Potential spoilers follow here.

I was thinking the other day about the blurb of Battle Ground and a few things occured to me.

I feel that the end of Peace Talks will involve Harry thinking he has sorted out his issues, a victory of sorts if you like. He will have saved Thomas, himself, everyone and maybe exposed the bad guys openly. And they will be MEGA pissed off. Which causes them to try the less subtle way i.e. wiping out Harry and Chicago or whatever. And Harry will realize his massive miscalculation and realize there is an impending army coming to destroy everyone he loves. That will be the cliff hanger - a Titan and her army bearing down on his city and everything he holds dear.

But why is it that Harry specifically has to kill this Titan. Why him? If this thing is so ridiculously powerful where are the other guardians, where is the White Council, where is...Mab?

Because if (and this isn't yet known) the Last Titan and the Fomor Empress are one and the same (likely), why isn't Mab or Titania or both fighting this being?

Why isn't Ebenezar and the Merlin and LtW etc not responsible for killing this being?

The only logical conclusion is they are not available. Perhaps Winter and Summer alike are besieged. Perhaps Titania elects not to help (in her every more mysterious way). Perhaps the Gates come under major assault. Perhaps Mab is crippled somehow.

Maybe the White Council tries to help but is scattered to the wind. Maybe it's a divide and conquer thing.

Thoughts?

Really weird thing that Evil Bob says.

When Harry is in Ghost Story, he is wrestling with Evil Bob and Harry has a staff. Evil Bob says of it "A simple tool, but serviceable. In McCoy's style"

When has Bob, or Evil Bob ever met McCoy? And which McCoy? Eb or Margaret?

I can't get it out of my head. It says some pretty bad stuff to me.

I am not sure how many of you have read any Gutenberg (it can be a bit much as the language is often written phonetically rather than correctly, not to mention using archaic words and phrases) but it does provide a few interesting bits.

The Faeries are considered to be former Angels but chose not to pick a side in the War in Heaven and so were not banished to Hell, but were expelled from Heaven.

There are also these curious tall round towers, like Lighthouses, always near Churches. They seem to have been used and made by the Druids and have associations with fire. Also, in some cases Angels built them overnight on the command of Saints. Reminds me a lot of the Tower on Demonreach.

Lastly, a funny thing is that David MacAnally Jr is the translator/curator. Not sure how relevant it is but I found it an amusing coincidence nonetheless.

During White Night, she says to Harry that she likes his new shield. Except the last time she would have seen that shield would have been when he was sixteen...so naturally it would be different. Unless she saw it more recently...in Dead Beat. She never sees it in Summer Knight.

I always like to ask this question when something happens as it tends to help discover motive.

The downfall of the Red Court was inevitable. Harry was the tool, but not the wielder. He is a powerful tool but not moving pieces on the board.

So when we look at the demise of the Red Court, we have to examine who benefits the most in order to understand who might have wielded Harry and what that means for the future.

Nicodemus Archleone - He found them "annoying in the short-term, difficult in the mid-term, and dangerous to any long-term plan". But wouldn't the Red Court benefit from an apocalypse? They could hunt humanity with impunity, no White Council or Venatori to stop them. Perhaps, like the White Court, they weren't the biggest bully on the playground and realised they liked how things were. If the world turned all End of Days they might end up being beaten up by the really nasty bad guys. So it's easy to see why the Red Court might attempt to stop him. Assuming his goal was merely suffering. Jim has sort-of implied that Nicodemus' end goal is to end Reality altogether - I can imagine most of the bad guys who exist on "our" side of the Gates might have an issue with that.

But the Red Court have been destroyed. So is Nicodemus one step further to achieving Empty Night?

What else did the destruction of the Red Court achieve? Well for a start, it seems to have created the right conditions for the Fomor to emerge. Now it seems pretty obvious that the Fomor (like the Red Court initially) were actually preparing for hostilities rather than being provoked/baited into emerging. It does seem like Harry might have forced their hand (just like he did when he started the war with the Vampires), but just like the Reds they always intended to attack the mortal world.

So what does the emergence of the Fomor achieve? Well a more hostile climate for mortals, the probably destruction of the already battered White Council (and their allies), and perhaps a less-restricted magical community. Curiously, a Cantrev Lord of the Fomor would have been a Welsh Lord (as the Word Cantrev/Cantref roughly translates as community - "cant" is 100 and "ref/rev" is town). This indicates a further connection with the Chronicles of Prydain, but more on that later.

Who else benefits from the Reds disappearance? I am obviously leaving out the Grey Council (and Vadderung, Mab and Uriel etc) because their stated reason is protecting humanity which I will take on faith at this point. A number of villains and characters, such as Marcone and Cowl haven't directly stated their intent (unless I am mistaken) to wipe out the Reds yet massively have benefited from the destruction of the Red Court.

Also, it is clear that the Reds were merely fulfilling a function rather than being players. Where the Reds failed it seems likely the Fomor will succeed. Which suggests to me the manipulators are not necessarily the Fomor (although they might be embedded in it) but they two merely serve as a cats-paw of a more nebulous threat (Nemesis/Black Council). The goal currently appears to be a shattering of the status quo and to redraw the lines on the board, so to speak. Only a few characters have indicated more abstract or nihilistic ideals (such as conquering death or ending existence).

Cowl also seems to be an almost cutout of Arawn Death-Lord (from the Chronicles of Prydain). Two great enchanters, both hooded and hidden always, both use necromancy. Arawn was also a notoriously good shapeshifter, and Cowl seems to at least be pretty good at least at some level of magical disguise (zombie in Dead Beat). It wouldn't surprise me at all to find out he had appeared in other books with a different face. Which isn't to say that he is merely, for example, Mac and Cowl. He could also be Cowl, Simon and Mac. Or perhaps only Mac in one scene? We might not see his face for a while if we ever do.

I bring this up because there are a few characters who are apparently bad guys who might not be and good guys who might not be.

A character who has been accused before is the Erlking. He fits the Horned King shape well, but his actions don't. However, it could be that Cowl and the Black Council are only indirectly working with the Outsiders. They might not want an end to Reality, just a New Order. Which might mean that some previously "good" characters might still be bad guys - just not necessarily the worst guys (Old Ones, Outsiders).

So where does this leave us? Closer to the end of the world, I'd say. But also that there are several others who are closer to their own goals who may not have direct association with the Fomor.

Can you guys think of anyone else who benefits from the events of the books, things like the destruction of the Reds but who might not have been overtly backing Harry or perhaps had ulterior motives beyond "saving the humans etc".

With another Cowl debate, and rehashing of the Simon=Cowl theory, I had to rethink things.

Upon rereading Cowl's scenes I noticed a few things that were interesting.

If we take away the Wizard aspect of his character, we have only a few features to identify him. I have done this to open up the scope of investigation.

Features:

• He hides his face and masks his voice. In all probability his scent and perhaps even his magical signature.
• But his sentences are not all that archaic for a Necromancer who should be well over 100 years old (if we assume he trained under Kemmler). We also know that he is reasonably aware of mortal technology and intelligent enough to disrupt it.
• Not only are his sentences fairly modern, but they are skilled. They have the fluency of a native speaker. You can tell this in his choice of expression and use of phrases.
• If he has an accent, he clearly masks that as well.

Goals:

• To end the White Council. This is obvious - he seems to view it as weak, corrupt and inefficient. He also hates its restrictions.
• To bring about a New World Order. Presumably one where Wizards can do as they like. Probably also one where he is a ruling entity.
• To end Death. We only know this from Kumori, and he could be leading her on. Still though, perhaps he hates that mortals are mortal. Mortals are also hated by the supernatural in general, particularly the Dragons and the Fallen. But also the Outsiders. Perhaps one or more of those groups tie in. Curiously, a certain Titan also wishes to do the same thing.
• To unbalance the various supernatural organizations and beings. While never stated, he does seem to be behind a lot of the upsets.
• Other, unknown goals. His sidekick says to Dresden "You know very little of him and his goals" (paraphrasing)

Personality

• He is arrogant and has a slightly short temper. He is also proud enough to feel distain for his peers and former master (Kemmler).
• He seems to be well educated and fairly formal in his diction. He is self-aware enough to question his own sanity and his cause.
• He doesn't negotiate for long, he proceeds quickly to force.
• He out-thinks his opponents (where possible) and tends to watch-and-wait rather than smash everything blindly. He also reasonably assess his opponents abilities. He wouldn't enter a tactical contest with an opponent he can beat by other, safer methods - his ego isn't out of proportion.
• He is comfortable using swords, but also guns
• He is more similar to Dresden than Dresden would like. He doesn't shirk hard work.

So if we discount magic and open it up to include non-magicians as well then there are a few candidates who become more interesting.

1. Nicodemus Archeleone
Features and personality are similar. It falls down when you try an explain why he has never openly used sorcery (when it clearly would have benefited him). However his goals are somewhat in line, and his sidekick (Deidre) says a similar thing to Kumori about his goals. 
2. Gentlemen Johnny Marcone
Much the same as Nicodemus, but the same flaws too. But the mmost difficult reason to reconcile is his association with Mab and Vadderung, which Cowl seems to be against.
3. Arthur Langtry
Langtry has the right features and personality, but goals are completely different. He also has the White Council to serve him. He doesn't want it to end. Not to mention his hatred of Peabody when Peabody is revealed.
4. Cristos
Right features, except perhaps the English. But that's hard to tell at this stage. The goals may well line up. But what's difficult is the personality. He could be a fool, or acting the fool as cover.
5. Father Forthill
The hardest and most interesting candidate. One that most wouldn't see coming. He has the right features, I think. But he also seems a bit working class for Cowl. And he seems to have aided Harry against his best interests, and has had multiple chances to take out Harry or his allies. Still, his status as one of the most trusworthy characters makes him an excellent hidden foe. And it matches up with A Night in the Lonsome October.

And some who make less sense:

1. Simon
Simon's accent is Russian. Beyond that, his writings in the Paranet Papers (admittedly not written by Jim) have him speak in relatively broken English. He also would have learnt it a century ago, and like most Wizards would have been fairly blunt. The way he writes speaks to a fairly cautious, yet blunt and angry wizard. He makes sense as the traitor for his power and knowledge and placement, and in some sense some of his views. But the character of Cowl seems very differnt.

On a separate note, Wizard Montjoy is a character of interest. Aside from his research trip in the heart of the Red Court, Montjoy is also the name of a messenger character in Shakespeare's Henry V. He conveys rather blunt messages from his lord (Charles VI, King of France) to Henry V (King of England). He does it so politely that Henry ends up liking him.

The Venatori Umbrorum are the Hunter's of the Shadows.
The Venators are the Shadows of the Hunters.

Curiously, The Lord of Slowest Terror (the Old One who is the boss of He Who Walks Behind) is also called the Hunter of the Shadows.

Are we so sure the Ventori and/or Venators are the good guys?