History Literature / BazilBroketail

* OurDwarvesAreDifferent: Dwarves do exist on Ryetelth, although they are a DyingRace to the point that most of this world's inhabitants are either entirely unaware of them or [[FlatEarthAtheist dismiss them as a product of fairy tales]]. They appear only in book three and it appears they all live in an underground realm which seems to be built on slavery. All in all -- contrary to typical, heroic portrayal of the race in fantasy -- they are portrayed pretty much as a bunch of jerkasses who kidnap innocent people from the surface and force them to work like beasts of burden, making heavy use of whips while at it. Relkin is abducted by them and almost ends up as a slave himself, but fortunately, he is saved by timely intervention of Althis and Sternwal.

** In book three, we are told that [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]] in despair is very common among dragonboys who lost their dragons. In book four, we are told that the most frequent cause of death of a dragonboy is getting squashed by their own dragon or getting accidentally beheaded by their sword. None of those ever happen ''once'' in entire series, though. Although we see many squires dying, all of them are simply killed in action by enemy soldiers and there is zero mention of any of them committing suicide, even though they'd have plenty of opportunities as dragons die in battle just as often.

** {{Inverted}}, for the most part. Of all non-human races in the setting, dragons are actually the one which is ''the closest'' to humans, being integrated into their society, living and fighting by their side and even being the most friendly on personal level. Amusingly, members of traditionally human-aligned races (like elves or dwarves) are sometimes unfavourably compared to dragons when it comes to their relationship with humans. Even better -- in distant past, humans and dragons were pretty much the best pals (until the former began to multiply to no bounds and take away the latter one's ''Lebensraum'') who held no secrets from each other and shared their knowledge and discoveries about the world (for example, it was the dragons who discovered how to navigate at night using stars -- and taught humans how to do it). In final book, [[GreaterScopeParagon Sinni]] openly call dragons a ''role model'' for humans in evil and treacherous world, so that seals the deal.

** {{Inverted}}, for the most part. Of all non-human races in the setting, dragons are actually the one which is ''the closest'' to humans, being integrated into their society, living and fighting by their side and even being the most friendly on personal level. Amusingly, members of traditionally human-aligned races (like elves or dwarfes) are sometimes unfavourably compared to dragons when it comes to their relationship with humans. Even better -- in distant past, humans and dragons were pretty much the best pals (until the former began to multiply to no bounds and take away the latter one's ''Lebensraum'') who held no secrets from each other and shared their knowledge and discoveries about the world (for example, it was the dragons who discovered how to navigate at night using stars -- and taught humans how to do it). In final book, [[GreaterScopeParagon Sinni]] openly call dragons a ''role model'' for humans in evil and treacherous world, so that seals the deal.

* MyInstinctsAreShowing: As sentient, moral and civilized as they might be, dragons of Argonath by nature are still large, carnivorous predators who, in the wild, would perceive humans as just another source of food -- and it shows from time to time, especially when they're left starving for too long. In particular, during siege of Ourdh, when dragons can't eat to their heart's content since food rations are heavily reduced due to shortages. Relkin easily notices, to his horror, that Bazil is hungrily staring at him as if he was a potential prey. Bazil himself is not happy in the least about current state of his mind, but he just can't help it.

* BigBad: Heruta Skash Gzug. As ruler of Padmasa, the main antagonistic faction, he plays this role [spoiler:until the end of the fourth book when he is killed by Bazil and Relkin]]. He then gets replaced with Waakzaam, basically the SatanicArchetype of the universe, practically reducing other Masters of Padmasa to his minions. In the first book, the Blunt Doom of Tummuz Orgmeen serves as this, as it is Padmasan overlord there.

** Because they are [[MadeOfIron hard to kill]] and can take a lot of punishment before going down, dragons are in practice subjected to it all too often. You will most likely remember some of them not because of their personality (because they didn't have a chance to show any), but because of how horribly they died. Take such [[RedShirt Berholt]], who took a direct hit from enemy catapult to his back -- breaking his spine and paralyzing, but not killing him -- and then got slowly beaten to death by mud men's hammers as he was lying helplessly on the ground. Bazil himself avoided this fate more than once (though he still had to go through the "cruel" and "unusual" part).

** However, the elves top them all with Intharion. All other known languages originated from it, and because of it, it is understandable for everybody on Ryetelth, regardless of their native speech.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Thrembode recalls that a teacher in Padmasa once was devoured from the inside slowly for some unstated offense by a [[EldritchAbomination Thingweight]]. It took ''weeks'', apparently.

* ActionGirl: Quite a few. Each dragoness serving in the legions of Argonath counts as one, and they also have a women's brigade. When it comes to humans, Lessis of Valmes, Ribela of Defwode, Lagdalen Tarcho and Eilsa Ranardaughter are the most prominent examples, skilled fighters with mundane weapons or magic.

* AffectionateNickname:
** Relkin usually calls Bazil "Baz" for short.
** Kepabar's friends call him "Kep".
** Nesessitas is called "Nessi" for short by her squadmates.
** Chektor is called "Check" by his friends.

* AnArmAndALeg:
** Bazil hacks off Heruta's arm during the final showdown at the top of a volcano. He doesn't suffer pain from the wound too long, though, since he falls to his death soon thereafter.
** Burthong hacks off an ogre's leg at knee's height during the battle at Sprian's Ridge.
* AntiMagic:
** One of Argonathi dragons' traits is their great resistance to magic, allowing them to {{no sell}} powerful spells that easily subdue humans. It also has its drawbacks, though -- after Bazil drinks a healing potion meant to regrow the tip of his tail, it does not work quite as intended, regenerating at a bent angle, earning him his "broketail" nickname.
** Trolls are nearly as resistant to magic too.

* ArmoredDragon: Though dragons are pretty tought to begin with, those in the Argonath legions also wear armor (helmets, breastplates) and use shields for more protection, as they also use regular weapons (usually swords) while fighting armed enemies.

* BadassNative:
** Not when we first meet her, [[DamselInDistress Lumbee's definitely not]]. Once she receives some training from Relkin, though, and aids him in liberating a few slaver camps...
** Norwul is the top hunter in his tribe and after some guidance from Relkin, he also becomes their best warrior. He is so strong that he can pick up an adult man and break his spine on his knee [[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} Bane-on-Batman]] style with little effort.

* BerserkButton:
** Purple-Green has three — reminding him of his clipped wings and inability to fly, mocking his skill with a sword and questioning his worth overall. They are all quite understandable sore spots, given the existential crisis he has to constantly face after being rendered flightless and robbed of his previous life and all the trouble he has with adapting to the new one.
** Alsebra has a couple.
*** She is infertile and bringing up this fact is a sore spot for her. {{Downplayed}} in that she has enough self-control not to go into a flying rage about it and she's wise enough to recognize when somebody is intentionally trying to provoke her (like Purple-Green does at one point).
*** Also, she absolutely ''hates'' openly asking her dragonboy for anything, or apologizing to him. She definitely prefers to just order him around.
--->'''Jak:''' ''[after Alsebra asks him for a favor]'' Hey, you don't ask for help too often. Usually, I just hear "hey, you! Fix that!".
--->'''Alsebra:''' ''[snarls furiously]''
** Don't you dare threaten soldiers under Eads' command. Especially when you are a religious fanatic, trying to enforce your worldview on others.

* BigBad: Heruta. As ruler of Padmasa, the main antagonistic faction, he plays this role until the end of the fourth book when he gets replaced once Waakzaam, basically the SatanicArchetype of the universe, returns (with them reduced to his minions). In the first book, the Blunt Doom of Tummuz Orgmeen serves as this, who's Padmasan overlord there.
* BigBrotherInstinct:
** Go on, try to hurt Relkin in front of Bazil or ''vice versa''. Or any dragonboy in the presence of his dragon, for that matter. You will most likely regret it.
** Gryff's a rather pathological example among dragons. He is not just attached to his dragonboy Rakama, but all too happy and ready to cheer him on when he beats up others. This is evidenced with his behaviour after Rakama has a brawl with Swane and they both seriously injure each other before Relkin breaks them up. He is dissatisfied with Relkin's intervention as he's convinced Rakama would've won and comes to Vlok right thereafter just to rub it in his face. He also laughs off his comment that the fight went too far and left both dragonboys unnecessarily injured.

* BigGood:
** Lessis is one of the few characters who knows of existing dangers and powers at work, and is thus the one directing other people in order to prevent bad things from happening.
** Ribela shares this role with Lessis when she either replaces or accompanies her. She is a wise and knowledgeable leader who directs the good guys in their battle against forces of evil.
* TheBigGuy:
** Swane is the strongest and most physically imposing of all dragonboys, at least until [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Rakama comes along]].
** Rakama shares this role with Swane in 109th the moment he appears, though rather than just big, he is far better trained in hand-do-hand combat, giving him an edge over physically stronger, but less skilled companion. Eventually, Swane does recognize Rakama as a superior combatant.
** As a wild dragon, Purple-Green is bigger and stronger than his wingless peers, and despite receiving training in swordplay after joining the legions, he still relies more on his ferocity and brute strength rather than fighting technique.

* BookDumb:
** One of Relkin's greatest regrets -- by his own admission -- is that he lacks proper education, having finished only two classes in the local school. Nevertheless, throughout the series he still proves to be quite intelligent and insightful for a simple soldier. In book four, for example, he correctly identifies the weakness of a steel golem conjured by Gadjung the sorcerer and later also is not fooled in the least by Heruta's attempts at brainwashing him.
** Bazil also qualifies. He doesn't seem to have received any formal education other than combat training, but he still repeatedly displays wisdom and knowledge beyond that. This is most prominent in book five, where he learns the language of Ardu (and actually does better job at it than Relkin), later takes leadership over them, organizes them into an army that he leads against slavers of Mirchaz and actually proves to be a brilliant tactician -- all this despite having no education in strategy and the dragons' hat of being generally poor at planning.
** Unlike Relkin, who finished two classes in local school at least, Mono received no formal education at all. He claims that wife of his houselord Goole taught him how to read and write (though he admits he was never good at the latter), as well as some basic mathematics, and that's it.
** Count Trego is an utter ignoramus in every matter except warfare and details of Czardhan nobility affairs. Argonathi witch Endysia actually embarrasses him by revealing that she read the ''Ballads of Medon'', an exquisite work of art written in his homeland -- that Count Trego himself has never read, only picking the most popular parts. Still, his gradual development into a better man shows that he is quite intelligent and capable of learning things previously unthinkable to him if he wants to.

* ButtMonkey:
** Because of his stupidity, Vlok is a frequent object of jokes, particularly from Purple-Green.
** Nothing seems to work right for Glaves. His decision to join the legions in order to bolster his political status backfires when [[spoiler:King Sanker dies]], making him lose connections he previously had and getting him sent to actual war. He insults the Teetol, which leads to him getting challenged and beaten up by one of them. He tries to sell out his soldiers in exchange for means of fleeing from besieged Ourdh capital, but it fails when Bazil and Relkin escape captivity and effectively bring down the whole cult that he bargained with. He manages to commandeer a ship along with a band of other deserters, but they soon run her aground due to their incompetence and are captured by Captain Kesepton's team while arguing. Desertion and treason gets him thrown into prison and standing trial. However, [[AssholeVictim he deserves every single second of it]].

-->'''Bazil:''' ''[after being called "kebbold" [[RageBreakingPoint one time too many]]]'' For the ancestors' fiery breath, I am not a kebbold more than you are a monkey!

* TheCaptain:
** Hollein Kesepton holds a rank of Captain and he is a badass officer, ready to fight alongside his men in the first line if necessary.
** Like Kesepton before him, Rorker Eads is the Captain in charge of a squad that includes the 109th Dragon Squadron and he is both a competent officer and valiant soldier in his own right. [[spoiler:In fact, he perishes along with many of his soldiers while fighting bravely at Sprian's Ridge]].

* CommonTongue: There is one in the region where Argonath lies which many diverse peoples know. Its range isn't clear.
* CompellingVoice: Witches (at least powerful ones such as Lessis) can make people answer them truthfully or obey commands through the "witch voice".

* DarkIsNotEvil: The witches, who are good (if sometimes ruthless) often wear dark clothing, black included.
* DeadpanSnarker:
** Relkin occasionally does show a dry wit, though he is usually wise enough to keep his personal opinion to himself.
-->'''Purple-Green:''' Don't worry. I have a plan.
-->'''Relkin:''' Oh, that's wonderful. How do you plan to cook it? I heard plans are not very nutritious.
** Bazil very much so. Case in point, his comment after learning of the villains' intent to thoroughly search Relkin's mind after the latter has been captured:
-->'''Bazil:''' That won't take them much time.
** Purple-Green. Is he ever.
-->'''Vlok:''' Ah, Roquil intends to fertilize the eggs of ancestors.
-->'''Purple-Green:''' We all know that Vlok would rather eat them.
** Or this one:
--->'''Gryff:''' Who's talking to you? Not me, that's certain.
--->'''Purple-Green:''' Well, I'm talking to you and that's all too certain.

* DefrostingTheIceQueen:
** Ribela of Defwode, when she first appears, is harsh and strictly authoritarian, interested mainly in getting the job done and having a lot of trouble showing that she cares about other people's feelings -- particularly men, whom she deems inferior. However, after she spends some time among people, she becomes more sociable and sheds her prejudices (or she becomes far less obnoxious about them, at least).
** Eilsa Ranardaughter, Relkin's [[spoiler:future love interest]], is hostile and mistrustful towards him and his comrades when they first meet -- especially compared to her friend Silva, who is much more amiable and understanding. In time, though, after getting to know each other better as they all travel and fight Padmasan forces on their way together, they become FireForgedFriends [[spoiler:and, eventually, Eilsa and Relkin fall in love with each other]].
** {{Downplayed}} by Digal Turrent. It's not that he becomes openly nice to his subordinates nor turns into a ''bona fide'' FatherToHisMen -- he remains a strict officer to the very end. Nevertheless, over time he becomes less picky when it comes to following rules and starts to praise his men for their efforts more often. Dragonboys are downright shocked when Turrent openly ''commends them'' during the battle of Sprian's Ridge.

* DisproportionateRetribution:
** The Masters of Padmasa along with their top servants are very harsh to underlings. Once the Doom of Tummuz Orgmeen had a sorcerer mutilated and made into one of the Doom's sensor slaves just for ''sneezing'' while in its presence (since they all have a huge contempt for human weaknesses).
** Evander was subjected to it by Gadjung. ''Twice''. The first time, he casts a curse on Evander in retaliation for saving Port Tarquil's mayor he tried to kill. The second time, [[spoiler:he tries to subject the prince to a slow and painful death -- even though he just delivered his prized Thymnal to him -- because, apparently, there is no compensation for stabbing Gadjung with a knife and handicapping him as a result]].
** Penbar is ''oh, so fond'' of this. In his town, basically every offense — no matter how minor or inconsequential — seems to be punishable either by stoning to death or flogging. Then take into consideration that what he considers a crime, any sane person would consider exercising your basic rights like freedom of speech. He sentences a nameless sailor to death simply because he said (correctly) that Dian is just his follower's version of deity known as the Great Mother and plans to subject Relkin to a similar fate simply because... he ''just happened to be there, talking to said sailor''.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Deconstructed in book four. During a long voyage to the Eigo continent, a female sailor named Birjit has an [[StalkerWithACrush unhealthy interest]] in Swane and attempts to rape him after luring him to her quarters. He manages to escape, but she keeps stalking him and they both soon become an object of jokes. Swane himself, however, does ''not'' find the whole situation humorous ''at all''. [[spoiler:It eventually nearly leads to a tragedy when Birjit tries to force Swane to have sex with her by threatening him with a knife and is mortally stabbed in the resulting struggle -- only timely intervention by Relkin and Jak and patching up the wound saves her from certain death. To make things worse, the misconception that rape can only be inflicted by a man on a woman is what leads their commanding officer to disbelieve their story, accuse them of ganging up on Birjit in order to rape ''her'' and almost get them punished for a crime they did not commit]].
* DragonRider: Mostly {{averted}} in the series. The named character is a dragon, with no wings but bipedal (and can't breathe fire either), but he has (like all war-dragons of his culture) a squire (called a "dragonboy" here) named Relkin, who is depicted on the cover of the first book as riding him. Dragonboys are not however dedicated riders, but attend the dragons (used to counter the bad guy's trolls and ogres) by doing things like camp chores, cooking and keeping their dragon's weapons and armor in fighting trim, as well as occasional fighting by standing behind their dragons under the tail and engaging any infantry who try to flank the dragon to hamstring them.
* TheDreaded:
** Dragons of Argonath are widely feared by servants of Padmasa (and for good reasons, too), especially imps, who often panic at the mere sight of them.
** Everyone who knows about Gog Zagozt seems to be terrified of him. Ribela herself acknowledges his being dispatched to Ourdh by the Masters in order to oversee their plans personally is very, very bad news. Even Ourdhi Emperor Banwi — who previously dismissed Gog Zagozt as a product of silly superstitions — nearly craps his pants when the sorcerer has the emperor brought before him and introduces himself.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** Wiliger first arrives to the 109th quarters by going there straight from a luxurious dinner -- along with an entourage of his friends (including a few ladies) -- drunk on wine and dressed in an outdated dragon commander's uniform with overgrown (and possibly made of gold), irregular "109" sign on his cap. Due to intoxication, he acts nice and cordially towards the dragonboys at first, but soon decides to go on a small impromptu inspection, loudly criticizing the squires that parts of their gear are not properly cleaned. When he meets a dragon for the first time -- who, as if things couldn't be worse, happens to be Purple-Green -- he instantly goes into dragon freeze and Relkin notes that he seems to suffer the worst from it (even worse than ''the ladies he brought''). In a very short timespan, Wiliger managed to show everything that's wrong with him, and all the dragonboys know from day one [[ThisIsGoingToSuck serving under him is not going to be a walk in the park]].
** Glaves is first introduced when trying to rent a cabin on a civilian ship (by which Bazil and Relkin happen to be travelling) in order to get to Fort Dalhousie. When he's informed that all cabins are taken, he doesn't care, demands to get one anyway and ends up kicking out its original inhabitant. When the ship's captain tries to protest, he uses Dandrax to intimidate him. Later he even refuses to pay for the voyage, complaining about the living conditions.

* EvilMakesYouMonstrous:
** Heruta's magical path to power has heavily altered his body. His eyes are fiery yellow and his entire body is covered in a layer of green horn-like tissue.
** Gog Zagozt's body was twisted by the very same dark magic that the Masters themselves use, although in his case, the transformation is not complete. The upper half of his face is that of a normal human, but the lower half -- including mouth -- has turned into a horny beak.

** Moreover, there are other nations than Argonath in Ryetelth, and their inhabitants tend to perceive dragons as mere animals and find it hard to believe (sometimes even in the face of obvious evidence) that they are actually sentient beings.

** Dook apparently perceives dragons as little more than animals, since he sees nothing wrong in capturing them and selling as slaves to Ourdh, knowing they will most likely be killed and eaten as a tasty delicacy. Given the fact that dragons in this universe are fully sentient and intelligent beings, the idea of eating them basically equals to ''cannibalism''.

* AFatherToHisMen:
** Hollein Kesepton truly cares about soldiers under his command, and growing casualties among them nearly causes him to rebel against Lessis' leadership more than once. He also seems to have no trouble developing a camaraderie and even close friendship with common, low-ranking soldiers, such as Relkin.
** Rorker Eads' genuine concern for his men is best evidenced when Jak -- a lowly dragonboy -- is arrested by Kohon city officials for supposed blasphemy against their deity. Eads ''personally'' intervenes when sentence is about to be carried out, taking a lot of his soldiers and dragons with him in order to intimidate the local judges and their supporters into submission.
** Wiliger eventually develops into this. After the battle of Tog Utbek, he drops the Jerkass attitude entirely, tries to give medical aid to dragons who lost their squires (he proves to be incompetent at it, but points for trying — and taking their rejection in stride) and comforts those dragonboys who suffered a similar fate. When it is discovered that some of his men survived and were brought to enemy headquarters, he instantly volunteers to join a small squad to infiltrate said headquarters and save the prisoners. After the expeditionary force returns to Argonath, he willingly resigns from command of 109th, ashamed of his actions and painfully aware that it was a bad idea from the start.
** Cuzo is described as a plodder at first and has a hard time earning genuine respect from dragons and squires under his command. However, they finally accept him after the incident with poisoned fish pie. When dragonboys perform an improvised gastric lavage on their dragons in order to save them, Cuzo readily joins them and later helps them clean up the resulting mess, getting sweaty and dirty just like his subordinates.

** The Padmasan rulers take this trope and run with it. Although they are ObviouslyEvil -- engaging in war crimes, widely practising slavery and treating common people (especially women) like dirt -- they will act polite, pretend to be your friends and offer you riches and power if only they think you can be useful. They don't mean any of it, though, and see you only as a pawn. [[spoiler:When Bazil is imprisoned in Tummuz Orgmeen, the Doom ruling the city has him brought before it, then claims he is its friend, offers him wealth and honors and promises to make him a general in its army. Naturally, Bazil tells it to shove off. In book four, when Relkin is captured and interrogated by [[BigBad Heruta]] himself, the latter tries to sway him to his side by acting friendly towards him and offering to make him king of Marneri. Relkin sees through his lies right away, but decides to pretend he swallowed them]].
** There are very good reasons why Waakzaam is known ([[IHaveManyNames among other things]]) as the Deceiver. When he thinks that using brute force in conquest of a new world is not a feasible option, he will come to its inhabitants with a wide smile and smooth talk, offering them his friendship and pretending to have the best intentions (usually by promising to make their world great and glorious again). In reality, he sows dissent between them, setting them against each other until they basically destroy themselves. Once they are too weak to defend themselves, he drops the act completely and slaughters the remaining opposition. He already managed to conquer many worlds that way (like the Eleem home world of Orthond, which is visited in ''The Wizard and the Floating City'' side story), [[spoiler:but when he tries it against Ryetelth and Argonath empire, it fortunately fails]].
** Thrembode can be charming when he wants to, but it's only superficial. That is how he managed to get into princess Besita's good graces.
** Gadjung's really poor at that -- though it's probable he [[{{Troll}} doesn't really care]]. Even after using his magic to manipulate the weather -- so that the Argonathi fleet is drawn to his island -- and using his magic to mind-control the sailors, he still has the gall to openly lie (via his emissary) that it was Argonathi dragons and soldiers who attacked him unprovoked and that he is actually their friend.

* FireForgedFriends:
** When Swane and Relkin meet for the first time in book two, they start out as bitter rivals, mostly due to Swane's resentment over the fact that Relkin is already a famous and decorated soldier due to his and Bazil's actions in previous novel. This makes Swane assume that Relkin is a case of SmallNameBigEgo. During campaign in Ourdh Empire, they grow fond of each other and eventually, Swane openly admits that he misjudged Relkin, shaking his hand and officially ending their rivalry.
** Rakama and Swane start as rivals who frequently get into fights with each other, but eventually mellow out and become the closest friends to each other within the squadron.
** Purple-Green has this multiple times.
*** He and Bazil start off on the wrong foot when they meet in the wild. However, after Purple-Green joins the 109th and struggles to adapt to his new life with Bazil's help, they soon become very close friends.
*** Vlok is initially disdainful towards Purple-Green and mocks his fighting technique. However, when his bullying causes a fight, forcing Bazil to intervene and put Vlok in his place, he mellows out, buries the hatchet and develops a camaraderie with his comrades.
** Unlike many of his kin, he is grateful to Relkin for rescuing them from slavers, trusts him basically from day one and they both grow very close to each other during their campaign against slavers. When Relkin is abducted by said slavers himself and Bazil intends to wage war against Mirchaz in order to liberate his dragonboy, Norwul readily supports him.
* FriendlyRival:
** Despite befriending Relkin in the end, Swane still occasionally acts this way towards him, invariably eager to prove that he is no worse as a man and a soldier.
** Burthong towards Bazil. They duel in the tournament and Bazil ends up only barely winning the fight, to Burthong's disappointment. Afterwards though, they both compliment each other's skills and part on good terms. When they meet again later, they recall their previous battle and it seems both are looking forward for a rematch.
* GeniusBruiser:
** Lessis is a wise and powerful witch, but she can handle herself all right in direct fight. In fact, she scores ''more'' kills in melee combat than due to her spells.
** Alsebra is a battle dragoness who happens to be both deadly and graceful with her sword, as well as highly intelligent.

* GenreSavvy:
** Unlike many other characters outside Argonath, Evander seems to be aware that he's living in a fantasy world where magic and supernatural phenomena do exist. Thus, when he visits another world and discovers impending danger at the hands of [[spoiler:Waakzaam the Great]], he knows that the best reasonable course of action is to deliver the news to Argonath, since only there he is going to find people ready to hear him out and believe him.
** Like Evander, Serena is fully aware that what they both discovered in the Orthond world means their own world Ryetelth is in danger and the only place where their warning will be taken seriously is Argonath.

* HairTriggerTemper:
** Purple-Green is prone to bouts of anger and gets particularly livid when somebody pushes one of his {{Berserk Button}}s.
** Eads is apparently known among the cadre for his hot temperament. In particular, he is absolutely livid when he finds out that Penbar, the local judge in Kohon, tried to have one of his men condemned without his consent and for no good reason. He seems close to drawing his sword and personally killing Penbar, openly calls him a fanatic and a murderer, and even threatens to put him in a military court before ''real'' judges.
* HatedByAll:
** Porteous Glaves is a pompous {{jerkass}} hated by all of his subordinates immediately as he makes them wear outdated leather collars that are very uncomfortable. He only makes himself more unpopular, and turns out to be a cowardly traitor as well.
** ''Nobody'' among his subordinates likes Digal Turrent -- neither humans, nor dragons, as he's a tyrant who enjoys punishing subordinates. Their feelings are apparently [[HatesEveryoneEqually reciprocated]]. Fortunately, they all get better eventually.
** Humans and dragons under Delwild Wiliger's command dislike him even more than Turrent (who, at the very least, knew what he was doing) at first, as he's a MoodSwinger {{jerkass}}.
* HateSink:
** Glaves has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, he's just an utterly selfish, cowardly asshole.
** In the short time we get to know Dook [[spoiler:prior to his death]], there is nothing remotely likable about him. He's just a greedy man catching dragons to sell, who he knows are likely to get eaten.
** Penbar is a crazy fanatic who executes people for having any ideas of their own or willingness to have some joy and fun in their lives. That's all that can be said about him.

* HeroicBSOD: Bazil enters an extended one in book five after Relkin goes missing in the ancient jungle and is believed dead (in reality, he was captured by slavers). He [[ItsAllMyFault blames himself]] for leaving his dragonboy without protection and stops taking care of himself whatsoever, refusing to talk or eat.

* HotBlooded:
** Just like his dragon Gryff, Rakama is aggressive and prone to violence. Fancy that.
** Gryff is very aggressive, acting like a bully towards other dragons and picking fights with ''Purple-Green'', despite the fact that the wild dragon is much bigger and stronger than him.

** Bazil's original dragon sword was named Piocar. After losing it in the first novel's finale, he was given another, more powerful sword called Ecator.
** Kepabar wielded a dragon sword called Gingle.
** Nesessitas' dragon sword was named Mercuri.
** Vlok wields a sword named Katzbalger.
** Burthong's dragon sword is named Herak.
** Alsebra's sword is called Undaunt. It is described as quite small for a dragon sword, but beautifully crafted.
** Chektor and Purple-Green are some of the few named dragons to avert this trope, using unnamed, standard-issue blades instead of unique swords made for them.

* IncorruptiblePurePureness:
** Relkin shows a surprisingly great resistance to brainwashing -- be it by magic or indoctrination -- no-selling attempts made by [[BigBad Heruta]] and even [[GreaterScopeVillain Waakzaam]]. It is eventually revealed that it's because [[spoiler:he is actually a reincarnated Sinni, who was remade anew as a living weapon against Dominator]].
** Bazil, and dragons in general, are also this. Unlike humans -- who are often motivated by greed and thus easily swayed to the side of evil with promises of hefty reward -- dragons have a simplistic worldview and feel absolutely no need to accumulate wealth and power for themselves. They also hate Padmasa with a passion for previous atrocities against their race, making them loyal allies of Argonath, easily conforming to its ideals of freedom and equality. To put the cherry on top, their resistance to magic makes them immune to spells like mind control that would easily corrupt any ordinary human. In the final book, the Sinni outright call dragons a role model for humans in a world full of Waakzaam's betrayal.

** When an expedition consisting of Argonathi legions and contingents from the allied nations of Czardha and Kassim is sent to Eigo, it inevitably leads to rivalry between the three separate armies, stemming both from eagerness to prove their worth over others and cultural differences. The Argonathi dragon corps gets arguably the most flak, given the fact that it consists of reptilian beasts that foreign people consider mere animals and their combat capability is frequently questioned. It reaches a boiling point when a drunk Czardhan knight, Hervaze of Gensch, attacks Bazil with full intent to kill him, as if he was a mindless beast from Myth/SaintGeorge-esque stories that can be murdered with impunity, rather than a soldier in service of an allied army.
* {{Jerkass}}:
** Vlok acts like one at first. He grows out of it quickly, though.
** Porteous Glaves is a rich, pompous asshole whom everyone hates.
** After joining the 109th Dragon Squadron, Gryff is initially a bully who picks on others for little to no reason. He grows out of it, though.
** Turrent is a tyrannical officer who seems to take pleasure in punishing his subordinates for trivial reasons and exert the power he has over them.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** Bazil is this towards Relkin. He tends to belittle him and underappreciate his services, but he still treats him as his little brother and is always there for him. It's actually a really common tendency among dragons and their dragonboys. The former may act outwardly dismissive or downright nasty towards the latter, but they are in fact very protective of them and threatening or harming the dragon's (or dragoness') boy in any way is the shortest route to pushing their BerserkButton.
** Ribela of Defwode spent many years travelling in the ethereal void with no contact with any other human being, working against the Enemy from the shadows. As a result, when she is called back to the real world, she quickly turns out to have the social skills of Attila the Hun. She is abrasive, hardly appreciates other people's efforts, tends to make backhanded compliments when she ''does'' try to show appreciation and [[DoesNotLikeMen holds prejudices towards men]]. Still, she is generally well-meaning and firmly on the side of good. Also, [[DefrostingTheIceQueen she does gain some humility and warm up throughout the series]].
** Swane is blunt and reckless, often acting nastily towards other dragonboys and endangering himself or others. However, he is still a loyal companion who does care about his teammates.
** Despite his aggressive demeanor, Rakama is still a loyal companion who eventually befriends his biggest rival in 109th and truly cares about his colleagues, as evidenced when he beats up a young UpperClassTwit in retaliation for assaulting their fellow dragonboy Curf.
** Alsebra, the dragoness who joins the 109th Dragon Squadron in book three, is rough around the edges, likes to show off her superior intelligence to other dragons, hates being nice and can be whimsical at times, but is otherwise also quite personable and truly cares about her squadmates -- dragons and humans alike.
** In spite of his all his flaws — arrogance and prejudices in particular —Count Trego repeatedly proves that he is a decent man at heart. Though he considers himself superior to General Baxander (who, despite his rank, is a commoner with no title), he does not rub it in his face and cooperates with him just fine. Also despite his biases towards women, he still treats them with respect. Moreover, he eventually sheds his prejudices entirely and develops a genuine bond of companionship with his Argonathi allies — including Lessis.

* TheLancer:
** Swane acts as a frequent {{foil}} to Relkin. He's hot-headed and prone to anger when somebody steps on his ego, while Relkin is reasonable and calm. Swane is very eager to prove his worth, Relkin just wants to do his job right and survive. Swane is the main troublemaker among the dragonboys, often disregarding official regulations and inciting others to do the same, while Relkin is — along with Manuel — the most responsible one, usually supporting the most rational choice of action.
** Purple-Green is a wild dragon who was suddenly forced to live a civilized life and adhere to many rules that come with it. It is thus only natural that he is the one to openly question those rules and provoke other dragons — Bazil in particular — to bend or break them.

* LeeroyJenkins:
** Relkin has shades of this in the first few volumes, though not for expected reasons. He doesn't throw himself into mortal danger out of mere recklessness, but desperation -- usually [[BigBrotherInstinct when Bazil is in danger]]. He picks a fight with a ''troll'' (and ends up disemboweling it) when it gains advantage over his dragon in a sword duel and runs head-first against a demon from another dimension when it's pummeling his comrades.
** Swane is a bit too eager to prove himself in battle and as a consequence he tends to act first and think later (or never at all).
** Jumble separated from his squadron in a reckless, lone pursuit after fleeing enemies. [[spoiler:If he hadn't done that, he would've still been alive]].
** Wiliger tends to suffer from this when he's not currently paralyzed with fear. During the battle of Koubha, he bravely leads the charge of his squadron at the enemy... despite the fact that he puts himself at danger of getting beheaded by his own dragons' swords that way. This forces the dragons to speed up in order to overtake him and he nearly gets trampled as a result.

* LoveAtFirstSight: Evander falls in love with Serena the moment he sees her. His feelings towards her are quickly reciprocated.

* MeaningfulName:
** Lessis dresses solely and only in grey and she is known as the Grey Lady. Her second nickname — Mistress of Birds — also qualifies, since she seems magically connected to those animals, can communicate with them and even make them obey her commands, which allows Lessis to use them for scouting, spying or delivering messages.
** Just like Lessis — known as the Mistress of Birds — seems magically connected to birds, Ribela — know as the Queen of Mice — seems to have magical connection with those little rodents. They not only follow her commands, but are used by her in magical rituals in order to boost her powers.
** Literally, Ajoth Gol Dib's name means "the one who must" in Kraht.

* MildlyMilitary:
** Wiliger seems to know little about official regulations or just deliberately ignores them — best evidenced in that he keeps wearing irregular uniforms that are either entirely outdated or composed of clothes he personally selected on his own whim. He also plasters an overgrown "109" sign to his cap to proclaim left and right that he's serving in a famous unit (until his subordinates point out that it's against the regimen).
** At least compared to his predecessors, who actually were ''needlessly'' harsh when it came to enforcing the regimen. While by no means negligent, Cuzo has a rather lax style of commanding. He doesn't even seem to care that much when some of his subordinates abandon their posts.
* MilitaryBrat:
** Manuel comes from a family known for its long military tradition and his many ancestors served in elite and respectable units... which is why his father did not take it well when he decided to become a lowly dragonboy.
** It is implied that Hollein comes from a family with long military tradition — at least we know his grandfather is a respected and decorated general for sure. Hollein isn't happy about that, though, since it means he has a lot to live up to. Also, there are many detractors within the legions (even his own unit) who claim that he got his current position [[{{Nepotism}} due to his grandfather's backing]].

* TheMultiverse: The books' universe has many different worlds and planes of existence over which the battle between good vs evil is waged.

* TheNeidermeyer:
** Porteous Glaves, the newly appointed commander of the 8th Regiment in book two, is an UpperClassTwit who bought his current position with money (a practice thoroughly despised by professional soldiers, but allowed by authorities of Argonath as a source of income) solely and only to further his political career. He spends most of the time throwing his weight around, acting as if his position of commander [[EntitledBastard allows him to do whatever he wants]] and being generally obnoxious and arrogant to everyone around him. When the 8th Regiment is sent on campaign to Ourdh, he quickly proves to be an abysmal and incompetent leader, abusing his troops for little to no reason, showing no commanding skills whatsoever and acting queasy and cowardly when in real battle.
** Turrent is a relatively mild example. He knows the rules and regulations inside and out, is overly strict when it comes to following them and makes sure the dragonboys under his command do everything by the book, no matter how trivial it is. When they fail to appease him -- even by doing something as inconsequential as not cleaning a part of equipment ''nearly'' good enough -- he will gleefully punish them. ''Especially'' Relkin. On the other hand, he used to be a dragon squire himself, so he surely knows what he's doing (unlike his successor Wiliger) and eventually warms up a bit.
** Delwild Wiliger, a new commanding officer of the 109th Dragon Squadron in book four, starts out as this. He comes from an aristocratic family and was transferred to Bazil's unit from an elite regiment at his own insistence, despite having absolutely no previous experience with dragons. As a leader, he suffers from terrible mood swings, switching between being needlessly harsh and overbearing towards his subordinates and outwardly nice and friendly. He also has a very delicate ego, and likes to vent his frustration over any slight (real or imagined) -- no matter how petty it is -- on his troops. However, he is still an experienced soldier in his own right, shows considerable personal bravery in combat and after watching his soldiers getting killed in a horrible manner during the battle at Tog Utbek, he undergoes a change into a genuine FatherToHisMen.
* NiceGuy:
** Though he can be sarcastic and teases Bazil at times, Relkin is fundamentally a good, kind young man. In his very first scene, he helps out Lagdalen with her duty and convinces Bazil too as well, despite it having nothing to do with him.
** Barring situations where he acts like an a jerk towards Relkin, Bazil is very personable and polite — if not always well-mannered — to all the people he meets. Even his jerkiness to Relkin's mostly in jest.
** Lessis is a highly compassionate and kind woman at heart.
** Lagdalen is driven to help others and a very pleasant young woman most of the time.
** Evander is a down-to-earth and compassionate person, eager to help those in need.
** Nesessitas is definitely one of the nicest and most kind-hearted of all dragons appearing in the series. It's best evidenced with her behaviour when Bazil goes missing. She basically takes care of Relkin in his absence, comes to his defence when he picks a fight with Jorse the cavalryman (who enraged Relkin by spouting lewd lies about Lagdalen) and nearly gets killed by him, even comforts him when he has trouble sleeping and starts sobbing out of worry about his own dragon. Later she keeps Bazil's spirit up when [[spoiler:they're both imprisoned in Tummuz Orgmeen]]. This makes it all the more heartbreaking when [[spoiler:she is killed]].

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished:
** One of Lagdalen's first acts in the series was helping out Relkin by providing him and Bazil with a false documents so they would be able to join the New Legion. This is later discovered and results in her being expelled from the novitiate, ending her career in the clergy she worked for. Subverted when Lessis — impressed with her willingness to break rules in order to do what is right — approaches her right after and gives her an offer to serve as her personal assistant in the Office of Unusual Insight. Lagdalen naturally takes the opportunity.
** Evander gets this twice.
*** He saves the Port Tarquil's mayor when Gadjung casts a curse in order to kill him. He is cursed himself by Gadjung in return.
*** He rescues princess Serena from would-be kidnappers. Although she does show gratitude, she later panics and gets him imprisoned when she discovers his inhuman, cursed skin. To her credit, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone she regrets her actions afterwards]].

* OffWithHisHead:
** Nesessitas' final fate, courtesy of Puxdool the troll.
** Bazil kills Gog Zagozt by decapitating him.

* TheQuietOne:
** Mono gets very few lines despite being present in the series from the start till the end. At some point, in book four, he is openly described as taciturn by nature.
** Chektor only talks to make occasional sarcastic remarks.

** {{Inverted}}, for the most part. Of all non-human races in the setting, dragons are actually the one which is ''the closest'' to humans, being integrated into their society, living and fighting by their side and even being the most friendly on personal levels.
** This trope is occasionally played straight InUniverse, though, with certain characters who still hold a dislike towards dragons for various reasons, ranging from their monstrous appearance (which makes people outside Argonath consider them mindless animals), to the trouble and cost of their upkeep (which makes them very unpopular among some noblemen, particularly grain mandates who would rather sell their wares on the market rather than contribute to feeding the dragon corps) to downright petty ones like their ostensibly bad smell (according to [[TheNeidermeyer Porteous Glaves]], at least). Then again, since such opinions either stem from ignorance or are shared by characters who are either jerkasses or openly evil, there is no doubt how much value they actually hold.
** One situation where this trope is played completely straight is the dragon freeze, a natural reaction of a typical human to seeing an adult dragon (and looking him in the eyes in particular). Most people are just immobilized with fear as a consequence. Only those who meet dragons on a daily basis (like dragonboys or other soldiers in the Argonathi legions) are unaffected, though there are also some humans who seem to have an innate immunity to the dragon freeze (like king Choulaput, who looked at Bazil -- the first dragon he ever saw in his entire life -- and remained calm).
* TheResenter:
** This is most likely the main reason behind Turrent's attitude towards Relkin (and, to lesser extent, other dragonboys in the 109th). Despite his long line of service — and officer rank that comes with it — Turrent saw little real action and never got much recognition because of it. Relkin, on the other hand, is a decorated war hero with multiple victorious battles under his belt.
** Unlike Turrent, who at least had well-established and somewhat understandable motives for resenting his subordinates, Wiliger keeps finding new, increasingly petty reasons for hating them. They range from throwing a tantrum over the fact that he cannot keep his beloved giant "109" sign plastered to his headgear or being knocked out at the beginning of a battle and the dragonboys doing the entire job without him.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
** When Thrembode is fending off Baguti who want to rape Besita and kill him for stopping this, his men start deserting as they don't want to die too.
** When Glaves becomes convinced that the legions in Ourdh are doomed and will be defeated soon enough, he desperately tries to desert and escape back to Argonath.

* ShootTheHostageTaker:
** Eilsa actively encourages Relkin to do it when Waakzaam takes her hostage and tries to force him and Bazil to surrender. It fails.
** Dook ends up on the receiving end of this trope. When Bazil and Relkin board his ship, subdue his men and free the imprisoned dragons, Dook manages to take one of the hatchlings hostage and tries to escape with it, still determined to make money out of selling it. So Relkin, in desperation, just throws his dagger at Dook and kills him.

* TookALevelInBadass:
** Lumbee goes from a DamselInDistress dependent on Relkin's help to a mighty warrior taking part in many battles against slavers and soldiers from Mirchaz.
** Norwul, though [[DownplayedTrope not to such an extent as Lumbee]], since he is already a badass in his own right when we first meet him. Still, he starts out as one of the Ardu slaves who have to be liberated from a camp, but ultimately becomes one of the best fighters among his people and one of army leaders.

* {{Troll}}:
** Relkin often acts this way towards Bazil, especially when he wants to teach him a lesson.
** Judging from his behaviour when Alsebra outright ''asks'' him for a favor (something she never does, unless it's serious), Jak has a tendency for that too.
** Chektor seldom talks, but when he does speak, he seems to be fond of making snarky or provocative comments towards his comrades, like aggravating Bazil's bad mood by reminding him of various aching body parts after a very long march or claiming that Relkin has a lot of luck to be still alive, since his bones should rather be lying around somewhere in Tummuz Orgmeen.
** Gadjung takes perverse pleasure in degrading and insulting other people. Best evidenced in his behaviour during the magical tournament in Monjon -- the winner of which princess Serena is supposed to marry. He is a shapeshifter, so he can take any form he wants... and while competing, he takes the visage of a hideous, montrous being that only barely resembles a human. When he comes to claim Serena's hand, though, he appears as a handsome young man. King Agrant catches upon this quickly, realizing that Gadjung took his previous, disgusting form solely and only to freak Serena and her father out. He is furious about it, of course, but at the same time too afraid to openly lambast the sorcerer.

* UngratefulBastard:
** When Relkin meets Zettila for the first time, he prevents a catastrophe when the horses pulling her carriage panic and go out of control. In return, not only does she curse him, but later selects him personally as a sacrifice to her goddess.
** In exchange for sparing Serena's life, Evander agrees to steal the Thymnal and deliver it to him. When Gadjung gets his wish, he decides to kill Evander anyway.

* VitriolicBestBuds:
** Bazil and Relkin frequently engage in SnarkToSnarkCombat or otherwise bicker, but there is no doubt that they deeply care for each other and are pretty much like brothers.
** After befriending Swane, Rakama and he still like to bicker and call each other names, though it is all in jest. In particular, they call each other "monkey" jokingly after Cuzo names them such when chewing them out (though both Swane and Rakama take it as an offence when anybody else calls them that way).
* WeCanRuleTogether:
** The Doom offers for Bazil to serve it as a general of its army. Bazil's reply to this offer may be summed up as "screw you".
** Heruta promises Relkin that he'll make him the king of Marneri if he turns to his side. Relkin is fully aware, though, than Heruta has absolutely no intention of giving any sort of power over conquered lands to anyone but himself. However, instead of downright rejecting the offer, he instead decides to pretend that he takes it, which Heruta swallows hook, line and sinker.
* WellIntentionedExtremist:
** Heruta tries to portray himself as one when confronted by Lessis, claiming that he and his comrades ultimately act for the betterment of mankind, in order to guarantee humans progress and lordship over the world. However, [[ShutUpHannibal Lessis is quick to point out]] that Heruta wants all the power over the world [[ItsAllAboutMe for himself and himself only]], not humans in general.
** Waakzaam, Waakzaam, Waakzaam. His original motivation was to improve the worlds created by the Great Mother and then molded by seven divine beings (including him) she created specifically for that goal. However, the inhabitants of the worlds he visited proved uncooperative, so he quickly resorted to drastic measures such as culling the local population (and by "culling" we mean "driving it to near-extinction") in order to prevent overpopulation or violently quelling the rebellion that broke out because the locals were not happy with the rulers Waakzaam installed. In time, he dropped all subtlety and became a downright evil tyrant, "improving" twelve planets by turning them into utter [[CrapsackWorld Crapsack Worlds]].
* WorthyOpponent:
** After the soldiers left from Argonath manage to beat a force of armed imps in the arena of Tummuz Orgreen while having only wooden shields and swords, they're praised for it, then offered a chance to join the Doom's army. They flatly refuse this however, and are ordered killed in a later bout instead.
** Burthong and Bazil acknowledge each other as such after their duel.

* NobleDemon: The officer in charge of Padmasan operations in the Kraheen empire on the Eigo continent, general Kreegsbrok, is pretty much the only Padmasan leader who isn't portrayed as a complete bastard. His methods are [[PragmaticVillainy purely pragmatic]], which means he doesn't engage in wanton war crimes when they don't serve any purpose and he doesn't advocate unnecessary cruelty towards slaves, since they are a valuable work force. Moreover, the Kraheen rulers were vicious bastards even before his takeover, so [[KickTheSonOfABitch by overthrowing them]] [[PetTheDog he did their subjects a favor]] and actually ''improved'' their lives. Even Relkin calls Kreegsbrok a man of honor (though he also accuses him of losing said honor by serving such evil masters).

** During the voyage to Eigo in book four, we learn that dragons are immune to sea sickness, since their ears' labyrinth is different than humans'. They apparently retain balance thanks to movement of small cilias inside while lacking a fluid that our labyrinth holds and which is shaken by movement of a vessel, "disorienting the whole system". This is ''absolutely not'' how motion sickness works. In reality, its main cause is a dissonance between signals you receive from your labyrinth (which tells you that you are on the move) and your other sensory organs, mainly eyes (which tell you that you are not moving). Which is why the best course of action when you're seasick is to stay on the deck and watch the landscape (which you can ''see'' moving), while the worst thing you can do is to stay in your cabin (where ''nothing'' moves, thus aggravating the symptoms). So even if you replace liquid with some unspecified cilias, that does not change anything -- dragons would still be seasick as hell. To dispel any further doubts -- no, the fact that Argonathi dragons are naturally aquatic animals ''does not'' magically give them an immunity to sea sickness, just like the fact that we humans are naturally land animals does not make us immune to getting sick when we're, for example, trying to read in a car. That is because sea sickness does not stem from some malicious properties of the sea, but the fact that you travel it ''by a ship'' -- something which moves independently from your own body and the sea itself, thus causing said dissonance.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: When an expeditionary force consisting of Argonath and its allies travels through the ancient jungle on Eigo on their way to the Kraheen empire, they come under frequent attacks from aggressive local fauna, which was quite obviously based on real-world dinosaurs and terror birds. In-universe, though, [[CallARabbitASmeerp they are called "pujish" by Ardu and "kebbolds" by people of Mirchaz]]. Their similarity to dragons does not go without a [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]], though dragons themselves -- after initial fascination wears off -- are usually offended by suggestion that they may share common ancestors with such wild and vile beasts.
-->'''Bazil:''' ''[after being called "kebbold" [[RageBreakingPoint one time too many]]]'' For the ancestors' fiery breath, I am not a kebbold more than you are a monkey!

** The Teetol are a tribal people who seem similar to Native Americans with their names, specifically Algonquin as their men have their heads shaved except for top knots while having a strong honor-bound warrior culture.

* EqualOpportunityEvil: Padmasa accepts greedy, power-hungry people who harbor a secret hatred for the rest of the world from every race and nation. Women are mostly desired as {{breeding slave}}s, but they have some along with men too if they're useful in other ways.

* {{Gorn}}: Rowley tends to describe battles in great detail, from a viewpoint of an ordinary soldier (usually Bazil or Relkin) and is not squeamish in the least when it comes to bloodshed and dismemberment that inevitably ensues. This trope is taken up to eleven, though, in battle of Salpalangum in book two. Basically, a numerically superior but undisciplined horde of religious fanatics openly attack well-trained and organized legions of Argonath (who have ''dragons'' in their ranks, you know), employing HollywoodTactics and CallThatAFormation tropes -- which leads to SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome as they are all hacked into mincemeat.

** The Golden Elves (those in Mirchaz, at least) take this trope UpToEleven. They basically [[AGodAmI equate themselves to gods]] and view ''all'' races on Ryetelth as inferior. One of them, in conversation in Relkin, openly declares that he's as superior to him as Relkin is superior to an animal.

* {{Gorn}}: Rowley tends to describe battles in great detail, from a viewpoint of an ordinary soldier (usually Bazil or Relkin) and is not squeamish in the least when it comes to bloodshed and dismemberment that inevitably ensues. This trope is taken UpToEleven, though, in battle of Salpalangum in book two. Basically, a numerically superior but undisciplined horde of religious fanatics openly attack well-trained and organized legions of Argonath (who have ''dragons'' in their ranks, you know), employing HollywoodTactics and CallThatAFormation tropes -- which leads to SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome as they are all hacked into mincemeat.

* PuppetKing: Thrembode attempted to make the prince of Marneri into this, since he's a brain-damaged and easily manipulated fool, so he can be a pawn of Padmasa after becoming king. However, this is thwarted by the witches, who arrange some "accident" for him.

* WorthyOpponent: After the soldiers left from Argonath manage to beat a force of armed imps in the arena of Tummuz Orgreen while having only wooden shields and swords, they're praised for it, then offered a chance to join the Doom's army. They flatly refuse this however, and are ordered killed in a later bout instead.

** Berthong hacks off an ogre's leg at knee's height during the battle at Sprian's Ridge.

** Berthong's dragon sword is named Herak.