Molly's Doppelganger Ring Crafting

[Mira]

Yeah. Though it might not be anything supernatural; River Shoulders says a lot of older wizards are running out of time. Maybe Eb's just losing focus/control/etc because of age.

I think that's part of why Harry is so devastated -- not only that Eb lost control and would have killed him, but that Eb basically can't be trusted anymore, which (as Blackstaff) probably means he's going to have to die... he probably wouldn't agree to retire at this point.

  No, I don't mean he is Nem infected..  Dementia comes to mind, paranoia is one of the symptoms.  Now Eb may have good reason to be, but even so, the way he approached Harry about the idea was totally off.

The loss of control is because he's basically Harry except with ghouls swapped out for vampires and there's the whole fear of history repeating that's driving him to desperation(Harry living with loved ones openly and Harry seeming way too close with the white court managed to hammer him with two in a few days) as Harry is in danger of being voted out. Might even have a bit more trauma from actually fighting the war against the Fomor to keep him wound up in general.

Harry was still a relatively young wizard when he reacted the way he did to the ghouls who did terrible things to the young teen wardens they killed.  Harry was still having control issues at that time on a number of levels, that is a recurring theme in the earlier books, Harry's inability to control his emotions and by extension, his power. What should be flick up bicus becomes KABOOM! Because Harry was pissed at the time he did it.  Also having a Fallen Angel dancing around in his head pushing buttons didn't help.  When he made the reference, Eb didn't know, doesn't know about Lasciel.   

For Eb on the other hand, loss of control is unforgivable.  As Blackstaff he is the most under control of all, yet he totally lost it with Harry.  That, more than even the possibility that he had killed his grandson horrified him.  I doubt he will recover.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Eb isn’t afraid history is repeating itself, he is forcing it to. He held Margaret away to ‘Protect’ her then alienated her by forcing his views on her.

He then did the same with Harry, up to and possibly murdering Malcolm who couldn’t ‘protect’ Harry and making him disappear into the Foster system. He then alienates Harry over Whamps.

He now threatens the same over Maggie.

Harry is quite correct, Eb has made mistakes and refuses to learn from them, instead repeating them.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein.

By this definition Eb is insane, Harry has seen this pattern. Eb is a Warlock, breaking the Laws of Magic for his personal ends, not in his role as Blackstaff.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Just thought, Molly probably created a set of doppelgängers of her family for the Redcap and the security detail to employ as decoys. If she wanted to twist the knife, the Redcap gets to be little Harry.

[Mira]

By this definition Eb is insane, Harry has seen this pattern. Eb is a Warlock, breaking the Laws of Magic for his personal ends, not in his role as Blackstaff.

 Or he is suffering from wizard dementia..  He might also be a political hardliner as far White Council politics go, which possibly account for his appointment as Blackstaff.  Hardliners tend to be pretty inflexible in their beliefs, if this holds true for wizards, Eb isn't insane, he just has a belief and is sticking to it no matter the evidence to the contrary.  The difference is the Eb of the past that we all know and love has kept his personal beliefs in check when wielding the Blackstaff.. If he really is suffering from dementia, he may not longer be able to do this.  That is very dangerous indeed.

[vultur]

Yeah dementia could absolutely be a factor, given what River Shoulders says about most of the older wizards coming to the end of their time.

Hardliners tend to be pretty inflexible in their beliefs, if this holds true for wizards, Eb isn't insane, he just has a belief and is sticking to it no matter the evidence to the contrary.

I'm not sure it's really the political aspect (I mean he's generally not a political ally of the Merlin, as I understand it).

It might be more that he's devoted his life to the White Council and done so many terrible things for it; perhaps that's why Harry being kicked off the Council is such a crisis to him.

I'm not sure Harry really needs the White Council at this point; he's Winter Knight and Warden of Demonreach and (at least if he can save Thomas) has a family connection to the ruling house of the White Court. He's not going to be an outcast even without the Council.

But Eb doesn't see it that way.

[Regenbogen]

Peace Talks chapter 32 :

   “Oh, lad,” he said, tears in his eyes. “Oh, lad. Didn’t think you were going to come at me again. Didn’t think it would trigger.”  

What would trigger? The loaded staff? He misjudged his control once the staff was loaded. He didn't aim at Harry first, but turned and the staff triggered accidentally.

  This pain, though. This hurt him. This broke him. He bowed his head. His tears fell to the dock. Then he paused. Then his expression changed. He looked up at me. His eyes widened, and then his face twisted into rage and disbelief. “Why, you sneaky—” “Good talk,” I said, “Wizard McCoy.” And I let go of the Winter glamour Lady Molly had crafted for me.

I'm not sure what will come next. Is he just pissed at the moment? Will he have had time to cool off? We will know soon.
I think for Eb this is the final revelation that he has to find someone else to take over the Blackstaff. And I don't think he will choose Harry. But who else could he give it to, if he can give it away at all. Maybe the former holder has to die.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Eb has transitioned from “Sir”, to “Wizard McCoy”, Harry doesn’t believe he now needs to show Eb any deference, either as a former Master or as his grandfather. That is twisting the Athame, it indicates a permanent break between the two.

Margaret was being trained as his replacement, she rebelled, Harry wouldn’t accept it other than pass it to Mother Winter, which would get him a favour, just when he needs one for Thomas.

[vultur]

Margaret was being trained as his replacement, she rebelled, Harry wouldn’t accept it other than pass it to Mother Winter, which would get him a favour, just when he needs one for Thomas.

I don't think Harry knows about the Blackstaff being MW's Walking Stick, does he? I don't think that's actually been confirmed in the books (though it seems to be a pretty unavoidable conclusion).

And Harry wouldn't *want* to pick up the Blackstaff, but it would depend on the situation and his other options. He's drawn on other dark sources when it seemed necessary to avoid something worse (using the hexenwolf belt in FM, accepting Lash's help and using "gray" necromancy in DB, becoming Winter Knight, etc.)

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Harry won’t kill Warlocks, he won’t accept the Blackstaff.

[ClintACK]

Harry would be okay with killing warlocks in battle if they can't be captured. It's executing them he has a problem with. And he's got the solution: Demonreach.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Exactly, he won’t be an executioner, he won’t be an assassin.

[Mira]

Exactly, he won’t be an executioner, he won’t be an assassin.

However that doesn't mean he cannot be effective in that role.

[vultur]

Oh, I definitely don't think Harry will fill the White Council role of Blackstaff. Yeah, he's never going to be the Council's assassin.

But he might pick up and use the physical item, at least for one battle, if the need was great enough. I'm not sure exactly what it does beyond preventing Lawbreaking corruption, if anything (IIRC the WOJs on this have been a bit vague, saying that's "mostly" what it does, implying it can do something else) but if it's something like Death's Scythe it might be usable against a Fomor and Fomor-minion army.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Harry has better allies and weapons, he doesn’t need the Blackstaff

[vultur]

Harry has better allies and weapons, he doesn’t need the Blackstaff

Quite possibly not... but something would have to happen to it if Eb died. Even if Harry just returns it to Mother Winter, that could lead to conflict with the Council.