Heralds of Valdemar: Difference between revisions

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''The Heralds of Valdemar'' is a [[Fantasy]] novel series written by [[Mercedes Lackey]]. The series is linked by its setting rather than focusing on a core group of characters; it covers roughly 3,000 years of history, all told. It is written mostly in the form of trilogies that ''do'' focus on a particular character, although there are a handful of independent novels as well.

'''''The Heralds of Valdemar''''' is a [[Fantasy]] novel series written by [[Mercedes Lackey]]. The series is linked by its setting rather than focusing on a core group of characters; it covers roughly 3,000 years of history, all told. It is written mostly in the form of trilogies that ''do'' focus on a particular character, although there are a handful of independent novels as well.

The majority of the series revolves around [[The Kingdom]] of Valdemar and its protectors, the eponymous Heralds of Valdemar. Heralds are [[Heroes]] of one stripe or another [[Call to Adventure|called]] to defend Valdemar from the current [[Big Bad]]. Sometimes they have to go on [[The Quest]] for the [[MacGuffin]] that will save Valdemar, other times they have to root out [[The Mole]] or discover whatever [[Applied Phlebotinum]] solution they need to save the day. Almost always, it's a [[Coming of Age Story]] as well.

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An important aspect of the Heralds of Valdemar is their Companions. Companions are, in essence, [[Cool Horse|Cool Horses]] with [[Intellectual Animal|human-level intelligence]] and telepathy. They deliver the [[Call to Adventure]] to new Heralds by instinctively seeking out and recruiting youngsters with latent [[Psychic Powers|Gifts]] and good hearts, and always find the one person for whom they were meant [[Because Destiny Says So]]. This usually happens at just the right time to get the newly Chosen trained just before the kingdom needs them.

'''~~<big>~~Major novels in the Valdemar series, in roughly chronological order:~~</big>~~'''

'''Major novels in the Valdemar series, in roughly chronological order:'''

* ''The Mage Wars'': The prehistory of the Valdemar 'verse, including the eponymous war between Great Mages [[Big Good|Urtho]] and [[Big Bad|Ma'ar]] that resulted in the [[The End of the World as We Know It|Cataclysm]] and its [[After the End|aftermath]], and the exile of the Kaled'a'in. Features the mighty Black Gryphon, Skandranon.

* ''The Last Herald-Mage'': Details the [[Trauma Conga Line|tragic life]] and ultimate [[Heroic Sacrifice]] of Vanyel Ashkevron, the most powerful Herald-Mage Valdemar has ever known. Features one of the first, if not the first, openly gay yet unambiguously heroic protagonists in fantasy literature.

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== Tropes A to M ==

* [[Abdicate the Throne]]: Elspeth, from the position of Heir, to take on the mantle of the first Herald-Mage since Vanyel's time.

* [[Achievements in Ignorance]]: Valdemaran mages pull off a lot of this in and following the ''Mage Winds'' trilogy, simply because they're too new at magic to know what ought to be impossible. This also leads directly to the use of [[Sufficiently Analyzed Magic]], when the artificers start getting involved. Firesong especially is not amused.

* [[Achievements in Ignorance]]: Valdemaran mages pull off a lot of this in and following the ''Mage Winds'' trilogy, simply because they're too new at magic to know what ought to be impossible. This also leads directly to the use of [[Sufficiently Analyzed Magic]], when the artificers start getting involved. Firesong especially is not amused, but ultimately has to admit that it works, and works ''well''.

* [[Action Bomb]]: A mage using the Final Strike technique effectively becomes one of these.

* [[Action Girl]]: Most female Heralds. Jeri, Elspeth, Tarma, and Kerowyn are excellent examples.

* [[After the End]], of a sort: An event in the distant past called the Cataclysm [[World Sundering|violently reshaped]] large sections of the planet, and is generally responsible for most of history since it occurred.

* [[After the End]], of a sort: An event in the distant past called the Cataclysm [[World Sundering|violently reshaped]] large sections of the planet, and is generally responsible for most of history since it occurred. (Later books in the series explain just what the Cataclysm was and how it came about.)

* [[Alien Non-Interference Clause]]:

** Kal'enel and whatever god(dess) is behind the Companions hold to a rule that humans are to solve their own problems wherever possible, and divine intervention is to be restricted to situations where they can't succeed on their own; for this reason, the Companions aren't allowed to get their hooves into humans' relationship problems unless they're asked for help. The gods are not above breaking this rule if they think it necessary, however.

** Vkandis Sunlord averts this trope; he's a very activist god and not above purging his priesthood or {{spoiler|protecting entire nations from invasion}} with a quick [[Bolt of Divine Retribution]].

* [[The Alliance]]: Between Valdemar and several neighboring kingdoms.

* [[Amplified Animal Aptitude]]: Bondbirds and Shin'a'in warsteeds are not ''quite'' [[Intellectual Animal|Intellectual Animals]], but are notably smarter than normal birds and horses thanks to extensive magically-augmented breeding programs.

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* [[Anti-Villain]]: Grand Duke Tremaine, as decent a man as could survive in the [[Deadly Decadent Court|Imperial court]].

* [[Ascended Demon]]: Attempted in ''The Oathbound'', when {{spoiler|Thalhkarsh is [[Brought Down to Normal]] and captured by priests}}. There are no indications that the project succeeded, as she isn't mentioned again in any other book.

* [[Asexuality]]: Tarma, and the other Shin'a'in Swordsworn, due to religious vows. The Shin'a'in Goddess is both merciful and practical, however -- rather than force her adherents to torture themselves, she simply puts in a mental block preventing them from feeling any sexual desire for anything in the first place. But hey, they ''are'' all volunteers. In Tarma's case, it's necessary at first to keep her from being emotionally crippled due to her [[Rape as Backstory]].

* [[Asexuality]]: Tarma, and the other Shin'a'in Swordsworn, due to religious vows. The Shin'a'in Goddess is both merciful and practical, however -- rather than force her adherents to torture themselves, she simply puts in a mental block preventing them from feeling any sexual desire for anything in the first place. But hey, they ''are'' all volunteers. In Tarma's case, it's necessary at first to keep her from being emotionally crippled due to her [[Rape as Backstory|rape]].

* [[Author Appeal]]: Mercedes Lackey really likes birds (especially raptors) and avian creatures in general. There are the Hawkbrothers and their bondbirds, the gryphons, and the avian humanoid ''tervardi''. She's very fond of horses, too. The ''Mage Winds'' trilogy includes an afterword all but admitting that the Companions and bondbirds are Lackey's wish-fulfillment compared to horses and raptors, and cautioning that [[Don't Try This At Home|real falconry and equestrianism are nothing like that]], although still rewarding. (In at least one instance, a Herald rides a real horse and is surprised at her behavior compared to his Companion). [[May-December Romance]] is another one that recurs throughout her work.

* [[Author Avatar]]: the character Myste is an obvious author self-insert (to make it clear ''how'' obvious, "Misty" is the author's nickname). And to make it even ''more'' obvious, Myste's position in the court is Herald-Chronicler, aka 'court historian', aka 'she writes down everything that's happening'. And she gets the hottest, most badass guy in the series, can't forget that.

* [[Automaton Horses]]: Mainly averted (see [[Shown Their Work]]), but justified with the Companions, who use node magic to augment their endurance and can therefore run much faster and for much longer than any ordinary horse. They do still need to rest and eat eventually, although they are also much more capable of taking care of their own needs than ordinary horses.

* [[Background Magic Field]]: Composed of [[Life Energy]] and used to power all [[Functional Magic]].

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* [[Big Bad]]: Ma'ar, in the background or foreground of just about all of the novels through ''Mage Winds''. After he's finally disposed of, the series lacks a clear major villain, substituting [[The Empire]] and [[The End of the World as We Know It]].

* [[Big Good]]:

** Urtho, in ''The Black Gryphon''. An interesting example because he [[The Chains of Commanding|didn't want to be a leader]], but was forced into it because he was the only one who would stand up to Ma'ar. In ''Mage Storms'', we learn that the historical view of Urtho varies among the Shin'a'in, the gryphons, and others.

** Urtho, in ''The Black Gryphon''. An interesting example because he [[The Chains of Commanding|didn't want to be a leader]], but was forced into it because he was the only one who would (or ''could'') stand up to Ma'ar. In ''Mage Storms'', we learn that the historical view of Urtho varies among the Shin'a'in, the gryphons, and others.

** Solaris, in ''Mage Storms''. As the first genuine High Priest of Vkandis in centuries, she has some pretty awesome powers but is only shown to exercise them once.

* [[Binding Ancient Treaty]]: Established between Valdemar and Rethwellen at the end of ''Oathbreakers'', then somehow forgotten by Valdemar by the time of ''By the Sword'', when Valdemar needs Rethwellen's help fighting Hardorn. Kero, whose grandmother Kethry was vital in the events that forged the agreement, provides a gentle reminder of its existence.

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* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: Several characters Talia meets in ''Arrow's Flight'', particularly the trader Evan, play a part in advancing the plot in later books.

* [[The Chessmaster]]: The gods, collectively, are the setting's ultimate chessmasters, manipulating the entire history of Velgarth from the Cataclysm onward to ensure that {{spoiler|humanity can prevent a repeat performance when the Mage Storms hit}}.

* [[Child Soldier]]: Some Herald trainees are young enough to qualify, but Kerowyn is probably the best example, taking up the apparently hopeless quest to rescue her brother's betrothed from captivity only to be aided by Tarma and Kethry.

* [[Child Soldier]]: Some Herald trainees are young enough to qualify, but Kerowyn is probably the best (and most literal) example, taking up the apparently hopeless quest to rescue her brother's betrothed from captivity only to be aided by Tarma and Kethry.

* [[Chronic Hero Syndrome]]: [[Deconstruction|Deconstructed]] with Need, which forces [[Chronic Hero Syndrome]] upon its bearers with no regard for any sense of proportion or self-preservation, {{spoiler|before she wakes up in the ''Mage Winds'' trilogy.}} Played straight by Heralds, for whom it's more or less contractually obligated. It shows up among the Healers, too, especially during plague situations.

* [[Circuit Judge]]: One of the primary everyday functions of the Heralds.

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* [[Deadly Decadent Court]]: The court of the Eastern Emperor, to the point where "master assassin" is considered a respectable entry on a prospective Emperor's resume, and one of the main characters reflects that being cursed to be unable to lie is the single most horrific fate that could ever possibly befall an Imperial nobleman.

* [[Deadly Prank]]: Some unaffiliated students pull one on Talia -- as attempted murder. "[[Pre-Mortem One-Liner|Give our love to Talamir]]" indeed.

* [[Death World]]: The Pelagirs are not a nice place to wander without native protection. Leftover magebuilt living weapons and other critters from a magical war two thousand years back, check. Flora/~~Fauna~~/~~People~~ mutated by either the wave of magical power unleashed by the Cataclysm that ended said war or the abnormally high level of background [[I Love Nuclear Power|mana]] even since, check. People both crazy/misanthropic enough to live there and [[Badass]] enough to survive, check. The most consistently benevolent people there (the Hawkbrothers, pledged to their goddess to decontaminate the place) will give intruders exactly ''one'' chance to properly justify their presence or flee before using lethal force.

* [[Death World]]: The Pelagirs are not a nice place to wander without native protection. Leftover magebuilt living weapons and other critters from a magical war two thousand years back, check. Flora/fauna/people mutated by either the wave of magical power unleashed by the Cataclysm that ended said war or the abnormally high level of background [[I Love Nuclear Power|mana]] even since, check. People both crazy/misanthropic enough to live there and [[Badass]] enough to survive, check. The most consistently benevolent people there (the Hawkbrothers, pledged to their goddess to decontaminate the place) will give intruders exactly ''one'' chance to properly justify their presence or flee before using lethal force.

* [[Defector From Decadence]]: Admittedly Herald Alberich did not defect so much as get shanghaied but the end result remained thus. He protests it, too, once he recovers from his <s>mad dash for freedom</s> journey. He even considers - for a few moments anyways - {{spoiler|having his bond between himself and his Companion severed.}} He doesn't go through with it, {{spoiler|mostly because of the mention that it would leave both of them ''badly'' damaged}} but it seems a close thing, even so.

* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Kerowyn, who is not so much cold as very narrowly focused. Played arrow-straight in ''The Black Gryphon'', with Winterhart. [[Played for Laughs]] in ''Oathbreakers'' with the bard Leslac, who thinks he can pull this on Tarma. He's badly wrong.

* [[Derailing Love Interests]]: Skif in the Mage Winds trilogy.

* [[Deus Angst Machina]]: Winterhart's backstory in ''The Black Gryphon'', thoroughly justified by the [[Crapsack World]] setting at the time. Amberdrake, too, although he deals with it differently. Vanyel's upbringing is equally angst-ridden but is mainly [[Trauma Conga Line|told in the story]].

* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: Leslac, about Tarma and Kerowyn, frequently. While he usually gets the overall story right, he tends to be dead wrong about the fine details. The most inaccurate song he ever wrote was actually one where he was ''present'' for the events in question, but he deliberately rewrote the story to be more dramatic (The story as Tarma lived it: She was attacked by a drunk. She hit him with a broomstick. He accidentally cracked his skull on the fireplace and died. The drunk turned out to be an unpopular local noble. The story as Leslac told it: Tarma learned that the people were being oppressed by an evil overlord, so she called him out and slew him in an epic duel).

* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: [[In-Universe]] example: the bard Leslac, about Tarma and Kerowyn, frequently. While he usually gets the overall story right, he tends to be dead wrong about the fine details. The most inaccurate song he ever wrote was actually one where he was ''present'' for the events in question, but he deliberately rewrote the story to be more dramatic (The story as Tarma lived it: She was attacked by a drunk. She hit him with a broomstick. He accidentally cracked his skull on the fireplace and died. The drunk turned out to be an unpopular local noble. The story as Leslac told it: Tarma learned that the people were being oppressed by an evil overlord, so she called him out and slew him in an epic duel).

** Later on Tarma and her friends conspire to deliberately take advantage of Leslac's unwillingness to actually learn anything about the people he sings about, when Leslac's determined romantic pursuit of Tarma (who is magically ''incapable'' of feeling sexual desire, as part of her consecration to the Shin'a'in Goddess as Swordsworn) begins to annoy the crap out of her. Then it occurs to Tarma that if Leslac's so butt-ignorant about the Swordsworn that he doesn't know their vow of chastity is magically enforced, it's possible to convince him that the 'female' Swordsworn are actually castrated men. Leslac being a world-class idiot, it works.

** Later on Tarma and her friends conspire to deliberately take advantage of Leslac's unwillingness to actually learn anything about the people he sings about, when Leslac's determined romantic pursuit of Tarma (who is magically ''incapable'' of feeling sexual desire, as part of her consecration to the Shin'a'in Goddess as Swordsworn) begins to annoy the crap out of her. Then it occurs to Tarma that if Leslac's so butt-ignorant about the Swordsworn that he doesn't know their vow of chastity is magically enforced, it's possible to convince him that the "female" Swordsworn are actually castrated men. Leslac being a world-class idiot, it works.

* [[Dirty Mind Reading]]: Talia's Empathy leads to [[Sex by Proxy]] through both her Companion Rolan and the Herald-Trainee who has the room next to hers. Consequently, when she graduates to a full-fledged Herald, she chooses the topmost room in a tower of the Herald's Collegium as her residence. She remarks to Kris after their tryst that she may have been a virgin, but she wasn't naive.

* [[Damsel in Distress]]: Happens on occasion - Dierna in ''By the Sword'' and Lady Myria in ''The Oathbound'' play it particularly straight - but in most cases the damsel in question does more than just sit around waiting for rescue. In one notable incident from the ''Oathblood'' anthology, the kidnapped girls manage to leave a scent trail for their rescuers to track them by, and then poison their kidnappers to slow them down for the rescue team to catch up, without being suspected until it was much too late.

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* [[Eviler Than Thou]]: Ancar and Hulda, meet Mornelithe Falconsbane. Among several other examples, he takes their [[We Have Reserves]] strategy to truly epic heights.

* [[The Evil Prince]]: Ancar of Hardorn. To a lesser (or at least less competent) extent Thanel of Rethwellan, Prince-Consort of Valdemar.

* [[Excalibur in the Rust]]: In ''Oathbreakers'', the long-lost Singing Sword of Rethwellan that is used to identify the country's rightful king is discovered to be none other than a rusty, dirty old sword that Kethry picked up along the wayside.

* [[Excalibur in the Rust]]: In ''Oathbreakers'', the long-lost Singing Sword of Rethwellan that is used to identify the country's rightful king is discovered to be none other than a rusty, dirty old sword that Kethry picked up along the wayside. Played with in that the ''only'' thing exceptional about it is its ability to identify the king; in every other regard it's a pretty crap sword.

* [[Fantastic Honorifics]]: "Siara" is the default honorific in the Eastern Empire, when its not clear exactly what the right one would be. Other places don't have this custom, probably because outside the Eastern Empire they don't usually kill people for addressing someone important without a proper honorific.

* [[The Fagin]]: A [[Loveable Rogue]] type. Skif falls in with a group of young thieves led by an adult man (Bazie), who is unfortunately crippled; he gives them food, shelter and lessons (both educational and in how to be a good thief) in exchange for helping him out with his daily life and stealing for him.

* [[Famed in Story]]: The story of Kerowyn's first heroic exploits follows her throughout the rest of ''By the Sword'', rather to her chagrin. She follows in the footsteps of her mentors, Tarma and Kethry, whose mercenary careers are plagued by tales of their "heroic unselfish deeds". As they put it, it's tough to get paying jobs when people expect you to help them out of the goodness of your heart. Vanyel also gets quite a bit of this in ''Magic's Promise'' and especially in ''Magic's Price''.

* [[Fantastic Nuke]]: The end of the Mage Wars left two '''large''' craters, later known as Lake Evendim and the Dhorisha Plains, where the towers of Urtho and Ma'ar had been. Though distances aren't quite specified, the size they look on maps suggests the Dhorisha Plains are more than two hundred kilometers across; possibly a '''lot''' more.

* [[Fantastic Nuke]]: The end of the Mage Wars left two '''large''' craters, later known as Lake Evendim and the Dhorisha Plains, where the towers of Urtho and Ma'ar had been. Though distances aren't quite specified, the size they look on maps suggests the Dhorisha Plains are more than two hundred kilometers across, and possibly a '''lot''' more.

* [[Fantasy Contraception]]: Female Heralds (and presumably, other women who venture afield) employ an herbal concoction that reduces or eliminates "moon days" and also has contraceptive properties.

* [[Fate Worse Than Death]]: Inflicted by Kethry on Idra's brother in ''Oathbreakers'', as punishment for the betrayal of his kingdom and the brutal rape and murder of his sister.

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* [[Florence Nightingale Effect]]: Kerowyn and Eldan in ''By the Sword''.

* [[Functional Magic]]: Has elements of almost all types.

* [[Fusion Fic]]: A rare canon (on one side, at least) example can be found in the short story "Moving Targets", written by Lackey herself for one of the Valdemar anthologies. It's a fusion of Valdemar and, oddly, ''[[Scooby Doo]]''. It has four Herald trainees and a kyree in a green flower-painted wagon solving a [[Scooby-Doo Hoax]]. It even includes the line "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you meddling Heralds."

* [[Fusion Fic]]: A rare canon (on one side, at least) example can be found in the short story "Moving Targets", written by Lackey herself for one of the Valdemar anthologies. It's a fusion of Valdemar and, oddly, ''[[Scooby-Doo]]''. It has four Herald trainees and a kyree (a wolf-like sapient species) in a green flower-painted wagon solving a [[Scooby-Doo Hoax]]. It even includes the line "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you meddling Heralds."

* [[Genki Girl]]: Natoli, almost to the point of being a [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl]] for Karal, if she weren't important to the story in many other ways.

* [[Giant Flyer]]: Gryphons.

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* [[Intergenerational Friendship]]: Talia's close bond with her equestrian instructor Keren in the ''Arrows'' trilogy. Perhaps even moreso, her equally close friendship with the elderly and mostly retired Herald Jadus in ''Arrows of the Queen''.

* [[Interspecies Romance]]:

** Skif and Nyara are only sort of an example, since Nyara was originally human before her father altered her. Later her [[Catgirl]] features are reverted until she's almost completely human in appearance.

** Skif and Nyara are only sort of an example, since Nyara was originally human before her father altered her. Later her [[Catgirl]] features are reverted until she's almost completely human in appearance. (To her initial despair, because she thought Skif was primarily attracted to her for her exotic appearance.)

** Lavan Firestorm and his Companion do have a lifebond as well as a Companion bond; this is necessary to anchor his sanity.

** There's something of a [[Deconstruction]] or [[Justified Trope|justified]] [[Averted Trope|aversion]] of this issue in the ''Mage Storms'' trilogy, where the true nature of most Companions ({{spoiler|reincarnated Heralds}}) is revealed. The Companions go to great lengths to conceal this secret to avoid exactly the situation where a Herald is forced to confront a former loved one in a ... slightly different body.

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* [[The Magic Goes Away]]: Three times in the series.

** At the end of ''The Black Gryphon'', the Cataclysm shatters magic over the entire continent and it takes years before things settle down enough that it's safe to use again.

** Following ''The Last Herald-Mage'' trilogy, Vanyel's efforts to protect Valdemar from foreign mages and to ensure that "normal" Heraldic Gifts weren't seen as inferior to magic have the unintended side-effect of causing the country as a whole to forget that magic even exists. This gets revoked at the beginning of ''Winds of Fury'', setting the stage for the return of the Herald-Mages.

** Following ''The Last Herald-Mage'' trilogy, Vanyel's efforts to protect Valdemar from foreign mages and to ensure that "normal" Heraldic Gifts weren't seen as inferior to magic have the unintended side-effect of causing the country as a whole to forget that magic even exists (at least in the "modern" era). This gets revoked at the beginning of ''Winds of Fury'', setting the stage for the return of the Herald-Mages.

** At the end of ''Mage Storms'', the Final Storm causes most nodes and ley lines to be drained and scattered across the land, depriving mages of most of their power. Again, it's stated that things will get back to normal eventually.

* [[Magic Knight]]: Vanyel, Elspeth, and Darkwind are the most notable examples. Most Heralds and many Tayledras tend at least a little toward this. That said, true [[Magic Knight|Magic Knights]] are rare, since keeping ''either'' martial or magical skills up to date is a full-time job, and doing both of them together pretty much precludes a social life.

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* [[A Man Is Not a Virgin]]: Averted when a young man is the center of the [[Coming of Age Story]]; played straight elsewhere. In fairness, female Heralds aren't celibate, nor are they expected to be.

* [[Masquerade]]: The Companions spend over a thousand years as partners to the Heralds without ever revealing their true natures: {{spoiler|reincarnated Heralds, or even actual divine avatars in the case of Grove-Born Companions}}. This is deemed necessary as knowing it could cause the Heralds to worship or even become dependent on them, not to mention the trauma of knowing that {{spoiler|a loved one came back in a forever-inaccessible form... or worse, ''didn't'' come back}}.

* [[May-December Romance]]: a [[Author Appeal]]. Several appear early in the series:

* [[May-December Romance]]: An [[Author Appeal]]. Several appear early in the series:

** Stefan is 17 and Vanyel is 35 when they meet.

** Talia (19-20) marries mid-30s Dirk.

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** The High Priest ''directly'' appointed by the sun god is named "Solaris", Latin for "of the sun."

* [[Meaningful Rename]]: Contributing to the tendency of the Tayledras to have [[Meaningful Name|Meaningful Names]] is the fact that they sometimes change their names following life-changing events. For example, Darkwind was called Songwind in the backstory of ''Winds of Fate,'' but he changed it when the Heartstone was sabotaged. The ''Mage Winds'' trilogy manages to play this for a bit of humor when Starblade quips that he considered changing his name to Starshadow to reflect that he feels like a shadow of his former self... but there's already a Shadowstar and [[One Steve Limit|it would be too confusing]].

* [[Medieval Stasis]]: Rigorously enforced throughout the series, with the raw beginnings of Steam Age technology emerging around ''Mage Storms''. Justified in the sense that most societies have [[Functional Magic]] to do the job that technology might otherwise handle, with some (like the Eastern Empire) going all the way into [[Magitek]]. Valdemar had mind-magic and healing magic, even though "true magic" had been blocked {{spoiler|by Vanyel's ghost}} until the end of ''Winds of Change.''

* [[Medieval Stasis]]: Rigorously enforced throughout the series, with the raw beginnings of Steam Age technology just emerging around ''Mage Storms''. Justified in the sense that most societies have [[Functional Magic]] to do the job that technology might otherwise handle, with some (like the Eastern Empire) going all the way into [[Magitek]]. Valdemar had mind-magic and healing magic, even though "true magic" had been blocked {{spoiler|by Vanyel's ghost}} until the end of ''Winds of Change.''

* [[Men Can't Keep House]]: Keisha refers to this in ''Owlsight'', when she thinks back to when the village women cleaned up Justyn's old cottage. She concedes that he kept the treatment areas clean, but the living areas .... Later, when she first sees Darian's home in the new Vale, she can't believe at first that a single male lives there because it's so clean. (Darian does not score any aversion points, since the ''hertasi'' clean the place for him.)

** Played straight in the Tarma & Kethry short story "Hero", where they end up seeking shelter with a farmer who had just lost his wife for one night while on the road... and end up staying longer because they are constitutionally incapable of riding on and leaving the poor man and his young children in ''that kind'' of mess. In the man's defense he was certainly ''trying'' to keep house, but with his oldest child barely old enough to keep the younger ones from falling into the privy and a farm to run without any farmhands, he had exactly zero hours in the day for housekeeping chores and zero helping hands to do it with. The story doesn't end until they find him a housekeeper.

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* [[Monochromatic Eyes]]: The Shin'a'in Star-Eyed Goddess, as implied by her name, appears as a woman with starfield eyes. Souls chosen to serve her, called Avatars, have the same eyes.

* [[Morality Chain]]: Lavan's Companion. When she dies, everything burns.

* [[Most Writers Are Writers]]: Her aforementioned [[Author Avatar]] is a chronicler or, in other words, a writer.

* [[Mugging the Monster]]: Lavan Chitward was bullied at school by the older students. During one such session, [[Playing with Fire|his powers]] manifested and his tormentors paid the price.

* [[Mundane Utility]]:

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** Elspeth, to the point where she gets Very Annoyed when people start mentioning Destinies. Need, naturally, approves -- while Gwena finds it irritating to the extreme. {{spoiler|But then, Gwena ''was'' the one trying to shanghai her into a Glorious Destiny, wherein Elspeth would be the first of the Herald-Mages to return to Valdemar after the last one died, several centuries ago. Interestingly, she does return to Valdemar as a Herald-Mage, albeit by a completely different path then the Companions had intended.}}

** The trope is subverted in a number of ways: strong-willed characters like Elspeth, Vanyel, and Kerowyn swear up and down that they are going to fight the winds of fate, but they all end up more or less where they're supposed to be anyway.

* [[Self-Insert Fic|Self-Insert]]:

* [[~~Self Insert~~]]: ~~In story;~~ the first time we meet Talia, she's daydreaming about having been a Herald accompanying Vanyel at his last stand~~. Herald-Chronicler Myste is the [[Author Avatar|author's avatar]]~~.

** In an [[In-Universe]] example, the first time we meet Talia, she's daydreaming about having been a Herald accompanying Vanyel at his last stand.

** In a more typical manner, Herald-Chronicler Myste is the [[Author Avatar|author's avatar]].

* [[Sex by Proxy]]: [[Blessed with Suck]], Talia experiences this with Companion Rolan and nearby Herald-Trainees. She chooses a tower room as her Heraldic residence to ensure her own privacy.

* [[She Is the King]]:

** Solaris is High Priest, ''not'' Priestess, of Karse. Her title is "''Son'' of the Sun." In ''Exile's Honor'', set a generation earlier, the little boy ({{spoiler|Vkandis in disguise}}) mentions to Herald Alberich his daughter who will be his Son.

** In the second part of ''By the Sword'', some ten-plus years prior to Solaris, Kerowyn notes that the High Priest leading Karse in its war against Rethwellan is purportedly a woman pretending to be a man, complete with faux mustache, styling herself "the true-born Son of the Sun."

* [[Shout-Out]]:

** Bard [[Clay Aiken|Aiken]].

** In ''Mage Storms'', there's one line where an unnamed character uses a [[Catch Phrase]] from ''[[Ninja High School]]'': "The world can be saved by steam!"

** One country, never visited, but shown on the maps and briefly mentioned once or twice, is named [[C. J. Cherryh|Seejay]] (alternately spelled Ceejay). Also, there's the Terilee river, named for one of the administrators at Firebird Arts & Music, which carries a lot of stuff related to Valdemar.

* [[Shown Their Work]]: Mercedes Lackey is an expert equestrian and falconer. Anything she writes about these subjects is as accurate as it gets, minus the magical trappings.

* [[Shrinking Violet]]: Talia at first, due to crippling shyness. As she becomes a full Herald, she grows out of it.

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** Averted in Valdemar, where one must be Chosen as a Herald, with all the [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness]] that implies, in order to be eligible for the throne. It is in fact key to the origin of the Heraldic Circle: King Valdemar, concerned that one of his descendents would eventually fall into this trope, prayed to every God he could think of for a way to ensure that his successors would always be worthy people, and was answered by the appearance of three Companions who promptly Chose him, his son, and his herald.

** Played straight, meanwhile, with the King of Hardorn, who was a pretty good king and ally of Valdemar until his son Ancar killed him and took over, enslaving his people and starting wars with Valdemar and Karse.

* [[Smite Me Oh Mighty Smiter]]: Inverted. The priests of Karse spent several centuries drifting away from the true tenets of their god Vkandis, falling further and further into vile corruption and demon-summoning, while still invoking Vkandis' name to cement their theocratic rule. One fine midwinter's day, during the annual high holy ceremonies of their religion, Vkandis chose to [[Bolt of Divine Retribution|actually answer an invocation]]. The following events earned him the [[Fan Nickname]] 'Vkandis The Unsubtle'.

* [[Smite Me Oh Mighty Smiter]]: Inverted. The priests of Karse spent several centuries drifting away from the true tenets of their god Vkandis, falling further and further into vile corruption and demon-summoning, while still invoking Vkandis' name to cement their theocratic rule. One fine midwinter's day, during the annual high holy ceremonies of their religion, Vkandis chose to [[Bolt of Divine Retribution|actually answer an invocation]]. The following events earned him the [[Fan Nickname]] "Vkandis The Unsubtle".

* [[Snake Talk]]: Most of the Gryphons. But not in any evil or sinister sense; it's due to their vocal anatomy.

* [[Spirit Advisor]]: