History YMMV / TheTraitorSonCycle

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The Red Knight (aka Gabriel) is basically [[{{Expy}} Mordred]] of [[Myth/KingArthur Arthurian legend]]. He's introduced as his mother's vengeance on the King of Alba, a Wild sorcerer of unrivaled power that all creatures of the Wild, including [[EldritchAbomination Thorn]], refer to as "the Dark Sun". When the King learns who the Red Knight is at the end of the titular book, he's terrified of the implications. However, the King is [[spoiler: unceremoniously killed off]] in ''The Dread Wyrm'' before anything can come of it, and [[spoiler:Ash's appearance]] steers the conflict away from the throne of Alba.

* PlotTumor: The fight against [[spoiler:Ash and his forces for control of the [[PortalDoor inter-dimensional gates]] scattered around the world]] gradually takes over the plot, to the point where the last two books are centered entirely around it. Whether that's a good thing or not is, of course, entirely up to the reader.

* GeniusBonus: Both InUniverse and out of it. When the Red Knight drops a pair of dice into the river as he sets out to fight the Duke of Thrake and rescue the Emperor in ''The Fell Sword'', Sauce explains the meaning of the gesture to those who are puzzled by it: "the die is cast", and there's no turning back. However, what none of them realize is that the [[{{Expy}} Morean]] [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar general]] who first said that phrase did so when [[PointOfNoReturn he committed himself]] to a course of action that would end with him either on the throne or dead.[[note]]Julius Caesar said "alea iacta est" when he led his army across the Rubicon river in Northern Italy which, long story short, kicked off a civil war and ended with him as lifelong dictator of Rome. [[/note]] As the Red Knight himself later admits, [[spoiler:he had been planning to make himself Emperor of Morea since before the events of the first book]].

* GeniusBonus: Both InUniverse and out of it. When the Red Knight drops a pair of dice into the river as he sets out to fight the Duke of Thrake and rescue the Emperor in ''The Fell Sword'', Sauce explains the meaning of the gesture to those who are puzzled by it: "the die is cast", and there's no turning back. However, what none of them realize is that the [[{{Expy}} Morean]] [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar general]] who first said that phrase[[note]]Julius Caesar said "alea iacta est" when he led his army across the Rubicon river in Northern Italy which, long story short, kicked off a civil war and ended with him as lifelong dictator of Rome. [[/note]] did so when [[PointOfNoReturn he committed himself]] to a course of action that would end with him either on the throne or dead. As the Red Knight himself later admits, [[spoiler:he had been planning to make himself Emperor of Morea since before the events of the first book]].

* GeniusBonus: Both InUniverse and out of it. When the Red Knight drops a pair of dice into the river as he sets out to fight the Duke of Thrake and rescue the Emperor in ''The Fell Sword'', Sauce explains the meaning of the gesture to those who are puzzled by it: "the die is cast", and there's no turning back. However, what none of them realize is that the person who said that phrase[[note]] as well as the Morean general [=/=] {{Expy}} of Julius Caesar [[/note]] did so when he committed himself to a course of action that would end with him either on the throne or dead. As the Red Knight himself later admits, [[spoiler:he had been planning to make himself Emperor of Morea since before the events of the first book]].

* PlotTumor: The fight against [[spoiler:Ash and his forces for control of the [[PortalDoor inter-dimensional gates]] scattered around the world]] gradually takes over the plot, to the point where the last two books are centered entirely around it.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The Red Knight [[spoiler: aka Gabriel]] is basically [[{{Expy}} Mordred of Arthurian legend]]. He's introduced as his mother's vengeance on the King of Alba, a Wild sorcerer of unrivaled power that all creatures of the Wild, even [[EldritchAbomination Thorn]], refer to as "the dark sun". When the King learns who the Red Knight is at the end of the titular book, he's terrified of the implications. However, the King is [[spoiler: unceremoniously killed off]] in ''The Dread Wyrm'' before anything can come of it, and [[spoiler:Ash's appearance]] steers the conflict away from the throne of Alba.

* GeniusBonus: Both InUniverse and out of it. When the Red Knight drops a pair of dice into the river as he sets out to fight the Duke of Thrake and rescue the Emperor in ''The Fell Sword'', Sauce explains the meaning of the gesture to those who are puzzled by it: "the die is cast", and there's no turning back. However, what none of them realize is that the person who said that phrase[[note]] as well as the Morean {{Expy}} of Julius Caesar general [[/note]] did so when he committed himself to a course of action that would end with him either on the throne or dead. As the Red Knight himself later admits, [[spoiler:he had been planning to make himself Emperor of Morea since before the events of the first book]].

* GeniusBonus: Both InUniverse and out of it. When the Red Knight drops a pair of dice into the river as he sets out to fight the Duke of Thrake and rescue the Emperor in ''The Fell Sword'', Sauce explains the meaning of the gesture to those who are puzzled by it: "the die is cast", and there's no turning back. However, what none of them realize is that the general who said that phrase[[note]] an {{Expy}} of Julius Caesar [[/note]] did so when he committed himself to a course of action that would end with him either on the throne or dead. As the Red Knight himself later admits, [[spoiler:he had been planning to make himself Emperor of Morea since before the events of the first book]].

* GeniusBonus: Both InUniverse and out of it. When the Red Knight drops a pair of dice into the river as he sets out to fight the Duke of Thrake and rescue the Emperor in ''The Fell Sword'', Sauce explains the meaning of the gesture to those who are puzzled by it: "the die is cast", and there's no turning back. However, what none of them realize is that the general who said that phrase[[note]] an {{Expy}} of Julius Caesar [[/note]] did so when he committed himself to a course of action that would end with him either Emperor or dead. As the Red Knight himself later admits, [[spoiler:he had been planning to make himself Emperor of Morea since before the events of the first book]].

* GeniusBonus: Both InUniverse and out of it. When the Red Knight drops a pair of dice into the river as he sets out to fight the Duke of Thrake and rescue the Emperor in ''The Fell Sword'', Sauce explains the meaning of the gesture to those who are puzzled by it: "the die is cast", and there's no turning back. However, what none of them realize is that the general who said that phrase[[note]] an {{Expy}} of Julius Caesar [[/note]] did it when he committed himself to a course of action that would end with him either Emperor or dead. As the Red Knight himself later admits, [[spoiler:he had been planning to make himself Emperor of Morea since before the events of the first book]].