History Literature / TheDaggerAndTheCoin

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Subverted with Roach, the young Tziminae guard. He's introduced under that nickname and the main cast call him that, assuming it is his nickname of choice. Later on, when in Tziminae territory, they find out that his name is Halvill, and that the nickname Roach is actually an anti-Tziminae [[FantasticSlurs ethnic slur]]. After that, everyone makes an effort to call him Halvill rather than Roach.

* HopeSpot: Cithrin and her companions get an extended one when they make it to Porte Oliva after fleeing Suddapal. The Antean blockade is broken by a fleet led by [[spoiler:Barriath Kalliam]] and Marcus and the actors return with the last [[spoiler:dragon]] to help in the defense of the city against the approaching Antean army. So for a short time, it looks like this is the moment when the tide is going to turn, and that the seemingly endless string of Antean conquest will finally be halted. Then it turns out that the Anteans were ready of the [[spoiler:dragon]] and the city falls very quickly, and Cithrin has to flee again. After this, Cithrin plunges deep into despair and begins to think that the struggle is hopeless.
* LadyMacbeth: Inverted. Dawson is an ambitious, ruthless, arrogant, if hidebound nobleman, and his wife Clara is attractive, highly intelligent, deeply in love with hin- and usually his conscience.

* MalignedMixMarriage: Early in the story, Cithrin's POV brings up the fact that her parents (one Firstblood, one Cinnae) were both from prestigious families, and had she been purely one race or the other, lots of people would have been very willing to take her in. However, because she was mixed race, no one wanted her, which is why she ended up a ward of the Bank.

** Dawson's huntsman Vincen Coen becomes a devoted protector of Clara and falls in love with her after she [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe undoes Dawson firing him]], and loyally protects Dawson motivated by his feelings for Clara. [[spoiler: after Dawson's death, the two end up becoming lovers]].

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:
** Geder loves his father and is devoted to Prince Aster, to whom he plays the role of BigBrotherMentor.

* EvilerThanThou: [[spoiler: Dawson]] ends up getting upstaged by [[spoiler: Geder and Basrahip]] in this deparment.

** TheBigBad: Curtin Issandrian
** TheDragon: Feldin Maas

* RetiredMonster: When his son breaks down over participating in [[spoiler:the burning of Vanai]] Dawson reveals that he himself committed similar atrocities as a soldier. He feels no regret and sees such things as a normal part of warfare.

** Dawson Kalliam is a snobbish, cruel, petty nobleman who is determined to stop a dire threat to his kingdom: giving the people a say in how the country is governed.

** Dawson Kalliam has [[RetiredMonster slaughtered babies in front of their mothers.]] He is also a [[FantasticRacism fantastic racist]] who is contemptuous not only of other races, but of all Firstbloods of lower rank than him. He is also truly and deeply in love with his wife and caring and loving toward his son, Jorey.

* DecoyProtagonist: Decoy ''Villain'' Protagonist. Dawson is one of the core four POVs introduced in the first book, and is shaping up to be a major player, perhaps even the BigBad. [[spoiler: Then in the second book he goes against Geder and is rather messily executed for his trouble- so far, the ''only'' POV character to die]].

* HeroicBSOD: Having been burdened with a terrible responsibility and thrust out from the only home and family she's ever known, Cithrin spends the first half of ''The Dragon's Path'' in this. She has a smaller one later when [[spoiler:Qahaur Em outsmarts her and gets the shipping contract.]]

** The Free Cities are the medieval Italian city-states; Vanai in particular is Venice.

** Northcoast, likewise, seems to have elements of both France and England. Narinisle is Britain geographically, but we have seen nothing of the culture of Narinisle.

** Sarakal and Elassae are somewhat harder to pin down, as is the Keshet. Lyoneia is north Africa geographically, but what little we see of its culture has no obvious real-world counterpart.

* EvilChancellor: Basrahip, though at this point its unclear if he's really a WellIntenionedExtremist or not.

* DatingCatwoman: Cithrin has a neutral-to-positive impression of Geder after their first meeting, wherein he allows the caravan to pass despite uncovering the hidden treasure, and in their second meeting, due to a positive impression/Geder lying to her about his role in destroying Vanai helps save Geder from a conspiracy against him and ends up sleeping with him. After Cithrin gets a glimpse of [[TheSociopath the real Geder]], she runs away fast.

* SamusIsAGirl: The first three books make it clear that in-universe, the legendary slave soldier [[AwesomeMcCoolname Drakkis Storcrow]] is understood as being male (i.e. it's a male lead role in plays; various old books Geder reads call Drakkis "he"). However, the end of the third book has a [[spoiler: partly]] flashback POV from one of the dragons Drakkis served, and reveals to the audience that Drakkis was female, and thus the understanding of her as male is in-universe FutureImperfect/ UnreliableExpositor.

* AffablyEvil: Rivals Dawson Kalliam and Curtin Issandrian, who seem to genuinely believe in the rules of courtly behavior they abide by.
** Although whether either of them is actually evil, as opposed to just morally blinkered, is highly debatable.

* PuttingOnTheReich: The spider cult that that takes over Antea has as its banner a red flag with a white circle with an "eight-fold" symbol (implied to look like an eight-barred asterisk), which would look a lot like a Nazi flag. The cult engages in a massive propaganda campaign to the effect that there is a massive conspiracy by the entire Timzinae race against Antea—a conspiracy that is entirely imaginary. The cult uses this propaganda to manipulate Antea into launching a war of world conquest, with one of Antea's objectives being the wholesale elimination of the Timzinae. Oh, and the leader of the cult wears a black cape everywhere.

* PuttingOnTheReich: the spider cult that that takes over Antea has as its banner a red flag with a white circle with an "eight-fold" symbol (implied to look like an eight-barred asterisk), which would look a lot like a Nazi flag. The cult engages in a massive propaganda campaign to the effect that there is a massive conspiracy by the entire Timzinae race against Antea—a conspiracy that is entirely imaginary. The cult uses this propaganda to manipulate Antea into launching a war of world conquest, with one of Antea's objectives being the wholesale elimination of the Timzinae. Oh, and the leader of the cult wears a black cape everywhere.

* AffablyEvil: Rivals Dawson Kalliam and Curtin Issandria, who seem to genuinely believe in the rules of courtly behavior they abide by.

* {{DoubleThink}: It's discussed in the second novel how Spider Priest abilities can make a person believe something is true despite it being false, so long as the person convincing them of it [[BelievingTheirOwnLies sincerely believes it to be true]]. While asserting a desire to spread truth and uncover lies (and probably actually believing it), a Spider Priest more or less tells Dawson that [[TautologicalTemplar the truth is whatever they say it is]].

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Subverted with Roach, the young Tziminae guard. He's introduced under that nickname and the main cast call him that, assuming it is his nickname of choice. Later on, when Cithrin and her group find out that his name is Halvill, and that the nickname Roach is actually an anti-Tziminae [[FantasticSlurs ethnic slur]]. After that, everyone makes an effort to call him Halvill rather than Roach.

* DatingCatwoman: Cithrin has a neutral-to-positive impression of Geder after their first meeting, wherein he allows the caravan to pass despite uncovering the hidden treasure, and in their second meeting, due to a positive impression/Geder lying to her about his role in destroying Vanai helps save Geder from a conspiracy against him and ends up sleeping with him. After Cithrin gets a glimpse of [[TheSocipath the real Geder]], she runs away fast.

* {{DoubleSpeak}}: It's discussed in the second novel how Spider Priest abilities can make a person believe something is true despite it being false, so long as the person convincing them of it [[BelievingTheirOwnLies sincerely believes it to be true]]. While asserting a desire to spread truth and uncover lies (and probably actually believing it), a Spider Priest more or less tells Dawson that [[TautologicalTemplar the truth is whatever they say it is]].

* BodyguardCrush: Cithrin has a bit of one on Marcus, which he somewhat reciprocates. It's a bit squicky in that Marcus is in part the father Cithrin never had and Cithrin reminds Marcus of both his deceased wife and daughter.

* CompellingVoice: A power of the spider-priests; as the flip-side of their LivingLieDetector abilities, they can also make anyone who talks to them long enough believe that what they say is true.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Dawson Kalliam has [[RetiredMonster slaughtered babies in front of their mothers.]] He is also a [[FantasticRacism fantastic racist]] who is contemptuous not only of other races, but of all Firstbloods of lower rank than him. He is also truly and deeply in love with his wife and caring and loving toward his son,

* BodyguardCrush

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Dawson Kalliam has [[RetiredMonster slaughtered babies in front of their mothers.]] He is also a [[FantasticRacism fantastic racist]] who is contemptuous not only of other races, but of all Firstbloods of lower rank than him. He is also truly and deeply in love with his wife.

* EvilOverlord: Deconstructed with [[spoiler:Geder]], whose storyline so far is basically that of the transformation of an ordinary person into what the rest of the world sees as an EvilOverlord, with the focus being on how he nonetheless retains his human foibles and weaknesses while really being a pawn for outside forces.