Hi. My name is Harry Dresden, I'm a wizard - I've been a wizard since I was ten. I don't have a sober date from my magic use. But. There are supernatural presences in the city, I'm one of them. I know some stuff about the others. And I get why anyone would be afraid. The sane reaction is to be afraid. But you also have to be smart about it.
So here's some guidelines about those I know or suspect to be hanging around the city.
General rules:1. Don't make yourself a target. What that means is you need to find a balance between aggression and submission. If you face a vampire or a werewolf and look overly aggressive while doing so it will cause tension and you may be tempting them to fight, even if you don't mean to. Alternately, if you show yourself as being weak you will paint yourself as a viable target. Predators pick the weak and dying. If you need help figuring this out, I will help you.
2. Wizards exist. Bad wizards are called warlocks. Bad wizards will use bad magic and try to hurt you. You can avoid this in the most basic ways by never leaving around nail clippings, hair, or blood. If you suspect someone is or may target you with bad magic
tell me or Carlos Ramirez. We're trained to handle these situations.
3. Trust your instincts. Magic, the supernatural and the creatures therein leave a residue in the air and around them, and you can typically feel if something's off about a situation. Know your body, know it's reactions, and know what you'd do normally in situations in the event you start behaving differently.
4. Your home is your safehouse. Most of these creatures cannot cross thresholds unless they're invited. Be absolutely certain about the people you invite into your home. And if you're not certain, let them in without an invitation. It will cripple any supernatural creature to a fraction of what they're capable of. Which really pisses everyone off, but they'll not be able to hurt you.
Dealing with vampires: 1. To my knowledge there are three different types of vampires.
a. Red Court. - Reds are creatures that disguise themselves as humans, and prey upon actual humans. They drink blood. When they're in their natural forms they're these giant creepy looking bat-like things. They are really, really super fast and strong. And they can shrug off a massive amount of damage in a really unfair turn around time. But, they are vulnerable to sunlight, and if you cut open their bellies during an attack it will disable them, if not kill them. Their saliva has a narcotic in it, which will make you less and less inclined to resist them and is highly addictive.
b. Black Court. Blacks are creepy undead things that smell like rotting corpses and don't look much better. These are classic vampires and can be found in Dracula, since we published the book so everyone would know anyway. Their weaknesses are all of Dracula's. Garlic, tokens of faith (any faith), sunlight, running water and cutting their heads off. They're also super quick, superior and smarter than most humans. They also sleep during the day but their dens are not easily penetrable. If you suspect a Black is after you or someone you know Do Not go after them yourself. You will die.
c. White Court. Whites are the most human in appearance and nature. They feed on energy and human emotion - lust, fear, and despair. They're not as strong, fast or deadly as the other courts, but that also means they don't have the same weaknesses. Sunlight, tokens of faith, garlic etc. do not bother Whites at all. The best way to deal with Whites is not get involved with them if you can help it. They can cross thresholds uninvited, but it leaves their abilities at the door.
Faeries: 1. Do not make deals with faeries. Period. Do not talk to them, suggest anything to them or ask them questions. They cannot divulge information without you paying them back for it. They literally can't.
2. If you have a death wish and want to talk to them anyway and you're not certain what they're saying is true, compel them three times with the same question and they'll answer true. They can't lie, but they make a game of twisting words. Never trust what a faerie says, period.
3. You can't win against them in fights. They're immortal, they're nature itself and you'll only really piss them off if you try. But they're susceptible to iron and it really freaking hurts.
Werewolves: 1. There are two main uh... categories, with sub-categories. A werewolf is a person who can transform into a wolf with magic. That's the only magic they know how to use and only their bodies change. The rest of their minds stay human, so they know what they're doing the entire time, and can do it with the abilities of a wolf.
Wolven theriomorphs include hexenwolves, loup garous and lycanthropes. I have less information on these than I'd like, but it'd be easier to answer specific questions than giving general guideliens since they have specific details. There's no one way to fight these guys off other than not trying if you don't have the skill. Some of them are human some of them the wolf entirely. And it's hard to tell on a good day.
Angels & Demons:Just don't.
Zombies:No one kills Georgia Mason that doesn't know how to kill zombies or create their own hazmat zone. If you try to eat her, kill her, or do anything else that makes her die a little she'll die and kill the rest of us doing so. Okay?
addedYeah, okay. I'm going to be the first one to bite the bullet and be honest. You know, as a show of faith, or whatever.
I've got this thing
inside going on with me that's dangerous for everyone. It's called a Mantle, the Winter Mantle, and it makes me have some questionable motives. I'm working on containing it, but it's best if you just know how to handle it.
I'm highly allergic to iron, and it really really pisses me off when it touches me. But if you stick me properly it'll.. stop me in my tracks pretty effectively. Don't tell me what piece of iron you're carrying or where you have it because I'll know to be wary of it. Which is the exact opposite of this message.
And if you stick me just to see what happens you won't like it. Period.
And as Fix has said, if you're afraid of me, I do something bad, or questionable contact him or Michael Carpenter. They're the best bet you have of stopping me from being stupid.
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