Line #43 Literature/Shardik


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-Shardik_cover_1974_8051.jpg]]
2	A story about a man and a bear that might be {{God}}. Written by Creator/RichardAdams.
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5	!! This book provides examples of:
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7	* AnAesop: InUniverse, Kelderek decides that the true reason that Shardik came once more was to teach the people [[spoiler:to value their children, as they are the greatest treasure they have.]]
8	* BearsAreBadNews: Shardik, despite being God and all, [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia is not a tame bear]]. Whenever he inevitably ends up destroying massive amounts of property and mauling people it's interpreted as God's judgment by the Ortelgans.
9	* BoisterousBruiser: Ankray, the [[TheBigGuy hulking]] bodyguard of [[spoiler:Bel-Ka-Trazet and Melathys, and later of the Tuginda and Kelderek.]] He is perhaps the most consistently upbeat character of the entire book.
10	* BrokenBird: Melathys.
11	* CelibateHero: Kelderek is considered a simpleton because he prefers to play with children rather than drink and party like other men his age. He's well known for ignoring women
12	* ChildrenAreInnocent: Partly the reason Kelderek hangs out with them.
13	* EpilogueLetter
14	* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: Good. ''Lord''.
15	* FireForgedFriends: Kelderek and [[spoiler: Elleroth's son, Radu]].
16	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Elleroth does this several times.
17	--> "This man [[spoiler: Crendik]], he'll end in Zeray - you mark my words."
18	* ForTheEvulz: Speculated upon in universe. Radu believes this to be the motivation of [[spoiler:Genshed.]] He is convinced the latter is not just a cruel and wicked man, but a knowing [[CardCarryingVillain servant of evil,]] empowered by it and under its protection.
19	* FriendToAllChildren: Kelderek
20	* GoodScarsEvilScars: Bel-ka-Trazet is horribly disfigured by a number of scars. He had received them from a bear mauling before the start of the book.
21	* GodInHumanForm: Bear form in this case. In the main religion depicted in ''Shardik'', the giant bear is known as the Hand of God, aka his physical power and avatar, and is only one aspect of what the Ortelgans believe to be {{God}}.
22	* GoodIsNotNice: Bel-ka-Trazet, Elleroth, and arguably Kelderek.
23	* GreyAndGreyMorality
24	* HardHead: Averted. A minor character who is hit on the head and knocked out is clearly mentally impaired afterward.
25	* HeroAntagonist: Elleroth.
26	* HeroOfAnotherStory: Also Elleroth
27	* HeelRealization: [[spoiler: Kelderek, during his time with Genshed]].
28	* HeroicSacrifice: One of the women is killed drugging Shardik.
29	* HopeSpot: When [[spoiler:Radu]] first spots [[spoiler:his father's]] troops. But he is too weak for his cries to be heard. His captor [[spoiler:Genshed,]] knowing this, even lets him make a few attempts while [[KickTheDog looking on in smug amusement.]]
30	* KarmicDeath: Several at the hands of Shardik, but most prominently [[spoiler: Genshed]].
31	* LegacyCharacter: The chief priestess of Shardik's cult, the Tuginda, is something of this, as no one outside the cult knows who she used to be, how the successor is chosen, or even if the woman visiting this year is the same Tuginda as last year.
32	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's never quite clear if Shardik is ''just'' a bear or not. Indirectly, Kelderek admits at the end that it probably doesn't matter and that he'll never be able to convince anyone that was not there. Though at the end [[spoiler:a diplomat from the newly discovered kingdom of Zakalon]] politely speculates that whatever Shardik accomplished was mere coincidence, nearly every time Shardik attacks someone or rampages it is an incredibly significant event that chases the whole shape of the kingdom. First it rouses Ortelga into action, later it results in the destruction of the army set to protect Bekla and at the end [[spoiler:it brings peace between the new Beklan empire and Ikat as well as spreading a new, more benevolent cult of Shardik across the land.]]
33	* MeaningfulRename: From [[spoiler: Kelderek]] to Crendik, and [[HeelFaceTurn back again]].
34	* MindRape: Genshed enacts a mundane form of this on the slaves in his possession.
35	* OhCrap: [[BearsAreBadNews Shardik]] tends to cause these - perhaps most notably on the plains of Gelt, and later with [[spoiler: Genshed]].
36	* PapaWolf: Elleroth.
37	* PosthumousCharacter: While he doesn't start out as one, [[spoiler: Bel-ka-Trazet]] becomes significantly more important after he's dead.
38	* PunchClockVillain: Shouter
39	* PutOnABus: Bel-ka-Trazet, Melathys, and the Tuginda all leave the main plot before the second section. [[spoiler: TheBusCameBack for the Tuginda and Melathys, but Bel-ka-Trazet becomes a PosthumousCharacter.]]
40	* RapeAsDrama
41	* {{Reincarnation}}: Shardik is believed to be immortal because of this.
42	* SingleTargetSexuality: Kelderek is well known for his chastity. Women simply do not interest him, both before [[spoiler:becoming the priest king]], during that period or after. The only woman to whom he expresses any attraction is Melathys, who deserts her post as priestess quite early in the story.
43	* SurvivalMantra: Children in the possession of slave-dealer Genshed tell each other they'll be "home soon. Underground, all the way".
44	* TortureTechnician: Part of [[spoiler:Genshed's]] backstory until he was fired for taking bribes from prisoners.
45	* TheBusCameBack: For [[spoiler: Melathys and the Tuginda]].
46	* TheUnseen: The brilliant southern general, Santil-kè-Erketlis, never appears throughout the whole book, though his actions have a serious impact on the main plot.
47	* VikingFuneral: For [[spoiler:Shardik himself.]]
48	* WretchedHive: Zeray: an OutlawTown whose inhabitants are stuck there due to a combination of natural barriers and hostile neighbors who don't want criminals entering their lands. While theoretically a safe haven for outlaws with nowhere else left to go, conditions in Zeray are brutal and even the strongest rarely survive there longer than three years. It begins to improve [[spoiler: under Bel-Ka-Trazet's leadership, but he dies before he can make a lasting difference. Fortunately his vision is later carried out under the combined leadership of Elleroth and Kelderek.]]
49	* YouAreAlreadyDead: It is possible to survive [[TownWithADarkSecret the Streels of Urtah,]] but it only means that [[GoodIsNotNice God]] [[KarmicDeath has an even more dramatic and significant death in store for you.]]
50	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Ta-Kominion only needs Kelderek and the Tuginda until he takes Bekla. After that, he figures he'll probably get rid of them quietly and try to reform the cult to surround himself instead. However, a minor wound grossly mishandled causes him to fall deathly ill [[spoiler:and he is crushed beneath the wheels of the cart transporting Shardik]] before anything can come of it.
51	** Once he learns [[spoiler:Lalloc's]] plan for escaping their pursuers [[spoiler:Genshed]] kills him and takes his money to carry out the plan on his own.

Context Literature / Shardik