| 1 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kushiel_1203.jpg]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | ->''"Love as thou wilt."'' |
| 4 | |
| 5 | Creator/JacquelineCarey's ''Kushiel's Legacy'' series encompasses three trilogies, told from first-person perspective by one character in each. It lies somewhere between AlternateHistory and fantasy, using recognizable names for real-world places, events, and occasionally people. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ''Kushiel's Legacy'' is widely lauded by reviewers for having complex societies, likable characters, and a continuous onslaught of politics and intrigue which blend seamlessly with the sex. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | The books are split up into 3 trilogies, each with a different protagonist. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | [[folder:Phèdre's trilogy]] |
| 14 | The first trilogy follows the exploits of Phèdre, a woman with a red mote in her eye which marks her as an ''anguissette'', one who experiences pain as pleasure. This talent means she draws a high price, as prostitution is a highly valued and respected profession in her home country. Added to this, she is trained in espionage, escape, and other things by her bondholder, with intent to use her as a weapon to stabilize the realm. Over the span of three books, Phèdre goes from girl to adult, and winds up deeply involved in the politics of the realm and the divine, thanks in part to her... unique talents, both as courtesan and spy. Much of the story focuses on her sexual encounters, both consensual and at times very non-consensual. |
| 15 | #''Kushiel's Dart'' (2001) |
| 16 | #''Kushiel's Chosen'' (2002) |
| 17 | #''Kushiel's Avatar'' (2003) |
| 18 | [[/folder]] |
| 19 | |
| 20 | [[folder:Imriel's trilogy]] |
| 21 | The second trilogy follows Phèdre's adopted son, Imriel who happens to be the [[LateArrivalSpoiler biological son of one of the realm's most infamous traitors]]. The books follow his coming of age, and his struggle to live up to his adoptive parents while putting aside the reputation in his blood. |
| 22 | #''Kushiel's Scion'' (2006) |
| 23 | #''Kushiel's Justice'' (2007) |
| 24 | #''Kushiel's Mercy'' (2008) |
| 25 | [[/folder]] |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[folder:Moirin's trilogy]] |
| 28 | The third trilogy takes place a century after the second trilogy ends, and follows the adventures of the druid Moirin from the land of Alba. A descendant of the Maghuin Dhonn from the second trilogy, Moirin must learn to deal with the consequences her ancestor's actions foisted on her people, master her magical powers, and learn about her half-D'Angeline heritage. |
| 29 | #''Naamah's Kiss'' (2009) |
| 30 | #''Naamah's Curse'' (2010) |
| 31 | #''Naamah's Blessing'' (2011) |
| 32 | [[/folder]] |
| 33 | |
| 34 | [[folder:Short stories]] |
| 35 | In 2010, the short story "You, and You Alone," part of the ''Songs of Love and Death'' anthology, told Phèdre's mentor Anafiel's backstory. |
| 36 | [[/folder]] |
| 37 | ---- |
| 38 | !! ''Kushiel's Legacy'' provides examples of: |
| 39 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[folder:A]] |
| 42 | * AffablyEvil: Melisande may be the villainess, but she's also exceedingly beautiful, charming, and clever, and might have gotten away with a lot more if she wasn't half in love with Phèdre. Melisande is arguably more of a WellIntentionedExtremist than truly evil--she's still following the prime D'Angeline tenet of "Love as thou wilt." It's just that she happens to love manipulation, [[MagnificentBastard magnificent bastardry]]. There's also a subtext that strongly implies that [[spoiler: it was all part of the plans of the Gods to prevent the destruction of the world]]. |
| 43 | * AffectionateGestureToTheHead: |
| 44 | ** Delaunay often shows his affection towards Alcuin and Phèdre by stroking their hair. |
| 45 | ** Subverted with Waldemar Selig: he does this to Phedre quite often, though for him it's a means to show off his ownership of a d'Angeline slave. |
| 46 | * TheAlcatraz: The prison island of La Dolorosa in ''Chosen''. With shades of [[Literature/HarryPotter Azkaban]] as well, given the endless, wailing, soul-rending winds, and likely [[FantasyCounterpartCulture inspired by]] the Venetian island of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poveglia Poveglia]]. |
| 47 | * AllAbusersAreMale: |
| 48 | ** The only characters who are ever openly considered rapists are men and Joscelin is the only person who really considers Melisande abusive. Considering that Melisande [[spoiler: drugs and rapes Phedre after getting her family killed]], this is pretty absurd. |
| 49 | ** Also, during the entire Drujan incident, all of the ''really'' evil characters are male. The women are captives, possibly selfish or bitter, but not worshipers of the god of evil. In general, in these books, women may be devious, ruthless, and order murder to be done, but they never go in ForTheEvulz. |
| 50 | ** However, in the second trilogy where Imriel is the POV character, he is assaulted by a bear-witch woman. It is made very clear that he considers the act a violation and that his very consensual-sex-oriented gods would intervene or avenge him. |
| 51 | * AllMythsAreTrue: The mythology present in the series - from the older AlternateHistory religions to Terra d'Ange's new myths of Elua - is all true history, and the gods keep an active hand in the plot, if usually light enough that all you see is a divine inspiration or nudge of emotions to their chosen hero. Moirin's trilogy in particular sees many more myths of the wider world walking the Earth. |
| 52 | * AlternateHistory: The details are somewhat murky but, other than the definite existence of magic, the course of history in Europe seems to have been about the same up until the death of [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Yeshua]]. No resurrection occurs and Christianity is never founded. Instead the Magdelene's tears fall on Yeshua's blood and create Elua. This miracle causes Judaism to develop into the messianic faith of Yeshuism which rejects Elua as an illegitimate son of the One God. Elua [[WalkingTheEarth wanders the Earth]] for some time and eventually founds Terre d'Ange. With Terre d'Ange as a buffer against the [[UsefulNotes/AllTheLittleGermanies Skaldi]] [[AncientRome Tiberium]] is not sacked, leaving almost all of its works intact. Without Christianity, there is no Tiberian equivalent to Emperor Constantine to convert the empire to a single religion under the Roman Catholic church, so most places retain their "pre-Yeshuite" faiths. Also, Zoroastrianism exists but never became the dominant religion of Persia, instead being confined to Drujan (located in real-life Azerbaijan). Khebbel-im-Akkad, culturally similar to Ottoman Turkey but located from the Mediterranean coastline to Afghanistan, controls Drujan (in theory) and follows Mesopotamian paganism rather than Islam. |
| 53 | * AloofBigBrother: Ganelon de la Courcel to his much younger siblings Lyonette and Benedicte. |
| 54 | * AltarDiplomacy: Many marriages in the series, as the major characters are nobility. Played with in that marriages cannot be carried out without the consent of the betrothed, as this is against the teachings of Elua. Still, politics plays a part. Children of House Courcel in particular can expect to be married for political reasons (which makes sense given they're the royal family): Ysandre was betrothed to the Cruarch of Alba as a teenager, though they fell in love after meeting for the first time. Ysandre chooses to stay a virgin until marriage, and describes this as an act of love for her country. [[spoiler:In ''Kushiel's Justice'', Imriel is married off to a noblewoman of Alba despite having fallen in love with Ysandre's heir, his cousin Princess Sidonie, but his wife is assassinated by a rogue druid faction and, [[EarnYourHappyEnding after many more travails]], he finally marries Sidonie at the end of his trilogy.]] |
| 55 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: The ancient Hellenes are this to D'Angelines. In the second half of ''Chosen'', Phèdre travels to the island of Kriti and gushes about everything she sees there. This is interesting because-this one exception aside-she (and most D'Angelines) tend to look down on non-D'Angelines. |
| 56 | * AmicableExes: Delaunay and Melisande |
| 57 | -->'''Phèdre''': Was she your lover?\ |
| 58 | '''Delaunay''': A long time ago. ''[grin]'' We are well-matched in many ways, but that was not one of them; unless it be that we were too well-matched. If neither will give way in love, it is not pleasing in the eyes of Naamah. ''[shrug]'' Still, I do not think either of us gave the other cause for regret. |
| 59 | * AncientTradition: The Midwinter Masque has its origins in a celebration that long predates the coming of Elua. Elua liked it so much he insisted the tradition be maintained. |
| 60 | * AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Joscelin has a hard time admitting his love for Phèdre. It takes him two full books to finally decide he'll put up with her no matter what. |
| 61 | * ArcWords: |
| 62 | ** Elua's commandment--''love as thou wilt''--serves as a theme for the series as a whole. It has to be pointed out in-universe that this is not the soft philosophy that some mistake it for, it is a ''command''. It still takes courage and faith to follow your heart when life gets very complicated, and the consequences for ignoring it are not just emotional. |
| 63 | ** Phedre's arc words--''that which yields is not always weak''--come from Hyacinthe, and while most repeated in ''Dart'', define her character in all three of her novels. |
| 64 | * ArtisticLicenseLinguistics: Drustan's tribe are named the Cullach Gorrym, translated in the story as the Black Boar. "Gorrym" is actually Manx for ''blue''; it ''can'' mean "black", but only in terms of ethnicity. The Manx for the ''colour'' black is "doo". |
| 65 | * AttackOnOneIsAnAttackOnAll: How House L'Envers regards any attack on a member of their house. They always protect their own. Delaunay ends up on the receiving end of this, earning the intense enmity of House L'Envers after he wrote a poem accusing Isabel L'Envers of murder. |
| 66 | * AuthorAppeal: Terre d'Ange is a society who worships love and believes that prostitution is a sacred calling. EveryoneIsBi and the books feature a lot of BDSM. Oddly, this seems to be the only real fetish as such that anyone practises: there's vanilla sex and bondage, but no foot fetishism or cross-dressing. Of course since the book is told from the perspective of Phèdre, she might not encounter too many fetishes outside of BDSM, since that's her specialty. |
| 67 | * AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: How things work in Skaldia. If you want to keep your position of authority, you'd better be an asskicker. |
| 68 | * AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: "You will stand at the crossroads, time and time again, and make the choice." |
| 69 | [[/folder]] |
| 70 | |
| 71 | [[folder:B]] |
| 72 | * BabiesEverAfter: |
| 73 | ** Eventually, after Imriel and Moirin [[EarnYourHappyEnding earn their happy endings.]] |
| 74 | ** Subverted, however, with Phèdre and Joscelin, who never do have biological children, although they raise Imriel. |
| 75 | * BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad: Drujan used to worship the Lord of Light. The Mahrkagir takes Drujan down the opposite path, and his people seem to gain strength the more they twist and pervert the old teachings. |
| 76 | -->'''Gashtaham''': Duzhmata, duzhûshta, duzhvarshta. Ill thoughts, ill words, ill deeds; the three-fold path of Angra Mainyu. |
| 77 | * BandOfBrothels:The Court of Night Blooming Flowers, which is composed of the different pleasure houses (for every type from physical to pain to intellectual) at which the Servants of Naamah work. They have a noted amount of political power within Terre d'Ange even if it's in decline at the time of the series. |
| 78 | * BatheHerAndBringHerToMe: In ''Chosen'', every time [[spoiler: Melisande comes to visit her cell on [[TheAlcatraz La Dolorosa]],]] Phèdre is forced to wash and don clean clothes. |
| 79 | * BatmanGambit: |
| 80 | ** It's heavily implied that the first 2/3rds of ''Kushiel's Avatar'' is part of Kushiel's plan to [[spoiler: punish Melisande]] and [[spoiler: kill the Mahrkagir]]. The former Punisher of God does not putz around. |
| 81 | ** It is also implied that everything in the two previous books were purely to prepare Phèdre for the events of the third. This starts with her ''birth'' [[spoiler: which may coincide with the ascent of the Mahrkagir]]. |
| 82 | * BawdySong: "Phèdre's Boys" have made up a few songs about her. An example? "Man or Women/We don't care/Give us Twins/We'll take the pair!" |
| 83 | * TheBeard: Allegra Stregazza for her husband Ricciardo. |
| 84 | * BearsAreBadNews: The shapeshifting Maghuin Dhonn bear-witches. Which leads, in fairly short order, to [[spoiler: the removal of said shape-shifting powers.]] |
| 85 | * TheBeautifulElite: Almost everyone in Terre d'Ange is supposed to be beautiful, though some are exceptionally so. This is somewhat justified as the people of Terre d'Ange are distantly descended from fallen angels who intermarried with humans. |
| 86 | * BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Despite getting burned with a hot poker, repeatedly flogged and cut with razor blades, and partly flayed at various times, Phedre's scars are mentioned just once, when realistically they should be quite severe, and they don't detract from her sex appeal or ability to get into her amorous adventures at all. {{Justified}} due to her Kusheline heritage as an ''anguisette'': Phedre has a mild HealingFactor and all but the most severe injuries don't actually ''leave'' scars. |
| 87 | * BerserkButton: Joscelin's is Phèdre, and later Imriel. |
| 88 | * BetterToDieThanBeKilled: |
| 89 | ** A Cassiline technique called ''Terminus'' is built around this trope. If things are looking particularly grim for a Cassiline and their charge the Cassiline will use their daggers to kill both of them. |
| 90 | ** Supposedly, this has never actually been done, although Joscelin was preparing to do it near then end of the first book [[spoiler: when Phèdre was being skinned alive]]. |
| 91 | * BettyAndVeronica: Imriel is torn between his dutiful love for gentle brunette wife Dorelei, and his socially inappropriate and fairly kinky attachment to glamorous, feisty blonde heiress Sidonie, a DefrostingIceQueen. |
| 92 | * BigDamnHeroes: |
| 93 | ** The biggest BigDamnHeroes moment in the series is when [[spoiler:Barquiel L'Envers charges out of Troyes-le-Mont to rescue Phèdre and Joscelin, just as Joscelin is about to perform a MercyKill on himself and Phèdre to save them from Waldemar Selig.]] |
| 94 | ** [[spoiler:Also, the Albans arriving along with Isidore d'Aiglemort's armies to break the siege of Troyes-le-Mont & defeat the Skaldi.]] |
| 95 | * BigScrewedUpFamily: The Courcel, Stregazza, L'Envers, Trevalion, Shahrizai family tree. Lampshaded when Phèdre takes Imriel to meet Severio Stregezza and reflects that he is one of the few people in Imriel's family who isn't guilty of some version of murder or treason. |
| 96 | * BilingualBonus: |
| 97 | ** ''Languisement'', the poetic word in D'Angeline for fellatio (and typically the start of a sex scene), is one letter away from ''languissement'', meaning "yearning" in French. Make of it what you will... |
| 98 | ** La Dolorosa means "The Painful" in Italian (and Spanish). It's an island prison in a FantasyCounterpartCulture of Venice, Italy and basically TheAlcatraz, but even worse than most. |
| 99 | * BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The first trilogy ends with Phèdre freeing Hyacinthe, but he's decided he wants to go to Alba to be with Sibeal. Phèdre responds by throwing the biggest going away party that the City of Elua has ever seen.]] |
| 100 | * {{Blackmail}}: Melisande's escape in ''Dart'' and renewed plotting in ''Chosen'' turns on a hidden traitor in Ysandre's court whom she's blackmailing. [[spoiler: It's Percy de Somerville, the current head of the army. He had been in on house Trevalion's earlier treason, which Melisande exposed, but kept his involvement to herself to use him later.]] |
| 101 | * BlackWidow: Averted. Melisande is rumored to have killed the men she married, but really, she just made a habit of marrying very old men so she could wait and inherit their money when they died. |
| 102 | * BlessedWithSuck[=/=]CursedWithAwesome: Kushiel's Dart itself, depending on the situation. Phèdre has very conflicting feelings about being an ''anguissette''. It makes her experience pain as pleasure, which sounds convenient on the surface, but can actually be very complicated. On the one hand, it means she's almost impossible to torture. On the other hand, Phèdre is sometimes frightened by her own needs and desires and doesn't like that she takes pleasure from pain, cruelty, and humiliation. |
| 103 | * BloodstainedDefloration: In ''Kushiel's Dart'', young prostitute Phèdre's virginity is auctioned off. The top bidder, Childric d'Essoms, half-jokes that he intends to show off the white silk cloth she bled on by making it into a new coat of arms. |
| 104 | * BodyguardBetrayal: [[spoiler:Nearly gets Queen Ysandre killed during the climax of ''Kushiel's Chosen.'']] |
| 105 | * BodyguardCrush: Joscelin is originally hired on as a bodyguard to protect Phèdre during her assignations. |
| 106 | * BoisterousBruiser: Quintilius Rouse and later his son Eamonn. |
| 107 | * BoringReturnJourney: |
| 108 | ** Subverted often in this series: it still takes a pretty long time to get home from every journey, and things still happen. |
| 109 | ** Both of Phèdre's journeys home are perilous in ''Dart'', the first because they are still evading the Skaldi and D'Angelines they escaped from, the second they are bringing the Alban army, and still have unexpected encounters. |
| 110 | ** Phèdre and Joscelin get ambushed by bandits on a routine return to La Serenissima, in ''Avatar''. Phèdre notes that she's getting a little too wrapped up in the larger plots for something like an unsafe road to surprise her. The return journey from Saba also counts; having crossed deserts, rivers, and jungles to get there makes it just as arduous to get home. |
| 111 | ** In ''Justice'', Imriel's very long journey into the wilderness of Vralia to avenge his wife takes just as long to return from, as he's forced to stop and deal with every local leader and city guard he bargained with, escaped, or lied to on the way in order to keep going. |
| 112 | * BornLucky: Phèdre alleges that this is averted with her because her parents gave her a cursed name. |
| 113 | * BrainsAndBondage: The entire series runs on this trope. |
| 114 | * BrainwashedBride: In ''Kushiel's Mercy'', the ArcVillain casts a MindControl spell across the City of Elua that convinces everybody that Princess Sidonie de la Courcel agreed to marry him, including Sidonie herself. Protagonist Imriel is immunized by an agent of his exiled biological mother, who got wind of the plot and hoped to foil it. |
| 115 | * BringNewsBack: Happens in ''Dart'' when Phèdre and Joscelin [[spoiler:flee Skaldia in the dead of winter in order to warn Ysandre of the impending invasion.]] Also, Phèdre spends the entire second half of ''Chosen'' [[spoiler:trying to warn Terre d'Ange of Melisande's plan.]] |
| 116 | * BrotherSisterIncest: In ''Chosen'', one of Phèdre's assignations is a pair of twins, although it's pretty heavily suggested that the siblings don't actually interact and just enjoy being in the same... situation. (Phèdre's Showing at Camellia House in ''Dart'' does not feature a pair of siblings; it features the Dowayne's sister, whom Phèdre and Alcuin met when they arrived, and another adept.) |
| 117 | * BrownNote: When Phèdre learns the [[spoiler: "Name of God", a powerful word that contains within it the secrets of the nature of the entire world and uses it to compel an Angel to break a curse over Hyacinthe. Carey cheats in order to avoid printing the Name: whenever it is spoken, it appears as "____________". However, every ''mortal'' who hears Phedre use it to compel Rahab, hears the word "love" in their own language.]] |
| 118 | * BuryYourGays: Despite the series taking place in a society where homosexual love is celebrated alongside heterosexual love, gay characters either die, [[spoiler: like Alcuin, Roland, and Delaunay]] or live in the closet/straight marriages of convenience [[spoiler: like Lucius and Ricchardo, though neither are from Terre d'Ange and would be disinherited/slandered for being gay.]] The one gay relationship that lasts happens in the OffstageWaitingRoom [[spoiler: with Ti-Phillipe and Hughes]]. This tends to spark off a lot of debate in the fanbase. Bisexuals (this includes two of the three protagonists) largely survive. |
| 119 | * ButNotTooGay: Many gay characters do exist in the series (though no lesbians, oddly enough), but none are ever shown even kissing, let alone getting a sex scene. While that is partly due to them all being supporting characters, [[FanserviceExtra even minor ones]] are seen getting it on otherwise in the books. EveryoneHasLotsOfSex ''except'' the gays (bisexuals do explicitly get some). |
| 120 | [[/folder]] |
| 121 | |
| 122 | [[folder:C]] |
| 123 | * CampFollower: It's mentioned in ''Kiss'' that there are plenty of women on board the great ship the Ch'in Emperor sent to fetch Master Lo Feng. They are only along to keep the sailors and soldiers from being too lonely. |
| 124 | * CantStandThemCantLiveWithoutThem: Joscelin towards Phèdre in the first two books. Really, what do you expect from a celibate warrior-priest paired with a courtesan who enjoys her job? [[spoiler:He finally accepts being her permanent LoveInterest in act three of ''Chosen''.]] |
| 125 | * CarpetRolledCorpse: How Imriel smuggles Sidonie out of Astegal's palace. |
| 126 | * CastFromHitPoints: What Moirin does if she uses her powers for something other than their original purpose. |
| 127 | * CelibateHero: Joscelin is a WarriorMonk, raised from age ten to be the "perfect companion." Part of their final vows is indeed a vow of celibacy. [[spoiler:He broke his vow later in the books, was outcast, but got his respect even so.]] |
| 128 | * CheerThemUpWithLaughter: It's stated by the narrative that patrons visit Orchis House, whose adepts are FunPersonified, when they want a night of merriment and a break from the troubles of life. |
| 129 | * ChekhovsGun: |
| 130 | ** The Companion's Star Ysandre gives to Phèdre at the end of ''Chosen'', which entitles her to one boon. It finally pays off in ''Avatar'' when [[spoiler: Phèdre uses it to force Ysandre to let her and Joscelin adopt Imriel]] |
| 131 | ** Also, the password of House L'Envers. |
| 132 | * ChekhovsGunman: Early in ''Chosen'' we're introduced to the Unforgiven, an order of knights who have permanently stationed themselves on the d'Angeline-Skaldi border to defend the kingdom [[spoiler:in penance for their former commander Isidore d'Aiglemort's treason in the preceding war]]. [[spoiler:Phedre and Queen Ysandre recruit them to help retake the City of Elua during the coup attempt against her.]] |
| 133 | * ChekhovsSkill: |
| 134 | ** Surprisingly enough Joscelin's ability to ''fish'' becomes important in ''Avatar''. |
| 135 | ** There's also Phèdre's Cruithne and Skaldic language lessons, which come in handy in ''Dart.'' |
| 136 | ** In the Naamah trilogy, ''the language of ants.'' Oh dear god. |
| 137 | * ChemicallyInducedInsanity: In ''Kushiel's Mercy'', Imriel has a spell cast on him, in the form of being stuck with a steel needle soaked in the sweat of a madman, to drive him insane for several weeks so that he isn't affected by a FakeMemories spell that another party cast on the entire city. |
| 138 | * TheChessmaster: Melisande and, to a lesser extent, Anafiel. Phèdre inherits this from the both of them, and is incredibly clever when ''god-ordained'' lust isn't turning her brain to mush around Melisande. |
| 139 | * ChildByRape: |
| 140 | ** Hyacinthe, as his mother was raped by a patron of Bryony House. |
| 141 | ** Bao is the result of his mother being raped by a raider. |
| 142 | ** Kamala, daughter of female bodhisattva Laysa by the Falconer Tarik Khaga, a warlord who kidnapped her and many other women to join his harem. |
| 143 | * ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Melisande betrays everyone she partners with, and people keep teaming up with her anyway because she's that beautiful, that smart, and her plans are that good. |
| 144 | * CityOfCanals: La Serenissima, which is based on Venice. |
| 145 | * TheClan: House Shahrizai. They're even described as "clannish" in the books. House L'Envers qualifies as well. |
| 146 | * ConspicuouslyPublicAssassination: Justified [[spoiler: The traitors hire mercenaries to start a riot in a crowded temple during the largest celebration of the year. That way, the assassination would just look like an accident amidst the pandemonium.]] Really, what do you expect of a plan backed by Melisande? |
| 147 | * CoolUncle: Joscelin is this to his siblings' children, who think that having a hero of the realm for an uncle is pretty much the neatest thing ever. |
| 148 | * CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: Almost as soon as he sets foot on Alba in ''Justice'' Imriel is stalked and harassed by the Maghuin Dhonn. They keep mentioning they are trying to prevent a future disaster, but instead of just talking to Imriel they stalk and bind him with magic. When they eventually reveal that the disaster would be [[spoiler: Imriel's son killing off the Mahguin Dhonn and becoming a conqueror due to his and his father's hatred for them]]. Imriel was understandably not impressed and immediately called them out as idiots for not just ''talking'' to him. |
| 149 | * TheCoup: The plot of ''Kushiel's Chosen'' ultimately revolves around [[spoiler:a coup attempt against Queen Ysandre by her uncle Prince Benedicte and his hidden wife Melisande Shahrizai, with the connivance of a general in the D'Angeline army intending to seize the City of Elua from Ysandre's allies, and a traitor bodyguard of the Cassiline Brotherhood attending the Queen on a suicide revenge mission to do the actual killing. Phedre and Joscelin are able to foil the assassination of Ysandre, then the Queen leads troops from the Skaldi border to recapture the City of Elua.]] |
| 150 | * CultureClash: |
| 151 | ** Most notable between Terre d'Ange and Alba, which are politically united by Ysandre and Drustan's marriage, but completely different culturally. |
| 152 | ** There is lesser, but still significant culture clash between Terre d'Ange and Caerdicca Unitas. Both recognize the other as civilized, but odd. |
| 153 | * CulturalPosturing: D'Angelines love to wax poetic about how advanced, beautiful, and [[EternalSexualFreedom sexually liberated]] they are. This is a poorly JustifiedTrope, since Terre D'Ange is quite the {{Utopia}}, for reasons already listed and because everyone else seems to be stuck in the Dark Ages while the D'Angelines are in the Renaissance. |
| 154 | * CunningLinguist: Phèdre. [[IncrediblyLamePun Both]] meanings. |
| 155 | [[/folder]] |
| 156 | |
| 157 | [[folder:D]] |
| 158 | * [[SonOfAWhore Daughter of a Whore]]: Played with in Phèdre, who is indeed the child of a sex worker and one of her customers, raised in a brothel, and called "a whore's unwanted get," who then became a prostitute. Only her parents had married before having her and they left her to foster in a brothel, which wasn't their original intention. |
| 159 | * DecadentCourt: |
| 160 | ** At the beginning of the series, the first and best heir to the throne is dead in a border skirmish, the current King has gotten old and timid, and the new heir Ysandre is young and untested. This has turned the D'Angeline court into a nest of intrigue as multiple parties kick off plots to take the throne themselves. As the series continues, Ysandre's reign endures and this trope mellows out, although some plots still echo decades later. |
| 161 | ** La Serenissima in ''Kushiels Chosen''. Murder is a common hobby in the Stregazza family, and different splinters of the clan are fighting over the Doge's seat, with the current Doge being coerced into stepping down. |
| 162 | * DeadpanSnarker: Everyone in the series has their moments, even the normally civil and cultured Phèdre and Queen Ysandre. Barquiel L'Envers stands out for having snark be his default method of communicating. |
| 163 | -->'''Barquiel on Phèdre's reappearance''': Delaunay's ''anguissette''. And the Cassiline. Didn't you enjoy my largesse in the Khalif's court? I heard I sent you to Khebbel-im-Akkad after paying you to betray your master. |
| 164 | * DeathByChildbirth: [[spoiler: Poor Queen Jehanne...]] |
| 165 | * DeathByOriginStory: Edmée de Rocaille and Prince Rolande for Delaunay. |
| 166 | * DeclarationOfProtection: Several examples, the most notable being Joscelin's vow to protect Phèdre, but also: |
| 167 | ** [[spoiler: Delaunay swearing an oath to protect Ysandre.]] |
| 168 | ** [[spoiler: Barquiel becoming the oath-sworn protector of Imriel and Sidonie's firstborn.]] |
| 169 | * DefrostingIceQueen: Sidonie. |
| 170 | ** In ''Naamah's Kiss'', Jehanne, sort of. |
| 171 | * DemonicPossession: Almost(?) happens to [[spoiler: Raphael]]. What everyone thinks happened to Snow Tiger. |
| 172 | ** It did happen to Imriel's friend Lucius, when his [[spoiler: jerkass ancestor, Gallus]] took over his body. |
| 173 | * DespairEventHorizon: |
| 174 | ** The Mahrkagir is an expert at pushing people over it. Many women in his zenana have crossed it, and some starve themselves to death as a result. [[spoiler:Phèdre and Joscelin come close to hitting it during their time in Darsanga, but never actually do.]] |
| 175 | ** In ''Naamah's Blessing'', [[spoiler: Jehanne's death, followed by ([[LegallyDead overly hasty]]) news of his son's death, push King Daniel over this. He drowns himself in the river.]] |
| 176 | * {{Determinator}}: Several. Joscelin and Phèdre both have this in spades, and Moirin shows tons of it when chasing Bao. Jacqueline Carey likes her women strong-willed. |
| 177 | * DiamondsInTheBuff: A variant. [[MagnificentBitch Melisande]] contracts Phèdre (a [[HighClassCallGirl courtesan]]) to accompany her as a "pet" to a court function wearing a very see-through gauze gown studded with diamonds, and a collar with a magnificent diamond (and ring for a leash). Phèdre-an experienced courtesan at this point--is still both amazed at the opulence of the outfit, and more than a little mortified at being ''that'' exposed in front of every high-ranking noble of the realm. |
| 178 | * DisappearedDad: |
| 179 | ** Imriel's father died when he was just a baby. |
| 180 | ** Hyacinthe never knew his father. |
| 181 | * DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal: |
| 182 | ** Along with irresistible angelic gifts, there is the matter of Moirin, Snow Tiger, and the dragon. Not perceived as ''okay'' exactly, but certainly not held up as a terrible evil. |
| 183 | ** Although the Master of the Straits is the product of precisely this form of rape. When nobody will seek pardon for him, he places a curse on his own son and refuses to lift it until he is himself pardoned. |
| 184 | * DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale: |
| 185 | ** Averted, mostly. Phèdre informs the reader that rape is an unforgivable act of treason in her culture. Yet when [[spoiler: Melisande drugs her and commits sex acts that could arguably be rape before selling her into slavery]] this act is never considered rape despite a cultural understanding that both men and women can be sexually dominant and powerful. It becomes gray since Phèdre is a professional submissive, and was under contract to Melisande. Melisande did honor the letter of the contract, including the safe word, and knew damn well Phèdre was a trained spy, working for her enemy, and Phèdre obviously does view what happened as a violation despite not using her safeword, but she also doesn't brush it off because of Melisande's gender. |
| 186 | ** [[spoiler:Melisande is shown to respect the gods and avoid blasphemy, so it’s entirely possible she would have heeded the ‘’signale’’. It’s also possible that Phedre was rationalizing. It was her first (though certainly not her last) experience with non-consensual sex, and it was with someone she had very complicated feelings for. It may have been easier to cope by believing Melisande wouldn’t really cross the line and that Phedre had retained a kernel of control and self determination. It’s also one of the few encounters Phedre relates in distant and vague terms. Even the events with the Mahrkagir are described in detail. Melusande’s treatment of her could be the one thing she couldn’t face directly.]] |
| 187 | * DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Both played straight and averted depending on who the protagonist is. In ''Naamah's Kiss'', Moirin more than once jumps on a man ''who is saying no'' (both times because she's a bit under the influence herself, but still) and compels him to go along with it. However, when Imriel is assaulted by a woman (ironically, of the same people as Moirin) who tries to compel him to respond to her desire, this ''is'' held up as an abomination. The trick is, Moirin comes from Alba. The culture is different in Terre d'Ange, which views rape as ''heresy.'' (However, she knows this, and it still doesn't stop her, or ever make her consider that her actions might not be okay!) |
| 188 | * DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale: Strongly condemned. Imriel was raped during his stay in the Mahrkagir's harem and it's largely thanks to Phèdre and Joscelin's [[ParentalSubstitute parenting skills]] that he's in as good mental shape as he is in the second trilogy. |
| 189 | * DramatisPersonae: Each book in the series has several characters and therefore have a dramatis personae that can go on for pages and pages. Averted most recently in the soft cover edition of ''Namaah's Kiss'', a few pages of praise for the past books, the usual title pages, and the ever present map, then it jumps straight into chapter one with no preamble. |
| 190 | * DrawSwordDrawBlood: Cassilines carry a pair of daggers and a two-handed sword. The daggers may be drawn at any time, but they are forbidden to draw the {{BFS}} in the field except to kill in defense of their charge. |
| 191 | * DreamingOfThingsToCome: Women of Necthana's line are particularly talented in this. Drustan's mother and sisters all receive true dreams, and bear woad tattoos denoting this. |
| 192 | ** Alais can receive dreams of the future. But she doesn't always interpret them correctly. |
| 193 | ** Moirin gets this, in a way, when she [[spoiler: talks to the spirit of Jehanne in her dreams.]] |
| 194 | ** Hyacinthe and his mother both speak the ''dromonde'' which is a similar talent to true dreaming. |
| 195 | * DressingAsTheEnemy: Phèdre's plan to escape the Skaldi relies on Joscelin mimicking Selig's White Brethren, who all wear white wolf-pelts and look the same at a distance. Necessary not only to get out of the camp, but to steal the supplies necessary to survive on their own running through a freezing snow-covered landscape. |
| 196 | * DrowningOurRomanticSorrows: Imriel does this with Maslin in [[FantasyCounterpartCulture fantasy-counterpart Russia]] in the dead of winter over Sidonie. Apparently no one told them that alcohol can expedite hypothermia. |
| 197 | * DungeonBypass: In ''Scion'' the Duke of Valpetra eventually got fed up trying to siege Lucca the traditional way that he [[spoiler: dammed a river and diverted it to knock down a wall and flood the city]]. |
| 198 | [[/folder]] |
| 199 | |
| 200 | [[folder:E]] |
| 201 | * EarnYourHappyEnding: Pretty much every main character in the series has a long, hard journey to get to the end with the major conflicts resolved. |
| 202 | * EarthDrift: ''Dart'' has little more than divine lineage to elevate itself above historical fiction. ''Naamah's'' Trilogy, in contrast, begins with a character who can turn herself invisible, and takes a pit stop at summoning demons from the Literature/ArsGoetia before running off to Chinese dragons. {{Justified}} by the end of ''Kushiel's Mercy'', which states that, with protagonists close to the royal family having been victimized so often by acts of high magic, Imriel and Sidonie are going to establish an academy to research and teach magic for defense of the realm. |
| 203 | * EpicFlail: Tahmuras, The Dragon in Kushiel's Avatar wields one. [[spoiler:He comes closest out of anyone in the entire six-book series to besting Joscelin.]] |
| 204 | * EroticLiterature: Ohhh so much. With a heaping dose of [[AlternateHistoryLiterature alternate history]], [[SpyLiterature espionage]] and [[FantasyLiterature fantasy]] thrown in. |
| 205 | * EunuchsAreEvil: {{Inverted}}. Two minor characters are eunuchs: Erik, a Skaldi boy in the Marhkagir's harem, who is shattered by his experience, but ultimately helps Phaedra escape, and Sunjata, an ex Carthaginian slave who'd been freed by Melisandre in the past, then recruited into the Unseen Guild but turns out to be good. Both are portrayed as victims of this. |
| 206 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: It would seem logical that such an intelligent woman as Melisande would just kill Phèdre instead of letting her live to cause trouble. However, for her to kill Phèdre would be blasphemous, and she won't do it. |
| 207 | * EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Many of the women in the series count. Melisande, Phèdre, Moirin, Snow Tiger, Nicola L'Envers y Aragon, and Queen Jehanne to name some. |
| 208 | * EverybodyHasLotsOfSex: This is the norm of D'Angeline society, with prostitution being a highly respected profession, and their religion's precept is "Love as thou wilt". Virtually EveryoneIsBi as well. It's considered rather strange if you don't do it, which is part of why the Cassiline Brotherhood is seen as overly strict and austere. FantasyContraception exists for D'Angeline women, but they never mention [=STD=]s. Note however that other cultures are far stricter. |
| 209 | * EveryoneIsBi: Nearly every d'Angeline character is bisexual. Some characters [[ButNotTooBi are only really shown being interested in one gender]] due to only having one or two love interests. Some are {{Depraved Bisexual}}s, since there are bound to be ''some'' evil people in the story. But most are simply bi.\ |
| 210 | \ |
| 211 | In other countries, however, ''not'' everyone is bi--or at least, if they ''are'', their cultures don't allow them to express it. Much of the story is spent in countries other than Terre d'Ange, and sometimes this is a point of CultureClash. |
| 212 | * EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench: The D'Angelines. |
| 213 | * EvilMatriarch: Lyonette de Trevalion is the mastermind behind her family's attempt at treason. |
| 214 | * EvilUncle: Subverted and played straight in the royal family. |
| 215 | ** [[spoiler:Barquiel L'Envers appears to be this. Phèdre is very suspicious of him in ''Chosen'', and easily believes the real traitors' attempts to frame him for Melisande's escape. However, he is in fact staunchly loyal to his niece Ysandre and works to secure her throne, making him a subversion.]] |
| 216 | ** [[spoiler:Played straight with Benedicte de la Courcel, Ysandre's great-uncle.]] |
| 217 | * ExtremeDoormat: Phèdre isn't this, but she acts like it when working in her professional capacity to satisfy the unique tastes of her clients. More than one enemy, up to and including a GodOfEvil, has failed to recognize the difference until it was too late. |
| 218 | -->'''Hyacinthe''': ''[to Melisande]'' That which yields is not always weak. |
| 219 | [[/folder]] |
| 220 | |
| 221 | [[folder:F]] |
| 222 | * TheFairFolk: The second trilogy introduces a human tribe of the {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s Alba and Eire, who are described ''very'' like the Fair Folk: an old people who live in the wild, untamed areas, powerfully magical, and not malicious but adhering to a different moral standard. Some characters fear them and refuse to [[WordPower speak of them]], while others welcome bargaining with them. Their VoluntaryShapeshifting and sympathetic magic play a vital role in the plot. |
| 223 | * FallenAngel: Elua's Companions, Rahab from the first trilogy, and the spirits in Naamah's Kiss. |
| 224 | * FamedInStory: Pretty much every major character. |
| 225 | * FantasticFightingStyle: Joscelin's "two daggers and vambraces" fighting style probably qualifies. |
| 226 | * FantasyContraception: The gift of the fertility goddess Eisheth to D'Angeline women: they can only become pregnant if they light a candle and pray to her for it. She may or may not then grant this request. Interestingly, Eisheth absolutely refuses to grant one such request when made by a woman who was--unbeknownst to her--under the influence of a mind-controlling love spell. [[spoiler:Ultimately played straight, since the woman in question later revealed that she never made the request in the first place.]] It's also shown once that asking Eisheth to conceive doesn't preclude the chance of a miscarriage. |
| 227 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: |
| 228 | ** Basically every single location is some version of this. Terre d'Ange is France down to the language and various other parallels, though looking at the map, the City of Elua is Lyon rather than Paris; in one particularly egregious example, the Venice-counterpart is named "La Serenissima", a nickname by which the real city is sometimes called. |
| 229 | ** Skaldia is an interesting example. It's located where Germany is in RealLife and the culture is Old Germanic with a hefty dose of Norse, but the history is a mix of different German time periods. They're initially Germanic barbarian tribes (Roman period) who are united under a single leader (''a la'' UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck) [[spoiler:that is then soundly defeated by an alliance of France and Britain (UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) and afterwards becomes known more for trade than force of arms (modern-day Germany, reputed to have the strongest economy in the [[UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion Euro zone]]).]] Although of course Terre d'Ange is basically France at the height of its power, which makes it easy for them to [[spoiler: defeat Skaldia]], whereas RealLife Germany and France were indeed historical enemies [[labelnote: note]]The mutual enmity only began to subside after WWII, and ironically by now both countries have arguably the strongest ties in the Eurozone and share a lot of mutual strategic interest - it's no coincidence the Franco-German cooperation is referred to as the "dual engine" or "dual heart" of the EU[[/labelnote]] and had several wars, it's France who was usually decisively on the receiving end (apart from [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte a few memorable exceptions]]). And specifically in the case of WWII, it can hardly be said that France "won" it by virtue of own merit. [[labelnote: note]]That was still a primarily Soviet/American/British enterprise with France being liberated by the Western allies and contributing mainly in the end phase of the war, with Germany already on the verge of collapse.[[/labelnote]] |
| 230 | ** Alba is a Britain where the Celts were never replaced by the Anglo-Saxons and Normans as the dominant cultural group (the name is Scots Gaelic for Scotland, and the "mab" in Drustan mab Necthana is a real patronymic used in Welsh, Breton, and Cornish). The Dalriada in the first book are borrowed in name from a Celtic kingdom that ruled in the Hebrides in the mid-first millennium A.D. (in real life it was later conquered by the Norse). |
| 231 | ** The Yeshuites are Ashkenazi Jews mixed with Roma and the mythology of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_Judaism Messianic Judaism]]. That is, they're caravanners who are basically culturally European Jews, but accept Jesus (and not Elua) as the Messiah. The name "Yeshuite" comes from Yeshua ben Yusuf, Jesus' name in Hebrew (it's a cognate of "Joshua"). |
| 232 | ** The Tsingani are quite clearly based on the Roma, with words very similar to those in Romani, their wandering customs, reputations, taboos and trades. |
| 233 | ** Caerdicca Unitas is Renaissance Italy: a confederation of loosely allied city-states speaking a version of Italian. |
| 234 | ** Khebbel-im-Akkad is essentially Ottoman Turkey, except straddling the Fertile Crescent and Iran. It's also still pagan (following the Mesopotamian pantheon), Islam never having arisen in the series. It rules over Drujan, which is Zoroastrian and located in the real-life location of Azerbaijan. |
| 235 | * FantasyGunControl: Eventually DoubleSubverted in ''Naamah's Kiss'', where an alchemist invents the first gunpowder weapons. This is later restored through [[LaserGuidedAmnesia wiping the memory]] of everyone who knew how they worked to stop them being used again. |
| 236 | * FantasyKitchenSink: The first trilogy starts with a takeoff of Judeo-Christian mythology, especially Literature/TheFourGospels, being the literal origin story for Terre d'Ange, then adds DreamingOfThingsToCome in the Alban royal family's Celtic bloodline. ''Avatar'' incorporates a literal version of UsefulNotes/{{Zoroastrian|ism}} mythology in the Mahrkagir story arc, then we start to get spells cast by mortals in ''Justice'', and by the ''Naamah'' trilogy it becomes a setting relatively high in magic. |
| 237 | * FantasyWorldMap: Each book in the series has them, even though they're renamed versions of Europe, North Africa and Asia with names that make the FantasyCounterpartCulture even more obvious. |
| 238 | * FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: Hyacinthe]], poor guy. |
| 239 | * FertileFeet: Blessed Elua according to legends. This is similar to the RealLife story of Buddha. |
| 240 | * FlowerMotifs: Each of the houses/themes of the Night Court are inspired by flowers and all adepts have to earn a flower tattoo in order to finish their indentured servitude. |
| 241 | * FictionalColour: ''Sangoire'', which is described as "a red so dark and saturated it was almost black, the color of blood spilled on a moonless night." |
| 242 | -->'''Delaunay''': The color is called ''sangoire''. Thelesis told me that in the seventh century after Elua, it was decreed that only ''anguissettes'' might wear it. |
| 243 | * FieryRedhead: Favrielle no Eglantine who is also a bit of an InsufferableGenius when it comes to designing clothes. |
| 244 | * FeudingFamilies: Happens frequently between the Great Houses of Terre d'Ange and occasionally other nations. Examples include House Trevalion plotting against House Courcel, House Courcel plotting against a different branch of House Courcel, and the L'Envers-Stregazza feud that ends with Dominic Stregazza's assassination. There's also House Shahrizai and House Morhban, who are always engaged in a power struggle for the rule of Kusheth. |
| 245 | * FlorenceNightingaleEffect: Happens when Raphael de Mereliot nurses Moirin back to health after accidentally hitting her with his carriage. Moirin is instantly attracted to him and doesn't hesitate to make her move once she's recovered. |
| 246 | * FounderOfTheKingdom: Elua for Terre d'Ange. House Courcel can trace their lineage back to him. |
| 247 | * TheFundamentalist: In ''Naamah's Curse'' Moirin is abducted and taken to Vralia (read: Russia) by a Yeshuite patriarch (read: Orthodox Christian bishop). There he offers her the choice of conversion or being put to death as a witch, with a long argument where he calls her sexual practices filthy and disgusting. He's also fighting hard against a more liberal, forgiving interpretation of his religion's doctrine. |
| 248 | [[/folder]] |
| 249 | |
| 250 | [[folder:G]] |
| 251 | * {{Geas}}: The Master of the Straits controls the ocean between Alba and Terra d'Ange with ancient magic, and is bound under geas to prevent anyone from crossing for all eternity. [[spoiler: He will resist this command for those who sing new songs for him, and for a time this is the only way to cross the Straits without sinking. The geas is later eased by the union of Ysandre and Drustan, a love that dares the Straits much like in the story of his curse, although this also allows the Master to pass his curse to another. At the end of the first trilogy, Phedre uses the Name of God to force the angel who set the geas to lift it completely.]] |
| 252 | * GenreBusting: The series has a loosely HistoricalFantasy setting--an AlternateHistory High Middle Ages Western Europe with a focus on France--but all the books have significant erotica and {{thriller}} components. The Phèdre trilogy is part HighFantasy, part SpyFiction, the Imriel trilogy is part ComingOfAgeStory, part RomanceNovel, while the Moirin trilogy is mainly {{adventure}} fiction. |
| 253 | * GirlOnGirlIsHot: Perhaps an explanation for the lengthy sections between [[spoiler: Moirin and Jehanne and Moirin and Snow Tiger. Also the celestial Dragon in Snow Tiger is either of this opinion or a YuriFan. His comment when Snow Tiger decides that she's not too different from D'Angelines.]] |
| 254 | * GoMadFromTheIsolation: The prisoners on La Dolorosa are imprisoned in solitary confinement, often for years. Most are driven insane over the years, with behavior ranging from talking to themselves or people who aren't there and self-harm. Phedra also begins to experience it during her stay there. |
| 255 | * GondorCallsForAid: Phèdre journeys to Alba to enlist the Albans' aid against the Skaldi in ''Dart.'' |
| 256 | * GoodParents: Actually more than the [[AbusiveParents other kind]] for a fantasy of this nature. In particular, Ysandre and Drustan are wonderful with their children. |
| 257 | * GovernmentInExile: Drustan and his mother and sisters are hiding out with the Dalriada, due to his cousin, the old Cruarch's son, seizing power. |
| 258 | * GracefulLoser: When Phèdre appears to testify against Melisande, Melisande quickly gives in, knowing she is beaten... and then subverted when she breaks out of prison that night. |
| 259 | * GreenThumb: Moirin's power through Anael's line let's her [[TalkingToPlants talk]] to plants and make them grow. |
| 260 | [[/folder]] |
| 261 | |
| 262 | [[folder:H]] |
| 263 | * HappilyAdopted: Imriel by Phèdre and Joscelin. |
| 264 | * HarmfulToMinors: Everything that happens to Imriel in Darsanga. The trauma stays with him well into adulthood. |
| 265 | * HealingHands: Raphael and Master Lo Feng from Naamah's Kiss. |
| 266 | * HeirClubForMen: After Rolande dies, there is some of this problem in Terre d'Ange. Ysandre can inherit, and is next in line for the throne, but some people prefer to support her cousin Baudoin de Trevalion simply because he's a man. |
| 267 | * HeroOfAnotherStory: A few examples, but most prominently Micah Ben Ximon and the Yeshuite pilgrims from ''Kushiel's Chosen'', who later reappear in ''Kushiel's Justice.'' Not to mention the result in ''Naamah's Curse''... |
| 268 | * HeroicBastard: All of Grainne's children, but particularly Eamonn mac Grainne who becomes a good friend of Imriel's and fights at the siege of Lucca. |
| 269 | * HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Isidore d'Aiglemort's death after dueling and killing Selig.]] |
| 270 | * HeroicSeductress: |
| 271 | ** A lot of problems in the first trilogy are solved by having Phèdre find the right person to sleep with. This ranges from seducing an on-the-fence admiral to infiltrating the harem of a horrific dictator. |
| 272 | ** Naamah, the first angel to join Elua, slept with the king of Persis to secure Elua's freedom and with strangers in Bhodistan so he could eat. She is the archetypal HeroicSeductress for d'Angelines and the reason that they consider prostitution sacred. |
| 273 | * HiddenDepths: The first time Phèdre really gets to see Ysandre, she notices that while the Dauphine is very young, she is also the perfect example of Cereus House's beauty with inner steel. |
| 274 | ** Throughout Imriel's trilogy, the Duc Barquiel L'Envers is deeply mistrustful towards Imriel, to the point of antagonism. But in ''Justice,'' we see Barquiel's hidden depths when he recognizes Imriel's own: [[spoiler: Imriel isn't motivated by power, only by a selfless, sincere love for Sidonie--- and that's a motivation the Duc can respect.]] |
| 275 | * HiddenInPlainSight: Melisande's plan to escape into La Serenissima in ''Kushiel's Chosen'' relied on this trope. Her looks were too striking that any body looking for her would have an easy time spotting her. She decided to walk out in the open [[spoiler: as Prince Benedicte's new D'Angeline wife who wore a veil because of her faith in the goddess Asherat.]] |
| 276 | * HighClassCallGirl: Phèdre definitely qualifies at this through the first book and first half of the second book. |
| 277 | * HistoricalFantasy: It's basically a Europe and the Mediterranean where the Gospel narrative was literally true but took a very different turn after the Crucifixion. Works of high magic and {{Physical God}}s are reasonably common, but there's little small-scale magic. |
| 278 | * HonorBeforeReason: |
| 279 | ** Joscelin does this a lot, especially where his Cassiline vows are concerned--however, Phèdre knocks this out of him eventually. |
| 280 | ** Phèdre has shades of this as well, given that she's willing to give herself up to a madman's seraglio because of an oath she gave her greatest enemy and her devotion to her gods. |
| 281 | * HuntingAccident: Happens in the backstory of ''Kushiel's Dart'', albeit not with a weapon - before a hunt, the saddle on the horse Dauphin's fiancée, Edmée de Rocaille, was to ride was tampered with, and she had a fatal fall. |
| 282 | [[/folder]] |
| 283 | |
| 284 | [[folder:I]] |
| 285 | * IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn: |
| 286 | ** Phèdre is an ''anguissette'' and cursed to feel pain and pleasure as one. Any bit of pain will register as pleasure for her. So when she had to get her marque worked on in ''Dart'' she was reduced to an orgasm laden mess. The guy doing the job even complains about how annoying it is to work on someone who is constantly writhing in ecstasy while he's trying to apply the tattoo, just like his grandfather (who did the last ''anguissette'''s marque) told him. |
| 287 | ** This happens again in ''Chosen'' when Favrielle accidentally sticks Phèdre with a pin, causing Phèdre to have quite the reaction that actually renders Favrielle of all people speechless. |
| 288 | * IGaveMyWord: |
| 289 | ** It comes up a lot, but Melisande takes it to {{catchphrase}} levels with "I keep my promises." |
| 290 | ** Moirin gets this a lot too, given that [[spoiler: she's descended from TheFairFolk that killed Imriel's pregnant wife.]] |
| 291 | * IHaveNoSon: Two instances in ''Dart''. |
| 292 | ** Phèdre's mother sells her to Cereus House, and is forced to basically deny that Phèdre is her child. Liliane doesn't say these words, but she does push Phèdre at the Dowayne in a way that says she's disowning her. |
| 293 | ** Hyacinthe finally finds his people, and meets his grandfather. However, when he speaks the ''dromonde'' which is strictly taboo for Tsingani men, his grandfather declares him and his mother dead and everyone begins to mourn with Hyacinthe still ''standing right there''. |
| 294 | * IKEAErotica: This becomes a characterization point. Imriel is ''not'' comfortable with his sexuality. Phèdre is very comfortable with hers. |
| 295 | * ImprovisedWeapon: Most notably, the hairpin that Phèdre uses to [[spoiler: kill the Mahrkagir.]] |
| 296 | * IndenturedServitude: The Houses in the City of Elua and some private parties in Terre d'Ange will take in children, training them as [[HighClassCallGirl high-class prostitutes]], paying off the debt by doing so and freed when their term is completed (signified by the completion of a tattoo that runs the length of their backs). Both Phèdre and Alcuin are bonded as this, and Phèdre once buys out the indenture of a girl who suffered a facial injury before she could complete her term of service and couldn't get any more customers because of the scar. Later, Phèdre goes on to fix the holes in the rules that result in a situation like that. Further, they aren't allowed to have sex with anyone before turning sixteen and the laws are strict on consent-they ''cannot'' be forced without it being legally rape, while the profession in general is highly respected, with legal protection. |
| 297 | * InhumanlyBeautifulRace: The D'Angelines, who impress every other people with their beauty. It's because they're [[OurAngelsAreDifferent descended from rogue angels]]. |
| 298 | * InTheBlood: Almost every character has a significant level of their personality determined by their ancestry. This is justified, though, since the progenitors of the D'Angelines were angelic embodiments of various traits. It's not as explicit with other nationalities, but by and large every deity is assumed to be (or was once) a physical presence in the world, so their people could have their traits written literally into their genome. |
| 299 | * InsufferableGenius: Favrielle nó Eglantine is a brilliant seamstress, but she has a caustic and impatient personality. |
| 300 | * IstanbulNotConstantinople: All of the country, and more than a few ethnic names are older and/or foreign words for easily recognizable places. |
| 301 | * InUniverseCatharsis: In ''Kushiel's Dart'', Phèdre goes to the temple of Kushiel to atone for her role in the death of her master and the things she had to do when a captive of the Skaldi. Kushiel himself is said to be the patron of a very harsh mercy, attended by masked priests and priestesses who inflict painful rituals on those who come seeking atonement. |
| 302 | * ItsNotYouItsMe: Imriel pulls this on Sidonie in ''Justice''. Joscelin and Phèdre exchanged this occasionally. |
| 303 | * ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Sidonie and Imriel do this to each other in ''Justice'' as well. Then again, given her position, and his mother's, possibly reasonable. |
| 304 | * IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Joscelin with Phèdre at points (and Phèdre right back at times). Imriel and Sidonie, as well. |
| 305 | [[/folder]] |
| 306 | |
| 307 | [[folder:J-L]] |
| 308 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Joscelin and Bao both. However, once Phèdre takes the stick out of Joscelin's ass, and Moirin smoothes off Bao's rough edges, this disappears. |
| 309 | * JustBetweenYouAndMe: Explored with regard to Melisande. For her, it's really all about the scheming, manipulation, and {{Magnificent Bastard}}ry. She does it '''very''' well, and she wants someone to see and appreciate that. Delaunay was a similarly-skilled schemer, if rather more heroic. He and Phèdre are the only people Melisande believes might fully appreciate her plots. To her, the game is more important than the outcome, and playing well is more important than winning. And so for this reason, she sometimes divulges small portions of information regarding to her schemes to Delaunay, and later Phèdre. |
| 310 | -->'''Phèdre''': ''[to Delaunay about her recent encounter with Melisande]'' Every artist craves an audience, my lord, and she has chosen you. Whatever is to occur, it is her desire that you know she is its architect. |
| 311 | * KarmaHoudini: Melisande Shahrizai for the most part; she's just too good at XanatosSpeedChess for karma to catch up to her. She escapes punishment, but she doesn't get her son. |
| 312 | * KissingCousins: Sidonie and Imriel, with a good bit more than kissing going on. They're actually first cousins ''twice'' removed, though, a bit more distant. Still it's close enough that their families expected them to view each other in a [[LikeBrotherAndSister more familial way]] and were caught off guard by what developed. |
| 313 | * LadyInRed: Phèdre sometimes does this on assignations to play up her unique role as an ''anguissette''. |
| 314 | ** Even when she wears other colors, at least in ''Dart'' she also wears a cloak a color D'Angelines call "sangoire" a red so deep it is almost black (indeed, the word is a portmanteau of the French words for "blood" and "black.") |
| 315 | ** During her very first assignation with Childric d'Essoms, Phèdre dresses in a red gown. |
| 316 | ** The Midwinter Masque in ''Kushiel's Chosen'', which she plays up by wearing a gown that exposes her entire back, letting all the peerage of Terre d'Ange know that she is returning to Naamah's Service. |
| 317 | * LessonsInSophistication: Phedre's childhood is filled with these. In the Night Court, she receives lessons in etiquette and comportment to prepare her for life as a HighClassCallGirl; after adopting her, Anafiel Delaunay expands the curriculum to include arts and sciences, languages, [[FemmeFataleSpy espionage]], self-defense, and the [[SchoolOfSeduction arts of love]]. |
| 318 | * LetsGetDangerous: The Cassiline Brotherhood are sworn only to get their swords out to kill (normally, they use daggers and vambraces). You'd better believe that when they do, things are going to get VERY dangerous. Especially if it's Joscelin, and doubly especially if Phèdre is in peril. |
| 319 | * LibationForTheDead: Traditional in Alba. Drustan does the honors most of the time. |
| 320 | * LightEqualsHope: The zenana comes together for the first time to pry the boards off the garden door, letting sunlight in. It's the first instance of defiance against the Mahrkagir & signifies that perhaps their situation is not quite as hopeless as it seems. |
| 321 | * LikeBrotherAndSister: |
| 322 | ** Anafiel Delaunay and Edmée de Rocaille, despite some people's suspicions otherwise. |
| 323 | ** Phèdre and Hyacinthe start off like this as kids, though their feelings don't stay entirely platonic. |
| 324 | ** Imriel and Alais: but in this case it really is like that, no romantic undertones at all. (Well, as far as this series goes, anyway.) |
| 325 | * LineageComesFromTheFather: Played with; Terre d'Ange's monarchy passes patrilineally, but the king only has one granddaughter, who proceeds to have two daughters of her own. Meanwhile, in Alba, inheritance passes from uncle to nephew, although this is later revealed to be motivated by the male rulers not trusting that their wives' sons are actually theirs, and preserving the lineage through their sisters. Meanwhile Imriel's significant lineage comes from both sides of his family. |
| 326 | * LongHairIsFeminine: Averted. D'Angeline men typically have long hair and it isn't considered feminine. Played straight in other countries where Joscelin is considered girly for having long hair. |
| 327 | * LongHairedPrettyBoy: Nearly every D'Angeline man qualifies. |
| 328 | * LoopholeAbuse: The spirits in ''Naamah's Kiss'' do this to avoid giving usable answers to their summoners, as they ''really'' dislike being under any human's control. |
| 329 | ** Moirin does this as well to [[spoiler: let Jehanne know about her promise to Raphael and get help to get out of it.]] |
| 330 | * LoveAtFirstPunch: |
| 331 | ** Well, she never actually hits him, but Sidonie's snarkiness is one of the first things that attracts Imriel to her. |
| 332 | ** The verbal version of this is also a big factor in Moirin and Bao's attraction. |
| 333 | * LoveHurts: The later half of ''Scion'', and most of Justice, deal with Imriel and this. Not to mention Phèdre and Joscelin's rocky start in ''Dart'' and ''Chosen''. |
| 334 | ** Also shows up in the ''Naamah'' series. Could be considered an underlying theme of the universe. |
| 335 | ** ”Love is hard. Harder than steel and thrice as cruel.” |
| 336 | * LoveRuinsTheRealm: |
| 337 | ** One of the prime arguments against Imriel and Sidonie's relationship in the second trilogy. (No one is really bothered about them being relatives: Terre d'Ange is that kind of place. They aren't ''that'' closely related, anyway... [[spoiler: Sidonie is his first cousin once removed-it's a complicated family.]]) |
| 338 | ** It comes roaring into play in the ''Naamah'' trilogy. If [[spoiler: Daniel and Jehanne]] didn't love each other quite so much, [[spoiler: Jehanne's death]] probably wouldn't have crushed her husband's spirit so much--which ends up causing many of the conflicts in ''Naamah's Blessing.'' |
| 339 | ** Averted in ''Dart'': [[spoiler: Queen Ysandre of Terre d'Ange and Cruarch (King) Drustan of Alba fall in love. Their alliance crushes the invading Skaldi and brings peace to both countries.]] |
| 340 | [[/folder]] |
| 341 | |
| 342 | [[folder:M]] |
| 343 | * MadeASlave: Phèdre is enslaved by the Skaldi in ''Kushiel's Dart.'' Both she and Imriel are made slaves of the Marhkagir in ''Kushiel's Avatar.'' |
| 344 | * TheMagnificent: Alais is known as Alais the Wise in the third trilogy. Many Skaldi have one after their name. There's a {{lampshade hanging}} when Phèdre wonders what Harald the Beardless would be called when he's old enough to grow a beard. |
| 345 | * MamaBear: |
| 346 | ** Phèdre becomes one to Imriel after she finds him, to the point that she strong-arms the queen into letting her adopt him. |
| 347 | ** [[spoiler: While Imriel very much has his doubts, Melisande would do anything for him.]] |
| 348 | * TheMasochismTango: Phèdre and Joscelin's relationship to a T at first. However, it tones down eventually, once Joscelin loosens up, and Phèdre stops getting yanked around by Melisande every three seconds. |
| 349 | * MasqueradeBall: Terre d'Ange celebrates the winter solstice by having masked balls and celebrations. Typically Phèdre attends in a PimpedOutDress of some sort. |
| 350 | * MasterSwordsman: Several, most notably Joscelin. It's noted in ''Kushiel's Chosen'' that he's better than even the most practiced of the [[WarriorMonk Cassiline Brothers]] for a very good reason--he's fought for his life many more times than they have. |
| 351 | * MayDecemberRomance: Delaunay, already an adult and battle veteran, rescues Alcuin as an infant. After [[WifeHusbandry adopting and raising him]], and remaining quite oblivious to Alcuin's feelings until Phèdre drops a reveal on him, Delaunay relents when Alcuin makes a move on him and the two start an adult relationship. |
| 352 | * MeaningfulAppearance: Moirin's eyes are often mentioned to be jade-green and she is regularly called a bear-witch. Her ability to talk to plants fits in the nature aspect nicely. |
| 353 | * MeaningfulEcho: Kinda. After the second book Melisande's reply to Phèdre's accusation of treason gets said in one form or another at least once per book. It's usually mentioned that Melisande said it first. |
| 354 | ** Original quote |
| 355 | -->'''Melisande''': Elua cared naught for mortal politics, nor did Kushiel. |
| 356 | ** Notable one in ''Scion'' |
| 357 | -->'''Sidonie''': It's not that simple! |
| 358 | -->'''Imriel''': No, it's not. Mayhap if we obeyed Blessed Elua's precept, it would be. Elua cared naught for thrones or mortal politics. |
| 359 | ** Even Ysandre, ever Melisande's target, has to acknowledge them in ''Mercy'', as she publicly confronts Imriel's and Sidonie's relationship |
| 360 | -->'''Ysandre''': Blessed Elua cared naught for crowns and thrones. Those words, I am told, were spoken by Melisande Shahrizai. |
| 361 | ** And the third trilogy continues the trend |
| 362 | -->'''Jehanne''': Elua bids us to love as we will. And I do. Why isn't that enough? Why does it have to be so damned complicated. |
| 363 | -->'''Moirin''': We're the ones who make it that way. Blessed Elua cared naught for crowns or thrones. |
| 364 | * MedievalStasis: Averted in some aspects, enforced in others. Science and technology barely advance at all from the beginning of the first trilogy to the end of the second; in the third, set approximately a century later, European ships can now cross the Atlantic and medical science has advanced to the point that vaccination has been invented (and is used to prevent [[spoiler:the plague-driven depopulation caused in our history when European diseases were introduced to the Americas]]), but the invention and use of [[FantasyGunControl cannons in warfare]] is explicitly averted by a divinely-mandated destiny. |
| 365 | * MentorOccupationalHazard: |
| 366 | ** Damn you, Jaqueline Carey! Why does such a MagnificentBastard like [[spoiler: Delaunay have to die?]] |
| 367 | %%** Also, [[spoiler: Lo Feng]] |
| 368 | ** And [[spoiler: Jehanne, in a way, given that she's Moirin's sexual mentor.]] |
| 369 | * MetaphoricallyTrue: A few times, but especially with Melisande. |
| 370 | * MiddleChildSyndrome: Joscelin admits that this is the case of noble families who end up pledging a son to the Cassilines. The eldest stay because they are the heir to the domain. The youngest stay to comfort their mothers. It's then a middle son who ends up being pledged to the order. |
| 371 | * MillionToOneChance: Phèdre nó Delaunay is very frequently told (or admits herself) that her plans are madness and suicide. Yet, with the exception of a few UnwittingPawn moments, they always work. |
| 372 | %%* MoeCouplet: Imriel and Alais. |
| 373 | * {{Mordor}}: Drujan, frequently called the kingdom that died and lives. Its fields are dying, the civilians starving and surviving on grim hatred. The Mahrkagir is making it a barren place intentionally, to feed their god's power. |
| 374 | -->'''Gashtaham''': Angra Mainyu, we stand before you to profess our faith. Of this world we are created, and in death we are reborn in your name. The works of Ahura Mazda, we abjure! His livestock, we starve and slaughter; his earth we salt and render barren. |
| 375 | %%* MrFanservice: Nearly every darn male in the series. |
| 376 | * MultiMeleeMaster: Joscelin, and by exension, all Cassilines. They dual-wield daggers when they're not trying to kill you--and a two-handed sword for when they absolutely, positively ''must'' send someone back to their maker. Preferably in pieces. |
| 377 | %%* MundaneMadeAwesome: Just [[spoiler:learning the Name of God]] causes the room to rumble and make you feel like your head's going to explode. Phèdre fainted when [[spoiler:first hearing it.]] [[spoiler: Calling on the power of the Maghuin Dhonn to drive out a fallen angel from a room almost causes earthquakes.]] |
| 378 | * MyGreatestFailure: |
| 379 | ** The backstory that transformed [[spoiler: Delaunay from being a Crown Prince's consort to the man known as Whoremaster of Spies.]] |
| 380 | ** This also applies to [[spoiler: Lo Feng - his failure to raise his biological son right is what later allows Snow Tiger to be possessed by the celestial Dragon and the creation of Divine Thunder (cannons).]] |
| 381 | * MysteriousProtector: Canis for Imriel in ''Scion''. Turns out [[spoiler: Melisande]] sent him. |
| 382 | * MysteriousVeil: In ''Chosen'', Prince Benedicte's new wife in La Serinissima takes the Veil of Asherat, the local sea-goddess, as a symbol of her finding refuge there. [[spoiler: While true in every respect, it's really Melisande under an assumed name, which lets her pull off a HiddenInPlainSight.]] |
| 383 | * MysticalCave: The Temenos is a cavern sacred to [[MotherNature Mother Dia]] that's tended by a reclusive, [[WomenAreWiser all-female]] priestly order. People who enter suffer harrowing visions of the guilt they bear, winning purification and absolution if they survive the ordeal. |
| 384 | [[/folder]] |
| 385 | |
| 386 | [[folder:N-O]] |
| 387 | * NoAccountingForTaste: This is stated to be the realm at large's opinion of Phèdre's relationship with Joscelin. Then, later, their reaction to Moirin and Jehanne. |
| 388 | * NonHeteronormativeSociety: The D'Angeline society is very open about sexual freedom, to the point of EveryoneIsBi, especially among the nobility. Certain forms of prostitution are also considered to be a sacred calling, and there is a highly respected Band of Brothels called the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers that operates as a form of nobility in their own right. |
| 389 | * NoPeriodsPeriod: In Terre d'Ange women can only become pregnant if they [[FantasyContraception pray to Eisheth, a fertility goddess to open their wombs]], and then the Goddess may or may not grant this wish. So essentially no one has a menstrual cycle until then, and no one has to worry about unwanted pregnancy unless they change their mind. BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor. |
| 390 | * NoodleIncident: In ''Dart'' when Phèdre first meets Melisande, Delaunay keeps Melisande silent about his second pupil by reminding her "Do you want Cousin Ogier to know why his son cancelled his wedding at the last moment?" This is never spoken of again. We don't even get to find out who this Cousin Ogier is. |
| 391 | * NotHyperbole: The Mahrkagir's iron rod is, in fact, just that. It's iron and ''spiked'' and covered with the dried blood of the women he's raped with it. |
| 392 | * NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization: Subverted. Several times, Phèdre has been placed in situations where she has been forced into sex with another person. She mentions the worst part of the experience is always the humiliation of enjoying it. |
| 393 | * NotWorthKilling: Inverted. Instead of killing Phèdre, Melisande continuously deals her more merciful punishments, [[spoiler: like selling her to slavery, trapping her in the worst prison in the world, etc.]] because legend has it that a descendant of Kushiel who kills a bearer of Kushiel's Dart suffers [[AndIMustScream ten-thousand years of torment]] in the afterlife. This is a smart decision in a world where gods and angels are proven to exist. Rather than not being worth killing, Phèdre is ''too valuable'' to kill. That, and the fact that Melisande just finds her [[BrutalHonesty too much fun as a sex slave.]] |
| 394 | * TheOathBreaker: |
| 395 | ** Joscelin, in a largely heroic example. Cassilines swear many oaths, loyalty to their order, to never abandon their charge, to never draw their sword unless they need to kill to defend their charge, to remain celibate, among others. Being sold into slavery to the Skaldi, Joscelin is forced to break most of his vows to keep Phèdre safe and get them both home, having refused to abandon her and escape himself. He is finally forced to break his last vow and abandon the Cassiline order (who wanted him in custody to atone) in order to continue protecting Phèdre, holding his oath to never abandon her above all the others. Ironically, the Cassiline's mythology of their patron angel Cassiel features a very similar choice. |
| 396 | ** Played straight and invoked with the Unforgiven, a military squad sworn to a traitor lord that allowed the Skaldi to invade. The survivors of the attack that turned back the Skaldi are sworn to atone by forever guarding and holding the Skaldi passes, and also to follow [[TitleDrop Kushiel's Chosen]] on Earth, Phèdre (who is flabbergasted on hearing this). Phèdre later asks them to abandon their posts and march with Ysandre to retake the City of Elua, referencing Joscelin's choice of breaking one vow to hold a higher one. |
| 397 | * OfficialCouple: |
| 398 | ** Joscelin and Phèdre become lovers in the third act of ''Dart'', and she officially names him as her consort after they break up, then get back together in ''Chosen''. The response from Queen Ysandre: "Finally!" |
| 399 | ** [[spoiler:Imriel and Sidonie have an affair for several months before he has to leave for an ArrangedMarriage. After he's widowed and a lot of other stuff happens, they get back together.]] |
| 400 | * OlderSidekick: Imriel seems to get a new one in every book to help him out. |
| 401 | * {{Omniglot}}: Phèdre picks up 13 languages over the first three books, most of which she learned while traveling. Imriel can speak almost that many. Justified in that once you've picked up three or four languages, the rest become somewhat easier--especially if you're dealing with "Romance languages" that have similar pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. |
| 402 | * OneHitKill: The main power of the Aka Magi, who can kill with a glance. Because of how [[GameBreaker ridiculously powerful]] that is it only took a small number of them to kill Khebbel-im-Akkad's entire invading army. |
| 403 | * OracularUrchin: Hyacinthe, sorta. |
| 404 | * OrphanageOfLove: Imriel grows up in the Temple of Elua, living a very simple and happy existence. |
| 405 | * OurAngelsAreDifferent: Blessed Elua and his Companions. It is outright stated that the companions were angels of God. They are treated as gods by some of the mortals of the books, though. |
| 406 | * OurDragonsAreDifferent: ''Naamah's Kiss'' has a traditional Chinese dragon. |
| 407 | [[/folder]] |
| 408 | |
| 409 | [[folder:P]] |
| 410 | * PaperThinDisguise: Examples that go unnoticed in-universe: |
| 411 | ** Melisande's escape from Troyes-le-Mont [[spoiler: is assisted by her cousin Persia visiting her single-room cell, swapping clothes with her, and walking out. Made more plausible since the Shahrizai family all have a similarly distinctive appearance (deep black hair with bluish highlights, to start), although Melisande is supposed to stand out as a beauty even among them. This lets her roam the fortress at will arranging the rest of her escape, and her cell guards are killed before Persia is discovered.]] |
| 412 | ** Imriel copies Melisande's simple trick in ''Avatar'', [[spoiler: swapping clothes with another kid to ditch his escort back to Terra d'Ange, which only needs to work long enough for their ship to set sail. He stows away on Phèdre's boat instead, joining their journey to Jebe-Barkal and beyond, because he's come to love and trust them, although it's noted this will definitely make people believe he's [[InTheBlood his mother's son.]] ]] |
| 413 | * ParentalAbandonment: |
| 414 | ** This is particularly common in the Delaunay household. Delaunay, Alcuin, Phèdre, and Guy are all without parents. |
| 415 | ** Ysandre's parents die when she is a child. |
| 416 | * ParentalFavoritism: Lyonette openly and obviously prefers her son Baudoin to her daughter Bernadette. |
| 417 | * ParentalMarriageVeto: The entire second trilogy pretty much revolves around getting over this for Sidonie and Imriel. |
| 418 | * ParentalSubstitute: Delaunay acts as a father of sorts for Phèdre and Alcuin, as well as teacher and pimp (and, for Alcuin, lover). |
| 419 | * APartyAlsoKnownAsAnOrgy: In ''Dart'' Melisande hires Cereus House as the setting for her lover Prince Baudoin's birthday party. Longest Night parties, for courtesans, are similar. |
| 420 | * {{Patricide}}: |
| 421 | ** In ''Dart'', though Drustan is the Cruarch's heir he is forced to flee when the Cruarch's son kills his father and takes his title. |
| 422 | ** Daeva Gashtaham murdered his own father and ate his heart in order to become an Aka-Magus and receive power over death. |
| 423 | * PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: Ysandre and Drustan. Also Nicola and her husband. |
| 424 | * PetTheDog: The Mahrkagir literally has a dog statue which he gives to Phèdre because he loves her. Also Melisande's love for Imriel. |
| 425 | * PimpedOutDress[=/=]CostumePorn: |
| 426 | ** Phèdre spends a while waxing lyrical about her dress before every fete, ball, masque or other special occasion. The red dress and velvet cloak for her first assignation comes to mind. When she anounces that her return to being a servant of Naamah she wears a gown with a low back that shows her tattoo, to show she means business. [[spoiler:Phèdre gets really dressed up on the night she plans to kill the Mahrkagir with her hair-pin.]] |
| 427 | ** Other characters get to wear these as well, especially in the books that don't have Phèdre as a main character. |
| 428 | * PiningAfterProtagonistsParent: Delaunay is determined to help and protect Ysandre because [[spoiler:Ysandre's late father Rolande was the great love of Delaunay's life.]] |
| 429 | * PlatonicProstitution: |
| 430 | ** In addition to being Servants of Namaah, the adepts of Eglatine House are cross-trained in a variety of performing arts (singing, dancing, acrobatics etc) and are frequently employed ''en masse'' for those skills alone. |
| 431 | ** In ''Chosen'', the Doge asks Phedre to sing and play the harp for him, and gives her a patron gift to honour Naamah aferwards, remarking that if he weren't an old man, he might have honoured the goddess differently...) |
| 432 | * PlotTailoredToTheParty: Phèdre is able to solve a lot of problems by having sex with people, but equally, if not more important, are her skills as a clever spy, linguist, and diplomat. |
| 433 | * {{Plunder}}: A historical "foraging" example is brought up when the Alban army gathers for war regularly taking food from the local peasants who are said to grumble. Waldemar Selig's invasion of Terre d'Ange is a more orthodox example as several works of art as well as gold and jewels are said to be taken from various temples and cities as well as the slaves they take as well. |
| 434 | * PolarOppositeTwins: Eamonn and Grainne mac Conor. The brother digs in his heels and plays it safe while the sister runs headlong at challenges. |
| 435 | * PositionOfLiteralPower: The Master of the Straits [[spoiler:originally a {{Geas}}(see above) the position does allow the original holder to pass the position on without receiving too much of the original curse. You're just stuck on the original island and you can decide the amount of traffic on the straits given your control of the sea and the weather.]] |
| 436 | * ThePowerOfLove: |
| 437 | ** Might as well be a physical force equal to gravity in this series. |
| 438 | ** It does get twisted from time to time. For example, the source of the Aka Magi's powers over death comes from them [[spoiler: [[PoweredByAForsakenChild sacrificing and eating the heart of a person they truly love]].]] This is also the key to why the Mahrkagir is vulnerable to Phèdre. [[spoiler: He loves her, and if he performs the ritual sacrifice, he will unleash the full fury of his God. The fact he wants to do this is the only thing that allows Phèdre to get him alone long enough to kill him.]] |
| 439 | * PregnantBadass: Grainne rode into battle against the Skaldi while only a few weeks pregnant with her future son Eamonn. Ysandre in particular finds this fascinating and horrifying. |
| 440 | * ProudScholarRace: The Siovalese have this reputation in Terre d'Ange. They are known for being great scholars and engineers. |
| 441 | * ProudWarriorRaceGuy: |
| 442 | ** This defines no less than three of the nations that are not Terre d'Ange: the Eiran, the Albans, and the Skaldi. [[spoiler:After their defeat by Terre d'Ange and the Albans, the Skaldi mutate into a trade power [[FantasyCounterpartCulture rather like Germany did]], seeking to gain through gold what they couldn't through force of arms.]] |
| 443 | ** In Terre d'Ange, the Camaelines are credited with only being to think with their swords [[spoiler: before one of their leaders turns out to be Melisande's traitor]]. The Skaldi, meanwhile, are ''never'' credited with thinking, swords or otherwise. [[spoiler: Then, their leader also turns out to be working with Melisande.]] Hmm, notice a pattern here? |
| 444 | ** Drustan and Eamonn fit this trope although both are very clever and thoughful men. It's more about how other people preceive them as being couth or uncultured. |
| 445 | ** Waldemar Selig tries to avert this. He dreams of ruling over a sophisticated empire, but the Skaldi care too much for fighting and drinking to pose a threat to Terre d'Ange, [[spoiler: until he unites them under one kingdom. But even he loses his head in the heat of battle at Troyes-le-Mont...]] |
| 446 | * PsychoSerum: Imriel gets a surprise dose of this in ''Kushiel's Mercy''. Ironically, being flat out of his head for a month turns out to be the best thing for him, given the situation that he's in. [[spoiler:Being mad for a month was part of his mother's plan to make him immune to the spell being cast on everyone else in the city.]] |
| 447 | * PsychologicalTormentZone: Darsanga. |
| 448 | * PunnyName: Berlik (pronounced bear-lic) the servant of a bear-god who can turn himself into a bear. |
| 449 | * PurpleProse: Justified. Phèdre's an active courtesan-spy trained to observe details and appreciate beauty, so it makes sense that her inner dialogue would contain lots of description. Fortunately, Carey's prose style, while detailed, is rarely unintelligible, and anyone who's above an 8th-grade reading level should be able to undertstand it. Imriel uses his infiltration skills less, and so his POV is less detailed. And Moirin, who spends the first 15 years of her life in the wilderness and finds the D'Angeline pre-occupation with looks silly has even less description than Imriel's. |
| 450 | [[/folder]] |
| 451 | |
| 452 | [[folder:Q-R]] |
| 453 | * QueerRomance: Phédre and Moirin are both bisexual. They have romances and sex with women in their respective trilogies (although [[ButNotTooBi with less focus]] than the straight relationships). Some gay male romances also occur, though [[ButNotTooGay off page]]. |
| 454 | * TheQuest: Even though the first trilogy is mostly political in nature, each book centers around one or more quests that require the protagonists to travel far from home. |
| 455 | * RaisedByRival: After Melisande is imprisoned, her son Imriel is first raised by monks, then fostered by the heroine Phédre and her lover Joscelin. It's a surprisingly happy arrangement: Phédre and Joscelin love Imriel as a son, Imriel reciprocates, and Melisande trusts her WorthyOpponent to [[EvilParentsWantGoodKids raise Imriel well]]. |
| 456 | * RapeAsDrama: As soon as Phèdre is taken out of Terre d'Ange, she goes from willing courtesan to constant rape victim. The fact that her curse forces her to enjoy it makes it even more hellish for her. |
| 457 | * RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Especially when Terre d'Ange regards it as not just a crime, but ''heresy''. |
| 458 | * RavenHairIvorySkin: Phèdre nó Delaunay and Melisande Shahrizai. Phèdre describes her skin as being "a perfectly acceptable shade of ivory" and her hair as "sable-in-shadows." Melisande is described as having alabaster skin and hair so black that it gleams blue under light. Being D'Angeline they are automatically beautiful, but even among D'Angelines Phèdre is a highly desired courtesan and Melisande is regarded as being one of the most beautiful women alive. The kind of beautiful that inspires people to write poetry about her. |
| 459 | * RedLightDistrict: Night's Doorstep is where you go when you want some company but can't possibly afford the Night Court. |
| 460 | * RedemptionEqualsDeath: In ''Kushiel's Dart'', [[spoiler:Isidore d'Aiglemort]] goes on a suicide mission to avoid being remembered as a traitor (and foil the plans of ChessMaster, [[spoiler:Melisande]]). |
| 461 | * ReligionOfEvil: The worship of Angra Mainyu in Drujan. Their faith is literally a rebellion against good, and their priesthood encourages defilement and death. They believe the Mahrkagir is their god's avatar on earth. |
| 462 | --> '''Gashtaham''': We embrace darkness and the lie, abhorring all truths. Your three-fold path, we walk in faith: ill thoughts, ill words, ill deeds. Let your presence among us be made manifest, and your will spread, until the hearts of all mankind seek only destruction, and brother turns upon brother, and all is laid waste. |
| 463 | * RescueRomance: |
| 464 | ** Subverted. Imriel attempts to save Sidonie from a boar, but it turns out to be just a deer. |
| 465 | ** Reversed both ways with Joscelin and Phèdre. Joscelin's one of the best fighters in the series and saves Phèdre countless times, but his Cassiline arrogance and idealism couldn't mentally prepare him for [[spoiler: the harsh realities of Skaldic slavery. He would have starved himself out of humiliation if Phèdre [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan hadn't snapped him out of it]].]] And while Joscelin's not dumb, he's not [[MagnificentBastard Delaunay-trained]] either. Phèdre's observation and subterfuge skills are key to many of their plans. |
| 466 | * RevealingCoverUp: In ''Chosen'', the veterans of Troyes-le-Mont in La Serenissima all declare that they saw Barquiel L'Envers together with Persia the night of the escape. [[spoiler: Phedre knows Persia was actually Melisande, and is fully ready to accuse Barquiel of treason... until Fortun notes that every veteran said the same thing ''the same way'', like it was rehearsed, and feigned ignorance of the only other veteran they hadn't found yet, information a less involved guard was quickly able to supply.]] |
| 467 | * RiverOfInsanity: The journey through the Amazon in ''Naamah's Blessing.'' |
| 468 | * RoguishRomani: The series has a semi-historical fantasy setting featuring the Roma analogs, the Tsingani (which is the Russian word for "Gypsies") or "Travellers". They're pretty stereotypical (bright clothes, dancing, champion horse-breeders, stealing from the non-Travellers, and some Tsingani women can see the future) but the way they're treated is at least mentioned. Hyacinthe, the most important Tsingani character met in the first book (who's actually only half-Tsingani), actively plays on the stereotypical depictions of his people to promote his mother's fortune-telling business (as well as his own) and to become a fixer and owner of a horse stable. |
| 469 | * RomanticizedAbuse: Melisande and Phèdre's relationship certainly qualifies. Arguably a subversion, as Melisande is a villain. |
| 470 | * RopeBridge: In ''Kushiel's Chosen'', island prison [[TheAlcatraz La Dolorosa]] is connected to the mainland only by a rope bridge, which has two guards on the island side armed with axes, who can cut the bridge long before anybody gets across. Joscelin's solution? Climb along the underside of the bridge. |
| 471 | * RoyalBlood: Very important, to the point that those of the royal line are called Princes and Princesses of the Blood. |
| 472 | * RoyalBrat: Mostly averted with Imriel-who was raised in an orphanage for most of his life-and played mostly straight Jehanne's daughter. In the latter case, she mostly just needs people who know how to handle her. |
| 473 | * RoyalInbreeding: Imriel de la Courcel falls in love with and ''eventually'' marries Princess Sidonie de la Courcel. Imriel is the son of Sidonie's great-uncle, making them first cousins once removed. |
| 474 | [[/folder]] |
| 475 | |
| 476 | [[folder:S]] |
| 477 | * SacredScripture: As the worshipers of Namaah consider sex an act of worship, the ''Trois Milles Joies'' (an in-universe version of the ''Kama Sutra'') may be considered one. |
| 478 | * SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Dorelei, Alcuin, and Delaunay.]] |
| 479 | * SafeWord: Known as a ''signale.'' Not heeding it is considered heresy. |
| 480 | * SchoolOfSeduction: The Court of Night-Blooming Flowers. |
| 481 | * ScrewDestiny: Phèdre's reaction to Hyacinthe's fate in the first trilogy. [[spoiler:Succeeds, of course.]] Joscelin after deciding he can't live without Phèdre in ''Chosen''. |
| 482 | * ScreamDiscretionShot: |
| 483 | ** ''Kushiel's Dart'' has a scene where Phèdre is drugged and then tortured by Melisande Shahrizai. It's described by Phèdre as not being rape because Melisande would have heeded the signale. We only hear Phèdre's very short and non-explicit summary of it, which is bad enough. |
| 484 | ** Melisande is shown to respect the gods and avoid blasphemy, so it’s entirely possible she would have heeded the ‘’signale’’. It’s also possible that Phedre was rationalizing. It was her first (though certainly not her last) experience with non-consensual sex, and it was with someone she had very complicated feelings for. It may have been easier to cope by believing Melisande wouldn’t really cross the line and that she, Phedre, had retained a kernel of control and self determination. It’s also one of the few encounters Phedre relates in distant and vague terms. Even the events with the Mahrkagir are described in detail. Melisande’s treatment of her may be the one thing she couldn’t face directly. |
| 485 | * SecretRelationship: Sidonie and Imriel are like this when they actually hook up. It doesn't last long though. |
| 486 | * SelfFulfillingProphecy: Zigzags in the case of Imriel and the Maghuin Dhonn. They foresee the possibility of a terrible future, and at first all their attempts to avert it make it ''more'' likely and ''worse''. However, in the end, they do manage to change the course of fate... but at a terrible price. |
| 487 | * SemiDivine: The D'Angeline people are like this; descended from God's grandson and his angelic companions. |
| 488 | * SexAsRiteOfPassage: Patrons pay extra to take the virginity of a new courtesan. And it's typically part of an aristocrat's 16th birthday celebration for them to visit the Night Court for the first time. |
| 489 | * SexGod: |
| 490 | ** Any of Terre d'Ange's courtesans, due to the glorification of prostitution as sacred. Special mention goes to Phèdre. |
| 491 | ** Taken very literally in the case of Naamah, though she's more of a Sex Angel than a SexGod. |
| 492 | * SexSlave: The woman of the Mahrkagir's harem, who come from a variety of nations and whom Phedre is briefly [[MadeASlave part of]] before they are liberated. Also the women of the Falconer's harem. |
| 493 | * SexualKarma: But S&M is subsumed under this umbrella and Imriel needs to accept and explore his sadistic side in order to accept his sexuality. Basically, especially in Terre d'Ange, the only "bad sex" is rape. If it's consensual and nobody dies (or is seriously injured: Phedre is once yelled at by Anafiel for letting a client burn her with a hot fireplace poker and ordered to use her safeword next time) and everyone has fun, it's good for D'Angelines! |
| 494 | * SexyBacklessOutfit: Phèdre wears such a gown in ''Chosen''. All courtesans from the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers must earn their marque, a tattoo covering the entire back, in order to complete their debt of servitude towards their House. It's considered unseemly for an adept to bare her back in public before her marque is complete. After the marque is completed, baring it is considered a declaration that he or she is taking offers. |
| 495 | * ShelteredAristocrat: |
| 496 | ** This is played with in the series. Phèdre and the aristocrats she contends with tend to be intelligent, well-educated, and extremely cunning in high society and politics. Very few people are as naive as this trope. However when faced with people who are not as well off, they genuinely don't understand what daily life is like for the masses. |
| 497 | ** This is averted with Imriel, who grew up as a goat-herd orphan (and was then ''horribly'' abused), and thus tends to have a balanced view of upper and lower-class life, not to mention a deeper understanding than most of how dangerous the world is. |
| 498 | ** Alban and Skaldi aristocrats also tend to avert this, due to life generally being harder and closer to the earth in these countries. |
| 499 | * SiblingYinYang: Sidonie and Alais. Sidonie resembles their D'Angeline mother - blonde, fair-skinned, and cool to the point of being perceived as an IceQueen. Alais resembles their Cruithne father, being brown-skinned, dark-haired, spirited, and considered to be not as well-mannered. Just like a real yin-yang, however, each one has a tiny bit of the other: Sidonie's eyes are black like Drustan's, Alais's are violet like Ysandre's. |
| 500 | * SinglePreceptReligion: "Love as thou wilt." |
| 501 | * SiegeEngines: |
| 502 | ** The Skaldi build siege towers for use during the siege of Troyes-le-Mont. |
| 503 | ** Most recently the [[spoiler: 'Divine Thunder' (cannons) seen]] in ''Kiss''. |
| 504 | * SilkHidingSteel: This is the canon of Cereus House, pale, fragile beauty with inner steel. Phèdre notes that this also perfectly describes Ysandre de la Courcel. |
| 505 | * SilverFox: Cecilie Laveau-Perrin, a former Cereus adept. She is in her fifties when Phèdre meets her, and is commonly believed to be just as lovely as she was in her youth, partly because her pale Cereus-canon hair has gone platinum. |
| 506 | * SlapSlapKiss: Moirin and Bao bicker with each other right up until the point where they start having incredible sex. |
| 507 | * SlaveBrand: Imriel is MadeASlave, sold to a brutal sexual sadist, and is branded on the buttock at age 11. He's rescued, but the ScarsAreForever and the trauma of the experience lingers well into his adulthood. |
| 508 | * TheSleepless: Lucius when he was being possessed by [[spoiler: Gallus]]. Imriel eventually challenged him to a duel just so his friend could rest for a night. |
| 509 | * SoBeautifulItsACurse: A downplayed version in ''Chosen'': In La Serenissima, Phedre's remarkable D'Angeline beauty makes her very recognizable when she needs to be undercover. |
| 510 | * SoHappyTogether: Melisande and Phèdre towards the middle of ''Dart''. |
| 511 | * SomedayThisWillComeInHandy: Or as Delaunay and Phèdre like to say, "All knowledge is worth having." |
| 512 | * SomeoneToRememberHimBy: Maslin is this to his mother, who was pregnant with him when his father Isidore d'Aiglemort died. |
| 513 | * SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: In ''Kushiel's Mercy'', [[spoiler:even though Sidonie's under the influence of FakeMemories wiping out the memory of her boyfriend Imriel, and Imriel himself is a ManchurianAgent, the use of the word "always" when it comes up in conversation always (har) triggers something for them, which they eventually figure out.]] |
| 514 | * SorkinRelationshipMoment: Imriel's relationship with Dorelei contains a number of these. |
| 515 | * StalkerWithATestTube: Imriel gets stalked/harassed in various ways by a Maghuin Dhonn witch, who at one point thinks she can ScrewDestiny by getting pregnant with Imriel's child. Boy, does he not want to. |
| 516 | * StarCrossedLovers: |
| 517 | ** Joscelin and Phèdre are presented as this at first, as are Sidonie and Imriel. [[spoiler: Moirin and Bao seem to be setting up for this as well]] |
| 518 | ** Anafiel Delaunay and [[spoiler: Prince Rolande]]; it's the theme of the anthology where the short story was published. |
| 519 | * STDImmunity: No one ever gets a venereal disease, nor are any mentioned, despite [[EternalSexualFreedom having unprotected sex whenever they wish]]. |
| 520 | * StraightForTheCommander: At the climax of ''Kushiel's Dart'' [[spoiler:Isidore d'Aiglemort]] leads his army on a cavalry charge against the Skaldi, aiming to get to Waldemar Selig and kill him. [[spoiler:They end up in a MutualKill.]] |
| 521 | [[/folder]] |
| 522 | |
| 523 | [[folder:T-U]] |
| 524 | * TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: Gallus]], not to another person but to a ''flood'' when he returns to the underworld after protecting Lucca. |
| 525 | * TargetedHumanSacrifice: The Âka-Magi must offer a sacrifice to Angra Mainyu to gain their powers over death. Specifically, they have to strangle someone they honestly love. [[spoiler: Phèdre realizes the Mahrkagir, mad monster though he is, is falling for her, and connects the dots. Gashtaham plans to twist his love of her to make him not just the source of their death magic but a full priest in control of it, making them likely unstoppable.]] |
| 526 | * ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: |
| 527 | ** In ''Dart'', Joscelin uses this in desperation after Selig's men catch up to them in Skaldia. Six on one and he's winning, but Phèdre kills the one taking her hostage, so the last man with a horse decides to off the easier target first. Joscelin can't catch up in time. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] even: |
| 528 | --> '''Joscelin''': Do you know what the odds of making that throw were? We don't even train for it. It's not done. |
| 529 | ** It's a dagger, but in ''Kushiel's Chosen'', Joscelin makes a dagger throw that disrupts the aim of an enemy on the other end of a large temple filled with fighting men. Phèdre comments that she thought the throw was impossible. |
| 530 | * ThatDidntHappen: The first time Phèdre and Joscelin make love in ''Dart'', they're hiding in a cave, exhausted, scared, and traumatized from fleeing and fighting the Skaldi. Afterwards, it's mutually understood that, for the sake of not complicating things while they're fighting for survival, as well as Joscelin's vow of celibacy, they will pretend that it never happened. |
| 531 | --> '''Phèdre''': We have dreamed this day. Joscelin, we dream still, and tomorrow will wake from it. |
| 532 | * TimeSkip: The books mainly continue where the last one left off, but there's a ten year jump between Chosen and Avatar and a hundred year jump before the third trilogy. There's also little time skips during the books when the characters are traveling or nothing important is happening. |
| 533 | %%* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Alais and Sidonie respectively. |
| 534 | * TooKinkyToTorture: Phèdre. Early on in ''Dart'' she is burned with a red hot poker. She states that "There was no pleasure in it, at least not one who was not an anguissette would understand." Of course, there are lines even for ''that'': she derives no pleasure from being skinned, for example. Still, she says late in the first book that she cannot be forced to tell secrets through torture. This appears to be true. However, she pretty much hits her limit in Darsanga with "the rod." |
| 535 | * TrojanPrisoner: Phèdre and Joscelin infiltrate Darsanga this way, Joscelin giving Phèdre to the Mahrkagir's harem in exchange for sanctuary. The gambit runs longer than most examples, as it takes her a long time to get enough trust and planning to find a way to end the Mahrkagir's reign. |
| 536 | * TroubledButCute: Imriel, according to others in the book. Sometimes when reading, it's far too easy to imagine him in a James Dean type get up. |
| 537 | %%* TrustPassword: Used during the siege in Scion. |
| 538 | * TwinThreesomeFantasy: |
| 539 | ** Well, not so much a ''fantasy'', but actually played out in ''Chosen'' with Apollonaire and Diànne. |
| 540 | ** Though the trope is played with, it's worth mentioning in ''Dart''. Phèdre sleeps with the twin lords of the Dalriada, but separately. |
| 541 | * TykeBomb: Joscelin and Cassiline brothers in general. Sadly for Joscelin being hyper competent at combat didn't prepare him for much of life outside of being a bodyguard. |
| 542 | * UnproblematicProstitution: In Terre d'Ange, it's at least ''regarded'' as unproblematic. Since the Night Court prostitutes are raised into the lifestyle from early childhood, it's all they know, and the see their calling as noble. Some, like Alcuin, accept the life without realizing what it actually ''means''-and Alcuin has to deal with his extreme guilt towards Naamah, when he finds out that he doesn't actually want to have sex with strangers for money. Outside Terre d'Ange, all the problems you'd expect seem to exist as prostitutes there have no special status. |
| 543 | * UnresolvedSexualTension: Joscelin and Phèdre in ''Dart''. (It gets resolved.) |
| 544 | * UnusualEuphemism: "I/you should catch a fish" between Joscelin and Phèdre. |
| 545 | * {{Utopia}}: |
| 546 | ** Terre d'Ange is a land blessed by angels, where everybody is beautiful (as pointed out repeatedly) and there's lots of free polyamorous sex going around. It's so beautiful that ugly evil foreigners want to invade and conquer it, but of course they fail. And they would have succeeded too, if it weren't for those ''other'' foreigners. There is a slight whiff of the UnreliableNarrator about it - of course Phèdre thinks her own country is the best, and even she admits D'Angelines are pretty stuck up. |
| 547 | ** This begins to [[ZigZaggingTrope zig zag]] a bit in the second trilogy. Imriel more or less says outright that being pretty is the only thing D'Angelines are particularly better at than anyone else, and that physical beauty isn't really important. Much as he loves his country, he makes it sound a lot less like a Mary Suetopia than Phèdre did. |
| 548 | ** And even Phedre drops the superiority monologue for a few chapters when she visits the island of Kriti (Crete) in Chosen. All she does is gush about how awesome [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Kriti]] and its culture is, not that there was a single bad thing said about it whilst she was there. Probably justified, as earlier in the series Phedre mentions that to the d'Angelines, the ancient Hellenes were the pinnacle of civilization before Elua came to Terre d'Ange. This also has a RealLife basis as to most Western nations today, Ancient Greece is viewed as part of a GoldenAge for classical civilizations. It goes back to Ancient Rome, who saw them in the same way (and ripped off their culture, too). |
| 549 | [[/folder]] |
| 550 | |
| 551 | [[folder:V-Z]] |
| 552 | * VestigialEmpire: Caerdicca Unitas, which contains Rome's fantasy counterpart Tiberium. |
| 553 | * VillainousLineage: Imriel is the son of the biggest traitors to his country, and despite him being a goodhearted person (and raised by other goodhearted people), many people suspect that someday he might take after his mother. [[spoiler: Later on, a group of TheFairFolk have a psychic prediction that Imriel's son would take after his mother and destroy their nation, and so they kill his pregnant wife to make sure this doesn't happen.]] |
| 554 | * VowOfCelibacy: Members of the Cassiline Brotherhood are required to be celibate, in deference to the example of the archangel Cassiel, the only angel to follow Elua but not lie with mortals. In ''Dart'' Phedre's first bodyguard was in training to become a Brother but was kicked out before taking the vows for having sex with a farmer's daughter. Joscelin does break his vow with Phedre during their escape from Skaldia, but Phedre convinces him to treat it as a moment of divine grace (and it's implied she's right), and only lightly referred to later, even after they more fully commit to their love and break it for good. |
| 555 | * WanderingTheEarth: Elua and his Companions, back in the day. Even when they found Terre d'Ange, Elua insisted on wandering everywhere. |
| 556 | * WarriorMonk: Joscelin and the other Cassiline brothers--complete with vow of chastity. Deconstructed somewhat; the discipline is very demanding, starting at age 10, but we get several flawed examples, and the many restrictions and traditions of the order do not hold up under the strain of the extreme situations Joscelin finds himself in. |
| 557 | * WelcomeToTheBigCity: Moirin has lived on the fringe of society all her life, so her introduction to the City of Elua is, in a word, rough. It starts with getting hit by a carriage. |
| 558 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: Melisande is arguably simply following the precept of "Love as thou wilt" as concerns her passion for intrigue and backstabbery. Even Phèdre says that Melisande would doubtless be a very good Queen, as she makes a habit of doing everything to which she sets her mind, excellently. |
| 559 | * WhamLine: New queen Ysandre de la Courcel explains some recent oddities in the royal family, especially why she hasn't married: [[spoiler: "Ysandre de la Courcel folded her hands in her lap, lifing her chin again. 'At the age of sixteen,' she said quietly, 'I was promised to the Cruarch's heir, his sister-son Drustan mab Necthana, the Prince of the Cruithne.'"]] |
| 560 | * WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: The ability to speak the language of ants was originally given as a prank by an irritated spirit. In Terre d'Ange, it's this. In the Amazon Rain forest, [[LethalHarmlessPowers it's]] [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower a little]] different. |
| 561 | * WhenThePlanetsAlign: used by the Carthaginians in ''Mercy'' to put a spell on the entire city. |
| 562 | * WhiteHairBlackHeart: Averted with Alcuin, who is one of the gentlest people in the series. |
| 563 | ** [[spoiler: Played straight with Isidore d'Aiglemort, also known as Kilberhaar (silver hair).]] |
| 564 | * WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Melisande has multiple chances to kill Phèdre, and always opts to imprison her instead. (Multiple characters question why she went with the "sell her to Skaldia" plan in the first book instead of just killing her.) There are two reasons for this: ''anguisettes'' are so rare that Melisande sees destroying one as a criminal waste, and it would be literal sacrilege to destroy Kushiel's chosen. Melisande is always very careful never to piss off the gods, even when it puts her in more danger from mortal authorities. |
| 565 | * WifeHusbandry: Inverted. Delaunay adopts Phèdre and Alcuin with the plan that he wants them to work as spies/courtesans and believes that the kids see him as a mentor/boss figure. Instead both of them fall in love with him. Alcuin waits until he's free and legal to make his move. Even then, Delaunay--normally a master of reading people--is so oblivious that Phèdre has to outright ''tell'' him Alcuin is in love with him for him to accept Alcuin's advances. |
| 566 | * WindsOfDestinyChange: How the Aka Magi explain their power to kill with a glance. Everybody is just a step a death at any moment, they could have a heart attack, they could trip and break their neck, a clot could form in their brain or any other hundreds of other accidents. All the Aka Magi do is give fate that little push. |
| 567 | * WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Snow Tiger is strong enough to casually bend steel bars, but if she sees her own reflection, even in someone else's eyes, she goes on a [[UnstoppableRage killing spree]]. Though, technically, it's not her. It's the [[spoiler: dragon bound up inside her head, which can't stand to see itself in the wrong body.]] |
| 568 | * WomensMysteries: The rite of fertility that women undergo to get pregnant is closed off to men. It's actually pretty simple-they just pray for the goddess Eisheth to let them conceive while lighting a candle (though she doesn't always grant it). |
| 569 | * WouldHurtAChild: The Mahrkagir, full stop, which leads to some nasty nightmares for Imriel. |
| 570 | * XanatosGambit: Melisande always has backup plans, and even when she loses her bids for power she comes away with at least some degree of victory. However the game plays out, she gets something out of the results. |
| 571 | * XanatosSpeedChess: Phèdre working to uncover Melisande's {{Evil Plan}}s. |
| 572 | [[/folder]] |
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FollowingContext Literature / KushielsLegacy
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