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The ''Kiesha'ra'' by Creator/AmeliaAtwaterRhodes is a five book, young adult fantasy series about the war between avian and serpiente shapeshifters. Each book has a different narrator; other kinds of shapeshifters become important in the series as well. It takes place a few thousand years before the events of the ''Literature/DenOfShadows'' series.

* ''Hawksong'' - The first book, narrated by Danica Shardae, shows the age-old war the avians and serpents are fighting. Danica, the heir to the avian throne, wishes to work out a peaceful end to the war with Zane Cobriana, the next in line to rule the serpents, but their solution - getting married - may be too much for them to sacrifice and their people to handle.
* ''Snakecharm'' - Zane narrates the search for a criminal falcon shapeshifter while he and Danica try to keep the new peace and keep Danica alive and well during her pregnancy. Falcon shapeshifters begin to come into the spotlight.
* ''Falcondance'' - A twenty year TimeSkip leaves the narration in the hands of falcon Nicias Silvermead, elite guard of Oliza Shardae Cobriana, Zane and Danica's daughter. He develops falcon magic even though his parents' magic is bound and is forced to go to the falcon island of Ahnmik, where he is royalty and nothing is as it seems.
* ''Wolfcry'' - Oliza picks up the narration as she tries to find a mate without destroying the fragile peace between the avians and serpiente - before being kidnapped. Most of the book is her struggle to return home after being carried to the far north, into an unfamiliar wolf shapeshifter tribe's territory, as well as her struggles to figure out how to keep her people united when she takes the throne.
* ''Wyvernhail'' - The last book is narrated by Hai, a falcon/cobra shapeshifter. She tries to define where her loyalties lie while trying to keep avian and serpiente society from crumbling.

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!! This series provides examples of:

* AbdicateTheThrone: The older rulers of both sides have a tradition of automatically doing this in favor of one of their children, once said child comes of age. [[spoiler:''Wolfcry'' has Oliza decide that with their society as it currently stands, a wyvern taking the throne would only make things worse, so she abdicates before she can be coronated, giving up both the serpiente and avian thrones in favor of her father's nephew and her mother's younger half-sister, respectively.]]
* ActionGirl: Adelina, Erica[[spoiler: / Kel]], Lillian, Betia (sort of).
* AerithAndBob Ordinary names like Gregory, Erica, and Gretchen are mixed in with more fantastic names like Syfka, Betia, and Velyo.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: How the avians and serpiente see each other, plus or minus a "chaotic".
* AllGenesAreCodominant: The shapeshifters were all once humans who were either granted second forms by elementals, or created with the help of other species. Eventually, the monarchs of the Avians and Serpiente work together to bridge their 2000 year old war and the heirs to the thrones intermarry. It was not believed that they would be able to have children at first, but there apparently was enough human in their genes to make it work, and the child is a wyvern who has a pure Hawk form, a pure Cobra form, and a form that has traits of both.
* AncientConspiracy: [[spoiler: Hundreds of years ago, in order to stop the falcon-serpiente war, falcon priestesses Araceli and Cjarsa ripped out half of cobra leader Kiesha's magic, put it into a human child, and essentially created the avian races. Later, they instigated the war between the avians and serpiente so that the two species would never join together again, disrupt the balance of magical power and possibly destroy the world.]]
* ArrangedMarriage: Avian children are betrothed nearly at birth. The engagement can be broken in the future, though.
* TheBeautifulElite: Are there NO unattractive people in this universe?
* BecomingTheMask: [[spoiler: Sebastian, after spending several years as Andreios.]]
* BodyguardBetrayal: Darien rebelled against Empress Cjarsa when she found out that [[spoiler: Cjarsa and Araceli had started the avian-serpiente war.]] She doesn't succeed, though.
* BodyguardCrush: Adelina towards Zane, Andreios towards Danica, Nicias towards Oliza...
* BrokenBird: Hai. Literally, what with her broken wings.
* CannotTellALie / LanguageOfTruth: Falcon magic prevents falcons from breaking oaths and telling outright lies without disastrous consequences. Their culture has thus mastered the art of manipulation.
* CantHaveSexEver: [[spoiler: Oliza and other halfbreeds - but it's more like Can't Have Babies, Ever. (This is handily solved when Oliza chooses Betia, another female, as her mate.) See Enfant Terrible below.]]
* CloudCuckooLander: Hai, sometimes.
* CultureClash: Best seen between the avians and serpiente, oh so very much.
* CycleOfRevenge: What keeps the avian-serpiente war going for hundreds of years.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: [[spoiler: Sebastian the falcon prince takes on the original Andreios' likeness in an attempt to heal him and ends up pretending to be Rei for the next few years. Same with Kel, who pretends to be the deceased Erica Silvermead.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil: The cobras are fairly nice once you get to know them, even if Zane does enjoy wearing black snakeskin pants.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Danica in the first book, Hai in the last three.
* EmotionsVsStoicism: One of the main culture clashes between the avians and serpiente; avians emphasize emotional reserve while serpiente emphasize emotional expression.
* TheEmpath: The serpiente, which is why the avians use their 'avian reserve' as a mental armor.
* EnfantTerrible: [[spoiler: Any hypothetical child Oliza might have, due to it inheriting uncontrollable magical powers that can destroy the world as we know it. Or something like that.]]
* ForeignCussWord: The Falcon language seems to exist largely so that characters can curse in it.
* ForeverWar: The first book begins toward the end of one between the serpiente and avians. Its causes and effects are major plot points.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Characters tend to go a little crazy and rebel when they find out that [[spoiler: the Falcons started the Avian-Sepriente war.]]
* GreenEyedMonster: Adelina. Ironically, she does actually have green eyes.
* GreyAndGrayMorality
* HappilyMarried: Zane and Danica, despite initial difficulties.
* HeroicSafeMode: Danica's default reaction whenever faced with really bad news. Especially prevalent in ''Snakecharm''.
* HoneyTrap: [[spoiler: Lillian with Nicias, although she did claim to care for him a bit.]]
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The book titles = animal + noun.
* IfIWantedYouDead: Zane to Danica after breaking into her tent. He then proceeds to describe exactly how easy it'd be to kill her, which, needless to say, does not comfort Danica one bit.
* IHaveNoSon: [[spoiler: Araceli towards Sebastian.]]
* IJustWantToBeNormal: One of Oliza's fantasies is flying off to a faraway place and living a normal life.
** Also Nicias, who has no interest in becoming the ruler of Ahnmik.
* ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty: All shapeshifters age like humans until their twenties, then stop aging. The avians and serpiente keep killing each other off before anyone reaches a significant age, though.
* InterspeciesRomance: Danica and Zane. Ones that lead to children are discouraged among falcons because falcon blood mixed with other blood usually leads to destructive magic that's difficult to control, though they're fine if no children come from the union.
** Not to mention [[spoiler: Oliza and Betia]].
** Also Hai's parents.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Adelina says something along this line to Danica regarding Zane, before announcing her plans to resign from the palace guard. [[spoiler: Kind of subverted, as it doesn't stop her from trying to kill Danica later that night, and consequently killing Zane's mother instead.]]
** Played straight with Rei and Danica.
* LightIsNotGood: Sure, Ahnmik (aka. the White City) might ''look'' nice and angelic... unless you piss off the royals/find out something you really shouldn't know/are mixed blood of any kind.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Hey thar Adelina. (To be fair, though, part of her motivation is her belief that Zane and Danica's marriage will only make things worse for everyone.)
* LoveTriangle: Adelina/Zane/Danica, Zane/Danica/Rei, Oliza/Nicias/Hai, Urban/Oliza/Marus. [[spoiler:The latter is ultimately subverted when Oliza opts to TakeAThirdOption and marry the woman she's fallen for instead.]]
* MagicDance: Both the falcons and the serpiente had the ability to work magic through dance. The serpiente lost the ability thousands of years ago, but for falcons, dance magic is some of the most powerful and most difficult to work.
* MagicGenetics: According to WordOfGod, what kind of shapeshifter a child is depends on which parent's species is 'dominant' over the other. Some are codominant, like hawks and cobras, resulting in wyverns like Oliza. Add falcon magic into the mix and procreation becomes one huge jumbled headache.
* ManipulativeBastard: Darien, Araceli, Cjarsa, Syfka...let's just go with the entire population of Ahnmik, shall we?
* MarriageBeforeRomance: It's a political match -- their peoples have been at war for generations, they're the royal heirs, and they decide that they can make peace via a marriage alliance. It works, and they fall in love later.
* MarryForLove: To the serpiente, marriages should ALWAYS be like this - which is why Zane and Danica have to pretend to be in love in front of Zane's people.
** Part of the reason [[spoiler:Oliza decides to AbdicateTheThrone is so she can do this - she's fallen in love with Betia, another woman and a wolf shifter, but if she took the throne, she'd have no choice but to marry a man she didn't actually love just so she could reproduce.]]
* MemeticBadass: In-universe example; Zane's prowess on the battlefield is exaggerated and feared by the avians.
* MrFanservice: The entire male cast. Especially Zane.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler: What Adelina tries to do to Danica, although it fails.]]
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Zane's speech to Nacola Shardae, Danica's mother, about their two species:
-->'''Zane''': The first of my kind was a human woman. Surely your kind comes from like roots. We have human minds and human bodies. If we can speak as humans do, and love as humans do, then what makes us so different?
* NotWhatItLooksLike: Adelina walks in on Danica and Rei embracing one night. She is not pleased.
* ObnoxiousInLaws: Nacola towards Zane in the beginning, although they manage to sort out their differences. Mostly.
* OhCrap: Nicias does this when Hai wakes up at the end of ''Falcondance'', and casually uses her magic. In the space of two sentences, he immediately goes "WhatHaveIDone?"
* OpenMindedParent: When Oliza tells Zane and Danica that [[spoiler: she's choosing Betia as her mate]], they take it quite well.
* OverlyLongName: The falcons - but then, most of the length comes from the titles.
* PairTheSpares: [[spoiler: Andreios/Sebastian and Kel? Nicias and Hai?]]
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: The cobras.
* ParentalMarriageVeto: Danica and Zane's parents are NOT happy when their children decide to get married to end the war between their races. Not that they can do anything about it, since their children are now the monarchs.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: In serpiente culture, suspected rapists don't even get a trial before execution.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Seen best in the falcon royal family, who are thousands of years old and look to be in their twenties.
* [[RebelliousPrincess Rebellious Prince]]: [[spoiler: Sebastian of Ahnmik]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Subverted; red eyes are simply a trait of the Cobriana bloodline. It does freak Danica out in the beginning though.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Pretty much all of them, fortunately. Activities include leading the troops into battle, mingling among the citizens, active decision-making, and manipulating the tides of politics in one's favor. Et cetera.
* {{Seers}}: Powerful falcons [[spoiler: and Oliza, with assistance]] have clairvoyant and precognitive abilities.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Punishments for high crimes are talked about, though never shown; for both serpiente and avians, they involve taking away the full animal and Demi forms (through skinning or wing shearing) before either exile or death. On Ahnmik, certain classes of falcons are not allowed to shift into animal forms. Injuries can also stop shifting; Hai can't shift into a falcon because her wings are broken. And in ''Wolfcry'', [[spoiler: Oliza is poisoned and loses her hawk form for most of the book]].
* ShootTheShaggyDog: ''Hawksong'' is all about how Danica and Zane can love each other despite their radically different backgrounds. ''Snakecharm'' is all about combining the avian and serpentine cultures into one breathtakingly beautiful city. [[spoiler: ''Wolfcry'' ends with the heir to both cultures deciding that it won't work out, and splitting them into two again. This is especially frustrating for 11-14 year olds reading it soon after ''Snakecharm''. When you're young and idealistic and loved the first two books, the fourth one is kind of a downer.]]
* SnakesAreSexy: The serpiente certainly have a more sexually open culture.
* SpinOff: This series is a Type 11 spin-off of the ''Literature/DenOfShadows'' series.
* SuccessionCrisis: Occurs in ''Wyvernhail'' after Oliza [[spoiler: abdicates her right as heir to the avian and serpiente thrones.]] To elaborate, [[spoiler: Oliza's father Zane then abdicates the serpiente throne to her cousin Salem, who gets poisoned and falls into a coma, forcing Oliza to come back as the new ruler again, forcing her other cousin Hai to "usurp" the throne to prevent the horrible future she saw in her visions.]] Confused yet?
* SuperPowerMeltdown: What happened to Hai that burned her wings, and what could happen to other half-breed falcons since they have problems controlling their magic.
* ThatWasNotADream: Danica dreams that Zane visited her at night to give her his ring and arrange a meeting at his palace. She wakes up and goes about business as usual. Then she finds the ring under her bed. Cue realization that she's days late for a meeting that might decide the fate of her entire country.
* TimeSkip: The series skips twenty years between ''Snakecharm'' and ''Falcondance''. The shift is not only in time; ''Falcondance'', ''Wolfcry'', and ''Wyvernhail'' shift the action from Hawk's Keep and the serpiente palace to Wyvern's Court and Ahnmik.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Poor Rei.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Each shapeshifter in the series has three forms: a full human form, a full animal form, and a Demi form that is mostly human with some animal traits (for example, bird shapeshifters get wings and a lighter bone structure). Shapeshifters are confined to one animal, determined by their bloodline. Kinds seen in the series include:
** Avians: Bird shifters; golden hawks, ravens, crows, and sparrows
** Serpiente: snakes; cobras, emerald boas, pythons, vipers, black rats, red rats, taipans, and mambas
** Obsidian: white vipers, once part of the serpiente
** Shm'Ahnmik: Falcons; peregrines, merlins, aplomados, and gyrfalcons
** Wolves
** Mistari: Tigers and goshawks
** Lions
* WarIsHell: Played interestingly in ''Hawksong''; this trope is definitely a theme, but instead of focusing on how bad war is, it focuses on how ''good'' peace is.
* WingedHumanoid: The aforementioned demi forms for bird shapeshifters.

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