The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
What if Eb is 100% correct about everything?
ClintACK:
Etri isn't the king of all svartalves, though, is he? He's just the head of the svartalf embassy in Chicago -- so, more equivalent to Bianca in Grave Peril than to the Red King.
We're told repeatedly that no one messes with the svartalves, and we've never seen them lose a fight. "Froggy" in Bombshells had Molly handily outclassed and Etri casually starts hacking pieces off him and submerges him in the floor without bothering to wait for security. Compare that to the difficulty Marcone had with Mag in Even Hand. Molly (in Bombshells) and Harry (in Peace Talks) both point out that even the norse gods never got into a fight with the svartalves. It's possible that their reputation is undeserved, but did you notice the stockpiles of vehicles and weapons when they were taking Harry to see Thomas? Shades of Vadderung's armory.
vultur:
--- Quote from: ClintACK on July 30, 2020, 05:11:03 AM ---Etri isn't the king of all svartalves, though, is he? He's just the head of the svartalf embassy in Chicago -- so, more equivalent to Bianca in Grave Peril than to the Red King.
--- End quote ---
I thought he was called a head of state in PT.
--- Quote ---We're told repeatedly that no one messes with the svartalves,
--- End quote ---
I think that has more to do with connections than overt power, rather like the White Court.
I mean, they are seriously big deals, sure. Their rulers not being "mostly retired god" to demi-god level like the Red King, Kringle/Odin, Erlking, Mab, and Titania doesn't at all make them insignificant. The White Court is extremely scary, for example.
But they seem to be one of the "Wyld faerie organizations", less powerful than Summer or Winter. So they are unlikely to go kill the Winter Knight for something he did as a direct agent of Mab, as that would be essentially an act of war against Winter.
But anyway, that's not really my point. The White Court is really scary - but I have no doubt that Harry would attack them if he saw it as the right thing to do, the only way to protect the people he's committed to protect. He did do it to Cowl, Aurora, the entire Red Court, etc. Going to war against things beyond his "weight class" when he sees it as the right thing to do is pretty much Harry's trademark.
So why does Eb think that "the svartalves are going to try to kill you" is an useful thing to say to deter Harry?
Mira:
--- Quote from: ClintACK on July 30, 2020, 05:11:03 AM ---Etri isn't the king of all svartalves, though, is he? He's just the head of the svartalf embassy in Chicago -- so, more equivalent to Bianca in Grave Peril than to the Red King.
We're told repeatedly that no one messes with the svartalves, and we've never seen them lose a fight. "Froggy" in Bombshells had Molly handily outclassed and Etri casually starts hacking pieces off him and submerges him in the floor without bothering to wait for security. Compare that to the difficulty Marcone had with Mag in Even Hand. Molly (in Bombshells) and Harry (in Peace Talks) both point out that even the norse gods never got into a fight with the svartalves. It's possible that their reputation is undeserved, but did you notice the stockpiles of vehicles and weapons when they were taking Harry to see Thomas? Shades of Vadderung's armory.
--- End quote ---
Which says the "escape" itself was a mere set up, if Thomas had remained in the embassy compound, it would have been more difficult if not impossible for Harry and company to
get to him let alone remove him. I think Lara knows a lot more than she is telling, it was why
she went to Mab calling in her "favors" before Thomas ever killed anyone. How much she knows about the assassination attempt at this time before it happened is unclear. But I think Lara knew,
so went to Mab for insurance. Or it is a replay of Skin Game, Mab knew before hand, couldn't or wouldn't stop Thomas for some really complicated political reasons, then arrange with Marcone to
have Thomas moved to a place where he could be freed. Vadderung also seems to be in on it to some degree, since both he and Mab seem to be aware of Harry and what he is doing, but say nothing about it. Depending on the reasons it might be what gets Harry out of the Winter Knight's gig in the end with Molly's help.
ClintACK:
The Svartalves seem to be insane when it comes to duty and balancing the scales. If Harry did wrong them, on his own recognizance, they wouldn't let it go because they fear Mab. In this case, though, their obsession should lead them to target all their vengeance on Lara, if they know that Harry was formally working for her to repay a favor.
We're told Etri is "what amounted to a head of state" and "the heaviest hitter [Harry] knew of among his people", but he's also described as "the head of the svartalf embassy". That's not a description you'd give to a king.
I do think there's something of a setup going on, but I'd be shocked if it ends up with Harry freed from Winter. In Peace Talks he manages to become even more entangled with Winter, owing a new favor to the Winter Lady. And his public behavior during the peace talks will have isolated him even more than usual, confirming everyone's suspicions -- from acting the part of Mab's thug with the too-blatant-not-to-be-a-setup sidhe fiddler to sexually assaulting a valkyrie right there on the dance floor in true Lloyd Slate fashion; from being so jumpy he almost attacks Strength-of-a-River-in-his-Shoulders at the buffet line to being seen having sex with the White Queen; and worst of all when the peace talks collapsed into brutal violence with einherjaren gunned down in the great hall and Mab drop-kicked through multiple walls, Harry was completely AWOL. His one assignment from the wardens was security, and when they needed security the most, he wasn't there.
Mira:
--- Quote ---I do think there's something of a setup going on, but I'd be shocked if it ends up with Harry freed from Winter. In Peace Talks he manages to become even more entangled with Winter, owing a new favor to the Winter Lady. And his public behavior during the peace talks will have isolated him even more than usual, confirming everyone's suspicions -- from acting the part of Mab's thug with the too-blatant-not-to-be-a-setup sidhe fiddler to sexually assaulting a valkyrie right there on the dance floor in true Lloyd Slate fashion; from being so jumpy he almost attacks Strength-of-a-River-in-his-Shoulders at the buffet line to being seen having sex with the White Queen; and worst of all when the peace talks collapsed into brutal violence with einherjaren gunned down in the great hall and Mab drop-kicked through multiple walls, Harry was completely AWOL. His one assignment from the wardens was security, and when they needed security the most, he wasn't there.
--- End quote ---
The Fomor did throw a "monkey wrench" into whatever Mab's plans were originally. It is very suspect that on the eve of the talks suddenly Lara shows up calling in favors and Mab willing to lend her Knight for them. Then the assassination attempt, so what game is Lara playing? How is it that Thomas was willing to go along with the plans? Did Lara promise him a way to keep Justine safe if he went along? If the above is true, apparently Lara wanted assurance that her brother would be rescued. How much were Marcone, Vadderung, and even the Svartalves, themselves in on the plans? Could it be that it was an attempt by them to sabotage their own talks?
1] Thomas becomes such an insider that he is able to get past the Svartalve security. Putting
him in perfect position to make the attempt in the first place.
2] The Svartalves agree to allow Harry to get little Maggie out instead of holding her as "leverage."
3] The Svartalves agree to allow Thomas to be moved to Marcone's castle in the middle of the talks.
The guard placed on Thomas is light, considering what supposedly he is guilty of.
4] Before things go to hell, both Vadderung and Mab seem to be aware of what Harry is doing, but look the other way.
You could be right about Molly cashing in on the little bargain she made with Harry to keep him as Knight. However if I am right, once Harry finds out that Mab was behind what happened to Thomas he will really be pissed. Mab is going to have to do some really fast talking to ever get Harry to cooperate with her again.
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