Line #43 Literature/TheSight


1	[[quoteright:273:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_sight.jpg]]
2
3	''The Sight'' by Creator/DavidClementDavies, is a xenofictional novel about wolves and psychic powers.
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5	A sequel has also been written: ''Fell''. It focuses on the titular character as he goes on his own personal quest revolving around the Sight and another child, similar to the relationship between Larka and human-baby Bran. And there's ''Literature/FireBringer'', which is also set in same universe, but in a different location.
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7	----
8	!! This novel provides examples of:
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10	* AccidentalChildKillerBackstory: [[spoiler:Morgra]] didn't mean to kill a cub, despite what most wolves think. However [[spoiler: the judgment on her [[ThenLetMeBeEvil drives her to true villainy.]]]]
11	* AlphaAndBetaWolves: The main wolf pack have this sort of ranking with fictional language words for alpha, beta and omega wolves, and only some of them are related - two parents and their children, the father's sister, her mate (whose relationship with her is noted to be unusual) and two others. Downplayed in that they are treated by the narrative as a family, and barring some DeliberateValuesDissonance in how they treat Bran act like one instead of a group trying to one-up each other.
12	* AnimalEyeSpy: The Sight lets you do this with birds.
13	* AntiAntiChrist: [[spoiler:Fell]] is [[spoiler:the wolf equivalent of Satan, or at least Morgra uses his powers to deliberately invoke this and have him play the role of their mythological devil]], who freaks out [[BlindSeer Tsinga]] just by his presence. He's also a sometimes unfriendly but ultimately reasonable wolf, [[spoiler:who ends up siding with Larka after she reminds him of his past.]]
14	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler: Larka dies, but appears as a heavenly figure to Kar at the end of the story, though [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane whether this is real or just a dream is left ambiguous.]]]]
15	* AnimalTalk: Aside from the obvious TranslationConvention, the wolves also have their own language called ''varg''. Examples include:
16	** ''Dragga'' - Alpha Male
17	** ''Drappa'' - Alpha Female
18	** ''Sikla'' - Omega
19	** ''Lera'' - Prey animals
20	* AnyoneCanDie: No one is safe, not even the main pack, [[spoiler:including Larka.]]
21	%%* ArcWords: ''The Sight.''
22	* BabiesEverAfter: A variant where [[spoiler:TheHeroDies and it's her parents who have [[PosthumousSibling new cubs.]]]]
23	* BackForTheDead: After being PutOnABus for much of the book, [[spoiler:Skop]] returns to [[spoiler:pull Kar out of his SanitySlippage]] and then die.
24	* BackFromTheDead: But only for about a chapter, thanks to Morgra [[spoiler: performing the Summoning Howl.]]
25	* BadPowersGoodPeople: Many wolves think the sight is a naturally bad power, but Larka clearly isn't a villain. Skart later explains that it is a fundamental part of nature that doesn't have a moral alignment.
26	* BarredFromTheAfterlife: All wolves are scared of drowning because they believe it will result in this.
27	* BetaCouple: Khaz and Kipcha. It's also kind of a literal example, as Khaz was a Beta in Huttser's pack.
28	* BigBad: Morgra.
29	* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Larka]] reunites with [[spoiler:her parents]] just when they're about to [[spoiler:be forced to kill each other on Slavka's orders.]] Later [[spoiler:Kar]] shows up to save Larka from [[spoiler:being trapped in the Red Meadow.]]
30	* BittersweetEnding: The main family prevents Morgra from enslaving all of the Lera, but [[spoiler: Larka is ultimately unable to escape her fated death]], and the Vision has shown that humans are going to destroy the earth and create a dark time for the Lera. However Larka refuses to use her power to kill all of humanity because maybe they will be able to find the answers to the philosophical questions that have been plaguing her, and the book ends on a somewhat hopeful note that it doesn't have to end this way and humans may learn to be "more like wolves", because after all Larka learned in the Red Meadow that fate can be altered, although it is difficult. Meanwhile [[spoiler:Palla and Huttser [[BabiesEverAfter have more cubs.]]]]
31	* BlessedWithSuck: While the Sight is often seen as an extraordinary gift, Larka is shown throughout the book to resent it half the time, especially when she can't hunt without feeling her prey's pain as she kills it.
32	* BlindSeer: Tsinga
33	* BloodMagic: According to the prophecy, there needs to be a sacrifice of blood to activate the Vision.
34	* {{Brainwashed}}: Morgra does this to [[spoiler: Fell after she rescues him from the icy river.]]
35	* BreakTheCutie: Both Larka and Kar go through a lot, [[spoiler:losing their entire pack, Larka having to deal with her destiny and Kar being nearly killed in a fire and [[GoMadFromTheIsolation not taking well to being alone...]]]]
36	* ButtMonkey: Poor Bran couldn't catch a break.
37	* CaptainErsatz: Larka has several similarities to Rannoch of ''Literature/FireBringer''.
38	* CareBearStare: Larka uses her memories of love and happiness to [[spoiler:give Fell his memories back and dispel his anger.]]
39	* CarnivoreConfusion: Prey animals are sentient and Larka can feel their pain when she kills one, which means she's terrified of hunting.
40	* CentralTheme: Stories, and whether they are necessary or distort people's perceptions and become self-fulfilling prophecies trapping people in their fates.
41	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Larka and Kar, who grow up in the same pack together and are part of the trio with Fell when they are younger. While Larka's feelings grow into romance, Kar is never shown to think romantically of Larka, notably after [[spoiler: reuniting with the pack after his ordeal]] he now thinks of Huttser and Palla as his parents and Fell as his brother, though he is never explicitly said to [[LikeBrotherAndSister think the same way about Larka as well.]]
42	* CoolOldLady: Brassa is an old but still competent and respected member of the main pack.
43	* ConstantlyCurious: Larka, when she is younger, is always asking questions about the world. This grows into a generally philosophical (if a bit angsty about it) disposition as she gets older.
44	* CreateYourOwnVillain: Morgra genuinely wanted to be let into Huttser and Palla's pack, and her rejection pushed her fully into evil.
45	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Slavka]] threatens it for whoever wins [[spoiler:Huttser and Palla's]] InvoluntaryBattleToTheDeath.
46	* DangerThinIce: The pack has to cross a frozen river to get away from their pursuers despite being warned by Tsinga about ice [[spoiler: Fell falls through and seemingly dies]].
47	* DarkMagicalGirl: [[spoiler:Fell]] is a RareMaleExample, as [[spoiler:a wolf with strong PsychicPowers who sides with the villain and is motivated by his deep loneliness, and who is eventually converted back to the heroes' side by Larka.]]
48	* TheDayOfReckoning: There are two of them in foretold in the prophecy - first, the summoning of [[TheUndead The Searchers]] in the middle of the humans' battle, and then the activation of the Vision, which, if Morgra achieves, will allow her to enslave all of the animals. Morgra [[spoiler:succeeds in using the searchers to decimate the free wolves, but Larka hijacks the vision during the climax, stopping her from [[NearVillainVictory achieving the final part of her plan.]]]]
49	* DeadGuyJunior: First there's Fell, who is named after his grandfather. Then there's [[spoiler:Bran the baby, who Larka names after Bran the wolf]] and finally [[spoiler:Huttser and Palla's second litter.]]
50	* DeathByDespair: [[spoiler:Kipcha]] could have escaped from [[spoiler:the InevitableWaterfall]] like [[spoiler:Bran did]], but gave up due to [[spoiler:fearing what her pups' lives would be like without Khaz and guilty about even briefly wanting Larka dead out of jealousy.]]
51	* TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed: Brassa is implied to have cancer, though the wolves don't know what that is.
52	* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Fell after seemingly drowning]] and [[spoiler:Kar after seemingly being killed in a fire.]]
53	* DoingInTheWizard: After a whole book of mythological stories about the origin of wolves and humans [[spoiler:The Vision allows the lera to see the scientific version of events.]]
54	* TheDragon: [[spoiler: Fell]] becomes this for Morgra for a brief time as a secret weapon against Larka.
55	* DwindlingParty: Morgra curses the pack do die one by one. [[spoiler:The curse was never real, but nearly all of the pack dies just as she predicted.]]
56	* EvilMatriarch: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Morgra even though she is infertile, because the prophecy requires a mother. [[spoiler: She succeeds by becoming the adoptive "mother" of Fell.]]
57	* EvilVersusEvil: On one side of the Balkar/Rebel conflict is Morgra, the BigBad, who is insane. On the other side of the conflict is Slavka, a mix of GeneralRipper and WellIntentionedExtremist... who is ''also'' insane. [[spoiler: Slavka has the chance to get better at the end. Morgra does not.]]
58	* ExactEavesdropping: Characters often hear important pieces of information, such as details about the prophecy or Morgra's plans, while in hiding and eavesdropping on other wolves.
59	* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: Wolves die in brutal ways like being impaled and getting their throats torn out.
60	* FantasyPantheon: Most notably, Tor and Fenris. There's also Sita, who is the Jesus-equivalent for the wolves, and Wolfbane, who is the equivalent of Satan.
61	* GoingCosmic: The plot increasingly focuses on philosophical themes in the last act, with Larka's narration commenting a lot on the purpose of life and the future of animals and humans, culminating in the final vision [[spoiler: which shows the whole history and future of the world.]]
62	* GoMadFromTheIsolation: [[spoiler:Kar]] after being gradually separated by the rest of the pack and finally separated from [[spoiler:Larka]] by a fire, though he gets over it.
63	* GreenAesop: The final vision, among other things [[spoiler: shows the future destruction that humans will bring to the environment]], with a final ambiguous message that perhaps this seemingly inevitable fate can be changed.
64	* HeroicBSOD: Larka experiences one after [[spoiler: she witnesses her entire family and pack die one by one as a result of the prophecy surrounding her]]. And later Palla when [[spoiler:Morgra tells her about Fell's fate.]]
65	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Larka]] goes through with [[spoiler:confronting Morgra on Harja]] despite [[ForeseeingMyDeath foreseeing that she will die there.]]
66	** Also, [[spoiler:Bran the Omega.]], who dies fighting wolves who intended to kill his pack.
67	* IdenticalStranger: Larka and Slavka are noted to look exactly alike.
68	* IJustWantToBeNormal: Larka feels this.
69	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Khaz]] gets impaled in a hunting trap. And the wolves also pass by many impaled humans.
70	* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Baby Bran survives things like being alone in a huge blizzard and having wolves trying to kill him.
71	* InevitableWaterfall: When the pack is crossing a river, [[spoiler:Kipcha and Bran]] are swept up, and there is unsurprisingly a waterfall. [[spoiler:Only Bran survives it.]]
72	* InvoluntaryBattleToTheDeath: [[spoiler:Slavka]] forces [[spoiler: Huttser and Palla]] into this as a fight to the death by threatening a CruelAndUnusualDeath for the winner, to ensure they will fight [[MercyKill to protect their "enemy"]].
73	* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: Again, Larka.
74	* {{Jerkass}}: Fell is this to Kar at the beginning of the book when Larka starts giving Kar attention.
75	* JourneyToFindOneself: [[spoiler: Fell]] leaves to do this at the end of the book, after escaping from [[spoiler:being ReforgedIntoAMinion by Morgra]]. This also acts as a SequelHook.
76	* LivingMemory: The Searchers in the Red Meadow are this - they are not actually dead wolves but manifestations of the memories of the living. This allows [[spoiler:Fell to be among them]], despite [[spoiler:not being actually dead.]]
77	* LovableCoward: Kar starts out as this.
78	** And then there's Bran the Omega.
79	* MentorOccupationalHazard: [[spoiler:Brassa, Tsinga and Tsarr]] end up dead by the end of the story. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with [[spoiler:Skart]], who survives until the end of the book.
80	* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Huttser and Palla]] go along with spoiler:trying to kill each other at [[spoiler:Slavka's]] command to spare the other the fate of winning and facing a [[CruelAndUnusualDeath far worse death.]]
81	* MessianicArchetype: Sita is the Jesus-equivalent of the wolves' stories, the daughter of one of their gods who was killed for the message she spread. Larka is fascinated by the story and has [[MartyrWithoutACause a martyr complex herself in trying to emulate it]], which culminates in the climax when [[spoiler: Larka considers not saving herself when she has the chance so her story will have meaning for the other wolves the way Sita's did. She decides she doesn't want to die just a second too late.]]
82	* MythologyGag: Several {{Shout Out}}s to ''Literature/FireBringer'', since they are set in the same universe. Rannoch is mentioned as having the Sight, and the ''varg'' word ''Lera'' was also used in ''Fire Bringer''.
83	* NobleWolf: Unsurprisingly, there are many of these.
84	* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: [[TheMentor Skart]] has a strong prejudice against ravens, which [[AllLovingHero Larka]] calls him out on.
85	* PosthumousSibling: [[spoiler:Huttser and Paula]] have new children in the epilogue after [[spoiler: Larka's death.]]
86	* Power Trio: Larka, Kar, and Fell form one, at least at first, with the three spending time together and making a promise that links them together.
87	* PlotArmor: Normally very much [[AvertedTrope averted]], but notably played straight [[spoiler:at the climax of Part 2, where nearly all of the Free Wolves are killed by the Searchers or humans, but all of the named characters somehow survive.]]
88	* ThePromise: Larka, Kar, and a grudging Fell formed one when they were younger, calling it "the Pact". As the end of the book comes, Kar is the one who holds onto this promise the strongest.
89	* PropheciesRhymeAllTheTime: The prophecy in this book is this.
90	* ProphecyTwist: A rare example that works in the heroes' favor: [[spoiler:the prophecy does not say that none shall be free, just rhetorically asked who shall be free.]]
91	* RaisedByWolves: Bran, literally.
92	* RebelLeader: Slavka leads the Balkar, a huge group of rebels fighting against Morgra.
93	* RescuedFromTheUnderworld: Sort of. [[spoiler: Larka]] hadn't died when [[spoiler: she made the trip to the Red Meadow. Kar]] ends up rescuing [[spoiler:her by calling her name over and over when the dead tried keeping her there permanently]].
94	* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler: Kar after he survives the fire.]] He gets better though, when [[spoiler: Skop lives with him until his death from an infected wound.]]
95	* ShoutOut: Skart briefly mentions Rannoch from ''Literature/FireBringer''.
96	-->"There is an old story of a Herla, a red deer, who learnt how to do it. His name was Rannoch and he lived on an island to the north-west."
97	* SomewhereAMammalogistIsCrying: The author often attributes feline traits to the wolves - they are described as having retractile claws, and using their paws as cats do, to swipe at each other or grab at prey (real wolves have non-retractile claws, which are not used for hunting or fighting with). The packs also contain numerous unrelated wolves, and [[spoiler:Kipcha]] somehow becomes pregnant outside the breeding season (when neither females nor males are fertile).
98	* SpoilerTitle: [[spoiler: Fell]] dies a few chapters into the book, but [[spoiler: [[NotQuiteDead having a sequel named after him might tip off a few people about his fate.]] ]]
99	* StartOfDarkness: For Morgra, it was being accused of killing a cub and subsequently being banished for it. In truth [[spoiler: she had been trying to save it from a predatory fox, and bit the cub's scruff too hard, accidentally killing it.]]
100	* StupidSacrifice: One where it is left ambiguous if it truly was stupid or was necessary in the end. [[spoiler:Larka is resigned to her fate after having a vision of her death when the prophecy is fulfilled, but she realizes right before the bridge she and Morgra are standing on is about to collapse that she does have a chance of changing the future. She debates with herself about whether she still needs to die, and ultimately decides to jump to safety, but just barely misses.]]
101	* StormingTheCastle: Harja, the citadel where the climax happens.
102	* SurvivalThroughSelfSacrifice: After Larka defeats and pins down [[WellIntentionedExtremist Gart]] in a fight, Gary decides to FaceDeathWithDignity, and Larka so respects him for this and how ultimately heroic he is, despite his cruel methods, that she spares his life.
103	* TakeItToTheBridge: Larka and Morgra confront each other on the bridge in Harja [[spoiler:which collapses and kills them both.]]
104	* ThenLetMeBeEvil: [[spoiler: Morgra didn't ever intend to kill a cub]], but her being accused of this crime leads to her doing far worse.
105	* TitleDropChapter: The third to last chapter is called "The Sight".
106	* ThoseTwoGirls: Keeka and Karma.
107	* VisionQuest: Larka has to travel this way to the Red Meaadow in order to make the Searchers leave and get plot-relevant information.
108	* WhamEpisode: Of the chapters, "Ice", "The Searchers", "Harja" and "Past and Future" stand out.
109	* WhatCliffhanger: One chapter ends with Larka being shocked at seeing Wolfbane in person. It's only at the beginning of the next chapter where we find out it's because he's her brother who she thought was dead.
110	* WhiteWolvesAreSpecial: As a white wolf, and a heroine, Larka represents [[LightIsGood light, hope and kindness]] in a dark world. She is one of the few with the power of the Sight, and while she [[TheChosenMany shares the "chosen one" role with the rest of her family, with only one line in the prophecy about her that's just there to predict her birth will coincide with the human child's]], she still plays a very important role in how things turn out [[spoiler: and is the one to trigger the Vision in the climax]].
111	* YouCantFightFate: Larka knows this, too. Doesn't stop her from having a lot of angst about it, though. Later [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] when [[spoiler:Larka learns that fate can be changed with difficulty in the Red Meadow, meaning she isn't doomed to die after all. In the end, she remembers that just a second too late, with it being left ambiguous whether [[StupidSacrifice she could have survived if she hadn't become trapped in the story of Sita and wanted to be a martyr]] or if fate is really that hard to change.]]

Context Literature / TheSight