Just a few extra, but great write up!
- Eldest Gruff and the Leansidhe both are and are not similar. Both are advisors but it seems Lea is quite a bit more dangerous...Jim seemed to first say Gruff was nowhere near as important as Lea.
- Kincaid is still doing work for mortals.
- Most fae who were not at the Battle of Chicago were at the Outer Gates.
- Cat Sith may not have survived falling into Lake Michigan. But he may return.
- Cowl and Kumori and Black Council were very busy not being at the Battle of Chicago and being crushed by Ethniu. They specifically don't go out and fight in the open where possible.
- Lots of people may have died such as previous characters in the books.
- Mab was made to fight. Not necessarily Ethniu but it happened anyway. She survived even where other's wouldn't because Mab was prepared.
- Mab has many weapon statues like the Bean full of weapons.
- There is always an Eldest of each race of fairy. It's a mantle but also not.
- Democracy is a human fad to Mab.
- Who runs the Gates is less about which pantheon had the most/enough Faith from mortals and more about who was currently in the right place/right time.
- Librarians will probably show up at the end of the next book "Twelve Months"
- Forty or Fifty thousand starborn IN THE CURRENT CYCLE. Last 40 years got whittled down. Note* I assume Jim is telegraphing how many are born at once.
- You don't have to be mortal to be starborn. You just have to be in the right place. To be "unlucky".
- Drakul was likely immortal like Vadderung.
- Zeus created a body for Athena so that her as a Spirit of Intellect could be a god.
- Justine in Cold Days got to the Island (Demonreach) without even Demonreach knowing. Nemesis cannot be detected unless you already know it is there.
- Nemesis knows the mortal world better than any other Outsider. But not necessarily to the point where it actually understands them. Jim compares it to reading a large block of highly complex code. You might be able to read it but not know all of it.
- Nemesis can be anywhere but it can't always replicate human reactions and things. It is imperfect by definition. It must be fought with logic and intuition.
- Nemesis has a hard limit on how many it can possess/infect (which confirms my theory).
I'll comment on a few things now.
1. Ethniu isn't related to the Black Council. This implies to me that while their goals might be linked, they are not aware of it because they themselves are both being manipulated by something like Nemesis.
2. If there is 40-50k worth of Starborn created in any one moment event per cycle, it doesn't seem that special. And Jim's says it's very unlucky. The cost to resist the Outsiders must be high. I'd hazard groups like the Librarians, the White Council, and individuals like Drakul are going around capturing or killing such beings for whatever reasons. Also, this opens up a lot of "who is a starborn" questions and not just from this Cycle. Some of which might not be human!
3. Vadderung is seriously badass. And maybe not all that good. Jim's hinted that Vadderung might be a bit sinister quite a bit, literary device wise. Ferrovax is bad too and seriously hates Vadderung.
4. Vlad Tepesh would have been an ideal candidate for Winter Knight (in MW's eyes) if he hadn't been busy doing other things.
5. Jim has almost certainly combined Drakul and Dracula a bit now, whereas in the early series they were far more distinct. Curious to examine what other identities they have had...perhaps even Gods or Demons. Vampire origins can be traced back to the ancient world (ancient Egypt, South America, parts of Western Asia). Maybe Apophis/Apep and Set? Set and Anubis? Varney? Abhartac?
6. It seems the power and accompanying responsibility that Monarchs have could also connected to how only certain people can be Knights of the Cross. My guess is a combination of human belief and perhaps God-given right to rule power makes Monarchs almost Saint-Level powers.
7. The diamond number is wrong. Jim needs the number to be about 2 million so Harry isn't too rich. Let's all pretend Harry's diamonds are actually poor quality or something or he lost a few.
8. The Wizards looking down on magic foci doesn't add up. LtW uses a medicine bag and Langtry had a wand as well as a staff.
9. H&M are body guards and occasional agents but that doesn't match the lore. They were his spies in the world and if you were going to have body guards Odin's wolves Geri and Freki would have been better choices.
10. If Einherjar are revenants made with soulfire, that almost certainly rules out the Black Court Vampires. It does however point to the white court. However, in Jim's previous indication we have seen the combination of necromancy and soulfire - I suspect he was referring exclusively to the Einherjaren.
11. How many is Nemesis limited to? Not 13 as magic is a Creation thing and Outsiders don't play by those rules. 3? 300? Any other number seem relevant? Who else is Nemesis in right now?
Thanks for posting. I just listened to the Dragoncon interview with Jim which came out a couple of days ago. I'd post a link but you can find it on YouTube if you like. I didn't find it very interesting and IMO the interviewer talked too much. This interview is much better.
Agreed. Not much new stuff in that one.
