History Literature / ChroniclesOfElantra

* {{Bishonen}}: Every single male [[InhumanlyBeautifulRace Barrani]], but especially Nightshade.

* OurElvesAreDifferent: The Barrani are elves with sneakiness, cunning, and all around [[MagnificentBastard bastardry]] taken UpToEleven. They've also been known to cause wars because they're bored.

** Despite being ruled by the ''dragon'' court and it's Eternal Emperor, High Barrani is the language of law and the Imperial Court. Its also highly recommended for those interacting with the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Barrani]] High Court, as its impossible to unintentionally say something insulting in the language.[[note]]''Intentionally'' insulting, on the other hand, is an art form that seems to consist of carefully crafted BackhandedCompliments.[[/note]] Outside of law enforcement, government service, and the more powerful professional organizations, few speak more than a few words.

-->'''Kaylin''': ''Did you ever learn anything about [[TimeTravel time]] in your magical studies?''
-->'''Nightshade''': ''Yes, I've learned it passes very, very slowly when I'm bored.''''\\

* CantArgueWithElves: It's considered extremely inadvisable to argue with the Barrani, because they're [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent Bastards]] at best and WickedCultured at worst.

* MoodRingEyes: This series loves this trope. Every race except humans have eyes that reflect their mood, using a different range of colors for each race.

* HalfHumanHybrid: Averted. In a world with five races living in such close contact with each other, it's surprising that there are absolutely no hybrids ever mentioned ever, and Kaylin x Nightshade is the only InterspeciesRomance alluded to in the entire series. This may be a case of RealityEnsues that is exceedingly rare for this genre - realistically, different species most likely wouldn't be able to successfully produce offspring. There are also [[FantasticRacism a lot of political barriers to interracial couples in this setting]] and any that did succeed would likely not produce children.

* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:Makuron]]

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The quartermaster doesn't have a name, apparently.
** And since, according to the Dragons, if you don't have a name you don't have a soul, he lacks a soul as well.
* FriendToAllChildren: Take a guess.

* HumanoidAbomination: The "ancestors" in Castle Nightshade look very much like Barrani. ''They are not Barrani''.
** Gilbert is [[spoiler:a creature of Ravellon, the stronghold of Shadow]]. He's adopted--or been adopted by--a young girl from the fiefs.

* LivingProp: Anyone remember Tanner? No? I rest my case.

* MysticalWaif: [[spoiler: The Tha'alaani]] and [[spoiler: Tara]].
* NamedWeapons: Meliannos.

* PassedOverPromotion: Kaylin is still a Private, despite the fact that she [[spoiler: saved the fiefs, twice; saved both of the sons of the former Lord of the High Halls; survived the Barrani Test of Name; saved her Sergeant's sister-in-law; saved the city from a tidal wave, survived ''two'' encounters with Makuron; exonerated her Sergeant of murder; saved the Barrani Consort twice; served as harmoniste in recitation of the regalia; saved the Lost Children; saved The Green.]] There are reasons for this, such as *cough* her attitude *cough*.
** When one immortal is explaining her situation and lack of position to another, he says that Kaylin is in the position she is because she chooses to be. From Kaylin's perspective she is a private, a helper of the midwives, and a helper of the Foundling Halls. From the immortal perspective, she is the ''Chosen''--for starters. [[spoiler:She is also the ''Erenne'' of Lord Nightshade, capable of killing a dragon in dragon form through pure magical power, a Lord of the High Court, ''kyuthe'' of Lord Anteela, ''kyuthe'' of the Lord of the West March, ''kyuthe'' of the High Lord, friend and equal to the Consort, backup for the Consort, friend of the Tha'laani Castelord, welcome in the Tha'alan, friend of the Keeper, go-between for the Keeper, welcome in the Elemental Garden, priestess of Elemental Water, capable of freeing the dead, capable of carrying True Names, capable of telling stories in the Old Tongue beyond the greatest mages, welcome in the Birthing Caves, student of Sanabalis, claimed friend of Sanabalis, healer, wielder of magic the Dragons find legendary, friend of Lord Tiamaris, friend of Tara, capable of rewriting the words of the Old Ones, Traveller, capable of a feat that killed Old Ones, capable of rewriting True Names, savior and friend of the only living female dragon, former harmoniste, friend of the Hallionne, friend of the Green...]] The reason she is a private, rather than a princess in the palace, is because she ''really'' doesn't want to be, because those are parts of her life that she chooses to ignore. Almost no one is willing to fight her over it.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Kaylin. This isn't even a spoiler.

* PowerTattoo: The markings on Kaylin's body.
* {{Precursors}}: The Old Ones.

* ScaryLibrarian: You do not mess with the Arkon's Library. EVER.
* SecretPolice: Shadow Wolves are a benevolent form.
* StalkerWithACrush: Subverted by Severn, but he watched her from the shadows for ''seven years''.
** Nightshade might be a slightly more true-to-trope example. Thanks to meeting her in a StableTimeLoop, he knew about Kaylin before he even took over a fief, and one of the first things he does upon meeting her in her own timeline is put his mark on her.

* TheMultiverse: [[spoiler: The world the story is set in is the original world, but others exist.]]
* ThoseTwoGuys: Teela and Tain, when they come out together. Also, in the second book, Andellen and Samaran.
* TrueCompanions: Kyuthe, Pridlea, fellow Hawks.
* WingedHumanoid: The Aerians.

A separate book about Severn (''The Emper­or’s Wolves'') had been handed in to the publisher as of 29th January 2020.

''Chronicles of Elantra'' is a fantasy series by Michelle Sagara (also known as Michelle Sagara West, her pen name for ''Literature/TheSunSword'' series). The series has fourteen books, the fourteenth book having been released in January 2019, and another in preparation. The books follow the life of [[PersonOfMassDestruction Kaylin Neya]] as she deals with the issues surrounding the City of Elantra and the races within it and the strange marks left on her body by the [[{{Precursors}} Old Ones]].

''Chronicles of Elantra'' is a fantasy series by Michelle Sagara (also known as Michelle Sagara West, her pen name for ''Literature/TheSunSword'' series). The series has thirteen books, with a fourteenth book set for release in January 2019 and another in preparation. The books follow the life of [[PersonOfMassDestruction Kaylin Neya]] as she deals with the issues surrounding the City of Elantra and the races within it and the strange marks left on her body by the [[{{Precursors}} Old Ones]].

''Chronicles of Elantra'' is a fantasy series by Michelle Sagara (also known as Michelle Sagara West, her pen name for ''Literature/TheSunSword'' series). The series has twelve books, with a thirteenth book set for release in January 2018 and two more in preparation. The books follow the life of [[PersonOfMassDestruction Kaylin Neya]] as she deals with the issues surrounding the City of Elantra and the races within it and the strange marks left on her body by the [[{{Precursors}} Old Ones]].