| “ | A mage's true nature is to be an agent of change. Okay, sure, things seem bleak. The world is a much darker and scarier place than it was already. But remember this, kid. Mages care. While others accept the status quo we challenge it. We might not always agree on what the future should look like, but we never give up on it. Things will get tough, even tragic, but hey it's in the job description. Long as you're up for making things better. | „ |
| ~ Harry Dresden |
Harry Dresden, full name Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, is a powerful mage who works as a private investigator and a self-proclaimed Master of the Mystic Arts.
Appearance[]
Harry Dresden appears as a middle-aged Caucasian man of Swedish descent from his mother's side. He stands over six feet tall with a lanky build. Harry often appears wearing a black canvas duster but when in combat he manifests into a blue unembroidered stole over his formal black robe and often wears brown dress shoes or red Converse shoes. He has light black hair that is unkempt and short, a bad-guy goatee and five o'clock shadow; he tries to shave regularly, but his lifestyle frequently leaves him looking scruffy.
Overview[]
Harold Copperfield Dresden was born on Halloween, to Margaret LeFay and Malcolm Dresden; the former being a powerful witch that meddled with the fae. After the death of his mother and father, Harry was orphaned and would not discover his powers until he was ten years old. He was adopted by Justin DuMorne, a mage and former member of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, who took him as his apprentice but only because Harry was incessant in forcing DuMorne to teach him about the ways of magic.
He would be trained by DuMorne in the ways of magic and the Multiverse, as well as learning and controlling the nine spheres of magic which are described the nine facets of reality that a mage can control, each one is broad and together, they attempt to describe the sum of reality. However, Dresden would be betrayed by DuMorne who opted to sacrifice him to Fuzon after seeing the young mage's potential into perhaps learning about the fabled tenth sphere magic as well as utilizing it which would aid Fuzon in being free from his prison. Dresden faced DuMorne in a duel to the death and won alongside fellow adoptee and colleague Elaine Mallory.
Following the demise of DuMorne and the defeat of Fuzon's followers, Dresden then became the new protector of the Sanctum Sanctorum, settling in Chicago where he spent three years gaining his license as a private investigator, seeking to defend the Earth from other inter-dimensional threats, and often working alongside Libra as well to defend humanity from the paranatural and mystically dangerous forces.
Personality[]
The first thing anyone who meets Harry notices is that he is an irredeemable wise guy. He has a tendency to respond to dangerous, uncomfortable, or frustrating situations with fine tuned sarcasm, even when he wishes he could keep his mouth shut. Although he has a good heart, Dresden has shown to get annoyed and frustrated with everyone around him, especially his friends and allies, as he can be harsh and would lose his temper with them at times.
When he loses his temper he has a tendency to lash out with vast destructive power, causing immense property damage. Harry’s job requires him to make many tough choices, and there is almost never a clear distinction between good and evil. He is both aware of, and terrified by, his own dark side, which leads him to often question whether or not he is becoming the very things he fights. However, despite his annoyances and frustration, Dresden has shown to be understanding as he gets that those around him had good intentions and their hearts were in the right place. Also, Dresden would make an honest effort in making amends for his actions and mistakes, especially if he realized how badly he messed up, hurt and pushed those he cares about away.
Those who truly know him quickly figure out that at his core Harry genuinely wants to help people. He hates seeing innocent people hurt and has frequently put his life in danger for complete strangers. But even so, he retained a cocky attitude when dealing with people and things, as seen in how he behaved when he went to borrow books from McCoy. This, coupled with his inquisitiveness and willingness to break rules, made him an odd one in the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and constantly an annoyance to many of his peers. However, due to this nature of his, he was also more willing to compromise and be somewhat flexible with his principles.
Harry lives according to the belief that magic comes from human life, and that it should be used to protect, not destroy. During the course of his journey in learning and harnessing the powers presented by the nine spheres of magic, Dresden has learned to comprehend his limits and despite his success at the hands of Fuzon's defeat, he has begun to realize the natural order should not be entirely disturbed, as he came to terms with the fact that some forces are beyond his or anyone's control. While displaying maturity, he never loses his old habits such as making sarcastic comments and jokes when talking to others.
Powers and Abilities[]
Harry Dresden is one of the most powerful human mages in history, wielding a vast repertoire of magical powers. Initially, Harry's skills at magic were quite low hence his evocation, or 'quick and dirty' magic, he steadily and quickly advanced in the study of the mystic arts, impressing the likes of several archmages when informed of his performance. With the help of numerous mystical artifacts and relics, in addition to his astral powers, Dresden is able to gain access to a multitude of mystical powers. And with his subsequent mastery over some of the Nine Spheres of Magic, he is able to perform telekinesis, telepathy, flight, transmutation, illusions, and astral projecting.
Dresden uses a staff as means of focusing his magic. With it, he can cast some of the greatest offensive and defensive spells which manifest through esoteric mandalas. He can also tap into extra-dimensional forces that are tied to magic to harness their powers. This also includes powers from the Demon World where he can utilize black magic but rarely does he ever resort to it. This can take the form of standard spells or just state what he wants to occur and channeling some being to make it happen. When on the offense, Dresden casts a simple spell to shoot either a large blast or multiple smaller blasts of concentrated magic. Like most modern mages, Dresden is capable of casting defensive magic in the form of hexagonal protective barriers that can defend specific locations or encircle the caster. His shields are so powerful they have been shown to protect Abigail, Lucas, Integra, and Seras from the intense output of Derous's unrestrained Dragon Install which could instantly incinerate them if not for Harry's shields.
Deserving of his title as an archmage, Harry is the fourth known individual to quickly learn, adapt, and even master the Nine Spheres of Magic and being the second human overall to do so with the first being Flamme, a Great Archmage from ages past. This is no minor feat as a majority of mages can only learn up to three of the Nine Spheres at a time. Justin DuMorne stated that to understand the principles of the Nine Spheres is to truly understand the nature of the universe and its workings. So far, he has displayed the following: Correspondence allows him to teleport, see into distant areas, levitate, and fly. At higher levels, he can co-locate himself or even stack different spaces within each-other. Forces allows him to understand and wield energetic Patterns, among them heat, light, vibration, radiation and gravity. Matter has him understand the basic principle of the physical world which governs the elements from the periodic table in all their physical conditions. Mind allows him to manipulate the minds of others. And finally Spirit helps him view into the world beyond the mortal veil.