You might be talking "neutral" in terms of the Accords, but many people are talking about her cover story of neutrality. The neutrality explicitly stated in books. It's pretty common for people to build theories around that neutrality or to object to theories based on that neutrality. The fact that it's a cover is only stated by Jim. It's not in any of the books, short stories, comic books, or paranet papers.
Ah. I see where the misapprehension comes in. Alas.
I am familiar with that WOJ. Jim elaborated on how it’s the Archive’s cover story that her role is simply to be the repository of all human knowledge—when she is actually on the lookout for mentions of beings better left forgotten. At which point she dispatches agents to deal with them.
That is not a lack of “neutrality”. Being neutral does not mean being inactive. Switzerland has been neutral for centuries, and yet continues to be active in it’s own pursuits.
The Archive
is neutral. She doesn’t ally with anyone, or act in any interests of any party other than those of the Archive itself.
Though she might work around the edges of that proscription where one of her two friends is involved.
So, “neutral” is not a synonym for “inactive”. I hope That helps all of the people out there who misunderstand.
There's a WoJ that being in the coins limits the influence of the Fallen in them to Earth, which I had taken to mean that the Fallen in the coins absolutely can project themselves out of them, it's just against the rules. If that's the case, then there wouldn't be any need for a ritual.
I think you perhaps misunderstood that WOJ.
When a Coin is in secure storage, it is able to influence it’s immediate surroundings. Slightly, to the extent that over an extended period of time, it can work it’s way back into circulation.
The speed that coins have gotten back into circulation so fast indicates corruption, a outside force other than the coin/Fallen combo.
A Fallen that dominates it’s host (such as the first incarnation of Ursiel) has limited abilities due to a lack of the hosts’ choice in every action.
For a Fallen such as Anduriel, working in partnership with Nick, enabled by free choice, Jim was saying that their power is “limited” to this world alone, to Earth—rather than galaxies, the universe, Reality—as Uriel’s power is limited only by choice.
In essence, that a Fallen working in partnership effectively has unlimited power—but it’s restricted to Earth. That’s their only limit. He’s saying that they are still very powerful.
As far as which Fallen influenced Harry in Changes, there is a WOJ that I didn’t understand until now. In Skin Game, Lasciel made it clear that it was she who had done it, and now I think I understand. Most of it, anyway.
I don’t recall the context, but WOJ said that in Changes when Harry told Mab that he had other options besides taking up the mantle of the Winter Knight, he was “kinda lying”. I puzzled over that one for a while, because Jim had made it clear that he thought that was an
option for Harry.
Then I got it. By the time Changes rolled around, Lasciel’s Coin had already escaped containment. Not only that, but someone had also taken up the coin for themselves.
That’s how A. Lasciel was able to act, and B. Why Harry would have been able to summon the coin, even though he thought he’d be able to. In other words, it’s not a lie if you believe you’re correct.
The only qualifier being that the person who took up Lasciel’s coin had to either voluntarily give it up or lose it—intentionally, so that it could be given to Hannah Ascher.
In the former case, just as an example, someone like Nick might have put down Anduriel temporarily—or ordered someone else to do so—just so that Lasciel could act against Harry at a crucial juncture. Well, Anduriel would have known that it was a “crucial juncture”, after all.
Anyway, that makes sense to me.
What happened to Ursiel and Lasciel’s coins after Harry left is another question. I suppose it’s possible that Nick managed to grab Ursiel’s coin before he made a dash for it. Not Lasciel’s—though if Hannah Ascher managed to survive beneath all of that molten rock, that seems a very Jim thing to do.
Otherwise, it would appear that Hades has a couple more religious artifacts to display when he tidied up Vault Seven.
