History Literature / TheGraystoneSaga

* TheArcher: The Sons of the Dusk, the male half of the honor guard at the Cathedral of Light, is made up entirely of these. Tobiah is also learning to be one, since Sabastian has concluded he would be useless with a sword.

* BerserkButton: Sabastian's is revealed in the first chapter - never touch Lady Gray. Hers takes a while longer to come to light, but it appears to be a reference to an as-yet-unrevealed event in her past.

* ColorMotif: The emphasis on [[GrayTropes the color gray]], according to WordOfGod, is a representation of the fact that there is nothing black and white about the entire story. There are almost no characters who are completely good or completely evil. It's also, a bit more overtly, a reference to Lady Gray's enduring grief, regret, and penance. Other colors are used to create further recurring motifs, mostly with regards to the individuals who live and work in the various Cathedrals.

* NamedWeapon: Silverblood

* TwoGuysAndAGirl
* WebSerialNovel
* YouAllMeetInAnInn: How the story begins.

* ShoutOut: Sabastian is TheSouthpaw because of the author's love for ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''.

[[http://www.jukepopserials.com/home/read/1468 The Graystone Saga]] is a WebSerialNovel by Laura Klotz (known around these parts as @/LadyNorbert). Tobiah, the narrator, is unexpectedly swept up into the quest of Lady Gray, a figure of legend and fear. Lady Gray and her companion, the surly warrior Sabastian, are on the hunt for twelve demons, known as shades, who have escaped into the world. Only she, bearer of the Graystone, can defeat the shades and return them to their place of imprisonment. Gradually, Tobiah begins to piece together the truth about the lady, whose history is as tragic as her fate.

Originally posted on {{Blogger}}, the story has now been accepted for publication on [=JukePop=] Serials and is being re-released from its beginning.

[[http://thegraystonesaga.blogspot.com The Graystone Saga]] is a WebSerialNovel by Laura Klotz (known around these parts as @/LadyNorbert). Tobiah, the narrator, is unexpectedly swept up into the quest of Lady Gray, a figure of legend and fear. Lady Gray and her companion, the surly warrior Sabastian, are on the hunt for twelve demons, known as shades, who have escaped into the world. Only she, bearer of the Graystone, can defeat the shades and return them to their place of imprisonment. Gradually, Tobiah begins to piece together the truth about the lady, whose history is as tragic as her fate.

* NiceToTheWaiter: When Tobiah first meets Lady Gray and Sabastian, a fight breaks out in the inn because someone realized who she was. The first hint we have that Lady Gray is a decent person is that she gives money to the innkeeper to pay for anything that was damaged, and apologizes for the outburst even though it wasn't really her fault.

* ColorMotif: The emphasis on [[GrayTropes the color gray]], according to WordOfGod, is a representation of the fact that there is nothing black and white about the entire story. There are almost no characters who are completely good or completely evil. It's also, a bit more overtly, a reference to Lady Gray's enduring grief, regret, and penance.

* AudienceSurrogate: Tobiah, who gets no physical description at all.

* BodyguardingABadass: Lady Gray doesn't really need Sabastian to protect her, but he considers it his job anyway, not least because of a BodyguardCrush.
* BowAndSwordInAccord: Until he insists that Tobiah start using one of them, Sabastian carries both a longbow and a sword.

* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Tobiah

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Lady Gray has a doozy.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Despite her coloring, attire, and reputation, Lady Gray is actually a pretty nice person - but she's also an IronWoobie, so most people don't realize it. Most often she comes across as an EmotionlessGirl.
* DarkSkinnedBlond: Sabastian

* DoomMagnet: Lady Gray, or at least she'd have you think so.

* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Our heroine.
* EnigmaticMinion: Sabastian fits many aspects of this trope, except that he's not a villain... we think.

* FriendToAllLivingThings: Sabastian's not the most pleasant person you'll ever meet, but he's extremely fond of animals and takes very good care of his and Lady Gray's horses.
* GreenEyedMonster: The primary reason Sabastian is so unpleasant to Tobiah is because he's jealous of any possible rival for Lady Gray's affection.
* GreenEyes: The only thing about Lady Gray (including her wardrobe) which is not black, white, or gray.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: Despite the reason for her noble quest, Lady Gray is feared, if not downright loathed, by most of the population of the entire continent.

* HopelessSuitor: Sabastian has shades of this trope, having been in love with Lady Gray for more than 20 years and refusing to leave her despite her repeated insistence that they can't ever be together.
* IOweYouMyLife: Sabastian has been following Lady Gray ever since she saved his life some twenty years before the start of the story.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Lady Gray looks to be about 28. Her exact age has not yet been revealed in the narrative, but there are hints that it's rather up there.
-->'''Father Matthias:''' I hope that by the time I'm your age, I'm a little wiser.
-->'''Lady Gray:''' By the time you're my age, your bones will have turned to dust.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Very few people know that Lady Gray's real name is Liadan.
** MeaningfulName: In a combination of this and BilingualBonus, 'Liadan' is Irish Gaelic for "gray lady." That's right, her full name is technically [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Lady Gray Lady Gray]].

* TheQuietOne: Sabastian isn't much of a talker, even when Tobiah asks direct questions.

* TheSouthpaw: Sabastian is a left-handed swordsman.

[[http://thegraystonesaga.blogspot.com The Graystone Saga]] is a WebSerialNovel by Laura Klotz (known around these parts as @/LadyNorbert). One fateful night in a rustic inn, a teenaged boy named Tobiah inadvertently gets involved in a fight revolving around a mysterious hooded woman. She turns out to be the fabled Lady Gray, a figure of legend that the majority of people fear. He ends up joining Lady Gray and her companion, the surly warrior Sabastian, on their quest to defeat and capture twelve demons, known as shades, who have escaped into the world. Gradually, Tobiah begins to piece together the truth about the lady, whose history is as tragic as her fate.

* CosmicKeystone: The titular Graystone is a form of this.

* NoImmortalInertia: Averted. [[spoiler:The Graystone prevents its bearer from aging, so that he or she remains strong enough to fight the shades. Once the mission is complete and the stone is removed, age will catch up with them.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: Lady Gray looks to be about 28. Her exact age has not yet been revealed in the narrative, but there's a hint that it's rather up there.

** MeaningfulName: In a combination of this and BilingualBonus, 'Liadan' is Irish Gaelic for "gray lady."

* WhoWantsToLiveForever: [[spoiler:Lady Gray is functionally immortal on account of the Graystone.]]

* TheArcher: Tobiah, eventually.

* HealingHands: Father Brian, and the other clerics trained in the use of medicinal herbs

* DarkIsNotEvil: Despite her coloring, attire, and reputation, Lady Gray is actually a pretty nice person - but she's also an IronWoobie, so most people don't realize it.

* ReplacementGoldfish: Father Matthias implies that Lady Gray is using Tobiah as one of these for "them," but it takes a while before Tobiah knows who "them" are.

* EnigmaticMinion: Sabastian fits many aspects of this trope, except that he's not a villain...we think.

* ChurchMilitant: There's an element of this to Lady Gray and her quest, though the narrative has yet to make it entirely clear. It is understood, however, that each of the five cathedrals has its own in-house cadre of soldiers, and that the reason they're needed has something to do with her existence.

* ColorMotif: The emphasis on the color gray, according to WordOfGod, is a representation of the fact that there is nothing black and white about the entire story. There are almost no characters who are completely good or completely evil.

* YouAllMeetInAnInn: How the story begins.

* BodyguardingABadass: Lady Gray doesn't really need Sabastian to protect her, but he considers it his job anyway.

* CosmicKeystone: The titular Graystone

* MineralMacGuffin: The Graystone

** PunnyName: In a combination of this and BilingualBonus, 'Liadan' is Irish Gaelic for "gray lady."

* WritingByTheSeatOfTheirPants: Part of the reason the story is being published in web serial format is because the author, in her own words, has no idea what she's doing and figures that since this trope works for her fanfic, it could work for her original material too.
* YouAllMeetAtAnInn: How the story begins.