Carnadosian Repentance?

thanatos wrote:
snip

But then the question becomes, could he get away from the dark and dangerous environment he's operating in and throw himself at Wencit's mercy? Moreover, would Wencit consent to train him given his reticence to reestablish the White Council in Norfressa? This might happen in the future, a final peace of the puzzle that Wencit is putting together. Then again, it might not.

IIRC, when Wencit wanted to send a warning message about messing with Lianna, he killed the major wizard, but stripped the minor one of his power in order to have a messenger.

The question here is, what would he do with a volunteer? Likely it would depend on whether he had a solid method of determining whether trust was possible.

Maybe Tomanak would do something to ensure this. In Christianity, it is assumed that when there is true repentance and a turning to God, that there will also be discipline, producing changes. Look at Chuck Colson's change from being Nixon's enforcer to devising Prison Fellowship. OTOH, some people just don't like the unpleasantness of discipline. Ask any basic training sarge

One thought I has was the sheer numbers of wizards involved. With 10,000s of wizards over the centuries, surely at least one would have felt guilty and tried to repent.

biochem wrote:One thought I has was the sheer numbers of wizards involved. With 10,000s of wizards over the centuries, surely at least one would have felt guilty and tried to repent.

I doubt there are that many. In SotS, Wencit notes that the Council of Ottovar numbered 300 wizards, nearly all of whom died in working the spells to strafe Kontovar. I seriously doubt the Carnadosans had more than that number then, much less after the Strafing of Kontovar. And as I mentioned before, the Church of Carnadosa is a dog eat dog world, with wizards constantly jockeying for positions and attempting one-up each other in order to prove to their patron deity that they're worthy of her support and power. Add to that their unwillingness to really train their acolytes for fear of the students turning on their masters, and you get the sort of self-inflicted wounds common in closed political shops. There might be a few hundred truly powerful wizards at the top and a few thousand minor wizards beneath them as support. May be the latter might rediscover their conscience but with Carnadosa being the only game in town, I doubt they would survive long enough to contact Wencit with an offer of alliance.

To further muddy the waters, though, keep in mind that the MWW goes to some lengths to note that Carnadosa, unlike most of her siblings, isn't evil for evil's sake... she's completely amoral. Amassing power via morally positive actions is just as valid as evil actions, though typically much more difficult.

There is some impression that she and, perhaps, Krashnark can be turned away from Phrobus.