Bad Alias & Kbrizzle: Whilst BA and I have no hard evidence that Lord Raith is the first Wamp, he seems a helluva lot stronger than the next Wamp. Lara never would have tried such an overt assault had he been at full strength, and he was almost completely drained. He certainly fits the description that Jim talked about (if a Wamp had strong sorcerer-level powers). He had his 'Kiss of Death' move, a one shot feeding move. Very dangerous in close-quaters. I imagine before Margaret stymied his ability to feed, he would have generally had a big reserve tank of energy (which he likely replenished often). He seemed to have extensive knowledge and powers that his rivals seemed unable to match. None of which make him the oldest, but we really haven't seen or heard of anyone in the White Court coming close. Plus his apparent immunity to magic (even from the Blackstaff - that is incredibly significant, that we haven't even met any other being who is so protected - including the ALL the Faerie Queens i.e. even the Mothers). Whilst Uriel seems to ignore the normal rules a lot of the time, we cannot be sure even he is so protected. So I think that even if he isn't the progenitor of his race, it hardly matters. There is a reason why he became the White King, and the others didn't. I imagine he is one of the oldest at any rate. The White Court is very Darwinian, they don't let threats survive. Rather like humanity - they don't rush to punch everything in the nose that is dangerous to them. They find the appropriate tools and learn as much as they can about their foes. Then they trap or kill them. There is a very good reason why they are still around, and the Reds and the Black Court (who might be overtly stronger), are not.
Kbrizzle: I pretty much agree with everything your saying there. My only point of contention is that the Whites are the oldest. The "Cradle of Civilisation" exists in a lot of places, but Italy isn't one. South America, particularly Peru and Norte Chico, are far older appearing between 4700-3200BC (roughly 5-7000 years old) whereas the Estruscans appeared roughly after 900BC. Which makes a lot of sense in a way. The Red Court, whilst highly organised and hierarchical, is a theocracy. The White Court is much like the Ancient Romans, with great Houses and Nobles, and a nominal King or Emperor ruling over - a Monarchy. The Whites are more overtly refined and subtle (though not necessarily more complex) than the Reds who are more aggressive and savage. They seem to reflect the periods they may have risen in, just as much as the surrounding culture and area that they came from. The fact that they predate the White Council is not that surprising, considering Merlin would have existed not much earlier than 500C.E. which is 1400 years later...and Merlin formed the White Council. But yes, the Red King is probably at least 4000 years old, if not quite a bit older. He and the Lords of the Outer Night are in a different league to the Whites in terms of raw power. Probably why the Blamps were so hated is they became a significant, if not one of the most significant, Powers in the space of a few decades and/or centuries when normally it takes a few millennia to become a major player and it scared the crap out of everyone.
KurtinStGeorge: Yes the constant retconning does make it hard to keep up, but the normal rule as you say is to go with the most recent information. It does make sense of course that Jim would change a few minor details, as he gets older and better as a writer he can see better and more interesting paths to take, and ones that will create less problems. I don't mind a lot of the changes he has made by and large as most have been necessary and for the better. I would love a sort of Q&A answer that tidied up the plot holes and inconsistencies, but I am just being lazy. You can fix those problems if you think about it. For instance, it might be that the Reds ARE creatures of the Nevernever and have trouble with threshholds (like all magical creatures) but they also have work arounds (like Wizards), AND soul gazes aren't likely as they don't have what HARRY would call a soul, but have *something* that remains of their original soul and of course have their hypnotic stare ability. It is even hinted and somewhat discussed that a Soul isn't merely one thing but more a collection of things, and how you define, interact, gain or lose it is highly complex and doesn't always fall into the magic system that Harry understands. So there is actually quite a bit of wriggle room left.
isoycrazy: Thanks for the heads up, I haven't read Bigfoot yet! But I think, as you speculate yourself, that perhaps she wasn't as inclined to kill him not just because of True Love (which would have killed her demon), but perhaps because she was feeding on a non-human mortal that was probably a bigger meal magically speaking. I also imagine it is exceedingly rare, to the point that Thomas seemed certain that the first feeding was always fatal. Also you will notice apart from Connie, no other Wamp has been mentioned as being in this category (past or present). Shame, fear and perhaps survival all might play there part in that. Which of course shows the gap in Thomas' knowledge (and could also be a retcon/rewrite of Jim's) but essentially means that without killing your first feed, the chances of becoming a full-blown White Court Vampire are very very slim. Which also lends itself nicely to the idea of mortals and choice, in that you as a mortal can still subvert the normal rules with your choices in ways the more supernatural creatures find difficult. Choosing to feed and not kill? Would definitely make you an unusual vampire to say the least. I wonder what effects that would have?
Just Al: Quite possibly, but not necessarily. The time frame doesn't work as well if it were Aztecs. Although as that passage also mentions, this story is quite possibly somewhat apocryphal and a mix of half-truths and fantasies. The main point is that the Reds captured a bunch of scary Gods, and the LoON and the Red King fed on them. Interestingly, that Paranet Papers update discusses that those Gods were still alive when the Reds were destroyed, and might be making a come back.
