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Loads And Loads Of Characters is no longer a trope
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The ''Falling Kingdoms'' series by Morgan Rhodes is sextet of fantasy books, set in the land of Mytica, with a high focus on political intrigue and magic. It has a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters sprawling cast]], with chapters that [[SwitchingPOV switch between third-person narrators]] whose plots run alongside each other, comparable to ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''.
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The ''Falling Kingdoms'' series by Morgan Rhodes is sextet of fantasy books, set in the land of Mytica, with a high focus on political intrigue and magic. It has a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters sprawling cast]], cast, with chapters that [[SwitchingPOV switch between third-person narrators]] whose plots run alongside each other, comparable to ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''.
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Dewicked trope
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* AdultFear:
** The series ''starts'' with a mother finding strangers kidnapping her newborn daughter, then being killed when she tries to protect her.
** Giving birth to a girl in the Kraeshian Empire, which hates daughters, means every mother has to live with the fear that her husband will try to kill her daughter—which is legally allowed (only one opportunity is allowed, but still).
** You’re helping your father with business when one of the customers starts acting up. Your brother steps in and is killed, on your wedding day. Your other brother disappears to war. Your father wastes away, and your husband is later taken and worked to death on the Imperial Road. This describes what happens to Jonas’s sister Felicia perfectly.
** The series ''starts'' with a mother finding strangers kidnapping her newborn daughter, then being killed when she tries to protect her.
** Giving birth to a girl in the Kraeshian Empire, which hates daughters, means every mother has to live with the fear that her husband will try to kill her daughter—which is legally allowed (only one opportunity is allowed, but still).
** You’re helping your father with business when one of the customers starts acting up. Your brother steps in and is killed, on your wedding day. Your other brother disappears to war. Your father wastes away, and your husband is later taken and worked to death on the Imperial Road. This describes what happens to Jonas’s sister Felicia perfectly.
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** [[spoiler:When Cleo and Magnus become co-rulers of Mystica at the end, they’re seen decked out in a violet that is the perfect combination of Limeros red and Auranos blue, signifying the true union of their nations.]]
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** [[spoiler:When Cleo she and Magnus become co-rulers of Mystica at the end, they’re seen Cleo's decked out in a violet that is the perfect combination of Limeros red and Auranos blue, signifying the true union of their nations.]]
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* AmbiguouslyBrown: Foreigners Amara and Ashur are described as having ‘dark tan’ skin.
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* AmbiguouslyBrown: Foreigners Amara and Ashur are described as having ‘dark tan’ 'dark tan' skin.
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* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:A resurrection potion, drunk or administered in advance, is used to save the lives of Amara and Ashur, seperately--Amara when she was a baby, Ashur when he's killed in the third book. King Gaius is also resurrected, by some spell his mother cast on him, but much less prettily.]]
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* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:A resurrection potion, drunk or administered in advance, is used to save the lives of Amara and Ashur, seperately--Amara separately--Amara when she was a baby, Ashur when he's killed in the third book. King Gaius is also resurrected, by some spell his mother cast on him, him in advance, but much less prettily.]]
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* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:Kurtis does this to Magnus at the end of the fifth book, breaking all his limbs for extra cruelty. If it weren’t for the [[ResurrectiveImmortality bloodstone ring]], he would have died.]]
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* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:Kurtis does this to Magnus at the end of the fifth book, breaking all his limbs for extra cruelty. If it weren’t for the [[ResurrectiveImmortality [[HealingFactor bloodstone ring]], he would have died.]]
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* ChekhovsSkill:
** Cleo’s penchant for scaling ivy trellis to sneak out of the castle comes into play when [[spoiler:she’s imprisoned by Amara and King Gaius, and there just so happens to be a window with some ivy nearby…]]
** Averted with her archery lessons. She’s terrible at archery, and never improves. [[spoiler:So instead, she improvises by taking several arrows with her, and stabbing guards in the eye when they try to stop her escape.]]
* CivilWar:
** During the fourth book, [[spoiler:Cleo rallies Limeros behind Magnus, stating that Gaius has made himself an enemy by aligning himself with Kraeshia. Soon enough, members of the royal guard find themselves torn between obeying the orders of Gaius or Magnus.]]
** Mytica as a whole ends up in this during ''Crystal Storm'', when [[spoiler:Kraeshia takes occupation. Paelsia adores Amara and sides with her, Limeros and the rebels throw their lot in with the Damoras (now unified again), and Auranos stays neutral.]]
** Cleo’s penchant for scaling ivy trellis to sneak out of the castle comes into play when [[spoiler:she’s imprisoned by Amara and King Gaius, and there just so happens to be a window with some ivy nearby…]]
** Averted with her archery lessons. She’s terrible at archery, and never improves. [[spoiler:So instead, she improvises by taking several arrows with her, and stabbing guards in the eye when they try to stop her escape.]]
* CivilWar:
** During the fourth book, [[spoiler:Cleo rallies Limeros behind Magnus, stating that Gaius has made himself an enemy by aligning himself with Kraeshia. Soon enough, members of the royal guard find themselves torn between obeying the orders of Gaius or Magnus.]]
** Mytica as a whole ends up in this during ''Crystal Storm'', when [[spoiler:Kraeshia takes occupation. Paelsia adores Amara and sides with her, Limeros and the rebels throw their lot in with the Damoras (now unified again), and Auranos stays neutral.]]
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* ChekhovsSkill:
**ChekhovsSkill: Cleo’s penchant for scaling ivy trellis to sneak out of the castle comes into play when [[spoiler:she’s imprisoned by Amara and King Gaius, Amara, and there just so happens to be a window with some ivy nearby…]]
** Averted with her archery lessons. She’s terrible at archery, and never improves. [[spoiler:So instead, she improvises by taking several arrows with her, and stabbing guards in the eye when they try to stop her escape.]]
* CivilWar:
** During the fourth book, [[spoiler:Cleo rallies Limeros behind Magnus, stating that Gaius has made himself an enemy by aligning himself with Kraeshia. Soon enough, members of the royal guard find themselves torn between obeying the orders of Gaius or Magnus.]]
** Mytica as a whole ends up in this during ''Crystal Storm'', when [[spoiler:Kraeshia takes occupation. Paelsia adores Amara and sides with her, Limeros and the rebels throw their lot in with the Damoras (now unified again), and Auranos stays neutral.nearby...]]
**
** Averted with her archery lessons. She’s terrible at archery, and never improves. [[spoiler:So instead, she improvises by taking several arrows with her, and stabbing guards in the eye when they try to stop her escape.]]
* CivilWar:
** During the fourth book, [[spoiler:Cleo rallies Limeros behind Magnus, stating that Gaius has made himself an enemy by aligning himself with Kraeshia. Soon enough, members of the royal guard find themselves torn between obeying the orders of Gaius or Magnus.]]
** Mytica as a whole ends up in this during ''Crystal Storm'', when [[spoiler:Kraeshia takes occupation. Paelsia adores Amara and sides with her, Limeros and the rebels throw their lot in with the Damoras (now unified again), and Auranos stays neutral.
* FallenAngel: The "goddesses" Valoria and Cleiona were actually [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Watchers]] who betrayed and murdered their third sister to steal the Kindred for themselves.
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* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Embodied with the goddesses Valoria and Cleiona, and their respective nations Limeros and Auranos. Valoria was strict, devout, and no-nonsense, favoring a life of discipline; Cleiona was frivolous, social, and self-centered, favoring a life of pleasure. One sister (depending on which nation you ask) was evil and murdered the other. [[spoiler:The true story is a {{Deconstruction}}: there were three sisters, with [[TheAce Eva]] being the object of both Valoria and Cleiona’s jealousy. So they teamed up with Melenia to kill her and steal the Kindred for themselves, then eventually destroyed each other. Sister rivalry isn’t nearly as glorious when the sisters fighting are immortals who screw up the world as a result.]]
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* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Embodied with the goddesses Valoria and Cleiona, and their respective nations Limeros and Auranos. Valoria was strict, devout, and no-nonsense, favoring a life of discipline; Cleiona was frivolous, social, and self-centered, favoring a life of pleasure. One sister (depending on which nation you ask) was evil and murdered the other. [[spoiler:The The true story is a {{Deconstruction}}: there were three sisters, with [[TheAce Eva]] being the object of both Valoria and Cleiona’s jealousy. So they teamed up with Melenia to kill her and steal the Kindred for themselves, then eventually destroyed each other. Sister rivalry isn’t nearly as glorious when the sisters fighting are immortals who screw up the world as a result.]]
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* GrayAndGreyMorality: None of the three lands in Mytica are truly in the right, in the end; Auranos is peaceful, but also completely hedonistic, elitist, and has been taxing its neighbor Paelsia into destitution for generations. Paelsia is incredibly poor and just wants to live comfortably, but is sexist and brutal, to the point the other two view it as a land of savages. Limeros is disciplined and the most religious of the lands, but also enforces ruthless witch hunts and is ruled by a power-hungry monarch.
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* GrayAndGreyMorality: None of the three lands in Mytica are truly in the right, in the end; Auranos is peaceful, but also completely hedonistic, elitist, and has been taxing its neighbor Paelsia into destitution for generations. Paelsia is incredibly poor and just wants to live comfortably, but is sexist and brutal, to the point the other two view it as a land of savages. Limeros is disciplined upholds the traits of strength, faith, and the most religious of the lands, wisdom, but also enforces ruthless witch hunts and is ruled by a power-hungry monarch.
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* LoveDodecahedron: Hoo boy. Brion has a crush on Lysandra, who has a crush on Jonas, who likes her but also has a crush on Cleo, who likes him too, [[spoiler:but also develops feelings for Magnus]]. Meanwhile, Nic has a crush on Cleo, but also has some very confused feelings for Ashur. Magnus has feelings for Lucia, who has requited feelings for Alexius, then later [[spoiler:both get tossed into the Cleo-Jonas love mess, as Magnus develops feelings for Cleo and Lucia is implied to develop feelings for Jonas]]. Felix likes Lysandra but also Amara, who likes him back but likes Nerissa too, who likes her back but also has a thing with the guard Enzo. [[DeathOfTheHypotenuse Much death and conflict later]], and the series ends with [[spoiler:Magnus/Cleo and Ashur/Nic, with implications for Jonas/Lucia and Amara/Nerissa.]]
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* LoveDodecahedron: Hoo boy. Brion has a crush on Lysandra, who has a crush on Jonas, who likes her but also has a crush on Cleo, who likes him too, [[spoiler:but also develops feelings for Magnus]]. Meanwhile, Nic has a crush on Cleo, but also has some very confused feelings for Ashur. Magnus has feelings for Lucia, who has requited feelings for Alexius, then later [[spoiler:both get tossed into the Cleo-Jonas love mess, as Magnus develops feelings for Cleo and Lucia is implied to develop feelings for Jonas]]. Felix likes Lysandra but also Amara, who likes him back but likes Nerissa too, who likes her back but also has a thing with the guard Enzo. [[DeathOfTheHypotenuse Much death and conflict later]], and the series ends with [[spoiler:Magnus/Cleo and [[spoiler:Magnus/Cleo, Ashur/Nic, and Jonas/Lucia, with implications for Jonas/Lucia and Amara/Nerissa.]]
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* TheMultiverse: In a split-second mention, Timotheus mentions the Watchers used to watch over seven worlds, not just theirs and the world Mytica belongs to.
* MysticalPregnancy: [[spoiler:Lucia’s daughter Lyssa is conceived normally, but the pregnancy itself quickly becomes supernatural after Lucia returns from the Sanctuary to find herself at the end of term. The childbirth itself is also strange, with no blood, a drain on magic going on instead, and Lyssa simply popping out neat as can be.]]
* MysticalPregnancy: [[spoiler:Lucia’s daughter Lyssa is conceived normally, but the pregnancy itself quickly becomes supernatural after Lucia returns from the Sanctuary to find herself at the end of term. The childbirth itself is also strange, with no blood, a drain on magic going on instead, and Lyssa simply popping out neat as can be.]]
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* TheMultiverse: In a split-second mention, Timotheus mentions the Watchers used to watch over seven worlds, not just theirs and the world Mytica belongs to.
* MysticalPregnancy: [[spoiler:Lucia’s daughter Lyssa is conceived normally, but the pregnancy itself quickly becomes supernatural after Lucia returns from the Sanctuary to find herself at the end of term. The childbirth itself is also strange, with no blood, adrain on magic going on instead, single flash of pain, and Lyssa simply popping out neat as can be.]]
* MysticalPregnancy: [[spoiler:Lucia’s daughter Lyssa is conceived normally, but the pregnancy itself quickly becomes supernatural after Lucia returns from the Sanctuary to find herself at the end of term. The childbirth itself is also strange, with no blood, a
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* OhMyGods: Limerians and Auranians swear by either Valoria or Cleiona, depending. The atheistic Paelsians instead swear by 'spirits' or 'blood'.
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* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:Not quite evil, but the Kindred are really ancient, primordial beings sealed into gems, and their morality is so different from humans’ that they carry out actions they see as right, but humans wrong.]]
* SecretRelationship: An unusual variant, in that [[spoiler:Cleo and Magnus are already married]]. What they really have to keep hidden is [[spoiler:the fact they love each other. Cleo’s allies hate him, and as far as they know, Cleo still hates him too; revealing otherwise might upset the very delicate balance in their unstable EnemyMine situation, so in public they both act like things haven’t changed.]]
* SequelHook: Timotheus’s mention of other worlds and [[{{Satan}} some great evil called Damen]] leaves open the suggestion they might be featured in future works, especially taking [[spoiler:Lyssa's still-unknown powers and Magnus and Cleo's unborn son]] into account.
* SecretRelationship: An unusual variant, in that [[spoiler:Cleo and Magnus are already married]]. What they really have to keep hidden is [[spoiler:the fact they love each other. Cleo’s allies hate him, and as far as they know, Cleo still hates him too; revealing otherwise might upset the very delicate balance in their unstable EnemyMine situation, so in public they both act like things haven’t changed.]]
* SequelHook: Timotheus’s mention of other worlds and [[{{Satan}} some great evil called Damen]] leaves open the suggestion they might be featured in future works, especially taking [[spoiler:Lyssa's still-unknown powers and Magnus and Cleo's unborn son]] into account.
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* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:Not quite evil, but the Kindred are really ancient, primordial beings sealed into gems, and their morality is so different from humans’ that they carry out actions they see as right, but humans wrong.gems whose BlueAndOrangeMorality causes them to seek the destruction of the world.]]
* SecretRelationship: An unusualvariant, variant pops up during ''Crystal Storm'', in that [[spoiler:Cleo and Magnus are already married]]. What they really have to keep hidden is [[spoiler:the fact they love each other. Cleo’s allies hate him, and as far as they know, Cleo still hates him too; revealing otherwise might upset the very delicate balance in their unstable EnemyMine situation, so in public they both act like things haven’t changed.]]
* SequelHook: Timotheus’s mention of other worlds and [[{{Satan}} some great evil called Damen]] leaves open the suggestion they might be featured in future works, especially taking [[spoiler:Lyssa's still-unknown powers and the prophecy about Magnus and Cleo's unborn son]] into account.
* SecretRelationship: An unusual
* SequelHook: Timotheus’s mention of other worlds and [[{{Satan}} some great evil called Damen]] leaves open the suggestion they might be featured in future works, especially taking [[spoiler:Lyssa's still-unknown powers and the prophecy about Magnus and Cleo's unborn son]] into account.
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* DeathByNewberryMedal: Lucia’s precious pet rabbit Hana is killed at the end of the second book, when Lucia loses control of her magic and accidentally freezes her to death.
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* DeathByNewberryMedal: DeathByNewberyMedal: Lucia’s precious pet rabbit Hana is killed at the end of the second book, when Lucia loses control of her magic and accidentally freezes her to death.
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* UnreliableNarrator: There are multiple POV characters, each of whom carry their own opinions and biases and apply it to how they view situations. Thus, not ''everything'' they believe or recall is trustworthy; for example, Jonas remembers Cleo looking on his brothers murder coldly and with a smirk, but she remembers being too horrified to react and has nightmares about it.
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* UnreliableNarrator: There are multiple POV characters, each of whom carry their own opinions and biases and apply it to how they view situations. Thus, not ''everything'' they believe or recall is trustworthy; for example, Jonas remembers Cleo looking on his brothers brother's murder coldly and with a smirk, but she remembers being too horrified to react and has nightmares about it.
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* FoodPorn: The descriptions of food are quite vivid and lovely.
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* UnreliableNarrator: There are multiple POV characters, each of whom carry their own opinions and biases and apply it to how they view situations. Thus, not ''everything'' they believe or recall is trustworthy; for example, Jonas remembers Cleo looking on his brothers murder coldly and with a smirk, but she remembers being too horrified to react and has nightmares about it.
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* AnyoneCanDie: Boy howdy. Half the characters at the start of the series don’t make it to the end. Subverted [[spoiler: by the end of ''Immortal Reign'' however, when the author decides to spare all of the main characters, despite them preventing the end of the entire world]].
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* AnyoneCanDie: Boy howdy. Half the characters at the start of the series don’t make it to the end. Subverted [[spoiler: by the end of ''Immortal Reign'' however, when the author decides to spare all of the remaining main characters, despite them preventing going through hell to prevent the end of the entire world]].
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Anyone Can Die edit. Added subversion.
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* AnyoneCanDie: Boy howdy. Half the characters at the start of the series don’t make it to the end.
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* AnyoneCanDie: Boy howdy. Half the characters at the start of the series don’t make it to the end. Subverted [[spoiler: by the end of ''Immortal Reign'' however, when the author decides to spare all of the main characters, despite them preventing the end of the entire world]].
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wrong Chekhov
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* ChekovsGun: While arguing with Cleo in ''Frozen Tides'', an enraged Magnus throws the earth Kindred at the wall, unintentionally triggering a small earthquake. [[spoiler:Cleo remembers this when she and Magnus are later cornered by King Gaius and throws the Kindred off a cliff, saving them with another earthquake.]]
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* ChekovsGun: ChekhovsGun: While arguing with Cleo in ''Frozen Tides'', an enraged Magnus throws the earth Kindred at the wall, unintentionally triggering a small earthquake. [[spoiler:Cleo remembers this when she and Magnus are later cornered by King Gaius and throws the Kindred off a cliff, saving them with another earthquake.]]
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** Averted with her archery lessons. She’s terrible at archery, and never improves. [[spoiler:So instead, she improvises by taking several arrows with her, and stabbing guards in the eye when they try to stop her.]]
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** Averted with her archery lessons. She’s terrible at archery, and never improves. [[spoiler:So instead, she improvises by taking several arrows with her, and stabbing guards in the eye when they try to stop her.her escape.]]
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** Mytica as a whole ends up in this during ''Crystal Storm''. When [[spoiler:Kraeshia takes occupation. Paelsia adores Amara and sides with her, Limeros and the rebels throw their lot in with the Damoras (now unified again), and Auranos stays neutral.]]
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** Mytica as a whole ends up in this during ''Crystal Storm''. When Storm'', when [[spoiler:Kraeshia takes occupation. Paelsia adores Amara and sides with her, Limeros and the rebels throw their lot in with the Damoras (now unified again), and Auranos stays neutral.]]
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* EnemyMine: Limeros and Paelsia team up to take out Auranos. ‘Team up’ being symbolic, since Limeros does all the heavy lifting and, at the end of the day, immediately turns on Paelsia too.
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* EnemyMine: Paelsia hates Limeros and Paelsia for their indifference, while Limeros views them as pathetic savages, yet they team up to take out Auranos. ‘Team up’ being symbolic, since Limeros does all the heavy lifting and, at the end of the day, immediately turns on Paelsia too.
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* YouCantFightFate: The mindset of the Watchers and Paelsia, who believe that destiny is a path everyone has to walk on and that they must take what licks they may. Jonas is disgusted by this, as he believes it’s what’s kept Paelasia so impoverished for so long.
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* YouCantFightFate: The mindset of the Watchers and Paelsia, who believe that destiny is a path everyone has to walk on and that they must take what licks they may. Jonas is disgusted by this, as he believes it’s what’s kept Paelasia Paelsia so impoverished for so long.
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* GrievousBottleyHarm: [[spoiler:Used by Cleo, to Amara, with great effect.]]
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* ImprovisedWeapon: [[spoiler:Cleo makes her escape from Amara at the end of Frozen Tides with the assistance of a wine bottle (smashing it over the empress’s heads) and arrows. What’s improvised about the arrows is that, instead of shooting them, since she’s terrible at archery, she jabs them into the guards’ eyes.]]
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* ImprovisedWeapon: [[spoiler:Cleo makes ImprobableUseOfAWeapon: [[spoiler:One of the tools Cleo uses in her escape from Amara at the end of Frozen Tides with the assistance ''Frozen Tides'' is a quarrel of arrows...which she jabs into guards' eyes like a wine bottle (smashing it over the empress’s heads) and arrows. What’s improvised about the arrows is that, instead of shooting them, since she’s knife, as she's a terrible at archery, she jabs them into the guards’ eyes.shot with a bow.]]
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** [[spoiler:Kyan]] mentions that everyone’s personality corresponds to one of the four elementia, [[spoiler:making them suitable hosts for the Kindred]], then gives some examples: Nic is fire, Cleo is water, and Magnus is also fire. [[spoiler:When he’s forced out of Nic’s body and needs a new host, guess who he chooses?]]
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** [[spoiler:Kyan]] mentions that everyone’s personality corresponds to one of the four elementia, ''elementia'', [[spoiler:making them suitable hosts for the Kindred]], then gives some examples: Nic is fire, Cleo is water, and Magnus is also fire. [[spoiler:When he’s forced out of Nic’s body and needs a new host, guess who he chooses?]]
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* CrapsaccharineWorld: Auranos, Cleo’s country, is a city with perpetually wonderful weather, wealth, and beauty; the citizens are free to live as they see fit, partying for days on end and indulging in whatever brings them joy. Look a little closer, and you’ll discover they earned their wealth by taxing their neighbor Paelsia to poverty, that they are oblivious of their surroundings to the point of being sheep, and that they’re exactly as shallow as they appear.
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* CrapsaccharineWorld: Auranos, Cleo’s country, is a city place with perpetually wonderful weather, wealth, and beauty; the citizens are free to live as they see fit, partying for days on end and indulging in whatever brings them joy. Look a little closer, and you’ll discover they earned their wealth by taxing their neighbor Paelsia to poverty, that they are oblivious of their surroundings to the point of being sheep, and that they’re exactly as shallow as they appear.
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* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the first books, the chapter titles were descriptions of where the narrator was, ie “Limeros” or “Auranos”, with no mention of who the narrator was. Later books replaced this with that chapter’s narrator as the title, ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' style, with the location below it.
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* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the first books, book, the chapter titles were descriptions of where the narrator was, ie “Limeros” or “Auranos”, with no mention of who the narrator was. Later books replaced this with that chapter’s narrator as the title, ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' style, with the location below it.
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* HumansAreBastards: Why Kyan claims [[spoiler:the world needs to be destroyed]], because no matter where he goes, all he can see is greed, bloodlust, and evil in humanity. [[spoiler:Lucia counters that while mortals ''are'' weak and flawed, they can also be strong and resilient.]]
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* HumansAreBastards: Why Kyan [[spoiler:Kyan]] claims [[spoiler:the world needs to be destroyed]], because no matter where he goes, all he can see is greed, bloodlust, and evil in humanity. [[spoiler:Lucia counters that while mortals ''are'' weak and flawed, they can also be strong and resilient.]]
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* NotMeThisTime: [[spoiler:Kyan isn’t the one who steals Lyssa in ''Immortal Reign''. That’s Neela Cortas.]]
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* NotMeThisTime: [[spoiler:Kyan isn’t the one who steals Lyssa in ''Immortal Reign''.Reign'', though he's more than happy to take the credit for it. That’s Neela Cortas.]]
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* BattleAmongstTheFlames: In the second book, Jonas's rebels attack one of the Limerian road camps, during which a wildfire mysteriously breaks out. Unwilling to pass up the chance to capture or kill Magnus, Jonas presses the attack, leading to them dueling as fire rages around them.
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** Kyan mentions that everyone’s personality corresponds to one of the four elementia, making them [[spoiler:suitable hosts for the Kindred]], then gives some examples: Nic is fire, Cleo is water, and Magnus is also fire. [[spoiler:When he’s forced out of Nic’s body and needs a new host, guess who he chooses?]]
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** Kyan [[spoiler:Kyan]] mentions that everyone’s personality corresponds to one of the four elementia, making [[spoiler:making them [[spoiler:suitable suitable hosts for the Kindred]], then gives some examples: Nic is fire, Cleo is water, and Magnus is also fire. [[spoiler:When he’s forced out of Nic’s body and needs a new host, guess who he chooses?]]
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* BloodMagic: How most witches have to cast spells; their weakened magical blood means they need some other source to strengthen it, and the blood of others is a perfectly good choice. Additionally, the Kindred are awakened from their locations by either Lucia’s blood being spilled, or huge amounts of blood.
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* BloodMagic: How most witches Witches often have to cast spells; pay the price of their weakened magical spells [[HeroicRROD with their health]], but they can also use others' blood means they need some other source instead or to strengthen it, and the blood of others is a perfectly good choice.it. Additionally, the Kindred are awakened from their locations by either Lucia’s blood being spilled, or huge amounts of blood.
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* HeroicRROD: Casting spells is taxing on witches, usually granting them a PsychicNosebleed. If they're not careful, though, they can seriously hurt themselves, and even Lucia, a sorceress, knocks herself into a coma when she overexerts herself.
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* YouCantFightFate: The mindset of the Watchers and Paelsia, who believe that destiny is a path everyone has to walk on and that they must take what licks they may. Jonas is disgusted by this, as he believes it’s what’s kept Paelpasia so impoverished for so long.
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* YouCantFightFate: The mindset of the Watchers and Paelsia, who believe that destiny is a path everyone has to walk on and that they must take what licks they may. Jonas is disgusted by this, as he believes it’s what’s kept Paelpasia Paelasia so impoverished for so long.
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* GenerationXerox: [[spoiler:As it turns out, Cleo’s mother and Magnus’s father were in love in their youth, but parted because of S___’s manipulations. Almost two decades later, and once again a spirited Auranian princess and broody Limerian prince fall for each other.]]
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* GenerationXerox: [[spoiler:As it turns out, Cleo’s mother and Magnus’s father were in love in their youth, but parted because of S___’s Selia’s manipulations. Almost two decades later, and once again a spirited Auranian princess and broody Limerian prince fall for each other.]]
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* GrayAndGreyMorality: None of the three lands in Mytica are truly in the right, in the end; Auranos is peaceful, but also completely hedonistic, elitist, and has been taxing its neighbor Paelsia into destitution for generations. Paelsia is incredibly poor and just wants to live comfortably, but is sexist and brutal, to the point the other two view it as a land of savages. Limeros is disciplined and the most religious of the lands, but also hunts enforces ruthless witch hunts and is ruled by a power-hungry monarch.
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* GrayAndGreyMorality: None of the three lands in Mytica are truly in the right, in the end; Auranos is peaceful, but also completely hedonistic, elitist, and has been taxing its neighbor Paelsia into destitution for generations. Paelsia is incredibly poor and just wants to live comfortably, but is sexist and brutal, to the point the other two view it as a land of savages. Limeros is disciplined and the most religious of the lands, but also hunts enforces ruthless witch hunts and is ruled by a power-hungry monarch.
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* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:At the end of Immortal Reign, Cleo and Magnus are expecting their first child.]]
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* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:At the end of Immortal Reign, ''Immortal Reign'', Cleo and Magnus are expecting their first child.]]
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* NotMeThisTime: [[spoiler:Kyan isn’t the one who steals Lyssa in Immortal Reign. That’s Neela Cortas.]]
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* NotMeThisTime: [[spoiler:Kyan isn’t the one who steals Lyssa in Immortal Reign.''Immortal Reign''. That’s Neela Cortas.]]
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The ''Falling Kingdoms'' series by Morgan Rhodes is sextet of fantasy books, set in the land of Mytica, with a high focus on political intrigue and magic. It has a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters sprawling cast]], with chapters that [[SwitchingPOV switch between third-person narrators]] whose plots run alongside each other, comparable to ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''.
All is not well in the land of Mytica. Glorious Auranos revels in their bountiful land, ignoring the cries of its dying neighbor Palesia. For to the north in cold Limeros, the power-hungry Damora royal family plots to conquer the continent and uncovers hidden power within their princess, which may just allow them to do so. However, unknown to them, a greater threat to the world lurks--ever since the disappearance of [[MacGuffin the Kindred]], artifacts holding vast amounts of ''elementia''--or magic--the world has been slowly but steadily dying. The Watchers, guardians from another realm, are desperately seeking them out, but are unable to directly intervene. They can only try to guide the protagonists to find and restore the Kindred before the world collapses completely.
Of course, as the Kindred are artifacts of great power, the heroes aren't the only ones hunting them. Across the sea, the massive Kraeshian Empire across the looms, always searching for methods to assist their conquer of the world, and even among the Watchers, there lurks one who desires the Kindred for their own gain. [[UnscrupulousHero To say nothing of how even the noblest of the heroes has their own interests in mind for such powerful stones.]]
The main series consists of six books, and was completed with the release of the final book on February 6, 2018.
** ''Falling Kingdoms''
** ''Rebel Spring''
** ''Gathering Darkness''
** ''Frozen Tides''
** ''Crystal Storm''
** ''Immortal Reign''
It also has a spinoff series, ''Spirits and Thieves'', in-progress.
----
!!The series provides examples of:
* AdultFear:
** The series ''starts'' with a mother finding strangers kidnapping her newborn daughter, then being killed when she tries to protect her.
** Giving birth to a girl in the Kraeshian Empire, which hates daughters, means every mother has to live with the fear that her husband will try to kill her daughter—which is legally allowed (only one opportunity is allowed, but still).
** You’re helping your father with business when one of the customers starts acting up. Your brother steps in and is killed, on your wedding day. Your other brother disappears to war. Your father wastes away, and your husband is later taken and worked to death on the Imperial Road. This describes what happens to Jonas’s sister Felicia perfectly.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: Foreigners Amara and Ashur are described as having ‘dark tan’ skin.
* AllWorkVsAllPlay: Limeros and Auranos’ conflict.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: [[spoiler:Magnus, to Cleo, at the end of ''Frozen Tides''. After running through a blizzard to find her, when he does, all he can do is fall at her feet and proclaim, “I love you, Cleo. I love you so much it hurts.”]]
* AnyoneCanDie: Boy howdy. Half the characters at the start of the series don’t make it to the end.
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Kindred grant whomever touches them mastery over the corresponding ''elementia'', but also are said to corrupt that person without the protection of Eva’s ring.
* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:At the end of Immortal Reign, Cleo and Magnus are expecting their first child.]]
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:A resurrection potion, drunk or administered in advance, is used to save the lives of Amara and Ashur, seperately--Amara when she was a baby, Ashur when he's killed in the third book. King Gaius is also resurrected, by some spell his mother cast on him, but much less prettily.]]
* BelligerentSexualTension:
** Between Jonas and Lysandra, who squabble a lot but also can't help finding the other attractive and admirable.
** [[spoiler:Cleo and Magnus, despite themselves. Slightly deconstructed in that, despite their growing feelings for each other, their relationship doesn’t take a turn for the better until they actually put the belligerence aside and ''talk''. Afterwards, any arguing they do is mostly playful.]]
* BloodMagic: How most witches have to cast spells; their weakened magical blood means they need some other source to strengthen it, and the blood of others is a perfectly good choice. Additionally, the Kindred are awakened from their locations by either Lucia’s blood being spilled, or huge amounts of blood.
* BloodSplatteredWeddingDress: Happens to Cleo, when her and Magnus’s ArrangedMarriage ceremony is interrupted by an assassination attempt by Jonas’s rebels (which she helped plan). [[spoiler: Unfortunately for her, neither Magnus nor Gaius is killed, and Gaius forces them to go through with it anyway.]]
* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:Kurtis does this to Magnus at the end of the fifth book, breaking all his limbs for extra cruelty. If it weren’t for the [[ResurrectiveImmortality bloodstone ring]], he would have died.]]
* BurnTheWitch: The custom in Limeros is to burn witches (or anyone accused of being a witch) alive at the stake. [[spoiler:Lucia finds herself briefly threatened by this, but by a crowd in Paelsia, when they recognize her as the sorceress who just recently went on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge across their land.]]
* CelebCrush: Many Limerian common girls swoon over Prince Magnus, finding him dark, alluring, and dreamy.
* ChekovsGun: While arguing with Cleo in ''Frozen Tides'', an enraged Magnus throws the earth Kindred at the wall, unintentionally triggering a small earthquake. [[spoiler:Cleo remembers this when she and Magnus are later cornered by King Gaius and throws the Kindred off a cliff, saving them with another earthquake.]]
* ChekhovsSkill:
** Cleo’s penchant for scaling ivy trellis to sneak out of the castle comes into play when [[spoiler:she’s imprisoned by Amara and King Gaius, and there just so happens to be a window with some ivy nearby…]]
** Averted with her archery lessons. She’s terrible at archery, and never improves. [[spoiler:So instead, she improvises by taking several arrows with her, and stabbing guards in the eye when they try to stop her.]]
* CivilWar:
** During the fourth book, [[spoiler:Cleo rallies Limeros behind Magnus, stating that Gaius has made himself an enemy by aligning himself with Kraeshia. Soon enough, members of the royal guard find themselves torn between obeying the orders of Gaius or Magnus.]]
** Mytica as a whole ends up in this during ''Crystal Storm''. When [[spoiler:Kraeshia takes occupation. Paelsia adores Amara and sides with her, Limeros and the rebels throw their lot in with the Damoras (now unified again), and Auranos stays neutral.]]
* ColdBloodedTorture:
** [[spoiler:Felix]] spends a week in a Kraeshian torture cell, after [[spoiler:being framed for the murder of the royal family.]]
** [[spoiler:Magnus]] is tortured by Kurtis at the end of the fifth book; [[spoiler:while he keeps his resolve to not beg, he can’t keep his resolve not to scream as they break an arm and both his legs.]]
* CrapsaccharineWorld: Auranos, Cleo’s country, is a city with perpetually wonderful weather, wealth, and beauty; the citizens are free to live as they see fit, partying for days on end and indulging in whatever brings them joy. Look a little closer, and you’ll discover they earned their wealth by taxing their neighbor Paelsia to poverty, that they are oblivious of their surroundings to the point of being sheep, and that they’re exactly as shallow as they appear.
* CrapsackWorld: Paelsia is a terrible place to live. The only land that supports life is along the coast, everything else is dry, barren, and/or somehow cursed. The little fertile land they do have is wasted on vineyards, because of a contract made with Auranos decades ago, and they can only sell their wine to Auranos at absolutely terrible prices. Trying to poach off their bountiful neighbor to the south is punishable by death, and everyone is so downtrodden they've basically given up.
* DeathByChildbirth: Cleo’s mother Elena died this way, rumored to be because of a curse. [[spoiler:The truth is, Selia Damora poisoned her.]]
* DeathByNewberryMedal: Lucia’s precious pet rabbit Hana is killed at the end of the second book, when Lucia loses control of her magic and accidentally freezes her to death.
* DryCrusader: Limeros is a land of these, spurning wine and alcohol as unnecessary indulgences that lead to one’s life wasting away.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the first books, the chapter titles were descriptions of where the narrator was, ie “Limeros” or “Auranos”, with no mention of who the narrator was. Later books replaced this with that chapter’s narrator as the title, ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' style, with the location below it.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Everyone goes through a lot of hell, and not all of them make it out, but the ending is ultimately uplifting. [[spoiler:Magnus and Cleo are in love, expecting their first child, and ruling Mytica as equals. Lucia's daughter is safe and will be raised by her and Jonas, who has been giving a seat on the council to represent Paelsia. Nic and Ashur are off to explore the world, while the rebellion in Kraeshia has overthrown Amara and has hopes of changing things for the better. Speaking of, the reformed but not forgiven Amara is rescued by Nerissa, and they also head off to travel and find redemption.]]
* ElementalPowers: ''Elementia'', or the magic that gives the world life, comes in four forms: fire, air, water, and earth. Witches can usually use only one or two of these, while sorceresses like Lucia can use all four.
* {{Elopement}}: Alexius and Lucia run away to elope at the end of the third book. [[spoiler:In reality, it was a gambit so he could get her alone, to the Temple of Valoria, to awaken the Water Kindred.]]
* TheEmpire: The Kraeshian Empire, across the sea, which has conquered half the known world.
* EnemyMine: Limeros and Paelsia team up to take out Auranos. ‘Team up’ being symbolic, since Limeros does all the heavy lifting and, at the end of the day, immediately turns on Paelsia too.
* FirstGuyWins: [[spoiler:Technically, Magnus for Cleo, as they met once as children, long before Theon or Jonas came into her life.]]
* ForcefulKiss: Magnus forces one on Cleo on their wedding tour, but unusually he doesn’t want it either; he’s just acting to pacify the crowd of people cheering for a kiss and to keep up appearances of a HappilyMarried couple.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** A lot of Gaius’s hate for Cleo makes much more sense once you learn [[spoiler:he was in love with her mother, who died delivering Cleo and whom Cleo strongly resembles.]]
** Kyan mentions that everyone’s personality corresponds to one of the four elementia, making them [[spoiler:suitable hosts for the Kindred]], then gives some examples: Nic is fire, Cleo is water, and Magnus is also fire. [[spoiler:When he’s forced out of Nic’s body and needs a new host, guess who he chooses?]]
* FrameUp:
** A RunningGag in Jonas’s case, but the Damoras love slapping crimes he didn’t commit onto him when they have no other suspect.
** [[spoiler:Amara frames Felix for her family’s murder in an attempt to cut down their burgeoning feelings for each other, since she believes LoveIsAWeakness. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor It works]] [[{{Revenge}} too well]].]]
* FromBadToWorse:
** One day, Cleo and a few of her friends go shopping at a small town in Paelsia. An escalation breaks out, ending with a local dead. Paelsia and Limeros seize this as a reason to go to war with Auranos, and everything goes downhill from there. [[spoiler:[[EarnYourHappyEnding It’s not until the end of the sixth book that things lift up.]]]]
** PlayedForLaughs in ''Frozen Tides''. Magnus, [[spoiler:on a rush to search for Cleo]], is bucked off his horse and left to trudge through a blizzard at night. He starts to pray for the goddess to let him live so he can [[spoiler:make things right]]…and then hears a wolf howling, much to [[DeadpanSnarker his]] [[ThisIsGonnaSuck ire]].
* GenerationXerox: [[spoiler:As it turns out, Cleo’s mother and Magnus’s father were in love in their youth, but parted because of S___’s manipulations. Almost two decades later, and once again a spirited Auranian princess and broody Limerian prince fall for each other.]]
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Embodied with the goddesses Valoria and Cleiona, and their respective nations Limeros and Auranos. Valoria was strict, devout, and no-nonsense, favoring a life of discipline; Cleiona was frivolous, social, and self-centered, favoring a life of pleasure. One sister (depending on which nation you ask) was evil and murdered the other. [[spoiler:The true story is a {{Deconstruction}}: there were three sisters, with [[TheAce Eva]] being the object of both Valoria and Cleiona’s jealousy. So they teamed up with Melenia to kill her and steal the Kindred for themselves, then eventually destroyed each other. Sister rivalry isn’t nearly as glorious when the sisters fighting are immortals who screw up the world as a result.]]
* GoodColorsEvilColors:
** Militaristic, severe Limeros forbids the use of bright colors, with the exception of red in their military, and most Limerians restrict themselves to black or gray. Prosperous, pleasure-seeking Auranos favors vibrant colors, particularly blue, and has a capital city inlaid with gold.
** The Kraeshian Empire [[SecondaryColorNemesis enjoys emerald green and deep purple]], fitting for a nation that is full of pride and ambition to conquer the known world.
** [[spoiler:When Cleo and Magnus become co-rulers of Mystica at the end, they’re seen decked out in a violet that is the perfect combination of Limeros red and Auranos blue, signifying the true union of their nations.]]
* GrayAndGreyMorality: None of the three lands in Mytica are truly in the right, in the end; Auranos is peaceful, but also completely hedonistic, elitist, and has been taxing its neighbor Paelsia into destitution for generations. Paelsia is incredibly poor and just wants to live comfortably, but is sexist and brutal, to the point the other two view it as a land of savages. Limeros is disciplined and the most religious of the lands, but also hunts enforces ruthless witch hunts and is ruled by a power-hungry monarch.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Behind all the politics, [[spoiler:the Kindred are the closest thing there is to a true enemy, as they desire to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Through their manipulations and their various pawns, they’ve set the stage for their return, but [[BlueAndOrangeMorality can’t exactly be called evil since they’re just obeying their nature]].]]
* HeirClubForMen: In the sexist Kraeshian Empire, females cannot inherit unless all other male heirs are dead.
* HistoryRepeats: [[spoiler:Just like her real mother, Lucia’s newborn daughter is stolen to be used by an enemy. Fortunately for her, they’re able to reunite.]]
* HumansAreBastards: Why Kyan claims [[spoiler:the world needs to be destroyed]], because no matter where he goes, all he can see is greed, bloodlust, and evil in humanity. [[spoiler:Lucia counters that while mortals ''are'' weak and flawed, they can also be strong and resilient.]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: A favored tactic of many is to pretend to accept an offer of surrender or claim to want to join the other party's side, wait til their guard is down, then make their escape.
* ImmortalityInducer: [[spoiler:The bloodstone ring, which prevents whoever wields or carries it from being slain and grants a HealingFactor. It’s also subtly implied to be an ArtifactOfDoom, as the Kindred and Lucia sense something wrong about it and it can turn a person to dust, if the wielder chooses. Regardless, it saves Magnus’s life multiple times in the fifth and sixth books, and he eventually has it melted into two smaller rings so Cleo can wear it too.]]
* ImprovisedWeapon: [[spoiler:Cleo makes her escape from Amara at the end of Frozen Tides with the assistance of a wine bottle (smashing it over the empress’s heads) and arrows. What’s improvised about the arrows is that, instead of shooting them, since she’s terrible at archery, she jabs them into the guards’ eyes.]]
* JustFollowingOrders: Quite a few soldiers will use this as justification, and to show they fall on the lighter end of the gray morality scope. Prince Magnus, for example, says he took no pleasure out of killing Theon, he just needed to obey his father's orders to capture Cleo.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Melenia orchestrated a war for the chance to see her beloved again. Fittingly, she is killed by her beloved.]]
* LaResistance:
** Jonas joins the Paelsian army to overthrow their Auranian oppressors; when they in turn are overthrown by Limeros, he leaves and forms a band of rebels, hoping to put down King Gaius and free Paelsia once and for all.
** There’s also one in the Kraeshian Empire. [[spoiler:Unlike Jonas's, it's seemingly crushed but plays a part in many important things, such as Felix's rescue, Lyssa's rescue, and Amara's eventual exile.]]
* LawOfInverseFertility: [[spoiler:Alexius and Lucia have sex once, which results in her getting pregnant.]] Later on, fear of this trope is what causes [[spoiler:Magnus to stop having sex with Cleo, since he believes she’s cursed to die in childbirth]].
* LoveDodecahedron: Hoo boy. Brion has a crush on Lysandra, who has a crush on Jonas, who likes her but also has a crush on Cleo, who likes him too, [[spoiler:but also develops feelings for Magnus]]. Meanwhile, Nic has a crush on Cleo, but also has some very confused feelings for Ashur. Magnus has feelings for Lucia, who has requited feelings for Alexius, then later [[spoiler:both get tossed into the Cleo-Jonas love mess, as Magnus develops feelings for Cleo and Lucia is implied to develop feelings for Jonas]]. Felix likes Lysandra but also Amara, who likes him back but likes Nerissa too, who likes her back but also has a thing with the guard Enzo. [[DeathOfTheHypotenuse Much death and conflict later]], and the series ends with [[spoiler:Magnus/Cleo and Ashur/Nic, with implications for Jonas/Lucia and Amara/Nerissa.]]
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: [[spoiler:Overlapping with GladToBeAliveSex, Magnus and Cleo make love against a cliff on a beach when they reunite in ''Immortal Reign''.]]
* TheMaidenNameDebate: Even after marrying Magnus, Cleo still goes by 'Bellos'; being [[TheLastOfHisKind the last member of her royal family]], she didn’t wish her surname to die out, so when she asked him to let her keep it, he agreed.
* MeleeATrois: The seemingly-straightforward rebellion against King Gaius becomes more complicated once the Kraeshian Empire [[spoiler:and the Kindred]] get involved.
* TheMultiverse: In a split-second mention, Timotheus mentions the Watchers used to watch over seven worlds, not just theirs and the world Mytica belongs to.
* MysticalPregnancy: [[spoiler:Lucia’s daughter Lyssa is conceived normally, but the pregnancy itself quickly becomes supernatural after Lucia returns from the Sanctuary to find herself at the end of term. The childbirth itself is also strange, with no blood, a drain on magic going on instead, and Lyssa simply popping out neat as can be.]]
* NotMeThisTime: [[spoiler:Kyan isn’t the one who steals Lyssa in Immortal Reign. That’s Neela Cortas.]]
* OffWithHisHead: King Gaius likes executing criminals or rebels this way, and then putting their heads on spikes.
* OhMyGods: Limerians and Auranians swear by either Valoria or Cleiona, depending. The atheistic Paelsians instead swear by 'spirits' or 'blood'.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The Watchers, who are essentially angels, guard over the world from their Sanctuary. They can use all four elements of magic and interact with humans through dreams. While they usually look like very beautiful humans, they can take the form of hawks to watch over the mortal world, which is the only way they can go there without losing their immortality. If they take human form there, or are exiled, then their power, agelessness, and beauty gradually fade away, leaving them normal mortal humans.
* PassiveAggressiveKombat: All the royals of Mytica are well-versed in using politeness, false sincerity, doublespeak, and ExactWords as daggers. Cleo in particular likes it; at one point she and Lucia have a, on the surface, perfectly polite conversation that is practically dripping with poison.
-->'''Lucia:''' [My brother] is very forgiving, though. After all, he forgave you [[DefiledForever your unfortunate and shameful loss of chastity to Lord Aron Lagaris]], didn’t he?\\
'''Cleo:''' As you said, [[SarcasmMode I’m very lucky.]]\\
'''Lucia:''' [[BlatantLies I’m sorry for stating this so bluntly]], but as you know, servants talk.\\
'''Cleo:''' Yes. I’ve heard things too. About you.\\
'''Lucia:''' Oh? Such as?\\
'''Cleo:''' I’m sure it’s a lie. [[TakeThat Unlike some people, I prefer to make my own judgments, not have my head filled so easily with the gossip of servants.]]
* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: Jonas has an interest (once he gets over his dislike of them) in both the princess Cleo and his fellow dirt-poor rebel Lysandra. [[spoiler:Cleo later has rebel Jonas and Prince Magnus.]]
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The Limeros royal family are all accomplished warriors or spell-casters, save Queen Althea, who show no qualm about getting their hands dirty. Only them, though; Paelsia has no royals, and Auranos’s lifestyle means that the royals there haven’t fought in ages.
* SaveThePrincess:
** Makes up the core of Cleo’s arc in the first book, though there’s a princess on both ends of the trope—Cleo runs away to find a cure for her ill elder sister.
** Going with this, there are two separate subplots where she gets kidnapped by first Limeros, then the rebels.
** In the second book, she tries to orchestrate her own rescue from her ArrangedMarriage by working with the rebels. [[spoiler:It doesn’t work]], and after that she becomes a politically-savvy and cunning DamselOutOfDistress instead of leaving her rescue in the hands of others.
* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:Not quite evil, but the Kindred are really ancient, primordial beings sealed into gems, and their morality is so different from humans’ that they carry out actions they see as right, but humans wrong.]]
* SecretRelationship: An unusual variant, in that [[spoiler:Cleo and Magnus are already married]]. What they really have to keep hidden is [[spoiler:the fact they love each other. Cleo’s allies hate him, and as far as they know, Cleo still hates him too; revealing otherwise might upset the very delicate balance in their unstable EnemyMine situation, so in public they both act like things haven’t changed.]]
* SequelHook: Timotheus’s mention of other worlds and [[{{Satan}} some great evil called Damen]] leaves open the suggestion they might be featured in future works, especially taking [[spoiler:Lyssa's still-unknown powers and Magnus and Cleo's unborn son]] into account.
* SlippingAMickey: [[spoiler:The reason Lucia takes so long to wake up from her coma in the second book is because every time she stirs, Queen Althea gives her another sleeping potion.]]
* StayInTheKitchen: Paelsia and the Kraeshian Empire both have rather sexist views on women, viewing them as good only for menial chores. The Kraeshian Empire takes it to the extreme, though, going so far as to have it be completely legal to a man to try to kill his daughter if he doesn’t want her.
* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: When politics and might fail, the royals aren’t above this. [[spoiler:Amara poisons her entire family (save Ashur) with wine, while Selia successfully orchestrated the death of Elena, Cleo’s mother, with poisoned cidar—and almost succeeds again with Cleo herself.]]
* ThereIsOnlyOneBed: While staying at another noble’s estate, Cleo and Magnus are given a room with one bed (justified, as they’re reluctantly married). It’s PlayedForLaughs, as he tells her to take the floor and then gets surprised when [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness she fails to make a snarky comeback]].
* TortureCellar: [[spoiler:Felix is unlucky enough to visit the one in the Kraeshian Empire.]]
* TrustPassword: [[spoiler:Cleo and Magnus start using her full name, Cleiona, as this. He once told her he thought she should be addressed as a goddess, so whenever one of them is pretending to ally with an enemy, they make sure to drop Cleiona in the conversation to let the other in on the act.]]
* WeAREStrugglingTogether:
** Jonas’s rebels. They want to overthrow King Gaius...but they can’t agree on the best way to do it, and their leadership fractures once Lysandra and her brashness enter the picture.
** Later down the line, [[spoiler:the rebels and the Damoras. They all (excluding Cleo to Magnus and vice versa) hate and distrust each other. Despite both wanting the Kraeshians out of their land, they keep arguing and outright plotting to undermine the other.]]
* WeddingSmashers: Jonas and the rebels crash Cleo and Magnus’s wedding, aiming to assassinate him and King Gaius. In a twist, the bride herself helped them by giving them the time and place. [[spoiler:They fail to kill either, though, and Cleo ends up marrying Magnus anyway.]]
* WellExcuseMePrincess: Jonas’s initial antagonism for Cleo evolves into this. [[spoiler:Later on, his relationship with Lucia does as well.]]
* WhatTheHellHero:
** Jonas angrily yells at Cleo for standing by and allowing Tomas’s death. When she counters that she wishes she could do anything to change it, he snaps that it does him a whole lot of good now.
** Cleo is furious when Magnus [[spoiler:manipulates Nic into attending Amara’s speech to Paelsia, as it leads to him seemingly being killed when riots break out.]]
** Felicia rips Jonas a new one when he shows up on her doorstep, carrying [[spoiler:Paelsia’s sworn enemy Lucia]], and asks for shelter. Her life has only gone into a downwards spiral because of his actions, as her husband was dragged off by Limeros to work the Imperial Road [[GuiltByAssociation as punishment for Jonas’s doings]], and now after spending months away without even writing, he expects her to drop everything and help again.
* YouCantFightFate: The mindset of the Watchers and Paelsia, who believe that destiny is a path everyone has to walk on and that they must take what licks they may. Jonas is disgusted by this, as he believes it’s what’s kept Paelpasia so impoverished for so long.
All is not well in the land of Mytica. Glorious Auranos revels in their bountiful land, ignoring the cries of its dying neighbor Palesia. For to the north in cold Limeros, the power-hungry Damora royal family plots to conquer the continent and uncovers hidden power within their princess, which may just allow them to do so. However, unknown to them, a greater threat to the world lurks--ever since the disappearance of [[MacGuffin the Kindred]], artifacts holding vast amounts of ''elementia''--or magic--the world has been slowly but steadily dying. The Watchers, guardians from another realm, are desperately seeking them out, but are unable to directly intervene. They can only try to guide the protagonists to find and restore the Kindred before the world collapses completely.
Of course, as the Kindred are artifacts of great power, the heroes aren't the only ones hunting them. Across the sea, the massive Kraeshian Empire across the looms, always searching for methods to assist their conquer of the world, and even among the Watchers, there lurks one who desires the Kindred for their own gain. [[UnscrupulousHero To say nothing of how even the noblest of the heroes has their own interests in mind for such powerful stones.]]
The main series consists of six books, and was completed with the release of the final book on February 6, 2018.
** ''Falling Kingdoms''
** ''Rebel Spring''
** ''Gathering Darkness''
** ''Frozen Tides''
** ''Crystal Storm''
** ''Immortal Reign''
It also has a spinoff series, ''Spirits and Thieves'', in-progress.
----
!!The series provides examples of:
* AdultFear:
** The series ''starts'' with a mother finding strangers kidnapping her newborn daughter, then being killed when she tries to protect her.
** Giving birth to a girl in the Kraeshian Empire, which hates daughters, means every mother has to live with the fear that her husband will try to kill her daughter—which is legally allowed (only one opportunity is allowed, but still).
** You’re helping your father with business when one of the customers starts acting up. Your brother steps in and is killed, on your wedding day. Your other brother disappears to war. Your father wastes away, and your husband is later taken and worked to death on the Imperial Road. This describes what happens to Jonas’s sister Felicia perfectly.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: Foreigners Amara and Ashur are described as having ‘dark tan’ skin.
* AllWorkVsAllPlay: Limeros and Auranos’ conflict.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: [[spoiler:Magnus, to Cleo, at the end of ''Frozen Tides''. After running through a blizzard to find her, when he does, all he can do is fall at her feet and proclaim, “I love you, Cleo. I love you so much it hurts.”]]
* AnyoneCanDie: Boy howdy. Half the characters at the start of the series don’t make it to the end.
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Kindred grant whomever touches them mastery over the corresponding ''elementia'', but also are said to corrupt that person without the protection of Eva’s ring.
* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:At the end of Immortal Reign, Cleo and Magnus are expecting their first child.]]
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:A resurrection potion, drunk or administered in advance, is used to save the lives of Amara and Ashur, seperately--Amara when she was a baby, Ashur when he's killed in the third book. King Gaius is also resurrected, by some spell his mother cast on him, but much less prettily.]]
* BelligerentSexualTension:
** Between Jonas and Lysandra, who squabble a lot but also can't help finding the other attractive and admirable.
** [[spoiler:Cleo and Magnus, despite themselves. Slightly deconstructed in that, despite their growing feelings for each other, their relationship doesn’t take a turn for the better until they actually put the belligerence aside and ''talk''. Afterwards, any arguing they do is mostly playful.]]
* BloodMagic: How most witches have to cast spells; their weakened magical blood means they need some other source to strengthen it, and the blood of others is a perfectly good choice. Additionally, the Kindred are awakened from their locations by either Lucia’s blood being spilled, or huge amounts of blood.
* BloodSplatteredWeddingDress: Happens to Cleo, when her and Magnus’s ArrangedMarriage ceremony is interrupted by an assassination attempt by Jonas’s rebels (which she helped plan). [[spoiler: Unfortunately for her, neither Magnus nor Gaius is killed, and Gaius forces them to go through with it anyway.]]
* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:Kurtis does this to Magnus at the end of the fifth book, breaking all his limbs for extra cruelty. If it weren’t for the [[ResurrectiveImmortality bloodstone ring]], he would have died.]]
* BurnTheWitch: The custom in Limeros is to burn witches (or anyone accused of being a witch) alive at the stake. [[spoiler:Lucia finds herself briefly threatened by this, but by a crowd in Paelsia, when they recognize her as the sorceress who just recently went on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge across their land.]]
* CelebCrush: Many Limerian common girls swoon over Prince Magnus, finding him dark, alluring, and dreamy.
* ChekovsGun: While arguing with Cleo in ''Frozen Tides'', an enraged Magnus throws the earth Kindred at the wall, unintentionally triggering a small earthquake. [[spoiler:Cleo remembers this when she and Magnus are later cornered by King Gaius and throws the Kindred off a cliff, saving them with another earthquake.]]
* ChekhovsSkill:
** Cleo’s penchant for scaling ivy trellis to sneak out of the castle comes into play when [[spoiler:she’s imprisoned by Amara and King Gaius, and there just so happens to be a window with some ivy nearby…]]
** Averted with her archery lessons. She’s terrible at archery, and never improves. [[spoiler:So instead, she improvises by taking several arrows with her, and stabbing guards in the eye when they try to stop her.]]
* CivilWar:
** During the fourth book, [[spoiler:Cleo rallies Limeros behind Magnus, stating that Gaius has made himself an enemy by aligning himself with Kraeshia. Soon enough, members of the royal guard find themselves torn between obeying the orders of Gaius or Magnus.]]
** Mytica as a whole ends up in this during ''Crystal Storm''. When [[spoiler:Kraeshia takes occupation. Paelsia adores Amara and sides with her, Limeros and the rebels throw their lot in with the Damoras (now unified again), and Auranos stays neutral.]]
* ColdBloodedTorture:
** [[spoiler:Felix]] spends a week in a Kraeshian torture cell, after [[spoiler:being framed for the murder of the royal family.]]
** [[spoiler:Magnus]] is tortured by Kurtis at the end of the fifth book; [[spoiler:while he keeps his resolve to not beg, he can’t keep his resolve not to scream as they break an arm and both his legs.]]
* CrapsaccharineWorld: Auranos, Cleo’s country, is a city with perpetually wonderful weather, wealth, and beauty; the citizens are free to live as they see fit, partying for days on end and indulging in whatever brings them joy. Look a little closer, and you’ll discover they earned their wealth by taxing their neighbor Paelsia to poverty, that they are oblivious of their surroundings to the point of being sheep, and that they’re exactly as shallow as they appear.
* CrapsackWorld: Paelsia is a terrible place to live. The only land that supports life is along the coast, everything else is dry, barren, and/or somehow cursed. The little fertile land they do have is wasted on vineyards, because of a contract made with Auranos decades ago, and they can only sell their wine to Auranos at absolutely terrible prices. Trying to poach off their bountiful neighbor to the south is punishable by death, and everyone is so downtrodden they've basically given up.
* DeathByChildbirth: Cleo’s mother Elena died this way, rumored to be because of a curse. [[spoiler:The truth is, Selia Damora poisoned her.]]
* DeathByNewberryMedal: Lucia’s precious pet rabbit Hana is killed at the end of the second book, when Lucia loses control of her magic and accidentally freezes her to death.
* DryCrusader: Limeros is a land of these, spurning wine and alcohol as unnecessary indulgences that lead to one’s life wasting away.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the first books, the chapter titles were descriptions of where the narrator was, ie “Limeros” or “Auranos”, with no mention of who the narrator was. Later books replaced this with that chapter’s narrator as the title, ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' style, with the location below it.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Everyone goes through a lot of hell, and not all of them make it out, but the ending is ultimately uplifting. [[spoiler:Magnus and Cleo are in love, expecting their first child, and ruling Mytica as equals. Lucia's daughter is safe and will be raised by her and Jonas, who has been giving a seat on the council to represent Paelsia. Nic and Ashur are off to explore the world, while the rebellion in Kraeshia has overthrown Amara and has hopes of changing things for the better. Speaking of, the reformed but not forgiven Amara is rescued by Nerissa, and they also head off to travel and find redemption.]]
* ElementalPowers: ''Elementia'', or the magic that gives the world life, comes in four forms: fire, air, water, and earth. Witches can usually use only one or two of these, while sorceresses like Lucia can use all four.
* {{Elopement}}: Alexius and Lucia run away to elope at the end of the third book. [[spoiler:In reality, it was a gambit so he could get her alone, to the Temple of Valoria, to awaken the Water Kindred.]]
* TheEmpire: The Kraeshian Empire, across the sea, which has conquered half the known world.
* EnemyMine: Limeros and Paelsia team up to take out Auranos. ‘Team up’ being symbolic, since Limeros does all the heavy lifting and, at the end of the day, immediately turns on Paelsia too.
* FirstGuyWins: [[spoiler:Technically, Magnus for Cleo, as they met once as children, long before Theon or Jonas came into her life.]]
* ForcefulKiss: Magnus forces one on Cleo on their wedding tour, but unusually he doesn’t want it either; he’s just acting to pacify the crowd of people cheering for a kiss and to keep up appearances of a HappilyMarried couple.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** A lot of Gaius’s hate for Cleo makes much more sense once you learn [[spoiler:he was in love with her mother, who died delivering Cleo and whom Cleo strongly resembles.]]
** Kyan mentions that everyone’s personality corresponds to one of the four elementia, making them [[spoiler:suitable hosts for the Kindred]], then gives some examples: Nic is fire, Cleo is water, and Magnus is also fire. [[spoiler:When he’s forced out of Nic’s body and needs a new host, guess who he chooses?]]
* FrameUp:
** A RunningGag in Jonas’s case, but the Damoras love slapping crimes he didn’t commit onto him when they have no other suspect.
** [[spoiler:Amara frames Felix for her family’s murder in an attempt to cut down their burgeoning feelings for each other, since she believes LoveIsAWeakness. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor It works]] [[{{Revenge}} too well]].]]
* FromBadToWorse:
** One day, Cleo and a few of her friends go shopping at a small town in Paelsia. An escalation breaks out, ending with a local dead. Paelsia and Limeros seize this as a reason to go to war with Auranos, and everything goes downhill from there. [[spoiler:[[EarnYourHappyEnding It’s not until the end of the sixth book that things lift up.]]]]
** PlayedForLaughs in ''Frozen Tides''. Magnus, [[spoiler:on a rush to search for Cleo]], is bucked off his horse and left to trudge through a blizzard at night. He starts to pray for the goddess to let him live so he can [[spoiler:make things right]]…and then hears a wolf howling, much to [[DeadpanSnarker his]] [[ThisIsGonnaSuck ire]].
* GenerationXerox: [[spoiler:As it turns out, Cleo’s mother and Magnus’s father were in love in their youth, but parted because of S___’s manipulations. Almost two decades later, and once again a spirited Auranian princess and broody Limerian prince fall for each other.]]
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Embodied with the goddesses Valoria and Cleiona, and their respective nations Limeros and Auranos. Valoria was strict, devout, and no-nonsense, favoring a life of discipline; Cleiona was frivolous, social, and self-centered, favoring a life of pleasure. One sister (depending on which nation you ask) was evil and murdered the other. [[spoiler:The true story is a {{Deconstruction}}: there were three sisters, with [[TheAce Eva]] being the object of both Valoria and Cleiona’s jealousy. So they teamed up with Melenia to kill her and steal the Kindred for themselves, then eventually destroyed each other. Sister rivalry isn’t nearly as glorious when the sisters fighting are immortals who screw up the world as a result.]]
* GoodColorsEvilColors:
** Militaristic, severe Limeros forbids the use of bright colors, with the exception of red in their military, and most Limerians restrict themselves to black or gray. Prosperous, pleasure-seeking Auranos favors vibrant colors, particularly blue, and has a capital city inlaid with gold.
** The Kraeshian Empire [[SecondaryColorNemesis enjoys emerald green and deep purple]], fitting for a nation that is full of pride and ambition to conquer the known world.
** [[spoiler:When Cleo and Magnus become co-rulers of Mystica at the end, they’re seen decked out in a violet that is the perfect combination of Limeros red and Auranos blue, signifying the true union of their nations.]]
* GrayAndGreyMorality: None of the three lands in Mytica are truly in the right, in the end; Auranos is peaceful, but also completely hedonistic, elitist, and has been taxing its neighbor Paelsia into destitution for generations. Paelsia is incredibly poor and just wants to live comfortably, but is sexist and brutal, to the point the other two view it as a land of savages. Limeros is disciplined and the most religious of the lands, but also hunts enforces ruthless witch hunts and is ruled by a power-hungry monarch.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Behind all the politics, [[spoiler:the Kindred are the closest thing there is to a true enemy, as they desire to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Through their manipulations and their various pawns, they’ve set the stage for their return, but [[BlueAndOrangeMorality can’t exactly be called evil since they’re just obeying their nature]].]]
* HeirClubForMen: In the sexist Kraeshian Empire, females cannot inherit unless all other male heirs are dead.
* HistoryRepeats: [[spoiler:Just like her real mother, Lucia’s newborn daughter is stolen to be used by an enemy. Fortunately for her, they’re able to reunite.]]
* HumansAreBastards: Why Kyan claims [[spoiler:the world needs to be destroyed]], because no matter where he goes, all he can see is greed, bloodlust, and evil in humanity. [[spoiler:Lucia counters that while mortals ''are'' weak and flawed, they can also be strong and resilient.]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: A favored tactic of many is to pretend to accept an offer of surrender or claim to want to join the other party's side, wait til their guard is down, then make their escape.
* ImmortalityInducer: [[spoiler:The bloodstone ring, which prevents whoever wields or carries it from being slain and grants a HealingFactor. It’s also subtly implied to be an ArtifactOfDoom, as the Kindred and Lucia sense something wrong about it and it can turn a person to dust, if the wielder chooses. Regardless, it saves Magnus’s life multiple times in the fifth and sixth books, and he eventually has it melted into two smaller rings so Cleo can wear it too.]]
* ImprovisedWeapon: [[spoiler:Cleo makes her escape from Amara at the end of Frozen Tides with the assistance of a wine bottle (smashing it over the empress’s heads) and arrows. What’s improvised about the arrows is that, instead of shooting them, since she’s terrible at archery, she jabs them into the guards’ eyes.]]
* JustFollowingOrders: Quite a few soldiers will use this as justification, and to show they fall on the lighter end of the gray morality scope. Prince Magnus, for example, says he took no pleasure out of killing Theon, he just needed to obey his father's orders to capture Cleo.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Melenia orchestrated a war for the chance to see her beloved again. Fittingly, she is killed by her beloved.]]
* LaResistance:
** Jonas joins the Paelsian army to overthrow their Auranian oppressors; when they in turn are overthrown by Limeros, he leaves and forms a band of rebels, hoping to put down King Gaius and free Paelsia once and for all.
** There’s also one in the Kraeshian Empire. [[spoiler:Unlike Jonas's, it's seemingly crushed but plays a part in many important things, such as Felix's rescue, Lyssa's rescue, and Amara's eventual exile.]]
* LawOfInverseFertility: [[spoiler:Alexius and Lucia have sex once, which results in her getting pregnant.]] Later on, fear of this trope is what causes [[spoiler:Magnus to stop having sex with Cleo, since he believes she’s cursed to die in childbirth]].
* LoveDodecahedron: Hoo boy. Brion has a crush on Lysandra, who has a crush on Jonas, who likes her but also has a crush on Cleo, who likes him too, [[spoiler:but also develops feelings for Magnus]]. Meanwhile, Nic has a crush on Cleo, but also has some very confused feelings for Ashur. Magnus has feelings for Lucia, who has requited feelings for Alexius, then later [[spoiler:both get tossed into the Cleo-Jonas love mess, as Magnus develops feelings for Cleo and Lucia is implied to develop feelings for Jonas]]. Felix likes Lysandra but also Amara, who likes him back but likes Nerissa too, who likes her back but also has a thing with the guard Enzo. [[DeathOfTheHypotenuse Much death and conflict later]], and the series ends with [[spoiler:Magnus/Cleo and Ashur/Nic, with implications for Jonas/Lucia and Amara/Nerissa.]]
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: [[spoiler:Overlapping with GladToBeAliveSex, Magnus and Cleo make love against a cliff on a beach when they reunite in ''Immortal Reign''.]]
* TheMaidenNameDebate: Even after marrying Magnus, Cleo still goes by 'Bellos'; being [[TheLastOfHisKind the last member of her royal family]], she didn’t wish her surname to die out, so when she asked him to let her keep it, he agreed.
* MeleeATrois: The seemingly-straightforward rebellion against King Gaius becomes more complicated once the Kraeshian Empire [[spoiler:and the Kindred]] get involved.
* TheMultiverse: In a split-second mention, Timotheus mentions the Watchers used to watch over seven worlds, not just theirs and the world Mytica belongs to.
* MysticalPregnancy: [[spoiler:Lucia’s daughter Lyssa is conceived normally, but the pregnancy itself quickly becomes supernatural after Lucia returns from the Sanctuary to find herself at the end of term. The childbirth itself is also strange, with no blood, a drain on magic going on instead, and Lyssa simply popping out neat as can be.]]
* NotMeThisTime: [[spoiler:Kyan isn’t the one who steals Lyssa in Immortal Reign. That’s Neela Cortas.]]
* OffWithHisHead: King Gaius likes executing criminals or rebels this way, and then putting their heads on spikes.
* OhMyGods: Limerians and Auranians swear by either Valoria or Cleiona, depending. The atheistic Paelsians instead swear by 'spirits' or 'blood'.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The Watchers, who are essentially angels, guard over the world from their Sanctuary. They can use all four elements of magic and interact with humans through dreams. While they usually look like very beautiful humans, they can take the form of hawks to watch over the mortal world, which is the only way they can go there without losing their immortality. If they take human form there, or are exiled, then their power, agelessness, and beauty gradually fade away, leaving them normal mortal humans.
* PassiveAggressiveKombat: All the royals of Mytica are well-versed in using politeness, false sincerity, doublespeak, and ExactWords as daggers. Cleo in particular likes it; at one point she and Lucia have a, on the surface, perfectly polite conversation that is practically dripping with poison.
-->'''Lucia:''' [My brother] is very forgiving, though. After all, he forgave you [[DefiledForever your unfortunate and shameful loss of chastity to Lord Aron Lagaris]], didn’t he?\\
'''Cleo:''' As you said, [[SarcasmMode I’m very lucky.]]\\
'''Lucia:''' [[BlatantLies I’m sorry for stating this so bluntly]], but as you know, servants talk.\\
'''Cleo:''' Yes. I’ve heard things too. About you.\\
'''Lucia:''' Oh? Such as?\\
'''Cleo:''' I’m sure it’s a lie. [[TakeThat Unlike some people, I prefer to make my own judgments, not have my head filled so easily with the gossip of servants.]]
* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: Jonas has an interest (once he gets over his dislike of them) in both the princess Cleo and his fellow dirt-poor rebel Lysandra. [[spoiler:Cleo later has rebel Jonas and Prince Magnus.]]
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The Limeros royal family are all accomplished warriors or spell-casters, save Queen Althea, who show no qualm about getting their hands dirty. Only them, though; Paelsia has no royals, and Auranos’s lifestyle means that the royals there haven’t fought in ages.
* SaveThePrincess:
** Makes up the core of Cleo’s arc in the first book, though there’s a princess on both ends of the trope—Cleo runs away to find a cure for her ill elder sister.
** Going with this, there are two separate subplots where she gets kidnapped by first Limeros, then the rebels.
** In the second book, she tries to orchestrate her own rescue from her ArrangedMarriage by working with the rebels. [[spoiler:It doesn’t work]], and after that she becomes a politically-savvy and cunning DamselOutOfDistress instead of leaving her rescue in the hands of others.
* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:Not quite evil, but the Kindred are really ancient, primordial beings sealed into gems, and their morality is so different from humans’ that they carry out actions they see as right, but humans wrong.]]
* SecretRelationship: An unusual variant, in that [[spoiler:Cleo and Magnus are already married]]. What they really have to keep hidden is [[spoiler:the fact they love each other. Cleo’s allies hate him, and as far as they know, Cleo still hates him too; revealing otherwise might upset the very delicate balance in their unstable EnemyMine situation, so in public they both act like things haven’t changed.]]
* SequelHook: Timotheus’s mention of other worlds and [[{{Satan}} some great evil called Damen]] leaves open the suggestion they might be featured in future works, especially taking [[spoiler:Lyssa's still-unknown powers and Magnus and Cleo's unborn son]] into account.
* SlippingAMickey: [[spoiler:The reason Lucia takes so long to wake up from her coma in the second book is because every time she stirs, Queen Althea gives her another sleeping potion.]]
* StayInTheKitchen: Paelsia and the Kraeshian Empire both have rather sexist views on women, viewing them as good only for menial chores. The Kraeshian Empire takes it to the extreme, though, going so far as to have it be completely legal to a man to try to kill his daughter if he doesn’t want her.
* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: When politics and might fail, the royals aren’t above this. [[spoiler:Amara poisons her entire family (save Ashur) with wine, while Selia successfully orchestrated the death of Elena, Cleo’s mother, with poisoned cidar—and almost succeeds again with Cleo herself.]]
* ThereIsOnlyOneBed: While staying at another noble’s estate, Cleo and Magnus are given a room with one bed (justified, as they’re reluctantly married). It’s PlayedForLaughs, as he tells her to take the floor and then gets surprised when [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness she fails to make a snarky comeback]].
* TortureCellar: [[spoiler:Felix is unlucky enough to visit the one in the Kraeshian Empire.]]
* TrustPassword: [[spoiler:Cleo and Magnus start using her full name, Cleiona, as this. He once told her he thought she should be addressed as a goddess, so whenever one of them is pretending to ally with an enemy, they make sure to drop Cleiona in the conversation to let the other in on the act.]]
* WeAREStrugglingTogether:
** Jonas’s rebels. They want to overthrow King Gaius...but they can’t agree on the best way to do it, and their leadership fractures once Lysandra and her brashness enter the picture.
** Later down the line, [[spoiler:the rebels and the Damoras. They all (excluding Cleo to Magnus and vice versa) hate and distrust each other. Despite both wanting the Kraeshians out of their land, they keep arguing and outright plotting to undermine the other.]]
* WeddingSmashers: Jonas and the rebels crash Cleo and Magnus’s wedding, aiming to assassinate him and King Gaius. In a twist, the bride herself helped them by giving them the time and place. [[spoiler:They fail to kill either, though, and Cleo ends up marrying Magnus anyway.]]
* WellExcuseMePrincess: Jonas’s initial antagonism for Cleo evolves into this. [[spoiler:Later on, his relationship with Lucia does as well.]]
* WhatTheHellHero:
** Jonas angrily yells at Cleo for standing by and allowing Tomas’s death. When she counters that she wishes she could do anything to change it, he snaps that it does him a whole lot of good now.
** Cleo is furious when Magnus [[spoiler:manipulates Nic into attending Amara’s speech to Paelsia, as it leads to him seemingly being killed when riots break out.]]
** Felicia rips Jonas a new one when he shows up on her doorstep, carrying [[spoiler:Paelsia’s sworn enemy Lucia]], and asks for shelter. Her life has only gone into a downwards spiral because of his actions, as her husband was dragged off by Limeros to work the Imperial Road [[GuiltByAssociation as punishment for Jonas’s doings]], and now after spending months away without even writing, he expects her to drop everything and help again.
* YouCantFightFate: The mindset of the Watchers and Paelsia, who believe that destiny is a path everyone has to walk on and that they must take what licks they may. Jonas is disgusted by this, as he believes it’s what’s kept Paelpasia so impoverished for so long.
