Actually, one of the most recent WOJ confirms that all the gods are older than time.
I've seen that, but I'm not convinced it necessarily means that... at least not in the sense I'm talking about.
Some aspects of them / their power ... yes, would go back to the beginning of the universe, in some form. But not the individual beings (at least all of them).
The power of Mab is "older than time" per Harry's Sight vision in SK, but Mab herself is younger than Nicodemus.
Given what Lea says about memories being stored in the universe in GS, I think the current generation of gods having those memories could be more like how Harry & Molly just
know what Winter Law is as soon as they think about it... it could go with the 'Mantle' to some degree.
As Mother Summer says, the power can't be created or destroyed - but it can change form.
I think it's more accurate that time is MORE mutable in the Nevernever. It's plenty mutable in the physical world and mortal world.
Well, sure, relativity and all.. even without magic, in real physics, time can be tricky. But that rarely makes any actual difference unless you are dealing with really high speeds or extreme gravity wells.
Just to be clear, Hecate = Queens of Faerie is just a theory. It isn't confirmed. There is clearly a connection of course. But beyond that we don't know. My personal take is that the Queens, and all of the Fae, represent the remnants of several pantheons of gods. Harry even says as much in the first chapter of Battle Ground, calling the Tuatha "proto-fae".
Yeah, the statue of Hecate in SG confirms some kind of connection, but we don't know exactly what.
Personally I think the Queens incorporated parts of various other Mantles, including Hecate, the Greek Fates, and the Norse Norns.
My guess is that plus the WOJ about how beings don't change, just our ideas about who and what they are change - this gives us the best idea about how beings can both be older than the universe AND shaped/created by mortals. The being exists in a sort of shapeless/pre-mold state that changes to fit the shape created by the emotions/beliefs of mortals.
Yes, I think this is more or less how it works.
But I think mantles can also be divided or consolidated (consumed?)