I was going to start this thread for one single issue, but decided it might be more fun to let anyone speculate on any issue or event relating to any Dresden Files character.  My issue is with Nicodemus.  Maybe someone else has asked this question before but I’ve been a member here for a long time and don’t remember anyone else bringing it up.

So almost anyone; only referring to vanilla mortals here, can become one of the Denarians.  You just have to have the bad luck to be in a location where a Denarian has died and for some reason their coin hasn’t been grabbed by a KotC and you pick it up.  According to Lash, no one before Harry turned down the offer to join.  No one had held a coin for three years and continued to resist the temptations it offered.  Maybe that was just for Lasciel’s coin, but it’s a good guess that very, very few people who ever picked any of the Fallen’s coins were able to resist the deal they were offered.

So the same may have been true for Nicodemus, he could have picked up Anduriel’s coin without knowing what it was.  I suppose another Denarian could have offered Nic the coin, the way Nic offered Lasciel’s coin to Harry, but that doesn’t make much sense, because Nicodemus also got a magic noose that protects him from everything, except the noose itself.  That would be an extremely valuable artifact to just give away.  How did that happen?  How did Nicodemus get this artifact that makes him invulnerable to anything else?

It makes sense if Nicodemus was the very first Denarian.  Nic found “the betrayer” shortly after he hanged himself and there was a bag at his feet with thirty pieces of silver.  It might even explain how the coins were called “the Blackened Denarius.”  Maybe Nicodemus saw Judas receive the payoff or saw him afterwards with thirty shiny silver coins.  When Nic opened the bag the next day all the coins now had a mysterious black patina on them.  Silver often gets such a patina, but not overnight.

Did Nicodemus know Judas, Jesus or any of the other twelve Apostles?  Who knows, but I believe he was in the vicinity of those people and the events that surrounded them.  Nicodemus picked up the bag with the coins; touched Anduriel’s coin, and removed the noose and put over his own neck when Anduriel told Nicodemus it would protect him.  That seems the most likely explanation to me.

You can agree, disagree and give a (hopefully) reasonable counter explanation.  On the other hand, maybe there is something about another character that bothers you, that gives you an itch you need to scratch; and now, you think you have an explanation that metaphorically scratches that itch.  Post it here.

One minor; very minor, disappointment in Skin Game was that Harry didn't get very much conversation time with Lasciel.  Harry's conversations with Nicodemus are usually fun; if creepy, and I expect nothing less from a full discussion between Harry and Lasciel, but that didn't happen in this case.
 
Granted, Harry was under the gun, what with Nicodemus revealing that the Genoskwa had taken up Ursiel's coin and Hannah Ascher was carrying Lasciel's, this meant Harry didn't have time to call Lasciel out on her BS, because almost everything she said to Harry were lies.
 
I'm going to point out the obvious lies and speculate on the biggest lie of them all.  I suspect, the next time Lasciel makes an appearance that allows for Harry to give the fallen angel some backtalk, he will do exactly that and get under her skin in the process.

Remember these lines? (Edited)
Harry: "Lasciel!"
Lashiel: "Hello lover."
Michael: "Lover?"
Harry: "It's complicated."
Michael: "Oh Dear."

Yes it's funny, but that obscures the fact that Lasciel's first statement to Harry was an outright lie.  Harry and Lash developed a love for one another, not Harry and Lasciel.  Yes, originally Lash was just a copy of Lasciel but in the end she became her own being, with a will to decide for herself.

The same applies to the statement Lasciel made about Bonea.
Lashiel:  “Meaning that since a whisper in your ear that should have killed you seems to have failed, I intend to skip the subtlety, rip your head apart, and collect our child. She’s far too valuable a resource to be allowed to die with you.”
Harry: "You know about that."
Michael:  "Child?"
Harry: "Complicated."

Another lie, Bonea wasn't Lasciel's child, Bonea is Lash's child.  Lasciel might want to claim that a distinction between herself and her former shadow self didn't exist.  When Harry first picked up the coin that was a reasonably true statement.  In time that was no longer true.  Lash had become an individual with her own will and conscience.  When Lash said, "She... doesn't deserve you." it showed us that an unbridgeable gap had opened between Lash and Lashiel.  Lash was now a distinct individual.

That gets me to Lasciel's biggest lie.  I'll warn you I'm going into WAG territory here and I need to give some exposition first to help explain how I reached this conclusion.

There have been a number of different versions of the story of Dr. Faustus going back over four hundred years.  If you are unfamiliar with this story, Dr. Faustus calls up one of Satan's minions; Mephistopheles, in order to offer his soul to Satan in exchange for the usual; power, wealth, extended life and so on; and of course, later deeply regrets his decision.  In some of the later versions of this story Mephistopheles is Satan.  Mephistopheles is just one of Satan's many names.  However, in the earliest versions of this story Mephistopheles is one of those beings who fell with Satan.  This is important, because I believe Mephistopheles point of view about hell is identical to that of the Fallen in the Dresden Files.  Jim Butcher has a degree in English Literature, so he probably knows Christopher Marlowe's late 16th century version of the story, "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus."  Here is the relevant passage:

FAUSTUS. And what are you that live with Lucifer?
MEPHIST.  Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer,
                Conspir’d against our God with Lucifer,
                And are for ever damn’d with Lucifer.
FAUSTUS.  Where are you damn’d?
MEPHIST.   In hell.
FAUSTUS.  How comes it, then, that thou art out of hell?
MEPHIST.   Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it:
                 Think’st thou that I, who saw the face of God,
                 And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
                 Am not tormented with ten thousand hells,
                 In being depriv’d of everlasting bliss?

It seems very likely to me that Fallen in the Dresden Files; whether they are stuck in one of the coins or if they have joined with someone who has taken up one of the Blackened Denarius, are every bit as much in hell as Mephistopheles described in Christopher Marlowe's version of Dr. Faustus.  This leads me to what I believe is the real reason Lasciel was so P.O.'d at Harry. 

It wasn't because she was women scorned.  Think about it, Lasciel has been around since near the dawn of creation.  She was; according to Lash, created for a purpose too complex for mere mortals like Harry to comprehend.  Yet we are to believe that Lasciel's ego is so fragile that one mortal who refused to fully take up her coin pushes her over the edge into insane, murderous, scorned girlfriend mode.  I don't think so.  If I'm right, what was the real reason why Lasciel was furious with Harry?  As Harry would say, "It's complicated," but easy to understand.

It starts in understanding how Lasciel; really how all of the Fallen in the coins, create their shadow selves.  To make a copy of her memory and personality, Lasciel must have used a tiny portion of herself.  According to Bob, angels are soul and nothing but their soul.  The Fallen must tolerate losing a small part of themselves until the mortal who touched the coin they reside in, accepts the offer of power from their shadow self.  When the mortal accepts the offer the true Fallen enters and reacquires that part of their soul.

This can't happen because Lash decided to side with Harry and then sacrificed herself to save him.  Maybe it's possible for an angel to regrow their soul, but I imagine it would be tougher for a fallen angel to do the kind of things that make that possible.  Perhaps with a new host, Lasciel can go out on Halloween night and steal part of the soul of another angel, but this idea seems highly speculative.

Whatever the case may be, Lasciel can't have been happy even if she only lost one hundredth of one percent of her soul.  That a mortal could have taken it away from her would probably make one of the Fallen especially upset.  However, I think there is something else, something special that pushes Lasciel over the edge into volcanic, murderous, ex-girlfriend mode.  It has to do with what Lash became when she turned her back on Lasciel.

Remember when Harry said this to Lash?
"I don't think you're the only one doing any influencing here. I don't think you're the same creature now that you were when you came."
And later added this?
"What if you don't have to be Lasciel?  Think about it.  What if you do have a choice?  A life of your own to lead?  What if, huh?  And you don't even try to choose?"

I doubt Harry understood the full implications of what he told Lash.  Initially, it reads as Harry telling Lash that he changed her as much as she changed him.  That Lash could be more than just Lasciel's shadow and become her own person; make that her own being.  I don't think Harry realized that for Lash to make that choice, it would mean not only that Lash would have her own life, it would be a mortal life.  Lash could only live as long as Harry was alive.  No more going back to the immortal fallen angel.

Even though Lash didn't have her own physical body, she was imprinted in Harry's mind, in his brain.  Over time that tiny bit that had once been a part of Lasciel's soul had changed.  When Lash finally said, "She doesn't deserve you" we can confidently say that Lash's soul had grown; and it was her soul now.  She had a become a new independent being.  Then Lash made the decision to sacrifice herself for Harry.  "No greater love" and so forth.

Now we get back to the importance of the story of Dr. Faustus and what Mephistopheles said about hell.  Lasciel is in hell, wherever she or her coin or her human host may be.  Lasciel is locked out of the "eternal joys" and "eternal bliss" forever.  Lash isn't.  Harry not only kept that little bit of Lasciel's soul from coming back to her, he helped it grow, helped it become an independent being and Harry helped Lash to find the will to redeem herself.  Lash now has what Lasciel can never have again.  That is the real source of Lasciel's anger. 



 






 

I don't know if it is in the Newsletter, but Jim will be making a live appearance at Dragon Con in Atlanta in two weekends.  Jim hasn't made made many live appearances this year.  I know he cancelled a scheduled appearance at a Con in Chicago this April.

Should any Paranet Online members be attending Dragon Con, please try to record at least one of Jim's panels and post it for the rest of us.  In any case, hopefully Jim panels will be posted on YouTube shortly after Dragon Con finishes up this year. 

It won't be many more months before (possible) book store appearances and signings for Twelve Months might be announced. 

This is just pure speculation.  It is not based on anything in the novels or other Dresden Files shorter fiction.  Having a short story or novella that takes place after Twelve Months could allow Jim to do something Jim claims he hasn't done in a Dresden Files novel, create a cliff hanger that leads directly into the next novel Mirror Mirror.

I'm thinking of the late 80's, early 90's TV show Quantum Leap, in which each episode would end with the main character finishing whatever mission he was on and then leaping into someone else's life and body, often in the middle of a dangerous situation.  Dr. Sam Becket would always respond to these surprises by saying "Oh Boy" with varying levels of surprise and stress in his voice.

The next story or novella may be titled Out Law.  It seems a reasonable possibility that a story with this title could involve the White Council.  The last time Harry spoke to anyone in the Council it was Carlos Ramirez, who appeared to blame Harry for the deaths of Wardens Wild Bill, Yoshimo and the disappearance of Warden Chandler.  With those facts in mind, I could see Harry being reminded of this, along with whatever else he might be accused of in the story itself, though eventually managing to exonerate himself.  The Quantum Leap twist would be Harry being summoned into an incredibly dangerous situation where someone; more likely a bunch of someone's, are trying to kill him, but Warden Chandler is also there and the only person who can save Harry.  Que Harry saying "Oh Boy."

OK, maybe Jim isn't a Quantum Leap fan, but I could still envision Out Law being used as a setup to the beginning of Mirror Mirror.  With luck, by the time Out Law is released Jim will have finished be close to finishing the next Cinder Spires novel and be ready to start on Mirror Mirror.  You may have noticed Jim hasn't done many personal appearances this year.  Other than Dragon Con in Atlanta during the upcoming Labor Day weekend, I don't believe he has done a major convention this year.  I know he cancelled an appearance this April in Chicago.  With luck, maybe that means Jim is making great progress with that third Cinder Spires book.  I know I'm looking forward to that novel because I very much enjoyed the second one, but also because the sooner Jim finishes it, the sooner he can start on Mirror Mirror.

I don't see that sign even vaguely looking like an hour glass on it's side or otherwise.  Looking at it again, I think it's something that Harry made with his staff and burned into the rock, we see what looks like fragments of molten rock here and there and possible tendrils of power coming from Harry's staff.  Also note, and I saw this the first time I viewed the cover, that Harry's pentacle seems to be glowing.  I didn't mention it the first time because I thought I was imagining it.  However, the pentacle hasn't been mentioned in a long time either, nor the jewel from his mother that was added to it back in Changes.

I believe the last time we saw Harry do anything with his pentacle; other than perhaps use it for some mild lighting, is using it to walk the ways in Changes.  The last time we saw it brightly glowing is when Harry used it as a weapon to kill the loup garou in Fool's Moon.  (Wow, that is a long time ago.)

I think you are right about Harry using his staff to carve the symbol, whatever its purpose is.  I have several thoughts about this, but right now I don't want to get into WAG territory.  My main thought is a little more basic, about the nuts and bolts of magic Harry uses.  I'm trying to remember the last time Harry did something new with magic, that didn't come from Winter or someone else.

In Battle Ground the banner that drew people to follow Harry was a function of Harry being the Winter Knight.  The device Harry used in Peace Talks to fool Embenezar came from Molly and her magical abilities.  The thing Harry did with Carlos cloak was kind of a cheap trick to distract Marcone's guests from the breakout of Thomas.  Plus, we saw Harry animate some broom sticks all the way back in Storm Front so we have already seen Harry move inanimate objects around.  When Harry summoned an army of little folk, that was just on a much larger scale than any summoning of Toot Toot and friends than any Harry had done before.

I stand to  be corrected, but the last time we saw Harry add something to his repertoire of magic skills, that was his own, was back in Cold Days when Harry was able to use his name as a weapon to confront the Walker, HWWBf.  Yes, that was a starborn thing, but it came from Harry, not someone else.

The sigil on the cover that was (apparently) created by Harry maybe something new that Harry learns to add to his magical skills and I think that would be pretty cool.   

I'm not sure how accurate the covers are supposed to be, (hat), but what stood out to me was that his staff was glowing orange, not green.  Orange like when he was employing Hellfire as opposed to the green he's been utilizing since his hookup with Alfred and Demonreach.

Like maybe a Denarian will be involved in this story, but more intimate than Nicodemus showing up with his latest plan to kick of an apocalypse.

Even if I am wrong about Lashiel, if Harry is using his staff to create a sigil of some sort, what would he use it for, as a design for a summoning circle for a specific being or perhaps as a defensive ward?

Maybe the symbol behind Harry has something to do with the runes on parts of Demonreach or perhaps it has something to do with Harry being Starborn, seeing as what might be tendrils of energy from the symbol appear to be interacting with Harry’s staff.

However, there is another possibility.  Lasciel’s sigil was described by Harry as being vaguely suggestive of an hourglass.  The symbol behind Harry fits that description, if the hourglass was sitting on its side.

To back up this possibility, about a year ago Jim dropped that Hannah Ascher was PO’d that Harry had dumped several tons of molten rock on top of her in Hades vault.  It seemed to me rather odd that Jim let us know that Hannah is still alive.  Especially odd if we weren’t going to see Ascher or Lashiel for several books.

Perhaps the tendrils reaching out towards Harry’s staff mean that Harry isn’t finished dealing with Lashiel in some manner, besides her trying to kill him.