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->''"Does it lighten the burden of your Grace, to know you have beautiful eyes?"''
Within seven kingdoms, there are people born with mismatched eyes. These eyes are the mark of a Graceling, a person who is Graced with an extreme skill. All Gracelings are handed over to their respective king, who determines if their skill is useful to him and his kingdom. Those deemed unworthy are sent back to their homes in shame.

Across a large band of mountains east to these kingdoms is a place called the Dells. No Gracelings live there, though beings known as monsters do. A wide range of animals- from a tiny kitten to a large vulture- can be a monster, marked by their fantastic coloring, telepathic powers, and unnatural beauty.

To the north of the seven kingdoms and the Dells is Torla, a continent divided up into various nations, where people communicate with telepathic blue foxes. In Torla, it's not kings that reign, but politicians. Within the nation of Winterkeep specifically are the political parties of the Scholars and the Industrialists. The Scholars hold most of the political power, seeing as their prime minister is one herself.

The ''Graceling Realm'' series (also known as the "Seven Kingdoms" series) is a series of young adult fantasy novels by Kristin Cashore. Each novel tells its own story, but they aren't completely divorced from one another.
* ''Graceling'' (2008): Katsa is a Graceling with a particularly deadly skill: she can kill anyone with ease. This has earned her a spot as King Randa's enforcer, forced to hurt and maim anyone who displeases him. Though she despises her work, she fears Randa's wrath far more. It isn't until she meets Po, a visiting Graced prince from a foreign court, that she begins to learn how to fear her Grace less and love a little more. Of course, if that was all the prince brought with him, life would be far easier: a sinister presence has made its way into one of the seven kingdoms with nary anyone the wiser. It will take far more than each of their Graces to bring the evil to light and end it.
* ''Fire'' (2009): Takes place forty years before the events of ''Graceling''. Most monsters in the Dells are animals. Fire, however, is the last human monster in existence. Her bright scarlet hair and supernaturally good looks aren't the only mark as to her heritage: her ability to read and manipulate minds is too. Despite her father's teachings, Fire refuses to use her powers over others; the last thing the Dells need is another human monster that almost destroyed its people. In order to prove to everyone, including herself, that she won't turn into her father, Fire aids a royal in his quest to bring a current political conflict to an end.
* ''Bitterblue'' (2012): Eight years after the events of ''Graceling'', Bitterblue has more or less settled into her role as Queen of Monsea. If only her council would lighten up a bit. They mean well, but the endless parade of paperwork they thrust on her wears her out. Plus, she believes that their reports regarding the state of her citizens aren't as honest as they should be. So, she begins to sneak out of the castle during the night in order to see for herself what the average Monsean does and sees. Her nightly sessions unintentionally wind up revealing more about Monsea's past than it does its present: Bitterblue's father, King Leck, left untold scars among his subjects, both visible and hidden. Uncovering them will be an arduous and painful task for everyone involved, not just for Monsea but for Bitterblue and her council as well.
* ''Winterkeep'' (2021): Takes place four years after the events of ''Bitterblue''. Politics is no stranger to Lovisa. The daughter of a prime minister and an opposing politician, Lovisa knows more about the behind the scenes of what keeps Winterkeep's government running than the average citizen. Not that this knowledge prepares her for what's to come: the Queen of Monsea, Bitterblue, is set to arrive in Winterkeep along with her entourage. The Queen, however, never arrives. In fact, she seems to have drowned on her way there. Though heartbroken and distraught, Giddon and Hava- two of Bitterblue's closest friends- resolve themselves to figuring out the truth behind the incident that brought them there: two Monsean envoys died and the circumstances behind their deaths smacks of foul-play. Unbeknownst to Giddon and Hava, Lovisa is just the person they need to solve this mystery... and even perhaps bring Bitterblue back to them.

[[https://kristincashore.blogspot.com/2021/09/tiny-quick-update.html An upcoming fifth novel focusing on Hava]] is in the works.
----
!!The series provides examples of:
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: The Lienid practically worship their princes, and especially Po.
** Also Brigan. His soldiers would follow him through seven hells.
** Leck too. [[spoiler: Though not through legitimate means...]]
* ActionGirl: Plenty. Most notably, Katsa, Bitterblue, and all the women in Brigan's army.
** Hanna grows up to be one. We never see it, but it's mentioned in ''Bitterblue'' that she's an army commander.
* AerithAndBob: Most of the characters have short, simple medieval-sounding names: Katsa, Raffin, Faun, Leck, Oll, Skye, Helda, Randa, Ashen. But then there's Bitterblue and Greening Grandemalion (who goes by Po, but still).
** These last two are from the Kingdom of Lienid where most names are based on colours.
** It's more apparent in Fire, when we have a mix of names like Brigan and Nash mixed with names like Clara and Hanna.
* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: Animal monsters.
* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead: No matter what form, mind reading always seems to have its downsides.
** Most notably, [[spoiler: Po. He only knows thoughts that are related to him, which has numerous benefits, but he can't give someone the privacy of their thoughts even if he wants to.]]
* ArrangedMarriage: Common, as you'd expect for a medieval fantasy setting.
** King Randa wants to enter Katsa into one in ''Graceling'', but she does everything in her power to make sure the few suitors who want her for a bride will find her intolerable.
** Randa's son Raffin expects he'll be entered into one eventually. Falling in love with a lady or a princess on his own isn't really an option, as he's gay.
** Randa agrees to find a wife for a desperate borderlord from a neighbouring kingdom, provided he gets the dowry.
* AttemptedRape: Every book has ''at least'' one example.
** Fire is constantly at risk of this, due to her unnatural beauty.
** It's implied that Leck's interest in getting Bitterblue back isn't entirely fatherly.
** When Katsa and Po are staying at an inn in ''Graceling'', Katsa notices a man leering at the inn-keeper's daughter. When they speak to him later that night, he mumbles a comment about protective fathers and locked bedroom doors.
* BadPowersBadPeople: This is the general public's perception of Katsa and what she fears about herself. In reality, though, she hates being forced to use her powers for evil, and when given the option she's more an example of GoodIsNotNice. Then again, [[spoiler: it turns out her powers aren't so evil, possibly playing the trope straight.]] The BigBad of ''Graceling'' plays this trope to the hilt. Fire also suffers from this perception to a lesser extent.
* BlessedWithSuck: If you're lucky, your Grace will be useful and the king will keep you at court. If you're unlucky, then you get sent home, where you'll most likely be shunned for your useless Grace. If you're ''really'' lucky, you live in Lienid, where the Gracelings are free and treated with respect.
** [[spoiler: Po's ability to read minds and sense people really does suck, since no one would trust him.]]
** Being a human monster. ''Especially'' if you're a woman. Everyone objectifies you for your beauty, and you constantly have to watch for people who want to (sexually) assault you. Oh, and monster animals hunger for your flesh. And they are drawn to your blood so you things get awkward during your period when you need ''armed guards'' around you to protect you.
* CompellingVoice: [[spoiler: Leck's Grace of lying pretty much amounts to this. Since everyone who hears one of his lies believes what he says over any logic and evidence (and it doesn't even have to be from him- you could have heard it from someone who heard it from someone who heard it from someone who heard it from Leck and still be caught), he can use it to make people do what he wants.]]
* CrapsackWorld: Six of the seven kingdoms are run by a greedy, selfish king who don't give a crap about their people and are more interested in having spats with each other.
** Likewise, while the Dells is more advanced in terms of medicine, science, art, etc, it's been in a lawless, decaying state for the past thirty years and is in the middle of a civil war, thanks to Nax and Cansrel being more concerned with getting high than running the country. It's got better in ''Bitterblue'' though, from the sound of it.
* CursedWithAwesome: Katsa's [[spoiler:real]] Grace: [[spoiler:Survival]]. [[spoiler:King Leck's Grace also qualifies, but he has no moral qualms about utilizing this.]]
* DifferentlyPoweredIndividual: Gracelings.
* FantasyContraception: Both Katsa and Bitterblue use seabane, an herb that prevents pregnancy, and Fire eventually decides take a certain type of medicine that leaves her permanently unable to have children.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Cashore is a master of it.
* InfoDump: Every book starts with one, but the degrees vary.
* LaResistance: The Council is a mild version of this. At first they're not interested in taking down any kings, merely just off-setting the damage they do, but by ''Bitterblue'' they're supporting one kingdom overthrowing their king and replacing him with a democracy.
* OnePersonOnePower: One Grace per Graceling, although how much they can do with it depends on how broadly it's defined.
* ParanoiaFuel: [[spoiler: Leck's Grace of lying. Anything he tells you, no matter how absurd, you will believe. Even if you know this is his Grace, it's still almost impossible to resist in person. And it even works (though thankfully to a lesser degree) when it's someone else who's repeating Leck's lies. There is no way to be sure how much he has already used this Grace to mess with your head.]]
* ThePowerOfLove: The only way (except for Po's Grace) to resist [[spoiler: Leck's]] Grace. Queen Ashen is able to resist it for Bitterblue, and [[spoiler: Katsa kills Leck at the end because she loves Po and he was about to reveal Po's secret.]]
* SharedUnusualTrait:
** The tell-tale sign of a Graceling is their different colored eyes.
** Monsters can be told apart from regular members of their species because of their extreme beauty and YouGottaHaveBlueHair.
* StayInTheKitchen: As you'd expect from a medieval fantasy world, but for once it's actually addressed rather than just accepted. Katsa points how ridiculous it is that women are supposed to rely on men to protect them, when chances are it'll be men that want to harm them as well.
** The Dellians, being the more advanced and forward-thinking country, have allowed women to become full members of the army. Only recently, but still way better than the Seven Kingdoms.
* SuperpowerLottery: A Grace is basically 'incredible to the point of being supernatural skill at one thing'. That one thing can be something useless like 'tree-climbing' or 'licking one's elbows', something useful-but-limited like 'math' or 'cooking', or something ''very'' useful like 'mind-reading', 'killing', 'lying', or 'survival'.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Monsters have strangely-colored hair. Cansrel, Fire's father, had blue-silver hair. Fire herself has fire-colored hair (she was named because of that).
** Raffin makes a medicine you rub into your scalp to cure a headache, which temporarily turns your hair blue.
** And Fire gets her name from her hair, which is orange, red, pink, and other such colours.

!!''Graceling'' provides examples of:
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Katsa hates this trope up to a point where she's uncomfortable being saved by anyone.
* AntiClimax: Katsa's final battle with [[spoiler:King Leck involves her killing him with one dagger thrown through his mouth.]]
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: [[spoiler:Bitterblue]].
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Averted. Katsa is so vehemently opposed to having babies (and marriage) that she refuses Po's affection for her at first.
* BattleCouple: Katsa and Po.
* BeautifulDreamer: Katsa admires Po this way at least once. After making sure he's ''really'' asleep, of course.
* BerserkButton: Do NOT imply that Po is Katsa's "sensible keeper."
* BestialityIsDepraved: [[spoiler:Implied that King Leck does this to animals at his orphanage before brutally hacking them to bits.]]
* {{Brainwashed}}: [[spoiler:Anyone who meets King Leck, thanks to his Grace.]]
* BreakingSpeech: Randa to Katsa.
* BlindSeer: [[spoiler:Po becomes this. Well, he already had the Seer part down (sensing everyone's presence, reading minds), but he does lose his eyesight later on.]]
* ChildhoodMarriagePromise: Subverted. Katsa and Raffin were thinking of making one so Raffin could avoid an ArrangedMarriage. They don't take it too seriously and laughed about it when they realized it would never work.
* CombatClairvoyance: [[spoiler:Prince Po]]'s Grace equates to this in a fight.
* DeadpanSnarker: Katsa has traces of this.
* DecoyProtagonist: King Randa of the Decoy Villain variety.
* {{Determinator}}: Katsa really wants to be the best at everything, whether it's from archery to just racing up the stairs. There's also the bit where she [[spoiler:crosses [[DeathCourse Grella's Pass]] with Bitterblue in ''the middle of a blizzard'']].
* [[spoiler:DisabilitySuperpower]]: What Po's Grace becomes.
* TheDogBitesBack: Katsa comments about how Randa knows how to make her feel like a brutal dog. She then tells him how she will kill all of the hundreds of guards he has with him, along with Randa himself.
* DreamworksFace: Po at the end of Chapter Six.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Po's real name is ''Greening Grandemalion''.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Everyone, from Po to Randa, was aware of Giddon being in love with Katsa. Oh, and that Katsa and Po liked each other.
* FemaleGaze: Katsa to Po a number of times.
* FightingFromTheInside: Po, Ashen, Bitterblue are pretty good at this. Katsa, not so much.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: Leck]] is the only potential culprit for the plot-triggering kidnapping that is dismissed ''without'' a logical reason. [[spoiler: He did it, and he uses his Grace to make sure he's never considered suspicious.]]
** Before leaving Randa's court, Katsa laments that if she ''did'' kill him, his son Raffin would succeed him, and that his first act as king would be to punish her for the crime. Later, during the climax, she manages to kill [[spoiler: King Leck, in front of a crowd of brainwashed witnesses; his daughter Bitterblue subsequently uses her power as the new queen of Monsea to pardon her for the crime.]]
* FreakOut: Katsa has one when she realizes that she's in love with Po.
* FridgeLogic: Po has an InUniverse moment of this when he hears about [[spoiler: Leck's supposed good deeds]], and notices the very obvious holes in the story.
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Katsa and Po.
* HairTriggerTemper: Katsa, though she improves as the novel progresses.
* HeroicBSOD: Po [[spoiler:after he goes blind]].
* ImportantHairCut: Bitterblue's, which symbolizes she's no longer a pampered, sheltered princess. Averted with Katsa, who just didn't have the patience for keeping it tidy.
* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: "The wild ones are most fun if you know how to control them."
* [[LetsPlay Let's Read]]: [[http://dragon-quill.blogspot.com/search/label/Graceling Here.]]
* LoveAtFirstPunch: For Po at least. Actually, a big part of Katsa's and Po's relationship is centered on trying to punch each others' guts out. Being that both of them are accomplished fighters who revel in sparring matches, this is much less dysfunctional than it sounds.
* MassHypnosis: [[spoiler:Not only Leck's Kingdom, but everyone who personally meets King Leck. In fact, anyone who hears King Leck, and then talks to other people, who then talk to ''other'' people, taking this SerialEscalation.]]
* NasalTrauma: Katsa recounts the story of how she discovered her Killing Grace: she panicked as a child when an older, royal man seemed to be taking interest in her... and proceeded to smash his nose into his face so hard it killed him. She was just a child at the time.
* NoSell: Po's Grace makes him entirely immune to [[spoiler: Leck's Grace.]]
* NotWantingKidsIsWeird: Giddon flips out when Katsa refuses to marry him and says that one day she will grow to want children, despite her denial.
* ObliviousToLove: Katsa, full stop. She didn't realize that Giddon was in love with her, she didn't realize Po was in love with her, she didn't realize realize ''she'' was in love with Po.
* OnePersonOnePower: Graces. Each Graceling can only get one, which can be as broad as 'survival' and as narrow as 'climbing trees'.
* RunningGag: Katsa "abusing" her horses from overwork. Probably also qualifies as Somewhere an Equestrian is Crying. Seriously, she rides her horses full tilt at night for hours because it's "only" five or six more leagues until they get home and she's too impatient to wait for morning. One of the other characters asks if she is still ruining the horses.
* ShutUpHannibal: Randa gives Katsa a BreakingSpeech when she refuses to obey him. She responds by telling him exactly how she could kill every guard in the throne room and himself, before leaving.
* StoryBreakerPower: [[spoiler: Leck's Grace of lying, especially since it's contagious.]]
* SuperGullible: ''Everyone'' when confronted with [[spoiler: Leck's Grace for lying. No matter how ridiculous the lie or how far it is from the source, people will still believe him]]. Po is the only one who can see through it.
* {{Telepathy}}: [[spoiler:Po's real grace. Note that it works only when people's thoughts are specifically focused on him.]]
* TheSmartGuy: Raffin.
* TheirFirstTime: Katsa and Po.
* UnstoppableRage: Katsa is afraid of hers. Po has traces of this, too.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Katsa and Po, to some extent.
* WalkingTheEarth: Katsa and Po end up doing this from Part II on.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Bitterblue. She even realizes that "Po was in a position to see Katsa naked" at ''ten years old''.
* TheWisePrince: Raffin.
* WithMyHandsTied: When normal fighting gets boring, Katsa begins training to fight up to ''eight'' men all at once, with her arms behind her back.
* WriterOnBoard: Katsa's beliefs on marriage and having children. WordOfGod even admits that some of her beliefs got transferred into the novel.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Raffin dyes his hair blue by accident.

!! ''Fire'' provides examples of:
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Fire.
* BodyHorror: Brocker's legs were shattered. Not broken, ''shattered''. By eight men taking turns with mallets.
* TheCasanova: Archer.
* ClosedDoorRapport: Fire insists on this with Nash at first, since seeing her face reduces him to a babbling idiot. Eventually he gets better.
* CoolHorse: Subverted when Fire chooses a plain, but sweet-tempered gelding instead of the showy mare Cansrel picked for her. Played straight with the river horse that "adopts" her after [[spoiler: her escape from Leck's hideout]].
* CreepyChild: Leck.
* DeathByChildbirth: Hanna's mother.
** Also [[spoiler: Leck's]] mother.
* DirtyMindReading: Mind reading + SoBeautifulItsACurse = ...remember when we said Fire's life was built around BlessedWithSuck?
* AFatherToHisMen: Brigan, very much so.
* EnfantTerrible: Leck. Isn't it nice to know that he's been torturing animals and killing people since he was a child?
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Fire loves animals and they love her. It does help that she has mind reading/control powers, so she can sense how they react to her and directly reassure them when needed to.
* FriendToAllChildren: Fire, which is why her resolution to remain the last of her kind is so difficult to keep. She compensates by taking care of her friends' children.
* FriendsWithBenefits: Fire and Archer. He wants to marry her, but the more he asks, the more it irritates her.
* GeniusDitz: Clara may seem silly at first meeting, but she's actually one of the Dells' highest-ranking spymasters.
* GreenEyedMonster: [[TheCasanova Ironically]], Archer.
* HeroicBastard: Clara, Garan, Archer, [[spoiler:and Brigan.]]
* HeroicBSOD: Fire had one after [[spoiler:she killed her father]]. And another when [[spoiler:she finds Archer's body]].
* HeroesWantRedheads: Fire.
* HumansAreBastards: Fire's monster beauty tends to bring out the worst in people.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: [[spoiler:Fire killed Cansrel, her father, because he was an evil man intent on keeping the Dells in chaos]].
* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: Brigan's mind is so disciplined that he can block Fire's powers, which unsettles her, but is also a part of what makes her fall for him.
* IfYouDieICallYourStuff: Just before a dangerous mission, Fire jokingly does this in order to get a sleepy Brigan to pay attention.
* IllGirl: Garan is the rare male version of this trope.
* InverseLawOfFertility: A variation. Fire, as mentioned, wants children, and she's physically capable of having them [[spoiler:at least until she utilizes a permanent form of birth control]] but she doesn't dare, because monster humans should not exist.
** Meanwhile, [[spoiler: Mila and Clara]] become pregnant purely by accident.
* LamarckWasRight: A large theme of the story is [[DefiedTrope defying this]]. "If we are all to be judged by our parents and grandparents, we all may as well impale ourselves on pointy bits of rock."
* LastOfHerKind: Fire, and she is damn well going to keep it that way.
* LikeParentLikeSpouse: [[spoiler: No wonder Fire falls in love with gray-eyed, stoic, military genius Brigan. He's Brocker's son.]]
* LineageComesFromTheFather: Fire obviously takes after her father, having inherited being a monster from him. Partway through the book, however, she realizes that she's neglected to ever think about what she might have inherited from her mother--including her mother's family.
* LukeIAmYourFather: For three separate characters.
* MoralityPet: Fire was this to Cansrel. Hanna to Brigan, too, although he's not mean, just cold.
* MoralityChain: Subverted. Fire wanted to become this, but she couldn't.
* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. It's brought up how inconvenient it is for Fire, as monsters are drawn to the smell of her blood and she can't go anywhere without a guard.
* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler: Archer is shot by his biological father (see {{Rape As Backstory}}), though it's not known if either one knew about it.]]
* OneSteveLimit: Followed technically, but Nash and Nax are close enough together to be annoying.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Archer's real name is Arklin (which is mentioned exactly ''once''), but no one calls him that, not even the other Lords and Princes.
* ParentalSubstitute: Brocker to Fire, even while Cansrel was still alive.
* PetTheDog: In Brigan's case, be nice to the monster's horse and replace her broken violin.
* PosthumousCharacter: Cansrel and King Nax. Cansrel is quite well developed like this, too.
* RapeAsBackstory: Archer was conceived this way when mad King Nax sent a man to rape Brocker's wife as revenge against Brocker [[spoiler:for sleeping with, and impregnating, Queen Roen]].
* RetiredBadass: Brocker was the king's best war leader.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The ''entire'' royal family.
* SecondLove: For both protagonists.
* SexyShirtSwitch: Archer finds this "impossibly sweet", oblivious to the fact that Fire's doing it to cover up some bruises.
* SkunkStripe: Queen Roen.
* SoBeautifulItsACurse: ''Heavily'' deconstructed with Fire. Her beauty makes her a predator magnet of both the animal ''and'' human variety, to the point that she is assigned a permanent twenty-person guard and isn't even allowed to sleep alone - two of her female guards must always be with her - once she's at the palace, as there are too many people who might want to hurt her, or even just barge into her rooms for the sole purpose of staring at her or touching her hair.
** The book is very good at taking the idea of someone being "impossibly beautiful" to the point of being nearly irresistible and showing ''just how awful that would be''. Even leaving aside all of the obvious drawbacks mentioned above, there are smaller, more emotion-based ones that would be just as psychologically hard to deal with. Much of human empathy comes from how people look; the crappier someone looks, the more likely a person is to feel sympathy/empathy for them and reach out with comfort and understanding. Even when beaten, bruised, sickly, and crying, Fire is still the most gorgeous creature in the Dells. How she looks will almost never reflect how she truly feels. Fire herself puts it best:
-->"I'm not how I look," [Fire] said suddenly, bursting into tears. "I look beautiful and placid and delightful, but that's not how I feel. I will be sad. I will be sad, and confused, and irritable, very often."
* SelfMadeOrphan: Leck in the prologue, [[spoiler:and a heroic version with Fire]].
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Subverted with Brigan. He's got the tall and dark part down, but he is explicitly described as being quite plain in appearance, and certainly not handsome.
* TheyCallHimSword: Archer.
* WeCanRuleTogether: [[spoiler: Leck wants Fire as his "partner". Her answer is to send him falling into some sharp rocks, explaining why he has an eyepatch in the later book.]]
* WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk: Fire herself, albeit very reluctantly and after much persuasion, uses her monster powers to interrogate prisoners. Justified as she's working to prevent a three-way war.
* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler:Garan]] gives Fire an ''epic'' one due to her [[spoiler:spending so much time wallowing in her grief rather than doing anything useful]].
* TheWisePrince: Brigan.
* WomanScorned: Nax is the SpearCounterpart.
* WorthyOpponent: Fire has a certain respect for Murgda, one of the rebel leaders.
* WrongContextMagic: Leck is a Graceling in a country that's never heard of them.
** This benefits him though, as nobody realizes the significance and danger of his mismatched eyes. And there are no laws saying he's property of the king, which is what he was trying to escape when he left the Seven Kingdoms in the first place.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Archer was lucky for a while, but Fire eventually dumps him.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Fire fits pretty well if you place the Dells in the position of family: A sweet girl with inner iron that tries to be a MoralityChain and lives [[FantasyCounterpartCulture east of the first book's setting]]
* YouDidTheRightThing: [[spoiler:Pretty much everyone tells Fire this in regard to her deliberately causing the death of her father and making it look like a suicide]]. Considering [[DarkestHour what would have happened]] had he lived, they're not wrong.

!!''Bitterblue'' provides examples of:
* AscendedExtra: Giddon and Bann. The former only appeared in the first third of ''Graceling'', and the latter had almost no lines whatsoever.
* CatsAreMean: Death's cat, Lovejoy.
* TheChainsOfCommanding:
* ChildByRape: [[spoiler: Hava is the daughter of Leck and his sculptor Bellamew. Her mother kept her safe from Leck by pretending she had died.]]
** Bitterblue. [[spoiler: She and Death find confirmation in Leck's journal that Leck kept both Ashen and Bellamew for himself.]]
** Quite possibly at least some others. See MedicalRapeAndImpregnate.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Everyone Leck affected with his voice, forcing several to do horrible things to other human beings. [[spoiler:Seven years later, she's horrified to find they're ''still'' carrying out his work and covering it up.]]
* DramatisPersonae: There's one at the back, written by Bitterblue's librarian, Death.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of [[spoiler:Bitterblue's advisers after she arrests them both on charges of treason and conspiracy. The other one mentions he's considered it but has his family to worry about, so she grants him house arrest.]]
* EvilTaintedThePlace: In the third book we discover that the former ruler of Monsea (who was blessed with an astounding ability to make people believe anything he wanted to), left a nasty taint on the kingdom for his daughter to deal with when she assumes the throne. The good old king in addition to being CursedWithAwesome, was a creepy sadist who had a favorite past time was to go a torturin' his subjects with his gifts. The fall out of having literally hundreds of people mentally tortured into believing things, leaves the new ruler with the problem of having the occasional person or two go completely nuts out of the blue. Needless to say, she tires of it real quick.
* FalseFriend: [[spoiler:Fox, who is actually the member of a proud family of thieves. She not only stole the crown but also a ring that belonged to Bitterblue's mother]]
* GovernmentConspiracy: Bitterblue suspects there is one, her [[VoiceOfTheResistance new friends]] are sure there is one.
* {{Hallucinations}}: Po talks about "the dead in the river" [[spoiler: after Bitterblue sends him after Saf into the rain and he gets a fever. Turns out the fever was warping and distorting his Grace, and there actually ''are'' bones in the Dell.]]
* HeroOfAnotherStory: ''Everyone'' who also appeared in ''Graceling'' [[spoiler: and ''Fire'']].
* HeroicBastard: [[spoiler:Bitterblue's half sister Hava saves her life a few times but is the only person to know they are related]]
* LogicalWeakness: Po mentions that despite his DisabilitySuperpower he can't see color; Bitterblue feels bad for getting annoyed with him about it after he explains it.
* {{MacGuffin}}: Bitterblue's crown for most of the book. [[spoiler:Eventually she pretends that a fake has been found, to get the thief off the hook.]]
* MedicalHorror / MedicalRapeAndImpregnate: One of Leck's great passions was his "hospital" where he would perform surgical experiments. He even raped women for the purpose of having pregnant subjects. His impulse control problems often caused his subjects to die too quickly as he would perform multiple simultaneous experiments on a single person.
* PronouncingMyNameForYou: Although this information is of questionable relevance to this record; Death, the Royal Librarian of Monsea , would merely like to note that his name is pronounced to rhyme with "teeth." (Though he suspects that some get it wrong merely to annoy him at times.)
* [[KingIncognito Queen Incognito:]] The plot is mostly kicked off by Bitterblue doing this.
* RapeByProxy: Leck. Just to make it worse, he used [[spoiler:other men]] as the proxy.
* UnwittingPawn: Bitterblue is quite unhappy to find out that she has become this, with [[spoiler:her advisors obstructing education in the city, ordering the army to commit atrocities to cover up Leck's crimes, and leaving her in the dark about the real state of affairs]].
''Some entries are at the moment grievously incomplete, pending the final, official reports. The annalists cannot be held accountable for errors or omissions caused or required by others, of which there are doubtless many.''

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to:

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/graceling_cover.jpg]]

->''"Does it lighten the burden of your Grace, to know you have beautiful eyes?"''
Within seven kingdoms, there are people born with mismatched eyes. These eyes are the mark of a Graceling, a person who is Graced with an extreme skill. All Gracelings are handed over to their respective king, who determines if their skill is useful to him and his kingdom. Those deemed unworthy are sent back to their homes in shame.

Across a large band of mountains east to these kingdoms is a place called the Dells. No Gracelings live there, though beings known as monsters do. A wide range of animals- from a tiny kitten to a large vulture- can be a monster, marked by their fantastic coloring, telepathic powers, and unnatural beauty.

To the north of the seven kingdoms and the Dells is Torla, a continent divided up into various nations, where people communicate with telepathic blue foxes. In Torla, it's not kings that reign, but politicians. Within the nation of Winterkeep specifically are the political parties of the Scholars and the Industrialists. The Scholars hold most of the political power, seeing as their prime minister is one herself.

The ''Graceling Realm'' series (also known as the "Seven Kingdoms" series) is a series of young adult fantasy novels by Kristin Cashore. Each novel tells its own story, but they aren't completely divorced from one another.
* ''Graceling'' (2008): Katsa is a Graceling with a particularly deadly skill: she can kill anyone with ease. This has earned her a spot as King Randa's enforcer, forced to hurt and maim anyone who displeases him. Though she despises her work, she fears Randa's wrath far more. It isn't until she meets Po, a visiting Graced prince from a foreign court, that she begins to learn how to fear her Grace less and love a little more. Of course, if that was all the prince brought with him, life would be far easier: a sinister presence has made its way into one of the seven kingdoms with nary anyone the wiser. It will take far more than each of their Graces to bring the evil to light and end it.
* ''Fire'' (2009): Takes place forty years before the events of ''Graceling''. Most monsters in the Dells are animals. Fire, however, is the last human monster in existence. Her bright scarlet hair and supernaturally good looks aren't the only mark as to her heritage: her ability to read and manipulate minds is too. Despite her father's teachings, Fire refuses to use her powers over others; the last thing the Dells need is another human monster that almost destroyed its people. In order to prove to everyone, including herself, that she won't turn into her father, Fire aids a royal in his quest to bring a current political conflict to an end.
* ''Bitterblue'' (2012): Eight years after the events of ''Graceling'', Bitterblue has more or less settled into her role as Queen of Monsea. If only her council would lighten up a bit. They mean well, but the endless parade of paperwork they thrust on her wears her out. Plus, she believes that their reports regarding the state of her citizens aren't as honest as they should be. So, she begins to sneak out of the castle during the night in order to see for herself what the average Monsean does and sees. Her nightly sessions unintentionally wind up revealing more about Monsea's past than it does its present: Bitterblue's father, King Leck, left untold scars among his subjects, both visible and hidden. Uncovering them will be an arduous and painful task for everyone involved, not just for Monsea but for Bitterblue and her council as well.
* ''Winterkeep'' (2021): Takes place four years after the events of ''Bitterblue''. Politics is no stranger to Lovisa. The daughter of a prime minister and an opposing politician, Lovisa knows more about the behind the scenes of what keeps Winterkeep's government running than the average citizen. Not that this knowledge prepares her for what's to come: the Queen of Monsea, Bitterblue, is set to arrive in Winterkeep along with her entourage. The Queen, however, never arrives. In fact, she seems to have drowned on her way there. Though heartbroken and distraught, Giddon and Hava- two of Bitterblue's closest friends- resolve themselves to figuring out the truth behind the incident that brought them there: two Monsean envoys died and the circumstances behind their deaths smacks of foul-play. Unbeknownst to Giddon and Hava, Lovisa is just the person they need to solve this mystery... and even perhaps bring Bitterblue back to them.

[[https://kristincashore.blogspot.com/2021/09/tiny-quick-update.html An upcoming fifth novel focusing on Hava]] is in the works.
----
!!The series provides examples of:
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: The Lienid practically worship their princes, and especially Po.
** Also Brigan. His soldiers would follow him through seven hells.
** Leck too. [[spoiler: Though not through legitimate means...]]
* ActionGirl: Plenty. Most notably, Katsa, Bitterblue, and all the women in Brigan's army.
** Hanna grows up to be one. We never see it, but it's mentioned in ''Bitterblue'' that she's an army commander.
* AerithAndBob: Most of the characters have short, simple medieval-sounding names: Katsa, Raffin, Faun, Leck, Oll, Skye, Helda, Randa, Ashen. But then there's Bitterblue and Greening Grandemalion (who goes by Po, but still).
** These last two are from the Kingdom of Lienid where most names are based on colours.
** It's more apparent in Fire, when we have a mix of names like Brigan and Nash mixed with names like Clara and Hanna.
* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: Animal monsters.
* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead: No matter what form, mind reading always seems to have its downsides.
** Most notably, [[spoiler: Po. He only knows thoughts that are related to him, which has numerous benefits, but he can't give someone the privacy of their thoughts even if he wants to.]]
* ArrangedMarriage: Common, as you'd expect for a medieval fantasy setting.
** King Randa wants to enter Katsa into one in ''Graceling'', but she does everything in her power to make sure the few suitors who want her for a bride will find her intolerable.
** Randa's son Raffin expects he'll be entered into one eventually. Falling in love with a lady or a princess on his own isn't really an option, as he's gay.
** Randa agrees to find a wife for a desperate borderlord from a neighbouring kingdom, provided he gets the dowry.
* AttemptedRape: Every book has ''at least'' one example.
** Fire is constantly at risk of this, due to her unnatural beauty.
** It's implied that Leck's interest in getting Bitterblue back isn't entirely fatherly.
** When Katsa and Po are staying at an inn in ''Graceling'', Katsa notices a man leering at the inn-keeper's daughter. When they speak to him later that night, he mumbles a comment about protective fathers and locked bedroom doors.
* BadPowersBadPeople: This is the general public's perception of Katsa and what she fears about herself. In reality, though, she hates being forced to use her powers for evil, and when given the option she's more an example of GoodIsNotNice. Then again, [[spoiler: it turns out her powers aren't so evil, possibly playing the trope straight.]] The BigBad of ''Graceling'' plays this trope to the hilt. Fire also suffers from this perception to a lesser extent.
* BlessedWithSuck: If you're lucky, your Grace will be useful and the king will keep you at court. If you're unlucky, then you get sent home, where you'll most likely be shunned for your useless Grace. If you're ''really'' lucky, you live in Lienid, where the Gracelings are free and treated with respect.
** [[spoiler: Po's ability to read minds and sense people really does suck, since no one would trust him.]]
** Being a human monster. ''Especially'' if you're a woman. Everyone objectifies you for your beauty, and you constantly have to watch for people who want to (sexually) assault you. Oh, and monster animals hunger for your flesh. And they are drawn to your blood so you things get awkward during your period when you need ''armed guards'' around you to protect you.
* CompellingVoice: [[spoiler: Leck's Grace of lying pretty much amounts to this. Since everyone who hears one of his lies believes what he says over any logic and evidence (and it doesn't even have to be from him- you could have heard it from someone who heard it from someone who heard it from someone who heard it from Leck and still be caught), he can use it to make people do what he wants.]]
* CrapsackWorld: Six of the seven kingdoms are run by a greedy, selfish king who don't give a crap about their people and are more interested in having spats with each other.
** Likewise, while the Dells is more advanced in terms of medicine, science, art, etc, it's been in a lawless, decaying state for the past thirty years and is in the middle of a civil war, thanks to Nax and Cansrel being more concerned with getting high than running the country. It's got better in ''Bitterblue'' though, from the sound of it.
* CursedWithAwesome: Katsa's [[spoiler:real]] Grace: [[spoiler:Survival]]. [[spoiler:King Leck's Grace also qualifies, but he has no moral qualms about utilizing this.]]
* DifferentlyPoweredIndividual: Gracelings.
* FantasyContraception: Both Katsa and Bitterblue use seabane, an herb that prevents pregnancy, and Fire eventually decides take a certain type of medicine that leaves her permanently unable to have children.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Cashore is a master of it.
* InfoDump: Every book starts with one, but the degrees vary.
* LaResistance: The Council is a mild version of this. At first they're not interested in taking down any kings, merely just off-setting the damage they do, but by ''Bitterblue'' they're supporting one kingdom overthrowing their king and replacing him with a democracy.
* OnePersonOnePower: One Grace per Graceling, although how much they can do with it depends on how broadly it's defined.
* ParanoiaFuel: [[spoiler: Leck's Grace of lying. Anything he tells you, no matter how absurd, you will believe. Even if you know this is his Grace, it's still almost impossible to resist in person. And it even works (though thankfully to a lesser degree) when it's someone else who's repeating Leck's lies. There is no way to be sure how much he has already used this Grace to mess with your head.]]
* ThePowerOfLove: The only way (except for Po's Grace) to resist [[spoiler: Leck's]] Grace. Queen Ashen is able to resist it for Bitterblue, and [[spoiler: Katsa kills Leck at the end because she loves Po and he was about to reveal Po's secret.]]
* SharedUnusualTrait:
** The tell-tale sign of a Graceling is their different colored eyes.
** Monsters can be told apart from regular members of their species because of their extreme beauty and YouGottaHaveBlueHair.
* StayInTheKitchen: As you'd expect from a medieval fantasy world, but for once it's actually addressed rather than just accepted. Katsa points how ridiculous it is that women are supposed to rely on men to protect them, when chances are it'll be men that want to harm them as well.
** The Dellians, being the more advanced and forward-thinking country, have allowed women to become full members of the army. Only recently, but still way better than the Seven Kingdoms.
* SuperpowerLottery: A Grace is basically 'incredible to the point of being supernatural skill at one thing'. That one thing can be something useless like 'tree-climbing' or 'licking one's elbows', something useful-but-limited like 'math' or 'cooking', or something ''very'' useful like 'mind-reading', 'killing', 'lying', or 'survival'.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Monsters have strangely-colored hair. Cansrel, Fire's father, had blue-silver hair. Fire herself has fire-colored hair (she was named because of that).
** Raffin makes a medicine you rub into your scalp to cure a headache, which temporarily turns your hair blue.
** And Fire gets her name from her hair, which is orange, red, pink, and other such colours.

!!''Graceling'' provides examples of:
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Katsa hates this trope up to a point where she's uncomfortable being saved by anyone.
* AntiClimax: Katsa's final battle with [[spoiler:King Leck involves her killing him with one dagger thrown through his mouth.]]
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: [[spoiler:Bitterblue]].
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Averted. Katsa is so vehemently opposed to having babies (and marriage) that she refuses Po's affection for her at first.
* BattleCouple: Katsa and Po.
* BeautifulDreamer: Katsa admires Po this way at least once. After making sure he's ''really'' asleep, of course.
* BerserkButton: Do NOT imply that Po is Katsa's "sensible keeper."
* BestialityIsDepraved: [[spoiler:Implied that King Leck does this to animals at his orphanage before brutally hacking them to bits.]]
* {{Brainwashed}}: [[spoiler:Anyone who meets King Leck, thanks to his Grace.]]
* BreakingSpeech: Randa to Katsa.
* BlindSeer: [[spoiler:Po becomes this. Well, he already had the Seer part down (sensing everyone's presence, reading minds), but he does lose his eyesight later on.]]
* ChildhoodMarriagePromise: Subverted. Katsa and Raffin were thinking of making one so Raffin could avoid an ArrangedMarriage. They don't take it too seriously and laughed about it when they realized it would never work.
* CombatClairvoyance: [[spoiler:Prince Po]]'s Grace equates to this in a fight.
* DeadpanSnarker: Katsa has traces of this.
* DecoyProtagonist: King Randa of the Decoy Villain variety.
* {{Determinator}}: Katsa really wants to be the best at everything, whether it's from archery to just racing up the stairs. There's also the bit where she [[spoiler:crosses [[DeathCourse Grella's Pass]] with Bitterblue in ''the middle of a blizzard'']].
* [[spoiler:DisabilitySuperpower]]: What Po's Grace becomes.
* TheDogBitesBack: Katsa comments about how Randa knows how to make her feel like a brutal dog. She then tells him how she will kill all of the hundreds of guards he has with him, along with Randa himself.
* DreamworksFace: Po at the end of Chapter Six.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Po's real name is ''Greening Grandemalion''.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Everyone, from Po to Randa, was aware of Giddon being in love with Katsa. Oh, and that Katsa and Po liked each other.
* FemaleGaze: Katsa to Po a number of times.
* FightingFromTheInside: Po, Ashen, Bitterblue are pretty good at this. Katsa, not so much.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: Leck]] is the only potential culprit for the plot-triggering kidnapping that is dismissed ''without'' a logical reason. [[spoiler: He did it, and he uses his Grace to make sure he's never considered suspicious.]]
** Before leaving Randa's court, Katsa laments that if she ''did'' kill him, his son Raffin would succeed him, and that his first act as king would be to punish her for the crime. Later, during the climax, she manages to kill [[spoiler: King Leck, in front of a crowd of brainwashed witnesses; his daughter Bitterblue subsequently uses her power as the new queen of Monsea to pardon her for the crime.]]
* FreakOut: Katsa has one when she realizes that she's in love with Po.
* FridgeLogic: Po has an InUniverse moment of this when he hears about [[spoiler: Leck's supposed good deeds]], and notices the very obvious holes in the story.
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Katsa and Po.
* HairTriggerTemper: Katsa, though she improves as the novel progresses.
* HeroicBSOD: Po [[spoiler:after he goes blind]].
* ImportantHairCut: Bitterblue's, which symbolizes she's no longer a pampered, sheltered princess. Averted with Katsa, who just didn't have the patience for keeping it tidy.
* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: "The wild ones are most fun if you know how to control them."
* [[LetsPlay Let's Read]]: [[http://dragon-quill.blogspot.com/search/label/Graceling Here.]]
* LoveAtFirstPunch: For Po at least. Actually, a big part of Katsa's and Po's relationship is centered on trying to punch each others' guts out. Being that both of them are accomplished fighters who revel in sparring matches, this is much less dysfunctional than it sounds.
* MassHypnosis: [[spoiler:Not only Leck's Kingdom, but everyone who personally meets King Leck. In fact, anyone who hears King Leck, and then talks to other people, who then talk to ''other'' people, taking this SerialEscalation.]]
* NasalTrauma: Katsa recounts the story of how she discovered her Killing Grace: she panicked as a child when an older, royal man seemed to be taking interest in her... and proceeded to smash his nose into his face so hard it killed him. She was just a child at the time.
* NoSell: Po's Grace makes him entirely immune to [[spoiler: Leck's Grace.]]
* NotWantingKidsIsWeird: Giddon flips out when Katsa refuses to marry him and says that one day she will grow to want children, despite her denial.
* ObliviousToLove: Katsa, full stop. She didn't realize that Giddon was in love with her, she didn't realize Po was in love with her, she didn't realize realize ''she'' was in love with Po.
* OnePersonOnePower: Graces. Each Graceling can only get one, which can be as broad as 'survival' and as narrow as 'climbing trees'.
* RunningGag: Katsa "abusing" her horses from overwork. Probably also qualifies as Somewhere an Equestrian is Crying. Seriously, she rides her horses full tilt at night for hours because it's "only" five or six more leagues until they get home and she's too impatient to wait for morning. One of the other characters asks if she is still ruining the horses.
* ShutUpHannibal: Randa gives Katsa a BreakingSpeech when she refuses to obey him. She responds by telling him exactly how she could kill every guard in the throne room and himself, before leaving.
* StoryBreakerPower: [[spoiler: Leck's Grace of lying, especially since it's contagious.]]
* SuperGullible: ''Everyone'' when confronted with [[spoiler: Leck's Grace for lying. No matter how ridiculous the lie or how far it is from the source, people will still believe him]]. Po is the only one who can see through it.
* {{Telepathy}}: [[spoiler:Po's real grace. Note that it works only when people's thoughts are specifically focused on him.]]
* TheSmartGuy: Raffin.
* TheirFirstTime: Katsa and Po.
* UnstoppableRage: Katsa is afraid of hers. Po has traces of this, too.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Katsa and Po, to some extent.
* WalkingTheEarth: Katsa and Po end up doing this from Part II on.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Bitterblue. She even realizes that "Po was in a position to see Katsa naked" at ''ten years old''.
* TheWisePrince: Raffin.
* WithMyHandsTied: When normal fighting gets boring, Katsa begins training to fight up to ''eight'' men all at once, with her arms behind her back.
* WriterOnBoard: Katsa's beliefs on marriage and having children. WordOfGod even admits that some of her beliefs got transferred into the novel.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Raffin dyes his hair blue by accident.

!! ''Fire'' provides examples of:
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Fire.
* BodyHorror: Brocker's legs were shattered. Not broken, ''shattered''. By eight men taking turns with mallets.
* TheCasanova: Archer.
* ClosedDoorRapport: Fire insists on this with Nash at first, since seeing her face reduces him to a babbling idiot. Eventually he gets better.
* CoolHorse: Subverted when Fire chooses a plain, but sweet-tempered gelding instead of the showy mare Cansrel picked for her. Played straight with the river horse that "adopts" her after [[spoiler: her escape from Leck's hideout]].
* CreepyChild: Leck.
* DeathByChildbirth: Hanna's mother.
** Also [[spoiler: Leck's]] mother.
* DirtyMindReading: Mind reading + SoBeautifulItsACurse = ...remember when we said Fire's life was built around BlessedWithSuck?
* AFatherToHisMen: Brigan, very much so.
* EnfantTerrible: Leck. Isn't it nice to know that he's been torturing animals and killing people since he was a child?
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Fire loves animals and they love her. It does help that she has mind reading/control powers, so she can sense how they react to her and directly reassure them when needed to.
* FriendToAllChildren: Fire, which is why her resolution to remain the last of her kind is so difficult to keep. She compensates by taking care of her friends' children.
* FriendsWithBenefits: Fire and Archer. He wants to marry her, but the more he asks, the more it irritates her.
* GeniusDitz: Clara may seem silly at first meeting, but she's actually one of the Dells' highest-ranking spymasters.
* GreenEyedMonster: [[TheCasanova Ironically]], Archer.
* HeroicBastard: Clara, Garan, Archer, [[spoiler:and Brigan.]]
* HeroicBSOD: Fire had one after [[spoiler:she killed her father]]. And another when [[spoiler:she finds Archer's body]].
* HeroesWantRedheads: Fire.
* HumansAreBastards: Fire's monster beauty tends to bring out the worst in people.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: [[spoiler:Fire killed Cansrel, her father, because he was an evil man intent on keeping the Dells in chaos]].
* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: Brigan's mind is so disciplined that he can block Fire's powers, which unsettles her, but is also a part of what makes her fall for him.
* IfYouDieICallYourStuff: Just before a dangerous mission, Fire jokingly does this in order to get a sleepy Brigan to pay attention.
* IllGirl: Garan is the rare male version of this trope.
* InverseLawOfFertility: A variation. Fire, as mentioned, wants children, and she's physically capable of having them [[spoiler:at least until she utilizes a permanent form of birth control]] but she doesn't dare, because monster humans should not exist.
** Meanwhile, [[spoiler: Mila and Clara]] become pregnant purely by accident.
* LamarckWasRight: A large theme of the story is [[DefiedTrope defying this]]. "If we are all to be judged by our parents and grandparents, we all may as well impale ourselves on pointy bits of rock."
* LastOfHerKind: Fire, and she is damn well going to keep it that way.
* LikeParentLikeSpouse: [[spoiler: No wonder Fire falls in love with gray-eyed, stoic, military genius Brigan. He's Brocker's son.]]
* LineageComesFromTheFather: Fire obviously takes after her father, having inherited being a monster from him. Partway through the book, however, she realizes that she's neglected to ever think about what she might have inherited from her mother--including her mother's family.
* LukeIAmYourFather: For three separate characters.
* MoralityPet: Fire was this to Cansrel. Hanna to Brigan, too, although he's not mean, just cold.
* MoralityChain: Subverted. Fire wanted to become this, but she couldn't.
* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. It's brought up how inconvenient it is for Fire, as monsters are drawn to the smell of her blood and she can't go anywhere without a guard.
* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler: Archer is shot by his biological father (see {{Rape As Backstory}}), though it's not known if either one knew about it.]]
* OneSteveLimit: Followed technically, but Nash and Nax are close enough together to be annoying.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Archer's real name is Arklin (which is mentioned exactly ''once''), but no one calls him that, not even the other Lords and Princes.
* ParentalSubstitute: Brocker to Fire, even while Cansrel was still alive.
* PetTheDog: In Brigan's case, be nice to the monster's horse and replace her broken violin.
* PosthumousCharacter: Cansrel and King Nax. Cansrel is quite well developed like this, too.
* RapeAsBackstory: Archer was conceived this way when mad King Nax sent a man to rape Brocker's wife as revenge against Brocker [[spoiler:for sleeping with, and impregnating, Queen Roen]].
* RetiredBadass: Brocker was the king's best war leader.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The ''entire'' royal family.
* SecondLove: For both protagonists.
* SexyShirtSwitch: Archer finds this "impossibly sweet", oblivious to the fact that Fire's doing it to cover up some bruises.
* SkunkStripe: Queen Roen.
* SoBeautifulItsACurse: ''Heavily'' deconstructed with Fire. Her beauty makes her a predator magnet of both the animal ''and'' human variety, to the point that she is assigned a permanent twenty-person guard and isn't even allowed to sleep alone - two of her female guards must always be with her - once she's at the palace, as there are too many people who might want to hurt her, or even just barge into her rooms for the sole purpose of staring at her or touching her hair.
** The book is very good at taking the idea of someone being "impossibly beautiful" to the point of being nearly irresistible and showing ''just how awful that would be''. Even leaving aside all of the obvious drawbacks mentioned above, there are smaller, more emotion-based ones that would be just as psychologically hard to deal with. Much of human empathy comes from how people look; the crappier someone looks, the more likely a person is to feel sympathy/empathy for them and reach out with comfort and understanding. Even when beaten, bruised, sickly, and crying, Fire is still the most gorgeous creature in the Dells. How she looks will almost never reflect how she truly feels. Fire herself puts it best:
-->"I'm not how I look," [Fire] said suddenly, bursting into tears. "I look beautiful and placid and delightful, but that's not how I feel. I will be sad. I will be sad, and confused, and irritable, very often."
* SelfMadeOrphan: Leck in the prologue, [[spoiler:and a heroic version with Fire]].
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Subverted with Brigan. He's got the tall and dark part down, but he is explicitly described as being quite plain in appearance, and certainly not handsome.
* TheyCallHimSword: Archer.
* WeCanRuleTogether: [[spoiler: Leck wants Fire as his "partner". Her answer is to send him falling into some sharp rocks, explaining why he has an eyepatch in the later book.]]
* WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk: Fire herself, albeit very reluctantly and after much persuasion, uses her monster powers to interrogate prisoners. Justified as she's working to prevent a three-way war.
* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler:Garan]] gives Fire an ''epic'' one due to her [[spoiler:spending so much time wallowing in her grief rather than doing anything useful]].
* TheWisePrince: Brigan.
* WomanScorned: Nax is the SpearCounterpart.
* WorthyOpponent: Fire has a certain respect for Murgda, one of the rebel leaders.
* WrongContextMagic: Leck is a Graceling in a country that's never heard of them.
** This benefits him though, as nobody realizes the significance and danger of his mismatched eyes. And there are no laws saying he's property of the king, which is what he was trying to escape when he left the Seven Kingdoms in the first place.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Archer was lucky for a while, but Fire eventually dumps him.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Fire fits pretty well if you place the Dells in the position of family: A sweet girl with inner iron that tries to be a MoralityChain and lives [[FantasyCounterpartCulture east of the first book's setting]]
* YouDidTheRightThing: [[spoiler:Pretty much everyone tells Fire this in regard to her deliberately causing the death of her father and making it look like a suicide]]. Considering [[DarkestHour what would have happened]] had he lived, they're not wrong.

!!''Bitterblue'' provides examples of:
* AscendedExtra: Giddon and Bann. The former only appeared in the first third of ''Graceling'', and the latter had almost no lines whatsoever.
* CatsAreMean: Death's cat, Lovejoy.
* TheChainsOfCommanding:
* ChildByRape: [[spoiler: Hava is the daughter of Leck and his sculptor Bellamew. Her mother kept her safe from Leck by pretending she had died.]]
** Bitterblue. [[spoiler: She and Death find confirmation in Leck's journal that Leck kept both Ashen and Bellamew for himself.]]
** Quite possibly at least some others. See MedicalRapeAndImpregnate.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Everyone Leck affected with his voice, forcing several to do horrible things to other human beings. [[spoiler:Seven years later, she's horrified to find they're ''still'' carrying out his work and covering it up.]]
* DramatisPersonae: There's one at the back, written by Bitterblue's librarian, Death.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of [[spoiler:Bitterblue's advisers after she arrests them both on charges of treason and conspiracy. The other one mentions he's considered it but has his family to worry about, so she grants him house arrest.]]
* EvilTaintedThePlace: In the third book we discover that the former ruler of Monsea (who was blessed with an astounding ability to make people believe anything he wanted to), left a nasty taint on the kingdom for his daughter to deal with when she assumes the throne. The good old king in addition to being CursedWithAwesome, was a creepy sadist who had a favorite past time was to go a torturin' his subjects with his gifts. The fall out of having literally hundreds of people mentally tortured into believing things, leaves the new ruler with the problem of having the occasional person or two go completely nuts out of the blue. Needless to say, she tires of it real quick.
* FalseFriend: [[spoiler:Fox, who is actually the member of a proud family of thieves. She not only stole the crown but also a ring that belonged to Bitterblue's mother]]
* GovernmentConspiracy: Bitterblue suspects there is one, her [[VoiceOfTheResistance new friends]] are sure there is one.
* {{Hallucinations}}: Po talks about "the dead in the river" [[spoiler: after Bitterblue sends him after Saf into the rain and he gets a fever. Turns out the fever was warping and distorting his Grace, and there actually ''are'' bones in the Dell.]]
* HeroOfAnotherStory: ''Everyone'' who also appeared in ''Graceling'' [[spoiler: and ''Fire'']].
* HeroicBastard: [[spoiler:Bitterblue's half sister Hava saves her life a few times but is the only person to know they are related]]
* LogicalWeakness: Po mentions that despite his DisabilitySuperpower he can't see color; Bitterblue feels bad for getting annoyed with him about it after he explains it.
* {{MacGuffin}}: Bitterblue's crown for most of the book. [[spoiler:Eventually she pretends that a fake has been found, to get the thief off the hook.]]
* MedicalHorror / MedicalRapeAndImpregnate: One of Leck's great passions was his "hospital" where he would perform surgical experiments. He even raped women for the purpose of having pregnant subjects. His impulse control problems often caused his subjects to die too quickly as he would perform multiple simultaneous experiments on a single person.
* PronouncingMyNameForYou: Although this information is of questionable relevance to this record; Death, the Royal Librarian of Monsea , would merely like to note that his name is pronounced to rhyme with "teeth." (Though he suspects that some get it wrong merely to annoy him at times.)
* [[KingIncognito Queen Incognito:]] The plot is mostly kicked off by Bitterblue doing this.
* RapeByProxy: Leck. Just to make it worse, he used [[spoiler:other men]] as the proxy.
* UnwittingPawn: Bitterblue is quite unhappy to find out that she has become this, with [[spoiler:her advisors obstructing education in the city, ordering the army to commit atrocities to cover up Leck's crimes, and leaving her in the dark about the real state of affairs]].
''Some entries are at the moment grievously incomplete, pending the final, official reports. The annalists cannot be held accountable for errors or omissions caused or required by others, of which there are doubtless many.''

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The Graceling Realm, or The Seven Kingdoms series, is a YoungAdult fantasy series by Kristin Cashore. It begins in the Seven Kingdoms, where people born with exceptional skills are known as [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual "Gracelings"]] and feared. Later books added the Dells, a land filled with [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife deadly and beautiful beings]] referred to as "monsters," and the continent of Torla, where humans coexist with telepathic animals.

The first book, ''Graceling'', focuses on [[ActionGirl Katsa]], who is [[CursedWithAwesome Graced in killing]] and is forced to [[ProfessionalKiller utilize her gift]] to do her uncle King Randa's dirty work. She long ago accepted she'd always be Randa's savage dog, hated and feared. But when she crosses paths with fellow Graceling Po she begins to reconsider that, and together they unravel a mystery that puts all seven kingdoms at risk.

''Fire'', the second book, a prequel set nearly forty years prior, is about the titular Fire, the last human monster in existence. With her monster status comes [[SoBeautifulItsACurse impossible beauty]] and the ability to read and control minds, as well as the legacy of her father, a true monster who nearly tore the Dells apart. Aware of her power, [[BlessedWithSuck and afraid of it]], Fire lives in a corner of the world away from people and temptation. Until the day comes when she is needed by her king, and Fire soon finds herself more entangled in the Dells political struggle than she could ever have imagined.

''Bitterblue'', returns to the Seven Kingdoms, this time following Bitterblue from the second half of ''Graceling''. Thirty-five years under the thumb of her cruel father and his terrifying Grace have left Monsea in shambles, and now Queen Bitterblue has to pick up the pieces. Her advisers believe they should pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck's reign and forget every dark event that ever happened in that time. Monsea's past has become shrouded in mystery, and it's only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle to walk the streets of her own city at night, that she realizes the true state of her country. Her kingdom has been under the spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.

The most recent book, ''Winterkeep,'' is set several years after Bitterblue on an entirely new continent. Bitterblue travels with Hava and Giddon to investigate the suspicious death of two envoys.

On April 25th, 2013, it was announced a film based on the first book is being developed.

to:

\nThe Graceling Realm, or The Seven Kingdoms series, Within seven kingdoms, there are people born with mismatched eyes. These eyes are the mark of a Graceling, a person who is Graced with an extreme skill. All Gracelings are handed over to their respective king, who determines if their skill is useful to him and his kingdom. Those deemed unworthy are sent back to their homes in shame.

Across a large band of mountains east to these kingdoms
is a YoungAdult place called the Dells. No Gracelings live there, though beings known as monsters do. A wide range of animals- from a tiny kitten to a large vulture- can be a monster, marked by their fantastic coloring, telepathic powers, and unnatural beauty.

To the north of the seven kingdoms and the Dells is Torla, a continent divided up into various nations, where people communicate with telepathic blue foxes. In Torla, it's not kings that reign, but politicians. Within the nation of Winterkeep specifically are the political parties of the Scholars and the Industrialists. The Scholars hold most of the political power, seeing as their prime minister is one herself.

The ''Graceling Realm'' series (also known as the "Seven Kingdoms" series) is a series of young adult
fantasy series novels by Kristin Cashore. It begins in the Seven Kingdoms, where people born Each novel tells its own story, but they aren't completely divorced from one another.
* ''Graceling'' (2008): Katsa is a Graceling
with exceptional skills are known as [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual "Gracelings"]] and feared. Later books added the Dells, a land filled with [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife particularly deadly and beautiful beings]] referred to as "monsters," and the continent of Torla, where humans coexist skill: she can kill anyone with telepathic animals.

The first book, ''Graceling'', focuses on [[ActionGirl Katsa]], who is [[CursedWithAwesome Graced in killing]] and is forced to [[ProfessionalKiller utilize
ease. This has earned her gift]] to do her uncle a spot as King Randa's dirty work. She long ago accepted she'd always be enforcer, forced to hurt and maim anyone who displeases him. Though she despises her work, she fears Randa's savage dog, hated and feared. But when wrath far more. It isn't until she crosses paths with fellow Graceling Po meets Po, a visiting Graced prince from a foreign court, that she begins to reconsider that, learn how to fear her Grace less and together they unravel love a mystery little more. Of course, if that puts was all the prince brought with him, life would be far easier: a sinister presence has made its way into one of the seven kingdoms at risk.

''Fire'',
with nary anyone the second book, a prequel set nearly wiser. It will take far more than each of their Graces to bring the evil to light and end it.
* ''Fire'' (2009): Takes place
forty years prior, is about before the titular Fire, the last human monster in existence. With her monster status comes [[SoBeautifulItsACurse impossible beauty]] and the ability to read and control minds, as well as the legacy of her father, a true monster who nearly tore the Dells apart. Aware of her power, [[BlessedWithSuck and afraid of it]], Fire lives in a corner of the world away from people and temptation. Until the day comes when she is needed by her king, and Fire soon finds herself more entangled in the Dells political struggle than she could ever have imagined.

''Bitterblue'', returns to the Seven Kingdoms, this time following Bitterblue from the second half
events of ''Graceling''. Thirty-five Most monsters in the Dells are animals. Fire, however, is the last human monster in existence. Her bright scarlet hair and supernaturally good looks aren't the only mark as to her heritage: her ability to read and manipulate minds is too. Despite her father's teachings, Fire refuses to use her powers over others; the last thing the Dells need is another human monster that almost destroyed its people. In order to prove to everyone, including herself, that she won't turn into her father, Fire aids a royal in his quest to bring a current political conflict to an end.
* ''Bitterblue'' (2012): Eight
years under after the thumb events of her cruel father and his terrifying Grace have left Monsea in shambles, and now Queen ''Graceling'', Bitterblue has to pick more or less settled into her role as Queen of Monsea. If only her council would lighten up a bit. They mean well, but the pieces. Her advisers believe endless parade of paperwork they thrust on her wears her out. Plus, she believes that their reports regarding the state of her citizens aren't as honest as they should pardon all be. So, she begins to sneak out of those who committed terrible acts the castle during Leck's reign the night in order to see for herself what the average Monsean does and forget every dark event that ever happened in that time. sees. Her nightly sessions unintentionally wind up revealing more about Monsea's past has become shrouded in mystery, than it does its present: Bitterblue's father, King Leck, left untold scars among his subjects, both visible and it's only when hidden. Uncovering them will be an arduous and painful task for everyone involved, not just for Monsea but for Bitterblue begins sneaking out of and her castle to walk the streets of her own city at night, that she realizes the true state of her country. Her kingdom has been under the spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.

The most recent book, ''Winterkeep,'' is set several
council as well.
* ''Winterkeep'' (2021): Takes place four
years after the events of ''Bitterblue''. Politics is no stranger to Lovisa. The daughter of a prime minister and an opposing politician, Lovisa knows more about the behind the scenes of what keeps Winterkeep's government running than the average citizen. Not that this knowledge prepares her for what's to come: the Queen of Monsea, Bitterblue, is set to arrive in Winterkeep along with her entourage. The Queen, however, never arrives. In fact, she seems to have drowned on her way there. Though heartbroken and distraught, Giddon and Hava- two of Bitterblue's closest friends- resolve themselves to figuring out the truth behind the incident that brought them there: two Monsean envoys died and the circumstances behind their deaths smacks of foul-play. Unbeknownst to Giddon and Hava, Lovisa is just the person they need to solve this mystery... and even perhaps bring Bitterblue back to them.

[[https://kristincashore.blogspot.com/2021/09/tiny-quick-update.html An upcoming fifth novel focusing
on an entirely new continent. Bitterblue travels with Hava and Giddon to investigate Hava]] is in the suspicious death of two envoys.

On April 25th, 2013, it was announced a film based on the first book is being developed.
works.
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* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: Although this information is of questionable relevance to this record; Death, the Royal Librarian of Monsea , would merely like to note that his name is pronounced to rhyme with "teeth." (Though he suspects that some get it wrong merely to annoy him at times.)


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* PronouncingMyNameForYou: Although this information is of questionable relevance to this record; Death, the Royal Librarian of Monsea , would merely like to note that his name is pronounced to rhyme with "teeth." (Though he suspects that some get it wrong merely to annoy him at times.)
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[[quoteright:238:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GracelingCover_833.JPG]]

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[[quoteright:238:https://static.[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GracelingCover_833.JPG]]
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TRS Cleanup; not enough context to save.


* NotSoDifferent: The core message of Leck's BreakingSpeech to Fire.

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The Graceling Realm, or The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, is a YoungAdult fantasy trilogy by Kristin Cashore. It is set between the Seven Kingdoms, where people born with exceptional skills are known as [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual "Gracelings"]] and feared, and the Dells, a land filled with [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife deadly and beautiful beings]] referred to as "monsters".

to:

The Graceling Realm, or The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, series, is a YoungAdult fantasy trilogy series by Kristin Cashore. It is set between begins in the Seven Kingdoms, where people born with exceptional skills are known as [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual "Gracelings"]] and feared, and feared. Later books added the Dells, a land filled with [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife deadly and beautiful beings]] referred to as "monsters".
"monsters," and the continent of Torla, where humans coexist with telepathic animals.



The last in the trilogy, ''Bitterblue'', returns to the Seven Kingdoms, this time following Bitterblue from the second half of ''Graceling''. Thirty-five years under the thumb of her cruel father and his terrifying Grace have left Monsea in shambles, and now Queen Bitterblue has to pick up the pieces. Her advisers believe they should pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck's reign and forget every dark event that ever happened in that time. Monsea's past has become shrouded in mystery, and it's only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle to walk the streets of her own city at night, that she realizes the true state of her country. Her kingdom has been under the spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.

to:

The last in the trilogy, ''Bitterblue'', returns to the Seven Kingdoms, this time following Bitterblue from the second half of ''Graceling''. Thirty-five years under the thumb of her cruel father and his terrifying Grace have left Monsea in shambles, and now Queen Bitterblue has to pick up the pieces. Her advisers believe they should pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck's reign and forget every dark event that ever happened in that time. Monsea's past has become shrouded in mystery, and it's only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle to walk the streets of her own city at night, that she realizes the true state of her country. Her kingdom has been under the spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.
past.

The most recent book, ''Winterkeep,'' is set several years after Bitterblue on an entirely new continent. Bitterblue travels with Hava and Giddon to investigate the suspicious death of two envoys.
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* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: Katsa gives one to Randa during her ShutUpHannibal moment by detailing ''exactly'' how she could slaughter him and every one of the two hundred guards he has surrounding her. Internally, she acknowledges that she'd be lucky to survive the bloodbath herself, but Randa would certainly die and the death toll would be ''tremendous'' regardless.
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No longer a trope.


* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Brocker and Roen]]. Averted with Fire and Archer, as Fire knows that Archer sleeps around and doesn't think much of it, beyond frustration for the broken hearts he leaves in his wake.

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* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Brocker and Roen]]. Averted with Fire and Archer, as Fire knows that Archer sleeps around and doesn't think much of it, beyond frustration for the broken hearts he leaves in his wake.
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Dewicking per TRS decision.


* BiTheWay: Fire and Saf.

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