Line #31 Literature/Lythande


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/806c365e3b73a52951dbf6fb0bdd835b.jpg]]
2	%% [[caption-width-right:200:some caption text]]
3
4	Lythande is a character created by Creator/MarionZimmerBradley, and conveniently enough also the name of the anthology of stories written about the character. There are also several other stories that were not published in the original anthology which were not collected for 25 years, until ''The Complete Lythande'' was published in 2013; most are available in other anthologies, and some as separate ebooks. The character was originally created for, and the first story ("The Secret of the Blue Star") written for, the first ''Literature/ThievesWorld'' anthology.
5
6	The stories are usually at best tangentially related; some stand completely alone and some reference previous stories, but only a few are directly related (through recurring characters). The general setup is Lythande entering a new place and either being hired to deal with a magical menace or falling afoul of a magical effect. The conflicts are usually resolved by a combination of wits, willpower, force, and magic.
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8	Due to a LateArrivalSpoiler in the original story which forms the basis of several others, all story folders will have unmarked spoilers.
9
10	-----
11	!!Tropes applying to Lythande or the stories in general:
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13	* AllMenArePerverts: This is ''not'' a nice setting, and several plots revolve around just how normal and expected it is for almost any man to force himself on any woman if he gets the chance.
14	* AllThereInTheManual: Your first thought on seeing the name Lythande is probably "How do you pronounce 'Lythande', anyway?" Well worry no longer - in the foreword of the original anthology, MZB reveals that in her mind it's pronounced "LEE-thond", and also that [[DeathOfTheAuthor anyone else's pronunciation is just as valid]].
15	* AnAesop: Lythande sometimes tries to deliver Aesops to the hirers, such as telling a farmer he must make peace with his neighbors to avoid being cursed again, and is sometimes the one being taught by the experience.
16	* TheAgeless: Lythande can still be killed, but can live for centuries without aging.
17	* AlienSky: Lythande's own world has two suns, Keth and Reth, and may have more than one moon.
18	* CharacterDevelopment: Over the course of the stories (or, more precisely, between them) Lythande grows in such ways as taking back up the lute and rediscovering the love of music that preceded the love of magic. Lythande's earlier appearances were also significantly more anxious (or angsty) than the later ones, which seem more jaded and pragmatic than anything.
19	* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: The mage robe isn't the source of Lythande's power, but it is explicitly magical - fireproof, waterproof, and spelled into its form rather than cut and sewed (which means it can't be unmade by unbinding spells like regular clothes).
20	* ConditionalPowers: Pilgrim Adepts' powers are dependant on obeying a number of vows, especially on keeping a DarkSecret; if a man or another Adept learns their secret, they lose their powers and can be killed.
21	* DualWielding: Lythande carries two daggers or swords: the black-bound right-hand one for material enemies, and the red-bound left-hand one for creatures of magic.
22	* ExactWords: Magic seems to run on precise wording; the vows binding Pilgrim Adepts are extremely literal (their secrets can never be learned by ''man'', but women don't count) and when a magician states something it seems that they set the rules of the situation (such as saying "Even I cannot kill what's already dead" ensuring that the problem won't be resolved by finding a way to kill the dead).
23	* FamedInStory: Normal people tend not to know of Lythande's reputation (just being a magician is often reputation enough), but other mages from hedge-witches up to other Adepts, as well as magical beings like goblins, view the name "Lythande" with anything on the continuum of awe, terror, and loathing.
24	* FunetikAksent: Peasants often have their common accents written out, and it's also sometimes used to show Lythande adopting the local vernacular.
25	* GuileHero: Oddly enough, for someone supposedly bound to defend Law, Lythande's at least as likely, if not more, to solve an obstacle with wits, bluffs, [[TakeAThirdOption third options]], and manipulation as with magic and force. Dealing with the public and potential customers involves quite a lot of wearing masks and playing their expectations, and for all Lythande wants to avoid politics, talking the way out of a corner happens pretty often. However, when wits and talking aren't enough, Lythande's perfectly ready with magic and blades.
26	* {{Immortality}}: The Pilgrim Adepts, including Lythande, are said to be living forever to fight against Chaos in the Last Battle.
27	* InUniverseNickname: Other Pilgrim Adepts know Lythande as "The Shadow", due to a sneaky and stealthy reputation.
28	* LimitedWardrobe: Lythande wears practical normal clothes beneath the mage robe and has at least one change of clothes, but in every appearance where clothing is mentioned, it's that same mage robe over and over.
29	* MagicalAccessory: In several stories, Lythande wears a ring that can spark fires (and [[MundaneUtility light cigarettes]]).
30	* MeaningfulRename: Lythande took that name upon deciding to pursue magic and power, leaving any normal life behind.
31	* OnlyOneName: Lythande, just Lythande. And that's not even their birth name, which is pointedly not revealed in "Sea Wrack".
32	* PowerTattoo: Pilgrim Adepts have a blue star on their foreheads.
33	* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Lythande's magic spell book provides spells and information relevant to apparently any circumstance. In one instance, this provides a spell to return the dead to life. Despite the power that such an ability could have to change the world, it isn't used for its intended purpose even once, let alone regularly.
34	* RobeAndWizardHat: The robe is played completely straight - the clothes of not only Lythande but most other Pilgrim-Adepts and professional magic-users are described as a "mage robe", in nearly every story. The hat is not; no mage is described with a hat, but almost all with deep hoods.
35	* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: Werewolves are mentioned as being real and weredragons are mentioned, with one being a recurring character. A werewolf is never actually shown, but is likely fairly traditional, given the traditional bent of the vampires in the story where it was brought up. Weredragons, however, seem to be more like dragons in human shape, rather than humans who can turn into dragons.
36	* SelfMadeMyth: Lythande cultivates a mysterious and otherworldly reputation among common folk - figuring it can do only good for mages to be regarded with awe, even if only for parlor tricks like vanishing in the morning but leaving the room locked. Lythande also cultivates an image among other magical people and creatures as being swift to anger and prone to DisproportionateRetribution, because it comes in handy when intimidation is the best way to accomplish something and it forestalls any meddling; keeping everyone at arm's length is a happy side-effect.
37	* SmokingIsCool: In some stories, Lythande smokes "sweet herbs" rolled up like a cigarette.
38	* SpellBook: In some stories Lythande has a reference book for magic; sometimes spells and information just appear there as needed.
39	* SquishyWizard: Defied. Lythande knows some magicians who focus purely on magic, and thinks they're weak and foolish - ergo the dual-wielding daggers and skill with a sword.
40	* WalkTheEarth: Lythande is always on the move, wandering around picking up odd jobs, killing time until the end of time.
41	* WanderingMinstrel: Lythande carries a lute (or sometimes a harp) and wanders around, singing for supper when no magic employment is available, sometimes performing MagicMusic.
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43	[[folder:Spoilers about Lythande in general]]
44	* ButchLesbian: Lythande is masculine enough to pass as a man in her normal life. It helps that she is very tall and very thin, and people expect eccentricity (like shaving) from mages.
45	* CoversAlwaysLie: Completely inverted; every cover of the original anthology makes it obvious Lythande is a woman. This page's image was from a new anthology from 2013 which finally ''does'' lie.
46	* SweetPollyOliver: Lythande's DarkSecret to which her power is tied is her gender; because she pretended to be a man so that she could have the power of the Pilgrim Adepts, she must live her life as a man to keep it.
47	[[/folder]]
48	----
49
50	!!Tropes applying to individual stories:
51
52	Stories are listed in rough chronological order, and in order of publication when there aren't chronological clues.
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54	[[foldercontrol]]
55
56	[[folder:The Malice of the Demon]]
57	A vain queen demands Lythande summon a demon for her.
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59	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: The vain queen wishes to be returned to the height of her beauty, and the demon gives her exactly that; [[spoiler: she's reverted in age to an infant]].
60	* DealWithTheDevil: The queen demands Lythande summon a demon so she can make a pact for youth and beauty. It goes about as well as you would expect.
61	* ExactWords: The queen demands to be restored to the height of her beauty with her whole life ahead of her. Lythande confronts the demon after he turns her into an infant, and the demon points out that who could say she was ever any more beautiful, and she certainly had her whole life ahead of her, didn't she?
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:The Secret of the Blue Star]]
65	Pilgrim Adepts are bound by many vows, the most important of which is the secret that is the key to their power; should any man learn their secret, they will lose their power and be worth nothing but death. An old enemy has come into town and is trying to discover Lythande's.
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67	* {{Brainwashed}}: The girl Lythande rescues in the beginning is enspelled by another magician to fall madly in love with her, so that the other magician can use her to try to learn Lythande's secret.
68	* ConstrainedWriting: The author managed to write almost the entire story without actually assigning Lythande a gender via pronouns, but did slip up at one point:
69	-->Lythande drew from the folds of his robe a small pouch containing a quantity of sweet-smelling herbs, rolled them into a blue-grey leaf, and touched his ring to spark the roll alight. He drew on the smoke, which drifted up sweet and greyish.
70	* SweetPollyOliver: The secret revealed at the end is that Lythande is a woman, living in disguise as a man under pain of death.
71	* TimeStandsStill: Lythande demonstrates the ability to stop time with sheer force of will to consider her options.
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:The Incompetent Magician]]
75	Lythande is hired to retrieve a magician's stolen magic wand.
76
77	* {{Intangibility}}: Lythande demonstrates an ability to walk through walls, though it's rather unpleasant.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:The Wandering Lute]]
81	Lythande comes to a minor heir to a kingdom who has suddenly inherited the throne, who is unfortunately bound on his route as a WanderingMinstrel by an enchanted lute that keeps him moving. Lythande trades instruments with him so that he can go back and ends up at the mercy of the wandering lute.
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83	* ClingyMacGuffin: The enchanted lute has some very specific idea about where it's going; if you have it, you're going there whether you like it or not.
84	* NoSell: Lythande attempts an unbinding spell so powerful it causes clothes to unsew themselves; the lute and its spell are utterly unaffected.
85	* SolitarySorceress: The lute leads the way to a small house isolated in a swamp, with a single beautiful woman living there. Initially she's taken to be a hedge-witch hiding her power from society[[spoiler:, but it turns out that she's a were-dragon in human form]].
86	* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Beauty is clearly able to take at least two human forms [[spoiler:and a dragon one, which is likely her native body]].
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Somebody Else's Magic]]
90	A dying priestess bequeaths her magic sword to Lythande, and Lythande has to pass as a woman to return it to where it belongs.
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92	* BestialityIsDepraved: The insult "You defiler of virgin goats!" is commonly used in the region where the story is set. [[spoiler:In the finale, when Lythande is throwing insults at the villainous Adept to distract him before he figures out her Secret, she throws in the one about virgin goats and his reaction makes her immediately realize that that's ''his'' Secret]].
93	* BlasphemousBoast: "I am Lythande! Who dares challenge me, man or woman or goddess?"
94	* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:The unusual swearing in the region - "defiler of virgin goats" and similar - turns out to be the very weapon Lythande needs to destroy the villainous Adept, as it's his Secret.]]
95	* ClingyMacGuffin: Lythande buries the sword with the most powerful sealing spells she knows, and it ends up back in her pack.
96	* EmpathicWeapon: The priestess's sword has a mind of its own; it hunts down and kills the people who killed her, basically using Lythande just as a hand to hold it.
97	* HiddenInPlainSight: The villainous Adept's secret has been hidden in plain sight in the community - [[spoiler:it's used as a commonplace swear unique to the area. ]]
98	* ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin: The priestess at the beginning presses her magic sword onto Lythande, to take back to the temple.
99	* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: The goddess's swords may only be touched by women.
100	* RecursiveCrossdressing: Played with - Lythande ''is'' a woman, but she's been [[SweetPollyOliver passing as a man]] for decades or longer by this point; dressing as a woman to get into the temple is awkward crossdressing to her. This is further complicated by the fact that to anyone who knows her, she still has to pretend to be a man ''pretending'' to be a woman.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Sea Wrack]]
104	A siren has been terrorizing a fishing village, and Lythande agrees to get rid of it. It turns out to be a hard decision to go through with.
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106	%% This is a zero context example. Please do not unhide until further context has been added. * Funny AneurysmMoment: Revelations about the life of the creator and her husband make the line about "lips too young for kissing" somewhat painful to read.
107	* GivenNameReveal: The Siren makes Lythande think back to her ancient past, before she took the name 'Lythande', making her think of her original name - but this is forcefully {{defied}} when Lythande realizes she's about to remember what her birth name was and wrenches her mind away, leaving the reader with nothing but that tantalizing hint.
108	* {{Glamour}}: The siren appears in a vulnerable, gentle form, perhaps suited to the viewer's memories and personality; its true form is… less attractive.
109	* GlamourFailure: The siren loses its attractive appearance at the end, snapping Lythande out of its enthrallment.
110	* MagicMusic: Both Lythande and the siren show off hypnotic music magic.
111	* MassHypnosis: Lythande sings and enthralls most of the town.
112	* MindControlMusic: The siren causes people, mostly men, to come to it by singing.
113	* OurSirensAreDifferent: The enemy Lythande is hired to fight is some sort of siren that attracts and kills all of the village's men.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Looking for Satan]]
117	This story was written for ''Literature/ThievesWorld'' by Creator/VondaNMcIntyre; Lythande is a borrowed character. Its canonicity isn't certain; MZB consulted to make sure it fit the character and it was included in the original collection, but it is not in the 2013 ''The Complete Lythande''.
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119	* CrapsackOnlyByComparison: A group of people come to Sanctuary and find it appalling. This is not so unusual (Sanctuary is a WretchedHive after all) but the reason is that the place they come from is idyllic: everyone lives together without jealousy or greed and with a FreeLoveFuture orientation.
120	* {{Polyamory}}: Group relationships seem to be normal in Kaimas.
121	* UnfortunateName: He was named 'Satan' after the caption on a painting of a fiery angel, with no understanding of the connotations.
122	* WelcomeToTheBigCity: Four naive Northerners encounter the rough and crude denizens of the city of Sanctuary. One local tries to hire a female party member as a prostitute, and another woman is almost raped and murdered when she goes out alone.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:The Virgin and the Volcano]]
126	This story is a crossover with the character Eirthe, created by Creator/ElizabethWaters.
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128	To undo a curse, Lythande accompanies Eirthe through a barrier around a volcano, only for it to demand a virgin sacrifice. The only virgin around is Lythande.
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130	* AppeaseTheVolcanoGod: Invoked by the volcano itself; once they pass through the barrier, the volcano says they must sacrifice the virgin with them to stop it from erupting.
131	* FierySalamander: Alnath, Eirthe's pet [[ElementalEmbodiment fire elemental]], is a salamander who hangs out on her wrist. She seems to like Lythande.
132	* GeniusLoci: The volcano turns out to be able to speak and demand its own sacrifice.
133	* VirginSacrifice: The volcano demands a virgin, specifically, be tossed in.
134	* TakeAThirdOption: Given the choice "be sacrificed to the volcano or be killed when the volcano erupts and kills everyone", Lythande figures out a way to feed the volcano a different "virgin" - a magic candle shaped like a woman.
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:North to Northwander]]
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:The Gratitude of Kings]]
141	This story is a crossover with the character Eirthe, created by Creator/ElizabethWaters.
142
143	Lythande comes to the kingdom of Tashgan (the heir from "The Wandering Lute") for his wedding ten years later.
144
145	* SeriesContinuityError: The most commonly-mentioned restriction on Lythande, that she may never eat or drink in sight of a man, is apparently completely forgotten for this story, and she eats and drinks at the feast.
146	* FierySalamander: Alnath, Eirthe's pet [[ElementalEmbodiment fire elemental]], is a salamander who hangs out on her wrist.
147	[[/folder]]
148
149	[[folder:The Children of Cats]]
150	This story is a crossover with the character Eirthe, created by Creator/ElizabethWaters.
151
152	Lythande crosses path with the child of Rastafyre the Incompe-... Incomparable (from "The Incompetent Magician"), who shows she inherited his talents.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:The Walker Behind]]
156	When being stalked by a supernatural entity, Lythande takes shelter in a wayside inn, and seems to have gone from the frying pan into the fire.
157
158	* ForcedTransformation: The innkeeper transforms travelers into pigs, and then slaughters those pigs for food.
159	* ImAHumanitarian: The proprietess serves humans turned into pigs to the inn's visitors.
160	* InnOfNoReturn: The proprietor of the inn is a witch who drugs, transforms, and slaughters the customers.
161	* NoOntologicalInertia: The "pork" returns to visibly human meat as soon as the witch who turned the visitors into pigs is dead.
162	[[/folder]]
163
164	[[folder:The Wuzzles]]
165	Lythande comes into a village and is tasked with getting rid of "wuzzles". Whatever those are.
166
167	* ExactWords: Magic in this story is described as being rather LiteralMinded. She sneezes while saying "May it be so", and thus curses someone with sneezes.
168	* GeometricMagic: The banishing spell relies on a pentagram drawn on the floor.
169	* RitualMagic: The wuzzles are banished through certain candles, on certain places, with a certain spell. Lythande even teaches the farmer the spell; he grumbles and says he could have done that.
170	* PutOnABus: Frennet, the girl Lythande picked up in "The Walker Behind", who knows Lythande's secret and is not really smart enough or sophisticated enough to keep it successfully, and who could be a large enough problem that Lythande considers killing her to keep the secret, ends the story conveniently and happily married off to a guy in town while Lythande wanders off again.
171	* RunningGag: Lythande has never heard of "wuzzles" before being called on to get rid of them; every time she thinks of them it's in the form of "-- what was it, wuzzles --" or similar in the middle of the sentence.
172	[[/folder]]
173
174	[[folder:The Footsteps of Retribution]]
175	[[/folder]]
176
177	[[folder:Chalice of Tears]]
178	[[/folder]]
179
180	[[folder:To Kill The Undead]]
181	Lythande must find a way to rid a town of a vampire, but since vampires are already dead, it seems impossible.
182
183	* AnAesop: After the reveal of the vampire's identity and circumstances, Lythande counsels the town to be less petty and give the dead their due in the future so that such things don't happen.
184	* DueToTheDead: The vampire is revealed to have been a townsman who committed suicide and was buried in unhallowed ground. He returned as a vampire because of this improper burial.
185	* NoManOfWomanBorn: Lythande tells the townspeople she will not be able to kill a vampire, because it is already dead. This turns out to be true - however, should that which is dead be returned to life, it can then be killed.
186	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: The vampire is described as being a creature of pure magic unaccustomed to even being in human form anymore. Then it veers back into "our vampires are traditional", because the vampire turns out to have been a man who died of suicide and was buried in unhallowed ground.
187	* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Once reduced back to human form, the vampire is immediately attempting to change shape again.
188	[[/folder]]
189
190	[[folder:To Drive the Cold Winter Away]]
191	Lythande comes to a town in which all sorts of happiness and fun have been outlawed.
192
193	* MagicMusic: The winter seems to have been extended because music in all its forms was outlawed, and she plays and sings her song, bringing spring back to the land.
194	[[/folder]]
195
196	[[folder:Fool's Fire]]
197	[[/folder]]
198
199	[[folder:Here There Be Dragons]]
200	Lythande goes up a set of magical stairs into a strange world.
201
202	* AlienSky: The evil nature of the world is revealed by a disgusting metallic sun Lythande finds absolutely abhorrent.
203	* DinosaursAreDragons: Lythande thinks of them as separate entities, but interchangeably, and what is described as and seems to be a dinosaur breathes fire, which dinosaurs are not known to be able to do...
204	* ExcaliburInTheStone: As this story was written for and published originally in an anthology about Excalibur, the unnamed sword Lythande finds and draws from the stone is implicitly Excalibur.
205	* HolyBurnsEvil: Lythande is carrying a crucifix, despite pointedly not being of the religion, and it proves to be a powerful force of good that hides the nature of the evil surroundings as long as she has it.
206	* SeriesContinuityError: The story has a couple errors within its own continuity, but it also states that Lythande has never carried a sword, which is explicitly false - she has a sword in "The Secret of the Blue Star", "Somebody Else's Magic" is all about her carrying a sword unwillingly, and in the latter she is skilled enough with the sword to show she has used one willingly in the past.
207	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The sword, once drawn, is completely forgotten when she escapes. It should still be in her hand while going down the stairs, but it is not there or mentioned again once back in the real world.
208	[[/folder]]
209
210	[[folder:Goblin Market]]
211	[[/folder]]
212
213	[[folder:Bitch]]
214	Lythande and another Pilgrim Adept are turned into dogs by an angry ghost.
215
216	* ExactWords: A common vow binding the Pilgrim Adepts is that no man may ever see food or drink pass their lips. Lythande chooses to take this extremely literally and snatch bites of food while the male Adept is looking elsewhere.
217	* ForcedTransformation: Lythande and the other Adept are turned into dogs.
218	* GhostlyGoals: The ghost seems to be of the Tybe B, "kill the living", variety, though all she managed to do is frighten and inconvenience them. She is described as having been a wicked woman in life.
219	* MagicStaff: The wandering priest's staff returns them to human form.
220	* ReligionIsMagic: They are returned to human form by merely touching the staff of a startled passing priest.
221	* RitualMagic: They attempt to undo the curse by following old wives' tales about running certain directions or numbers of times around gallows and eating certain plants.

Context Literature / Lythande