Consider the phrase "power has purpose".

I think given the level that Mother Winter exists on i.e. there is only one Mother Winter in all the multiverse, and she ranks around the same level as Archangels and Greater Gods (to use the old D&D scale), I would say that much of what she does is at an environmental level. For example, the fact that entropy and fear and savagery exist in all these many universes. She is powering all of that. Or perhaps not simply powering, but a result of that. If you really think about it, what she is "doing" is constantly shown. Harry just isn't looking that deeply. She is the "Unmaker" after all.

I bet she has chosen a Knight, although I don't believe Jim has ever hinted at it. But probably the most savage and psychotic Winter Knights were probably hers.

To number three, I think the answer is more complicated. The whole bit in Cold Days where she and Mother Summer argue about who's weapon Harry is, and who's world it is etc. Yes, I think Harry is her weapon in that he is an agent of destruction. Whether she was more directly involved in the Star Born part is harder to know - although given that a large part of her purpose is to fight Outsiders (or provide the multiverse with the power to do so, in the form of the many Winter Courts) - I would say it's highly likely.

To me, the likely conclusion is that Ebenezer is omitting important information in that statement.

The "why" seems pretty important here.

For example, it could be that Starborn are immune to mind corruption from the outsiders because they themselves are part-Outsider.

Which might explain the White Council's aggression towards Harry over the years etc.

But that's just one theory.

I also think that given that WoJ is that being a Starborn is very "unlucky" and something most don't want to be...I doubt it's just resistance/immunity to Outsider mind taint.

Also, it would appear that while tens of thousands of more Starborn are made during the Event (it might be that you literally must be exposed to star light during that time), most apparently are killed off very quickly. harry is one of the few of his iteration, apparently.

Firstly, its been a while since I have posted so it's good to be back.

Secondly, great to see some more information coming from Jim! While Twelve Months is unlikely to be published this year, I am hopeful that we might get it as early as next year.

Now, to the information from Dragon Con.

Drakul
"He found Kemmler funny". Which should tell us all we need to know about how evil Drakul is, right there. If Mab thought Kemmler was insane, it really shows how dark Drakul must be.

"Kemmler spoiled some of his [Drakul's] plans but nothing serious...he [Drakul] found all the murder funny". Given how much impact Kemmler has had on things e.g. the only two World Wars in recorded history, the fact that he successfully sustained a war on the White Council for over a century and it likely took the largest Nuke ever to defeat him (which I know contradicts the whole thing about locking his magic down and chainsawing him and burning him BUT it also literally happened the same day in the same location...), and the fact Kemmler tried to become a dark god (and so did his disciples later, presumably to continue his plan-ish) and begin some sort of New World Order type-of-deal - the sheer fact that it barely disrupted Drakul and he found his antics merely amusing, really shows how endgame, dangerous and outright terrible Drakul's plans are. He is playing a long-game in the same way Vadderung is - and I wonder if they were peers, after a fashion, in the old, old days.

The Fallen
"How did the Fall happen if Fallen Angels don't have Free Will?" The Fallen had a chance but abused it, and so the Creator "went in another direction" which might suggest he bound all the non-Fallen thereafter (although it is implied Uriel could Fall, which suggests that all non-Fallen still have that one Choice). But interesting that the Creator didn't see it coming, or did but couldn't stop it, or did see it coming but allowed it to happen anyway. That's more of a philosophical one though.

Mab
Her story is tied up with Merlin's (the original character from the Arthurian legends). Which really only leaves two characters: Nimue and Morganna Le Fay. My guess is the latter and that Nimue/Vivian was simply Mab's predecessor. Particularly given that Mab had Morganna's Athame.

Bob
Bob's skull is the skull of the person who died to "birth" him. Given that spirits like Bob are created by a combination of a spirit-being and a mortal, we can only assume the skull was once a mortal's. Mab is the strongest candidate for his mother, but it doesn't leave many options. Old WOJ states it was a wizard called Etienne the Enchanter who made the skull, but this appears to have been retconned as Jim has said we have met Bob's parents.

Thoughts?

Changes was about breaking from the previous series norms. Harry lost his house, his allies, his usual weapons, even literally the theme of his magic went from fire to more ice-focussed (at least, for a while). Jim has talked about how he wanted to strip Dresden back so that he could do other stuff. Which he did. Changes, Ghost Story, and Cold Days were almost one big phase. Things went back to "normal" in Skin Game (partially why it was so well received I imagine). Then Jim blew that to hell, so to speak, with Peace Talks and Battle Ground.

So, if Twelve Months is meant to be a book about changing things, one would have to work out what Jim is trying to change. Are we going back to a more familiar Harry? Or are we going to somewhere new?

I do agree that it will reveal some interesting points of information about starborn and the Cycle. Although, I doubt will get the whole picture. Jim wants us to keep buying books, after all!

I am going to make this really clear. I and the other mods will not tolerate rule breaking and general antisocial behaviour. We don't have the time or patience for it. I am not going to spend all my time warning people. Be kind and courteous to each other, read the rules and precepts and Rules of Don't again. I advise everybody to do that just to be clear on everything. Most people here are very well behaved and I won't have it ruined for them.

So, according to a reddit comment I found, Jim has apparently said that Harry's Pyrofuego spell in Grave Peril, the spell that ignites the canopy of the roof above him and creates tendrils of nearly-living fire that grab and burn vampires, the spell that stopped his heart and nearly killed him - that spell, is apparently not a death curse, but actually something that will be revealed at the end of the Dresden Files (not the BAT).

I had never considered it before, but that spell is unlike any spell Harry or any other wizard has cast. Similar to Fiendfyre in Harry Potter (or whatever that spell Grindelwald uses in the Crimes of Grindelwald movie), it creates physics defying fire. Fire that can "grab" a being, and annihilate them. Harry, to my knowledge, has never made fire that hot or fire that did more than physics allowed it to (let's leave any Soulfire or Hellfire out for now).

So what do we think happened?

My personal view is that it Harry was tapping into his Starborn power, perhaps his "Destroyer" nature that has been hinted at several times. I have often wondered if Harry's Destroyer nature is similar to Foo Dogs in that he is a focal point of chaos that changes the course of the universe around him in unpredictable and destructive ways. Similar to how Mouse can affect the probability of things to be good and wholesome and work out, and how Ash (My Shadow) can do the opposite.

But now I wonder if some of it is more direct? Just how Harry burned a non-physical being like He Who Walks Behind at a Gas station. Yes, fire is destructive even without magic to magical beings. But we also know that Outsiders are nearly impossible to affect, magically or otherwise. But Starborn have a special power that actually allows them to hurt the being on the other end of the Outsider, the thing that is reaching into the universe through it's avatars e.g. the Cornerhounds are simply the "fingers" of a being reaching into the Dresden universe. It can't manifest fully, so it creates avatars in order to interact with the universe. Normally, this is excellent protection against beings of that universe because the being outside the universe is insulated from any real pain or damage. But Starborn have the ability to actually reach through that connection between the avatar and the original being, and actually cause them real pain and damage. Perhaps even kill them.

So, does anyone have a link to Jim saying that Harry's spell is more than it seems? And what do we think about it?

This topic has been moved to [Recycling]. due to being unrelated and pure bait.

https://www.paranetonline.com/index.php?topic=55060.0

I remember that passage from Ghost Story, and it wasn't so much that Uriel thought one way or the other, but though Uriel is an archangel, it isn't his place or job to judge Harry or anyone else.

I don't think he was judging. I think he can see which way the river is flowing though, and he commented on it. A warning to Harry. Don't forget, Harry's did go "On" and low and behold went to the person he had sold himself to. A big part of the whole exercise was to warn Harry that he was on a slippery path.

I haven't seen Parks and Rec, but Harry does allow himself to be governed, as Winter Knight, he is governed by Mab.. Yes, he wiggles as much as he can with in her rules and the rules that govern the Winter Court, but he respects them and obeys most of them.

I mean, he "allows" it because she he often gets reminded she has him by the throat. If he obeys the rules, it's because he has no other option. Hence why he tries to wiggle out of them every. single. time. If that's a not a disrespect for authority, I don't know what is.

Mab often outplays him too, and for all his small victories against her, I'd say she is winning the longer battle. She told him he would be her Knight one day, she told him he would be her weapon. Everything has worked in her favour in the long run.

It isn't a simple problem of the White Council being infiltrated by the likes of the Black Council.. Harry wants to reform, not to abolish the White Council.  I don't ever remember where Harry was arguing with Eb that there should be no White Council.  However there is a bit of a problem when a large percentage of future wizards lose their heads because they make mistakes when their talent awakes and the fear that they may go warlock.. And then there are those that do go warlock because there aren't enough wizards to take them under their wing.. You see the problem here, wizards live a long time, but new blood is needed, and the rules that worked great six hundred or so years ago might not work quite as well in the 21st Century.

I agree Harry would prefer to reform them, but he did actually suggest at one point that it wouldn't be so bad if the White Council didn't exist and Ebenezar chewed him out over it. He even said it would be worth as much as Dresden's life to say such things, in times gone by. It was during the discussion when Ebenezar reveals himself as Blackstaff.

"Ever since the founding of the White Council, ever since the first wizards gathered to lay down the Laws of Magic, there has been someone interested in tearing it apart," he said. "The vampires, for one. The faeries have all been at odds with us at one time or another. And there have always been wizards who thought the world would be a nicer place without the Council in it."

"Gee," I said. "I just can't figure why any wizard would think that."

Ebenezar's voice lashed out, harsh and cold. "You don't know what you're talking about, boy. You don't know what you're saying. Within my own lifetime, there have been times and places where even speaking those words could have been worth your life."

Blood Rites, pg 216.
Harry understands the sentiment that the world "would be a better place without the White Council" and it implies he feels the same, at least sometimes.

Harry has never chosen to be a loner, he isn't a social butterfly, but he never was a loner.. He has always had friends, Michael for one.. There have always been those who have sacrificed themselves not just for his causes, but for him because of their love for him.

Are we talking about the same guy who prefers to stay in reading books than going out? Who prefers the peacefulness of farms and homesteads to the big smoke? Who willing didn't see or tell any of his friends about his return from death? At least, until he had to. Yes, Harry has had friends. But that doesn't mean he hasn't chosen many, many times to be alone.

Just because he doesn't attend the White Council's meetings doesn't mean he has no respect for them.  Yeah, he didn't wear the proper robe to the meeting once but his good robe was covered in puke, blood, or cat poop I cannot remember which... That was also at a time when Harry was suffering clearly from severe depression his person and apartment reflected that.  Learning any language takes time, Harry didn't know the White Council existed until he was arrested by them and they nearly took his head. He never finished high school though he did eventually get his GED.. He was still of high school age when he went to live with Eb.. Eb could have made him finish high school and take Latin, but he didn't.  His argument with the Merlin was out of respect for the very rules of the White Council, and it was under those very rules he was able to save Molly.. If he had no faith in those rules he wouldn't have advised her to surrender to the Wardens in the first place..  Harry was under the Doom for years, and after many on the Council didn't want him, it was only out of nessesity that Luccio drafted him.

He began to respect them more over time, but he eventually ended up hating them all the more when they failed him. Is it any accident, that when they failed to help him when he needed them the most, he stopped going to Council meetings? He only recently returned to warden duties, and then got kicked out of the White Council. Wearing his "formal" attire (which often was just a bathrobe rather than a proper robe) covered in dirt and grime and filth...is hardly respectful. If he were a cop or soldier, he would be reprimanded. If he did it repeatedly, he would be fired. It's disrespectful to the role that you hold. Yes, he might have been depressed. But either you deal with it and try and get better, or you quit. You can't compromise your job and expect everyone to pick up the slack indefinitely - and that's just a normal workplace. There's a lot less tolerance in things like law enforcement. Let alone a magic society.

I quite agree, the warlock problem is complex and multi-faceted. Apparently there are not enough wizards to train warlocks properly (although, what is stopping a wizard taking on multiple students?). A bigger problem is then each wizard would be under the Doom of Damocles. Hard to enforce that if you end up killing more wizards than wardens. Yes, the rules that were invented during the early days of the White Council are probably not as relevant or sophisticated to deal with the more complex issues that exist in the 21st century. But as Harry has shown, information being shared and early intervention is helping (although the wizards don't like that idea much, too dangerous in their eyes). Perhaps a less punitive approach and a more rehabilitative approach would work better. But only time will tell, and Dresden's world is only getting harsher and more chaotic. We ARE moving towards the apocalypse after all (which for some reason lots of readers forget Jim has said that's where the series is going - the Big Apocalyptic Trilogy).

He isn't deciding what the rules of the White Council should be, but he does question whether or not they are all that they could be.    Governments of any form are not perfect, sometimes bad laws are made, ineffective laws are made, some laws that worked great a hundred years ago, no longer apply now, the smarter governments recognize this and evolve.. Actually what has happened in Harry's life and what he has seen has made him very expert in these things, he nearly was a victim.

 
He would be deciding the rules if he made a new White Council, which was your suggestion. He is right to question if the rules need updating, that's fairly clear. But also Harry has seen over time the need for the Council's policies and procedures - things he didn't understand for a long time. He's seen what happens when things go wrong. Of course governments are not perfect! Some would say by definition they cannot be. I suspect Harry is somewhere in the middle of that. He sees the necessity, yet also wishes a lessening of the reach and authority of government. It's an incredibly complex topic that has been debated forever. I doubt Harry Dresden will solve it. Harry being a product of the failings of the White Council's policies and structure don't make him qualified to make a new one, in my opinion. If Harry has the right to make a new Council and decide new rules, it will be because he has earned it through trials of blood and sacrifice. It will be because he has learned the real dangers of unrestrained magic (which he still has yet to fully understand). It will be because he has defeated enough enemies of humans that they will respect him. It will be ultimately because he becomes strong enough that the wizards cannot say no to him, and as we know, a wizard's strength comes from his knowledge.

He isn't the only one, Rashid is another who has isolated himself from the Council, but he has years of experience on how to do it without alienation of the Council.  However that isolation is a two way street, the Council's own prejudice against Harry because of who his mother was has gone a long way to isolate Harry.

Indeed, Rashid has isolated himself. But Rashid is also the oldest wizard on the planet - maybe the oldest human alive. He's a thousand years old or more. So, just by virtue of that, it isolates him. Not to mention his work requires him to be about as far from the mortal plane as you can go. The literal farthest reaches of the Nevernever. Perhaps Rashid was isolated by Mab or others but it's impossible to say. I would say Rashid is a bit alien to the Council, but he's so quiet and mysterious the don't get worried about him. And as we know, age and experience and mystery are the big things in wizard society, and Rashid has the most of all three.

Not just prejudice because of Margaret Le Fey, but also because of Justin Du Morne being his teacher, not to mention those who know about Harry being star born, and Harry murdering his master in highly unusual circumstances. The first most of the council hear about him is this warlock who killed a highly respected warden who supposedly went dark side according to the account of the very person who killed him. Harry didn't start off well at all, and has only made it harder on himself. Not all his fault, but that's just how it is.

And should he?  Really? Who was in control in Peace Talks, Eb or Harry?  Who understood from the beginning that he didn't have a chance toe to toe with Eb and figured out a way around it?

Oh no, I don't think Harry should hold back at all if they push him. But it will play into the hands of those who wish the Council to fall. I am not so sure he built his little decoy to defeat Eb specifically so much as have a decent chance of fooling whatever horrible fight he knew he would encounter. I don't see how he could have known he was going to duel Ebenezar.