History Literature / TheAncientFutureTrilogy

* {{Reincarnation}}: A major element of the series; not only is reincarnation a reality in this setting, but various characters from the Dark Ages have been reincarnated as close friends and relatives of Tory in the 20th-century, easily recognized by their physical similarities. Among other things, Brockwell is Tory's brother Brian, Lady Catlyn is Tory's Aunt Rose, Katren is Naomi Paradis. More unusually, it's eventually made clear that reincarnation doesn't obey the laws of linear time: it's possible for early incarnations of the same person to crop up in the 20th century and for later, more advanced incarnations to appear centuries ''earlier.'' [[spoiler: Things get really complicated when Taliesin is found to be a later incarnation of Teo, Tory's ''sensei''... and even moreso when Tory bumps into Miles Thurlow, one of Maelgwn's "earlier" incarnations in 20th-century.]]

!!Tropes Appearing in ''The Ancient Future: The Dark Age''

* AntagonisticOffspring: Caradoc is out to seize his father Caswallon's throne by any means available to him, hence his alliance with Chiglas. Early in the novel, he helps Vanora poison Caswallon, though he survives thanks to a folk remedy from Katren... and later, during his attempted coup, [[spoiler: he successfully deals fatal injuries to Caswallon, though Tory makes sure that Maelgwn survives to take his place.]] However, later events put a new spin on this: [[spoiler: Caradoc isn't the son of Caswallon, but his ''nephew'', courtesy of a rape inflicted on the King's wife.]]

* BastardBastard: [[spoiler: Caradoc isn't actually Caswallon's son at all, but the result of the brutal rape of Caswallon's wife Sorcha - by her brother-in-law Cadfer. Thanks to Cadfer's tutelage, Caradoc was groomed to become every bit as vile as he was, eventually transforming him into the barbarian psychopath encountered in the first half of the novel.]]

* ClaimedByTheSupernatural: Tory first awakens in the Dark Ages to find her forehead marked with the painted emblem of a dragon, an early sign that she's being chosen for something special by the Twyleth Teg.
* CruelMercy: [[spoiler: After being cornered by Ione, Cadogan begs Brockwell to kill him rather than leave him at the mercy of his former rape victim. Brockwell coldly remarks that he'll consider it in a couple of hours, and leaves Ione to her fun.]]

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The Dark Ages are ''not'' renowned for feminism or marriage equality; the use of women as commodities to be sold via marriage is considered perfectly normal, as is physical abuse and rape. Prostitutes are considered ''lower'' than second-class citizens, and simply living with them is enough to end up being branded with the same stigma even if you're chaste - as Ione knows too well. Needless to say, this is one of many things that Tory sets out to change once she becomes queen, banning the most misogynistic traditions, harshly punishing rapists, turning the local brothel into an orphanage, and allowing women representation in politics.

* DirtyCoward: [[spoiler: Cadogan. On top of being a rapist and a traitor, he's also a spineless rat, not to put too fine a point on it. In order of appearance: his only reservation over the rape of an eight-year-old Ione was the prospect of getting caught, his strategy for capturing Tory involved taking a hostage to force her to surrender, and after being cornered by his now-adult victim, he's left cowering and begging for mercy.]]

** [[spoiler: Cadogan is able to take out Ione by violently opening a door into her face as she moves to answer it, knocking her unconscious and leaving her unable to stop him from capturing Tory.]]
** Later, Tory makes the mistake of forcing open an extremely heavy door just as Sir Tiernan is moving to open it for her, accidentally smacking him the head - leaving him struggling to recover from a concussion when he's supposed to be serving as the best man at Brockwell's wedding. Worse still, while still groggy, [[spoiler: he mistakes Tory for Sorcha and deliriously confesses his love for her - right in front of Maelgwn.]]

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Taliesin is not actually the old man he presents himself as to most of the world, as Tory discovers when he sees through his {{Glamour}}; apart from his silver hair, he's actually a much younger man, and claims that this appearance wouldn't give him any respect from the likes of Caswallon or Maelgwn. However, he's also made additional changes to his appearance so he doesn't alarm any of his past incarnations should they get close enough to notice the similarities between them: [[spoiler: he's a future incarnation of Teo, Tory's sensei and ex-lover.]]

** Brockwell is quite handsome after a decent shave and groom, considers himself god's gift to women, and already has a bastard son of about five years of age running loose; once he warms to Tory, he flirts with her. Tory politely but firmly turns him down, especially since he's a past incarnation of ''her own brother.'' For good measure, a good chunk of his character development features him learning how to be faithful to one woman, grow out of his sexist habits, and take responsibility for his son.
** Sir Cadogan, one of the knights under Maelgwn's command, is even ''more'' lecherous than Brockwell, to the point of trying to flirt with her from the moment they meet. Tory also shoots him down in flames, much to the amusement of the other knights, but he tries to press the issue when the two of them are alone - and ends up limping away with a pair of extremely bruised testicles for his trouble. Also, as time goes on, it becomes clear that he's not ''just'' a misogynist and a lecher: [[spoiler: he's a rapist, having teamed up with Prince Caradoc to gang-rape Ione when they were younger.]]

* ImperiledInPregnancy: Tory ends up on the receiving end of a kidnapping after getting pregnant with Maelgwn's child, [[spoiler: during which she is imprisoned in Powys and menaced by the witch Mahaud for the first time. She ends up losing the baby as a result, and the trauma would have killed her if it wasn't for Taliesin's potion of immortality.]]
* InvisibilityCloak: The Mantle of Gwydion is essentially a classic invisibility cloak; Taliesin gifts it to Tory for use in countering Caradoc's coup de'tat, allowing her to simultaneously kick ass and annoy the bejesus out of the forces of Powys.

* MerlinAndNimue: Mahaud's origin story is that she ''was'' the Nimue in the backstory, being a pupil and sweetheart of Myrddin that was ultimately corrupted by receiving too much knowledge at once, eventually driving her to imprison her mentor once she'd gotten everything she needed from him - though Myrddin eventually escaped.
* MovingBeyondBereavement: Sir Tiernan is secretly in mourning for Queen Sorcha, having been in unrequited love with her prior to her violent death many years ago; consequently, he's shied away from close relationships ever since, all while hiding his misery beneath a laddish, committed-bachelor facade. His plotline features him learning to give up his grief and find love with someone who can genuinely love him back, in this case, Ione.

** During their first meeting, all Taliesin needs to do to put Tory at ease while they prepare for the next day's battle is to provide her with a 20th-century bathroom complete with toilet paper, tampons, and a recharger for batteries - all incalculably valuable to Tory after so many months in the Dark Ages.

* ThrowTheDogABone: [[spoiler: After so many years of trauma and isolation as a result of her rape at the hands of Cadogan and Chiglas, Ione is idolized for her defeat of Ossa the Saxon, begins a loving relationship with Sir Tiernan, and even has her tongue restored by the Goddess.]]

* YourWorstMemory: As a result of her growing psychic powers, Tory accidentally taps into Ione's worst memory while trying to calm her: [[spoiler: being gang-raped by Cadogan and Caradoc, then having her tongue cut out.]] Both Tory and Ione are left absolutely shattered by the experience.

Unfortunately, Mahaud the hag is not done trying to destroy everything Taliesin has built, and with help from the Saxons, returns from her banished state to wreak havoc on Gwynedd - worst of all via a deadly plague. With the disease incurable, Tory is forced on a journey to Atlantis in order to save her loved ones...

* TheBermudaTriangle: Turns out that all the ships that go missing are actually being catapulted across history, quite a few of them ending up in Atlantean times. Unfortunately, such vessel turns out to be a Cold War-era nuclear sub... complete with working missiles.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Gwynedd has been saved, a permanent peace has been forged with the Saxons, the plague has been eradicated, Mahaud has been destroyed once and for all, Tory has given birth to a daughter and found love with Miles; best of all, the now-immortal Rhun is in position to rule over the land. However, Maelgwn is gone for the foreseeable future, Tory has to be separated from Rhun so that she can be with the father of her child in the 20th century, and Rhun himself is stuck on TheSlowPath for the next fifteen hundred years.]]

* EmptyQuiver: In the Atlantis plot, a rogue scientist is able to steal the nuclear missiles from a misplaced nuclear sub with the intent of using them against Atlantis under Mahaud's direction. [[spoiler: One ends up planted at the heart of Atlantis, forcing Tory and past Taliesin to employ time travel in order to stop it, eventually resulting in the return of present Taliesin, who sets out to disarm the nuke while Tory heads off to the 20th century.]]

* FindTheCure: With Maelgwn dying of Mahaud's plague, Tory realizes that the only to find a cure is to venture even further backwards in time to Atlantis, where the bulk of the story takes place. The Atlantean scientists eventually determine that the only thing that can save Tory's husband is a potion of immortality, and actually have to formulate one for her... only for Mahaud to steal it, forcing Tory into the 20th century in order to get it back.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: After being given a special protective talisman by Selwyn in order to protect him from Mahaud's psychic influence, Rhun gives his away to his lover so that she'll be safe. Only does she not need it, but Rhun finds out too late that he's been left open to the same plague afflicting his father - leaving Tory in the position of having to save both of them.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Maelgwn, after being and corrupted by Mahaud and led to believe that Tory betrayed him, stops giving a shit, even refusing to lift a finger to help the rest of the kingdom - forcing Rhun to step in to act in his stead. He eventually comes to his senses once he realizes his mistake, but by then, it's almost too late: Mahaud's infected him with a deadly plague.

** [[spoiler: In ''The Ancient Future,'' less than a few months after marrying Maelgwn and becoming immortal, Tory is made immortal to save her from injuries sustained in Powys. As such, she doesn't age at any point in the next twenty years of rule.]]

* BastardBastard: [[spoiler: Caradoc isn't actually Caswallon's son at all, but the result of the brutal rape of Caswallon's wife Sorcha - by her brother-in-law Cadfer. Thanks to Cadfer's tutelage, Caradoc was groomed to become every bit as vile as he was, eventually transforming him into the monster he becomes in the first half of the novel.]]

* CurbStompCushion: Brockwell gets his ass handed to him by Tory, but he still manages to nearly break her cheekbone with a punch and even manages to get a knife to her throat after being beaten - only being stopped from killing her by Maelgwn. Tory admits that she got too cocky for her own good.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The Dark Ages are ''not'' renowned for feminism or marriage equality; the use of women as commodities to be sold via marriage is considered perfectly normal, as is physical abuse and rape. Prostitutes are considered ''lower'' than second-class citizens, and simply living with them is enough to end up being branded with the same stigma even if you're chaste - as Ione knows too well. Needless to say, this is one of many things that Tory sets out to change once she becomes queen, banning the most misogynistic traditions, harshly punishing rapists, turning the local brothel into an orphanage, and allowing women representation in politics

** Sir Cadogan, one of the knights under Maelgwn's command, is even ''more'' lecherous than Brockwell - to the point of trying to flirt with her from the moment they meet. Tory also shoots him down in flames, much to the amusement of the other knights, but he tries to press the issue when the two of them are alone - and ends up limping away with a pair of extremely bruised testicles for his trouble. Also, as time goes on, it becomes clear that he's not ''just'' a misogynist and a lecher: [[spoiler: he's a rapist, having teamed up with Prince Caradoc to gang-rape Ione when they were younger.]]

* HatesBeingTouched: Ione, as a result of her rape, strongly dislikes being touched, especially by men. As such, it's a big step forward when she participates in Tory's team-building exercise and allows her assigned partner - Sir Tiernan - to hug her. However, when the hug goes on for a little longer than anticipated due to the commotion over Brockwell and Katren's relationship, Ione suffers a flashback. [[spoiler:

* MovingBeyondBereavement: Sir Tiernan is secretly in mourning for [[spoiler: Queen Sorcha]], having been in unrequited love with her prior to her violent death many years ago; consequently, he's shied away from close relationships ever since, all while hiding his misery beneath a laddish, committed-bachelor facade. His plotline features him learning to give up his grief and find love with someone who can genuinely love him back in this case, [[spoiler: Ione.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Gwynedd has been saved, a permanent peace has been forged with the Saxons, the plague has been eradicated, Mahaud has been destroyed once and for all, Tory has given birth to a daughter and found love with Miles; best of all, the now-immortal Rhun is now in position to rule over the land. However, Maelgwn is gone for the foreseeable future, Tory has to be separated from Rhun so that she can be with the father of her child in the 20th century, and Rhun himself is stuck on TheSlowPath for the next fifteen hundred years.]]

* MundaneUtility: While looking for the stolen immortality potion in the 20th century, Tory realizes that it's somewhere in the Azores; Miles is somewhat downcast at the annoyance of all the connecting flights and boat travel that they'll need to take in order to get there... only for Tory to just teleport them there.

** Tory's powers have increased tenfold in the decades since the previous book, allowing her to pull of some impressive feats of telepathy and teleportation.

** During the final battle between Tory's masters and the Saxon invaders, Mahaud makes it rain fire. Selwyn, having inherited Taliesin's arcane machinery, counters by making it rain hard enough to extinguish the flames.

** Myrddin, Taliesin's esteemed colleague and the legendary Merlin himself, is equally immortal and - if anything - possessed of even greater knowledge. [[spoiler: He's currently undercover in the 20th century as Tory's father.]]

* {{Reincarnation}}: A major element of the series; not only is reincarnation a reality, but various characters from the Dark Ages have been reincarnated as close friends and relatives of Tory in the 20th-century, easily recognized by their physical similarities. Among other things, Brockwell is Tory's brother Brian, Lady Catlyn is Tory's Aunt Rose, Katren is Naomi Paradis. More unusually, it's eventually made clear that reincarnation doesn't obey the laws of linear time: it's possible for early incarnations of the same person to crop up in the 20th century and for later, more advanced incarnations to appear centuries ''earlier.'' [[spoiler: Things get really complicated when Taliesin is found to be a later incarnation of Teo, Tory's ''sensei''... and even moreso when Tory bumps into Miles Thurlow, one of Maelgwn's "earlier" incarnations in 20th-century.]]

** Aella, Ossa's daughter, is horrified by the treatment of Gwynedd's representatives by her family and opts to set them free rather than let them suffer. The fact that she's in love with one of them - Bryce - certainly helps a bit. [[spoiler: In the finale, Bryce and Aella are married in order to cement Gwynedd's newfound friendship with the Saxon kingdom.]]

* NobleTopEnforcer: Eomenric, Ossa's son and second-in-command, is immediately iffy about taking orders from Mahaud. As their journey into Gwynedd continues and the people that they meet continue to treat them with kindness despite recognizing them as Saxons, he also realizes that the country they planned to conquer did nothing to deserve it, contrary to Ossa's bitter assumptions. The final straw proves to be Vanora's forcible possession, which Eomenric is so horrified by that he actually tries to stop; as a result, he becomes a DefectorFromDecadence, even fighting against his fellow Saxons in battle.

* MovingOnFromBereavement: Sir Tiernan is secretly in mourning for [[spoiler: Queen Sorcha]], having been in unrequited love with her prior to her violent death many years ago; consequently, he's shied away from close relationships ever since, all while hiding his misery beneath a laddish, committed-bachelor facade. His plotline features him learning to give up his grief and find love with someone who can genuinely love him back in this case, [[spoiler: Ione.]]

* DirtyCoward: [[spoiler: Cadogan. On top of being a rapist and a traitor, he's also a spineless rat, not to put too fine a point on it. In order of appearance: his only reservation over the rape of an eight-year-old Ione was the prospect of getting caught, his strategy for capturing Tory involved taking a hostage to force her to surrender, and after being cornered by his now-adult victim, he's left cowering and begging for mercy.]]

* DissonantSerenity: Vanora has the unusual habit of remaining unemotional in the face of danger, and seems appropriately spooked when Tory surprises her with a bit of Gigeresque PsychicStatic.

* EnemyCivilWar: Initially, Powys and the Saxon raiders are allies, with King Chiglas hiring the forces of the Saxon Chiefton Ossa as mercenaries to harass Gwynedd's borders. However, following their defeat in Caradoc's failed coup, Chiglas declines to pay Ossa for his time... resulting in the Saxons turning on Powys and besieging its capital city - conveniently allowing the perfect opportunity for Maelgwn and his forces to break into the city [[spoiler: and rescue Tory after her kidnapping.]]

** Sir Cadogan, one of the knights under Maelgwn's command, is even ''more'' lecherous than Brockwell - to the point of trying to flirt with her from the moment they meet. Tory also shoots him down in flames, much to the amusement of the other knights, but he tries to press the issue when the two of them are alone - and ends up limping away with a pair of extremely bruised testicles for his trouble. Also, as time goes on, it becomes clear that he's not ''just'' a misogynist and a lecher: [[spoiler: he's a rapist, having teamed up with Prince Caradoc to gang-rape Iona when they were younger.]]

* MerlinAndNimue: Mahaud's origin story is that she ''was'' the Nimue in the backstory, being a pupil and sweetheart of Myrddin that was ultimately corrupted by receiving too much knowledge at once and imprisoned her mentor - though Myrddin eventually escaped.

* ObfuscatingInsanity: Iona pretends to be violently mad so that men won't try to take advantage of her; in reality, she's perfectly lucid around other women. She eventually drops the act once she's taken in by Tory, only briefly using it for the wedding tournament in order to get herself disqualified so that Brockwell will advance into the finalist round against the Black Knight.

* NobleTopEnforcer: Eomenric, Ossa's son and second-in-command, is immediately iffy about taking orders from Mahaud. As their journey into Gwynedd continues and the people that they meet continue to treat them with kindness despite recognizing them as Saxons, he also realizes that the country they planned to conquer did nothing to deserve it, contrary to Ossa's bitter assumptions. The final straw proves to be Vanora's forcible possession, which Eomenric is so horrified by that he actually tries to stop; as a result, he becomes a DefectorAgainstDecadence, even fighting against his fellow Saxons in battle.

* WeatherControl:

** Thais the centaur is one of the more prominent immortals without access to a time machine, and has been taking the SlowPath across history, using his shapeshifting powers to disguise himself as an ordinary human. When Tory bumps into him again following their first meeting in ancient Atlantis, he's

** Maelgwn is notably stubborn and quick to anger, resulting in numerous arguments with Tory, Taliesin, Brockwell, and other characters across the trilogy. [[spoiler: In the second book, this allows Mahaud to get influence over him after it's made to look as if Tory and Taliesin have betrayed him.]]

* InconspicuousImmortal: Myrddin AKA Merlin is ''so'' inconspicuous that he's actually gone undercover as a mortal academic and has deliberately hidden his own memories of his true self to ensure he won't be found by unfriendly forces. Even after regaining his memories, Myrddin prefers to keep his head down and restrict his true identity to surprise appearances. [[spoiler: As it happens, he's none other than the archaeologist Renford Alexander, Tory's father.]]

* ReincarnationRomance: Tory and Maelgwyn keep meeting up across history and (depending on who they reincarnate as) often end up falling in love; their current attraction, love, and eventual marriage is no exception. Likewise, other reincarnations fall for the same characters they fell in love with during the Dark Ages. [[spoiler: For good measure, while trapped in the 20th century, Tory eventually becomes close with Maelgwn's present-day incarnation - even marrying him in a later book.]]

* CantStayNormal: After being taken under Taliesin's wing and repenting of her career as an evil sorceress, Vanora has retired to a simple life in Gwynedd... only for Ossa to show up at her door comparatively early in the novel, allowing Mahaud to brainwash her back into her service. [[spoiler: Thankfully, she ends up escaping alive.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: Selwyn, previously known only as Maelgwn's squire and later Taliesin's protege, is now a major practitioner of magic and able to coordinate the efforts of Tory and her allies throughout the worsening crisis.

* TheBermudaTriangle: Turns out that all the ships that go missing are actually being catapulted across time, quite a few of them ending up in Atlantean times. Unfortunately, such vessel turns out to be a Cold War-era nuclear sub... complete with working missiles.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After realizing that Mahaud has ruined all his hard work and turned Maelgwn against him ''and'' Tory, Taliesin teleports himself the hell out of Gwynedd. [[spoiler: He returns in order to save Tory and Atlantis from the armed nuclear missile at the end of the Atlantis plotline.]]

* TookALevelInJerkass: Maelgwn, after being led to believe that Tory betrayed him and corrupted by Mahaud, stops giving a shit and refuses to lift a finger to help the rest of the kingdom - forcing Rhun to step in to act in his stead. He eventually comes to his senses once he realizes his mistake, but by then, it's almost too late: Mahaud's infected him with a deadly plague.

* HappinessRealizedTooLate: [[spoiler: Abandoned Chiglas' dungeon for his failure to take over Gwynedd, Caradoc gradually realizes he was happier as a child, back when he was still under Sorcha's wing and growing up alongside Maelgwn... but by then, it's too late for him to recapture any of it.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: After being give

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Taliesin is not actually the old man he presents himself as to most of the world, as Tory discovers when he sees through his {{Glamour}}; apart from his silver hair, he's actually a much younger man, and claims that this appearance wouldn't give him any respect from the likes of Caswallon or Maelgwn.

** One of Taliesin's many magical powers is shapeshifting; as with his mythological counterpart, he used it for use in a ShapeshifterShowdown with his spiritual mother Keridwen. In the present, he uses it to disguise his true appearance [[spoiler: preventing Tory from realizing that he's actually identical to her ''sensei'' and ex-lover Teo.]]

* FindTheCure: With Maelgwn dying of Mahaud's plague, Tory realizes that the only that can save his life is a potion of immortality - but the only way to find it is to venture even further backwards in time to Atlantis, where the bulk of the story takes place.
* HaveWeMetYet: During her visit to Atlantis, Tory meets Taliesin... only to find that this is actually a previous incarnation of her mentor who naturally has no idea who she is or what she's talking about.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After realizing that Mahaud has ruined all his hard work and turned Maelgwn against him ''and'' Tory, Taliesin teleports himself the hell out of Gwynedd.
* StableTimeLoop: During her visit to Atlantis, Tory ends up helping Taliesin [[spoiler: to acquire the potion of immortality that he will eventually use on her past incarnation to save her life following her ordeal in Powys]], thus paving the way for her visiting Atlantis in the first place.

* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Tory is in the habit of foreseeing the future in her dreams, accurately predicting the attempted coup by Caradoc, and later seeing a vast outpouring of blood... [[spoiler: though this is actually due to Mahuad spamming her with horrific images so she can't accurately predict anything.]]

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Taliesin is not actually the old man he presents himself as to most of the world, as Tory discovers when he sees through his {{Glamour}}; apart from his white hair, he's actually a much younger man, and claims that this appearance wouldn't give him any respect from the likes of Caswallon or Maelgwn. [[spoiler: But even ''this'' is just a mask: his true form is identical to Teo, one of his previous incarnations, not to mention Tory's ''sensei'' and ex-lover - hence why he prefers to resemble someone else to avoid upsetting her or getting in the way of her relationship with Maelgwn.]]

* MarkedByTheSupernatural: Tory first awakens in the Dark Ages to find her forehead marked with the painted emblem of a dragon, an early sign that she's being singled out for something special.

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Taliesin is not actually the old man he presents himself as to most of the world, as Tory discovers when he sees through his {{Glamour}}, but even his younger form isn't his true self. [[spoiler: His true form is identical to Teo, Tory's ''sensei'' and ex-lover - hence why he prefers to resemble someone else to avoid upsetting her or getting in the way of her relationship with Maelgwn.]]

* SnowMeansDeath: It's during the winter that [[spoiler: Cadogan betrays Gwynedd and kidnaps Tory]], resulting in a colossal battle in Powys that ends with the deaths of [[spoiler: Cadogan, Caradoc, Chiglas, and Tory's unborn child - not to mention nearly Tory herself.]]