If Eb dies

[groinkick]

I think if/when Eb dies, the readers will get a big information dump in the form of his journals.  Eb as the Black Staff, Warden Leader, and all the journals he has from master and apprentice going back to Merlin will have a ton of information. I also suspect that Eb had Maggie's journals.  So Harry will inherit them, and at some point will begin reading them.  I think this will be a clever way of dropping a lot of information to us.

If this is to happen, what kind of information Harry will gain?  What secrets will be revealed?

[seanham]

I see the journals playing out one of 3 ways:

1) Harry gets the journals and learns all the information.
2) Someone/thing will prevent Harry from inheriting the journals
3) Harry gets the journals but can only read some of them due to language barriers

I see 1 being the least likely because Jim will probably want to torture us by dribbling out information instead of doing a big info dump. The journals are a source of free information (vs a trade), so someone wanting to limit Harry's power or gain it for their own might want to prevent Harry from getting the journals. I see 2 as being moderately likely. 3 is the most likely. By reading some, (probably Eb's) journals in English, Harry will gain some information and, after a book or two, read another set of them after finding a way to translate the text.

[forumghost]

Honestly I'd say 2 is what will probably happen. I mean:

The White Council: "No, we won't give you those, you untrustworthy non-Wizard you"

Is probably the single most likely scenario I can think of.

[morriswalters]

Unless Eb moved them the point is moot.  They're in Scotland, where Harry is persona non grata.

[seanham]

Another thought I had, will Harry still be listed on Eb's Will? How much will Eb forgive Harry, especially if the marriage goes through?

[Mira]

Unless Eb moved them the point is moot.  They're in Scotland, where Harry is persona non grata.

Perhaps, but I wouldn't be shocked if Eb found a way so Harry would get them anyway.  There is Listens to Wind and there is Rashid, both might have access and get them to Harry.

[KurtinStGeorge]

Perhaps, but I wouldn't be shocked if Eb found a way so Harry would get them anyway.  There is Listens to Wind and there is Rashid, both might have access and get them to Harry.

I don't see the series changing locations, but I could see Harry inheriting Eb's place in the Ozarks.  I could see Harry visiting that place in a single novel and perhaps using it as a safehouse for another character.  Yes, Harry's new home is a fortress, but there might be a situation where the character Harry is working with can't be seen entering Harry's home. 

Harry can use his amulet to use the ways to get there, probably in just a few minutes.  His mother would have almost certainly travelled there.

As far the Eb's journals and all of the older ones go, I don't expect Harry will get the opportunity to read through all of them.  However, Ebenezer's personal journal might be something Harry will get a chance to look through.  One thing to keep in mind is that Jim won't want to give Harry too much information, because that equals too much power.  Perhaps Eb's journals will be damaged before Harry get's the chance to read them and Harry will only be able to derive clues from them, rather than complete explanations.  Also, I could see the earliest journal, the one that supposedly was written by the original Merlin to be mostly unreadable with only a few words or symbols clear enough to make out, but perhaps just enough for Harry to learn something important from.  Most likely, only Bonea would be able to read them as they wouldn't be in modern English and it would be older than even Bob would have experience with.

[groinkick]

Perhaps, but I wouldn't be shocked if Eb found a way so Harry would get them anyway.  There is Listens to Wind and there is Rashid, both might have access and get them to Harry.

Yeah I think LtW would deliver them.  I think there is a good chance Eb would know what's coming and make sure Harry gets them in the mail.

[Mira]

I don't see the series changing locations, but I could see Harry inheriting Eb's place in the Ozarks.  I could see Harry visiting that place in a single novel and perhaps using it as a safehouse for another character.  Yes, Harry's new home is a fortress, but there might be a situation where the character Harry is working with can't be seen entering Harry's home.

The series doesn't have to change locations for Harry to get his inheritance from Eb. Though in a sense the series has changed locations and sort of returned from where it started.  With Changes, Harry's cozy basement apartment burned up, now he is returning to his lab with a castle on top of it.  Perhaps because the island, the apartment, and Arctus Tor just didn't feel right as home... Not sure the castle will either.

As far the Eb's journals and all of the older ones go, I don't expect Harry will get the opportunity to read through all of them.  However, Ebenezer's personal journal might be something Harry will get a chance to look through.  One thing to keep in mind is that Jim won't want to give Harry too much information, because that equals too much power.  Perhaps Eb's journals will be damaged before Harry get's the chance to read them and Harry will only be able to derive clues from them, rather than complete explanations.  Also, I could see the earliest journal, the one that supposedly was written by the original Merlin to be mostly unreadable with only a few words or symbols clear enough to make out, but perhaps just enough for Harry to learn something important from.  Most likely, only Bonea would be able to read them as they wouldn't be in modern English and it would be older than even Bob would have experience with.

I think it is vital that Harry get those journals, especially the early one that Merlin wrote if they can be translated..  I believe there are clues in them for the coming BAT that no one knows of, or if they did, would fill Harry in about.  Even Eb came with this "need to know" crap in Peace Talks and then told Harry he didn't need to know about his own life at this point!  Listens to Wind may be able to help.

[Snark Knight]

Most likely, only Bonea would be able to read them as they wouldn't be in modern English and it would be older than even Bob would have experience with.

Unless a lot of it was written in cipher on purpose, why would Bob have trouble with Latin or Greek? Merlin's career wouldn't have started much more than maybe a couple hundred years BC, and the languages then aren't forgotten mysteries now.

[Basil]

I don't think Harry is going to get much out of the Journals.  They were a clever way to set up the existence of the Dresden Files themselves.  Harry -- after having saved the world -- sits down to write his memoirs, just like McCoy and his mentor and his mentor before him. 

[The_Sibelis]

Merlin's career wouldn't have started much more than maybe a couple hundred years BC, and the languages then aren't forgotten.

ahh, now that we know for sure Odin played other roles I'm history. I again wonder if he wasn't actually Merlin himself at some point. Like OG. Just like with Santa there are deep cultural connections between the mythological figures. I'm which case we have no idea how old he'd technically be?
That aside, wasn't Merlin's warding language unreadable to Bob? He might have his own magical scripture actually. That way it would separate the idea from his normal thoughts but still give the specific complexity of a written or verbal language to his spells. That'd give a wizard alot of flexibility in spell work I'd think too.

[RobReece]

Even if Eb dies soon, I think that Jim will make sure that Harry doesn't get them or learn from them until the last possible moment or later...