History Literature / TheTraitorSonCycle

* BigGood: Harmodius,being TheArchmage and MentorArchetype.
** The much more powerful (and less active),Wyrm of Erch count as well.

** The much more powerful (and less active),Wrym of Erch count as well.

* BloodKnight: Thomas Lachlan, AKA Bad Tom, loves nothing more than a good fight.

* FrenchJerk: Almost every nobleman from Galle is a complete ass, save for the OnlySaneMan the Comte de'Eu. The King, an insane rapist, is actually a puppet for his [[EvilChancellor chancellor]], who runs the country behind his back for his own ends. Their clergy utterly denies even the existence of the wild and attempts to destroy all users of magic, which is one of the few things keeping humanity alive against the wild. Their nobles are insane, honor obsessed pscyhopaths who casually commit murder over the slightest insults. [[spoiler:The Gallish Chancellor attempts to take over Alba over the course of the books and succeeds. He essentially turns the King into a puppet, the force of knights sent over to ensure this imprisons and executes large numbers of innocent people, their knights and squires launch a campaign of murder and rape, they imprison, abuse, nearly rape and come with in an hair's breadth of burning the Queen alive for adultery (a charge that she is innocent of) and the murder of the aforementioned OnlySaneMan Comte d'Eu (who the Gallish knights themselves killed). They get some manner of [[KarmicDeath karmic retribution]] off screen when the Wild slaughters most of their knights.]]

* MonsterKnight: Tapio Haltija, also known as the Faerie Knight, is a powerful and famed Irk warrior who rides a giant white stag into battle.

* ReallyGetsAround: The Abbess has had many lovers, including the magus Richard Plangere [[spoiler: before he fell and became known as Thorn]] and the King. The King himself, before his current wife, had even asked for her hand in marriage.

* ReallyGetsAround: The Abbess has had many lovers, including the magus Thorn before he fell and the King. The King himself, before his current wife, had even asked for her hand in marriage.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: One of the main reasons why the Wild and the human kingdoms have warred against each other for so long is that neither side understands the mentality of the other. While many creatures of the Wild are shown to be quite intelligent, they see nothing wrong with casually killing each other or eating their fallen enemies, and have no concept of laws, possession or civilization in general. This leads to the humans seeing the Wild as dangerous animals that need to be extermined while the Wild regards humans as greedy bastards with no respect for nature. In the end, BothSidesHaveAPoint.

** More straight versions are with the Emperor's daughter, who while a somewhat naive teenager is very bright, and the Queen of Alba.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: a well researched series of ones:
** Galle is medieval France. It's the most powerful and prosperous human state and is rarely attacked by the Wild. However, its peasantry is oppressed and its nobles operate under the Laws of War, requiring them to go armed and armored at all times and to constantly duel to the death over small slights.

* BearsAreBadNews: Golden bears are a type of intelligent animal from the Wild. A mother golden bear and hers cub were used as sideshow freaks, but when a religious zealot kills one of her cubs, the mother bear goes berserk and slaughters everyone at the show.

** The Red Knight is an expy of [[spoiler: Mordred. His mother is the king's sister and in a throw-away line, the Red Knight notes that he was born from [[BrotherSisterIncest incest]] and [[ChildByRape rage.]] His mother intended him to be raised as a Champion of the Wild who would destroy the kingdom Alba.]]

* MagicKnight: The Red Knight is initially a middling level practitioner of magic of the Wild, as well as being an expert warrior. He however has been deliberately neglecting his magic in the hopes that his powers would atrophy from disuse and initially the rare times he uses magic it's been done in secret.
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Ash, who's behind most the series' main villains.]]

* MissionFromGod: Jean de Vrailly claims to speak with an angel who has told him that it's his destiny to prove himself the world's greatest knight and become King of Alba. [[spoiler: Said angel is later revealed to be Ash, this world's equivalent to {{Satan}}.]]

* ReallyGetsAround: The Abbess has had many lovers including the magus Thorn before he fell and the King. The King himself, before his current wife, had even asked for her hand in marriage.

* UnholyMatrimony: The Earl and Duchess of the North, its directly stated that none of their five children are his and both cheat on each other constantly and insult each other at any opportunity. However, they're also deeply in love with each other and make a formidable pair of rulers due to his military skill and her magical power/political savvy.

** The Queen is a partial example, usually referred to by her title instead of her unusual name Desiredeta.

** The Red Knight is an expy of [[spoiler: Mordred. His mother is the king's sister and in a throw-away line, the Red Knight notes that he was born from [[BrotherSisterIncest incest]] and [[ChildByRape rage.]] His mother intended for him to be raised as a Champion of the Wild, that was inimical to humanity and destroy Alba.]]

* UnresolvedSexualTension: Between the Captain and Amica. Both have an obvious attraction to each other which they acknowledge but the Nun remains true to her vows.

* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: A male version of this, the Emperor of... is the most beautiful man in the world on account of being a product of generations of intermarriage between beautiful princesses and princes from different countries around the world. Sadly, he appears to be as dumb as he is beautiful.

* NoNameGiven: The Captain for most of the first book merely goes by his title or the Red Knight [[spoiler:his real name is Gabriel Murien, which he goes by openly by the third]]

* BigBadEnsemble: Thorn, a [[FallenHero former archmage]] who has allied himself with the Wild, and Jean de Vrailly, the leader of the Gallish knights who try to take over Alba, are set up as major antagonists with unrelated agendas in the first book, until it turns out that [[spoiler: both of them are manipulated by Ash, the true villain of the story. Thorn is quickly DemotedToDragon once Ash takes a more active role in the subsequent books.]]

* MagicKnight: The Red Knight is initially a middling level practitioner of magic of the Wild, as well as being an expert warrior. He however has been deliberately neglecting his magic in the hopes that his powers would atrophy from disuse and initially the rare times he uses magic it's been done in secret.

* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: A male version of this, the Emperor of... is the most beautiful man in the world on account of being a product of generations of intermarriage between beautiful princesses and princes from different countries around the world. Sadly he appears to be as dumb as he is beautiful.

* CrystalDragonJesus: Averted, the people of the world really do worship Jesus Christ, God and etc.
* {{Expy}}: There is a strong Arthurian tales influence in The Red Knight:
** The Red Knight is an expy of [[spoiler: Morded. His mother is the king's sister and in a throw-away line, the Red Knight notes that he was born from incest and rage. His mother intended for him to be raised as a Champion of the Wild, that was inimical to humanity and destroy Alba.]]

* FantasyGunControl: Alba has never had a gun, until the designs of one show up with a mysterious stranger. This stranger then hires on the black smith and tells him that after the gun had been made and found satisfactory in testing, but if he wanted that commission he needed to destroy any designs after the gun was completed. This implies that while Albany just had their first experience with firearms, these weapons may have existed elsewhere and possibly in greater numbers.

** Galle is medieval France, its the most powerful and prosperous human state and is rarely attacked by the wild. However, its peasantry is oppressed and its nobles operate under the Laws of War, requiring them to go armed and armored at all times and to constantly duel to the death over small slights.

* HeroicBastard: Sometimes referred to as a Bourc, the Red Knight was a much abused son of a noble family before striking out on his own. While he deeply despises the idea of God and highly blasphemous, he has deeply held morals and works to restrain the worst inclinations of his mercenary band.

* NoNameGiven: The Captain for most of the first book merely goes by his title or the Red Knight [[spoiler:his real name is Gabriel Muriens, which he goes by openly by the third]]

* ActionGirl: several members of the company are female. The highest ranked are Sauce, a female knight and former prostitute, and Mag, an ex-seamstress who is a powerful mage and in charge of the noncombatants.

* {{Expy}}: There is a strong Arthurian tales influence in The Red Knight. Sir Luc is a darker version of Sir Lancelot. He's a giant of a man who's being manipulated by "an angel" to declare and later proves himself to be the greatest knight in the world, he comes from an expy of France and has designs on the Queen. [[spoiler: The Red Knight, himself is an expy of Morded. His mother is the king's sister and in a throw-away line, the Red Knight notes that he was born from incest and rage. His mother intended for him to be raised as a Champion of the Wild, that was inimical to humanity and destroy Albany.]]

* FantasyGunControl: Albany has never had a gun, until the designs of one show up with a mysterious stranger. This stranger then hires on the black smith and tells him that after the gun had been made and found satisfactory in testing, but if he wanted that commission he needed to destroy any designs after the gun was completed. This implies that while Albany just had their first experience with firearms, these weapons may have existed elsewhere and possibly in greater numbers.

** Galle: is medieval France, its the most powerful and prosperous human state and is rarely attacked by the wild. However, its peasantry is oppressed and its nobles operate under the Laws of War, requiring them to go armed and armored at all times and to constantly duel to the death over small slights.
** Alba: is 1300s England, specifically after the black plague. It is under the rule of law and has substantial rights for the peasantry, although there is a strong guerilla movement called the jacks that is allied with the wild. A generation ago it won a great battle against the northern wild, but lost huge amounts of manpower doing so. Great amounts of the country have reverted to the wild and only a fifth as many men can be raised as a generation before.
** Morea: is the late Byzantine Empire. Its under the rule of the Paleologue dynasty, has lost much of its territory and is both bankrupt and dependent on mercenaries. Interestingly, it is not in the Balkans and Middle east but borders Alba, both being on the continent of Nova Terra.
** Nova Terra: the continent where the action is set. Despite the two major human civilizations being expies of England and the Byzantine Empire, its actually an expy of Colonial north America. Many tribes of wild allied human are analogous to Native American tribes, the Fur and wild honey trade is vastly important and the fortress of Ticonda is a direct take away from the real Fort Ticonderoga, even down to its weaknesses.

* FrenchJerk: almost every nobleman from Galle is a complete ass, save for the OnlySaneMan the Comte de'Eu. The King is an insane, rapist near dwarf who is a puppet for his Chancellor, who runs the country behind his back for his own ends. Their clergy utterly denies even the existence of the wild and attempts to destroy all users of magic, which is one of the few things keeping humanity alive against the wild. Their nobles are insane, honor obsessed pscyhopaths who casually commit murder over the slightest insults. [[spoiler:The Gallish Chancellor attempts to take over Alba over the course of the books and succeeds. He essentially turns the King into a puppet, the force of knights sent over to ensure this imprisons and executes large numbers of innocent people, their knights and squires launch a campaign of murder and rape, they imprison, abuse, nearly rape and come with in an hair's breadth of burning the Queen alive for adultery (a charge that she is innocent of) and the murder of the aforementioned OnlySaneMan Comte d'Eu (who the Gallish knights themselves killed). They get some manner of karmic retribution off screen when the wild slaughters most of their knights.]]

* OurGriffonsAreDifferent: they grow rapidly and not only generate but feed off of love. They will bond with the first person to demonstrate immense love in front of them.

* {{UST}}: between the Captain and Amica. Both have an obvious attraction to each other which they acknowledge but the Nun remains true to her vows.

* AnyoneCanDie: Numerous well-established PoV characters can be killed in a single sentence and most aren't even mentioned anymore.

And so begins the story of The Traitor Son Cycle which has 3 books so far:

* UnusualWeaponsUser: many knights and men at arms use pole axes, common weapons in the real middle ages but rare in fiction.
** Also, the armor used by many characters is rarely depicted in fiction, the coat of plates, the intermediate armor between mail and full plate.
* UST: between the Captain and Amica. Both have an obvious attraction to each other which they acknowledge but the Nun remains true to her vows.

** More straight versions are with the Emperor's daughter, who while a somewhat naive teenager is very bright, and the Queen of Alba.

* ActionGirl: several members of the company are female. The highest ranked are Sauce, a female knight and former prostitute, and Maud, an ex-seamstress who is a powerful mage and in charge of the noncombatants.

** ActionGirl: several members of the company are female. The highest ranked are Sauce, a female knight and former prostitute, and Maud, an ex-seamstress who is a powerful mage and in charge of the noncombatants.

* FrenchJerk: almost every nobleman from Galle is a complete ass, save for the OnlySaneMan the Comte de'Eu. The King is an insane, rapist near dwarf who is a puppet for his Chancellor, who runs the country behind his back for his own ends. Their clergy utterly denies even the existence of the wild and attempts to destroy all users of magic, which is one of the few things keeping humanity alive against the wild. Their nobles are insane, honor obsessed pscyhopaths who casually commit murder over the slightest insults. [[spoiler:The Gallish Chancellor attempts to take over Alba over the course of the books and succeeds. He essentially turns the King into a puppet, the force of knights sent over to ensure this imprisons and executes large numbers of innocent people, their knights and squires launch a campaign of murder and rape, they imprison, abuse, nearly rape and come with in an hair's breadth of burning the Queen alive for adultery (a charge that she is innocent of) and the murder of the aforementioned OnlySaneMan Comte d'Eu (who the Gallish knights themselves killed). They get some manner of karmic retribution off screen when the wild slaughters most of their knights.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture

* TheSiege: The main action of The Red Knight, there is actually a pair of sieges happening. One takes place in

* MedievalEuropeanFantasy

* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: A male version of this, the Emperor of... is the most beautiful man in the world on account of being a product of generations of intermarriage between beautiful princesses and princes from different countries around the world. Sadly he appears to be as dumb as he is beautiful.

* FantasyWorldCounterpart
* GreenEyedMonster: Sir Jerent resents the Red Knight's captaincy for two reasons - the Red Knight being a nobleman and Sir Jerent has over a decade of experience as a mercenary while the Red Knight has only five years under his belt. But while Jerent was explaining this to Bad Tom, Bad Tom shuts him down. He notes that Jerent lacks the charisma, the strategic mind and noble birth that are needed to lead a mercenary band, the company would never accept someone so lacking in these three categories while the Red Knight has plenty of each.

* ReallyGetsAround: The Abbess has had many lovers including the Magus Thorn before he fell and the King. The King himself, before his current wife, had even asked for her hand in marriage.

* AncientGrome: a medieval version of it.

* IstanbulNotConstantinople