History Series / Attila

* HeroesWantRedheads: Attila's first wife N'Kara was a redhead. Flavius Aetius uses this to his advantage when he recruits Ildico, a Roman woman lusting for vengeance against the Huns who resembles Attila's late wife, to make Attila fall in love with her, [[spoiler:providing a perfect opportunity to assassinate him.]]

* CompositeCharacter: Placidia, sort of. In RealLife, she did retire as Regent when Valentinian turned 18, and simply became one of many [[TheConsigliere consiglieri]] to her son. That said, compressing these consiglieri into a single character did [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters keep the cast from getting too big]].

* DoWrongRight: When Attila calls out Aetius over faking the PretextForWar the latter just points out Attila went about it the wrong way. He should have acted puzzled as to why the wounds of the tortured man hadn't bled (because they'd been inflicted after death) so Attila's chief could come up with the idea himself and thus take credit for being clever.

Near the end of the Roman Empire, huge population movements have led to barbarian tribes settling in traditional Roman territories in advance of the Huns, a nomadic people from the steppes in the east. Attila, the orphaned son of a horselord taken in by his uncle, takes over command of all the tribes and challenges the Romans, led by the brilliant general Flavius Aetius (Creator/PowersBoothe).

* TheQueensLatin: Aside from Flavius Aetius, a fair number of the Roman characters are played by Brits.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Attila's first wife N'Kara was a redhead. Flavius Aetius uses this to his advantage when he recruits a Roman woman lusting for vengeance against the Huns who resembles Attila's late wife to make Attila fall in love with her, [[spoiler:providing a perfect opportunity to assassinate him.]]

* LoveInterestTraitor: Attila ends up falling in love with a woman who resembles [[TheLostLenore his late wife]]. However, she's an assassin sent by Flavius Aetius to seduce and marry Attila so he will let his guard down at a critical moment. [[spoiler:She succeeds with the plot by killing him on their wedding night at the cost of her own life, which she had accepted beforehand.]]

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Valentinian and Placidia [[note]]who historically would have been dead by this time [[/note]] pull this on [[spoiler:Flavius Aetius]] after he has defeated Attila, killing him on the basis that he's no longer useful to them. According to the end narration, it solidified their power but eliminating someone as competent as [[spoiler:Aetius]] contributed to [[StupidEvil the Empire's final demise]].[[note]]The narrator's [[TruthInTelevision not that far off]]: Historically, after Valentinian assassinated Aetius, one of his advisors is said to have replied: "[[WithDueRespect Whether well or not, I do not know]]. But know that [[HoistByHisOwnPetard you have cut off your right hand with your left]]."[[/note]]

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Valentinian and Placidia [[note]]who historically would have been dead by this time [[/note]] pull this on [[spoiler:Flavius Aetius]] after he has defeated Attila, killing him on the basis that he's no longer useful to them. According to the end narration, it solidified their power but eliminating someone as competent as [[spoiler:Aetius]] contributed to [[StupidEvil the Empire's final demise]].

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Valentinian and Placidia [[note]]who historically would have been dead by this time [[/note]] pull this on [[spoiler:Flavius Aetius]] after he has defeated Attila, killing him on the basis that he's no longer useful to them.

* VestigialEmpire: The Western Roman Empire is terminal decline, and the Huns, Barbarians, and even the Byzantines (Eastern Empire) are taking full advantage of its sick man status. Aetius is trying to fix the problems, but he is [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Doomed By History]].

* TheStarscream: Flavius is this to Galla Placidia, going so far as to frame her for an assassination attempt on Valentinian in a bid to steal her role as TheManBehindTheMan. As mentioned above, Honoria is also this to her brother. The ensuing GambitPileup results comes back to bite them both.

* UltimateJobSecurity: Flavius Aetius knows that he is given a lease on life by the ruling dynasty in Rome because they need him to fight their current enemies. So in order to make himself irreplaceable, he purposefully makes such an impression on the young Attila that he can argue to the emperor that Attila won't invade the western empire because he fears Aetius. Placidia points out how awfully convenient it is that Aetius' good health has become so important to them now.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Flavius thinks Attila could make Rome strong again, but Attila will have none of it. As Attila's Hunnic empire starts to gain momentum, [[IronicEcho he makes this offer to Flavius]], but Flavius [[MyCountryRightOrWrong refuses to betray his empire]].
* WoundedGazelleWarcry: A royal Roman lady gets imprisoned in a monastery. Wanting to flee this fate, she sends a letter to UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun, who gladly acts like he's under TheDulcineaEffect and invades the Roman empire for her sake. Attila and the lady are both portrayed as down-to-earth politicians who know exactly what they are doing. She needs freedom, he needs an excuse to invade the empire, and they could both use the good PR of an epic romantic tale for the masses to admire.

* UltimateJobSecurity: Flavius Aetius knows that he is given a lease on life by the ruling dynasty because they need him to fight their current enemies. So in order to make himself irreplaceable, he purposefully makes such an impression on the young Attila that he can argue to the emperor that Attila won't invade the western empire because he fears Aetius. Placidia points out how awfully convenient it is that Aetius' good health has become so important to them now.

* WoundedGazelleWarcry: A royal Roman lady gets imprisoned in a monastery. Wanting to flee this fate, she sends a letter to UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun, who gladly takes on the role of RomanticHero and invades the Roman empire for her sake. Attila and the lady are both portrayed as down-to-earth politicians who know exactly what they are doing. She needs freedom, he needs an excuse to invade the empire, and they could both use the good PR of an epic romantic tale for the masses to admire.

* DoWrongRight: When Attila calls out Aetius over faking the PretextForWar the latter just points out Attila went about it the wrong way. He should have been puzzled as to why the wounds of the tortured man hadn't bled (because they'd been inflicted after death) so Attila's chief could come up with the idea himself and thus take credit for being clever.

* PersonalSeals: When Flavius Aetius is restored to power by the mother of the Emperor, he insists she give him her seal to let others know that he's acting on her authority and is not still in disgrace. He then arranges for an assassin to kill the Emperor, using the seal to convince the assassin that she's arranged it, and even giving him the seal as a GetOutOfJailFree" Card in case he's captured. Aetius then kills the assassin just as he's about to strike, [[IOweYouMyLife earning the Emperor's gratitude]] and sowing distrust when he finds his mother's seal on the assassin's body.

* PersonalSeals: When Flavius Aetius is restored to power by the mother of the Emperor, he insists she give him her seal to let others know that he's acting on her authority and is not still in disgrace. He then arranges for an assassin to kill the Emperor, using the seal to convince the assassin that she's arranged it, and even giving him the seal as a "Get out of Jail Free" Card in case he's captured. Aetius then kills the assassin just as he's about to strike, earning the Emperor's gratitude and sowing distrust when he finds his mother's seal on the assassin's body.