Chronicles of Elantra

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Kaylin: Did you ever learn anything about time in your magical studies? Nightshade: Yes, I've learned it passes very, very slowly when I'm bored. —Cast in Silence

Chronicles of Elantra is a fantasy series by Michelle Sagara (also known as Michelle Sagara West). The series has six books, with a seventh book set for release in September 2011. The books follow the life of Kaylin Neya as she deals with the issues surrounding the City of Elantra and the races within it and the strange marks left on her body by the Old Ones.

The following tropes are common to many or all entries in the Chronicles of Elantra franchise.
For tropes specific to individual installments, visit their respective work pages.

• Badass Normal: Severn is the only recurring character that doesn't have any sort of powers or magic. He still manages to catch up.
• The Beautiful Elite: The Barrani look so perfect that it's actually hard to tell them apart from one another if you don't know them well enough.
• Bishonen: Every single male Barrani, but especially Nightshade.
• Brother-Sister Incest: In the Barrani High Lord's line, the power to rule is passed from father to son, and the power to give babies their true names is passed from mother to daughter. Needless to say, the Barrani royal line is extremely inbred.
• Can't Argue with Elves: It's considered extremely inadvisable to argue with the Barrani, because they're Magnificent Bastards at best and Wicked Cultured at worst.
• Cargo Ship: Tiamaris and Tara. She's really a Tower.
• The Chosen One: Kaylin is "Chosen". Nobody's really sure what that means.
• Cool Sword: Nightshade has Meliannos which is about as cool as a sword can get in this universe. It kills Dragons. While they are in Dragon form.
• Embarrassing Tattoo: Kaylin likes to pretend that that's all hers are.
• The Empire: Subverted. The Empire is actually an okay place to live. Not perfect, but okay.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The quartermaster doesn't have a name, apparently.
  • And since, according to the Dragons, if you don't have a name you don't have a soul, he lacks a soul as well.
• Friend to All Children: Take a guess.
• A God Am I: Makuron
• Half-Human Hybrid: Averted. In a world with five races living in such close contact with each other, it's surprising that there are absolutely no hybrids ever mentioned ever, and Kaylin x Nightshade is the only Interspecies Romance alluded to in the entire series.
• I Know Your True Name: Both the Barrani and Dragons have true names. Kaylin knows two: Nightshade's (Calarnenne) and the Lord of the West March's (Lirienne)
• Improbable Weapon User: Severn uses a blade on a chain. How this manages to be effective is best left unanswered. But it looks very, very cool.
• The Ingenue: Subverted so very hard by a main character who drinks swears and bets at every opportunity.
• Kaleidoscope Eyes: This series loves this trope. Every race except humans have eyes that reflect their mood, using a different range of colors for each race.
• Late for School: Kaylin. All the time. To the point that in the sixth book, when she's actually ON TIME, there are bets on how long this will last.
• Living Prop: Anyone remember Tanner? No? I rest my case.
• Love Triangle: Nightshade x Kaylin x Severn. None of the boys seem to actually compete with each other though.
• Magnificent Bastard: Barrani by nature, but Nightshade especially. In Cast In Chaos, it's revealed that everything he did in Kaylin's history was to make sure that that one day where they met in the past went off without a hitch.
• Mauve Shirt: Samaran appeared for one book and has never been mentioned again.
• The Mentor: Sanabalis. Since he's immortal...and can literally breath fire and eat people, he's unlikely to be subject to Mentor Occupational Hazard.
• The Multiverse: The world the story is set in is the original world, but others exist.
• Mystical Waif: The Tha'alaani and Tara.
• Named Weapons: Meliannos.
• Our Elves Are Different: The Barrani are elves with sneakiness, cunning, and all around bastardry taken Up to Eleven. They've also been known to cause wars because they're bored.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Elantra's Dragons can shift from human to Dragon form. Other than that, they're pretty much the same. They breathe fire and have hoards.
• Passed Over Promotion: Kaylin is still a Private, despite the fact that she saved the fiefs TWICE, spoiler: saved both the former Lord of the High Halls's sons, survived the Barrani Test of Name, saved her Sergeant's sister-in-law, saved the city from a tidal wave, survived TWO encounters with Makuron, and exonerated her Sergeant of murder. There are reasons for this. *cough*attitude*cough*
• Person of Mass Destruction: Kaylin. This isn't even a spoiler.
• Power Tattoo: The markings on Kaylin's body.
• Precursors: The Old Ones.
• Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: Nightshade and Severn, respectively, although Severn...while not as rich as Nightshade, still manages to have more money than Kaylin.
• Scary Librarian: You do not mess with the Arkon's Library. EVER.
• Secret Police: Shadow Wolves are a benevolent form.
• Single Gender Race: While it's never actually been discussed...we've never seen a female Dragon.
  • Though The Emperor placed many restrictions on the Dragons, and those that could not follow them but did not rebel are presumed to be taking a very long nap somewhere. It is possible that the ladies are all taking a snooze. On the other hand, maybe they just don't leave the palace much.
• Squick: The Barrani High Lord's family. Just....squick.
• Stalker with a Crush: Subverted hard by Severn, but he watched her from the shadows for SEVEN YEARS.
• Those Two Guys: Teela and Tain, when they come out together. Also, in the second book, Andellen and Samaran.
• True Companions: Kyuthe, Pridlea, fellow Hawks.
• Winged Humanoid: The Aerians.
• A Wizard Did It: Aerians can fly because the world has enough magic to support them. When they fly over Ravellon, they drop right out of the air.