History Webcomic / TrialOfTheSun

* ArmorPiercingSlap: [[spoiler: Baatar to Gantxu.]]
* LargeHam: Amari. And how.

It’s now the early 600’s. [[FantasticRacism Racial tensions]] formed in the early days of cultural assimilation have not abated. [[TheProtagonist Eliano]] [[BigBrotherInstinct Davrey]], a fourteen year old [[RaisedAsTheOppositeGender Sworn Maiden]] from a respectable family, is considering joining a training phalanx. Unexpectedly, the Goddess Amari, who normally hibernates for years at a time, arrives in Saltrust. That night a close friend of Eli brings him news that there’s been a riot in the smith’s quarter, and that his father and uncle have been gravely injured…

* RaisedAsTheOppositeGender: Eliano is a sworn maiden, biologically female but legally male. Enoran culture allows girls to formally assume male gender to serve as their father's heirs. However this option comes at such a high price (a lifetime vow of chastity, herbs to suppress puberty and compulsory military service) that it's not a course to be taken lightly. Other than this Enoran gender roles are so rigid {{tomboy}} isn't even an option.

* FanNickname: [[spoiler: the fandom uses "Sranark" to refer to instances where Srana's mysterious possessor seems to come to the surface.]]

It’s now the early 600’s. [[FantasticRacism Racial tensions]] formed in the early days of cultural assimilation have not abated. [[TheProtagonist Eliano]] [[BigBrotherInstinct Davrey]], a fourteen year old [[RaisedAsTheOppositeGender Sworn]] [[{{Transgender}} Maiden]] from a respectable family, is considering joining a training phalanx. Unexpectedly, the Goddess Amari, who normally hibernates for years at a time, arrives in Saltrust. That night a close friend of Eli brings him news that there’s been a riot in the smith’s quarter, and that his father and uncle have been gravely injured…

* {{Transgender}}: Eliano is a sworn maiden, biologically female but legally male. Enoran culture allows girls to formally assume male gender to serve as their father's heirs. However this option comes at such a high price (a lifetime vow of chastity, herbs to suppress puberty and compulsory military service) that it's not a course to be taken lightly. Other than this Enoran gender roles are so rigid {{tomboy}} isn't even an option.

Long ago, when the world was divided, a [[GreatOffscreenWar war]] was waged in the names of [[TheOldGods gods]]. From that conflict, several nations of man were [[TheAlliance united]] by the [[BigGood Goddess Amari]]. From the blood of Enorans, one of the human races, the Goddess created the [[OurElvesAreBetter Elves]], the [[HornedHumanoid Kipira]], and the [[BirdPeople Lamiak]], and through their covenant with the [[BarrierMaiden Goddess]], the [[TheWallAroundTheWorld Saltblood Barrier]] was erected. It was an unsurpassable defense—no enemy could cross the threshold of Saltblood and live—and so the newly founded Anocura knew a peace that would last for generations.

* RedemptionQuest: The Trial of the Sun.

* TroubleFromThePast: [[spoiler: Filumena’s alleged murderer.]]

* WildWilderness: The wastes.

* WindowsToTheSoul: Eli, Summas, and their eldest sister Minano have cat-like eyes, just like their father. They take after him in personality as well.

* AnArmAndALeg: Anocuran people swear oaths on specific fingers. The punishment for breaking that oath is the loss of that finger. And that's just a start as they don't seem to believe in jails and most of their other punishments also involve drastic mutilation of one sort or another.

* HiddenDepths: Sure, Eli thinks he’s hot stuff, but underneath the tough exterior he’s a lot more insecure than he’d have you believe.

* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: Eliano, Relmin and Orsino commit perjury so Eliano can represent his father in court, and then can't back down because admitting what they've done will ruin the whole family.

* NotHelpingYourCase: Khesar’s [[spoiler: brother Gantxu at the hearing.]]

* RedHeadedStepChild: Khesar accuses his brothers of trying to discard him and appears used to a certain level of abuse.

* DudeLooksLikeALady: Other characters are constantly addressing Eliano as "girl" despite his male clothing. Even his uncle and father forget a time or two. His father even greets him with his former female name "Eleta" at one point.

* ExactWords: an unintentional version. Amari and the feral god both address Srana implying some transgression on her part.[[spoiler: when they're actually speaking to her poasessor, and the transgression is the possession of Srana herself.]]

* TheFundamentalist: Eliano is extremely devout, for all the good it does him. It often appears that his faith is misplaced.

* TheQuest: The trial takes this form

* ReallySeventeenYearsOld: [[spoiler: Eli never would’ve been able to represent his father in the Trial if Relmin hadn’t helped him fake his age documentation.]]

* AnArmAndALeg: Anocuran people swear oaths on specific fingers. The punishment for breaking that oath is the loss of that finger. And that's just a start as they don't seem to believe in jails most of their other punishments also involve drastic mutilation of one sort or another.
** [[spoiler: One Elven sect leader implies they actually cut off Srana's "appendeges" after they discovered her fingers wouldn't stay broken, only to have them heal nearly instantaneously.]]

* BreakTheHaughty: Look’s like Eli’s headed this way.

* ClearTheirName: On the surface, the Trial of the Sun is supposed to retroactively “prove” that the winner (or the person they represent) is innocent. [[spoiler: In reality it was never more than capital punishment in all but name, and the Goddess put a stop to it until she felt it necessary to make a spectacular example of some troublemakers who dared to disturb her peace.]]

* AFateWorseThanDeath: Relmin completely loses it when the judges announce the nature of the trial, because she's studied the history and believes death would be kinder. [[spoiler: there's only ever been one survivor and it took him 14 years to make it back disfigured and insane.]]

** The last time the Trial of the Sun was used was when the goddess Amari found out the sects were using it as backdoor capital punishment and sentenced all eight sect leaders to undergo the trial themselves -- a event that went down in history as the "Abundant Feast."

* IronicEcho: Eli replies "Is that a trick question?" to Srana's clueless question about his military training, only to have Srana reply "Is this a trick question" in turn to Eli's clueless question about her mother.

* KidsAreCruel: A pair of Enoran children throw rocks at a mid-flight Japer. Even a little bruising can kill a bird if you aren’t careful.
* LIsForDyslexia: Eli probably has some form of Dyslexia.

* RaceNameBasis: Eliano constantly refers to Khesar as "the Deotian". Enoran culture seems to be on a race name basis in general.

* SureLetsGoWithThat: Srana doesn't actually lie to Eli so much as play to his preconceived notions.
* TheTheocracy: A very strict theocracy with a fully revealed religion and an in-your-face goddess who makes damn sure you know who is in charge.

* AnArmAndALeg: Anocuran people swear oaths on specific fingers. The punishment for breaking that oath is the loss of that finger. And that's just a start. Most of their punishments seem to involve mutilation of some sort.
** [[spoiler: One Elven sect leader implies they cut off Srana's hands after they discovered her fingers wouldn't stay broken.]]

* ComicallyIneptHealing: Srana. she gets the job done--without pain suppression--but there's a risk of future infection.

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass[=/=]PingPongNaivete: Srana reveals disturbing flashes of cunning competence to Khesar while acting as TheLoad in front of Eliano.

* DadTheVeteran: Eli’s father and uncle, Rennin and Caliosis, both served in the military.

* EnemyMine: The core of the trial: two boys from diametrically opposed ethnic factions must work together for survival's sake.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler: Srana may not have become a nightmare, but she unleashed one. Later comics confirm it's possessing her.]]
* TheFundamentalist: Eliano is extremely devout, for all the good it does him.

* IntergenerationalFriendship: An interesting example. At 14 years, Eli may be older than the Lamiak Japer, but Japer’s well into adulthood by his own species’ standards and already has children,

* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: The trial is ostensibly to break the bloody cycle of vengeance that's developing between Eli's and Khesar's families. [[spoiler: while it's actually intended to get rid of Srana or whatever may be possessing her while fixing whatever Srana did to make the healing magic stop working.]]

* TheStoic: Khesar is able to bear the breaking of all of the fingers on his right hand without changing expression. Turns out there's a reason for this.

* TellMeAboutMyFather: Concerning Filumena’s death. Ironically Eli already knows and Sumasen is too young to understand.

* {{Transgender}}: Eliano is a sworn maiden, biologically female but legally male. Enoran culture allows girls to formally assume male gender to serve as their father's heirs. However this option comes at such a high price (a lifetime vow of chastity, herbs to suppress puberty and compulsory military service) that it's not a course to be taken lightly.

* WindowsToTheSoul: Eli, Summas, and their sister Minano have cat-like eyes, just like their father. They take after him in personality as well.

* AFateWorseThanDeath: Relmin completely loses it when the judges announce the nature of the trial, because she's studied the history and believes death would be kinder.

* IntergenerationalFriendship: An interesting example. At 14 years, Eli may be older than the Lamiak Japer, but Japer’s well into adulthood by his own species’ standards and already has children by the leaders of the Sect of Light to distance themselves from what they feel they must do.

* AnArmAndALeg: Anocuran people swear oaths on their fingers. If you break the oath they amputate that finger

* ClearTheirName: On the surface, the Trial of the Sun is this. The substitute who wins retroactively “proves” that the person they represent is innocent. [[spoiler: underneath it's a trial of faith on which the whole community may be judged.]]
* ComicallyIneptHealing: Srana. she gets the job done -- without pain suppression--but there's a risk of future infection.

* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: Eliano, Relmin and Orsino commit perjury so Eliano can represent his father at the

* MissionFromGod: A literal mission ordered by an in-your-face goddess.

* TheTheocracy: A very strict theocracy with a fully revealed religion and a corporeal goddess who makes damn sure you know who is in charge.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Eli has some shades of this. As Relmin put it, “real life is ''never'' like poetry.” [[spoiler: and once the trial begins his blind faith in the Goddess blinds him to some obvious inconsistencies.]]