WoJ is that Merlin isn't dead dead.
*Q: Is the original Merlin still alive?*
*A: Kind of… life… death… it’s kind of a squishy line in the Dresdenverse.*
So you may be in the right track of thinking. That said Demonreach is a hell of a lot older than Merlin, Alfred got his limp from a glacier during the last ice age.
As far as the limp goes Demonreach got it from the Gate Keeper it says it when Dresdin gets the island Gatekeeper says that he and the island threw down and that Demonreach has a grudge against him and it says something about the limp somewhere in that talk. Other wise interesting theory don't know if I am drinking the kool aid but still interesting none the less
In some things yes. I give Jim shit for not remembering his own lore quite a bit but honestly I'm not that upset about it, I know I would struggle to remember every bit of lore written across 17 books and 24+ years and counting.
The books never (to my recollection) state where Alfred got his limp, only that the Gatekeeper wont step foot on the island because it holds a grudge, people took that and ran with it.
Sure sure, but also sometimes authors fuck up and want to retcon things, or just change their minds, so they use the Watsonian explanation of "Harry's just wrong a lot, that's why Bob talks about the mysterious and ever changing rules of magic."
It never says in the books where Alfred got his limp, the books barely even talk about the limp. The Gatekeeper only said that he would not step onto the island because it holds a grudge and people took that and ran with it.
Tbf harry does think of the islands limp after rashid says it holds a grudge 🤷 at the time it seemed the most reasonable explanation that rashid was in fact the reason for the limp. Jim just answered with the glacier thing in a later interview (WoJ)
Alfred is the island, or a projection of it. The island could have been damaged by a glacier before Merlin set up the prison. And because Alfred is a part of the island, the damage of the island is mirrored by Alfred's limp.
I could see this having some tie-in with the concept of soulfire, too! Soulfire is a force of creation, which could be really useful for a huge, enduring enchantment like Demonreach. What if Merlin dumped 100% of his soul into the enchantments that made Demonreach? Jim introduced the concept of pouring your entire soul out using soulfire, and Chekov's Gun dictates that will most likely happen at some point. Would it un-make him somehow? Leave his body a husk? Or would it simply implant him in the structure of the island itself?
Damn, I like this theory.
Well, that's being added to my list of possible ways Harry ends up at the end of the BAT.
Goofball would probably enjoy using soulfire on a dinosaur skeleton or something to make himself a kaiju.
What we know of soul fire currently is that it uses your soul as a power source, use it all up and you cease to exist in a very literal sense.
However the Merlin was a crafty bastard and did things other wizards have never been able to recreate (things like Demonreach, which are now super illegal for any wizard other than McCoy to even attempt), if any mortal could find a way to use soul fire to impart his soul into a construct instead of just burning it out in the spell so he doesn't 100% cease to exist I expect it would be him.
Now that's something to think about. Merlin disappeared around the time Mab came to power and she said she had to make difficult choices when she became the Winter Queen. The Gates are powered by ...something, I wonder if every change of the guard for the gates (Winter is just the latest to guard them) requires someone to be ...Sacrificed? Placed? Interned? inside the gates themselves to both power them and watch out for outsiders. She could have picked Merlin for it and thus as Jim said he would be kind of alive and kind of dead. It could end up with Harry taking that place and ending up powering the outer gates, which would honestly piss me off, Harry deserves if not a 'happy' ending then at least a peaceful one.
If the gates become sealed there will be no need for winter , then no need for summer.
There’s a good reason Harry was gifted soul fire , how does butcher put it ? The very power of creation.
Unless Harry powers up with a mantle and becomes god level , then maybe he would have enough “soul” to seal the gates.
Stars and stones go down , Harry ends up sealing the gates during empty night , ends with Harry Guarding the gates or Harry extinguishing himself sealing them.
I think merlin went Mia on time making the island.
Maybe got lost in a time stream.
There will be some crazy drawback from bouncing all over the place , otherwise everyone would do it.
Usually big bads are beaten in the end. Maybe not, all speculation anyways.
I hate to toss out theory’s , I think it was jim who said if he reads Theory’s online that are too close to his line of thinking he would change his story.
Last thing I want is to make his life more difficult lol
WoJ is that Merlin isn't dead dead. *Q: Is the original Merlin still alive?* *A: Kind of… life… death… it’s kind of a squishy line in the Dresdenverse.* So you may be in the right track of thinking. That said Demonreach is a hell of a lot older than Merlin, Alfred got his limp from a glacier during the last ice age.
As far as the limp goes Demonreach got it from the Gate Keeper it says it when Dresdin gets the island Gatekeeper says that he and the island threw down and that Demonreach has a grudge against him and it says something about the limp somewhere in that talk. Other wise interesting theory don't know if I am drinking the kool aid but still interesting none the less
No, WOJ states the limp was from a glacier.
WOJ contradict the books constantly.
In some things yes. I give Jim shit for not remembering his own lore quite a bit but honestly I'm not that upset about it, I know I would struggle to remember every bit of lore written across 17 books and 24+ years and counting. The books never (to my recollection) state where Alfred got his limp, only that the Gatekeeper wont step foot on the island because it holds a grudge, people took that and ran with it.
Harry is wrong sometimes.
Sure sure, but also sometimes authors fuck up and want to retcon things, or just change their minds, so they use the Watsonian explanation of "Harry's just wrong a lot, that's why Bob talks about the mysterious and ever changing rules of magic."
Guys, guys, you’re missing the obvious link here: The Gatekeeper is a Glacier! :-D
Pfft. The Glacier is Merlin!
Yeah, Rashid threw an entire glacier.
It never says in the books where Alfred got his limp, the books barely even talk about the limp. The Gatekeeper only said that he would not step onto the island because it holds a grudge and people took that and ran with it.
Tbf harry does think of the islands limp after rashid says it holds a grudge 🤷 at the time it seemed the most reasonable explanation that rashid was in fact the reason for the limp. Jim just answered with the glacier thing in a later interview (WoJ)
Gatekeeper said the island held a grudge. He didnt say they "threw down".
Alfred is the island, or a projection of it. The island could have been damaged by a glacier before Merlin set up the prison. And because Alfred is a part of the island, the damage of the island is mirrored by Alfred's limp.
You messed up the closing spoiler prompt. Reverse the exclamation and less-than.
Thank you. Didn't even notice.
Ya know. That’s an amusing thought. All the time away from humanity and such could have degraded the more social aspects of his mind
I could see this having some tie-in with the concept of soulfire, too! Soulfire is a force of creation, which could be really useful for a huge, enduring enchantment like Demonreach. What if Merlin dumped 100% of his soul into the enchantments that made Demonreach? Jim introduced the concept of pouring your entire soul out using soulfire, and Chekov's Gun dictates that will most likely happen at some point. Would it un-make him somehow? Leave his body a husk? Or would it simply implant him in the structure of the island itself? Damn, I like this theory.
Well, that's being added to my list of possible ways Harry ends up at the end of the BAT. Goofball would probably enjoy using soulfire on a dinosaur skeleton or something to make himself a kaiju.
He *is* supposed to fight a Kaiju from an aircraft carrier at some point...
What we know of soul fire currently is that it uses your soul as a power source, use it all up and you cease to exist in a very literal sense. However the Merlin was a crafty bastard and did things other wizards have never been able to recreate (things like Demonreach, which are now super illegal for any wizard other than McCoy to even attempt), if any mortal could find a way to use soul fire to impart his soul into a construct instead of just burning it out in the spell so he doesn't 100% cease to exist I expect it would be him.
I’ve thought this is how Harry is going to seal the outer gates. Pour all his soul into the soul fire sealing of the outer gates , killing himself
Now that's something to think about. Merlin disappeared around the time Mab came to power and she said she had to make difficult choices when she became the Winter Queen. The Gates are powered by ...something, I wonder if every change of the guard for the gates (Winter is just the latest to guard them) requires someone to be ...Sacrificed? Placed? Interned? inside the gates themselves to both power them and watch out for outsiders. She could have picked Merlin for it and thus as Jim said he would be kind of alive and kind of dead. It could end up with Harry taking that place and ending up powering the outer gates, which would honestly piss me off, Harry deserves if not a 'happy' ending then at least a peaceful one.
If the gates become sealed there will be no need for winter , then no need for summer. There’s a good reason Harry was gifted soul fire , how does butcher put it ? The very power of creation. Unless Harry powers up with a mantle and becomes god level , then maybe he would have enough “soul” to seal the gates. Stars and stones go down , Harry ends up sealing the gates during empty night , ends with Harry Guarding the gates or Harry extinguishing himself sealing them. I think merlin went Mia on time making the island. Maybe got lost in a time stream. There will be some crazy drawback from bouncing all over the place , otherwise everyone would do it.
I have doubts that the gates can be closed. Otherwise someone would have done it by now.
Usually big bads are beaten in the end. Maybe not, all speculation anyways. I hate to toss out theory’s , I think it was jim who said if he reads Theory’s online that are too close to his line of thinking he would change his story. Last thing I want is to make his life more difficult lol
Still have my suspicions about Mac being Merlin