The Roots of Command
3rd of December 2006 A.D.
As soon as you draw the black steel sword Daniel's eyes go wide. It's not the Sword and it's not your sword, on account of that being performing the task of information gatherer and general intermediary, but it is just as clearly a weapon of power, more than a tool of war, a thing with its own history and tales to tell.
While I would forgive Molly for not knowing Emma-O's personal history with people stealing shit from him?
Apparently noone here has read the Illiad.
Specifically, Hector stripping Achilles' armor from the body of Patroclus, and precisely how Achilles reacted to that.
Taking something as high profile and recognizable as the personal weapon of a greater akuma, supplied by a Yama King, and giving it to a mortal? Is essentially signing the mortal's death warrant.
Emma-O is more or less obligated to respond to that sort of thing.
If you intend to give this out, it needs to be reforged until its unrecognizable.
Else its just going to get the recipient killed.
That's fair; I just find it strange that they didn't put a spirit nerd in charge with security on backup, and that they didn't try to get a spirit nerd with more local interests.
Doing a senior security-junior security pair with Dresden and Morgan, then the same thing with spirit talkers seems like it'd make more sense unless they simply don't have someone with more relevant experience than Ramirez.
The White Council has some issues, one of them is that seniority is not easily trumped. It would be a significant insult to make Morgan Wu Mei's subordinate
You are thinking in terms of how diplomacy and nationstates work in the era of post-Treaty of Westphalia international relations, instead of how it used to work, back in the time when relationships were personal, and envoys were assigned based on their degree of relationship from the rulers and powerbrokers.
When the Red Court made diplomatic overtures in Changes? It was Arianna Ortega, daughter of the Red King. When the Denarians negotiate, its always Nicodemus, Lartessa or Rosanna. When the Fomor need diplomatic representation, they send a cantrev-lord. Mab would come herself, or send Lea; Titania would send someone like Eldest Gruff.
Relationships and record.
In this situation, Morgan is the shot-caller, the person with the official position, personal history and relationships to be credible when he speaks for the White Council and commits them to something.
The others are his assistants and advisers.
Sorta like how, in really important diplomatic situations, the President of the US shows up regardless of his personal negotiating capability, and brings advisers with him to advise him.
Because he's the person with the credibility to make calls for the US in those situations.
The council knows about places where if they sent the entire white council to fight at once they'd believe their chances of winning are near zero. So not sure why they're lending towards muscle at all in their mind set.
I get that now but like why is muscle a viewpoint they have at all? When going into the nevernever it's pretty much assumed Every wizard is outmatched and in plenty of places all of them would be outmatched at once. That's like kind of the deal and they know that.
1) Its not assumed that every wizard is outmatched in the NeverNever.
The Merlin has blanked Outsiders in the NeverNever before with a single ward. Rashid literally walks the Outer Gates.
And elder wizards are called out in the same category as gods in the group of people who can have demesnes in the NeverNever; Rashid has one, iirc.
2)Its not muscle, its authority and credibility.
Ramirez is hotshit, and regional commander for the western US, but he only just turned 21-ish. Dresden, for all his notoriety is in his early 30s, and was made regional commander about the same time Ramirez was. Wu Mei I have no idea about; she's an OC, but since she comes from the Senior Council's primary diplomatic expert towards external powers, you can expect she has more than a passing knowledge of the Thousand Hells.
Morgan? Was born in the 1880s; he is at least a hundred years old, and has served the Council for at least the last fifty years as Warden. He is Warden Deputy Captain Commander, former apprentice of the current Captain-Commander of the Wardens, the Merlin's trusted right hand man, and an acclaimed agent of the Council with a record against the Council's enemies.
They sent someone with the relationships and reputation to be credible as a representative of the White Council.
He's senior enough and has the record that noone's going to dispute what he says he saw when he reports back.
Unlike Dresden or Ramirez.
Its a declaration both to Molly, to the other members of the White Council, and to the supernatural community at large that they are taking this shit seriously.
And whose reports will be believed by the White Council's rank and file
That would require a lot of trust on their part and on Morgan's.
Also, they have their own medics.
Senior Council member Listens to Wind explicitly is a doctor in multiple traditions, shamanistic and modern medicine alike.
They have the inhouse capability to handle this.