History Literature / AlexVerus

* KnightTemplar: Several on the Light Council are this, especially when fighting against Dark mages. They belive that they are in the right and the only thing protecting Britain from malevolent forces. The most prominent example is senior council member Sal Sarque, who attacks Alex constantly with extreme prejudice, due to believing him a Dark mage working with Morden and Richard willingly. He's willing to gun down a bunch of innocent mages and adepts if he thinks they're aligned with other Dark mages. Caldera is also to be shown one in later volumes, willing to go for extremes to nab possible culprits, uncaring if those same culprits had reasonable motives.

** Even weirder, in ''Fated'', Shireen seems to be [[spoiler: the sacrifice Alex couldn't prevent]]. The story was later fleshed out to make Shireen [[spoiler: the girl harvested by Rachel]] and added the character of Catherine Traviss to be [[spoiler: the one Richard sacrificed to open a portal to another world]]. Likely a full {{Retcon}}

*** The one concerning Anne. It said she'd be changed for the worse if she returned to Sagash's shadow realm, but Variam points out that it didn't mention ''which time''. In ''Risen'' we realize that [[spoiler:the dragon clearly meant her ''second'' return, because she takes over the entire shadow realm and enslaves or kills anyone she finds before the Marid Sultan takes complete control over her.

* AwesomeYetImpractical: In ''Veiled,'' Alex notes that, up until the 16th century, many mages created towers as their headquarters and saw them as a status symbol. Then cannons came along and they discovered that those two don't mix very well.

%%* BelligerentSexualTension: Luna and Variam.

** The place is starting to fall apart in ''Fallen'', though it's left open how much of that is because the spells are running out and how much is because Onyx damaged the statue the place was keyed to.

* DurableDeathtrap: Everything left behind to kill you in the fateweaver's tomb still works just dandy. Of course, as the traps are magical and located in a pocket dimension, there's no reason they would necessarily wear out in the first place.

Ten books have been released in the series so far.

* MeaningfulEcho: In ''Hidden'', when Richard breaks into Sagash's shadow realm in order to offer Anne and Alex a job, he's interrupted by Sagash's apprentices and tells them that, as a matter of courtesy, he doesn't want to kill Sagash's apprentices in his own shadow realm. In ''Forged'', as Alex continues his [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil embracing the dark side]], he says the same thing to Morden's apprentices when they encounter him in Morden's shadow realm, cementing that at this point in the story, Richard and Alex [[NotSoDifferent aren't as different as Alex would like]].

* NotSoDifferent: Anne and Vihaela share an unnerving number of similarities [[spoiler:which is why Alex ends up confusing a Jinn-powered Anne for Vihaela in ''Marked'']]. They're both very powerful, both use life magic to paralyze and kill and want respect. [[spoiler:When not-Anne negotiates terms with Morden in ''Marked'', she outright states she wants to be like Vihaela, to be feared by those around her.]]

* BelligerentSexualTension: Luna and Variam.

* ComboPlatterPowers: A mage tends to only be able to do one type of magic but elementals tend to get a few StockSuperpowers like creating [[BarrierWarrior forcefields]] or [[ThinkingUpPortals portals]] on top of their element.

** Caldera also becomes one in later books. She has no problem arresting Alex when the Council orders her to, and when Alex got away from her she blames Alex. She also trns a blind eye to the shadier sides of the council, and dismisses some of their worst actions [[spoiler:like trying to bomb Luna if Alex didn't surrender himself. She's also the one who reveals the truth of what happened at San Vittore, and that Dark!Anne is responsible. Not for any act of greater goodness, but to due blind loyalty to her job, her ego and taking Alex down a peg. The she spends the remainder of the novel focusing on re-capturing Alex. Most fans are sick of her zealous, hypocrtical attitude.]]

---> "That was not me threatening you. ''This'' is me threatening you. There were seven of you at that table when you votes to sentence me ti arrest ad interrogation and death., and when you sent those Keepers to hunt me to the corners of the Earth. There were six of you at that table when you refused my offer of a ceasefire and ordered Talisid's team to ambush me. There are five of you at that table now. If you refuse my offer again, I will continue this war with every resource and ally at my disposal. I will use information from Levistus's files to sow discord in your ranks and destroy your base of support. I will ally with your enemies and use the information I've gathered over the years to strike you where you are most vulnerable. And if that still doesn't work, I will come after you personally. I will arrange your destruction at the hands of others, as I did [[spoiler: Sal Sarque]], and I will kill you with my own hands, as I did [[spoiler: Levistus]]. I will hunt you down one by one, so that there are four of you around that table, then three, then two, and if you still won't listen then I ill keep going until every member of the Senior Council is dead and the Star Chamber is empty except for a records clerk sitting in an empty room."

* CorruptPolitician: Many mages on the Light Council, including in the Senior Council. Levistus is only the most prominent example. We see more of them in ''Marked''
* CurbStompBattle: Dark Anne and Alex [[spoiler: attacking Levistus]] in forged. His forces never stood a chance.

** A space mage called Symmaris in ''Burned'', who is terrified of stepping into Alex' store for fear of him murdering her, but she has no qualms [[spoiler:gating waves upon waves of gunmen into his home to kill him in his sleep.]]

* RetiredMonster: [[spoiler: Morden]] of all people at the end of ''Forged''. If he's to be believed, he wants to settle down an be a teacher.