Line #21 Literature/Shadowleague


1	The Shadowleague trilogy, by Creaor/MaggieFurey, is a fantasy trilogy. The three books all tell one story--only the first one could ever be said to stand alone, and that's pushing it--but from so many different viewpoints that it takes a while for everything to come together. The main premise of the books is that Curtain Walls divide the world of Myrial into separate countries, and now those barriers are failing, damaging ecosystems and causing conflict.
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3	# ''The Heart of Myrial'' (1999)
4	# ''The Spirit of the Stone'' (2001)
5	# ''The Eye of Eternity'' (''Echo of Eternity'' in the US) (2002)
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7	Major characters include Veldan, a Loremaster from the Shadowleague (which is dedicated to maintaining the Curtain Walls) and her partner Kazairl. By the end of the first book, they have teamed up with an old but tough warrior woman named Toulac and Veldan's estranged fellow Loremaster, Elion. Minor characters such as Aliana, a thief, and Seriema, a noblewoman without a home, also take their turns in the spotlight.
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9	----
10	!!This trilogy contains examples of:
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12	* AllGuysWantCheerleaders - This seems to be the driving force behind Zavahl's willingness to sleep with Ailie, though nobody really cared why he did it at that point. [[YouNeedToGetLaid It made him a better person]].
13	* AntiHero - Elion is the clearest example, though none of the many characters are conventional heroes.
14	* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership - Aliana convinces Galveron that this might be true, in which case he would be most fit to be leader.
15	* BattleInTheRain - At the end of the first book, the battle with the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Ak'Zahar]] takes place in the rain.
16	%%* TheBlacksmith
17	* BreakTheCutie - Lots of characters go through this in the series, but especially [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold Rochalla]], Scall, and Annas.
18	* BrokenBird - When we meet Rochalla in the first book, she fits this trope perfectly, though she (oddly enough) gets better when she is forced to flee for her life with a bunch of strangers.
19	* CardboardPrison - In the second book, Cergorn decides to imprison Veldan and Kazairl. In their house. Guarded by their friends. [[IdiotBall It wasn't his day]].
20	* CorruptChurch - The church in Callisoria, though it improves once disaster strikes and Gilarra replaces the old Hierarch.
21	%%* DisproportionateRetribution
22	* DramaticWind - Shree, a wind sprite, [[GenreSavvy mocks this trope]], and her partner Elion mentions that she tends to blow up out of nowhere at dramatic moments.
23	* EmpathicEnvironment - The weather in Callisoria mirrors the state of the Curtain Walls, which the [[TrueCompanions heroes]] are trying to save. Hence, it ends up mirroring their moods almost exactly.
24	* FishOutOfWater - Zavahl and, to a lesser extent, Toulac in Gendival--the hundreds of different sentient creatures throw them off.
25	%%* HeroBall
26	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold - Rochalla, who is only a prostitute because she needs to buy medicine for her younger brothers and sisters, all of whom are dying of the plague.
27	%%* IdiotBall
28	%%* LoveableRogue - Packrat
29	* MacGuffin - There's the Heart of Myrial, and the Hierarch's ring is a borderline example after Gilarra loses it to the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Ak'Zahar]].
30	* MagneticHero - Amaurn in the second book, though, unusually for this trope, he's very much an AntiHero.
31	* TheMedic - Kaita, her friend Evelinden (before she died), and the other Callisorian healers.
32	* {{Mooks}} - The Godswords are this in the first book, before their collective HeelFaceTurn. It makes one wonder why more mooks don't switch sides.
33	* NeverMessWithGranny - Toulac (a career soldier who was kicked out of the army when the Hierarch decided women [[StayInTheKitchen weren't fit to fight]]) is this.
34	* NoGuyWantsAnAmazon - Toulac, a retired soldier, pokes fun at this trope on occasion, saying that the only truth in it lies in the fact that men think it's true, and thus avoid strong women because they don't want to be looked down on.
35	%%* NonHumanSidekick - Kazairl, a firedrake
36	%%* OddCouple - Zavahl, former head of the CorruptChurch and a dour man at best, and sunny Ailie.
37	%%* OppositesAttract - Zavahl and Ailie
38	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The Dragons ''look'' like standard Western dragons, but as they get nourishment from photosynthesis and are filled with oodles of interesting psychic powers, the more conventional fire-breathin', meat-eatin' dragon demographic is actually represented by the firedrakes. (Both varieties--like most principals in this series--tend to be telepaths.)
39	%%* [[{{OurVampiresAreDifferent}} Our Vampires Are Scary]]--the Ak'Zahar
40	%%* OutsideContextProblem - Lord Blade
41	%%* MagneticHero
42	%%* PetTheDog - Zavahl before he turned good
43	%%* PhantomThief - the Gray Ghosts
44	%%* PlanetOfHats
45	* ScarsAreForever - Veldan, was badly scarred in a fight with the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Ak'Zahar]]. He wears a mask.
46	%%* StayInTheKitchen - [[{{Backstory}} This was why]] Toulac, a career soldier, had to retire from the army.
47	%%* StrawmanPolitical - Cergorn at his worst
48	%%* TrueCompanions
49	* YouNeedToGetLaid - Zavahl, former [[CorruptChurch Hierarch]] of Callisoria, experiences a complete change of personality after finally getting laid.
50	%%* VillainsBlendInBetter - Lord Blade (Amaurn) in Callisoria

Context Literature / Shadowleague