Like I said for good or ill, because will power can close one's mind to the truth as well as hold one to the truth.

Well of course, yes.

But te claim matters. If they make enough people believe it it will have a power of its own. And maybe it is even true. In the Dresden verse.

But knights do not operate on claims. They all have king's blood but not kingly claims.
Remnants of king's spiritual power is good for knights in some way.

Or he made it a red herring because the idea was not as good as he first thought. 

There is a lot wrong with that idea if you believe in democracy and human rights and so on.

You can believe in democracy and human rights and still accept such power brings certain spiritual power with itself.
One can say entire Dresden Files premise is very anti-egalitarian with wizards being rare born superheroes for instance.

But I think problem is more with lack of clear rules - like what constitutes for a king in a first place. Was let's say Joseph Stalin a king?
If king is wicked and exploits people shall he leaves proper spiritual aura in his blood descendants and so on...

And also as Jim notices - descendants of kings are half of mankind these days.
I mean 10% of all Irishmen are descendants in direct male line (so count all the female lineages) of one man living about 1500 years ago presumed to be king Neill of Nine Hostages. Which makes all thing bit redundant.
You know I have less problem with this idea as a Christian - I mean Jesus itself was born on purpose in side depowered lineage of David dynasty on his human side, so it is within our symbolic rules. I have more problem that basically each time you can get intel about it. Dresden got like king lineage to all three original Knights, even though neither belongs to even side nobility at these point. I call bollocks on this research

And all Anglo Saxon kings descended from Woden. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_royal_genealogies

Well so they claim. But I doubt eventual blood of Odin matters. As much as I understand WOJ about it - this whole king magic is more like state-wide obligation of responsibility and protection. A debt. A threshold... A mantle in a way. That's what causes descendants of kings (which are multiple) to have enough mojo to take Swords.

Yet so far garlic seems to have more effect on Black vamps than articles of faith.  Though I agree with you about the Reds, yet it was Harry's pentacle that saved him from Bianca.

I know. I think if Jim would re-write books 1 and 2 after writing 3, he would shift it a bit.
I kinda like that Reds are vampires that are repelled - by pure physical violence, as they are most physical beings.
(Swords two because bat!demon rather does not like presence of angel, but not necessary a mortal faith)

I don't think it's that hard.
I mean otherwise Charlemagne blood would not work for Michael - as he is definitely not legal heir to Carolingian monarchy.
I think any royal lineage - not even legitimate in sense of crown would work well enough - so even Y chromosomes would not necessarily work - it could all be through maternal lines. (Which also is a reason why I dislike this idea - because I guess at least half of mankind have SOME royal ancestor which makes whole RULE quite cheap.).

Michael may be descendant of Charlemagne in some way but he is definitely not one in line that would make him eligible to throne of France for instance. Neither are other guys. It's more than mystical element of king's blood stick around for a long time.

Now Aragorn had very fine claim to the throne as last descendant in direct male line of Elendil. But then if we compare it - Knight of the Cross is not a King. In fact probably he should not be a King (though we know there were exceptions) as it would make him involved in various mundane actions that are usually not so virtuous. - But let's compare it to Tolkien.

Sure Boromir, Faramir, Denethor - those guys have king's bloods, High Numenorean blood, thought they are not king lineage. They are not as strong, tall, longlived and willpowered as Aragorn, still they are way more powerful in those aspects for good or bad than any random Rohirrim or Daleman or Haradrim.

At least I hope so - because dammit if Jim's want to suggest Knights need not also king's blood but also legitimate claim, I'm gonna fly to USA, drive all the way from Chicago to whatever Kansas desert he's hiding and hit him with a head three times with some big, complex, academic book about history of medieval kingdoms.

Mirror Mirror is supposed to be about evil Harry killing other Harry's.  Or am I mistaken? That would imply many splits.

Overall yes of course. We can safely assume lot of alternative Dresden's.
Especially since it's not Harry's choices splitting universes. I'm quite sure there are many alt-Dresdens put on different path by someone's elses choices around.

Jim has implied a statistical theory of branching.  When Harry learns the name of Nemesis Mother Summer says that it creates many new possibilities.

But I think it's more about his decision what to do about it. I mean he learned name from Titania - if anything choice to call Titania which is risky business for him, is split maker - Titania did her duty afterwards, it seems.

So between what Mother Summer showed Harry and what Vadderung theorizes that there could be thousands of branches with Harry in them.  My internal canon would be that to get to those other branches that they would have to be close to Harry Prime to be able to get there.  So for instance, there might be a universe where Harry never manifested his magic, but is unreachable since it's a low probability event and is too far from this timeline. There might be a universe where Susan never became aware of the events at the party, she never becomes infected, and the whole event never triggers the Vampire war.

That's quite possible. But if it's choices splitting reality - then choice have to be made.
I mean Darth Dresden is from Grave Peril - so he is quite far away. 15 years of different history for both him and supernatural community. Quite far to reach. But then it's possible that's because - if he reaches to close timelines - oh more dangerous necromantic Darth Dresden's there. Better to seek further and find some good Dresden's too kill.

And about Vadderung paradox. Dunno how good this prediction is compared to WOJ.
In my calculation - first there is a choice to do such stupid stunt - that leads us to split - we have world when Dresden thought better, and we have world where Dresden went back in time. We know that if he go back to his timeline nothing will change (if he survives) because it's stil original timeline. But fight itself when started is not much of a choice it seems. It's not like both chances have a 50:50 winning ticket.

Such attacks split reality - as it changes events, but event itself should not be necessarily splittable.

Assuming only one choice - to go back in time and kill McCoy is given - that would imply 3 branches.

1. line when Dresden made choice to not do it
2. line when Dresden decided to do it - depending on whether he survived and returned it may be just line where Dresden just disappeared.
3. split line by timetravel where Dresden tried to murder McCoy - whatever result of such fight - new line is created.

So basically two splits from one choice. That's dangerous inflation. Maybe that's why it's forbidden as you use not enough mana and get too much energy

Why only two  choices and why is one a "dark twin." I guess one is almost always going to result in an at least marginally better world than the other because it's hard to imagine to choices with different but equal results.

That's simplification of course - sure it can be more.
But there is assumption that choice always mean two options - problem is - in your model choice can mean one option vs natural option and still be a choice.

Let's say it's one's nature to freeze. If one were to choose to act instead, they can choose to run, fight, or talk one's way out of the situation. If one chooses to run, they can choose to run in any of 360 degrees in all sorts of different manners.

That's quite problemtic. Panic freeze is not even on a same level as any voluntary action.
It's like assuming you can have free will to walk when someone cut off your legs for me.

But we don't know how many universes result from a choice.

So it's one choice but you get like dozen identical universes (for a moment) with the same choice made?

I just had a thought about everything Harry does in GP being in character or in line with his nature. There's one thing he did that I think wasn't. Telling Susan that he loved her. I don't see how not telling her results in Harry surviving, but I really think if anything was out of character for Harry, it was that. Recall that Michael had to drag it out of Harry at the very beginning of the book. He didn't want to say that he loved Susan to Michael, who he told about Elaine.

But would that mean that admitting to Michael also was a split. I'd assume in one's nature is also certain borders when to fall - naturally. Add enough emotion and even someone keeping cards close can spill the beans.
And situation in "Grave Peril" seems like situation that would make him to do it. His emotional state in this moment is IMHO aligned with this decision.

Only really weird choice - but not for our Harry but Darth Dresden would be to let go of Susan. But it's SO MUCH against Dresden nature I cannot see it as viable choice.
If there's dark choice I can see Harry making in a GP - it's allowing Sword to be destroyed to save Susan. But I'm not sure if there was a proper moment really.

No, I don't think MM is The One. I understood that MM Harry would summon a Harry (which will be ours) to act as a decoy. Only one, as far as I understood.

There's theory it was not a first time, and Darth Dresden is playing a Kemmler.

Don't look at it as competition.

All Whamps are supernatural hot.

Only Raith feeds on lust. Raith feeds super easily- other Whamps need to do work to feed- but are most vulnerable, since true love would be most common.

Burning could just be failure to latch. Less technically protection, more "that access port is already in use"

True love more common than courage or hope that repells fear-eaters and despair-drinkers. I have doubts about this statistics.

Alienates new readers. In theory, each book should be sufficiently self-contained to be picked up and read by someone off the street.

Your being an early fan is your problem, not anyone else's

I get it (although considering how things are repeated WITHIN one book cannot be defended by this claim).
But I consider it overall foolish theory. Especially for Dresden Files - book with apocalyptic metaplot planned since 2000, tighter and tighter every book. Any sane reader after noticing he reads book 17, would well change a book. It's like starting Lord of the Rings from Return of the King.

I'm not sure willpower is an emotion. It's more a faculty of self, like mental endurance. Within DF it may be or not sign of using free will.

It isn't about romance, think of the quote,

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life."

That about sums up the three Holy Swords doesn't it?  Love, Faith, and Hope, that is also what true love is about.

Indeed. Sacrifical love is closer. Agape. Caritas.
But then mechanics of True Love against whampires suggest it's different set of things. Like relation between God and world, Jesus and humanity was never mutual relation of equals (as True Love is according to Jim). If anything it's more comparable to parent protecting children (who cannot do anything to protect father) and parental love as WOJ teaches do jackshit against whampires (otherwise whampires would be burned way more often I think).

By the way such alternative whampires could be quite cool as very dark psychic monsters - if they can feed of you it means you are basically unloved and unloving. Dark place to go.