Then the question is, what does Cowl want to do? Is it merely "I want to be able to practice black magic to my hearts content and kill, control, and otherwise do what I like to people as I am god-king" or is it more around the fact the Council won't allow any political interference, persecute even minor infractions with serious and sometimes fatal results, have no real court of appeal and an overly simplistic and out-dated legal structure, let alone the outdated and overly simply and often unrepresentative voting system, and governing body that is effectively immune to criticism or change?

I mean, if it's the later you can hardly blame the guy. The Council if it existed in our world would be a disaster of an organisation. I suspect though it's a bit of both.

If Cowl is Cristos, I doubt he will continue the charade much longer. I'd expect reforms that benefit him and his supporters to happen, probably while he politically or literally kills his opponents.

Then it’s now time for a schism. What is a pope without an antipope?

I'd be surprised if there's only two sides in the inevitable White Council civil war (which book is that going to dominate? It doesn't really seem to fit any of the next few book pitches).

Which it did because of Margaret... Then again we don't know the full skinny on Elaine, I still think someone is protecting her and supporting her, for their own purposes.

What do you believe is the most likely number?  3?  I actually think it makes a lot of sense, and more easy to manage (from a writing stand point).  Also it would be so dang difficult if you needed to banish all 3 to get Nemesis out of reality.

So lets say Nemesis can possess 3 beings at a time.  Who do you see being the hosts?

1.  Justine
2.  Cat Sith
3. ?

Leah was still worried Nemesis could influence her so it stands to reason that once you've been possessed, he can return there.  So maybe he can have Cat Sith locked up somewhere, find another host, and return to Cat when he needs to use his form for something which could mean he's with Justine, and two different people....

Nemesis is very difficult to peg down.  Can he bounce from host to host, or is there a cooldown of some kind where when he moves he needs to stay there for a while before moving again?  What exactly is required to corrupt someone?  Touch?  I don't know, and it's so frustrating not knowing!

• As a young Wamp, Lord Rath finds a spell that summons Beside. He asks Beside for protection, and Beside offers him the ability to be as immune to mortal magic as an Outsider is. Raith agrees, thinking he's in charge because of the summoning, but it's a bargain, and in return, he becomes a host to Nemesis-1. The anchor host that's practically untouchable.
• Centuries go by.
• Cowl and Raith become buds, and Raith teaches him about Outsider magic.
• Cowl learns how to make people compliant using Nemfection, which he probably doesn't fully understand. He starts Nemfecting the Council and others, and with Raith's help, makes an athame that can Nemfect Lea as Nem2.
• A second vector is sent to Aurora by Bianca, to not offend one court over the other. Aurora is Nemfected with Nem3.
• Aurora dies, sending Nem3 back to the outside.
• Lea doesn't realize she's Nemfected, and Beside can control her without her awareness. Nem2-Lea nemfects Maeve using the athame, making her Nem3.
• Lea realizes she's Nemfected and turns herself over to Mab, who puts her on ice. They may or may not know about Maeve at this point. One down, two to go, but...
• Nem-Maeve plots to free Nem-Lea, and lures Harry to Arctis Tor to rescue Molly while Mab is stuck dealing with an assault at the Gates. Her Scarecrow lacky positions himself in the right place, resulting in Harry's fire hitting Lea, and almost freeing Nem2.
• Mab learns of Maeve's Nemfection, and gets MAD.
• Mab realizes she can't do this alone so she ends up exorcising it from Lea, freeing her lieutenant to return to duty, but also sending the Nem2 infection Out where it can be summoned again.
• Maeve summons Nem2 back, and reaches out to Thorned Namshiel. She Nemfects the host, until he's killed in SmF.
• Maeve Nemfects Cat Sith. That goes swimmingly until Cat Sith is knocked out of the fight, and Maeve dies, sending Nem3 back outside.
Justine Options

• Secretly, Beside takes control of the comatose Raith and creates another vector for Nemfection. Then, when Justine is alone with him for feeding/diaper change/whatev, Nem1 takes control and Nemfects Justine, making her the new Nem3.
• Cat Sith uses his Nemfection to pass Thomas and Justine's threshold without invitation, and Nemfects Justine. Not sure about the vector, unless he can do it without a vector, or he stole the one used on Aurora. (Mab should still have the athame)
• Raith remains comatose, Sith does whatever Sith is doing, and Justine acts as the new primary meddler.
• Harry discovers Justine is Nemfected, and she goes on the run.

This assumes that aside from actual Nemfection possession, there's also a level of Nemfection that corrupts people and things without direct control from Nemesis. Cowl (via Raith), Sells (via Raith), Denton (via Cowl), Kravos (Cowl), Bianca (Mavra), Madrigal (Maeve), Scarecrow (Maeve), Vitto (Cowl), Peabody (Cowl), the Council (Peabody), Arianna (Mavra?), and others (maybe Listen) have all been Nemfected with the corruption agent without Nemesis being involved or in control. The Nemfection just weakens the bonds of the soul in a way that minimizes a person's moral compass and conscience.

Of course, the Thorned Namshiel Nemfection is still just a theory. But it's not critical to the flow, and the rest works I think, even without that one.

Depends on how it infests hosts, I would think.

I consider the banishment of the Cornerhounds as a pretty big hint on how to stop Nemesis. You banish/trap one and you get the whole lot.

I always thought there was a limit because otherwise why wouldn't it just infest everyone? The threat would be enormous and everyone would have lost by now.

Thirteen seems most likely based on that number's significance in the series, and the fact that the pack of Cornerhounds numbered at thirteen.

Probably needs it's own thread, but.. what's the quantifiable different between what Fearbringer does and what Nemesis does? Are other walkers also multifaceted beings or just nemesis? And... Has anyone considered the three beer bottles touching has nothing to do with the number of walkers, but the number of manifestations available? Three touching bottles is something I think is oftentimes skimmed over for the greater theoretics.(and of course, the vast assumption it means three walkers are coming, I've not seen challenged by anyone but me. That's the ambiguity of not actually saying anything..) Not three bottles standing together, three touching, as though intimately entwined somehow, interconnected.