All The Tropes

Chronicles of the Kencyrath: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Chronicles of the Kencyrath (view source)

Revision as of 11:18, 8 January 2014

26 bytes removed ,  10 years ago
m
Mass update links
VisualWikitext
prefix>Import Bot
(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Main.ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Main.ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license)
 
m (Mass update links)
Line 23:
----
Less central character-specific tropes are being moved to [[Chronicles of the Kencyrath/Characters|the character page]]. There is also [[Chronicles of the Kencyrath/WMG|a Wild Mass Guess page]] for crazy theories.
{{tropelist}}
----
=== This work provides examples of: ===
 
* [[Academy of Adventure]]: Several
Line 37 ⟶ 36:
** The Knorth heirloom sword, Kin-Slayer.
** The Ivory Knife
* [[Anti -Hero]]: Of the Type II (Disney Anti-Hero) type. Jame's strong senses of honor and right keep her solidly a heroine, but she's dark, dangerous, sometimes callous and cruel, with a scary ability for destruction.
* [[Aristocrats Are Evil]]: Or at least, the system in the Kencyr is evil, even if not all the aristocrats really are. Jame, and her twin brother Torisen to a lesser extent, are both frequently disgusted by the behavior of their own Highborn caste.
* [[Arranged Marriage]]: The norm among the Highborn. Marriage contracts are often time-limited, or tell if children are expected.
* [[Arrow Catch]]: Randiroc easily catches an arrow in ''To Ride a Rathorn'' -- but then, he's pretty much the only living Kencyr with combat skills that can match heroine Jame's former teacher Tirandys.
* [[Assimilation Academy]]: The Women's Halls at Gothregor. The girls and young women sent there are not only taught the secrets of the "Women's World", they're also taught to behave as befits a Highborn female, which means to accept that their only real purpose is being married off to further their house's ambitions. Jame doesn't take kindly or well to it; the Jaran don't send their daughters there unless the girl wants to go. The Priests' College also has this as a goal.
* [[Back -to -Back Badasses]]: Jame and Gran Cyd in ''Bound in Blood''. Harn and Ashe in ''Dark of the Moon''. Given that one was in a [[The Berserker|berserker rage]] and the other was [[Our Zombies Are Different|three days dead]] at the time, it brought the trope to new levels.
* [[Bad Powers, Good People]]: Jame and Brenwyr. Torisen's powers are more neutral, but he's convinced they're bad.
* [[Battle Cry]]: Each Kencyr house has its own battle-cry. The Knorth one, the house of Jame and her twin Torisen, is the cry of a rathorn, a sound which appears to (magically?) strike terror into opponents.
* [[Bar Brawl]]: In Peshtar near the beginning of ''Dark of the Moon''.
Line 57 ⟶ 56:
** Bear is a type 1 big guy, but with the gruff, scarred, and withdrawn traits taken to extremes.
** The entire house of the Coman, and maybe Brandan as well.
* [[Big Screwed -Up Family]]: Arguably all of the Kencyrath, but the Randir and the Knorth more than most.
* [[Blessed With Suck]]: Some Shanir (God-touched, magical) powers. They almost always lead to ostracism, too.
* [[Body Surf]]:
Line 66 ⟶ 65:
* [[Brown Note]]: The cry of a rathorn, and the Knorth battle-cry that's based on it, induces terror in those who hear it. The Knorth appear to be immune to it.
* [[But Your Wings Are Beautiful|But Your Claws Are Splendid]]: Jame's claws, which are a major source of shame for her and most Highborn.
* [[Catgirl]]: Jame is very cat-like, although the only physical similarities are her clawed hands and her dangerous purring voice when aroused. (The fact that she has a [[Non -Human Sidekick]] hunting cat also helps.)
** In the [[Alternate Universe]] story "Child of Darkness", the similarity of Kencyr to cats is played up with the use of such terms as "pack," "toms", and "kittens" (though the terms are used for people in general, not just Kencyr).
** It is in fact mentioned explicitly, at one point, that the Highborn and Kendar both used to be much more like the Arrin-ken (the highly sentient, highly magical, giant black panthers that used to serve as the balance of their race) in both body and mind.
Line 80 ⟶ 79:
* [[Cool Sword]]
** Kin-Slayer, the Knorth heirloom sword. If wielded by someone wearing the Knorth signet ring, it cuts through flesh and armor like butter.
** The Scythe-arms manage to combine the [[Dual -Wielding]], [[Blade Below the Shoulder]], ''and'' [[Double Weapon]] tropes. Not surprisingly, training with them easily dissolves into chaos.
* [[The Corruption]]: What becoming a Changer involves.
* [[Covers Always Lie]]: With Jame being ''repeatedly and emphatically'' described as a flat-chested girl in the text, one has to wonder what part of "skinny elf-girl" the [http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n65/n328827.jpg latest] [http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c4/c22449.jpg cover] [http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c4/c23468.jpg artist] is having so much trouble with.
Line 96 ⟶ 95:
* [[Elemental Powers]]: The four [[Elemental Embodiment|native gods of Rathillien]]: Old Man Tishooo (wind), Mother Ragga (earth), The Burnt Man (fire), and The Eaten One (water); as well as the four disciplines of the Senetha and Senethar: earth-moving, water-flowing, fire-leaping and wind-blowing. The native gods do have quite a bit of agency and sentience.
* [[Ensign Newbie]]: Jame, Gorbel, and Timmon, in ''To Ride a Rathorn''. As the randon (officer) cadet with probably the least military knowledge in the whole school, Jame is appointed Master Ten of her house's cadets (approx 90 cadets) due to her status, and has absolutely no idea what to do, or even where to start. Gorbel has some command experience, but noone takes him seriously, since he's "obviously" there as a political statement from his father. Timmon is the most capable and experienced, but has an attitude problem: he doesn't listen to his subordinates at all, and evades all "un-fun" stuff.
* [[EverythingsEverything's Better With Chickens]]: Thanks to a hilarious chicken-chase scene in Restormir in ''Seeker's Mask''.
* [[The Evil Prince]]: Greshan.
* [[The Exile]]: In the backstory: Ganth, and then Torisen from Ganth. Kendar, like Marc, without a lord to follow. Several women, including Rawneth, Jame, and Kallystine have been exiled from the Women's World.
Line 110 ⟶ 109:
* [[Fictional Holiday]]: Those generally celebrated appear to be the turning points of the seasons and the solstices, placed exactly halfway in the longer winter and summer seasons. Both the Tastigon and the Kencyr celebrate the intercalary day (see [[Alternative Calendar]] above); in Tai-tastigon it is called the Feast of Fools, and is a Saturnalia-like orgy of excess and freedom, while in Tentir, the Kencyr military academy, it is called the Day of Misrule, where the normal rules of Tentir are suspended and anyone who grabs the scarf from around a cadet's or officer's neck can command them. The Tastigon also celebrate (or fear) the Feast of Dead Gods, which occurs during the night after Autumn's Eve.
* Fight Magnet: Jame. For some she is an easily underestimated target: a skinny, deceptively weak-looking girl; for some she is a freak: a female Highborn who goes with her face uncovered and isn't safely sequestered and controlled in the Women's World; for some more it's due to antipathy against her house and her brother.
* [[Fire -Forged Friends]]: Jame and Gorbel, although he hides it. Even though his father wants nothing more than for Jame to be killed or ruined, he refuses to kill Jame even when she begs for it.
* [[Five -Bad Band]]: Could be seen a couple of ways, depending on if one counts Perimal Darkling as a character or not. It's either:
** [[Big Bad]] -- Perimal Darkling
** [[The Dragon]] -- Gerridon
Line 138 ⟶ 137:
** Donkerri ordering the Caineron troops to their posts in the end-battle in ''Dark of the Moon'', countermanding his grandfather's orders.
** A plot arc for Torisen in his relation to Adric, Lord Ardeth in the same book.
* [[Half -Identical Twins]]: Jame and Torisen.
* [[Have You Seen My God?]]: At the beginning of the series, the Kencyrath have not heard anything from their God in thousands of years, but it's implied that this is not the first time this has happened.
* [[Healing Factor]]: The Kencyr possess tremendous powers of regeneration, albeit requiring ''dwar'' sleep, a period of hibernation where one is insensate to the world. Broken bones, lost teeth, and terrible illnesses are all shaken off within days of ''dwar'' sleep. Without proper medical care, this will result in crooked bones and scarring from the body setting in place. This becomes a plot point in ''Seeker's Mask''.
** On top of this, the Highborn are almost completely immune to poison, and [[Immune to Drugs|consume hemlock as a sleeping-draught]].
Line 184 ⟶ 183:
** ''Perimal Darkling'' -- the surrounding evil darkness.
* [[The Medic]]: Kindrie.
* [[Mercy Kill]] / [[I Cannot Self -Terminate]]: After a battle, it is the duty of a high-ranking Kencyr officer to follow his empathic link to any Kendar he has bound, culling the fatally wounded. A Kencyr who could commit suicide themselves in such a situation would do so, but if they are unable to, they are assisted.
* [[Mind Rape]]: Kindrie suffers this at the hands of Rawneth.
* [[Moral Myopia]]: Many of the Kencyr Highborn; the Ardeth are particularly noticeable in that regard, since they're not generally on the side of ill, yet are very blind to the things they do to others.
Line 197 ⟶ 196:
* [[Near Rape Experience]]: {{spoiler|Ganth}}, with his seven-year-old daughter. One of the things that finally pushes him over the edge to total [[Ax Crazy]]-ness.
* [[Never Bring a Knife To A Fist Fight]]: Jame often defeats armed foes bare-handed and is initially not keen on blades at all. Later, she develops more of a taste for them and wears a knife-fighter's jacket and boot knife. She still does not like swords, until {{spoiler|''Bound in Blood'', when she finds a bladed weapon she can think of as extensions of her own claws}}.
* [[Ninja]]: The Shadow Guild assassins, who are definitely ''not'' [[Highly -Visible Ninja]], literally; they tattoo their bodies ''[[Eye Scream|including their eyeballs]]'' with the juice of the invisible ''mere'' plant, which makes them invisible themselves once it is completed. Initiates wear clothing made from the fibers of the same plant.
* [[Non -Human Sidekick]]: Jorin, Jame's blind ounce (a medium-sized spotted big cat) is pretty much her only constant companion. Sometimes he's useful, sometimes he needs to be rescued, and sometimes he's comic relief. It's likely that Death's Head will take on a similar role as well (albeit requiring less in the way of rescuing). Jame and Jorin share limited sensory input -- he's aware of what she sees, she can sometimes sense what he hears or smells.
** Also, the Wolver Yce for Tori in the fourth and fifth books, and the wyrm "Beauty" for a Darkling Changer {{spoiler|and, judging from ''Bound in Blood'', potentially Graykin in the future}}.
* [[No Periods Period]]: In four novels covering several years of Jame's life, absolutely no mention. [[Justified]] in that Highborn women are able to control conception at will, and possibly the entire menstrual and reproductive cycle; thus, there may be no periods because Jame doesn't have them. Another possibility is that she's not physically mature enough yet; she showed no interest in or sexual attraction to anyone until the fourth novel, and while she's about twenty or twenty-one, she's not considered adult until she's twenty-seven; Kencyr Highborn live long and mature slowly.
Line 207 ⟶ 206:
* [[Oh My Gods]]: Lots of fantastic god-invoking exclamations from the Kencyr. Common ones in the series are "God's teeth!" (or, once, "God's teeth and toenails!"), referring to the natural armament of Regonereth, That-Which-Destroys, the third aspect of their God. "Trinity!" is one of Jame's favorites, too, referring to all aspects of their triune God.
* [[Older Sidekick]]: Marc, to Jame.
* [[One -Hit Kill]]: The Ivory Knife is the holy artifact of Destruction, and instantly kills with the merest scratch. Jame carries this for a large portion of books 2 and 3.
* [[Our Elves Are Better]]: The Kencyrath are never explicitly ''called'' elves, but they fit a lot of the normal qualities, especially the Highborn, an ancient race with long life, mystical powers, a special purpose, etc. (And some of them have the arrogance to match!)
* [[Our Werewolves Are Different]]: The Wolvers are not humans that take wolf form, but wolves that take human form. They are born in the form of a wolf and develop the ability to take human form later in childhood. Also see [[Humanity Ensues]], kinda.
Line 221 ⟶ 220:
** Danior are ?
** Edirr are tricksters
** Jaran are [[Absent -Minded Professor|absent-minded scholars]]
** Knorth are inspiring leaders who [[Royally Screwed Up|are a little bit crazy]] (or a lot, depending on the Knorth in question).
** Randir are secretive, fanatical, and manipulative
* [[Poor Communication Kills]]:
** Averted, though not for lack of trying. Because all the Knorth women were killed off before he was born, Tori has not had any advisors to guide him through the treacherous shoals of [[WomensWomen's Mysteries]]. A particular case in point has to do with the ransom of the death-banner (and also the soul) of Aerulan to the Brandan house. Tori did not want to accept the money Brandan offered, not wanting to profit by Aerulan's death. However, he did not understand (for there was no one to tell him) that refusal to do so would dishonor Aerulan (by saying she has no value) in the eyes of those who love her. (Such as Brenwyr, the curse-flinging [[Curse|maledict]].) This ends up resulting in Jame getting cursed by Brenwyr and a lot of unnecessary strife and ill will.
** In ''Bound in Blood'', {{spoiler|the crop failure caused by the volcanic eruption in ''To Ride a Rathorn'' forces Tori to relent so that his people do not starve -- though not before another misunderstanding results in Brenwyr cursing ''him''. Fortunately, it seems Tori is more or less curse-proof -- though [[Naked People Are Funny|his clothing isn't]].}}
* [[Power Trio]]: Torisen, Kindrie and Jame are becoming this, as the Tyr-ridan, the avatar of the Kencyr triune god:
Line 262 ⟶ 261:
* [[The Stars Are Going Out]]: This will be the sign that the primal chaos of Perimal Darkling has broken the barriers holding it back from yet another world.
* [[The Starscream]]: Several of the Changers make it clear they ''don't like Gerridon at all'', for a variety of reasons. Most that are like this have the very logical fear he'll try to consume them to prolong his immortality after his supply of mortal souls runs out, and try to overthrow him traditionally. Tirandys is a somewhat more complex one, as he isn't ''openly'' treacherous and is acting from his [[Noble Demon|sense of honor]]. Ironically, it's this same sense of honor that makes Gerridon trust him more than any of the others- the Master seems to know that his underling has no love for him, but also knows he'll never go against a direct order.
* [[Super -Powered Evil Side]]: Jame, when she [[Magic Dance|dances]].
* [[Sweet Polly Oliver]]: Kirien, the Jaran Lordan, is the heir of the Jaran in a culture where most women are deeply sequestered and controlled. Since she doesn't dress in traditional women's clothing, most people around her assume she is a man.
* [[Talking in Your Dreams]]: Jame and Torisen frequently interact and talk with each other in their dreams. This is especially the case when one of them is knocked out, or someone else interferes with their dreams.
Line 289 ⟶ 288:
* [[When Trees Attack]]: The willow tree in ''To Ride a Rathorn''.
* [[Wife Husbandry]]: Attempted by Gerridon on Jame. Failed.
* [[White -Haired Pretty Boy]] or [[White -Haired Pretty Girl|Girl]]: Many Shanir, though neither Jame nor Tori is an example. Kindrie, however, is.
* [[White Stallion]]: Death's-head is a white rathorn stallion, and Jame riding such a beast into battle is definitely this trope. In a twist on the trope, her ''other'' mount, the whinno-hir Bel-tairi, is a white ''mare'', but still fulfills the requirements of the trope.
* [[Weirdness Magnet]]: Jame, most certainly.
* [[Will Not Tell a Lie]]: one of the cornerstones of the Kencyr brand of honor. Calling someone a liar is a mortal insult, and if a Kencyr lies, even for a good cause, suicide or finding a quick death in battle are the only ways to redeem oneself. Of course, the less moral characters find ways to deceive without technically lying. Singers and diplomats are awarded the privilege of the Lawful Lie, however.
* [[Wolverine Claws]]: Jame and some other Shanir ("[[Natural Weapon|natural Arrin-thari]]") have claws instead of nails on the hands and sometimes feet. Examples are Jame (who has retractable claws on her hands), and Bear (who has fixed talons on both hands and feet). Steel-clawed gauntlets allow non-clawed Kencyr warriors to fight in the Arrin-thar style as well. Kallystine also uses a razor-ring.
* [[WomensWomen's Mysteries]]: The Highborn women deliberately cultivate mystery and outright subterfuge within the "Women's World". Jame, of course, quickly wreaks havoc due to her lack of proper behavior and her habit of accidentally learning deep secrets.
** In ''Bound in Blood'', {{spoiler|the Merikit are shown to have their own version of Women's Mysteries; it turns out that chief Chingetai only rules at the sufferance of his wife ("wyfe")}}.
* [[Words Can Break My Bones]]: The [[Tome of Eldritch Lore|Book Bound in Pale Leather]] is full of them, and the [[Curse|curses]] from a maledight like Brenwyr are quite real too.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/481307"