Don't forget Dresden is Starborn. His punches actually hit, where others might fizzle. I think creatures of the Universe like Mab might actually be less effective then the normal mortal practicioner. So we get weird relative power tiers.

 

Yeah. One of the big things to bear in mind about Dresden is that the "power levels" seem to be very flexible things that depend on all kinds of circumstances, special weaknesses, individual advantages, and whatever restrictions come along with that power. After all, one of the common themes for supernatural beings is that the more power they have, the more restricted they are in actually using that power.

Presumably, Harry's Starborn status is kind of like Cold Iron with the Fae. Though it doesn't seem to be an entirely automatic thing, since Lash had to help him tap into it during the battle at the Deeps. But then he did use it against He Who Walks Behind during his first fight without consciously tapping into some kind of Starborn power (he didn't even know HWWB was an Outsider).

 

I see this as a Rock-Paper-Scissors situation. Outsiders might be more fundamentally powerful than the Sidhe (by a broad definition), while Sidhe are broadly more powerful than mortals, but only mortals (of a particular bent) can exercise power over Outsiders.

Much like everything else in the series, power is relative.

 

Doesn't Lea help him with his magic somehow then? That would make two times an outside source has to enable his Starborn abilities. He used it in Cold Days as well, but I don't have my copy handy. Anyone know if he needed a catalyst for that time as well? Or do he just lash out? (Heh)

 

Lea did precisely nothing for him against He Who Walks Behind. If memory serves, he didn't even approach her until after HWWB had exploded, because HWWB is what made him realize he had to go confront Justin and stop him, and even then, all Lea did was a placebo; she made some fancy special effects and told him she'd boosted his power, when it was all just a show to trick him into having enough confidence in himself and his power to actually fight Justin.

 

Do you have confirmation of that? This is the first time I've heard that she didn't actually provide him with any kind of real boost, and I've definitely written from that perspective in the past.

 

I'm pretty sure Butcher said it in a Q&A or somesuch somewhere along the lines, though I can't remember where. It's noted in the DF wiki though:

http://dresdenfiles.wikia.com/wiki/Leanansidhe

Edit:
And from the WoG thread here:

 

Wow. Thanks.

 

Confidence is it's own power in the Dresdenverse and seems like the kind of 'power' a craft Fae like Lea would grant Harry to beat DuMorne. She did something similar when he fought the Nightmare during Grave Peril - the tools to defeat it were right in his grasp and all she did was nudge him in the right direction. She's basically a cheerleader from Hell.

 

Yeah, one of the things that comes up a couple times from Harry is that using magic is grounded in what a wizard believes. It's part of why black magic is so inherently corrupting; you can't use it unless you believe that you should have the kind of power over others. If Harry didn't believe he could fight Justin and win his spells probably would've fizzled at a key moment or something.

Not surprised by the Word of Jim on that. As I recall, Harry did mention that his first deal with Lea was her basically taking advantage of his desperation to screw him over. Granted, all of that also seems to have actually been covered under Maggie's deal with Lea, since Lea interpreted mentoring Harry as being a Winter-style stealth mentor who taught him that it's a dog-eat-dog world and everyone will try to take advantage of him unless he keeps his eyes open.

 

Was it really just that she made him more confident? I had always assumed she helped him focus better. It's it explicitly said that it's just a confidence boost?

 

Isn't confidence just a redirection of one's focus to the abilities that allow one to succeed? Lea probably wasn't specific, just, "You've made a huge deal, and now you can definitely win." It's Dresden or Butcher simplifying or describing it later on as Dumbo's feather.

Take a look at "Ghost Story". It deals pretty well with Lea's teaching methods and some of the backstory with Justin and HWWB.

 

It's explicitly said that Lea didn't do anything, because Dresden only asked for the power to beat Justin, and he already had that.

It's not made explicit what she actually did do, but Butcher went and called it Dresden's version of Dumbo's magic feather, and it's implied by Dresden that she just made him believe he could win. Given how big Butcher's work in general is on the importance to success of belief and confidence behind one's action (it's one of the central themes in Dresden Files and Codex Alera, and while there isn't enough of the series yet to say with confidence, Cinder Spires looks likely to also include it), I'd be very surprised if it was anything more than that.

 

Does Harry ever explicitly kill Red Court infected with magic? In Changes he's pretty free attacking the vampires, some of whom seem likely to be infected, but does he ever discuss the legal implications?

 

Didn't he end up explicitly killing a bunch of mortal kids in Grave Peril when he went all 'pyrofuego?' I don't think anything happened to him as far as getting in trouble with the White Council, although he felt like shit after.

 

IIRC, it's a little up for debate whether the kids who die in 'Grave Peril' died as a result of Harry's firestorm or whether the Red Court had already feasted. 'Summer Knight' is partly as a consequence of this; he's put to the test by the Council to find out whether he's as reckless and dangerous as they believe he is, and he (to an extent, at least), proves that they don't need to execute him for his actions.

By 'Changes'...well, the Council and the Red Court are at war. I doubt the Council were that interested in whether the dead bodies on the other side of a battlefield were infected or fully vampiric, tbh.

 

Yeah... They can't prove Dresden did it and why the hell would they try? He just rid them of a pretty big problem. Causing another to spring forth, sure, but presumably a lesser one seeing as The Red Court kept them at bay.

Besides, they had McCoy killing the shit out of hundreds of humans around. I'm fairly sure all the magic cast, in every direction, as well as the leylines and the dark ritual, would screw up anybody's ability to deduce precisely what happened.

I suppose we'll see in Peace Talks how they react.

 

^Rayndeon, Shinysavage, Zeelthor

There are a couple of ways to see "Red" humans: they were retainers or subjects, and as such potential combatants; and they were collateral damage. Reading into Grave Peril, it would make sense that they try to deal with Dresden in a different way that wouldn't set an awkward precedent for self defence, since wizard fights normally involve firestorms, tornadoes, gaping fissures in the earth, man-eating rabbits...

By Changes, I definitely agree it would be politically impossible to charge Dresden... if they could find a body... and stop celebrating.

Assuming the same fatalities, what's the difference between using a bic or 'flickum bicus' on a building?

I'd argue any W.C. question here is both practical and political (e.g. Can we punish likely infractions, given insufficient evidence?), and the intention of the law (e.g. Did the person intend with a clear human target to kill with magic as the means of death?). After that self defence is an affirmative defence mitigating intent and state of mind.

 

They were still alive enough to try and get away from the fire when it started.