There will be born one to the Royal House one who is dead yet will live, who will die again and live again. And when he returns, he will hold in his hand the destruction of the world... ...Or its salvation.
A trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman consisting of Forging the Darksword, Doom of the Darksword, Triumph of the Darksword, and Legacy of the Darksword. Also has an associated Tabletop RPG, Darksword Adventures, and a (now hard to find) companion book, called The Darksword Companion.In the magical land of Thimhallan, Magic is considered to be the same as Life. Those born with no magic are considered Dead. As an ancient prophecy tells of the destruction of the world by one who is Dead, those born without magic are routinely killed. However, royal-born protaganist Joram manages to escape this fate. Joining with a group of unlikely allies such as the elderly scholar Saryon and the erratic trickster Simkin, he plans to forge the magic-consuming Darksword and retake his royal position, unaware that doing so may bring the prophecy to fruition.
Tropes:
Adult Fear: The Deathwatch and ensuing murder of all children born Dead. Saryon is understandably traumatized when he has to participate in such rituals, where a parent's child is killed ten days after they're born just because they, the child, are different.
Black Widow: The Duchess D'Longeville, subject of number of Simkin's anecdotes.
Simkin: Never take tea with the Duchess D'Longeville. Or, if you do, make certain she doesn't serve you from the same pot she serves her husband.
Break the Cutie: Gwendolyn. Occurs between book 2 and book 3.
Chekhov's Gun: Very subverted: What ends up saving the world is not the Darksword. It gets lost partway through the fourth book and is never seen again.
Enemy Mine: In the fourth book, the only reason Earth's army hasn't lost the war yet is that they've allied with evil mages who need to save the world so that they can conquer it.
Fainting Seer: The seer who made the Darksword prophecy died in the middle of speaking it.
The Fool: Simkin is strongly associated with this archetype, being symbolized by the "Fool" tarok card while Joram is represented by the "King of Swords".
Foreshadowing: After the readers already know, through Saryon, of Joram's heritage, the following exhange takes place:
"So now the curse becomes the blessing, just like in the House Magi's tale," said Simkin, a smile playing on his lips. He smoothed his mustache with one finger. "Our frog becomes a Prince..."
"Not Prince, said Mosiah, exasperated. "Baron."
Ironic Echo: Simkin is mistaken for a pocket of residual magic by technomancers. Later when he is asked who he is he replies that he is a pocket of residual magic, then goes on to explain that if you don't believe in him it doesn't matter what he is.
I See Dead People: Gwendolyn gains the ability to speak to the dead... but loses the ability to speak to the living.
Meaningful Name: The city Merilon, which is eventually revealed to be so named because it contains Merlin's tomb.
Medieval Stasis: The failure of Thimhallan to advance at all due to the prevalence of magic is an important theme. The third novel repeatedly uses the metaphor of mice sealing themselves in an attic with unlimited food and water where cats can't reach them, then dying of suffocation.
Meet Cute: Gwendolyn, via Simkin, meets Joram when she rescues him and his party from the Duuk-tsarith.
No Sex Allowed: Sex is forbidden; all procreation in Thimhallan is carried out through magic.
Noodle Incident / Noodle Implements: The majority of things Simkin says. In a private conversation with the Emperor bystanders overhear the phrases "Contessa", "chafing dish", and "Unfortunately discovered naked".
Nothing Can Stop Us Now: During the final battle, Simkin is present and in shapeshifted disguise as an inanimate object. Being a Large Ham, he waits for the Big Bad to declare victory before revealing himself.
Not so Above It All: Whatever Simkin told the emperor about the contessa and the chafing dish and nudity, his regal facade crumbles into helpless laughter. Simkin is that powerful.
Of Corpse He's Alive: The Empress of Merilon. Due to the politcal situation, everyone's spent a year pretending that she's still alive.
Prophetic Fallacy: Turns out the missing last line completely changes the meaning.
Punch A Wall: Or rather a tree. Or rather Simkin disguised as a tree. Oops.
The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: The various revolutionary groups that appear through the series are all Black Magic users who are just as bad (or possibly even worse) than the ones they're rebelling against.
Science Vs Magic: All technology is forbidden in Thimhallan, even the use of simple tools like levers.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Everything done to avert the Darksword prophecy ends up being responsible for bringing it to pass.
Taken for Granite: A ritual method of execution, eventually used on Saryon.
Tarot Troubles: Simkin can predict the future with tarok cards. His reading of Joram has him drawing the Death card twice, reflecting the prophecy: One who is dead yet will live, who will die again and live again...
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