History Fanfic / Firelight

** [[spoiler: Nuala twice. The first time she turned against her friends, it was only because the apes tricked her with an illusion spell into thinking that they were holding hostage the last remaining pups of her species(Nuala's species was genocided by the apes) She was forced against her will to fight her friends and shifts back to their side after the ape commander tricking her, Coldbone, is dealt with.]] Completely subverted later in Balefire, [[spoiler: where she abuses and manipulates Charla, a child, to use her as a weapon against the apes and even tries to coerce her to attack Lance.]]

** [[spoiler: Nuala herself is a weird example. She becomes an abuser and is undeniably an antagonist to during the later arc of Balfire, having abused Charla and turned her against her friends, but is technically still on their side. After the others are captured by the apes and later pirates, she does come back to free them but its implied she still intends to use Charla as a weapon.]]

** [[spoiler: Nuala twice. The first time she turned against her friends, it was only because the apes tricked her with an illusion spell into thinking that they were holding hostage the last remaining pups of her species(Nuala's species was genocided by the apes) She was forced against her will to fight her friends and shifts back to their side after the ape commander tricking her, Coldbone, is dealt with.]] Later in Balefire, [[spoiler: she becomes abusive to Charla and sees her more as a weapon against the apes. Despite that, it's heavily implied that it's not out of malice she is abusing Charla so much as she is completely broken by being the last of her kind and is so desperate for revenge that she ceases the first potential opportunity she could to ensure it. Meredy's later dialogue about "not being aware of what she's doing" supports this.]]

** Jayce Bladelizard starts off as this. He is at first a greedy soldier who is part of an evil, genocidal army and was present for the massacre of a bunch of unborn dragons.( Though he couldn't really bring himself to smash any)But he only joined the army out of a genuine belief he was fighting for his people's justice against the dragons' past transgressions. Jayce at first took Charla's egg out of greed, thinking it was a gem. Twelve years later,he has become a caring adoptive father/ brother figure to Charla and has grown out of many of his worse traits. He more and less realizes how depraved his king and the army truly are and abandons them to run off with Charla.

* Arc Villain: Several, befitting the adventure nature of this story.

* BlackAndGreyMorality: Not Charla and Co themselves, but this is applicable to the war going on between dragons and apes. The apes are at a few points stated to have had legit grievances with the dragons in the past, such as the dragons trespassing and taking the ape's lands long ago, among other things. The modern-day dragon society is not without faults but are mostly reasonable and are mostly just trying to stop their species from being massacred by an evil army. Meanwhile, the apes have long since lost sight of any noble intentions or justifications they once had, and have subjugated much of the dragon realms and committed atrocities against countless innocents all for their own power.

** In chapter 39 of Firelight, [[spoiler: Spyro and Sparkx make a brief appearance. Charla only sees them briefly flying overhead and past her, but she does not get to interact with them directly. She is flabbergasted by this and does not believe it, since purple dragons like Spyro are believed to be a myth. Given how fast Spyro flew by , Charla does not fully believe that she actually saw him. Later, in chapter 17 of Balefire, Spyro's battle with Cynder in Convexity is depicted on a carving Charla see's while in the Sanglion Order's vision carving room.]]

** Jayce Bladelizard starts off as this. He is at first a greedy soldier who is part of an evil, genocidal army and was present for the massacre of a bunch of unborn dragons.( Though he couldn't really bring himself to smash any)But he only joined the army out of a genuine belief he was fighting for his people's justice against the dragons' past trangression. Jayce at first took Charla's egg out of greed, thinking it was a gem. Twelve years later ,he has become a caring adoptive father/ brother figure to Charla and has grown out of many of his worse traits. He more and less realized how depraved his king and the army truly are and abandons them to run off with Charla.

* AdroablyPrecouiusChild: Downplayed, but Charla embodies this. She tries really hard to be this but is still very much a child her age( twelve) and acts like it, despite her claims of being mature enough to be treated like an adult. She has demonstrated some maturity, however.

* Determinator: Charla will stop at nothing to make it to the Well of Souls to save her adopted family. No matter how far she has to trouble, or what kind of obstacles or enemies she has to overcome, she is determined to keep on her quest no matter what. Deconstructed, however, in that her journey is perilous and has even nearly gotten her, and her friends, killed many times over. She has even sacrificed a chance at a safe and normal life in Warfang just to continue her journey. [[spoiler: This comes to a head when her stealing the library key Chelcie was in charge of, in order to get ahold of a map she needed, ends up getting Chelcie in trouble, and her escape from Warfang worries and anger Lance, who points out to Charla how her unyielding determination to keep going on her quest has screwed over other at and calls into question if all the sacrifices and perils they face are truly worth the end result. ]]

* HonorBeforeReason: Lance's vow to not use his earth element. [[spoiler:While he does it to honor his late brother who could not use his element and died to the apes]], it is shown throughout the story how this is an unnecessary handicap for Lance and he is not really proving anything to any other dragon by using it. He does it to prove element-less dragons can fight as well, but most just dismiss him as stupid for doing this( and have reason to do so). There are many fights in the story where his powers would have come in handy, such as against rock golems he could have otherwise dispatched with ease, but he still stubbornly refuses to use them. Additionally, he has been out on his own for four years(it's been as long since he last used his element) and he has not even been really around anyone to prove his point to in that time anyways. Even gets lampshaded by different characters in the story.

** In Warfang, [[spoiler: Lance argues to Charla that they should wait out the war within the safety of the city and Charla needs to accept her family is likely gone, or at least they are impossible to rescue. While this may put Charla on the spot and more or less force her to abandon her family, Lance's argument has plenty of merit. The journey to the Well of Souls is extremely dangerous and full of dangers, infiltrating the Well itself and freeing too prisoners is likely impossible, and there is a very good chance Jayce and Silverback would have been dead anyways. That and Warfang offered them a good life and relative safety from the war; two things that few other places in the setting at can offer due to the war ravaging most settlements. Not even a city in the sky like Zephyr was safe.]]

** In chapter 39 of Firelight, [[spoiler: Spyro and Sparkx make a brief appearance. Charla only sees them briefly flying overhead and past her, but she does not get to interact with them directly. She is flabbergasted by this and does not believe it, since purple dragons like Spyro are believed to be a myth. Given how fast Spyro flew by , Charla does not fully believe that she actually saw him. Later, in Balefire, Spyro's battle with Cynder in Convexity is depicted on a carving Charla see's while in the Sanglion Order's vision carving room.]]

* TheCameo: Spyro and Sparkx only make a very brief appearance in the story, during the later chapters of Firelight. Charla only sees them briefly flying overhead and past her, but she does not get to interact with them directly.

* PoliceState: Downplayed, if not outright subverted. When Charla and Lance get to Warfang, they find the guards to be rather overbearing. It's implied no one is allowed to leave once they are in, or at least children are not, and that much of the city population is kept in the dark about a potential siege going on outside the city walls. However, many of the above-mentioned rules can be chalked up to the fact Charla and Lance are children and are thus would not typically be allowed to leave the city walls or wander the streets alone, at least without permission from adults(the guard who apprehended them thought they were school kids skirting classes). The city is very far from being outright oppressive and life in the city seems to be going fairly normally for its citizens, especially in spite of the war.
* WhamEpisode: In Balefire, a few of these happen within the WhisperGlade Forest. [[spoiler: When Meredy seeks aid from Pema about her bad traumas wearing her down and is taken to a pool of visions to help her relieve and accept them so that she can make peace and move on. She sees her memories of her escape from Zeyphr and the subsequent destruction of her home, as well as the traumatizing incident where she activated her wind magic nad tore several dreadwings apart. Charla sneaks in and see's the vision in full. Shortly after this, Charla sees a carving foretelling her taking part in some kind of ritual with the apes. ]]

** In Balefire, after they get out of the WhisperGlade forest, [[spoiler: Lance reminds Charla she is only a child and has a ton of learning to do, and her relationship with Nuala is unhealthy (after Lance notice the two spend a lot of time together and acting a bit suspicious). Though Charla is frustrated by this, Lance is shown to completely be right, considering how young Charla is (she is twelve) and how naive, impulsive, and childish Charla acts; factors that Nuala is indeed using to take advantage of her and use her as a weapon. Charla's refusal to acknowledge any of this only further proves Lance's point, and makes her more vulnerable to Nuala's abuse and manipulation.]]

** In Warfang, [[spoiler: Lance argues to Charala that they should wait out the war within the safety of the city and Charla needs to accept her family is likely gone, or at least they are impossible to rescue. While this may put Charla on the spot and more or less force her to abandon her family, Lance's argument has plenty of merit. The journey to the Well of Souls is extremely dangerous and full of dangers, infiltrating the Well itself and freeing too prisoners is likely impossible, and there is a very good chance Jayce and Silverback would have been dead anyways. That and Warfang offered them a good life and relative safety from the war; two things that few other places in the setting at can offer due to the war ravaging most settlements. Not even a city in the sky like Zephyr was safe.]]
** In Balefire, after they get out of the WhisperGlade forest, [[spoiler: Lance reminds Charla she is only a child and has a ton of learning to do, and her relationship with Nuala is unhealthy. Though Charla is frustrated by this, Lance is shown to completely be right, considering how young Charla is (she is twelve) and how naive, impulsive, and childish Charla acts; factors that Nuala is indeed using to take advantage of her and use her as a weapon. Charla's refusal to acknowledge any of this only further proves Lance's point, and makes her more vulnerable to Nuala's abuse and manipulation.]]

** In Balefire, [[spoiler: Lance reminds Charla she is only a child and has a ton of learning to do, and her relationship with Nuala is unhealthy. Though Charla is frustrated by this, Lance is shown to completely be right, considering how young Charla is (she is twelve) and how naive, impulsive, and childish Charla acts; factors that Nuala is indeed using to take advantage of her and use her as a weapon. Charla's refusal to acknowledge any of this only further proves Lance's point, and makes her more vulnerable to Nuala's abuse and manipulation.]]

* HonorBeforeReason: Lance's vow to not use his earth element. [[spoiler:While he does it to honor his late brother who could not use his element and died to the apes]], it is shown throughout the story how this is an unnecessary handicap for Lance and he is not really proving anything to any other dragon by using it. He does it to prove element-less dragons can fight as well, but most just dismiss him as stupid for doing this( and have reason to do so). There are many fights in the story where his powers would have come in handy, such as against rock golems he could have otherwise dispatched with ease, but he still stubbornly refuses to use them. Additionally, he has been out on his own for four years(it's been as long since he last used his element) and he has not even been really been around anyone to prove his point to in that time anyways. Even gets lampshaded by different characters in the story.

* JerkAssHasAPoint: "Jerk" is pushing it, depending on the character, but certain stern or grumpy characters raise valid points many times. Lance is perhaps the best example of this in the story, contanly bringing up valid points to Charla, even if she disagrees. What he tells her in Warfang and the later stages of Balefire are great examples.
** In Warfang, [[Spoiler: Lance argues to Charala that they should wait out the war within the safety of the city and Charla needs to accept her family is likely gone, or at least they impposible to rescue. While this may put Charla on the spot and more or less force her to abadnon her family, Lance's argument has plenty of merit. The jourey to the Well of Souls is extremly dangerous and full of dangers, infiltrating the Well itself and freeing too prisinors is likely impossible, and there is a very good chance Jayce and Silverback would have been dead anyways. That and Warfang offered them a good life and relative safety from the war; two things that few other places in the setting at can offer due to the war ravaging most settlements. Not even a city in the sky like Zephyr was safe.]]
** In Balefire, [[Spoiler: Lance reminds Charla she is only a child and has a ton of leranign to do, and her relationship with Nuala is unhealthy. Though Charla is frustrated by this, Lance is shown to compeletly be right, considering how young Charla is (she is twelve) and how naive, implusive, and childish Charla acts; factors that Nuala is indeed using to take advnagtage of her and use her as a weapon. Charla's refusal to acknowledge any of this only further proves Lance's point, and makes her more vunerable to Nuala's abuse and manipluation.]]
** Teslan maybe be overbearing and somewhat controlling of the Charla, Lance, and even Chelice(his neice) it makes sense when you consider his from the fact he is trying to lead a bunch of refuges who lost their home through the periless wilderness of a war torn country/continent, all while a genocidal army is subjugating much of the land and carrying out an active hunt for dragons like him and those in his group. His overbearing and hot headed attuide likely steams from the stress of his situation and may be about the only way he can seem to keep the group together and alive. Additoanoly, though he treats Charla and Lance like kids, Charla herself is still very young and indeed acts as childish as Teslan more or less considers her, so it could be warranted in an attempt to keep her safe during their travels.

* JustAKid: Discussed, justified, and possibly invoked. Charla is worried about not being treated like an adult and wants to be, despite only being twelve during the story. Interestingly, while many do treat her like a child of her age, it is usually not done in a degrading way. Barring some characters, most still treat her with respect but taken into account her age, realistically speaking. Justified, as though she is a decent fighter and smart, she still acts realistic for her age; often acting naively, impulsively, and immaturely. Additionally, Charla has a habit of overestimating herself. Lance even discussed this at one point in Balefire, pointing how despite everything, Charla is still only a child, and overestimates herself. He notes that it might be wrong and unfair to treat her like a full adult, stating she still has much to learn.

* Determantor: Charla will stop at nothing to make it to the Well of Souls to save her adopted family. No matter how far she has to trouble, or what kind of obstacles or enemies she has to overcome, she is determined to keep on her quest no matter what. Deconstructed, however, in that her journey is perilous and has even nearly gotten her, and her friends, killed many times over. She has even sacrificed a chance at a safe and normal life in Warfang just to continue her journey. [[spoiler: This comes to a head when her stealing the library key Chelcie was in charge of, in order to get ahold of a map she needed, ends up getting Chelcie in trouble, and her escape from Warfang worries and anger Lance, who points out to Charla how her unyielding determination to keep going on her quest has screwed over other at and calls into question if all the sacrifices and perils they face are truly worth the end result. ]]

* ChildrenAreInnocent: A complex variation with Charla. She has been through a lot and has been exposed to many cruel realities of the world and trying to survive out in the wilds, yet she still maintains a child-like sense of wonder at the various things she discovers throughout her quest and maintains an almost innocent air of optimism. Additionallly, she is unable to understand why things like the war have to happen, nor does she fully comprehend the smell emitting from a pile of large bodies that Teslan shields from her eyesight. The same can be said for when Lance blocks her from witnessing an ape mercy kill his dreadwing with a knife. Despite everything she has gone through and witnessed, she is still only a kid who does not fully grasp the harsh realities of the world.
* Determiner: Charla will stop at nothing to make it to the Well of Souls to save her adopted family. No matter how far she has to trouble, or what kind of obstacles or enemies she has to overcome, she is determined to keep on her quest no matter what. Deconstructed, however, in that her journey is perilous and has even nearly gotten her, and her friends, killed many times over. She has even sacrificed a chance at a safe and normal life in Warfang just to continue her journey. [[spoiler: This comes to a head when her stealing the library key Chelcie was in charge of, in order to get ahold of a map she needed, ends up getting Chelcie in trouble, and her escape from Warfang worries and anger Lance, who points out to Charla how her unyielding determination to keep going on her quest has screwed over other at and calls into question if all the sacrifices and perils they face are truly worth the end result. ]]

* WhamEpisode: In Balefire, a few of these happen within the WhisperGlade Forest. [[spoiler: When Meredy seeks to console with Pema about her bad trauma, she is taken to a pool of visions where she sees her memories of her escape from Zeyphr and the subsequent destruction of her home. Charla sneaks in and see's the vision in full. Shortly after this, Charla sees a carving foretelling her taking part in some kind of ritual with the apes. ]]
* WhamShot: In Balefire[[spoiler: Charla sees a carving of herself dancing with, or rather taking part in a ritual, with the apes, seemingly at the Well of Souls. Given that this carving is left by the Sanghalin Order, who can glimpse visions of the future through dreams, it would seem to be a foreshadowing of a future event to come. Seeing as she would not willingly do so, Charla and Meredy are both confused and distressed. What the actual context of this event is not clear, though it seems to be some kind of ritual during the Night of Enteral Darkness. ]]

* WhamShot: In Balefire[[spoiler: Charla see's a carving of herself dancing with, or rather taking part in a ritual, with the apes, seemingly at the Well of Souls. Given that this carving is left by the Sanghalin Order, who can glimpse visions of the future through dreams, it would seem to be a foreshadowing of a future event to come. Seeing as she would not willingly do so, Charla and Meredy are both confused and distressed. What the actual context of this event is not clear, though it seems to be some kind of ritual during the Night of Enteral Darkness. ]]

* BadassAdorable: Charla. She is portrayed as a cute, and often naive, young child about 12, and acts her age, but she is still a competent fighter and can very much hold her own in a fight.

* BlackAndGreyMorality: Not Charla and Co themselves, but this is applicable to the war going on between dragons and apes. The apes are at a few points stated to have had legit grievances with the dragons in the past, such as the dragons trespassing and taking the ape's lands long ago, among other things. The modern-day dragon society is not without faults but are mostly reasonable and are mostly just trying to stop their species from being massacred by an evil army. . Meanwhile, the apes have long since lost sight of any noble intentions or justifications they once had, and have subjugated much of the dragon realms and committed atrocities against countless innocnets all for their own power.

** [[spoiler:Lance invokes this trope at one point during the Warfang arc. He argues, with merit, how their quest to get the Well of Souls is deadly, and almost a lost cause, seeing as Charla's adoptive family there is very likely dead. He tries to convince Charla to wait out the war in Warfang with him, until its safe to return to his home city of Jordguard. His arguments have merit, since Warfang offered them a decently comfortable life and safety from the war, something very few other places in the setting at the time could offer. Charla, however, refuses to give up on her quest and this creates an argument between the two of them.]]

* TheDeterminer: Charla will stop at nothing to make it to the Well of Souls to save her adopted family. No matter how far she has to trouble, or what kind of obstacles or enemies she has to overcome, she is determined to keep on her quest no matter what. Deconstructed, however, in that her journey is perilous and has even nearly gotten her, and her friends, killed many times over. She has even sacrificed a chance at a safe and normal life in Warfang just to continue her journey. [[spoiler: This comes to a head when her stealing the library key Chelcie was in charge of, in order to get ahold of a map she needed, ends up getting Chelcie in trouble, and her escape from Warfang worries and anger Lance, who points out to Charla how her unyielding determination to keep going on her quest has screwed over other at and calls into question if all the sacrifices and perils they face are truly worth the end result. ]]