" fae, she could rear up enough Changelings to repopulate her cadre within a human generation or two--nothing, to a being thousands of years old. “
--- End quote ---
So let us consider secondary effects for a moment, not just In PG, but in TC. Assuming that Mab was the one who messed with LC, what did she gain? Well, it wasn't the rescue of Thomas for one. And as to Peabody, by now I'm certain she could have just sent Harry a dang note. Or offered him power, to save Thomas he might have taken it.
What happened in TC? Harry made a pact with Demonreach, that's what happened.
Statement: Demonreach is important to Harry's future, and Mab intended him to have it.
Now we wander off completely into happy thought medication lands. There just isn't enough evidence to say why Mab wants harry to be part of Demonreach. We know too little. What we do know:
The fey have an important sacrificial table, and when it formed into the real world, it formed over Lake Michigan. We have an ancient source of magical power, quite dark, on an island in.. Lake Michigan. And the island is old, damn old.
--- Quote ---“They were not put there by Demonreach; they have been there a very long time. They are pre-Council. They’re a prehistoric script, actually. Harry could have figured out the script if he’d had the comic book. NOTE: I think this has something to do with runes on a wall in Under City seen in Welcome to the Jungle
Also, people have a few things wrong about the Gatekeeper and the island. The Gatekeeper did not hurt Demonreach. Gatekeeper has been on the island a couple of times, and it’s never gone well, but he didn’t cause Demonreach’s limp. That’s the work of the glacier that carved out Lake Michigan.”-Jb
--- End quote ---
Statement: Mab is a mortal wizard who did an ascension ritual
--- Quote ---“If (cowl) succeeded, he'd have had the collective power of all of those supernatural beings and then some. He'd have been clearly stronger than the Ladies, and a full-on equal to Mab. I mean, why do you think the Erlking was summoned as part of that ritual? Because that's how the big E got so boss in the first place.
For that matter, how do you think the Mothers and Queens and Ladies established their original base of power? That big old sacrificial, power-sucking stone table in Tir na noth isn't there for its primitive decorative aesthetic.”-JB
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---“I am Mab. I am Sidhe”-Mab
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---“all the fae are a little bit mortal.”
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---“ Depends on how much influence he has in the world. That’s how the Sidhe gain their size and power. Mab wasn’t always as big as she is now. :D”
--- End quote ---
Now there are some other facts. :
--- Quote ---“The thing is that Mab never really figures Dresden quite right. She never gets it right when she tries to predict what he will do. But Small Favor turned out really well for her.”
--- End quote ---
Whom else do we know that is in love with Harry and could be described just the same? And not, JB said Harry will break the laws of time, not Molly. Mab herself refers to it in SF, with “Whatever your past, whatever your future..” I thought at first she meant his personal past, but what if in the past, he did something?
--- Quote ---“ But Harry will regret every having set foot on that island. Of course, Harry regrets just about anything he’s ever done.”-JB
--- End quote ---
Statement:
--- Quote --- “Mab is one of her true names.”- JB
--- End quote ---
Margaret Katherine Amanda Carpenter.. Mab, or more properly Meab, is old English short for Margaret. And then there is her looks, and the hair ( started many colors, is now tinged with white and blue at the ends.) and how her powers are in enchantment, illusion, glamour and mental magic’s..
The Theory:
At some time in the future, Harry and Molly will be forced to experiment with time travel, quite probably involving demon reach. Harry will screw something up, and leave Molly behind, or lost in time, 100,000 years ago.. she becomes Sidhe, and ascends, to come back to him..
--- Quote ---Mine ! Mine ! Mine !
--- End quote ---
- Nuff said.
Edit and Update:
The idea came to me in a game we played sometime between the publishing of SmF and TC. It was then later updated for TC. Since the publication of Changes and Aftermath, I think we can add some more into it:
Why Demonreach?
Because Mab knew Harry was going to be shot. Demonreach is a source of magic; dark and dangerous magic. By the statement of the gatekeeper, it is not on a ley line, it is the well from which the line comes. Now there may be several types of dark magic, and it is true that there are four dark ley lines in Chicago. But outside of Demonreach, one we know for certain is the intersection beneath the field museum, which is a very potent source of necromancy. The magic for raising or bringing back the dead.
It is my belief that while Mab may have rid Harry like a pony for personal reasons, she broadcast it to every place and water in faerie to let her enemies know she was preparing for war. She has enemies, but is still uncertain who they all are; they are hidden from her sight. Therefore she has to lure them into the open; and then smite them.
In the end of Changes, and Aftermath, and in Ghost Story I believe that this exactly what is happening. Her enemies, believing she has lost her knight ( and hence her ability to wage war on the mortal plane) ( They killed him) and that the other powers that might stop them ( The White Council, The White Court, The Red Court) have all been placed out of play have stepped out into the open and are openly perusing their own real objectives, at last.
They don’t know that Mab has made her knight a ‘get out of death free’ card.
And there shall be smiting
Predictions
• Harry was killed by the Black Court, or their agents. They had their people standing by to take advantage within hours of his death.(uncertain as of GS, are the fallen agents/allies/ ?)
• The Black Court, or their agents, are the enemies of Ghost Story(ditto)(Jim said after Cold Days)
• Demonreach will be involved in Harry’s return. (Correct as of GS!)
• Mab planned this in advance. (Correct as of GS!)
Notes on Cold Days - We now know Mab can simply walk right in to Dresden’s Lab at any time; the threshold only limits her if she means to do harm. Apparently Harry always knew this but ‘forgot’ for the last six years.. Probably because Mab wanted him too.
- Molly of course, did not become Mab in this book. She became the winter lady, Mab’s heir. But, the series is not over yet.
- It is confirmed that Mab has been preparing Molly for this, likely since Proven Guilty. Her answer, that she did so because of Harry’s faith in Molly, only makes sense if you assume some level of foreknowledge.
- We now know that Demon reach is very important to Mab, and in a purely personal sense.
- Mab does indeed have a plan about luring her enemies in
- Mab was mortal once
- The headaches may have been caused by Lash; this is implied by demon reach. But the timing is off for her to be the cause of all of them; we know for a fact Mab caused one in Small favor and the timing of the rest is still very coincidental.
- We also know Mab, Demon Reach, and lash have some sort of arrangement
- Mab at the end of Ghost Story swore not to mess with Harry’s head anymore. This is likely why Harry remembers about the Sidhe and thresholds. I predict Mab made a deal with Lash, to mess with Harry’s head for her from now on.
- It’s likely that the missing Black Court elders are in demon reach prison, explaining their interest in the place
- The existence of the mantle, and its ability to move information thru time, may be a much better explanation for the Mab/Molly relationship then time travel. It still solves the essential questions and does so more neatly; my only excuse is Jim never mentioned such a thing prior to Cold Days
- Imagine a line. Point A is Mab in the past, point B is Molly/Mab in the future. Now from each point, draw radials; this is the light cone of potential pasts and futures. At a distance, the two points can perceive each other clearly, but as they approach a unified present more and more possible lines intersect, leading to more random events and a harder time making predictions. It’s a feedback system; each foreknowledge defines and curtails future information; as its gets closer and closer to a present now, Mab’s precognition gets less and less accurate.
- Or in plane language, it will fail her when she needs it most.
- And it will be Harry’s fault
Ms Duck:
Mab, Little Chicago, and Demon Reach, Aka the get out of dead free plan
by Ms DucK
Ok, let’s go back a bit:
Grave Peril:
Here is where we first meet the winter Sidhe. And here is where it is established that Harry traded Lea his ‘life, fortune, and future’ in exchange for the power to beat Justin. (power he already had, and only needed to believe in himself, but hey.) It is also established that by breaking his word three times, his own power turns against him, his very magic now trying to force him to keep his vow. Harry later bluffs Lea (or so he believes) into an extension, but the debt- life, fortune, and future- remains in force. And then, of course, Mab buys that debt from Lea, in order to balance the scales between them. (This btw means that Harry is worth as much to Mab as the original Morgan lefay’s dagger, or fricking Excalibur) Also in this book we see Harry exit the NN near his apartment, and describe the area of his apt as a shadow version of itself. This is important later, as neither Bob or Harry remember these events in Changes. At some point soon after this book Lea builds her secret entrance into Harry’s lab; she can now enter or leave his place at will (as well as protect the NN side) since Harry’s magic and thresholds are no longer an impediment to her- since she owns them.
Summer Knight:
Enter Mab. Cue rock and roll music, with extra rocks in. Mab demonstrates that the clause is still in full effect, by making Harry stab himself. They renegotiate; Mab allows Harry a chance to buy himself free, in return for three tasks. The limits are Harry can say No, with no reprisals; the deal remains solely between them; she cannot send lackey’s to chastise or force him by proxy. When Mab leaves, she hurts him, both out of spite and to let the reader know the original clause is still in effect- she still owns his life, future, and fortune; he only has a chance to earn his freedom. At the end she offers him the knighthood, and agrees that all debts between them will be canceled if he accepts.
Proven Guilty:
Now here is our famous mystery. Who entered Harry’s lab, without his or Bob’s knowledge, and fixed Little Chicago? And why? Who would know about it at all?
Back In 2006 JenniH posted that she didn’t think Mab was responsible for PG, as she would not sacrifice a main servitor. Jim replied:
--- Quote from: jimbutcher on January 13, 2008, 12:11:45 PM ---
--- Quote from: JenniH on June 19, 2006, 09:09:18 PM ---Mab as orchestrator of all is just a little much for me to swallow. Seems like she loses a lot more than she gains, and I don't think Mab is big on coming out behind in her negotiations.
--- End quote ---
Yeah. It sure looks that way from here, don't it. :)
But to correct some minor stuff: the fetches aren't even /close/ to her strongest servitors. They're her couriers, harassers, spies and occasional assassins. Captain Kudzu was a being that was deemed more-or-less sufficient on the badassometer, but nothing to write home about. The fetches main use, to Mab, isn't as battlefield thugs. She's got /plenty/ of other things for that. Another mild correction: who says Mab /lost/ the battle at Arctis Tor, before Harry and Company arrived? At the end of the day, the Winter Queen was still in her fortress--but you didn't see anyone standing around assaulting the place, did ya. :) Also, it has probably occurred to more than one of you that if Mab was /really/ in trouble, she could have had the entire military might of Faerie back at the fortress in moments--exactly the way they *did* come back when Harry smacked the Winter Well with the fires of Summer.
(Which goes to show that while Mab may be canny to an inhuman degree, she isn't infallible. Just way closer to infallible than us.)
See above regarding "the question is *why*?"
Ask yourself why Mab had Molly brought in. What chain of events did that set in motion? What secondary effects came about because of it? Ultimately, Mab can always go to the Wyld and draw in more muscle to replace fallen thugs. If worst comes to worst, with just a few "seed" fae, she could rear up enough Changelings to repopulate her cadre within a human generation or two--nothing, to a being thousands of years old.
As far as she's concerned, everyone and everything is expendable, including herself, when it comes to adhering to her (seemingly irrational and inexplicable) priorities.
(And by the way--don't think Titania is much better. When push came to shove, she let her own daughter be murdered rather than upset the balance of the Faerie Courts. At least Mab is up front about it. Usually.)
Sacrifice her best troops? Mab would sacrifice every creature *in* Winter, every one she could bring from Summer, and every single mortal on planet Earth if that's what she thought was appropriate. And she wouldn't even need to add extra sugar to her cup of tea afterwards, much less lose sleep over it.
But no one does cold-blooded like the Queen of Winter. Mab's been in the business a long time, she's got a balance sheet, and she is *not* going to come out in the red--
--unless, of course, she really *has* stripped a gear, as Lily and Maeve believe. In which case there's a stark raving bonkers demigoddess whose powers are no longer being held in check by the Escher-esque code of Sidhe behavior. And that's all kinds of bad.
But hey. It's probably not that. I mean, not *everything* that happens can be the absolute worst possible possibility, right?
Jim
--- End quote ---
The part about Mab being mad (with evil smiley face) was later contradicted by Jim when someone else guessed that Mab was not insane, but wounded.Note that this post confirms two things, long suspected: That Mab had Molly brought in, and that Mab and Titania worked together to kill Aurora. And he specifically addressed the chain of events that this caused. Said chain could not have occurred unless Harry and co could reach actris tor, thus for the Plan to work Mab is required to fix it; which she could easily do; just walk thru the bottom door, fix things, and tell Bob to forget it happened.
White Night
Only a small maybe cameo here: The base was built by the Sidhe (think Mab left a hidey hole?)( confirmed in TC, how Did Titania get Morgan out?) and Anastasia complains of headaches, sex drives, and a strange female voice whispering to her in her dreams.
Small Favor
Now this is where life gets interesting. Mab outright (she admits it) takes Harry’s blasting rod and then makes him forget she took it. What she leaves behind is the image of a tarp, and a splitting headache. SF 212:
--- Quote --- “pain stabbed into my head, ice picks plunging into both temples. I flinched and doubled over. Blasting rod. Familiar words. I fought to summon an image of what went with the words, but I could not find anything. I knew the memory associated with those words, but try as I might, I couldn’t drag it out. It was like a shape covered by some heavy tarp…”
--- End quote ---
The second thing that happens in this book is Harry meets the isle for the first time. There is also a small in-joke here; when researching gruff, harry find a Calvin and Hobbes book. For the non fans, the last strip of the comic had Calvin ( the too bright smart alleck) and Hobbes ( his wiser but snarky and horny friend only he can talk too) head off into a eternal winter wonderland of snow, magic, and snow goons. (yes, Mab left him a book)(that has a beware of Hobbes in joke)
Turn Coat and the two clue bats:
The first clue is on page 211
After Thomas is taken, Harry searched for him magically, but never uses or mentions Little Chicago. (although damaged in WN, it is fixed by this time, note SJ).. all he describes is:
--- Quote ---“a long table in the center of the room is covered by a canvas tarp.
--- End quote ---
.
Now it is important that not only does he not mention it ( he does in every other book, whether he uses it or not, he is very proud of it.) but Bob does not mention it either. And almost the very first thing he mentions in the books is his splitting blinding headache.
The second clue is on page 215
Mouse come over to talk to him, gets Harrys attention, and then when Harry bends down, harry gets a second blinding headache, and loses his train of thought. This is important because it is shown later that Mouse could have found Thomas, and he certainly believed he was a match for shaggy, or at least that harry and he together were.So someone covered the table, removed the memory from Harry and Bob, and gave Harry a headache just in time to prevent him from rescuing Thomas.
Why would Mab do this?
Two possible reasons: First, she believes Harry and Mouse were not a match for shaggy, or she needed Harry to bond with Demonreach for another later purpose, and Thomas being in trouble was the goad she used to get harry to do something this drastic. Now another side note- Back to Anastasia. Harry and Rashid discuss why The black council had Anna fall for Harry, and are unable to come up with why; largely because putting Anna and Harry together is what caused the fall of their plan. The reason is because the BC was not responsible. Mab was. The BC used her as an assassin, but by sending her to harry, Mab was able to screw up all their plans.
Now to Changes, GS, and beyond:
Mab has a problem. She has immense power, but is limited by the rules; she can only channel as much power into mortal realms as a single mortal vessel (her knight) can hold. So she needs a new knight with the capacity for some serious fire power. Her second problem is her enemies are acting in the shadows, keeping their true natures hidden. So how to lure them out?
* Get a major knight
* get the knight a way out of death free card (Demonreach, with help from lash)
* make it so the knight appears to have been killed
* bad guys come out of their roach holes, as planned
* bring back 6 billion dollar knight, with extra crispy Demonreach power
* make popcorn, enjoy Other possible suspects for fixing LC:
* Eb- if he had known what was going on, he would have shown up to help.
* Rashid- even if he somehow knew, he had no way into the apartment
* Future Harry- wont ever happen. Harry, if he could change time, would have saved all the kids in PG, not just fixed LC. And to heck with the consequences.
* Uriel- only intervenes to balance the dark side’s efforts.
* Lea- was an icicle.
* Lash- if she could take over Harry’s body, she would do more than fix LC.
(with thanks to Elegast for the editing.)
Ms Duck:
Historical references to The Dresden Files and the Black Court
By Ms. Duck
Theory: Jim likes tying his fantastic elements into real world history; for example, Tunguska explosion, or more recently, blaming the fall of the Mayan civilization on the red court. So, what can we possibly speculate on the Black Court? They are, after all, called ‘The Scourge’ of humanity. What historical events occurred during their known history, that killed large numbers of people but have mysterious origins? I did some checking, and came up with one plausible biggie: The Black Death
738 Alhazred, author of the Necronomicon, slain by the Gatekeeper
1340? Nicodemus, Tessa and Thorned Namshiel hit Europe, by church records
1348 Black death strikes the world. Over 75 million die worldwide, with plague starting in Eastern Europe or possibly Asia; as many as 60% of Eastern Europe killed. Black Death is believed caused by most ( uneducated) people at the time by vampires and evil spirits. Historical art and documentation of the period is full of descriptions and images of the walking, rotting, dead.
1466 Black death of Paris. Continues to kill tens of thousands in France until 1670
1476 Vlad the Impaler joins the Black Court.
1563 first black death of London. 30% of populace killed. Continues until 1665.
1656 death hits Italy. Almost 2 million casualties first year alone. Spreads to Spain and other Mediterranean countries.
1700 Death strikes Russian and Sweden. Over 400,000 killed first year.
1720 Last major outbreak in Western Europe, in Sweden. Still very active in the Islamic world and Eastern Europe.
1754-1763 Eb Fights the future merlin in the French and Indian war. Eb meets his wife around this period. Maggie Sr. Likely born sometime in the next 20 years.
176x Kemmler begins to plot what would become world wars one.
1812 Ebenezer McCoy destroys New Madrid. (Why?)
184x most recent Sidhe accords signed?
1850-80? Meeting between White King, Red Duchess and representatives of the White Council. I suggest one item on the menu is’ what the freak do we do about these maniacs before they kill the whole world?”
1880 ish- Demon reach island is abandoned. Gatekeeper may be involved.
1883 Krakatoa destroyed by Ebenezer McCoy (Opening Salvo of the Black Court War?)
(May be Kemmler related, or both. Note the timing of the island.)
1895 last major occurrence of the Black Death, in Asia. Kills ten million in India alone
1897 Dracula Published. Operation strokergeddon, with likely military assistance from Red Court and White Council, begins. The Elders of the Black Court assinated (?), survivors unknown.We have WOJ on what this involved:
--- Quote --- if the elders of the black court could have taken mab, then HOW ON EARTH did any mere force of humans manage to go up and stake them? i mean, they should've wiped out anything that was coming after them if they can take on MAB herself...just a thought
Power in the spirit world isn't the same thing as power in the material world. And a one-on-thirtyish fight (Mab vs the elders of the BC) is WAY different than a one-on-20,000 fight (a BC vampire against a modest mortal city). Especially when the 20,000 know what your weaknesses are, and how to kill you with them. Smiley And that's assuming that you don't have a saint, or an independent wizard, or a shaman, a Knight of the Cross or some other champion, or other spiritual allies on your side which was not uncommon. Hell, for that matter, you might well be aided by vampires from the other Courts. *Everyone* resented how powerful the Blacks had become.
--- End quote ---
1908 Ebenezer fights unknown persons at Tunguska. ( I suspect this was a salvo in the Black Court War)(or simply drop a rock on a BC base..nule them from orbit, must be sure)
1914 Kemmler starts ww1. White Council responds with joy and abandon.
1921 Lovecraft publishes ‘the other gods’ first historical reference to the Oblivion War.
1931 Lovecraft publishes ‘Shadow over Insmouth’ ; story references a battle between the US Navy and Deep Ones, aka the Formoirans.
1933 Lovecraft publishes ‘the thing on the doorstep’ Story clearly is about a Black Court master vampire.
1943 Kemmler active in Easter Europe. This time he gets dead..
1961 Kemmler finally killed for good, Tsar Bomba explosion?Modern times.
A Lovecraft Alliance forms, to take the world for themselves. Members are the surviving Black Court, Ghouls, Deep Ones, and Necromancers. The Outsiders may or may not be involved, as well as the Other Gods. They employ stealth, necromancy, and mind magic to devastating effect.
GP: Mavra teaches dark magic to Bianca, and also weakens the film between the real world and the dead world. Lea is given the dagger, which drives her mad. Mavra uses necromancy to torture the ghost of Chicago, and bring back Kavros. I believe she also uses it to summon Rachel from the dead, and drive Bianca Mad. Red Court war begins.
SK: Aurura, the summer lady, goes mad.
BR: Mavra engages Harry in Chicago. It is all a giant trap, to force him to be her pawn in DB. Mavra reveals advanced powers of illusion and mind transference. Lord Raith Killed.
DB: Cowl attempts godhood. At the same time, Mavra forces Harry to find her the book of Kemmler. There is evidence of cross purposes here. Harry says the book contains spells of necromancy that can be used against the Black Court. In background, the Red Court and the White Council maul each other.
WN: Cowl openly commands ghouls. Vitto gets his power form an Outsider. Harry asks Lash about ‘ His Mother, The Black Court, and the Outsiders.’ Cowl does considerable damage to the White Court.
TC: Peabody is revealed. First real setback for the alliance? There is confusion in their ranks.
C: Harry destroys Red Court; Duchess Arianna does considerable damage to the White Council; Somewhere, the alliance throws a party. Mab make Harry her agent on earth, very publically announces it, and he is promptly killed.
Aft: Alliance agents move too quickly after this point to take advantage of the chaos for them not to have known it was coming.
GS: Corpsetaker is seen to be working with the Formor. Evil Bob is shown to have ties with the Nazis.
Here is my summary and prediction:
• At least one Black Court master survived
• They want revenge and to eat the world
• They were beaten last time by a large scale alliance
• They must prevent such an alliance from forming again
• While recruiting their own allies- The Deep Ones, Ghouls, Other Gods, Outsiders
• Who in charge over there is debated. Often.
• The plan is to cause as much chaos as possible to their old enemies
• If they can wound or destroy some, or cause them to fight each other, so much the better.
• This ‘Lovecraft alliance’ is not solid. They do not trust one another.
• The whole point of DB from Mavra’s POV was to set up affairs to bring an elder or elders back.
• This requires much magical blood, hence aftermath.
Ms Duck:
King Arthur and the Dresden Files It seems clear there is an Arthurian reference in the Dresden Files, but the problem with basing any insights on this is which Arthurian myth are we looking at? Originally based on the stories of a fifth century welsh cavalry captain, the tales have grown and been adapted by hundreds of authors over the centuries. My favorite description of them is ‘A millennia of fanfic by a highly disturbed Fandom with no word of god to keep it straight, on crack.’
For example Arthur was not originally a king. Merlin was not added to the stories until five hundred years later; and Lancelot was not until the French versions in the 12th century. Like Excalibur? It’s from a different legend that got mixed in. But we do have some elements that appear in the more common versions, and in the Dresden Files:
--- Quote ---Her strong enchantments failing,
Her towers of fear in wreck,
Her limbecks dried of poisons
And the knife at her neck,
The Queen of air and darkness
Begins to shrill and cry,
`O young man, O my slayer
To-morrow you shall die.'
O Queen of air and darkness
I think 'tis truth you say,
And I shall die to-morrow;
But you shall die to-day.
--- End quote ---
-A.E. Housman The Faerie Queens.
While the DF makes reference to Spencer and Shakespeare, the three queens of the fair isles are also in many Arthurian stories:
Morgan Le Fey:
Originally a powerful Fairy sorceress, she was re written as Arthur’s evil half-sister in the French versions, and it kind of stuck. In some of the older versions, she is the mother of Oberon, the Sidhe wizard King. For the purposes of this idea, I am calling her Maggie Le Fey in the DF.
Morgawse:
Queen of Air and Darkness, most powerful and wicked of the three sisters. In some versions, the mother of the brothers of Orkney ( Gawain, Gareth, Geofrey, Agravain, and Mordred.) Obviously, she is Mab. For those folks who read my lunacies, this theory disagrees with my classic Molly time traveling one.
Elaine.
The least powerful and least mentioned of the three. I am thinking this is Elaine Mallory, based on the name, but I have no real fondness for the idea. Mallory had four Elaine in his version. Other Persons The Lady of the Lake.
This one is solid, as one of her titles in Celtic myth is Leandasidhe. So Lea then. The Sidhe Lady who gave the sword Excalibur to Arthur, or the sword Caledwich to Gawain; Lover , Patron, and Muse to artists and heroes.
Uther:
Father of Arthur in the more modern stories, wielder of the sword in the stone prior to Arthur; He who once slew a dragon and commanded Merlin; His heir was either raised by loyal vassal as his own son or apprenticed to Merlin. I am thinking Michael Carpenter.
Merlin:
The wizard. Doomed to travel backwards in time; teacher of future kings and heroes, who was betrayed by his assistant/ lover Nimune or his apprentice Morgan depending on the version. Ahem..Harry.
Arthur:
I am leaning towards the TH White version here, as it is actually nodded too in WN. This would make Arthur at his point the child of Uther and Apprentice of Merlin . Molly :D
Lancelot:
The most dangerous of knights, the best in battle, but also in many ways the most fallible. He is the original Min / Max character, having incredible combat skills and zero in anything else. About the only redeeming feature he has a person is his inability to decide if he is in love with Arthur, Guinevere, or his own arch enemy the black knight. One could draw some comparisons to Murphy if one considers the Black Knight as Kinkaid, but I like the next idea better.
(Could Kinkaid be Lancelot himself?)
Gawain:
The original hero of the tales, not the best of the knights, but the most honest, courageous, and noble. Generous to the poor, caring for the sick, forgiving to his enemies but always the defender of law and justice; despite often outmatched, never defeated. This is our Karen Murphy. And hey, she even has brothers. Gawain was the original finder of the Holy Grail until the French authors attributed it to Galahad. Solely because Galahad was a virgin, and therefore more pure. For a good version of Gawain, I highly recommend Hawk of May by Gillian Bradshaw.
(This would make Rick the FBI guy either Agravain, the annoying brother, or Mordred, the traitorous one. And it might imply that Murphy is a descendant of Mab, somehow. Think about that one for a second. Mama Murphy might be Mab in disguise.)
(And Gawain had his own magic sword that shed light when drawn like the sun.)
Nimune:
The assistant/ apprentice/ lover of Merlin, a demoness or sidhe who betrayed him and sealed him in a Chrystal cave ; in many stories it is because she loves him and has foreseen his doom should he partake of the final battle. She sealed him in time. Inside of a cave. In order to protect him. I think this is Lash. So if Jim is using Arthur as a ‘primary source’ along with Lovecraft, Stoker, Cook, Donaldson, Spencer, etc… what Conjectures can we make? Well first, that Molly will get her sword and probably not till closer to the end. Second, that Murphy will get hers. Third, at some point Harry will go back in time. Fourth, one of the generals of the evil army in the BAT will be one of Murphy’s siblings or possibly step siblings. Fifth, Mab has some interest in Murphy’s family. Sixth, that there is some biological connection between Mab, Maggie Sr, and Elaine.
So would this make the events of the Arthur stories historical in the DF, and current events a case of history repeating itself? Or is more in line with Dracula and Lovecraft, mortal authors given part of the truth and then publishing it? If it is the latter, I suspect that the real author would be Mab; at some point she has foreseen the coming BAT and the classic Arthur stories are a prophecy of some sort.
Excalibur itself:
The name comes from name of the hero’s sword in the 12th century work “Percival” by Chrétien de Troyes. “"Qu'il avoit cainte Escalibor, la meillor espee qui fust, qu'ele trenche fer come fust." This sword was later misunderstood to refer to Arthur’s sword.
The sword had quite a few names and mentions prior to this:
Historian Geoffrey on Monmouth named it Caliburnus (hard steel?), shortened to Caliburn
The earlier name, as I mentioned, is Caledfwlch( Battle notch or hard edge?), first mentioned in the poem Culhwch. The oldest copy we have is from the 11th century, however, based on the language, historians agree that it is much older, but don’t agree on how much.
An older name still is likely Caladbolg (hard cleft), from the tales of Cu Chulainn and the Ulster saga. Again, the oldest copies of these we have are from the 12th century, but we have archaeological proof that they predate the 7th century.
Many of the King Arthur themes- the duel over an unfaithful wife, Sir Gawain and the green knight, the search for a holy chalice, the wise wizard councilor- all occur in the Cú Chulainn stories long before they were used in the King Arthur ones.
Now while the copies of the stories we have are certainly post AD, and may(?) have been written post AD, they are certainly not set post AD. The Ulster cycle mentions includes several historical figures, which date it somewhere around 100 CE-300 BCE( as with many other oral histories written down centuries after the fact, they tend to jump a bit. One version dates them to the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus 27 BCE- 14 AD, while another puts them at about the time of Ptolomey of Alexander 110 BCE, or Lugaid Luaigne at 194 BCE or even older.)
The sword may even be older than that, according to the 10th century Togail Troi, the sword was wielded at the Battle of Troy in the 12th-11th centuries BCE.
Sword of the White God?
Last time this topic came up, one objection was that the sword is originally named in a language that was invented well after 400 ad; However, this is merely the first written records of it. The Red Branch saga is clearly set in the first century AD and earlier, parts of it were likely oral legends long before the birth of Christ.
Furthermore, Even if we don’t go back to Caladbolg, the Caledfwlch version was written prior to the Christian conversion of Ireland- there is mention in the stories of St Patrick of him converting unbelievers by summoning the ghost of Cu Chulainn from Hell, to tell pagans of the horrors there; furthermore, King Arthur’s enemies in the 9th century versions were the soldiers of Arawn of Annwn, a Welsh pagan god. As a historical figure, whether Arthur was Christian or not seems debatable. The first mention of Dux (not king) Arthur is from the 9th century Historia Brittonum, and the later Annales Cambriae, which puts the Battle of Badon (where he defeated the Saxons) at 516 AD. The Christianization of England did not begin until 597 AD, and was not complete until much later.
The whole ‘King Arthur myth’ didn’t get started until much later, with Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written in the 12th century. He is the first person to combine the King Arthur myth, the Merlin myth, and the Ulster Myths.
Now as to the Dresden Files, we don’t have enough info yet to know what version of these stories Jim is drawing from. But knowing Jim, it’s likely all of them. He has certainly made plenty of references to Morgawse, Morgan Le Fey, Maeve; as well as later sources such as TH White. If he is using the pre Christian version of the sword, it would go a long way to explaining why Lea is so interested in it, as the Sidhe, in most versions of the myth, forged it One side note: In several legends, Morgan Le Fey has a half mortal son, the wizard Oberon, who goes on to marry the queen of the Sidhe…
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