The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Could the Blackstaff Cure a Warlock of Corruption?
Mira:
The way I understand it the purpose of the blackstaff is to protect the wielder from the black magic he or she is performing.. In other words it prevents the user from becoming a warlock.. In a way it is a bit of a "cheat" enabling the use of black magic, it also levels the playing field against a warlock or sorcerer by enabling the use of black magic.. That is why the wielder is selected with such great care, integrity is everything because of the temptation this posses for the wielder.. So can it cure a warlock? No, unless you call killing one a cure...
Kindler:
I don't think the black magic taint is the only thing that pushes warlocks over the edge; as others have pointed out, there's a psychological component. I haven't had a cigarette in ten years, but I still want one right now, and there is no physical component to that addiction.
It would require much, much more beyond removing the taint. They would have to fundamentally change who they are as a person, becoming someone who isn't willing to use magic to bend others to their will (or kill them, or whatever), and not just by realizing that it's wrong. Molly hasn't used black magic for years, but she still comes awful close to hitting Luccio in Turn Coat, saying something like "I wanted to make her understand." Molly knows it's wrong (morally and legally) to do that, but she still feels the urge, though she thankfully recognized it and stopped it.
Now imagine some good-intentioned talent went on a Fixing Spree to clean up the drug problem in a rehabilitation clinic. They go from room to room and screw with everyone's heads to remove their psychological dependencies. They keep doing that for a month straight before they're caught by the White Council—say they clear two hundred addicts of their addictions. Removing the taint from this do-gooder goes well, but they still want to help, right? To circumvent that, they either need to voluntarily not use magic in that way, through some kind of extended support group, psychological help, or whatever. Or, someone has to go into their head and mess around until they no longer want to use magic for that purpose. How could they do that without attacking their initial motivation, which was the desire to help those less fortunate? Wouldn't that make them a fundamentally worse person?
I mean, to me, it's like cheat codes or game exploits. You know the option is always there, somewhere in the back of your head, and when faced with extreme difficulty, it starts to look a bit more tempting.
The way I see it, the only way to reform a warlock is for them to set aside their magic after removing the taint.
Arjan:
--- Quote from: Mira on July 09, 2018, 04:44:21 PM ---
The way I understand it the purpose of the blackstaff is to protect the wielder from the black magic he or she is performing.. In other words it prevents the user from becoming a warlock.. In a way it is a bit of a "cheat" enabling the use of black magic, it also levels the playing field against a warlock or sorcerer by enabling the use of black magic.. That is why the wielder is selected with such great care, integrity is everything because of the temptation this posses for the wielder.. So can it cure a warlock? No, unless you call killing one a cure...
--- End quote ---
Of course you can cure a warlock just as you cure a denarian. At the end it is just a matter of free will however difficult.
But at the end it is not very likely most of the time so the wardens just assume that it is not possible or too dangerous and as a working hypothesis it works even if they kill a few curable warlocks.
The knights always try to cure the denarians even when that is dangerous but they are more idealistic and maybe less practical than the white council.
forumghost:
--- Quote from: Arjan on July 09, 2018, 05:44:34 PM ---Of course you can cure a warlock just as you cure a denarian. At the end it is just a matter of free will however difficult.
But at the end it is not very likely most of the time so the wardens just assume that it is not possible or too dangerous and as a working hypothesis it works even if they kill a few curable warlocks.
The knights always try to cure the denarians even when that is dangerous but they are more idealistic and maybe less practical than the white council.
--- End quote ---
The main difference there is if the Knights talk you into setting down the Coin you don't still have the Shadow sitting in your head whispering sweet nothings in your ear, you need to physically pick up another Coin.
If you decide to go cold turkey on the Black Magic you still have the niggling voice in the back of your mind going "Surely a little peak into her head wouldn't hurt" or "Fuck all y'all, Imma burn down this entire building, IDGAF"
I mean don't get me wrong, the WC are assholes. But... yeah they kinda have a point. Both our examples of 'reformed' Warlocks (Harry and Molly) have fallen off the wagon repeatedly.
They just got smart enough to not get caught.
Mira:
--- Quote from: Arjan on July 09, 2018, 05:44:34 PM ---Of course you can cure a warlock just as you cure a denarian. At the end it is just a matter of free will however difficult.
But at the end it is not very likely most of the time so the wardens just assume that it is not possible or too dangerous and as a working hypothesis it works even if they kill a few curable warlocks.
The knights always try to cure the denarians even when that is dangerous but they are more idealistic and maybe less practical than the white council.
--- End quote ---
I believe the Merlin explained it, that once past a certain point, the cure rate is next to zero... Harry was caught in time, though he has struggled with using the black and has been called a warlock even now... Molly, I fear would in the end have lost her head because she had a bad habit of slipping back into messing with other people's brains.. So Mab did both her and Harry a favor preparing her to become Winter Lady, it saved her. Waving the black staff at a warlock isn't an instant cure or a cure at all..
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