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* TokenMinority: Countess Jamila, who's half Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Marana (who was born to a people which seem like Berbers or Arabs). All of the rest come from European counterparts. A few more of the Stelosians also appear, the ambassador to Hamis and bodyguards of his (Jamila's father had been the previous Stelosian ambassador). Jamila also has a young son with her Hamisian husband.

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* TokenMinority: Countess Jamila, who's half Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Marana (who was born to a people which seem like to be equivalent to Berbers or Arabs). All of the rest come from the European counterparts. A few more of the Stelosians also appear, appear: the ambassador to Hamis and bodyguards of his (Jamila's father had been the previous Stelosian ambassador). Jamila also has a young son with her Hamisian husband.noble husband, who's the only character of mixed heritage.
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* MixedAncestry: Countess Jamilla is half-Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Hamisian (a European counterpart). She and her Hamisian husband also have a son, who's thus another example.

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* AerithAndBob: Alongside names like Nolan, Marana and Lothar, we have Eric, Hal and Malcolm.



* AndTheAdventureContinues: At the end, once he's defeated the villains and thwarted the Hamisian plot, Nolan rides away with Morai to have another adventure.



* AerithAndBob: Alongside names like Nolan, Marana and Lothar, we have Eric, Hal and Malcolm.



* BalefulPolymorph: Chi'gander specialized in this, subjecting people to horrific transformations and extorting them for reversing them. Later he also shrinks Weylan's body to child size too, but that was apparently [[ForTheEvulz simply for fun]].



* LetOffByTheDetective: Despite chasing him all throughout the book (and before its events) for banditry, Nolan lets off Morai in the end, grateful due to his help with exposing the Hamisian plot. Plus Morai's simply just that charming, even Nolan comes to like him.



* MixedAncestry: Countess Jamilla is half-Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Hamisian (a European counterpart). Sne and her Hamisian husband also have a son, who's thus another example.

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* MixedAncestry: Countess Jamilla is half-Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Hamisian (a European counterpart). Sne She and her Hamisian husband also have a son, who's thus another example.
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Tear Jerker is ymmv


* {{Tearjerker}}: What happened to Nolan's little brother. He was murdered not just for the reason the rest were, but due to him being disabled, which his killer deems an abomination. It describes him as (being just a little boy) not understanding what's happening and thinking it's a game at first, then realizing it's not while trying to reach his mother before his killer rides him down.
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* CultureClash: {{Discussed}} as the reason Nolan is chosen for undercover work in Hamis posing as a Sinjarian lord. Only someone from the region knows every little custom, which could give an undercover agent away otherwise. It's demonstrated by something as small as peeling an apple in a specific way. Nolan also encountered some very serious examples previously, such as a Daari who attacks him since he's a Talion (who his culture teaches means he's demonically possessed) then an old woman in [[spoiler:Temur]] who tells him to kill [[spoiler:Marana]] because she's a "demon twin" (i.e. second born identical twin).
* DeliberateValuesDissonance:
** Daari have a harsh, violent culture strongly based on fighting demons (whether [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane real or not]] is unrevealed). They ritually scar their faces to ward these off, made war on the Talions in the past (believing them to be demonically possessed) and slaughter anyone with physical disabilities over a belief they've been touched by demons.
** [[spoiler:Temuri]] culture teaches that a second identical twin is a demon, and has to be left for dead. This happened to [[spoiler:Marana]]. It's mentioned that there female infants in general are often exposed too however.

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It doesn't count as they're the only twins in the book. Editing typo too.


* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: [[spoiler:Marana]] and her twin sister look completely the same. Running into her unexpectedly proves highly traumatic.



* {{Counterspell}}: The Tingus Lurker who Nolas faces off with near the end uses one to stop him simply [[YourSoulIsMine drawing the guy's soul out]]. He therefore has to kill the man the old fashioned way.

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* {{Counterspell}}: The Tingus Lurker who Nolas Nolan faces off with near the end uses one to stop him simply [[YourSoulIsMine drawing the guy's soul out]]. He therefore has to kill the man the old fashioned way.

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* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Some of the Uls live like stereotypical UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, traveling around in colorful caravans and telling fortunes (although they aren't viewed or portrayed as thieves/child kidnappers). Temur has some resemblance to Afghanistan, with a tribal and clan-based society with a central government which has limited power beyond the city which is its capitol, plus the women [[NoWomansLand having low status]]. A possible resemblance to medieval Mongolia also exists, with the frequent clan wars and Temuri being expert horse archers. The Shattered Empire going by its description also was like the Roman Empire, the provinces becoming independent states after it fell apart, but many vestiges still exist from that era into the present (such as the Talions, who had been established by one of the Emperors but live on afterward). Sensoth is not actually shown, but it seems to be the equivalent of a medieval African kingdom from what's seen of its people in the book.

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* FantasyCounterpartCulture: FantasyCounterpartCulture:
**
Some of the Uls live like stereotypical UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, traveling around in colorful caravans and telling fortunes (although they aren't viewed or portrayed as thieves/child kidnappers). kidnappers).
**
Temur has some resemblance to Afghanistan, with a tribal and clan-based society with a central government which has limited power beyond the city which is its capitol, plus the women [[NoWomansLand having low status]]. A possible resemblance to medieval Mongolia also exists, with the frequent clan wars and Temuri being expert horse archers.
**
The Shattered Empire going by its description also was like the Roman Empire, the provinces then becoming new independent states after it fell apart, but many vestiges still exist from that era into the present (such as the Talions, who had been established by one of the Emperors but live on afterward). afterward).
**
Sensoth is not actually shown, but it seems to be the equivalent of a medieval African kingdom from what's seen of its people in the book.
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* HiddenElfVillage: A literal example. Nolan discusses the fact that the elves have a city hidden deep in the vast woods where they live, but no human has ever seen this since fierce warrior clans patrol the outskirts to insure it's kept safe and kill any intruders (except for children).

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* MixedAncestry: Countess Jamilla is half-Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Hamisian (a European counterpart).

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* MixedAncestry: Countess Jamilla is half-Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Hamisian (a European counterpart). Sne and her Hamisian husband also have a son, who's thus another example.


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* TroubledBackstoryFlashback: An extensive flashback is shown of how Nolan's family were murdered, which caused him to become a Talion in hopes of getting revenge.

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* BuryYourDisabled: Nolan's little brother Aruk had a clubfoot, and was specifically targeted when his family were murdered by a soldier whose culture says this means he was touched by a demon in the womb, thus worthy of death.

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* BuryYourDisabled: Nolan's little brother Aruk had a clubfoot, and was specifically targeted when his family were murdered by a soldier whose culture says this means he was he'd been touched by a demon in the womb, thus worthy of death. death.



* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Nolan kills Marana in the end, with them both treating it as merciful, since she's now homicidally mad and just wants to die.]]
* MixedAncestry: Countess Jamilla is half-Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Hamisian (a European counterpart).



* OrphansOrdeal: Nolan's whole family was murdered, and he joined the Talions in hopes of someday taking revenge on the person he holds responsible.

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* OrphansOrdeal: Nolan's whole family was murdered, and he joined the Talions in hopes of someday taking revenge on the person he holds responsible. He's still traumatized about it years after.



* {{Tearjerker}}: What happened to Nolan's little brother.
* TokenMinority: Countess Jamila, who's half Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Marana (who was born to a people which seem like Berbers or Arabs). All of the rest come from European counterparts. A few more of the Stelosians also appear, the ambassador to Hamis and bodyguards of his (Jamila's father had been the previous Stelosian ambassador).

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* {{Tearjerker}}: What happened to Nolan's little brother. \n He was murdered not just for the reason the rest were, but due to him being disabled, which his killer deems an abomination. It describes him as (being just a little boy) not understanding what's happening and thinking it's a game at first, then realizing it's not while trying to reach his mother before his killer rides him down.
* TokenMinority: Countess Jamila, who's half Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Marana (who was born to a people which seem like Berbers or Arabs). All of the rest come from European counterparts. A few more of the Stelosians also appear, the ambassador to Hamis and bodyguards of his (Jamila's father had been the previous Stelosian ambassador). Jamila also has a young son with her Hamisian husband.



* WouldHurtAChild: The soldiers who came for Nolan's family had no compunction about murdering the children too.

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* WouldHurtAChild: WouldHurtAChild:
**
The soldiers who came for Nolan's family had no compunction about murdering the children too.too.
** [[spoiler:Marana]] was left to die as a baby by her family due to being considered demonic.
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* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: [[spoiler:Marana]] and her twin sister look completely the same. Running into her unexpectedly proves highly traumatic.


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* BuryYourDisabled: Nolan's little brother Aruk had a clubfoot, and was specifically targeted when his family were murdered by a soldier whose culture says this means he was touched by a demon in the womb, thus worthy of death.


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* ForcedToWatch: Nolan had to watch (somehow-it isn't clear how he saw this) and listen while his family was murdered. His mother and sister, it's indicated, were raped first.


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* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler:Marana]] encounters her long-lost twin sister on a mission, which due to the circumstances drives her insane.


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* OrphansOrdeal: Nolan's whole family was murdered, and he joined the Talions in hopes of someday taking revenge on the person he holds responsible.


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* {{Revenge}}: Nolan seeks this at first against the man who he's blamed for his family's murders. [[spoiler:In the end though he realizes the man isn't malicious (and there's no evidence he'd actually ordered their deaths), so Nolan relents, subverting it.]]


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* ShellShockedVeteran:
** Nolan is left traumatized by his family's murder, and has nightmares about it when events trigger flashbacks.
** [[spoiler:Marana meanwhile is left completely unhinged after a traumatic encounter with her long-lost twin sister, becoming completely deluded and murderous afterward.]]


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* TraumaButton: Finding the bodies of a family murdered by bandits triggers Nolan's memories of his own relatives being murdered, which causes him nightmares about it.


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* WouldHurtAChild: The soldiers who came for Nolan's family had no compunction about murdering the children too.
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* SummonToHand: Talions (or at least Justices) can summon their weapons from afar. Obviously, this comes in [[{{Pun}} handy]] at times.
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%%* AsYouKnow: Done many times.

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%%* * AsYouKnow: Done many times.times, though it's mostly while introducing things they ''don't'' previously know (or in Nolan's case, internally reflecting) so the usage is more plausible than most.

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* AsYouKnow: Done many times.

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* %%* AsYouKnow: Done many times.


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* InfoDump: Nolan fills in a character within the first few pages about the nature and history of the Talions, so that the reader will also be informed. Later several others occur, either in conversations with other people or sometimes just his internal thoughts. It's given in-story justifications since the characters are either learning things, or in Nolan's case thinking of something he's just learned about.

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* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Some of the Uls live like stereotypical UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, traveling around in colorful caravans and telling fortunes.

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* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Some of the Uls live like stereotypical UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, traveling around in colorful caravans and telling fortunes.fortunes (although they aren't viewed or portrayed as thieves/child kidnappers). Temur has some resemblance to Afghanistan, with a tribal and clan-based society with a central government which has limited power beyond the city which is its capitol, plus the women [[NoWomansLand having low status]]. A possible resemblance to medieval Mongolia also exists, with the frequent clan wars and Temuri being expert horse archers. The Shattered Empire going by its description also was like the Roman Empire, the provinces becoming independent states after it fell apart, but many vestiges still exist from that era into the present (such as the Talions, who had been established by one of the Emperors but live on afterward). Sensoth is not actually shown, but it seems to be the equivalent of a medieval African kingdom from what's seen of its people in the book.
* FeudingFamilies: The Temuri are a clan-based, tribal society with frequent wars between them. However, customs have been established to limit the wars by the central government so they don't grow too vicious.


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* OffingTheOffspring: Marana was found on a hill in Temur. It's speculated she was left to die, though female infanticide is described as rare in the Shattered Empire. [[spoiler:Later it's revealed they did this because she's a twin, which her people believe is demonic. They kept her sister, but exposed Marana.]]
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%%* AsYouKnow: Done many times.

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%%* * AsYouKnow: Done many times. times.



%%* TheOrder: The Talions.

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%%* * TheOrder: The Talions.Talions, who are an international organization which keeps the balance of power between the countries that rose from the Shattered Empire, defends them against common threats and stops criminals who cross borders. Created originally by the old Empire (before its Shattering) the Talions outlived their creators. They are divided into different branches, each with their own function, the Justices being the oldest with others added over time.

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Marked ZC Es.


'''''Talion: Revenant''''' is a fantasy novel written by Creator/MichaelStackpole and completed in 1986 but not published until 1997, since it was considered too long for a starting writer. It centers around the character of Nolan ra Sinjaria, a Talion Justice who pursues criminals and who people widely fear due to his ability to kill by sucking the soul from someone's body with the magical death's head tattoo on his right hand. Nolan however is a good, honorable man ([[WhatTheHellHero though he does have his bad moments]]), who dislikes that Talions are feared (especially Justices) and unlike some of his colleagues works to earn the respect of the people he protects instead of preying on their fears. He was orphaned when his country Sinjaria was conquered by its neighbor Hamis, and joined the Talions (an order that maintains stability in the rivalrous kingdoms) with the hope of someday bringing the man he holds responsible, King Tirrell of Hamis, to justice. Now, though, he has been ordered by his masters to protect that same king from a dire threat to his throne, and while he reluctantly obeys, some of the ghosts of his past begin to return...

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'''''Talion: Revenant''''' ''Talion: Revenant'' is a fantasy novel written by Creator/MichaelStackpole and completed in 1986 but not published until 1997, since it was considered too long for a starting writer. It centers around the character of Nolan ra Sinjaria, a Talion Justice who pursues criminals and who people widely fear due to his ability to kill by sucking the soul from someone's body with the magical death's head tattoo on his right hand. Nolan however is a good, honorable man ([[WhatTheHellHero though he does have his bad moments]]), who dislikes that Talions are feared (especially Justices) and unlike some of his colleagues works to earn the respect of the people he protects instead of preying on their fears. He was orphaned when his country Sinjaria was conquered by its neighbor Hamis, and joined the Talions (an order that maintains stability in the rivalrous kingdoms) with the hope of someday bringing the man he holds responsible, King Tirrell of Hamis, to justice. Now, though, he has been ordered by his masters to protect that same king from a dire threat to his throne, and while he reluctantly obeys, some of the ghosts of his past begin to return...



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* AsYouKnow: Done many times.

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* %%* AsYouKnow: Done many times.



* TheOrder: The Talions.

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* %%* TheOrder: The Talions.



* YourSoulIsMine: Talions have the power to suck a person's soul out of their body with the magical death's head tattoo which they get. In their case, this kills whoever they use it on. Usually they don't gain anything this way except an easy means of killing someone, and the souls are cleansed with a special ritual. A few though retain their vitality and can be used to reanimate corpses in an enhanced manner. An enhancement is also possible of the person holding them.

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* YourSoulIsMine: Talions have the power to suck a person's soul out of their body with the magical death's head tattoo which they get. In their case, this kills whoever they use it on. Usually they don't gain anything this way except an easy means of killing someone, and the souls are cleansed with a special ritual. A few though retain their vitality and can be used to reanimate corpses in an enhanced manner. An enhancement is also possible of the person holding them.them.
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* TokenMinority: Countess Jamila, who's half Stelosian (a black African counterpart) and Marana (who was born to a people which seem like Berbers or Arabs). All of the rest come from European counterparts. A few more of the Stelosians also appear, the ambassador to Hamis and bodyguards of his (Jamila's father had been the previous Stelosian ambassador).
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/talion_revenant.jpg]]
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typo


Stackpole is publishing a sequel, ''Talion: Revenant'', in serial novel form in his ''Scratch!'' e-zine on Patreon.

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Stackpole is publishing a sequel, ''Talion: Revenant'', Nemesis'', in serial novel form in his ''Scratch!'' e-zine on Patreon.
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Stackpole is publishing a sequel, ''Talion: Revenant'', in serial novel form in his ''Scratch!'' e-zine on Patreon.
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* {{Counterspell}}: The Tingus Lurker who Nolas faces off with near the end uses one to stop him simply [[YourSoulIsMine drawing the guy's soul out]]. He therefore has to kill the man the old fashioned way.
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* NoNameGiven: His Excellency, Lord of Services, whose name is never revealed.
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* YourSoulIsMine: Talions have the power to suck a person's soul out of their body with the magical death's head tattoo which they get. In their case, this kills whoever they use it on. Usually they don't gain anything this way except an easy means of killing someone, and the souls are cleansed with a special ritual. A few though retain their vitality and can be used to reanimate corpses in an enhanced manner. This is also possible for the person holding them.

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* YourSoulIsMine: Talions have the power to suck a person's soul out of their body with the magical death's head tattoo which they get. In their case, this kills whoever they use it on. Usually they don't gain anything this way except an easy means of killing someone, and the souls are cleansed with a special ritual. A few though retain their vitality and can be used to reanimate corpses in an enhanced manner. This An enhancement is also possible for of the person holding them.

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* TheChessmaster: His Excellency, Lord of Services. Nolan deeply resents being used by him, especially when it results in harm to those he cares about.



* TheOrder: The Talions.



* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Souls can be drawn out of the body by a Talion Justice. This kills the person, but some souls retain their vitality, although not memories, and are called ''rhasas''. Talion Justices must be cleansed of these souls in a special ritual. A ''rhasa'' soul can be placed into a corpse and this reanimates it, along with this leaving the undead being stronger, quicker and easier to train. Souls appear as colored lights, ''rhasas'' being white.

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* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Souls can be drawn out of the body by a Talion Justice. This kills the person, but some souls retain their vitality, although not memories, and are called ''rhasas''. Talion Justices must be cleansed of these souls in a special ritual. A ''rhasa'' soul can be placed into a corpse and this reanimates it, along with this leaving the undead being stronger, quicker and easier to train. A person can also use them to enhance or heal themselves. Souls appear as colored lights, ''rhasas'' being white.



* TheChessmaster: His Excellency, Lord of Services. Nolan deeply resents being used by him, especially when it results in harm to those he cares about.
* TheOrder: The Talions.



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----* YourSoulIsMine: Talions have the power to suck a person's soul out of their body with the magical death's head tattoo which they get. In their case, this kills whoever they use it on. Usually they don't gain anything this way except an easy means of killing someone, and the souls are cleansed with a special ritual. A few though retain their vitality and can be used to reanimate corpses in an enhanced manner. This is also possible for the person holding them.
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* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Some of the Uls live like stereotypical {{Romani}}, traveling around in colorful caravans and telling fortunes.

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* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Some of the Uls live like stereotypical {{Romani}}, UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, traveling around in colorful caravans and telling fortunes.

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* EvilSorcerer: Chi'gandir, who used magic to change people's shapes and then extorts them for reversing it.



* HeroicFantasy: The book's genre. It centers around Nolan's quest to stop a bandit leader, and later protect a king.
* InsistentTerminology: He is Nolan ra ''Sinjaria'', not ra Hamis. Being called the latter (due to Hamis annexing Sinjaria) [[BerserkButton gets him angry]].



* NoOntologicalInertia: {{Played straight}}, as its stated the effect of wizard's spells don't last beyond their own deaths.

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* NoOntologicalInertia: {{Played straight}}, as its it's stated the effect of wizard's spells don't last beyond their own deaths. deaths.
* OfferedTheCrown: [[spoiler: King Tirrell]] offers to abdicate in [[spoiler: Nolan's]] favor near the end of the book. [[spoiler: Nolan]] originally dreamed of this, but by then turns it down, having grown beyond the desire.



* OfferedTheCrown: [[spoiler: King Tirrell]] offers to abdicate in [[spoiler: Nolan's]] favor near the end of the book. [[spoiler: Nolan]] originally dreamed of this, but by then turns it down, having grown beyond the desire.


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* SympatheticMagic: Sorcerers need something of a person to affect them with spells, like blood or hair.
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Wrong trope.


* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Chi'gandir specializes in inflicting particular horrible changes on unwilling people.
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* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Chi'gandir specializes in inflicting particular horrible versions of this on unwilling people.

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* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Chi'gandir specializes in inflicting particular horrible versions of this changes on unwilling people.
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* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Chi'gandir specializes in inflicting particular horrible versions of this on unwilling people.

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