History Literature / LoomingShadow

* SinisterSurveillance: There is a downplayed example in Ataidar. Its national government keeps detailed logs of the activities of Otherworlders (people that came to them from another dimension) such as Eric. Instead of surveillance cameras, they have agents tailing him on his walks through the city and on his out-of-country missions. When the Royal Archivist, Henry Pupil, shows Eric his own log, Eric finds it to be "creepy". Henry replies that it is "careful" because Otherworlders are often the TheChosenOne of local TricksterArchetype and thus a magnet for trouble. The last one that came tried to take over the world.

* EvilLaugh: Invoked by Eric to troll a trainee soldier; the kid is sneaking into the royal mage's tower and Eric sneaks up behind. When close enough, he belts out a maniacal laugh.

* SoulFragment: Eric is badgered by a phantom of Dengel Tymh known as "Shadow Dengel" after spending the first as Dengel's HeroicHost. Later on he absorbs [[spoiler: the scholarly aspect of Dengel known as "Grey Dengel" after raiding Dengel's lair in Ceiha]]. It is left ambiguous how much of either of them are genuine soul fragments and how much is Eric's memories of him. Either way, the latter certainly provides him with great magical knowledge and ability that formerly belonged to Dengel.

** A vision quest inside Dengel's Cehian Lair grants Eric great wisdom and understanding about the immediate underlayer of reality and the true nature of magic

* RevengeByProxy: Annala finds herself in the crosshairs of someone with a grudge against her mother and HonoraryAunt, Hasina. Nulso Xialin seeks to enslave her because he can't attack his true directs directly.

* SoulFragment: Eric is badgered by a phantom of Dengel Tymh known as "Shadow Dengel" during the [[Literature/LoomingShadow second book]] after spending the first as Dengel's HeroicHost. Later on he absorbs [[spoiler: the scholarly aspect of Dengel known as "Grey Dengel" after raiding Dengel's lair in Ceiha]]. It is left ambiguous how much of either of them are genuine soul fragments and how much is Eric's memories of him. Either way, the latter certainly provides him with great magical knowledge and ability that formerly belonged to Dengel.
* RebuiltPedestal: [[spoiler: After meeting "Grey Dengel", which is a ghost of the real Dengel representing his scholarly aspect, Eric begins to admire Dengel once more. He still doesn't like the real Dengel but after learning more about him, he also doesn't hate him. It is "Grey Dengel" who becomes his new role model.]]
* RingRingCrunch: Eric is having a pleasant dream about how he has returned to Tariatla only to be woken up by his alarm clock, so he stabs it with his Tariatlan mage spear. Then he twists the crystal blade to make sure it's dead.

The next book in the series is ''Mana Mutation Menace''.

* AndYourLittleDogToo: Mr.15 threatens Eric's entire social circle during their battle at Mt. He states that will use Tiza for breeding stock, Nolien as raw materials, and Basilard as a punching bag as well as detailing the "invasive and demeaning experiments he had planned for [[LoveInterest a certain elf girl]]". After seeing the horrific things Mr.15 had already done to his protégé, Zettai, Eric resolved to kill him dead. [[spoiler: Even after Mr.15 mana mutates, and thus no longer has any idea who he is or what threats he's made, Eric says that he can't risk Mr.15 every coming back.]]

* IKnowWhatYouFear: Dengel protected his final lair with a "Fear Field", an array of magic runes that encompass anyone who approaches with an illussion of their worst fear. During ''Literature/LoomingShadow'', all the members of Team Four are subjected to it as they climb Mt. Daci. Basilard sees [[spoiler: his students dying and joining his previous students in blaming him for their death while his EvilUncle kills him with his own sword.]] Nolien sees [[spoiler: his younger brother become an EvilOverlord as First Duke of Heleti, abandon their parents, and abuse Tiza]]. Tiza sees [[spoiler: herself back in the place that caused her amensia, her friends and mentors dead, and Nolien brainwashed into hating her.]] Guest star party member Zettai sees [[spoiler: her abusive parents come back from the dead and kill her new friends]]. Eric sees [[spoiler: Nulso take over Ataidar and turn Annala into a SexSlave.]]

* BossSubtitles: Tasio the Trickster invokes this trope. After warning Eric that the final boss of a dungeon ''always'' has more than two forms, the EvilSorcerer that Eric just defeated returns for round two. At that point, Tasio [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime plays a brief tune on an ocarina and says]]: "The Crimson Killer: Kierdos!"

* AndYourLIttleDogToo: Mr.15 threatens Eric's entire social circle during their battle at Mt. He states that will use Tiza for breeding stock, Nolien as raw materials, and Basilard as a punching bag as well as detailing the "invasive and demeaning experiments he had planned for [[LoveInterest a certain elf girl]]". After seeing the horrific things Mr.15 had already done to his protégé, Zettai, Eric resolved to kill him dead. [[spoiler: Even after Mr.15 mana mutates, and thus no longer has any idea who he is or what threats he's made, Eric says that he can't risk Mr.15 every coming back.]]

! Looming Shadow contains the following tropes:
* BeautyAndTheBeast: After Eric [[spoiler: mana mutates into a grendel]], Kallen fills in the role of the gentle and understanding Beauty. She does this in her combat suit, due to the circumstances, but she had previously been dolled up in a kimono and make up, and Tasio laments the missed opportunity to snap "Beauty and the Beast" photos.

* MotiveRant: The Crimson Killer explains his justifications for his actions to Eric. He's waiting for Eric's teammates to show so can arrange an exchange of Eric for the sword [=BloodDrinker=]. He's just killing time.
* NotQuiteBackToNormal: [[spoiler: Eric mana mutates into a grendel and tries to kill Basilard in mindless hunger. Then Kallen takes him for treatment and makes him not only human again but also sapient again. He has a pleasant talk with his teammates and it seems like he has come away from this experience no worse for the wear. Then his eyes shift into something feral and he asks with a monstrous voice if he can eat a human. The change reverts back just as quickly but it's clear that Eric is ''not'' the same as he used to be.]]

* TheScapeGoat: If you are The Trickster's Choice then you are blamed for disaster in the area, because it's believed that The Trickster made them happen to you. Whether or not this is the truth is irrelevant.

** [[spoiler: Eric shanks a reaper and steals one of his abilities. What does he say after that?]] [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/MegaMan Now I've got your power!]]
* SurpassedTheTeacher: In ''A Mage's Power'', Eric is taught magecraft by Basilard Bladi and Dengel Tymh. Then he has a falling out with the later and spends ''Looming Shadow'' attempting to fulfill this trope so he can smear Dengel's fame. As his brush with the trope WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity demonstrates, he still has a ways to go before he can say "I am a better mage than Dengel".

* TwentyBearAsses: The only reason that Eric meets Kallen in Mambi during ''Looming Shadow'' is that she's collecting one hundred monsters for mana mutation research. The drop rate for the elemental ice energy that she needs is frustratingly low.

* WasOnceAMan: There are all manner of creepy, dangerous, and/or scary monsters roaming Tariatla, and a good many of them used to be sapient. Perfectly civil and friendly, until they were mana mutated. During ''Literature/LoomingShadow'', Kallen encounters a monster and is about to kill it, when she realizes that it hasn't finished transforming yet, and that its threatening roars were actually screams of pain.

* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: Tiza has suffered amensia for years before the series began. It causes her confusion about her past and identity. Then she meets Haburt, who she's subconsciously terrified of but she refuses to admit to it. When he makes his move and recreates a crucial momment from her past, she admits to this fear and steps forward confidently to overcome it. [[spoiler: Then he sheds light on her past and tells her the identity of her parents.]]

** In Chaotic Philosophy there exists levels of enlightenment. The first of which is plain old magecraft which can be learned out of a book by anyone that can read, or anyone with a teacher.

* YourMakeUpIsRunning: After her tearful reuinon with Eric, Kasile's make up is a mess. Eric has a laugh at her expense.

* WasOnceAMan: There are all manner of creepy, dangerous, and/or scary monsters roaming Tariatla, and a good many of them used to be sapient. Perfectly civil and friendly, until they were mana mutated. During ''Literature/LoomingShadow'', Kallen encounters a monster and is about to kill it, when she realizes that it hasn't transforming yet, and that its threatening roars were actually screams of pain.

* UndeadTaxExemption: Vaya is an ArtificialHuman created by a fugitive in hiding. Thus, when [[spoiler: Professor Haburt]] wants to adopt her, he has to make up a cover story about finding her on the street because she was abandoned by her parents due to the country's regular food shortages. There's no Ceihan paperwork to support this but the scenarnio is plausible enough for Ataidaran paperwork to bre created. [[spoiler: Since she's a clone of his real daughter, he also has to change her name as well as her hair and eye color so no one suspects a link between them.]]

* DoomMagnet: Anyone that becomes Tasio's "bestest friend" becomes one of these because he likes playing with/pranking them.