Comic Book / Lands of Arran

The Lands of Arran ("Les terres d'Arran" in French) is a High Fantasy setting featured in several series of comic books born from the collaboration of French writers Jean-Luc Istin and Nicolas Jarry. Over the years many others have collaborated further. The comic books are published by Éditions Soleil.

Several pairs of writers and artists each present the story of a species inhabiting the fantasy world of Arran and cohabitating with other species and kingdoms.

The series also got a namesake Tabletop RPG.

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The Lands of Arran series are as follow:

Elfes

The setting started with Elfes ^note "Elves" in English. The races of Elves are, in order of appearance:

• The Blue Elves (Jean-Luc Istin & Kyko Duarte): a race of sea-faring blue-skinned Elves who struggle to maintain their political clout across the sea against their many enemies, political rivals, and Evil Sorcerer alike. The books follow in particular the adventures of Lanawyn, personal agent of the King Aamnon who travels the world wherever the King sends her to fight and prevent anything that threatens the Blue Elves.
• The Wood Elves (Nicolas Jarry & Gianluca Maconi): a race of forest-dwelling Elves very protective of their home and whose proximity with the Human Kingdoms constantly threatens their lands. Initially Heroic Neutral, the Wood Elves become Neutral No Longer when a part of them collaborates with some of the Humans to protect the woods.
• The White Elves (Olivier Peru & Stéphane Bileau): a race of immortal Elves who think that Humans Are Bastards and live secluded in their isolated Island. The books feature Fall, a young Hot-Blooded White Elf psychically linked with a Dragon whose life is defined by tragedy. His daughter Alyana takes his place as the protagonist after the war against Lha'Saa.
• The Half-Elves (Eric Corbeyran & Jean-Paul Bordier): born from romance between Elves and Humans, the Half-Elves are discriminated by both Elves and Humans. Their series follow the story of the race of the Half-Elves and their struggle to find a place they can settle in.
• The Dark Elves (Mark Hadrien & Ma Yi): black-skinned and murderous Elves who, while born from other races of Elves, become Dark Elves spontaneously and all serve as assassins for hire. The books follow Gaw'Er, a young Dark Elf taken away from his parents whose love for one of his targets throws his life into disarray.

Nains

Nains ^note "Dwarves" in English follows stories centered around the five castes of the Dwarves. However, Nicolas Jarry is the only author but collaborates with five different artists for each caste:

• The Order of the Forge (Pierre-Denis Goux): The blacksmiths and runemasters, but also physicians, miners, and alchemists of the Dwarves. The Forge volumes are centered around the story of Redwin son of Ulrog, a Living Legend as both blacksmith and warrior, who during his youth craves the glory of combat because his family was ostracized when his father quit the Order to live in peace but realizes that his violent life is empty, yet cannot escape it.
• The Order of the Talion (Stéphane Créty): the merchants and bankers of the Dwarves. It follows Ordo of the Talion, an Assassin from the Order of the Talion's Black Lodge, a group of Dwarves tasked with murdering anyone in the Talion's way. Ordo, betrayed by his father and sold to the Black Lodge as a recruit at the age of six, craves vengeance and wishes to destroy the Talion, finding himself embroiled in complex political machinations.
• The Order of the Temple (Paolo Deplano): The engineers and architects of the Dwarves. Aral is a young architect who is recruited by his uncle to investigate an ancient artifact discovered beneath the Earth. However, Aral and his party soon discover that the artifact they're after is an Artifact of Doom.
• The Wanderers (Jean-Paul Bordier): The parias of the Dwarves, unable to live in a house of stones, bear arms or hoard gold. Oosram is a destitute warrior who is sentenced to become a Wanderer and discovers how much injustice they suffer. Oosram finally decides to create and lead a rebellion against the other Orders to avenge himself and secure a better future for his people.
• The Order of the Shield (Nicolas Demare): Although all Orders save the Wanderer have their own soldiers, the Order of the Shield assemble the Dwarves' strongest warriors. Tiss is a young female Dwarf who decides to enlist into the Shield and uphold the family honor when she becomes the only family member that is not old or crippled, despite the misogynistic mindset of everyone around her.

Orcs et Gobelins

Orcs et Gobelins ^note "Orcs and Goblins" in English began publication in 2017, again focusing on different protagonists, those being Orcs and Goblins, and at the same time misfits and other shady characters.

Mages

In 2019, a series named Mages began, focusing on human Mages. Set after the defeat of the ghouls, Mages are indentured into the service of a Human Lord by law or face punishment by the Order of Shadows.

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The Lands of Arran comic books contain examples of the following tropes:

Elfes

• Action Dad: Fall was briefly one when his lover was pregnant, however he died before she was born. In Tome 6 of Nains, Redwin has become a father and manages to decimate the stronghold of two necromancers by himself.
• Action Girl: Some Elves women are capable of fighting prowess equal or even surpassing their male counterparts. Lanawyn, agent of King Amnon and Eliseii, Queen of the Elves of Duhann, are respectively a prominent fighter and a One-Man Army. Ora was Raised by Orcs and is among the best brawlers of her tribe.
  • Dwarven society frowns upon women who do not Stay in the Kitchen, but some female dwarves manage to become dangerous fighters. For instance Heba is an assassin of the Black Lodge, with all the lethality it implies. Also, Tiss, daughter of Brahm. Against everyone's wishes, she enlists into the Order of the Shield and becomes a worthy soldier then captain of the King's guard. Fey, First Captain of the Iron Legion, is a renowned Dwarf fighter who's earned such fame no one would dare to insult her on her sex, least of all her companions at the legion. Even more remarkably she was from the Order of the Temple and hadn't had a lifetime of training behind her.
• Adam and Eve Plot: In Tome 21, Lanawyn dedicates herself to restart the Red Elf race and to do so she must keep two former Red Elves turned Dark Elves, Lea'Yn and Feda'Yn, safe from the Black Legion who doesn't look too kindly to that particular race coming back.
• A Hero Is Born: In Tome 18, Alyana's birth is marked by many supernatural and auspicious signs. A raging storm occurs while many animals of the Isles of the White Elves come to assist to Alyana's coming, and the blood of the birth creates a skull drawing.
• All Webbed Up: What the giant spiders invading the Isles of the White Elves do to any trespasser.
• Always Chaotic Evil: The Ghouls under Lah'Saa's command. Each of them suffers Horror Hunger and all are bent on devouring the closest thing that is alive. The Orcs of Arran are a Subversion but everyone thinks they are like this and to everyone's credit, they do assemble into pillaging hordes most of the time.
• Amazing Technicolor Population: The Blue Elves' skin is light blue while the Dark Elves' skin is black. There also was a race of Red Elves whose skin was, surprise surprise, red.
• An Arm and a Leg: Fall's idea of mercy is to cut of the dominant hand of any poacher so that he may never raise a weapon again.
• Ambition Is Evil: Several stories focus on the social rise of a character, only to lose their morals or what little they had in the first place. For instance, Redwin the Dwarf becomes more unhinged and empty as he rises into fame, or Sa'ar the goblin becomes a ruthless leader who will kill his loved ones to rise in the Half-Blood city.
• Ancient Evil: Lah'Saa is an ancient Evil Sorcerer who was defeated millennias ago but has returned to conquer the world.
• And I Must Scream: Some people infected by Lah'Saa's ghouls retain their consciousness. This happens at least to Fah-Laën who narrates the ninth book..
• And Now for Someone Completely Different: The volumes are composed of five tomes long cycles of stories, each tome switching to the point of view of a different race of elf and therefore a different character. The same happens for the Nains series, each switching between a character belonging to the five castes of Dwarven society.
• Animalistic Abomination: The Spider Titan that with its elemental brethren roamed Arran and destroyed all civilizations in her path. Until she took pity on them and decided to seal the Titans, acting as their warden and is now benevolent.
• Annoying Arrows: Averted in most cases when Elves are shooting at a human-sized target. Arrows are rightfully presented as dangerous projectiles that can at little cripple someone, and an Elf rarely misses the spot.
• Anyone Can Die: The series isn't shy at all about killing major and recurring characters. Issues where The Hero Dies are not uncommon either.
• Arc Welding: From Tome 6 onward, each Volume relates a side of a huge ongoing war between Lah'Saa's horde of Ghouls and every Kingdom south of the northern ice floe.
• Barrier-Busting Blow: In Volume 6, some Ghouls destroy the improvised barricade Lanawyn and her companions have built, biting one of the elves at the same time.
• Big Bad: Lah'Saa, an ancient and incredibly powerful Elven Necromancer who has returned from the dead and has started a worldwide Zombie Apocalypse in order to conquer all of Arran. Her actions drive the overall setting from Volume 6 to 16.
• Bittersweet Ending: Several Volumes end this way. The first volume notably ends with the Blue Elves of Elsémur saved from a Yrlanian invasion and the Evil Sorcerer Ulronn's attempt to destroy the city. On the other side, many elves are dead, and the people learns that Ulronn has been posing as The Chosen One, deeply saddening everyone who thought that said Chosen One would be the savior of their people.
• Black Swords Are Better: The magic contained within Orcish black swords prevents flesh from closing, slowing the cicatrization of any wound caused by it.
• Body Surf: Lah'Saa can possess people and Elves alike, gaining access to their powers if they have any. Her aim is to take over Lanawyn and thus the power of the Blue Crystal. She succeeds in possessing Lanawyn and spends the majority of her campaign with it. However, Lanawyn's soul still reside inside her body and when Lah'Saa leaves the body, Lanawyn takes her body back.
• Bring It Back Alive: In Tome 3, Fall hunts a White Dragon, aiming to bring it back alive to the Isles of the White Elves to preserve the species.
• Can't Argue with Elves: White Elves consider themselves wiser and less violent/greedy than the humans, and thus look down on them. They are certainly right about the violent and greedy part.
• Chainmail Bikini: Female Wood Elves wear skimpy armor that exposes all but the genitals.
• Character Title: The series named Elfes focused on the Elves of Arran, and the series names Nains focused on the Dwarves of Arran.
• City on the Water: Elsémur, the capital of the Sea Elves of the North. Sitting in the middle of a gaping hole in the middle of the ocean, it only allows ships to reach it and is easily defendable.
• Cobweb Jungle: The Isles of the White Elves become covered in spider webs after Alyana makes a dream opening the gate between the material world and the spiritual world, where monstrous spiders reside.
• Combat by Champion: In the city-state of Trein Er' Madenn Fern, those judged can call for another to champion them during the Pit Judgement where the two parties are thrown into a muddy trench, must scale a mound on which weapons are dropped off, and fight to the death.
• Continuity Cameo: Occasional sight of recurring characters can be seen in the background. Sometimes they even participate a bit to the story, but the world of Arran is big enough for people to have their own independent stories.
• Creepy Child: A telltale sign of a young Elf destined to become a Dark Elf is that they present murderous tendencies, unnatural love for bloodshed or casual violence.
• Cross-Referenced Titles:
  • The Crystal of the Blue Elves and The Crystal of the Wood Elves
  • White Elf, Black Heart and Dark Elf, Black Heart
  • Black As Blood and Red As Lava
• Cruel Mercy: Lah'Saa decides to spare Slovtan from her wrath, but instead has Lanawyn reveal his crimes against the Red Elves so that Belthoran rots in prison, dishonored, and doesn't have the mercy of death.
• Dark Is Evil: Many groups associated with black, such as the black-skinned Dark Elves and the mercenary group the Black Legion are ostentiously evil.
• Determinator: Elves, being Long-Lived, can dedicate themselves to a single goal and never stray off their objective despite the passing years. Fall has chased a Dragon for decades before finally catching it.
• Devoured by the Horde: During the ghoul invasion of Arran, dying while overwhelmed by ghouls taking a bite from you was a real possibility. Several minor characters end up suffering this gruesome fate.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Gaw'Yn, after years of Training from Hell far away from any woman, finds himself momentarily distracted by two practically nude dancers. Scupulaude calls him on it since an Ar'Thnen mustn't drop his guard for the slightest moment.
• Dragon Rider: Dragons and assorted drakes are an uncommon but regularly seen mount who those who can get their hands on one.
  • Fall, Tenashep and her brother Jonesh all ride Dragons. Since Dragons are giant powerful fire-breathing flying lizards, they are one of the most powerful warriors of the setting.
  • Gaw'yn becomes one by mixing his blood with that of dragon so he's tolerated by them and then use the soul of a dragon he's killed to assert his dominance over a whole flock of them.
• Druid: Some humans named Druids, especially those from Eysine, a kingdom neighboring the forest of Duhann, can attune themselves with nature and use its power.
• Elemental Powers: The power of the crystals enable their wielders to control an element at a large scale.
  • The Blue Crystal, created by Ulronna and guarded by the Blue Elves, allows Lanawyn to control all water.
  • The Green Crystal, created when ancient elves imprisoned the essence of a whole forest into a crystalline form, allows Eliseii and then Ora to control all plants and trees.
  • The White Crystal allows Fall to control spirits.
  • Lah'Saa uses the shards of the Black Crystal to control the dead.
• Enemy Within: The Elves call the murderous tendencies of the Dark Elves the "Dark Horseman". In volume 17, Sizra discovers that what causes Elves to become Dark Elves reacts to exorcism runes without being banished anyway, meaning it is indeed rooted in the Elves' spirits rather than a separate entity.
• Expansion Pack World: Lea'saa The Red Elf introduces a whole new continant, the Land of Ogon, that was never mentionned before.
• Evil Sorcerer: Two Black Elves became sorcerers bent on inflicting as much suffering to the world as possible and conquer it. Ulronn is the first one to be featured but Lah'Saa is the Big Bad of the series.
• Evil Counterpart Race: The Dark Elves are this to all Elves while the Ufgrim Dwarfs, remnants of an old faction that survived a war dating back to centuries ago, are bent on conquering the world, even slaughtering all that stand in their path if need be.
• Eye Scream: A group of hunters who had been stalking Fall and his dragon manage to capture him and cut his eyes off to disable him. Fortunately, Fall compensates with his Aura Vision.
• Fallen Hero: Fall becomes an Anti-Hero when he unwittingly participate in the massacre of his people by a fleet of pirates.
• False Flag Operation: In Tome 1, it is revealed that the Black Elf Ulronn massacred a whole town of Blue Elves with magic and planted a Yrlanian dagger in the corpses so the Blue Elves would at least suspect the Yrlanians.
• Fantastic Racism: White Elves look down on humans, while some of the humans hate the Elves. Nearly everyone spits on the Half-Elves and the Orcs. Most Dwarves don't like Elves either.
• Fantastic Slur: Wood Elves call the humans "Feljs".
• Fantasy Counter Part Culture: The Yrlanian draw many elements from the Vikings. The city of Scarande is also inspired by Ancient Greece and
• Fantasy Gun Control: Guns are present in the world of Arran, but are mere flintlocks and also very rare. They appear only once in 16 volumes.
• Forest Ranger: The Wood Elves, forest dwellers, dress in brown armor and green capes, use bows with lethal precision, bent on protecting the woods.
• Friend to All Living Things: Fall loves all animals and monsters, and is furious whenever he sees humans hunting a monster. He's created a sanctuary for all rare animals in the North Pole.
• Genre Shift: Most of the stories belong to the High Fantasy genre, but some such Gaw'Yn's story focus on his adventure, neglecting the high scale power struggles and war between factions that happen at the same time.
• Giant Spider: The Spider Titan's spawns are all like this.
• Good All Along: The Spider Titan turns out to be a benevolent guardian who protected Arran's people by watching and imprisoning the souls of her titanic brethren.
• Gondor Calls for Aid: In Tome 2, Llali hopes that the Wood Elves will come to the aid of her kingdom Eysine, which had been a former ally with Duhann.
• Grand Theft Me: Lah'Saa manages to steal Lanawyn's body during the siege of Kastennroc.
• Grim Up North: Nodrënn, the Northernest piece of land is an inhospitable territory mostly covered in ice and subject to a Zombie Apocalypse led by the Evil Sorcerer Lah'Saa.
• Half-Breed Discrimination: The Half-Elves are repeatedly shown to be spurned and discriminated against by humans. In Tome 19, it is then demonstrated that the White Elves do not treat them any better, resorting to trickery and assassination to keep two Half-Elves from obtaining a way for other races to recognize their legitimacy.
• Half-Human Hybrids: The Half-Elves, hybrids born from a Human and an Elf and sometimes something else, are ostracized by all races because of their nature. They eventually gather as one nation and try to build their own city. Lah'Saa's invasion drives them away from their lands.
• Henpecked Husband: Rinn of Yrlania is a hateful and violent king who doesn't execute his rebellious half-brother only because he fears what his wife might do to him.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Inevitably happens over the course of the series.
  • In Tome 2, Yfass throws himself into a battle with the Orcs he cannot hope to win to force the rest of the Wood Elves to become Neutral No Longer and help the kingdom of Eysine in their struggle.
  • In Tome 13, Fall kills himself when Lah'Saa attempts to possess him and destroys half of her soul in doing so.
  • In Tome 5 of Nains, Tiss and a handful of Shield warriors attract a horde of orcs inside a forest where the trees' sap is a powerful explosive. They trigger a large explosion, killing themselves and the orcs at the same time to save the rest of their garrison.
  • In Tome 10 of Nains, Abokar of the Shield makes a Last Stand against an invading army of orkelins, only to win time for a horde of Ogres to come and annihilate both parties, keeping the Dwarf casualties to a minimum.
• Hidden Elf Village: Most Elven settlements are hidden and/or hard to reach. Notable examples include the Wood Elves' villages and cities in the forest of Duhann, the Isles of the White Elves, or Slurce the fortress of the Dark Elves. Elsémur is an exception.
• Horse of a Different Color: In Tome 1, people can ride giant Polar Bears to cross cold territories.
• Humans Are Bastards: Most White Elves view the humans as greedy and violent barbarians who trample themselves and the world of Arran for their own base desires.
• Hybrid Power: Due to the circumstances of her conception and pregnancy, Alyana has ancestry coming from all five races of Elves (including the extinct Red Elves but excluding the Half-Elves) which has apparently given her incredible Reality Warper powers and more.
• Immortality: White Elves are functionally immortal and will never die unless someone kills them. Moreover, Immortality Begins at Twenty and Elves grow like humans until adolescence and then age very slowly.
• In Love with the Mark: On his first assassination mission no less, Gaw'Yn falls in love with Dyfeline, the daughter of the king he must kill. Although he also has to slaughter the whole family, he manages to save her. That one gesture pretty much screws him over as all Dark Elves are now out for his blood in order to preserve their reputation, and Dyfeline is also conscious that he's his family's killer and pretty much hates him. It gets better after a while.
• Innocent Fanservice Girl: The Wood Elves do not have a taboo against nudity and their women wear little clothing.
• Interspecies Romance: A Human and an Elf can fall in love with each other, which can result in the birth of a Half-Elf. These relationships are more or less accepted depending on the place. Yrlanians don't mind nor do the Blue Elves, but some Wood Elves do not appreciate the Half-Elves and Human-Elf couples are persecuted in several cities. However, stories then feature many types of hybrids, such as half-orcs half-dwarfs.
  • Tome 1 of Orcs et Gobelins features Turuk, a half-Orc half-Elf. He also manages to romance a Wood Elf too before they betray each other and reveal that their tryst was just manipulation.
• Kidnapped by the Call: The Dark Elves dispatch agents in order to recruit all the children they predict will become Dark Elves, sometimes by kidnapping a child from their unwilling parents which is what happens to Ga'wyn and which Ilaw's father prevents by sending him on a boat constantly sailing across the oceans.
• Klingon Promotion: The Dark Elf Naa'Yn has become the king of the lizardmen Raykenn by slaying their chief.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: In Tome 6, Lanawyn and her party are hunted down by a horde of ghouls and Lah'Saa, and opt to flee to warn every kingdom of Arran of the incoming danger and because there's no chance a handful of warriors can defeat the whole army.
• Last of His Kind: The Red Elves are all but exterminated, and the few ones who have survived are two Red Elves who became Dark Elves. They eventually have children together in order to start the rebirth of their race.
• Left-Justified Fantasy Map: The world of Arran is dominated by the western sea and various archipelagos while a great continent occupies the east.
• Let's You and Him Fight: Ulronn tries to manipulate Rinn, king of the Walker clan of the Yrlanian into waging war with the city of Elsémur.
• Light Is Good: The White Elves, dressing in white, and epitome of the Superior Species side of the Elves.
• The Lost Lenore: Gaw'Yn must see his love Dyfeline get killed in front of his eyes by an arbalest bolt, and begins a Roaring Rampage of Revenge whereas he only planned to flee and hide forever.
• Madness Makeover: Dark Elves slowly get mad over time and transform into ravening monster whose sole goal is to eat people.
• Meaningful Rename: Dark Elves slightly change their names to signify that their old self is no more, usually by adding the "'Yn" suffix.
• Medieval European Fantasy: The world of Arran is decidedly centered around European civilizations, at least for the Human kingdoms and city-states which are inspired by medieval Europe.
• MedievalStasis: Millennia have passed, and while guns seem to exists, most factions in Arran are style medieval in technology. Foot soldiers still use spears and bows, while noblemen use swords and shields, and armies use the occasional catapult. The Dwarves subvert this somehow with their invention of the cable car, but still are stuck with medieval blacksmithing methods and don't use guns.
• Ms. Fanservice: All female Elves are gorgeous, but the Wood Elves and Blue Elves to a lesser degree take the care by wearing very little.
• Mystical Pregnancy: Tenashep's pregnancy of Alyana, marked by many supernatural interferences and exceptional circumstances, result in perhaps the most powerful Elf ever born.
• National Geographic Nudity: The Wood Elves are closer to nature than most Humans or Elves and do not have the same taboo on nudity. Their women are very lightly clothed to the point of Chainmail Bikini.
• Nature Lover: Fall, who loves every animal and monster of Arran. He uses the patch of forest magically created in the North as a sanctuary for endangered species and hunts down humans who selfishly exterminate animals.
• Necromancer: All Dark Elves touch upon Necromancy, and store the soul of the slain into a crystal for later use. Lah'Saa is a Dark Elven sorcerer whose mastery in Necromancy allows her to control thousands of Ghouls
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Fall tries to use his Soul Power on Lah'Saa, thinking that his mastery over spirit may give him the advantage. Alas he underestimate Lha'Saa who overpowers him and temporarily possess him. Not only he must kill himself, he also enables Lah'Saa to touch Tenashep's belly and put a piece of her soul inside his baby.
  • Lanawyn is retoractively responsible for unleashing a bunch of ancient monsters who roam the icy north after she created the great rift stopping the ghoul horde.
• Odd Friendship: People from different races interact with each other regularly but the latent racisms pervasive to all races makes a true friendship between two representants of each faction a rare sight. Among them is the friendship between Sizra the old Dwarf priest and Ilaw a runaway Wood Elve. Turin has this with everyone, being a human sellsword but having struck friendship with Goblin shamans, Elven royalty, and Dwarf heroes alike.
• Off with His Head!: A swift sword or ax strike from the main characters often results severed heads, be it in the middle of a battle, or as a climactic Coup de Grâce against the Tome's antagonist.
• Omniscient Council of Vagueness: Tome 21 unveils the existence of a group of unknown kings and queens who conspire to exterminate all the Elves.
• One-Man Army: Wielding the power of the Crystals allows someone free control over a corresponding element. Lanawyn, who has the Blue Crystal can control the oceans themselves, summoning tidal waves to drown whole armies, and Eliseii controls the trees of Duhann, with the same devastating results when giant trees being to pummel the enemy.
  • Dwarfs have also some in their race, who fit more the idea of peerless warriors than the Elves, empowered with magic crystals. In Tome 6 of Nains, Redwin decimates a whole army of undead and their necromancer lords by himself. In Tome 17 of Elves, Sizra the Dwarf is shown to have been repelling hordes of ghouls for years from the ruins he guards.
• Only the Worthy May Pass: In Tome 1, the Mysts who guard the Blue Crystal can read the minds of anyone who passes. If an unworthy wishes to take the Blue Crystal, they will attack him.
• Our Elves Are Different: The Elfes series depicts five races of stereotypical Elves. The High Elves, Blue Elves, Wood Elves are certainly more moral and wise than Humans because they are closer to the world of Arran whom they consider a god in itself. However the Wood Elves are highly xenophobic toward humans. The Dark Elves are a huge subversion, as all are an immoral, murderous kind with the Big Bad of the series being a Dark Elf herself. Lastly, the Half-Elves take from their human heritage and more or less act like any Human would.
• Our Dragons Are Different: The Dragons of Elfes are portrayed stereotypically, as giant winged fire-breathing lizards. However, they do not hoard gold and are an endangered species protected and used in battle by the White Elves.
• Our Orcs Are Different: The Orcs of Arran fit the revisionist types with many of the signature characteristics such as green skin with tusks, a warrior culture and code of honour, ability for moral decisions, being sometimes featured as allies. The first goblin featured in the series even jokes about the stereotype of savage cannibal Orcs whereas he mostly eats plants and roots. They are still primarily featured as raiders though. How they behave mostly depends on the situation, some are tribes dispossessed of their lands, others are mercenaries, some are even benevolent and believe in pacifism.
• Our Titans Are Different: Long ago, elemental Titans roamed the world, tourmenting the people of Arran as they couldn't stand civilization fighting against nature. They were sealed by five elves and the Spider Titan that took pity on them.
• Our Zombies Are Different: Ghouls are undead who keep all their physical abilities, but are raveningly mad. One bite is enough to transform anyone into a ghoul, and all ghouls weaken with sunlight. Ghouls also sleep and dream of their former lives.
• Portent of Doom: Several occurings introduced after Lah'Saa dies foreshadow the coming of catastrophic events, such as Lanawyn having a vision of a giant tidal wave destroying everything or Alyana's birth, whose evilness is still uncertain but whose creepiness is undeniable.
• Power Crystal: Four great crystals created by Elves sorcerers allow some worthy elves to become so attuned with the Elements they can control them. Those four crystals are:
  • The Blue Crystal, created by Ulronna and guarded by the Blue Elves, allows Lanawyn to control all water.
  • The Green Crystal, created when ancient elves imprisoned the essence of a whole forest into a crystalline form, allows Eliseii and then Ora to control all plants and trees.
  • The White Crystal allows Fall to control spirits.
  • Lah'Saa uses the shards of the Black Crystal to control the dead.
• Pregnant Badass: Tenashep, Princess of the White Elves, wages war while heavily pregnant with her baby.
• Private Military Contractors: Mercenary bands are common in Arran and are not very remarkable, but two stand out. The Iron Legion, mercenaries made from Dwarfs from all orders who are very badass, and the Black Legion, an evil troop of sell swords who work for a shady council.
• Professional Killer: All Dark Elves are taken to the fortress of Slurce and trained as assassins for hire. The most gifted of them are named Ar'Thnen.
• Psychic Link: Fall shares a privileged bond with his White Dragon, as both can feel each other's thoughts over long distance and if someone wounds any of the two, the other will feel it.
• Puppeteer Parasite: Volume 21 of Elfes introduces Changeling, small parasitic creatures infiltrating the mouth of a given person and taking over their body. A Changeling on the Black Legion's orders takes over Lorann, Lanawyn's second in command, and stealthily sabotages her operation until it is discovered.
• Raised by Orcs: Sybil, daughter of Azewen of the Wood Elves, is taken and raised by an Orc tribe who treat her as a true member of the group despite Orcs and Elves hating each other.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Aamnon is the King of the Northern Blue Elves and is described as having been one of the greatest warriors of his time. During the war against Lah'Saa, Aamnon distinguishes himself at the forefront of the battle against the Ghouls.
• Rapid Aging: One of Alyana’s powers. In the span of a few days after her birth, she reaches adulthood.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: The Kings and Queens of the Elves have the wisdom to tread carefully with their every action. They listen to their subordinates' ideas and are willing to negotiate with other nations for the sake of the greater good.
• The Remnant: The kingdom of Eysine has been invaded by an alliance of rival kingdoms and all that remains of it are a handful of citizens and soldiers led by their aging king.
• Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain: The ghouls' weakness is their brain, as it's from there that Lah'Saa creates a magic link to command them. Decapitation or blunt head trauma will kill a ghoul.
• Ring of Power: Lah'Saa bestows magic rings to her lieutenants so that they can control the Ghouls.
• Rotating Arcs: All three series rotate between arcs volume by volume, creating independent but linked storylines
• Sanity Slippage: All Dark Elves are naturally violent, but they eventually degenerate into mad beasts.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: When Lah'Saa was defeated, her bones were put into a magic coffin to seal her soul, and then put far into the North surrounded by magical wards so that she never threatens Arran again.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Fall's biological parents have had a vision of him bringing death to many elves. Unable to kill him, Fall's parents give him to a Iwolena and Meliatell in the hopes that they can educate him to remain innocent. Unfortunately, Meliatell encourages him to become a Stalker and hunt the White Dragon, which harmless to the Elves by itself, leads to Fall befriending a human while in the continent, bringing that same human to his home which leads to the human bringing thousands of pirates with him to the Isles of the White Elves. As prophesized, thousands of Elves dies all because of Fall, and because of his parent's efforts to avoid the prediction.
• Sequel Hook: Many volumes end on signs of an upcoming plot point, such as the sight of Alyana, already conscious inside her womb in Volume 13, or Lanawyn deciding to fulfill a promise to Lha'Saa in Volume 16.
  • Volume 2 of Orc and Goblins end with Myth acquiring a crystal containing the soul of a Dark Elf reputed to have discovered a way to stop his race from going mad.
  • Volume 21 of Elfes ends with Lanawyn dreaming of the blue crystal being destroyed and the ocean swallowing every land.
• Sexy Packaging: Volume 19, 29, and 34 have this. 19 has Tei-nooh clad in her standard outfit: metal bra, loincloth, long sleeves, and cloak. 29 has Lea'saa, who is only wearing a loincloth and a pair of boots, with her bare breasts in full view. 34 ups the ante by having Lea'saa remove her boots and adding to the background Itiween, who also goes topless and bares her breasts.
• Shapeshifter: Ulronn shapeshifts into Vaalann to pass off as The Chosen One and steal the Blue Crystal
• Skinny Dipping: In Tome 1, Vaalann dives into the ocean to retrieve the Blue Crystal. She does so naked.
• Sophisticated as Hell: In Tome 3, Fall encounters a band of Orcs whose leader call the Elves "sodomites" and "prigs". That such sophistically insulting words are part of this Orc's vocabulary is something noted by Fall.
• Soul Jar: Lah'Saa true soul remains inside her bones which were buried and hidden. When Ora destroys them, the sorceress immediately dies. Likewise all Dark Elves are given a red crystal to imprison souls in for later use.
• Soul Power: Fall possesses mastery over spirits and souls, enabling him to use Aura Vision and temporarily possess someone.
• Start of Darkness: Lha'Saa's is among the most tragic ones in Arran: she was the Princess of the Red Elves, and when the Dark Elves came to take her saying that she would become a Dark Elf, her father refused and tried to protect her from the Dark Elves. However, the Dark Elves, the sorcerer Slovtan and a group of mercenaries called the Black Legion, invaded her home, slaughtered all the Red Elves, and Lha'Saa herself was mind controlled into murdering her own father.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Lanawyn shares her body with Lah'Saa for a while and learns her very sad story. At the end, despite of all Lah'Saa's atrocities, Lanawyn shed tears for the death of the former Red Elf.
• Taking You with Me: Fall stabs himself while Lah'Saa possesses him, destroying half of her soul in the process.
• Talking to the Dead: The Orc necromancer Nerrom can speak to the dead and uses his power to interrogate Nelyr the mage, allowing Lanawyn to learn that Ulronn the Black Elf is responsible for a massacre Lanawyn has been investigating.
• The Alliance: An alliance between the Kingdom of Eysine and the Wood Elves is formed to protect the forest of Duhann.
  • The Human kingdoms, the Wood Elves, the Blue Elves and the White Elves all ally against Lah'Saa when she unleashes a horde of ghouls upon the world of Arran.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Tome 11, Kastennroc. Lah'Saa invades Kastennroc where the Alliance has been hoping to defeat her, many soldiers die and the populace is massacred, Lanawyn gets possessed and kills Turin, and everyone has to flee. The book finishes with a complete victory of Lah'Saa.
• The Cavalry:
  • In Tome 21, Lanawyn's party is rescued from a Black Legion attack by her long time friend Belthoran the mage who teleports himself as well as an army of lizardmen to defend her.
• The Chosen One:
  • Vaalann is purported to be the one to take the Blue Crystal and wield it for the good of the Blue Elves. It's a lie, and Ulronn the Black Elf passed himself as Vaalann then manipulated the prophetess into claiming Vaalann was chosen so he could steal the Crystal.
  • The Half-Elves have heard of one among them who would lead them to their liberty and give them a country. For a time, Nah-Thaal is thought to be that one, but Borh-naha was the true savior of the Half-Elves.
• The Corruption: For unknown reasons, all Dark Elves become mindless monsters over time, and only a daily intake of potion made from a priceless flower will slow the process. Tidbits of informations are revealed about them as the story unfolds: the Dark Elves have a dark spirit chained to their soul called a Murth'n Thun, which is tied to the Dark Elves. They react badly to holy powers, as Sizra discovers, and there is a ritual that allows a Dark Elf to purge the Murth'n Thun out of themselves by Fighting from the Inside and through The Power of Love.
• The Empath: Fall's Soul Power allows him to feel others' sentiments.
• The Mirror Shows Your True Self: Mirrors can reveal the otherworldly nature of several characters. In Tome 5 of Orcs & Goblins, the sorcerer Draek appears as a half-elf, but mirrors reveal his true nature as The Worm That Walks.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: At the end of Tome 17, Ilaw prefers to willfully give in to his murderous urges and become a full-fledged Dark Elf rather than live with the guilt of his sister's murder.
• The Quisling: While most flee Lah'Saa's horde of ghouls or try to fight, some prefer to submit and betray their people for a position at Lah'Saa's side.
  • Ronan of Kastennroc opens the door for Lah'Saa's ghouls and enable her to possess Lanawyn in exchange for mercy for his city. Lah'Saa immediately kills him because she doesn't hold promises anyway, being evil and all...
  • The council of Trein Er' Madenn Fern comes to the conclusion that there's no chance for them to fight Lah'Saa and survive and try to surrender to her and even help her. She doesn't care and the negotiation party the Half-Elves send is slaughtered.
• The Siege: The Siege of Kastennroc. Blue and White Elves, as well as the Yrlanian assemble in Kastennroc (a Helm's Deep Expy) to break Lah'Saa's assault on Arran. It fails when Ronan of Kastennroc betrays the alliance and opens the door for the sorceress.
• This Was His True Form: Lanawyn stabs Vaalann from behind, shocking every witness as Vaalann is supposedly The Chosen One. The corpse is in reality Ulronn, an Evil Sorcerer to stole the Blue Crystal.
• Too Dumb to Live: The council of Trein Er' Maden Fern. Somehow, Galn'Aad the blacksmith convinces Urghain and indirectly the rest of the council that cooperating with the evil sorceress Lah'Saa is the best course of action. They send a negotiator who promptly gets turned into a ghoul and Trein Er'Maden Fern is destroyed.
• Training from Hell:
  • The Dark Elves assassins are training in Slurce the only bastion of their race. The training is truly harsh, not managing to knock down your opponent in a brawl between students is punished by depriving the weak of his meal, and every student learns to never trust each other. During the first necromancy lesson, the teacher weeds out the slow ones by suddenly ordering the students to kill each other after years of that same act being the only forbidden crime in Slurce.
  • Likewise, the assassins of the Black Lodge are forced since youth to excel at sneaking around, stealing and assassinating because the Black Lodge simply abandons them in the streets of the Half-Blood city, a Wretched Hive.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Ilaw was apparently so shocked that he murdered his own sister that he shut the memory off.
• Treacherous Advisor: Siemir, counselor of Rinn of the Walker Clan, works for the sorcerer Ulronn and goads his king to wage war against the Blue Elves so the clans is annihilated.
• Vice City: The Half-Blood City, nearly Wretched Hive overrun with crime, a hub of shady or illegal traffic, murder and other likewise businesses. However, there is a clear pecking order as the unseen Master of the City oversees every dealing and punishes anyone who doesn't respect his law.
• Weapon Specialization: To differentiate traits between racees.
  • The Wood Elves favor the longbow, which is a trend exclusive to them as other Elves mostly use swords.
  • The assassins of Slurce and the Black Lodge favor a Blade Below the Shoulder for their discretion.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: General Lp'Hen, follower of Lah'Saa, is left alive and still leading her army of ghouls at the end of Black As Black but has never been heard again even after the defeat of Lah'Saa.
• When Trees Attack: Eliseii calls forth the guardian spirits of the forest of Duhann which manifest as giant trees. They decimate an Orc army and a swarm of ghouls.
• White Hair, Black Heart: All Dark Elves have white hair in conjunction with their black skin and penchant for violent murder.
• Wicked Cultured: Dark Elves pass off as scholars and artists to blend in with the population. They also consider that the best way to fool people is to be as good as the genuine artists.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Lah'Saa inflicts this on some of the people whom she conquers. She notably orders a ship builder to make her a fleet to cross the ocean and when the builder is done, she transforms him into a ghoul.
• You Killed My Father: Ora, or Sybil daughter of Azewën, mistakenly thinks that Eliseii killed her father in cold blood and seeks Eliseii to kill her. However Eliseii explains the exact circumstances of Azewën's death and then gets bitten by a ghoul, robbing Ora of her revenge.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: Dark Elves practice necromancy and steal the souls of those they slay. Storing them inside red crystals, Dark Elves can then call on said souls to help them when necessary. It's a dangerous art because there's no guarantee the Elf is powerful enough to command some of the souls.
• Zombie Apocalypse: Lah'Saa commands a horde of ghouls, undead creatures who not only retain the strength they had in life but can infect anyone with a single bite. They are a terrifying enemy who manage to trample several kingdom in short order and invade every faction of Arran, threatening to turn the whole world into an undead wasteland.

Nains

• Actual Pacifist: Ulrog, Redwin's father in a nutshell. In a society full of Proud Warrior Race Guys and Blood Knights, Ulrog refuses to forge a single sword or teach his son how to engrave battle runes on weapons. He never gets angry and prefers to quietly accept everyone's spite, including Redwin's.
• Acquired Poison Immunity: Assassins of the Black Lodge from the Order of the Talion are immune to most poisons through mithridatisation.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Dwarven society really looks down on its pariahs.
  • Ulrog is an Actual Pacifist and everyone calls him and his family a bunch of cowards and fool. Redwin resents it and came to hate his own father for being "weak" and "denying him the glory" of battle.
  • The Wanderers have it even worse. They are forbidden to own any kind of meaningful riches or have weapons. They are looked as animals by other Dwarves who considers that a child Wanderer dying is part of a natural and necessary culling so the Wanderers do not "proliferate".
• And Then What?: Redwin's goal is to become the Runelord of his order. Achieving his dream doesn't fulfill him the slightest and all of his anger and frustration only build up with the challenges he faces.
• Antagonistic Offspring: Redwin hates his father Ulrog for being an Actual Pacifist and Dwarven society ostracizing his family. Jorun also his Redwin for being The Un-Favourite.
• Archnemesis Dad: Ordo hates his father Loko for selling him to the Black Lodge as a recruit.
• Arms Dealer: Kardum is the most prominent one in Arran, becoming filthy rich thanks to his forges creating weapons that everyone in the world buys, even Orcs and Elves. This key status attracts the envy and scorn of many of his peers, but Kardum has a redeeming quality in that he is a genuine Benevolent Boss. Besides he notes that eight out of ten weapons he sells are bought as decorations to impress neighbours.
• Artifact of Doom: A cursed book contained containing foul spells and other magical formulae and informations that attract demons, one of whom wants to open the gates of Hej (Arran's version of Hell) with the book. It is hidden beneath the fortress of Abu'Kazan and Aral makes the mistake of consulting it and deciphering it and now every night, Eldritch Abominations chase after him.
• Badass Army: The Order of the Shield. While Redwin is the best warrior the Dwarves can offer, the Order of the Shield are their best soldiers. They form the police, served as an actual military for the Dwarves, and made up of heavily armored warrior who hold the ranks against enemies superior in number.
• Badass Preacher: Sizra of the Temple is an Exorcist, which means he has to regularly fend off demons who possess somebody, with his prayers but also his fist and stick.
• Berserk Button: Redwin during his youth and his son Jorun share a Hair-Trigger Temper. Belittling them in any way is a shortcut for a brutal beating or worse.
• Bling of War: Dwarven armors are incredibly ornate, with the Order of the Talion's soldiers adorning golden armors.
• Blood Knight: The majority of the Dwarves seek and enjoy a good fight and crave to earn glory in battle.
• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Nicolas Jarry uses Conlang to invent terms exclusive to Dwarves. For instances, rats are called "couinar". The English translation neglects to adapt it.
• Combat by Champion: The Runelord is the champion of the Order of the Forge and his primary role is to fight other people when the order enters into conflict with another group.
  • Redwin becomes a Runelord and is called in a combat by champion against a necromancer to spare the Dwarves a gruesome war against the undead.
• Conlang: The author Nicolas Jarry uses the argot variant to distinguish the Dwarven language from others and make their speech rougher and more manly, replacing most common names with words inspired by French argot: "baby" becomes "chiar", "child" becomes "marmouse", "Orc" becomes "Cul-vert" or "sword" becomes "tranchar". The English translations omits this quirk of language.
• Cool Helmet: The helmet Ulrog forges for Redwin is a marvel of blacksmithing. It also gives Redwin True Sight, enabling the Dwarf to see the Eldritch Abomination possessing the necromancer.
• Cool Old Guy: Gurdan of the Iron Legion, a jolly recruiter of the Iron Legion who's nasty with new recruits but good-hearted to everyone.
• Cool Sword: Redwin's broadsword. A large one-handed blade decorated with runes of Redwin's invention, giving it Absurd Cutting Power to the point it can destroy boulder and cut a troll in two in one swing.
  Redwin: I needed a perfect weapon. A blade able to transcend me and make my opponents kneel. I was a warrior among many others, but I was the greatest of the blacksmiths!
• Cool Uncle: Uncle Jarsen invites Redwin to his home, teaches him how to fight and how to forge runed blades and supports him as Redwin tries to make a name for himself. Subverted when Jarsen comes to Redwin, now a Runelord, and demands favor.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: The higher-ups of the Order of the Talion, most notably the Lorss of the Stone Bank, engineer wars, create famines, and forcibly indebt whole countries so that their companies can grow even more.
• Crippling the Competition: In the Gladiator Games where the winner is declared Runelord, Rom has Redwin stabbed in the belly not long before the games, nearly killing him but still heavily crippling him too because he fears Redwin.
• Demonic Possession: The exorcists of the Temple regularly face people controlled by a demon and have a duty to exorcise them. Sizra even lets himself be possessed in order to lure a demon to a spot where he can be purified for good.
• Determinator: All the Dwarves. Stubbornness is engraved in their souls and all the stories of the Nains series are about a Dwarf setting himself a seemingly impossible goal, and accomplishing it with sheer tenacity despite the odds, the passing time and every obstacle in their way. Some wise Dwarves recognize it's sometimes a very bad thing when said goal is harmful.
• Dishing Out Dirt: The Crown of Trez-Kardum allows its wearer to control the rock of the mountains, summoning giant rock golems that can lay low a whole fortress, presumably due to the gem embedded on it. It has several drawbacks, such as only working temporarily and needing three days to reload, drawbacks that Abokar and Dohan exploit in order to finally defeat the Dwarfs of Ufgrim.
• Do Not Go Gentle: Abokar of the Shield, a renowned general that secretly suffers from heart disease. Not wanting a dishonorable and painful death on a sick bed, he becomes a Death Seeker and throws himself into the thick of battle despite being a general.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: The Iron Legion's Training from Hell begins with Lord Brum, Iron Lord of the Iron Legion punching new recruits then forcing them to dig for days before telling them fill the holes later, so see who has the guts to endure it all.
• The Dreaded: Redwin is a Living Legend of a blacksmith and pit fighter. He is so violent that after thirty gruesome pit fights, no one came to fight him anymore. After he slays one of three necromancers possessed by demons, the remaining demons lock themselves inside their fortress out of fear for Redwin. It doesn't stop Redwin from coming to them though.
• Dug Too Deep: This happens to be one of the Dwarves' Fatal Flaw as their constant mining regularly unearths things that were better left buried. In Tome 3, minors digging deep into the mountain stumble upon a lost Dwarven city from which a Hate Plague takes over the populace.
• Eldritch Abomination: Three demons possess three necromancers to conquer the world. Redwin sees their true form: a black malevolent mass of tentacles.
• Face Death with Dignity: Ordo is assassinated by the masters of the Black Lodge and in his last moments, forgives himself for every sin he committed, dying in peace.
• Fantastic Caste System: Dwarven society is divided into five orders: the Forge, the Talion, the Temple, the Shield, and the Wanderers. See above for their description. All first four orders compete with each other for political supremacy and all are essential to Dwarven society. However, they all discriminate the Wanderers who cannot bear arms, hoard gold and live in houses of stone. The Wanderers deeply resent this but all rebellions have been squashed since they don't have an army. Oosram lights up the flames of rebellion and as a former soldier teaches the Wanderers how to wage war.
• Fiery Redhead: Dwarves redheads are a common sight, and Redwin's lineage, in particular, is composed of very violent redheads.
• Geometric Magic: Dwarves do not use magic, but engrave runes into their weapons to give them supernatural properties. Engraving runes is an exact science which also depends on the sensibilities of the user, but the best runes such as what Ulrog carved on Redwin's armor are said to have been great enough to adapt to the magic of the enemy. However, Tome 10 of Nains shows that a faction of Dwarf do use sorcery, with alchemical circles and runes still.
• Gladiator Games: The authorities quench the Dwarves' instinctual thirst for bloodshed with regular gladiator games.
• Hate Plague: Abu'Kazan's population is overtaken by a curse which slowly makes the Dwarves more angry and violent than usual, driving them mad over time. Aral discovers that a secretly imprisoned dragon's hatred is the cause of the curse.
• Handicapped Badass: Dohan grew up to be a capable officer despite his left leg crippled as a child, though he tends to hide the braces underneath his trousers. Even as a child, he also led an ad-hoc relief force in Issue 5 made up of soldiers who are either too old and/or too injured for active service.
• Hollywood Heart Attack: Abokar in Volume 10 of Nains suffers from “Stone-shake” [note]Tremble-pierre in French[/note], a heart disease that strikes randomly and will eventually make him bedridden. Abokar, a warrior bent on honor, cannot bear the idea of dying in such a way after a lifetime of waging war.
• Kidnapped by the Call: Redwin gives his son to a mercenary band named the Iron Legion. Gurdan the recruiter has to knock out Jorun and tie him to bring him to the Iron Legion's camp.
• Kill It with Fire: The Demon and possessed Dwarfs that Sizra fights against fear fire, and Sizra has a fire barrier erected to protect a fortress from attack.
• Klingon Promotion: Runelords must fight any pretendant to their title and best them in single combat. Only one Runelord in the entire history of the Dwarves reached a respectable age.
• Legendary in the Sequel: Redwin. In his introductory tome, Redwin reached infamy as the strongest fighter of his region. It is after he slays an immortal demon that he becomes truly famous, and the story of him decimating a whole fortress of undead and another two demons skyrockets his fame to legendary levels.
• Manipulative Bastard: Derdhr. Starting as female heir to an average ranked clan of the Order of the Talion, she enlists Ordo's help and manages by manipulating the Talion's Stone Bank, several warring kingdom, and the seven heads of the Order of the Talion to secure herself a seat among them. She then sells Ordo to the Black Lodge to get rid of the one who knows her secret.
• Manly Man: The Dwarven society in a nutshell. See Proud Warrior Race Guy above to understand why. Most of the Dwarf Main Characters manage to reach a glorious kill count, slay great monsters, and generally punch and hack their way out of trouble, etc...
• Martial Pacifist: Redwin becomes one in his later years. He'd rather live in peace but when a horde of Orcs and undead threaten his family, he becomes again a One-Man Army.
• My God, What Have I Done?: When Jarsen calls a drunk Redwin a coward, the latter snaps and beats his uncle bloody, reducing him to a begging wreck. Redwin realizes how far he's fallen and never touches alcohol again.
• One-Man Army: At the end of Tome 6, Redwin takes on the stronghold of the necromancers by himself and kills everyone inside it.
• Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Dwarves in the Nains series act like stereotypical ones for the most part. They are short, bearded, boisterous humanoids with a great talent for blacksmithing and engineering who dig under the mountains and build fortress-cities. The only aversion is that their weapon isn't an ax, but broadswords.
• Papa Wolf: Redwin remembers one instance when his father Ulrog was actually violent. A band of monsters almost ate Redwin when he was a child, and Ulrog killed them all, with his bare hands.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: The Dwarves take pride in their martial culture and Dwarven society is centered around being the strongest dwarf around, forging the best weapon around, and kill the meanest monster around.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: In Volume 10, Dohan is reassigned to Talas-Kadrum, the comics' version of the Wall from ASongOfIceAndFire because he was supposedly responsible for the acclaimed general Lord Abokar's death (the truth is that after a drake crash, Abokar walked away in secret, wanting everyone to think he died an honorable death). Talas-Kadrum is a lost fortress where the worst of the Shield gets reassigned as punishment and discipline and morale are both poor.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: In Volume 11 Torun of the Forge, both Lord Brum and Redwin fight each other to the death, and their eyes glow a demonic red, even leaving blazing trails around them. It indicates that they have both become The Berserker although the little Fann successfully pulls a Standing Between the Enemies, calming Brum with a severe stare and exclaiming that Redwin isn't the real enemy.
• Reincarnation: Volume 9 introduces the idea that all souls in Arran are reincarnated, and Dröh discovers that he's had many past lives, as a human, an elf, a goblin, and so on. However, a soul will keep his inclinations and while Dröh was always a fighter, Kria the shaman orc claims that in all her past lives she's struggled for peace.
• Retired Badass: Redwin at the end of Tome 1. Former Runelord whose last feat is to kill a demon-possessed necromancer, and impossible task. He then retires and becomes a simple blacksmith who forges farming tools and miscellaneous metal pieces. It becomes a Ten Minutes Retirement and Redwin is brought back to hacking people apart when orcs slay his wife Enime.
• Saved by Canon: Redwin cannot die ever in the stories of the "Nains" series because he's featured in the "Elfes" series, which takes place after the events of "Nains". Heck, since Redwin has a white beard in the Elfes tomes, it's probable that he will escape many more dangers in the "Nains" series.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Aral and Sienne. Aral is a nerdy engineer while Sienne is a warrior, and they don't get along at all despite some sexual tension. Sienne doesn't actually become attracted to Aral before he slays a dragon by himself.
• Secondary Character Title: Derdhr of the Talion is actually a direct sequel to Ordo of the Talion focusing more on the latter than on the title character.
• Sink or Swim Mentor: Uncle Jarsen was this to Redwin when it came to teaching him to fight. Jarsen threw himself at Redwin with a clear intention to kill him to force Redwin's survival instincts to teach him to fight.
• Stuff Blowing Up: The mountains south of the Assanide Empire are covered in a fir-like tree named Alvia. Its sap is highly flammable and can even explode. Tiss sacrifices herself by blowing up a whole Alvia forest, killing a host of Orc with her.
• The Caper: Tome 2 centers around Ordo's attempt to infiltrate Fort Draz, the stronghold of the Order of the Talion and their vault. Ordo doesn't try to rob the Talion but seeks to burn all the documents containing the secrets the Talion has hoarded over the millennia, which are the keystone to the Talion's influence.
• The Lost Lenore: Enime becomes this to Redwin, he even spends a few decades as a desperate hermit who tries to snuff out all memories of Enime so that he doesn’t suffer from her loss. He ultimately finds peace with it.
• The Power of Hate: Redwin and Jorun tap into their rage and hate over themselves to prevail in combat.
• The Un-Favourite: Jorun feels he is one. Born without talent, impetuous as a child, Jorun feels neglected because of his perceived failures. It's true to an extent because Redwin doesn't trust Jorun, and Jorun doesn't give Redwin any reason to trust him when he's so violent with his big brother.
• Ultimate Blacksmith: Redwin, Runelord of the Order of the Forge, is celebrated because of his incredibly powerful sword. However, Redwin considers that the greatest blacksmith in the history of the Dwarves is his own father Ulrog. Considering that Ulrog crafted an armor and shield able to withstand the most potent magical attacks and a sword able to kill even a demon that is supposedly impossible to defeat, it's completely justified.
• Victoria's Secret Compartment: In Tome 3, Sienne hides the key to the underground vault hiding the cursed book between her breast because all the men in her party are arguing to keep it.
• Wax On, Wax Off: Jarsen teaches Redwin music and playing the lute, to Redwin's frustration because he came to Jarsen to forge swords. Later Redwin realizes that it helps him hear and distinguish the sound the metal makes as he hammers it, improving the quality of his blacksmithing.

Orcs et Gobelins

• Anti-Hero: In contrast to the other series, all of the Main Characters for Orcs et Gobelins are established cutthroats, and have very loose standards of morality. However, they are pitted against worse individuals or mindless monsters.
• Astral Projection: In Volume 5 of Orcs & Goblins, La Poisse can project his soul as a ghost by putting himself in a near death coma, thus he becomes invisible to ordinary people yet can still interact with them. His ancestor ate several necrotic worms that magically preserve the dead, resulting in this ability.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Turuk the half-Orc and Dalyam the Wood Elf both despise each other and are attracted to each other. It doesn't run deeper than sexual attraction and they eventually betray each other.
• Bolivian Army Ending: Volume 1 ends on Turuk facing a giant, with the last page being the giant slashing at him. Turuk later reemerges in another future volume indicating that he survived the ordeal.
• Cannibalism Superpower: One day, La Poisse's grandfather inadvertently ate some worms that can magically preserve the dead, absorbing some of their power to be able to remain as a ghost that can still interact with the real world without fearing pain or death, since he died. La Poisse inherents a bit of this ability.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: In a power play to take control of the Goblin gangs, Sa'ar kills the three former gang leaders of his district but in doing so, gets the attention of the Alley-guards. To avoid being killed, Sa'ar kills Gogorbal, the district accountant, and persuades the guard captain Träezor to let him live because Sa'ar is the only one in the district that can manage it now that Gogorbal is dead, and that the Master of the Half-Blood City would execute Träezor if he didn't have his taxes over the district. Thus, Sa'ar buys himself several years to strengthen his grip on the city at the same timehaving secretly spared Gogorbal.
• Darker and Edgier: In contrast to the Elven Main Characters who are noble or tragic, or the Dwarven Main Characters who are more badass, the Orcs and Gobelins Main Characters are all shadier and morally ambiguous people, having more cynical views and grittier adventure with a change of tone becoming much more irreverent. For instance Myth the goblin thief exhibits a man's cut off penis, outright mocking his victim.
• Dramatic Unmask: Subverted, Myth is hired by a masked ninja to steal an artefact from Raal'Yn, a Dark Elf from Slurce. However, he's sharp enough to know guess from many clues that the hirer is another Dark Elf and also doesn't care about names.
• Dwindling Party: Both Volume 1 and 2 feature this trope, as Turuk and his companions are stuck in a city full of ghouls and Myth and his party infiltrate the dread Dark Elves' fortress Slurce. Their companions all die one by one from the dangerous foes they face until the Main Characters are the only survivors.
• Genius Bruiser: The Main Characters of the series are not simply good warriors, but are also seaseoned tacticians and rogues who can and will outsmart their opponents given the opportunity. For instance the brutish looking Gri'Im is a general and is well-versed in strategy and tactics.
• Healing Factor: Gri'Im is covered in runes that heal his every wounds when the sun sets. It appears to be very painful too, but it allows him to survive decades of war and fighting giant monsters alone.
• He Knows Too Much: The Master of the City must appear as an invisible and unreachable figure, thus putting a name or a face on him would only invite rebellion. When Sa'ar becomes the new Master, he understands it and execute everyone who has ever known him to erase all traces of his existence.
• How We Got Here: Volume 1 begins on Turuk waking up in an unfamiliar place, and whole sections of the plot are dedicated to his memories of what led to this beginning.
• Killer Gorilla: Gri'Im faces a group of giant gorilla-like monsters which decimate the caravan he is with. Despite his own prowess, he cannot kill them all.
• King Incognito: The Master of the Half-Blood City in Volume 4 that Sa'ar tries to overthrow is revealed to be none other than Goborgal, one of the poorest district accountants who had been hiding in plain sight.
• King of Thieves: The Master of the Half-Blood City, he owns half of the businesses here and everyone else owns him a tithe. On the other side his rule keeps a semblance of order and law within the city. Sa'ar discovers that it was Gorgobal all along and becomes the City's Master.
• No Honor Among Thieves: Both Turuk and Myth have sent their closest fellow thugs into a horde of enemies so that they can escape.
• Le Parkour: Myth's specialty is scaling buildings and running on roofs to escape wannabe assassins. He is exceptionally good at this and this is the reason why he's hired to infiltrate Slurce, a fortress at the top of a mountain.
• Only Mostly Dead: In his introductory volume, La Poisse can temporarily induce himself into a comatose state, letting his ghost roam free and able to return to life if he is quick enough.
• Our Goblins Are Different: The one goblins we meet are the usual small greenskinned creatures with a penchant for being sneaky, greedy and overall shady. The Orcs and Goblins feature Goblin that, despite their usual reduced role, manage to become very prominent leaders and achieve greatness. Myth and his partners are good fighters while Sa'ar is brilliant enough to take over the leadership of the Half-Blood City.
• Our Ghosts Are Different: The ghosts of Draek's sons are abominations that emerged when Draek had them killed, resulting in invisible horrible warriors at his command.
• Manipulative Bastard: Turuk is an accomplished manipulator and constantly thinks about how he must play Dalyam like a fiddle. It eventually screws him over when she catches on to his play and leaves him imprisoned with a hostile monster.
• Room Full of Zombies: In Volume 1, Turuk discovers that the island he's stuck on is also shared with ghouls when he tries to explore a basement and discovers a horde of waking ghouls.
• Sexy Packaging: Volumes 14 and 24. Both covers show the heroine wearing a bra, loincloth, and thigh high boots/stockings and showing her midriff and cleavage.
• Super Window Jump: When escaping, Myth the goblin doesn't think twice when he has to run through a glass window, leading to regular instances of that trope happening.
• Whole-Plot Reference: Kronan is a deliberate homage to the Conan the Barbarian story "A Witch Shall Be Born" complete with every characters having their expy (Conan=Kronan, Salome=Shaala, Taramis=Nawell).
• The Worm That Walks: Draek, the half-elf La Poisse fights in Volume 5. Experimenting on black worms that fed on the dead, he became infected and the worms steadily took over, giving an urge to spread the worms and have a perfect progeny and at the end when his shell is destroyed, the mass of black worms beneath emerges to be fought.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: In his bid to become the Master of the Half-Blood City, Sa'ar must keep adjusting his plans as new enemies and rivals appear to kill him as he rises. Moreover, he is betrayed by his weaponmaster Lagandyr to the Alley-guard and the Master, Sa'ar must accelerate his plan and kills the leadership of the city in one improvised ambush.

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