History Literature / RobJHayesTheTiesThatBind

* UnwittingInstitgatorOfDoom: Henry becomes one of these when she begins a SlaveRevolt.

* TheTracker: Jacob is this.

* PowerTrio: Anders, Henry, and the Blackthorn

''The Ties That Bind'' is a series by Rob J. Hayes which was originally self-published but later re-published by Creator/RagnarokPublications. The first book, ''The Heresy Within'', was released in 2014. The sequel, ''The Color of Vengeance'' was released in January of 2015.

He develops a few in ''The Color of Vengeance.''

''The Ties That Bind'' is a series by Rob J. Hayes which was originally self-published but later re-published by Creator/RagnarokPublications. The first book, ''The Heresy Within'', was released in 2014. The sequel, ''The Color of Vengeance'' was released in January of 2015.

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[[folder: The Heresy Within]]

* AmazonBrigade: The Battle Angels are an army of women led by Constance.

* {{Archenemy}}: Constance has become this for Jezzet.
* ArmyOfThievesAndWhores: What every army seems to be made of.
** In particular, the Blackthorn's gang.
* {{Badass}}: The Blackthorn's gang and Jezzet are able to pull off stunning displays of murder and mayhem.
* BigBad: Lost H'ost wants to be King of the Wilds and has a witch and Constance in his service. [[spoiler: Subverted. He's just a pawn.]]

* BurnTheWitch: The Inquisition's standard M.O.
* BrawnHilda: Constance is one of these. [[spoiler: Ironically, it turns out she's more of a HugeSchoolgirl.]]
* BreakingSpeech: Jezzet gives a horrible one to Constance. [[spoiler: Revealing that Catherine never loved her, thought of her as a pathetic weakling, and used her horribly. Worse, Jezzet was perfectly justified in killing her. Constance refuses to believe it and ends up dying at Jezzet's hands.]]
* BrotherSisterIncest: Constance is accused of being in a relationship with her dead sister. [[spoiler: It turns out she wasn't her sister but her former slave owner.]]
* ButchLesbian: Constance is accused of being one of these. [[spoiler: It turns out to be semi-accurate.]]

* CityOfAdventure: Chade is one of these, being the source for all manner of crazy hijinks from our heroes.
* CoolGun: Inquisitor Darkheart's smokepowder pistol. Which exists on pure RuleOfCool.
* CombatPragmatist: The Blackthorn explains the best way to kill an Inquisitor is when he's sleeping.
* CowardlyLion: Thanquil regularly hunts monsters but plays the role of NonActionGuy around the Blackthorn.
** Jezzet has elements of this despite being the second greatest swordsman in the world.
* CorruptChurch: What the Emperor suspects the Inquisition has become.
* CrapsackWorld: Slavery (sex and otherwise), warlordism, immense poverty, crazy religious fanatics, demons, murderous brigands around every corner, monsters, and a less than enlightened attitude to women. Conan the Barbarian or Elric should burn the place to the ground. Subverted by the fact this is actually a return to SwordAndSorcery's roots before the genre became LighterAndSofter.
* DarkActionGirl: Henry, despite having a boy's name, is both a woman and terrifying.
* DarkerAndEdgier: A return to the ugly, brutal, and lawless CrapsackWorld roots of the genre.
* DistractedByTheSexy: Jezzet causes this to happen without trying.
* TheDragon: Constance serves as this to Lord Host.
* TheDreaded: The Inquisition is treated this way due to their reputation as religious fanatics with unlimited authority. It's deserved.
** Blackthorn portrays himself as this to the Inquisition. Thanquil reacts with caution but no real terror.
* DealWithTheDevil: The Inquisition has made a literal one, albeit it's ''only'' a demon.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Subverted. The vast majority of people on this planet have no seeming ethical limit to their behavior. See HumansAreBastards.
* FanDisservice: Jezzet is one of the world's most desirable women and routinely covered in-story in either crap or blood. The story seems to enjoy covering her in garbage which ruins her attractiveness.
* GentleGiant: [[spoiler: Constance is one of these, or was, before BreakTheCutie happened.]]
* GodEmperor: The Inquisition, theoretically, answers to one.

* {{Hypocrite}}: The Inquisition burns whole families for witchcraft but gets much of their power from a pact with a demon. This is a closely guarded secret.
* JustEatGilligan: A lot of the Blackthorn's problems would be solved if he just murdered Green. [[spoiler: Thankfully, H'ost's army takes care of the problem.]]
* KickTheDog: All of the heroes get an opportunity to do this at one point or another during the book.
** Jezzet gets a retroactive one when she goes into a lengthy insult tirade against Constance and her sister. While said sister was no angel, despite her name, it turns out Constance has a legitimate reason for hating her. She later tries to have sex with Thanquil within minutes of him [[spoiler: killing a young boy]].
** Thanquil gets one when he [[spoiler: kills a child to cover up the Inquisition's secrets.]] To be fair, he hates himself for doing it.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Bones, Swift, and Green all die in the Shade attack.]]
* KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade: This will happen to anyone who finds out the Inquisition has a deal with a demon.
* KnightTemplar: The Inquisitor is this combined with WellIntentionedExtremist. How much the latter is true is up for debate, though.
* LadyOfWar: Constance is an unpleasant version of such.
* LivingLieDetector: All Inquisitors have this as one of their abilities.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Inquisitor Darkheart. Subverted by the fact he's the nicest Inquisitor in the world. He's still a brutal murderer, though.
* NonActionGuy: Inquisitor Darkheart cultivates this sort of reputation but still has a prototype blackpowder pistol. Oh and magic.
* NoWomansLand: Rape, slavery, or some combination of the above is a constant threat for women out in the wilds and in the impoverished streets.
* MySisterIsOffLimits: Spectacularly averted with Swift who touts his prostitute sister's talents to the Blackthorn when he visits Swift's mother's brothel.
* RapeAsBackstory: [[spoiler: Jezzet mentions this is one way she was coerced into killing Catherine.]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Inquisitor Darkheart is probably the only one of these in the Inquisition.
* ReasonBeforeHonor: Jezzet seems to be a decent enough person but will do whatever she has to in order to survive.
* {{Reconstruction}}: Of the WretchedHive HumansAreBastards free-booting {{Antihero}} SwordAndSorcery books which started the genre.
* TheRedBaron: The Blackthorn is, obviously, this. His real name is the decidedly less impressive Bertrim.
** Catherine, Constance's sister, was called The Bloody Angel.
* ReluctantFanserviceGirl: Jezzet's life would be far-far simpler if she wasn't a beautiful woman as well as a swordswoman. At least, in her opinion.
* RunningGag: Jezzet being forced to flee into a sewer in order to escape attackers.
* SexualExtortion: Jezzet is, unfortunately, frequently subject to this before she meets Thanquil. She beds men she doesn't want to fight, which is unfortunately happens a couple of times in the text. Thankfully, this practice comes to an end.
* SexSlave: A common enough fate for women in the Free Cities, according to a street urchin.
* SheCleansUpNicely: Jezzet after being forced into a dress is the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman. This ''horrifies'' her.
* ASimplePlan: Inquisitor Darkheart will assassinate three traitorous Inquisitors. What could go wrong?
* SonOfAWhore: Swift's mother runs a brothel and his sister is its main attraction.
* StockholmSyndrome: Jezzet admits to suffering it (or its SwordAndSorcery equivalent) a couple of times, much to her shame and disgust. [[spoiler: Constance developed this to her former slave owner, Catherine.]]

* VillainProtagonist: The Blackthorn is one of these. Jezzet and Inquisitor Darkheart have some standards. He...does not.[[/folder]]

''The Ties That Bind'' is a series by Rob J. Hayes which was originally self-published but later re-published by Creator/RagnarokPublications. The first book, ''The Heresy Within'', was released in 2014.

[[spoiler: The Heresy Within]]

* VillainProtagonist: The Blackthorn is one of these. Jezzet and Inquisitor Darkheart have some standards. He...does not.

* GentleGiant: [[spoiler: Constance is one of these, or was, before BreakTheCutie happened.]

* FanDissevice: Jezzet is one of the world's most desirable women and routinely covered in-story in either crap or blood. The story seems to enjoy covering her in garbage which ruins her attractiveness.

* TheRedBaron: The Blackthorn is, obviously, this.

* StockholmeSyndrome: Jezzet admits to suffering it a couple of times, much to her shame and disgust. [[spoiler: Constance developed this to her former slave owner, Catherine.]]

* KickTheDog: All of the heroes get an opportunity to do this at one point or another during the book.
** Jezzet gets a retroactive one when she goes into a lengthy insult tirade against Constance and her sister. While said sister was no angel, despite her name, it turns out Constance has a legitimate reason for hating her. She later tries to have sex with Thanquil within minutes of him [[spoiler: killing a young boy]].
** Thanquil gets one when he [[spoiler: kills a child to cover up the Inquisition's secrets.]] To be fair, he hates himself for doing it.
* KnightTemplar: The Inquisitor is this combined with WellIntentionedExtremist. How much the latter is true is up for debate, though.

* WhatTheHellHero: An unusual example when Inquisitor Darkheart [[spoiler: kills a little boy to UpholdTheMasquerade]] only for Jezzet to witness the event, look like she's going to give him one of these, then shrug it off and come onto him. Then ''he'' gives ''her'' one of these.

** Jezzet gets a retroactive one when she goes into a lengthy insult tirade against Constance and her sister. While said sister was no angel, despite her name, it turns out Constance has a legitimate reason for hating her. She later tries to have sex with Thanquil within minutes of him killing a young boy.
** Thanquil gets one when he [[spoiler: kills a child to cover up the Inquisition's secrets.]]

* {{Badass}}: The Blackthorn's gang and Jezzet.

** Jezzet gets a retroactive one when she goes into a lengthy insult tirade against Constance and her sister. While said sister was no angel, despite her name, it turns out Constance has a legitimate reason for hating her.

* VillainProtagonist: The Blackthorn is one of these.

* KnightTemplar: The Inquisitor is this combined with WellIntentionedExtremists. How much the latter is true is up for debate, though.

* MySisterIsOffLimits: Spectacularly averted with Swift.

* ActionGirl: Jezet Ve'urn is one of the only two Blademasters in the world. A title reserved for the greatest warriors in the world.

** BlackAndGrayMorality Jezet and Thanquil are the nicest people in the setting. Even then, see below.

** Jezet gets a retroactive one when she goes into a lengthy insult tirade against Constance and her sister. While said sister was no angel, despite her name, it turns out Constance has a legitimate reason for hating her.

* NonActionGuy: Inquisitor Thanquil cultivates this sort of reputation but still has a prototype blackpowder pistol. Oh and magic.
* ReluctantFanserviceGirl: Jezet's life would be far-far simpler if she wasn't a beautiful woman as well as a swordswoman. At least, in her opinion.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Jezet and Constance were once part of a PowerTrio with her sister.
* WouldHurtAChild: Thanquil [[spoiler: kills a young boy to cover up the secret of the Inquisition dealing with demons. He hates himself for it but doesn't hesitate.]]