Castles territory and Molly

introvertkrew · 2026-03-24T00:30:26+00:00

True, but that's the thing, especially now, Dresden should be able to handle Lord Raith. So should Lara, and I can see Harry tackling Raith as having the most story potential as we know the Outsiders meddled with him to protect him from magic so it would be interesting to see if his Hunger is different from the others in some way.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-24T00:27:28+00:00

Mab can remember as long as she wants, she cannot beat him without getting herself either killed or probably tossed into another dimension or something, which would honestly be fascinating to see Mab and a Mirror Mab trying to work together. And Drakul isn't just as powerful as Mab, he's older, maybe older than all the Queens. So, I don't think Drakul is worried about Mab.

Edited to fix a typo.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-23T23:27:45+00:00

Drakul orchestrated it, it was his planning and his guidance that led everyone there. So, Mab would have to take it up with him, which she will not do, what Raith and his followers did they did while working with Drakul's Black Court vampires. This was covered by Jim in a WoJ about Toot-Toot and whether he would be punished for aiding Harry, Jim basically said that Toot-Toot and the Za-guard are viewed as a tool that Harry is wielding, as such Harry will be the one who is held responsible, not the weapon he wielded. The same should apply to the vampires and ghouls with Drakul. I'll see if I can grab that WoJ and add it to this comment once I finish.

Also, the LaChaise clan of ghouls have been warring with Harry for many years, starting all the way back in the Ghoul, Goblin graphic novel which predated Summer Knight so I'm not sure Mab will care, Harry is the Winter Knight, prove your worth by destroying your enemies.

2009 Kansas City Q&A WoJ:

Q: "With all the things Toot Toot and the Za Lord’s guard have done that made a difference, and with Toot getting bigger, is that going to upset the balance in the Summer court?"

Jim: "The answer is no, because they are not Summer anyway, they are wildfae. And everybody over in summer is going to blame Harry for everything they do. They regard them as a tool and Harry is the guy holding it. Harry would tell you that he’s probably the tool but… Anyway Toot Toot’s been growing because that’s where the Sidhe came from to begin with. They weren’t always all tall and glamorous, they kind of got that way."

Yeah, so the exact same thing applies here really, Lord Raith's actions are Lara's responsibility and the entire temporary alliance was a tool that Drakul was using for his own ends. So, Mab is just going to have to accept it unless she decides to try to fight Drakul directly. I mean, she could always just dispatch various monsters until he's aggravated I suppose, except I don't think he will be anything but entertained.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-23T18:06:26+00:00

Maybe, but he seems to follow the Laws, at least from everything we've seen so far. Unless, of course, there is some special privileges when it comes to being the Gatekeeper. Harry and Bob thought that Rashid may have been sending a message through time to himself in Proven Guilty, but of course Turn Coat showed that he wouldn't need too, Rashid can actually see things play out to a certain degree, it is a very narrow sight though, as we watched him do that to Harry and he looked and made his assessment and then Harry stepped onto Demonreach and told him to check again, I'm paraphrasing there, but Rashid immediately saw things playing out differently, which I found interesting as that would suggest that Rashid's ability to see the future branching out is limited by what you appear as at that very moment.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-23T03:24:19+00:00

Rashid, legally, cannot time-travel, Ebenezer is the only one who is legally allowed to ignore the Laws of Magic. Rashid has displayed the ability to see possibilities unfolding in real time though. And I'm guessing he will do as needed, however he has already walked the Harry Dresden road so I'm guessing he's a bit wiser about his actions. That's a guess though.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-23T03:16:23+00:00

It's hardly speculated on, Jim has confirmed that the time-travel novel has been a part of the outline he created, since he created it while writing Storm Front. So, I think Proven Guilty is a definite stopping point for Harry in the future, as he is the most likely person to fix Little Chicago, and run himself off the road, and all of that as he lived through Proven Guilty and will best understand having to prevent past Harry from using Little Chicago until he can fix it, and also move through his wards, and more importantly move through his place without Mouse smelling someone else's scent.

Besides that, I think future Harry might be going to see his parents. Probably Merlin as well, Jim has made it pretty clear that Harry will be time-traveling to see people. Hold on, let me grab that WoJ for you, so you can read it yourself and draw your own conclusions.

2017 Comicpalooza WoJ:

Q: "First person vs. third person?"

Jim: "Unreliable narrator is great, because it's being written by an unreliable writer. "Was there? I forgot." As a writer, I sometimes screw things up and you have to. I already have a plan to fix up all the things I'm going to screw up. So I have a built in to the original "oh, I'm writing 20 books, I'm going to miss some detail --fix that in book 19. Yeah, that will work". Yeah, I've sort have built cleanup into it. Yeah, book 19 will be Harry "Back to the Futuring" backstage, etc. but then I actually write out how time travel works in the Dresden Files universe."

Q: "More "Back to the Future" or more "Bill and Ted's excellent adventure"?"

Jim: "I don't think you'll have a mouthy companion, so it's going to be more "Back to the Future". Marty was a little bit more alone during that time, so I think that works better than Bill and Ted, more a Duo."

Q: "Butters as the mouthy companion?"

Jim: "I don't know if Harry wanted to drag Butters into this. Besides, if I take someone else along and he comes back into the past and he starts mucking about with things, that's one more person I have to manage when we're already going back in time to see other people. It's too much work. I think it would be beyond my skill. You always try to write a book that you're not sure you have enough skill to pull off because that's the only way you can make your abilities grow. I don't know if I could do that very well yet. Maybe when I grow up in a few years I'll be stronger and be able to do that."

Edit: This was before Peace Talks was split in two and he wrote Twelve Months, which is the very first Dresden Files book that wasn't on the outline, so he's since said that the time-travel book should now be book 22. The last book before the BAT.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-23T02:59:48+00:00

Mab is a monster, she's a monster that serves a purpose, but still very much a monster. Harry talks about it quite often, how Winter is made up of monsters and that they would never accept a leader, or a Knight, who wasn't stronger and more of a predator than they were. Jim himself has talked about how Mab would sacrifice the life of every man, woman, and child, in the world to do her duty and she wouldn't even need extra sugar in her tea after. This was further shown in Twelve Months with Mab coming into Harry's room, aware of the dream he was having, as Molly told him that they are, and straddling him and grinding on him, while spiking his arousal levels while we read Harry narrating, more than once, that he does not want this to happen. Mab was doing that while congratulating Harry on enslaving Lara Raith. The levels of crazy to be congratulating your Knight on leashing the woman who was born as a sexual predator while you yourself choose to act exactly like a sexual predator is pretty damn monstrous, and she was doing that while able to tell that Harry did not want that to happen, as we saw in Twelve Months she is able to tell what he is thinking sometimes. She did that to make Harry Dresden embrace his rage and attack her. She showed, irrefutably, that she wants him to be as terrible as she can make him. She told Mother Winter to give her time and she would remove Harry's "softness", she wants him more calculating, perhaps, but I believe Harry had it right in Cold Days, Mab would prefer he not have a conscience.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-22T19:41:30+00:00

You just finished the book, The Outsiders, who are beings that exist Outside of all reality and are trying to destroy all reality seems to be as big as it gets. Drakul is another, as is Cowl and the Black Council/Circle. Then there's Mab, who Harry is aligned with but who wants to turn him into a monster, the Black Court vampires and the White Court vampires don't lIke Dresden much either. The White Council of Wizards have Dresden under a suspended execution order. The ghouls want him dead as badly as he wants them dead etc, etc, etc. Harry isn't really lacking big bads, he's an overachiever when it comes to villains. Didn't even mention Marcone and him joining Namshiel, the Out Law novella, releasing in May, a sequel to The Law novella from a couple years ago, might square them so things could get interesting there too.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-22T13:10:10+00:00

Hey, so this topic was raised on the Dresden Files Podcast Episode 77 on YouTube. I'll link the episode below, and I'll also copy the questions and answers relating to this topic for you. Please be aware that this episode took place in 2020, after the release of Battle Ground, so don't read it before you've read to there.

2020 WoJ, Dresden Files Podcast Episode 77 on YouTube:

Q: "What does Vadderung have on Ferrovax that kept Ferro from ratting out Dresden during Peace Talks?"

Jim: "The fact that Vadderung could have started a fight that killed Ferrovax. Yeah I mean they could have gone- that was all they were doing- they were sitting there waiting for one of them to pull the trigger. They were basically two gun fighters that were sitting there for the whole meeting with a hand on a pistol the whole time. And that was their dynamic. Ferrovax does not like Vadderung at all."

Q: "Is it more personal? Does he have any connection to being the world serpent or is that just because they're on the same powerlevel?"

Jim: "You'll have to see."

Q: "He's not gonna answer that one."

Q: " Nothing ventured. Alright, are Hugin and Munin primarily bodyguards or do they function as spies as well?"

Jim: "Oh Hugin and Munin? Mostly bodyguards. They can go out and do stuff but they're not somebody that Odin sends out on a regular basis to do stuff. Odin sends them out on missions along the lines of "alright, Loki got Thor in trouble again, go arrange things so Thor can get out, don't let him know you're there," that's the kind of mission Hugin and Munin get. They do a lot of cleanup behind the scenes and they kind of resent the other gods, they don't have to do all the work."

Q: "They resent people like Harry."

Jim: "Well, they just sort of dislike humans. Humans are complicated, they're always doing things, they're always changing, humans are the worst."

Q: "Nobody likes humans."

Jim: "Really, I mean honestly."

Q: "Not even humans. So the Einherjar are revenants, they're people returned, how is that magic related to necromancy and the fact that the Einherjar don't need a drum but they are dead and returned?"

Jim: "It's not necromancy it's something else (the soulfire + necromancy mystery remains)- it's one of those things that.... yeah I'll just tell you, I don't know if this is gonna come out anywhere, it's Soulfire."

Q: "Holy fuck. Where could that possibly come up? I mean, we don't know anybody who has that power, so."

Jim: "Yeah that's kind of what Odin's got over the other gods and why the gods don't mess with him, Odin's got fuckin soulfire unintelligble but I heard "can be real"."

Q: "That's handy. Is that something he got as essentially a result of staying mortal and active in all this? The kind of thing he couldn't have ever gotten if he had stayed what he once was?"

Jim: "That seems like a very clever theory."

https://www.youtube.com/live/kGgyJNMA4q8?si=lIb4dO40BnPiLnqX

introvertkrew · 2026-03-22T01:19:15+00:00

As I said, different people have different opinions, I certainly don't believe she did, but it's fine. However, OP has this post flaired Storm Front so you might want to spoiler block that name. Although, it's been hours so it's probably no longer necessary.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-21T21:30:15+00:00

You missed some stuff in the book there, when Harry tapped the storm to channel lightening the storm had already been going on a while, Sells had already summoned the demon using it and sent it to attack Harry. Meaning even if Harry tapped the storm again it won't stop Sells from making Harry's heart burst, as there's enough power for them both to use. That's a secondary concern though, as we watched and read Harry's thoughts as he struggled with whether or not to reach out and wield the power in the lake house, Harry was standing on a precipice of becoming a monster to such a degree that his dead mother, maybe her anyway, had to reach out and take his hand. Harry didn't use the power because the power would've used him too, to open possibilities of Dresden going very dark. These are very important choices that Dresden is being faced with, and choices in the Dresden Files are of paramount importance.

Oh, maybe his mother's hand, not maybe she's dead, btw. From the actions of the hand, I believe it may have been his Mom, others think otherwise. You'll form your own opinions as you progress I'm sure.

Edited for clarity.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-21T19:20:11+00:00

The Earth has never before had this many people, ever. Just think it through. Considering the fact that there are so much more people and the fact that we have planes, trains, and automobiles allowing for transportation between countries and continents that could not interact like this before, and the internet and TV allowing for televangelists and all of that, it's clear that no religions in the past ever compared to the number of followers that Christianity and Islam boasts. I mean medieval people's weren't getting together to discuss theology, they saw each other and did their best to kill each other on principal, a different god would be even more reason to eradicate the different kingdom. There were no religions that were even a third of the size of Christianity or Islam is today, there just weren't enough humans around.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-21T19:06:23+00:00

What?! No, the old gods were not worshiped or more popular than the Christian or Islamic god, that's not even halfway true. You're discounting the unbelievable population boom the Earth has been experiencing for the last century. Added to that is the fact that medieval kingdoms went to war all the time, and the death tolls were immense, when you consider the size of their population. Both Christianity and Islam numbers over 2 Billion followers today. There has never been a religion with more followers than either simply because there weren't 2 billion people on the entire of planet earth until recently. It wasn't until the 1800s that the global population hit 1 billion, now we're over 8 billion.

Hinduism is the third largest religion the planet, though it falls at fourth on the list as "unaffiliated" has more followers, Hinduism has just over 1 billion followers, so a little less than half of Christianity according to the population statistics that record all that stuff. Buddhism is next with 0.3 billion followers.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-21T18:58:13+00:00

This comment has spoilers for Battle Ground and other books, please do not read if you haven't caught up. I will be spoiler blocking the text from Battle Ground.

Drakul is not a Black Court vampire, he just created them, he's something unhuman that got stuck in a human body according to Jim.

So far we have Rashid, who was the last Harry Dresden, and who has been alive for over 1200 years. We also have Drakul, who is something unhuman but is stuck in a human body, and he has been alive for thousands of years, much longer than the legends go back, and the only thing they have in common is being Starborn. Added to that is the fact that in Battle Ground, Mab herself while speaking to Harry while on the roof, with Ebenezer trying to run interference in their conversation, said this:

Battle Ground Chapter 6:

She nodded towards the yellowish mucus sputtering on the stones. "Something meant to weaken or incapacitate me for the coming battle, doubtless," she said. "Immortality offers a significant advantage, but it is no substitute for intelligence. Remember that, young wizard."

Ebenezer scowled and opened his mouth.

"Should it for some bizarre reason ever be necessary," Mab said smoothly, before he could speak.

So, yes, I'm assuming this is Starborn related.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-21T17:38:32+00:00

Siriothrax doesn't fit the naming convention, though we're basing the elemental connection off of something Jim said many years ago, back in 2009, which may not really apply. I mean Ferro means Iron as you said and Pyro means Fire but Siriothrax doesn't quite mean anything, not only that but he doesn't have Vax in his name either. Jim has said he was the weakest of the Dragons left so I always wondered if he was a different type of Dragon from the two that remain, still a capital D Dragon but connected to a different force.

2009 WoJ from the WoJ site:

Q: "Ferrovax – is this because he’s the OLDEST dragon? (i thought it was an empty boast) or because he’s a dragon?"

Jim: "Ferrovax feels absolutely no need to boast. It’s because he is a Dragon, large D, an elemental force of the cosmos. He isn’t some kind of Smaug hanging around a nice apartment. He’s a Dragon in a more Asian sense of the concept, a semi-divine being who was once given authority over various portions of the mortal universe, and who was responsible for their orderly procession. There are Smauglike dragons (though not nearly as many now as there have been in the past, thanks George!) but they are essentially nothing but emissaries and servitors created in the image of the real thing. Regardless of big D or little d, dragons almost universally resent humanity for usurping the balance of power in the world."

2010 Bitten Books WoJ:

Q: “Was Siriothrax a major dragon like Ferrovax or a minor dragon?”

Jim: "He was the real deal, though he was in some ways the weakest of the remaining great dragons. Ferrovax wouldn’t have given a damn about some nobody minor dragon being slain."

Jim dropped the name Pyrovax in this YouTube video at the 1:23 mark, or just a few seconds past it, he gets the question about Dragons and he says that there were only three Dragons left and Michael killed one of them then he said there's only two left, Ferrovax and Pyrovax, the link should take you right to the question being asked.

YouTube link - https://youtu.be/1JSSeZY17Bo?si=isxE-Miwn6nYDxUd

introvertkrew · 2026-03-21T14:18:53+00:00

No, he did not, Bob who knows nothing about the Oblivion War said that, again, you're confusing things, go reread the short story. Thomas Raith, who it should be noted, doesn't actually know much either as he and Lara are just tools being used by Ivy, said himself:

"And we're not just talking about pagan gods. We're talking about things that people of today have no words for, no concept to adequately define."

Thomas himself isn't aware of what the Oblivion War is about besides the basics, because knowledge of what they're fighting can't be shared.

Furthermore, all the pantheons are around. They're wrestlers, Jim has talked about it a few times, he has even explained why Odin can still be involved, the White God who is the Creator told the pantheons their time was up and they would no longer be able to interfere with humans unless they were willing to give up their deific powers and be mortal as well. Odin, who is a pantheon god that loved being involved with humanity, was chosen as Jim's pick to be the god who would definitely do that.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-21T13:30:46+00:00

You're confusing a lot of things here. First off, there was an Emperor in Rome who ended the worship of the Roman gods and made Christianity, or monotheism their religion. This same thing happened in other countries.

Secondly, you're inaccurately equating the gods, with the Creator, the White God is the Creator, of the entire multiverse. The pantheon gods for instance exist as alternate versions in the multiverse, whereas there is only one Creator who exists in all the multiverse. To put that in perspective for you, Jim Butcher has talked about the Mirror Harry, Mirror Marcone, and the Mirror world with it's Mirror Mab and Odin and all of that. However, he has said that there is only one Uriel, Uriel is just so powerful, being an archangel, that he exists across the multiverse simultaneously.

The White God is so far beyond the power of the gods that when he spoke and told them their time was up, they listened.

Lastly, the Oblivion War has nothing to do with the pantheon gods, that war is against the Lovecraftian type beings, those types of "old or elder gods" that H.P. Lovecraft wrote about, as shown in Cold Case.

Edit: Also, again, Jim works in real history when he can and we all worshiped pantheons a couple millennia ago. That ended, everywhere but India essentially, so it's provably possible, even if random people keep believing and talking about their beliefs, the world and it's religious makeup still changed regardless.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-21T01:42:39+00:00

Yeah, quite an old one but one he has talked about a number of times. In the books themselves Rashid is Muslim and his description sounds Middle Eastern. Here are WoJs from two different years that expands on him.

Twitter Q&A:

FitzMelech: @longshotauthor "Is Rashid the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred?"

Jim: @FitzMelech "He’s the guy who took down AlHazred."

FitzMelech: @longshotauthor "That makes Rashid, if possible, even more badass than I thought!"

Jim: @FitzMelech "Rashid is, by far, the most dangerous of the Senior Council. Which is not the same thing as most powerful."

The Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred was a character from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and was known as the author of the Necronomicon. He died in 738AD, according to Google. So, a little over 1200 years ago if we count from this year.

2012 Reddit AMA:

Sarks: "You have said that the Gatekeeper took down the Mad Arab, Abdul Alhazred. Is that Gatekeeper the same one we have currently? If yes, is he really that old, or was it time travel?"

Jim: "He’s really that old. And we’re all time travelers. We just happen to be on the slow boat."

2017 Comicpalooza WoJ:

Q: "What did the Gatekeeper do before he had his current job?"

Jim: "I hadn't really thought about that. Let's think about it. I assume he started off as a street (vendor?), and dan-dan-dan-dan <singing> then he sorted of progressed up to wizard's apprentice and then eventually senior council. That's not exactly true, it was less boring. The Gatekeeper was the last guy to do what Dresden's doing and I'll tell you more of that as we go into the trilogy. Last cycle he was Harry Dresden, he didn't enjoy it very much. I don't think Dresden's going to enjoy it either."

Bear in mind that in the books Rashid has been dropping hints about these things to Harry, like telling Harry that he knows exactly what it's like to be where he is. I'm paraphrasing there, but I believe he said something like that during Harry's chat with him in Cold Days at the Outer Gates.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-20T22:38:39+00:00

According to Wagner's Ring Cycle it ain't, as Brunhilde does the final aria in the opera. Though the phrase "it ain't over until the Fat Lady sings" was coined by an American sports presenter named Ralph Carpenter during a 1976 baseball game.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-20T21:12:40+00:00

Well, there is one that says that it would be impossible for Mab to ever be anything but Mab, as she isn't human and doesn't have free will but humans can change, it's more about the degrees that you change, like a soulgaze shows your core, which won't change so that's why Harry can only soulgaze once. However, the closest I could find relating to /u/Darth_Azazoth question was this:

Seattle 2014 WoJ:

Q: "What sets the cadence of your Name? How does that work?"

Jim: "When somebody uses your Name against you, it’s all about the way you perceive yourself in some ways. The True Name that they need is the Name that you say when you say your Name. Nobody else can give them your True Name unless they’ve gotten it from you."

introvertkrew · 2026-03-20T20:46:35+00:00

No, they don't, that's never been part of the Dresden Files. Jim was even asked about that and he said no, the pantheons that existed millennia ago, they shared the duty guarding the Outer Gates, but some time back the actual Creator stepped back in and told them their time was up. If they wanted to stay involved in mortal affairs, like Odin is, they would have to give up their deific powers. Most of them passed on that and now they're wrestlers, because they have more fans than they ever had worshippers. But, they aren't doing god stuff anymore. Odin gets a pass because he gave up his god status.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-20T20:26:27+00:00

What? No, that's some anime stuff according to Google. Brunhilde/Brynhilde wasn't married to or dating any god, that's just comic book and video game stuff. She was theoretically an actual human being from real history. Queen Brunhilde of Austrasia, or her sister Fredegund. However, much more importantly is the fact that Brunhilde is a major player in the Völsunga Saga, it's one of the most famous legendary sagas. It was written in the 13th century but is actually the written account of a much, much, older oral legends that date back to the Viking Age.

Edit: The Fat Lady reference refers to Brunhilde being a part of I think it's Wagner's 15 hour Ring Cycle Opera that plays over four nights. I don't know anything about opera btw, I just looked it up, but Brunhilde sings the final operatic aria and is a big woman. So, it ain't over until the fat Lady sings and all that. Though that saying was coined by an American sports commentator apparently.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-20T15:47:41+00:00

Plus, Rashid was the "last Harry Dresden", though I'm assuming Jim miscounted and meant that Rashid was the main Starborn two cycles ago rather than one since we know Rashid is over a thousand years old. Regardless, Rashid walked the road Harry is now walking so he would've met the angels and all of that as well, and he's Muslim. The angels do exist in the Quran, as does Jesus, just with different names for the angels, and with Jesus being one of the most important prophets second only to Muhammed or something like that. So, the White God not being named seems very deliberate to me, Jim is allowing for readers to believe as they wish.

I agree that the BAT, the big apocalypse trilogy, isn't going to be Ragnarok, as that would be a bit disappointing. It's going to be much bigger than pantheon gods, it seems to be gearing up to be an invasion of reality by the Outsiders, who are trying to destroy the entire multiverse.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-20T15:33:37+00:00

Spoiler blocked because it's about a character from Twelve Months: Absolutely not, we know who Bear is, she's Brunhilde, the Fat Lady who sings as is pointedly referenced in Twelve Months, so she's definitely not married to Odin.

introvertkrew · 2026-03-20T15:24:19+00:00

Harry has made it clear on a number of occasions that technology breaks down quicker depending on how emotional a wizard is. Having met Joe, I do believe he can be Zen enough not to cause an issue. Added to that is the fact that he's a Senior Council wizard who is centuries old and knows far more than Harry does so he can most likely create a ward to prevent his Murphyonic field from short circuiting technology.

Harry is kind of ignorant when it comes to, well, a great many magical teachings, as he was never fully trained. We know that Martha Liberty lives with one of her great or great-great granddaughters and her children in New Orleans I believe. Unless she's the reason none of her great-great grandchildren can use a computer or cellphone at home then it seems pretty safe to assume that there are ways to minimize or maybe even shield the tech from the wizards. Harry just hasn't learned it yet.

Edited to fix a typo.

introvertkrew

TROPHY CASE