The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
In Hindsight, These Story Choices Were a Mistake
Mr. Death:
--- Quote from: toodeep on July 13, 2018, 07:34:26 PM ---I agree that there are serious issues with some of the black magic interpretations.
Apparently, using black magic, even once with a reasonable cause (self defense) like Harry did against Justin had repercussions on Harry, but in Cold Days as he races from the wild hunt and uses magic to blast a hound the hound turns out to be a human - another use of black magic on Harry's part, but we haven't seen any effect from that.
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Well, it's not like one use is like flipping a switch from good to evil, it's a gradual thing. So I don't see an issue with not seeing an instant, visible effect from that usage. It's also probably a matter of degrees.
Plus there's the whole intent and belief thing -- Harry didn't know it was a human when he cast the spell. He didn't decide/believe, "I'm going to kill this human with magic," he thought "I'm going to kill this monster with magic."
That kind of distinction might create some kind of "buffer," given that part of the "corruption" is explicitly that using magic to kill humans means you believe you can use magic to kill humans. A totally-accidental thing like that is still bad, but not as bad as doing it on purpose.
--- Quote ---Additionally, things keep getting redefined in the series as we learn more. Most wizards seem to think it would be fine to kill white court vampires with magic - no black magic twisting them because of it. But over time, we've learned they are scions (per an angel), human enough to become the winter knight, and probably human enough to wield a sword of faith. All things that point to them being human enough that it should be black magic to use magic to kill them, but we've never heard that is the case...
Same argument for the half-reds. They appeared to still be human, with souls and free will, and yet Harry caused the death of thousands of them with the curse, and yet.... no going crazy because of it.
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The Laws are human biased, yes. It might well be that the cosmic-level of the laws only applies to pure humans.
--- Quote ---The whole black magic thing appears subjective to the viewpoint of the caster, but then we are told repeatedly that it isn't (both in the books and in WoJ). It doesn't make sense.
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Well, there is the sense that Harry detects a distinct "taint" in black magic users that he doesn't with wizards on the straight and narrow. There is definitely something that happens when a wizard breaks one of the laws.
Arjan:
The hound turned out to be human but was it really a human? That is not sure. Lots of things look human when dead and he had to be a predator to join.
Fcrate:
--- Quote from: Mr. Death on July 13, 2018, 07:54:11 PM ---Well, there is the sense that Harry detects a distinct "taint" in black magic users that he doesn't with wizards on the straight and narrow. There is definitely something that happens when a wizard breaks one of the laws.
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Then why didn't anybody of the senior council, or the hundreds of wizards detect anything about Peabody? Cowl (who is most definitely on the council) Justin DuMorne? I know it said in Grave Peril that you need to touch them to find out for sure, but I hardly think Peabody can get away with not shaking anyone's hands for years.
Mr. Death:
--- Quote from: Fcrate on July 13, 2018, 11:32:27 PM ---Then why didn't anybody of the senior council, or the hundreds of wizards detect anything about Peabody? Cowl (who is most definitely on the council) Justin DuMorne? I know it said in Grave Peril that you need to touch them to find out for sure, but I hardly think Peabody can get away with not shaking anyone's hands for years.
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Harry tends to detect it one of two ways -- either by skin-to-skin contact, or when they're actively casting magic at him.
And it might fade -- in Blood Rites, Harry specifically says that the one witch didn't shake his hand because she'd cast black magic recently and wouldn't be able to hide it if he'd touched her hand.
Peabody's hands are probably stained with ink, and every time we see him on-page, he's got a bunch of papers in his hands. I can buy that he could avoid casual skin-to-skin contact. DuMorne was distant enough from Council stuff when he had Harry that Harry didn't know the White Council existed.
Snark Knight:
--- Quote from: vultur on July 13, 2018, 05:33:50 AM ---Harry never shows any sign of corruption from tapping into necromancy to raise Sue (OK Luccio lets him get away with that, but it's still the same dark energy, so...) and he hasn't shown any effects from killing Justin since at least WN (if you think Lash was tapping into it) or since way earlier otherwise.
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Raising a zombie animal didn't do anything major to his personality because it's not touching the dark energy that inherently causes most of the worst effects, it's believing on a fundamental level that you have the right to use it to enslave a dead person.
And as for effects from killing Justin, are you sure? Harry reflected in GS that his entire career he's dealt with threats by embracing wrath because anger insulated him from being afraid. His control has improved, but that core trait didn't vanish when Lash died.
See, I don't think what killing Justin did to Harry was simply make him more violent in a random way. Harry's reasoning for why it was ok to kill Justin was rooted in because Justin sent the Walker after him and was trying to enthrall him - it was violence in reaction to a threat. And that's how Harry has been dealing with threats ever since, for the most part.
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