The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Molly’s trial… what if…
SerScot:
Harry had played it cool and not shamed the Merlin. We all saw the various windows in Harry’s soulgaze of Molly. Suppose the Merlin imposed the Doom of Damocles on Molly but assigned her apprenticeship to Eb… or LtW instead of Harry. Would she be the Warden image we saw. More capable in battle because her Master was less gentle with her in training?
Discuss…
Mira:
--- Quote ---Harry had played it cool and not shamed the Merlin. We all saw the various windows in Harry’s soulgaze of Molly. Suppose the Merlin imposed the Doom of Damocles on Molly but assigned her apprenticeship to Eb… or LtW instead of Harry. Would she be the Warden image we saw. More capable in battle because her Master was less gentle with her in training?
--- End quote ---
I think Molly would have still become what she became. The flaw in Harry's training wasn't that he was too gentle with her as far as fighting goes, but that he failed to make her understand that she cannot mess with the minds of others. Actually Eb, as Blackstaff may have ended up executing her himself for breaking that Law of Magic. She may have fared better with Listens because she had a tendency to want to be a healer, then again would she have learned the main lesson about the thing that almost cost her her head to begin with?
g33k:
--- Quote from: Mira on January 19, 2025, 01:09:22 PM --- I think Molly would have still become what she became. The flaw in Harry's training wasn't that he was too gentle with her as far as fighting goes, but that he failed to make her understand that she cannot mess with the minds of others. Actually Eb, as Blackstaff may have ended up executing her himself for breaking that Law of Magic. She may have fared better with Listens because she had a tendency to want to be a healer, then again would she have learned the main lesson about the thing that almost cost her her head to begin with?
--- End quote ---
I think it's more that Eb is too rigid; apprentice-Molly needed some flexibility from her master. I expect LtW could have done a good job. Both of them would have realized (like Harry did) that getting her to feel -- in her gut -- how dangerous mind-magic could be... that would be the only way to keep her from spiralling on down the black-magic path.
That, or a Faerie-Queen mantle...
LordDresden2:
--- Quote from: SerScot on January 18, 2025, 06:02:03 PM ---Harry had played it cool and not shamed the Merlin. We all saw the various windows in Harry’s soulgaze of Molly. Suppose the Merlin imposed the Doom of Damocles on Molly but assigned her apprenticeship to Eb… or LtW instead of Harry. Would she be the Warden image we saw. More capable in battle because her Master was less gentle with her in training?
Discuss…
--- End quote ---
It would have been better if Harry hadn't embarrassed Langtry, but not for Molly so much as for Harry himself. Harry's clumsiness at politics has cost him dearly by the end of Battleground, and there's a connecting trail from that trial to Harry's suspension from the Council.
What makes it worse is that Harry has proven that he can play the game when he has to do it. He's shown the ability to play at the same level as Marcone and Lara. But he just couldn't bring himself to do it with Langtry, and it's come back to bite him.
As for Molly...I don't think it would have made much difference. Langtry apparently really believes that warlocks always backslide, sooner or later. From that POV, killing Molly early could save the lives and/or sanity of multiple potential victims later.
Mira:
--- Quote ---It would have been better if Harry hadn't embarrassed Langtry, but not for Molly so much as for Harry himself. Harry's clumsiness at politics has cost him dearly by the end of Battleground, and there's a connecting trail from that trial to Harry's suspension from the Council.
--- End quote ---
Yes.
--- Quote ---As for Molly...I don't think it would have made much difference. Langtry apparently really believes that warlocks always backslide, sooner or later. From that POV, killing Molly early could save the lives and/or sanity of multiple potential victims later.
--- End quote ---
Langtree might not be wrong, we saw it in Molly, and Harry at times, though Eb managed to drill enough morals into his head that he usually checks himself, often only just. Eb understood this and this is why he didn't teach anymore magic to young Harry, that he could learn later on his own. What was important was to drill the whys of magic, when we first meet Harry in Storm Front, this is what he talks about and why magic shouldn't be abused by going to the black with it. But could Eb have been as successful with Molly? Or had she already passed the point of no return? A huge difference between Molly and Harry, Molly had no magical training, she realized she had a talent, without knowing the Laws of Magic or the harm she could inflict, she used it with the best of intentions with disastrous consequences. All Molly knew of magic is what she saw her idol Harry do with it, when she discovered her talent, she had a loaded gun but no idea how deadly using it could be. Harry in contrast was an apprentice for many years, he knew all the basics at the age of sixteen, Justin however taught him nothing about the Laws of Magic or the morality of it. So Harry's task with Molly was not only teaching her the morality of magic, but magic.
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