Origins of the Three Eye drug. (Changes spoiler)

[KeyMasterOfGozer]

so how did he come up with the formula for 3eye? that is a far advanced potion. how did he get the bloodline curse? how did he get an extensive library as they would be expensive? and he was never said to have one just a few books. no he isn't self taught someone taught him specific things and set him on his path. someone had wanted Sells to do specific things, he was a tool. it is obvious.

Where do we have evidence that 3eye is a "far advanced" potion?  He did not have the "Bloodline Curse", though the curse he used did have a similar effect, it did not target a bloodline.  He had a demon summoned, it is possible that the bound demon was compelled to tell him something about curses, or even potion making.  Or it could have been another demon that he summoned.  All of this is speculation, of course.

Edit:
I looked it up, and from Changes Chapter 21...

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Odin does give a strong implication that the Bloodline Curse and the one Sells used were very similar.  Vadderung said "The sorcerer who used that spell in Chicago before didn't have the strength enough to make it spread past the initial target."

  That could mean that Sells Spell is the exact same spell as the Bloodline Curse and Sells just needed more power to go bloodline, but it doesn't mean that that the spell would not need to be changed as well as need more power to go bloodline.  It's hard to tell exactly what's going on, since we know Harry (and therefore us) have only a small portion of the picture.

[contraducktory]

So basically, the whole series and everything that harry has gone up against so far, has been to try to get Harry to leave the White Council, and join "someone".  I would say that sounds like overkill just to get Harry.  I also think that it was overkill to set up the outrageously powerful Bloodline spell just to take out EB, but that's me.

Think like the "bad guy"

SF - VS, three eye.  Hrmm, we got thwarted there.  Good thing we have
FM - Wolfbelts.  Tried to take out Marcone(why?), thwarted agian..."WTH is going on!"
GP - Bianca/Mavra/Kavros  - "What do you mean our new Countess is dead? "
/leap/
DB - necromancers.  "No god/God for us...that guy in Chicagao is getting pretty annoying, maybe we should kill him..."  (of course they can't out and out kill him.  That would make the WC investigate)
PG - Take Molly/Take on Mab - "what do you mean Summer got involved?!?  we really need to kill that guy"
WK - culling of the kine - "damnit! he stopped us again, and we lost some vampires in the process."
SmF - Marcone/Archive - "we didn't get Marcone, we didn't get the Archive.  Ok, really we need to kill this guy.  Who can we get?"
TC - Shagnasty- "OMFG!!!  He survived again?!?!  ok, time to be more direct."
Changes -

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Maggie kidnapped, big spell to kill Ebenezer, take out the Red King, take out the Fellowship. "All of them?  ok that does it"  Bang Dead Wizard

All to get Harry to turn?  No.  For the bad guys though, he's kicking their butts and he doesn't even know what the end game is yet.

[Lord Rae]

I can see Cowl as teaching Victor about the drug so that he could sow chaos and fear in the city as part of the groundwork for the DB and the ascension ritual.

[wildone654]

I think the fact that Harry, an admittedly young yet still powerful and knowledgeable enough to be on the WC Wizard, thought the potion to be literally impossible implies it is very advanced.   I mean we are talking about a guy that makes fire, a potion that made everyone ignore him, and another one that was like super lust in a bottle.  If he thinks something is impossible to do(not for him but for anyone), it must at the very least be incredibly hard to do.  

[Vryce]

Im personal belief is that 3rd-eye is a failed experiment to get sight to normal people so they can see the truth of the magic around them.  Given a evil twist and poof its also additive.  Maybe a wizard trying to get the world to belive in magic again.  Or someone trying to start the next witch trials.   
But ya failed experiment that could make baddies make money.  Think Vector was being used to try to make 3rd eye better.

[Phariah]

Also, the bloodline curse in Changes and the heart exploder in SF killed in similar ways, but the ritual in SF was NOT a bloodline curse, it used a thaumaturgic link powered by ritual sex.  I don't think it needs to be the same person teaching sells and the Red Court.  If two coaches who have never met each other both grew up knowing the rules of football and watching the same games, it is not unlikely they will both draw up similar plays.  So I don't know if the connection is necessarily there, other than Arianna getting nudged into action that involved Harry.

Where do we have evidence that 3eye is a "far advanced" potion?  He did not have the "Bloodline Curse", though the curse he used did have a similar effect, it did not target a bloodline.  He had a demon summoned, it is possible that the bound demon was compelled to tell him something about curses, or even potion making.  Or it could have been another demon that he summoned.  All of this is speculation, of course.

Changes page 161-162 for whole convo. i am just using the important piece.
Harry,"How does it work?"
Vadderung,"it tears out the heart. rips it to bits on the way out, too. sound familiar?"
Harry," hell's bells." it had been years since i had even thought about Victor Sells or his victims.
Vaderung, "it's all connected, Dresden. the whole game. and you're now beginning to learn who the players are. the sorcerer who used the spell in Chicago before didn't have strength enough to make it spread past the initial target. the RC does.no one has used Power on that scale in more than a millennium."

[Tesla]

Yanno 3E does seem like it could be a variation of the Gatekeepers eye ointment...

[KeyMasterOfGozer]

Changes page 161-162 for whole convo. i am just using the important piece.
Harry,"How does it work?"
Vadderung,"it tears out the heart. rips it to bits on the way out, too. sound familiar?"
Harry," hell's bells." it had been years since i had even thought about Victor Sells or his victims.
Vaderung, "it's all connected, Dresden. the whole game. and you're now beginning to learn who the players are. the sorcerer who used the spell in Chicago before didn't have strength enough to make it spread past the initial target. the RC does.no one has used Power on that scale in more than a millennium."

Yes, I put that in my edit above as well, but it doesn't specifically say that it is the same spell, just that they are similar, and that Sells' version didn't have enough power to go bloodline.  One could infer that it was the same spell, but it doesn't seem definitive.  You can feel from the whole conversation that Vadderung *can't* fill Harry in on all the details.  It seems to me that Vadderung is using this to point something out to Harry so he can find a method to defeat it, but he can't go into more specifics.

[kazimmoinuddin]

imagine the effect of third eye on all those minor talents, the WC trying to deal thousand of dark mini warlocks.

[Eleyctra]

This thread made me remember a part of SF that bothers/confuses me:
Its when Harry go visits Murphy after getting concussed, and in the precinct hallway a 3E junkie trying to escape runs into Harry. The junkie then screams out (something like) "I see you! I see you wizard! I see those who come before, and He Who Walks Behind!"

Now while 3E does give the user the ability to see the metaphysical, how does this junkie know the name of an demon/outsider?

[Sh33p]

I like to think the Sells version of the curse was inspired by the White Court. Papa Raith just switched over to the Red Court version for the satisfaction of shanking Thomas to death.

[contraducktory]

Now while 3E does give the user the ability to see the metaphysical, how does this junkie know the name of an demon/outsider?

if it gave him the sight, maybe he gained an understanding of what he saw as well?

I like to think the Sells version of the curse was inspired by the White Court. Papa Raith just switched over to the Red Court version for the satisfaction of shanking Thomas to death.

the porn-cerouses were using a ritual entropy curse, not the same as VS or the RC.
when PR was going to kill Thomas, they were calling up HWWB to kill Harry(IMO), Thomas would have been the sacrifice and vessel for him.

[Arjan]

I like to think the Sells version of the curse was inspired by the White Court. Papa Raith just switched over to the Red Court version for the satisfaction of shanking Thomas to death.

It was like the Red Court curse so why not just blame the red court?
Or their known associates. The wizzards who called outsiders?

In Blood Rites pappa Raith employed a totally different technique. One that he could have learned Sells as well.
But at that point in time the red court was far more aggressive as the white (because of Maggies curse).

[Taer]

imagine the effect of third eye on all those minor talents, the WC trying to deal thousand of dark mini warlocks.

^ I like this theory.

We know that the Black Council is very much against White Council. The 3-Eye drug might have been an initial attempt to spread the resources of the council thin. Think about it - Luccio already confirmed that with the huge population explosion, Wardens are stretched thinner than ever and it's very difficult to effectively find and educate new wizards before they turn warlock.

We also know that everyone in DF has some potential for magic. Most people don't have enough oomph to become full-blown wizards but everyone can learn some magic.

So, there's probably plenty of people who would be capable of some black magic shenanigans, but who would otherwise never even think of trying anything magical - the Masquerade is in place. However, if they take a drug like 3-Eye, they might just start thinking 'What if magic is real?'.

Suddenly, you have entire leagues of minor talents dabbling in magic(some of whom will inevitably try Black Magic), spreading the Council's resources even thinner and creating a lot of potential recruits for the Black Council.

My guess is that Sells didn't manufacture 3-Eye for profit or personal reasons. He did it in return for knowledge of magic. Ie. his deal with whatever entity that granted him power or knowledge was that he would manufacture and distribute 3-Eye.

[toodeep]

imagine the effect of third eye on all those minor talents, the WC trying to deal thousand of dark mini warlocks.

I like this as well.  Keep in mind, it is people like the formor who are taking the mini-talents right now, and they are experts at modifying creatures.  So take someone with a little talent.  Modify them up to be like a mini-denarian in shapeshifted form (to make them tougher) and then amp them up on some kind of magic increasing juice and you get some serious warmachines that can think (depending on how mind-bent they are by the formor as well).  Or even worse, mind-lock them, alter them in virtually invisible ways, amp them up and addict them, and return them to society as internal sabatours.