The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

Proven Guilty - some minor unanswered questions

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KurtinStGeorge:
I thought it might be fun to look at some minor issues in Proven Guilty.

Harry hits the Winter Wellspring with Summer Fire which causes every Winter Fae on the border with Summer to rush back to Arctis Tor to try to kill Harry.  After getting back to Chicago Harry discovers that this was what Lily hoped would happen.   Harry figured out that Lily and Maeve were working together because when time got slowed down around Arctis Tor, this allowed Summer forces on the border with Winter to leave their defenses and go attack the Red Court and only Maeve had the ability to mess with time and how it flowed around Arctis Tor.  (OK Mab or Mother Winter could do the same thing but Lily wasn't talking to either of them.)

So here's mystery #1:  Did Harry have to specifically hit the Winter Well Spring to make this plan pay off?  Because if he did it seems like a real low probability move by Lily.  Harry could have fried Eldest Fetch without ever touching Winter's Well and how could Lily even predict Harry would have to get to the top of Arctis Tor in order to rescue Molly?  Theoretically, the battle could have taken place downstairs or in some room within the castle or on the stairs leading to the top.  Perhaps Maeve might have suggested where Harry would have to go to find Eldest Fetch and Molly. 

Even so, what if Harry hadn't hit the Well with Summer Fire and instead used Summer Fire to knock down a wall or parapet that was an integral part of the castle.  Would this have had the same effect on the Winter Fae at Summer's border?  I can't prove this but I have a feeling it would have been the same or near enough to make no difference in the overall result.  The way Jim has written about Mab's palace; though admittedly that's very little, suggests Arctid Tor is almost alive, and perhaps even sentient.  The way the castle reacted to blood being spilled on its floor is suggestive of the first and in Cold Days Harry mentions some lights and or shifting colors within the walls that he decided were probably unsafe to stare at for too long.  This suggests Artic Tor is more than another pretty Faerie Ice Castle.  There may be a specific psychic connection between Arctis Tor and all of Winter.  Someone could stand outside and throw rocks or even Hellfire at it and it wouldn't cause a reaction but an attack using Summer Fire or perhaps any specific Summer magic would cause all of Winter to come back to defend their Capitol.  So that's my answer to my own question.   

Minor mystery #2:  Was Maeve surprised that Lily's plan worked?  Maeve didn't think very highly of Lily so I wouldn't be surprised if she expected Lily's plan to fail.   If this was the case that would mean Maeve wasn't happy she had to slow time and allow Summer to attack the Red Court, but she had no choice if she wanted to continue to deceive Lily.

Minor mystery #3:  Was Maeve surprised that Harry survived his encounter with Eldest Fetch?  I'm guessing Maeve knew about Eldest Fetch because during the final confrontation with the Scarecrow Harry realizes he's dealing with a fetch, but one that has been granted extra power.  This suggests Nemesis involvement, though it doesn't absolutely prove it, but what else explains this?  If Maeve expected Harry to die than except for continuing to reinforce Lily's trust in her, Maeve didn't have a very good day.  She had to help Lily attack the Red Court which, even if it wasn't a full ally was at least a useful asset, and the annoying wizard survived another violent encounter that should have killed him. 

Do you have any different explanations or other questions about unsolved Proven Guilty mysteries that; as far as you know, haven't been discussed yet?

peregrine:
I would imagine that hitting the wellspring was the best case scenario, but any kind of major damage (not an unlikely situation with Harry involved) would probably have done it.

raidem:
I wonder if hitting the Well with Summer Fire helped any with containing or fighting Nemesis infection at large in the Winter Well.

Maeve probably worked with Lily intending it to completely free Lea, but I was wondering the above too.

Rasins:
I suspect releasing Summer fire anywhere in AT would have had the same effect, since AT IS the heart of winter.

raidem:
I can't believe I missed the nuances you talk about in the OP.  I must have done a rushed read or something or just looked at the topic and jumped in.


--- Quote ---So here's mystery #1:  Did Harry have to specifically hit the Winter Well Spring to make this plan pay off?
--- End quote ---
Eldest Fetch made it certain that Harry was going to hit the Winter Well. It may be that Mab had a deal where she offered the service of EF to another. EF job was to free Lea.  EF hid behind Lea's statue within the Winter Well so it was going to get hit regardless. If EF wasn't in employ of another, then perhaps this was a way for Mab to reveal a nemfected Lea in anticipation of a Cold Day's plot. This Lea and the circumstances around it I'm sure created some doubt in Harry's mind several years later in a pivotal plot in CD.  If Mab for whatever reason (maybe due to a deal she made) was prohibited from giving the order to pull her soldiers from Summer's border's herself, EF maneuvered to have them recalled without Mab giving the order.  It's just that Mab didn't count on herself being endangered with the full blast of Harry's attack which included Summer's fire on EF but hit Winter's Wellspring instead.

Hitting the Winter Wellspring was critical in bringing back the Winter Armies and putting Mab in danger.


--- Quote ---Minor mystery #2:  Was Maeve surprised that Lily's plan worked?  Maeve didn't think very highly of Lily so I wouldn't be surprised if she expected Lily's plan to fail.   If this was the case that would mean Maeve wasn't happy she had to slow time and allow Summer to attack the Red Court, but she had no choice if she wanted to continue to deceive Lily.
--- End quote ---
It was the fallback option for nemesis. They didn't take out Mab or whatever they wanted to do in PG. So Maeve then had to make lemonhead out of lemons and feed the lie to Lily that she assisted Lily in taking out RCV and Outsiders assisting them.

EF was beholden to Mab. So, Mab used him to pay off a favor to do something she didn't want done.  Or, she used him to lure Harry to fulfill a mission for her and was just killed in that endeavor. Just another sacrifice in a list of millions of such sacrifices.  Or, he was nemfected and tried to play Mab's creature, Mab was suspicious. She let Harry take him out.  Mab had to act like Molly meant nothing to her, EF would snap her neck at a moments notice. Nemesis was likely watching from somewhere. So, Mab and her Fetches had to look bloodthirsty vs Molly and Splattercon!!!.

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