Cowl is Justin reboot

[raidem]

I don't think Elaine is under cowl or Justin control now.

[groinkick]

I don't think Elaine is under cowl or Justin control now.

Tough to tell...  She hasn't had much face time in the books, and she is somewhat mysterious.  Harry thought she was dead for a long time...  She was completely off the grid.  The Council doesn't know about her, Harry doesn't really know much about her, and neither do we. 

[Fcrate]

Tough to tell...  She hasn't had much face time in the books, and she is somewhat mysterious.  Harry thought she was dead for a long time...  She was completely off the grid.  The Council doesn't know about her, Harry doesn't really know much about her, and neither do we. 

If she were Nemfected/Under Cowl or Justin's control, why would she save Harry and then give him a chance to disrupt Aurora's greenpeaceageddon? Doesn't make sense to me.
She also openly admitted to Harry at the beginning of Summer Knight that she was Justin's thrall. That would be counterproductive as Harry had no reason to suspect it to begin with. I agree with raidem, she's not under any known influence now.

[raidem]

Well if Justin is alive, then we now have a person who likely is responsible for the Red's successful assault on Archangel.  One of the reasons Harry was suspected of being behind Simon's downfall was that he was Simon's apprentice-apprentice.  So, the logic goes Justin would have taught Harry secret knowledge about how Simon may have created his wards.  When we read Summer Knight, we then get exposed to the second apprentice of Justin who could feasibly have been taught but that is a stretch too.  The speculation on Justin's apprentices ability to even be able compromise Archangels defenses need not see the light of day if Justin is alive.  So, if he is alive then we must take into consideration that he assaulted or provided secret knowledge to the Reds in their assault on Archangel. 

This actually makes sense now.  Justin or (Cowl) made a deal with the Reds to compromise Archangel in getting their support to divert White Council attention during Dead Beat.  This would help him out during Dead Beat so as to get him to ascend to Godhood.  And then like the novels say, the new god could destroy the wards protecting the senior council.

[groinkick]

Well if Justin is alive, then we now have a person who likely is responsible for the Red's successful assault on Archangel.  One of the reasons Harry was suspected of being behind Simon's downfall was that he was Simon's apprentice-apprentice.  So, the logic goes Justin would have taught Harry secret knowledge about how Simon may have created his wards.  When we read Summer Knight, we then get exposed to the second apprentice of Justin who could feasibly have been taught but that is a stretch too.  The speculation on Justin's apprentices ability to even be able compromise Archangels defenses need not see the light of day if Justin is alive.  So, if he is alive then we must take into consideration that he assaulted or provided secret knowledge to the Reds in their assault on Archangel. 

This actually makes sense now.  Justin or (Cowl) made a deal with the Reds to compromise Archangel in getting their support to divert White Council attention during Dead Beat.  This would help him out during Dead Beat so as to get him to ascend to Godhood.  And then like the novels say, the new god could destroy the wards protecting the senior council.

[Snark Knight]

Well if Justin is alive, then we now have a person who likely is responsible for the Red's successful assault on Archangel....
This actually makes sense now.  Justin or (Cowl) made a deal with the Reds to compromise Archangel in getting their support to divert White Council attention during Dead Beat.  This would help him out during Dead Beat so as to get him to ascend to Godhood.  And then like the novels say, the new god could destroy the wards protecting the senior council.

Cowl = Simon explains that far more satisfactorily.

[raidem]

That requires Simon willingly sacrificing his own Home to the Reds in a staged action to hide his role in things.

[KurtinStGeorge]

One problem with Justin=Cowl is Harry was around Justin for years.  As his powers came in; and especially whenever Justin did even the slightest magical thing, Harry would have gotten a feeling for Justin's magic.  He mentions that Cowl's magic feels different.  He even describes it.  Don't you think Harry would have noticed that it felt at least somewhat similar to the magic his old master used?  B'cause I'm not buying the idea that Justin's magic could have changed so radically in the time between the time Harry saw Justin die and Dead Beat.   

[Snark Knight]

That requires Simon willingly sacrificing his own Home to the Reds in a staged action to hide his role in things.

Sacrifice your castle for a long game to become a god? Yeah, why ever would someone do that?

[forumghost]

More importantly, Allowing the Reds to take out an entire Council Stronghold and several of their big guns in one shot means that they can't really afford to try and back out of the War any more (seriously, the fact that the Council was considering capitulation after that attack is kinda silly)

[Kindler]

One problem with Justin=Cowl is Harry was around Justin for years.  As his powers came in; and especially whenever Justin did even the slightest magical thing, Harry would have gotten a feeling for Justin's magic.  He mentions that Cowl's magic feels different.  He even describes it.  Don't you think Harry would have noticed that it felt at least somewhat similar to the magic his old master used?  B'cause I'm not buying the idea that Justin's magic could have changed so radically in the time between the time Harry saw Justin die and Dead Beat.

This is the most significant reason I don't think Cowl is Justin or Ebenezer. A decade or two isn't long enough for your magic's signature to be all that different, without picking up a mantle somewhere that alters its fundamental elements. For example, I'd assume that Harry's signature has altered significantly with all of the different things that've been tacked on—Hellfire at one point, Soulfire, and the Winter Knight's Mantle.

(It's also one of the reasons I think Elaine might actually be Kumori, though I don't like the idea for a host of other reasons; she never actually hits Harry with magic, and even holds a knife to Harry's throat).

[raidem]

Sacrifice your castle for a long game to become a god? Yeah, why ever would someone do that?

There was no guarantee for it.  He already had those wizards as allies.

Anyways, if we are thinking about someone being able to compromise Archangel's defenses, I think we should now extend that list to Nemesis.  Nemesis is possibly able to bypass Gatekeepers wards at Outergates, I'm sure it can handle Simon's wards too.  Peabody also got Mistfiend into Edinburgh, so that is another example of someone bypassing the security wards.  Also, Peabody could have uses his influences on some of the younger wardens stationed at Archangel to open up a whole in its defense allowing Reds entry.  These don't require Justin nor Simon complicity.

[groinkick]

I wonder if the attack on Winter was Justin trying to get back Leah because she's aware of him being alive.  I suspect that he's the one who had Harry's mother killed (used Lord Raith probably), he used HWWB to test Harry as Harry suspected he was being tested in hindsight, used Leah to give Harry the confidence he needed, used Harry to fake his death and knew Harry would be spared because of Eb being his Grandfather.  I think Elaine gave Harry an escape, because his death is not desired by Justin.  I think Justin has (with the help of something above him) been using Dresden, testing him, and directing him. 

[wardenferry419]

Harry has subconscious Harry that has manipulated Harry's actions to a limited degree. What if Elaine has a subconscious Elaine called Kumori that has a more active means of influencing Elaine? Both Harry and Elaine were undergoing some sort of long-term mind control by Justin. Harry was more resistant. Maybe, their subconscious parts reflect that conditioning?

[raidem]

I think that is making Justin into too big of a player.  It is giving him too much credit.