Morgan's Journal Revisited

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Deus ex machina when Harry has always been the little guy taking out the giants in the playground, nah.

[vultur]

I've long wondered the following:

1) If Mother Winter is so nasty because she's not protected from black magic backlash, hence the stick.
2) If the Blackstaff can cure existing corruption- so pull out from Harry the taint of killing DuMorne. Harry would probably be down with that.

MW is an Immortal and therefore much more immutable than that. Since she's not a mortal with free will, she can't act against her nature anyway, so corruption wouldn't be possible/relevant in any case.

IE - any use of dark magic would be in line with her nature, and so at most would make her more of what she is ... but she's already 100% committed to being what she is, not conflicted like a mortal. This is why Fae don't hex tech by accident, etc.

Curing existing corruption... who knows. We really don't know the mechanics behind the Blackstaff. I tend to think not, but who knows?

I think the tendrils we see in Changes are more feeding off Eb's life energy than removing the black magic, as he seems to be fighting against them.

[Yuillegan]

MW is an Immortal and therefore much more immutable than that. Since she's not a mortal with free will, she can't act against her nature anyway, so corruption wouldn't be possible/relevant in any case.

IE - any use of dark magic would be in line with her nature, and so at most would make her more of what she is ... but she's already 100% committed to being what she is, not conflicted like a mortal. This is why Fae don't hex tech by accident, etc.

Curing existing corruption... who knows. We really don't know the mechanics behind the Blackstaff. I tend to think not, but who knows?

I think the tendrils we see in Changes are more feeding off Eb's life energy than removing the black magic, as he seems to be fighting against them.

Not to put too fine a point on it...but Maeve was Immortal, and so was Aurora. Mab even was considered by Titania as a viable candidate for nemfection (although no one bothered to consider whether Titania was/is). While they may be different things of course (black magic corruption and nemfection), no Immortal is truly immutable. I think that's rather the point Mother Summer was making about whether Harry could resist his mantle. It's also the point Vadderung was making about not being what he was ("change comes hard to Immortals"). They don't get a lot of choice in the matter, but not necessarily zero either. I think that's a big deal.

I agree though that some aspects of black magic don't seem particularly dissimilar to the darker powers of Winter. I revert back to D&D models a bit when this stuff gets brought up. I think the corruption caused by black magic is more like radiation sickness - get hit with too much and it changes you. But it's all part of a continuum of forces in this universe. What's unclear is the link to the Outside (if there is one).

We already know what the Blackstaff does from WOJ. It isn't a cure, it's a vaccine. It's insulation. Precisely what Winter is good at. Which does tend to suggest a link between black magic corruption and Outside. Winter is the immune system for Dresden's universe. We don't really know whether it would cure existing corruption..but it stands to reason it might.

Perhaps it was feeding off the dark magic. Considering how much dark magic has to do with both emotions and the result of the magic (read: consequences) I think that would make sense. We know that the spiritual component of a spell comes from memories and emotions, it would make sense that is what the staff is consuming.

However, I propose that it wasn't feeding at all and most people have misinterpreted the scene. It seems more likely to me that the Blackstaff was attempting to make Ebeneezer more like it. It wants to be used, as often and violently as possible. Like the One Ring and other such dark items. Consider that like the One Ring it likely shares a great deal of it's essence with it's creator. Jim was heavily influenced by Tolkien as much as any other fantasy author, but particularly for Jim I think the story had great effect on him for a variety of reasons. I think Ebeneezer was slapping the tendrils away as it attempted to corrupt him further. Not into black magic, but into the dark powers of winter - which I will say again are really not that different from black magic (just more of an icy theme).

[vultur]

Not to put too fine a point on it...but Maeve was Immortal, and so was Aurora.

Sure, but that's change by an outside force of presumably greater power. The immutability of Immortals isn't absolute... but even non-mortals that aren't capital-I Immortals (such as regular fae) don't change by their own choices and actions; it takes mortal free will to do that.

I think that's rather the point Mother Summer was making about whether Harry could resist his mantle.

The Knight Mantle doesn't make Harry an Immortal, though. It's a mantle specifically made for mortals.

I think the corruption caused by black magic is more like radiation sickness - get hit with too much and it changes you.

I think you have to choose to use black magic, not just be exposed to it. I think it's just a result of the mortal ability to change one's own nature by free will, combined with the will-driven nature of magic making the effect much more direct & immediate.

(I tend to think that the 'mental ossification' of older wizards described in TC is actually the same effect resulting from non-Law-breaking magic.)

However, I propose that it wasn't feeding at all and most people have misinterpreted the scene. It seems more likely to me that the Blackstaff was attempting to make Ebeneezer more like it. It wants to be used, as often and violently as possible.

Certainly possible, but I am not sure the two ideas are really contradictory.

I think the Blackstaff is at least semi-living/semi-sentient and linked to its user's aura/life force/spirit/whatever, in a connection that goes both ways.

Not into black magic, but into the dark powers of winter - which I will say again are really not that different from black magic (just more of an icy theme).

I don't know. I think black magic corruption is more individual than that, for example using mind magic can make you want to fix people 'for their own good'.

Winter is much more violent and direct.

It might be parallel to First Law corruption (which is about killing), but I don't think necessarily corruption in general.