History Awesome / CodexAlera

* Another BestServedCold moment for Gaius: sending High Lord Rhodes (another member of the cabal that killed Septimus) out against the Vord, where he promptly gets ganked by the Vord Queen. Thus proving the Vord are a threat to the rest of the Citizenry, gaining intelligence about the Queen's capabilities, and simultaneously taking revenge after waiting for 20-plus years. {{Magnificent Bastard}}ry at its finest.

* [[NoNonsenseNemesis Fidelias]] [[HeelFaceTurn serving Lady Acquitane his resignation]]... via [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill a balest bolt coated with the worst poison he could get his hands on]]. Shame it didn't entirely take...

** And when [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking High Lady Antillus]] calls him on it, [[RefugeinAudacity he steals her coin purse so he can bribe Foss to let him stay aboard his wagon]].

* Gaius Sextus, after spending most of the book being [[TheLoad largely useless in combat]] because he needs to avoid using his furies to keep from alerting Kalarus (which also means he [[{{Determinator}} has to walk the entire distance to Kalare]]), finally unleashes his full and unmitigated wrath, and we get to see the power of the House of Gaius in action. The short of it is that he takes on an entire Kalaran Legion - over ''six thousand men'' - and [[CurbstompBattle kills them all at once, in the blink of an eye.]] In Alera, AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, and Gaius ''proves'' it.

** And he does it by [[WarriorTherapist figuring out why]] she's AxCrazy and hammering that BerserkButton like it dispensed free candy, [[SanityHasAdvantages giving himself the decisive advantage]].

* Doroga lifting and throwing a coffin-sized boulder, crushing the partially-formed creature the larval Vord Queen that's trying to kill Tavi and Kitai.

** While the catapults themselves are a game-changer, Bernard's plan took it UpToEleven by previously having Earthcrafters draw every possible bit of coal and oil deep in the ground up to just below the grass. The results were predictably devastating.

* A villainous example, when the Vord Queen {{Out Gambit}}ted Invidia's triple cross plan and the Alerans' assassination attempt by creating a body double and striking the moment it was killed and Invidia attacked. In seconds she killed High Lord Phrygius, maimed Antillus Raucus, debilitated Aria and cut off Sandos Placida so effectively all he could do was survive the onslaught. Four of Alera's strongest, most capable fighters and the Vord Queen cut through them like cord wood.

* A villainous example, when the Vord Queen {{Out Gambit}}ted Invidia's triple cross plan and the Alerans' assassination attempt by creating a body double and striking the moment it was killed and Invidia attacked. In seconds she killed High Lord Phrygius, maimed Antillus Raucus, debilitated Aria and cut off Sandos Placida so effectively all he could do was survive the onslaught. Four of Alera's strongest, most capable fighters and the Vord Queen cut through them like cord wood.]]

* While it's topped later, Tavi [[spoiler:setting the Wax Forest ON FIRE]] gave us an idea of what to expect from him...

* Doroga lifting and throwing a coffin-sized boulder, crushing the partially-formed creature [[spoiler:the larval Vord Queen]] that's trying to kill Tavi and Kitai.

* [[spoiler: Fade dropping the facade and taking on Aldrick, and defeating him by "thinking in curves."]]
** Throughout the entirety of the book, Aldrick has been telling everyone who has tried to take him - a Cursor, Knights, soldiers - that the only man who could beat him was Araris Valerian, and that they ''aren't'' Araris. And then a slave shows up with a sword. [[spoiler: Yes Aldrick, he ''is'' Araris Valerian]]. Go cry now.
* Amara [[spoiler:returning Fidelias' knife to him.]]

* Mix of a [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Crowning Moment of Funny]] and CMOA: [[spoiler: Tavi arriving with Doroga and his gargant: "Uncle Bernard! Uncle Bernard!" he shouted pointing at Doroga. "He followed me home! Can we keep him?"]]

** Becomes FridgeBrilliance when we learn in ''Captain's Fury'' [[spoiler: Tavi is Octavian, Gaius' grandson]] and that [[spoiler: Canim can tell who an Aleran is related to by smell.]] So when Tavi pulls rank on Varg, [[spoiler: he's ''telling the truth, and Varg knows it- even though Tavi doesn't.'']]

** While he was at it, he also [[IShallTauntYou mocked the hell out of]] a DirtyCoward EvilSorcerer, humiliating him in front of his troops. [[spoiler:And later killed him.]]

* Tavi manages the ''most awesome speech ever'' at the end of the book. Because just when he gets to the good part, [[spoiler:''a volcano blows up'' a few hundred miles away]], making the sky turn red and the ground shake. He's as surprised as everyone else, but decides to just go with it, leaving them to assume it happened because Tavi is ''just that badass''.