History Literature / GodsAndWarriors

* IHaveManyNames: Hylas worships a goddess known in Akea as the Lady of the Wild Things. She's called the Great Goddess or simply the Goddess in Keftiu. She's also known as She Who Has Power or the Shining One.

* {{Irony}}: Pirra notes in ''Warrior Bronze'' how ludicrous it is for [[spoiler:the fire of Lapithos' central hearth, which has endlessly burned for generations, to have died right as the stornghold is about to burst in flames]].

** Hylas and Pirra start out [[TeethClenchedTeamwork fighting and mistrusting each other]], but as they work together to survive on the Island of the Fin People, they gradually develop a strong bond of friendship which later blooms into love.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the first book, Hylas recalls Telamon voicing his belief that [[spoiler:keeping quiet might actually be painful to the ever-chattering Issi]]. The final book shows that [[spoiler:Issi has been rendered mute because she has refused to talk to anybody during the entire time she has been separated from Hylas]].

* HeroicSacrifice: In ''Eye of the Falcon'', [[spoiler:a secret rite known as the Mystery is about the High Priestess sacrificing herself in order to invoke the Goddess to get rid of the plague and bring the Sun back. Yassassara was planning to perform this as atonement before the plague caught her. With her being the next best choice, Pirra attempts go through this in the climax, only for Echo to prevent her from killing herself at the last minute]].

** Hylas and Pirra start out fighting and mistrusting each other, but as they work together to survive on the Island of the Fin People, they gradually develop a strong bond of friendship which later blooms into love.

* IslandOfMystery: The Island of the Fin People (or as the Keftians call it, the Island of the Goddess) where Hylas and Pirra are stranded for most of ''The Outsiders''. Tales say it used to be inhabited by a community that disappeared after angering the gods and became known as the Vanished Ones. Though haunted by the ghosts of the Vanished Ones [[spoiler:(whose petrified remains Pirra discovers in the cave they were trapped in)]], the deserted island is a sacred place only priestesses visit occasionally to make sacrifices and perform secret rites. [[spoier:The Crows have also recently visited the island and burned an entire valley as a sacrifice to the gods so that they'd get the dagger back.]]

* IslandOfMystery: The Island of the Fin People (or as the Keftians call it, the Island of the Goddess) where the majority of ''The Outsiders'' takes place. Tales say it used to be inhabited by a disappeared civilization known as the Vanished Ones.

* MotivationalLie: Pirra was allowed to believe her mother would release from the House of the Goddess on her twelfth birthday, but she was all along intended to be sent to Lykonia for marriage. She's also angry at Userref for not telling her the truth even though he knew, so he lampshades this trope while referring both to her situation and his own desire to return to Egypt.

* FourElementEnsemble: The main Akean gods form one; the Lady of the Wild Things (or simply the Goddess) is water, the Earthshaker is earth, the Sky Father is air, and the Lady of Fire is fire.

** Koronos is the most feared chieftain of Akea

* FourElementEnsemble: The Akean gods form one; the Lady of the Wild Things (or simply the Goddess) is water, the Earthshaker is earth, the Sky Father is air, and the Lady of Fire is fire.

* DyingAlone: The Keftian man who originally gives Hylas the dagger is afraid of this and begs Hylas to stay with him. The boy knows he can't stay in the tomb before the villagers arrive to seal it, so he packs his backs.

* LastRequest: The dying Keftian man Hylas discovers in ''The Outsiders'' makes several requests before dying; hide his body so that the villagers won't throw it to the vultures, [[ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin keep the dagger hidden]], and take a lock of his hair to the Sea. Hylas accommodates with these requests because he can't bring himself to ignore something as powerful as a dying man's wish. Even though he insists that he won't be going to the Sea, he still ends up there and gives the hairlock to the waves.

* LaserGuidedKarma: After Neleos denies Hylas sanctuary from the Crows, the boy steals from the old drunk some food and supplies as well as takes some of his wine and ruins the rest with ash as retribution for all the thrashings Neleos gave him and Issi over the years.

* MosesInTheBulrushes: A variation; Hylas and Issi were discovered on Mount Lykas when they were five and two years old, respectively, with their mother having wrapped them in a bearskin. The headman of the nearest village discovered them and made them herd his goats. [[spoiler:Their mother tried to warn their father, the Mountain Clan's chieftain, that the Crows would discover them in the Mycenaean mountains, ]]