History Literature / HomecomingSaga

* Elemak and Mebbekew - Volemak's sons from a previous marriage.

* IGaveMyWord: Elemak and Nafai both swear loyalty to Volemak, to end the conflict between them and bring peace to the party. ''Everyone'' knows Elemak's word is only good [[ExactWords as long as]] Volmak (already past retirement age when the journey began) was alive.

* InstantExpert: When the refugees from a high-tech society end up living off the land, they need to relearn things like making/using bows and arrows. So they go to their computer god and ask. Unfortunately, transferring thoughts from storage to an active mind would be no beter than simply reading about the acts (you'd still have to practice), so they end up receiving muscle memory instead, as that's just reflex rather than conscious thought.

* IGaveMyWord: Elemak and Nafai both swear loyalty to Volemak, to end the conflict between them and bring peace to the party. ''Everyone'' knows once Volemak passes on, Elemak will make his move.

* SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace: [[spoiler:Hushdih's]] biological mother crashes her wedding ceremony to let the groom know [[spoiler: he's about to marry his daughter]]. [[note]]She technically arrives too late to stop the wedding, but in plenty of time to avoid things going forward past the ceremonial first kiss.[[/note]]

* SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace: [[spoiler:Hushdih's]] biological mother crashes her wedding ceremony to let the groom know [[spoiler: he's about to marry his daughter]].

The Homecoming Saga is a five-volume ScienceFantasy series written by Creator/OrsonScottCard.

* BreakThemByTalking: Hushidh uses her Raveler abilities to mentally break Rashgallavik (who usurped command of Volemak's men in a bid to take over Basillica). Rasa immediately tells her [[NiceJobBreakingItHero how much she just screwed up]]: With Rashgallavik broken, there was no one to keep the soldiers in check and they were free to RapePillageAndBurn as they saw fit.[[note]]Hushidh's actions were strongly implied to be spurred on by The Oversoul, as it gave an opening to General Moozh to roll in and take over with little bloodshed of the populace.[[/note]]

* AndIMustScream: At the climax of ''Earthborn'', [[spoiler: Akma]] is locked into a coma by The Keeper and forced to experience all the pain his actions has caused. Being by being. The Oversoul tells [[spoiler: Shedemei]] that he can detect that he's alive and whole... as far as it can tell by his brainwave patterns, he's screaming in pain.

* AdamAndEvePlot: Sixteen people (only four of whom had no genetic connection to someone else in the group) from the planet Harmony were selected to [[EarthThatWas return to Earth]] and re-establish the human population. It was established that since the Oversoul (the [[MasterComputer supercomputer]] that had been running the planet for millennia) had been running a breeding program for just this situation, any recessive traits that would pop up in such a closed population had been bred out of them (it was also revealed that Harmony was not the only such human-populated planet, nor was it the first to return to Earth).

* AliensMadeThemDoIt: The Oversoul compelled Luet and Hushidh's biological parents to wander into the desert, meet, copulate and wander off. Twice.

* BreakThemByTalking: Hushidh uses her Raveler abilities to mentally break Rashgallavik (who usurped command of Volemak's men in a bid to take over Basillica). Rasa immediately tells her [[NiceJobBreakingItHero how much she just screwed up]]: With Rashgallavik broken, there was no one to keep the soldiers in check and they were free to RapeBurnAndPillage as they saw fit.[[note]]Hushidh's actions were strongly implied to be spurred on by The Oversoul, as it gave an opening to General Moozh to roll in and take over with little bloodshed of the populace.[[/note]]

* MedievalStasis: The colony has been operating on a pre-technological level for thousands of years. This is a plot point; their technology level is being deliberately held back.

* MandatoryMotherhood: As they were meant to reestablish humanity on Earth, every woman in the party who could bear children were expected to. Including fifty-something Rasa. Shedemei was (unintentionally) ostracized from the women's social circle as she was the only adult female without children. (Until she and Zdorab decide to try and rectify that).

* DancingBear: Used InUniverse as a clue things are being hidden from the people. The phrase has come to mean "someone adept at getting out of awkward social situations without conflict." When Issib, using The Index, discovers the original etimolgy, it spurs he and Nafai to look further to find what else has been suppressed.

* AGodAmI: The Keeper of Earth is never outright stated to be God (or even Gaia), but with the stunts She (as the Keeper is usually called) pulls off (sending an image of Nafai's face to a Digger girl 1,000 years before he was born, chasing the bulk of humanity off with a spontaneous Ice Age), She might as well be.

* BreakThemByTalking: Hushidh uses her Raveler abilities to break the control Rashgallavik (who usurped command of Volemak's men in a bid to take over Basillica). Rasa immediately tells her [[NiceJobBreakingItHero how much she just screwed up]]: With Rashgallavik broken, there was no one to keep the soldiers in check and they were free to RapeBurnAndPillage as they saw fit.[[note]]Hushidh's actions were strongly implied to be spurred on by The Oversoul, as it gave an opening to General Moozh to roll in and take over with little bloodshed of the populace.[[/note]]

* GenderRestrictedAbility: It was implied in the earlier books that only women could be Ravelers. ''Earthborn'' showed that the ability merely manifested itself differently: Rather than seeing the connections between people, a male Raveler intuits them and instinctively tries to draw them to himself. [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat They may not even realize they have a gift.]]

* NowILayMeDownToSleep: The first half of the fourth book (dealing with a crisis during an interstellar voyage with most of the characters in SuspendedAnimation) is titled "If I Should Wake Before I Die".

* BreakThemByTalking: Hushidh uses her Raveler abilities to break the control Rashgallavik (who usurped command of Volemak's men in a bid to take over Basillica). Rasa immediately tells her [[NiceJobBreakingItHero how much she just screwed up]]: With Rashgallavik, there was no one to keep the soldiers in check and they were free to rape and pillage as they saw fit.[[note]]This is strongly implied to be The Oversoul's doing, as it gave an opening to General Moozh to roll in and take over with little bloodshed of the populace.[[/note]]

* GenderRestrictedAbility: It was implied in the earlier books that only women could be Ravelers. ''Earthborn'' showed that the ability merely manifested itself differently: Rather than seeing the connections between people, a male Raveler simply intuits them and instinctively tries to draw them to himself. [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat They may not even realize they have a gift.]]

* HiddenInPlainSight: In ''Earthborn'', [[spoiler:Shedemei]], now the Jesus-like figure "The One Who Was Never Buried", is living among the Nafari, using her real name. Every one simply assumes she was named after the historical [[spoiler:Shedemei]] and uses the original spelling and pronunciation, not the one adopted to Angel vocal chords. One elderly Digger woman figures it out, but [[spoiler:Shedemei]] has to play coy with her, because she can't trust her not to blurt the fact out, matter-of-factly.

* DancingBear: Used InUniverse as a clue things are being hidden from the people. The phrase has come to mean "someone adept at getting out of awkward social situations without conflict." When Issib, using The Index, discovers the original etimolgy, it spurs he and Nafai to look further to find what else has been surpressed.

The Homecoming Saga ,particularly the first three volumes, is ''Literature/TheBookOfMormon'' reworked into a [[RecycledInSpace SciFi Fantasy epic.]] Most of the main characters from the first three volumes are [[{{Expy}} expies]] of figures from the Book (for example, Nafai, Issib, Elemak and Mebbekew are basically Nephi, Sam, Laman and Lemuel). It is far less well known or regarded than other Card works, such as ''Literature/EndersGame'', ''Literature/TheTalesOfAlvinMaker'' or ''[[Literature/OrsonScottCardsEmpire Empire]]''.

The series is set 4000 millenia in the future. The first three volumes (The Memory of Earth," ''The Call of Earth,'' and '''The Ships of Earth') take place on the planet Harmony. The central character is fourteen-year old Nafai, youngest son of Rasa, head of a prestigious school and a prominent leader in the martriarchal city of Basilica and Volemak, a wealthy trader and one of the few men in Basilica with political power. Nafai begins hearing voices he thinks are from The Oversoul, Harmony's God-figure. With the help of his older brother Issib, Nafai discovers the true nature of The Oversoul and embarks on a journey to save both it and Harmony itself. A journey that eventually encompasses both the brothers, their parents, their extended family and a couple of unlucky stragglers:

--

The Homecoming Saga ,particularly the first three volumes, is ''Literature/TheBookOfMormon'' reworked into a [{RecycledInSpace SciFi Fantasy epic.]] Most of the main characters from the first three volumes are [[{{Expy}} expies]] of figures from the Book (for example, Nafai, Issib, Elemak and Mebbekew are basically Nephi, Sam, Laman and Lemuel). It is far less well known or regarded than other Card works, such as ''Literature/EndersGame'', ''Literature/TheTalesOfAlvinMaker'' or ''[[Literature/OrsonScottCardsEmpire Empire]]''.

* AndIMustScream: At the climax of ''Earthborn'', [[spoiler: Akma]] is locked into a coma by The Keeper and forced to experience all the pain his actions has caused. Being by being. The Oversoul tells [[spoiler: Shedemei]] that he can detect that he's alive and whole... as far as it can tell by his brainwave patterns, he's screaming in pain.

* HiddenInPlainSight: In ''Earthborn'', [[spoiler:Shedemei]], now the Jesus-like figure "The One Who Was Never Buried", is living among the Nafari, using her real name. Every one simply assumes she was named after the historical [[spoiler:Shedemei]] and uses the original spelling and pronunciation, not the one adopted to Angel vocal chords. One elderly Digger woman figures it out, but [[spoiler:Shedemei]] has to play coy with her, because she can't trust her not to blurt the fact out, matter-of-factly.

The Homecoming Saga is a five-volume SciFiFantasy series written by Creator/OrsonScottCard.

The Homecoming Saga ,particularly the first three volumes, is ''Literature/TheBookOfMormon'' reworked into a SciFiFantasy epic. Most of the main characters from the first three volumes are [[{{Expy}} expies]] of figures from the Book (for example, Nafai, Issib, Elemak and Mebbekew are basically Nephi, Sam, Laman and Lemuel). It is far less well known or regarded than other Card works, such as ''Literature/EndersGame'', ''Literature/TheTalesOfAlvinMaker'' or ''[[Literature/OrsonScottCardsEmpire Empire]]''.

* {{Incest}}: OUtside of the intermarrying of the children of the colonists, Elemak is openly carrying on affairs with Sevet and Kokor, his paternal nieces.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: "Thirsty". It's what her name translates to, but the actual spelling is never portrayed.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: "Thirsty". It's what her name translates to, but the actual spelling is never portrayed.

* ReversePsychology: For those most capable of resisting its direct control, The Oversoul gave them visions of its desired action and mentally forbade them from doing it, ]]BatmanGambit counting on them to "defy his will"]] and do it anyway.

* SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace: Hushdih's biological mother crashes her wedding ceremony to let the groom know [[spoiler: he's about to marry his daughter]].

* AccidentalIncest: Mostly averted: [[KnownOnlyByHisNickname "Thirsty"]], [[spoiler:Luet and Hushidh]]'s biological mother, guided by The Oversoul, arrives in Basillica in time to stop the marriage of [[spoiler: Hushidh and General Moozh, her biological father]] from going past "You may now kiss the bride."