History Literature / TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms

* DefiniteArticleTitle:
** ''The Fairy Godmother'' (2004)
** ''The Snow Queen'' (2008)
** ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (2010)

* CatsAreMagic: Not to mention quick, stealthy, wise, [[LovesSecrets secretive]], and susceptible to flattery.

* CatsAreMagic: Not to mention quick, stealthy, wise, secretive, and susceptible to flattery.

* CinderellaCircumstances: Elena at the beginning of ''The Fairy Godmother'' (unfortunately, the only prince in the area is a young child, so the Traditional Happy Ending for those circumstances can't happen) and countless other girls in many other kingdoms.

There is also a story in the anthology ''Harvest Moon'' which is a sequel of sorts to ''The Sleeping Beauty.''

** One of the best examples of this is in the short story "A Tangled Web" from the ''Harvest Moon'' anthology: it's a combination of Greek and Norse mythology with a prince of European background that was introduced in ''The Sleeping Beauty.''

* TitleByNumber: ''One Good Knight''

* ArtifactTitle: In-universe example. Fairy Godmothers were formerly all True Fae, but now they are usually just humans approved by the Fair Folk. They are still called 'Fairy' as an honorific: the Rose Fairy, the Lilac Fairy, etc.

* IncestIsRelative: Siegfried was supposed to fall in love with his aunt Brunnhilde due to the path assigned to him by his homeland's JerkassGods. Every time he sees her sleeping on her slab of stone, surrounded by a ring of fire, he runs as fast as he can in the other direction. He is on a personal quest to find another Prince to shove across the flames to wake her, while he finds some maiden who isn't Brunnhilde who happens to be inside a ring of fire. He manages to fulfill his side of things a different way, and his friend takes up with Brunnhilde.

* PlotInducedStupidity: The Tradition can ensure that this happens ''InUniverse'', since some fairy tales rely on characters picking up the IdiotBall. For example, the husband of a woman who was getting set up to be the mother of a Rapunzel ''knew'' the mysterious woman who moved in next door was a sorceress, but such was the power of the Tradition that he was compelled to steal lettuce from her garden ''anyway''.

A series of fantasy books with shades of romance by Creator/MercedesLackey. The main premise of the series is that a realm exists called the Five Hundred Kingdoms, and these lands are governed by a magical force known as The Tradition which causes the inhabitants to live out Traditional plotlines from fairy tales, fables, fireside tales, morality plays, and even bawdy bar songs.

Within this intriguing setting live the Fairy Godmothers -- women in possession of magical power as a result of the Tradition trying to force them into a role that either circumstances or their own personalities made impossible. They use their experience and a moderate touch of magic to minimize the damage the Tradition can do, steering characters out of tales they know will end tragically and into ones with a happier ending. Also on the side of Good are the Wizards, Sorcerers, and Sorceresses, who work the larger magics when a Godmother's efforts are not enough; similarly, the Champions take on the Traditional tasks of physical heroics, epic quests, and the wielding enchanted blades. Opposing them are Evil Sorcerers/Sorceresses, Wicked Stepmothers, cruel rulers, and all sorts of woe, which the Tradition enables because every story needs a villain.

* ApothecaryAlligator: In ''One Good Knight'', a character comments that The Tradition ''requires'' Acadian Sophonts to have a stuffed crocodile hanging from the rafters. If they don't have one, it supplies one. Whether they want it or not.
* ArentYouGoingToRavishMe: The women being held prisoner by the Efreet in ''Fortune's Fool'' aren't exactly looking forward to being ravished, but they are confused by the Efreet's apparently lack of interest. The Efreet makes it clear that, as a fire spirit, it isn't ''remotely'' attracted to mortal women, considering them little more than talking animals (it's trapped in a Traditional path that would usually be occupied by a creature that would be more than happy to ravish them).

* BloodBrothers: A way to invoke certain Traditional paths. Andie does it with Sir George in ''One Good Knight'' to fend off the RescueRomance that The Tradition is pushing on them, claiming that The Tradition never allows BrotherSisterIncest except in cases where the siblings don't recognize each other.

* BreakTheHaughty: Many, many arrogant, discourteous people have this done to them by Godmothers, Wizards and Sorceresses. Example: Prince Alexander of Kolhstania. Actually is a good thing for them, since The Tradition would ensure they have a very sorry end if they don't repent and redeem themselves. The good Magicians at least ensure that nothing truly horrible happens to people in need of redemption. Aleksia engages in this more than the average Godmother; Kay is only the latest in the line of those needing redeeming.

* CapitalLettersAreMagic: Many, many things dealing with The Tradition are capitalized. The first book alone capitalizes not only "The Tradition" but Sleepers, Questers, Failed Questers, Witches, Godmothers, etc.

* ClingyMacguffin: If it's Traditional for someone in your role to have something, you'll have it -- whether you want it or not. Acadian Sophonts, for example, always have a [[ApothecaryAlligator stuffed crocodile]] in their offices, so The Tradition will supply one. No matter how often one throws out or destroys the thing, it will always come back.

* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Step-parents, particularly stepmothers, will become wicked due to The Tradition unless they are very careful to avert it.

* EnthrallingSiren: Mostly mentioned and not shown, but Katya has siren blood on her mother's side and the most beautiful of her sisters shows it more than most. King Vladislav has not bothered to manipulate The Tradition on their behalf since they do not recognize his authority as King of the Sea. The mermaids, who do, have had different paths forged which protect them.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Several, of which one is to be completely cut off from The Tradition and condemned to live a completely ordinary, entirely non-magical life. (Unless that's what the person actually ''wants'', and some do.) Rosalie being a prime example, after finding out what The Tradition intended to do with her she practically begged Godmother Bella to take it from her. As her life would have mirrored that of Fair Rosalinda, no one can blame her.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Thanks to The Tradition, if something looks like the setup for some kind of fairy tale, it almost certainly is. For instance, when the female lead of ''Beauty and the Werewolf'' puts on a red cloak before going to visit the old lady who lives in the woods, it's pretty obvious that she's going to be attacked by a wolf that evening.

** Those born to the throne if they had a Godmother to guide them or were otherwise made aware of The Tradition.

* HideYourLesbians: There aren't many Traditional stories involving a same-sex couple, and as a result The Tradition has trouble figuring out what should happen when it inadvertently creates a situation where a Traditional romance should arise when both parties are of the same gender. Elena takes advantage of this at the end of the first book by going herself to rescue a married DamselInDistress while her boyfriend (who happens to be said damsel's brother-in-law) leads the charge against the BigBad, to ensure that none of the established relationships get screwed up by The Tradition.

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: Some Kings oust The Tradition from their kingdoms, thus weakening its power, but the cost is the loss of magic in the lives of their subjects. And of course if something Traditional ''does'' go wrong, no one knows what to do, meaning that even a small problem can quickly grow into a catastrophe.

* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Since The Tradition invests a great deal of magic in those it is trying to control, evil magic users benefit from attracting Questers and Abandoned Children in the Woods, and from kidnapping certain would-be protagonists so that they can continually drain off the power that The Tradition is shoving at them.

* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Elena in ''The Fairy Godmother''. Most characters who really understand The Tradition come to resent how it interferes with the lives of others.

Except, [...] that was seldom how the scenario played out, once the rake got what he wanted. The habits of a lifetime are very hard to break, and The Tradition was perfectly happy to perpetuate those habits, so that the ''The Rake's Reward'' generally turned into ''[[Theatre/TheMusicMan The Sadder but Wiser Girl]]''.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: Averted in at least one notable case; in ''The Snow Queen'', part of Godmother Aleksia's background involves her stepmother losing a child in infancy, which could have resulted in her turning hateful and embittered in the style of a Wicked Stepmother--but she receives what certainly seems to be ''grief counseling'' from the kingdom's Godmother, and continues treating her stepdaughters with motherly love and kindness. (This might, in fact, be a very common method, given the array of tactics in the Godmothers' arsenal to manage The Tradition, but this incident is the most obvious case.)

* TheUnfavorite: Invoked in ''Fortune's Fool'' by the king of Led-Belarus. He had studied The Tradition enough to know what benefits the disdained seventh son of a king would bring; so while in private Sasha was the treasured young trickster and luck maker, insofar as the court and boyars [[AbusiveParents knew....]]

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: Single women in power must beware of loneliness in case The Tradition sends them a Cad, a Rake, or some other betrayer who will take advantage of them.

** Elena for much of ''The Fairy Godmother''. Making sure that the elements aren't in place for The Tradition to do this plays an important part of that story. The would-be Cad is turned into a Knight Protector, ensuring that The Tradition is now more interested in making sure that he lives up to ''that'' role rather than keep trying to shove him into the Cad role. This also ensures that Elena can have a successful relationship with him, which stymies The Tradition from sending any more Betrayers after her.

* VirginPower: In some Traditional lines. Only a virgin can touch a unicorn, for example.

* OutdoorBathPeeping: Discussed in ''One Good Night'', when warrior Gina and naive princess Andie contemplate a bath in a stream. Gina is ''not'' amused by Andie's innocent questions about what could possibly go wrong.

* PokeThePoodle: In ''The Fairy Godmother'', the Evil Sorceress who comes to a royal christening is more lonely than evil, and once Godmother Bella introduces her to a potential boyfriend she loses most of her interest in carrying out her Traditional role. She eventually casts a half-hearted curse that the Princess will wake up on her DangerousSixteenthBirthday with... incredibly tangled hair. It's {{Deconstructed|Trope}}, however, as without Elena's judicious interference in setting up a CurseEscapeClause, the Tradition could (and most likely would) make this a truly horrific curse, strangling her with it or some such.

* VirginPower: In some Traditional lines.

* VirginityFlag: Again, unicorns.

* SharedDream: In ''The Fairy Godmother'', {{Erotic Dream}}s shared between two of the characters, is a sign that the BackgroundMagicField known as the Tradition, is nudging them together.

* SpareToTheThrone: Some princes.

* SpoiledSweet: in ''Beauty and the Werewolf'', Bella's stepsisters Amber and Pearl, who are rather frivolous and prone to care more about fashion than anything else, but are also sweet-natured and well-intentioned. At a masked ball that the Wool Guild was holding, Bella notes that girls who put on airs would sniff in disdain at the gathering. Amber and Pearl, on the other hand, sees people having fun and are more than happy to join in.

* SuperheroParadox: The Tradition sometimes causes this. Siegfried finds himself having to fight fantastic beasts on a regular basis purely because it's Traditional for a warrior hero king to fight fantastic beasts or invading armies. Since he'd already set it up so that his neighbors would have to be insane to invade his kingdom, the Tradition creates beasts that he has to deal with.
* SurpriseIncest: BrotherSisterIncest tends to happen in Traditional paths where the siblings in question are unaware of the relation.
** Twincest that is also this trope happens with Siegfried's parents, who met as adults and didn't know they were brother and sister.

** In ''One Good Knight'', Princess Andie starts having {{Erotic Dream}}s about Sir George, the knight who rescued her (since the Tradition is pushing for a RescueRomance), but she puts a stop to it by having them swear to be blood-siblings. In this case "George" can't take the easy route of revealing herself to be "Georgina" because of a "no man shall enter" clause.

* FantasticMedicinalBodilyProduct: Unicorns produce a range of healing items. Hair from a dead unicorn prevents illness, hair from a live unicorn not only protects from illness but from evil magic as well. Unicorn horn neutralizes poison, unicorn tears heal mental disorders, and unicorn blood cures diseases and injuries.

* TheTheTitle:
** ''The Fairy Godmother'' (2004)
** ''The Snow Queen'' (2008)
** ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (2010)

* WomanInWhite: Aleksia the Ice Fairy, Snow Queen and Godmother of the northern lands. Also Guiliette the Wili wears a white dress reminiscent of a wedding dress at all times. Likely snow maidens as well.

** In ''The Fairy Godmother'', when the main character is at the hiring fair, Discworld/{{Mort}} is the last person waiting, even after she leaves. His name isn't mentioned, but Mercedes Lackey is a fan of Creator/TerryPratchett and [[WordOfGod has confirmed outside the book]] that yes, that was Mort.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Again; Tradition.

* OutsideContextProblem: In Traditional terms, a story being interrupted by an element from a completely unrelated story. In ordinary terms, a Kingdom with experience with the Tradition suddenly encountering a Traditional problem.