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== Tavi of Calderon, a.k.a. Rufus Scipio, {{spoiler|aka [[Emperor Augustus|Gaius Octavian]] }}, {{spoiler|aka Gaius Tavarus Magnus}} ==
Tavi, raised by his Aunt Isana and Uncle Bernard in the Calderon Valley, is apparently the only Aleran in the world to not possess the power of Furycraft. While this is often a major disadvantage, in order to compensate he's learned to rely on something
{{spoiler|Tavi is really Octavian, son of the slain Princeps Septimus. Isana, actually his mother, deliberately suppressed his Furycraft so he wouldn't be obviously High Blood and therefore a target for assassins. Eventually he does develop some Crafting, though to a lesser extent than most Lords. In the final book, the [[Person of Mass Destruction|full potential]] of his powers emerges}}.
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=== Tropes that apply to Tavi
* [[Awesomeness By Analysis]]: Mostly done offscreen. The one time we see this in action, it's both awesome and terrifying as Tavi decides how to kill [[Person of Mass Destruction|High Lady Antillus]] and Crassus with a ''[[Improvised Weapon|stick]]''.
* [[Badass]]: Oh yes, he is:
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* [[The Chessmaster]]: Metaphorically as well as literally. Even ''the First Lord'' takes a couple of lessons from him.
* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Well, when everybody can rip you to shreds with their bare hands, playing fair doesn't seem very important. He says once that he never wants to be in a "fair" fight ever again. {{spoiler|Even after his crafting powers awaken, he's still a pragmatist in battle.}}
* [[Consummate Liar]]: He was raised by one of the greatest [[Living Lie Detector
* [[Crazy Enough to Work]]: The majority of Tavi's plans are this. So much so that Kitai can correctly surmise where Tavi chose to have the [[Final Battle]] by thinking of the one place only a lunatic would go willingly. It's pretty much his motto. One of his plans gives an ally ''heart palpitations.''
** This is the man who {{spoiler|made ships out of ''icebergs'' and attached runners to ships to make them work over ice}}.
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** Actually it's ''[[I Just Want to Be Normal]]'' [[Everyone Is a Super|in this world]].
* [[I Shall Taunt You]]: Preferred manner of keeping his opponents off balance. He wins a duel against one of the most dangerous swordsmen in Alera with just six words.
* {{spoiler|[[Like Father, Like Son]]: ''Lots'' of comparisons are made to Septimus, though Tavi is smarter than his dad thanks to a good twenty years of [[Badass Normal
* [[Meaningful Name]]: Two! meaningful names {{spoiler|Gaius Octavian meaning both the son of Septimus and is the proper name of [[Emperor Augustus]]}}
* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]: He eventually gains the title {{spoiler|Gaius Tavarus Magnus; "Tavarus Magnus" is roughly equivalent to "Lord Wolverine the Great."}}
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Kitai is a girl of the humanoid Marat race, and Tavi's frequent partner, foil, and love interest. Tough and athletic, like Tavi she has learned to rely on her wits to beat powerful Crafters. Like all Marat, she has bonded telepathically with a being of another species, but is unique in that her [[Bond Creatures|''chala'']] is sentient (namely, Tavi). As a result, she often feels isolated from both cultures. {{spoiler|As Tavi develops his Furycrafting, she becomes able to share it through their bond}}.
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=== Tropes that apply to Kitai
* [[Action Girl]]
* [[Humanity Is Insane|Alerans Are Insane]]: Routinely points out the irrationality of human society. Tavi generally agrees.
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Isana is Tavi's aunt {{spoiler|(well, actually, mother)}}. Born in the Calderon Valley, she is an incredibly powerful watercrafter but lacks access to other Furies. Isana distrusts Sextus {{spoiler|because he allowed her husband, his son Septimus, to die}}, but becomes increasingly entangled in Aleran politics as the series goes on.
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=== Tropes that apply to Isana
* {{spoiler|[[Action Mom]]}}: In ''Princeps' Fury'' and ''First Lord's Fury.''
* [[A-Cup Angst]]: She was always a little peeved that her body looked more like that of a young girl than that of a full-grown woman. This, in fact, made her think that she'd never attract a{{spoiler|nother}} man.
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* [[Making a Splash]]: Very possibly the most powerful watercrafter in all of Alera, High Lords included.
* [[Older Than They Look]]: She's probably in her mid-forties, but could pass for eighteen if it wasn't for some grey in her hair.
* [[Took a Level
** However, it's unclear exactly why that is: maybe she got them from the swim in the ocean in a stressful situation, but then again maybe she had that power all along or {{spoiler|Septimus left her some furies of his own when he died}} and she didn't realize it. In either case, any extraordinary use of her power in her homeland is more normal where she is familiar with the place, and because she's a nobody from the hinterlands, she just assumed she couldn't possibly be that powerful otherwise.
* [[Unhappy Medium]]: She's as good or better at watercrafting as some of the High Lords, but doesn't share their ability to block out [[The Empath|emotions]] with metalcrafting. This leaves her curled up in a little ball from emotional overload a couple of times.
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Bernard is Tavi's uncle and Isana's brother, possessing the power of earth and woodcrafting. He begins the series as a steadholder (wealthy farmer), but ultimately takes on a noble title as Count of Calderon and passes his steadholt to Isana. He is in love with Amara, and the two are married (at first in secret, but later openly).
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=== Tropes that apply to Bernard
* [[The Archer]]: Like a lot of powerful woodcrafters.
* [[Battle Couple]]: With Amara.
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Amara is a windcrafter and a Cursor, one of the First Lord's elite messengers, spies, and general agents. She comes to the Calderon Valley while trying to return to the capital and warn Sextus of Aquitaine's plotting, thereby setting off much of the books' action. She is married to Bernard, but sometimes angsts about her fears of infertility (Alerans place great value on having children who will inherit their powers, to the point that a man of Bernard's rank is ''legally obliged'' to have children).
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=== Tropes that apply to Amara
* [[Action Girl]]
* [[Battle Couple]]: With Bernard.
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== Fidelias ex Cursori, {{spoiler|aka Valiar Marcus}} ==
Fidelias was a Cursor and Amara's mentor, until he betrayed the First Lord for Aquitaine. A master spy and manipulator, he has greatly helped Aquitaine's bids for power {{spoiler|until deciding Tavi would make a better ruler. He is now Tavi's advisor, in a [[Secret Identity]]}}. In any event, Fidelias is absolutely loyal to only one
{{spoiler|Fidelias is absent throughout ''Cursor's Fury'', and it's only after a moment of [[Fridge Logic]] from Amara that the narration reveals where he is: throughout the book he's been serving in the First Aleran Legion as [[Sergeant Rock|First Spear]] Valiar Marcus, an old cover identity of his. Marcus later has some inner struggles with [[Heel Face Revolving Door]] and [[Becoming the Mask]], but ultimately abandons Lady Aquitane and sides with Tavi.}}
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=== Tropes that apply to Fidelias
* [[Badass]]: While serving as a grunt on the Shieldwall, he was raised to the House of Valiar for exceptional bravery, making a [[Roaring Rampage of Rescue|raid deep into Icemen territory to save children]]. ''[[One-Man Army|Alone]].''
** At one point in ''Cursor's Fury'', he takes a javelin in the gut. What does he do? Try to pry it out; when that doesn't work, he cuts down the shaft to make himself more comfortable, and continues giving orders and fighting until he passes out.
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One of the greatest swordsman who ever lived and once Septimus's close friend, he is believed dead by most of the world and uses the identity of {{spoiler|Bernard's disfigured, brain-damaged slave Fade}} to watch over and instruct Tavi. {{spoiler|He also develops a romance with Isana}}.
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=== Tropes that apply to Araris
* [[Becoming the Mask]]: A bit of a twist on the actual description: he isn't a con man, and he only clings to his alternate identity out of guilt. But he clings ''hard''.
* [[Berserk Button]]: Threaten Isana in front of him. Go ahead. I dare ya.
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Doroga is Kitai's father and one of the most important Marat chieftains. He is blunt and earthy, but anyone who speaks with him for long realizes that he is surprisingly intelligent and canny. Doroga is the first to recognize the menace the Vord pose to the world, remembering them from old Marat legends, and also sends Kitai to learn about the Alerans, bringing her into contact with Tavi again.
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=== Tropes that apply to Doroga
* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: On a regular basis.
* [[The Big Guy]]: His ''[[Bond Creatures|chala]]'' is a giant ground sloth. It goes with the territory.
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Gaius is the ruler of Alera, the most powerful Crafter alive, and essentially [[Harry Potter|Albus Dumbledore]] without the [[Obfuscating Stupidity|facade of eccentric senility]]. While often [[Magnificent Bastard|ruthless]], he is both intelligent and wise and everything he does is for the greater good of Alera. All respect Gaius's abilities, but some (like Isana) think he's lost touch with the common people and is therefore dangerous. Others (like Aquitaine or Kalarus) want to take his throne themselves.
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=== Tropes that apply to Sextus
* [[Anti-Hero]]
* [[Badass Grandpa]]{{spoiler|: Literally.}}
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Illegitimate son of one of the most powerful High Lords, Max is Tavi's roommate at the Academy and a close personal friend. Lives life for the moment, {{spoiler|as he doesn't expect to outlive his father.}} Powerful in Earthcrafting (especially the ability to induce lust), with a respectable skill in watercrafting as well. As one of the nobility, is also capable in all five elements. Seems to have fallen into the role of Tavi's primary sidekick.
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=== Tropes that apply to Max
* [[The Big Guy]]
* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]
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Another of Tavi's classmates, and a Cursor. Like Tavi, tends to rely more on his wits than his furies.
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=== Tropes that apply to Ehren
* [[Badass Bookworm]]
* [[Badass Normal]]: The in-universe equivalent, since Tavi is practically a [[Handicapped Badass]] by their standards. Ehren isn't particularly powerful compared to all the Citizens he hangs around, but he still manages to kick a decent amount of ass.
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Mostly off-screen in the early books, Attis is one of the two high Lords in serious contention for the position of the next First Lord. Sleeping with the First Lord's wife may give him some advantage at this...
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=== Tropes that apply to Aquitaine
* [[Anti-Villain]]
* [[Big Bad]]: Subverted. He's built up as this in the first half of the series, but is upstaged in the second by the ''real'' [[Big Bad]], the Vord Queen.
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== Lady Aquitainus Invidia ==
At least as ambitious as her husband, Invidia is cynical, manipulative and lethal. She'll keep her word, in public at least, but only because her reputation for fair dealing is more important than anything else she'd gain - and in private she'll do whatever is most expedient. As a high Lady, she's utterly lethal on the battlefield when she needs to be
Tends to use watercrafting disguises a lot. In ''Captain's Fury'', {{spoiler|she is shot and poisoned by her sometime lover and spy Fidelias. She is now on a Vord life-support as her liver is non-functional}}.
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=== Tropes that apply to Invidia
* [[Big Bad Duumvirate]]: More or less with her husband- it was a marriage of political advantage for both of them, and they both know it. In fact Invidia is probably more of a [[Big Bad]] than he ever was, since she is much more involved in the story and in actually manipulating people or dealing with their underlings- for instance, he was as annoyed with [[Obstructive Zealot|Senator Arnos]] as anyone else in the military, but Invidia was actually pulling Arnos' strings the whole time.
* [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]]: ''Every'' character with significant dealings with her has attempted to take her sudden but inevitable betrayal into account, with levels of success ranging from "filleted for their trouble" to "[[Crowning Moment of Funny|left Invidia naked in the middle of the woods]]."
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Probably the second greatest swordsman alive, fears only the swordsman who once beat him - the legendary Araris Valerian. Lover of Odiana, and a mercenary in the service of the Aquitaines.
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=== Tropes that apply to Aldrick
* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Only Araris has ever beaten me, and you're not Araris" and variants thereof. {{spoiler|Except when it is, in fact, Araris this time.}}
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: [[Broken Bird|Odiana was so broken]] by her treatment before they met that she wants him to put a [[Mind Rape|discipline collar on her]]. He always refuses.
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A powerful watercrafter who was enslaved as a young girl - a mind-warping slave collar combined with her powerful empathy and the trauma of slavery has driven her mad.
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=== Tropes that apply to Odiana
* [[Axe Crazy]]
* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]: Suffering from the aftereffects of such.
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Varg is the [[Wolf Man|Canim]] Ambassador to Alera. He's a lot smarter than most Alerans give him and his kind credit for, and recognizes Tavi's capabilities fairly quickly. {{spoiler|After getting [[The Starscream|doublecrossed by his advisor]], he spends some time in Aleran prison until Tavi breaks him out to get his aid.}}
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=== Tropes that apply to Varg
* [[Badass Grandpa]]: literally and figuratively.
* [[Big Badass Wolf
* [[The Chessmaster]]: And teaches some to Tavi.
* [[Genius Bruiser]]: He's both one of the smartest and physically most powerful characters in the books- and considering [[Gambit Pileup|this]] [[World of Badass|series]], that's saying something.
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A Canim ritualist, who is Varg's political rival. Undermines Varg by seeking alliances behind his back {{spoiler|including with the Vord}}.
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=== Tropes that apply to Sarl
* [[Blood Magic]]
* [[Dirty Coward]]: Tavi knows it, and uses it to make him look like an idiot. Awesomely.
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Leader of the Canim warriors who arrive in Alera with Sarl, Nasaug is honorable yet ruthless and above all a highly competent military commander. He is one of Tavi's primary antagonists (albeit a [[Worthy Opponent|respected one]]) in the middle part of the series.
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=== Tropes that apply to Nasaug
* [[Anti-Villain]]
* [[Authority Equals Asskicking]]
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A senior Cursor, under whom Tavi trains.
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=== Tropes that apply to Magnus
* [[Cool Old Guy]]
* [[Crouching Scholar Hidden Badass]]
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Max's legitimate half-brother, and their father's heir.
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=== Tropes that apply to Crassus
* [[A Father to His Men]]: Maybe moreso than Tavi; not quite as popular, perhaps, but less willing to put lives in danger. Still generally liked and respected.
* [[The Atoner]]: For {{spoiler|his mother's treachery}}
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Captain of the ''Slive'', a merchant vessel that indulges in smuggling as long as they can afford the bribes. Originally recruited by Ehren to carry word of the Canim in ''Cursor's Fury,'' he's later hired to help Tavi transport Varg after their [[Prison Break]] in ''Captain's Fury'' and remains a part of the team through ''Princeps' Fury'' and ''First Lord's Fury.'' A powerful woodcrafter, as evidenced by the fact that the ''Slive'' itself is one big woodcrafting he can control at will.
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=== Tropes that apply to Demos
* [[Anti-Villain]]: Originally. He was the one who brought Sarl {{spoiler|and the Vord Queen}} back to Canea; in his first appearance he threatens a pawnshop owner with murder, and in his second appearance he nearly follows through {{spoiler|Ehren does it first}} and then proceeds to kidnap all the women and children he can find on his way out of town. Sure, he's technically saving them from being murdered by a horde of Canim, but only so he can sell them into slavery. And yet he's somehow very likable. Like a [[Darker and Edgier]] [[Pirates of the Caribbean|Captain Jack Sparrow]].
** In the following book Tavi notes that he doesn't have enough chains on his ship to be a full-time slaver; he probably never really sold them as slaves and really was just trying to save him. It's just that, he's a pirate- he has a reputation.
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The other main candidate (besides Aquitainus) as the First Lord's successor. The province of Kalare is one of the few where slavery is still rampant, and Kalarus has taken the twisted furycrafting of slave collars and weaponised it.
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=== Tropes that apply to Kalarus
* [[Ax Crazy]]: The First Lord thinks that Kalurus would be a bit easier to deal with if he weren't quite so mad.
* [[Badass]]: One can't deny his ballsiness, he pulls a Night of the Long Knives and turns the [[Blood Moon|stars red]].
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Son of Lord Kalarus and classmate of Tavi's at the Academy - where he was a vicous bully. Hasn't improved since.
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=== Tropes that apply to Brencis
* [[Captain Ersatz]]: There's a fair bit of [[Harry Potter|Draco Malfoy]] in him (Brencis is nastier, though, by virtue of having inherited a bit of his dad's instability), though it's unknown if that was deliberate.
** Even funnier when you consider that Tavi is a skinny kid with black hair and green eyes...
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Head of the Bloodcrows (Kalarus's equivalent of the Cursors), she is Kalarus's chief spy and assassin; a minor but important recurring character.
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=== Tropes that apply to Rook
* [[Break the Cutie]]: What her training seems to have involved. {{spoiler|She wasn't totally broken, though...}}
* [[Dark Action Girl]]
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The politician in charge of military spending, who dismisses any report of military threats that don't fit his preconceptions. Politically, not a supporter of the First Lord, but in a position too sensitive to ignore.
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=== Tropes that apply to Arnos
* [[A Million Is a Statistic]]
* [[Bad Boss]]
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Bodyguard, assassin or blade-for-hire, Navaris doesn't care - she's in it for money and the reputation as the most dangerous swordswoman alive.
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=== Tropes that apply to Navaris
* [[Axe Crazy]]
* [[Dark Action Girl]]
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Marat headman of the Herdbane tribe, and also a hordemaster (warleader of several tribes). Serves as one of the primary villains in ''Furies of Calderon''.
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=== Tropes that apply to Atsurak
* [[Disc One Final Boss]]: The Aquitaines were pulling his strings.
* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]
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A [[Horde of Alien Locusts]] accidentally awakened at the beginning of the series.
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=== Tropes that apply to the Vord
* [[
* [[Big Creepy-Crawlies]]: Vord not controlling an Aleran, Canim, Marat, etc. are usually gigantic bugs. Queens, of course, excepted.
* [[Captain Ersatz]]: They are directly inspired by [[
* [[Evil Evolves]]: The queen constantly breeds new forms to adapt to changing conditions and correct any weaknesses. Face them with Knights Aeris? You get flying vordknights. Face them with a legion shieldwall? You get mantis warriors that attack over the top of it. Face them with defensive fortifications? You get giant vordbulks that can plow through them.
* [[Hive Mind]]
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[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|The leader(s) of the Vord]]. Very scary.
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=== Tropes that apply to the Vord Queen
* [[Authority Equals Asskicking]]: Hell yeah!
* [[Big Bad]]
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Probably the greatest and most powerful fury in existence, and effectively the incarnation of the entire continent. She's taken a fondness to the house of Gaius, acting as a [[Spirit Advisor]] to them and causing effects on a massive scale when they ask and it suits her. However, she will not directly aid one side over another; using her power effectively relies on setting up situations where some outside influence helps your side more than the other.
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=== Tropes that apply to Alera
* [[Anthropomorphic Personification]]: Technically all furies would be this, but Alera's the most human and comprehensible of them, having interacted with the house of Gaius for centuries.
* [[Bishonen Line]]: Of the great furies we see, Kalare is a giant volcano, Garados is a hideous mountain beast, and Thana is a vast, gaunt shape composed of countless windmanes. Alera, on the other hand, is very humanlike until you get to her eyes.
* [[Kaleidoscope Eyes]]: They cycle through just about every color imaginable. But then, she's a [[Physical God]]...
* [[The Mentor]]: {{spoiler|Her [[Training
* {{spoiler|[[Mentor Occupational Hazard]]: Sextus's destruction of Alera Imperia destroyed the mosaic that called her into being as a discrete existence, and she's already fading away when she first meets Tavi.}}
* [[Physical God]]
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Codex Alera]]▼
[[Category:Characters]]
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