The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Was Ascher telling the truth?
LordDresden2:
--- Quote from: forumghost on December 21, 2017, 07:09:18 PM ---Well, not quite a mockery, since they do require a fair bit of evidence to convict, but yes.
The real problem is not the trials but the rest of the process- The Doom is far to harshly restricted and far too rarely leveled.
--- End quote ---
Honestly...how do we know that?
We don't have much in the way of information on the recidivism rate of warlocks, what we do have tends toward: they usually repeat offend. Apparently, over the centuries, the Council has tried a lot of different things to try to rehabilitate them, even Harry admits this, and he also tells Karrin that pretty much none of it ever worked very well.
We know that it's possible for a warlock to turn away...at least in the early stages, sometimes, with help. We've see it with Molly and possibly with Harry. (We don't technically know if Harry ever was one, even he isn't sure exactly what happened in that fight with Justin). It looks as if it happened with Margaret, though we don't know the details and how hard it was for her or how much help she needed.
But note that even in the case of Molly, it was a major struggle, she nearly fell several times, she needed help from Harry, her parents, her siblings, Lea, and to a lesser degree others as well, to get back on track, and it took a long time. That was after one significant offense, with semi-good intentions and results that were not 100% bad.
What if she had messed up 3 or 4 times before Harry caught her? What if her initial act had been less mixed, more purely selfish? What if she hadn't had the family she has, the father she has, and a Wizard of the White Council who knew her since she was a kid?
The Doom is harsh, but I don't think we can say with confidence that the Council should allow it more often or less stringently.
(Also, I suspect the Doom is only required for convicted warlocks, I doubt a talent caught in the early stages of the grey areas necessary requires it.)
LordDresden2:
--- Quote from: wardenferry419 on December 19, 2017, 11:02:33 AM ---I hadn't thought what you call a group of wizards; but, an argument seems appropriate, don't it?
--- End quote ---
That's what I'm calling a group of Wizards until JB says otherwise. :lol:
--- Quote ---Most of your responses I have no problem with. The only one that got me was the Ben Kenobi comment. At most, I would chalk it up to grey magic. Harry did something similar in PG to a stressed cop after the con attack.
--- End quote ---
It's near the edge of the grey area, but it's very dark grey at best. It's like the First Law, you could probably make a self-defense case for what Kenobi did that the Council might buy, if they agreed that the circumstances were such that you had no other better options and what you doing in the first place didn't make the whole situation your fault in the first place.
But even that little bit of coercion is going to do some damage, to your target and you. It's how the Korean kid got started, more or less, just a little harmless manipulation...
I've commented before that in the DV, I can imagine back in 1977 a Warden sitting in the movie theatre watching the first Star Wars movie, seeing Kenobi do that mind trick, seeing it portrayed as harmless, effective, and easy, looking around him at a theatre full of kids, teens, and young adults, and imagining a whole population of kids, teens, and young adults, seeing it across the world, including untrained talents, and thinking to himself something like "Oh Bleeping Crap."
Arjan:
--- Quote from: LordDresden2 on December 27, 2017, 05:50:15 AM ---How so? How would you do the trial differently? Other than making sure the whole Senior Council carries it out, I mean?
--- End quote ---
You could start with using a language the accused would actually understand.
Kindler:
--- Quote from: Arjan on December 27, 2017, 06:37:18 AM ---You could start with using a language the accused wold actually understand.
--- End quote ---
Fair point; they aren't given the opportunity to defend themselves. Hell, I studied Latin for five years, and that was just to read and write it; there are way too many oddities (considering "V" is almost always pronounced as a "W," for instance, or that sentence structure is weird and relies on suffixes way, way too much) to make it practical after the rise of Germanic and Germanic-influenced languages most Western hemisphere residents are familiar with. There's a reason Greek persisted as a spoken language in Rome.
Arjan:
It acts like a self fulfilling prophesy. If the wardens come for you you act like a cornered animal because you are. This pushes them further over the edge.
It is even worse. The widespread believe in how the laws and warlocks work combined with how the dresdenverse works has a power of its own. Those who are out are pushed further out.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version