I wonder if there's something about Hades as a plane -- if true death isn't impossible there, because it would represent an escape.

Deirdre would be an obvious exception, but then that took place at a specific Gate of Death.

Molly, not Maggie!

And he still did ignore Harry's warning about the Summer/Winter issue in SK; I don't think that's explainable as just testing Harry.

That's a good point. I have no excuse for him there.

Re: not an investigator, I'm not sure we have any basis to judge that. He's one of the Council's top wardens, not a member of the Brute Squad. In Storm Front, his plan to hold on to Harry through the storm and see if that stopped the killing was a pretty good out-of-the-box plan. It only looked stupid to us because we knew Harry was telling the truth about being the next target.

Not just concentrated fire. Harry's learned in past books that soulfire is particularly effective against outsiders, but he doesn't think to ask about it or try it.

If Mab knew that Ethnui would start a fight at the peace talks then it could be for Mab? Winter must have expected the Fomors to betray them in some form, so having Mab secure by her only being present via dobbleganger would be one way to reduce the risk significantly.

I like this. A lot.

Added bonus: The Outsiders staged a massive attack at the Outer Gates, thinking Mab was pinned down in Chicago dealing with Ethniu (and couldn't leave without risking the Accords falling apart), but Surprise! She's actually right there at the Gates ready to beat them down.

In Greek myth, Zeus swallowed the oceanid titan Metis. Months later, he suffered from terrible headaches. Hermes identified the problem, Haephestus split open his skull, and Athena burst out fully formed right down to the weapons and armor.

So... in Peace Talks, we've seen an ocean-based Last Titan. But that doesn't seem to fit anything.

In Grave Peril (and Dead Beat, and Ghost Story) we see that supernaturals can power up by literally eating the ghost/spirit/energy of other powerful beings.

And in Dead Beat and Ghost Story we see that spirits of information can be split into different independent beings containing different information. See: Evil Bob.

So...

Could some spirits of information form when an immortal takes up incompatible mantles and needs to carve out a piece (like Bob did to Evil Bob) to make what remains into the coherent whole they want? Could such spirits spin off in the aftermath of a Death Hallow, as the consumed souls consolidate to form the new god? (like planets forming in the leftover debris ring as a star is born?)

Could Odin's Ravens be leftover bits of his former greater mantle of power -- spun off to be separate from him, so he can be Vadderung and interact with mortals, but still there to be used and, in a worst-case scenario, reabsorbed to reascend to the power level that makes Ethniu respect "what he was".

Theory: Bob was created as a spin-off of Mab's ascension ritual when she became more than mortal. He either doesn't need a second parent, or the second parent is Titania. The timing is about right, isn't it?

Crazy idea: Mavra and the Archive. Mavra was the Archive's host, a long time ago. Crazy circumstances surrounding her death led to a piece of the Archive's knowledge imprinting on a bit of her soul and splintering off like a ghost -- voila: Bob! (Mavra was left as a black court Vampire and with her death the Archive moved on to its next host.)

Another crazy idea: Mac and Ethniu. (If Mac is McKinneally (sp?) then he was Ethniu's husband, at least long enough to father the child that would grow up to kill Balor...)