The story
of Castle Terribel and all the people who live there. Chief among them Mansemat Cthonique, his wife Viviane du Lac, his brother and sister Nisrioch and Morgaine Cthonique, his daughter Malina, and his moody stepdaughter, Elaine du Lac. Despite being a Dark Lord of the Lands of Night who is raising a huge army to one day spread terror and vengeance in the Lands of Light, Mansemat is a fairly nice guy who really loves his family and tries to do well by people.
Of course, it's possible the entire "Dark Lord" thing isn't quite what it looks like...
This provides examples of:
- Authority in Name Only: Morgaine has a tendency to call herself the "Queen/Mistress of the Netherworld". As yet, there's no evidence that this appellation has any formal basis. Or is even an actual title.
- Axe-Crazy: Falerina. To put it mildly...
- Badass Family: The Cthoniques. Sort of.
- Cultured Badass: Nisrioch Cthonique, who loves to make hats and drink tea, and is apparently one of the most powerful wizards in the Lands of Night.
- Curbstomp Battle: Nisrioch against Justinian.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Arguably the main trope of the series.
- Decade Dissonance: The Lands of Light are a dark ages feudal society, while the Lands of Nights are more of a renaissance style society. The Lands of Light used to be the more advanced society wich allowed them to conquer parts of the Lands of Night and after they lost those lands stay stuck to those methods and traditions. Wich changed from a vibrant and powerfull set of methods to a crushing liability.
- Dissonant Serenity:One of the things that makes Prince Amfortas so creepy
- Evil Overlord: In theory, this is what the Dark Lords of the Lands of Night are. The truth is a great deal more varied...
- The Hilarity of Hats: Nisrioch is very fond of hats.
- Horned Humanoid: The Devs.
- I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: Subverted. The Lands of Night are full of places with names like 'the Plains of Dread', and the 'Mountains of Sorrow'—that are in fact fairly pleasant.
- Legacy of Service: the Fidele's have served the house Cthonique loyally for generations.
- Mama Bear: Viviane and Mansemat REALLY don't like it when people threaten their kids...
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Mansemat's ex-wife Falerina seems to think she was this to him. The truth is just a bit different...
- Master Swordsman: Several, most prominently Mansemat Cthonique himself.
- Posthumous Character: Quite a few, with Shaddad Cthonique, the Cthonique siblings' father and a more traditional Dark Lord, being perhaps the most prominent.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: What some soldiers from the Land of Light are becoming. And the war is barely begun.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: The Mansemat/Viviane relationship, in a nutshell.
- Villains Out Shopping: Arguably the other main trope of the series.
- Winged Humanoid: Again the Devs.
