So according to the recent posts in WoG, Jim planted elements and plot points in the early books that we won't see the payoff of for many books yet.

That got me thinking: what elements of the early (ie, first two or three) books do we want to see recur? Especially since it's accepted around here that the first few books weren't particularly strong.

Jim says we'll (maybe) get to see Santa Claus at some point. But what else would you like to see again? Three-Eye? Tera West? Chauncey?

Were there any off-hand remarks that ever stuck out to you as odd or out of place, or just so awesome they must be seen again?

 

Jim has already said that Chauncy was more like a file clerk in Hell than anything else, so it's unlikely we'll see him around, but remember that Harry did barter three of his Names to him and knowing Jim that's going to come round and seriously bite him in the ass.

That said, chances are Harry's Name now compared to then is significantly different due to, you know, everything that has happened since that occasion (burnt hand, Thomas, Lash and Seeing Shagnasty spring to mind).

 

More about Kincaids true nature. I wanna see Kincaid kick some serious ass at one point. I still wouldnt mind knowing more about that athame Lea got at the auction.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing some magical artifacts like the bear belt buckle or the potion that made him like the wind come back. The handkerchief full of sunshine and things like that always seemed pretty cool to me.

But, as far as people or things I'd like to see, I'd have to second Kincaid's true nature. But I really want Cowl to make another appearance.

 

In the third book Harry bounded Nightmare to himself, when he was wrongly thinking it was him behind spiritual attacks. I'm still waiting for a moment when he will be back to get revenge on Dresden.

 

The problem with bringing back magical artifacts is that so much of his stuff was destroyed in Changes. Even if it physically survived somehow, Harry said that fire is a magical purifier, it would be next to worthless.

 

I've always wondered if Kincaid meant more by that comment, considering he's part demon.

 

The True Names of mortals aren't constants. If those three portions of his True Name from Fool Moon and earlier still fit him after ten books, I'll eat my hat.

 

Yeah, I get that, those were just examples. But if the Harry of Storm Front could create them, then the Harry of Changes wouldn't have much of a problem I'm thinking. Or hoping, at least.

 

This. Fool Moon Harry was a relatively strong wizard who wasn't even written well.

Changes Harry wiped out an entire species and, at one point, resurrected a dinosaur.

 

Not to mention Apocalyto'd the mother of his child.

I'm curious to learn how hiss mental state and his bond to Winter will affect his enchanting. We already know he can't trap sunshine in a hankerchief because he's not been happy in a long while. Will he start finding using ice easier than before and switch consciously or unconsciously to that element?

I would like to see Tera again and get an explanation of just how a real fucking wolf was walking around as a person. Perhaps this is an indicator of her power. Maybe she's some sort of wolfen spirit/god. She'll need to be if she wants to survive in Harry's new weight class.

Also this takes place much later but I really would love to see the skinwalker again. Awesome bad guy that puts other awesome bad guys in their place is awesome.

 

I want to know more about Cowl and Kumori. Ringwraiths? Dementors? Harry and Molly from an alternate universe? We must know!

 

I want dragons. Also, moar Elaine. I don't want more Kincade. Kincade's master, Dracula's daddy, would be cool, though. We probably haven't seen the last of Mavra. Or the Denarians. Archive is always fun.

Mostly, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to a dude when he dies, as well as what comes as a result of killing every Red Court vampire in the world. War's over, but there's gonna be hella power vacuum in the supernatural community.

Edit: Just remembered the conversation Dresden had with his father in Summer Knight. That will probably be mentioned at some point, now that he's going to get another chance to meet up with him.

Edit the second: Also, Lash.

 

I don't really get it.

How come no one said Lash?

EDIT: Nevermind, didn't carefully read OP.

I'd like to see Dresden using potions again. I'm not really sure what else from the 1st three books I'd like to see.

 

Off the top of my head from the first couple books:

1) Potions
2) Lea's Athame
3) Another Loup-Garou

From later books, I'd definitely like to see more from Cowl (which is almost a given) and the naagloshii. It would also be incredibly awesome if zombie-Sue ever gives a repeat performance.

 

I'm almost positive that was Dead Beat, not Summer Knight.

 

I'm pretty sure it was Summer Knight. When he was being drowned in mud by Aurora.

 

No, it was in Dead Beat. Their first conversation was a dream thing just before he and Thomas went for their run on the beach and the second conversation was at the end after Mavra left. Nobody appeared during the mud-drowning incident in Summer Knight, but the Gatekeeper showed up afterwards.

 

IIRC, the mud thing was where he remembered the spell he and Elaine had made when they were kids, which is the spell he was bound with, and also remembered that the spell had a fatal flaw in it that he could exploit to escape.

 

True, though can it really be said that Harry's personality has changed all that much. Sure, events have moulded him in a certain way, but he still retains a good number of characteristics from then that may still conceivably retain the Link that his Name would forge.

Remember as well that when Elaine and Harry exchanged Names it was before she had been enthralled by Justin and went through years of psychological trauma because of it (arguable though it is that she faked that story to get close to Harry), and her Name still worked in White Night.

And in order:

Kincaid was the right hand man of Drakul himself. That's going to be awesome once it's explained fully.

The athame is a Major Plot Point and as such will probably not be explained until way later.

The trinkets and potions Harry used in the earlier books are described by Jim as being crutches for Harry because he wasn't good enough at evocation to feel safe not using them. Potions especially were made as 'just in case' measures. Harry is more than powerful/skilled enough to do without them now.

What Harry thought was the Nightmare in Grave Peril was a demon, and it got killed by Amoracchius. Probably permanently.

I believe Tera West has been confirmed to turn up at some point.

Cowl will likely turn up when the Black Council is next involved. Kumori I have no idea.

The only dragon we've met so far is Ferrovax, who Jim has said will only turn up in the Big Apocalyptic Trilogy at the end. He's major league, as in Mab herself would be wary of fighting him head on. Same goes for Titania.

I'd like Drakul to turn up at some point too, though I think he's probably out of Harry's league even at this point. Ebenezar called him the Beast, as if being the father of Dracula wasn't bad enough, so we know he's major bad news.

Jim isn't the type to reuse old villains in the same way (and Loup-Garou don't really change their habits well), so I doubt we'll see one of those. It'd be pretty cool though, I think I'm among the minority in that I liked Fool Moon, if only for the various werewolves.

Finally, I've got a feeling that Mavra is going to end up being the Big Bad at the end of it all. If you check out one of the more popular theories on the JB forums it'll tell you that the Black Death (bubonic plague in our world) was in fact a plague of Black Court Vampires (created by Tessa from Dracula and spreading from there). Only the reason this is such a bad thing is that Master Black Court Vamps gain power from the people they and their offspring kill/turn. Think of it like the Lords of the Outer Night on crack and you get the idea. Now realise that the total number of deaths from the Black Death was about 75-100 million people. The United States has over 300 million people in total. China has over a billion.

Mavra wants to make herself more powerful than the 30 Black Court Elders put together. They're the ones that the White Court, Red Court, White Council and both Fae Courts formed an alliance in order to combat (and they brought in the mortals, who are widely regarded as being the nukes of the supernatural world). And hey, the Whites have been neutered, the Reds genocided, the Council is fragmenting and the Faerie Courts are being thrown into disarray (Aurora and Lea being the prominent examples).