Red Court/The Eebs question...

[Mira]

So did Harry.  So a nibble isn't sufficient.  And while reading this, I found a crossover with another thread.  Harry dies and creates a ghost of himself,  So Vadderung should have said that Harry came back from death twice.

  No, a nibble isn't enough, Thomas when he was a hair dresser fed on his clients, just a wee snack they loved it and they both survived..  Lord Raith liked to push that first feeding on his kids, because
they get excited and lose control and feed until the victim is dead, then they have no choice than  to be a WCV

[Bad Alias]

So did Harry.  So a nibble isn't sufficient.  And while reading this, I found a crossover with another thread.  Harry dies and creates a ghost of himself,  So Vadderung should have said that Harry came back from death twice.

It may have been three times. After he burns everybody at the party, Michael is doing chest compressions on him. I've always thought that spell may have been a death curse, and Michael brought him back.

[peregrine]

@morriswalters: They do feed repeatedly on people. Justine had puncture marks from being fed on when she was crazy in Bianca's basement with Harry. I've always assumed them to be bite marks.

Also, what benefit is there in a narcotic saliva if you kill your victims right off?  Sure it makes them less resistant, but it also makes them more susceptible to future feedings if you can get them hooked.

Also, what Ortega said about the local village.  They spread it around to maintain the herd population.  So it's not a death sentence, if they can do that.

[Snark Knight]

It may have been three times. After he burns everybody at the party, Michael is doing chest compressions on him. I've always thought that spell may have been a death curse, and Michael brought him back.

I don't think chest compressions would be enough to bring someone back from having thrown their death curse. Death curses aren't a case of causing yourself a heart attack, so much as the stopped heart is a symptom of having chosen to die by using your life as fuel for a weapon. And Heaven has pretty firm views about mortals having to play out the consequences of 'fair ball' choices. To have used Michael as the instrument to ctrl-z Harry throwing a death curse there, someone on the other side would have had to have cheated to force him into doing it in the first place. Which, I mean, isn't impossible given Cowl's comment there were even more things going on at Bianca's that Harry doesn't see yet. But there hasn't been even a hint of Fallen involvement there so far.

I think that was more a case of Harry pushing 99% of the way to the fatal fatigue threshold without actually choosing to spend his death curse.

[Bad Alias]

@ peregrine: I was trying to find something that was more specific than just feed to forestall the argument that feeding doesn't necessarily mean biting.

@ Snark Knight: There is a reason I was equivocal with all the may have's.

The reason I've always thought that it was more than just a spell is that the fire behaves weirdly, and it stops Harry's heart. Then Michael beseeches the Lord on Harry's behalf. Michael says "[Harry] deserves better than to die here, Lord!" Then a little later Harry as narrator says "[a]nd then my heart lurched and began to beat again," which could just be a case of CPR standing for "Clean, Pretty, Reliable."

There is a lot of rules inconsistency in the earlier books. This whole scene may be operating under slightly different rules than later in the series, and that explains the oddness of it. Or there is something more going on.

Furthermore, an otherwise healthy wizard might be able to throw a death curse and have a doctor on standby to get them going again. We don't know and neither do wizards. Luccio thought her wound was fatal, but a doctor who doesn't actually practice medicine, let alone trauma surgery in the field, was able to keep her from dying.

[morriswalters]

Furthermore, an otherwise healthy wizard might be able to throw a death curse and have a doctor on standby to get them going again. We don't know and neither do wizards.

Given that death curses are used as a wizard is about to be murdered it's unsurprising that no one knows.   The idea that a wizard could throw one without meaning to is interesting.

[Mira]

Given that death curses are used as a wizard is about to be murdered it's unsurprising that no one knows.   The idea that a wizard could throw one without meaning to is interesting.

   Possible, if the wizard was actually dying at the time and was more importantly convinced he or she
was..  Then if medical aid came in time, survived...  However would the spell lose it's potency?  Or would the wizard become less powerful because they put all their last force into it?

[DassemUltor]

Mention of these two in this thread reminded me of the most chilling words ever uttered in DF. During the book they appear in.

"Few Winter Knights have had swords as swift as your tongue, boy. But I warn thee: name your Lady a third time and you will not like what follows."  -The Erlking

[wardenferry419]

Sounds like foreshadowing to something Harry might do later.

[Faithmage]

I suspect the Erlking is giving them the Lloyd Slate treatment or equivalent , and while they make an appearance it won’t be that big. It would probably be more symbolic.