Line #36 Literature/FarsalaTrilogy


1	The three books in this YA trilogy -- ''Fall of a Kingdom'', ''Rise of a Hero'', and ''Forging the Sword'' -- were published by Creator/HilariBell from 2003 to 2006. The story -- that of a pseudo-Iranian land called Farsala attempting to resist invasion -- is told in alternating perspectives by three very different characters: Kavi, Jiaan, and Soraya. They are, respectively, a repentant traitor, a bastard, and a deghass fighting to keep their land free for a year, after which the Hrum will retreat.
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3	The land of Farsala, as has been mentioned, is a close parallel to Persia, and the Hrum are, for all practical purposes, the Romans. Creator/HilariBell does not go out of her way to emphasize this, however- she uses the two cultures to build a world familiar to her readers and then lets the story take over. The text is also littered with bits of world-building that seem to be mostly her own invention. As a result, the ''Farsala Trilogy'' stands out among young adult fantasy trilogies about three teenagers trying to save the world.
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5	It is also noteworthy for its understated commentary about how heroes arise. In the first book, the chapters are intercut with shorter, PurpleProse-y sections telling the actual Persian myth of Sorahb, which includes the detail that he will be reborn when Farsala needs a champion. The later two books are intercut with sentences written in the same tone, which recount highly romanticized versions of the events in the books, all credited to the entirely nonexistant "Sorahb reborn."
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7	''Fall of a Kingdom'' was originally titled ''Flame'' and part of a series titled "The Books of Sorahb," but the second and third novels have no alternate titles.
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9	!!This trilogy provides examples of:
10	* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Watersteel, clearly based upon real-world Damascus steel.
11	* AcheyScars: Both Kavi and Jiaan.
12	* ActionSurvivor: Kavi.
13	* ASimplePlan: Getting the Hrum gold.
14	* {{Backstory}}: Kavi's past explains a ''lot'' about his hatred of the deghans.
15	* BarbarianTribe: the Kadeshi
16	* BittersweetEnding: Heavier on the sweet side.
17	* BreakTheHaughty: ''Soraya''. Jiaan's original rival and later disliked ally, Fasal, also gets hit with this.
18	* BuyThemOff: It only makes it worse with the Hrum, but it was very easy to do with the deghans' lawkeepers.
19	* CharacterDevelopment: One of the series' main strengths, and in full effect for all of them. It's most striking with Soraya. She's barely recognizable as the same person by the end of the series, but it all feels totally natural.
20	* TheChosenOne: Discussed frequently, but never actually appears.
21	* CombatPragmatist: Garren. Due to [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy the Farsalan culture]], it's considered a MoralEventHorizon moment.
22	* CompositeCharacter: The Sorahb reborn of legend is a composite of nearly the entire resistance. Specifically, Kavi's tactical brilliance at guerilla warfare and spycraft, Jiann's ability as a battlefield commander, Soraya's magic, and in the finale Fasal's ability as a swordsman.
23	* DaddysGirl: Soraya again.
24	* {{Demythification}}: It's a freaking ''weird'' example, since there actually is magic and it's an in-story legend, but it's certainly revealing the reality behind the magic.
25	* DisproportionateRetribution: Kavi tries to wipe out all the deghans.
26	* DistinctiveAppearances: Jiaan isn't remarkable looking, but Soraya's gorgeous ultra deghan hair gets a lot of emphasis, and anyone Kavi allies himself with warns him that if he betrays them then a young peddler with a scarred hand is easy to find.
27	* TheDungAges: Averted with Farsala, but played straight with their neighbor, Kadeshi. Kadeshi's peasant class are shown to be starving as their lords eat at banquet.
28	* ElementalPowers: The Suud magic.
29	* TheEmpire: The Hrum.
30	* FantasyPantheon: a diabolical version with the djinn. It's never confirmed whether or not they exist.
31	* FriendlyEnemy: Jiaan and Patrius, Kavi and Patrius.
32	* HandicappedBadass: Kavi.
33	* GoingNative
34	* HeelFaceTurn: Kavi is known for this, despite only actually turning twice.
35	* HeroicBastard: Jiaan.
36	* HorsebackHeroism: The deghans at first.
37	* HonorBeforeReason: Garren.
38	* IdiotHero: Subverted with Fasal. He starts out as a ProudWarriorRaceGuy who would rather ride to his death than fight practically. He gets better as the story goes on. He still puts HonorBeforeReason, but he can also think rationally when the situation is desperate.
39	* LovableTraitor: Kavi is this in universe among some.
40	* MadeASlave: Soraya's mother and brother. Also her cousin Pari. And most of the deghans who weren't killed in the battle, including the child of the ghan.
41	* MoralityPet: Soraya's relationship with her little brother is initially her only humanizing trait. She gets better.
42	* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Patrius.
43	* OnceMoreWithClarity: The pre-chapter introductions of books two and three have a historian describing [[TheChosenOne the Sorahb Reborn's]] campaign against the Hrum. The chapters themselves often show the wildly different truth of the matter.
44	* {{Pride}}: The deghans' fatal flaw
45	* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: All of the deghans
46	* {{Realism}}: The story's distinguishing feature is how ''normal'' everyone is.
47	* RefugeInAudacity: Kavi's double agent act requires him to rely on this. His luck finally catches up with him in the climax of the last book.
48	* TheRemnant: Farsala's army of deghans are slaughtered almost to the last man in the climax of the first book, leaving Jiann and Fasal to lead those who remain, mostly consisting of archers, support troops, and peasant volunteers chaffing under Hrum reprisals.
49	* RousingSpeech: Jiann at the end of ''Fall of a Kingdom''
50	* RulesLawyer: Garren. He issues a challenge saying he'll kill [[spoiler:Kavi]] if Sorahb doesn'f show up to duel him. When people point out that Hrum law forbids the killing of prisoners, he says that because he gave said challenge, he doesn't have a prisoner, he has a ''hostage'', and Hrum law has no such rule regarding hostages.
51	* SoBeautifulItsACurse: When Soraya disguises herself as a serving wench, one of the male servants warns her to keep her face hidden as much as possible, as it's dangerous to be so pretty in the army environment she finds herself in.
52	* SpoiledBrat: Soraya in the first book.
53	* TokenGoodTeammate: Patrius, Barmael, and the various people under them within the Hrum who don't support Garren's politics.
54	* TrueCompanions: Kavi, not with the other heroes, but with Navi's family. Despite Soraya and Jiaan being ''actual'' family, they never really form a dynamic this close.
55	* TwoLinesNoWaiting: The narrative viewpoint moves between Soraya, Kavi, and Jiaan.
56	* TheUnchosenOne: All three, for ignoring the Sorahb legend.
57	* VirginSacrifice: Soraya, almost, but for political reasons.
58	* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Soraya's initial attempts to pass for a commoner fail because she overloads on the accent in an attempt to hide her upper-class diction. The character who catches her, an actual commoner, says that nobody in real life actually talks in such a stereotypically "peasant-y" way.
59	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Jiaan gives this speech to Fasal when the latter decides to torture Patrius.
60	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: After the Hrum begin occupying Farsala, everything changes. Even after they are defeated at the end, so many Farsalan deghans have died that their status as the ruling class is doomed.
61	* YouKilledMyFather:
62	** This is Jiaan and Soraya's reaction when they find out what side Kavi was originally fighting for. They never actually carry out their revenge.
63	** At the end of the last book, Soraya transfers this attitude to Substrategus Garren after she watches him repeat the trick he used to kill her father. [[spoiler:Then she kills him.]]

Context Literature / FarsalaTrilogy