Line #83 Literature/GodspeakerTrilogy


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/EmpressOfMijak_6998.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Art by Les Petersen.]]
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4	The ''Godspeaker Trilogy'' is a {{Dark\|erAndEdgier}} HeroicFantasy trilogy of novels by Creator/KarenMiller.
5
6	Centered around the two main female characters: slave turned warrior turned Empress [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Hekat]] and DistressedDamsel [[TheHighQueen Rhian]]. Assisting Hekat is [[SexyPriest Vortka]], one of the few good guys in his country's [[ReligionOfEvil horrible religion]]. On Rhian's side is [[TheEveryman Dexterity Jones]], who, with the help of his [[SpiritAdvisor his dead wife Hettie]], turns into the [[PowerGlows Fantastic Glowing Man]] with HealingHands. In the middle is [[TheLancer Zandakar]] whose younger brother [[EvilTwin Dmitrak]] [[CainAndAbel he's always had some problems with]], not to mention a rivalry in the [[PowerCrystal power weapon department]].
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8	The first novel is ''Empress of Mijak'' or ''Empress'', in which Hekat is sold as [[HappinessInSlavery a slave]] by her parents, escapes to become the instrument of Mijak's [[GodOfEvil God]], being a sort of [[TheChosenOne Chosen One]] who thinks anyone who disagrees with her is possessed by demons as she is [[BecauseDestinySaysSo following the God's plan]]. She [[FilleFatale seduces]] the warlord Raklion, bears a son by the benevolent priest Vortka and ends up Queen of the whole known world.
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10	The sequel ''The Riven Kingdom'' involves [[RebelliousPrincess Rhian]] [[RunawayFiance running away]] from her ArrangedMarriage and becoming [[TheHighQueen queen in her own right]] with the help of Dexterity and Zandakar, going against the High Priest [[WellIntentionedExtremist Marlan]] who just thinks Rhian [[StayInTheKitchen should just get married]] and [[ItsAllAboutMe really doesn't believe in any religion at all]].
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12	In ''Hammer of God'', [[FightScene Rhian fights a sea battle]] for her crown with MassTeleportation and a FinalBattle with some [[RuleOfCool great explosive sequences]].
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14	# ''Empress of Mijak'' (2007)
15	# ''The Riven Kingdom'' (2007)
16	# ''Hammer of God'' (2008)
17
18	----
19	!!The series contains examples of:
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21	* ActionGirl: Hekat and later Rhian, and there are ''a lot'' of action girls as Mijak lets women be warriors.
22	%%* AlwaysChaoticEvil: The Mijaki.
23	%%* AlienSky: Two moons.
24	* AmbitionIsEvil: It's never quite clear whether one of Hekat's viler acts is truly motivated by her god speaking to her from within, or just her own ambition. For example, her using a divine curse to spiritually "neuter" Vortka, rendering him incapable of fathering future children that could challenge Zandakar's ability to wield the PowerCrystal (and, coincidentally, negating his own ability to do the same) could have just been her own zeal to see her dynastic plans not thwarted... or genuinely prompted by the god in order to ensure her next child would be by Nagarak, ensuring he would be much more like a typical Mijaki.
25	%%* AntiVillain: Nagarak.
26	%%* ArmiesAreEvil
27	%%* ArrangedMarriage: Rhian's problem in the second book.
28	%%* ArtifactOfDoom: The glove that is the actual Hammer of God.
29	* BattleCry: "Chalava! Chalava zho!"
30	* BloodBath: Mijak's godspeakers bathe in animal blood to commune with their god.
31	* BloodbathVillainOrigin: Hekat kills the two slavers who bought her with a divine-like curse as they had revealed her as a runaway slave to the warlord, and if the godspeakers heard, she would be nailed to a cross, disemboweled and left to die. Ironically, no actual blood is shed, and she even choses to forgo slitting their throats to use the curse.
32	* BloodMagic: The ReligionOfEvil of Mijak is built on ThePowerOfBlood, and thousands of animals and slaves die to spread the power of their dark god.
33	* TheChessmaster: Hekat and her god both; it's hard to tell which of them is actually writing the plans, but either way she's involved in a lot of scheming.
34	* {{Conlang}}: Mijaki has a handful of words. ''Sadsa'' is camel's milk. Knife dancers forms are ''hotas''. Zandakar calls his mother ''Yuma''.
35	* TheChosenOne: Dexterity Jones and Zandakar are chosen by the God of Ethrea. Hekat, meanwhile, is TheChosenOne of the ''chalava'' of Mijak.
36	* CrystalDragonJesus: The historical figure Rollin, and later Dexterity Jones.
37	%%* DarkActionGirl: Hekat.
38	* DarkMagicalGirl: Hekat to an extent; she really wants her son to love her, but she's completely insane and TheChosenOne of a dark god.
39	* DualWielding: The sword fighting of the knife dancers involves ''hotas'' using two blades. [[spoiler:Rhian adapts this to broad swords]].
40	* EldritchAbomination: ''Chalava''. [[spoiler: The god of Mijak is a [[SentientCosmicForce semi-sentient pool of demons]], fueled by blood to become as strong as a god, and existing solely to strengthen itself with more bloodletting.]]
41	%%* TheEmpire: Mijak.
42	%%* ErmineCapeEffect
43	* EvilMakeover: Zandakar's hair turns blue when he uses the hammer, Dmitrak's turns red. Hekat gives ''herself'' an evil makeover.
44	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: According to Miller, Mijak is supposed to be like the Hittites where Ethrea is Medieval England. Tzhung-tzhungchai is obviously China, while Arbenia and Harbisland have German traits.
45	* TheFederation: The trade alliance with Ethrea, Rhian has to go through hell to get them to help her when [[spoiler:Mijak is coming to attack]].
46	* FlatEarthAtheist: Marlan has never encountered his God before, and doesn't believe that He exists. [[spoiler: What makes it this trope, however, is that he continues to hold this belief in the face of the divinely-chosen Dexterity Jones, even when the guy's glowing with power, and is struck down for his trouble.]]
47	* FreudianExcuse:
48	** Dmitrak's personality is because his mother Hekat never liked him.
49	** Hekat herself; her own childhood was horrifically abusive (she wasn't even named and her father demanded her mother not even bother trying to teach her to talk), and the trader that she thought had rescued her by purchasing her as a slave and proceeding to treat her with exceptional kindness was really just trying to amp up her value for when he sold her as a concubine. It's not really that surprising she becomes psychotically vicious in trying to climb as high in power as she can so she can at last be "safe".
50	%%* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Hekat.
51	* GodIsEvil: In ''Empress''. [[spoiler: The god is not actually the God that the characters in the later books describe.]]
52	* GodOfEvil: The Mijaki God, [[spoiler:otherwise known as a pool of demons fueled by death and blood.]]
53	* GondorCallsForAid: Ethrea doesn't have a standing army due to the treaty of the trading nations.
54	* GoodScarsEvilScars: Both Hekat and Rhian cut themselves on the face so men can take them seriously. Hekat cuts her face ''twice''.
55	* HappinessInSlavery: Hekat, before she realizes that the slavers care about her solely for her value and not for herself.
56	%%* HealingHands
57	%%* HeroAntagonist: [[spoiler:Hanochek.]]
58	%%* TheHighQueen: Rhian.
59	%%* HopelessSuitor: Zandakar.
60	%%* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Many times with Rhian.
61	%%* ItsAllAboutMe: Marlan
62	* KillItWithFire: The gauntlet fires people where they stand. As well as [[spoiler:Marlan's death]].
63	%%* LadyOfWar: Rhian.
64	%%* LittleMissBadass: Hekat.
65	%%* LoveTriangle: Alisdair and Zandakar over Rhian.
66	* LukeIAmYourFather: Subverted here. We know the paternity of Zandakar and Dmitrak from the first novel, neither of them are told this until the third. And in Dmitrak's case it's just [[spoiler:before he kills his mother and gets killed himself]].
67	%%* MassTeleportation: [[spoiler: An entire armada.]]
68	%%* PathOfInspiration: Vortka within Mijak's religion.
69	%%* PimpedOutDress
70	%%* PlanetOfHats
71	* PlotHole: Mijak's Hekat chooses her name due to mispronouncing "hellcat," which she was called as a child. Ethrean sounds like English no matter what point of view it's heard from, while Mijaki is represented as a completely different language when heard by Ethrean characters. The plot hole here is how the term "hellcat" sounds exactly the same in two uniquely-developed languages.
72	%%* PowerCrystal
73	* PowerGlows: When filled with power, Dexterity glows with fire that does not burn. [[spoiler:[[KillItWithFire Except for Marlan.]]]]
74	* ThePowerOfBlood: Mijak's religious ritual involves so much sacrificial blood (including swallowing it hot and [[BloodBath taking baths in it]]) it's just SickAndWrong.
75	* ReligionOfEvil: Mijak, and they're really [[spoiler:worshipping [[GodOfEvil some dark power]] that they believe to be God]]
76	* SaintlyChurch: Ethrea's religion, except under Marlan who turns it into a [[ItsAllAboutMe cult about himself]].
77	* ScaryScorpions: Scorpions are used to symbolize the god of Mijak.
78	* SealedEvilInACan: Can be said to apply to the entire Mijaki society, who were confined within borders by their religion as they basically destroyed the world.
79	* SentientCosmicForce: The god of Mijak is a particularly evil variant.
80	* SliceAndDiceSwordsmanship: Pretty much ''everything'' to do about ''hotas''.
81	%%* SpiritAdvisor: Hettie and [[spoiler:Marlan.]]
82	%%* StayInTheKitchen
83	* StuffBlowingUp: This is the gauntlet's effect on pretty much everything, [[KillItWithFire except people of course.]]
84	* TakeOverTheWorld: Hekat, and furthermore the god of Mijak's goal.
85	%%* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself
86	* ThrowAwayCountry: Anything in Mijak's path.
87	%%* VillainProtagonist: Hekat.
88	* WellDoneSonGuy:
89	** Dmitrak, as mentioned above. His mother ''really'' does not like him. She only came up with the idea of having a second child able to wield the PowerCrystal because she hoped that this "spare" would attract the attention of demons and thusly be a living, disposable shield for her precious Zandakar.
90	** His efforts to win Hekat's love are even more doomed by the fact she had to lie with a man she absolutely hated and despised, the high godspeaker Nagarak (due to having earlier gelded Vortka on a spiritual level to avoid future competition for Zandakar), in order to conceive him. That he was an agonizing breach birth, requiring an unspeakably painful caesarian that she never fully recovered from, is just icing on the cake.

Context Literature / GodspeakerTrilogy