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''Elantris'' is the first published book by Creator/BrandonSanderson, who went on to write the ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' books, ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'', and ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' for his [[TheVerse Verse]], Franchise/TheCosmere. He also later wrote the last three volumes of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', and the YA series Literature/AlcatrazSeries.
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''Elantris'' is the first published book by Creator/BrandonSanderson, who went on to write the ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' books, ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'', and ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' for his [[TheVerse Verse]], Franchise/TheCosmere. He also later wrote the last three volumes of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', and the YA series Literature/AlcatrazSeries.
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Changed line(s) 13,14 (click to see context) from:
''Elantris'' is the first published book by Creator/BrandonSanderson, who went on to write the ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' books, ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'', and ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' for his [[TheVerse Verse]], Franchise/TheCosmere. He also later wrote the last three volumes of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''.
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''Elantris'' is the first published book by Creator/BrandonSanderson, who went on to write the ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' books, ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'', and ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' for his [[TheVerse Verse]], Franchise/TheCosmere. He also later wrote the last three volumes of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''.''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', and the YA series Literature/AlcatrazSeries.
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''Elantris'' is the first published book by Creator/BrandonSanderson, who went on to write the ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' trilogy, ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'', Literature/TheStormlightArchive, and the last three volumes of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''.
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''Elantris'' is the first published book by Creator/BrandonSanderson, who went on to write the ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' trilogy, books, ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'', Literature/TheStormlightArchive, and ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' for his [[TheVerse Verse]], Franchise/TheCosmere. He also later wrote the last three volumes of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''.
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* OnlyOneName: Everyone in the book has only one name, aside from titles or nicknames, with Aonic names including an Aon. [[spoiler:The fact that Dilaf's name does not include such an Aon is a clue that he is not truly from Arelon at all.]]
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* StartOfDarkness: [[spoiler:Dilaf]] reveals his near the end. [[spoiler:He was a Fjordell priest sent to spy on Arelon, but he [[BecomingTheMask became the mask]] and fell in love with an Arelish woman, who he married. She later fell very sick, and he took her to Elantris for healing--but the healer botched the job and turned her into an undead Hoed instead. Dilaf put her out of her misery, but the act of doing so caused his mind to snap. Returning to the Derethi faith with a passion, he vowed to [[DisproportionateRetribution destroy Elantris utterly]] in revenge.]]
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* BestServedCold
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* BestServedColdBestServedCold: [[spoiler:Dilaf's revenge is planned as this type... Gone very very far over the edge.]]
* BodyHorror: Some not-quite-dead Elantrians. [[spoiler:The bone manipulation used by the Dakhor monks, including making them seem like different ethnicities, are gruesome.]]
* BodyHorror: Some not-quite-dead Elantrians. [[spoiler:The bone manipulation used by the Dakhor monks, including making them seem like different ethnicities, are gruesome.]]
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* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Hrathen tries to undermine Elantris by calling Elantrians demons. [[spoiler:Dakhor monks are explicitly connected to demons, but are human.]]
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* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Hrathen.]]
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* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Hrathen.[[spoiler:Hrathen first has a HeelFaceTurn to save [[LoveEpiphany Sarene]] and is nearly killed by Fjon, then dies after killing Dilaf and taking another wound in the process.]]
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* NonindicativeName: Iadon, see character sheet for details.
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** Hrathen (ironic, considering that he's a priest).
** Karata, especially compared to the other two gang leaders.
* NonHumanSidekick: The Seons.
** Karata, especially compared to the other two gang leaders.
* NonHumanSidekick: The Seons.
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** Hrathen (ironic, Hrathen, ironically considering that he's he is a priest).
priest.
** Karata, especially compared to the othertwo gang leaders.
* NonindicativeName: Iadon, see character sheet for details.
* NonHumanSidekick: The Seons. [[spoiler:[[WordOfGod Also]] [[EvilCounterpart Skaze]].]]
** Karata, especially compared to the other
* NonindicativeName: Iadon, see character sheet for details.
* NonHumanSidekick: The Seons. [[spoiler:[[WordOfGod Also]] [[EvilCounterpart Skaze]].]]
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* YouExclamation: [[spoiler:Hrathen, on realizing who Dilaf really is.]]
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* NoCureForEvil: [[spoiler:Dilaf notes that there is no healing mechanism in Dakhor, though thee is for Elantris.]]
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** Hrathen again (ironic, considering that he's a priest).
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** Hrathen again (ironic, considering that he's a priest).
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** Not to mention what [[spoiler:Dilaf]] had planned for the Elantrians over [[spoiler:the (accidental!) cursing and death of his wife.]]
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** Not to mention what that [[spoiler:Dilaf]] had planned for the [[spoiler:the extermination of everyone in Arelon and Teod to make sure no Elantrians exist ever again as far as he can tell]] over [[spoiler:the (accidental!) cursing and death of his wife.]]wife]].
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* DramaticUnmask: [[spoiler:Raoden, in the home of his conspirator friend, to the usurper King Telrii.]] He was even CrazyPrepared about it, making it ''look'' like his disguise was mundane when it was really the product of [[spoiler: TheMagicComesBack.]]
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* DramaticUnmask: [[spoiler:Raoden, in the home of his conspirator friend, to the usurper King Telrii.]] He was even CrazyPrepared about it, making it ''look'' like his disguise was mundane when it was really the product of [[spoiler: TheMagicComesBack.]][[spoiler:TheMagicComesBack]].
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* FauxDeath: Played with.
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* FauxDeath: Played with. [[spoiler:Hrathen commissions a poison that shows the physical appearance changes of an Elantrians without the hunger or pains. He uses it on himself, then on Sarene.]]
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* KnightTemplar: Hrathen, though a combination of CharacterDevelopment and SympatheticPOV soon make it clear he is far less fanatical than he seems, and [[spoiler:Dilaf.]]
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* KnightTemplar: Hrathen, though a combination of CharacterDevelopment and SympatheticPOV soon make it clear he is far less fanatical than he seems, and [[spoiler:Dilaf.]][[spoiler:Dilaf]].
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* ReligionOfEvil: Shu-Dereth is considered one by many. Hrathen, of course, thinks that it's [[LawfulNeutral perfectly]] [[TheSpock logical]], [[spoiler:even after he agrees that its current leader is evil.]]
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* ReligionOfEvil: Shu-Dereth is considered one by many. Hrathen, of course, thinks that it's [[LawfulNeutral perfectly]] [[TheSpock logical]], [[spoiler:even after he agrees that its current leader is evil.]]evil]].
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* YouMonster: [[spoiler:Hrathen declares Dilaf a monster for wanting the massacre of Teod and Arelon because he deems all of their citizens to be possible ''future'' Elantrians.]]
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** Though there's one major distinction between Elantrians and regular zombies: Elantrians don't spread their condition to anyone else.
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* ZombieAdvocate: Justified in a setting where [[NotUsingTheZedWord no one calls them zombies]] and they aren't mindless.
----
!!The Emperor's Soul:
-->The fate of an Empire, rests in the hands of a thief.
[[ConMan Shai is a Forger]], a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by [[RealityWarper rewriting its history with skillful magic]]. Though condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor's scepter, [[BoxedCrook she is given one opportunity to save herself]]. Despite the fact that her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead from the attack of assassins.
Delving deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan's truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure councilor Gaotona]] must overcome his prejudices to understand that her forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.
Skillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, [[GuileHero Shai needs a perfect plan to escape.]] The fate of [[TheEmpire the empire]] lies in one [[ImpossibleTask impossible task]]. [[BetterThanNew Is it possible to create a forgery of a soul so convincing that it is better than the soul itself?]]
----
* BetterThanNew: The maxim of a good forgery: improve slightly on the original, and people would often accept the fake because it ''was'' superior
* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a Reo rune in it's place. Readers of [[ShoutOut Elantris]] will recognize this rune as meaning Punishment or Retribution.
* BloodMagic: To prevent her from escaping a sample of Shai's blood is taken daily by a Bloodsealer. This blood is used in a special stamp on her door which will let the Bloodsealer know if she leaves the room and can then be used to track her.
* BoxedCrook:
* TheCharmer: Shai is very good at understanding and befriending those around her.
* ManipulativeBastard: How her captor's view her.
* NonActionGuy: Shai is not much of a fighter, preferring to talk or bluff her way through dangerous situations. [[spoiler: However using one of her pre-prepared essence marks she can become '[[BadAss Shaizan]]', a version of herself if she'd been adopted by a harsh warrior culture and lived among them for well over a decade.]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Gaotona.
* RefugeInAudacity: Both a stock tool of a good forger and the entirety of the plan to recreate the Emperor's soul.
* ShoutOut: Being set on the same world as Elantris, this story contains a few references for fans to spot.
----
----
!!The Emperor's Soul:
-->The fate of an Empire, rests in the hands of a thief.
[[ConMan Shai is a Forger]], a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by [[RealityWarper rewriting its history with skillful magic]]. Though condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor's scepter, [[BoxedCrook she is given one opportunity to save herself]]. Despite the fact that her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead from the attack of assassins.
Delving deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan's truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure councilor Gaotona]] must overcome his prejudices to understand that her forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.
Skillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, [[GuileHero Shai needs a perfect plan to escape.]] The fate of [[TheEmpire the empire]] lies in one [[ImpossibleTask impossible task]]. [[BetterThanNew Is it possible to create a forgery of a soul so convincing that it is better than the soul itself?]]
----
* BetterThanNew: The maxim of a good forgery: improve slightly on the original, and people would often accept the fake because it ''was'' superior
* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a Reo rune in it's place. Readers of [[ShoutOut Elantris]] will recognize this rune as meaning Punishment or Retribution.
* BloodMagic: To prevent her from escaping a sample of Shai's blood is taken daily by a Bloodsealer. This blood is used in a special stamp on her door which will let the Bloodsealer know if she leaves the room and can then be used to track her.
* BoxedCrook:
* TheCharmer: Shai is very good at understanding and befriending those around her.
* ManipulativeBastard: How her captor's view her.
* NonActionGuy: Shai is not much of a fighter, preferring to talk or bluff her way through dangerous situations. [[spoiler: However using one of her pre-prepared essence marks she can become '[[BadAss Shaizan]]', a version of herself if she'd been adopted by a harsh warrior culture and lived among them for well over a decade.]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Gaotona.
* RefugeInAudacity: Both a stock tool of a good forger and the entirety of the plan to recreate the Emperor's soul.
* ShoutOut: Being set on the same world as Elantris, this story contains a few references for fans to spot.
----
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* ZombieAdvocate: Justified in a setting where [[NotUsingTheZedWord no one calls them zombies]] and they aren't mindless. \n\n----\n\n!!The Emperor's Soul:\n\n-->The fate of an Empire, rests in the hands of a thief.\n\n[[ConMan Shai is a Forger]], a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by [[RealityWarper rewriting its history with skillful magic]]. Though condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor's scepter, [[BoxedCrook she is given one opportunity to save herself]]. Despite the fact that her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead from the attack of assassins.\n\nDelving deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan's truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure councilor Gaotona]] must overcome his prejudices to understand that her forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.\n\nSkillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, [[GuileHero Shai needs a perfect plan to escape.]] The fate of [[TheEmpire the empire]] lies in one [[ImpossibleTask impossible task]]. [[BetterThanNew Is it possible to create a forgery of a soul so convincing that it is better than the soul itself?]]\n\n----\n\n* BetterThanNew: The maxim of a good forgery: improve slightly on the original, and people would often accept the fake because it ''was'' superior\n* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a Reo rune in it's place. Readers of [[ShoutOut Elantris]] will recognize this rune as meaning Punishment or Retribution.\n* BloodMagic: To prevent her from escaping a sample of Shai's blood is taken daily by a Bloodsealer. This blood is used in a special stamp on her door which will let the Bloodsealer know if she leaves the room and can then be used to track her.\n* BoxedCrook: \n* TheCharmer: Shai is very good at understanding and befriending those around her.\n* ManipulativeBastard: How her captor's view her.\n* NonActionGuy: Shai is not much of a fighter, preferring to talk or bluff her way through dangerous situations. [[spoiler: However using one of her pre-prepared essence marks she can become '[[BadAss Shaizan]]', a version of herself if she'd been adopted by a harsh warrior culture and lived among them for well over a decade.]]\n* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Gaotona.\n* RefugeInAudacity: Both a stock tool of a good forger and the entirety of the plan to recreate the Emperor's soul.\n* ShoutOut: Being set on the same world as Elantris, this story contains a few references for fans to spot.\n\n----
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Sanderson has also written 'Literature/TheEmperorsSoul', a standalone novella set in the same world as Elantris, but in a distant Empire.
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Sanderson has also written 'Literature/TheEmperorsSoul', ''Literature/TheEmperorsSoul'', a standalone novella set in the same world as Elantris, but in a distant Empire.
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Moving The Emperor\'s Soul to it\'s own page as it has nothing to do with the main Elantris book other than sharing a planet. Should all works set on Earth have the same page?
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Sanderson has also written 'TheEmperorsSoul', a standalone novella set in the same world as Elantris, but in a distant Empire.
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Sanderson has also written 'TheEmperorsSoul', 'Literature/TheEmperorsSoul', a standalone novella set in the same world as Elantris, but in a distant Empire.
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Sanderson has also written 'The Emperor's Soul', a standalone novella set in the same world as Elantris, but in a distant Empire. Tropes for The Emperor's Soul will be listed at the bottom of this page.
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Sanderson has also written 'The Emperor's Soul', 'TheEmperorsSoul', a standalone novella set in the same world as Elantris, but in a distant Empire. Tropes for The Emperor's Soul will be listed at the bottom of this page.
Empire.
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* AllThereInTheManual: The planet on which Elantris takes place is named Sel. This fact only pops up [[Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw in another book]] set in the {{Mistborn}} setting, in an appendix that compares Allomancy with Aons.
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Bare Fisted Monk has nothing to do with them actually being monks or scare factor. It\'s about bare-handed fighters.
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* AntiVillain: Hrathen. His primary motivation in coming to Arelon isn't because he believes the Arelene to be wrong (though he does), it's that he wants to save them from a terrible fate, namely [[spoiler:genocide at the hands of Wyrn's forces.]] The one time he had to convert a population through bloodshed, it weighed heavily on his conscience, and continues to do so even to the present time of the story.
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* AntiVillain: Hrathen. Hrathen, as a Type III. His primary motivation in coming to Arelon isn't because he believes the Arelene to be wrong (though he does), it's that he wants to save them from a terrible fate, namely [[spoiler:genocide at the hands of Wyrn's forces.]] forces]]. The one time he had to convert a population through bloodshed, it weighed heavily on his conscience, and continues to do so even to the present time of the story.
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* AxeCrazy: [[spoiler: Dilaf.]]
* BadassPreacher: Derethi priests ''look'' like this, in large part because their typical garb consists of a suit of ornamental, ceremonial armor. Hrathen, on the other hand, ''is'' this; [[spoiler:that armor he wears constantly? Totally real.]]
* BareFistedMonk: Subverted. There are some ''very'' scary monks out there...
* BadassPreacher: Derethi priests ''look'' like this, in large part because their typical garb consists of a suit of ornamental, ceremonial armor. Hrathen, on the other hand, ''is'' this; [[spoiler:that armor he wears constantly? Totally real.]]
* BareFistedMonk: Subverted. There are some ''very'' scary monks out there...
to:
* AxeCrazy: [[spoiler: Dilaf.AxCrazy: [[spoiler:Dilaf.]]
* BadassPreacher: Derethi priests ''look'' like this, in large part because their typical garb consists of a suit of ornamental, ceremonial armor. Hrathen, on the other hand, ''is'' this; [[spoiler:that armor he wears constantly? Totallyreal.]]
* BareFistedMonk: Subverted. There are some ''very'' scary monks out there...real]].
* BadassPreacher: Derethi priests ''look'' like this, in large part because their typical garb consists of a suit of ornamental, ceremonial armor. Hrathen, on the other hand, ''is'' this; [[spoiler:that armor he wears constantly? Totally
* BareFistedMonk: Subverted. There are some ''very'' scary monks out there...
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* EvenEvilHasStandards
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* EvenEvilHasStandardsEvenEvilHasStandards: Hrathen is practically defined by this, to contrast from [[TheFundamentalist Dilaf]].
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* HumanSacrifice: The cult of the Mysteries is known for this. [[spoiler:Iadon takes to it out of desperation]].
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* HumanSacrifice: The cult of the Mysteries is known for this. [[spoiler:Iadon takes to it out of desperation]].desperation.]]
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* MagicAIsMagicA: Seriously. If you want a slightly different effect, you'll need to use Magic A'. [[spoiler:It is heavily implied that the old Elantrians had to learn all this over long time, in universities.]]
to:
* MagicAIsMagicA: Seriously.As Sanderson is known for. If you want a slightly different effect, you'll need to use Magic A'. [[spoiler:It is heavily implied that the old Elantrians had to learn all this over long time, in universities.]]
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* TheMessiah: Raoden, so very much.
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* TheMessiah: Raoden, so very much.Raoden.
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* OnlySaneMan: Raoden only meets one person who's managed to retain both his wits and his humanity after becoming an Elantrian. [[spoiler:At first.]]
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* OnlySaneMan: Raoden only meets one person who's managed to retain both his wits and his humanity after becoming an Elantrian.Elantrian, Galladon. [[spoiler:At first.]]
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* RasputinianDeath
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:Sarene gives a nasty one to to Iadon that actually leaves the man as a blubbering wreck.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:Sarene gives a nasty one to to Iadon that actually leaves the man as a blubbering wreck.
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* RasputinianDeath
RasputinianDeath: Given how hard it is to kill an Elantrian, this comes up.
*TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:Sarene TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Sarene gives a nasty one to to Iadon that actually leaves the man as a blubbering wreck.
*
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* SuperSoldier: [[spoiler:The Dakhor]].
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* SuperSoldier: [[spoiler:The Dakhor]].Dakhor.]]
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* {{Chessmaster}}: Sarene. And Hrathen. [[spoiler:And Dilaf.]]
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* {{Chessmaster}}: Sarene. And TheChessmaster: Sarene and Hrathen. [[spoiler:And [[spoiler:Also Dilaf.]]
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* FateWorseThanDeath
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* FateWorseThanDeathFateWorseThanDeath: Elantrians' fate post-Reod.
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* FoeYay: In-universe, Hrathen toward Sarene, especially near the end.
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* FoeYay: In-universe, FoeRomanceSubtext: Hrathen toward Sarene, especially near the end.
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* HumanSacrifice: The cult of the Mysteries is known for this. [[spoiler: Iadon takes to it out of desperation]].
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* HumanSacrifice: The cult of the Mysteries is known for this. [[spoiler: Iadon [[spoiler:Iadon takes to it out of desperation]].
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----
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* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a Reo rune in it's place. Readers of [[ShoutOut Elantris]] will recognise this rune as meaning Punishment or Retribution.
* BloodMagic: To prevent her from escaping a sample of Shai's blood is taken daily by a Bloodsealer as a way of keeping track of her.
* BloodMagic: To prevent her from escaping a sample of Shai's blood is taken daily by a Bloodsealer as a way of keeping track of her.
to:
* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a Reo rune in it's place. Readers of [[ShoutOut Elantris]] will recognise recognize this rune as meaning Punishment or Retribution.
* BloodMagic: To prevent her from escaping a sample of Shai's blood is taken daily by a Bloodsealer. This blood is used in a special stamp on her door which will let the Bloodsealeras a way of keeping know if she leaves the room and can then be used to track of her.
* BloodMagic: To prevent her from escaping a sample of Shai's blood is taken daily by a Bloodsealer. This blood is used in a special stamp on her door which will let the Bloodsealer
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* NonActionGuy: Shai is not much of a fighter, prefering to talk her way through dangerous siuations. [[spoiler: However using one of her pre-prepared essence marks she can become '[[BadAss Shaizan]]', a version of herself if she'd been adopted by a harsh warrior culture and lived among them for well over a decade.]]
to:
* NonActionGuy: Shai is not much of a fighter, prefering preferring to talk or bluff her way through dangerous siuations.situations. [[spoiler: However using one of her pre-prepared essence marks she can become '[[BadAss Shaizan]]', a version of herself if she'd been adopted by a harsh warrior culture and lived among them for well over a decade.]]
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* ShoutOut: Being set on the same world as Elantris, this story contains a few references for fans to spot.
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* ShoutOut: Being set on the same world as Elantris, this story contains a few references for fans to spot.spot.
----
----
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Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skillful magic. Though condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor's scepter, she is given one opportunity to save herself. Despite the fact that her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead from the attack of assassins.
Delving deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan's truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but councilor Gaotona must overcome his prejudices to understand that her forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.
Skillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, [[GuileHero Shai needs a perfect plan to escape.]] The fate of the empire lies in one impossible task. Is it possible to create a forgery of a soul so convincing that it is better than the soul itself?
Delving deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan's truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but councilor Gaotona must overcome his prejudices to understand that her forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.
Skillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, [[GuileHero Shai needs a perfect plan to escape.]] The fate of the empire lies in one impossible task. Is it possible to create a forgery of a soul so convincing that it is better than the soul itself?
to:
[[ConMan Shai is a Forger, Forger]], a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by [[RealityWarper rewriting its history with skillful magic. magic]]. Though condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor's scepter, [[BoxedCrook she is given one opportunity to save herself.herself]]. Despite the fact that her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead from the attack of assassins.
Delving deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan's truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure councilorGaotona Gaotona]] must overcome his prejudices to understand that her forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.
Skillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, [[GuileHero Shai needs a perfect plan to escape.]] The fate of [[TheEmpire theempire empire]] lies in one [[ImpossibleTask impossible task. task]]. [[BetterThanNew Is it possible to create a forgery of a soul so convincing that it is better than the soul itself?
itself?]]
Delving deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan's truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure councilor
Skillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, [[GuileHero Shai needs a perfect plan to escape.]] The fate of [[TheEmpire the
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When [[TheTrickster Shai]] is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance only concealed by the death of his wife. If the Emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and TheEmpire will fall into chaos.
[[RenaissanceMan Shai]] is given an impossible task; to create -to forge- a new soul for the Emperor in fewer than one hundred days. But her soul~Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is [[BoxedCrook confined to a tiny, dirty chamber]], guarded by a man who hates her, spied on by politicians, [[BloodMagic and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood.]] [[GuileHero Shai's]] only possible ally is the Emperor's most trusted councillor, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Gaotona,]] who struggles to understand her true talent.
Time is running out for [[ConMan Shai]]. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape...
[[RenaissanceMan Shai]] is given an impossible task; to create -to forge- a new soul for the Emperor in fewer than one hundred days. But her soul~Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is [[BoxedCrook confined to a tiny, dirty chamber]], guarded by a man who hates her, spied on by politicians, [[BloodMagic and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood.]] [[GuileHero Shai's]] only possible ally is the Emperor's most trusted councillor, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Gaotona,]] who struggles to understand her true talent.
Time is running out for [[ConMan Shai]]. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape...
to:
[[RenaissanceMan Shai]]
Delving deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan's truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the
Time
Skillfully deducing the
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* BloodMagic: To prevent her from escaping a sample of Shai's blood is taken daily by a Bloodsealer as a way of keeping track of her.
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* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Gaotona.
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* NonActionGuy: Shai is not much of a fighter, prefering to talk her way trough dangerous siuations. [[spoiler: However using one of her pre-prepared essence marks she can become '[[BadAss Shaizan]]', a version of herself if she'd been adopted by a harsh warrior culture and lived among them for well over a decade.]]
to:
* NonActionGuy: Shai is not much of a fighter, prefering to talk her way trough through dangerous siuations. [[spoiler: However using one of her pre-prepared essence marks she can become '[[BadAss Shaizan]]', a version of herself if she'd been adopted by a harsh warrior culture and lived among them for well over a decade.]]
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Shai is given an impossible task; to create -to forge- a new soul for the Emperor in fewer than one hundred days. But her soul~Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is [[BoxedCrook confined to a tiny, dirty chamber]], guarded by a man who hates her, spied on by politicians, [[BloodMagic and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood.]] [[GuileHero Shai's]] only possible ally is the Emperor's most trusted councillor, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Gaotona,]] who struggles to understand her true talent.
to:
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Changed line(s) 137,143 (click to see context) from:
When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance only concealed by the death of his wife. If the Emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the Empire will fall into chaos.
Shai is given an impossible task; to create -to forge- a new soul for the Emperor in fewer than one hundred days. But her soul~Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is confined to a tiny, dirty chamber guarded by a man who hates her, spied on by politicians, and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood. Shai's only possible ally is the Emperor's most trusted councillor, Gaotona, who struggles to understand her true talent.
Time is running out for Shai. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape...
* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a Reo Rune in it's place. Readers of [[ShoutOut:Elantris]] will recognise this rune as meaning Punishment or Retribution.
Shai is given an impossible task; to create -to forge- a new soul for the Emperor in fewer than one hundred days. But her soul~Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is confined to a tiny, dirty chamber guarded by a man who hates her, spied on by politicians, and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood. Shai's only possible ally is the Emperor's most trusted councillor, Gaotona, who struggles to understand her true talent.
Time is running out for Shai. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape...
* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a Reo Rune in it's place. Readers of [[ShoutOut:Elantris]] will recognise this rune as meaning Punishment or Retribution.
to:
When Shai [[TheTrickster Shai]] is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance only concealed by the death of his wife. If the Emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the Empire TheEmpire will fall into chaos.
Shai is given an impossible task; to create -to forge- a new soul for the Emperor in fewer than one hundred days. But her soul~Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is [[BoxedCrook confined to a tiny, dirtychamber chamber]], guarded by a man who hates her, spied on by politicians, [[BloodMagic and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood. Shai's blood.]] [[GuileHero Shai's]] only possible ally is the Emperor's most trusted councillor, Gaotona, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Gaotona,]] who struggles to understand her true talent.
Time is running out forShai.[[ConMan Shai]]. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape...
* BetterThanNew: The maxim of a good forgery: improve slightly on the original, and people would often accept the fake because it ''was'' superior
* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a ReoRune rune in it's place. Readers of [[ShoutOut:Elantris]] [[ShoutOut Elantris]] will recognise this rune as meaning Punishment or Retribution.Retribution.
* BoxedCrook:
* TheCharmer: Shai is very good at understanding and befriending those around her.
* ManipulativeBastard: How her captor's view her.
* NonActionGuy: Shai is not much of a fighter, prefering to talk her way trough dangerous siuations. [[spoiler: However using one of her pre-prepared essence marks she can become '[[BadAss Shaizan]]', a version of herself if she'd been adopted by a harsh warrior culture and lived among them for well over a decade.]]
* RefugeInAudacity: Both a stock tool of a good forger and the entirety of the plan to recreate the Emperor's soul.
Shai is given an impossible task; to create -to forge- a new soul for the Emperor in fewer than one hundred days. But her soul~Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is [[BoxedCrook confined to a tiny, dirty
Time is running out for
* BetterThanNew: The maxim of a good forgery: improve slightly on the original, and people would often accept the fake because it ''was'' superior
* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a Reo
* BoxedCrook:
* TheCharmer: Shai is very good at understanding and befriending those around her.
* ManipulativeBastard: How her captor's view her.
* NonActionGuy: Shai is not much of a fighter, prefering to talk her way trough dangerous siuations. [[spoiler: However using one of her pre-prepared essence marks she can become '[[BadAss Shaizan]]', a version of herself if she'd been adopted by a harsh warrior culture and lived among them for well over a decade.]]
* RefugeInAudacity: Both a stock tool of a good forger and the entirety of the plan to recreate the Emperor's soul.
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erm I meant \'too\' not \'to\'
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When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance only concealed by the death of his wife. If the Emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the TheEmpire will fall into chaos.
to:
When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance only concealed by the death of his wife. If the Emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the TheEmpire Empire will fall into chaos.
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Time is running out for Shai. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape...
to:
Time is running out for Shai. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape...escape...
* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a Reo Rune in it's place. Readers of [[ShoutOut:Elantris]] will recognise this rune as meaning Punishment or Retribution.
* ShoutOut: Being set on the same world as Elantris, this story contains a few references for fans to spot.
* BilingualBonus: When Shai steals [[spoiler:her forgery of the painting]] from Frava she leaves a Reo Rune in it's place. Readers of [[ShoutOut:Elantris]] will recognise this rune as meaning Punishment or Retribution.
* ShoutOut: Being set on the same world as Elantris, this story contains a few references for fans to spot.
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The story is probably to short for it\'s own page
-->Discover where the magic began...
Sanderson has also written 'The Emperor's Soul', a standalone novella set in the same world as Elantris, but in a distant Empire. Tropes for The Emperor's Soul will be listed at the bottom of this page.
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!!This book provides examples of:
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----
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!!The Emperor's Soul:
-->The fate of an Empire, rests in the hands of a thief.
When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance only concealed by the death of his wife. If the Emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the TheEmpire will fall into chaos.
Shai is given an impossible task; to create -to forge- a new soul for the Emperor in fewer than one hundred days. But her soul~Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is confined to a tiny, dirty chamber guarded by a man who hates her, spied on by politicians, and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood. Shai's only possible ally is the Emperor's most trusted councillor, Gaotona, who struggles to understand her true talent.
Time is running out for Shai. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape...
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It gets worse wicks
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And then [[ItGetsWorse everything starts going wrong]] all at once. The kingdom of Arelon is unstable due to inept leadership, the most beloved man in the kingdom (who could have held things together) is "dead," and [[WarriorMonk a high priest]] of [[ChurchMilitant the militaristic Dereth religion]] has just arrived in the capital city. [[MissionFromGod He has three months to convert the people of Arelon]], or they will all be wiped out by the Derethi in a holy war. And that's just the first couple of chapters. To say anything more would be to spoil things.
to:
And then [[ItGetsWorse everything starts going wrong]] wrong all at once. The kingdom of Arelon is unstable due to inept leadership, the most beloved man in the kingdom (who could have held things together) is "dead," and [[WarriorMonk a high priest]] of [[ChurchMilitant the militaristic Dereth religion]] has just arrived in the capital city. [[MissionFromGod He has three months to convert the people of Arelon]], or they will all be wiped out by the Derethi in a holy war. And that's just the first couple of chapters. To say anything more would be to spoil things.
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* WordOfGod: There are two Shards of Adonalsium on Sel; Devotion and Dominion [[spoiler: but their holders (Aona and Skai) were killed by Odium's holder Rayse, who then splintered their Shards so they could not be used.]]
* WorthyOpponent: Hrathen considers Sarene one of these, in a political sense. At their first real clash on the Elantris walls, he gives her a nod of respect when she outmaneuvers him, and later tells Dilaf that she was "magnificent."
* WorthyOpponent: Hrathen considers Sarene one of these, in a political sense. At their first real clash on the Elantris walls, he gives her a nod of respect when she outmaneuvers him, and later tells Dilaf that she was "magnificent."
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* WorthyOpponent: Hrathen considers Sarene one of these, in a political sense. At their first real clash on the Elantris walls, he gives her a nod of respect when she outmaneuvers him, and later tells Dilaf that she was "magnificent."
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* FantasyCounterpartAppliance: The Seons have many functions that make them like sentient, floating versions of a personal computer.
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''Elantris'' is the first published book by BrandonSanderson, who went on to write the {{Mistborn}} trilogy, {{Warbreaker}}, Literature/TheStormlightArchive, and the last three volumes of TheWheelOfTime.
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''Elantris'' is the first published book by BrandonSanderson, Creator/BrandonSanderson, who went on to write the {{Mistborn}} ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' trilogy, {{Warbreaker}}, ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'', Literature/TheStormlightArchive, and the last three volumes of TheWheelOfTime.''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''.
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[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Elantris_9910.jpg]]
Elantris was the city of the gods. Elantrians were people who had [[TouchedByVorlons been magically transformed]] by a strange effect that strikes people at random, turning them into [[PhysicalGod near-immortals able to command powerful magics]]. Anyone the transformation took--beggar, peasant or nobleman--would leave their old, mundane lives behind and move to Elantris, to live in glory, wisdom, and splendor, worshiped by mere mortals for all eternity.
Eternity, as the introduction puts it, [[AfterTheEnd ended ten years ago]]. In a cataclysmic event that tore open the land, the magic suddenly failed, turning the Elantrians into grotesque [[OurZombiesAreDifferent zombie-like]] creatures stripped of their magic and their glory. The transformation still strikes at random, but now as a curse, condemned by all the religions of the world.
The story opens with [[WisePrince Raoden]], the beloved Crown Prince of Arelon, waking up to find it took him in his sleep. He's thrown into the now-ruined city of Elantris, which has transformed over the last ten years from a majestic City of the Gods into a crumbling, filth-covered insane asylum filled with cursed immortals whose bodies do not heal from even the slightest injuries. His fiance from [[ArrangedMarriage a political marriage]], Sarene, arrives from another kingdom to be told that he suddenly died during her journey, leaving her officially his widow under the terms of the contract. She immediately suspects assassination, but soon she finds far more pressing matters to worry about...
And then [[ItGetsWorse everything starts going wrong]] all at once. The kingdom of Arelon is unstable due to inept leadership, the most beloved man in the kingdom (who could have held things together) is "dead," and [[WarriorMonk a high priest]] of [[ChurchMilitant the militaristic Dereth religion]] has just arrived in the capital city. [[MissionFromGod He has three months to convert the people of Arelon]], or they will all be wiped out by the Derethi in a holy war. And that's just the first couple of chapters. To say anything more would be to spoil things.
''Elantris'' is the first published book by BrandonSanderson, who went on to write the {{Mistborn}} trilogy, {{Warbreaker}}, Literature/TheStormlightArchive, and the last three volumes of TheWheelOfTime.
Not to be confused with the Hyundai Elantra.
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!!This book provides examples of:
* ActionGirl:
** Not Sarene's forte, as she's more of a political type, but she ''does'' fence regularly for sport and is good enough to hold her own against the most physically powerful character in the novel, [[spoiler: Dilaf.]]
** Karata is a more typical example.
* ActionSurvivor: Pretty much any Elantrian who isn't AxCrazy or past the DespairEventHorizon.
* AfterTheEnd: Sort of. Elantris is not a pleasant place to live in anymore, though the world outside its walls continues as normal.
* AloneAmongTheCouples: Sarene finds it painful.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Duke Roial always seems to be one step ahead of his business rival and friend Ahan. [[spoiler:This eventually leads to Ahan's betrayal of the group so he can finally get the better of Roial.]]
* AntiMagic: [[spoiler:Dilaf's is immune to Aonic magic, even able to destroy Aons from a distance.]]
* AntiVillain: Hrathen. His primary motivation in coming to Arelon isn't because he believes the Arelene to be wrong (though he does), it's that he wants to save them from a terrible fate, namely [[spoiler:genocide at the hands of Wyrn's forces.]] The one time he had to convert a population through bloodshed, it weighed heavily on his conscience, and continues to do so even to the present time of the story.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: To Hrathen: [[spoiler:"What happened to your faith?"]]
* AxeCrazy: [[spoiler: Dilaf.]]
* BadassPreacher: Derethi priests ''look'' like this, in large part because their typical garb consists of a suit of ornamental, ceremonial armor. Hrathen, on the other hand, ''is'' this; [[spoiler:that armor he wears constantly? Totally real.]]
* BareFistedMonk: Subverted. There are some ''very'' scary monks out there...
* BestServedCold
* CapeSwish: Hrathen does this. When she first sees him, Sarene hopes he'll trip on it.
* TheCavalry: [[spoiler:The rest of the newly-empowered Elantrians teleporting to Raoden's rescue and unleashing a massive battery of attack magic on the Derethi monks.]]
* ChekhovsArmoury: Plenty of seemingly minor details turn out to be significant later on, and only the most important one was obvious enough to identify as a ChekhovsGun beforehand.
* {{Chessmaster}}: Sarene. And Hrathen. [[spoiler:And Dilaf.]]
* ChurchMilitant: The Shu-Dereth religion views combat as an expression of one's loyalty to God and Wyrn, and all of its priests are expected to be at least competent warriors. Hrathen's vestments actually include armor, though that's supposed to be ceremonial. [[spoiler:It isn't.]]
* CorruptChurch: It's very heavily implied that Wyrn, the priest-emperor of the Derethi, cares more about power on earth than righteousness before God. This is subverted with the two main Derethi characters, however--[[spoiler:Hrathen is genuinely devout, and Dilaf's belief is crazy but sincere.]]
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: An [[AristocratsAreEvil entire aristocracy]] full of them, (the king set up his system of nobility and titles specifically based on the ownership and production of wealth), but Telrii and the King are by far the worst.
* {{Cult}}: "The Mysteries."
* DespairEventHorizon: Elantrians who cross it turn comatose and spend all day whispering {{Madness Mantra}}s to themselves.
* DisproportionateRetribution:
** So the Elantrians were benevolent semi-divine beings who ruled over a genuine utopia... and then they were all made into hideous zombie-like creatures because they earned the wrath of God (according to Shu-Dereth). Seems more than a little unfair.
** Not to mention what [[spoiler:Dilaf]] had planned for the Elantrians over [[spoiler:the (accidental!) cursing and death of his wife.]]
* DragonWithAnAgenda: Dilaf. [[spoiler:Eventually he reveals himself to be a DragonInChief.]]
* DramaticUnmask: [[spoiler:Raoden, in the home of his conspirator friend, to the usurper King Telrii.]] He was even CrazyPrepared about it, making it ''look'' like his disguise was mundane when it was really the product of [[spoiler: TheMagicComesBack.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding
* ElephantInTheLivingRoom:
** Nobody at court wants to discuss Prince Raoden's death, which annoys Sarene to no end.
** Elantris itself is also this for the Arelenes after the Reod.
* TheEmpire: Fjordell.
* EvenEvilHasStandards
* [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Everything's Better With Princesses And Princes]]: Sarene and Raoden are the most competent politicians in the book, making them RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething to boot.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The Derethi/Fjordell empire is a combination of the Romans and the Norse, per WordOfGod. Jindo is loosely based on China, and Teod is remniscent of Britain in that it's a tiny island that is nonetheless a world power due to its incredibly formidable navy.
* FateWorseThanDeath
* FauxDeath: Played with.
* FemininityFailure: Sarene tries to be traditionally feminine, but isn't exactly good at it. This leads to her having trouble fitting in with the court.
* FoeYay: In-universe, Hrathen toward Sarene, especially near the end.
* [[FunctionalMagic Functional]][=/=]GeometricMagic:
** [=AonDor=], the magic of the Elantrians, is based on a set of special runes that must be traced exactly the right way in the air, with an endless variety of effects generated using special modifiers and varied line lengths. [[spoiler:What bit them in the ass ten years ago was the fact that the geometry was in turn ''geography''-based. When the geography ''changed''...]]
** [[spoiler:Jindo's [=ChayShan=],]] which apparently works by tracing patterns though special movements, sort of like a SupernaturalMartialArts. He cuts down [[spoiler:a superpowered monk]] with his ''eyes closed''.
** [[spoiler:The Dakhor have also discovered a way to "channel the Dor", using chanting to cause their bones to painfully grow and reshape into ancient runes that grant them special powers.]]
* TheFundamentalist: Dilaf.
* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire: Averted; all the nations involved on both sides are monarchies and Hrathen was able to topple the Duladen Republic in favour of a Fjorden-backed monarchy in part because he was able to exploit the fact that the Duladen were ruled by an oligarchic out-of-touch ruling class, known simply as "the republicans".
* {{Gotterdammerung}}: Elantris was known as the City of the Gods until all [[TheMagicGoesAway the magic went sour]].
* GuileHero: Sarene, certainly, and Prince Raoden, to a lesser extent.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Hrathen.]]
* HumanSacrifice: The cult of the Mysteries is known for this. [[spoiler: Iadon takes to it out of desperation]].
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Lord Ahan decides this after Sarene declares that she plans to go into Elantris.
* IronicEcho: At the beginning of the novel, Hrathen is convinced that eventually, the people of the city will see him as their savior. [[spoiler: Well... yeah, but not exactly the way he intended.]]
* KarmaHoudini: [[EvilOverlord Wyrn]] gets away untouched, with just his recent plotting thwarted. Sanderson hopes to write a sequel someday and intended to preserve Wyrn as BigBad of the setting.
* KillItWithFire: Failed Elantrians are very flammable, and many people are more than happy to help out.
* KingIncognito: Raoden, sort of, several times. [[spoiler: When he's first sent to Elantris, he doesn't give his real name. People unusually smart and/or close to him figure out who he is in the end, but most people come to follow him simply because he's leading by example and getting things done. When Sarene accidentally subverts his efforts to help Elantrians by giving them handouts, he doesn't admit to being in charge and lets her think the former gang leaders are still running things. And later, he leaves the city disguised as a JiveTurkey, because he's still trying to figure out how to fix the magic.]]
* KnightTemplar: Hrathen, though a combination of CharacterDevelopment and SympatheticPOV soon make it clear he is far less fanatical than he seems, and [[spoiler:Dilaf.]]
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Both Raoden and Sarene began to fall in love with one another when they could only speak over Seon and via letters, but hadn't met face to face.
* MadnessMantra: Each Hoed, an Elantrian who has been driven into a catatonic state by the injury, has their own.
* MagicAIsMagicA: Seriously. If you want a slightly different effect, you'll need to use Magic A'. [[spoiler:It is heavily implied that the old Elantrians had to learn all this over long time, in universities.]]
* MayflyDecemberRomance: It's not really addressed in the book, but it's implied that Raoden will far outlive Sarene.
* MeaningfulEcho: [[spoiler:When Saolin goes Hoed, his MadnessMantra is "I have failed my Lord Spirit." When Raoden does, his is "Failed my love."]]
* MeaningfulName: Plenty, most of which are only revealed by checking the Aonic glossary in the back.
* TheMessiah: Raoden, so very much.
* MissionFromGod: Hrathen and Dilaf are both driven by their devotion, though Hrathen is ''much'' more reasonable about it.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The pirate Dreok Crushthroat. For bonus points, "Reo" means "Vengeance" in Aonic. Fortunately, he was defeated before the story begins. [[spoiler:It's actually Dreok ''Crushed''throat, but that's not much better.]]
* NoZombieCannibals: Justified. The Elantrians' flesh tastes so horrible that even the perpetually-ravenous Elantrians can't bring themselves to eat each other.
* NonindicativeName: Iadon, see character sheet for details.
* NobleDemon:
** Hrathen again (ironic, considering that he's a priest).
** Karata, especially compared to the other two gang leaders.
* NonHumanSidekick: The Seons.
* NotUsingTheZedWord: The Elantrians--no bleeding, no heartbeat, no healing, unable to die unless [[Franchise/{{Highlander}} beheaded]] or purged with fire, accumulating unfading pain with every minor injury, and constantly ravenous. Almost all Elantrians are reduced to moaning, immobile heaps within a year of transformation even if they avoid going insane from pain and hunger before then. Sanderson plays up those who've managed to keep their sanity as victims of something like zombie apartheid.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Sarene's very good at this. [[spoiler:So is Dilaf.]]
* OnlySaneMan: Raoden only meets one person who's managed to retain both his wits and his humanity after becoming an Elantrian. [[spoiler:At first.]]
* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: Raoden and Sarene were engaged for political reasons, but this didn't stop them from [[LoveBeforeFirstSight starting to fall for each other through letters]].
* PhosphorEssence: Before being reduced to twisted wrinkled pseudo-zombies, Elantrians glowed faintly. [[spoiler:After the problem that removed their powers is fixed, they start glowing again.]]
* PlanetOfHats:
** Subverted with the Dulas. They're supposed to be an entire culture of optimistic, lazy, rather silly airheads, but the main Dula character, Galladon, is a pessimistic, cynical DeadpanSnarker who has the most common sense of anyone in Elantris. This is frequently remarked on by other characters, to his annoyance, and we don't ever really see a "typical" Dula in the book.
** Then [[ExaggeratedTrope played with]] further when, [[spoiler:through [=AonDor=] and costuming, Raoden]] impersonates a Dula, playing every stereotype of them he knows to the hilt. The Arelene nobility don't know the difference between the impersonator and a genuine Dula, while the difference is perfectly clear (and also very annoying) to Galladon. Sarene becomes suspicious when she realizes just how much of a stereotype he is.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Iadon is extremely sexist.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: [[spoiler:Dakhor magic supplements GeometricMagic with techniques that require sacrificing their own practitioners; one must die to cast a teleportation spell, while ''fifty'' were needed to grant Dilaf his AntiMagic powers.]]
* PowerGlows:
** All magic glows, the more the better. Elantrians and their very city all possessed a constant glow of power before the disaster struck.
** Interestingly, the glowing was responsible for one of the problems that occurred after the Reod. [[spoiler: The light attracted a fungus which fed on it. This was not a problem while the fungus was alive but once the magic went away so did the glow, and the fungus died and rotted coating the surfaces of Elantris in a thick oily slime.]]
* PrinciplesZealot: Subverted by Hrathen, who is quite reasonable, all things considered. [[spoiler:Played terrifyingly straight by Dilaf.]]
* RasputinianDeath
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:Sarene gives a nasty one to to Iadon that actually leaves the man as a blubbering wreck.
-->'''Sarene:''' Defiance, Iadon? I think you'll feel differently when everyone knows the truth. You know they already think you a fool. They pretend to obey you, but you know-you know in that whispering part of your heart that they mock you with their obedience. You think they didn't hear about your lost ships? You think they weren't laughing to themselves at how their king would soon be as poor as a baron? Oh they knew. How will you face them, Iadon, when they learn how you really survived? When I show them how I rescued your income, how I gave you the contracts in Teod, how I saved your crown.\\
You are a fool, Iadon. I know it, your nobles know it, and the world knows it. You have taken a great nation and squashed it in your greedy hands. You have enslaved the people and you have defiled Arelon's honor. And, despite it all, your country grows poorer. Even you, the king, are so destitute that only a gift from Teod lets you keep your crown.\\
How will it look, Iadon? How will it feel to have the entire court know you are indebted to a woman? A foolish girl at that? You would be revealed. Everyone would know what you are. Nothing more than an insecure, trivial, incapable invalid.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Hrathen. ''Twice''.]]
* ReligionOfEvil: Shu-Dereth is considered one by many. Hrathen, of course, thinks that it's [[LawfulNeutral perfectly]] [[TheSpock logical]], [[spoiler:even after he agrees that its current leader is evil.]]
* RuleOfThree: The story alternates between the perspectives of the three main characters, Raoden to Sarene to Hrathen and back to Raoden. Only for it to fall apart completely (mixing up the order and including perspectives from other minor characters) towards the end during the 'Sanderson Avalanche' as various plotlines reach fruition .
* SinisterMinister: Subverted with Hrathen, who is both a priest and fairly sinister but really just wants to save everyone from being massacred by a holy war. [[spoiler:Played completely straight with Dilaf and his followers, however.]]
* SinsOfOurFathers
* SmugSnake: Duke Telrii thinks he's a MagnificentBastard. He is very, very wrong, and winds up a puppet to pretty much all of the more competent villains. King Iadon is a bit better, but he still falls squarely into this too.
* StartOfDarkness: [[spoiler:Dilaf]] reveals his near the end. [[spoiler:He was a Fjordell priest sent to spy on Arelon, but he [[BecomingTheMask became the mask]] and fell in love with an Arelish woman, who he married. She later fell very sick, and he took her to Elantris for healing--but the healer botched the job and turned her into an undead Hoed instead. Dilaf put her out of her misery, but the act of doing so caused his mind to snap. Returning to the Derethi faith with a passion, he vowed to [[DisproportionateRetribution destroy Elantris utterly]] in revenge.]]
* StevenUlyssesPerhero: When Raoden gets asked his name in Elantris, he tells the guy to call him "Spirit," which is the meaning of the Aon (rune) Rao in his name. [[spoiler:Galladon figures out his identity in part through this]].
* SuperSoldier: [[spoiler:The Dakhor]].
* TurnTheOtherCheek: Played straight, averted, and subverted.
* VasquezAlwaysDies: [[spoiler:Karata.]]
* VillainProtagonist: Hrathen is somewhere between this and AntiHero in his own POV sections.
* WarriorMonk: All the priests of Shu-Dereth, but especially Hrathen. [[spoiler:It seems from Dilaf's reaction that the other priests don't make a practice of wearing ''real'' armor day in and day out.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Hrathen.
* WizardsLiveLonger: Elantrians and [[spoiler:Dakhor]] both have longer-than-natural lifespans.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: When the cursed Elantrians suffer pain of any sort, it doesn't fade, remaining as strong forever as it was when they were first injured. Nobody's quite certain whether [[ChunkySalsaRule massive damage]] ends their suffering, or leaves them semi-conscious [[AndIMustScream in their component bits]], still in pain forever.
* WorthyOpponent: Hrathen considers Sarene one of these, in a political sense. At their first real clash on the Elantris walls, he gives her a nod of respect when she outmaneuvers him, and later tells Dilaf that she was "magnificent."
* ZombieAdvocate: Justified in a setting where [[NotUsingTheZedWord no one calls them zombies]] and they aren't mindless.
----
Elantris was the city of the gods. Elantrians were people who had [[TouchedByVorlons been magically transformed]] by a strange effect that strikes people at random, turning them into [[PhysicalGod near-immortals able to command powerful magics]]. Anyone the transformation took--beggar, peasant or nobleman--would leave their old, mundane lives behind and move to Elantris, to live in glory, wisdom, and splendor, worshiped by mere mortals for all eternity.
Eternity, as the introduction puts it, [[AfterTheEnd ended ten years ago]]. In a cataclysmic event that tore open the land, the magic suddenly failed, turning the Elantrians into grotesque [[OurZombiesAreDifferent zombie-like]] creatures stripped of their magic and their glory. The transformation still strikes at random, but now as a curse, condemned by all the religions of the world.
The story opens with [[WisePrince Raoden]], the beloved Crown Prince of Arelon, waking up to find it took him in his sleep. He's thrown into the now-ruined city of Elantris, which has transformed over the last ten years from a majestic City of the Gods into a crumbling, filth-covered insane asylum filled with cursed immortals whose bodies do not heal from even the slightest injuries. His fiance from [[ArrangedMarriage a political marriage]], Sarene, arrives from another kingdom to be told that he suddenly died during her journey, leaving her officially his widow under the terms of the contract. She immediately suspects assassination, but soon she finds far more pressing matters to worry about...
And then [[ItGetsWorse everything starts going wrong]] all at once. The kingdom of Arelon is unstable due to inept leadership, the most beloved man in the kingdom (who could have held things together) is "dead," and [[WarriorMonk a high priest]] of [[ChurchMilitant the militaristic Dereth religion]] has just arrived in the capital city. [[MissionFromGod He has three months to convert the people of Arelon]], or they will all be wiped out by the Derethi in a holy war. And that's just the first couple of chapters. To say anything more would be to spoil things.
''Elantris'' is the first published book by BrandonSanderson, who went on to write the {{Mistborn}} trilogy, {{Warbreaker}}, Literature/TheStormlightArchive, and the last three volumes of TheWheelOfTime.
Not to be confused with the Hyundai Elantra.
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!!This book provides examples of:
* ActionGirl:
** Not Sarene's forte, as she's more of a political type, but she ''does'' fence regularly for sport and is good enough to hold her own against the most physically powerful character in the novel, [[spoiler: Dilaf.]]
** Karata is a more typical example.
* ActionSurvivor: Pretty much any Elantrian who isn't AxCrazy or past the DespairEventHorizon.
* AfterTheEnd: Sort of. Elantris is not a pleasant place to live in anymore, though the world outside its walls continues as normal.
* AloneAmongTheCouples: Sarene finds it painful.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Duke Roial always seems to be one step ahead of his business rival and friend Ahan. [[spoiler:This eventually leads to Ahan's betrayal of the group so he can finally get the better of Roial.]]
* AntiMagic: [[spoiler:Dilaf's is immune to Aonic magic, even able to destroy Aons from a distance.]]
* AntiVillain: Hrathen. His primary motivation in coming to Arelon isn't because he believes the Arelene to be wrong (though he does), it's that he wants to save them from a terrible fate, namely [[spoiler:genocide at the hands of Wyrn's forces.]] The one time he had to convert a population through bloodshed, it weighed heavily on his conscience, and continues to do so even to the present time of the story.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: To Hrathen: [[spoiler:"What happened to your faith?"]]
* AxeCrazy: [[spoiler: Dilaf.]]
* BadassPreacher: Derethi priests ''look'' like this, in large part because their typical garb consists of a suit of ornamental, ceremonial armor. Hrathen, on the other hand, ''is'' this; [[spoiler:that armor he wears constantly? Totally real.]]
* BareFistedMonk: Subverted. There are some ''very'' scary monks out there...
* BestServedCold
* CapeSwish: Hrathen does this. When she first sees him, Sarene hopes he'll trip on it.
* TheCavalry: [[spoiler:The rest of the newly-empowered Elantrians teleporting to Raoden's rescue and unleashing a massive battery of attack magic on the Derethi monks.]]
* ChekhovsArmoury: Plenty of seemingly minor details turn out to be significant later on, and only the most important one was obvious enough to identify as a ChekhovsGun beforehand.
* {{Chessmaster}}: Sarene. And Hrathen. [[spoiler:And Dilaf.]]
* ChurchMilitant: The Shu-Dereth religion views combat as an expression of one's loyalty to God and Wyrn, and all of its priests are expected to be at least competent warriors. Hrathen's vestments actually include armor, though that's supposed to be ceremonial. [[spoiler:It isn't.]]
* CorruptChurch: It's very heavily implied that Wyrn, the priest-emperor of the Derethi, cares more about power on earth than righteousness before God. This is subverted with the two main Derethi characters, however--[[spoiler:Hrathen is genuinely devout, and Dilaf's belief is crazy but sincere.]]
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: An [[AristocratsAreEvil entire aristocracy]] full of them, (the king set up his system of nobility and titles specifically based on the ownership and production of wealth), but Telrii and the King are by far the worst.
* {{Cult}}: "The Mysteries."
* DespairEventHorizon: Elantrians who cross it turn comatose and spend all day whispering {{Madness Mantra}}s to themselves.
* DisproportionateRetribution:
** So the Elantrians were benevolent semi-divine beings who ruled over a genuine utopia... and then they were all made into hideous zombie-like creatures because they earned the wrath of God (according to Shu-Dereth). Seems more than a little unfair.
** Not to mention what [[spoiler:Dilaf]] had planned for the Elantrians over [[spoiler:the (accidental!) cursing and death of his wife.]]
* DragonWithAnAgenda: Dilaf. [[spoiler:Eventually he reveals himself to be a DragonInChief.]]
* DramaticUnmask: [[spoiler:Raoden, in the home of his conspirator friend, to the usurper King Telrii.]] He was even CrazyPrepared about it, making it ''look'' like his disguise was mundane when it was really the product of [[spoiler: TheMagicComesBack.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding
* ElephantInTheLivingRoom:
** Nobody at court wants to discuss Prince Raoden's death, which annoys Sarene to no end.
** Elantris itself is also this for the Arelenes after the Reod.
* TheEmpire: Fjordell.
* EvenEvilHasStandards
* [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Everything's Better With Princesses And Princes]]: Sarene and Raoden are the most competent politicians in the book, making them RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething to boot.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The Derethi/Fjordell empire is a combination of the Romans and the Norse, per WordOfGod. Jindo is loosely based on China, and Teod is remniscent of Britain in that it's a tiny island that is nonetheless a world power due to its incredibly formidable navy.
* FateWorseThanDeath
* FauxDeath: Played with.
* FemininityFailure: Sarene tries to be traditionally feminine, but isn't exactly good at it. This leads to her having trouble fitting in with the court.
* FoeYay: In-universe, Hrathen toward Sarene, especially near the end.
* [[FunctionalMagic Functional]][=/=]GeometricMagic:
** [=AonDor=], the magic of the Elantrians, is based on a set of special runes that must be traced exactly the right way in the air, with an endless variety of effects generated using special modifiers and varied line lengths. [[spoiler:What bit them in the ass ten years ago was the fact that the geometry was in turn ''geography''-based. When the geography ''changed''...]]
** [[spoiler:Jindo's [=ChayShan=],]] which apparently works by tracing patterns though special movements, sort of like a SupernaturalMartialArts. He cuts down [[spoiler:a superpowered monk]] with his ''eyes closed''.
** [[spoiler:The Dakhor have also discovered a way to "channel the Dor", using chanting to cause their bones to painfully grow and reshape into ancient runes that grant them special powers.]]
* TheFundamentalist: Dilaf.
* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire: Averted; all the nations involved on both sides are monarchies and Hrathen was able to topple the Duladen Republic in favour of a Fjorden-backed monarchy in part because he was able to exploit the fact that the Duladen were ruled by an oligarchic out-of-touch ruling class, known simply as "the republicans".
* {{Gotterdammerung}}: Elantris was known as the City of the Gods until all [[TheMagicGoesAway the magic went sour]].
* GuileHero: Sarene, certainly, and Prince Raoden, to a lesser extent.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Hrathen.]]
* HumanSacrifice: The cult of the Mysteries is known for this. [[spoiler: Iadon takes to it out of desperation]].
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Lord Ahan decides this after Sarene declares that she plans to go into Elantris.
* IronicEcho: At the beginning of the novel, Hrathen is convinced that eventually, the people of the city will see him as their savior. [[spoiler: Well... yeah, but not exactly the way he intended.]]
* KarmaHoudini: [[EvilOverlord Wyrn]] gets away untouched, with just his recent plotting thwarted. Sanderson hopes to write a sequel someday and intended to preserve Wyrn as BigBad of the setting.
* KillItWithFire: Failed Elantrians are very flammable, and many people are more than happy to help out.
* KingIncognito: Raoden, sort of, several times. [[spoiler: When he's first sent to Elantris, he doesn't give his real name. People unusually smart and/or close to him figure out who he is in the end, but most people come to follow him simply because he's leading by example and getting things done. When Sarene accidentally subverts his efforts to help Elantrians by giving them handouts, he doesn't admit to being in charge and lets her think the former gang leaders are still running things. And later, he leaves the city disguised as a JiveTurkey, because he's still trying to figure out how to fix the magic.]]
* KnightTemplar: Hrathen, though a combination of CharacterDevelopment and SympatheticPOV soon make it clear he is far less fanatical than he seems, and [[spoiler:Dilaf.]]
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Both Raoden and Sarene began to fall in love with one another when they could only speak over Seon and via letters, but hadn't met face to face.
* MadnessMantra: Each Hoed, an Elantrian who has been driven into a catatonic state by the injury, has their own.
* MagicAIsMagicA: Seriously. If you want a slightly different effect, you'll need to use Magic A'. [[spoiler:It is heavily implied that the old Elantrians had to learn all this over long time, in universities.]]
* MayflyDecemberRomance: It's not really addressed in the book, but it's implied that Raoden will far outlive Sarene.
* MeaningfulEcho: [[spoiler:When Saolin goes Hoed, his MadnessMantra is "I have failed my Lord Spirit." When Raoden does, his is "Failed my love."]]
* MeaningfulName: Plenty, most of which are only revealed by checking the Aonic glossary in the back.
* TheMessiah: Raoden, so very much.
* MissionFromGod: Hrathen and Dilaf are both driven by their devotion, though Hrathen is ''much'' more reasonable about it.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The pirate Dreok Crushthroat. For bonus points, "Reo" means "Vengeance" in Aonic. Fortunately, he was defeated before the story begins. [[spoiler:It's actually Dreok ''Crushed''throat, but that's not much better.]]
* NoZombieCannibals: Justified. The Elantrians' flesh tastes so horrible that even the perpetually-ravenous Elantrians can't bring themselves to eat each other.
* NonindicativeName: Iadon, see character sheet for details.
* NobleDemon:
** Hrathen again (ironic, considering that he's a priest).
** Karata, especially compared to the other two gang leaders.
* NonHumanSidekick: The Seons.
* NotUsingTheZedWord: The Elantrians--no bleeding, no heartbeat, no healing, unable to die unless [[Franchise/{{Highlander}} beheaded]] or purged with fire, accumulating unfading pain with every minor injury, and constantly ravenous. Almost all Elantrians are reduced to moaning, immobile heaps within a year of transformation even if they avoid going insane from pain and hunger before then. Sanderson plays up those who've managed to keep their sanity as victims of something like zombie apartheid.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Sarene's very good at this. [[spoiler:So is Dilaf.]]
* OnlySaneMan: Raoden only meets one person who's managed to retain both his wits and his humanity after becoming an Elantrian. [[spoiler:At first.]]
* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: Raoden and Sarene were engaged for political reasons, but this didn't stop them from [[LoveBeforeFirstSight starting to fall for each other through letters]].
* PhosphorEssence: Before being reduced to twisted wrinkled pseudo-zombies, Elantrians glowed faintly. [[spoiler:After the problem that removed their powers is fixed, they start glowing again.]]
* PlanetOfHats:
** Subverted with the Dulas. They're supposed to be an entire culture of optimistic, lazy, rather silly airheads, but the main Dula character, Galladon, is a pessimistic, cynical DeadpanSnarker who has the most common sense of anyone in Elantris. This is frequently remarked on by other characters, to his annoyance, and we don't ever really see a "typical" Dula in the book.
** Then [[ExaggeratedTrope played with]] further when, [[spoiler:through [=AonDor=] and costuming, Raoden]] impersonates a Dula, playing every stereotype of them he knows to the hilt. The Arelene nobility don't know the difference between the impersonator and a genuine Dula, while the difference is perfectly clear (and also very annoying) to Galladon. Sarene becomes suspicious when she realizes just how much of a stereotype he is.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Iadon is extremely sexist.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: [[spoiler:Dakhor magic supplements GeometricMagic with techniques that require sacrificing their own practitioners; one must die to cast a teleportation spell, while ''fifty'' were needed to grant Dilaf his AntiMagic powers.]]
* PowerGlows:
** All magic glows, the more the better. Elantrians and their very city all possessed a constant glow of power before the disaster struck.
** Interestingly, the glowing was responsible for one of the problems that occurred after the Reod. [[spoiler: The light attracted a fungus which fed on it. This was not a problem while the fungus was alive but once the magic went away so did the glow, and the fungus died and rotted coating the surfaces of Elantris in a thick oily slime.]]
* PrinciplesZealot: Subverted by Hrathen, who is quite reasonable, all things considered. [[spoiler:Played terrifyingly straight by Dilaf.]]
* RasputinianDeath
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:Sarene gives a nasty one to to Iadon that actually leaves the man as a blubbering wreck.
-->'''Sarene:''' Defiance, Iadon? I think you'll feel differently when everyone knows the truth. You know they already think you a fool. They pretend to obey you, but you know-you know in that whispering part of your heart that they mock you with their obedience. You think they didn't hear about your lost ships? You think they weren't laughing to themselves at how their king would soon be as poor as a baron? Oh they knew. How will you face them, Iadon, when they learn how you really survived? When I show them how I rescued your income, how I gave you the contracts in Teod, how I saved your crown.\\
You are a fool, Iadon. I know it, your nobles know it, and the world knows it. You have taken a great nation and squashed it in your greedy hands. You have enslaved the people and you have defiled Arelon's honor. And, despite it all, your country grows poorer. Even you, the king, are so destitute that only a gift from Teod lets you keep your crown.\\
How will it look, Iadon? How will it feel to have the entire court know you are indebted to a woman? A foolish girl at that? You would be revealed. Everyone would know what you are. Nothing more than an insecure, trivial, incapable invalid.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Hrathen. ''Twice''.]]
* ReligionOfEvil: Shu-Dereth is considered one by many. Hrathen, of course, thinks that it's [[LawfulNeutral perfectly]] [[TheSpock logical]], [[spoiler:even after he agrees that its current leader is evil.]]
* RuleOfThree: The story alternates between the perspectives of the three main characters, Raoden to Sarene to Hrathen and back to Raoden. Only for it to fall apart completely (mixing up the order and including perspectives from other minor characters) towards the end during the 'Sanderson Avalanche' as various plotlines reach fruition .
* SinisterMinister: Subverted with Hrathen, who is both a priest and fairly sinister but really just wants to save everyone from being massacred by a holy war. [[spoiler:Played completely straight with Dilaf and his followers, however.]]
* SinsOfOurFathers
* SmugSnake: Duke Telrii thinks he's a MagnificentBastard. He is very, very wrong, and winds up a puppet to pretty much all of the more competent villains. King Iadon is a bit better, but he still falls squarely into this too.
* StartOfDarkness: [[spoiler:Dilaf]] reveals his near the end. [[spoiler:He was a Fjordell priest sent to spy on Arelon, but he [[BecomingTheMask became the mask]] and fell in love with an Arelish woman, who he married. She later fell very sick, and he took her to Elantris for healing--but the healer botched the job and turned her into an undead Hoed instead. Dilaf put her out of her misery, but the act of doing so caused his mind to snap. Returning to the Derethi faith with a passion, he vowed to [[DisproportionateRetribution destroy Elantris utterly]] in revenge.]]
* StevenUlyssesPerhero: When Raoden gets asked his name in Elantris, he tells the guy to call him "Spirit," which is the meaning of the Aon (rune) Rao in his name. [[spoiler:Galladon figures out his identity in part through this]].
* SuperSoldier: [[spoiler:The Dakhor]].
* TurnTheOtherCheek: Played straight, averted, and subverted.
* VasquezAlwaysDies: [[spoiler:Karata.]]
* VillainProtagonist: Hrathen is somewhere between this and AntiHero in his own POV sections.
* WarriorMonk: All the priests of Shu-Dereth, but especially Hrathen. [[spoiler:It seems from Dilaf's reaction that the other priests don't make a practice of wearing ''real'' armor day in and day out.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Hrathen.
* WizardsLiveLonger: Elantrians and [[spoiler:Dakhor]] both have longer-than-natural lifespans.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: When the cursed Elantrians suffer pain of any sort, it doesn't fade, remaining as strong forever as it was when they were first injured. Nobody's quite certain whether [[ChunkySalsaRule massive damage]] ends their suffering, or leaves them semi-conscious [[AndIMustScream in their component bits]], still in pain forever.
* WorthyOpponent: Hrathen considers Sarene one of these, in a political sense. At their first real clash on the Elantris walls, he gives her a nod of respect when she outmaneuvers him, and later tells Dilaf that she was "magnificent."
* ZombieAdvocate: Justified in a setting where [[NotUsingTheZedWord no one calls them zombies]] and they aren't mindless.
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