The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Uriel's Second "Small Favor"
Froklsnt:
The end of Small Favor makes it clear that Uriel was allowed to give Harry soulfire because it balanced out the first large pentagram, the practice one used by the Denarians to capture Marcone. Lucifer's powering of the pentagram was offset by the gift, to maintain balance. The power Lucifer gave for the second pentagram can't have been part of that deal, because Harry punches out Namshiel with the soulfire hand right before the second pentagram goes up, and Uriel cannot act to balance that scale until after it happened.
So, how was the balance restored for that second pentagram? Is there another balancing action that has been taken by Uriel that we know of? It can't be Ghost Story, that was to balance the whisper from Lasciel's shadow. The only other possibility I can think of was when Michael prayed over Harry to restore his knowledge of his blasting rod, but that doesn't seem an even balance to me.
Do we have other candidates?
Kindler:
I'm not sure it's a straight action-for-action. Because, if that were the case, then Lucifer should have been balancing scales through the end of Changes.
Mr. Death:
--- Quote from: Kindler on September 28, 2017, 01:26:32 PM ---I'm not sure it's a straight action-for-action. Because, if that were the case, then Lucifer should have been balancing scales through the end of Changes.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, I'm pretty sure the action as Uriel describes it is along the lines of, one archangel gave the Denarians power to do this thing, while another archangel gave Harry power to try and stop it. Oh, and turns out Harry gets to keep that power and use it for years down the line, while the Denarians only get those two shots.
Uriel might have only taken one action, but it's a longer lasting action that has gotten a lot more done than the instant of power the Denarians were granted.
Rhetoric:
--- Quote from: Small Favor ---"You gotta think that maybe there’s a matter of balance, here,” [Jake] said. “Maybe one archangel invested his strength in this situation overtly and immediately. Maybe another one was just quieter about it. Thinking long-term. Maybe he already gave you a hand."
My right hand erupted into pins and needles again.
--- End quote ---
Uriel implies that another archangel entirely was responsible for the second act. Or the first act. Strictly speaking, we don't which Sign Uriel responded to, as Dresden only gains Soulfire after both Signs are lifted.
Uriel also says the other archangel responded "overtly and immediately." Mab then goes on to say how Uriel is by nature the most subtle of the four archangels, and that when Michael and Gabriel in particular operate, they like to be noticed.
--- Quote from: Small Favor ---The Prince of the Host is all pomp and ceremony, and when he moves it is with the thunder of the wings of an army of seraphim, the crash of drums, and the clamor of horns. The Trumpeter never walks quietly when he can appear in a chorus of light. The Demon Binder takes tasks upon his own shoulders and solves his problems with his own hands.
--- End quote ---
So if this other act was so overt, executed by an archangel generally less subtle than Uriel... then how come we didn't notice it?
I think the answer is simple: It happens somewhere Harry (and thus the reader) cannot see it.
Froklsnt:
--- Quote from: Rhetoric on September 28, 2017, 02:01:05 PM ---Uriel implies that another archangel entirely was responsible for the second act. Or the first act. Strictly speaking, we don't which Sign Uriel responded to, as Dresden only gains Soulfire after both Signs are lifted.
Uriel also says the other archangel responded "overtly and immediately." Mab then goes on to say how Uriel is by nature the most subtle of the four archangels, and that when Michael and Gabriel in particular operate, they like to be noticed.
So if this other act was so overt, executed by an archangel generally less subtle than Uriel... then how come we didn't notice it?
I think the answer is simple: It happens somewhere Harry (and thus the reader) cannot see it.
--- End quote ---
If we pull up the greater context of that quote, the archangel who acted "overtly and immediately" is Lucifer. Uriel is contrasting his own style with Lucifer's. And Dresden got the soulfire right before the second circle goes up, not after. He did a drive by routine on Namshiel while he was running full bore to get inside the circle. Using the soulfire hand, he holds Namshiel in place such that bits of the molten aquarium walls fly through him when the circle goes up:
--- Quote from: Small Favor, Chapter 30 ---Thirty feet from me, the walls exploded in light and hellfire... Bits of molten rock hissed through the air, deadlier than any bullet. Spiny boy caught a bunch of those. They flew out his back and left gaping, smoking, cauterized holes in it
--- End quote ---
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version