Thanks for this post JMG. Grateful to hear an update and further details on your mental model of what's going on.

A question for you, if I might. I ask this in the context of knowing that an important rule of magic ends with "and to shut the @$!% up", so I'm not interested in specifics. That said, have you been aware of any resistance to this malefic magic? I hesitate to use the word resistance any more, as it feels a bit tainted now. Anything along the lines of Dion Fortune during WW2?

If your answer is "loose lips sink ships" I completely understand, and will step backwards quietly.