History Literature / GleamsOfAeterna

** His son Richard didn't went much futher. He knew for sure that [[spoiler:his inept efforts to kill Alva, regardless of success or failure, will lead to his own death. He would either be killed by Alva or executed for murder. But he tried. Because he completely missed the point. Good thing Alva spared him ''too''. And then [[WhatAnIdiot Richard tried killing him again]].]]

* TwinSwitch: The Savignac twins, Lionel and Emile, pull one off in ''Sunrise'', when Lionel's presence is needed to lift morale in the North, while his tactical skills are require in the South to beat General Sahl. Lionel concocts a scheme where Emile pretends to be him as he leads the Talig armies into Drixen, while he disguises himself as a generic Kenallian bodyguard of Admiral Waldez who officially leads the southbound force. Later on, Lionel even pretends to be Emile in order to instill just enough fear in Sahl for him to retreat (because Emile is also a great general) in an orderly fashion (because unlike Lionel, Emile is not good enough to instantly cause a panicked rout).

* AmbiguousDisorder: Selene Aramona is noted as "weird" by pretty much everyone, with the only dispute being between those who find it adorable and those who think she is insufferably insolent. Her most salient personality traits are a peculiar speech pattern where she feels the need to outline the reasoning behind her every action, no matter how trivial, and her deliberate disregard of social conventions and hierarchical relations of a late Feudal society (or rather, her deliberate ''regard'' of them insofar as they help her get through the day without upsetting people she likes); all of which may place her somewhere on the [[UsefulNotes/{{Autism}} autistic spectrum]] -- not that anyone in the setting actually knows the term. She also seems to be asexual (though not aromantic, for her infatuation with Alva is well-documented), as she tells Mellith in ''Heralds Pursuit'' that she has never experienced sexual arousal in anyone's proximity, even Roque's, and treats [[spoiler:the loss of her virginity to King Heinrich as just a cumbersome marital obligation]].

* ShakespeareInFiction: Kamsha really ''loathes'' the Bard. In series, his {{expy}} is a churchman's illegitimate child Walther Diderich, who expresses his grudge in TearJerker plays.

A live-action adaptation of the book series, titled simply ''Series/{{Aeterna}}'', premiered on 20 January 2022 (see also its [[https://www.aeterna.tv/ official English-language website]]). WordOfGod is that audio books, a ComicBookAdaptation, and even a LicensedGame based in the multiverse of ''Aeterna'' are also being produced.

A live-action adaptation of the book series, titled simply ''Series/{{Aeterna}}'' premiered on 20 January 2022 (see also its [[https://www.aeterna.tv/ official English-language website]]). WordOfGod is that audio books, a ComicBookAdaptation, and even a LicensedGame based in the multiverse of ''Aeterna'' are also being produced.

A live-action adaptation of the book series, titled simply ''Series/{{Aeterna}}'', has been officially announced in 2020. The initial teaser trailer (containing several scenes from ''Red on Red''[[note]]as well as some purely symbolic ones and a lot of gratuitous BulletTime[[/note]]) can be watched [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH-aGmVb7GA here]]; the series also already has an [[https://www.aeterna.tv/ official English-language website]]. WordOfGod is that audio books, a ComicBookAdaptation, and even a LicensedGame based in the multiverse of ''Aeterna'' are also being produced.

A live-action adaptation of the book series, titled simply ''Series/{{Aeterna}}'', has been officially announced in 2020. The initial teaser trailer (containing several scenes from ''Red on Red''[[note]]as well as some purely symbolic ones and a lot of gratuitous BulletTime[[/note]]) can be watched [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH-aGmVb7GA here]]; the series also already has an [[https://www.aeterna.tv/ official English-language website]].

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Golden Anaxia was UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire, Nador is England, Epine is [[UsefulNotes/LetatCestMoi France]], Kenalloa is Spain, and Pridda is Southern Germany and Austria, with the BigScrewedUpFamily of the Pridds as dead-ringers for the Habsburgs. Drixen and Gaunau are amalgamations of UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}}, Northern Germany, and Netherlands, with a touch of Scandinavia. Guyifa is the UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire, while Urgot, Felp, and Bordon are [[UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra Italian city-states]], Agaris is UsefulNotes/ThePapalStates, Alat is Hungary, and the morisc shads are the [[UsefulNotes/MoorishSpain Moorish caliphs]] (cf. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morisco Moriscos]]. Finally, the Gogans are the Jewish diaspora.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Golden Anaxia was UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire, Nador is England, Epine is [[UsefulNotes/LetatCestMoi France]], Kenalloa is Spain, and Pridda is Southern Germany and Austria, with the BigScrewedUpFamily of the Pridds as dead-ringers for the Habsburgs. Drixen and Gaunau are amalgamations of UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}}, Northern Germany, and Netherlands, with a touch of Scandinavia. Guyifa is the UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire, while Urgot, Felp, and Bordon are [[UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra Italian city-states]], Agaris is UsefulNotes/ThePapalStates, and Alat is Hungary. Finally, the Gogans are the Jewish diaspora.

A live-action adaptation of the book series, titled simply ''Series/{{Aeterna}}'', has been officially announced in 2020, to begin airing in 2021. The initial teaser trailer (containing several scenes from ''Red on Red''[[note]]as well as some purely symbolic ones and a lot of gratuitous BulletTime[[/note]]) can be watched [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH-aGmVb7GA here]]; the series also already has an [[https://www.aeterna.tv/ official English-language website]].

** His son Richard didn't went much futher. He knew for sure that [[spoiler:his inept efforts to kill Alva, regardless of success or failure, will lead to his own death. He would either be killed by Alva or executed for murder. But he tried. Because he [[CompletelyMissingThePoint completely missed the point]]. Good thing Alva spared him ''too''. And then [[WhatAnIdiot Richard tried killing him again]].]]

* AChildShallLeadThem: In ''Sunrise'', the Ollarian royal court reassembles itself around the boy king Karl Ollar, the late Francis and Catherine's oldest surviving son.

* BigBadassBattleSequence: Kamsha ''loves'' detailed battle descriptions told from multiple (and sometimes even opposing!) points of view, so there is generally at least one chapter-spanning battle sequence per volume.

The series is epic in scope and switches between multiple POV characters often. The primary narrators from book one onwards are Richard Oakdell, the young heir to the House of the Rocks, which fell from grace when Richard's father led a failed uprising against the Ollar dynasty a few years ago; Robert Epine, the heir to the House of the Lightning, who was exiled from Talig for his part in the same uprising and has since cast his lot with Aldo, the last heir of the Rakan family; and Mathilda Rakan, Aldo's grandmother. The main NonPOVProtagonist of the series is Roque Alva, current head of the House of the Wind and the First Marshal of Talig, who personally dueled and killed Richard's father, ending his rebellion. They are later joined by a number of narrators, such as the dashing schemer Marcel Valmont, the unlucky OldSoldier Carlo Capras from Guyifa, the upstanding Drixen mariner Rupert vok Felsenburg, and the Savignak twins -- both marshals of Talig.

* TheReliableOne: Eugen Reinsteiner, the [[spoiler:theorized actual Elemental Lord of the Waves]], has the reputation of most reliable officer in the entire army of Talig, thanks to his incredible memory, capacity for observation, and sense of time. He has also (along with Lionel Savignak and possibly Alva) come closest to cracking the grand overarching mystery of the Elemental Lords' ancestral BloodMagic, the revenants, and the impending EndOfAnAge.

* ASinisterClue: TheDevil is believed to be left-handed (in fact, "the Left-Handed One" is his common moniker) in the setting, so any left-handed person is automatically viewed with suspicion. Lionel Savignak (who is secretly ambidextrous) invokes this trope when he starts doing everything with his left hand on purpose for sheer psychological effect.

* FantasyWorldMap: Available on the author's website, both in the [[http://www.kamsha.ru/books/eterna/illustr/misc/Quertiana.jpg plain]] and [[http://www.kamsha.ru/books/eterna/illustr/misc/Quertiana-stil.jpg stylized format]].

* DeathOfTheOldGods: Creators of Aeterna are gone for long time and, presumably, dead.

A live-action adaptation of the book series, titled simply ''Series/{{Aeterna}}'', has been officially announced in 2020, to begin airing in 2021. The initial teaser trailer (containing several scenes from ''Red on Red''[[note]]as well as some purely symbolic ones and a load of gratuitous BulletTime[[/note]]) can be watched [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH-aGmVb7GA here]]; the series also already has an [[https://www.aeterna.tv/ official English-language website]].

The series is epic in scope and switches between multiple POV characters often. The primary narrators from book one onwards are Richard Oakdell, the young heir to the House of the Rocks, which fell from grace when Richard's father led a failed uprising against the Ollar dynasty a few years ago; Robert Epine, the heir to the House of the Lightning, who was exiled from Talig for his part in the same uprising and has since cast his lot with Aldo, the last heir of the Rakan family; and Mathilda Rakan, Aldo's grandmother. The main NonPOVProtagonist of the series is Roque Alva, current head of the House of the Wind and the First Marshal of Talig, who personally dueled and killed Richard's father, ending his rebellion. They are later joined by a number of narrators, such as the dashing schemer Marcel Valmont, the unlucky OldSoldier Carlo Capras from Gayifa, the upstanding Drixen mariner Rupert vok Felsenburg, and the Savignak twins -- both marshals of Talig.

** Honor: Characters who [[IGaveMyWord keep their word]], [[UndyingLoyalty stay loyal]] to their friends and superiors, and take care of their subordinates generally live longer and healthier lives despite having to occasionally suffer for it. On the other hand, those who behave detestably and keep backstabbing others often meet very messy ends (though almost never before causing a lot of harm).

** Political realism: It is repeatedly hammered in that governing other people is not a permission to arbitrarily reshape a country according to one's own whims but a heavy duty to facilitate societal order. Those who [[UnfitForGreatness fail to understand that]] usually cause a lot of harm to everyone (including themselves).
** Secular humanism: In the matters of faith, both outright moral corruption and extreme dogmatism are shown as equally harmful. A middle way, focused on believing in other people but knowing their flaws, is advocated.

* ChurchMilitant: The Order of Glory is one of the seven constituent branches of the Esperatian Church and the only one explicitly concerned with military matters and the spiritual needs of soldiers. Historically, Glory has once had to endure an outright siege laid to its fortress residence by all other six Orders -- and actually won, making their leader the next [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Esperador]], and there are increasingly transparent indications that they operate a clandestine division of {{Warrior Monk}}s like the Gayifan Brother Orest, who carry out special ops in the name of the Lord. Glory furthermore appears to be the least [[CorruptChurch corrupt of the Esperatian Orders]], with most {{Good Shepherd}}s found in the series coming from their ranks.
* ColonCancer: The number of subtitles needed for the subvolumes of the subvolumes of the final volume is staggering (e.g. the final tome is technically fully styled ''Gleams of Aeterna V: Heart of the Beast Vol. 3: Blue Gaze of Death Pt. 3: Sunrise Book 4'').

* DashingHispanic: Roque Alva is the Duke of Kenalloa (FantasyCounterpartCulture of Spain), who is also an infamous duelist, TheCasanova ([[EvenTheGuysWantHim wanted by both sexes alike]]), and a DeadpanSnarker.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Golden Anaxia was UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire, Nador is England, Epine is [[UsefulNotes/LetatCestMoi France]], Kenalloa is Spain, and Pridda is Southern Germany and Austria, with the BigScrewedUpFamily of the Pridds as dead-ringers for the Habsburgs. Drixen and Gaunau are amalgamations of UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}}, Northern Germany, and Netherlands, with a touch of Scandinavia. Gayifa is the UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire, while Urgot, Felp, and Bordon are [[UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra Italian city-states]], Agaris is UsefulNotes/VaticanCity and UsefulNotes/ThePapalStates, and Alat is Hungary. Finally, the Gogans are the Jewish diaspora.

* ArcNumber: Four. Four noble houses (each subdivided into four clans), four creator deities, 400 year-long ages...

Fifteen books have been published, with the final volume getting repeatedly [[DevelopmentHell stuck in limbo]], DividedForPublication, and published piecemeal since about 2010[[note]]most notably, ''Sunrise'' had mysteriously disappeared right from the printing press in 2013 before reemerging, largely revised, in 2017[[/note]]. The author also has plans to release a collection of previously published and new novellas set in Aeterna and Quertiana in a single bound volume titled ''Flame of Aeterna''. A full (spoiler-y) list of published volumes can be found on the '''[[Recap/ReflectionsOfAeterna recap page]]'''.

''Reflections of Eterna'' (''Отблески Этерны'') is a series of LowFantasy novels by the Russian writer Vera Kamsha (author of the ''Literature/ArciaChronicles'') set in the ConstructedWorld of Kertiana. Thousands of years ago, Kertiana was brought into being by [[ArcNumber four]] [[TheMaker creator deities]], who have [[HaveYouSeenMyGod since disappeared]], but their descendants founded the four Great Ducal Houses that ruled over the lands in their stead. At some point, the Rakan dynasty united all lands under their rule into the [[TheEmpire Golden Anaxia]]... but that time is long past, too. Time in the Golden Lands is measured in [[AlternativeCalendar 400 year-long ages]], each associated with one of the [[ElementalPowers four elements]]. The last [[EndOfAnAge turn of the age]] saw a [[TheUsurper charismatic rebel]] named Francis Ollar overthrow the last Rakan emperor and found his own kingdom, Talig. Now, 400 years later, the end of the current age once again beckons a time of strife and political crises... and there are strong indications that [[JustBeforeTheEnd the literal end of the world is just around the corner]].

Fifteen books have been published, with the final volume getting repeatedly [[DevelopmentHell stuck in limbo]], DividedForPublication, and published piecemeal since about 2010[[note]]most notably, ''Sunrise'' had mysteriously disappeared right from the printing press in 2013 before reemerging, largely revised, in 2017[[/note]]. The author also has plans to release a collection of previously published and new novellas set in Eterna and Kertiana in a single bound volume titled ''Flame of Eterna''. A full (spoiler-y) list of published volumes can be found on the '''[[Recap/ReflectionsOfEterna recap page]]'''.

* AlienNonInterferenceClause: The Guardians of Sunset are forbidden to use their powers before NormalPeople of the worlds they protect. However, one of them ([[spoiler:strongly implied to be Rinaldi Rakan from ''Flame of Eterna'']]) finds a loophole in order to save Roque Alva from assassins: he cannot use his powers -- but his swordfighting technique, honed to perfection over one and a half thousand years, is exempt. Roque is left with an impression that he was saved by the Left-Handed One (i.e. TheDevil) himself.
* AllMythsAreTrue: The rule of thumb when evaluating the Kertianan lore is that the older a given legend is, the more objective truth it contains.

%%* AntiVillain: Roque Alva.

* ArtifactTitle: Possibly the entire series. "Eterna" was apparently an interdimensional fortress that served as the base of operations for the Guardians of Sunset until its destruction long before ''Red on Red''. The Guardians of Sunset are guarding the inhabited worlds from unimaginable monstrosities from beyond but began steadily losing after Eterna fell. All of this is mentioned on four pages in an early book, tangentially referenced in the prequel novella ''Flame of Eterna''... and never brought up again in any of the nine novels published thus far.

%%* BadassFamily: Alvas. All of them.
%%* BadSamaritan: Stanzler.
* BargainWithHeaven: The Guardians of Sunset are an order of supernatural warriors defending the known multiverse against the continuous onslaught of otherworldly evil. Before their main citadel, the eponymous fortress of Eterna, fell, they bolstered their ranks by scouting out the toughest badasses of the multiverse and offering them a deal: becoming a PhysicalGod that's TheAgeless, in return for an (eternal) life of service to the multiverse. The main caveat is that by agreeing, the future Guardian must give up all memories of their mortal life, so he can devote himself entirely to his new duties. [[spoiler:Rinaldi Rakan, a.k.a. the Left-Handed One, is implied to have been one of the last Guardians recruited before the fall of Eterna.]]

%%* BigScrewedUpFamily: Pridds, Arigots, Oakdells... Rakans in the prequel, ''Flame of Eterna'', also fit perfectly.
%%* BlondeRepublicanSexKitten: Catherine Arigot-Ollar. Well, Republican part is questionable - she is royalty, after all.
%%* BrainyBrunette: Arlette Savignak.

%%* ButtMonkey:
%%** Richard Oakdell.
%%** Captain Aramona fits better, but his character not lasted long. In a way.
%%** King Ferdinand.
%%** Gilles Poncy.

%%* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Richard Oakdell.

%%* CloudCuckooLander: Mellith.
%%* CoolBoat: "Brave Yzarg".
%%* CoolHorse:
%%** Moro, Alva's stallion.
%%** Dracco, Robert Epine's horse, is half as cool, for it is half the same breed.
* ColonCancer: The number of subtitles needed for the subvolumes of the subvolumes of the final volume is staggering (e.g. the final tome is technically fully styled ''Reflections of Eterna V: Heart of the Beast Vol. 3: Blue Gaze of Death Pt. 3: Sunrise Book 4'').

%%* DeaderThanDead: [[spoiler:Richard Oakdell]] might be this after ''Sunset''.

* DeathOfTheOldGods: Creators of Eterna are gone for long time and, presumably, dead.

* ExponentialPlotDelay: The core timeline of the series covers about 3.2 years so far. Almost three quarters of this time span occur over the course of the first five books, i.e. prior to ''Heart of the Beast'', which covers the remaning quarter of the timeline (just over 13 months[[note]]note that Kertiana's year consists of [[ArcNumber sixteen months, each 24 days long]][[/note]]) -- and the combined size of all of its already-published subvolumes is one and a half times larger than all of the previous books together. Within ''Heart'' itself, the first two volumes cover almost four months but account for just one sixth of its volume, with the remaining 5/6 contained in ''Blue Gaze of Death''. Within ''Gaze'', in turn, the first two sub-volumes use up a third of its current volume to cover another four months. The final 5+ months of the series are covered in ''Sunrise'', which, at five sub-sub-volumes, accounts for a good ''third'' of the series' ''entire'' page count already and is just one book shy of topping all pre-''Heart'' books ''combined'' in terms of sheer volume. In short, each new book tends to [[https://www.koveras.net/files/tvtropes/eterna_chronology_vs_pagecount.pdf get bigger and bigger while covering less and less in-universe time]].

* FantasyWorldMap: Available on the author's website, both in the [[http://www.kamsha.ru/books/eterna/illustr/misc/Kertiana.jpg plain]] and [[http://www.kamsha.ru/books/eterna/illustr/misc/Kertiana-stil.jpg stylized format]].

%%* FourStarBadass: Roque Alva, Almeida, Savignak brothers, Kurt Weisel, etc.
%%* GoodShepherd: Bishops Honoré and Levy. Well, bishop Bonifatius is not bad, too, and father Germane.

%%* IdiotBall: if Richard Oakdell was a little bit smarter, plot would be finished on vol.2. Good guys in general have a firm grip on IdiotBall, primarily by refusing to take meaningful action against their obvious enemies ''before'' the latter stab them. That's the only conceivable reason the villains, [[SmugSnake smug snakes]] they are, ever get anywhere.
* IKnowYourTrueName: Names seem to play some role in Kertianan magic, for instance, when the Piebald Mare comes after Aramona's son, Alva raises him into the Kenalloan nobility, effectively giving him a new surname (Calperado) -- which apparently saves his life, as the Mare doesn't bother him anymore.

%%* JerkAss: Aldo Rakan.
* JustBeforeTheEnd: The end of the world is more or less set in stone in this series. Too bad nobody but a few madmen realizes that.
%%* LatinLover: Roque Alva. EvenTheGuysWantHim.
%%* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters
%%* MilitaryMaverick: {{Discussed}}, {{Deconstructed}}, ''and'' {{Reconstructed}} by Alva in ''Red on Red'' in the case of Oscar Fanshawe.

* ReallyRoyaltyReveal: A careful reading of ''The Face of Victory'' appendices makes it extremely obvious that Roque, not Aldo is a direct patrilinear descendant of the Rakan dynasty and thus the true inheritor of the Rakans' power. It is well-known, even in-universe, that the Alvas are descended from Albine Borrasca, conceived shortly before the Fall of Galtara from the alleged rape of Duchess Beatrice Borrasca by Rinaldi Rakan, middle brother of the then-Anax Eridani, who died shortly thereafter without an heir, leaving the throne to their youngest brother Ernani. Even ignoring the ''Flame of Eterna'' revelation that [[spoiler:it was actually Eridani who had an affair with Beatrice]], Rinaldi's descendants have complete primogeniture before Ernani's line, which later ruled Taligoia, -- at least as far as ancestral magic is concerned, since it ignores such things as bastardy and legitimacy.

%%** And don't forget [[BreakTheCutie Polixena]].

%%* TrilogyCreep

* {{Uncoffee}}: Shaddi is a popular warm drink in Kertiana exported by its FantasyCounterpartCulture of Arabia (it's even named after the rulers of the Crimson Lands, the shads).

* WorldBuilding: The first couple of volumes were pretty light on exposition, rarely venturing beyond the main plot (except for a CrypticBackgroundReference or ten), but ''Face of Victory'' included a massive appendix containing a truckload of data on Kertiana's mythology, history, religion, and politics. The same volume also started the trend of each new one being [[{{Doorstopper}} thicker]] than the last.
* WrittenByTheWinners: Is there anything about Kertiana's history that ''wasn't'' twisted at some point?