The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Elaine is the wizard the White Council should really be afraid of.
Mira:
--- Quote ---Mort was almost-washed-up, he had lost faith in himself, his values, his worth. His abilities had declined a lot; we don't know how good he actually was in the pre-Storm Front years, or how closely the WC was (or wasn't) monitoring him then. I don't think the WC has noticed yet that Mort has "bounced back" from the brink. And of course, because he's limited to ectomancy (rather than having a broader array of wizardly abilities) the WC is always going to consider him a "lesser" talent.
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That's what Mort wanted the Council to believe if I remember correctly in Ghost Story, because Harry believed what you are saying also but found out it wasn't true. I am not saying you are wrong because it's been a while, I need to go back and read, but up to my earlobes at the moment and just don't have the time. However I seem to remember Harry being a bit shocked that Mort was as talented as he is.
--- Quote ---Carlos is actually a pretty good warden, but he has some specific weaknesses in regards a "pretty face" (Harry's got some of his own (by design): Butcher's writing to the "Noir Detective" tropes, and the "femme fatale" is supposed to be a weakness for our protagonist).
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Not saying that Carlos isn't a good Warden, but if he is that easily swayed, he isn't..
--- Quote ---Above and beyond that, though: Elaine has (by Harry's testimony) always been better than him at elements of style & grace, at subtler casting etc... and then she went to summerfae finishing-school where you just gotta know that "subtlety" & "deception" & "flirting" were some of the most-reinforced lessons!
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What has that got to do with it? Carlos maybe a decent Warden, but he shouldn't be commanding the North American Wardens if he is that easily snookered... Which actually fits with when he first meet him, he is barely out of his apprenticeship and he is made a commander? Harry as well for that matter.. Just speaks to how many Wardens died in the war against the Reds and the Council was appointing Wardens not really ready to fill the more responsible jobs.
g33k:
--- Quote from: Mira on December 09, 2024, 07:36:05 PM ---That's what Mort wanted the Council to believe if I remember correctly in Ghost Story, because Harry believed what you are saying also but found out it wasn't true...
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Grave Peril Mort was the has-been.
By the time of Ghost Story, Mort had very-much turned his life (and his magic) around.
Mira:
--- Quote from: g33k on December 10, 2024, 01:11:17 AM ---Grave Peril Mort was the has-been.
By the time of Ghost Story, Mort had very-much turned his life (and his magic) around.
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Or he was faking it during Grave Peril.
g33k:
--- Quote from: Mira on December 10, 2024, 01:37:55 AM ---Or he was faking it during Grave Peril.
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Harry's a decently-keen observer.
I don't think Mort could have successfully pulled off a "my whole life is spiraling downward" fake (which is where he was, in GP).
Mira:
--- Quote from: g33k on December 10, 2024, 05:13:06 AM ---Harry's a decently-keen observer.
I don't think Mort could have successfully pulled off a "my whole life is spiraling downward" fake (which is where he was, in GP).
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Harry had a lot on his plate at that time, a lot more inexperienced, and a bit more trusting in the Council's judgements. Also Mort didn't do anymore around Harry than what was expected of a low level wizard, so how would Harry know?
I took a minute and reread that part of Gave Peril. A couple of things stood out, one is Harry calls Mort a "con man." And yeah, Mort is doing that and claims to have lost his powers and Harry believes him.. Yet for a guy who has no "powers" Mort seems to know a heck of a lot about what is currently going on in the spirit world. Yeah, Mort is an excellent con man, so could he successfully pull an "I lost my powers," con on Harry? Absolutely. Harry also had a chance to engage Mort in a soul gaze, but avoided it. That isn't to say that by the time Ghost Story comes around he might be a little out of practice, but what Mort does do proves that he has always been a powerful wizard.. However what he likes to do and what the Council and the Laws of Magic allow is a very thin tightrope, and he has successfully walked it for years.
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