And here.. we.. go. Alright, gonna skim over a few topics that make up the principle theory's and ideas that started this, them dive into who's who, and why I think so.
-the conservation of history. So, following the metaphor of time is a river. People, things, event's carve themselves into the bedrock of time. Making them more likely to happen or form together in similar ways. Reformations of the same people or close amalgamations of them.
-the gyre, as ascribed to Yeats poem 'The Second Coming'. Describes time as a repeating cylinder that folds in on itself. Usually 2000 years. This is where I think certain things take their turn back and forth, resulting in inverted variations of what we know. For instance, Nico is Harry's precise inversion right down to wearing the exact same outfit in opposite colors when they first meet. Every decision he's ever made is in direct opposition to Harry's choices. He squandered his power and importance(🤷♂️ he's a particularly short guy) by breaking his word upon it, though he obviously has great skill with magic rituals. Harry kills the mother of his child, with her full support to save his daughter. Nico later kills his daughter in spite of her mother. In direct parallel.
The gyre is partially confirmed, at least in that things repeat, in the woj Rashid played Dresden's part,"the last time. And he didn't enjoy it very much."
With the above metaphor and variables in mind, there is some overlap of who does what despite whose most likely attributed to having done so, but I find these are mostly taken up(intentionally) by at least semi supernatural beings. Vaderrung and Gard largely occupying the roles Merlin and Guin would have taken up in his Arthurian kingdom. Gard even gets into a relationship with Hendrix, my presumed Lancelot.(random theory, his paper was about Arthurian mythology lol)
-one other thing is a clear but uncertain connection to starborn. The universe itself remembers. I think this is the riverbed that times flowing through. And indeed just the starborn cycle alone would give credence to that. The water might slosh around but it keeps following the same paths. I'm thinking the starborn are capable of being remembered. Of digging furrows into it, changing the flow entirely.. or, stopping it completely.
-in line with starborn there are, and I am uncertain of the number precisely, a number of beings who are Primes. Who themselves keep repeating because they had such a huge impact already. I've measured this anywhere from 3-4 to conceivably 8, in line with the number of heavenly bodies visible to the naked eye in Greco mythology (5 of those still being more important iirc)
Anyway. Here some of whom I've identified and why. Probably won't remember everything all at once..
Harry- the Rising Star, like that one Lucifer. Except this is the inverse of so he's literally Rising instead. -Merlin/Odin, I put these together because classically the similarities run pretty deep and in story I find it likely ones Cycle directly followed the others. With Merlin more or less becoming Odin, becoming Merlin. Bootstrap paradox solved by going backwards through countless cycles into whatever cosmic paradox made time exist. Odin was a lean runner, Harry ran in his younger days for exercise. Odin had a beefy winter mantle that changes his usual appearance, Harry's beefed up as the WK to superhuman levels. Magic spears, check. Swords? Pretty sure Harry's getting a sword for fighting back against the warden's, one of theirs. Same one he's holding on TC, which is not his. Army of 'Elves?' Check? Has almost lost an eye multiple times and I think will still, sometime in the time travel book. When GK found him in hanging in the tree I think that's also part and parcel of why he laughed so much. He recognized the direct parallel, knew about the cycle from first hand experience, and found it hilarious that that's how that manifested for him. Harry's connection to DR of course is in parallel to Merlin making it, and perhaps Harry needing to unmake it.
Also despite not going in with Marcone Early on, still helped him legitimatize his 'kingdom'. -Horseman Death
Thomas- Doubting Thomas, one of the disciples sometimes confused with Judas. I think the three are mushed together into one character here. Thomas did indeed betray, but by force and only for love. In the last turn, I'd say his archetype was more likely that of TWC with Harry being Judas/Doubting Thomas. What this says for Nico's character is suspicion he's not only Judas as some already theorized, but the brother of TWC himself perhaps. Doubting Thomas is I think exactly where he gets his name from, an inside Joke.-horseman potential
Murphy-Nemesis, the Judge -Guinevere -Lilith. Guinevere is pretty easy. She deals with Marcone and holds sway over the side of the kingdom he does not, the lawful side. The Once, and Future Queen. Interestingly I think she's also a joke name, from Murphy's law. Complex turn of theories on magic and Nemesis the Greek goddess(and Nortia) make me suspect the side effects of errant magic are entirely based on "bad luck", with the previous effects of spoiling milk classically being directly attributed to the idea leaving out milk collecting the negative Mojo of 'bad luck spirits' turned it sour. As 'the Judge'(or perhaps she's now the executioner in this incarnation lol) she's the one who usually actually kills bad mortals, or those abusing/abused by magic within Dresden's story. She passes the verdict, on Macfinn, on agent Denton(an amalgam of two face btw, Harry's Batman. Don't get me started 🤦♂️😂 ) Aurora thematically couldn't stand to her as a mortal, big guy gruff backed down, ect. She's the Law, or was.. without her influence the first thing Harry does is try to kill someone with defensive magic no less. -Horseman War? I'm going to go into some backstory on this, but not the explanation. There's a Anita Blake(don't remember the name, it's the one with the zombie smex, and I lost interest after that) but Anita and Edward pick up new nicknames, War and Death, despite ALREADY having very specific and known nicknames already. This i think is a residual joke(from when they were still getting along, if they apparently aren't now) in her intentionally comparing them to Harry's and Murphy's incarnations in the DF. Edward gets a lot of wintery imagery in his descriptions in that book and a few other things keyed me to the comparison more so than usual. In the following book well. If I said someone lit the building on fire before calling up a bunch of dead victims of vampires to enact their living vengeance, you'd assume I'm talking about GP.. but you'd be wrong lol.
Elaine-an amalgam of Elaine,Vivian/Emua(I totally misspelled that 😩 ) and possibly some of Morgana thrown in the mix. she's already held him against his will twice now iirc, no way a third time isn't coming. -possibly a horsemen?
Hendrix-Lancelot, and pretty much any warrior archetype might follow. He wields a certain sword giving him heritage(you can probably find that thread somewhere). He's Marcones strongest Knight, fell in love with the 'queen' and it got him killed.
Ms Beckett-Morgana, just for the twisted relationship with Marcone and wanting to take him down despite of everything else.
Fitz- Royal Bastard by some definitions, Mordred. just for his name. Interestingly tho, this inversion should mean he's going to his deed's with nobility and honor? Not necessarily related to Marcone of course, but certainly he's going to have an interesting heritage if we get it, in both sides I suspect.
Mavra-think she's actually the original Morgana. Purely for the Outfit timeline. It's what she turned wearing. She wants her 'mortality' back, or to otherwise stop being what she's stuck as.
Molly-Merlins apprentice, she's also more or less Mab. maeves appearance in early books directly changes based on choices molly makes to her own appearance. The way she fought the mental battle in GS is directly in parallel to how Mab fought in BG. They have the same magical talents, ect.-one of the Horsemen, Famine?
Marcone - Arthur - Horseman Conquest -EK
The dual beliefs shown in FM, a circle of trees for dirty business in Celtic styling(anecdotal, but throwing a body and the weapon used to end it into a body of water is a Celtic act of worship. The Mob pays service wether they realize it or not 😂 ) and a church moved there brick by brick. He'd make a good king. His MM counterpart should have Excalibur. He had 'summer hunter' green eyes in his youth, ect.
I'm sure there more. But I'm spent atm 🤷♂️
Oops so Eb- Kronos?( The one killed by his grandson. I always forget which is which offhand) Only in this variation he's going to let him intentionally. He's already killed Harry accidentally twice by my count. Once when Harry was a doppleganger and I think, in the original timeline before the corner hounds... I think he was the time traveler that got their attention and then realized that changed the past all by itself. Their appearance stopped an escalation to a fight. But WHY when we've seen potential TT before did they appear here? Because Harry actually died, and Eb wasn't going to do anything subtle about it, staying within the laws of known paradox. As opposed to other times, this was the black staff using the black staff to violate time itself to change what happened not to nudge a car or indirectly work. The corner hounds only manifest because of this, but if they hadn't it would have happened so time smoothed its own wrinkle.