Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

"When frost doth grow on Claves' bell And shadows walk upon the road When water blackens in the well Three Swords must come again. When Bukken from the earth do creep And Hunën from the heights descend When Nightmare throttles peaceful sleep Three Swords must come again. To turn the stride of treading Fate To clear the fogging Mists of Time If Early shall resist too Late Three Swords must come again. -- Nisses, Du Svardenvyrd"

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is a High Fantasy novel written by Tad Williams, comprising three volumes: The Dragonbone Chair, The Stone of Farewell and To Green Angel Tower. The latter volume was broken up into two separate books in its paperback release.

The story is set on the mythical continent of Osten Ard, a fairly Standard Fantasy Setting in which humans are the dominant race after centuries of struggle against the elf-like Sithi, troll/dwarf/Eskimo crossover Qanuc, and various other creatures. Beneath the surface, however, ancient magics are stirring as the undead Storm King nears the culmination of a 500-year long plan to return to power. The key to defeating the Storm King's plan involves three magical swords (the titular Memory, Sorrow and Thorn), which must be found and brought together if his threat is to be averted... or so it appears.

The plot mainly follows young Seoman (Simon), an orphan and kitchen boy in the Hayholt, capital of Erkynland, who mopes around, avoids chores, and dreams of a heroic life. Of course, The Call Knows Where You Live, and he is rapidly embroiled in Hero's Journey, which he finds out the hard way isn't as glamorous as the stories. Along the way, he befriends members of various races, rescues a Rebellious Princess, slays (pretty much) a dragon, searches for the three swords, fights in battles, is knighted, and finally embarks on a journey back to the Hayholt in a desperate bid to disrupt the Storm King's plan.

There is also a rather spectacularly large number of secondary characters and plot lines, which are responsible for the size of the books. On the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism, the story falls somewhere in the middle: Anyone Can Die, characters get Killed Off for Real with depressing regularity, and the main characters seem to be the focus of all the suffering that the author can imagine throwing at them. Yet what slim hope there is of victory may owe more to The Power of Love than strength of arms.

The character sheet is here.

"Cadrach: "You saw them, Princess. They were there.""
 * Alas, Poor Villain: Invoked. A core theme of the novel; in the end nearly all the villains are revealed to be sympathetic to a degree and these revelations are discussed by the characters. The few entirely unsympathetic villains, by contrast, get horrible Karmic Deaths and are uniformly reviled—nobody misses Fengbald or Skali, for example.
 * All Deaths Final: Failing to accept this is what drives Elias into Pryrates' clutches.
 * All Trolls Are Different: The Qanuc, who seem to have a lot in common appearance-wise with hobbits, looking like humans in every way besides height.
 * All Your Base Are Belong to Us: All of the good human kingdoms have been captured or subverted by the end of the first book.
 * And the Adventure Continues...: Discussed by the characters when Aditu bestows a prophecy over Josua and Vorzheva's twins. Just because everyone's in the middle of a grand adventure doesn't mean there won't be more things happening in Osten Ard after it's over.
 * Anyone Can Die: And they do. In droves.
 * Apron Matron: Rachel, headmistress of the Hayholt, who has earned the nickname "The Dragon" for her strictness. Simon is her "favorite" disciplinary case.
 * The Archer: Miriamele's weapon of choice is the bow. Some humor comes from the contrast between her archery skills and Simon's, who self-deprecatingly claims to be able to "hit a cow at ten paces."
 * Aristocrats Are Evil: Straight cases -- King Elias (bad), Duke Isgrimnur (good). Aversions -- Count Eolair (good). Duke Skali (bad). It goes all over the place, in fact; one of the major themes is that royal blood alone does not make a good person. Not only that, but the question is often raised as to what, exactly, constitutes "royal" blood.
 * Ascended Extra: Williams himself commented that he originally wrote Cadrach as a one-off character who would play no further part in the story after his (brief) initial appearance. Williams found the character he'd created intriguing and decided to bring Cadrach back, and he ends up being a fairly important player in the story.
 * Attending Your Own Funeral: does this, and even wryly comments on how everybody should have the opportunity.
 * Badass Bookworm: Notably averted, in that Smart Guy characters like Strangyeard and Tiamak are explicitly told to keep out of the fighting, and do for the most part. Ironically, this leads to a Not Now, Kiddo moment in the final battle. Straight examples can be found in the original members of the League of the Scroll—both Jarnauga and Morgenes get dangerous in their respective Heroic Sacrifices. The founder of the League, Ealhstan Fiskerne, was both a king and a scholar, owned the sword Minneyar, and was killed fighting a dragon.
 * Badass Normal: Camaris and King Prester John were the two greatest heroes of their age, dominating any field of battle they entered. Even decades later and after a Heroic BSOD, Camaris is still stronger than a half-dozen other men, which puts him about even with a Sithi warrior.
 * Beneath the Earth: The tunnels beneath the Hayholt, including the ruins of Asu'a, are an important plot element as well as a component of Simon's journey.
 * Berserker Tears: Simon, after, leading to his Heroic BSOD.
 * BFS: Thorn is described as being unusually large and heavy, so that only a very strong man can wield it. The other two swords are more conventionally sized.
 * Big Bad: The Storm King, Ineluki.
 * Big Damn Heroes: A staple of the series. Binabik plays this role for Simon on too many occasions to list, Simon himself does it for Jiriki and Miriamele, and even Cadrach gets his moments.
 * The Big Guy: Duke Isgrimnur, in most of his scenes, fills this role. Camaris is this trope embodied.
 * Big No: Isgrimnur is not happy when.
 * Bittersweet Ending: For many characters, but Count Eolair especially drives this one home.
 * Blood Knight: King Prester John rejoiced in battle, laughing amid the slaughter of his foes, and frequently rode out to face his most dangerous enemies heedless of the odds. This is set in stark contrast to Camaris, who regarded every death by his hands as a stain on his soul.
 * Cain and Abel: Elias and Josua, right down to the former attempting to use the latter as a sacrifice to seal his Deal with the Devil.
 * Calvin Ball: The Sithi game of Shent.
 * Can't Argue with Elves: The Sithi have a centuries long enmity with humans and many of them are quite vocal about it. Most humans live in superstitious fear of them, and those who don't tend to carry some old grudges, so it's pretty understandable.
 * Card-Carrying Villain: Pryrates.
 * The Chains of Commanding: Prince Josua in a nutshell; also Camaris.
 * Chair Reveal: Used when Simon stumbles on inside Hjeldin's tower.
 * Character Development: The focus of the story is Simon's development into a hero, but many other characters get this as well. In fact, Simon's development is lampshaded by the return of boyhood friend Jeremias, who points out just how far Simon has come.
 * Chekhov's Gun: The White Arrow. Deornoth being called the "Prince's Right Hand". Simon's dragon-blood scar.
 * The Chessmaster: Utuk'ku, the Norn Queen, has been scheming to get her revenge on mortals and her Sithi rivals for thousands of years. She's even depicted as a spider in her web, manipulating the strands of her various plots.
 * Clingy MacGuffin: The three swords - it's very hard to get rid of one if it doesn't want to be rid of you.
 * Collapsing Lair: Green Angel Tower.
 * Comet of Doom: The Conqueror Star, said to herald the rise and fall of kingdoms. It appeared over the death of Usires Aedon, the fall of Asu'a, and the end of King John's reign, and its final appearance plays a role in the climax.
 * Coming of Age Story: Simon's, and to an extent, Miriamele's as well.
 * The Commies Made Me Do It: The "traitorous" captive townsfolk at the battle of the Stone of Farewell.
 * Compelling Voice: One of Pryrates' uses of the Art is to mentally compel people to do his bidding, even when he doesn't know exactly where they are. Simon nearly falls into this trap on several occasions, saved only because the priest keeps getting distracted.
 * Cool Chair: The Dragonbone Chair, which is Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
 * Cool Horse: Sithi horses, which are bred for endurance, speed, and overall awesomeness.
 * Cool Sword: Three of 'em, oddly enough.
 * Convenient Decoy Cat: A grey cat that lives in the Hayholt saves Simon when he's trapped in a cellar by Pryrates, by offering itself as a distraction. The cat makes several appearances later in the story.
 * Creator Breakdown: Williams went through a divorce during the writing of the third novel, and openly admitted to being tempted to write a Kill'Em All ending.
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Camaris, the most powerful knight in Osten Ard, becomes this after his Heroic BSOD and apparent suicide. When awakened from his simpleminded state, he picks the Badass mantle right up again, along with some Shell Shocked Senior baggage.
 * Cry for the Devil: The Storm King's tragic Backstory becomes a crucial element at the climax.
 * Crystal Dragon Jesus: Averted with the religion of Usires Aedon, a clear Fantasy Counterpart Culture version of Christianity.
 * Cue the Flying Pigs: Miriamele swears that she will only trust Cadrach again "when the stars shine at midday." Cue his.

"Unknown Sithi: "Do not utter the words. You will summon Unbeing!""
 * Dangerous Forbidden Technique:
 * Ineluki learned one of these, if not several, in his search for power. His use of one in an attempt to destroy the human armies invading Asu'a is what killed him.

"Ineluki: From sorrow have you come, and sorrow you have brought with you. Sorrow shall be your name."
 * Pryrates picks up a few too, including the Words of Changing and the Words of Unmaking. They'd have worked fine if he hadn't tried to use them.
 * Deader Than Dead: What apparently happens to those touched by Unbeing.
 * Demonic Possession: Unsealing the Storm King requires that his spirit have a physical host to inhabit. Guess who gets to be the lucky victim?.
 * Demoted to Extra: Sludig is one of Simon's primary traveling companions and a major character in the second book; in the third, he's Put on a Bus for most of the story and doesn't get much face time when he does come back. He even Lampshades it one point by complaining about being ignored.
 * Determinator: The Norns, who perform such feats as pulling themselves up the sword that's impaling them in order to kill its wielder. Ingen Jegger, a Black Rimmersman working for the Norns, embodies this trope perhaps more than any other character, dragging himself in pursuit of Simon's party on shattered legs and crushed ribs and somehow managing to crawl back to Stormspike after the confrontation on the ice mountain.
 * Dirty Coward: The scoundrel monk, Cadrach. Considering what he's gone through, however, it's a miracle he's still (questionably) sane. Miriamele takes on the task of reforming him and is rewarded in the end.
 * Doorstopper: All the novels, but most especially the third, whose hardcover edition is over a thousand pages and had to be split into two separate novels for the paperback release—each of which is over 800 pages long.
 * The Dragon:
 * Pryrates, to Elias. He tries to be this for the Storm King too, but, well...
 * The Storm King has his own band of Dragons (though they're not unique enough to be a Quirky Miniboss Squad), in the form of the Red Hand. They were his companions in life and are now undead like him, though rather less powerful. Only one of them is named, as part of a ritual--the Duke of the Black Wind.
 * Dramatis Personae: Made necessary by the Loads and Loads of Characters.
 * Dreaming of Things to Come: The Road of Dreams is a powerful mystical component of the world of Osten Ard, where things beyond ordinary perception are revealed. Practitioners of the Art can enter it at will, bringing others with them. Prophetic dreams are handed out all over the place, but of course not all of them are entirely trustworthy.
 * Dying as Yourself:
 * Earn Your Happy Ending: Played about as straight as it comes. Osten Ard is left in ruins by the depredations of Elias and the Storm King; even if they are defeated it'll be a long, hard road back to anything approaching normalcy.
 * Elite Mooks: The Norns themselves, certainly in relation to human soldiers.
 * Emergency Impersonation: The heroes' army uses Body Doubles for the final battle to hide the fact that Prince Josua and Camaris have both gone into the Hayholt via the tunnels, both for the enemy's benefit and to boost the morale of their troops. Although the ruse does work,.
 * Emotion Bomb: The Storm King and the Red Hand emanate an aura of fear sufficient to drive most mortals mad.
 * Empathic Weapon: The three swords, in a creepy and subversive way. They have the ability to manipulate people around them to get where they want to go.
 * Eureka Moment: See Oh Crap, below.
 * Evil Chancellor: Pryrates, along with Evil Gloating and Evil Sorcerer. In fact, he pretty much deserves his own section composed entirely of Villain tropes.
 * Evil Is Cold: Cold, along with fear, are the Storm King's primary weapons.
 * Evil Is Not a Toy, The Starscream: Pryrates hopes to use the power he was granted by the Storm King to.
 * Evil Weapon: Minneyar and Thorn, while definitely dangerous, are not explicitly evil. Sorrow, on the other hand, deserves its name; merely touching it can be enough to destroy a mortal's soul.
 * Exact Words: The Storm King promised that Pryrates would be "first among mortals."
 * The Fair Folk: The Sithi are the Chaotic Good version, while the Norns partake of the Exclusively Evil aspect.
 * Fake Ultimate Hero:
 * Fantasy Axis of Evil: Norns, Hunën, Bukken, the Red Hand.
 * Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Almost every single human nation is one of these, from the Nabbanai (Renaissance Italy) to the Wrannamen (Aborigines). The Qanuc are a mashup of Inuit culture with All Trolls Are Different and the Sithi have a pinch of Japanese to a good helping of The Fair Folk. Fortunately, no real life human culture is anything like the Norns.
 * Fantastic Racism: Rimmersgarders and trolls do not get along.
 * Faustian Rebellion: Subverted in that
 * Five Races: Humans, Sithi, Trolls, Dwarrows/Niskies (although technically the same race).
 * For Doom the Bell Tolls: The phantom bells that ring in Green Angel tower during the summoning ritual.
 * Functional Magic: The Art generally falls into a mix of Rule Magic and Wild Magic.
 * Giant Mooks: Hunën, brutish giants that the Norns are allied with.
 * "Glad to Be Alive" Sex: Technically,, although it's a few days later after everyone's had a chance to rest a bit.
 * Go Mad from the Revelation: The monk and scholar Cadrach loses all hope after reading Du Svardenvyrd, and many minor characters go stark raving mad after being touched by the Storm King.
 * Gotta Catch Them All: "Three Swords must come again." One of the Driving Questions of the story is how to get all three swords together, as the heroes have one, the villains have another, and the whereabouts of the third is unknown.
 * Groin Attack:
 * Hearing Voices: Liable to happen to anyone wandering the bowels of Asu'a.
 * Heroic BSOD: Simon, after . Also Camaris, in his backstory, explaining why he disappeared for so long.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:, in the Collapsing Lair.
 * Heroic Willpower: Particularly exercised by Simon in Inch's dungeon, and notably inverted when it turns out that
 * Hidden Elf Village: After Ineluki's "death" and the fall of Asu'a, the remaining Sithi retreated to the forest city of Jao é-Tinukai'i and tried to remain aloof from mortal affairs. Simon's arrival sets in motion the chain of events that finally breaks the Sithi's isolation.
 * Hidden Villain: Ineluki, for much of the first book.
 * Hitchhiker Heroes: Simon's encounters in the first book with the characters who become his friends and companions pretty much fit this trope to a tee, although it's subverted in Binabik's case when we find out that he was specifically told to look for Simon.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: Inch gets his clothing caught in the waterworks he used as a torture device, ending in the textual equivalent of a Gory Discretion Shot.
 * Hope Spot: Miriamele's lucky shot that appears to . He gets better, and disturbingly quickly.
 * Horned Humanoid: The Storm King appears this way when he manifests, which is an echo of his living past when he briefly wore a crown of antlers as the King of the Sithi. This is the artist's rendering of Ineluki that Simon sees in Morgenes' book, and it is an image that haunts him until the finale.
 * Humans Are the Real Monsters: The justification for the Storm King's plan to destroy humanity.
 * I Call It Vera: Naming one's personal weapons seems to be a tradition in the story, whether they have any particular powers or not. The Three Swords are examples of Named Weapons, since they're renowned throughout the world.
 * In the Blood: Characterization seems very strongly to pass from father to son in Osten Ard, even when the father in question never knew or raised his child. Elias' recklessness, Simon's heroism, Josua's ...
 * I Owe You My Life: The Sitha prince Jiriki owes a life debt to Simon after the latter rescues him from a human hunter. They trade this favor back and forth throughout the story.
 * Kansas City Shuffle: The Storm King and Utuk'ku employ all the elements of misdirection at their command to prevent the heroes from figuring out how the Three Swords are actually supposed to be used.
 * Karmic Death: Also, . And Inch, for that matter; see Hoist by His Own Petard.
 * Kick the Dog: In Simon's first encounter with Pryrates, the evil priest literally crushes a puppy to death beneath his boot. Gee, are we supposed to think that he's a bad guy?
 * The Lady's Favour: Miriamele gives Simon her scarf, and he keeps it almost to the very end; this is what finally makes Miramele realize he loves her.
 * Left-Justified Fantasy Map: Osten Ard is a textbook example with ocean to the west and vast unexplored territory to the east.
 * Little Hero, Big War: Defines Simon throughout most of the story. His Character Development is largely focused on growing into his responsibilities, which of course sets him up for his at the end.
 * Living Legend: Seoman Snowlock by the end, who travels the length and breadth of Osten Ard; discovers a lost blade of legend, slays a dragon, is a hero of the Battle of the Stone of Farewell, befriends the Sithi, is bound on a Wheel of Pain, . Aditu even has some fun adding to his legend to scare a girl Simon was kissing.
 * Load-Bearing Boss: Combined with No Ontological Inertia, it seems that the Storm King's power is all that has been holding Green Angel Tower together for all those centuries..
 * Loads and Loads of Characters
 * Locked Into Strangeness: A lock of Simon's hair is permanently turned white after being burned by the blood of a dragon; it results in him being called "Simon Snowlock".
 * Love Redeems: Both Simon and Miriamele's respective abilities to love their ultimate foes are critical to the climax.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father: It goes a long way toward explaining the Cain and Abel nature of Josua and Elias' relationship.
 * MacGuffin Delivery Service: Also, Cadrach, in the backstory, by delivering Du Svardenvyrd to Pryrates.
 * Made of Indestructium: The three swords, of course. Only the Words of Unmaking can undo what was wrought with the Words of Making.
 * Magical Native American: Binabik, sort of. More like a Magical Eskimo, but the basic idea of the trope still applies. Tiamak is a variation in that what makes him distinctive is that he's gained a "modern" education but is still presumed to be a savage because of his race.
 * Magic Mirror: The Sithi employ a variety of magical artifacts to enter the Dream Road, mirrors being a favorite. Simon gets one from Jiriki and uses it to call for help on more than one occasion. It also ends up being a subverted Chekhov's Gun when Simon and Miriamele are trapped by the Storm King's cultists; rather than call for help,
 * Maintain the Lie: King Prester John, renowned throughout the land as the killer of a great dragon, dies of old age without ever revealing his secret: . This lie overshadows the entire plot and sets up The Reveal that . It's also why he persecuted the Sithi so much - he suspected them of knowing his secret, and the resulting enmity causes the Sithi to wait until almost too late to intervene in the war.
 * The Man Behind the Man: Throughout the majority of the novels, the protagonists think that King Elias is the one driving the war. Turns out it was Pryrates all along, in cahoots with the Storm King. Elias was simply the Unwitting Pawn.
 * A Man Is Not a Virgin: Being a young man, Simon spends a fair bit of time attempting to get laid, with no success, and at times it seems that Fate itself is conspiring against him.
 * Mentor Occupational Hazard: The Storm King's minions intentionally hunt down and destroy the members of the League of the Scroll and anyone else who might have enough knowledge to unravel the Evil Plan before it's complete.
 * A Million Is a Statistic: Well-understood by Williams; his Establishing Character Moment for Pryrates is not to slaughter dozens of people, but to literally Kick the Dog.
 * Mind Rape: Even casual contact with the Storm King and his minions can destroy the minds of mortals - heaven help you if you attract their personal attention. Mentally encountering the Norn queen on the Dream Road is quite unhealthy even to immortals. This trope is also one of the more charming side-effects of touching Sorrow.
 * Misanthrope Supreme: Pryrates.
 * Modest Royalty: Josua.
 * Modesty Bedsheet: Played straight by Miriamele at the end.
 * Moses in the Bulrushes:
 * My Girl Is Not a Slut: Simon is utterly devastated to find out that Miriamele gave up her virginity to the Nabbanai noble who held her captive.
 * Named Weapons: The titular swords.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: The Storm King. Sorrow.

"Binabik: (of the prophecy) "But who is to say that it is speaking to us?""
 * Necromantic: Elias, played for tragedy.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Turns out not to be such a good idea.
 * No Man of Woman Born: The trilogy's primary Unwitting Pawns fall into the role partially because they make an error of this type.
 * No Ontological Inertia: In addition to the aforementioned Green Angel Tower, there's a very plot-significant use of this trope in the three swords themselves (see the trope entry for details).
 * The Nothing After Death: An variation, in that characters who are Only Mostly Dead tend to go into a limbo-like realm where things are extremely peaceful. From there, they can sometimes still have an impact on the real world in the form of dreams, but eventually pass on into nothingness.
 * Not Quite Dead:, after the Collapsing Lair. Also Camaris, from his Heroic BSOD backstory.
 * The Obi-Wan: Doctor Morgenes, and to an extent, the entire original League of the Scroll.
 * Offered the Crown: In fact, Isgrimnur states outright that if he didn't have royal blood, they'd be inclined to make it up anyway, just to give the people someone to rally behind.
 * Oh Crap: The moment beneath Asu'a where Binabik figures out the Storm King's plan. This subsequently leads to a domino-like series of Oh Craps as the rest of the protagonists get clued in.

"Binabik: "You will destroy this world. [...] There will be nothing for your governing. You do not belong here.""
 * Oh My Gods: A number of non-Aedonist characters do this. most Hilariously, so does Duke Isgrimnur- he converted as an adult, but tends to forget and start swearing by Fantasy Counterpart Culture versions of Odin and Thor instead of Usires.
 * Omnicidal Maniac: The Storm King... but see Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.


 * One-Winged Angel: The Storm King has clearly transcended anything that vaguely resembles humanity (even for a Sithi), and the form he takes on entering the world verges on Eldritch Abomination. Especially pronounced as he does this while.
 * Our Dragons Are Different
 * Our Elves Are Better: Not elves as such, but the Sithi count. The Storm King certainly thinks they're better.
 * Orphan's Plot Trinket: Simon's ring.
 * Phlebotinum Overload: How Ineluki dies in the backstory, becoming the Storm King.
 * Poisoned Weapons: In a rare heroic example, Binabik's various travelling implements include a hollow walking stick, a stash of poisoned darts, and some loose wool. Combined, they make a stealthy and highly lethal blowgun.
 * The Power of Love: In the climax, Simon . The latter Didn't See That Coming, and is weakened just enough for Miriamele to.
 * Prophecy Twist:  Also see Prophetic Fallacy.
 * Punctuation Shaker: Sithi names tend to do this.
 * Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Inch is a Complete Monster, but the capper for Jeremias' litany of his villainy not-so-delicately implies that Inch used him as a catamite.
 * Rebellious Princess: Miriamele, largely due to being a Runaway Fiancee.
 * Reluctant Warrior: Camaris especially, and Josua to an extent.
 * The Reveal: Many of them.
 * Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves:
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: The Storm King himself, natch.
 * Self-Made Orphan: Ineluki too, when he's Jumping Off the Slippery Slope in his backstory. Oh, and Benigaris, as part of his Face Heel Turn.
 * Shell Shocked Senior: Cadrach. Also, Camaris after being awakened.
 * Shrouded in Myth: Camaris. Justified, as he really is pretty Badass, even after a Heroic BSOD and living as a Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass for years.
 * Sinister Minister: Pryrates, of course.
 * Slut Shaming: Sex doesn't have a large role in the story, but when it shows up, expect talk of shame to come close behind. Simon takes it hard that Miriamele isn't a virgin and Josua gets some guff for not having made an honest woman out of his horselady.
 * The Smart Guy: Strangyeard especially, and Tiamak to a certain extent. At least, those are the smartest guys that actually live to the end of the story, surviving all of their various mentors.
 * Smug Snake: Count Aspitis, which makes the moment when Miriamele makes paste out of his pretty face with an oar all the more satisfying.
 * Spiritual Successor: Tad Williams was inspired by and intentionally copied many themes from The Lord of the Rings.
 * Spring Is Late: And gets Binabik in big trouble with his people until they can be convinced that it's the Storm King's doing and not his betrayal of his shamanistic duties.
 * Standard Hero Reward: Justified, but present all the same.
 * Staying Alive: Ineluki, in the backstory. He stays alive - or at least, "un-dead" - through sheer badassery and Heroic Villainous Willpower, becoming the Storm King and setting up the plot of the novels.
 * Storming the Castle: The final battle at the Hayholt.
 * Strange Syntax Speaker: Binabik is using progressive aspect even when he is meaning to express habitual or stative verbs.
 * Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: Utuk'ku's primary motive.
 * Supporting Protagonist: Duke Isgrimnur becomes the de facto leader of the army besieging the Hayholt after Josua and Camaris both enter the castle via the tunnels.
 * Sweet Polly Oliver: Malachias is Miriamele, as Simon discovers a bit too late for his pride.
 * These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: There is a lot of dark, dangerous knowledge in the world of Osten Ard. Those who delve too deep tend to Go Mad from the Revelation. Underlying it all is a concept called "Unbeing" which apparently makes you Deader Than Dead. Ineluki is one of the greatest practitioners of these arts. Pryrates likes them, too. Cadrach discovering some in the pages of Du Svardenvyrd sent him over the Despair Event Horizon.
 * They Call Him "Sword": Count Streawe's Knife Nut goon becomes known as "Ave Stetto" (lit. I have a knife) for his fondness of threatening people with them.
 * Thunderbolt Iron: The origin of the sword Thorn.
 * Time Abyss: Amerasu in particular, although several of the Sithi might qualify.
 * Tome of Eldritch Lore: Du Svardenvyrd (The Weird of the Swords), the book of the mad prophet Nisses, is essentially a guide book for summoning the Storm King, and merely reading it can drive one past the Despair Event Horizon.
 * Took a Level in Badass: Simon, who starts out a scullion and, with training and a bit lot of luck, manages to acquit himself quite well in battle.
 * Torture Cellar: Pryrates has an entire tower filled with these.
 * Touched by Vorlons: Very mild case, in that Simon's dragon scar gives him the ability to sense things he wouldn't otherwise be able to. This factors heavily in the climax.
 * The Undead: Ineluki and his Red Hand.
 * The Unfettered: Pryrates claims to be this. Since his origins and motivations are never made clear, it's impossible to say if he's telling the truth, but his actions speak for themselves.
 * Unfriendly Fire: Benigaris inherits the kingship of Nabban during the battle for Naglimund by stabbing his father in the back. This is also his Face Heel Turn moment.
 * Unholy Holy Sword: Both turn out to be this. Sorrow, of course, is Unholy pretty much from the getgo.
 * Unto Us a Son and Daughter Are Born: Vorzheva gives birth to Josua's children—twins Deornoth and Derra, who are bestowed with an And the Adventure Continues... hook.
 * Unusual Euphemism: All of the languages (human and nonhuman) are liberally sprinkled with culture-specific curses and interjections, although the ones that stand out the most are Binabik's colorful swearing and the Aedonite religion's equivalents of Christian curses.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: Geloë practices the Art in a manner akin to classic Druidism, shapeshifting into birds. Handled fairly realistically in that it does not affect her clothing. Also used by Pryrates, thanks to the Words of Changing. His choice of form is anything but natural, however.
 * Wandering Minstrel: Sangfugol. His uselessness during the war is lampshaded enough to make him almost qualify as a Spoony Bard.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Storm King himself, in his Start of Darkness. It's arguable that he started out a Knight Templar, but he definitely ended up here before turning into an Omnicidal Maniac.
 * Where It All Began: The story both begins and ends at the Hayholt, Simon's home.
 * Will Not Tell a Lie: The Sithi seem to have no grasp of the concept of lying in their culture. The Norns, on the other hand...
 * The Wise Prince: Prince Josua.
 * Two Lines, No Waiting: Along with Loads and Loads of Characters comes Loads And Loads Of Subplots.
 * Unwitting Pawn: Elias, especially as he goes into the whole thing hoping to, when that doesn't work out, decides to settle for a promise of , and ends up . To his credit, he does repent at the end, but of course it's too late. Technically, the entire cast of protagonists are pawns. They fall right into the Storm King's trap despite a surfeit of clues, largely because his Kansas City Shuffle prevents them from ever really stopping to think about the situation.
 * Winter Royal Lady: Utuk'ku
 * Who Wants to Live Forever?: Some of the Sithi suffer from this problem, being (more or less) immortal yet having borne witness to countless tragedies. Utuk'ku may be the living embodiment, however, as her ennui and heartbreak have frozen over the centuries until her sole remaining purpose is to take the world with her into Unbeing.
 * You Are Too Late: Five hundred years too late, to be exact.