The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

Grave Peril Questions

<< < (3/8) > >>

kbrizzle:
Regarding Mavra’s role

Looked at from a certain point of view, Mavra was present just enough to make Bianca’s plan happen. While Mavra has no personal beef with Harry yet, perhaps she knew that he would be a future impediment to her plans so she used Bianca’s own desire for revenge as a way to neutralize him.

I also think that her performance in the fight was underwhelming because Michael hit her with faith magic directly - I don’t think she had a good defense against that - it probably damaged her enough that she didn’t want to risk losing her life in the fight (especially since she was about to break Amoraccius, likely pissing off TWG).

Regarding Cowl

To me this is further proof that Cowl is Simon. Since the party happens a few months before the attack at Archangel, Simon is keeping a low profile while propagating his nefarious agenda. Once Simon is ‘dead’, he openly walks around as Cowl.

Perhaps he hadn’t made himself known to Mavra in his Cowl persona yet, so she had no reason to wonder if he was a nexromancer.

@ Kindler & ClintACK

Absolutely agree - Based on Kumori’s conversation with Harry & Lea’s reasons for taking the athame (trying to find freedom from that which stalks us all), it seems to me that perhaps the saner members of the Black council have made a deal with the Outsiders to “end death” - that is their ultimate goal.

kbrizzle:
The other way of interpreting Mavra’s role is that everything she has done in the series from GP onwards is to set up Harry’s role in DB.

Basically Mavra finds out that there is an eventual Black Council plan to perform the Darkhallow in Chicago (either because she is on it or through spies) - realizing the danger that a new necro-god would pose her & her kind, she is determined to stop it.

She does this by taking Bianca on as an apprentice of sorts - the idea here is to have Bianca consolidate power in Chicago. The newly elevated Bianca would then use the might of the Red Court to clamp down on the Kemmlerites before they perform the Darkhallow.

However Mavra sees that Harry is stronger & therefore has a better chance of beating the Kemmlerites, so she disappears. She returns in BR to test Harry/ entrap him.

g33k:

--- Quote from: kbrizzle on April 03, 2019, 06:47:02 AM ---Mavra’s role in the fight at Bianca’s party was pretty underwhelming given her power level...
Seeing how powerful Cowl truly is in Deadbeat...

--- End quote ---
Bianca was being played by most of her "guests."  She was WAY out of her depth (but too foolish or power-mad to know it).  Mavra or Cowl could have stomped all over her without exerting themselves.  Ferrovax has to exert extra care in order NOT to.

Neither Mavra nor Cowl has any real motive TO join the fight, and Bianca has zero leverage to make them -- indeed, as her "guests" she is obligated to spend her meagre power "defending" them!

They were there for THEIR motivations, not for hers; and I doubt she had any idea what their motivations/priorities were.

I expect one part of their motivation was to get a peek at this "rogue" wizard Harry Dresden, see him in action.  I don't expect Harry was a top priority for EITHER of them, however!

Also, we have in DB the info that necro's (which may include Mavra) like to socialize and smile together while all plotting mutual backstabbery.  So there may have been an element of that.


--- Quote from: kbrizzle on April 03, 2019, 06:47:02 AM ---At the end of the book, Bianca & Duke Ortega threaten Harry with war if he does not give up Susan. How does this benefit the Red Court??
--- End quote ---
I don't think they expected Harry to throw down; I think Bianca was genuinely surprised.  They set up overwhelming odds against him... Nightmare-weakened, sick from Ramp-Spittle, exhausted, etc.  Most wizards would have no winning play there; they were planning him to creep away with his tail between his legs.  Later, they'd publicly humiliate him with Ramp-Susan taunting him about how she HAD been his but now she hates him, &c &c &c.  And eventually they'd take him, en-Ramp him via Susan.  The End.

Back-up plan -- Harry fights, and dies.  Not as good, but it gives Bianca the victory she needs the prove that the WC rogue wizard, who challenged her, got his comeupance.  And she STILL gets the "moral" victory of Harry dying with the knowledge that Susan was Ramp'ed.

Harry choosing to fight... and WIN??!?  Not one of their projected outcomes.  Given the pre-existing Ramp plans to make war against the WC, a savvy politico like Ortega /HAD/ to know that Harry trashing Bianca's would tip some fence-sitters into the hardline war-now camp, and BADLY damage their chances.  If THAT outcome had been anywhere on Ortega's radar, he'd have scuttled the plan, and Harry&Justine would have become food, down in the basement; Harry would never have woken.

kbrizzle:
@g33k
Agreed - that’s why one of my WAGs is that Mavra was planning on using Bianca & the Ramps to shut down the Kemmlerites who would show up to perform the Darkhallow (which she knew either as a member of/ spying on the Black Council). That Harry won just meant that she had to change the game plan a bit, but she still gets what she wants by the time of DB.

spiritofair:
After having a listen through of Grave Peril recently, I had this observation. Michael refers to Mavra as "Blood of the Dragon, that old Serpent". Dresden Wiki says that this implies that she is the spawn of Vlad Drakul.  I'm not sure where that implication comes from. Is this something Jim has talked about?

The Dresden Wiki talks about Drakul being "half-human" based on a quote from Ebenezer. Kindler, where did the concept of Drakul being something else trapped in a human body come from.  Sounds familiar. Maybe the Wiki isn't updated?

If Drakul isn't a dragon trapped in a human body, then why is Michael calling Mavra "Blood of the Dragon"?

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page