The Gatekeeper in Summer Knight

[morriswalters]

Well, he took down the Mad Arab, who according to H.P. Lovecraft wrote the Necronomicon...
We also know that he is not the strongest wizard, but the most dangerous.

/Ulfgeir

Given that it appears that he can open a portal to almost anywhere in reality, that would make him pretty dangerous. 

And if Outsiders are in a realm outside the flow of time it isn't unreasonable to think that he doesn't age at the wall at all.

[Mira]

Or he could be regular wizard old, but has spent so much time in the Nevernever, that he has skipped hundreds of years. On the other hand, he may have spent hundreds of years in the Nevernever, but less time passed in the real world.

This and the "Our" thread by Yuillegan brought to my attention that Rashid says "a bit of questionable attention from the Fates and a ridiculously enormous tool." Then he taps his fake eye. In the "Our" thread, we were discussing how Harry summoned Mother Winter using the names of one of the Norse Fates (Norns) and one of the Greek Fates (Moirai). Moirai actually translates to "apportioners," not fates. At least according to wikipedia.

That line from Rashid I took to mean when he took up the role of Gatekeeper or it was thrust upon him  he was given the "gift" of the eye not unlike Harry getting the gift of Soulfire..

[groinkick]

That line from Rashid I took to mean when he took up the role of Gatekeeper or it was thrust upon him  he was given the "gift" of the eye not unlike Harry getting the gift of Soulfire..

Well I know I'm nit picking but Soulfire was not a gift.  It was just a balancing of the scales.  Harry would not have gotten it if not for hellfire

[Mira]

Well I know I'm nit picking but Soulfire was not a gift.  It was just a balancing of the scales.  Harry would not have gotten it if not for hellfire

Perhaps, but it was still a gift.. 

[Bad Alias]

My point is only that I had never really noticed that he is saying that the Faerie Queens did whatever to him. Whether that was taking his eye, giving him the new one, or offering him the role of Gatekeeper. While it may have been something he chose, it was also something done to him by the "questionable attention from the Fates."

Kind of like how Harry is what he is at this point because of the choices he made and attention from powerful supernatural beings.

[Mira]

My point is only that I had never really noticed that he is saying that the Faerie Queens did whatever to him. Whether that was taking his eye, giving him the new one, or offering him the role of Gatekeeper. While it may have been something he chose, it was also something done to him by the "questionable attention from the Fates."

Kind of like how Harry is what he is at this point because of the choices he made and attention from powerful supernatural beings.

   Attention, Harry caught the attention of Heaven when he resisted the shadow of Lasciel... He was gifted with soulfire, but no instruction manual, because technically Heaven isn't supposed to interfere..   Excuse to balance the scales, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense...  Hellfire existed before Harry had it, then he had it, there was no one out there with "balancing" soulfire except the angels...  But it is something he needs for the fight....

I imagine Rashid caught the attention of the Fates, when he was chosen for a particular job, what is useful for guarding the Gates and making sure the sneaky Enemy doesn't invade?  Yeah, he was gifted with a very important tool...

[Bad Alias]

I think Harry had the attention of Heaven before that. Michael shows up pretty hard in Harry's life just before Grave Peril. Then a fairy queen "buys" Harry in the next book. In the next book, an angel sends the Knights a message about him, and the Denarians mess with that message at considerable effort. Then the Nicodemus tries to recruit him.

Then there are all the mysterious visitations Harry has. The feminine presence in Storm Front, his dad's visitation, Butters saving him in Dead Beat. I'm probably missing several before Harry "converts" Lash in White Night.

[Mira]

I think Harry had the attention of Heaven before that. Michael shows up pretty hard in Harry's life just before Grave Peril. Then a fairy queen "buys" Harry in the next book. In the next book, an angel sends the Knights a message about him, and the Denarians mess with that message at considerable effort. Then the Nicodemus tries to recruit him.

Then there are all the mysterious visitations Harry has. The feminine presence in Storm Front, his dad's visitation, Butters saving him in Dead Beat. I'm probably missing several before Harry "converts" Lash in White Night.

No doubt, he is a star born after all.  I wouldn't be shocked if it turned out that Rashid is also a star born.   I don't think it a coincident that he'd be friends with, and a protector of his mother.  I also wouldn't be shocked if Rashid was in on all the machinations leading up to Harry's conception.. That he was also the main reason why she managed to elude the Wardens for as long as she did.

[Avernite]

No doubt, he is a star born after all.  I wouldn't be shocked if it turned out that Rashid is also a star born.   I don't think it a coincident that he'd be friends with, and a protector of his mother.  I also wouldn't be shocked if Rashid was in on all the machinations leading up to Harry's conception.. That he was also the main reason why she managed to elude the Wardens for as long as she did.

I imagine Eb had something to do with her eluding capture, too.

[KurtinStGeorge]

The Gatekeeper is able to track Harry in some fashion.

"What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," he said.
"You've been watching?"
He shook his head. "Call it listening. But I have had glimpses of you. And matters are worsening in Chicago."

The Gatekeeper may not be tracking Harry directly.  We have so little information to work with.  For example, if I were to ask forum members to give an explanation of what the Gatekeeper meant when he said, "Call it listening," I bet every response would be unique, and we wouldn't have a way to confirm any of them. (So please don't try unless you can quote something directly from one of the novels to back you up.) To get back to my main point, whatever the Gatekeeper may be perceiving, it's possible Rashid is looking for black magic, or to steal a Star Wars term; "a disturbance in the Force," or Mab might call it, "A disturbance in the balance of forces," and Harry is often at or near the center of those disturbances, so that could be how the Gatekeeper gets glimpses of, and eventually finds Harry.

Only in Turn Coat, after Harry called the White Council and told them he had Morgan, can we safely assume the Gatekeeper was directly looking for Harry.  Even then, we don't really know if Rashid saw where Harry was, or if he saw, heard or felt something that told him to go to Demonreach without knowing; I mean having having 100% knowledge, that Harry was there.  It could have been, the Gatekeeper's search only revealed to him that he had to get to the dock on Demonreach to learn the truth.  He could have easily guessed that Harry would be there, but that's not the same thing as being certain that Harry would be there.

Unless the Gatekeeper gives us a more detailed explanation of how he gets these perceptions; which seems really unlikely, or Harry gets to use the Outer Gates material himself to do some kind of magic search; which could happen in a future story, we don't have a solid explanation of what the Gatekeeper does or what he's looking for.  By the way, I'm fine if we never do.  Not everything in the Dresden Files requires a detailed explanation.

[morriswalters]

In reality we know a considerable amount of information about the Gatekeeper. From the text of the books.

He appears out of nowhere at the tree Harry is hung up in Summer Knight.

I folded my arms and had them sternly crossed over my chest when a tall, shrouded form emerged from the mist below. Dark robes swirled, a deep hood concealed, and a gloved hand gripped a wooden staff.

Either he was following Harry or he was able to find him.  Pick your poison.

And in Proven Guilty that Gatekeeper apparently sees  Eb and the team as they move through a portal back to Chicago with Micheal.  He breaks the circle and throws open the door before the guard can knock.

Love Hurts The Dresden Wiki

In "Love Hurts", Anastasia Luccio mentions to Harry Dresden that although the Wardens don't have orbital satellites for detecting dark magic, the Gatekeeper may know something about what's going on. She states that Rashid has a gift for sensing problem areas, but that no one has seen him for weeks, which is not unusual.[17]

Not a very subtle hint is it?

By the way, I'm fine if we never do.  Not everything in the Dresden Files requires a detailed explanation.

I'm gonna have to be fine with it.  Peace Talks will in all likelihood be my last, unless Mr. Butcher moves into hyperdrive.

You might think that the Gatekeeper was known as the Shadow in another time and place.  Key cackle. 

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

[Con]

You guys have forgotten Rashid's connection with Demon Reach as well as his knowledge of what the ability of Intellectus could do. In Turn Coat he says 'this island holds a grudge' then we have a later WoJ that 'he focused the tank', which is basically Gamer talk for he set a beacon in Demonreach to be attacked during an Outsider attack so that the Gates would be safe.

Then in Turn Coat Ebenezar said "A messenger arrived from Rashid he's more familiar with what you can do with that kind of bond".

Personally I think it's because Rashid has Intellectus with the Outer Gates themselves.

[Mira]

The Gatekeeper may not be tracking Harry directly.  We have so little information to work with.  For example, if I were to ask forum members to give an explanation of what the Gatekeeper meant when he said, "Call it listening," I bet every response would be unique, and we wouldn't have a way to confirm any of them. (So please don't try unless you can quote something directly from one of the novels to back you up.) To get back to my main point, whatever the Gatekeeper may be perceiving, it's possible Rashid is looking for black magic, or to steal a Star Wars term; "a disturbance in the Force," or Mab might call it, "A disturbance in the balance of forces," and Harry is often at or near the center of those disturbances, so that could be how the Gatekeeper gets glimpses of, and eventually finds Harry.

Only in Turn Coat, after Harry called the White Council and told them he had Morgan, can we safely assume the Gatekeeper was directly looking for Harry.  Even then, we don't really know if Rashid saw where Harry was, or if he saw, heard or felt something that told him to go to Demonreach without knowing; I mean having having 100% knowledge, that Harry was there.  It could have been, the Gatekeeper's search only revealed to him that he had to get to the dock on Demonreach to learn the truth.  He could have easily guessed that Harry would be there, but that's not the same thing as being certain that Harry would be there.

Unless the Gatekeeper gives us a more detailed explanation of how he gets these perceptions; which seems really unlikely, or Harry gets to use the Outer Gates material himself to do some kind of magic search; which could happen in a future story, we don't have a solid explanation of what the Gatekeeper does or what he's looking for.  By the way, I'm fine if we never do.  Not everything in the Dresden Files requires a detailed explanation.

Listening means you quietly open your ears and listen..   Sometimes it is about understanding, you plead for someone to listen to you you want them to hear and understand what you are saying... Or it is picking out something in the background noise...  So Rashid makes a habit of listening for Harry in the background noise... Face it someone like Harry would stand out.

[Talby16]

And in Proven Guilty that Gatekeeper apparently sees  Eb and the team as they move through a portal back to Chicago with Micheal.  He breaks the circle and throws open the door before the guard can knock.

Depends on what way you are using "see." I personally do not think that he physically saw them or saw them with his Sight. We know from Proven Guilty that Rashid sometimes gets information from hindsight:

"He got this from hindsight, he had to," Bob said.
"Hindsight," I murmured. "You mean he went to the future for this?"
"Well," Bob hedged. "That would break one of the Laws, so probably not. But he might have sent himself a message from there, or maybe gotten it from some kind of prognosticating spirit. He might even have developed some ability for that himself. Some wizards do."

My opinion is that Rashid knew they would be arriving through this skill. Kind of like Abby from White Knight who is able to see in the future involuntarily only Rashid has the skill to peer at will.

[Talby16]

Wasn't there a wikia post about how to get to his domain?? Egypt sounds like a great place to relax.

Here is the relevant WOJ:

2010 2D6feet interview with Iago @6:31
Iago says that at the 2010 DragonCon, Jim told him:
“You get to the Gatekeeper’s domain by walking across the surface of the moon.”