> Which story was that about the beer though??

The story is an entire book, Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers. It was published in 1979, right around the time JB was sick with strep throat as a child. It’s a great book and stuck with me for a long time.

This would fulfill all the WoJ requirements for Mac. “Plain vanilla mortal”, “dangerous”. Also an easy explanation for why he knows Mab and other high-level characters.

It explains why Harry hasn’t been able to get rid of Excalibur, we’re waiting for book 20 or the trilogy when he hands it back to Arthur. I wonder if Harry ever had the Swords in MacAnnallys, I don’t think so. Were there 13 knights of the round table, like 13 tables? I may be misremembering that.

To speculate on how he came to his current situation, maybe he was one of the signatories of the Accords, and agreeing to be “out” was a tradeoff for MacAnnallys accorded neutral ground. The Denarians wouldn’t sign unless Mac agreed to retire or something. When the outsiders call him “watcher” they are mocking him because they know he can’t do anything without violating the agreement. That’s also why he wasn’t tied up in Cold Days. Incidentally in Cold Days he is familiar with Sidhe bargaining.

I remember that there were 25 knights of the round table, based on general folklore pulled on the internet. But I've always thought the the significance of the 13 in Mac's pub was so that magic and bad vibes wouldn't mess his place up. At least that's how Harry explained it in the book.  Forgot which one. I think it was Storm Front.

Mac as Arthur FITS. And I'll read that book, thanks for recommending it!

It unlikely, the way I see it (unless Jim is severely rewriting mythology, or just got it very wrong) that anyone but Mother Winter could be either Skuld or Atropos. Which I understand the issue, because the youngest of the triple goddess should be Skuld (i.e one of the Ladies) but clearly the mantle fits better in Mother Winter's Death Aspect.

Here is my interpretation. We see the Queens as separate - because we view the world through Harry's limited human perception. However the "truth" could be that ALL of the Winter Queens are Winter (of which Mother Winter is the least human) and ALL Queens of Faerie total up to something greater...there is every chance that Mother Summer's use of "our" included ALL Queens of Faerie. The Name of such a being might well be Fate, Gaia, God or something else that Jim has dug up/created. I think this is why Harry is partly wrong/stupid because he only see's the Mother's linked, not all the Queens adding up to something greater than the some of their parts.

Their are many, many versions of the Triumverate in many religions and mythologies. Triple Goddess of Wicca, Brahmic Trinity, Devi Trinity, Catholic Trinity, Greek Fates, Norse Norns, Egyptian Ra and many others. I have long wondered if sum of the Queens represents all of that.

I actually agree with this perspective. I'm sorry @BadAlias if I said that Skuld was one of Mother Summer's Names - I was thinking of Summer and Winter as one person - and that though both of them had Mothers, Queens, and Ladies - they are all essentially one being. Or at least the mantles are all from one Being. So though Skuld might be the youngest of the Norns, Mother Summer being just really part of one whole, the name Skuld still applies. Like the Holy Trinity - One God in Three Persons, etc. etc.

I wanna know where he hangs when he relaxes, I'm guessing Egypt.  It's just to good to pass up.

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

I think Mac is King Arthur.

I read somewhere that Butcher was a fan of Tim Powers who wrote Drawing of the Dark. The theme is old gods wandering the earth in different forms. Similar to how the older gods exist in different forms in Dresdenverse. The story revolves around a magical beer “the dark” that can only be brewed every few hundred years.

In the book, Arthur is the protagonist, not the brewer. But ever since Small Favor where Harry faced down the Gruff and Mac brought out the dark beer, I’ve been convinced of this. Plus, if Merlin and Excalibur exist in the Dresdenverse then King Arthur obviously exists too.

Prove me wrong. ;-)

Ohhh, that's a very interesting theory! Which story was that about the beer though??

   It is my opinion that if  Lea is Harry's godmother, Rashid is a good candidate for his godfather,
even if it is an unofficial title.  Why is it from the first time we meet him that Rashid always manages
to turn up when Harry is in trouble with the Council or to give advice when Harry is contemplating some very serious actions... Yet at the same time he appears totally outside of the usual politics of the Senior Council..

I think that's because Rashid has enough on his plate without adding White Council politics and that's why he stays away from them. Being the Gatekeeper is enough of a responsibility. Being Harry's godfather might be a good reason why he almost always shows up when Harry is in danger..? But I think the reason Harry ran into him all those books ago is because of the direct involvement of Nemesis and the Outsiders.

Remember, he's the Gatekeeper. And it's his job to make sure the Outsiders stay outside. Any Outsider working to dismantle to Gates has to go through Rashid's dead body first.

page 338 Cold Days
Harry goes on to say that Rashid's job is so secret his eye gets it's own disguise when he isn't at the gates.  This implies a whole lot of things, like just how old is Rashid?  How long has he had the job of Gatekeeper?  Who made the eye in the first place?  And when did Rashid receive it?  Since the eye is made of the same material as the gates, was it made at the same time?

I like your questions a lot. There's a post on the dresden files wikia about how Rashid's name is one of the 99 names of Allah. Which might be a clue to his real identity if you consider that Jim does not lightly choose names for his characters. They always mean something.

Rashid's eye and the Outer Gates are made of the same crystal. But then we get a clue from Jim in Cold Days that the Outer Gates that Harry saw was just a dumbed down version that his mind could cope with. I think that the 'crystal' is actually a force of Creation much like soulfire. It's made of sheer will - which translates to magic in reality. The eye isn't really just something physical, it's a purely magical object that can manifest a physical form and has a specific purpose (opens ways, sees all things) like Odin's all-seeing eye.


I still disagree with Rashid being Odin's missing eye. But maybe Rashid has Odin's missing eye? If the beings of both the Greek and Norn pantheons guarded the Outer Gates before Winter took over, that means Odin must have had the eye then. He might've even been one of the first Gatekeepers.

And it's more likely that Rashid is Heimdall rather than Odin himself. As Jim is a huge Marvel fan, his description of Rashid fits in with the Heimdall in the comics. Rashid can Listen (like Harry) and he sees everything -- Heimdall. Plus, the dude who guarded the gates of Asgard was one of Odin's most trusted. Doesn't it make sense that he would guard the Outer Gates as well? And this theory would open up the other possibility that since the Gates of Asgard open up to other worlds and realms (realities), that means they mighty also open up to non-reality. And that they're an Asgardian version of the Outer Gates themselves.

So, in Skin Game, Harry steals the Spear of Destiny from right under Nico's nose. And considering that this was the actual item that Nicodemus actually came for, it stands to reason the the blade that pierced TWG's side is a VERY POWERFUL magical artifact indeed.

And since Harry will eventually have to fight the Outsiders, do we have any theories about how he'll use it in future books? I have a feeling he'll use it to stab something or someone at a place of power. Or maybe kill himself. Again.