History Main / TheGathering

* EnemyWithin: Each member of the chain has their own personal demons to deal with before they can successfully complete their mission.

** Danny is described as the school's [[FeralChild resident mad dog]], someone who seemed to have been "raised by dogs, who doesn't quite know how to act around people". Later on when we find out about Danny's DarkAndTroubledPast, Danny reveals hismelf to be a bit more philosophical than that, comparing human behaviour to violent animals. He became an animal himself so he could cope. Nathaniel doens't entirely agree with Danny's assessment of humans behaving like animals, because humans are the only animals that attack, hurt, or kill each other for fun. In a way, they both have a point.

* IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure: The reason the school patrol kids from the Gathering [[spoiler: murder the Tod]]. Mr Karle warns Nathaniel of this practically word fort word later in the book.

** This is what happens if the vessel of Light (Lallie), and presumably Darkness (Mr Karle) act in any way to seriously affect the outcome of anything in "[[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil the battle]]". This is possibly an explanation for why the Chain are never seriously beaten up by the Gathering, even though Mr Karle is heavily suspicious of who some of them might be: the one time Nathaniel is actually hurt by the Gathering, it was due to his refusal to follow their rules, rather than that he had been identified. Once Lallie has played her [[CallToAdventure role]] she is not permitted to give specific information or assistance. When she breaks that rule by using the Tod to save Nathaniel,[[spoiler: she an the Tod are the ones punished]].

* MagneticPlotDevice: All of Cheshunt. The darkness in the town draws people to it. They are drawn either by their [[HumansAreBastards darkest]] and worst qualities, or their [[HumansAreSpecial best qualities]]. Lallie reveals that animals are called too, though they rarely answer it.

** Danny's surname, Odin, is also the name of the leader of the Greek gods.

** Also, the location of the Healing which they spend most of the book trying to figure out. [[Spoiler: it turns out to be the abattoir: the source of the pervading smell of death that covers all of Cheshunt.]]

** Also, the location of the Healing which they spend most of the book trying to figure out. [[Spoiler: it turns out to be the abattoir: the source of the pervading smell of death that covers all of Cheshunt.)

* TheBadGuysAreCops: Most of the town of Cheshunt is a member of the Community Committee, a group ostensibly designed to improve the lives of those in the formerly [[CrapsackWorld violent own]]. However because Cheshunt draws people to it 'via the best or the worst in them', most of the policemen have been overcome by their own power, and pretty much everyone is under the Kraken's thumb without even realising it.

* FireForgedFriends: Or rather, ''Chain'' Forged (Lallie describes the symbols as literally forging the group together). This is further cemented later in the book while [[spoiler: rescuing Seth from his attempted suicide at the beach]]].

* AnimalMotif: Almost all of the main characters are associated with animals, presumably in symbolism related to their characters, but also to denonstrate their willingness to go against the wishes of the corrupt Cheshunt leaders. Nathaniel's is a salmon (to represent his willingness to 'swim upstream' against peer pressure), Nessa's is a wild cat (representing her need to balance strength with [[CatsAreMean kindness]]), Indian's is the bear (strong, but unwilling to act unless threatened), and Danny's is the wild dog (the animal he became in order to survive in a world filled with far worse animals). Only Seth lacks an obvious motif [[spoiler: though it's arguable that he's meant to represent humans.]]

** The surname Delaney can in some contexts the leader of the Greek gods.

* GeniusBonus: Nathaniel's pat Chihuahua-cross the Tod is described as being easily mistaken for a strange looking cat or a fox by others. A 'Tod' is an old fashioned English name for a fox.
** Nathaniel and his grandfather are both named after the author Nathaniel Hawthorn. Nathaniel references[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Letter his namesake's book]], ''TheScarletLetter'', and the protagonist who was required to wear a large red A on her dress as a symbol of her crime of adultery.

** Nathaniel and his grandfather are both named after the author Nathaniel Hawthorn. Nathaniel references[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Letter his book]], ''TheScarletLetter'', and the protagonist who was required to wear a large red A on her dress as a symbol of her crime of adultery.

-->''Mr Karle:'' I would not think of it Nathaniel. There would be a price to pay, and as before it would not be you who paid it, but one of your friends.
** This is what happens if the vessel of Light (Lallie), and presumably Darkness (Mr Karle) act in any way to seriously affect the outcome of anything in "[[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil the battle]]". This is possibly the explanation for why the Chain are never seriously beaten up by the Gathering, even though Mr Karle is heavily suspicious of who some of them might be. Once Lallie has played her [[CallToAdventure role]] she is not permitted to give specific information or assistance. When she breaks that rule by using the Tod to save Nathaniel,[[spoiler: she an the Tod are the ones punished]].

* TheAtoner: Indian, who blames himself for the brain damage his younger sister suffered after an accident while under his care.

* AgentScully - Nathaniel is this somewhat. He is described as "a thinker", and thinkers apparantly aren't very good at just accepting things they can't explain, like prophet children and evil bruising the earth. While Nissa started out as sceptical too [[BrokenMasquerade she's changed her mind completely]] by the time Nathaniel arrives in Cheshunt. Thus they have a good understanding of one another as "thinkers" and generally end up playing the thinking roles.
* AncientConspiracy - Cheshunt has been subject to several of these throughout the years. The current storyline is only the latest.
* AnimalMotif - Almost all of the main characters are associated with animals, presumably in symbolism related to their characters, but also to denonstrate their willingness to go against the wishes of the corrupt Cheshunt leaders. Nathaniel's is a salmon (to represent his willingness to 'swim upstream' against peer pressure), Nessa's is a wild cat (representing her need to balance strength with [[CatsAreMean kindness]]), Indian's is the bear (strong, but unwilling to act unless threatened), and Danny's is the wild dog (the animal he became in order to survive in a world filled with far worse animals). Only Seth lacks an obvious motif [[spoiler: though it's arguable that he's meant to represent humans.]]
* AsLongAsThereIsEvil - [[spoiler: the Chain may have healed Cheshunt but the protection only lasts as long as they and their actions are recalled, leading to Nathaniel writing the story down. Evil in general will always exist in the world. Our duty is not to give in to it.]]
* TheAtoner - Indian, who blames himself for the brain damage his younger sister suffered after an accident while under his care.
* BrokenBird - Nissa
* BrokenPedestal - The seemingly "perfect" Seth Paul seems able to do no wrong but [[spoiler: in reality he's being pressured so much by his policeman father to join The Gathering and conform, not to mention the implied abuse, that he snaps under the pressure and attempts to commit suicide halfway through the book. Does a FaceHeelTurn which doesn't last long on the Chain.]]
* ChildrenAreSpecial - Nathaniel theorizes that the reason teenagers, rather than adults, were chosen to become The Chain was that children are more able to accept the idea of actual bonafide evil ''existing'', as well as actions being the product of human nature and choice.

* DefrostingIceQueen - Nissa
* DomesticAbuser - [[spoiler: Nathaniel's father is eventually revealed to have been this, and the reason behind why Nathaniel's mother moved him so frequently after their divorce. Nathaniel has mentally blacked out his memories of the abuse, which culminated in his father's failed attempt to kill him.]]

* DreamingOfTimesGoneBy - Nathaniel dreams about Ana Galway, and Zebediah who [[spoiler: later turn out to have been members of the original chain]], as well as Lallie as a young woman rather than the small child they know her as, thus proving she's ReallySevenHundredYearsOld.
* EasilyForgiven - [[spoiler: Seth]] when [[spoiler:Nathaniel realizes exactly what it was that broke The Chain the last time someone tried to cleanse Cheshunt of evil. The power of The Chain is only as strong as it's weakest member; by forgiving Seth and welcoming his back they complete the Chain anew and finally banish the evil from Cheshunt.]]
* EnemyWithin - Each member of the chain has their own personal demons to deal with before they can successfully complete their mission.
* ForeShadowing - All over the goddamn place. In particular the science teacher's use of ants as a metaphor for the behavior the Kraken wishes to see in humanity.
* FaceHeelTurn - [[spoiler: Seth]].
* FiveManBand - The group basically fits but the roles are all to an extent [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] with each of them. Sometimes to [[TearJerker heartbreaking]] effect. This is one messed up FiveManBand.

* FriendToAllLivingThings - Lallie.
* FireForgedFriends - Or rather, ''Chain'' Forged (Lallie describes the symbols as literally forging the group together). This is further cemented later in the book while [[spoiler: rescuing Seth from his attempted suicide at the beach]]].

* GentleGiant - Indian, to a degree.

* GoodIsNotNice - Danny's motivation for punching a younger member of The Gathering when he and Nathaniel are confronted. Nathaniel is shocked because the youngest child had seemed the most afraid and quiet of the group that attacked them, and was only "going along with them" out of fear. Danny points out that the youngest boy is a new recruit to the Gathering and is probably there because he's afraid and thinks he'll be protected by conforming. By attacking him Danny showed him that he would gain no protection from surrendering his morality.
* TheHeart - Turns out to be [[spoiler: Nathaniel's]] role in the chain.
* HiddenDepths - Just about everyone. One of the points of the book is that most people are more than they seem and you have to try and understand things from other perspectives.
* HiddenInPlainSight - All of The Chain's symbols turn out to be obvious items (it's believed their very nature hides them from the Kraken). Indian's bowl is on display in a maritime museum, Nathaniel finds his circle sitting on a desk in the Kraken's office, Nissa's sword falls out of her bag in the middle of the schoolyard and nobody pays it any notice and so on.
* HistoryRepeats - The cycle of darkness in Cheshunt will begin all over again after the last attempt to heal the bruised earth several decades ago failed [[spoiler: because the original Chain couldn't reconcile after one of them agreed to go down for a murder he did not commit]].
* HumansAreBastards - Played with but interestingly ''not'' subverted. The evil in Cheshunt is real and highly manipulative, literally "calling" people there, but it's feeding on the darkness and cruelty that already exists in the human psyche. Several people, such as the Chain, are drawn to Cheshunt by the ''good'' in them rather than the bad.
* IronicEcho - Early after meeting him in person in the attic, Nathaniel describes Seth Paul as looking like one of those "perfect people you see on coke ads". Later on, during the scene at the beach, he's seen with a coke bottle that appears to confirm Nathaniel's mental image... until you realise that the bottle is filled with whisky, revealing his problems for the first time [[spoiler: and Seth's about half a chapter away from trying to kill himself.]]

* IronicNickname - A boy nicknamed Buddah is actually the violent and cruel school bully.
* ItWasWithYouAllAlong - Nathaniel's realization that the items they've collected are merely symbols of the healing. The real power of The Chain lies in the members themselves.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath - Lallie.
* KickTheDog - Done in the most dramatic way possible.
* MagneticPlotDevice - All of Cheshunt. The darkness in the town draws people to it. They are drawn either by their [[HumansAreBastards darkest]] and worst qualities, or their [[HumansAreSpecial best qualities]]. Lallie reveals that animals are called too, though they rarely answer it.
* MeaningfulEcho - When Lallie tells the group to join hands at the first forging of their symbols, Danny jokingly asks ''"Does this mean we're engaged?"'' Echoed in the final chapter.

* MysteriousWaif - Lallie.
* NarratorAllAlong - The end of the book reveals that the story was written by Nathaniel in order to make sure that what happened with the chain was never forgotten, because the healing only works for as long as it's remembered, as long as it's remembered Cheshunt will be protected.
* NeverSplitTheParty - If the Chain breaks (i.e. if any of it's members fails to uphold their duty or is cast out by any of the others) then the town is pretty much doomed. Actually just [[spoiler: ''speaking the words'' "You are no longer of the chain" to someone is enough to break it.]]
* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere - Unless of course you know how dark and terrible Cheshunt really is.
* NothingIsScarier - half of the tension and fear in the book comes from the fact that the characters (and therefore the reader) are never quite sure the extent of how far someone can be trusted.
* OracularUrchin - Lallie
* PowerOfFriendship - The ''real'' power behind the Chain. Lallie describes laughter as a weapon against the dark.
* RaisedByWolves - Nathaniel describes Danny as seeming to be this in their first meeting though they eventually warm up to each other.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld - Lallie, who seems to be some kind of spirit being who was around the last time they tried to forge The Chain and cleanse Cheshunt.
* SelectiveObliviousness - People in Cheshunt and the surrounding areas, if they're not already under the thrall of the dark, seem to cope with how eerie things are via outright denial.
* SlasherSmile - Mister Karle. Nathaniel calls it his "happy murderer smile".
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism - Towards the idealist end of the scale but not without considering other viewpoints.
* TrueCompanions - The Chain become this at the end. It can be argued that their becoming this was the whole point, as their functioning as a Nakama was the solution they had been looking for the whole time.
* {{Tsundere}} - Nissa has a side of this, but she's mostly just angry.
* TurnOutLikeHisFather - Turns out to be [[spoiler: the main fear of Nathaniel's mother, who's husband was abusive, and is possibly the [[MagneticPlotdevice lure]] which dragged her to Cheshunt. After the reader discovers this, her reactions to Nathaniel and her behaviour in the story start to make a disturbing kind of sense.]]

** '''TheBigGuy - Indian''' [[spoiler: who doesn't raise a fist to anyone because he calls any harm against himself his punishment for allowing his sister's accident, which caused her permanent brain damage]].

* AnimalMotif - Almost all of the main characters are associated with animals, presumably in symbolism related to their characters, but also to denonstrate their willingness to go against the wishes of the corrupt Cheshunt leaders. Nathaniel's is the salmon (to represent his willingness to 'swim upstream' against peer pressure, Nessa is a wild cat (representing her need to balance strength with [[CatsAreMean kindness]]), Indian's is the bear (strong, but unwilling to act unless threatened), and Danny's is the wild dog (the animal he became in order to survive in a world filled with far worse animals). Only Seth lacks an obvious motif [[spoiler: though it's arguable that he's meant to represent humans.]]

* AnimalMotif - Almost all of the main characters are associated with animals, presumably in symbolism related to their characters, but also to denonstrate their willingness to go against the wishes of the corrupt Cheshunt leaders. Nathaniel's is the salmon (to represent his willingness to 'swim upstream' against peer pressure, Nessa is a wild cat (representing her need to balance strength with [[CatsAreCruel kindness]]), Indian's is the bear (strong, but unwilling to act unless threatened), and Danny's is the wild dog (the animal he became in order to survive in a world filled with far worse animals). Only Seth lacks an obvious motif [[spoiler: though it's arguable that he's meant to represent humans.]]

* AnimalMotif - Almost all of the main characters are associated with animals, presumably in symbolism related to their characters, but also to denonstrate their willingness to go against the wishes of the corrupt Cheshunt leaders. Nathaniel's is the salmon, Nessa is a wild cat, Indian's is the bear, and Danny's is the wild dog. Only Seth lacks an obvious motif [[spoiler: though it's arguable that her's meant to represent humans.]]

* AgentScully - Nathaniel is this somewhat. He is described as "a thinker", and thinkers apparantly aren't very good at just accepting things they can't explain, like prophet children and evil bruising the earth. While Nissa started out as specitical too [[BrokenMasquerade she's changed her mind completely]] by the time Nathaniel arrives in Cheshunt. Thus they have a good understanding of one another as "thinkers" and generally end up playing the thinking roles.

* AnimalMotif = Almost all of the main characters are associated with animals, presumably in symbolism related to their characters, but also to denonstrate their willingness to go against the wishes of the corrupt Cheshunt leaders. Nathaniel's is the salmon, Nessa is a wild cat, Indian's is the bear, and Danny's is the wild dog. Only Seth lacks an obvious motif [[spoiler: though it's arguable that her's meant to represent humans.]]

* {{Nakama}} - The Chain become this at the end. It can be argued that their becoming this was the whole point, as their functioning as a Nakama was the solution they had been looking for the whole time.

** Danny is described as the school's [[FeralChild resident mad dog]], someone who seemed to have been "raised by dogs, who doesn't quite know how to act around people". Later on when we find out about Danny's DarkAndTroubledPast, Danny reveals hismelf to be a bit more philosophical than that, comparing human behaviour to violent animals. He became an animal himself so he could cope. Nathaniel doens't entirely agree with Danny's assessment of humans behaving like animals, because humans are the only animals that attack, hurt, or kill each other for fun. [[YourMileageMayVary In a way, they both have a point]].

* EasilyForgiven - [[spoiler: Seth]] when [[spoiler:Nathaniel realizes exactly what it was that broke The Chain the last time someone tried to cleanse Cheshunt of evil. The power of The Chain is only as strong as it's weakest member; by forgiving Seth and welcoming his back they complete the Chain anew and banish the darkness from Cheshunt.]]

* IronicEcho - Early after meeting him in person in the attic, Nathaniel describes Seth Paul as looking like one of those "oerfect people you see on coke ads". Later on, during the scene at the beach, he's seen with a coke bottle that appears to confirm Nathaniel's mental image... until you realise that the bottle is filled with whisky, revealing his problems for the first time [[spoiler: and Seth's about half a chapter away from trying to kill himself.]]

** '''TheChick - Nissa''', who's really more of an ActionGirl and BrokenBird and seems to do the lion's share of the leading.
** '''TheSmartGuy - Danny'''; fits the least out of all the characters but is nonetheless clearly someone who has thought a great deal about their "enemy" and asides from Nathaniel is the most obviously philosophical about the ideas of Good and Evil and what it means to be part of the chain. [[spoiler: Even if his ideas are in part ruled by his temper and he's really a bit of a WildCard]].