All: sorry if this message sounds weird, my keyboard died and so I'm dictating this to my cell phone. Expect some odd misspellings. I'm proofreading as best as I can, but it's a tiny little screen.
Mr. Death: I agree that I think we're pretty much at the same place, though I'm sure there's some small things we may quibble over that I think we're in an "agree to disagree" mode - like whether Karrin was a good friend to deny Dresden the right of custodianship.
I would say it's not so much she thinks she has the right as she feels she has the responsibility to look after and hand out the Swords. Someone needs to look after them until the time is right; Harry was that person, then he got killed and implicitly entrusted them to Murphy. She probably didn't want them any more than Harry did, but now that she has them, she's going to do the job to the best of her ability and guided by her own judgment -- just like Harry did.
That is an excellent argument if Karen had decided to appoint someone a Knight before CD, but not so much after. Karrin is Catholic, same as Michael. They both believe that the will of God should be followed. Their creed states that priests, bishops, and popes should be divinely ordained, as well as anyone else in that kind of high position. So why does she take up on herself the role and responsibility?
One would think that she would think that Michael would be a better choice to ordain the next bearer of the swords. Instead, she refuses to give up control and takes the role upon herself. And we see that the results are disastrous. I don't argue that she felt like she had the responsibility, but just because she felt like she had the responsibility didn't mean that she actually had it.
There's one fundamental difference between Lash and the Mantle. Lash is there because Harry did not accept the coin's bargain; the Mantle is there because he did accept Mab's. There's a level of acceptance in the Mantle that wasn't present for Lash -- he's already said the big Yes, which I'd say makes him more vulnerable to it.
There were many levels of acceptance for using the coin. Remember? With each level, Harry got a little bit more power, and Lash got a little more control. Touching coin, Harry got the shadow, Lash got to communicate to Harry's subconscious, and some involuntary use of her power. Calling on that power voluntarily gave him direct communication with Lash, the ability for him to be reasoned and argued with, and the access to her knowledge. It's true that in the case of the winter mantel, Harry is currently further along the path than he was with lash. But make no mistake, he has already made the choice and accepted the power in. Foot in the door. Lash admits that no one who had accepted to the level that he already had had remained uncorrupted. In the long- term, a mortal who held a coin has just as much chance to be corrupted as a mortal having the winter mantle: it's an almost certainty. That's why I think that there's a fundamental difference between Michael and Karrin in this case: Michael had faith that his friend wouldn't become corrupted. Karrin did not.
Fair, I hadn't thought of it in that terms. But Hannah appealed to Harry personally in ways that, say, Nicodemus did not. Harry might be willing to save a "new" Denarian that he thinks was tricked, but Michael is willing to save Nicodemus.
You say that now, but remember: we don't actually know what Nicodemus' long term plans actually are. Nick is an ends justify the means kind of person, and it's been very clear throughout all of his appearances that he running against a deadline against something gigantic. His daughter also says candidly that they believe that they're saving the world. In SF, one of the books in which I think that he's being the most upfront and honest, he really does try to persuade Dresden, and says that a lot of the job would actually be good.
I believe that at this point, he thinks that Lash has more influence over him and that he could be swayed. There's no reason to give Harry the coin of the temptress unless he actually intends to win him over to his court. I think that once he understands what Nick has been working towards, they will still be enemies. But he will, to an extent, understand why he went to such lengths. And that understanding can lead to empathy.
Chopping up vampires is not a KoTC's main job, saving mortals from fallen is.
Michael was on mission when he helped out Harry in GP he was on mission when they fought the demon summer earlier that year. He was on Mission when he saved Ebenezer and gain during PG. Just because the Denarians are there huge major enemy, doesn't mean that they're not called to other tasks.
Who would not break a sword to save a loved one?
A true Knight trusts TWG and knows that there's always a way out. The right way will present itself, if they have faith. Therefore, they should never be in a situation where they would have to break a sword in order to save a loved one.
Consider the situation. Karrin attacking with the sword did nothing. It did nothing other than allow Nick to drop his game and win. If Karen had called his bluff, Dresden would not have died. Nick was counting on Dresden to get through the gate of ice. Mab would not have given him a second knight due to Harry's death in service at the hands of one of Nick's henchman and at his instructions. Nor could Nick risk Karrin calling his bluff. If Karen had called Nick's bluff, walked up, and attempted to recover Anduriel's coin to toss it into Michael's yard - somewhere irretrievable - Nick would have scrambled to retrieve it and let them go. He really doesn't have any other option at this point. He needs Harry's cooperation. And to have taken such a leap of faith, I think that Karrin might have actually become a knight. Funny, what the difference between one choice will make.
