1884-85 The time that Eb took up the Blackstaff

[Yuillegan]

https://youtu.be/4Gmu76ritoQ?t=2959
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    Eb took up the Blackstaff in 1884-1885 somewhere in there.  The Blackstaff chooses his successor.

So to my thinking - the most significant event of that time was the Berlin Conference and the Scramble of Africa. This allowed a channel for old European rivalries and helped set the stage for WWI.

So Eb takes up the Blackstaff, right as Kemmler is helping set up the first World War. What was Eb really up to and what caused him to take up the position?

[Con]

Yep and according to Luccio's SHort story which was mid 1800's when Wyatt Earp was around. EBenezar was Captain of the Wardens and had defeated 3 warlocks in magical combat. So he had combat experience and already had a bit of a rep.

[Bad Alias]

Earp was in Dodge City between 76 and 79. I believe Jim has also said that the Blackstaff is whoever is willing to pick it up.

[Yuillegan]

Yes yes, Eb defeated his enemies. He was the ideal candidate I am sure.

But why did HE take it up. Why would he? What caused him to need it? The clue is at the end of Changes I think. He says he has made deals himself. And reminds Dresden that no one can make you do anything you don't wish to do. You always have a choice to say no.

I think this might be to do with the New Madrid quake myself. I think he needed to save his wife and failed anyway.

[Belial666]

I think this might be to do with the New Madrid quake myself.

Considering the New Madrid earthquake was in 1811, it probably has nothing to do with the Blackstaff.


Wonder how Ebenezar didn't go crazy from killing hundreds, though.

[Yuillegan]

Considering the New Madrid earthquake was in 1811, it probably has nothing to do with the Blackstaff.


Wonder how Ebenezar didn't go crazy from killing hundreds, though.

Interesting. Because when Harry asks about the occasions when Ebenezar has had to ignore the Laws of Magic (such as Casaverde), Eb says New Madrid is one of the events that he caused. See the end of Blood Rites when Eb tells Harry about the Blackstaff.
 
So the only way this is possible is if Eb went back in time!

And we know that the Blackstaff protects EB from going crazy as per WOJ. So the only way Eb could have caused the New Madrid earthquake and killed all those people without becoming a gibbering warlock is by having the Blackstaff.

[Snark Knight]

Interesting. Because when Harry asks about the occasions when Ebenezar has had to ignore the Laws of Magic (such as Casaverde), Eb says New Madrid is one of the events that he caused. See the end of Blood Rites when Eb tells Harry about the Blackstaff.
 
So the only way this is possible is if Eb went back in time!

And we know that the Blackstaff protects EB from going crazy as per WOJ. So the only way Eb could have caused the New Madrid earthquake and killed all those people without becoming a gibbering warlock is by having the Blackstaff.

That oddity has come up before. It's always possible Jim answered a question without having a chance to check the historical date on New Madrid, but it's also possible he borrowed the staff from his master for that job and then eventually succeeded him full time in ~1884.

[Mira]

Considering the New Madrid earthquake was in 1811, it probably has nothing to do with the Blackstaff.


Wonder how Ebenezar didn't go crazy from killing hundreds, though.

Krakatoa blowing up might be a different matter though..   

That is the whole point of the blackstaff, it protects the wielder from going crazy doing what he or she has to do.   That is why the selection of who does the wielding is so important.

[KurtinStGeorge]

That oddity has come up before. It's always possible Jim answered a question without having a chance to check the historical date on New Madrid, but it's also possible he borrowed the staff from his master for that job and then eventually succeeded him full time in ~1884.

...or time travel.  The Blackstaff can ignore that law too.

[Kindler]

The implications of Ebenezer potentially time traveling are absolutely ludicrous, especially because he's the Blackstaff.

Personally, I chalk this up to Jim not having his ducks in a row and making an error, either in the book or when answering the question.

...but if he's right in both places, then time travel is on the table as an explanation (as is temporarily picking up the Blackstaff, or some other explanation (he helped the Blackstaff of 1811 pull it off in some way without violating the Laws, like watching his or her back as they built up the geomancy spell, which tend to have long casting times and are nonideal for fast-paced combat)).

But if he does travel back to cause the New Madrid earthquake, then that means Harry is currently living in an altered timeline. Though that tracks with some of my own IRL ideas about time travel-based timeline corrections. Personally, I think that if time travel to the past is possible and it can be used to alter the timeline without spinning off alternate realities (like "Go back in time and kill Hitler,") then there is, essentially, a 100% chance that we're living on an already-"corrected" timeline. That means that this is the best possible outcome humanity of the future can conceive, which is oddly comforting, if you think about it.

But if Eb risked a universe-shattering paradox by going back to cause the New Madrid Earthquake in 1811, that means that there was something worse going on. Something so bad that chancing oblivion was worth it.

...though I'd also like to point out that New Madrid is a fault zone, and has had multiple earthquakes over the years, including a 6.0 quake centered on a major population area in 1895. I think it was Charleston, MO, but someone correct me if I'm wrong. So, Eb might've been talking about one of those—but if you ask someone about the New Madrid Earthquake, they all point to the one in 1811/1812, so that could be wrong, too.