Mab

Mab is a Faerie and the Queen of the Winter Court; she is also called the Queen of Air and Darkness. She is the daughter of Mother Winter, and mother of the Winter Lady and Summer Lady. She first appears in Summer Knight.

Description
Mab is one of the most powerful beings in the Dresdenverse. Throughout the series, she has shown unusual interest in Harry Dresden.

About 6' tall, with long white hair (usually described as flowing all the way down her back), she has green cat-slitted eyes, very pale skin, and lips the color of frozen mulberries. She is ruthless, and although she is capable of compassion, this is very rare. Mab is, however always good for her word. She was once mortal.

Her main goal in life is to maintain the balance between the two Courts, and the protection of reality against the Outsiders. Since her court is tasked with defending against Outsiders that are constantly trying to invade, she will do absolutely anything to achieve this. She is also the creator of the Unseelie Accords.

Small Favor
In Small Favor, she does not speak for herself but used Grimalkin as her "voice" instead. When she does speak, it is described as razor sharp and shakes the area where Harry is, making his nose and ears bleed. Harry reasons that the cause of this condition is because of her fury over the attack on Arctis Tor (the real reason is later revealed in Cold Days.)

Changes
In Changes, Mab still has need of a translator, using the Leanansidhe to speak for her. She said it's for his sake so he doesn't scream in agony bleeding from his ears. The Leanansidhe stated that her voice is part of her power and her rage is too great to be contained.

Cold Days
In Cold Days, Mab revealed that the real reason she used Grimalkin as her "voice" was due to her anger that Maeve was possessed by Nemesis.

Summer Knight
Mab was first introduced in Summer Knight, when she informed Harry that she purchased the debt that he made with his godmother, the Leanansidhe. She told him that she will make the contract void, if Harry will perform three tasks for her; the first being an investigation of the death of the former Summer Knight, Ronald Reuel. At the end, due to the Winter Knight, Lloyd Slate's betrayal, Mab offers Harry the newly-opened position, in place of his two remaining favors. Harry refuses.

Dead Beat
In Dead Beat, her next appearance, Harry tried to call up his godmother for information about the Erlking, and gets Mab instead, because Lea is "tied up" due to the same disturbance with the athame, of which she's now in possession of. (“I do not tolerate challenges to my authority,” she said. One pale hand drifted to the hilt of the knife at her belt. “Certain events had convinced your godmother that she was no longer bound by my word and will. She is now learning otherwise.”) Mab reveals that she hasn't yet found a replacement Knight, and that Lloyd Slate's still alive and being tortured. She makes him the offer again. Again, he refuses.

Proven Guilty
In Proven Guilty, both Lily and Maeve express concern that Mab is going insane. Mab's stronghold of Arctis Tor is invaded - presumably by the Black Council - and Harry ends up accidentally dumping Summer Fire (given to him by Lily), into Winter's wellspring, to some unknown negative effect. Mab has a small cameo, in which she winks at him, as he leaves.

Small Favor
In Small Favor, Mab again offers him the Winter Knight mantle. She then gives him his second task; rescue Johnny Marcone, which translates into stop the Denarians. One of the Denarians, Thorned Namshiel, was part of the attack at Arctis Tor, and she wants revenge. She steals Harry's memory of fire magic, and his blasting rod, for the duration of the book, so that he won't further attract the attention of Summer, who have been after him.

Changes
In Changes, Harry becomes her Winter Knight, in order to save his daughter from the Red Court vampires, under the conditions that she restores his body to full health, gives him enough time to bring his daughter to safety, the knowledge and strength to succeed, and that she won't ask him to harm those he loves. She makes him promise not to commit suicide.

Ghost Story
In Ghost Story, Lea later admits that she was forced to sell Mab the debt because of the taint that she got from the athame at Bianca's Ball). Mab—with the help of Demonreach—fished Harry's body out of Lake Michigan, and kept it alive for six months, while he was on a spiritual walkabout.

Cold Days
In Cold Days, Mab puts Harry Dresden through seventy-seven days of tortuous "physical therapy" in which she tries to kill him in increasingly inventive ways every day in preparation of his tasks ahead. He is given Sarissa as a physical therapist. Mab holds a birthday party for him in which he has an altercation with Redcap. Mab orders Harry to kill Maeve.

Later, Harry deduces that Mab is unable to do so herself, due to her feelings as a mother and being filled with regret. In the end, she lost both her daughters in some manner. Mab told Harry that she was once mortal.

Mab does as needed to protect reality—protect the Outer Gates—which fall under the domain of Winter. Maeve is killed by Murphy.

Cold Case
In Cold Case, she charges Molly Carpenter to collect the tribute the Miksani owe the Winter Court. While executing this order, deals with the Holy Ascension of Our Lord cult's kidnapping of some children of the tribe, trying afterwards to share sex with Carlos Ramirez. When he gets badly hurt by her Mantle, Mab informs her that the children are the tribute the tribe owes the Court, and that Molly cannot escape her duty to collect them to be trained as soldiers against the Outsiders, and that her Mantle is bound to protect her virginity as embodiment of the Maiden aspect of the Triple goddess.

Quotes
Mab: “Yes. Wise enough to be afraid. To understand, at least in part. How does it feel, to know what you know, child?”

Mab: “You may serve, wizard, or you may be served. As a meal.”

Mab: “I adore freedom. Anyone who doesn’t have it wants it.”

Harry: “Spenser never mentions that the Faerie Queen has a great ass.”

Harry: “Think of every fairy-tale villainess you’ve ever heard of. Think of the wicked witches, the evil queens, the mad enchantresses. Think of the alluring sirens, the hungry ogresses, the savage she-beasts. Think of them and remember that somewhere, sometime, they’ve all been real.

“...Mab gave them lessons.”

Mab: “Mortal brute. Whatever your past, whatever your future, know this: I am Mab, and I keep my bargains. Question my given word again, ape, and I will finish freezing the water in your eyes.”

Mab: “So many scars... Your scars are beautiful things. Within and without.”

Mab: “So many terrible things are done for love. For love will men mutilate themselves and murder rivals. For love will even a peaceful man go to war. For love, man will destroy himself, and that right willingly.”

Mab: “The White Christ never suffered so long or so terribly as did this traitor. Three days on a tree. Hardly enough time for a prelude. When it came to visiting agony, the Romans were hobbyists.”

Mab: “I am Mab. The stars will rain from the sky before Mab fulfills not her word.”

Harry: “What we did wasn't sex, regardless of what it appeared to be. You can’t have sex with a thunderstorm, an earthquake, a furious winter gale. You can’t make love to a mountain, a lake of ice, a freezing wind.”

Harry: “For a few moments, I saw the breadth and depth of Mab’s power—and for a fleeting instant, the barest, tiniest glimpse of her purpose, as well, as our entwined bodies thrashed toward completion. I was screaming. I had been for a while.”

Mab: “Death is a spectrum, not a line.”

Mab: “There is much work to be done.”

Mab: “I was once mortal, you know.”

Sanya stood looking steadily at me. I coughed. I waited. Sanya: “So, Mab.” Harry: I grunted vaguely in reply. Sanya: “You hit that.” Harry: I did not look at him. My face felt red. Sanya: “You”—he scrunched up his nose, digging in his memory—“tapped that ass. Presumably, it was phat.” Harry: “Sanya!” Sanya: “I saw her once. Mab. Beautiful beyond words.” Harry: “Yeah.” Sanya: “And dangerous.” Harry: “Yes” Sanya: “And you are now her champion.” Harry: “Everybody’s gotta be something, right?” Sanya: “Joking about it. Good. You will need that sense of humor.”