Video Game / Trials of Guinevere

Castle Guinevere in the title image.

Trials of Guinevere is a High Fantasy JRPG developed by TD Games, and released for Steam on December 31, 2019. It's the first game in the author's Legends of Vitaria series.

Trials of Guinevere combines RPG elements with dramatic storytelling, through a linear adventure.

Tropes present in this game:

• Absurdly High Level Cap: Averted. Each character can only reach Power Level 3, and will do so just before the end of the game.
• Action Girl: The main characters, Amber, Morgan, Whitney, and Rowena certainly count, as well as many of the side characters, like Lowangen and Irrena. All are strong fighters or mages in their own right, and all are vital in the liberation of Guinevere.
• Adventurer Archaeologist: Whitney is a self-proclaimed thrillseeker, and knows quite a bit about the ruins underneath the Academy. Additionally, she knows more about the Eldyrians than King Uriel and Cormac.
• Aerith and Bob: There are characters named Albrecht, Brenthis, and Lowangen, alongside Lane, Amber, and Kody.
• All Deaths Final: Many of the playable and non-playable characters can die over the course of the journey. While there are items like Renewal Salves and the priest spell Breath of Life, these actually restore a character from the brink of death or unconsciousness, not true death. Resurrection is only possible in the world through intervention by the Gods, or an Ancient Elydyrian spell, which has never been successfully cast by mortals.
• Always Chaotic Evil: Every demon in the game either seeks to murder the citizens of Guinevere, or gain control over them. Even the one that gives Morgan visions of a happier alternate life is only doing so as a way to distract her. He's trying to implant one of Malthael's shards within her soul.
• Anti-Hero: Whitney can be seen as one. She steals the crystal of darkness from Rowena without saying a word, and her intention for the entire endeavor is to preserve the country's commerce.
• Anyone Can Die: Many of the main characters can be killed over the course of the journey.
• Armor and Magic Don't Mix: Mages cannot wear armour heavier than robes. This is slightly averted with the Magi Knight class, but only because they are specifically trained in both melee and magic.
• Awesome, but Impractical: The Erebon staff increases its wielder's Intelligence by a massive amount, but because it drains so much health, it might be more harmful than helpful.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Amber overcomes the barrier imprisoning the castle by carefully adjusting the metaphysical formula to her spell.
• Badass Adorable: At the start of the game, Morgan is an insecure student of the Academy that doesn't believe in herself. Later, she can conjure fire and ice, shield herself, and is quite proficient in swordplay, making her effective against nearly every enemy in the game. Additionally, she, alone, rescues all four of her friends when they're imprisoned in Act 3.
• Badass Boast:
  • Cormac, before he casts the Spell of Entrapment.
    Cormac: The entirety of my studies lead to this point! I'll do my best!
• Badass Bookworm: Cormac and Amber. They are both fascinated by Eldyrian history and lore, and can definitely handle themselves in a fight. Amber destroys a barrier separating Castle Guinevere from the rest of the city, and Cormac performs an ancient ritual that only a handful of people have.
• Badass Bystander: Many of the regular citizens of Guinevere are this as they fight alongside the Guardians to protect the city. Two of them even help the High Magister, himself.
• Badass Preacher: Kody. He's a Favoured of Llymayn that can increase the offensive might of his allies, cause one's sins to stop them in their tracks, and incinerate his foes with divine flames.
• Bad Boss: Averted. Caellach actually shows remorse when his mercenaries are treated poorly, and his entire goal is to make life easier for those that follow him.
• Bad Liar: During the attack on the Academy, Professor Denian tells Guardian Commander Wolfe to wait at the escape route, but he still leaves with you to help the students. Later, when the Academy is secure, she says that she told Wolfe to look for the students, instead, and is grateful that he heeded her advice. Even Magister Albrecht, who wasn't there, doesn't believe her.
• Bad Powers, Good People: Cormac is skilled in dark magic and casts an Ancient Eldyrian spell, but is one of the most selfless characters in the game.
• Bad Samaritan: Magister Vantessa helps the royal family by fighting alongside them, but turns against them as soon as they're vulnerable.
• Bald of Evil: The real Father Raynor was murdered off-screen, and the one you meet is a demon impersonating him.
• Bargain with Heaven: Rowena can make one with Llymayn if she fails to defeat the demon, Betrayal, in battle. Llymayn breaks the Divine Edict, resurrecting Rowena long enough for her to help Guinevere. Later, it's revealed that when Rowena dies, she takes Llymayn's side in Her domain, an eternal reward for her selfless deeds.
• Barrier Warrior: Amber can create metaphysical shields, protecting herself and her friends.
• Battle Couple: The game has three of them;
  • Rowena and Cormac are a married Guardian and Magister of Castle Guinevere. Rowena is a Templar, a Favoured of Llymayn, and Cormac is an Occultist, a mage specializing in dark magic.
  • King Uriel and Queen Lowangen are the rulers of Guinevere. Uriel is a Frostbringer, a mage that uses ice magic, and Lowangen is a Brawler, an agile fistfighter.
  • Lane and Amber fight together during the entire journey. They profess their love for each other right before they ascend the King's Road.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: Averted. Almost all of the characters in the game are at least somewhat attractive, including the villains.
• Beehive Barrier: Many of the shields in the game, especially Amber's Safeguard spell and Malthael's barrier, are this.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Whitney takes almost nothing seriously and is constantly making light of things, but she is one of the most dedicated people out to save Guinevere. She'll stop for no one, not even her friends.
• Big Bad: Caellach. He overpowers his Eldyrian master, then seals him in the throne room, where the royal family defeats him. Afterwards, Caellach plans to drown the royal family and claim Malthael's defeat for himself. With no royal family members alive, and him seen as the hero that saved the city, there'd be a large chance he'd be the new ruler of Guinevere.
• Big Badass Battle Sequence:
  • The last scene before you ascend the King's Road is an epic battle. Guardians, Magisters, various citizens of Guinevere, priests, and many characters you've met or helped throughout the game are all facing off against a horde of demons.
  • The scene when Cormac casts the Spell of Entrapment. Powerful magic is emanating from him while he says arcane words, many demons are being gated in to stop him, while Rowena and Whitney work together to protect him.
• Big Damn Heroes: A group of friends and the royal family fight off a centuries-old demigod, and stop thousands of demons from destroying their city and murdering countless innocent people.
• Bittersweet Ending: The ending of the game can be more or less bittersweet, based on the choices you make while playing. At the very least, Teo and Whitney will die, meaning that Morgan has lost the man she loves, and Rowena has lost one of her best friends.
• Black Mage: Lane and Cormac, a Wind Adept and Occultist, respectively. Both of them wield powerful offensive magic and disabling spells, and each possesses one spell that causes instant death.
• Black Magic: The Ancient Eldyrian Spells, and, to a questionable extent, dark magic. Ancient Eldyrian spells can kill their casters if performed incorrectly, and many of them require live sacrifices.
• Bodyguarding a Badass: Two Guineverian citizens are escorting High Magister Kei to the campsite right outside Malthael's barrier.
• Boss Battle: Each Act has at least one.
  • In Act 1, you must defeat Sylar, along with the people he's mentally controlling.
  • In Act 2, you must defeat a group of demons while protecting Cormac, so he can cast the Spell of Entrapment.
  • In Act 3, you must defeat Malthael, if you fail to talk him down.
  • In the Epilogue, you must defeat Caellach.
• Brainwashed: Malthael and his demonic allies can control mortals, after their souls have been infused with his shards. Throughout the game, you will fight enslaved Guardians, Favoured, and various citizens of Guinevere that are all being controlled by demons. In more than a few instances, Malthael will even try to gain control over the player characters, themselves.
• Call on Me: In her nightmare, Rowena is able to summon a visage of Cormac by calling for his help.
• Casting a Shadow: Several mages in the game use dark magic. Cormac, Rowena's Occultist husband is the biggest example, but there are also the Exarchs, mages that can kill instantly with spells like Destruction.
• Central Theme: The game has several;
  • Hanging onto your beliefs, despite so many opportunities to stray from them.
  • Trusting your friends, despite what secrets they may hold from you.
  • Whether it is wiser to confess love and potentially lose friendship, or continue with what you already have.
  • The concept of innocence of the world, and the loss of it.
  • The origins of personal strength, whether that is yourself, family and/or friends, faith, or other reasons.
  • The extent of forgiveness, and redemption.
  • Whether one's birthright encourages or precludes success or failure in life.
  • Whether tools, or their users, are evil or not.
• Character Development: Many examples, and a few of them depend on your choices;
  • Morgan finds confidence in herself, realizes her own strength, and takes charge of her life and what she wants to do. She uses the loss of someone she loves as a way to instill herself with strength, and helps someone to avoid making the same mistake she did.
  • Lane realizes that being reckless can hurt himself and those he loves, and it is better to confess his feelings for someone he loves, instead of keeping them hidden and making himself miserable in the process.
  • Kody forgives himself, realizing that even because he did something terrible, he is not beyond redemption. He focuses on repairing his life and reconnecting with his loved ones.
  • Amber learns that while there is always an easy way to achieve what she wants, she can still accomplish her goals by not sacrificing her morals.
  • Cormac learns that being careful is not a bad thing, and being prepared and cautious can help you in the end.
  • Rowena learned that despite people treating her terribly, she still didn't have to change who she was, and showing people kindness may be all it takes to change their lives for the better. She learns that despite things trying to persuade or change her, if she sticks to herself and what she believes in, she can get through anything.
  • Uriel learns that his mistakes don't define him. Although he failed casting an Ancient Eldyrian spell in the past, he didn't let the fear and shame of failure stop him from casting the Spell of Sealing and saving Guinevere.
  • Sylar learns that people can manipulate you by playing with your emotions and the things you hold dear. Sometimes one slip-up is all it takes to lose much.
• Character Class System: Each of the playable characters belongs to a specific class, as do all of the human enemies.
• Child Prodigy: Magister Albrecht is a teenager, but is a full-fledged Magister and one of the most experienced Tidecallers in Guinevere.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: You’re supposed to stop someone from destroying reagents needed to banish a demigod-like entity, but you can still spend time to find a man’s glasses and return them to him.
• Cliffhanger: At the end of the game, Lane and Amber rush off to find Lane’s mother, who is somewhere nearby. It’s not revealed if they succeed in saving her.
• Close-Range Combatant: Whitney, Morgan, Wolfe, and Rowena. Each of them wields a melee weapon and stands in the front row of the party.
• Code of Honour: Rowena lives by Llymayn's teachings of forgiveness, kindness, and protection, and does her best to honour her role as a Guardian of the castle. She refuses to steal and tries her best to turn people from Malthael's side.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Kody must choose between siding with his demon master, or Rowena and her friends.
• Court Mage: The Magisters are all mages in service of the royal family, with High Magister Kei being their leader.
• Crystal Prison: The crystals of light and darkness hold the souls of Goldarion and Ivarin, respectively, who are Eldyrian twins from centuries past.
• Cunning Linguist: Both Cormac and Amber are fluent in Ancient Eldyr, which is why they are able to cast Ancient Eldyrian Spells and translate Eldyrian texts, respectively.
• Damager, Healer, Tank: All of the playable characters fall into one or more of this trope.
  • Lane, Whitney, Morgan, Wolfe, Cormac, and Kody are damagers.
  • Amber, Whitney, Karissa, and Rowena are healers.
  • Whitney, Karissa, Wolfe, and Rowena are tanks.
• Damage Over Time: There are many statuses in the game that cause this, including poison, burning, bleeding, and deadly poison.
• Damsel out of Distress: At the start of the game, Morgan is timid, completely unsure of herself, and believes she's incredibly weak, only getting in peoples' way. In Act 3, she sees through a dangerous illusion, faces down a powerful demon by herself, rescues her friends from his trap, and defeats the antagonists threatening the city.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Ancient Eldyrian Spells. They're powerful rituals that can change the fabric of reality, destroy godlike entities, and teleport people across great distances. When cast incorrectly, they can maim or kill their casters, and several of them require living sacrifices.
• Dark and Troubled Past: A few characters have this;
  • Cormac lived many years of his life on a slaver barge, which is why he bears the mark of a slave on his cheek. To keep his spirits up, he'd read stories of famous Cor Anaran mages, like Valaaj Whaelund, which is where his love of reading comes from.
  • Lane lost his parents at a young age, and grew up in an orphanage. Because he was only allowed around the orphanage as a child, he's not familiar with much of Guinevere or the world beyond its walls, hence his desire to escape the Academy and see it for himself.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Played with;
  • Cormac talks to a high-ranking Cor Anaran official about dark magic, saying that one's character is the ultimate deciding factor, not the tools they may or may not use. Cormac proves his point the entire way of the journey: He helps save the city by casting an Ancient Eldyrian Spell to seal away Malthael's power.
  • Ivarin, an Ancient Eldyrian related to darkness, managed to stop his brother from murdering innocents by sealing both of their souls in crystals.
• Dark Magical Girl: Irrena was a Favoured of Llymayn, but fell under Malthael's spell because she wanted Caellach to fall in love with her again.
• Dark Mistress: Irrena is the ex-lover of Caellach, and lost her Favour by falling under Malthael's spell.
• Dark World: Demons are from their own dimension, separate from Vitaria and the Weave entirely. It's not a pleasant place.
• Deadly Force Field: Malthael's barrier is trapped, sending anyone who disturbs it into an alternate dimension.
• Deadpan Snarker: Whitney and Cormac make many snarky comments about each other.

  Whitney: The early bird gets the treats! Or... something like that.

  Cormac: The worm, Whitney. The early bird gets the worm.

  Whitney: Right! Knowing that surely changes my life...

• Dead Person Impersonation: A demon murders Father Raynor and takes his form, deceiving many people in the process.
• Deal with the Devil: If Rowena accepts Betrayal's offer at the end of her dream, he possesses her, and after the events of the game, she is driven insane and commits suicide.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Irrena is remorseful for siding with Malthael once she is beaten. She grows to respect Rowena, and after Cormac casts the Spell of Entrapment, Irrena stays behind to maintain Kody's ward, preventing more of the corruption of the temple from escaping into the city.
• Deflector Shields: Amber’s Safeguard spell erects a shield of energy that absorbs damage.
• Demoted to Dragon: Malthael. Despite being the residual fragment of an Eldyrian's soul, Malthael's arrogance and hubris granted Caellach too much power, which allowed him to be overthrown. Caellach sealed Malthael in Castle Guinevere's throne room, where the royal family were supposed to succeed in destroying him.
• Despair Event Horizon: Kody's regret for cheating on his wife is so severe that he is locked in depression, and has considered suicide. Only his faith in Llymayn and the fact that he still possesses Her powers have kept him from ending his own life. Because he wants to be forgiven for his misdeed so badly, he betrays Rowena, Cormac, and Whitney by leading them to a demon in the service of Malthael.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Three students, a knight, two mages, and a fistfighter defeat a centuries-old demigod after much of his power is sealed away.
• Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: The game’s main song is actually Morgan’s theme, and is played whenever she is having an important moment.
• Difficulty Levels: There are four difficulty levels in the game. Storyteller is the easiest, and Wind Adept is the hardest.
• Dispel Magic: Betrayal, one of the game's strongest demons, casts Dispel, magic that removes any buffs affecting his target.
• Divine Intervention: A few instances.
  • Ycantha, the Goddess of fortune and commerce, creates Whitney in order to protect Guinevere from destruction. If Guinevere, the capital of the country, is destroyed, commerce all throughout Vitaria will be disrupted.
  • Llymayn, the Goddess of selflessness and protection grants great endurance to her Favoured, allowing them to heal the injured without becoming tired, themselves. Lastly, She is sustaining the lifeforce of thousands of citizens trapped in Malthael's dimension, so they don't die by his powers. Once the city is safe, the citizens are restored to Guinevere with Ivarin's help, still themselves.
• Domain Holder: Llymayn, Malthael and Ivarin all have their own personal domains.
• Dragon-in-Chief: Caellach appears to be a weak-willed servant of Malthael, but he manages uses his arrogance against him. With his newfound power, Caellach overpowers Malthael, seals him in the castle's throne room, and nearly brings his plan to completion.
• Dragons Are Divine: Played with. When the heroes approach a statue of a dragon in the ruins, Whitney says that they have been extinct for centuries. Lane, Amber, and Morgan then look at the statue, overcome with awe and wonder.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: Lane has dreams throughout the adventure, starting with the second scene in the game. It's revealed later that his dreams are actually messages magically sent by his mother, who is being held captive somewhere in the city. He is only able to rush to her aid because he recognizes the same bells she played in his dreams.
• Dual Wielding: As a Magi Knight, Morgan wields an epee and a staff at once.
• Dungeon Crawling: The journey through the mines, as well as the Eldyrian vault certainly count. The vault has ghostly defenders, a lever puzzle that must be solved, and secrets hidden in bookshelves.
• Dying Declaration of Love: Teo asks Lane to tell Morgan that he loves her, right after he is fatally poisoned.
• Earn Your Bad Ending: Being cruel to Morgan, leaving students to die, and ignoring someone’s cry for help leads to having to fight Morgan at the end of the game.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: It is possible for nearly all of the playable characters to survive. The game’s perfect ending even has an achievement for doing so.
• Electronic Telepathy: Slightly averted. The characters use communication stones in order to talk over long distances.
• Elemental Powers: Many of the mages in the game, and even some of the fighters, use fire, water, wind, light, and darkness.
• Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Many enemies in the game have various elemental weaknesses. The Alu demons, for example, take triple damage from holy magic.
• 11th-Hour Superpower: Ivarin grants Lane, Amber, and Morgan power in order to defeat Malthael and save Guinevere.
• Everything Fades: Enemies fade out when defeated, often in various ways.
• Evil Army: Malthael employs thousands of demonic allies, who he summons in by infusing Guineverian citizens with shards of his power. Every single one of them is eager to destroy the city and her people.
• Evil Stole My Faith: Caellach was a follower of Llymayn, before he started listening to Malthael's whisperings.
• Experience Points: Averted. Characters level up at specific points in the game.
• Face–Heel Turn: Magister Vantessa spends the entire first two Acts aiding the royal family, but ultimately betrays them in Act 3, due to self-serving reasons, and has been sabotaging their communication stones the whole time.
• False Friend: Magister Vantessa only became a Magister in order to amass enough power. After betraying the royal family, she says that her intention was always to rule one of the Cor Anaran houses.
• Fantasy Pantheon: There are twelve gods that Vitarans worship. In the capital of Guinevere, Llymayn and Ycantha are the two more dominant faiths.
• Faux Death: Can be averted or played straight, based on your choices. If you tell Cormac to be careful before entering the Temple of Llymayn in Act 2, he will protect himself when he casts the Spell of Entrapment, allowing Magister Albrecht to restore him later. If you don’t warn him, he is petrified permanently, and there is nothing Magister Albrecht or High Magister Kei can do to save him.
• Fearless Fool: Lane, before his character development. At the start of the game, he asks Amber to cast a spell from an ancient book she found, just because he wants to see what it does. When you realize the vault they were in contained a crystal housing a godlike entity that could endanger the world, Lane's foolishness becomes even more apparent.
• Final Boss: Caellach. He is confronted in the castle's courtyard while he's trying to drown the royal family. He's a powerful Tidecaller that summons water umi to aid him, can cast two spells per round, and even has a spell that is capable of knocking down your characters and rendering them helpless. Depending on your choices, you may even have to fight him alone.
• Fire, Ice, Lightning: Mages have all of these powers in the game'
  • Elementalists and Magi Knights wield fire.
  • Elementalists, Frostbringers, and Magi Knights wield ice.
  • Stormcallers wield lightning.
• Fire Is Red: Averted and played straight. Fire spells cast by mage characters are red, but a demon in Act 3 uses green-coloured flames to attack.
• Foil: A few examples;
  • Lane is adventurous, doesn't care about his studies, a bit of a jokester, and doesn't follow rules unless he agrees with them. Amber's studies are incredibly important to her, she is serious and strict, and she follows rules to the letter.
  • Professor Denian is loud, obnoxious, and wants to wait for the experienced Magisters to arrive and save the Academy. Guardian Commander Wolfe is reserved, serious, and wants to save the Academy, himself.
  • Rowena is incredibly emotional, makes decisions based on her heart and feelings, and has powers granted to her by her Goddess. Cormac is stoic, makes decisions based on logic and research, and has powers he's studied to obtain.
• Foreshadowing:A few examples.
  • A student in the Academy will tell Lane that Ancient Eldyrian Spells are dangerous, and can cause petrification. This is exactly what happens to Cormac, at the end of Act 2.
  • A student in the Academy wonders if mages can be slaves, since Cor Anarans see them as superior. They will also tell you that many slaves in Cor Anara bear a mark on their cheek; two horizontal bars intersected by a vertical one. In Act 2, Cormac bears the exact mark, and later, it's revealed that he grew up as a slave aboard a barge, which is why he is terrified of boats.
  • After defeating Irrena, Kody is upset with Rowena for letting her go. Rowena says that she would give Kody a second chance too, if he was being controlled by a demon. Later, Kody reveals that he's been working for a demon all along, and he led Rowena and her friends to the temple in exchange for forgiveness for his misdeed. Rowena can forgive him for his betrayal, saying that she knows he can do the right thing, and refuses to stop believing in him.
  • Whitney's true nature as a sending of Ycantha is foreshadowed throughout the game. She appears in areas she's not supposed to, she tells Kody that some people have no control over their destiny (implying that she was created to fulfill a specific goal), she has seemingly-endless amounts of money, she is immune to the Malthael's Grasp status effect (showing her will can't be broken),and once the spell empowering her ends, she turns into a golden statue. Given that Ycantha is the goddess of commerce and wealth, this all makes sense.
  • Morgan is actually Kody's daughter. This is hinted at throughout the game as well, with Morgan remembering purple tapestries when she was younger (alluding to the tapestries in the temple of Llymayn), and Kody recognizing her at the end, thinking she looks incredibly familiar.
• Forged by the Gods: Whitney is a magically created construct of Ycantha, sent to Guinevere in order to protect it from destruction.
• Fragile Speedster: Morgan, and to a lesser extent, Whitney. Morgan usually acts first, can deal decent physical and magical damage, but is incredibly fragile, being a mage that can't wear heavy armour. Whitney serves as the party's tank in Act 1, but in Act 2 when you have Rowena, she is far more vulnerable.
• Geometric Magic: Scholar spells, and many metaphysical spells in general. In Act 1, Amber explains that most metaphysical spells rely on specific formulae in order to work.
• Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Cormac's Finger of Death spell allows him to bloodlessly slay someone by pointing at them.
• Glass Cannon: Lane. He deals heavy wind damage with his magic, but is physically weak and often targeted by enemy disabling spells as a result.
• God Is Good: Llymayn breaks the Divine Edict by helping Her Favoured defeat the demons, and prevents thousands of people from losing their souls to Malthael's magic. Depending on your choices, She may even resurrect one of the main characters, something borderline impossible any other way.
• God's Hands Are Tied: The Divine Edict states that the Gods cannot interfere in the day to day lives of mortals, and may only grant aspects of Their powers to Their Favoured. Llymayn and Ycantha break the Edict, and Llymayn even says She will be punished gravely for it, later.
• God of Darkness: Somewhat averted. While Erebor is the God of Darkness, He is related moreso to the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, and lore.
• Gold and White Are Divine: Llymayn's colours in the game are white, gold, and purple.
• Golden Ending: The game's achievement even calls it the perfect ending, which represents the best outcome the characters get, with the least amount of deaths.
• Good Powers, Bad People: Malthael is one of the main antagonists of the game, and wields powerful holy magic capable of disabling and even killing outright.
• Gradual Regeneration: Rowena's Aura of Holiness and Karissa's Our Life, Renewed.
• Guile Hero: Lane comes up with an elaborate ruse, in order to rescue Amber and a few students that are being held hostage. His plan succeeds, and everyone is rescued safely.
• Hanging by the Fingers: In Rowena's dream, Annabelle is struggling to hold onto the cliffside so Rowena can save her.
• Happily Married: Rowena and Cormac are happily married and express their love often.
• Healing Hands: Many Favoured in the game, especially the priests of Llymayn, heal the injured and restore stamina to others in battle.
• Heartbroken Badass: Morgan. She loses the love of her life, but finds strength within herself, learns powerful fire and ice magic, and saves her friends and the entire city of Guinevere. Additionally, she is the second of two characters that fight the final boss of the game. If you play right, she tells the final boss that there's no way she'd turn against one of her friends, stopping all further attempts to do so.
• Heel–Face Turn: Two instances;
  • Depending on the player's opinion of him, Kody can be seen as having this. Because he leads Rowena, Cormac, and Whitney straight to a demon that plans on using their bodies for Malthael's shards, Kody can be arguably seen as a villain. Rowena's words may inspire hope within him, however, and cause him to turn against the demon and buy you time to escape. Later, it's revealed that he and his allies survived, and he thanks you for believing in him and helping him when he needed it.
  • After Rowena defeats her in battle, Irrena prays to Llymayn, asking for her Favour back, and genuinely wanting to atone for her misdeeds. She is forgiven, loses her Fallen status, and spends the rest of the game healing the injured and protecting the city from Malthael's corruption.
• Heel Realization: At the end of the game, Caellach realizes that everything he did was for nothing, and he ending up dooming his own people to death. Lastly, he remembers his relationship with Irrena, and understands that his lust for power stopped him from being with her.
• Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Lane, Amber and Whitney can all have custom names.
• Heroic Ambidexterity: Being a Magi Knight, Morgan can wield an epee in one hand, and a staff in the other.
• Heroic Bastard: Guardian Commander Wolfe. He was born out of wedlock to a Hinodean father and an Eth'leenian mother, but is the well-respected leader of the Academy of Magic's Guardians. When the Academy is attacked, he fights alongside his men and women in an effort to protect them, the professors, and the students.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Teo braves the fires of the Academy and rescues Lane, but is fatally poisoned by one of Caellach's mercenaries. After Morgan learns about his death, his memory motivates her to find strength within herself.
• Hidden Depths: Later in the story, it is revealed that Guardian Commander Wolfe is the bastard son of a Hinodean father and an Eth'leenian mother. His father abandoned him and his mother when he was young, and he was raised in poverty and shunned by Hinodean society. Despite the harshness of his upbringing, he remained kind and fought for his position; He's a well-respected Commander of men and women that he genuinely cares about.
• High Fantasy: The game is an epic adventure, featuring a demigod-like villain that threatens the entire city, influence of the Gods, ancient and modern magic, and people from various walks of life banding together.
• Hit Points: Health.
• Holy Is Not Safe: Holy magic burns, sears, and overwhelms, and is very useful for combating certain demons.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: Midway through Act 2, you will come across illusions of Cormac and Kody. Try as you might, they are nigh impossible to beat on any difficulty aside from Storyteller.
• HP to One: The Incubus Lifestealer's strongest spell, Death's Door, reduces his target's health to 1.
• Iaijutsu Practitioner: A Bushido born in Hinode, Guardian Commander Wolfe utilizes this technique often.
• Ideal Hero: Played with. Rowena is faithful to her Goddess and ideals, fights for others, protects them, and forgives them, believing that anyone can be redeemed if they genuinely desire it. Depending on your choices, she can even forgive Malthael, causing him to surrender. Despite this, there are many times when she admits how convincing the demons are in their attempts to deceive her. She may even fall for one of their tricks, depending on how you play, and end up dying in the end, so she isn't completely infallible.
• Immune to Mind Control: Averted. None of the characters in the game are ever truly safe from being controlled by demons. Even a blessing from the Goddess of Protection, Herself, can't grant complete immunity.
• Inexplicably Awesome: Whitney possesses an incredible amount of wealth, is much older than she appears, and can get into places she isn't supposed to be. Later, it's revealed that she is a magical construct created to protect Guinevere..
• Infinity +1 Element: Force, which bypasses all resistances and immunities, and always deals full damage.
• Infinity +1 Sword: The Erebon staff increases its wielder's Intelligence by a great amount, but drains Health every round, quickly resulting in death if battle isn't over quickly. It's only available in one of the last stores of the game.
• Instant Armor: Morgan's spell Shield of the Magi encases her in a field of protective force.
• Intrepid Merchant: The Salve Merchant is seen throughout the game, and sells to both Lane and Rowena's party. He even shows up at the ending, too.
• I Shall Taunt You: Many of the sellswords do this before battle.

  Sellsword: Racaiah? No! You're students! You lot are like rats! You're everywhere, but everyone thinks of you as pests!

• It's All My Fault: Lane blames himself for Teo's death, even though there's nothing he could've done to stop it.
• I Will Only Slow You Down: After he is poisoned by an assassin, Teo tells Lane that he will die, and there's no cure. He asks Lane to find Morgan, instead of worrying about him.
• Jack of All Trades: Whitney can fulfill a variety of roles, depending on what is needed. She makes a decent tank, can use her abilities to deal heavy damage and disable her foes, and can heal her allies through First Aid or salves.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Many of the Guardians, but more specifically Rowena and Guardian Commander Wolfe. They each carry a title, wear heavy armour, are well-respected, and heroically fight to save their home from Malthael and his demons.
• Lady of Black Magic: Magister Vantessa is an experienced Cor Anaran Divinator, and has been working for Caellach the whole time.
• Lampshade Hanging: One of the students calls out Professor Denian's overly dramatic way of speaking.

  Student: Look at Professor Denian. She's so embarrassing.

• Large Ham: Almost all of Professor Denian's lines are over the top, dramatic, or some kind of verbosely unnecessary purple prose.
• Light/Darkness Juxtaposition: A few examples;
  • Rowena and Cormac, the married protectors of the castle. Llymayn grants Rowena holy powers, and Cormac is a mage proficient in dark magic.
  • Goldarion and Ivarin, the Eldyrian twins. Goldarion is associated with light, and Ivarin, darkness.
• Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards: Averted. While mages have spells that can affect all enemies, they must spend a round concentrating, first. Fighters can use any of their skills at any time, provided they are off cooldown.
• Light Is Good: Played straight and averted.
  • Holy magic is used mainly by Favoured of the more benevolent Gods, like Llymayn or Trestae. Those that act against their God's will become Fallen, and lose their powers.
  • Goldarion was an Ancient Eldyrian that was associated with light, but his desire for a pure, perfect society changed him so much that he murdered anyone that he saw as anything less. His brother eventually stopped him by binding their souls to crystals, but Goldarion had a failsafe; a shard of his essence that would become Malthael.
• Light 'em Up: Many Favoured in the game, including Rowena, use holy magic to attack. The enemy Bishops you fight are perhaps the biggest example of this trope. They can cast Light Ray, which deals heavy damage and may silence, and eventually Junar Flux, a spell that hits your entire party and may paralyze them.
• Light Is Not Good: Goldarion's desire for a pure, perfect society warped him so much that he killed anyone that he thought didn't live up to his ideals. A part of his soul, Malthael, is one of the final bosses of the game, and uses powerful light magic against you, some of which can cause instant death. Due to his presence, the room you fight him in is incredibly bright, but in a borderline uncomfortable way.
• Long-Range Fighter: Lane, Amber, Morgan, Karissa, Cormac, and Kody all possess staves that can attack at range.
• Lost Technology: The Ancient Eldyrian Spells are age-old magic possessed by a civilization that completely vanished centuries ago. These Spells can perform incredible feats modern magic can only dream of.
• Lotus-Eater Machine: In Act 3, a demon traps Morgan in a surreal dream, where she is back in the Academy. Everything after the attack never happened, and Teo is with her, still alive and well. The entire time, the demon is trying to implant one of Malthael's shards into Morgan's soul, which will result in her losing her soul to corruption.
• Love Confession: Both averted and played straight;
  • Teo didn't want to ruin his friendship with Morgan, so he couldn't muster up the courage to tell her that he loved her. Morgan loved him too, but was unable to voice her love for the same reason.
  • Before the final ascent to the castle, Lane confesses his love for Amber, realizing that he may not get a chance to do so, later. At the very end of the game, if your influence with Amber is high enough, Lane will even propose to her.
• Love Hurts: Played straight and averted.
  • Morgan and Teo both love each other, but are unable to voice their feelings. Later, during the attack on the Academy, Teo is fatally poisoned, and Morgan is heartbroken when she learns what happens. She cherishes their memories together and uses his memory to find the strength he always saw within her.
  • Irrena only joined Malthael's side because he promised that Caellach would love her again, which is all she's ever wanted. Caellach has become too drunk with power, but has a moment of clarity before he dies, remembering Irrena and realizing that everything he's done has only drove him away from her.
• MacGuffin: Averted. The crystals of light and darkness are actually the prisons of two Ancient Eldyrian brothers. One has already partially freed himself and is causing destruction, while the other must be freed in order to aid the city.
• Loyalty Mission: Semi-averted. There isn't a specific mission you do to gain character loyalty, but Amber and Morgan have a loyalty score that determines what ending you get for them.
• Magic Fire: Racaiah's fire consuming the Academy is so powerful that it can only be put out by an equally powerful mage, Magister Albrecht. Normal water has no effect on it whatsoever.
• Magical Incantation: All of the spells in the game require the mage to speak Eldyr while casting them. This is because the words draw energy from the Weave into the real world, allowing the spell to take effect.
• Magical Land: The Weave, the source of all magic. It's an otherworldly plane that is composed of energy and the elements.
• Magic Is Feminine: Averted. There are far more male than female mages present. Vantessa, for example, is the only female Magister in the game. For the males, there are Kei, Daniel, Nathanias, Cormac, and Eoren.
• Magic Knight: Morgan, a Magi Knight, can wield an epee, as well as fire and ice magic. Rowena can be seen as one, too, since she can call down a beam of light to attack her foes, or empower her blade with divine energy, all while wearing heavy armour and wielding a warhammer.
• Magic Wand: All mages carry staves. This is because the staff contains a crystal that serves as a bridge between the mortal world and the Weave, allowing spells to cross over and take effect.
• Mana: Spell Energy.
• Mana Potion: Arcane Salves recover Spell Energy.
• Manipulative Bastard: Caellach. He pretends to be a weak, spineless coward, but he manages to trick Malthael into giving him too much power.
• Meaningful Name: Rowena's name means happiness, which relates to her positive outlook.
• Meganekko: Amber.
• Mentor in Sour Armor: Professor Henries can be rude and condescending, but he's preparing his students for the world outside the Academy, which is incredibly dangerous and not always kind.
• Men Are the Expendable Gender: Averted. There are male and female Guardians, Magisters, priests, civilians, and students, and many of them fight to save Guinevere.
• Military Mage: The Magisters, the King and Queen's royal mages, are all incredibly powerful and aid the Guardians, the city's military forces.
• Mirror Match: In Act 2, Rowena has to battle illusions of Cormac and Kody.
• Mighty Glacier: Guardian Commander Wolfe has one of the lowest Agility ratings of all of the playable characters, and is the most susceptible to magic, but he deals heavy physical damage, especially if he uses his Blademaster skill.
• Modular Epilogue: Each character has an ending section devoted to them, which changes based on how you've played the game.
• Moral Dilemma: One of the biggest themes of the game is the extent of redemption and forgiveness.
  • Kody struggles with forgiving himself for cheating on his wife, and even considers suicide. He also struggles with deciding to betray Rowena and her friends, or helping them, instead. Depending on what you say, he can start on the path to forgiving himself, and at the end, hints at trying to reconnect with his daughter, or fight you alongside his demonic master.
  • Depending on your choices, Rowena can talk Malthael down, proving that he, too, can be forgiven. By doing so, his battle is avoided, and he admits defeat and reunites with his brother.
• Multiple Endings: The fate of the city is always the same, but each character's fate can have a radically different outcome based on your choices.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Averted. Rowena will always try to talk someone down, especially if they are an ex-Guardian or someone she knows. If they refuse to surrender, then she prepares for battle.
• Mysterious Parent: Lane says that his parents died when he was young, and he never knew them. Later, it's revealed that his mother is alive, yet imprisoned, and she uses dreams to communicate with him.
• Mysterious Woman: Whitney. She never reveals her goals, does things others cannot, and knows quite a bit of Eldyrian lore, despite being a Guardian of the castle with no real interest in books and studying. In the end, she's actually a sending of Ycantha; a magical construct sent by her goddess to protect Guinevere.
• Nay-Theist: Cormac doesn't actively worship any of the Gods, but he doesn't deny Their existence, either. When Rowena, Kody, and Justan are praying for a blessing, Cormac remains silent, but acknowledges that he feels Llymayn's power affecting him, afterwards.
• Never Got to Say Goodbye: Teo and Morgan love each other, but Teo dies rescuing Lane during the attack on the Academy, so they never get to voice their feelings.
• Nice Guy: Guardian Commander Wolfe. He's brave, kind, strong, and cares about the Guardians in his service, and the students of the Academy. He refuses to sit idle while they need help, and actively rescues them.
• Nightmare Sequence: At the start of Act 2, Rowena experiences a surreal nightmare where various demons confront her about her past. She must face her mistakes, and make a choice at the end. Depending on your choice, Rowena may die as a result.
• No Hero Discount: The shopkeepers are well aware there is a city-wide crisis going on, but their prices remain unchanged.
• Non-Lethal K.O.: Rowena mentions that the enemies the party faces are only knocked out. Malthael tries to convince her otherwise at one point.
• No One Gets Left Behind: Lane can rescue all eight students that need his help during the Academy's attack. The achievement that unlocks for doing so even says No one was left behind. Additionally, after Teo is poisoned, he tells Lane that the poison will kill him, but Lane tries to carry him to a healer, regardless.
• Not Himself: Guardian Commander Wolfe can sense that something is wrong with Professor Luvari and Joran. They're being mentally controlled.
• Notice This: Important library books are illuminated by yellow sparkles. The one necessary to continue the storyline is green, to separate it from the others.
• Not So Stoic: Cormac is usually calm and reserved, but whenever he talks about his studies, magic, or his wife, his emotions are on full display.
• Now or Never Kiss: Lane kisses Amber and professes his love for her before they head up the King's Road. Throughout the game, Morgan tells Lane that he shouldn't hold back his feelings, because he may not get another chance to voice them.
• Nuke 'em: In Act 3, Malthael rains flame and ash down upon Guinevere in his attempt to destroy it.
• Older Is Better: Modern spells are said to be temporary, unless the mage casting them is incredibly powerful. The Ancient Eldyrian Spells from the past can allow one to teleport, alter the fabric of time, and even bring someone back from death.
• Old Magic: The Ancient Eldyrian Spells have mostly been lost to time, are cast by speaking an ancient language, and require many reagents.
• One-Hit Kill: Some high level abilties and spells can do this, most notably Lane's Asphyxiation and Cormac's Finger of Death.
• Pals with Jesus: Favoured, mortals blessed with powers granted by the Gods, occasionally speak with Them. Rowena talks to Llymayn once in the journey.
• Parents in Distress: Amber and her friends rescue her parents from Malthael's clutches.
• Parting-Words Regret:Teo asks Lane to tell Morgan that he loved her. Lane tries to carry him to a healer, but Teo's poison is too strong, and he perishes.
• Percent Damage Attack: Lane's Asphyxiation spell will reduce an enemy's health by half if it fails to instantly kill them.
• Perfect Play A.I.: The AI is generally designed to be this. Usually, enemies will not target someone for status effects if they are immune to them, only heal those that are injured, and focus on causing as much damage as they can.
• Personality Powers: Lane is a Wind Adept, and is free-spirited and doesn't care for rules. Rowena uses holy magic, and is kind and protective. Cormac uses dark magic, and is interested in gaining knowledge of the past.
• Plot Armor: Both played straight and averted. Lane and Amber are the only main characters that will survive, regardless. Morgan, Cormac, and Rowena can all die depending on the choices you make, and Teo and Whitney die no matter what.
• Plucky Girl: Morgan loses the man she loves, sees her fellow students die in front of her, finds out her biggest dream will never come true, and stops a demon from corrupting her soul, but still remains kind, optimistic, and brave.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Two characters fit the bill;
  • Professor Denian is comically long-winded whenever she talks, lies in a ridiculous manner that no one would believer her in, and sucks up to anyone in power. Despite this, she is guarding the escape route of the Academy and is orchestrating the Academy's recovery effort as acting Headmistress.
  • Whitney is very lighthearted, takes only a few things seriously, and loves teasing Cormac, much to his annoyance. She enjoys making sarcastic jokes from time to time, too.
• Proud to Be a Geek: Averted and played straight. When Cormac and Rowena are looking at items in Rin's shop, Cormac becomes embarrassed at how much he likes the magical trinkets. Later, when Cormac, Whitney, and Rowena are in the temple of Llymayn, he becomes extremely interested in a book they find, and expresses his happiness with glee.
• Precursors: The Ancient Eldyrians were a technologically and magically advanced civilization that has all but vanished, leaving only their ruins and powerful Spells behind.
• Prefers the Illusion: Optional, based on your choices. In Act 3, Morgan is sent into a dream-like state, while a demon is trying to implant a shard into her soul. In the dream, she sees a happier alternate world, where she is in the Academy, reunited with Teo. Depending on your choices, Morgan will regret leaving the illusion behind, and accept it as preferable to real life. If she does so, the shard is bound within her, and she can potentially die at the end.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: Professor Denian will say anything to make herself look better in front of people of higher rank, even if that involves lying profusely.
• Psychic Powers: Sylar gains the powers of a Cipher, a mage that can alter the minds of others. He uses these powers to enslave people and force them to attack the main characters. Later, if Sylar is pardoned by the High Magister, he will use these newfound powers to protect the people of Guinevere from the demons.
• Pure Energy: Force is said to be energy drawn straight from the Weave, and doesn't include any of the elements. It is magic in its purest form.
• Pyromaniac: Racaiah takes a great deal of enjoyment from setting the Academy on fire.
• Quirky Bard: Karissa can perform many buffs that aid her party, but isn't bad at attack and defense, either. She serves as a decent tank, at least before Guardian Commander Wolfe joins you.
• Razor Wind: Lane, a Wind Adept, uses wind magic to fight. His Wind Blade spell is the biggest example of this trope.
• Really Royalty Reveal: Amber is actually the daughter of King Uriel and Queen Lowangen. The royal couple asked the noble Aveyonde family to adopt and take care of her from a young age, in order for her to find her own passions and way in life.
• Rebellious Spirit: Lane is frustrated with the strict schedule and rules of the Academy of Magic. As a result, he gets upset with difficult professors and sneaks into places he isn't supposed to be in.
• Recruited from the Gutter: Years ago, Rowena and her allies liberated Cormac from slavery. From that moment on, he fell in love with her, and they've been inseperable ever since.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Lane is passionate, rebellious, and defiant. Amber is calm, intelligent, and follows the rules.
• Robe and Wizard Hat: Most of the mages in the game wear robes, and Professor Denian wears a blue hat.
• Rousing Speech: After Amber is rescued from being a hostage, she is roused out of her despair by Lane, who says that she's done much for others.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: King Uriel casts the Spell of Sealing, destroying Malthael, and Queen Lowangen protects him so he can do so.
• Ruins for Ruins' Sake: Averted. The Ancient Eldyrian ruin hidden below the Academy of Magic is actually a vault safeguarding the world from the crystal of darkness, which holds Ivarin's soul.
• Ruling Couple: King Uriel and Queen Lowangen are the rulers of Guinevere, and are very much in love with each other.
• Sacred Flames: Kody's Divine Conflagration spell deals fire damage to an entire row of enemies, and burns them afterwards.
• Save the Villain: Rowena attempts to do this quite a bit across the adventure.
  • She manages to talk Irrena out of following Malthael, once the shard within her is destroyed. Irrena regains Llymayn's Favour and treats injured citizens of Guinevere afterwards.
  • She can inspire hope within Kody, which makes him turn against his demonic master and fight on your side.
  • She can even make Malthael realize the error of his ways, causing him to surrender.
• Slave Liberation: Years before the events of the game, Rowena rescued Cormac from his life aboard a slaver barge.
• Series Goal: The heroes must save the city of Guinevere by defeating a powerful entity from the past.
• Shattering the Illusion: Optional, based on your choices. In Act 3, Morgan is sent into a dream-like state, while a demon is trying to implant a shard into her soul. In the dream, she sees a happier alternate world, where she is in the Academy, reunited with Teo. Depending on your choices, Morgan will realize that this isn't the real world, and despite wanting to be with Teo again, she can't ignore her friends that need her. Morgan leaves the dream, stops her captor, and destroys the shard, saving her friends in the process.
• Shields Are Useless: Averted. Shields increase Evasion, making it easier for Rowena to dodge attacks completely.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Professor Luvari, a Bishop of Vea, is in a loving relationship with Guardian Commander Wolfe, who is headstrong, brave, and just.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Cormac and Amber, experts in Eldyrian lore and magic, both wear glasses.
• Spell Blade: Morgan's Flame Blade and Rowena's Righteous Blows.
• Spell Book: There are grimoires you can find throughout the game, and all of them increase the bearer's proficiency with magic.
• Spell Levels: Each Power Level in the game grants 2 abilities or spells. Higher level spells cost more Spell Energy, but have stronger effects.
• Spin Attack: Whitney's Radial Spin ability.
• Staring Down Cthulhu: Rowena can talk Malthael down without having to raise her hammer against him.
• Squishy Wizard: Every mage in the game is fairly fragile. Even Morgan, who can take a bit more hits, thanks to her Shield of the Magi, isn't wholly exempt from this.
• Summon Magic: Caellach can summon umi, spirits composed of water.
• Superboss:
  • Racaiah, an Elementalist, is the optional boss of Act 1. She is fought alongside two allies, and uses strong area of effect fire and ice damage. To make matters worse, she can even paralyze an entire row of your party at once.
  • The demon at the start of Act 2, Betrayal, may seem impossible to win, but you must beat him in order to see Rowena's best ending. Even by playing perfectly, Betrayal's fight has chance involved, based on when he casts Dispel to remove your buffs. He could arguably be the toughest fight in the game, so much so that the hardest difficulty setting doesn't even increase his strength.
  • Ichiro, a Guardian betrayer, along with his group (including a mage specializing death magic, a healer that can revive the fallen, and a monk that can damage and disable the entire party) is the optional boss of Act 3.
• Supernatural Suffocation: Lane's Asphyxiation spell causes his target to stop breathing.
• Take My Hand!: Rowena offers Annabelle her hand, in order to save her from falling to her doom, below.
• Supernatural Fear Inducer: Cormac's spell, Nightmare, makes one enemy cower in fear for three rounds.
• Talking the Monster to Death: Rowena can forgive Malthael and talk him down, avoiding his final battle. He surrenders, reconnects with his brother via an apology, and together, they accept eternal peace.
• Teleport Spam: Averted. Teleporting is an incredibly rare and difficult thing to do. Teleporting more than once without resting can actually cause death, due it being so draining.
• Temple of Doom: The Temple of Llymayn has slowly fallen into corruption due to Goldarion's energy emanating from the crystal of light. Many of the priests and worshippers have fallen into corruption, and most of them aren't even aware of it. After Cormac casts the Spell of Entrapment, the crystal of light's power is greatly reduced, restoring the temple to its former glory.
• The Almighty Dollar: Ycantha is the Goddess of commerce, trade, and self-fulfillment.
• The Archmage: High Magister Kei is the leader of the Magisters, King Uriel and Queen Lowangen's royal mages.
• The Dragon: Originally this appears to be Caellach, posing as a weak-willed follower of Malthael, but it's later revealed that he has always been in control, and he used Malthael's arrogance against him to grant him incredible power. Malthael's destiny is ultimately to be defeated by the royal family, and afterwards, Caellach would drown the royal family and take the credit of Malthael's defeat for himself.
• The Hero: The game doesn't possess a single main character, since all of the playable characters get their own time to shine. Many of the non-player characters are heroes in their own right, too.
  • Lane frees Ivarin from his crystal prison, allowing him to empower many of the Guardians and the city's citizens with strength to fight against the demons. Also, it is he (alone, depending on your decisions) that defeats Caellach.
  • Amber destroys the barrier sealing the castle from the rest of the city, allowing her and her friends to rescue the royal family.
  • Morgan saves her friends from a demon that has imprisoned them. She fights a dangerous illusion, wakes up, and defeats the demon before it can take control of her.
  • Whitney takes the crystals of light and darkness to Uriel, so he can perform the Spell of Sealing, which destroys Malthael and frees the city of his influence.
  • Rowena leads her friends in their journey to save the city, and tries to protect others as much as she can. She faces many obstacles that try to take control of her or cause her to lose faith, but she remains strong and perseveres.
  • Cormac casts the Spell of Entrapment, which greatly halts the power Malthael has over the city, at the cost of his own life.
  • Kody is maintaining a powerful ward on the corrupted temple of Llymayn, which slows the amount of Malthael's influence that escapes into the city. He also faces down a demon, which allows Rowena and her friends to enter the temple's inner sanctum.
  • Uriel casts the Spell of Sealing, which destroys Malthael and frees Guinevere from his clutches.
  • Lowangen and Kei potentially sacrifice their lives as they protect Uriel from Malthael while he casts the Spell of Sealing.
  • Magisters Albrecht and Kellan fight alongside the Guardians, helping them defend the campsite so Lane and his friends can ascend the King's Road without being attacked from behind.
  • Guardian Commander Wolfe protects the students and teachers of the Academy, and works with them to get people to safety. He refuses to sit idle while his people are in danger.
  • Irrena is forgiven by Llymayn, regaining Her Favour, helps Kody power his ward sealing the temple, and spends time treating the injured that journey to the temple for aid.
  • Sylar uses his newfound powers granted by Malthael to fight alongside the Guardians, protecting them and Guinevere.
• The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: Mostly averted. Most enemies have the same health and spell energy totals as the heroes, use salves or the Recover skill to recharge, and work around this limit, much like the player would.
• The Dark Arts: Dark magic is thought by many to be evil. Whether it truly is one of the themes of the game.
• The Hero's Idol: During his difficult childhood, Cormac would read stories about various Cor Anaran mages. He grew to see them as heroes, and their deeds inspired him to keep his hopes up. Towards the middle of Act 2, he meets one of his childhood idols and has a conversation with him.
• The Idealist: Many of the characters show traits of this, but Rowena is the biggest example. She faces down incredible odds, survives demons trying to brainwash her several times, and never gives up, all because she believes in herself and loves her Goddess, her family and friends, and her home. Additionally, if you choose to play her a certain way, her belief in forgiveness can be so strong that she forgives the demigod destroying the city, which makes him surrender.
• The Leader: Lane during Act 1, and Rowena through the rest of the game. Rowena is a courageous Guardian working for the royal family, and will stop at nothing to rescue them.
• The Magocracy: Cor Anara is exclusively ruled by power-hungry mages, and those without magical talent are treated as second-class citizens.
• The Medic: Whitney. As a Halberdier, she possesses the ability First Aid, and is a fair damage dealer.
• The Nicknamer: Whitney. She calls Cormac Books because he loves to study.
• The Quest: Save the city of Guinevere from a powerful demigod and his demonic allies.
• Turn-Based Combat: Battles take place in rounds, where characters take action according to their Agility rating.
• Tornado Move: Lane's Tornado spell.
• Took a Level in Badass: Lane, Amber, and Morgan, after Ivarin grants them power in order to save Guinevere.
• Tragic Hero: Caellach is a villainous example. Originally, all he wanted was to rule a city where those that followed him and his father's ideals would be safe. However, he went about it completely the wrong way.
• Useless Useful Spell: Averted. Every spell in the game is useful at least once. Even an enemy in the second to last fight of the game can be slain instantly with Lane's Asphyxiation.
• Villainous Lineage: Caellach is the son of the Warlord, the villain that tried to conquer Guinevere at the start of the game.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Caellach was a faithful of Llymayn, and many people still know him as such. Additionally, he has rallied people to his ideals, and says that he wants to rule Guinevere because King Uriel and Queen Lowangen are misguided, and he wants better for them.
• Video Game Stealing: Averted. Rowena will actively refuse to take other peoples' belongings.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Caellach only wants a city where his people are safe. He's willing to summon a demigod from ancient times, ally with thousands of demons, and murder countless Guineverian citizens in order to do so.
• White Magic: Most spells cast by Favoured cleanse, treat the wounds of, and empower others.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Cormac is incredibly afraid of water and boats, having sworn previously that he'd never board one again. It's revealed later that he was a slave growing up, confined for years aboard a slaver barge. Being on a boat again made him relive his memories.
• Zerg Rush: Some of the enslaved citizens in the temple will rush at you, to horrifying effect.

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