The Dresden Files series features a diverse cast of complicated characters.
Species: Human Wizard
Occupation: Private investigator, Warden of the White Council, Knight of the Winter Court
Species: Human
Occupation: Former Sergeant in the Chicago PD assigned to Special Investigations; previously Lieutenant. Unemployed as of Changes
Species: Air elemental (spirit of intellect)
Bob is an air spirit of intellect who resides in a human skull owned by Harry. Before him, Bob was owned by Justin DuMorne, and before DuMorne, a powerful necromancer by the name of Heinrich Kemmler. According to Jim Butcher, "Etienne the Enchanter picked it (Bob's skull) up on the cheap, back in medieval France, and skulls weren't exactly uncommon. Etienne himself probably had it for the reason that so many writers and sages had skulls hanging around--to make their office look cooler. Etienne, though, is the one who originally laid out the enchantment on the skull to enable it to be a little home-away-from-home for Bob, and he's been passed down, wizard-to-wizard, ever since."
Bob is a massive repository of magical knowledge, in to which he allows Harry to tap between wisecracks and attempts to be allowed out of his skull. Because of Harry's inability to use modern electronic information storage devices and his limited helpful contacts with supernatural knowledge, Bob is an invaluable asset to Harry. At some point he had gained the disfavor of Queen Mab, an event he constantly refers to when dragged into the Nevernever. Part of his personality and memory inherited from Kemmler (mostly dealing with necromancy) has been locked away to keep Bob benign. Harry apparently gave him the name Bob; what name he might have possessed prior to that, if any, is unknown.
According to Luccio, in Small Favor, it is stated that Bob was a "Mini-Archive," but the wardens had destroyed him, when Kemmler was destroyed. In actuality, DuMorne—a Warden at the time, but already at least planning to turn traitor—did not destroy Bob and took the skull into his possession, whence it then passed to Harry after the two dueled. While Harry did not seem to know how dangerous the White Council considered Bob, he has not revealed his possession of the air spirit to many people, and then only out of absolute necessity without going into detail what he is.
Bob's personality seems to change depending on who has possession of his physical skull. With Harry he is somewhat lazy, wise-cracking, and more than a little lecherous. When allowed to remember being kept by Kemmler, he became out-right murderous and spiteful, nearly killing Harry but for limitations Bob begged Harry to make before ordering him to remember. When stolen by a necromancer, Bob became largely cold and business-like, simply giving information as needed, but returning to his personality under Dresden upon being dropped. Changes in his personality are accompanied by a change in his eye color, such as being orange when owned by Dresden but red when remembering Kemmler, or blue when he was in the hands of a necromancer. Moreover, when wounded (probably by colliding with a ward) his eyes turned purple. Although Bob is now in the possession of Waldo Butters, his personality has remained more or less the same as it was with Harry (Butters had met Bob in Dead Beat, so those initial impressions carried over into the new relationship).
Bob has said he has no real gender per-se as he has no corporeal form and is an air spirit. Harry asked Bob about this and why he loves girlie mags and staring a boobs all the time. Bob simply replied that the female form is the most beautiful of all and he enjoys it.
When allowed out of his skull, Bob is susceptible to attack and will be harmed by sunlight. He can also possess living beings, often riding within Harry's cat, Mister, as both a protection from daylight and to be less obvious than an orange cloud of lights.
In the TV adaptation, Bob is the ghost of a damned warlock, rather than a spirit of intellect, and appears in human form, played by Terrence Mann. For details of this character, see Bob (Dresden Files).
Species: Vampire (White Court)
Occupation: Former Salon Owner and Hairstylist
Harry's half-brother through their shared mother, and, for a while, his roommate. The only living son of Lord Raith (who usually killed his sons because he wasn't willing to feed on them to force them into submission like he did his daughters and feared them attempting to take over), Thomas is incredibly good looking and oozes sexual appeal to the point that he has difficulty turning it off. In fact, Harry has described Thomas as the Lost Greek God of Body Cologne or the High Priest of Bowflex. Part of Thomas's irresistible appeal is due to being a vampire of the White Court who typically use sexual means to feed off the life force of their victims. After almost being killed himself, Thomas's vampiric thirst led to the near death of his girlfriend and lover, Justine, who willingly gave herself to save him. After the events of Blood Rites, Thomas is cut off from his family in the House of Raith, and, until recently, nearly penniless after paying off Harry's debt to the mercenary Kincaid in Blood Rites. Thomas is a caring individual who will often go out of his way to help Harry, even if it means putting himself in mortal danger. In the events of Proven Guilty, Thomas moves out of Harry's basement apartment to his own home, paid for with money received from his mystery job. Thomas also reveals to Harry that he has been feeding since the events in Dead Beat, in which he joined the Wild Hunt. At the end of White Night it is revealed that Thomas's method of feeding safely (by taking little "sips" from his clients) and making a comfortable living (including a very upscale apartment) is through a hair salon/coffee shop he now owns and operates after secretly putting himself through cosmetology school while living with Dresden. During the novelette Backup, Thomas reveals that he and his sister Lara are both members of the Venatori.
As of the novel Turn Coat, Thomas is tortured for a few days by the skinwalker. By the end, he has had a relapse and returned to the Raith household, calling himself stupid for trying to live without sexual feeding and referring to humans as "kine." However his love for Justine is intact and he still shares a grin with Harry, indicating that hope is not lost. He seems to have recovered somewhat by Changes and assists Harry in fighting the Red Court, although his self-control still seems to be very shaky when he needs to feed. He has also apparently wrecked three cars since his return to the White Court. At the end of Ghost Story Thomas is shown sitting in his apartment in deep depression, believing he's lost his brother and due to the inability to be with his love Justine. His mood improves greatly after Justine finds a loophole in the true-love protection around her by having sex with a girlfriend of hers. This removes the true-love protection allowing Thomas to touch her. Justine and Thomas are both aware that being together will re-enstate the protection but Justine told Thomas to "Repeat as needed" meaning she'd have sex with her girlfriend in order to be with Thomas again.
Species: Human (Wizard)
Occupation: Apprentice to Harry Dresden since Proven Guilty
Initially a rebel teen daughter of Michael and his wife Charity, Molly soon becomes a more central character during the events of Proven Guilty.
Margaret "Molly" Katherine Amanda Carpenter, during the events of Proven Guilty, seeks out the help of Dresden when her boyfriend is arrested as a suspect in an assault. As Harry investigates the case, he discovers that Molly has manifested as a wizard and has been unwittingly using dark magic in an attempt to help two friends shake off their drug addictions. Realizing that she has broken one of the Laws of Magic by her well-intentioned interference, Molly agrees to accept the consequences of her actions and face the judgment of the White Council.
By outmaneuvering the Merlin at Molly's trial, Dresden stalled the trial long enough for Ebenezar McCoy, Martha Liberty, and Injun Joe to show up, along with Molly's father, Michael Carpenter. With their help, Dresden managed to keep Molly from the Council's death penalty. Instead, the Doom of Damocles (an equivalent to probation) was placed on her. Because Harry has vouched for her, if Molly violates any of the Seven Laws again, he will also share the death penalty with her, making this the second time he's been under the Doom of Damocles.
In order to guide Molly's magical development and ensure that she doesn't violate the laws again, Harry agrees to accept Molly as his apprentice. This circumstance is similar to his own past, when he was apprenticed to Ebenezar McCoy after killing Justin DuMorne. Harry's willingness to place his life in jeopardy to ensure Molly's safety finally gains him Charity Carpenter's acceptance.
Molly exhibits markedly different types of magical talent than Harry. While Harry is more of a “magical thug”, with a lot of raw power but comparatively little fine control, Molly has been described as “sensitive”. This talent allowed her to use dangerous, complicated mind manipulation magic without any training, and it likely plays a role in her being able to create even better veils than Harry himself (as well as a few of the Wardens), though it has a downside. Her ability to work sensitive magic also makes her sensitive to other magic being used around her. As such she would be rather ineffective during combat.
She has been a positive influence for Harry as well. As he trains her, he also has relearned and practiced some of the basics of concentration so that now some spells/rituals that took him an hour to prepare now take only 15 or so minutes.
As well as being his apprentice, Molly has long carried romantic interest in Harry, possibly starting as a childish crush during her early teens, during the events of Summer Knight and Death Masks, as Harry resembles her father, performs duties similar to Michael's (although with different motives) and through other factors would have appeared as a very interesting person. On top of that, since Charity has vehemently been disapproving of him, Harry admits that that factor alone would have made him interesting to the rebellious teenage girl. During the events of Proven Guilty, this becomes apparent when Molly turns up in his hotel room, and Lasciel comments that Nelson, Molly's boyfriend at the time, carried a striking resemblance to Harry.
Adding to that is the uncomfortable pausing while she has conversations with him, and the fact that her developing relationship with Harry seems to parallel that of her own parents: Michael saved Charity from a dragon. Harry rescues Molly from Arctis Tor, the Winter Fae capital. He also saves her from execution by the White Council, and takes her in as his apprentice. This all leads to Molly falling for Harry by the end of Proven Guilty, and offering him herself. He refuses by pouring a jug of ice-water on her, presumably to cool her desires, and warning her that she was on thin ice with the Council, and that their relationship would be a teacher-student one. After all, she was a child, and on top of that, his friend's daughter. He then paternally hugged her to make sure his actions didn't just devastate her outright.
By the time of White Night, Molly was working with Harry all the time. However, she was rebelling against Harry indicating that everything was unfair. Harry finally gets Molly to understand why things are so dangerous and this helps her learn from him better.
Small Favor shows that Molly is starting to develop in more than one way. She is starting to better magic talents, especially with veils. She is also showing that she has wisdom to know her boundaries though Harry keeps making comments on how a wizard is supposed to act. Even then, Harry shows the "grasshopper", as he fondly calls her, that he is proud of her.
Between the two short stories, "Harry's Day Off" and "The Warrior", Molly shows massive progress. In "Harry's day Off" Molly goes into Harry's lab and through a number of alchemical problems, Molly nearly destroys Harry's lab as well as herself. However, in "The Warrior" Molly shows she is ready to start working in the field and her knowledge of magic is starting to become impressive.
As of Turn Coat, Molly is definitely becoming a strong woman, but not without problems. She shows in one instance that she can not only defend others with the magic she has, but has also started to become aware of herself sexually by seducing another investigator by going bra-less with a tank top and a cold beer. She does demonstrate that she still might be teetering on the edge of black magic, but is still trying for the best intentions.
In Changes, she demonstrates that she is able to handle herself in battle despite it not being her forte, but is nearly seduced by Thomas after she accidentally soulgazes him. Also during Changes both Susan and Murphy comment that despite Harry's attempt to halt her interest in him, Molly is in love with him, something which takes Harry by surprise even though both claim it is obvious. Her battle magic is of the illusionary/sensory variety, a "One Woman Rave" which assaults and overloads sight and sound, coupled with invisibility and distraction tactics. As of the end of Changes, Molly's fate remains unknown. It is possible, due to Harry's apparent death, that the White Council could come after her since she is still under the Doom of Damocles and her mentor/watcher/guardian is dead.
In Ghost Story Molly has struck out on her own, as one of the two persons being called the Ragged Lady (the other being The Leanansidhe), having magical and mundane beings kill each other using illusion magic and stuffing a strip of her clothing into their mouth as her calling card. Murphy and other characters such as Will Borden and Butters fear that her grip on sanity has become tenuous after Harry's death and have begun to treat her as a threat. When Harry visits Murphy and her team, Molly is called in to verify it is Harry and not an imposter using her Sight. It is also revealed the Leansidhe is teaching Molly magic, stating that his oath to Mab and his death means that she, as Harry's godmother, must honour the position. Unlike Harry, she uses pain to speed Molly's training along. It is revealed that Molly is still in love with Harry and tells him that though his returned affections would have indeed been wrong when she was younger, she is now in her mid-twenties and capable of making her decisions. At the climax of the novel, a mental battle between the Corpsetaker and Molly, the inside of her mind is shown as the command center of the original USS Enterprise including the death of a "red-shirt." It is revealed that Molly and Harry arranged for Harry to be killed by Kincaid so he could escape his oath to be Winter Knight, as he feared it would eventually turn him into a monster. At the end of the novel Molly believes that Harry is dead and gone for good.
One of the disciples of the necromancer Kemmler, Corpsetaker has appeared twice to torment Dresden. The first time was in Dead Beat, when she was one of the disciples of Kemmler trying to perform the darkhallow and become a god. In Ghost Story she appears again as the Grey Ghost, where she wants to regain a body and thereby escape death in a pantomime of her master. It is also possible that Corpsetaker is a member or ally of the Black Council.
Species: Human
Occupation: Repository of all human knowledge and wisdom
The Archive is a position passed down a magical family line from mother to daughter over the past five thousand years. Each Archive possesses the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of humankind. The role passes to a new Archive when the previous Archive dies. While Ivy originally claimed that the passing of knowledge happens at birth and left the previous Archive in a permanent vegetative state, as all the previous Archives' accumulated knowledge is passed to her daughter, it is later revealed that this was an attempt to conceal her mother's suicide from Harry Dresden. In keeping with one of the Dresden Files' central themes that knowledge is power; this immense store of information translates to power greater than the strongest wizards. The Archive has been demonstrated to be capable of converting limited energy into powerful magic. Although Ivy claims to prefer calculus to arcane knowledge, the Archive's power is sufficient that she is recognized as an individual signatory to the Unseelie Accords. Access to other-worldly materials is apparent.
The current Archive is, as of Small Favor, an eleven-year-old girl. She has no given name other than "The Archive", but Harry nicknamed her Ivy, something she seemed to appreciate, when she served as an arbiter over a duel between Harry and Don Paolo Ortega during Death Masks and she appears to have taken that name. Generally formal and somewhat aloof, Ivy occasionally shows traits of a more child-like nature, such as her great pleasure in watching sea otters playing, petting Harry's cat, Mister, as well as rendering official documents in crayon.
The mercenary Kincaid is in her employ. While her magical abilities would seem to preclude the need for a bodyguard, Ivy explained that she needed his services because her seven-year-old form was incapable of driving, ("My feet don't reach the pedals"). The events in Small Favor also demonstrated a situation in which she required protection. Kincaid shows genuine concern about the girl and she shows an attachment to him, going so far as to put herself in harm's way to protect him.
Following the age old adage 'Knowledge is power' Ivy is a phenomenally powerful magical being. During an attack on her person during the events in Small Favor, the eleven year old Archive (Ivy) was able to combat eight Denarians at once and match each of them spell for spell, even with limited spell energy at the time. Captain Luccio stated that the White Council's file on the Archive placed her on par with the youngest Queens of the Sidhe, and Harry commented that the file underestimated her.
During events in Small Favor, Luccio gave Harry information that the Archives do not automatically become this being at birth and in fact usually inherit this power in their mid-thirties, after having their own children and learning how to handle the daily pains and emotions of life. Ivy's ascension to power came as an infant when her grandmother was killed young and her own mother, a seventeen year-old, could not handle the Archive and committed suicide, thereby causing the power of the Archive to become Ivy's. However, Ivy is painfully aware of her mother's decision. Ivy was also physically and mentally tortured by the Denarians in an attempt to make her join their ranks. Captain Luccio, amongst others, is worried about the sheer amount of power pent up in such a fragile, immature, and now emotionally scarred body.
In Changes, Dresden tries to contact Ivy regarding the whereabouts of his daughter by writing her a letter asking for aid. Due to her abilities as Archive, Ivy became aware of the letter immediately after Harry wrote it and contacted him. However, she did not speak to him directly, using Kincaid as a proxy in a phone call. Apparently her status as Archive literally forces Ivy to remain neutral. Although she could apparently give Harry no direct information, she did (via Kincaid) drop a hint which led Harry to someone who did have useful information.
Species: Werewolf
Occupation: Psychology student (as of Turn Coat), Member of the Alphas
Georgia is Billy Borden's girlfriend (later wife) and a capable member of the Alphas. She is a studious psychology student and a steady presence when Billy or the Alphas appear in the series. She is often the voice of reason and a grounding influence for Billy, who is inclined to put himself in situations where he is beyond his limits or useful abilities when he wants to help Harry. Georgia is one of the first to notice Harry's erratic behavior after he acquired Lasciel's Blackened Denarius. A friend to Harry, she worries about his mental health, and she shares her concerns with Billy before he confronts Harry. In the short story "Something Borrowed," just before her wedding, she was kidnapped by the Faerie Jenny Greenteeth, who assumed her appearance. Harry and Murphy found her in Undertown in a comatose state guarded by shellycobs. Harry got her out of there and to the wedding just in time to ruin Jenny Greenteeth's plan to marry Billy and kill him. Like Sleeping Beauty's predicament, only true love's kiss could wake her. Billy provided that kiss, and they then transformed and brutally mauled Jenny as the wedding guests were running away. In the novella "Aftermath", it is revealed that she is seven months pregnant and able to resist the spell cast on her by the Formor.
Species: Werewolf
Occupation: Engineer, formerly a university student; Leader of the Alphas
Billy was introduced in Fool Moon as a young and rather naive man trying to do the right thing. He and a group of his friends (the "Alphas") used magic to transform into large wolves. They patrol their neighborhood in wolf form, vigilantly keeping out vampires and other creatures. His wolf form has transformed Billy's human body from husky to athletic and muscular, attributed to the wolfen personality he has adopted. He married longtime girlfriend Georgia (also an Alpha), whom he met before the events of Fool Moon. He often serves as a friend to Harry, inviting him to games of Arcanos, similar to Dungeons & Dragons. Billy worries about Harry, and he is often too passionate about helping him, even when Harry is facing enemies far too powerful for Billy or the other Alphas.
As of Turn Coat, Harry has begun calling him Will instead of Billy, an acknowledgment of the maturity Will has gained since their meeting when Billy was a college student. Harry sees the mistake he made in intentionally keeping the younger man ignorant of most of the supernatural world.
In the novella Aftermath he teams up with Murphy to rescue his kidnapped wife, Georgia, who is 7 months pregnant. Will and Marci both demonstrate a new found ability to heal quickly, if imperfectly as the result leaves them drained of energy and with bad scars. He and Murphy decide to form a 'Justice League' of Chicago in Harry's absence at the end of the novella.
Species: Human
Occupation: Assistant Medical Examiner for Chicago
A brilliant but often cowardly medical examiner, Butters spent ninety days in a mental institution after doing autopsies on vampires, categorizing them as "humanoid but not human". He was allowed to return to his job, albeit after being demoted, and now helps Harry and the SI department with the corpses of paranormal creatures. In Dead Beat, he informed Harry that, as a wizard, Harry has uncharted regenerative capabilities and should one day recover the use of his hand. He is also a one-man polka band. Despite considering himself a coward, Butters saved Harry's life during the events of Dead Beat, then accompanied him into battle against a zombie army raised by necromancers when he realized that Harry's plan required a drummer. Despite his fear, he retained enough presence of mind during the battle to successfully raise a magical circle to protect himself. He also used his medical skills to save Captain Luccio of the Wardens from what would have been a fatal wound without immediate care, and to patch up Morgan from less serious injuries. As of the end of Turn Coat Butters is taking over as the "Game Master" for the role playing Alphas due to Kirby's death. Harry introduces him to the remaining Alphas saying, "This is Waldo Butters, and his geek penis is longer and harder than all of ours put together." Despite Butter's apparent "geekiness" and love of all things polka, Harry holds him in high regard and treats him like a family member. In Changes Butters is summoned by Molly to help an injured Harry because, according to Molly, Butters is the only doctor Harry trusts. Butters is in the way of contract killer "Stevie-D" and takes two rounds to his back. He survives the shots due to the light body armor under his scrubs he wore because of his awareness of Harry's enemies. His role is much expanded in Ghost Story, as he frequently acts as the eyes of the alliance of Harry's friends that formed to protect Chicago in his absence. He owns Bob, and is able to combine the skull's knowledge of magic with his own intelligence to become a formidable ally.
Species: Human
Occupation: Carpenter, Former Knight of the Cross (sometimes called by others, Knight of the Sword).
Michael Joseph Patrick Carpenter is married to Charity Carpenter and father of Molly, Daniel, Matthew, Alicia, Amanda, Hope, and Harry (named for Harry Dresden after the events of Grave Peril). Michael is a Knight of the Cross, an ancient order dedicated to bearing and using the three Swords of the Cross: Amoracchius (Love), Fidelacchius (Faith), and Esperacchius (Hope). Michael is the most recent bearer of Amoracchius, which in Proven Guilty is hinted at being the legendary Sword in the Stone, having once been kept by the original wizard Merlin and arranged to fall into the right hands. However, at the end of Small Favor, Michael entrusts Harry with the keeping of the sword until (presumably) a new bearer can be found for it.
He is also a close friend of Harry's, frequently serving as a voice of morality and adherence to Christianity - often to Harry's chagrin. Each sword has one of the nails from Christ's crucifixion embedded inside, endowing it with a wide array of supernatural powers. Such swords can cut through almost anything, including metal. The swords can also sense evil, which causes them to glow and to let out a buzzing warning. Using the sword, Michael can kill all sorts of otherwise immortal creatures including demons, fallen angels, and, in one case, the dragon Siriothrax, that had captured Charity. The truest basis of the Three Swords is that they seem to reduce and eliminate any and all supernatural power used against them, turning a lopsided fight into one dependent upon skill and willpower...and often a great surprise to many extremely powerful supernatural beings.
He and his fellow knights fight against the evils of the world in the name of God. However, it is not necessary for the Knights themselves to be Christians, or even traditionally religious at all; in fact, one known Knight was a Shinto Buddhist, a current one is a self-described agnostic, and a previous knight either a Muslim or a follower of an ancient Egyptian religion. All Knights of the Cross who have appeared so far have been descendents of a king or ruler - Michael is a direct descendant of Charlemagne - although it is not known if this is a requirement for the job or only coincidence. Michael is an expert tactician and hand-to-hand fighter, and he also possesses some spiritual power of his own; this power was directly shown during Small Favor when he restores Harry's memories after a brief prayer, and in Grave Peril when he used some kind of pressure shockwave to knock vampires off him. An aura of faith also surrounds him, protecting him from the touch of beings like vampires while his touch can burn their flesh. Dresden can feel the power of his faith like an immovable mountain, and finds it terribly impressive, even intimidating.
He is a devoutly faithful man, praying frequently. He sometimes gets visions from angels telling him what he is to do or where he is needed, but sometimes this guidance is a subtle skewing of chance ensuring Michael is at the right place at the right time that his aid is needed. This divine favor was exemplified in an instance when as leaving Michael's house to fight evil, Harry questioned Michael about leaving his children alone. In response, Michael simply opened the front door to find Father Forthill, the parish priest of the local church, standing outside because his car broke down. He is an experienced carpenter and construction worker, constantly improving on his house to hold his growing family.
As of Proven Guilty Michael has admitted to Harry that he feels his time as a Knight of the Cross is coming to an end, meaning that his death may be at hand. Most recently in Small Favor he was badly injured while rescuing the Archive from the Order of the Blackened Denarius, with a shattered pelvis, damaged spine, collapsed lung, and destroyed kidney among his injuries. He has apparently retired from his duties as a knight due to those injuries.
As of the short story "The Warrior" (released in the anthology Mean Streets), Michael is starting to function better, despite his newly acquired limp and impaired vision in one eye. Harry tried to convince Michael of taking up the sword again but Michael has decided to never pick it up again and made Harry understand. Michael now is finally back to running his construction company and is coaching Alisha's softball team. Despite the fact that he no longer wields one of the swords, Harry was assured by Uriel that Michael is still doing good work.
Species: Human
Occupation: Full time homemaker, amateur blacksmith and swordswoman
Charity Carpenter is the wife of Michael Joseph Patrick Carpenter and mother of Molly, Daniel, Matthew, Alicia, Amanda, Hope, and Harry (named for Harry Dresden after the events of Grave Peril). Her other living relations include at least one sister, as revealed in Grave Peril. Whether her parents are alive during the course of the novels is uncertain. (Due to the events described in Death Masks, it can reasonably be assumed that at least her mother is alive.) What is known is that Charity was estranged from them for a period during her childhood during which she ran away from home.
While little is known about Charity, it is clear that she is a devoted mother, an excellent cook, a master swordswoman, an amateur blacksmith, and a former magic practitioner. Her attitude towards Dresden in Grave Peril is notably chilly, and she repeatedly makes it clear she wants Harry nowhere near her husband. The dislike seems initially linked to his tendency to get her husband into trouble and the fact that Michael often returns from his missions involving Dresden injured. However, following Dresden's rescue of Molly in Proven Guilty, her attitude takes a dramatic change for the better. Eventually, Charity confides in Dresden about her past, and it becomes clear that her earlier distrust of him stemmed from her negative associations with magic in her youth.
Charity was a fledgling practitioner of magic from the age of sixteen, parental neglect leading her to become involved in a group led by a man named Gregor. The group's activities quickly came to the attention of the White Council, who sent a Warden to investigate and inform them of the Seven Laws and the penalty for breaking them. Gregor resented this interference and apparently began to sacrifice members of the group to increase his own personal power. When Charity realized this, she became the next on his list; she fought, but was unable to defeat him, ending up being offered as a sacrifice to the dragon Siriothrax. She was saved, and Siriothrax slain, when Michael interceded, saving her life. Charity immediately swore to give up her power, seeing where it had so nearly led her. Michael remained close and the two began a relationship, marrying within a short time, and starting a family. Over time, her magical ability has waned with disuse.
It is later revealed that she worries about his effect on her children, should they inherit her own magical capability. While she herself chose to reject her magical heritage, she came to the conclusion that seeing Dresden use his abilities to save others, to fight against evil, would only lead her children to embrace their own magical ability. When her oldest daughter manifests as a wizard, this does indeed occur, leading to a rift between mother and daughter.
When Molly is subsequently kidnapped, with Michael absent, Charity enters the fray alongside Dresden, providing the assault team with suitable armor and weaponry, then proving herself to be an able combatant. With that experience behind them, plus Dresden accepting responsibility for training her daughter in the magical arts, Charity appears to have finally accepted his presence in her family's life. In Small Favor while Michael is in surgery, Harry attempts to leave the hospital, as this is a family matter. Charity disagrees and tells Harry to stay, indicating that Charity now regards Harry as family. It should also be noted that Charity does not hold Harry responsible for Michael's injuries as she has in the past.
Species: Half-human, half-demon scion (alleged by Ebenezar McCoy)
Occupation: Mercenary, Guardian of the Archive
Jared Kincaid is his modern name, but the Hellhound was the name given this half-human killer by Drakul himself, centuries before. He appears to be in his thirties, a tall, handsome man "with dark golden hair, just long enough to look a little exotic, sporting grey-blue eyes that missed nothing...built like a swimmer more than a weight lifter, all leonine power and lazy grace taken completely for granted" but to a wizard's Sight, he appears as an enormous horned, bat-winged entity carrying a corpse (his appearance on the outside) chained to him. He is a killer of incredible ability, who doesn't miss what he shoots at, tremendous (although concealed) strength, speed, and recuperative ability. He seems skilled in all the possible black op and special forces tricks and tactics one could ask for, from commenting how he'd snipe Harry down from a thousand yards away if Harry cheats him to avoid a death curse, to being able to take out two Denarians with one shot.
His combat experience is immense and not restricted to firearms. Brought down by several vampiric hounds and boosted zombies, he not only lives through the fight, he kills all his enemies. In Small Favor he is responsible for the deaths of at least five, possibly six Denarians, and is only brought down when he actually shows himself in a last-ditch effort to save Ivy. He is extremely inventive about the appropriate equipment he brings to a fight (proper costumes and identification, sawed off shotguns, boar-spears with explosive caps, paint guns shooting holy water balls, and so forth.) His recuperative abilities are immense, he can generally recover from any attack using only duct tape to hold himself together long enough. Despite what seems an extraordinary amount of fighting experience, he actually has little experience with direct magical combat and wizardry (although he is VERY well versed on all the magical tricks/effects non-spellcasters can use), confessing that he'd never seen a wizard 'cut loose' like Harry did in Blood Rites. He is also a consummate actor, showing the ability to switch accents easily, and playing the part of an emergency worker as easily as that of a cop. He has a visual range that extends at least into the infrared, a sense of smell at least as sharp as a dog, and presumably superb hearing and touch to go with it.
Although possessed of a shady past, Kincaid is scrupulous about honoring his contracts, despite his own misgivings, even if it causes personal injury to himself. He has crossed paths with and shares a mutual enmity with Harry's mentor Ebenezar "Blackstaff" McCoy; the precise reason for the feud is unclear, although it dates to an incident in Istanbul about a century before the time frame of the books. All that McCoy would say on the subject was that there were certain boundaries between those in their profession based on professional courtesy and respect, and that Kincaid had crossed them.
Kincaid is currently under a continuing long-term contract to The Archive. This latter service of guarding a terribly powerful young girl seems to have softened him somewhat, as his loyalty and affection to her seem to go far above and beyond what a mere contract would require, and he seems to see himself and Harry as the only thing that Ivy has as far as family goes after she is kidnapped in Small Favor. He also worked for Ivy's grandmother when she was the Archive, and was a friend of Ivy's angry, tragic mother.
Kincaid also has a purely sexual "friendship" with Karrin Murphy, although she confesses in Small Favor that she has romantic feelings for him as well. Whether these are reciprocated is unknown, though she has stated he gave her chocolates and a gun with "we'll always have Hawai'i" written on it, something Murphy refuses to comment on. Murphy also revealed his first name to Dresden in Small Favor. This relationship seems to be over as Murphy didn't even mention Kincaid when she was considering getting drunk and having sex with a random guy to forget her troubles, near the end of Changes.
Changes ends with Harry being shot and falling off his temporary home on the Water Beetle into the freezing water with a bullet wound in his chest, and according to the author he was indeed dead. More detail emerges in Ghost Story, as Harry learns that he was shot by a high velocity sniper round fired from the rooftop of a building hundreds of meters away, almost precisely the manner in which Kincaid once told Harry he would kill him if it came down to it. By the end of Ghost Story it becomes clear that Kincaid did indeed kill Harry, although not out of malice. Instead, he did it because he was asked to by Harry himself, knowing that through his decision to become the Winter Knight his humanity would eventually be forfeit. Harry then conspired with Molly to remove his memory of the entire conversation to avoid any fatal mistakes when meeting with Queen Mab.
Species: Human (Wizard)
Occupation: Captain of the Wardens of the White Council
Anastasia is a highly talented wizard and Warden who is the former Captain of the Wardens. She was born sometime in the 1800s, in Italy. In Small Favor, it is insinuated that she was rather promiscuous in her younger days, and often modeled in the nude. Captain Luccio is a powerful wizard with considerable influence in the White Council. She is the only known maker of the enchantment breaking swords the Wardens carry.
She was forced to cede active control of the Wardens when her soul was switched with the then-current body of "Capriocorpus" or "The Corpsetaker" during the events of Dead Beat. Because of the switching of bodies, she had to allow Morgan to take command of all forces while she recovered. Her new body, that of a young brunette woman, lacks many of the strengths of her original body. Specifically, she can no longer make the Wardens' swords. Whether this is due to a lack of physical strength or magical strength or both is unclear. It is because of this that Harry has not been given one of these swords (rather than the assumed reason, lack of trust).
During her recovery, she started up a Warden boot camp, and later, other training facilities for new Wardens such as the one in New Mexico. Captain Luccio is a calm and level headed woman who understands situations from a very logical perspective, doing things that the Council does not normally approve of. She appears to prefer fire magic similar to Harry's, though with a more graceful air and control about it. During the events of Small Favor, and due to her effective second youth (and consequent sex drive) she exchanges flirtations with Harry, even so far as going on a date with him and sleeping with him.
As of "Harry's Day Off", a short story printed in an anthology titled "Blood Lite", she and Harry seem to have an ongoing relationship, though the overtones are still flirtatious and casual.
By the time of Turn Coat, she and Harry have a rather intense (and sexual) relationship, with Harry referring to "wild monkey sex." It turns out that her new body has lessened her psychic defenses, and that she is one of the Wardens being controlled by the traitor. She "sleep-murdered" LaFortier without remembering it, and Morgan covered for her. The situation it causes makes waves for her and Harry. She later realizes she was pushed towards Harry so she could unconsciously keep tabs on Harry for the traitor. She breaks up with him tearfully, though she admits she's still fond of him (and liked the sex). In Changes, Luccio remains friendly with Harry, and warns Harry to stay away from Edinburgh because of the disasters in the White Council. She vanishes after questioning Cristos.
At the August 2nd book signing, Jim Butcher stated that we would be hearing from Luccio again.
Species: Human
Occupation: Businessman, mob boss, Freeholding Lord and Baron of Chicago under the Unseelie Accords.
John Marcone is the most powerful crime boss in Chicago and an antagonist of Dresden's, though the two have worked together far more often than they have opposed each other. This has largely been due to some supernatural predator or villain causing collateral damage to Marcone's industry and him relying on Dresden to deal with the problem, but Harry has asked for Marcone's help at least twice. Marcone controls the majority of organized crime in Chicago and has developed considerable knowledge of the supernatural aspects of the city. His past and motives are, for the most part, a mystery. Even his name is suspect; Marcone states in Even Hand that "My name is something I rarely trouble to remember, but for most of my adult life, I have been called John Marcone."
During the events of Death Masks, Marcone planned to steal the Shroud of Turin, in order to use its legendary healing powers on a young Jane Doe he has sequestered in a hospital care facility in Wisconsin. Marcone's relationship to the girl is unknown, as is whether his use of the Shroud led to any change in her condition. In White Night the comatose girl is revealed as being Greg and Helen Beckitt's daughter (from Storm Front). Marcone feels responsible for the girl as her condition is due to her taking a bullet meant for him in a drive-by shooting.
Due to his assistance and role in the events of White Night, Marcone has become one of the few free lords of the Unseelie Accords that partially govern the magical world, and the only non-magical mortal to take such a position. He is styled "Baron Marcone" in the tradition of Life Peers in the British Peerage system.
In Small Favor, he is kidnapped and tortured by the Denarians. As a result of this, Marcone has lost part of his ear. Harry also learns that Helen Beckitt, the madam of his brothel, has been leaking information to Marcone's main rival. Ms. Beckitt is unaware that Marcone has her comatose daughter in a hospital; she believes the girl died in the shooting. She blames Marcone for her daughter's (apparent) death.
Marcone has kept her daughter's condition from Ms. Beckitt because he believes it would further damage her mind. He also seems to be sexually involved with her, though it is doubtful if love or romance have anything to do with this, either on his part or hers. It is implied that information Ms. Beckitt leaked to the Knights of the Blackened Denarius led to them capturing and torturing Marcone. He is either unaware of her actions, choosing not to do anything about them, or choosing not to tell Harry Dresden that he's doing anything about them. The first two would be out of character for Marcone; it is far more probable that he simply is electing not to mention his plans for Helen Beckitt to a hot-tempered wizard who has a difficult time harming female enemies (human and non-human alike) simply because they are female.
Although ruthless in most ways, Marcone seems to have a strong personal code of honor and a soft spot when it comes to children, as witnessed by his trying to help Jane Doe, a.k.a Amanda Beckitt, his putting the well-being of the Archive above his own during the rescue in Small Favor, and his protection of Justine and a child she rescued from slavery to a fomor in Even Hand. He also helps Harry obtain information when Maggie, Harry's daughter, is kidnapped in Changes. He meets with Harry in a local Burger King (which Harry know will irritate Marcone) and presses him for any information which could lead Dresden to his daughter. Harry believes that Marcone genuinely cares about the welfare of innocents, though he still sees Marcone as a villain.
After the events of the short story "Aftermath" Marcone, through his security contractor Ms. Gard, offers to get Murphy back her job at Chicago PD including her rank with no strings attached or repayment expected as she and Will had (involuntairly) helped Marcone prevent an attempted takeover of some of his territory. Murphy, although she briefly considered it, declines the offer.
Species: Human Wizard (deceased)
Occupation: Field Commander, Warden of the White Council
Morgan was a very intense and powerful man with a talent for evocation spells, specifically those using Earth magic. He was a stickler for rules and had been a Warden for over a century, a job that he took very seriously. He had an innate distrust of Dresden that often led him to conclude that Harry was at fault in certain situations. Morgan's sword is able to cut through magical shields, something which has nearly led to Dresden's wrongful death at least once. He often gloated when Harry was in trouble, anticipating the opportunity to execute what he saw as justice for the self-defense killing Harry did as a teenager.
Though Harry and Morgan did not initially get along, since Dead Beat they developed a mutual respect for each other. Harry has come to realize Morgan's hostility likely comes from the battle-scarred veteran's frustration at fighting black magic for over a century. Morgan was, in effect, like a burned-out cop. Morgan grudgingly admitted that he no longer sees Harry as evil or willfully destructive, and he believes Harry tries to do the right thing, even if it keeps blowing up in their faces.
It's possible that Morgan's hatred and distrust of Harry had relaxed even further. During the events of Proven Guilty, Morgan very visibly seems to take Harry's side with regard to Molly Carpenter's fate, yet he doesn't appear ready to act on his instincts. At the conclusion of Proven Guilty, Harry refuses to consider Morgan as the potential traitor on the White Council; instead, Harry believes, while the two men rarely see eye-to-eye, Morgan is fundamentally an honest man.
Morgan had long grey hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a craggy face with a perpetually grim, often sour expression. He was apparently Germanic in origin.
As the central conflict of Turn Coat, Morgan is accused of treason when he's found over the body of LaFortier, and subsequently escapes his prison to seek sanctuary with Harry. He is badly injured when escaping and becomes seriously ill while staying with Harry, yet is still vigilant enough to critique Harry's behavior. He turns himself in for the murder to save the person he thinks committed the crime. Harry reveals the true culprit and is almost killed, but Morgan intervenes, pushing his injured body past the breaking point. Morgan and Dresden make their peace moments before Morgan dies of his injuries.
In the TV adaptation, Conrad Coates portrays Morgan. He is quite different from the book Morgan: Coates is an African American with short hair, and a business suit rather than a grey cloak. Additionally, the TV Morgan is more willing to work alongside Harry and give him information, and rarely taunts or snipes at Harry.
Species: Similar to a Caucasian Shepherd Dog or Tibetan Mastiff, Mouse is a temple dog (or Foo dog), a descendant of a divine guardian spirit and a mortal canine.
Mouse was introduced in the novel Blood Rites as a small furry puppy rescued from a group of demons. A Tibetan monk employed Harry to recover a stolen litter of puppies believed to be the descendants of an ancient Foo spirit. This meant they were supernatural and special, both qualities that Mouse has shown as he has attained his massive mature size. While Harry returned all the Foo puppies he could find, one particularly scrappy pup hid under his car seat and he was unable to return it.
In Proven Guilty Mouse was hit by a car and survived, and he went on to take down supernatural enemies while emitting a faint glow. Mouse has shown an aptitude for detecting dark energies and presences, and he has a strong empathy for humans who display no such dark traces. He also shows intelligence greater than that of any other dog, and seems able to plan, anticipate and comprehend abstract concepts, as well as speech. In addition, in White Night when Harry begins to play the guitar (poorly) as part of therapy for his hand, Mouse gets up off the living room floor and goes into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. In Turn Coat Mouse intercedes in several violent situations in Harry's apartment while he is away, defusing them with both his strength and intelligence. He even feigns extreme pain after being injured without prompting by Harry to teach Molly an important lesson.
After Mouse exhibits further supernatural abilities in White Night, Bob describes additional powers the dog has, such as a warning bark that awoke an entire building full of people during a fire when the actual alarm could not be activated. This bark can also apparently scare away some supernatural, incorporeal beings. If that doesn't work, Mouse can actually physically damage a supernatural enemy, usually with his teeth, as has happened with fatal effects during two battles. Also in White Night, Elaine claims that Mouse is a Temple Dog and is stunned he belongs to Harry. Oddly, in Proven Guilty Madrigal Raith exclaims with apprehension that Mouse is "not a dog". In Small Favor, Nicodemus shows a genuine uneasiness about Mouse's presence in his meeting with Harry, asking Harry "What is that?" and making sure to keep his shadow in between himself and Mouse.
Despite growing to massive size, Mouse still defers to Mister, allowing the cat to eat before he does and appearing nervous after Harry tells him to take away Mister's catnip before he gets ill. Harry calls him a cross between a chow, a woolly mammoth, and a "West Highland Dogosaurus."
The guardian statues that the White Council uses to guard meeting entrances are modeled after Foo Dogs. In Turn Coat Ancient Mai is shocked that Harry has a Foo dog (exclaiming "Why were you allowed to keep it?"), apparently not taking Mouse's wishes into account, yet she and several other wizards confirm Mouse's dependability as an eye witness.
In Small Favor, it is indicated that Mouse, in addition to comprehending speech, can show emotion on a level with humans - when told to "take the catnip away" if it makes Mister sick, he seems to indicate doubt; when Thomas claims that what he said earlier about Harry was a joke, Mouse merely flicks his ears and turns away. Also, when Harry jokes about shaking himself dry like Mouse in Michael Carpenter's home, Michael responds that "Mouse would be too polite to do that in his house", which Mouse later proves.
In Changes, Mouse is proven to have intelligence as great as any human, and in correct circumstances the ability not only to comprehend human speech but also to communicate as well as any human in his own language. He is also referred to as a "Mountain Ice Demon from the Land of Dreams" by two high ranking Red Court Vampires, as well as Harry's Fairy Godmother, who, if not afraid of Mouse, is at least wary of his abilities. He also indicates, when the Leanansidhe questioned Harry's having "won" Mouse, he was the one who "won" Harry, raising the question as to which one actually "owns" the other, although Jim Butcher has stated that Mouse and the Leanansidhe did not mean the same thing when they said "won". In addition, it is here shown that he has a personality very similar to Dresden's, evidenced both by his willingness to fight and kill Lea in order to turn the group back to normal after remarking, "That bitch." and his response to Lea's comment that he was far from his sources of power to which Mouse is described as shrugging and replying "I live with a wizard, I cheat". While it's possible that the similar personalities are a result of living with Harry most of his life, as a puppy Mouse displayed the very Harry-like trait of standing up to things far bigger than him.
In Ghost Story, Mouse is the protector of Maggie Dresden and living with the Carpenter family. He is able to see and physically interact with the spirit form of Harry. The archangel Uriel calls Mouse "little brother" and tells him his task is not yet over. Uriel also assures Harry that temple dogs live for centuries, and Mouse is more than capable of protecting Maggie for a lifetime, even a wizard's lifetime.
Species: White Court Vampire
Occupation: The true leader of the White Court, former "Adult" moviestar.
Assumed to be the eldest daughter of the White King, Lara is described as being "not easily quantifiable" regarding beauty, grace, or art. She's tall, with glossy, curly hair "so dark that its highlights were nearly blue...with eyes of dark grey with hints of violet twilight at their centers." Lara is perhaps the most dangerous of the White Court, a master manipulator, conspirator and seductress. Above all else her word is always honest; being given safe passage by Lara always ensures she will go to extreme lengths to preserve her word. Since secretly taking over from her father she has ended all threats to his position of power, removing the leaders of the other two houses and beefing up security. She is currently pushing a peace effort between the Red Court and White Council for unknown reasons, but due to the White Court's nature to be backstabbing schemers and traitors, this is unlikely to be for the benefit of either the Council or the Red Court.
After the events of Blood Rites, Harry and Lara are currently locked in a stalemate as Harry knows the White King has become a mere figurehead and Lara knows Thomas is Harry's half-brother. Despite the growing hostility between them, there appears to be a great deal of respect as well, in particular from Lara for Dresden's own skills at manipulation and deduction.
In White Night Lara offers Harry a chance to work for her, and Harry once again turns her down. There she also shows the capabilities she has in a fight where she and Thomas single handedly stop cold a group of charging uber-ghouls. She repeats the offer for Harry to join her in Turn Coat and when faced with death from the Council Harry seems to actually consider it.
At the end of "Changes" Lara, though not seen directly, re-asserts her power to Harry by somehow making a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier and helicopter available for the extraction of Molly, Mouse, and her brother Thomas.
Species: Human (wizard)
Occupation: Warden, Regional Commander of western parts of North America
Stationed in Los Angeles, Ramirez is the youngest wizard of the White Council to ever be promoted to regional commander, given the job due to the severe casualties of war with the Red Court. While still young by wizarding standards, Ramirez possesses formidable combat skills honed during the war, which compensates for a relative lack of raw power compared to some of his compatriots. Generally displaying a cocky and confident demeanor, Ramirez is, at heart, deeply courageous and loyal to his friends. While smooth-talking and obsessed with women, it was rather ironically revealed during the events of White Night that Ramirez is still a virgin.
In battle he heavily favors water magic and conventional weaponry; he has on more than one occasion used grenades and firearms instead of his magic in order to conserve his strength. His principal magical weapon is the use of a type of emerald green energy which seems to break down materials into more component pieces, although on organic matter it seems to work as a desiccant, removing all traces of moisture from the area it hits, turning it into a form of sand. His defensive magic is a wall of jelly-like energy which forces all kinetic energy in on itself, using physics to break down and redirect energy instead of stop it cold as Harry's barrier does.
Like Harry, Ramirez has guessed at the existence of the Black Council. He and Harry consider each other to be good friends and hold each other in considerable respect. Ramirez regards Harry's power level with some awe and has often later referred to some impressive feat of magic that Harry performed with great admiration. In Changes, Ramirez is arrested offscreen by the Council for daring to question Cristos. However, In Ghost Story, it appears that he is still functioning for the White Council as Murphy talks about calling Ramirez.
Species: Vampire (Red Court, deceased)
Occupation: Former reporter for The Arcane, Dresden's ex-girlfriend, agent for the Fellowship of Saint Giles
Susan was a reporter who covered supernatural events for The Midwestern Arcane tabloid newspaper. She began soliciting Harry for information on wizards and odd occurrences in Chicago. The two began a romantic relationship in Fool Moon that unofficially ended when Susan was bitten by Bianca in the third book Grave Peril. Susan was a half-vampire (and remained so until she fed on a human (see "Changes"), with enhanced strength, speed, recovery abilities, and narcotic saliva (a Red Court vampire's self-titled 'Kiss').
Harry had been having trouble saying "I love you" to Susan, and only blurted it out when she went into vampiric bloodlust. Susan recovered somewhat after hearing that. She was captured by Bianca and used as a hostage, but was rescued by Harry. She leaves Chicago, and is asked by Harry to marry him. She refuses due to the dangers of her half-vampiric nature, although she still loves him.
She joined the Fellowship of Saint Giles, an organization for those who have been harmed by vampires, who carved a magical binding/tattoo into her skin. The binding warns her by changing colors when she reaches the limits of her control. Harry and Susan officially parted ways after the events of Death Masks. As of White Night, Susan is still in South America working against the Red Court as a member of the Fellowship. Lara Raith is astonished that Harry's true love for her is still active enough to make him toxic to White Court vampires.
Susan returns in the twelfth book, where she claims to have given birth to Harry's daughter.[1] It turns out that she kept the birth of Harry's daughter Maggie a secret from him, and placed her with friends of hers. Maggie is later kidnapped by the Red Court to be used as a sacrifice in a powerful blood curse that will destroy every living member of the sacrifice's bloodline (i.e. Harry, Susan, Thomas, etc.). At the climax of the book Susan's partner, Martin, seems to be revealed as a traitor and causes Susan to start losing control. Determined to protect Maggie at any cost, Harry tricks Susan into giving into her bloodlust, resulting in her killing Martin and transforming into a fully fledged Red Court Vampire. Harry then sacrifices Susan to the blood curse, which exterminates the entire Red Court of Vampires. After her death, Lea vowed to take care of Susan's body with respect and honour, promising to take Harry to visit her resting place anytime he wishes.
Susan is only present in one episode of the television series adaptation of the books, the episode "Storm Front." She is portrayed by Rebecca McFarland and is somewhat different from the Susan of the novels. She is blonde, rather than Hispanic in appearance, and is a reporter for a mainstream publication. She is shocked to discover magic and demons are real, rather than trying to uncover their existence as part of her job.
Species: Human
Occupation: Knight of the Cross
Once a member of the Order of the Blackened Denarius, Sanya renounced his allegiance to the Fallen. He claims that shortly afterward he was approached by the Archangel Michael to take up service for God. Sanya is a Russian of African royal descent who, despite dealing with angels and demons on a constant basis, claims to be an agnostic Trotskyite. He wields the sabre Esperacchius which is one of the three holy swords that incorporate a nail from Jesus' cross into their blades. He has in the past been the lover of the Denarian Rosanna, Tessa's lieutenant. As of Small Favor, Sanya is the only working Knight of the Cross, Shiro being killed, and Michael incapacitated. He admits to Dresden that bearers for the other swords must be found before he is overwhelmed.
Sanya makes an appearance in Changes, saving Harry's upstairs neighbors, the Willoughbys, when the building is set on fire. He also joins Harry's attack party against the Red Court at Chichén Itzá.
The seven wizards who act as the leaders of the White Council. The Senior Council currently consists of:
Occupation: Senior Council Member, Blackstaff of the White Council.
Species: High Sidhe
The oldest of the Faerie Queens, they are understood to be easily the two most powerful living Faeries. Elaine states that "they can kill with just a stray thought" They reside together in a small hidden cabin somewhere in the hills of the Nevernever. The events in Summer Knight led Harry to their house in order for him to talk to them.
Depending upon the season, one of the two is active and the other is inactive. When Harry arrived, at the last day of Summer's power, Mother Winter sat in a rocking chair, knitting, and Mother Summer was up, bustling about.
The Mothers are actually the birth-mothers of the two Queens - Mother Winter is Mab's mother and Mother Summer is Titania's mother.
The two mothers, along with angels and other powerful beings, are supposed to have 'intellectus'; a being with intellectus merely has to consider a question to know the answer.
Species: High Sidhe
Occupation: Queen of the Winter Sidhe
Also known as the Queen of Air and Darkness, Mab is easily one the most powerful beings currently encountered in the books. The daughter of Mother Winter and the mother of Maeve, Mab has demonstrated her immense power both by performing great feats of magic with little or no effort and in her ways of punishing those who have dishonored her.
First introduced in Summer Knight, she reveals that she now 'owns' Harry's debt to the Winter Fae. When the Leanansidhe returned to the Winter Court with a powerful athame, Mab forced her to sell Harry's debt contract to her to keep the balance in the court. In Dead Beat Mab was shown to have the athame, which she now possesses because she locked the Leanansidhe away for a time until she could be shown to have respect again to the queen.
As of Proven Guilty, both Lily and Maeve have expressed a concern that she is going insane. In Small Favor she does not speak for herself during most of the book but instead uses the Grimalkin, a huge cat-like creature of the Fae, as her "voice". When she does speak, it is described as razor sharp and shakes the area where Harry is, making his nose and ears bleed. Harry's conclusion for this condition is her fury because of the attack on Arctis Tor in Proven Guilty.
Mab has a strong interest in Harry, and has on numerous occasions throughout the series has offered him the title and position of the 'Winter Knight', her personal champion. Despite the great power of the position, Harry has always refused as being Winter Knight would make him bound to her every command, a slave to Mab for the remainder of his mortal life. However, in Changes, Harry finally accepts Mab's offer to become Winter Knight, in exchange for healing and power enough to save his daughter. Despite Harry's attempt to end his own life to prevent what he sees as his inevitable corruption, by arranging his own assassination with Kincaid, Mab, working in conjunction with the Demonreach entity, preserves and repairs his body until his spirit can rejoin it, ensuring that his tenure as Winter Knight continues. However, with Uriel's help, Harry comes to realise that Mab can only corrupt him if he allows her to, that his soul remains his own, and thus he informs Mab that, while he will honour his debt and serve as her Knight, he will do it his way and on his own terms.
Species: High Sidhe
Occupation: Lady of the Winter Sidhe
She is the youngest of the Winter Queens. She was first introduced in Summer Knight as a conceited, wanton, capricious girl who is manipulative, much like the rest of the Winter Court. However, Lily, the Summer Lady says that this playgirl persona is a ruse, with a much more calculating, serious personality underneath. In Proven Guilty, she expresses concerns about Mab's sanity and works with the Summer Lady to assist Harry in his assault on Winter's stronghold.
Although strong, Harry describes her magic as "sloppy"; in Summer Knight, she seems to exhaust herself subduing her own knight; some of the energy she wields spills out of the spell, lowering the ambient temperature.
She is described as an attractive "young" woman. Her most striking feature-besides those normal to the Fae-is her hair: dreadlocks dyed in different shades of pale blue, green, and purple to imitate the colors found in a glacier.
Species: High Sidhe
Occupation: Noble, Winter Court of the Sidhe
The Leanansidhe, or Lea, is Dresden's faerie godmother. He was under her debt before she sold his debt to Queen Mab. She often aids Harry and keeps him alive in exchange for future favors. She was a captive of Queen Mab. She was sentenced to spend an indefinite amount of time at the heart of Arctis Tor frozen as a statue until she has been "humbled", having returned to the court with too much power and trying to overthrow Mab. At the time it seemed that she is possessed by something, as her character rapidly changes during her conversation with Harry, though it could also simply be the same murderous rage that every Winter fae suddenly had for Harry after he introduced Summer fire to the Winter wellspring.
Although warped by human standards, she seems truly to care about Harry, even if her thoughts on "caring" for him happened to concern Harry spending time as one of her hounds (her reasoning being that, as a hound, Harry would be safe and happy in her care). She has also made references to a deal made between her and Harry's mother which may be the reason she looks out for Harry. Her personal realm in the Nevernever corresponds with Harry's apartment on Earth, as a protective measure to prevent any attack on her godson by that route.
In Changes, Lea returns having been apparently 'cured' by Mab of her 'affliction'. It is revealed that Lea is the second most powerful member of the Winter Court, second only to Mab herself. After Harry becomes the Winter Knight, Lea is assigned to assist Harry in his efforts to save his daughter, with Mab informing her casually that she may "indulge" herself when Lea asked to what extent she was permitted to help. Lea provides enchanted weapons and armor for Harry and his companions. Lea also begins to show a more subdued and subservient attitude towards Harry, possibly as a result of him now wielding Mab's authority as her champion. Lea also shows some interest in Molly during and after the final battle in Changes. She continues to pay close attention to Molly after Harry's death, subjecting Molly to a painful form of tutelage as part of her obligation, through Mab, to the apprentice of the Winter Knight.
The historical inspiration for the Leanansidhe is a particular type of faerie who is the inspiration for mortal artists and performers, such as Shakespeare, suggesting that the Leanansidhe might have more past contacts with mortals than most of the other powerful Fey.
Species: Human
Occupation: Former Winter Knight (deceased)
Slate was hired to the Winter Court by Maeve, Winter Lady. He despised her because of her dominating, cruel attitude. He was a heroin addict, rapist, and murderer. His weapon was a Japanese-style sword whose tang is not quite that of a genuine katana.
Lloyd is one of the main antagonists in Summer Knight. He was a traitor to the Winter Court and tried to help Lady Aurora kill Lily. He was carried away by Maeve, Mab, and Mother Winter, screaming for help. As of Proven Guilty, he is imprisoned in Arctis Tor, Mab's fortress in the heart of Winter, suspended on an icy tree in a crucifixion state by thick sheets of ice. Lea tells Harry that he nears the brink of death due to starvation and frostbite, but Mab "tortures him with kindness" by healing his wounds, restoring his sight, feeding him, and allowing him to sleep in her bed (sex is also implied.) When he next wakes up, he is once again hanging on the tree, blinded. Lea believes that when his mind is broken down enough to look forward to returning to the tree, thus restarting the cycle of Mab taking care of him, Mab will discard him, stating that "he only lives so long as he resists." However, in Small Favor Mab tells Harry that he will only be freed to die, when he is replaced, which finally happens in Changes when Harry kills him in order to take up the mantle of Winter Knight.
Species: Fae (deceased) Occupation: Servant to Maeve
Jenny Greenteeth was a Faerie of the winter court with a knack for tempting weak minded men. She served as an agent to Maeve. In Summer Knight Maeve offers her to Harry insisting the price of information from her be to impregnate Jenny. Harry seriously considered it until his brain kicked in and he dumped cold ice water down his pants. After the water had its intended effect Harry raised his voice to Maeve and denied her the desired payment. This angered Jenny, and she retaliated against Harry in the short story Something Borrowed by kidnapping Georgia so that she could marry and kill Billy, who she remembered from when he accompanied Harry to his meeting with Maeve. She put Georgia in a comatose state in Undertown and surrounded with her crab-like servants, the Shellycobs. Harry and Murphy managed to save Georgia before Jenny could marry Billy. The spell that she placed on Georgia could only be broken by true love's kiss, which was supplied by Billy during Harry's distraction. Once Georgia was freed, she and Billy transformed and brutally mauled Jenny. She could take many forms but her preferred glamour was that of a very attractive slender young girl with emerald green hair and metallic green teeth, which is where she got her name.
Species: High Sidhe
Occupation: Queen of the Summer Sidhe
She is the Queen of Summer, daughter of Mother Summer. She is Aurora's mother.
Titania is never actually met, but appears twice in Summer Knight when viewed by Harry with his Wizard's Sight as she and Mab prepared for battle, and later as a golden light who reclaimed Aurora's body from the battlefield. She is Mab's equal in power, the only difference in their power being who has control of the Stone Table at the time and who utilizes its power. It is reasonable to assume that Titania is the Queen of Earth and Light, opposites of Mab's power. Also, it is probable that she has control of fire as well, much like other beings from Summer.
Species: High Sidhe (deceased)
Occupation: former Lady of the Summer Sidhe
She is the Summer Lady, daughter of Titania. First appearing in Summer Knight, she takes Elaine after she is "wounded" by Lloyd Slate, the Winter Knight. She took care of Elaine, and sat to talk to Harry. He noted her kindness and her gentleness.
However, at a later time in the book, it is discovered that she is the one who kidnapped Lily, encasing her in stone. She steals the Unraveling Harry obtained from Mother Winter, and started the War at the Table. She planned to shift the power of the old Summer Knight Ronald Reuel, which had been transferred to Lily, to Winter by killing her on the Table. The power of the Summer Knight (and thus the Monarch of Summer) would be added to Winter, grossly unbalancing the two Fae Courts. Harry killed her by unleashing pixies, led by Toot-Toot, armed with plastic - coated box-cutters. Her mother, Titania, carried her away from the Valley of the Table.
Species: High Sidhe (Former Changeling)
Occupation: Lady of the Summer Sidhe
Originally not encountered until the end of Summer Knight, Lily was held captive by Lady Aurora, imprisoned in stone. When Aurora was killed, the power of the Summer Lady was supposed to flow into the nearest Vessel of Summer, which was Lily due to the fact that Aurora designated her as the Summer Knight. She has befriended Harry. However, despite their longtime friendship, she is still bound by the rules of the Fae and Harry struggles to get her to do things for him or give him information often against the best interests of the Fae. Her first loyalty will be to her court, and she is unlikely to betray them.
Species: Human (deceased)
Occupation: Summer Knight/Artist
Ronald Reuel was the Summer Knight at the beginning of Summer Knight. He was already murdered at the beginning of the story by Aurora. He was an artist local to Chicago.
It's almost certain that Reuel's name is a homage to J. R. R. Tolkien, whose middle names were "Ronald Reuel." This is emphasized by his job description being "creator of worlds."
Species: Human (former Changeling)
Occupation: Summer Knight (current)
He is one of the young changelings (along with close friend Meryl, who was killed during the events of Summer Knight) who hired Harry Dresden to find his friend Lily, who had gone missing. When first introduced into the series he was described as being scrawny and nervous looking with spiky hair. As it turned out, she was imprisoned by Lady Aurora at the Stone Table. He went with Dresden and the Alphas to find Lily, stop Aurora and the war at the Table. During the ensuing struggle he fought and defeated Lloyd Slate with a monkey wrench. Lily then made him the Summer Knight. Since then, he has become a strong individual, helping Harry whenever asked despite what the Courts dictate. Harry and Fix have not always seen eye-to-eye exactly, but Fix always gives aid to Harry in the end. As of Small Favor their friendship has become strained after Fix was sent on behalf of the summer court to tell Harry to give up on his mission for Mab. Fix, fearful of Harry's much stronger magic and uncertain temper, took a gun with him when they talked.
Species: Human (Deceased, killed by a loup-garou during the events of Fool Moon)
Occupation: Police Officer (Detective), Murphy's former partner.
Carmichael was very skeptical of Harry's magical powers and usually did his best to mock Harry's abilities by explaining them away or else by calling them nonsense. He was, according to Murphy and Harry both, a good cop who just did not believe and therefore looked for rational, logical explanations for everything he came across.
He reappears in the first chapter of Ghost Story continuing his afterlife as a detective, now described as being younger, slimmer, and better looking than he had been at the time of his death. Carmichael works for a pseudo-police detectives bureau headed by a man Carmichael calls "The Captain." Carmichael brings Dresden's spirit/shade/soul to their HQ to meet the Captain, ultimately revealed to be Captain Collin J. "Jack" Murphy, Karrin Murphy's deceased father, and see what lies in store for Harry.
In the television series, the character of Det. Sid Kirmani, portrayed by Raoul Bhaneja, appeared to have been based at least in part on Carmichael. He, like Carmichael, is highly skeptical of Harry's intentions and rejects the idea of magic out of hand. However, he is much younger, thinner and more dapper, and some episodes imply that he is a sloppier detective than his novel counterpart.
Species: Human
Occupation: Incompetent magician, snotty little punk
In the short story Harry's Day Off; Harry Dresden is threatened by a coven of Harry Potter obsessed amateur magicians with delusions of grandeur, the leader of which Harry labels "Darth Wannabe" or "the Dim Lord". Harry had previously dispelled a very weak "curse" that they had cast on a person and they came to demand satisfaction for meddling with their work. Darth Wannabe and his minions flee the confrontation after Harry prepares to "duel" him with his gun (instead of preparing to fight them with magic, indicating how small of a threat Harry considers him). Later in the story, he throws a smoke bomb with a warning message into Harry's apartment, which Harry initially mistakes for a pipe bomb. According to Harry, he and his flunkies "don't have enough magic between them to turn cereal into breakfast."
It's worth noting that Harry claims in "Last Call" that there is a "Death Eater" crowd of young wizards, who can be inferred to be the group that Darth Wannabe and his followers fit into.
Species: Asgardian
Occupation: Head of Monoc Securities
Vaddarung appears in "Changes" after being indirectly referenced numerous times by Sigrun/Gard throughout the series. He appears as man in his mid 50's with salt/pepper hair and a grey beard. He has an eyepatch over his left eye and has, in Harry's words, an air of power and authority about him. He provides Harry with much information on the location of his daughter Maggie and the purpose of her kidnapping, all while warning Harry of the danger he will face rescuing her. He demonstrates his power by casually pinning Harry to the floor with nothing but the power of his will rendering Dresden helpless. He is revealed to be the Norse god Odin.
At the end of "Changes" Harry looks at the departing Gray Council and notices one of the taller members staring at him. From the depths of the gray hood, Harry can make out Vaddarung's features and the latter offers Harry a salute before departing. Harry's grandfather tells Harry Vaddarung does not "throw in" often and Harry should feel honored he was willing to help.
Species: Nature Spirit
Demonreach is a shadowy island in Lake Michigan, many miles offshore from Chicago. It sits atop one of the strongest dark Ley Line confluences in the region and is strong enough to empower a Binding Circle mighty enough to constrain the Archive. It first appeared in Small Favor, as the site of the climactic battle to retrieve the Archive and crime lord Marcone from the Denarians. This location is rendered even more important when it is later revealed that the island doesn't merely sit on the ley line, it is the wellspring of its power.
Demonreach's history is veiled by its hostility for human life. The magic that empowers it wards away mortal minds, and it is not found on official maps of the region. The attempts to settle it for use as fishing or furring camps and as a lighthouse ended in death, disaster, and abandonment.
Demonreach has two rotting piers and crumbling settlements left over from these attempts, but the largest remainder of former habitation is the half-fallen lighthouse at the island's highest point. The walls of the adjacent cabin were made with the fallen stones. The final conflict in Small Favor occurs in this clearing. The rest of the island is thickly covered in trees and with a moderate amount of animal life. Stone reefs around the island make it dangerous to approach for boats.
In Turn Coat Harry returns to Demonreach to prepare himself for a dangerous battle with the Skinwalker. He performs a sanctum invocation with a powerful and unfriendly spirit of the island, essentially becoming the shaman of the island. This allows him to draw power from the island as well as giving him access to the spirit's Intellectus, the total awareness of all objects and living things on the island.
At the end of Ghost Story it is revealed that Demonreach has a protective attitude toward Harry, its custodian. Thus, it preserves his wounded body with Mab's help for six months, until he is ready to return to life.
It is noted that Demonreach is hostile to human life, and sits atop a source of great and powerful magic, the spirit operating as protector of the island. The spirit is exceptionally hostile to the Gatekeeper, who will not even set foot upon the island due to a previous altercation. There is a pathway to the Nevernever that opens up on the island, but Harry doesn't know the way yet. The spirit is also extremely hostile towards the presence of the Skinwalker and bars it from approaching the tower and the cabin on the hill.
Writings from Ebenezar hint that Demonreach may play a powerful role in later books as Harry progresses, and that the island was made for an as yet unspecified purpose.
Species: Human (Deceased)
Occupation: Stage Illusionist
He is Harry Dresden's father. He died of an apparent aneurysm leaving Harry orphaned at the age of 6. The demon Chaunzaggorath shed doubt on this, however. Malcolm has visited his son in Harry's dreams at odd intervals, at one point to warn Harry about Lasciel and provide some comfort. Malcolm was apparently kept from doing these visits until certain conditions had been met by others.
He is described as looking and talking somewhat like his son, although he seems to have been a little less cynical and jaded.
Species: Human (Deceased)
Margaret Dresden is Harry Dresden and Thomas Raith's mother. She was the daughter of Ebeneezar McCoy, as well as his apprentice, but she rebelled against him and the White Council and ran off. She lived with and was enthralled by Lord Raith, later giving birth to Thomas. She eventually escaped Lord Raith, met Malcolm Dresden, fell in love, and married him. She died while giving birth to Harry due to an entropy curse cast by Lord Raith (her death curse made him unable to feed).
It is revealed in Turn Coat that the reason the Council considered her dangerous was because she wanted to revamp the Laws of Magic to embrace concepts of justice, rather than simply limiting the use of power. She was well-known to the Wardens as someone who made a point of getting as close as possible to breaking the Laws as she could without actually committing a transgression. She was also described as being "brilliant, erratic, passionate, committed, idealistic, talented, charming, insulting, bold, incautious, arrogant... and short-sighted". It is also hinted that she had a habit of mouthing off, even when it put her in danger. In this she is not unlike her son, although Margaret seems to have been far more reckless in her approach.
Some of her abilities are also detailed; Captain Anastasia Luccio states that Margaret knew more Ways through the Nevernever than anyone she had ever met, before or since, and that her many contacts with the Fey was the reason everyone called her "le Fay", which signifies "the faerie". In Changes, Harry's godmother Lea returns to Harry a gem of Margaret's that acts as a "map" to the ways through the Nevernever.
Species: Human (Deceased, killed in self-defense by Dresden)
Occupation: ex-Warden, Master to Dresden and Elaine, Black Mage, Warlock
Justin adopted both Harry and Elaine when their magic began to manifest. Though his teaching style was often harsh (his method of teaching Harry, at the age of 13, how to create physical shields involved throwing baseballs at him), both Harry and Elaine were trained very well. Though once part of the White Council and a Warden, Justin became a black wizard and tried to mentally take control of his apprentices. Elaine was enthralled by Justin; Dresden, however, resisted Justin and ran away. DuMorne then sent a demon, an Outsider, to kill Dresden but Harry defeated it. He later went back and defeated DuMorne with a fire spell. He was subsequently put on trial for breaking the First Law of Magic, but escaped execution because it was self-defense. This led to Harry being placed under the Doom of Damocles, the situation in which we find him at the start of the book series.
In the TV adaptation, the character (renamed Justin Morningway) is played by Daniel Kash and is introduced as Harry's uncle (his mother's brother).
Species: Dragon
Dragons are semi-divine beings of immense power. Little is known of Ferrovax, described by himself as the oldest and most powerful of his kind. He was present at Bianca's gathering in Grave Peril where his immense power was demonstrated by his saying aloud a mere portion of Harry's name (using True Name magic). He has not been seen since; however, Jim Butcher has confirmed that he will return in a later novel.
Species: Human
Occupation: Priest, Pastor of St. Mary of the Angels, lawyer when needed
Father Forthill is one of a few members of the Catholic clergy with any knowledge of the supernatural. When he was younger, he and a few other priests helped to kill a vampire. They swore an oath to protect people from the dangers of the supernatural, and he technically continues this oath by blessing holy water for Dresden. Currently, he helps Michael Carpenter whenever he is needed. Before he became a priest, Father Forthill completed law school and passed the bar examination; he does pro bono legal work for members of his congregation.
He is a very kindly, paternal old priest with a generally positive, but realistic outlook, and a generous spirit. He seems extremely fond of Harry, despite Harry's discomfort with religion, and looks on Harry as a slightly warped but essentially good man, whom God looks favorably on. Harry doesn't share his confidence. It is revealed that he has a tattoo called the Eye of Thoth on his arm, due to his aforementioned vampire hunting.
As of the Events of the short story "The Warrior," Father Forthill is revealed to be a member of the Ordo Malleus, the Inquisition of the Catholic Church, a straight descendant of the historical movement, which has shed its historical overt influence and moved now to be an organization solely devoted to aiding and abetting the Knights of the Cross, of which Michael Carpenter is one. In Changes, he is entrusted with Maggie Dresden, who he passes on to the Carpenter family to be raised and to benefit from the angelic protection they enjoy.
During the events of Ghost Story, Forthill is shown to be part of the Alliance formed to try to keep the peace in Chicago after Dresden's assassination. During that book, he attempts to intercede with a sorceror, but is badly beaten. Dresden organises his rescue, encountering a guardian angel sent to protect his shade, should Forthill die from his injuries - the angel explains that, after a lifetime of fighting darkness, there are many supernatural beings who would like to take revenge on Forthill's shade and that her presence is to ensure that he reaches his destination safely. In the end, her services are not required as Forthill is rescued and taken to hospital to have his injuries treated.
Species: Valkyrie
Occupation: employee of Monoc Securities (an individual signatory to the Unseelie Accords), supernatural consultant; currently hired out to John Marcone.
Sigrun, who usually uses the alias of "Ms. Gard" is blonde and over six feet tall; in White Night Harry refers to her as "Amazon Gard", referring to her impressive stature. She has shown mastery with axes, swords, flails, and other medieval weaponry, plus abilities consistent with the legendary Norse berserker warriors. Monoc Securities is based in Norway; the company name is consistent with a reference to Odin ("mon" meaning one, "oc" referring to ocular, Odin having only one eye) in Norse mythology, as is the name of the CEO, Donar Vadderung (surname a possible adaptation of "Father + ing", given name "Thor"). Together with Ms. Gard's reference to both Harry and Marcone as "mortals" during the alley-fight and knowledge of runes in Dead Beat, her appearance, affiliation and combat prowess implied she is one of the Valkyries. This is confirmed in the short story "Heorot", where Ms. Gard acknowledges that she is the Valkyrie Sigrun, though she notes that some of the legends are highly inaccurate. At the end of the same short story, she gives Harry an intense kiss and suggests that she finds him attractive.
She briefly teams up with Harry to rescue Marcone in Small Favor and even gives Harry her collection of hair and blood samples (after exacting a very restrictive oath from Harry) so he can find her boss. She is disemboweled at one point, and nauseates Harry by repairing her injuries right in front of him. As a Valkyrie she appears to have the ability to know when someone is close to death.
In Changes, while Harry is pressing Marcone for information in Burger King, Gard takes a phone call from her "employer" at Monoc. She then takes Harry to see the head of Monoc Securities where he's able to learn much about where his daughter has been taken as well as the purpose of her abduction.
Species: Human
Occupation: Mob enforcer,
Hendricks is Marcone's bodyguard, and apparently most trusted lieutenant. Often stoic, Hendricks is very protective of his boss and seems to show a grudging respect of Harry, though still willing to pit himself against the wizard at very little provocation. Harry calls him Cujo in Storm Front and, at least in Harry's mind, the nickname stuck.
Hendricks is a very large man, his physique often compared to that of a linebacker and his size makes most of the weapons he use look as if toys in his hands. Despite the antagonistic tone of his relationship with Harry, Hendricks has at times sided with Harry over others of Marcone's organization, such as in Small Favor. Hendricks has proven to be capably intelligent, in fact is seen working on a thesis in the short story "Even Hand", and has played football in the past. It is also likely that Hendricks has a romantic relationship with Ms. Gard. While he doesn't approve of killing in general, having apprenticed under Marcone, he does it thoroughly, but may show his discontent by quoting literature.
Species: Human
Occupation: Ex-girlfriend of Thomas Raith, hostage of the White Court, current assistant to Lara Raith.
Justine's exact origins are unknown, but it is known that Bianca once wanted her as one of her prostitutes, and that Thomas saved her from such a fate. She became his lover and food source, regularly having sex to sustain him at the cost of her own life force. This was especially necessary since Justine lacks the emotional and mental control that most humans have, and experiences wild manic mood swings when Thomas is not nearby to sap away those emotions.
When Thomas suffered a near-fatal injury, Justine chose to risk her own life to feed his incubus Hunger, giving him the nourishment he needed to heal. She appeared to be dead afterwards, but they both pulled back in time to keep her from being killed. However, she lapsed into a catatonic state for a time, remained extremely weak, and her hair went white. Because of her true love for Thomas and his for her, her touch became toxic to him.
Thomas was exiled from the White Court shortly afterwards, and Lara promised to keep Justine safe from all the other vampires. In White Night it is revealed that Justine has been providing Thomas inside information pertaining to the White Court's dealings. She and Thomas are briefly reunited, and have apparently had non-physical contact since then. She also crochets as evidenced by her gift to Thomas in Small Favor .
Justine is injured by the skinwalker in Turn Coat when it invades the Raith mansion. It is hinted at the end that she and Thomas may have become estranged because of his return to the White Court way of life and sexual feedings, but their mutual love is undimmed. When his guilt over Harry's death causes him to slip into self-destructive behaviors, Justine willingly abandons the protection afforded her by his true love by having sex with her friend Mara, at which point Thomas is free to feed on her again.
Species: Fallen Angel (although sometimes referred to as a demon)
One of thirty fallen angels that comprise the Order of the Blackened Denarius, Lasciel and her brethren are demon spirits that are contained within thirty silver coins, each bearing the particular sigil representing the entombed demon's name. Lasciel's coin was offered to Harry Dresden as a "gift" by the co-leader of the Order, Nicodemus. Harry refused the coin and the immense evil powers brought with it. Later, Harry picked up the coin to prevent the baby Harry Carpenter from touching it. In doing so, Harry "allowed" Lasciel to exert a small measure of influence on his emotions, creating a copy or "shadow" of Lasciel to live in his mind (see Lash below) as well as give him the ability to use Hellfire. Harry buried the coin underneath his laboratory, but the sigil remained on the palm of his hand, and even protected that part of his hand when the rest of it was burned and blackened by flames while facing Mavra. After the events of White Night, the coin was removed and turned over to the Church. However, Jim Butcher has stated that "Lasciel’s story is not over. And keep in mind what’s said about ‘a woman scorned.’"[2]
Species: Shadow of the Fallen Angel Lasciel (only exists in Harry's mind)
As of Dead Beat, Lash has begun to contact Harry directly in his mind, although earlier she appeared as the illusionary woman 'Shiela' who helped Harry find the book he was looking for in an occult bookstore. She also gave him more information on the book later on in Dead Beat. However, she can only appear to Harry, as when Butters barged in on their meeting and didn't see Shiela/Lash. She claims to be but a shadow of the Fallen in the coin, and seeks to help him more out of self preservation than a desire to corrupt. Harry has since found that he is tempted to utilize her knowledge to help in difficult situations. She can use her knowledge to translate languages for Dresden, including German, ghoul (Ancient Sumerian), and ancient Etruscan. Lasciel also speeds up his mind's reaction time (albeit only for a short while to avoid damage) so they have enough time to talk in a pitched battle.
In White Night, Dresden gives her the name Lash and convinces her to strive for her freedom since she, as a shadow of the true Lasciel, is actually an independent entity; the true Lasciel still resides in the coin. He insists, repeatedly, that he will not take up the coin; the three years Dresden has "hosted" Lash is the longest period by far anyone has resisted Lasciel's temptation, which apparently also influences Lash.
As Bob later explains, by giving Lash her own name Harry caused her to realize she had this degree of freedom. Lash aids Harry significantly in the final battle of White Night, but when he regains consciousness he finds Lash apparently gone and (as Bob put it) deconstructed. Her final act was to commit a sort of suicide by redirecting a mental assault on Harry's mind to the otherwise unused areas of Harry's brain/subconscious where she resided. As a consequence, Harry became apparently free of Lash/Lasciel's influence; the sigil on his hand faded, and he dug up the coin (which still contains the true Lasciel) and turned it over to Father Forthill for disposal. He has, however, mourned her 'passing' by shedding tears, stating that 'she chose to be free'. This was noticed only by Bob, who was present as Harry realized Lash's disappearance.
The only apparent lingering effect of Lash's tenure in Harry's mind is a profound boost in his skill at the guitar; prior to Lash's independence and suicide, he played at a beginner level unless she was actively manipulating him. After the event his skill is shown to be much greater. The loss of Lash also means Harry has also lost the ability to amplify his spells with Hellfire.
Species: Human
Occupation: Psychic Consultant, Ectomancer
Twenty years prior to the books, Lindquist was considered a gifted investigator, with a high sensitivity to spiritual energies and apparitions; he was even the author of three books on the subject. By the time of the books, however, his abilities appear to have severely atrophied, leaving him trying to earn money as a medium, although his sensitivity is now sufficiently low that in most cases he fails to contact any spirit and must resort to playacting in order to satisfy his clients, essentially a con-artist. He retains some degree of integrity however; Harry attributes his loss of ability to the fact that he privately hates what he does. He does retain some degree of contact with the spirit world, however, and his knowledge of such matters is considerable; he is able to provide Harry with some useful insights into the situation when Harry approaches him during the events of Grave Peril.
By the events of Death Masks, Lindquist has apparently changed his ways to some degree and his abilities are returning.
During the events of Dead Beat, Mortimer has become a true ectomancer with the ability to communicate freely with spirits, even though he still cons his customers by only pretending to tell them what they want to hear about their dead relatives and friends. Strangely enough, Lindquist, who has since been perceived by Harry as a selfish, arrogant and all around despicable human being, actually stands up to Harry when he demands his help and the help of the dead against the necromancer threat. Lindquist responds by saying "The dead are terrified of whatever is moving around out there." and that "They may be dead, but that doesn't mean they can't get hurt. I won't risk that for Council infighting." Harry notes that while Mortimer may never lift a finger to help his fellow man, he would stand against a powerful wizard and wizard council to protect the dead. They are the only beings other than himself he seems to really care about.
Mortimer has a sizable role in Ghost Story. He is the first human Harry approaches as a ghost, and he persuades him to act as interpreter. Harry is surprised to find that Mort has a large contingent of defending spirits surrounding his home, including the valiant Sir Stuart, an ancestor. Morty needs this ghostly army, as he is frequently attacked by, and eventually captured by, hordes of wraiths under the command of an old enemy. He displays unexpected depths of courage during his captivity and torture.
Species: Unknown, presumably Human
Occupation: Pub owner
McAnally, better known as Mac, owns and runs McAnally's, a pub frequented by the magical fraternity, which is intentionally laid out in such a manner to disrupt the flow of magical energies, with the aim of preventing any unexpected manifestations that might be caused by a large assemblage of potentially drunk wizards. It is also noticeably lacking in items of technology that might be found in an ordinary pub, due to the negative effects on technology caused by the presence of a wizard. Tall and of indeterminate age (regularly described as being any age between 30 and 50,) McAnally gives off a sense of strength and wisdom that commands the respect of his clientele. Generally taciturn, when he does choose to voice an opinion, Harry generally considers that opinion to be worth listening to. McAnally makes his own dark microbrew beer and fantastic steak sandwiches, which he cooks on a wood-burning stove.
McAnally appears to be regarded with some degree of respect by other supernatural groups; his pub is considered neutral ground for all signatories of the Accords. This makes his pub a common meeting place for parties who are warring and want to discuss things. It also means that it is possible to run into some less than desirable creatures inside the pub. In Small Favor, he develops some degree of respect for Karrin when she defends Harry from a Gruff, and brings out three bottles of a particularly good brew afterward.
In "Changes", Mac makes his longest speech to date offering wisdom to Harry about the danger of the road he is on and the choices he must make. He advises caution. Once the speech is done, Mac looks visibly pained to have spoken more than 3 syllables at one time.
Mac and his microbrews are featured in the two short stories, "Heorot" and "Last Call".
Species: Human
Occupation: Wizard
Elaine was an apprentice of Justin DuMorne, taken in by him along with Harry when they were both children. As teenagers, she began a romantic relationship with Harry until Justin showed his darker nature: he enthralled Elaine and attempted to enthrall Harry so he could perform greater black magic. After Harry's victory over DuMorne, Elaine faked her own death and fled to the realms of the Summer Faeries in the Nevernever where she entered into a contract with the Summer Lady Aurora.
In White Night, she is operating as a wizard-for-hire in California, although she is hiding her true power level from the White Council. She still struggles with nightmares and phobias stemming from her enslavement by DuMorne, and feels that only by going out and doing her work can she overcome her fears.
She has taken a page from Dresden's book in setting up her new life in Los Angeles, telling him as much and saying that she's in the phone book, under 'Wizards', just like him. Elaine's new career is similar to his, involving consulting work for police and private investigation, specializing in finding lost children.
She initially seemed interested in rekindling the relationship between them, especially since Harry still has feelings for her. But she saw Susan Rodriguez's photo and engagement ring on a mantle, and realized that Harry had loved too deeply and too recently for her to reenter his life as a lover. However, Harry's lingering feelings mean that a romantic reunion is possible.
According to Turn Coat, she is running the Paranet of minor psychics and magic users.
Elaine prefers to use Egyptian instead of faux Latin for her incantations, and has much less raw power then Harry, using electricity pulled from local power lines instead of simply creating such things. She has a much defter touch with magic then he, and some skill with healing effects. Harry borrows her idea of using power sockets and chains for electricity. She uses earrings and chains instead of blasting rod or staff.
Species: Human
Occupation: Convention coordinator
Sandra coordinated the horror convention named SplatterCon!!! in Proven Guilty.
Species: Half-Vampire (Red Court, Deceased)
Occupation: Member of the Fellowship of St. Giles
Introduced in the book Death Masks, Martin first comes into contact with Dresden as the partner of Susan Rodriguez in the Fellowship of St. Giles. Described as being highly unmemorable in appearance and bland in character, he accompanies Susan back to Chicago with the aim of preventing Don Paolo Ortega from killing Dresden in a duel and taking out the vampire if possible in order to prolong the war between the Red Court and the White Council. While seemingly dismissive of Dresden, Martin nevertheless assists him against members of the Order of the Blackened Denarius, proving himself to be both highly skilled and extremely ruthless in the process. After the duel, he leaves Chicago with Susan, promising Harry that he'll take care of her.
Martin reappears eight years later in the book Changes, when he returns to Chicago with Susan after the kidnap of Maggie Dresden, Susan's daughter with Dresden, with the aim of using her in a bloodline curse to destroy Dresden. He is heavily involved with the events of that book, ultimately accompanying Dresden and his team to their confrontation with the Red Court at Chichen Itza. During the climax of that battle, some of Martin's back story is finally revealed.
For approximately fifty years Martin served the Red Court as a priest, proving his loyalty and devotion, before being assigned to infiltrate the Fellowship of St. Giles as an undercover agent of the Red Court. He then served with the Fellowship for one hundred and fifty years, making him their longest surviving operative, but also working for the Red Court, being provided targets by his secret masters and being allowed to escape from traps that snared other members of the group. After fifty years, including the "detection" and execution of two other Red Court agents within the group, he was deemed trustworthy and spent the next hundred years learning their secrets in order to take them down from the inside. At a critical moment at Chichen Itza, he reveals his allegiance, turning the course of the conflict against Dresden, and reveals that, just before the battle started, Red Court strike teams began taking out Fellowship safe houses under his authority.
He reveals that it was he who informed the Red Court about the existence of Dresden's daughter, something that enrages Susan. Losing all control, she breaks free of his grip and turns on him, tearing his throat out with her fangs, beginning her final conversion to a Red Court vampire. As he dies, he briefly meets Dresden's eyes, beginning a soulgaze that reveals the real truth about his actions. While Martin's devotion to the Red Court was initially genuine, it gradually died during his time with the Fellowship as he saw what the Red Court were really like, until he became determined to put an end to his erstwhile masters, no matter what the cost. With that in mind, he had engineered the entire situation at Chichen Itza, telling the Red Court about Maggie, knowing that they would see the possibilities and put preparations in motion to enact a bloodline curse. Aware that telling Susan that he had betrayed her daughter would make her lose control and finally succumb to becoming a full vampire, he arranged that Dresden would be there, knowing that, ultimately, Dresden would be able to finally put an end to the Red Court by sacrificing the changed Susan in Maggie's place, turning the bloodline curse against the Red Court instead, and wiping them out. Martin's long game was finally finished with the fall of the Red Court, something that he had methodically planned with his customary ruthlessness, knowing that it would require the destruction of the Fellowship, the sacrifice of his partner and ultimately the loss of his own life, something that didn't seem to bother him in the slightest, knowing that it would lead to the completion of his goal.
Species: Vampire (Black Court)
Occupation: Manipulator. Prominent vampire of the Black Court.
She is one of the few surviving members of the Black Court and, therefore, one of the most powerful and fearsome creatures in the vampire community. In addition to her supernatural powers as a vampire, she is as skilled in the use of magic as a full-fledged wizard and has been a threat to Dresden a few times throughout the novels since her introduction in Grave Peril. Mavra was apparently destroyed by Dresden in Blood Rites, but actually survived—what Harry killed was one of her underlings, which she used as a decoy. More recently in Dead Beat, she acquired the Word of Kemmler, receiving it from Harry as payment for blackmail photos of Karrin Murphy shooting one of Mavra's human servants with a shotgun. What Mavra intends to do with this tome has yet to be revealed. When she was last seen, Dresden threatened to use everything at his disposal, referring to the offer of Knighthood from the Winter Court, his contact with the fallen angel Lasciel, and the Darkhallow to kill her if she attempted to harm or blackmail Murphy again. "Mavra" is also the modern Greek word for 'black,' in its feminine form.
Species: Domestic cat
Mister is an exceptionally large gray tomcat who lives with Harry. In Storm Front, Harry says he found Mister as a small kitten in a trash can, about three years earlier. His tail was torn off by a dog or a car; he hates both. Mister weighs over thirty pounds. Harry sometime states that Mister's father "was a wild cat or a lynx or something," but more likely Mister is a Maine Coon. Mac, the owner of MacAnally’s, will make up the occasional doggy bag for Mister.
Mister is also occasionally used by Bob, who possesses Mister in order to move around town during the day without being exposed to sunlight. Dresden notes that Mister is the only being that he has encountered which, when viewed with Wizard's Sight, appears exactly as it does when viewed normally. In Changes, Mister is in Harry's apartment during a fire, and manages to escape. In Ghost Story it turns out he lives safely with Murphy.
Species: Possessed human/Fallen Angel (status unknown)
Also known as "Nicodemus Archleone," a reference to 1 Peter 5:8. Described by Harry as the most dangerous man he's ever met, Nicodemus is every bit the threat he appears: while most evil characters manage to appear in a somewhat gray area at times, Nicodemus is as bad as it gets. This could be attributed to the fact that the only characters who have described him in the books are all Catholic clergy. The oldest and most powerful of the Denarians, he is possessed by the fallen angel Anduriel, one of Lucifer's captains. He is a liar, murderer, torturer, slaver, thief and traitor, it is his wish to rush the world into apocalypse. In the Dresdenverse the End of Days is not the will of God, as stated in the Bible, but the wish of the other side. Unlike some among his order, he is in full collaboration with his demon; he often appears to be more in control of his actions and comes off as civil and reasonable, a trait he shares with the more powerful mortals amongst the Black knights, like Rosanna and Tessa. He often looks at long term planning, and his schemes are often elaborate and multi-purposeful. It's stated he has murdered more than a hundred Knights of the Cross, more than a thousand priests, nuns, monks, and three thousand men, women and children directly, and is responsible for the Black Plague and many other acts of chaos and destruction. His past is often clouded and his age is indeterminable, with it being a possibility that he walked the earth when Christ did. The reason for this is that he wisely makes it a point to destroy the Church's records on him every other century.
Nicodemus is married to Tessa/Imariel, the second oldest of the order; the Archive states that Nicodemus rescued Tessa from a life in the temple of Isis, to whom her parents had sold her at a very young age. They usually do not cooperate, with Nicodemus preferring long-term plans, and Tessa tending more towards the short-term. They have a daughter, Deirdre, who also belongs to the order and appears more loyal to her father than mother.
He rarely appears disconcerted, afraid or panicked, but did seem afraid of Shiro (one of only two knights to face him and survive, and whom he often referred to mockingly as "Jap") during Death Masks. He also tries to push Harry to join his order throughout his appearances, seeing him as a worthy recruit, but also seems fearful of Harry. In Small Favor Harry notes he is probably the only person to truly terrify him after discovering his weakness (see below).
Often his powers seem not to be shape-shifting, as is the norm among the fallen, but his shadow is alive and has substance. Whispering can be heard from it and it is assumed the shadow is actually Anduriel acting independently of himself; like all his order, however, he possesses super human strength and a great deal of magical knowledge. One of the more terrifying possessions he holds is the rope Judas Iscariot used to hang himself after the crucifixion - while wearing the slender rope as a tie Nicodemus is invulnerable to attack even by Denarian standards, utterly immune to all methods of death except strangulation with the rope itself. In Death Masks Harry's realization of this allows him to survive, and in Small Favor Harry chokes him into unconsciousness and continues to hold on, intending to kill Nicodemus, but is interrupted before he can be sure of success. Harry then throws him over the side of a boat and into a lake, where he is swiftly retrieved by his daughter Deirdre. While his current status has not been revealed in the book, Harry suspects that he is still alive. Jim Butcher has confirmed that Nicodemus is alive and terrified of Harry.
It has been suggested that the "Black Council" opposes Nicodemus' plans. It has been implied that either Rosanna or Tessa is likely to be a member of the Black Council, possibly both, although given Nicodemus' penchant for scheming, it cannot be entirely discounted that this is some sort of ruse.
At a book signing in Houston, Butcher claimed that in writing Nicodemus, he simply created someone that would be "the flipside of Michael Carpenter."
Species: Possessed human/Fallen Angel (deceased(?))
More commonly referred to as "Tessa", she is also a leader for the Denarians. As Nicodemus' wife, she and her Denarian, Imariel, are stated as the second-eldest of the Denarians. Generally, she is a rival to her husband, though they do work together to accomplish a similar goal - the last time they were said to have worked together, the Black Plague spread across Europe. She chooses bearers for coins based upon willingness to take a coin, not talent. Michael said that Fallen who serve Imariel (and Tessa) go through bearers quickly. Tessa is concerned with short-term views, while Nicodemus is focused with the bigger picture and long-term issues. According to Ivy, she is also responsible for the War of the Roses, the Hundred Year War, the Cambodian and Rwanda Genocides, and the strife in Colombia. She is also the one who tortured Ivy, demonstrating a highly sadistic personality
Tessa is also shown to be an exceedingly capable sorceress. She was able to constantly throw lightning around during the ambush with the Archive at the Oceanarium, when most magic was cut off. Harry notes that she is a "big-leaguer" and "White Council material herself".
Lartessa was born In Thessalonica. Her father, greatly in debt because of his failing business, sold her to the temple of Isis. She was there from a young age until when Nicodemus found her and offered her a coin, and eventually married her.
At the end of the book, on the island in the middle of Lake Michigan, Tessa and Rosanna had done a major portion of the greater circle to imprison the Archive. Enraged after Michael was shot, Harry sent a "bar of blue-white fire so dense that it was nearly a solid object" straight through Tessa's chest. It is unknown if she survived the potentially fatal jet of flame.
Species: Red Court Vampire (deceased)
Occupation: Duke and war leader of the Red Court; "Renowned researcher and debunker of paranormal phenomena."
Ortega was a senior member of the Red Court and acted as a commander in time of war. Outwardly of average appearance, he was a professor specializing in research into paranormal phenomena at the University of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro; a debunker of the paranormal, who "proved" that folklore such as vampires do not exist. He was a formidable and cunning warrior. During the events of Death Masks, he arrived in Chicago to challenge Dresden to a duel, the idea being that, with the instigator of the war between the Red Court and the White Council dead, an end to the conflict would become considerably more likely. If Harry had won, Ortega would have offered to make Chicago neutral ground in the fighting, with Harry and his friends being protected from reprisals as long as they stayed within the city. Harry accepted the deal and the duel, to be moderated by the Archive and based on the respective willpower of the participants, took place at Wrigley Field.
During the duel, Ortega had Harry at a major disadvantage, telling him that he should simply surrender and that, if Harry ultimately defeated him, his vassals would track down and eliminate everybody that Harry cared about, in a blatant infringement of the original deal. This angered Harry, reinforcing his will, giving him the advantage. Ortega pulled a gun and was about to shoot Harry when he was shot himself, leading to the duel falling apart and a short conflict erupting within the stadium. As Harry was winning, and thus had little reason to cheat, he was judged the winner. Ortega escaped, assisted by two of his vassals, retreating to his stronghold in Honduras.
His escape was, however, short-lived. Duke Ortega was eliminated, along with the vast majority of his vassals, by Ebenezar McCoy in his covert role as the Blackstaff; McCoy pulled a deactivated Soviet communications satellite out of orbit, causing it to impact directly on Ortega's mansion.
Race: Human/ Wizard (Deceased) Occupation: Record Keeper for the White Council
Wizard Samuel Peabody was first introduced in Summer Knight as the bookkeeper for the Senior Council. He is also the wizard who compiled the book Die Lied der Erlking, which included the spell needed to call up the Erlking and the Wild Hunt, in Dead Beat. As of Turn Coat, he is shown as a studious record manager, having his personal study at Edinburgh described as a "bastion of order", and having a personal dislike of Harry, who seldom visits Edinburgh (and thus can't be influenced like the other Wardens) and who is also very disorganized, which Peabody appears to take almost as a personal insult.
At the end of Turn Coat, it is discovered that he had been subtly altering the minds of the Senior Council and the Wardens to effect change. He is named as a traitor having given secrets to the alleged "Black Council." He is killed by Donald Morgan after his escape from the Trial accusing Warden Morgan of the murder of Aleron LaFortier. He had influenced Warden Luccio to commit the murder in a "sleepwalking trance". He is shown to have competent ability at defensive magic, alchemy, potions and close-quarters combat.
At the battle of Demonreach in Turn Coat, it is established that he was not alone; the identity of his companion is unknown, although photographic evidence showed that whoever the other party was, they did not arrive with Peabody from the White Council headquarters in Edinburgh.
Species: Human (formerly Vampire (White Court))
One of the youngest members of the Raith family, an almost-succubus who, as the Raith rules goes, was not given any knowledge of her powers and desire. She was introduced to Harry in the novel Blood Rites while he was investigating magical assault on a porno set where she was working as a production assistant. While Harry was at the Raith estate, she was sent to the room Harry was staying in to indulge in her first feeding of life force, which is always fatal to the victim in question. When she advanced to kiss Harry, the lingering aura of true love radiating from Harry's body (left over from the last time Harry was with his ex Susan) burned her and she fled, confused as to what she was doing and why she was burned. After the happenings at the set are settled, Inari and her fiance, Bobby, get out of the pornography industry and relocate to California to start a feng shui business. Since she found true love before she ever fed on human lust, she will never become a White Court vampire like the rest of her family. This means that she is free of the curse, but also that she is denied the substantial benefits, like immortality. It is unclear if her offspring are in danger of becoming incubi/succubi.
Species: Human
Occupation: Police Officer
One of the Chicago PD's "old hands", Rawlins is a cop who gets the job done and has little patience for politics. He has been demoted from detective twice. After he was saved from an unknown creature by Murphy's father, he has kept an open mind about the supernatural. He has been moved to the SI department and been assigned as Murphy's partner. As of Turn Coat, Rawlins is spending ample time at SI "giving the wife ammunition for when she divorces me." He doesn't care if Murphy and Harry rough up a rotten suspect. During Binder's questioning, Rawlins came over the intercom telling Murphy and Harry to move Binder a tad to the left so he could see the full beating on camera. He said he was "making popcorn" at the time. At the end of the rough questioning, Rawlins piped through with the dry comment "I love this channel!"
Species: Human
Occupation: Police Officer (Internal Affairs)
Before moving to Internal Affairs, Rudolph was a young, inexperienced member of the SI department, under Murphy's command. His placement there was the result of a relationship with a high-ranking city official's daughter. After his transfer to Internal Affairs, he seems to feel nothing but contempt for Murphy and Dresden and as of Small Favors seems to be stirring up whatever trouble he can for SI and rising in rank. In Changes his vendetta against Murphy, Dresden and SI leads him into becoming a pawn of the Red Court and he is seen actively attempting to "set up" Harry. FBI Special Agent Tilly (introduced in "Changes") had been set upon Harry by Rudolph's manipulations. Tilly (whom Harry refers to as "Slim,") figures out what is really going on in the terms that Rudolph is attempting to make Harry and Murphy look bad. Rudolph has also shown himself to be a coward. During an attempt to discredit Harry and Murphy at the FBI's Chicago office, the lights go out and he looks visibly shaken. Asking what's going on, Harry remarks "Remember the first night we met Rudolph?" referring to the Loup Garou's attack on Chicago PD's lock-up which resulted in the bloody death of numerous Officers and Murphy's former partner Ron Carmichael. Rudolph is described as going into a state resembling a blathering idiot.
Species: Skinwalker, Native American Semi-Divine creature
The Skinwalker is a Native American creature, one of those who displeased the Great Spirit and was exiled to Earth. It is vulnerable to the holy chants of the ancient shamans as might demons be to prayers offered to God. When viewed through Wizard Sight, the pure Evil that the spirit embodies is enough to drive Harry almost mad with terror that such a creature could even exist.
The Skinwalker is an ally or member of the Black Council, and comes in on their behalf. It is capable of shapechanging into an almost unlimited number of forms, including being able to mimic others with near perfect accuracy. It is also possessed of superhuman strength and speed, equal to or exceeding a White Court Vampire, with incredible resiliency and regenerative powers as well. On top of all this, it is stated by Donald Morgan in Turn Coat that when a skinwalker kills a spellcaster, it consumes the victim's magic and adds that power to its own.
The Skinwalker that appears in the book initially follows the injured Morgan into Chicago, hoping to add his considerable power to its own. In the course of the novel, it defeats Harry and the forces of the White Court at their home estate, captures and tortures Thomas, forcing him to use his White Court powers repeatedly to survive, kills one of the Alpha Werewolves and maim another, and also beats Harry again at the Battle of Demonreach Island. Only Joseph Listens-to-Wind, though not a holy shaman, is able to avoid the power of its magic, and then in a duel of shapechanging, defeat it and send it running, hurt but not destroyed.
Another Skinwalker was revealed to have been destroyed by Morgan in the 1950s, who lured it into the blast area of a nuclear bomb test before escaping into the Nevernever seconds before the detonation of the bomb slew the Skinwalker.
Species: Human
Occupation: Police Officer (formerly "Detective Sergeant", now Lieutenant and Head of Special Investigations)
Introduced in Grave Peril, John Stallings is an older black man who knew Murphy's father well, and has the temerity to address her by nicknames. He is willing to suspend all disbelief of the supernatural to get the job done. He was appointed to Head of Special Investigations after Murphy was demoted during the events of Proven Guilty.
Species: Vampire (Red Court) (deceased).
Occupation: Madam of an escort service (The Velvet Room), Margravine and, prior to her destruction, Baroness of the Red Court.
Bianca, like all her kind, is actually a repulsive monster inside the flesh of a beautiful woman. Harry earned her wrath by coming armed into her house during the investigation of one of her prostitutes' deaths, which climaxed with him attacking her with a handkerchief filled with sunshine. This injured her so that she needed to feed, and she fed too deeply on her favorite servant and killed her. She hated him for that, and blamed him for the death of her friend.
Bianca returns in Grave Peril, where she conspires with the Leanansidhe and Black Court vampires. She holds a masquerade ball and invites Harry with the intention of goading him into a fight, thus allowing her to kill him and possibly sparking off a war with the wizards. When that attempt fails and he ends up burning and killing many of the vampires, Bianca turns Harry's girlfriend Susan into a half-vampire, and says that she will forgive him all his past actions, but will keep Susan for herself. She is killed when Harry summons up the ghosts of all the vampires' victims.
The TV version of Bianca is very different from the book version. Bianca is a far more innocuous character, who takes in Harry while he's on the run, and even arranges safe passage elsewhere with little apparent intention of using it against him. She is a club owner and not a madam, and she becomes sexually involved with Harry.
Species: Human
Occupation: FBI agent in Chicago
Harry is arrested by Tilly after Rudolph manipulates the FBI into thinking Dresden should be the prime suspect in the destruction of the building in which Harry had his office. According to Dresden, Tilly's hand "tingles" when he shakes it indicating Tilly may have a small, latent, magical talent. Harry believes that may be what makes Tilly such a good investigator. Tilly seems to have an open mind and is very calm under pressure. He does not balk when Harry tells him about the supernatural and maintains his composure during a Red Court attack on the FBI's Chicago Division building. Harry nicknames Tilly "Slim." Karrin Murphy and Agent Tilly know each other well enough that Karrin shouts Barry to get his attention in the FBI building during the Red's attack.
Species: Dew Drop Fairy
First seen in Storm Front, Toot Toot is one of the "Little Folk" of the realm of Faerie. In Changes, Toot takes offense at being called a Domovoi, insisting that he is a Polevoi.
During Toot's first appearance, he threatens to tell the Queen Titania that the wizard had bound him into a circle, implying that Toot is bound to the Summer Court. However, he later indicates that he is a Wyldfae and is only called to a court during times of war.
He is described as a tiny pale lavender creature surrounded by a silver nimbus of light with silver dragonfly wings and a shaggy mane of pale magenta hair (later described as lavender in both Small Favor and Changes). In Storm Front, he is first estimated to be about six inches in height, but he grows substantially as the series progresses.
By Small Favor Toot has doubled in size and is in command of the "Za Lord's" guard, protecting the brownies (Harry has as a faerie cleaning service) from "the dread beast Mister" and acting as a pest exterminator for Harry's apartment. The little folk get past Harry's threshold, the protective barrier around his home that repels supernatural beings. Harry has stated that the little folk are everywhere anyhow, and anywhere they are not they can get to. So it seems that most measures to keep out magic and mundane creatures are not effective against pixies. The Za Lord's guard consists of a number of little folk Harry freed during White Night. This increase in power may have resulted in Toot Toot's larger size.
In Summer Knight, he, along with other pixies, surprised and killed Aurora (the Summer Lady), with steel box cutters (iron being a bane to fae.) The pixies were able to wield the box cutters due to their plastic handles.
Toot Toot is intelligent but often behaves innocent of danger and tends to act very childishly even while being serious, such as writing "pizza or death" on his box knife and imitating Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket. Toot, like all little folk, has a relatively short memory, watches a great deal of events concerning mortals as entertainment, is insane about pizza, as are all pixies, and has a higher emotional state due to his size. Harry's relationship with him has changed since Storm Front: where once Harry would have trapped Toot and bribed him with pizza until he did what he wanted, now he treats Toot with far more respect, and only has to call for him and offer payment. Toot is very loyal to Harry. In Turn Coat, Toot attacked a very large and powerful entity (the Skinwalker) in an attempt to protect Harry.
By the novel Turn Coat Toot has amassed quite an army under the "Za Lord" and is noted by Harry to be the tallest Dewdrop fairy he has ever met (standing a full 12 inches tall). In Changes, Toot is described as being "the size of a hunting falcon" and "nearly fifteen full inches" tall. This may be building into something more grand as in the world of the Fae, belief and followers equal power and if Toot continues to recruit more into the "Za Lord's Army" he may become an unattached Faerie with quite a lot of power.
Species: Outsider (a being from beyond the Outer Gates)
First summoned by Harry's former mentor and dark wizard Justin DuMorne to capture or kill Harry. Dresden somehow managed to escape He Who Walks Behind and kill Justin when the Outsider was dismissed. Resummoned in the novel Blood Rites, He Who Walks Behind is described as a dark presence, a terrifying shadow or mist that creeps upon you unseen and undetected, possibly indicating where it gets its name. He Who Walks Behind states that it has not forgotten Harry and was not officially dismissed at the end of the novel, leaving many to believe that Harry will someday have to confront the Outsider yet again. Harry carries a mark on his soul, visible to the Wizard's Sight, from his encounter with He Who Walks Behind; its effects, if any, are unknown.
Dresden's first encounter with He Who Walks Behind is told in more detail in Ghost Story. While attempting to rob a convenience store for money to survive after escaping Justin DuMorne's attempts to enthrall - and when that failed, kill - Harry, he sees the physical appearance of The Walker as reflected on the screen of an arcade machine (but not actually visible in the store), which he describes as being "more or less humanoid," with proportions including shoulders which are too wide, arms which are too long, and crooked, too-thick legs, and being covered in fur or scales or "some scabrous, fungal amalgamation of both." The Walker attacks Dresden and forces him to run outside the store, and he catches The Walker in an explosion of the store's fuel pumps with a fire spell (fire being as dangerous to immortal beings as mortal beings in the Dresdenverse) in anger after The Walker kills the clerk of the store Dresden was robbing.
Species: Archangel
In Small Favor, Harry inexplicably finds himself able to use Soulfire, the Heavenly equivalent to Hellfire. After Michael Carpenter is near-fatally injured, and Harry heads to a hospital chapel to rant at God. An elderly janitor comes by to talk to him about God's true nature and suggests that an archangel was helping in their work, then vanishes, leaving behind a copy of Tolkien's "The Two Towers" with the line "The burned hand teaches best" underlined. Mab hints to Harry that the janitor he met really was "The Watchman", whom she later identifies as Uriel, although she orders Harry not to say his name lightly.
He later learns that his Soulfire is likely a gift from the archangel Uriel, who seems to have taken an interest in him. Mab states that "Of the archangels, I like him the most. He is the quiet one. The subtle one. The one least known. And by far the most dangerous." Most of his actions are either unknown or conjecture. He is, according to Bob, the angel responsible for the deaths of the firstborn of Egypt.
Harry also learns that he can not use the Soulfire too much, as it is fueled with his soul. However, in time, souls regenerate through having a good time and doing things that "uplift the human spirit".
In the short story, "Warrior" published in the anthology Mean Streets (January 2009), Uriel appears as "Jake" to Dresden in the final scene. Dresden believes he may be having a hallucination due to head trauma or the scotch he is drinking. Nevertheless, Dresden carries on a discussion with Uriel in the balcony of St. Mary of the Angels Church. Uriel appears in response to Harry's musing over the argument Michael has with the fallen priest, Father Douglas. Uriel admits "I don't exactly make it a habit to do this, but if you've got questions, ask them". Harry and Uriel then have a conversation and Uriel explains to Harry that his actions often have "metaphorical" outcomes. He then explains how Harry often does good by his interactions with people separate from his magical actions. He then points to acts of kindness done this very day that have long term positive outcomes on the people Dresden has interacted with. Uriel tells Harry that God, while allowing free will and choice, often places people into the "right" situations. Uriel also tells Harry that he has often been manipulated by God into such situations. He also discusses Harry's actions at the end of Small Favor which resulted in Michael's near death. Dresden jokes that "You dragged me into this mess. You can pay me, same as any other client.." Uriel expresses disbelief "you're trying to bill the Lord God Almighty?" and then Uriel disappears leaving Harry alone to ponder what he has just learned.
Uriel appears in a new form in Changes when Harry summons him and asks for his help in retrieving Maggie. Uriel sadly says that he has already overreached what he is allowed to do for Harry and that he is unable to do more at the moment, but offers him some peace of mind by revealing that Maggie is indeed his own daughter.
In Ghost Story, it is revealed that Uriel--or at least his people--has been manipulating Harry to move on Earth as a soul without a body, a "gamble" that infuriates Mab. At the end of the novel, he shows Harry what has become of his allies and helps him to resist Mab by whispering in his ear; however, when Harry familiarly calls him "Uri," Uriel reacts with great anger and frightens Harry ("El" being a Hebrew word for God, Uriel's anger toward Dresden may not have come from his familiarity, but with his dropping of what Uriel deems to be "rather important to who and what [he is]".) Harry's dropping of the "-el" from his name also appears to frighten Uriel as well as Harry. This is supported by Uriel not objecting to another nickname that Harry proposes: Mr. Sunshine.
In all of his appearances, Uriel seems to be greatly concerned with protecting mortals' free will and maintaining balance among the angelic beings.
Species: Shapeshifting Wolf (?)
Tera, the fiancée of Harley MacFinn in the book Fool Moon, was seen as a supernatural being, most likely from the NeverNever, as when she looked into Harry's eyes there was no soulgaze. She was able to change form into that of a wolf at will and seemed to move much more gracefully than any other of the types of werewolf. At the end of the novel, she transformed into a wolf and joined a pack, causing Harry to surmise that she was, in fact, actually a wolf that was able to take on the form of a human, using similar means as that of a "classic" werewolf.
Species: Human (Wizard?)
"Maggie" is the daughter of Harry Dresden and Susan Rodriguez, born approximately nine months after "Death Masks" (when Harry and Susan had their last sexual encounter). Susan named her daughter after Harry's mother and hid her with a family she was friends with, concealing her birth from her father. They were betrayed by Susan's partner Martin, and Maggie was kidnapped by Duchess Arianna Ortega. The Red Court planned to kill her great-grandfather Ebenezer McCoy with a bloodline curse, but Harry and his friends managed to rescue her before the ritual sacrifice.
Maggie was placed in the care of Father Forthill, so he could find a safe place for her to live. He did this by placing Maggie in the family of Michael Carpenter. Mouse acts as her personal protector and companion. It is not yet known if Maggie has any wizard powers, or what effect her time with the Red Court vampires will have on her.
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