I was wondering if anyone noticed the comment Harry made about Sho Tai during his flashback to the warden training. He talks about a friend being a descendant of Sho Tai.
here's the quote.


"Mail came for you yesterday,"
she said, and produced a letter from a pocket.

I took it, scanned the envelope, and
opened it. "Hmmm."

"Who is it from?" she asked. Her
tone was that of one passing the time in polite conversation.

"Warden Yoshimo," I said.
"I had a few questions for her about her family tree. See if she was
related to a man I knew."

"Is she?" Luccio asked.

"Distantly," I said, reading on.
"Interesting." At Luccio's polite noise of inquiry, I said, "My
friend was a descendent of Sho Tai."

"I'm afraid I don't know who that
is," Luccio said.

"He was the last king of Okinawa
," I said, and frowned, thinking it over. "I bet it means
something."

"Means something?"

I glanced at Captain Luccio and shook my
head. "Sorry. It's a side project of mine, something I'm curious
about." I shook my head, folded up the letter from Yoshimo, and tucked it
into the pocket of my jeans. "It isn't relevant to teaching apprentices combat
magic, and I should have my head in the game, not on side projects."

The reason I brought this up is because Dresden knew some of the knights were descendants of holy people. I didn't find anything on Sho Tai being holy, but he was a king.

Just wondering if anyone had insight into this.

On a side note I haven't read ALL of the side jobs, so if this was mentioned i'm sorry. AND if it was not, well feel free to insult me, because it has been a full day or so since I posted and i'm sure someone is ready to get the ball rolling.

also if you want another color for quotes, please say so. I'm not sure what color is best for eyes on this website.

 

It's not about being Holy. The Swords of the Cross seem to always end up being used by Kings or descendants thereof. Michael with Charlemagne, Arthur and Excalibur, Shiro with Sho Tai, Sanya with the Romanovs,etc. It ties into the power of blood and the magical properties of Royalty, or rather what Royalty represents. The King is supposed to defend their people, a ruler is pretty much the ultimate human symbol of protection.

Thus, the Swords go to those who share the blood of humanity's greatest Kings.

It hasn't been played out fully yet, but I expect there to be very strong Arthurian references and ties later on in the series. Dresden will likely be custodian for all three swords in the same manner Merlin was for Amoracchius. I doubt we'll see it come to fruition until the Big Apocalyptic Trilogy, but it's been building since Death Masks.

 

I had forgotten Shiro was of sho tai's blood.

So I guess Dresden knows another of his blood line.

Was this in another post?

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Is there any other options for the Swords?

 

Dresden doesn't know anyone else of Shiro's bloodline, unless Warden Yoshimo is related to him, I can't remember.

All he really knows is that all of the Knights of the Cross he's met or heard of have been Kings or related to same. It's most likely a prerequisite to bear a Sword, but there hasn't been any proof or WoJ on it as far as I know.

As far as other options for the Swords, it's possible, but unlikely. Like I said before, rulers and Kings are very powerful symbols for humanity, and my theory is that that symbolism is what allows a potential Knight to use the Sword. We'll see how it plays out sometime in the next few years.

 

Word.

I'm sort of amazed so many people are offended by Butcher's use of Christianity.

I'm not atheist, (I believe in a higher being, but I don't believe any of the major religions are fully right) and I think all that Butcher does is hint at Christianity.

 

I don't think "offended" is really the right word. I personally don't see why the White God has to be put on a higher pedestal than everyone else and behave on entirely different principles than, say, Odin, simply by virtue of being Butcher's own god. I'd prefer it if the White God were a god like any other who happens to be the most powerful at the moment due to having several billion followers.

 

I kind of hope that doesn't happen; losing Sanya would be a downer.

With the Christianity issue, I think a lot of the worry stems not as much from the current as it does from a perception that Butcher was been gradually ramping up the Christian content of the books over the course of the series. Nobody wants the Dresden Files to end up turning into the Left Behind books by the time Butcher gets to the big finale.

Also, am I the only one who's a bit curious what royalty is in Murphy's family tree?

 

No, you're really not Chengar. My bet is one of the old Gaelic or Germanic/Prussian kings, but there's really nothing but general appearance to go on.

And yes, losing Sanya would suck, he's easily the most entertaining side character. It's likely to happen though. I'm pretty sure Butcher's building towards Dresden becoming the new Merlin (the legend, not the Council position), and the Swords are likely to play a big role in that.

 

Something Irish seems likely, considering the fact that her Irish heritage has been brought up a few times in passing. Maybe have her be a descendent of Brian Boru?

Yeah, Butcher's definitely dropped a few hints paralelling Dresden to the original Merlin, so i wouldn't be shocked if it worked out that way. Hopefully if Sanya does lose the sword Butcher will keep him alive and active in some other capacity; unlike Michael (who was always torn between duty and family) I can't really see Sanya retiring just because he gave up his sword.

 

Didn't Thomas use one of the swords in the end of Changes?

That would mean that Harry may be descended from a king

Also when you are quoting, just use the quote tag.

 

It doesn't necessarily mean anything for Dresden. Thomas' dad is the White King after all. Granted, the fact that he's a vampire king may negate it, but Thomas is still related to a king. I'd be willing to bet that's enough for the sword to work.

And Chengar, I'm really hoping Sanya sticks around, but I can't see him giving up the sword without being maimed at the very least. It's just not in his nature to quit, especially with his history with the Nickelheads. I hope he survives, but it seems more likely he'd go out in a similar fashion to Shiro, except with more explosions.

 

Regarding Murphy having royal heritage, couldn't the fact that she used one of the Swords just be a reference to her living most of her adult life as a protector, whether or not she has royal blood? I personally doubt the royalty thing is set in stone.

 

Possibly, but there is the fact that pretty much the entire population of Ireland can trace their line back to a King at some point. There have been so many different kingdoms throughout Irish history that there's not exactly a glut of royalty in the gene pool.

 

Er. I think Sanya was related to Saladin, not the Romanovs, is that right?

 

Yeah, I'm remembering that.

 

Yea, that's correct. I brainfarted and came up with Romanovs somehow.

 

Yeah; the fact that up until the English conquest Ireland had around a dozen guys running around on a fairly small island and calling themselves a king at any given point in history would make having a bit of royal blood a lot easier to come across. Ireland probably had the highest ratio of kings to people of anywhere in the middle ages.

 

To be a Knight of the Cross, your ancestor had to be a real king, an actual protector of his Kingdom and it's people. You couldn't just declare yourself King and have it magically stick. Not if you didn't protect your people.

I wonder if you were a descendant of a really good President, like Abraham Lincoln, could you be a Knight of the Cross?

 

My personal take on it is that it's less the title than the role. If you are descended from someone who actively guided, ruled and protected their people, you are eligible, regardless of what their actual title was.

 

That or Jim intends to have the Divine Right/Mandate of Heaven playing a part in the function of the swords. As I understand them the swords themselves(or rather the nails) work the same as Harry's pentacle. Except instead of being a channel for one guys faith, they focus the faith of a sizable portion of mankind.