CD Spoilers: The Case of the Stolen Walking Stick

[breck]

The walking stick comments might shed some light on mac. As part of getting a site declared accorded neutral territority there is an epic level weapon quest at the end. If mac is merlin or an archangel i can see him getting the walking stick, though it would still be a trial. Perhaps mother winters ability to use and withstand iron is recompense for it's loss.

[Phariah]

i am thinking  something/ body stole/ tricked the staff from Mom W. than was eventually won/ bargained from the perp.

[stevem]

I like this theory.

And it fits with Jim Butcher's need to torture Harry.

Remember, Harry is the Knight of the Lady, Queen and Mother.

How long will it be before Mother Winter orders Harry to retrieve her "walking stick", placing him in direct conflict with Eb?  Harry vs. his grandfather who happens to be the number 1 thug wizard living.

[Serack]

Guys, my initial google trolling hasn't gotten any hits, but Jim flat out said 3 years ago:

How long has the White Council had the Blackstaff
Look for Celtic Lore around 1065 ad.

Now we have another search term to find the actual lore behind "The Case of the Stolen Walking Stick"

[Howl]

Finding any wizard insane enough to attempt such a theft would be the most difficult part of the entire scenario. 

If something is so insane that even Harry wouldn't consider it then you know that the needle has gone right off the scale.

I like the idea of the Blackstaff belonging to Mother Winter. And the wizard who might be crazy enough to steal it- How about the original Merlin?

[Blackblade]

How long has the White Council had the Blackstaff
Look for Celtic Lore around 1065 ad.

Now we have another search term to find the actual lore behind "The Case of the Stolen Walking Stick"

Battle of Hastings took place in 1066.  That was the last time Mab and Titania shared a civil conversation. 

[Serack]

Battle of Hastings took place in 1066.  That was the last time Mab and Titania shared a civil conversation.

Was Hastings mentioned?  I thought she had just said in a thousand years but I'm not sure, and don't have the book on me ATM.

[Trod]

"I do not know." She gave me an oblique look. "I have not exchanged words with my sister since before Hastings."

[KevinSig]

Just figured this WOJ should be mentioned here

Q:  Can you tell us a little more about the black staff?
A:   The staff keeps Eb from going crazy, mostly.  Also, the White Council stole it from someone.  And they really want it back.

http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=22804

I'm not good at keeping track of the timeline, but does 1065 AD seem to correspond with when people assume Jim had the original Merlin active?

...

Of course, given how interesting Merlin seems to be, just based of the hints we've heard of him, I'm starting to wonder if Harry & Merlin might be the same person.  There's a WOJ on Merlin I'm going to have to track down.

Q:  Is the original Merlin still alive?
A:  Kind of… life… death… it’s kind of a squishy line in the Dresdenverse.

2010 Powell's books Q&A off of Youtube @8:20


If the Dresden books were about Merlin, it does seem to fit.  Harry Dresden isn't Merlin yet, but he's getting there.

[AcornArmy]

If the Dresden books were about Merlin, it does seem to fit.  Harry Dresden isn't Merlin yet, but he's getting there.

With magic like what we saw in the creation of Demonreach? I love Harry, but nothing human made that spell, imho. Or at least nothing human designed it; it's too difficult for us to think in more than three dimensions at once. Four dimensions is doable, we guess at that when we try to picture black holes, but setting up spells to run across multiple dimensions beyond our three physical ones + time? Egh. Not when Demonreach had to dumb it down in order for Bob to understand it. Theoretical physicists imagine plenty of other dimensions, but they don't try to describe what it would be like to actually move around and do stuff in them, other than maybe a fourth physical dimension.

Maybe something happens to Harry in the future to turn him into a super-genius(less Wile E. Coyote, more Stephen Hawking on mental steroids) which allows him to make spells like that-- but barring that, I can't believe it.

[KevinSig]

Maybe something happens to Harry in the future to turn him into a super-genius(less Wile E. Coyote, more Stephen Hawking on mental steroids) which allows him to make spells like that-- but barring that, I can't believe it.

Harry technically could be around for a very long time.  The notion that he could get to that level isn't beyond possibility.  Plus, if not Harry, then I don't see how Jim could leave us hanging on the events that created Merlin.

[TheCuriousFan]

With magic like what we saw in the creation of Demonreach? I love Harry, but nothing human made that spell, imho. Or at least nothing human designed it; it's too difficult for us to think in more than three dimensions at once. Four dimensions is doable, we guess at that when we try to picture black holes, but setting up spells to run across multiple dimensions beyond our three physical ones + time? Egh. Not when Demonreach had to dumb it down in order for Bob to understand it. Theoretical physicists imagine plenty of other dimensions, but they don't try to describe what it would be like to actually move around and do stuff in them, other than maybe a fourth physical dimension.

Maybe something happens to Harry in the future to turn him into a super-genius(less Wile E. Coyote, more Stephen Hawking on mental steroids) which allows him to make spells like that-- but barring that, I can't believe it.

Would Lash be able to do anything to help with the understanding of dimensions required for spells like that?

But yeah, Harry isn't going to be pulling any spells like that on his own.

[Serack]

Would Lash be able to do anything to help with the understanding of dimensions required for spells like that?

But yeah, Harry isn't going to be pulling any spells like that on his own.

Come to think of it, Harry's time spent amongst the shadows of death and all these portents about it opening doors and paths that weren't previously available might be pointing to this type of stuff. 

That is, his experiences in GS might be the key to this type of understanding.

[DaBear]

I like the idea of the Blackstaff coming from Mother Winter and the Merlin's White staff having come from Mother Summer.

The BlackStaff works like Winter magic as a tool of destruction and the other as a tool of growth or construction.

Didn't the Merlin hold off the Red Court for a long period with just a ward?

Don't know how the White Council came by the staffs but it makes sense that if Mother Winter had one then so did Summer.

[lazaros742]

Im starting to have a bad feeling that there is a second item of power from the mothers. Maybe Summer had a similar item, of the opposite nature, in other words creation? An item which was used by the original Merlin to create the prison on Demonreach. In order to counter the loss of power from Winter and to balance it out, Summer gave its item to a powerful wizard in order to check the power of Merlin? Eventually passing on to those holding the blackstaff position? I just feel so far every thing in summer and winter has been balanced. Summer has less forces, but Winter has an additional responsibility so why wouldnt summer also have an additional responsibility... it would also explain why Lily was the one to counter demonreach not Maeve... as Summers power created the Island... ofc im just thinking and speculating so you never know! Jim's mind is kinda a crazy maze imo and you never know whats gonna be around the next corner!