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Codex Alera
- 3221 statements
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Magical Roman Legionaries straight out of Avatar: The Last Airbender versus the Zerg, wolfmen with Blood Magic, telepathic yetis and white-haired elves. Riding ground sloths and terror birds. Sometimes, the Legionaries fight each other, too.A high fantasy/intrigue series written by Jim Butcher (of The Dresden Files fame), the Codex Alera is set in a world that is populated by the descendants of the IX Roman Legion (according to the Word of God). They have carved out a massive empire led by the "First Lord" and they all have magic — specifically, they all bond with one or more "furies", elementals of air, water, fire, earth, wood, or metal. Those who control enough furies can become Citizens, with increased privileges and obligations above the common freeman, but everyone has at least one fury. Well, everyone save one.Young Tavi is the only known Aleran who does not have access to any furies. At best, he is treated like a special needs child. However, since he cannot rely on furies, Tavi uses something that many of his countrymen fail to utilize: his brain.Shortly before Tavi was born, the only son and heir of the aging First Lord of Alera was killed in battle, causing the various high nobility to scramble and plot to position themselves to take power when the First Lord dies (or, in some cases, to expedite that event). Chief among them are Aquitainus Attis, the High Lord of Aquitaine, and Kalarus Brencis Majoris, the High Lord of Kalare. As Alera falls into civil strife, the various non-human enemies of Alera prepare to take advantage of these divisions while a far more dangerous threat lurks in the shadows...Standing with Tavi are his uncle Bernard (an Earth- and Woodcrafter), his aunt Isana (a very powerful Watercrafter), the young Cursor Amara (a Windcrafter), and the half-wit slave Fade, along with the other friends and allies he makes as he is swept up in the battles to save Alera.The series consists of: Furies Of Calderon (2004) Academ's Fury (2005) Cursor's Fury (2006) Captain's Fury (2007) Princeps' Fury (2008) First Lord's Fury (2009) | |
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Codex Alera / int_101500e | type |
Beneath Notice | |
Codex Alera / int_101500e | comment |
Tavi was supposed to be Beneath Notice in Cursor's Fury when he goes undercover in the First Aleran Legion as the Third Subtribune Logistica (the assistant to the assistant of the assistant quartermaster), a position no significant power or authority in the Legion's command structure. Gaius wanted him attached to the Legion so he could monitor its activities without arousing suspicion himself. Unfortunately, the events of the novel soon thrust him into the (very public) spotlight. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1049848f | type |
Aliens Speaking English | |
Codex Alera / int_1049848f | comment |
Aliens Speaking English: Each sapient species on Carna has its own language or non-verbal means of communication, but the Marat and many of the Canim speak the Aleran language. The Marat, who have multiple tribes that each have their own tongue, explain that they use Aleran to speak amongst their different tribes as a diplomatic and trading language. The majority of the Canim do not speak Aleran, but their leaders and ambassadors do because they expect to talk to Alerans. | |
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Codex Alera / int_108c268e | type |
Hotter and Sexier | |
Codex Alera / int_108c268e | comment |
Hotter and Sexier: The Codex Alera series as a whole is this to The Dresden Files. While the latter certainly isn't very chaste, the former has at least one (admittedly obscurly-described) sex scene per book along with a comparatively more even-handed depiction of both Male Gaze and Female Gaze in its character narrations and multiple female characters having a history related in at least some way to prostitution. | |
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Codex Alera / int_10d36992 | type |
Parrying Bullets | |
Codex Alera / int_10d36992 | comment |
Parrying Bullets: Both metal- and windcrafters are fast enough to slap arrows out of the air with their swords, though windcrafters usually prefer to deflect arrows with gusts of air instead. People start using salt arrows against windcrafters to take advantage of this (salt disrupts wind furies). | |
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Codex Alera / int_1122ec31 | type |
Farm Boy | |
Codex Alera / int_1122ec31 | comment |
Farm Boy: Tavi. Even when he is recognized as the Princeps of Alera and on a secret mission behind enemy lines, he still stops to admire the efficiency of a livestock pen. | |
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Codex Alera / int_112daba0 | type |
Retired Badass | |
Codex Alera / int_112daba0 | comment |
In Academ's Fury, Isana is attacked by assassins in the capital while she is being guarded by a Cursor and Sir Nedus, a Retired Badass. Nedus is personally attacked by three swordsmen, and is stabbed by the third after killing the first two. Nedus proceeds to grab the third swordsman and kill him while he himself is dying. | |
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Codex Alera / int_118a2d16 | type |
Hanlon's Razor | |
Codex Alera / int_118a2d16 | comment |
Hanlon's Razor: Senator Arnos is legitimately evil, but Tavi cannot accept that as an explanation for the complete lack of any reaction to the inevitable tragedies that will come from his actions. He eventually realizes that Arnos simply does not realize the impact his decisions will have, since the war is not real to him. Arnos views it only as a ludus game, lifeless pieces moving on a bloodless board, without appreciation for the way the conflict will disturb the entire realm. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1206d299 | type |
Can't Kill You, Still Need You | |
Codex Alera / int_1206d299 | comment |
Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Fidelias is aware of this, which is why he feels safe reporting failure to Lord Aquitaine. He is too valuable a tool to be thrown away carelessly, so he knows that he will not be killed until his failures outnumber his successes. This also keeps him alive when Tavi discovers that Valiar Marcus is really the traitor Fidelias, though Tavi needs to be convinced that he does still need him. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1237828f | type |
Anyone Can Die | |
Codex Alera / int_1237828f | comment |
Anyone Can Die: Flirted with, but ultimately averted. Some supporting characters, like Serai, are Killed Off for Real, and some theoretically important High Lords die in the last two books, but all the heroic characters survive to the end. | |
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Codex Alera / int_12c65d9b | type |
Abnormal Ammo | |
Codex Alera / int_12c65d9b | comment |
Abnormal Ammo: A few books into the series, Bernard begins replacing the metal tips of some of his arrows with chunks of rock salt. Since salt is the bane of wind furies, this renders them effective at dispersing windmanes and disrupting the furies of anybody flying. | |
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Codex Alera / int_134ca130 | type |
Super-Reflexes | |
Codex Alera / int_134ca130 | comment |
Super-Reflexes: A primary combat ability for wind crafters, as drawing their wind fury within them extends their perceptions to allow them to react at heightened speeds. | |
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Codex Alera / int_13da01c2 | type |
Spring Is Late | |
Codex Alera / int_13da01c2 | comment |
Spring Is Late: Tavi gets Alera to bring cold air from the arctic much farther south than normal for late winter/early spring. The extra week of winter allows Tavi to craft the snow into a surface that allows ships to sail on land, getting Tavi's army to the main battle earlier than expected. | |
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Codex Alera / int_14108379 | type |
Heal It with Water | |
Codex Alera / int_14108379 | comment |
Heal It with Water: Healing magic is one of the watercrafting arts and one of the most commonly used for its Mundane Utility. It usually requires the patient to be immersed in a tub of water, but the more powerful practitioners don't need to do so. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1439161f | type |
Heroic BSoD | |
Codex Alera / int_1439161f | comment |
Heroic BSoD: Varg gets one in Princeps' Fury when he learns that his home range (and his family) have been consumed by the Vord. Tavi snaps him out of it by hitting him with a Canim taurg prod. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1440584e | type |
Heroic RRoD | |
Codex Alera / int_1440584e | comment |
Heroic RRoD: A recurring problem for Amara, who occasionally uses her windcrafting to move so fast that she winds up breaking her own bones and tearing her muscles. The First Lord spends most of Academ's Fury in a coma after being driven to collapse defending the continent from Canim-manipulated hurricanes. The poison he was being slipped certainly did not improve his condition, either. | |
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Codex Alera / int_148bc07d | type |
Our Banshees Are Louder | |
Codex Alera / int_148bc07d | comment |
The physical descriptions given to the windmanes (basically feral and wild wind furies found living on the frontiers of Alera) in Furies of Calderon are vaguely reminiscent close to some of the depictions of the banshee, resembling rotting human corpses shaped from clouds, wind, and lightning baring sharp claws and fangs, and are infamous for their hollow, deafening screeches that sound more like howling stormwinds than anything else. Unlike the mythical banshees, though, they're not active death omens, and instead are more likely the ones to be responsible for someone's death through either shredding them to ribbons or suffocating them to death. Thankfully, they can be warded off by either a sufficiently strong windcrafer (i.e., Amara) or a pinch of salt, and they cannot attack someone who has covered themselves in mud (as Tavi figured out while lost out in a furystorm in the first book). | |
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Codex Alera / int_149f7447 | type |
Rescue Romance | |
Codex Alera / int_149f7447 | comment |
Rescue Romance: After Bernard pulls Amara out of the frozen, flooding Rillwater river, the two of them warm by the fire and Amara leans in to kiss Bernard. He pulls away, pointing out that she is cold and injured and it would be taking advantage to pursue the matter. They get together later on anyway. | |
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Codex Alera / int_14beeefd | type |
Darker and Edgier | |
Codex Alera / int_14beeefd | comment |
Darker and Edgier: The Codex Alera series as a whole is this to its sister series, The Dresden Files. While The Dresden Files certainly isn't a walk in the park with its own respective themes, Codex Alera is generally less comedy-focused along with eventually evolving into a bloodier affair thanks to being a military adventure fantasy story rather than the not-as-bloody Fantastic Noir that is The Dresden Files. Codex Alera also deals more directly with weightier subject matter than The Dresden Files does, with many characters (most notably Isana) directly noting, critiquing and fighting against both Alera's No Woman's Land policies and practice of slavery. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1592e954 | type |
Man Bites Man | |
Codex Alera / int_1592e954 | comment |
Man Bites Man: When Tavi and Kitai are ambushed by Kalaran thugs, Kitai bites off one of their noses. When Tavi reacts in shock she explains she did this because she could not reach his eyes. | |
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Codex Alera / int_15b2cab3 | type |
Tempting Fate | |
Codex Alera / int_15b2cab3 | comment |
Tempting Fate: In Cursor's Fury, while Isana is traveling with Invidia Aquitaine, Isana makes a good and insightful comment about the Aquitaine's next political and economic gambit. Lady Aquitaine is amused and wishes more were as insightful as Isana. Not five minutes later, after thinking on the matter some more, Isana identifies and notes the real purpose of the Aquitaine's actions and the deeper, more manipulative ploy that is really going on. Invidia notes perhaps it is best not as everyone is as smart and savvy as Isana. | |
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Codex Alera / int_15d8e4f5 | type |
Slave Liberation | |
Codex Alera / int_15d8e4f5 | comment |
Slave Liberation: In Captain's Fury it is revealed that the Canim occupying force has freed the Aleran slaves in their territory and armed them to form the Free Aleran Legion. In the epilogue at the end of First Lord's Fury, First Lord Gaius Tavarus Magnus (Tavi) signs into law the end of slavery throughout all of Alera. | |
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Codex Alera / int_15da4941 | type |
Badass Adorable | |
Codex Alera / int_15da4941 | comment |
Gram, one of the more powerful firecrafters around, uses a fury that takes the shape of a hummingbird named Phyllis. | |
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Codex Alera / int_15fc9fb | type |
Our Elves Are Different | |
Codex Alera / int_15fc9fb | comment |
Our Elves Are Different: The Marat are basically Neolithic Wood Elves through their intimate connection to the natural world, their Noble Savage design, and lack of serious metalworking, though the term of "elf" is never explicitly used for them. | |
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Codex Alera / int_16ad6f7f | type |
"It" Is Dehumanizing | |
Codex Alera / int_16ad6f7f | comment |
"It" Is Dehumanizing: Throughout Academ's Fury, every bit of narration refers to Varg as "it". This continues through Cursor's Fury until the very end, when the narration uses "she" to refer to a fleeing Cane along with the wham that this is the first time anyone's ever seen a female Cane. Afterward, the proper gender pronouns are used. When Isana first sees Ambassador Varg in Captain's Fury, she remarks at just how large "it" is. Tavi responds that yes, he is quite big. | |
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Codex Alera / int_17122b19 | type |
Exactly What I Aimed At | |
Codex Alera / int_17122b19 | comment |
Exactly What I Aimed At: It is said Araris would think in curves compared to Aldrick's thinking in straight lines. For this reason, when they fought at Second Calderon, Araris seemed to miss Aldrick and hit only the stones on the wall they stood upon. Aldrick was able to knock Araris down to the ground and was in a killing position, only to realize Araris was aiming to cut the ground out from beneath the larger and heavier fighter. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1779f10e | type |
"Well Done, Son" Guy | |
Codex Alera / int_1779f10e | comment |
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Phrygiar Navaris. Tavi guesses that she never knew her father (as evidenced by her having the city of her birth in place of a family name, the naming standard for bastard children), and she became so focused as a cutter to build a name for herself so that he'd be impressed and acknowledge her. | |
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Codex Alera / int_17a606bd | type |
Master Swordsman | |
Codex Alera / int_17a606bd | comment |
Master Swordsman: Any Knight Ferrous is this by definition. Araris Valerian, Aldrick ex Gladius, and Phrygiar Navaris are the three most significant to the story, and each of them has a deserved reputation as one of the top blades in Alera. Araris is probably the best, though Aldrick once famously dueled him to a draw, and he admits himself that it could go either way between him and Navaris. Other lesser examples include Max and Crassus, Schultz (who Max claims could even become a Knights Ferrous given enough time and training), and Amara (despite her having no actual metal furies). Tavi is no slouch with a blade either, given he's the one to duel both Navaris and the Vord Queen to the death - theirs. | |
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Codex Alera / int_188668f2 | type |
Redemption Quest | |
Codex Alera / int_188668f2 | comment |
Redemption Quest: Tavi sets Fidelias up on one at the end. Fidelias ex Cursori is dead. He is now Valiar Marcus and he will train the next generation of Cursors, and receive all the glory, goodness, and other rewards Fidelias should have received had he never betrayed the Crown. | |
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Codex Alera / int_18cb78a2 | type |
You Are Already Dead | |
Codex Alera / int_18cb78a2 | comment |
You Are Already Dead: Politically speaking, anyway. In Captain's Fury, Senator Arnos attempts to remove Tavi from command and launches into a speech about how his role in the war with the Canim is already at an end. The reputation he has already built will be discarded, he will have no impact on the shape of future events, and his name will be forgotten and lost to irrelevance. Arnos does not even need to kill him, since he is already dead. | |
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Codex Alera / int_19211122 | type |
Feel No Pain | |
Codex Alera / int_19211122 | comment |
Feel No Pain: An aspect of metalcrafting. However, this doesn't mean the injuries being ignored are any less dangerous. If someone ignores the pain of a legitimately crippling injury (or a minor one from a poisoned weapon), it can cost them their life. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1994ba0b | type |
Gone Horribly Right | |
Codex Alera / int_1994ba0b | comment |
Gone Horribly Right: Gaius Sextus hopes to push High Lord Kalarus into action by pretending to appoint High Lord Aquitaine as his successor, knowing that this will force Kalarus to accelerate his plans to seize the throne. Unfortunately, both Gaius and Amara believe that Kalarus will pursue a subtle means of displacing the First Lord, and are surprised and unprepared when he launches a full-scale insurrection that he had apparently been planning for years. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1a303edf | type |
Our Orcs Are Different | |
Codex Alera / int_1a303edf | comment |
Our Orcs Are Different: Aside from a lack of green skin (what with them being a race of anthropomorphic Wolfmen), the Canim fulfill virtually every other trait seen in Blizzard Orcs, being large, powerful, and warlike humanoids that have both a culture predicated on honor and a longstanding enmity with humanity. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1a74b900 | type |
World of Badass | |
Codex Alera / int_1a74b900 | comment |
World of Badass: Because of the nature of the series, every single character encountered either has a magical ability of some sort, or has developed the intelligence and skill to survive when faced with such. | |
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Codex Alera / int_1a8dc238 | type |
Underestimating Badassery | |
Codex Alera / int_1a8dc238 | comment |
Underestimating Badassery: In Academ's Fury, Tavi is bullied at the Academy by Kalarus Brencis Minoris and his gang of cronies, who pick on him because of his lack of furycrafting. When they finally push him too far, in a situation that they do not know is life-or-death and in which Tavi does not have the time to politely disengage, Tavi brutally beats both cronies into unconsciousness in moments using the Cursor training that they did not know he was receiving. Ehren is recommended to Aquitainus Attis as the most competent and skilled Cursor remaining in Gaius Sextus' service, and becomes Aquitaine's spymaster as a result. Yet he presents such a timid and unassuming air that even Aquitaine mentally dismisses him as a glorified scribe. Ehren ultimately assassinates Aquitaine at the height of the Vord conflict, and Attis almost laughs at how he was outplayed. | |
Codex Alera / int_1a8dc238 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1a8dc238 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1a8dc238 | |
Codex Alera / int_1aa76d29 | type |
Death by Origin Story | |
Codex Alera / int_1aa76d29 | comment |
Death by Origin Story: Tavi's father was a member of the Crown Legion and his mother was a member of the camp followers, both of whom were killed by the Marat at the First Battle of Calderon. As a result, Tavi was raised by his Aunt Isana and Uncle Bernard, his mother's older siblings. Except it turns out that his father was not a legionare in the Crown Legion, but rather the Princeps Gaius Septimus, and his mother is actually Isana, who claimed to be his aunt in order to obscure his heritage. | |
Codex Alera / int_1aa76d29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1aa76d29 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1aa76d29 | |
Codex Alera / int_1b4e322c | type |
Mr. Fanservice | |
Codex Alera / int_1b4e322c | comment |
Mr. Fanservice: It's admittedly blunted by the focus of the third-person narrator, but Max, Bernard, Attis, and Kalarus Brencis Minoris, along with Tavi as he physically matures and Araris (after he gets assistance with his depression) in the later novels, are often given some noticeable praise in terms of the attractiveness. Bernard and Araris deserve special mention, since their Love Interests (Amara and Isana respectively) often find their internal narration lapsing into the Female Gaze whenever they're exercising or performing manual labor. | |
Codex Alera / int_1b4e322c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1b4e322c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1b4e322c | |
Codex Alera / int_1b4f86c | type |
I "Uh" You, Too | |
Codex Alera / int_1b4f86c | comment |
I "Uh" You, Too: Of the platonic variety — in First Lord’s Fury, the Awakened Vord Queen quietly tells Invidia that “You are not replaceable,� and then adds as she is about to leave for battle “I will therefore sacrifice you the most reluctantly. I would prefer it if you took whatever action you could to avoid becoming the victory of chance.� Considering how the Vord are a Hive Minded Horde of Alien Locusts, it serves as a pretty startling example both In-Universe and out of just how Intrigued by Humanity the Awakened Queen has become. | |
Codex Alera / int_1b4f86c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1b4f86c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1b4f86c | |
Codex Alera / int_1b8ff67c | type |
Above the Influence | |
Codex Alera / int_1b8ff67c | comment |
Above the Influence: When Bernard saves Amara from the frozen, flooding Rillwater river, she leans in to kiss him, but he pulls away since she is cold and hurting, and it would be taking advantage to move forward. | |
Codex Alera / int_1b8ff67c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1b8ff67c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1b8ff67c | |
Codex Alera / int_1ba8eb64 | type |
Visual Pun | |
Codex Alera / int_1ba8eb64 | comment |
Crossing over with Visual Pun, Invidia Aquitaine is literally killed by getting stabbed In the Back. | |
Codex Alera / int_1ba8eb64 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1ba8eb64 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1ba8eb64 | |
Codex Alera / int_1bb2c500 | type |
The Horde | |
Codex Alera / int_1bb2c500 | comment |
When the gates to Garrison are breached by the Marat horde, Pirellus of the Black Blade orders Amara to have the remaining legionare's regroup on the top of the walls to prevent more Marat from scaling the fortifications. When Amara asks him who will hold the gate, he responds that he will, and proceeds to do so. Singlehandedly. Against the entire horde. | |
Codex Alera / int_1bb2c500 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1bb2c500 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1bb2c500 | |
Codex Alera / int_1c398324 | type |
Death from Above | |
Codex Alera / int_1c398324 | comment |
Death from Above: Cursor's Fury: The Canim have access to magic the Alerans do not. This includes a powerful lightning attack that takes out the Legion's command headquarters with most of the officers inside. Tavi returns the favor, in kind, with a Kill Sat-like attack. With the sun high above, he has his Knights Aeris make a giant telescoping lens aimed over Max, who then uses his own windcrafting to redirect the resulting beam of concentrated sunlight at the Canim army. In Princep's Fury the Vord Queen captured thousands of crows with taker worms and filled their guts with more. Gaius observed the seemingly normal flock of crows waiting to feast on the dead and thought little of it. Then all the crows dropped dead and the takers burst out, infecting anyone they could and causing massive panic and chaos among the defenders. | |
Codex Alera / int_1c398324 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1c398324 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1c398324 | |
Codex Alera / int_1cc527d7 | type |
Asskicking Leads to Leadership | |
Codex Alera / int_1cc527d7 | comment |
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: An Aleran freeman can become a Citizen through several different means, but all of them (with the exception of appointment to a government position or marriage to a Citizen) involve combat in some way. The laws of the land ensure that the most capable and most powerful furycrafters end up at the top of the social order. | |
Codex Alera / int_1cc527d7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1cc527d7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1cc527d7 | |
Codex Alera / int_1cc9f5e5 | type |
Playing with Fire | |
Codex Alera / int_1cc9f5e5 | comment |
Firecrafting (Knights Ignus): Very big booms. It also grants the ability to inspire fear or passion, and manifested fire furies can be an outright nightmare. The Knights Ignus are the Legions' cannons, and battle plans always require some way of neutralizing them lest everyone get burnt to a crisp. | |
Codex Alera / int_1cc9f5e5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1cc9f5e5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1cc9f5e5 | |
Codex Alera / int_1d2400e9 | type |
Green-Eyed Monster | |
Codex Alera / int_1d2400e9 | comment |
"Invidia" is Latin for "envy". Which is rather appropriate. | |
Codex Alera / int_1d2400e9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1d2400e9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1d2400e9 | |
Codex Alera / int_1da46897 | type |
Lady Macbeth | |
Codex Alera / int_1da46897 | comment |
Lady Macbeth: Lady Invidia Aquitaine is much more evil than her husband. The Cursors even had a betting pool going on "Which one will win when they finally try to kill each other?" Invidia, as it turns out. | |
Codex Alera / int_1da46897 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1da46897 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1da46897 | |
Codex Alera / int_1dacdb4f | type |
Senseless Sacrifice | |
Codex Alera / int_1dacdb4f | comment |
Senseless Sacrifice: When Amara and Bernard are spying on Vord activities, they see a Ceresian cohort sacrifice themselves in an attempt to hold off the Vord long enough for a group of civilians to reach the safety of the city walls. Amara is particularly sickened when, after killing the last of the soldiers, the Vord catch up to the holders in less than two minutes, rendering their brave sacrifice completely pointless. | |
Codex Alera / int_1dacdb4f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1dacdb4f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1dacdb4f | |
Codex Alera / int_1dfd19f9 | type |
Papa Wolf | |
Codex Alera / int_1dfd19f9 | comment |
High Lord Cereus, in full Papa Wolf mode, flies himself into the last vordbulk's mouth and blows himself up, killing the mammoth monster to save his surviving daughter and his dead sons' children. | |
Codex Alera / int_1dfd19f9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1dfd19f9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1dfd19f9 | |
Codex Alera / int_1e1ce503 | type |
Portal Crossroad World | |
Codex Alera / int_1e1ce503 | comment |
Portal Crossroad World: invoked According to Jim Butcher, Carna is Another Dimension that has wormholes pop up in other dimensions and suck beings in. | |
Codex Alera / int_1e1ce503 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1e1ce503 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1e1ce503 | |
Codex Alera / int_1e679bd0 | type |
The Quisling | |
Codex Alera / int_1e679bd0 | comment |
Invidia to the Awakened Vord Queen throughout First Lord's Fury. | |
Codex Alera / int_1e679bd0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1e679bd0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1e679bd0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1e6ca414 | type |
Burning the Ships | |
Codex Alera / int_1e6ca414 | comment |
Burning the Ships: In Cursor's Fury, Sarl, the Canim commander, burns the Canim fleet, as otherwise the warrior caste (who are there under duress and passionately dislike the ritualists) might be tempted to just sail back to Canea. | |
Codex Alera / int_1e6ca414 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1e6ca414 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1e6ca414 | |
Codex Alera / int_1e7c47ab | type |
Stealth Pun | |
Codex Alera / int_1e7c47ab | comment |
Stealth Pun: Metalcrafters subsume pain and emotion by drawing the matrix of the metal into their mind. In other words, they "steel" themselves against it. As part of a Meaningful Name. A character named Rook switches places with a royal figure for the sake of maneuverability for her and protection for the royal. In other words, Rook castles. In First Lord's Fury, Doroga rides to the rescue with his big freaking club and shouts "Good day!" as he pastes a Vord. There is a Danish weapon called a gotendag ("good day"), which is basically a giant wooden club with spikes. Supposedly, its wielders would shout "Gotendag!" when using it to take down knights on horseback. Crossing over with Visual Pun, Invidia Aquitaine is literally killed by getting stabbed In the Back. | |
Codex Alera / int_1e7c47ab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1e7c47ab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1e7c47ab | |
Codex Alera / int_1ed73929 | type |
The Friends Who Never Hang | |
Codex Alera / int_1ed73929 | comment |
The Friends Who Never Hang: Despite being good friends and having been part of the same "group" at the Academy, Ehren and Max are never together without Tavi being with them as well. Justified in that Max is put together with Tavi to be his advisor in the First Aleran Legion, since Max has prior experience as a legionare and placing him as a centurion in the same legion is also helpful to the Cursors mission, whereas Ehren's missions usually have him Beneath Notice due to his small stature and unassuming nature: Max is a hammer, and Ehren is a stiletto. | |
Codex Alera / int_1ed73929 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1ed73929 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1ed73929 | |
Codex Alera / int_1edfa2c7 | type |
Royals Who Actually Do Something | |
Codex Alera / int_1edfa2c7 | comment |
Royals Who Actually Do Something: The High Lords are the most powerful and influencial individuals of Alera, and they make good use of it as the Vord Queen comes to threaten everyone in Alera. | |
Codex Alera / int_1edfa2c7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1edfa2c7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1edfa2c7 | |
Codex Alera / int_1f137e42 | type |
Artificial Limbs | |
Codex Alera / int_1f137e42 | comment |
Artificial Limbs: In Captain's Fury, it is mentioned in that Sir Cyril has a metalcrafted prosthetic leg to replace the one he lost in the previous book. | |
Codex Alera / int_1f137e42 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1f137e42 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1f137e42 | |
Codex Alera / int_1f799027 | type |
Obstructive Bureaucrat | |
Codex Alera / int_1f799027 | comment |
In the first book, Garrison's resident Obstructive Bureaucrat uses his accounts ledger as a bludgeon to fight off a herdbane and protect a group of children. | |
Codex Alera / int_1f799027 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1f799027 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1f799027 | |
Codex Alera / int_1fb440a6 | type |
Voluntary Shapeshifting | |
Codex Alera / int_1fb440a6 | comment |
Voluntary Shapeshifting: Watercrafters are healers, and almost all of them can alter their features to make themselves look younger. If they are really skilled, they can make themselves look like someone else, including changing their voice as well. Attempting to imitate someone larger or smaller is quite uncomfortable, however. Fidelius is principally an earth- and woodcrafter, so his transformation into Valiar Marcus takes a few weeks of concentrated effort with his weak watercrafting. | |
Codex Alera / int_1fb440a6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_1fb440a6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_1fb440a6 | |
Codex Alera / int_2059a430 | type |
The Hedonist | |
Codex Alera / int_2059a430 | comment |
Max's status as The Hedonist stems from his bitter acceptance that he's destined to live only a short and tragic life due to the manipulations of his Wicked Stepmother. | |
Codex Alera / int_2059a430 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2059a430 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2059a430 | |
Codex Alera / int_20860a0e | type |
Punch-Clock Villain | |
Codex Alera / int_20860a0e | comment |
Punch-Clock Villain: Though some of Senator Arnos' singulares are among the most notorious murderers and thugs in Alera, others are instead famed for their past heroic rescues of kidnapped women and protection of Citizens from assassination. They currently have no agenda or stake in the senator's schemes, they are simply here because they have been hired for a job. | |
Codex Alera / int_20860a0e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_20860a0e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_20860a0e | |
Codex Alera / int_20a14df0 | type |
Wrong Genre Savvy | |
Codex Alera / int_20a14df0 | comment |
Gaius Sextus and Gaius Caria were wed after the death of Sextus's first wife, when Sextus was already well into middle-age and Caria was barely an adult. She thought she would be living out an epic romance, but (as Sextus himself admits) she was stuck with a scheming old man who had manipulated her from the beginning. She is eventually driven to an affair with Aquitaine and poisons Sextus. | |
Codex Alera / int_20a14df0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_20a14df0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_20a14df0 | |
Codex Alera / int_21d41a5b | type |
Praetorian Guard | |
Codex Alera / int_21d41a5b | comment |
Hashat, Kitai's aunt on her mother's side, is headwoman of the Horse Clan and was at First Calderon, Second Calderon, and the final battle against the Vord. It's implied that she personally defeated some of Princeps Septimus' singulares at the battle of First Calderon. | |
Codex Alera / int_21d41a5b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_21d41a5b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_21d41a5b | |
Codex Alera / int_21eb1793 | type |
Muggles Do It Better | |
Codex Alera / int_21eb1793 | comment |
Muggles Do It Better: One of the most devastating weapons the Canim use against Alerans is an enormous crossbow. There is nothing magical about it, beyond the fact that it is scaled to a Canim warrior, making it somewhere between a ballista and a man-portable crossbow. Alerans call it a "balest", invoking the term "arbalest", which is essentially a huge, heavy crossbow in Earth terms. The Grey Tower is designed to hold extremely powerful furycrafters, up to and including the First Lord if necessary, and as such is designed in a way that prevents anyone from using their furies to escape. Tavi manages to orchestrate a breakout by using entirely mundane options instead. The climax of First Lord's Fury involves using catapults to throw incendiary grenades, which, while furycrafted, are nothing more complicated than jars of pitch lit on fire. This proves devastatingly effective, to the point that multiple characters realize that it easily surpasses the power of a High Lord. | |
Codex Alera / int_21eb1793 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_21eb1793 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_21eb1793 | |
Codex Alera / int_21ef4ccd | type |
Good Is Not Dumb | |
Codex Alera / int_21ef4ccd | comment |
Good Is Not Dumb: In Cursor's Fury, Amara and Bernard are forced to cooperate with Lady Aquitaine, and spend much of the novel dreading her betrayal at the most inopportune moment since there is nothing they can do to stop it. When it finally comes, Amara and Bernard reveal that they had predicted these events long ago and had already set up their counter-plan when Invidia thought she had them fooled, and even purposefully let her overhear "secret" conversations so that she would be lulled into thinking she could outsmart them. | |
Codex Alera / int_21ef4ccd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_21ef4ccd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_21ef4ccd | |
Codex Alera / int_21f3aa44 | type |
Good Is Not Nice | |
Codex Alera / int_21f3aa44 | comment |
Good is Not Nice: Kitai and Hashat are two of the Marat most friendly to Alera, after Doroga, and assist them in their fights against Atsurak, the Canim, and the Vord. However, they remain "barbarians", including practicing cannibalism and living with an almost sexual desire for combat and bloodshed. Tavi is extremely good, in fact he is the Big Good in the series. But he is perfectly able and willing to kill if necessary, and as demonstrated in the climax of Captain's Fury, he is also willing to play dirty if forced into it. Navaris never stood a chance once he identified her psychological weakness, and Tavi's internal narration even points out that she's already dead as soon as he realized it. | |
Codex Alera / int_21f3aa44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_21f3aa44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_21f3aa44 | |
Codex Alera / int_21f3e32e | type |
Chekhov's Boomerang | |
Codex Alera / int_21f3e32e | comment |
Chekhov's Boomerang: In the first book, Tavi and Kitai are sent into the Wax Forest to retrieve a mushroom that can cure any poison. After a little too much excitement ensues, this property turns out to be all that saves Kitai's life. The mushrooms do not show up again until the last book, when Isana uses them to save Amara and Lady Placida from death by Vord poison. As a bonus, it also heals Amara's blight scars, allowing her to conceive. | |
Codex Alera / int_21f3e32e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_21f3e32e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_21f3e32e | |
Codex Alera / int_21f5491 | type |
Appease the Volcano God | |
Codex Alera / int_21f5491 | comment |
Appease the Volcano God: Inverted. High Lord Kalarus deliberately provokes the Great Fury Kalus into a murderous rage in order to take as many Alerans with him as possible when he is finally killed. Gaius Sextus intends to thwart Kalarus' plan but does so by detonating the volcano himself before the fighting reaches Kalare. | |
Codex Alera / int_21f5491 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_21f5491 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_21f5491 | |
Codex Alera / int_21f60711 | type |
Good Is Not Soft | |
Codex Alera / int_21f60711 | comment |
Good Is Not Soft: Right after the generally peaceable Lord Placida is told that his wife is being held hostage to ensure his neutrality in the upcoming conflict, Placida mobilized all his legions and brought them right to the border of his own territorynote As in, he left his home completely undefended. Lord Placida figured his wife would either be rescued or killed in short order; either way, he wanted to be ready to kick the kidnapper's teeth in the moment either one happened. When discussing Placida's counterattack, Amara remarks, "there will always be fools who believe that if a man dislikes violence and goes to great lengths to avoid it, it is a sign of weakness and vulnerability." Isana is generally a good person. As an exceptionally skilled watercrafter without any aptitude for metalcrafting, she is also The Empath, which is repeatedly shown to be detrimental in a fight because she can feel all the hate, fear, and pain of combat. But the second book starts with her killing someone (albeit in self-defense), and by Captain's Fury, she's shown taking a much more active role in combat when she needs to, including drowning a man by covering his head in water until he dies. Tavi, as previously mentioned, is the Big Good of the series (eventually). He's also a trained spy, genius engineer, masterful strategist, and badass legionare: Cursor's Fury makes it clear that he leads from the front, when he joins the shield wall in the climax of the story and personally leads an assault to kill Sarl and end the battle. | |
Codex Alera / int_21f60711 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_21f60711 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_21f60711 | |
Codex Alera / int_21f7ff0f | type |
Knight in Sour Armor | |
Codex Alera / int_21f7ff0f | comment |
Knight in Sour Armor: High Lord Antillus Raucus hates fighting on the Shieldwall and wants nothing more than to stay at home, but he gets out and goes to war, because his men need him. | |
Codex Alera / int_21f7ff0f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_21f7ff0f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_21f7ff0f | |
Codex Alera / int_22071825 | type |
I'm a Humanitarian | |
Codex Alera / int_22071825 | comment |
I'm a Humanitarian: Marat believe that, once you have defeated your foe, you must "partake of their strength" — which means eating bits of them, usually the heart. And yes, this includes Alerans and other Marat. The more villainous Marat are also fine with "partaking of their strength" while their enemies are still alive. | |
Codex Alera / int_22071825 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_22071825 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_22071825 | |
Codex Alera / int_229c2ec8 | type |
Uriah Gambit | |
Codex Alera / int_229c2ec8 | comment |
Uriah Gambit: The First Lord sends out the High Lord of Rhodes to be killed by the Vord at the vanguard of the Aleran forces for multiple reasons: a dead High Lord underscores the fact that the Vord truly are a threat to the whole realm, whereas previously many of the Lords and higher-ranking Citizens had dismissed them as a danger; killing Rhodes in particular gets him the loyalty and assistance of the High Lord of Aquitaine, who viewed Rhodes as a potential threat to his own plans to attain the throne; and killing Rhodes was a matter of personal vengeance, as he was one of the cabal of citizens who, decades earlier, had killed Gaius Septimus, the First Lord's son. | |
Codex Alera / int_229c2ec8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_229c2ec8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_229c2ec8 | |
Codex Alera / int_22cf536c | type |
Chekhov's Gun | |
Codex Alera / int_22cf536c | comment |
Chekhov's Gun: Lots and lots, some of them held across the entire series before they go off. The longest delay was the fact that the Calderon Valley contains the great furies Garados and Thana, which were introduced in the beginning of the first book, are mentioned briefly in the second, and finally gain great importance in the climax of the final book. Tavi learns about icebergs at the beginning of Princeps' Fury. At the end of the book, he has his crafters carve giant ships out of them, since leviathans avoid them and he needs a way to transport a lot of Canim noncombatants away from Vord-controlled regions. In Academ's Fury, Invidia introduces the newest creation from her city's best tailor: fury-infused clothing that can change colors at the wearer's command. In Princeps' Fury Amara and Bernard purchase two garments of the material, one in her size and one in his, to be made into full-body invisibility cloaks to use in infiltrating enemy territory. In Cursor's Fury, it is mentioned that the legion camp designs are pretty much identical. The captain's tent is always in the same relative spot, even large fortresses like the one in Calderon have a similar set-up. This means it is all the easier for the Canim to call down a deadly lightning strike onto the command structure. This fires again in First Lord's Fury when the Vord Queen stages a raiding attack on Tavi's camp and they're still following the old camp design, allowing her to know the most efficient paths to attack the medical tents and command tents. Tavi himself lampshades he should have thought of a new design. At the beginning of Cursor's Fury, Tavi uses a lens to light a fire and trick Max's Wicked Stepmother into thinking he has furycrafting ability (he is known as the one person in Alera without furies of his own). In the climax, he does a similar trick... with a quarter-mile wide lens made by his Knights Aeris to concentrate the sun's rays on the attacking Canim. One of the properties of discipline collars is that they don't work on anyone who is already wearing one. Before infiltrating Brencis Minoris' hideaway, Amara lets Bernard put a collar on her because that way Brencis won't be able to enslave her. Captain's Fury has a discussion on Tavi's furycrafting that discusses how a fury can be "gifted" to someone else, but it never happens in the story. In Princeps' Fury, Gaius Sextus gifts the Great Fury Alera to Tavi. | |
Codex Alera / int_22cf536c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_22cf536c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_22cf536c | |
Codex Alera / int_22cfbf14 | type |
Answers to the Name of God | |
Codex Alera / int_22cfbf14 | comment |
Answers to the Name of God: When Amara sees the full fury of Garados and Thana, she expresses her shock in the standard Aleran swear of "great furies." Placidus Aria simply responds with, "Two of them." | |
Codex Alera / int_22cfbf14 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_22cfbf14 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_22cfbf14 | |
Codex Alera / int_23015b1f | type |
Magnificent Bastard | |
Codex Alera / int_23015b1f | comment |
Senator Arnos (who was actually in the pay of genuine Magnificent Bastard Lord Aquitaine) spends most of Cursor's Fury getting in the way of the Legions in their war with the Canim. | |
Codex Alera / int_23015b1f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_23015b1f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_23015b1f | |
Codex Alera / int_234fa9ba | type |
May–December Romance | |
Codex Alera / int_234fa9ba | comment |
May–December Romance: Gaius Caria is decades younger than Gaius Sextus, being his second wife after her predecessor died of grief. She greatly resents the situation, having dreamed that she would get to live out an epic romance and instead being stuck with a scheming old man who only viewed her as a tool. Even Sextus cannot disagree or blame her for her feelings. Amara and Bernard. Bernard is approaching middle age, whereas Amara is just entering adulthood. Unlike the above, though, they are Happily Married. | |
Codex Alera / int_234fa9ba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_234fa9ba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_234fa9ba | |
Codex Alera / int_241ca0d8 | type |
Back for the Dead | |
Codex Alera / int_241ca0d8 | comment |
Back for the Dead: Aric, son of Kord, returns for a single scene in Academ's Fury before being Taken by the Vord. | |
Codex Alera / int_241ca0d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_241ca0d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_241ca0d8 | |
Codex Alera / int_251bce7c | type |
Cardboard Prison | |
Codex Alera / int_251bce7c | comment |
Cardboard Prison: The Grey Tower is supposedly impregnable. Tavi breaks two characters out of it, the first with only a couple hours' preparation, the second after the prison's defenses had been redesigned by Tavi himself. note And no, Tavi did not deliberately leave a weakness in the defenses in case he ever needed to stage another jailbreak. Any non-Tailor-Made Prison usually turns out to be this to crafters. This nearly bites the Canim leader Lararl in the tail because his range has had little contact with Alerans. Lararl regards stories of Aleran furycraft as myths and exaggerations spread by Varg's range (Narash) and doesn't believe that furycraft can do anything Canim magic can't. Canish magic can't make a person fly, so he imprisons Tavi and his crew on an open roof with no way down; since they have windcrafters with them, this does not pose any significant obstacle. | |
Codex Alera / int_251bce7c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_251bce7c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_251bce7c | |
Codex Alera / int_25a31943 | type |
Slave Mooks | |
Codex Alera / int_25a31943 | comment |
Slave Mooks: The Immortals are a group of people who were raised since childhood wearing discipline collars and driven to be loyal to Kalarus. They are conditioned to carry out their orders regardless of injury. | |
Codex Alera / int_25a31943 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_25a31943 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_25a31943 | |
Codex Alera / int_25b5600 | type |
Captain Ersatz | |
Codex Alera / int_25b5600 | comment |
Captain Ersatz: High Lady Placida bears a striking resemblance, personally and physically, to one Cordelia Vorkosigan. Word of God says that this (as well as High Lord Placida's similar resemblance to Aral Vorkosigan) is deliberate. | |
Codex Alera / int_25b5600 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_25b5600 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_25b5600 | |
Codex Alera / int_2612a967 | type |
It Has Been an Honor | |
Codex Alera / int_2612a967 | comment |
It Has Been an Honor: Amara and Aria as dawn arrives on the first day of the final stand in the Calderon Valley. | |
Codex Alera / int_2612a967 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2612a967 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2612a967 | |
Codex Alera / int_26eb6287 | type |
Funny Background Event | |
Codex Alera / int_26eb6287 | comment |
Funny Background Event: At one point in Princeps' Fury, Tavi needs to have a private conversation and Max starts berating his Taurg (a mount native to the Canim homeland) as a distraction. When the conversation finishes, he's still going at it. | |
Codex Alera / int_26eb6287 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_26eb6287 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_26eb6287 | |
Codex Alera / int_26f41623 | type |
Kill Sat | |
Codex Alera / int_26f41623 | comment |
Tavi returns the favor, in kind, with a Kill Sat-like attack. With the sun high above, he has his Knights Aeris make a giant telescoping lens aimed over Max, who then uses his own windcrafting to redirect the resulting beam of concentrated sunlight at the Canim army. | |
Codex Alera / int_26f41623 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_26f41623 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_26f41623 | |
Codex Alera / int_270c1778 | type |
Blood Magic | |
Codex Alera / int_270c1778 | comment |
In comparison, it's mentioned that Canim Blood Magic is mostly geared towards usage in combat and doesn't feature as much versatility as Aleran furycrafting. However, in Captain's Fury Varg claims that it still has its uses elsewhere, such as in blessing bloodlines, improving fertility in Canim women, increasing the bounty of crops, and lessening the ravages of storms, droughts, and plagues. The last aspect in particular is implied to be the reason why, despite furies existing in Canea, no furystorms or wild furies are observed there by Tavi and other Alerans in Princeps' Fury. | |
Codex Alera / int_270c1778 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_270c1778 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_270c1778 | |
Codex Alera / int_2737c505 | type |
Shoot the Dog | |
Codex Alera / int_2737c505 | comment |
In Captain's Fury, Gaius Sextus reveals that High Lord Kalarus has bound the fury within Mount Kalus to himself, tying it to his life. When he dies, the volcano will erupt, destroying the city of Kalare and killing everybody in the surrounding region. Gaius sets the volcano off himself, since allowing it to erupt on Kalarus's terms would have resulted in the city being filled with even more refugees and soldiers. | |
Codex Alera / int_2737c505 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2737c505 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2737c505 | |
Codex Alera / int_27ab0123 | type |
Offing the Offspring | |
Codex Alera / int_27ab0123 | comment |
Offing the Offspring: Antillar Maximus seems to have plenty of accidents whenever his step-mother, High Lady Dorotea Antillus, is around. | |
Codex Alera / int_27ab0123 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_27ab0123 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_27ab0123 | |
Codex Alera / int_27b83210 | type |
Hufflepuff House | |
Codex Alera / int_27b83210 | comment |
Hufflepuff House: The Marat are split into seven known tribes/clans - The Fox Clan (who were driven to extinction well before the events of Furies of Calderon), Gargant Clan (Sabot-ha), Herdbane Clan (Sishrak-ha), Horse Clan (Kevras-ha), Wolf Clan (Drahga-ha), Lion Clan, and an unnamed seventh clan. While they're all important to greater Marat society, only the Gargant, Herdbane, and Horse Clans are ever given specific attention by the story and characters. invoked There are three main villains who want to usurp the First Lord's throne. Two are major characters, but the third, High Lord Rhodes, is not. While the reader is told told he's both very smart and incredibly ruthless, he lacks both High Lord Aquitaine Attis' personal flair and High Lord Kalarus Brencic Majoris' spectacular sadism, meaning he tends to get shoved into the background and namedropped every so often so we know he's still there. Justified In-Universe by Rhodes' machinations being intentionally thwarted and Overshadowed by Awesome because Aquitaine is his close neighbor. There are three non-human species surrounding Alera - The Marat, Canim, and Icemen. While the Icemen have been at war with Alera more continually than any of the other nonhuman factions (for about 300 years solid), their attacks are confined to a particular region in the far north where the POV characters almost never go, meaning they get comparatively little pagetime and development. The Canim have four known castes: Warrior, Ritualist, Maker, and Hunter. According to Nausug, the Makers are actually the main caste in that the other three do what they do for their benefit... But none of the Makers are ever named or portrayed as particularly important individually. Justified as the caste is what's important, while individuals within it are not. | |
Codex Alera / int_27b83210 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_27b83210 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_27b83210 | |
Codex Alera / int_280a5103 | type |
Rogue Drone | |
Codex Alera / int_280a5103 | comment |
Rogue Drone: Played interestingly with the Vord, where it's one of their Hive Queens who starts developing her own personality (leading the other queens to try to kill her to prevent her from "infecting" the rest of their race). She stays a villain even while developing increasingly humanlike personality traits, though her death scene is surprisingly moving. Additionally, since Tavi and Kitai accidentally awakened the Vord Queen in the first place, all "lower-form" Vord (i.e., Vord that aren't the Queens) will ignore them and treat them like other Vord unless the two directly attack them. | |
Codex Alera / int_280a5103 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_280a5103 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_280a5103 | |
Codex Alera / int_28b2f93a | type |
Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil | |
Codex Alera / int_28b2f93a | comment |
Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: It's notable that, of all the other thinking peoples on Carna, only the Alerans practice slavery. Kitai's people are established in the first novel to literally cook Alerans alive before eating them, and even she finds their institution of slavery to be the worst, most inexplicable thing about them. The Canim are similarly disgusted, with Nasaug specifically mentioning the Alerans' practicing slavery as a reason for why his fellow Canim see the Alerans as monsters and demons. | |
Codex Alera / int_28b2f93a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_28b2f93a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_28b2f93a | |
Codex Alera / int_2916334d | type |
It's What I Do | |
Codex Alera / int_2916334d | comment |
It's What I Do: Inverted — it's what he does. When Tavi and Nasaug discuss Varg and why he is imprisoned in the Aleran capital. Nasaug states that Varg is imprisoned unjustly since he did not act dishonorably. When Tavi asks what makes Nasaug think that, he simply replies, "He is Varg." The Vord seem to have some sort of genetic imperative to destroy all other living species on the planet. In the end, the Queen tells Tavi that it was never personal; she was just doing what a Vord Queen is supposed to do. As of Princeps' Fury, High Lord Antillus Raucus has spent huge chunks of his life locked in constant battle with the Icemen. He is obviously emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted by the constant strain, but he gamely carries on with it, because "it's what one did". In the sixth book, after Invidia's sudden but inevitable betrayal of the Vord Queen, the Queen isn't even particularly mad about it because it's just what Invidia does. | |
Codex Alera / int_2916334d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2916334d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2916334d | |
Codex Alera / int_29292e6d | type |
Walking the Earth | |
Codex Alera / int_29292e6d | comment |
Walking the Earth: It is not uncommon for the elders of the Canim ritualists to leave all their belongings and depart without a word to do this, in hopes the pilgrimage will help them find new ways to help the maker caste (the civilians). Sha and Fidelias make it seem like an enemy ritualist has gone on this to hide the fact they murdered him and hid the body. | |
Codex Alera / int_29292e6d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_29292e6d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_29292e6d | |
Codex Alera / int_292d1ccd | type |
Everyone Went to School Together | |
Codex Alera / int_292d1ccd | comment |
Everyone Went to School Together: In the third book we learn that Aria and Kalarus were both at the Academy together, though possibly in different years. The second and final books reveal that Araris, High Lord Antillus (the father of Crassus and Max), High Lord Aquitaine, and Princeps Septimus were all friends from school and continued that friendship until the night Septimus died. Sir Miles was younger than them and more of a Tagalong Kid during the actual Academy years, but was part of the circle of friends as well. | |
Codex Alera / int_292d1ccd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_292d1ccd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_292d1ccd | |
Codex Alera / int_293f8cd8 | type |
I Meant to Do That | |
Codex Alera / int_293f8cd8 | comment |
I Meant to Do That: Tavi's talented at this. Considering everything else he manages, people usually assume he really was planning on whatever it was, be it a dramatically well-timed volcanic eruption or his plan to get into Riva accidentally leveling several blocks of buildings, the latter of which led to the phrase appearing almost verbatim in the narration. | |
Codex Alera / int_293f8cd8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_293f8cd8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_293f8cd8 | |
Codex Alera / int_295087bf | type |
Non-Indicative Name | |
Codex Alera / int_295087bf | comment |
Non-Indicative Name: Fidelias ("faithful"), the Wild Card who goes back and forth through the Heel–Face Revolving Door. That being said, he is always faithful... to Alera as a whole. | |
Codex Alera / int_295087bf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_295087bf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_295087bf | |
Codex Alera / int_2a035a26 | type |
Allohistorical Allusion | |
Codex Alera / int_2a035a26 | comment |
Allohistorical Allusion: Multiple sneaky references are made to various famous events from Roman history throughout the series, despite it technically being set in a Portal Crossroad World different from Earth. Easily the most obvious is how virtually every Aleran city and landmark is named after a Roman territory or deity. The Icemen are at least in part meant to represent the various "barbarians from the north" that the Romans fought against, with the Shieldwall built to defend Antillus and Phrygia from their rampages being an analogue to Hadrian's Wall being built to defend Roman Brittania from the "northern barbarians" from Caledonia (now modern-day Scotland and northern England). One of the more overt examples is Gaius Sextus unleashing Mount Kalus on the city of Kalare, which is described in a manner reminiscient of how Mount Vesuvius is thought to have destroyed the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Finally, each of Alera's recurring foes (minus the Vord, who are intentionally written as an Outside-Context Problem) can be seen as a loose analogue to recurring foes of Western Rome. As an example, the Canim represent the "more technologically advanced" recurring foes of Rome, such as the Persians and Carthagians, with the latter being made particularly blatant in how the Narashan Canim's invasion of the Amaranth Vale provides a loose parallel to the Punic Wars. Meanwhile, the Marat and Icemen each represent different versions of the "horde of hostile barbarians" Rome often fought border conflicts with, with the Marat being more coded to resemble the ancient Germanic peoples while the Icemen are analogues to the Caledonian peoples of ancient Britannia. The Vord represent what the Romans were to their enemies. When Carthage, with its colorful mercenary armies wearing a variety of arms and armor from all over Africa and the Mediterranean, faced legions in standard, regulated and somewhat subdued equipment, they must have seemed like a faceless mass. When Caesar surrounded the Gauls at Alesia by building a double encirclement of walls, they must have seemed like an implacable hivemind. When 40-50,000 were annihilated in a single day at Carrhae, the Romans just replenished their ranks and washed over Carthage destroying it completely. Without killing Rome's "queen" - that is, the city itself - they would always come back, a faceless enemy that felt no fear and had no "honor" the way the Celts, Gauls and Germans saw it, that destroyed and consumed everything in its path. And the Vord's rationale is a twisted mirror of Rome's: bringing "civilization" so far as they considered it Arnos' Senatorial Guard Legion receive severe casualties against the Canim wielding large, inwardly-curved swords against them that are capable of cutting through the legionaries' shields and then piercing their helmets, while Tavi's legion is somewhat alleviated because their helmets' designs are more recent. This references Roman legionaries' galea helmets being reinforced with metal bands around their skull to help protect their heads after previous battles against the Dacians saw their shields cut through and their helmets pierced by the Dacians' falx swords. | |
Codex Alera / int_2a035a26 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2a035a26 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2a035a26 | |
Codex Alera / int_2a3e0069 | type |
Amazonian Beauty | |
Codex Alera / int_2a3e0069 | comment |
Amazonian Beauty: Mistress Cymnea is described as being taller than most men with broad shoulders and looking like she could physically hurl an armored legionare out of her tent if she had to, but that she retains curves that are emphasized by her gown. | |
Codex Alera / int_2a3e0069 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2a3e0069 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2a3e0069 | |
Codex Alera / int_2a4e8051 | type |
Sexual Karma | |
Codex Alera / int_2a4e8051 | comment |
Sexual Karma: The series's main couples (Tavi and Kitai, Amara and Bernard) get it on explicitly, frequently, and enthusiastically. Relatedly, Princeps Septimus and Isana apparently had a very positive sex life on top of being Happily Married, and Max serves as both The Pornomancer among Tavi's friends and an increasing voice of reason. In contrast, while it might just be ribbing on behalf of Placidus Aria, Kalarus Brencis apparently had "trouble" bedding women at the Academy when they were all younger, and Gaius Sextus (who, while not exactly evil, is still very morally ambiguous at times and frequently forced to Shoot the Dog) is mentioned to have had a non-existent sex life since remarrying Caria in an Arranged Marriage and found it very awkward when Caria later seduced him in the bath after Max (while disguised as Sextus) had previously made out with her to serve as part of a distraction. | |
Codex Alera / int_2a4e8051 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2a4e8051 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2a4e8051 | |
Codex Alera / int_2a973d16 | type |
Women Prefer Strong Men | |
Codex Alera / int_2a973d16 | comment |
Women Prefer Strong Men: Bernard's strength is one of his prime physical attractions for Amara. In Academ's Fury, Serai realizes that Amara and Bernard are in a relationship given the way Amara's voice changes when she talks about him, and she deduces that he must have been doing something strong and manly in Amara's line of sight to get that kind of reaction (he had been lifting very large and heavy objects). Amara feels the most feminine when she is experiencing his prodigious strength. | |
Codex Alera / int_2a973d16 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2a973d16 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2a973d16 | |
Codex Alera / int_2ae277ab | type |
Mauve Shirt | |
Codex Alera / int_2ae277ab | comment |
Mauve Shirt: Centurion Giraldi was introduced towards the climax of Furies of Calderon as a soldier stationed at Garrison, returns in Academ's Fury as Bernard's second-in-command, and spends Cursor's Fury as Isana's companion, guard and assistant. He returns in First Lord's Fury, back at Garrison where it all began. Serai and Nedus from Academ's Fury, the former a courtesan Cursor and a friend of Amara, the latter a retired Knight Captain. They spend their time trying to help Isana get in contact with the First Lord. Isana even notes to Serai that Nedus adores Serai like a daughter, to which she responds with a sad smile that she knows this, after Serai tries to tell Nedus to not come along and guard them as they go out into the city. Tragically, they both die defending Isana from assassins. Legionare Schultz was introduced as a trainee in Cursor's Fury and worked his way up to Centurion of the Battlecrow Cohort, functioning as Tavi's primary battle component in the First Aleran. Durias, the First Spear of the Free Aleran Legion, is first introduced in Captain’s Fury before later joining the Narashan Canim and other Free Alerans on Tavi’s expedition to Canea. Tarsh, Anag, and Sha are the three Canim most frequently seen and characterized out of the last two novels while still not being major Canim characters on par with Varg, Nasaug, or even Master Marok. Tarsh is mostly characterized as an overly ambitious bully who was Reassigned to Antarctica in hopes of him becoming more competent. Anag serves as a Hypercompetent Sidekick assigned to Tarsh (largely to minimize any damage he would cause) and quickly gains a fascination with furycrafting and strong respect for the Alerans. Sha, meanwhile, is the only surviving Hunter under Varg’s employ and develops a surprising camaraderie with Fidelias. | |
Codex Alera / int_2ae277ab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2ae277ab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2ae277ab | |
Codex Alera / int_2c1f1138 | type |
He Who Fights Monsters | |
Codex Alera / int_2c1f1138 | comment |
He Who Fights Monsters: Lord Aquitaine began conspiring against the First Lord because the uncontrolled High Lords had killed his best friend, Septimus, and he saw that Gaius's political machinations would ultimately lead to civil war. In his efforts to gain the throne, he himself became an uncontrolled High Lord whose political machinations nearly lead to civil war. He redeems himself, however, by leading with wisdom and dignity befitting the role of Princeps. Isana verges on this at the end of Captain's Fury when she proclaims to Araris that she will use every connection and ally she has in hunting down her husband's killers. Araris is more scared of her becoming like the monsters she would hunt than of them, and warns her. She listens to his fears and abides by his wisdom. | |
Codex Alera / int_2c1f1138 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2c1f1138 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2c1f1138 | |
Codex Alera / int_2cd6b637 | type |
Fantastic Nuke | |
Codex Alera / int_2cd6b637 | comment |
Fantastic Nuke: Many smaller versions, but Gaius Sextus wiping out Kalare by unleashing a volcanic Great Fury and then slowing the Vord by destroying the remnants of Alera Imperia with another volcano probably take the cake. | |
Codex Alera / int_2cd6b637 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2cd6b637 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2cd6b637 | |
Codex Alera / int_2d4fa515 | type |
Ax-Crazy | |
Codex Alera / int_2d4fa515 | comment |
Her poor relationship with her father is why Phrygiar Navaris is the way she is. Exploiting it is how Tavi beats her in a duel to the death. | |
Codex Alera / int_2d4fa515 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2d4fa515 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2d4fa515 | |
Codex Alera / int_2d6f00e4 | type |
Psycho for Hire | |
Codex Alera / int_2d6f00e4 | comment |
Psycho for Hire: Phrygiar Navaris is a cutter (assassin) whose insanity is felt by every watercrafter who comes near her. | |
Codex Alera / int_2d6f00e4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2d6f00e4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2d6f00e4 | |
Codex Alera / int_2d768e2d | type |
Succession Crisis | |
Codex Alera / int_2d768e2d | comment |
Succession Crisis: The overarching plot of the series, and the cause (however indirectly) of the entire story. Princeps Gaius Septimus, only son and heir of First Lord Gaius Sextus, was killed in the First Battle of Calderon by a Marat horde more than fifteen years before Furies of Calderon, leaving Alera without a clear inheritor for the position of First Lord. Multiple High Lords have spent the intervening years scheming and positioning themselves to take Gaius's position once he dies, and some have decided to hasten his end in order to claim the throne sooner. | |
Codex Alera / int_2d768e2d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2d768e2d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2d768e2d | |
Codex Alera / int_2d9a193d | type |
Warrior Therapist | |
Codex Alera / int_2d9a193d | comment |
Warrior Therapist: Through watercrafting, characters can literally feel their opponents' emotions during battle. When Tavi is fighting Phrygiar Navaris, he makes deductions about her history based on her name and what he knows about her, and uses them to drive her to a panicked, desperate attack. Isana challenges Antillus Raucus to a duel in an attempt to get him to see sense regarding the negotiations with the Icemen. | |
Codex Alera / int_2d9a193d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2d9a193d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2d9a193d | |
Codex Alera / int_2e0c3dae | type |
Huge Holographic Head | |
Codex Alera / int_2e0c3dae | comment |
Huge Holographic Head: The most powerful watercrafters can create life-size, full-color images of themselves in water to communicate at a distance. In the last book, Tavi and the Vord Queen later figure out that if you do not bother to make it two-way, you can project copies of the image to every body of water on the continent. | |
Codex Alera / int_2e0c3dae | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2e0c3dae | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2e0c3dae | |
Codex Alera / int_2e206837 | type |
Bed Trick | |
Codex Alera / int_2e206837 | comment |
Bed Trick: Played with. When using watercrafting to disguise himself as Gaius Sextus, Max has to deal with the First Lord's suspicious wife. He does so by hitting her with enough sexual earthcraft to scramble her brains, setting this trope up, but doesn't actually sleep with her. Gaius was not entirely amused when he learned what had happened after he recovered - specifically, when Caria unexpectedly joined him in the bath. While, as he puts it, 'he rose to the demands of his station', he remarks to Tavi that, should a similar situation arise in the future, he would prefer if Max didn't resort to seducing his wife. | |
Codex Alera / int_2e206837 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2e206837 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2e206837 | |
Codex Alera / int_2f253c94 | type |
Glass Cannon | |
Codex Alera / int_2f253c94 | comment |
Glass Cannon: The more powerful furycrafters, including the various High Lords. Multiple characters point out that, despite their strength and skills, their flesh and bone is no harder than the average human; provided you can get to them, they can be felled by a single blow like any normal person. | |
Codex Alera / int_2f253c94 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2f253c94 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2f253c94 | |
Codex Alera / int_2f36d97 | type |
Older Than They Look | |
Codex Alera / int_2f36d97 | comment |
Older Than They Look: All powerful watercrafters, to the point where even the eldest High Lords almost never look older than their forties, with the majority of them looking like they are in their mid-thirties or even younger. Gaius Sextus spends the entire series dying of old age (with a little help from some poison) but apart from his hair, he still looks like he is in his forties. Tavi looks young for his age and does not reach his full height until he is over twenty, since Isana purposely stunted his growth as a child to obscure his real age. More than a few dim bulbs in Aleran society make the mistake of assuming that just because someone looks like they are in their late teens or early twenties that they really are that age. | |
Codex Alera / int_2f36d97 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_2f36d97 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_2f36d97 | |
Codex Alera / int_308a5ff0 | type |
Strange Minds Think Alike | |
Codex Alera / int_308a5ff0 | comment |
Strange Minds Think Alike: When Doroga and Kitai see examples of precise, choreographed Aleran activities (Military formations and rehearsed singing, respectively) they both comment that Alerans must be bored out of their minds rehearsing in advance, part and parcel of Aleran "madness". The people they are talking to (Bernard and Tavi) both then point out that they seem extremely pleased with the results. When Isana and Araris have been kidnapped and bound with bags over their heads, Isana complains internally about the fact that it is a dirty bag. The sheer banality of this thought causes her to start laughing, and when Araris asks why, she explains that she was marveling at her ability to take umbrage at minor details in such dire situations. Araris then remarks that he, too, was wondering at the poor quality of their head coverings. When she is listening to Senator Valerius drone on at length in senate politics, Amara indulges in a fantasy of using her windcrafting to strangle him from where she is sitting in the auditorium. Just as she manages to break herself out of the temptation, Bernard leans over and asks her if she would be willing to strangle Valerius for him. | |
Codex Alera / int_308a5ff0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_308a5ff0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_308a5ff0 | |
Codex Alera / int_31118d46 | type |
Ice Magic Is Water | |
Codex Alera / int_31118d46 | comment |
Ice Magic Is Water: Isana demonstrates quite handily that snow does in fact count as water for use in watercrafting. The trick allows her to survive a duel long enough to convince the guy she was dueling to cooperate with her instead. | |
Codex Alera / int_31118d46 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_31118d46 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_31118d46 | |
Codex Alera / int_319e4a2f | type |
Even Evil Has Standards | |
Codex Alera / int_319e4a2f | comment |
Even Evil Has Standards: Aldrick ex Gladius has no problem with killing, but even he says he has no stomach for Fidelias snapping the neck of a girl the Marat were going to eat alive. It is unclear whether he meant Fidelias' actions or the Marat's (probably both). Captain Demos, a scrupulously unscrupulous man, has his crew of thugs rescue as many women and children as they can when fleeing the island of Westmiston. He frames it as a slave raid, and he probably will sell them all into slavery, but he truly did not want to leave them for the Canim. The Canim - a Proud Warrior Race with loads of Fantastic Racism towards the Alerans - are utterly disgusted in Captain’s Fury by the mercenary cavalry regiments of the Senatorial Guard massacring innocent Aleran steadholts so as to draw the Free Aleran Legion out onto the battlefield (meaning that Arnos can also get credit for ending a slave revolt), with a furious Nasaug specifically telling Tavi that he plans to wipe out the First Aleran Legion and both of the Senatorial Guard Legions so as to avenge the fallen civilians. | |
Codex Alera / int_319e4a2f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_319e4a2f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_319e4a2f | |
Codex Alera / int_31a2a33c | type |
Stuff Blowing Up | |
Codex Alera / int_31a2a33c | comment |
Stuff Blowing Up: Firecrafters are the cannons of Aleran legions, and Knights Ignus and High Lords can make explosions ranging from personal- to artillery-sized detonations. In Cursor's Fury, Tavi arranges to detonate a town to stop a Canim assault through the liberal application of alcohol, lamp oil, and distributed sawdust. | |
Codex Alera / int_31a2a33c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_31a2a33c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_31a2a33c | |
Codex Alera / int_31add7fe | type |
Out of the Inferno | |
Codex Alera / int_31add7fe | comment |
Out of the Inferno: Cursor's Fury. Tavi gets hit with a massive evil magic lightning bolt. Twice. And is unfazed the second time. | |
Codex Alera / int_31add7fe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_31add7fe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_31add7fe | |
Codex Alera / int_31bd1ba1 | type |
Twin Threesome Fantasy | |
Codex Alera / int_31bd1ba1 | comment |
Twin Threesome Fantasy: Antillar "Max" Maximus is introduced after spending the night in the company of Ladies Celine and Celeste. When he obliquely mentions this to Tavi and Ehren, they are shocked and jealous, especially when they realize he means both, not just one or the other. | |
Codex Alera / int_31bd1ba1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_31bd1ba1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_31bd1ba1 | |
Codex Alera / int_323f135b | type |
Sorting Algorithm of Evil | |
Codex Alera / int_323f135b | comment |
Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Furies of Calderon features a relatively minor struggle against invading "barbarians". By First Lord's Fury, the world is about to end. The Vord have this as a superpower – kill some, and all you have really accomplished is teaching the Queen new tricks to incorporate into the next generation. | |
Codex Alera / int_323f135b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_323f135b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_323f135b | |
Codex Alera / int_325a15f1 | type |
Rags to Royalty | |
Codex Alera / int_325a15f1 | comment |
Rags to Royalty: Tavi (Sleeping Beauty-style) and Isana (Cinderella/Goose Girl-style) and Araris, by marrying Isana. | |
Codex Alera / int_325a15f1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_325a15f1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_325a15f1 | |
Codex Alera / int_33c2b1e2 | type |
Best Served Cold | |
Codex Alera / int_33c2b1e2 | comment |
Best Served Cold: First Lord Gaius Sextus is an extremely patient man who waits twenty-five years to enact the full extent of his revenge against the High Lords who conspired to kill his son. The first he kills personally by blowing up a volcano near his city. The second he convinces to lead an attack against the oncoming Vord menace; he is overcome and devoured by the monsters (not unlike the Marat doing Septimus so much harm no body could be reasonably recovered). Fearing this, the Vord Queen does not kill Isana when she captures her, as Tavi might share his grandfather's pragmatism and put off their encounter, remarking that their bloodline 'does not do things in hot blood'. Having live bait, however, might motivate Tavi to move faster and hopefully make more errors. | |
Codex Alera / int_33c2b1e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_33c2b1e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_33c2b1e2 | |
Codex Alera / int_340575a7 | type |
Girl on Girl Is Hot | |
Codex Alera / int_340575a7 | comment |
This scene also involves multiple young attractive woman kissing and fondling each other...while collared and under Brencis Minoris' orders, making the display a revolting case of Rape by Proxy. | |
Codex Alera / int_340575a7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_340575a7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_340575a7 | |
Codex Alera / int_342f0ffa | type |
Discriminate and Switch | |
Codex Alera / int_342f0ffa | comment |
Discriminate and Switch: Several women take umbrage at implied sexism from members of the Legion, only to be told that the issue is not their gender. When the Vord first attack Aricholt, Amara draws a sword and manages to save several legionares and the holders that they were protecting. When Giraldi says that she did good "for a, uh..." she asks if he meant good for "a woman", and he responds that she did good for a civilian. Bernard cannot help but laugh. When Tavi suggests adding Mistress Cymnea to the staff of the First Aleran Legion, Max instantly objects. When Cymnea asks if his problem is with the fact that she is a woman or because she is a madam, Max says that the problem is that she is a civilian. | |
Codex Alera / int_342f0ffa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_342f0ffa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_342f0ffa | |
Codex Alera / int_34dcfc96 | type |
Kick the Dog | |
Codex Alera / int_34dcfc96 | comment |
Kick the Dog: High Lord Kalarus, in his bid to overthrow the throne and take it for himself, quickly demonstrates that such petty things as "morals" or "humanity" do not concern him. When he kidnaps the wife and daughter of two High Lords in order to blackmail them into non-action, he puts one of them in the same room as the five-year-old daughter of his spymaster and explains to her that, should she try to escape, his security systems will kill the child first and then try to stop her. Senator Arnos has two distinct moments: First, he orders a recently-liberated town of innocent civilians executed for "conspiring with the enemy" (read: not committing mass suicide by fighting a hopeless battle against a vastly superior enemy). He does it for the sole purpose of having an excuse to remove Tavi from command of his Legion when Tavi balks at the order. He also fully intends to carry through with the order even when Tavi gives him a better reason to remove the captain from command, because he's just that kind of asshole. Arnos is also responsible for alaes of mercenary cavalry in the Senatorial Guard slaughtering innocent steadholts throughout the region so as to draw the Free Aleran Legion into a fight and get credit for ending a slave revolt. Notably, even the Canim are revolted by the latter actions; Nasuag fully intends to wipe out all of the remaining Aleran Legions in the Amaranth Vale so as to avenge the dead civilians. Invidia is entirely too smug when she reveals to Isana in First Lord's Fury that she was the one who organized Septimus' assassination. | |
Codex Alera / int_34dcfc96 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_34dcfc96 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_34dcfc96 | |
Codex Alera / int_35ae6a23 | type |
Lethal Chef | |
Codex Alera / int_35ae6a23 | comment |
Lethal Chef: In an effort to understand humans, the Vord Queen has taken to eating regular meals. However, she eats croach instead of human food, which she has taken to preparing by baking, marinating, and even melting cheese on it. The end results are technically edible and can even sustain a human, but they pose a significant health risk regardless since they are so disgusting in taste as to cause extensive vomiting. | |
Codex Alera / int_35ae6a23 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_35ae6a23 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_35ae6a23 | |
Codex Alera / int_35d4beb4 | type |
Horde of Alien Locusts | |
Codex Alera / int_35d4beb4 | comment |
Horde of Alien Locusts: The Vord are one, to the point that their entire species is shown to have a literal genetic imperative to devour and assimilate all life that isn't fellow Vord. | |
Codex Alera / int_35d4beb4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_35d4beb4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_35d4beb4 | |
Codex Alera / int_35f57671 | type |
Minion with an F in Evil | |
Codex Alera / int_35f57671 | comment |
Minion with an F in Evil: Captain Nalus heads one of the Senatorial Guard Legions under Senator Arnos, whose political machinations make him the villain of Captain's Fury. Nalus, however, is simply a professional soldier without a political agenda or vice, and so continues to act as a proper Legion captain. | |
Codex Alera / int_35f57671 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_35f57671 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_35f57671 | |
Codex Alera / int_36135fb0 | type |
Official Couple | |
Codex Alera / int_36135fb0 | comment |
Official Couple: Tavi and Kitai, Bernard and Amara, and eventually Isana and Araris. | |
Codex Alera / int_36135fb0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_36135fb0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_36135fb0 | |
Codex Alera / int_362bdb30 | type |
Out-Gambitted | |
Codex Alera / int_362bdb30 | comment |
Out-Gambitted: In Cursor's Fury, Amara and Lady Aquitaine (with their respective associates) work together for the latter half of the novel, with everybody aware that an inevitable betrayal is coming. Lady Aquitaine switches identities with Odiana for the betrayal, but is then surprised when Amara's associates also switch identities, giving her the final advantage. In First Lord's Fury, Gaius Sextus set things up against High Lord Aquitaine. He adopts the man as Tavi's younger brother, giving the country a good leader until Tavi returns. Knowing Attis isn't likely to give up this seat of power, Gaius gives him Ehren, one of the weakest crafters in the story, as his personal valet. Gaius also gave Ehren secret orders to kill Aquitaine if he doesn't give up the position. Ehren wins and kills the man in such a way that Lord Aquitaine suffers this trope twice over by his death. | |
Codex Alera / int_362bdb30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_362bdb30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_362bdb30 | |
Codex Alera / int_368c1306 | type |
The Men First | |
Codex Alera / int_368c1306 | comment |
The Men First: Pirellus, Knight Commander of Garrison, makes sure that his soldiers are all properly fed and rested during the brief lulls in combat, and waves off treatment for his own superficial wounds until the more seriously injured men have been treated. This leads to his death, as the minor cut he suffered on his head bleeds into his eye at a critical moment, blinding him before he is killed. Captain Nalus of the Second Senatorial Legion has his own wounds stitched up with needle and thread instead of watercrafting, since his minor cuts would have only kept more seriously wounded legionares from treatment. | |
Codex Alera / int_368c1306 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_368c1306 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_368c1306 | |
Codex Alera / int_36c94bed | type |
Person of Mass Destruction | |
Codex Alera / int_36c94bed | comment |
Person of Mass Destruction: All the High Lords, and especially the house of Gaius. A single High Lord is said to be equal to an entire cohort of Knights, and Gaius was able to influence weather on a continental scale. | |
Codex Alera / int_36c94bed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_36c94bed | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_36c94bed | |
Codex Alera / int_38a57680 | type |
Flying Car | |
Codex Alera / int_38a57680 | comment |
Flying Car: The favored and fastest way around Alera is by flying coach. Interestingly, the draft "animals" are other human beings, specifically windcrafters who can carry the coach while flying. | |
Codex Alera / int_38a57680 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_38a57680 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_38a57680 | |
Codex Alera / int_38ad0e6a | type |
BreakingSpeech | |
Codex Alera / int_38ad0e6a | comment |
Breaking Speech: The Vord Queen uses watercrafting to send a message to all of Alera, telling them that their efforts are futile and the Vord are undefeatable, but that the Alerans need not die fighting in the war. She offers any who wish it amnesty if they come to her lands; the only condition is they cannot have any more children. It nearly works and even gets to Tavi's men. Then Varg responds. And not many moments later, Tavi ripostes. | |
Codex Alera / int_38ad0e6a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_38ad0e6a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_38ad0e6a | |
Codex Alera / int_3929e0db | type |
You Need to Get Laid | |
Codex Alera / int_3929e0db | comment |
You Need to Get Laid: In Furies of Calderon, Count Gram heartily approves of seeing Bernard and Amara together, as he felt that Bernard's life would be "fixed" by a woman. Later, Bernard gets this from his own earth fury, Brutus, when he and Amara are locked in a cell together, and the fury starts earthcrafting both of them into arousal before they realize it. Sir Miles to Gaius Sextus at the beginning of Academ's Fury. It is said without the humor customary of the trope, as Miles realizes that Sextus is working himself to emotional and physical exhaustion, and he realizes that Sextus will burn out if he does not get some rest and relaxation. At the end of the book, it is implied that he did, in fact, eventually have sex with his wife. Mostly thanks to Max, oddly enough. Max to Tavi during much of Cursor's Fury, as Tavi has spent the months since leaving the capital constantly moaning about missing Kitai. It comes up again at the beginning of First Lord's Fury, when Tavi and Kitai are still together, but are not...together...in the evenings anymore. | |
Codex Alera / int_3929e0db | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3929e0db | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3929e0db | |
Codex Alera / int_39b8d3d6 | type |
Boring, but Practical | |
Codex Alera / int_39b8d3d6 | comment |
Boring, but Practical: Both Doroga and Kitai remark that Alerans must get bored out of their minds repeatedly practicing their maneuvers (for combat and singing) over and over again, but Bernard and Tavi point out that they seem impressed by the results. When Tavi questions why he needs to learn the basic, clumsy combat techniques of the Legion when he is already a rather skilled swordsman, Max points out that the entire reason the Legions are able to stand off the larger, stronger Canim and the more numerous Marat is because of their coordination and basic efficiency. Dazzling swordplay is nice on an individual basis, but it is useless when fighting in concert with others, where learning the basic interlocking formations is what makes a Legion infinitely stronger than the individual swordsmen composing its ranks. The Canim have simple but effective crossbow-like weapons which can be almost as deadly as a Knight Flora, and use simple slings to hurl boulders further than a Knight Terra could. Worse, most any of their kind can learn to use either technique. | |
Codex Alera / int_39b8d3d6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_39b8d3d6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_39b8d3d6 | |
Codex Alera / int_3b0479f2 | type |
You Shall Not Pass! | |
Codex Alera / int_3b0479f2 | comment |
You Shall Not Pass!: In Furies of Calderon, Amara sends Tavi ahead to warn Garrison, since he is the only person who can testify to having seen the Marat. She decides to stay behind and delay Fidelius and Aldrick, since she and Tavi have no chance of outrunning them. Bernard is the one to actually run into her, and the two of them then do their best to catch up to Tavi. Princeps' Fury culminates in Gaius Sextus drawing almost all of the Vord army into Alera Imperia and detonating a volcano underneath the city to wipe them out and buy the country critical months to fight the invaders. | |
Codex Alera / int_3b0479f2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3b0479f2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3b0479f2 | |
Codex Alera / int_3bebfcc0 | type |
Living Lie Detector | |
Codex Alera / int_3bebfcc0 | comment |
Living Lie Detector: All watercrafters with at least Knight-level skill. It is possible for very good liars, like Fidelias and Tavi, to deceive them, but it requires a lot of experience to pull off. Dialogue implies that even such skilled liars can be properly detected if the watercrafter is physically touching them, but this is never demonstrated in the novels. | |
Codex Alera / int_3bebfcc0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3bebfcc0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3bebfcc0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3c5ae1a1 | type |
Schizo Tech | |
Codex Alera / int_3c5ae1a1 | comment |
Schizo Tech: Downplayed example - while Alera is implied to have a technology-level similar to that of ancient Rome (as befits a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of the Romans), due to their use of furies, they lack some other techniques and technologies that would have been known to the real Romans, such as tracheotomy (because buying time for transporting patients isn't quite as vital when the doctor's a watercrafter) or even catapults (because you can blast things with firecrafters or bring down stone fortifications with earthcrafters instead). | |
Codex Alera / int_3c5ae1a1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3c5ae1a1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3c5ae1a1 | |
Codex Alera / int_3c700857 | type |
Guys Smash, Girls Shoot | |
Codex Alera / int_3c700857 | comment |
Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Inverted with Bernard and Amara, the most long-term Battle Couple. Though Bernard has an earthcrafter's strength and carries a battle axe, he is primarily an archer, while Amara is a swordswoman. | |
Codex Alera / int_3c700857 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3c700857 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3c700857 | |
Codex Alera / int_3c7022ce | type |
Mundane Solution | |
Codex Alera / int_3c7022ce | comment |
Mundane Solution: A whole lot, mostly courtesy of Tavi. Earthcrafting makes someone super strong, but it does not increase weight and you have to be touching the ground to use it. Throwing an earthcrafter on a wooden deck cuts off their strength, making them an easy target if they are relying on their crafting too much. Likewise, salt injures wind furies, disrupting fliers: Tavi comes up with the idea of salt arrowsnote Because windcrafters can use their furies to slow their perception of time, they can easily destroy arrows, but making a salt arrow means that when it is destroyed, the windcrafter is covered with salt and their flight is immediately disrupted, which Bernard later uses to terrifying effect. Metalcrafters can sense blades or arrowheads coming at them, but not flint or stone weapons. | |
Codex Alera / int_3c7022ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3c7022ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3c7022ce | |
Codex Alera / int_3cf10fcf | type |
*Click* Hello | |
Codex Alera / int_3cf10fcf | comment |
*Click* Hello: The sword equivalent. Navaris and her team corner Tavi in his office, intending to kill him... and then Max, Crassus, and Araris show up behind them, swords drawn. | |
Codex Alera / int_3cf10fcf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3cf10fcf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3cf10fcf | |
Codex Alera / int_3cf65c77 | type |
Unhappy Medium | |
Codex Alera / int_3cf65c77 | comment |
Unhappy Medium: Watercrafters, the strongest of whom tend to be incapacitated by sufficiently powerful emotions unless they are also good at metalcrafting. | |
Codex Alera / int_3cf65c77 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3cf65c77 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3cf65c77 | |
Codex Alera / int_3d2c6d30 | type |
Skewed Priorities | |
Codex Alera / int_3d2c6d30 | comment |
Skewed Priorities: Ullus, the Westmiston merchant Ehren is spying on, only considers that the blood-red sky will be bad for business. | |
Codex Alera / int_3d2c6d30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3d2c6d30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3d2c6d30 | |
Codex Alera / int_3dcc914f | type |
Took a Level in Kindness | |
Codex Alera / int_3dcc914f | comment |
Took a Level in Kindness: High Lord Rivus Grantus toward Amara and Bernard. In his first few mentions and appearances, the man is seen as an arrogant old noble who dislikes Gaius for usurping his right to name a replacement as Count in the Calderon Valley. Later, when the Vord attack, he doesn't believe Gaius' claims, thinking this is some political scheme on Gaius' part. Then in First Lord's Fury he is humbled by seeing the devastation of his city, and much of the continent, and offers his apologies to Amara and Bernard for his years of dislike towards him and offers his aid as an engineering master to Bernard's plans. | |
Codex Alera / int_3dcc914f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3dcc914f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3dcc914f | |
Codex Alera / int_3eee0728 | type |
Captain Obvious | |
Codex Alera / int_3eee0728 | comment |
Captain Obvious: Frederic can't believe that Tavi is a particular target in the battle raging through Garrison, until a mercenary Knight swoops out of the sky and wounds Tavi's arm. This gem in First Lord's Fury: | |
Codex Alera / int_3eee0728 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3eee0728 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3eee0728 | |
Codex Alera / int_3f0b2f50 | type |
Make It Look Like an Accident | |
Codex Alera / int_3f0b2f50 | comment |
Make It Look Like an Accident: Max's mother succumbed to this, and his Wicked Stepmother has been trying to arrange a similar accident for him since he was 14. It is her preferred method of operation against all opponents, and she is damned good at it. When the First and Second Senatorial Guard Legions are introduced in Captain's Fury, it is revealed that the officer originally slated for command of the First suffered a fatal accident before they could march. In a play on the trope, it was not his replacement doing the killing in order to advance his career, but Senator Arnos seeking to make sure that he had somebody in the position he could control. | |
Codex Alera / int_3f0b2f50 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3f0b2f50 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3f0b2f50 | |
Codex Alera / int_3ffce9c2 | type |
Family Relationship Switcheroo | |
Codex Alera / int_3ffce9c2 | comment |
Family Relationship Switcheroo: Tavi's "aunt" Isana is actually his mother. | |
Codex Alera / int_3ffce9c2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_3ffce9c2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_3ffce9c2 | |
Codex Alera / int_4023b8c8 | type |
First-Name Basis | |
Codex Alera / int_4023b8c8 | comment |
First-Name Basis: When the Windwolves, mercenaries in service to the Aquitaines, save the lives of Bernard and members of his legion, Bernard insists that they address him by his first name instead of title. High Lady Placidus Aria is the only member of the Aleran nobility to insist that other characters address her by her first name, indicating that she is friendly and approachable. | |
Codex Alera / int_4023b8c8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4023b8c8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4023b8c8 | |
Codex Alera / int_403c6dbf | type |
Neural Implanting | |
Codex Alera / int_403c6dbf | comment |
Neural Implanting: From First Lord's Fury, Alera teaching Tavi how to bond with a fury: | |
Codex Alera / int_403c6dbf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_403c6dbf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_403c6dbf | |
Codex Alera / int_4063acfd | type |
Woman Scorned | |
Codex Alera / int_4063acfd | comment |
Woman Scorned: It turns out Invidia arranged Septimus's death because he rejected her for a peasant - Isana. | |
Codex Alera / int_4063acfd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4063acfd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4063acfd | |
Codex Alera / int_40bb59d0 | type |
Blatant Lies | |
Codex Alera / int_40bb59d0 | comment |
Blatant Lies: After deliberately breaking his own leg, Tavi calmly explains that the cart horse spooked and ran him over, while a large forge hammer is lying next to him. With the horse asleep, right there. And snoring. | |
Codex Alera / int_40bb59d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_40bb59d0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_40bb59d0 | |
Codex Alera / int_40c57041 | type |
Manipulative Bastard | |
Codex Alera / int_40c57041 | comment |
Manipulative Bastard: Gaius Sextus is legendary throughout Alera for his skill and abilities in pitting his enemies against one another. Unfortunately, this is also his downfall, as many of his enemies became his enemies when they saw how preoccupied he was with keeping his other enemies at one another's throats instead of planning for his succession. | |
Codex Alera / int_40c57041 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_40c57041 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_40c57041 | |
Codex Alera / int_40cc0c7e | type |
Bittersweet Ending | |
Codex Alera / int_40cc0c7e | comment |
Bittersweet Ending: Alera is saved from the Vord and has crafted a new Alliance with all of its former enemies. Tavi takes the throne with his newly wedded wife Kitai and their son Desiderius and already has set plans into motion regarding the reconstruction of Alera, aiming to make it stronger and fairer-minded than ever before. Additionally, Alera's corrupt Might Makes Right Fantastic Caste System based on furycrafting has been permanently broken by Tavi, who had the Great Fury Alera "alter" the system so that furycrafting is now based on merit and not inheritance. However, nearly half of the Aleran people were killed in the war, and the scars left behind by the conflict will be truly devastating. Weather patterns are thrown into flux by the eruptions of Mount Kalus and the volcano Gaius Sextus created beneath Alera Imperia, along with the icy weather Tavi brought down from the north for his ship-sleds (in fact, it's mentioned that because of Tavi's actions, a new ice age will begin in "only a few" millennia). The Great Fury Alera's death will cause even more chaos: furycrafting itself may become unpredictable, wild furies will become more prevalent, random surges of plant growth and death will occur, animals will behave oddly, and the weather will become even more turbulent. On a more personal level, Crassus is still angry at Tavi keeping the truth of his mother's survival from him, and their friendship may not recover. And most worrying of all, the Vord still control Canea, having killed most of the population - Tavi and crew were only in time to save about sixty thousand Canim - and will spend the next few decades fortifying and consolidating the continent. They will be ready to attack Alera again within roughly a century and a half, and Alera needs to be ready to meet them by then. On the other hand, the Vord controlling Canea provides sufficient motive for the peoples of Carna to maintain their Enemy Mine situation, which Tavi fully intends to leverage as much as possible. | |
Codex Alera / int_40cc0c7e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_40cc0c7e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_40cc0c7e | |
Codex Alera / int_40f90c7c | type |
Moody Mount | |
Codex Alera / int_40f90c7c | comment |
Moody Mount: The Taurga, which try at every opportunity to dislodge, kill, or eat their riders. | |
Codex Alera / int_40f90c7c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_40f90c7c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_40f90c7c | |
Codex Alera / int_4108bb3e | type |
Doomed Hometown | |
Codex Alera / int_4108bb3e | comment |
Doomed Hometown: Inverted. By the end of the series, the Calderon Valley is the only place still intact and not under siege by the various wars befalling the country. | |
Codex Alera / int_4108bb3e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4108bb3e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4108bb3e | |
Codex Alera / int_4127eb1 | type |
Shut Up, Hannibal! | |
Codex Alera / int_4127eb1 | comment |
Shut Up, Hannibal!: When Bernard was giving a lecture to the Ceresian Collegia Tactica on the threat of the Vord, Senator Arnos repeatedly dismissed the danger as either a misunderstanding or outright deception by Doroga, calling Doroga numerous unkind names as he did so. Bernard, in response, warned Arnos that if he insulted Bernard's friend again, Bernard would challenge him to the juris macto and rip his tongue from his mouth. | |
Codex Alera / int_4127eb1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4127eb1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4127eb1 | |
Codex Alera / int_41744185 | type |
Follow the Chaos | |
Codex Alera / int_41744185 | comment |
Follow the Chaos: Kitai provides the page quote when locating the final battle of First Lord's Fury. | |
Codex Alera / int_41744185 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_41744185 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_41744185 | |
Codex Alera / int_41a3e267 | type |
Hidden in Plain Sight | |
Codex Alera / int_41a3e267 | comment |
"Tavi" takes on a new meaning when it's revealed that it's short for "Octavian", representing the fact that he is Hidden in Plain Sight, by appearing to be less than he truly is. Additionally, his name is a reference to the Rudyard Kipling character Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a seemingly small mongoose who worked together with his allies to use cleverness, guile, and courage to triumph over much stronger opponents. | |
Codex Alera / int_41a3e267 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_41a3e267 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_41a3e267 | |
Codex Alera / int_41be2c1b | type |
Spoiler Title | |
Codex Alera / int_41be2c1b | comment |
Spoiler Title: At some point, the reader will likely realize that the titles of the books refer to Tavi's rank and position during that book. This does cause some Late Arrival Spoilers: knowing that there's a book called First Lord's Fury when you're still on Cursor's Fury provides some rather significant spoilers, though you may wonder how and why Tavi becomes First Lord without furies. | |
Codex Alera / int_41be2c1b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_41be2c1b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_41be2c1b | |
Codex Alera / int_41dd77d | type |
Zerg Rush | |
Codex Alera / int_41dd77d | comment |
Zerg Rush: Subverted with the Vord when there's a Queen nearby, as they use very good tactics. However, when a Queen is not nearby (the Vord are basically animals without a Queen's direction), they play it straight. It's noted that the problems faced by the besieged cities are less like being under attack by an army and more like getting caught in an exceptionally long and heavy blizzard. When the Canim first land on Alera, their Raiders are described as moving almost like the tide of the ocean: Rolling, vast and overwhelming. However, as this means they are also disorganized and unguided, proper Aleran defenses are able to halt their offenses and beat them back with severe casualties. | |
Codex Alera / int_41dd77d | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Codex Alera / int_41dd77d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_41dd77d | |
Codex Alera / int_42846e90 | type |
Elemental Powers | |
Codex Alera / int_42846e90 | comment |
Elemental Powers: There are six elements, each of which can be directly manipulated or used to summon a manifest fury, and most of them have secondary applications as well: Windcrafting (Knights Aeris): In addition to air manipulation and flight, grants Super-Speed, Lightning Bolt-chucking, Veils, and the ability to create a telescope-like lens out of air, the last of which has also found use as a Death Ray. Earthcrafting (Knights Terra): Earth and rock manipulation (good for making buildings!), Super-Strength, and ability to induce calm or lust. Additionally, manifest earth furies can be extremely useful... and dangerous. Metalcrafting (Knights Ferrus): Implausible Fencing Powers and the ability to sense nearby metal; additionally, it can be used to artificially repress emotion and pain to turn the user into an Implacable Man. The most powerful and skilled metalcrafters can incorporate metal into their skin to protect themselves. Finally, their sense of metal and ability to manipulate its hardness make them amazing blacksmiths. Woodcrafting (Knights Flora): Manipulation of plants, including encouraging them to grow, or animating them directly, which also (as the name implies) applies to dead wood. It also grants the ability to create veils when enough plant matter is present, specifically with shadows. Most Woodcrafters are archers, since control of the arrows and bows gives them Improbable Aiming Skills. Watercrafting (Knights Aqua): Manipulating water, empathy, underwater breathing, the ability to change their appearance, long-range water-based communication, and, most importantly, healing. Without some metalcrafting, though, they tend to be Unhappy Mediums, since as we all know, A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read. Firecrafting (Knights Ignus): Very big booms. It also grants the ability to inspire fear or passion, and manifested fire furies can be an outright nightmare. The Knights Ignus are the Legions' cannons, and battle plans always require some way of neutralizing them lest everyone get burnt to a crisp. | |
Codex Alera / int_42846e90 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_42846e90 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_42846e90 | |
Codex Alera / int_42c9f1ec | type |
Downplayed Trope | |
Codex Alera / int_42c9f1ec | comment |
A minor example in Captain's Fury. Tavi, undercover as "Rufus Scipio" in the First Aleran Legion, has amassed a reputation as a brilliant commander and strategist. Several characters who are not privy to the secret identity or all the facts of the situation talk about meeting the wunderkind that everybody is talking about, with varying opinions on whether or not he could possibly measure up to the superman that rumors depict. | |
Codex Alera / int_42c9f1ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_42c9f1ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_42c9f1ec | |
Codex Alera / int_4316c604 | type |
School of Seduction | |
Codex Alera / int_4316c604 | comment |
School of Seduction: Lord Kalare is said to have used a training program incorporating this as well as other things for all his female agents. The Cursor's Academy also teaches some agents the ropes, but none of the main characters (save perhaps Serai) are so trained. | |
Codex Alera / int_4316c604 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4316c604 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4316c604 | |
Codex Alera / int_434a6d40 | type |
Evil Sorcerer | |
Codex Alera / int_434a6d40 | comment |
Evil Sorcerer: The Canim Ritualists are generally considered to be this (Sarl and Khral in particular embrace the trope thoroughly), but only some of the ritualists are as bad as they are made out to be: the blood they need for their rituals can as easily be taken from already-dead corpses as from live sacrifices. In fact, the old school of ritualists do not believe in using anyone's blood but their own; Marok, in First Lord's Fury, demonstrates how decent this type can be. Unfortunately, the old school ritualists are badly outnumbered by the rest, in part because there's only so much blood a single body can spare. | |
Codex Alera / int_434a6d40 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_434a6d40 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_434a6d40 | |
Codex Alera / int_43f2f606 | type |
Annoying Arrows | |
Codex Alera / int_43f2f606 | comment |
Annoying Arrows: Averted for humans, Marat, Icemen, and Canim (though downplayed with the latter due to their huge size), as arrows are just as much of a threat to flesh as the more powerful furycrafted attacks. Stone-headed arrows are the bane of metalcrafters, as the lack of any metal makes them impossible to track with their metalcrafting powers. The Vord generally shrug them off, but their armored hides also shrug off furycrafted attacks. | |
Codex Alera / int_43f2f606 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_43f2f606 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_43f2f606 | |
Codex Alera / int_44606d14 | type |
Becoming the Mask | |
Codex Alera / int_44606d14 | comment |
Becoming the Mask: Fidelias/Marcus has a complex relationship with this trope. "Marcus" was an alias of Fidelias created before the events of the story, but had been abandoned for decades until he reclaimed the identity to infiltrate the First Aleran. Once he realized that Tavi was the son of Gaius Septimus and thusly there was no need to place Aquitaine on the throne since the House of Gaius had a legitimate heir (and more importantly, a legitimate heir who was worth following), he decides to remain in the role of Marcus to look over and assist Tavi in any way he could. After he assumes the identity, and after it has been revealed to the reader who he really is, Butcher only writes him as 'Marcus' until he re-accepts the name Fidelias. | |
Codex Alera / int_44606d14 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_44606d14 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_44606d14 | |
Codex Alera / int_446c5792 | type |
Villainous Rescue | |
Codex Alera / int_446c5792 | comment |
Villainous Rescue: In order to prevent Kalarus from seizing the throne himself, the Aquitaines need to help save Gaius Sextus's life in Academ's Fury from the Vord, which they both recognize for the irony. Invidia herself is the one to personally go to the Citadel and battle foes on Gaius's behalf. | |
Codex Alera / int_446c5792 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_446c5792 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_446c5792 | |
Codex Alera / int_44989f6f | type |
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot | |
Codex Alera / int_44989f6f | comment |
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Towards the end of Furies of Calderon, Isana learns that Aric and Heddy were in a consensual relationship, and that if Aric had explained what happened they could have prevented the trial of his brother Bittan for Heddy's rape. This in turn would have avoided all of the conflict which spun out from there for the rest of the novel. As time goes on, multiple characters (even those loyal to the First Lord) point out that Gaius could have prevented a lot of the scheming amongst the High Lords by fathering another child after the death of Septimus, or at least designating an heir from one of the nobility. It would not have solved everything, especially once the reader learns that some of the High Lords created the problem in the first place by assassinating Septimus, but it would have resolved the most public crisis of a disputed succession. | |
Codex Alera / int_44989f6f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_44989f6f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_44989f6f | |
Codex Alera / int_44a1dd10 | type |
King Incognito | |
Codex Alera / int_44a1dd10 | comment |
King Incognito: Princeps Septimus used to disguise himself and travel among civilians and the camp of his Legion in order to gain a different perspective. This is how he first met Isana. Gaius Sextus does this a few times. However, Tavi and Fidelias can both spot him in short order. In Captain's Fury, Ehren briefly believes that Isana is First Lady Gaius Caria in disguise after he overhears a few brief comments between Tavi and Isana. Tavi quickly disbauses him of the notion and explains that she really is Isana. Which lets Ehren connect the dots and realize Tavi's heritage instead, which Tavi also intended to tell him anyway. | |
Codex Alera / int_44a1dd10 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_44a1dd10 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_44a1dd10 | |
Codex Alera / int_44dd01be | type |
Tagalong Kid | |
Codex Alera / int_44dd01be | comment |
The second and final books reveal that Araris, High Lord Antillus (the father of Crassus and Max), High Lord Aquitaine, and Princeps Septimus were all friends from school and continued that friendship until the night Septimus died. Sir Miles was younger than them and more of a Tagalong Kid during the actual Academy years, but was part of the circle of friends as well. | |
Codex Alera / int_44dd01be | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_44dd01be | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_44dd01be | |
Codex Alera / int_4565d81d | type |
Single-Stroke Battle | |
Codex Alera / int_4565d81d | comment |
Single-Stroke Battle: Ehren kills Ullus with a single neck-cut after realizing that he needs to leave Westmiston now. In the climax of First Lord's Fury, ultimately, the Vord War is decided by a single lunge between Tavi and the Vord Queen. | |
Codex Alera / int_4565d81d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4565d81d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4565d81d | |
Codex Alera / int_4604fd4d | type |
Worthy Opponent | |
Codex Alera / int_4604fd4d | comment |
Worthy Opponent: The fifth novel explains that the Canim as a culture prefer having a Worthy Opponent over having a friend: a friend can disappoint you, but a Worthy Opponent can always be trusted to try and kill you. The Canim even have a specific word (gadara) that means Worthy Opponent. When Nasaug addresses Varg, he does so as gadara-sar (Worthy Opponent-Father), which shows what relationship the Canim culture prioritizes. | |
Codex Alera / int_4604fd4d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4604fd4d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4604fd4d | |
Codex Alera / int_474e3977 | type |
You Have Failed Me | |
Codex Alera / int_474e3977 | comment |
High Lord Aquitaine is introduced in the first novel as an unsubtle drunkard who needs to be guided by his wife and more capable subordinates down the avenues to take the throne, and prone to lethal punishments for failure. Later books establish that he is a clever and insightful manipulator, skilled in both legion strategy and politics, and disinclined to pointless violence (not that he won't kill people if they get in his way, but he's not cavalier about it). | |
Codex Alera / int_474e3977 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_474e3977 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_474e3977 | |
Codex Alera / int_479f9ad0 | type |
Characterization Marches On | |
Codex Alera / int_479f9ad0 | comment |
Characterization Marches On: When Isana and Fade first interacted, she was unsure if he could truly understand her simple instructions due to his mental disability. Later scenes in the same book would reveal that she was privy to his true identity the entire time. Interactions between Isana and Bernard in the first book heavily imply that Bernard knows the truth about Tavi, but all later novels have him in the dark and knowing only the story Isana told. High Lord Aquitaine is introduced in the first novel as an unsubtle drunkard who needs to be guided by his wife and more capable subordinates down the avenues to take the throne, and prone to lethal punishments for failure. Later books establish that he is a clever and insightful manipulator, skilled in both legion strategy and politics, and disinclined to pointless violence (not that he won't kill people if they get in his way, but he's not cavalier about it). | |
Codex Alera / int_479f9ad0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_479f9ad0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_479f9ad0 | |
Codex Alera / int_47b21ca6 | type |
Stress Vomit | |
Codex Alera / int_47b21ca6 | comment |
Stress Vomit: After Tavi kills a man for the first time, he has to fight back vomit long enough to search the body for any clues as to the man's identity and purpose. Once he finishes, however, he cannot continue to hold it back and throws up on the ground. | |
Codex Alera / int_47b21ca6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_47b21ca6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_47b21ca6 | |
Codex Alera / int_48078a7 | type |
Cool Versus Awesome | |
Codex Alera / int_48078a7 | comment |
Cool Versus Awesome: SO. MUCH. | |
Codex Alera / int_48078a7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_48078a7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_48078a7 | |
Codex Alera / int_48da376b | type |
Game Changer | |
Codex Alera / int_48da376b | comment |
Game Changer: The final book sees the first use of catapults, loaded with spheres containing fire furies (which can be mass produced by people with even moderate firecrafting ability); these prove incredibly devastating, approaching the level of a High Lord. Several characters note that if Alera survives the Vord, this is going to be a game changer for their civilization: now the destructive power of a High Lord is in the hands of the common people, mirroring the ascendance of archery as a counter to knights in Real Life. | |
Codex Alera / int_48da376b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_48da376b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_48da376b | |
Codex Alera / int_49fb5ccb | type |
Combat Pragmatist | |
Codex Alera / int_49fb5ccb | comment |
Combat Pragmatist: Fidelias mentions at least once every book that he avoids a fair fight whenever he can. Tavi mentions at one point that "if he had his way, he would never engage in a fair fight ever again." Captain Demos, whose entire ship is a single wood Fury, mentions that the last fair fight he had was when he was twelve years old. | |
Codex Alera / int_49fb5ccb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_49fb5ccb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_49fb5ccb | |
Codex Alera / int_4a852458 | type |
Big Good | |
Codex Alera / int_4a852458 | comment |
Tavi, as previously mentioned, is the Big Good of the series (eventually). He's also a trained spy, genius engineer, masterful strategist, and badass legionare: Cursor's Fury makes it clear that he leads from the front, when he joins the shield wall in the climax of the story and personally leads an assault to kill Sarl and end the battle. | |
Codex Alera / int_4a852458 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4a852458 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4a852458 | |
Codex Alera / int_4ac8b81f | type |
Humans Are the Real Monsters | |
Codex Alera / int_4ac8b81f | comment |
Humans Are the Real Monsters: This is the viewpoint of the Canim, given how much Alerans kill each other over leadership and other reasons. The series itself mostly shows humans as no better and no worse than the other races, just different. | |
Codex Alera / int_4ac8b81f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4ac8b81f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4ac8b81f | |
Codex Alera / int_4af86843 | type |
Extranormal Institute | |
Codex Alera / int_4af86843 | comment |
Extranormal Institute: The Academy is a school for teenage youths in a world where everyone has magic abilities, so between math and history classes, there are also classes on magical theory and actual training on how to use magic. | |
Codex Alera / int_4af86843 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4af86843 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4af86843 | |
Codex Alera / int_4b045a8a | type |
Villainous Valour | |
Codex Alera / int_4b045a8a | comment |
Villainous Valour: When Gaius Sextus unleashes a fearcrafting on Kalarus' Legions, the entire force is instantly routed. Many simply die of fright, and the rest flee or collapse in panic. However, one single legionare resists the mental assault and actually raises his sword in defiance. Amara feels pity for him and regrets that the reward for his courage, greater than the entire rest of his Legion, is to be killed by the First Lord. | |
Codex Alera / int_4b045a8a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4b045a8a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4b045a8a | |
Codex Alera / int_4bca5b2e | type |
We Have Become Complacent | |
Codex Alera / int_4bca5b2e | comment |
We Have Become Complacent: The Aleran Legions were so successful in crushing all their enemies early in their history that in the story's present day it was possible for someone to serve an entire three-year tour of duty in a Legion and not fight a single battle unless they were from an area near the Shieldwall (the only remaining border that sees combat on a regular basis). As a result, most of the Legions are green and unprepared for a Canim invasion, a civil war, and the Vord attack happening in rapid succession. Isana's arc in the fifth book is to negotiate a ceasefire on the Shieldwall so that all the northern Legions, which contain the bulk of the country's elite legionares, can be freed up to fight the Vord. | |
Codex Alera / int_4bca5b2e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4bca5b2e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4bca5b2e | |
Codex Alera / int_4bfcfa7c | type |
Kansas City Shuffle | |
Codex Alera / int_4bfcfa7c | comment |
Kansas City Shuffle: Tavi figures out that the best way of combating an enemy who can read minds is to make sure nobody but him knows all of what is going on, so he uses plans that rely on complicated sets of sealed orders issued to many different people. And in return, they do not tell him about the fact that they are sending backup when he meets said mind-reading foe. | |
Codex Alera / int_4bfcfa7c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4bfcfa7c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4bfcfa7c | |
Codex Alera / int_4c37b23 | type |
Third Line, Some Waiting | |
Codex Alera / int_4c37b23 | comment |
Third Line, Some Waiting: Each book has a plotline following Tavi, a plotline following Amara, a plotline following Isana, and periodic cutaways to Fidelias. Sometimes they're interwoven, and sometimes they're almost completely separate. | |
Codex Alera / int_4c37b23 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4c37b23 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4c37b23 | |
Codex Alera / int_4c798fd5 | type |
Shock and Awe | |
Codex Alera / int_4c798fd5 | comment |
Shock and Awe: A very limited form. Windcrafters, working together, can capture a storm's electrical energy and keep it bouncing around between themselves until they find something they want to throw it at. At another point, a healer with windcrafting powers gathers an electrical charge to serve as a defibrillator. | |
Codex Alera / int_4c798fd5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4c798fd5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4c798fd5 | |
Codex Alera / int_4cf1658 | type |
Commander Contrarian | |
Codex Alera / int_4cf1658 | comment |
Commander Contrarian: Senators Arnos and Valerius, who mostly just want to make themselves look good at the expense of everyone else. In Valerius's case, even in the face of what is The End of the World as We Know It. Valerius's Establishing Character Moment is, when he's being rescued from a Vord-induced Fate Worse than Death, to act indignant that someone is telling him what to do. Bernard promptly knocks his ass out and notes that he'll slow them down less while he's unconscious. | |
Codex Alera / int_4cf1658 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4cf1658 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4cf1658 | |
Codex Alera / int_4d0372b | type |
Everybody Knew Already | |
Codex Alera / int_4d0372b | comment |
Everybody Knew Already: Though it comes as a surprise to many, the fact that Tavi is the son of Gaius Septimus and Isana, and grandson of First Lord Gaius Sextus is known (or deduced) by many people before Tavi himself learns the truth. When Varg reveals that he also knew the truth, Tavi remarks that sometimes it feels like he was the only one who did not know. | |
Codex Alera / int_4d0372b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4d0372b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4d0372b | |
Codex Alera / int_4de061b6 | type |
Extra-ore-dinary | |
Codex Alera / int_4de061b6 | comment |
Metalcrafting (Knights Ferrus): Implausible Fencing Powers and the ability to sense nearby metal; additionally, it can be used to artificially repress emotion and pain to turn the user into an Implacable Man. The most powerful and skilled metalcrafters can incorporate metal into their skin to protect themselves. Finally, their sense of metal and ability to manipulate its hardness make them amazing blacksmiths. | |
Codex Alera / int_4de061b6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4de061b6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4de061b6 | |
Codex Alera / int_4e1d9178 | type |
Tailor-Made Prison | |
Codex Alera / int_4e1d9178 | comment |
Tailor-Made Prison: In the first book, Isana and Odiana (both powerful watercrafters) are locked in a drying hut for meats, surrounded by hot coals, and kept dehydrated, being given barely enough water to survive. In Princeps' Fury, prisons for other crafters are seen. Firecrafters are put under running water. Earthcrafters and metalcrafters are in wooden cages away from the earth and metal. Windcrafters are in stone boxes with a single air hole the size of a human thumb. Woodcrafters are in metal cages set far from the wooden cages. Citizens require more complex combinations of these cages in order to counteract multiple aspects of furycrafting at once. The Grey Tower is intended to be this: it's supposed to hold anyone up to and including the First Lord if they break the law, but not only by frustrating their furycrafting. In addition, each of the Grey Guards assigned to the tower are considered bribe-proofnote Crown law states that if the Knight reports the attempted bribery, the government will pay them triple the bribe., they are at least Knight-class crafters (usually in metalcrafting, but also with other talents), and the Tower itself is full of security measures to warn of a breakout attempt. A powerful enough citizen might escape, but, in theory, the Grey Guard will run them down and capture or kill them, and no matter what, their escape will be noticed. Tavi, of course, engineers a breakout in Academ's Fury, but as a result he recommends improvements to security to guard against any more attempts in the future. This causes problems when he needs to stage another breakout in Captain's Fury. | |
Codex Alera / int_4e1d9178 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4e1d9178 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4e1d9178 | |
Codex Alera / int_4e6e4dc7 | type |
The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much | |
Codex Alera / int_4e6e4dc7 | comment |
The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much: Tavi briefly discusses this in Captain's Fury. He demands to be placed under the custody of Captain Nalus instead of Senator Arnos, since he does not want to wake up and discover that he has accidentally slit his wrists in his sleep. | |
Codex Alera / int_4e6e4dc7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4e6e4dc7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4e6e4dc7 | |
Codex Alera / int_4f4372e9 | type |
Early-Installment Weirdness | |
Codex Alera / int_4f4372e9 | comment |
Early-Installment Weirdness: Every book save the first uses a format of <Occupation>'s Fury. The first is instead named Furies of Calderon. As the trivia page can attest, Butcher's original plan was to call it Shepherd Boy's Fury; this change only happened because the marketing for him didn't think that title would work very well. The first novel has some slightly different worldbuilding than the following books. Steadholders are apparently not "full" citizens, with limited rights and authority off of their Steadholts, whereas the following books treat the office of Steadholder as full citizenship. Furies are also universally accepted as independent creatures, whereas the second novel introduces opposing theories regarding their true nature - though since the 'independent creature' theory is generally held out on the frontiers, of which Calderon is one, this is perhaps unsurprising. The first book portrays Furies as more akin to Pokemon; each Crafter has command of two elements at most, and gains access through an individual Fury that they have a personal relationship with. From the second book on, most Crafters have an aptitude for one or two elements but can command at least five to some degree, and are able to call on any Fury in the environment around them rather than using a specific one that follows them around. This is addressed as being a difference in the development of each region of Alera, as the furies used by most people in urban and heavily-settled areas are more "diffuse" due to centuries of what amounts to domestication, while in the wilderness and frontiers the furies tend to be more discrete and individual. The second novel has a mention of Bernard having served in the 4th Rivan Legion. The third book introduces the fact that each High Lord is permitted to maintain a maximum of three legions. | |
Codex Alera / int_4f4372e9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4f4372e9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4f4372e9 | |
Codex Alera / int_4f6d87f7 | type |
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl | |
Codex Alera / int_4f6d87f7 | comment |
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Aldrick and Odiana; Bernard and Amara. | |
Codex Alera / int_4f6d87f7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4f6d87f7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4f6d87f7 | |
Codex Alera / int_4f84cdef | type |
Smug Snake | |
Codex Alera / int_4f84cdef | comment |
Smug Snake: High Lord Kalarus, though regarded by all his foes as competent and dangerous, is nonetheless held in contempt by the same foes, who see him only as a stepping stone before they kill each other in the real contest. His own arrogance blinds him to his own status and nature. Senator Arnos (who was actually in the pay of genuine Magnificent Bastard Lord Aquitaine) spends most of Cursor's Fury getting in the way of the Legions in their war with the Canim. | |
Codex Alera / int_4f84cdef | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4f84cdef | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4f84cdef | |
Codex Alera / int_4fc753f | type |
Olympus Mons | |
Codex Alera / int_4fc753f | comment |
Olympus Mons: Though most Alerans do not believe they truly exist, "Great Furies" embody the larger geological formations of Carna, including mountains, volcanoes, and the land of Alera itself. These Furies can be stirred to action, held to inaction, and (if the crafter is powerful enough) bound to a person as any smaller fury can be. | |
Codex Alera / int_4fc753f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4fc753f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4fc753f | |
Codex Alera / int_4fedc923 | type |
Combat Sadomasochist | |
Codex Alera / int_4fedc923 | comment |
Kalarus' Immortals, who have been trained since birth with discipline collars so that they will not only continue fighting until they literally drop dead, but will enjoy doing so. | |
Codex Alera / int_4fedc923 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4fedc923 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4fedc923 | |
Codex Alera / int_4ff59a5a | type |
Shock Collar | |
Codex Alera / int_4ff59a5a | comment |
"Discipline collars" are shock collars for slaves. When one is put on you, you are buried in indescribable pleasure, until the mere absence of that pleasure is like torture. From then on, you must obey the orders of the person who put the collar on you, or you will feel pain, while obeying causes pleasure. Worse, you will die if anyone other than the person who put the collar on you tries to take it off, even if that person is dead. | |
Codex Alera / int_4ff59a5a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_4ff59a5a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_4ff59a5a | |
Codex Alera / int_500ecfb7 | type |
The Big Guy | |
Codex Alera / int_500ecfb7 | comment |
Antillus Raucus (Max's dad) and his wife Dorotea. Max believes that Dorotea killed his mother due to her status as Raucus' beloved concubine, and that she is trying to kill him, too, to remove potential threats to her (legitimate) son. | |
Codex Alera / int_500ecfb7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_500ecfb7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_500ecfb7 | |
Codex Alera / int_5028baf2 | type |
What Is This Thing You Call "Love"? | |
Codex Alera / int_5028baf2 | comment |
What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: The Vord Queen, in her efforts to understand humanity, asks people to explain to her what "love" is. | |
Codex Alera / int_5028baf2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5028baf2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5028baf2 | |
Codex Alera / int_50b05d30 | type |
Disproportionate Retribution | |
Codex Alera / int_50b05d30 | comment |
Disproportionate Retribution: The entire story is ultimately set off by Gaius Septimus being murdered by assassins sent from treacherous High Lords who had in turn been put up to it by Invidia as revenge for him breaking their engagement. | |
Codex Alera / int_50b05d30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_50b05d30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_50b05d30 | |
Codex Alera / int_50f66629 | type |
Crazy-Prepared | |
Codex Alera / int_50f66629 | comment |
Crazy-Prepared: Comes up pretty often given the number of Chessmasters in play, but the precedent is set early in the first book when Amara realizes that Gaius Sextus had designed his own son's tomb as a shelter against enemy furies, weapons stockpile, and site for healing. Hidden in plain sight! When Fidelias enters a seemingly empty tent he turns to the empty air and makes a verbal greeting. Lady Aquitaine, hiding under a veil, reveals herself and asks how he knew that she was there, but Fidelias is actually very surprised to see her. Apparently he greets the empty tent every time he walks in, just in case there is somebody invisible hiding in there. | |
Codex Alera / int_50f66629 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_50f66629 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_50f66629 | |
Codex Alera / int_5148024 | type |
Locked into Strangeness | |
Codex Alera / int_5148024 | comment |
Locked into Strangeness: Kitai gains Tavi's green eyes as a result of their bonding. Tavi doesn't understand what that really means until a book later. Gaius Sextus's hair goes solid white after his collapse during the second book. He still looks 40-something otherwise. | |
Codex Alera / int_5148024 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5148024 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5148024 | |
Codex Alera / int_5313c266 | type |
Bookends | |
Codex Alera / int_5313c266 | comment |
Book Ends: Very near the beginning, Tavi and Amara take shelter from a furystorm caused by Garados and Thana in the Princeps' Memorium. At the end of the series, Tavi kills the Vord Queen there in the middle of a furystorm caused by Garados and Thana. | |
Codex Alera / int_5313c266 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5313c266 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5313c266 | |
Codex Alera / int_539ae07a | type |
Empowered Badass Normal | |
Codex Alera / int_539ae07a | comment |
Empowered Badass Normal: Tavi and Kitai both gain furycraft at the very end of the third book. | |
Codex Alera / int_539ae07a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_539ae07a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_539ae07a | |
Codex Alera / int_53f5119f | type |
The Dragon | |
Codex Alera / int_53f5119f | comment |
Aldrick ex Gladius often serves as The Dragon for whichever character is currently in control, and not as a clear antagonist on his own, but he is legendary throughout Alera for his skill with a sword. His duel with Araris Valerian, also legendary because of his skill, is still being talked about fifteen years later. To hear Araris tell it: | |
Codex Alera / int_53f5119f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_53f5119f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_53f5119f | |
Codex Alera / int_54321e11 | type |
Innocent Fanservice Girl | |
Codex Alera / int_54321e11 | comment |
Innocent Fanservice Girl: Kitai grew up in a culture where nobody past childhood, male or female, wears anything but a loincloth, and they only wear that for functionality so they can have pouches to carry things. Consequently, she has no problem stripping down, and Tavi has to think of creative interpretations of Marat customs to get her and other Marat women to cover up and wear Aleran clothing. | |
Codex Alera / int_54321e11 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_54321e11 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_54321e11 | |
Codex Alera / int_54367e5d | type |
Mathematician's Answer | |
Codex Alera / int_54367e5d | comment |
Mathematician's Answer: In Princeps’ Fury, when Kitai asks if Tavi is studying the Vord or the Canim while overlooking Shuar’s battle plans, Tavi simply replies "Yes." | |
Codex Alera / int_54367e5d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_54367e5d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_54367e5d | |
Codex Alera / int_556a3059 | type |
The Empath | |
Codex Alera / int_556a3059 | comment |
The Empath: Any sufficiently powerful watercrafter can feel the emotions of surrounding people. One compares a visit to any sufficiently-sized city as the following: The Icemen, who can communicate amongst themselves with no speech at all. Their intense enmity for the Alerans comes largely from the mix of their water-based empathy with the minor firecrafting that Alerans use to stay warm in the cold northern regions. When fire and water are mixed it creates feelings of anxiety and anger, so just by being next to each other the two sides were feeding each other's hatred. | |
Codex Alera / int_556a3059 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_556a3059 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_556a3059 | |
Codex Alera / int_55a37945 | type |
Badass Family | |
Codex Alera / int_55a37945 | comment |
Badass Family: Not a single member of Tavi's family fails to impress. Tavi, despite having no furycrafting, has a sharp mind and grows to be an impressive fighter. Bernard is former military and is also an exceptionally skilled archer and woodsman, being able to lead a small group through rough ground and swamps, even when one is critically injured. Isana is a very skilled healer who is also capable of flooding a river to take care of some mercenaries threatening her family. And of course there's Gaius Sextus, Tavi's paternal grandfather and First Lord of Alera. Kitai's family is also fairly badass. Kitai is a barbarian and master thief, able to hide out in the capital of Alera without anyone catching her despite being easily identifiable as a Marat. Bonus points for eventually marrying Tavi. Doroga is clanhead of the Gargant trbe. He rides into battle on his chala Walker, wielding a club so heavy a High Lady has to visibly use earthcrafting to move it. He swings it with ease and has no crafting whatsoever. Hashat, Kitai's aunt on her mother's side, is headwoman of the Horse Clan and was at First Calderon, Second Calderon, and the final battle against the Vord. It's implied that she personally defeated some of Princeps Septimus' singulares at the battle of First Calderon. | |
Codex Alera / int_55a37945 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_55a37945 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_55a37945 | |
Codex Alera / int_561dab6b | type |
Mistaken for Gay | |
Codex Alera / int_561dab6b | comment |
Mistaken for Gay: Briefly, when Max notices that Tavi has stopped complaining about being separated from Kitai, he says that it is good Tavi finally got himself a woman to take his mind off things. When Tavi explains that he has not gotten himself a woman, Max asks if it was a boy instead. An exasperated Tavi has to explain that he has not had any kind of sexual partner. | |
Codex Alera / int_561dab6b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_561dab6b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_561dab6b | |
Codex Alera / int_562abd51 | type |
Let's Get Dangerous! | |
Codex Alera / int_562abd51 | comment |
Let's Get Dangerous!: At the climax of Furies of Calderon, Fade, the scarred, mentally retarded slave who has been tagging along with Tavi throughout the novel, stands up against Aldrick ex Gladius and bests him in a duel. | |
Codex Alera / int_562abd51 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_562abd51 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_562abd51 | |
Codex Alera / int_56515a39 | type |
Artistic License – History | |
Codex Alera / int_56515a39 | comment |
Artistic License – History: While most of Aleran society is coherent to what a displaced Roman colony from 100AD would look like, there are a lot of minor inconsistencies. Some jokes clearly make sense only if the characters are speaking english, everyone wears pants note a signature barbarian garb, not to mention legionaries wore studded leather skirts, gladii are always used as slashing weapons note while they were built to stab upwards, no one ever consider adopting an heir note Tiberius, the second Roman emperor, was adopted. Just to name one case, and so on. | |
Codex Alera / int_56515a39 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_56515a39 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_56515a39 | |
Codex Alera / int_566f3ddd | type |
Nature Spirit | |
Codex Alera / int_566f3ddd | comment |
Furies are powerful Nature Spirits that typically take the form of either an animal or plant, and can be bound and controlled by Alerans through sheer willpower. | |
Codex Alera / int_566f3ddd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_566f3ddd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_566f3ddd | |
Codex Alera / int_5768d31 | type |
Super-Speed | |
Codex Alera / int_5768d31 | comment |
Super-Speed: A primary combat ability for wind crafters, as drawing their wind fury within them allows them to increase their own speed beyond human norms. Later deconstructed in that if the windcrafter tries to take it up to eleven, their bodies cannot keep up and/or they end up with torn muscles and broken bones. | |
Codex Alera / int_5768d31 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5768d31 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5768d31 | |
Codex Alera / int_5798bfbf | type |
Reassigned to Antarctica | |
Codex Alera / int_5798bfbf | comment |
Tarsh, Anag, and Sha are the three Canim most frequently seen and characterized out of the last two novels while still not being major Canim characters on par with Varg, Nasaug, or even Master Marok. Tarsh is mostly characterized as an overly ambitious bully who was Reassigned to Antarctica in hopes of him becoming more competent. Anag serves as a Hypercompetent Sidekick assigned to Tarsh (largely to minimize any damage he would cause) and quickly gains a fascination with furycrafting and strong respect for the Alerans. Sha, meanwhile, is the only surviving Hunter under Varg’s employ and develops a surprising camaraderie with Fidelias. | |
Codex Alera / int_5798bfbf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5798bfbf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5798bfbf | |
Codex Alera / int_57b74bd4 | type |
Achievements in Ignorance | |
Codex Alera / int_57b74bd4 | comment |
Achievements in Ignorance: In Academ's Fury, Tavi and Max discuss the various theories that Alerans have on the true nature of furies — whether they are truly living creatures or just part of the person doing the crafting. When Max asks why frontier furies seem to be so much stronger than city furies, Tavi explains that, according to one theory, since the frontier holders who claim them think that they are wild and strong furies, that makes them stronger than they actually would be than if the frontiersmen knew they were just relying on their own strength. To quote Maximus: Most Aleran scholars believe that furycrafting does not work if the crafter is not connected to Alera itself; for example, it is suspected that earth- or watercrafting would be impossible on the foreign continent of Canea. Thankfully, when they actually end up in Canea, nobody thought to inform the first crafters ashore, who went ahead and crafted anyway. Surprisingly, it turns out that Max was aware of this theory while Tavi was ignorant of it. Tavi invokes this trope by telling Max to forget everything he knows and just do it anyway. | |
Codex Alera / int_57b74bd4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_57b74bd4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_57b74bd4 | |
Codex Alera / int_57b80b45 | type |
Fantastic Racism | |
Codex Alera / int_57b80b45 | comment |
A comedic example; During Princeps' Fury, when Isana, High Lady Placidus Aria, and Araris are all preparing to meet with the Icemen to discuss an armistice between the "northern barbarians" and the Alerans, High Lord Antillus Raucus' second (and Placidus Aria's son) — Placidus Garius — is escorting them all, and he cynically notes that the Icemen are only "savage animals" and that he & his fellow Aleran soldiers will be ready for, not if, negotiations break down. Isana is so appalled by Garius' small-mindedness that she mentions she has to stop herself from giving him a Dope Slap. Later on, during the second round of negotiations, when Aria is being badly affected by the Hate Plague inadvertently created by Aleran firecrafting conflicting with the Icemen's watercrafting and is ignoring Isana's orders to stand down, Isana gets fed up and violently slaps Aria across the face to snap her out of her daze. Evidently, Isana did end up slapping a member of the House of Placida during negotiations with the Icemen... just not the one she was probably expecting to. | |
Codex Alera / int_57b80b45 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_57b80b45 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_57b80b45 | |
Codex Alera / int_57c25438 | type |
Green Thumb | |
Codex Alera / int_57c25438 | comment |
Woodcrafting (Knights Flora): Manipulation of plants, including encouraging them to grow, or animating them directly, which also (as the name implies) applies to dead wood. It also grants the ability to create veils when enough plant matter is present, specifically with shadows. Most Woodcrafters are archers, since control of the arrows and bows gives them Improbable Aiming Skills. | |
Codex Alera / int_57c25438 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_57c25438 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_57c25438 | |
Codex Alera / int_57cf76a1 | type |
Hate Plague | |
Codex Alera / int_57cf76a1 | comment |
The Alerans of the far north and Icemen have this relationship. One side kills the other and the other retaliates. It has been going on for so long, Isana wonders if either side actually remembers why the conflict started to begin with. The mutually inimical reactions of Aleran firecrafting and the Icemen's innate watercrafting-adjacent powers hasn't helped. | |
Codex Alera / int_57cf76a1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_57cf76a1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_57cf76a1 | |
Codex Alera / int_57d43e40 | type |
Fantasy Counterpart Culture | |
Codex Alera / int_57d43e40 | comment |
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The Realm of Alera is a society very similar to Western Rome at the peak of its empire. Justified since it was founded by a Lost Roman Legion. That being said, Alera has several distinct elements that show how far it has diverged from the ancient Roman culture, particularly with a more executive system of government where the Senate, High Lords, and First Lord exist side by side, the fact that slavery is a divisive topic instead of the norm, and the use of several aspects of the medieval European feudal system, such as Counts ruling over regions under the High Lords, and the title of a Knight of the Legions. Furthermore, unlike the incredibly religious Romans, the Alerans are highly agnostic and secular, to the point of outright claiming to have Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions as "gods" and "prophecy". | |
Codex Alera / int_57d43e40 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_57d43e40 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_57d43e40 | |
Codex Alera / int_58154a14 | type |
Bribe Backfire | |
Codex Alera / int_58154a14 | comment |
Bribe Backfire: In Alera Imperia, the Grey Tower is a formidable prison designed to be able to hold the most powerful crafters. The guards assigned there are recruited not only for being some of the strongest swordsmen in the nation, but also for their high degree of integrity. It is virtually impossible for anyone to bribe them. If someone even tries to bribe them, they can report the bribe to their superiors and the Crown will pay them triple the bribe amount as a bonus. | |
Codex Alera / int_58154a14 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_58154a14 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_58154a14 | |
Codex Alera / int_581f6468 | type |
Hero of Another Story | |
Codex Alera / int_581f6468 | comment |
Hero of Another Story: Phrygius Cyricus is the second son of High Lord Phrygius, only sixteen years old and described as being painfully thin and speaking with a stammer. Despite this, he is left in command of Phrygia in his father's absence and has apparently gained the respect of the legionares and leaders of Phrygia through his past actions. When he shows his competence, forethought, and initiative, Varg, Tavi, and Kitai all speak of how he reminds them of a young Tavi and they cheerily banter over which of them will get to hire him after the crisis. | |
Codex Alera / int_581f6468 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_581f6468 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_581f6468 | |
Codex Alera / int_5979acea | type |
Fragile Speedster | |
Codex Alera / int_5979acea | comment |
Fragile Speedster: Any windcrafter without an accompanying skill in metal- or earthcrafting. Particularly exemplified by Amara, who is possibly the fastest flier in Alera aside from the High Lords, but at one point actually starts breaking bones and tearing muscles from speeding herself up too much in a fight. | |
Codex Alera / int_5979acea | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5979acea | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5979acea | |
Codex Alera / int_5989e3b6 | type |
Enemy Mine | |
Codex Alera / int_5989e3b6 | comment |
Enemy Mine Amara and Invidia team up to bring down Kalarus in Cursor's Fury. The Alerans, Marat, and surviving Canim all join forces to stop the Vord, with a simultaneous armistice between the Alerans and Icemen also achieved. The epilogue has Tavi note that he fully intends to leverage the continued existence of the last surviving Vord Queen in Canea to maintain this alliance. | |
Codex Alera / int_5989e3b6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5989e3b6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5989e3b6 | |
Codex Alera / int_5a0e88d8 | type |
Bring It | |
Codex Alera / int_5a0e88d8 | comment |
Bring It: Pirellus does this gesture to a crowd of Marat toward the end of the first book. | |
Codex Alera / int_5a0e88d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5a0e88d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5a0e88d8 | |
Codex Alera / int_5a24baf5 | type |
Sinister Nudity | |
Codex Alera / int_5a24baf5 | comment |
Sinister Nudity: The more advanced Awakened Vord Queens resemble naked women wearing only capes. Far from being sexy, they're quite eerie. | |
Codex Alera / int_5a24baf5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5a24baf5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5a24baf5 | |
Codex Alera / int_5aa8d3d8 | type |
Friendly Enemy | |
Codex Alera / int_5aa8d3d8 | comment |
Friendly Enemy: Captain Demos is a slaver and a pirate, theoretically an enemy of the Aleran government, but he frequently talks about how much he loves working with the Cursors, the spies and assassins of that same government. As he explains it, the Cursors pay on time and almost never try to kill him once the job is completed. The Canim term gadara essentially means this. They even see a gadara as worth more than a friend: a friend can always disappoint you, but your gadara is always your enemy. However, Tavi and various Canim always make it a point to explain that they are still an enemy, and in a conflict will do their best to kill one another. | |
Codex Alera / int_5aa8d3d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5aa8d3d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5aa8d3d8 | |
Codex Alera / int_5abc8612 | type |
Unholy Matrimony | |
Codex Alera / int_5abc8612 | comment |
Unholy Matrimony: Odiana is Ax-Crazy. Aldrick is an amoral mercenary. They make a surprisingly cute couple. | |
Codex Alera / int_5abc8612 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5abc8612 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5abc8612 | |
Codex Alera / int_5ac34441 | type |
Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp" | |
Codex Alera / int_5ac34441 | comment |
Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": invoked "Grass lions" are (by Word of God) sabertooth cats. Gargants are descended from the Giant Ground Sloth, leviathans are plesiosaurs, and herdbane are terror birds. The descriptions given to the thanadents, tavar, slives, and garim are a lot more vague, but the former two are heavily implied to be a type of tyrannosauroid and “bear-dog� respectively, while slives seem to be descendants of the Cretaceous species of venomous monitor lizards and garim are essentially Komodo dragons. Of course, these animals and their ancestors all went extinct long before the Romans even existed, so the Alerans would have no idea what their proper names are. The highly advanced and massive crossbows created by the Canim are referred to as “balests.� Additionally, the catapults re-invented by Octavian and Bernard in First Lord’s Fury are called “mules� since the force of their released payloads causes one end of their structure to leap up in a manner reminiscent of a donkey kicking out its hind legs. Notably, both of these are actually semi-historical names: The Romans called what we would now call a catapult an "onager" (an ass or a mule) because it kicked like one, while "catapulta" was used for what was essentially a giant crossbow. | |
Codex Alera / int_5ac34441 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5ac34441 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5ac34441 | |
Codex Alera / int_5b6e57e | type |
Required Secondary Powers | |
Codex Alera / int_5b6e57e | comment |
Required Secondary Powers: High Lords/Ladies and the First Lord are generally very strong in all six elements. Most other people, though, are only strong in one or two, which means they might lack these. This results in situations where speedsters shred their own muscles if they do not have the earthcrafting to augment their own strength; see Fragile Speedster above. In the same way, metalcrafters have the pain tolerance to keep fighting far too long for their own good because they do not have the earthcrafting to prevent injuries in the first place or watercrafting to heal them. Watercrafters have the empathic ability to sense everyone's emotions, but might lack the pain tolerance of a metalcrafter to avoid going crazy from the mental cacophony. | |
Codex Alera / int_5b6e57e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5b6e57e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5b6e57e | |
Codex Alera / int_5c5ac0e2 | type |
Really 700 Years Old | |
Codex Alera / int_5c5ac0e2 | comment |
Really 700 Years Old: Varg. Potentially any Cane for that matter, as their life expectancy seems to be near a millennium. | |
Codex Alera / int_5c5ac0e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5c5ac0e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5c5ac0e2 | |
Codex Alera / int_5ca80293 | type |
Pragmatic Villainy | |
Codex Alera / int_5ca80293 | comment |
Pragmatic Villainy: High Lady Aquitaine gives Isana an impassioned (for her, anyway) speech about how she can be trusted to honor loyalty, oppose violence and protect the people she has sworn to protect. Not because she feels some sort of moral duty to do so, but because she knows that that is how she gains loyal servants, preserves Alera as a prosperous whole and sways others to her cause. Additionally, the Aquitaines are very much against slavery... since weakening slavery will shatter the strength of their main political rival, High Lord Kalarus, whose economy is completely built around slavery. | |
Codex Alera / int_5ca80293 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5ca80293 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5ca80293 | |
Codex Alera / int_5cdbd1f9 | type |
You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good! | |
Codex Alera / int_5cdbd1f9 | comment |
You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good!: Twice in Captain's Fury: Tavi laments Senator Arnos' martial incompetence and self-aggrandizement, as with his political influence and admitted intelligence he could have been a great asset if he cared more about solving the problem instead of undermining Tavi to make himself look good. He goes so far as to explicitly say as much to Arnos, but when Arnos instead tries to turn it around that Tavi is no better, Tavi realizes that Arnos really is that far gone and says that he won't be helping anybody after all. While undercover amongst the First Aleran, Fidelias comments to Lady Aquitaine that she could remove her disguise and take charge, using her power and strength to lead the doomed men to victory and gain all the political power and respect from her "Big Damn Heroine" moment. She simply states there is no guarantee she could win and would rather simply let the men die and escape herself. | |
Codex Alera / int_5cdbd1f9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5cdbd1f9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5cdbd1f9 | |
Codex Alera / int_5ce7dbb9 | type |
Central Theme | |
Codex Alera / int_5ce7dbb9 | comment |
Central Theme: Communication, Forgiveness, and moving away from the crimes of the past. | |
Codex Alera / int_5ce7dbb9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5ce7dbb9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5ce7dbb9 | |
Codex Alera / int_5e7163c9 | type |
Alternative Character Interpretation | |
Codex Alera / int_5e7163c9 | comment |
Alternative Character Interpretation: invoked Discussed in Princeps' Fury. When Isana is looking at the great Shieldwall of the northernmost Aleran cities, she muses how the Alerans themselves see it as an immense defensive construct, but from the perspective of the Icemen it could look more like a prison wall cutting them off from the rest of the outside world. | |
Codex Alera / int_5e7163c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5e7163c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5e7163c9 | |
Codex Alera / int_5f3bb274 | type |
Late-Arrival Spoiler | |
Codex Alera / int_5f3bb274 | comment |
This does cause some Late Arrival Spoilers: knowing that there's a book called First Lord's Fury when you're still on Cursor's Fury provides some rather significant spoilers, though you may wonder how and why Tavi becomes First Lord without furies. | |
Codex Alera / int_5f3bb274 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5f3bb274 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5f3bb274 | |
Codex Alera / int_5f49ac76 | type |
Single-Target Sexuality | |
Codex Alera / int_5f49ac76 | comment |
Single-Target Sexuality: Kitai and Tavi love only each other. When his friends advise him to get a new woman when he's separated from her, and not expecting to see her again for months or years, he doesn't even entertain the suggestion. Kitai, likewise, never shows the slightest interest in anyone else besides Tavi. Well, except jokingly: after encountering one impressively competent officer, Kitai declares she is now in love, and Tavi tells her to get in line. | |
Codex Alera / int_5f49ac76 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5f49ac76 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5f49ac76 | |
Codex Alera / int_5f7ff68e | type |
Sword Sparks | |
Codex Alera / int_5f7ff68e | comment |
Sword Sparks: Swords sparking is an artifact of powerful metal crafting. With thematic colors no less! | |
Codex Alera / int_5f7ff68e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5f7ff68e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5f7ff68e | |
Codex Alera / int_5fb6411f | type |
We Are as Mayflies | |
Codex Alera / int_5fb6411f | comment |
We Are as Mayflies: At least, compared to the Canim, who can live for centuries (unless they die in battle first). The other races' lifespans are never explicitly stated, but the Vord seem to have some sort of Genetic Memory at least. | |
Codex Alera / int_5fb6411f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5fb6411f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5fb6411f | |
Codex Alera / int_5fcb9ad1 | type |
Time Skip | |
Codex Alera / int_5fcb9ad1 | comment |
As the series literally follows Tavi as he grows from boyhood to adulthood, each Time Skip in the series follows him growing larger, stronger, more experienced, and constantly receiving training in the arts of politics and war. | |
Codex Alera / int_5fcb9ad1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_5fcb9ad1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_5fcb9ad1 | |
Codex Alera / int_60194b82 | type |
Spanner in the Works | |
Codex Alera / int_60194b82 | comment |
Spanner in the Works: Throughout Furies of Calderon, Fade repeatedly saves Isana's life by tripping over people and spilling hot soup right at the critical moment. All on purpose. In Cursor's Fury, Sarl would have killed Tavi if it were not for the red stone Tavi accidentally stole from High Lady Antillus. | |
Codex Alera / int_60194b82 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_60194b82 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_60194b82 | |
Codex Alera / int_60fa92ac | type |
Names to Run Away from Really Fast | |
Codex Alera / int_60fa92ac | comment |
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Gaius Tavarus Magnus, which means something like "Lord Super-Wolverine the Great". | |
Codex Alera / int_60fa92ac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_60fa92ac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_60fa92ac | |
Codex Alera / int_617f0563 | type |
Heel–Face Turn | |
Codex Alera / int_617f0563 | comment |
Fidelias to Invidia. Until he Heel Face Turns at the end of Captain's Fury. | |
Codex Alera / int_617f0563 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_617f0563 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_617f0563 | |
Codex Alera / int_61c683d2 | type |
We Have Reserves | |
Codex Alera / int_61c683d2 | comment |
We Have Reserves: Senator Arnos' plan to deal with the Canim is a deliberate campaign of attrition that doesn't leave any room for the possibility that Nasaug might be more clever than Arnos thinks he is. As a direct result of this, the two Senatorial Legions Arnos commanded at the start of the fourth book are so reduced in number that the survivors are combined into a single legion at the end of it. | |
Codex Alera / int_61c683d2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_61c683d2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_61c683d2 | |
Codex Alera / int_6201e8b0 | type |
I Have Your Wife | |
Codex Alera / int_6201e8b0 | comment |
High Lord Kalarus, in his bid to overthrow the throne and take it for himself, quickly demonstrates that such petty things as "morals" or "humanity" do not concern him. When he kidnaps the wife and daughter of two High Lords in order to blackmail them into non-action, he puts one of them in the same room as the five-year-old daughter of his spymaster and explains to her that, should she try to escape, his security systems will kill the child first and then try to stop her. | |
Codex Alera / int_6201e8b0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6201e8b0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6201e8b0 | |
Codex Alera / int_627f7c90 | type |
Genghis Gambit | |
Codex Alera / int_627f7c90 | comment |
Genghis Gambit: The series ends this way, with Tavi as the First Lord admitting that the last Vord Queen is useful as a distant but major threat that motivates all of the four protagonist races to get along. | |
Codex Alera / int_627f7c90 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_627f7c90 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_627f7c90 | |
Codex Alera / int_6293c185 | type |
Sequel Hook | |
Codex Alera / int_6293c185 | comment |
Sequel Hook: In the epilogue, Alera reveals to Tavi that the Vord Queen in Canea will be ready to cross the sea in one-hundred and fifty years, and he - or rather his descendants - had better be well prepared. | |
Codex Alera / int_6293c185 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6293c185 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6293c185 | |
Codex Alera / int_634321c5 | type |
Master of One Magic | |
Codex Alera / int_634321c5 | comment |
Master of One Magic: Generally speaking, rural Furycrafters tend to closely bond to one or two specific Furies. This gives them limited breadth but greater strength in their furycrafting. Specifically, Knights are military Furycrafters who are recognized for their excellence with one particular type of Furycraft and its application in combat. | |
Codex Alera / int_634321c5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_634321c5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_634321c5 | |
Codex Alera / int_63557923 | type |
Death World | |
Codex Alera / int_63557923 | comment |
Death World: Carna. Even ignoring the other hostile sentient races found on the planet, it’s inhabited by Eldritch Abominations made up of the natural elements and numerous deadly natural predators. And this is all before the return of the Vord... | |
Codex Alera / int_63557923 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_63557923 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_63557923 | |
Codex Alera / int_6379a920 | type |
Diagnosis from Dr. Badass | |
Codex Alera / int_6379a920 | comment |
Diagnosis from Dr. Badass: Attis' calm and exact description of exactly what getting filleted by Invidia did to his insides. | |
Codex Alera / int_6379a920 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6379a920 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6379a920 | |
Codex Alera / int_637b6123 | type |
Sickening "Crunch!" | |
Codex Alera / int_637b6123 | comment |
Sickening "Crunch!": When Gaius Sextus kills three cohorts (roughly 1,800) of Immortals at the same time, the sound of all their necks breaking "was a rippling staccato of sound, somewhat like a saw going through wood." | |
Codex Alera / int_637b6123 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_637b6123 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_637b6123 | |
Codex Alera / int_63cad64b | type |
Threatening Shark | |
Codex Alera / int_63cad64b | comment |
Threatening Shark: In Cursor's Fury, one of several tricks Tavi pulls during the defense of the Elinarch is to dump blood into the river, attracting sharks that very effectively prevent any Canim from swimming across. In Captain's Fury, they have to swim through the Leviathans' Run, and Demos says that the sharks will be more of a problem than the leviathans — but since they have Isana with them, when one shark is stupid enough to bother them, she throws it a good fifteen feet out of the water to land on the deck of a pirate ship. | |
Codex Alera / int_63cad64b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_63cad64b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_63cad64b | |
Codex Alera / int_6411dac8 | type |
BadassNormal | |
Codex Alera / int_6411dac8 | comment |
Badass Normal: Tavi and Kitai. Played with in that the pair of them are abnormal by their respective societies' standards. One is furyless, the other has Tavi as her totem. She wanted a horse. | |
Codex Alera / int_6411dac8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6411dac8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6411dac8 | |
Codex Alera / int_6439de78 | type |
Heroic Sacrifice | |
Codex Alera / int_6439de78 | comment |
Amara's selflessness in terms of performing a Heroic Sacrifice in Academ's Fury so as to ensure the death of the Calderon Vord Queen confuses the Queen so much that it actually helps make it so that Amara survives her "Hail Mary" attack. In essence, Amara's willingness in terms of sacrificing her life actually ensured that she would survive. | |
Codex Alera / int_6439de78 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6439de78 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6439de78 | |
Codex Alera / int_6469d82f | type |
Euphemism Buster | |
Codex Alera / int_6469d82f | comment |
Euphemism Buster: Ullus of Westmiston insists on calling himself a 'merchant', but Demos bluntly interrupts and says that he is a fence. | |
Codex Alera / int_6469d82f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6469d82f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6469d82f | |
Codex Alera / int_6486e532 | type |
Intimate Artistry | |
Codex Alera / int_6486e532 | comment |
Intimate Artistry: First Lord Gaius Sextus has a half-finished portrait of his son, Gaius Septimus, who had been killed fifteen years before the start of the series proper. Sextus explains that his wife had been painting the portrait when she got word of her son's death, and had stopped at the news (Sextus points to a mark that indicates the exact point). Afterwards, she had the painting hung in her room and wasted away in despair looking at her dead son's image. | |
Codex Alera / int_6486e532 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6486e532 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6486e532 | |
Codex Alera / int_648fe274 | type |
But for Me, It Was Tuesday | |
Codex Alera / int_648fe274 | comment |
But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Princeps Septimus was known among the Citizenry for going against the flow and would get involved personally to deal with squabbles. Invidia mentions that these scuffles were not really remembered by Septimus himself, but those whose ire his actions aroused remembered and hated him all the more. | |
Codex Alera / int_648fe274 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_648fe274 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_648fe274 | |
Codex Alera / int_6492f4ca | type |
Spirit Advisor | |
Codex Alera / int_6492f4ca | comment |
Spirit Advisor: The Great Fury Alera has been helping the House of Gaius from the background for the past several hundred years. | |
Codex Alera / int_6492f4ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6492f4ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6492f4ca | |
Codex Alera / int_64e975cf | type |
Manly Tears | |
Codex Alera / int_64e975cf | comment |
Manly Tears: In Academ's Fury, when Miles witnesses his brother Araris in battle again, after believing he had been dead for fifteen years, he weeps at the sight. In First Lord's Fury, Marcus weeps as he watches the First Aleran's Last Stand. | |
Codex Alera / int_64e975cf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_64e975cf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_64e975cf | |
Codex Alera / int_653c5c73 | type |
Cannot Spit It Out | |
Codex Alera / int_653c5c73 | comment |
Cannot Spit It Out: In the fourth book, Isana finally tries to explain to Tavi who his parents are and why he does not have magic powers like everyone else. Unfortunately, he chooses just that moment for some Oblivious Guilt Slinging, talking about how great it is to see family again without all the political intrigue and backstabbing of his job, making it even harder for her to confess to a lifelong deception, so she puts it off. Eventually, Araris does the job for her. Tavi is a bit sore about it for a while. | |
Codex Alera / int_653c5c73 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_653c5c73 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_653c5c73 | |
Codex Alera / int_6566a884 | type |
My God, You Are Serious! | |
Codex Alera / int_6566a884 | comment |
My God, You Are Serious!: In Captain's Fury, when Tavi suggests that Ehren attempt to make contact with Nasaug, the war leader of the Canim, Ehren bursts out laughing before he swiftly realizes that Tavi isn't joking. | |
Codex Alera / int_6566a884 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6566a884 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6566a884 | |
Codex Alera / int_659ef759 | type |
Implacable Man | |
Codex Alera / int_659ef759 | comment |
Implacable Man: Any sufficiently powered metalcrafter can become this, as a benefit of their furies is to disregard pain and exhaustion to keep going for days. Kalarus' Immortals, who have been trained since birth with discipline collars so that they will not only continue fighting until they literally drop dead, but will enjoy doing so. | |
Codex Alera / int_659ef759 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_659ef759 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_659ef759 | |
Codex Alera / int_66181568 | type |
Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions | |
Codex Alera / int_66181568 | comment |
Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions: The Alerans speak with scorn of several ancient Roman traditions and practices, and some refuse to believe these things ever happened because they are so patently ludicrous. These include, but are not limited to, praying to "gods", trying to tell the future by scattering animal entrails, shaping metal and stone without furies, constructing mechanical devices to supplant human labor, and building a civilized society without furycrafting. Considering the fact that the Great Furies like Kalare and Garados are at least as powerful as the Olympian gods, and have a far more palpable influence on the world, it is not really that surprising that religion as we know it fell by the wayside. | |
Codex Alera / int_66181568 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_66181568 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_66181568 | |
Codex Alera / int_666648a3 | type |
Hostile Terraforming | |
Codex Alera / int_666648a3 | comment |
Hostile Terraforming: It is never explicitly confirmed, but there are some very vague implications suggesting that the Vord were perhaps engineered by another alien species as a terraforming system for planets: Exterminating the locals and growing croach for what is to follow. | |
Codex Alera / int_666648a3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_666648a3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_666648a3 | |
Codex Alera / int_6682d6e4 | type |
Dying Moment of Awesome | |
Codex Alera / int_6682d6e4 | comment |
Dying Moment of Awesome Nedus is killed trying to defend Isana and Serai from assassins, but proves he is a Retired Badass by killing two of the three assassins armed with swords, and then killing the one who had fatally wounded him. Gaius Sextus blowing up Alera Imperia, taking out most of the Vord army in one strike. High Lord Cereus diving into a vordbulk's mouth and blowing it up from the inside to prevent it smashing the wall behind which his granddaughter is hiding. As Ehren puts it, "It was one thing for a man to say he was willing to lay down his life for his child-but quite another for him to actually do it." | |
Codex Alera / int_6682d6e4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6682d6e4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6682d6e4 | |
Codex Alera / int_66f69cd4 | type |
Invisibility Cloak | |
Codex Alera / int_66f69cd4 | comment |
Invisibility Cloak: Far from its intended use, Amara and Bernard use fury-infused cloth that can change color to the wear's liking as invisibility cloaks while skulking around Vord-infested Ceres. | |
Codex Alera / int_66f69cd4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_66f69cd4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_66f69cd4 | |
Codex Alera / int_671a3e1 | type |
Too Kinky to Torture | |
Codex Alera / int_671a3e1 | comment |
Too Kinky to Torture: A small humorous example where Kitai suggests she might be this. In Cursor's Fury, Odiana actually implies that she wants to have a discipline collar put on her by Aldrick, but only Aldrick. This is played for tragedy, not humor; in the first book she reveals that she used to be a slave, used for sex, and her watercrafting abilities let her feel the emotions of her attackers, which is what broke her. Notably, Aldrick will not do it, possibly because, in the final book, we learn that he was one of the men who saved her from said slaver. | |
Codex Alera / int_671a3e1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_671a3e1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_671a3e1 | |
Codex Alera / int_67b0bd0e | type |
An Ice Person | |
Codex Alera / int_67b0bd0e | comment |
An Ice Person: Watercrafters can craft snow and ice just as easily as they can liquid water. Isana makes good use of this when fighting a duel in the Grim Up North. The Icemen are an entire species of this as part of their watercrafting-based Telepathy. Doroga specifically comments on the incorrect Aleran theory that the Icemen follow the winter storms south when attacking the Shield Cities — in reality, the storms follow the Icemen. | |
Codex Alera / int_67b0bd0e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_67b0bd0e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_67b0bd0e | |
Codex Alera / int_67f26dcc | type |
Planet of Hats | |
Codex Alera / int_67f26dcc | comment |
Planet of Hats: A rare fantasy aversion. Although there are five different races, each one is shown to have its cowards and its heroes, individuals noble and villainous. The Canim and the Marat may be Proud Warrior Race Guys, but there's far more to their outlooks than just killing stuff for honor. It is what makes The Alliance at the end possible. Even the Horde of Alien Locusts are somewhat exempt, as the original Vord Queen develops a personality very different from her daughters. Of course her daughters all consider this a major flaw and want to kill her as a result. | |
Codex Alera / int_67f26dcc | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_67f26dcc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_67f26dcc | |
Codex Alera / int_68f95429 | type |
That's No Moon | |
Codex Alera / int_68f95429 | comment |
That's No Moon: At the climax of First Lord's Fury, Garados, when fully unleashed, is an ugly humanoid twice as tall as the mountain he emerged from. Tavi cannot stop gawking at the fact that something that large could actually exist. | |
Codex Alera / int_68f95429 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_68f95429 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_68f95429 | |
Codex Alera / int_69391768 | type |
Expecting Someone Taller | |
Codex Alera / int_69391768 | comment |
Expecting Someone Taller: Amara uses the standard line to subtly insult Pirellus of the Black Blade, Knight Commander of Garrison. When she first encounters Pirellus he is completely naked, having just been roused from a bath, and she mentions that she thought he would be... taller after looking him up and down, during which she lets her gaze linger "significantly". | |
Codex Alera / int_69391768 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_69391768 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_69391768 | |
Codex Alera / int_6957ce78 | type |
Makes Us Even | |
Codex Alera / int_6957ce78 | comment |
Makes Us Even: Odiana explains at the end of Furies of Calderon that she and Isana are now even after she saved the lives of Bernard, Fade, and Tavi. | |
Codex Alera / int_6957ce78 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6957ce78 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6957ce78 | |
Codex Alera / int_6a1c2a6 | type |
Cosmic Horror Story | |
Codex Alera / int_6a1c2a6 | comment |
Cosmic Horror Story: In the last book, the Vord Queen says that the Vord span the stars and the space between stars, and that they'll return eventually even if they are defeated now. | |
Codex Alera / int_6a1c2a6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6a1c2a6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6a1c2a6 | |
Codex Alera / int_6a47a1e2 | type |
Knight of Cerebus | |
Codex Alera / int_6a47a1e2 | comment |
Knight of Cerebus: The Vord. Virtually nothing is funny about them, and the story always takes a darker turn whenever they appear. | |
Codex Alera / int_6a47a1e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6a47a1e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6a47a1e2 | |
Codex Alera / int_6ae4dedd | type |
The Unfair Sex | |
Codex Alera / int_6ae4dedd | comment |
The Unfair Sex: When Kitai learns of the complicated rituals of courtship and marriage among the Citizenry of Alera, and that the relationship she has with Tavi is (by those standards) that of a concubine or whore, she becomes infuriated with how Tavi has treated her. Tavi, however, points out that she was the one who initiated their relationship, and that by her own Marat customs he has behaved perfectly honorably. Alera points out that that really is not relevant at all, and when Tavi accuses her of supporting Kitai simply because she is a woman, she agrees. | |
Codex Alera / int_6ae4dedd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6ae4dedd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6ae4dedd | |
Codex Alera / int_6b35788c | type |
Lava Adds Awesome | |
Codex Alera / int_6b35788c | comment |
Lava Adds Awesome: Twice, more specifically with the volcanic eruptions of both Mount Kalus and the fire-mountain below Alera Imperia. | |
Codex Alera / int_6b35788c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6b35788c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6b35788c | |
Codex Alera / int_6b510ace | type |
Hopeless War | |
Codex Alera / int_6b510ace | comment |
Hopeless War: The Vord come within an inch of wiping out all resistance on Alera despite everything the Alerans can throw at them. The only reason they're stopped is because Tavi manages to kill the Vord Queen at a critical moment, and even then that only worked because the Queen was "defective" and didn't have any other Queens helping her command the swarm. | |
Codex Alera / int_6b510ace | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6b510ace | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6b510ace | |
Codex Alera / int_6b5a92dc | type |
Uncanny Valley | |
Codex Alera / int_6b5a92dc | comment |
Uncanny Valley: invoked In-Universe, those "Taken" by the Vord are regarded as this by the other members of their species. Alerans see something fundamentally wrong and alien in the eyes of Taken humans, while Varg claims that Taken Canim both "smell wrong" and have ears that "don't look right". | |
Codex Alera / int_6b5a92dc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6b5a92dc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6b5a92dc | |
Codex Alera / int_6b8b122b | type |
The Good, the Bad, and the Evil | |
Codex Alera / int_6b8b122b | comment |
The Good, the Bad, and the Evil: At first, Tavi is the good, Aquitaine is the bad, and Kalarus is the evil. Later on, you have Tavi as the good, Aquitaine as the bad, and the Vord as the evil. | |
Codex Alera / int_6b8b122b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6b8b122b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6b8b122b | |
Codex Alera / int_6bd689ca | type |
Meaningful Echo | |
Codex Alera / int_6bd689ca | comment |
Meaningful Echo: When Captain Demos asks if Ehren is a Cursor, Ehren responds "I don't know what you mean, sir," but both he and Demos know it is simply a pro forma lie. Later, when Ehren asks if he was working for Kalarus, Demos responds with the same phrase, and makes an effort to mimic Ehren's inflection. Again, they both know it is just a lie to keep up appearances. | |
Codex Alera / int_6bd689ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6bd689ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6bd689ca | |
Codex Alera / int_6bda9a30 | type |
Meaningful Name | |
Codex Alera / int_6bda9a30 | comment |
As part of a Meaningful Name. A character named Rook switches places with a royal figure for the sake of maneuverability for her and protection for the royal. In other words, Rook castles. | |
Codex Alera / int_6bda9a30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6bda9a30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6bda9a30 | |
Codex Alera / int_6cc39b20 | type |
Puppeteer Parasite | |
Codex Alera / int_6cc39b20 | comment |
Puppeteer Parasite: The Vord's most potent weapon are the Takers, insects the size of a mouse that crawl in through your mouth and take over your body. The Taken bodies are impervious to pain, have strength far beyond their normal capability, and are used to sow dissent and fear amongst the populace. When the Taken is an Aleran, they can even use furycrafting, provided that a non-Taken furycrafts first to "activate" the furies. | |
Codex Alera / int_6cc39b20 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6cc39b20 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6cc39b20 | |
Codex Alera / int_6d9bc945 | type |
Babies Ever After | |
Codex Alera / int_6d9bc945 | comment |
Babies Ever After: Tavi and Kitai's son is born just before the epilogue starts. They name him "desired one". Isana feeds Amara a powerful healing mushroom to help her recover from her wounds given by the Vord Queen; this also fixes her reproductive system, which was damaged years ago by a blight. At Tavi's wedding, she is six months pregnant. | |
Codex Alera / int_6d9bc945 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6d9bc945 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6d9bc945 | |
Codex Alera / int_6e429667 | type |
Fantastic Slurs | |
Codex Alera / int_6e429667 | comment |
Fantastic Slurs: Considering that all the main civilizations in this series are extremely xenophobic, it's unsurprising that a few of these crop up. Alerans often call the Canim "dogs" (though "jackal" is the canine metaphor of choice for when Canim want to insult each other), while Canim call Alerans "demons" (along with at least one instance of "monkey-boy" in Captain's Fury). The Marat are on marginally better terms with the Alerans (that is to say, the two groups generally avoid each other with the occasional blow-up into war, rather than continuous low-level warfare as between the Alerans and Canim interrupted by brief periods of peace whenever the Canim send their Ambassadors over), and the two races at least superficially look similar, so "monster" type slurs are usually out; instead, both groups tend to just call the other "savages", with Alerans insinuating that all Marat are into bestiality and cannibalism, and Marat insinuating that all Alerans are treacherous Dirty Cowards with no morals—the slur "Dead Tribe" is mentioned to be used by Marat for Alerans, but never actually gets used on-page. Oddly, no specific slur for the Icemen is ever brought up, even though a significant subplot in the fifth book involves a warmongering Aleran High Lord who is extremely bigoted against them—though aside from some slight remarks like Alerans dismissing their adversaries as "animals", "Icemen" itself might count, since it's the Aleran term for the race and not the name they use for themselves, which is never revealednote Marat call them "Gadrim-ha" and Canim use "the people of the snows". | |
Codex Alera / int_6e429667 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6e429667 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6e429667 | |
Codex Alera / int_6e5287f4 | type |
Lady of Black Magic | |
Codex Alera / int_6e5287f4 | comment |
Lady of Black Magic: Lady Placida is a calm, regal woman who cares about those under her charge and will stand up to the Citizens if one is about to harm those she has come to respect. She is the only woman to attain Citizenship by virtue of winning a juris macto duel in her teens; all other woman Citizens save Isana earned the title by marriage. Invidia is something of a hybrid of this and Dark Action Girl. Amoral and carefully calculating, she is a powerhouse on the battlefield and able to firecraft so precisely in a confined space that she utterly destroys an enemy without hurting anyone else. It's implied that she's one of the most powerful furycrafters in the series (second only to Gaius Sextus and Tavi when he's fully powered). Gaius Isana, First Lady of Alera is not as combat-able as either of the two above, but she will not shy away from combat in later books, having fought a High Lord to his defeat by means of her own strength and willingness to sacrifice herself to open his eyes to his own deep hatred and took down six powerful vord that were covered in metal blades with just water attacks. She also connects to the Ocean Fury - that is, the fury that exists in the entire ocean, and the realization of it enhances her power so much that she is able to heal a mortal wound in seconds without a tub of water after pulling off several craftings that would exhaust even a High Lady. | |
Codex Alera / int_6e5287f4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6e5287f4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6e5287f4 | |
Codex Alera / int_6edd96b8 | type |
Making a Splash | |
Codex Alera / int_6edd96b8 | comment |
Watercrafting (Knights Aqua): Manipulating water, empathy, underwater breathing, the ability to change their appearance, long-range water-based communication, and, most importantly, healing. Without some metalcrafting, though, they tend to be Unhappy Mediums, since as we all know, A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read. | |
Codex Alera / int_6edd96b8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6edd96b8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6edd96b8 | |
Codex Alera / int_6eeba1f2 | type |
"Shut Up" Kiss | |
Codex Alera / int_6eeba1f2 | comment |
"Shut Up" Kiss: When Amara and Bernard are imprisoned in Garrison, Amara is anxious and hyperactive in their captivity. Bernard kisses her to calm her down and get her to stop panicking over a situation outside of their control. | |
Codex Alera / int_6eeba1f2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6eeba1f2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6eeba1f2 | |
Codex Alera / int_6f572188 | type |
Another Dimension | |
Codex Alera / int_6f572188 | comment |
Another Dimension: invoked According to Jim Butcher, Carna is another dimension that has wormholes pop up in other dimensions and suck beings in. This is why there are so many different intelligent species (humans, Icemen, Canim, Marat, Vord) on the planet, as well as why some descendants of extinct Earth animals (Megatherium and Terror Birds) are roaming around. The most well-known tear leading to Carna from the "real world" appears intermittently in The Bermuda Triangle. | |
Codex Alera / int_6f572188 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6f572188 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6f572188 | |
Codex Alera / int_6fb5cb83 | type |
I Gave My Word | |
Codex Alera / int_6fb5cb83 | comment |
I Gave My Word: Demos is scrupulously unscrupulous, but he keeps his word. When he told Ullus that he would kill him if Ullus did not have his money by the time he returned, he meant it. | |
Codex Alera / int_6fb5cb83 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_6fb5cb83 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_6fb5cb83 | |
Codex Alera / int_7012424f | type |
Stealth Hi/Bye | |
Codex Alera / int_7012424f | comment |
Stealth Hi/Bye: Both windcrafting and woodcrafting are capable of creating veils to hide things from sight (the first by manipulating air to bend light, the second by manipulating plant matter to alter shadows). Powerful enough crafters are capable of seemingly appearing from nowhere. Varg's Hunters do this repeatedly, including once emerging from a room that Tavi and company had been in (alone) only moments before. Eventually, Sha (their leader) pulls this on Valiar Marcus so often that Marcus stops being surprised at finding him in his tent. | |
Codex Alera / int_7012424f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7012424f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7012424f | |
Codex Alera / int_714342fb | type |
Erotic Eating | |
Codex Alera / int_714342fb | comment |
Erotic Eating: When Tavi and Kitai finally have an actual date, the text spends quite a bit of time detailing exactly how Kitai is eating, and at what speeds. Tavi is particularly transfixed by how she eats a berry. Slowly. | |
Codex Alera / int_714342fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_714342fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_714342fb | |
Codex Alera / int_725583e8 | type |
Good Feels Good | |
Codex Alera / int_725583e8 | comment |
Good Feels Good: Fidelias really likes being Valiar Marcus. | |
Codex Alera / int_725583e8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_725583e8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_725583e8 | |
Codex Alera / int_72856b70 | type |
Godzilla Threshold | |
Codex Alera / int_72856b70 | comment |
Godzilla Threshold: Many of the measures taken to stop the Vord will have unpleasant long-term consequences, but the Vord are just too big of a threat to consider anything besides the short term. At one point, Tavi's outright told that his plan will result in horrendously destructive weather in a hundred years or so. He says that going through with the plan is the only way to save Alera, so if his country's even still around for that to be a concern, he considers it a win. | |
Codex Alera / int_72856b70 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_72856b70 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_72856b70 | |
Codex Alera / int_7286e96d | type |
Idiot Ball | |
Codex Alera / int_7286e96d | comment |
Idiot Ball: Allies and enemies alike point out that Tavi had no reason to think that he could turn the Vord Queen in Shuar against her mother and sister, since it relied on assuming a history and motivation that he had no evidence to support, and that his plan was doomed from the start. | |
Codex Alera / int_7286e96d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7286e96d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7286e96d | |
Codex Alera / int_729c69f3 | type |
Politically Incorrect Villain | |
Codex Alera / int_729c69f3 | comment |
Politically Incorrect Villain: The Steadholder Kord, High Lord Kalarus Brencis, and Kalarus Brencis Minoris are all raging misogynists. Additionally, both Senator Guntus Arnos and Invidia Aquitaine repeatedly show incredibly classist views of Aleran society, with the latter repeatedly calling Isana a “glorified peasant� and “camp whore� during their time together in First Lord’s Fury. | |
Codex Alera / int_729c69f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_729c69f3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_729c69f3 | |
Codex Alera / int_72cdfc33 | type |
Big Bad Ensemble | |
Codex Alera / int_72cdfc33 | comment |
Big Bad Ensemble: Attis Aquitaine and Invidia Aquitaine, both of whom are arguably separate threats despite being husband and wife, are villains of the first book and have a presence in all the rest; Kalarus is part of three different Big Bad Ensembles in books 2-4, and Sarl is mostly a separate threat in book 3 despite his treacherous and tenuous alliance with the former, as is arguably Big Bad Wannabe Senator Arnos; however, the Vord are the Big Bad of the overall story, both as a species and in the form of the primary Vord Queen, who is involved in an Enemy Civil War with the other Queens. | |
Codex Alera / int_72cdfc33 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_72cdfc33 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_72cdfc33 | |
Codex Alera / int_72e0023f | type |
Invoked Trope | |
Codex Alera / int_72e0023f | comment |
Invoked in Cursor's Fury. Tavi commands his windcrafters to part the clouds and reveal the sun at high noon in order to focus the sun's rays into a Death Ray which roasts the Canim. | |
Codex Alera / int_72e0023f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_72e0023f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_72e0023f | |
Codex Alera / int_73ef9ef3 | type |
Almighty Janitor | |
Codex Alera / int_73ef9ef3 | comment |
Almighty Janitor: The Cursors are, technically, only the messengers of the First Lord. However, since everybody "knows" that they are just glorified mailmen, they are also used as spies, saboteurs, assassins, infiltrators, and anything else the First Lord requires. Most of the High Lords and Citizenry seem to be aware of the truth, giving them de facto authority when they speak for the First Lord. | |
Codex Alera / int_73ef9ef3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_73ef9ef3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_73ef9ef3 | |
Codex Alera / int_7464705c | type |
Arc Words | |
Codex Alera / int_7464705c | comment |
Arc Words: The admonition to 'finish what you begin' is given to Tavi repeatedly throughout the first novel by multiple different characters. It forms a basis for his personality throughout the series, and receives several callbacks in later books. From Captain's Fury: Hail, Gaius Octavian. | |
Codex Alera / int_7464705c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7464705c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7464705c | |
Codex Alera / int_74828aea | type |
Killer Rabbit | |
Codex Alera / int_74828aea | comment |
Killer Rabbit: Canim pups are the most adorable things ever. They can also bite your hand off at the wrist. Gram, one of the more powerful firecrafters around, uses a fury that takes the shape of a hummingbird named Phyllis. | |
Codex Alera / int_74828aea | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_74828aea | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_74828aea | |
Codex Alera / int_762b9223 | type |
Played for Laughs | |
Codex Alera / int_762b9223 | comment |
invoked Played for Laughs with Amara's Sex Slave outfit during her secret undercover mission in Cursor's Fury; despite Bernard's wandering gaze being enough to convey that she looks quite gorgeous in it, any potential titillation is lost by how Amara's internal narration while wearing it consists almost entirely of her complaining about how stupid she looks, how impractical the outfit is, and how she's dreading the possibility of getting wind burns in uncomfortable places if/when she needs to pull off a sudden escape with Cirrus. | |
Codex Alera / int_762b9223 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_762b9223 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_762b9223 | |
Codex Alera / int_7630ffdb | type |
The Call Put Me on Hold | |
Codex Alera / int_7630ffdb | comment |
The Call Put Me on Hold: Tavi grows up as a "furyless freak", which is a source of considerable angst. It is also a source of inspiration for him, because he has to think his way out of situations that his countrymen would simply blast their way out of, and he regularly takes advantage of resulting blind spots in their thinking. His lack of furycrafting abilities is a side effect of his mother stunting his growth to prevent his royal lineage from being noticed... and he eventually regains the ability to furycraft. | |
Codex Alera / int_7630ffdb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7630ffdb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7630ffdb | |
Codex Alera / int_769ad308 | type |
Hidden Weapons | |
Codex Alera / int_769ad308 | comment |
Once Ehren becomes a Cursor he carries numerous knives hidden about his person. Eventually people begin commenting on just how many he has tucked away from view. | |
Codex Alera / int_769ad308 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_769ad308 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_769ad308 | |
Codex Alera / int_7719cf90 | type |
It Began with a Twist of Fate | |
Codex Alera / int_7719cf90 | comment |
It Began with a Twist of Fate: Pretty much the entire plot happened because Tavi decided to get some flowers for a girl. | |
Codex Alera / int_7719cf90 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7719cf90 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7719cf90 | |
Codex Alera / int_77aedc5c | type |
Horse of a Different Color | |
Codex Alera / int_77aedc5c | comment |
Horse of a Different Color: invoked While regular horses exist, a preferred secondary beast is the Gargant. The descriptions in the books are a little vague, but Word of God finally came out and said that Gargants are descendants of Megatherium, the Giant Ground Sloth. The Canims' mounts, the Taurga. Descriptions are vague, but they give the impression of being massive, predatory camel-analogues (especially in disposition) mixed in with water buffalo. | |
Codex Alera / int_77aedc5c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_77aedc5c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_77aedc5c | |
Codex Alera / int_78270847 | type |
Curse Cut Short | |
Codex Alera / int_78270847 | comment |
Curse Cut Short: In Cursor's Fury, though Tavi actually finishes it. | |
Codex Alera / int_78270847 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_78270847 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_78270847 | |
Codex Alera / int_78410584 | type |
She Is Not My Girlfriend | |
Codex Alera / int_78410584 | comment |
She Is Not My Girlfriend: When Ambassador Varg refers to Tavi and Kitai as "mates" in Academ's Fury they each (at the same time) state that they are not mates. Note this is before they began their relationship. | |
Codex Alera / int_78410584 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_78410584 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_78410584 | |
Codex Alera / int_7860d036 | type |
Get It Over With | |
Codex Alera / int_7860d036 | comment |
Get It Over With: Amara refuses to listen to Invidia's justifications or explanations for why she is helping the Awakened Vord Queen and tells her to "get on with it" when she holds Amara and Bernard at swordpoint. | |
Codex Alera / int_7860d036 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7860d036 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7860d036 | |
Codex Alera / int_7913eb6f | type |
Healing Hands | |
Codex Alera / int_7913eb6f | comment |
Healing Hands: Watercrafters can heal using their furies, but all but the most powerful need a tub of water to immerse the patient in. | |
Codex Alera / int_7913eb6f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7913eb6f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7913eb6f | |
Codex Alera / int_7919a45b | type |
Duel to the Death | |
Codex Alera / int_7919a45b | comment |
The Juris Macto is the Aleran version. It can be used to resolve legal disputes, matters of honor, or to allow one to gain Aleran citizenship by defeating a Citizen. The challenged participant can have a Champion stand in their stead, but the challenger must fight personally. Not all juris macto fights are to the death, but most of them are, and if a juris macto challenge is withdrawn by the challenger it is recognized as a formal withdrawal of the accusation. | |
Codex Alera / int_7919a45b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7919a45b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7919a45b | |
Codex Alera / int_7969f21e | type |
No One Gets Left Behind | |
Codex Alera / int_7969f21e | comment |
No One Gets Left Behind: When Kestus and Ivarus are fleeing from the Vord, Ivarus' horse is killed and Kestus turns around to assist him and bring him to safety on his own horse, even though Ivarus says it is more important that he escape with the news. Kestus himself is killed immediately after he turns back for Ivarus, leaving Ivarus/Ehren to continue the journey alone. | |
Codex Alera / int_7969f21e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7969f21e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7969f21e | |
Codex Alera / int_79a60aec | type |
For Want of a Nail | |
Codex Alera / int_79a60aec | comment |
For Want Of A Nail: Thematically lampshaded - everything in the series is kicked off by a serving girl wanting some pretty flowers. If you want to go even further back, all the political chaos and revenge plots and secret motivations of half the cast are all set off by Septimus meeting Isana and refusing another woman's designs for an arranged marriage. If Tavi hadn't stolen High Lady Antillus's purse and found the bloodstone Sarl gave her, she would have stuck around and taken control of the First Aleran when Sarl destroyed the officers' tent, the First Aleran would likely have been destroyed and the Canim would definitely have been able to cross the Elinarch, and the Realm would have been plunged into utter warfare, leaving it entirely unprepared for when the Vord struck. In addition, Valiar Marcus/Fidelias only survived the strike because he wasn't in the tent when it was destroyed, entirely by chance. | |
Codex Alera / int_79a60aec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_79a60aec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_79a60aec | |
Codex Alera / int_7a7107c8 | type |
Despair Event Horizon | |
Codex Alera / int_7a7107c8 | comment |
A variant in Cursor's Fury. Araris is hit with a poison that will rot him from the inside, but can be healed. However, he has hit the Despair Eventhorizon and wants to die. So, Isana ties her life to his and tells him he can either die and take her with him, or will himself to live and continue his duty to protect her. | |
Codex Alera / int_7a7107c8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7a7107c8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7a7107c8 | |
Codex Alera / int_7aa858c1 | type |
Consummate Liar | |
Codex Alera / int_7aa858c1 | comment |
Consummate Liar: Fidelias (as various watercrafters learn to their dismay and disturbance). Notably, he still has to be very careful when he's lying to Lady Aquitaine, because she is powerful enough to see through him. | |
Codex Alera / int_7aa858c1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7aa858c1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7aa858c1 | |
Codex Alera / int_7b39c3d8 | type |
El Cid Ploy | |
Codex Alera / int_7b39c3d8 | comment |
El Cid Ploy: A significant chunk of the plot of Academ's Fury consists of hiding the fact that Gaius Sextus collapsed from overwork and poison, though they don't find out about that part until book 5. | |
Codex Alera / int_7b39c3d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7b39c3d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7b39c3d8 | |
Codex Alera / int_7b454a57 | type |
White Sheep | |
Codex Alera / int_7b454a57 | comment |
White Sheep: Aric is no saint, but his father, Kord, is a brutish thug and his brother, Bittan, is offensively loud-mouthed and is being raised in the same vein. He eventually turns on his father and frees Isana from her captivity. | |
Codex Alera / int_7b454a57 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7b454a57 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7b454a57 | |
Codex Alera / int_7b7f90d5 | type |
Pronoun Trouble | |
Codex Alera / int_7b7f90d5 | comment |
Pronoun Trouble: Marat children are referred to by their parents as their "whelp," instead of "boy" or "girl", until they pass a certain rite of adulthood. In the first book, Tavi meets (and is injured by) a Marat child (Kitai), and the narration refers to this child with male pronouns since that is what Tavi assumes her to be. Before the reveal, Tavi asked Doroga, Kitai's father, about his "son" - Doroga's response is to look up at the sky and it seems he is confused by the homonym, as a bit of a language barrier had been established earlier, it is only later that it is revealed that the confusion is because he has a daughter instead. | |
Codex Alera / int_7b7f90d5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7b7f90d5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7b7f90d5 | |
Codex Alera / int_7bb1296b | type |
"Rashomon"-Style | |
Codex Alera / int_7bb1296b | comment |
"Rashomon"-Style: When Araris Valerian talks about Gaius Septimus, he extols his virtues when it came to dealing with other members of the nobility: he could turn even enemies into friends, and he had the knack for getting other people to back down without wounding their pride or losing face publicly. High Lady Aquitaine Invidia, on the other hand, says that Septimus simply didn't notice the enmity he aroused in those around him, and forgot about the grudges that other Citizens would nurse for years. | |
Codex Alera / int_7bb1296b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7bb1296b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7bb1296b | |
Codex Alera / int_7bd44eb9 | type |
Smart People Play Chess | |
Codex Alera / int_7bd44eb9 | comment |
Smart People Play Chess: Or the local equivalent, ludus. It has two boards, one on top of the other, so you can fight on both the earth and in the sky. This is probably based on the Ancient Roman game ludus latrunculorum, which is said to be similar to chess or draughts. | |
Codex Alera / int_7bd44eb9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7bd44eb9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7bd44eb9 | |
Codex Alera / int_7c48b272 | type |
Summon Bigger Fish | |
Codex Alera / int_7c48b272 | comment |
Summon Bigger Fish: In Captain's Fury, the Slive is being chased by a larger pirate ship with plans to board. Tavi arranges a boarding action to kill the witchmen aboard the pirate vessel, removing their covering watercrafting and disturbing the leviathans around them. The leviathans, in turn, smash the ship to splinters. In the climax of the series during First Lord's Fury, Tavi is battling the Vord queen and deliberately disturbs the Great Furies Garados and Thana to rouse their wrath against all parties present. | |
Codex Alera / int_7c48b272 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7c48b272 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7c48b272 | |
Codex Alera / int_7c77081d | type |
Language Equals Thought | |
Codex Alera / int_7c77081d | comment |
Language Equals Thought: The Marat do not have a word for "lying", the closest they can come is to say that somebody is making an 'intentional mistake'. In their culture, when one person accuses another of being mistaken the result is a Duel to the Death between parties to determine who is correct; they find the concept of somebody deliberately telling a falsehood confusing and pointless. The Canim warrior caste have a strict code that covers their treatment of each other within the frame of combat, and they have eleven words to name "enemy". A gadara is "a foe that is equal. Honorable. Trusted." They liken the different gradients of 'enemy' to the way that the Icemen have twenty-four names for snow. | |
Codex Alera / int_7c77081d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7c77081d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7c77081d | |
Codex Alera / int_7c862b8a | type |
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder | |
Codex Alera / int_7c862b8a | comment |
If you're noticing a common thread of "Aquitaine/Lady Aquitaine" in these entries, it's because this (and Chronic Backstabbing Disorder) is kind of Lady Aquitaine's hat. | |
Codex Alera / int_7c862b8a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7c862b8a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7c862b8a | |
Codex Alera / int_7d4a47d1 | type |
Let Us Never Speak of This Again | |
Codex Alera / int_7d4a47d1 | comment |
Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Played for Laughs in First Lord’s Fury when the Alerans literally ride the Canim piggy-back style to take advantage of the remaining furycrafted causeways since Tavi needs both the Canim army and his own forces to do a quick march to Riva and the Canim cannot use furycrafting. While it proves to be surprisingly effective, neither the Canim nor the Alerans involved are happy with the plan, and everyone essentially resolves to never speak about it again. | |
Codex Alera / int_7d4a47d1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7d4a47d1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7d4a47d1 | |
Codex Alera / int_7d89315b | type |
"The Reason You Suck" Speech | |
Codex Alera / int_7d89315b | comment |
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Amara gives one to Invidia in both Princeps' Fury and First Lord's Fury, then Isana to Invidia and the Vord Queen later in the latter novel. | |
Codex Alera / int_7d89315b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7d89315b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7d89315b | |
Codex Alera / int_7dae3dcf | type |
Slave Collar | |
Codex Alera / int_7dae3dcf | comment |
Slave Collars: Slaves are marked as such by wearing a leather collar to indicate their status. "Discipline collars" are shock collars for slaves. When one is put on you, you are buried in indescribable pleasure, until the mere absence of that pleasure is like torture. From then on, you must obey the orders of the person who put the collar on you, or you will feel pain, while obeying causes pleasure. Worse, you will die if anyone other than the person who put the collar on you tries to take it off, even if that person is dead. | |
Codex Alera / int_7dae3dcf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7dae3dcf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7dae3dcf | |
Codex Alera / int_7ef728b1 | type |
Tsundere | |
Codex Alera / int_7ef728b1 | comment |
Tsundere: Kitai, especially early on. | |
Codex Alera / int_7ef728b1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7ef728b1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7ef728b1 | |
Codex Alera / int_7fbb2a3 | type |
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! | |
Codex Alera / int_7fbb2a3 | comment |
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Tavi and Kitai are inadvertently responsible for the awakening of the Vord. They do eventually fix it, but it takes them all six books. In the final battle, Tavi leads the Awakened Vord Queen to the Great Furies of the Calderon Valley, and accidentally gives her the idea of claiming them, which would make her unstoppable. Kitai is appropriately exasperated. | |
Codex Alera / int_7fbb2a3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7fbb2a3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7fbb2a3 | |
Codex Alera / int_7febc23b | type |
Establishing Character Moment | |
Codex Alera / int_7febc23b | comment |
Establishing Character Moment: Tavi's first scene (Not counting the brief one-page prologue) is when he sneaks out of bed early to retrieve the sheep he had not brought in the night before, only to be caught by his uncle Bernard. The scene emphasizes that Tavi is smart and clever, but that he is not quite as clever as he thinks he is, or able to avoid the consequences of his actions. Aquitainus Attis' first scene has him emphasize that Ad Hominem "is a notoriously weak logical argument. And is usually used to distract the focus of a discussion—to move it from an indefensible point and to attack the opponent." Though he is drunk and watching a slave girl dance seductively, and is being subtly manipulated by those around him, it shows that he is level-headed enough to not ignore credible evidence, or to act without considering all the implications, and he's a lot smarter than he pretends to be. Lady Aquitaine first reveals herself by pretending to be the dancing slave girl she "gave" her husband, carefully observing Fidelias' actions, and noted she planned on killing off the mole now that he fulfilled his use. Antillar Maximus enters his first scene by knocking around the bullies harassing Tavi and Ehren as he shouts "Good morning!" | |
Codex Alera / int_7febc23b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_7febc23b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_7febc23b | |
Codex Alera / int_8042e814 | type |
Actually Pretty Funny | |
Codex Alera / int_8042e814 | comment |
Actually Pretty Funny: Aquitaine actually laughs — albeit weakly — when reflecting that Ehren has successfully assassinated him. | |
Codex Alera / int_8042e814 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8042e814 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8042e814 | |
Codex Alera / int_805deb6e | type |
Small Role, Big Impact | |
Codex Alera / int_805deb6e | comment |
Small Role, Big Impact: Beritte. She only makes a short appearance in the first book, but it is her request to Tavi to bring her some flowers that kickstarts the story, as Tavi leaving early the next morning leads him to meeting Amara. | |
Codex Alera / int_805deb6e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_805deb6e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_805deb6e | |
Codex Alera / int_80621707 | type |
Arranged Marriage | |
Codex Alera / int_80621707 | comment |
Arranged Marriage. There are several in the series, and not one of them ends well. Gaius Sextus and his considerably younger wife Caria, which ends with Caria slowly poisoning Sextus for years. Antillus Raucus (Max's dad) and his wife Dorotea. Max believes that Dorotea killed his mother due to her status as Raucus' beloved concubine, and that she is trying to kill him, too, to remove potential threats to her (legitimate) son. It is ultimately revealed that there was a planned marriage between Gaius Septimus and Invidia, but Septimus broke off the engagement when he met and wed Isana. This leads to the start of much of the plot of the series. | |
Codex Alera / int_80621707 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_80621707 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_80621707 | |
Codex Alera / int_806b07e7 | type |
Black Eyes of Evil | |
Codex Alera / int_806b07e7 | comment |
Black Eyes of Evil: The Awakened and Canea Vord Queens have them, with them being described as being mult-faceted like a dragonfly's. | |
Codex Alera / int_806b07e7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_806b07e7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_806b07e7 | |
Codex Alera / int_8077793f | type |
Open Secret | |
Codex Alera / int_8077793f | comment |
Open Secret: The Cursors are officially the messengers of the First Lord, but everyone knows that they are also the First Lord's spies, assassins, and special operatives. It gets to the point that some people are actually surprised when they are reminded of their official job. | |
Codex Alera / int_8077793f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8077793f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8077793f | |
Codex Alera / int_808cbaeb | type |
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking | |
Codex Alera / int_808cbaeb | comment |
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Tavi lists off his exploits, pointing out that he killed Sarl, held off a massive army that vastly outclassed his own, beat said massive army, and... beat Nasaug at ludus. | |
Codex Alera / int_808cbaeb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_808cbaeb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_808cbaeb | |
Codex Alera / int_80ed8406 | type |
Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough | |
Codex Alera / int_80ed8406 | comment |
Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: When Tavi and Maximus are sent to join the First Aleran Legion, Max knocks out two legionares that are disrespectful to Tavi, who is there undercover as an officer. When Tavi points out to Max that he could have handled them himself, Max explains that that is not the point; an officer wouldn't dispense corporal punishment, regardless of his capabilities, since that is the job of the Centurions. | |
Codex Alera / int_80ed8406 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_80ed8406 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_80ed8406 | |
Codex Alera / int_81ba8543 | type |
Hive Drone | |
Codex Alera / int_81ba8543 | comment |
Hive Drone: Most Vord are little more than coordinated animals unless a Queen is around to take charge. | |
Codex Alera / int_81ba8543 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_81ba8543 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_81ba8543 | |
Codex Alera / int_81f909f2 | type |
Dishing Out Dirt | |
Codex Alera / int_81f909f2 | comment |
Earthcrafting (Knights Terra): Earth and rock manipulation (good for making buildings!), Super-Strength, and ability to induce calm or lust. Additionally, manifest earth furies can be extremely useful... and dangerous. | |
Codex Alera / int_81f909f2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_81f909f2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_81f909f2 | |
Codex Alera / int_8225b12c | type |
Fumbling the Gauntlet | |
Codex Alera / int_8225b12c | comment |
Fumbling the Gauntlet: When Tavi first encounters Ambassador Varg in Academ's Fury he sees a guard dealing with the frustrated wolfman by being deliberately calm and trying to defuse the situation. While normally acceptable for dealing with humans, Tavi realizes that the predator mentality of the Cane will instead see it as weakness and will react with hostility. Tavi has to burst in and act aggressive himself to prevent a fight. This is discussed in Princep's Fury when Tavi is having the Alerans and Canim teach each other their separate languages and customs. If there is to be more fighting between them, it had best be for good reasons and not a miscommunication. | |
Codex Alera / int_8225b12c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8225b12c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8225b12c | |
Codex Alera / int_8272ed55 | type |
Hive Queen | |
Codex Alera / int_8272ed55 | comment |
Hive Queen: The Vord Queen mentally controls her swarm, but only to a certain range. One can tell if the Queen is close based on the effectiveness of the Vord in battle. If they're acting like a terrifying professional army, the Queen is there. If they're acting like a horde of dangerous wild animals, then the Queen is present (though even when the Queen isn't present, if she has given "jobs" to certain sections of the horde, they will still try to fulfill said jobs to the best of their limited ability). And if the Queen is dead, then the Vord will descend into savage insanity, typically attacking one another and/or devouring anything in sight. | |
Codex Alera / int_8272ed55 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8272ed55 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8272ed55 | |
Codex Alera / int_8288929a | type |
Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves | |
Codex Alera / int_8288929a | comment |
Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Sarl smuggled one of the Vord Queens back to Canea, and several groups of the ritualists eagerly smuggled Vord into their own lands to help with rebellions against the Warmasters. Once the Vord has a solid foothold everywhere they turned on the ritualists, and by the time of Princeps' Fury the ritualist caste is very nearly extinct. | |
Codex Alera / int_8288929a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8288929a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8288929a | |
Codex Alera / int_82b78473 | type |
Solar-Powered Magnifying Glass | |
Codex Alera / int_82b78473 | comment |
Solar-Powered Magnifying Glass: In Cursor's Fury, Tavi uses a small magnifying glass to light a fire to fake having the ability to firecraft (as part of assuming an undercover identity). Later in the same book he uses the same concept writ large as a weapon. | |
Codex Alera / int_82b78473 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_82b78473 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_82b78473 | |
Codex Alera / int_82d2715f | type |
Magitek | |
Codex Alera / int_82d2715f | comment |
Magitek: In daily life, most Alerans use technology roughly equivalent to medieval Europe, which is about what one would expect considering the origin of Alera was as a Lost Roman Legion. However, different aspects of furycrafting stand out as modern conveniences: furylamps, which function exactly like lightbulbs; coldstones, which provide refrigeration; watersending, which provides communication across thousands of miles; and air-coaches, which stand in for airplanes. Combined with the healing of watercrafting and the ability of woodcrafting to stimulate the growth of food crops, Alera has a general life-expectancy and quality of life equal to the mid-twentieth century United States. | |
Codex Alera / int_82d2715f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_82d2715f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_82d2715f | |
Codex Alera / int_8344209e | type |
BFG | |
Codex Alera / int_8344209e | comment |
BFG: The Balest, the first crossbow in the Codex Alera world: invented by the Canim and the size of a cart horse's yoke. It shoots bolts with enough force to punch straight through a fully armored legionare and still be moving fast enough to wound the man behind him. | |
Codex Alera / int_8344209e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8344209e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8344209e | |
Codex Alera / int_834420aa | type |
BFS | |
Codex Alera / int_834420aa | comment |
BFS: Justified by the Knights Terra, who use earthcrafting to boost their strength enough to wield them. High Lord Placida carries a sword that is actually described in the text as a "monster," large enough to kill gargants and fell trees in a single swing. | |
Codex Alera / int_834420aa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_834420aa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_834420aa | |
Codex Alera / int_83444f07 | type |
Mon | |
Codex Alera / int_83444f07 | comment |
Mon: invoked Word of God holds that the furies are in fact based on Pokémon. | |
Codex Alera / int_83444f07 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_83444f07 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_83444f07 | |
Codex Alera / int_83a8d697 | type |
Oblivious Guilt Slinging | |
Codex Alera / int_83a8d697 | comment |
Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Occurs in Captain's Fury, when Tavi makes an offhand comment about how you can always trust your family while Isana is in the room. Isana, who has been lying to him his entire life about his parentage and the reason for his lack of crafting ability, was getting up the nerve to confess. Fidelias/Marcus gets it from both sides. On one hand, Max, Nalus, Crassus, and most of the First Aleran keep going on about how good a friend, adviser, and all around soldier he is, while he is technically working for Lady Aquitaine and has orders to kill Tavi, and on the other, Lady Aquitaine keeps complimenting him on his ideas to get Tavi out of the way, when he feels horribly guilty about coming up with them. | |
Codex Alera / int_83a8d697 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_83a8d697 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_83a8d697 | |
Codex Alera / int_83b89a9c | type |
Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors | |
Codex Alera / int_83b89a9c | comment |
Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Each element (above) is canceled by its opposite: fire with water, metal with wood, air with earth (or just a pinch of salt), and vice versa. This is mainly used to design prisons and other restraints, but is occasionally used in battle. For example, a Wind-crafter can be cut off from their fury by covering them in enough dirt (or mud), while an earthcrafter merely needs to be suspended above the earth, unable to touch it. | |
Codex Alera / int_83b89a9c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_83b89a9c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_83b89a9c | |
Codex Alera / int_83cef301 | type |
Right for the Wrong Reasons | |
Codex Alera / int_83cef301 | comment |
Right for the Wrong Reasons: After surviving an attack that killed or injured almost every other officer of the First Aleran, and then unleashing a dramatic and extremely effective fire attack on the Canim forces, the members of the First Aleran begin to believe that Tavi has amazingly powerful furycrafting abilities. Coupled with his appearance, that leads to rumors that he is the son of Gaius Septimus. Though Tavi has no furies and accomplished what he did through blind luck and quick thinking, the rumors are true after all. | |
Codex Alera / int_83cef301 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_83cef301 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_83cef301 | |
Codex Alera / int_8409a385 | type |
Exactly What It Says on the Tin | |
Codex Alera / int_8409a385 | comment |
The Canim castes are the Makers (farmers, workers, and artisans), Ritualists (doctors, priests, and sorcerers), Hunters (spies and assassins), Warriors (Exactly What It Says on the Tin). The Warriors and the Ritualists are continually at odds as to which caste is higher (although the Warriors are almost always shown to be above the Ritualists in power), though they both claim to serve the Makers, and the Hunters serve the Warriors without question. | |
Codex Alera / int_8409a385 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8409a385 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8409a385 | |
Codex Alera / int_8485d41a | type |
Interspecies Romance | |
Codex Alera / int_8485d41a | comment |
Interspecies Romance: Tavi, a human, and Kitai, a Marat. The two species are almost identical, with the only physical difference being that Marat have a higher body temperature and a shorter gestation period for fetuses. The Marat can also interbreed with humans, though mutual longstanding hostility between them means no one knows this is possible. | |
Codex Alera / int_8485d41a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8485d41a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8485d41a | |
Codex Alera / int_851dda8f | type |
Humanoid Abomination | |
Codex Alera / int_851dda8f | comment |
The Vord Queens are all described as attractive young humanoid women who go naked except for cloaks, but their nature as Humanoid Abominations combined with their Blue-and-Orange Morality means that their nakedness just serves to make them seem even more alien and unsettling. | |
Codex Alera / int_851dda8f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_851dda8f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_851dda8f | |
Codex Alera / int_863fa679 | type |
What Happened to the Mouse? | |
Codex Alera / int_863fa679 | comment |
What Happened to the Mouse?: The Windwolves are last seen preparing to go into battle against the Vord near the end of the sixth book. Despite many of the people they were fighting alongside getting mentioned in the epilogue, their survival (or lack thereof) is not explicitly stated. | |
Codex Alera / int_863fa679 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_863fa679 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_863fa679 | |
Codex Alera / int_868afe72 | type |
Covert Group with Mundane Front | |
Codex Alera / int_868afe72 | comment |
Covert Group with Mundane Front: Cursors, to an extent. Technically they serve as the messengers of the First Lord, although all aristocrats know better than that. They are spies and, if need be, assassins. Lampshaded in Captain's Fury, when Tavi has Ehren engage in "the other part of Cursor business" and deliver a message to Nasaug. | |
Codex Alera / int_868afe72 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_868afe72 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_868afe72 | |
Codex Alera / int_86b21114 | type |
Badass Boast | |
Codex Alera / int_86b21114 | comment |
Badass Boast: When he is pushed to the point, Gaius Sextus drops all pretense of diplomacy for a show of unquestionable power. | |
Codex Alera / int_86b21114 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_86b21114 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_86b21114 | |
Codex Alera / int_8741b74 | type |
Playing with a Trope | |
Codex Alera / int_8741b74 | comment |
When the First and Second Senatorial Guard Legions are introduced in Captain's Fury, it is revealed that the officer originally slated for command of the First suffered a fatal accident before they could march. In a play on the trope, it was not his replacement doing the killing in order to advance his career, but Senator Arnos seeking to make sure that he had somebody in the position he could control. | |
Codex Alera / int_8741b74 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8741b74 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8741b74 | |
Codex Alera / int_875615dd | type |
Truth in Television | |
Codex Alera / int_875615dd | comment |
The highly advanced and massive crossbows created by the Canim are referred to as “balests.� Additionally, the catapults re-invented by Octavian and Bernard in First Lord’s Fury are called “mules� since the force of their released payloads causes one end of their structure to leap up in a manner reminiscent of a donkey kicking out its hind legs. Notably, both of these are actually semi-historical names: The Romans called what we would now call a catapult an "onager" (an ass or a mule) because it kicked like one, while "catapulta" was used for what was essentially a giant crossbow. | |
Codex Alera / int_875615dd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_875615dd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_875615dd | |
Codex Alera / int_87a18d19 | type |
Gonna Need More X | |
Codex Alera / int_87a18d19 | comment |
Gonna Need More X: When Giraldi first sees the Vordbulks, he asks Bernard for a larger wall. | |
Codex Alera / int_87a18d19 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_87a18d19 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_87a18d19 | |
Codex Alera / int_87ede6fc | type |
That Man Is Dead | |
Codex Alera / int_87ede6fc | comment |
That Man Is Dead: Araris Valerian died 15 years before the start of the series. Fade, on the other hand, is alive. Fade disappears about halfway through the series, right when Araris returns. After the climax at the end of Captain's Fury, Fidelias ex Cursori is "dead" in favor of Valiar Marcus. Several characters note that High Lady Invidia died and only Invidia, a shell of the former and servant to the Vord Queen, remains. High Lady Antillus Dorotea is fitted with a discipline collar and commanded to serve as a healer. She asks people to simply call her Dorotea, as her previous life is over. | |
Codex Alera / int_87ede6fc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_87ede6fc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_87ede6fc | |
Codex Alera / int_8878f3be | type |
Badass Army | |
Codex Alera / int_8878f3be | comment |
Badass Army: The First Aleran, particularly the Battlecrows. They started out as a bunch of half-trained recruits and "veterans" that no one wanted in their army, and eventually became the single most competent Legion in Alera (excepting maybe the Antillan and Phrygian Legions). | |
Codex Alera / int_8878f3be | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8878f3be | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8878f3be | |
Codex Alera / int_88933ad4 | type |
Parental Favoritism | |
Codex Alera / int_88933ad4 | comment |
Parental Favoritism: Kord favored Bittan, who was growing into just as sickening a thug as he was, over Aric, who never quite reached the same depths. | |
Codex Alera / int_88933ad4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_88933ad4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_88933ad4 | |
Codex Alera / int_8976acda | type |
Civil War | |
Codex Alera / int_8976acda | comment |
Civil War: High Lord Kalarus Brencis launches a particularly bloody one against the First Lord in Cursor’s Fury. The "Kalaran Rebellion", as it is called, lasts for roughly two years before it is brought to a swift and violent end in Captain's Fury. | |
Codex Alera / int_8976acda | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8976acda | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8976acda | |
Codex Alera / int_8a817c2a | type |
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil | |
Codex Alera / int_8a817c2a | comment |
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Rape is a "Realm offense;" if somebody is convicted then punishment is meted out not only to them, but even to their family if the judge deems it worthy. First Lord's Fury finally reveals just what it was that caused the infamous duel between Araris Valerian and Aldrick ex Gladius: Aldrick had slept with Odiana after Septimus and his singulares rescued her from sex slavery, and Araris comments that that given just how traumatized she had been there was no way she could have consented or rationally dealt with the situation. Aldrick was wrong to take advantage even if he did it to comfort her, and despite being sword-brothers, Araris could not let it pass. | |
Codex Alera / int_8a817c2a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8a817c2a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8a817c2a | |
Codex Alera / int_8aa0f76 | type |
Deconstructed Trope | |
Codex Alera / int_8aa0f76 | comment |
When the Canim first land on Alera, their Raiders are described as moving almost like the tide of the ocean: Rolling, vast and overwhelming. However, as this means they are also disorganized and unguided, proper Aleran defenses are able to halt their offenses and beat them back with severe casualties. | |
Codex Alera / int_8aa0f76 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8aa0f76 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8aa0f76 | |
Codex Alera / int_8acf3a97 | type |
Spreading Disaster Map Graphic | |
Codex Alera / int_8acf3a97 | comment |
Spreading Disaster Map Graphic: Commanders use green-colored sand on their maps to represent the spread of the Vord. By the end of First Lord's Fury, they often have to use multiple buckets of green sand. | |
Codex Alera / int_8acf3a97 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8acf3a97 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8acf3a97 | |
Codex Alera / int_8b568cb7 | type |
Posthumous Character | |
Codex Alera / int_8b568cb7 | comment |
Posthumous Character: Princeps Gaius Septimus. In the first book, he is mentioned briefly and it almost seems like a bit of scene-setting: this is why there is a succession crisis and scheming noblemen, the monsters in the storm are so dangerous the only safe place is a tomb fit for a prince, and that is all we know about him until halfway through the second book. However, Septimus gets developed as a major character later. | |
Codex Alera / int_8b568cb7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8b568cb7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8b568cb7 | |
Codex Alera / int_8b606a51 | type |
There Is No Kill Like Overkill | |
Codex Alera / int_8b606a51 | comment |
There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Ambassador Varg beheads and then dismembers the body of one of the Vord Queens in Canea, commenting to Tavi that it is better to be sure. | |
Codex Alera / int_8b606a51 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8b606a51 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8b606a51 | |
Codex Alera / int_8b9e6d7a | type |
Confronting Your Imposter | |
Codex Alera / int_8b9e6d7a | comment |
Confronting Your Imposter: Of a sort. Aldrick ex Gladius often tells his opponents that "The only man who has ever matched me in battle was Araris Valerian himself, and you aren't Araris" to indicate that he is the superior swordsman. At the climax of the first novel it turns out his opponent is Araris. | |
Codex Alera / int_8b9e6d7a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8b9e6d7a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8b9e6d7a | |
Codex Alera / int_8ba9512b | type |
Our Zombies Are Different | |
Codex Alera / int_8ba9512b | comment |
Our Zombies Are Different: invoked The Vord use "Takers" - tiny scorpion-like parasites the size of a spider - to crawl into someone's mouth and take over their body. After the Taker has assumed control, the "Taken" person serve as Parasite Zombies and can puppeteer their new forms however the Vord see fit. Not only can Takers control animals, but they give their new forms Super-Strength, a limited form of Super-Speed, force them to Feel No Pain, and to make matters worse, the Aleran Taken can even still use their furies against their former countrymen (though with the caveat that they need to personally observe someone else furycraft in front of them so as to "turn back on" their own furycrafting). Finally, the Takers inflict a Death of Personality on their victims - Descriptions of them trying to serve as infiltration agents by un-Taken Alerans and Canim describe them as being as deep in the Uncanny Valley as much as possible - and there is no way to "cure" a Taken aside from performing a Mercy Kill. | |
Codex Alera / int_8ba9512b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8ba9512b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8ba9512b | |
Codex Alera / int_8c96ae78 | type |
No One Could Survive That! | |
Codex Alera / int_8c96ae78 | comment |
No One Could Survive That!: High Lady Aquitaine, conspirator extraordinaire, gets shot with a poisoned crossbow bolt while in disguise as a washerwoman. The combination of the two highly deadly poisons on the bolt plus the fact that the bolt went through her back and out through her chest reportedly kills her within minutes despite the best efforts of the healers. But her body was not in the morgue when the guy who shot her went to make sure. The fifth book reveals that she was indeed mortally wounded, but was able to heal enough to get away... where she was found by a Vord Queen who offered to keep her alive in exchange for her loyalty. | |
Codex Alera / int_8c96ae78 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8c96ae78 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8c96ae78 | |
Codex Alera / int_8c9cad1e | type |
Psychic Static | |
Codex Alera / int_8c9cad1e | comment |
Psychic Static: When the mind-reading Vord Queen is questioning Amara about the location of Bernard in Princeps' Fury, Amara follows the resultant train of thought and brings up every memory relating to Bernard that she can think of. The Queen remarks that her mind is surprisingly disciplined, and has to resort to other methods of information extraction. | |
Codex Alera / int_8c9cad1e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8c9cad1e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8c9cad1e | |
Codex Alera / int_8dff7e48 | type |
Stealth Expert | |
Codex Alera / int_8dff7e48 | comment |
Stealth Expert: The Cursors are typically trained to be this, but Kitai (as a Marat, she has senses far enhanced in comparison to a human's, along with Super-Strength and incredible agility) and the Hunters of the Canim take this up to eleven. The latter case is especially impressive, since they're all incredibly large Wolf Men who are nevertheless able to catch even Kitai off guard. | |
Codex Alera / int_8dff7e48 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8dff7e48 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8dff7e48 | |
Codex Alera / int_8e7ada2c | type |
Technically a Smile | |
Codex Alera / int_8e7ada2c | comment |
Technically a Smile: Captain Demos is described as showing his teeth in an expression which is definitely not a smile. | |
Codex Alera / int_8e7ada2c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8e7ada2c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8e7ada2c | |
Codex Alera / int_8e9e0284 | type |
Free-Fall Fight | |
Codex Alera / int_8e9e0284 | comment |
Free-Fall Fight: Any fight involving Knights Aeris or other flight-capable citizens (such as Amara). During one such fight, Amara and her opponent take a glance at the rapidly-approaching ground, and decide silently to stop the fight in the interest of not going splat. | |
Codex Alera / int_8e9e0284 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8e9e0284 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8e9e0284 | |
Codex Alera / int_8ea9eb54 | type |
Black Swords Are Better | |
Codex Alera / int_8ea9eb54 | comment |
Black Swords Are Better: Pirellus, known as Pirellus of the Black Blade, wields a sword with a black blade. He is a renowned swordsman and is the first person to match Aldrick ex Gladius with a blade since the latter's famous duel with Araris Valerian. Unfortunately, despite Pirellus' skill, he is defeated and killed by Aldrick. | |
Codex Alera / int_8ea9eb54 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8ea9eb54 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8ea9eb54 | |
Codex Alera / int_8f1450ba | type |
Pint-Sized Powerhouse | |
Codex Alera / int_8f1450ba | comment |
Pintsized Powerhouse: The tavar native to Canea, wolverine-like beasts which are relatively small compared to the giant wolfmen that are the Canim, yet are known among them for being absolutely cunning, vicious, and very capable of taking down much larger beings. And that's why Varg names Tavi "Tavar". | |
Codex Alera / int_8f1450ba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8f1450ba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8f1450ba | |
Codex Alera / int_8f37b | type |
Medieval Stasis | |
Codex Alera / int_8f37b | comment |
Medieval Stasis: For the most part among the Alerans, technology is static and has actually regressed from the original Roman settlers' because of the universal access to Elemental Powers. Magitek is so universal that despite the low tech levels, the actual quality of life is roughly equivalent to the mid-twentieth century, and the use of magic has been evolving. There is also an institutionalized traditionalism within Aleran society, thanks to the fact that they've spent a millennium simply fighting to survive against the Death World that is Carna, which resulted in an emphasis on following set, traditional methods. This is ultimately a serious problem that the Alerans have, as they have no reference point to deal with enemies using advanced engineering like the Canim, let alone a completely new Outside-Context Problem like the Vord. Furthermore, Aleran furycrafting is almost entirely hereditary, helping reinforce an static and unchanging power structure in society that makes it increasingly difficult for clever minds like Tavi to have their ideas spread and take root without sufficient outside assistance. And then Bernard and Tavi reinvent the catapult. Which turns into a WMD when loaded with lots of small fire orbs children can make with little effort. A WMD in a world with Races of Mass Destruction. This is when the Alerans seem to finally realize their Medieval Stasis is breaking (as evidenced by other clever inventions of Tavi's, such as the practice of "mounted infantry" units in the First Aleran and the "ski-ships" able to easily travel along the Shieldwall). | |
Codex Alera / int_8f37b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8f37b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8f37b | |
Codex Alera / int_8f9f71a8 | type |
Crazy Enough to Work | |
Codex Alera / int_8f9f71a8 | comment |
Crazy Enough to Work: Almost every plan of Tavi's relies on this. So much so that Kitai finds the Final Battle by going to the place only a lunatic would go. | |
Codex Alera / int_8f9f71a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_8f9f71a8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_8f9f71a8 | |
Codex Alera / int_90965cc7 | type |
Hive Mind | |
Codex Alera / int_90965cc7 | comment |
Hive Mind: The Vord. Furies might also count, surprisingly enough — we learn in First Lord's Fury that a single room has thousands or millions of tiny air furies living in it, so the smallest visible furies may be simply amalgamations of the microscopic ones. | |
Codex Alera / int_90965cc7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_90965cc7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_90965cc7 | |
Codex Alera / int_90c018ac | type |
Justified Trope | |
Codex Alera / int_90c018ac | comment |
Justified by the Knights Terra, who use earthcrafting to boost their strength enough to wield them. | |
Codex Alera / int_90c018ac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_90c018ac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_90c018ac | |
Codex Alera / int_90d44f44 | type |
Karmic Death | |
Codex Alera / int_90d44f44 | comment |
Karmic Death: High Lord Kalarus is killed by not only the father of the man he murdered, but by the enraged Great Fury he had previously leashed to his will as part of a bid to take as many innocent people with him when he was killed. In a way, Gaius Sextus, as he is poisoned by his second wife to the point where his life expectancy is shortened by the same number of years that she was stuck in a loveless marriage to him. Invidia Aquitaine dies by being stabbed in the back. | |
Codex Alera / int_90d44f44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_90d44f44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_90d44f44 | |
Codex Alera / int_90e31482 | type |
Laser-Guided Karma | |
Codex Alera / int_90e31482 | comment |
Laser-Guided Karma: High Lady Aquitaine's ultimate fate. She was offered a choice between helping her fellow Alerans against the Vord Queen or following the Queen's command to kill the remaining High Lords and Ladies. Not seconds after she chose to side with the Vord Queen, Amara rams a stone-tipped spear through her chest from behind and cuts her throat with a stone dagger. | |
Codex Alera / int_90e31482 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_90e31482 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_90e31482 | |
Codex Alera / int_916c9d1b | type |
Mark of Shame | |
Codex Alera / int_916c9d1b | comment |
Mark of Shame: Fade's brand. It is done to any who desert the Legion. While it is self-inflicted, he feels it is more than justified for his failing to protect Septimus in the final stage of the First Battle of Calderon, having allowed his love for Isana convince him that following Septimus's orders and protecting Isana was best. | |
Codex Alera / int_916c9d1b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_916c9d1b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_916c9d1b | |
Codex Alera / int_916ecb1 | type |
But I Can't Be Pregnant! | |
Codex Alera / int_916ecb1 | comment |
But I Can't Be Pregnant!: Kitai is shaky on the details of her pregnancy, as she and the father aren't quite the same species. | |
Codex Alera / int_916ecb1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_916ecb1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_916ecb1 | |
Codex Alera / int_91edb41e | type |
RedMage | |
Codex Alera / int_91edb41e | comment |
Red Mage: Rural Alerans tend to bond one or two Furies. Of those we see with two, none of are of the opposing axes in Furies' Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors. In contrast, urban Alerans can call on as many as five elements, including opposing forces that their rural counterparts are never shown using together. Bernard is the only character called out as having the strength of a Knight with more than one Fury. | |
Codex Alera / int_91edb41e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_91edb41e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_91edb41e | |
Codex Alera / int_921cdca8 | type |
Nothing Personal | |
Codex Alera / int_921cdca8 | comment |
Nothing Personal: When Bernard confronts Aldrick over their conflict atop the walls of Garrison, Aldrick explains that he took no pleasure from it, but that he also refuses to apologize. He expects that Bernard, as a soldier, should understand that. | |
Codex Alera / int_921cdca8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_921cdca8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_921cdca8 | |
Codex Alera / int_928ca2cc | type |
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness | |
Codex Alera / int_928ca2cc | comment |
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: At the climax of Furies of Calderon, Fidelias cuts Atsurak's throat in the midst of the Second Battle of Calderon in order to remove any connection between the invasion and Aquitaine. During the campaign against the Canim in Captain's Fury, Lady Aquitaine orders Fidelais to assassinate Antillus Crassus after he has helped the Senatorial Guard defeat the Canim and he will no longer be necessary to help command the First Aleran At the climax of Captain's Fury, Lady Aquitaine orders Fidelias to kill whoever survives the juris macto between Tavi and Senator Arnos, and assures him that afterwards she will fly the two of them away from the conflict. Fidelias, aware of how she thinks and how much simpler it would be for her if he were to also disappear, knows that she will leave him to die as well after he has fulfilled his purpose. If you're noticing a common thread of "Aquitaine/Lady Aquitaine" in these entries, it's because this (and Chronic Backstabbing Disorder) is kind of Lady Aquitaine's hat. | |
Codex Alera / int_928ca2cc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_928ca2cc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_928ca2cc | |
Codex Alera / int_9400b3b5 | type |
Questionable Consent | |
Codex Alera / int_9400b3b5 | comment |
First Lord's Fury finally reveals just what it was that caused the infamous duel between Araris Valerian and Aldrick ex Gladius: Aldrick had slept with Odiana after Septimus and his singulares rescued her from sex slavery, and Araris comments that that given just how traumatized she had been there was no way she could have consented or rationally dealt with the situation. Aldrick was wrong to take advantage even if he did it to comfort her, and despite being sword-brothers, Araris could not let it pass. | |
Codex Alera / int_9400b3b5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9400b3b5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9400b3b5 | |
Codex Alera / int_950329d8 | type |
Dynamic Entry | |
Codex Alera / int_950329d8 | comment |
Antillar Maximus enters his first scene by knocking around the bullies harassing Tavi and Ehren as he shouts "Good morning!" | |
Codex Alera / int_950329d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_950329d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_950329d8 | |
Codex Alera / int_952e4e06 | type |
Utility Magic | |
Codex Alera / int_952e4e06 | comment |
Utility Magic: Aleran society runs on this. They use furycrafting for literally every single convenience and technology. All lamps are fury-run because the flames are easier to control and anyone with even basic access to furycrafting can turn the brightness up or down. Firecrafting is again used in the creation of coldstones; unlike lamp-furies and their exothermic properties, coldstones are endothermic and absorb the surrounding heat into them, which means they become refrigeration units. Roads are imbued with earthcrafting to maintain them and allow people to move at a faster rate. In the second book, Invidia Aquitaine reveals she has sponsored the creation of furycrafted cloth which can change its colors to the user's desire. Amara and Bernard use cloaks made of the material to increase their stealth capabilities in the fifth book. Bernard commissions small glass orbs imbued with firecrafting. These are easy to make by anyone with even moderate talent for firecrafting, and when the orbs are launched en masse from catapults, they can generate an explosion comparable to a battle firecrafting from a High Lord. | |
Codex Alera / int_952e4e06 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_952e4e06 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_952e4e06 | |
Codex Alera / int_9578bb87 | type |
Canis Latinicus | |
Codex Alera / int_9578bb87 | comment |
Canis Latinicus: Aleran names bear next to no resemblance to actual Roman naming practices. Gaius Primus, Secundus, etc look ridiculous in a Roman context, and married women apparently take their husband's family name (Romans didn't) without changing it to a feminine form (for example, Aquitaina Invidia would be more correct). Yes, there's been a millennium or two of linguistic divergence, but to readers who know Latin, it just looks wrong. | |
Codex Alera / int_9578bb87 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9578bb87 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9578bb87 | |
Codex Alera / int_95a4c6df | type |
Wild Card | |
Codex Alera / int_95a4c6df | comment |
Wild Card: Fidelias will sometimes be motivated to help those still loyal to the realm, even if it does not benefit his goals, and he eventually becomes loyal to Tavi, albeit in a Secret Identity, upon realising that Tavi would make a better ruler than Aquitaine, as well as being a better man. | |
Codex Alera / int_95a4c6df | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_95a4c6df | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_95a4c6df | |
Codex Alera / int_966da803 | type |
Defiant to the End | |
Codex Alera / int_966da803 | comment |
Defiant to the End: When Invidia has Amara and Bernard at swordpoint, but seems willing to talk for at least a little while, Amara tells her to quit stalling and explains that she is just pitiful and pathetic and that her actions have no justification or excuse. When Invidia incredulously asks Amara who she thinks she is to talk like that, Amara points out that she is somebody who is willing to give her own life in the service to others, while Invidia is nothing but a traitor and coward who will get neither sympathy nor last-minute forgiveness from her. | |
Codex Alera / int_966da803 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_966da803 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_966da803 | |
Codex Alera / int_96a33f11 | type |
Riddle for the Ages | |
Codex Alera / int_96a33f11 | comment |
Riddle for the Ages: When Aldrick ex Gladius explains to Fidelias why it is that he hates Gaius Sextus, Fidelias claims that there is something more that Aldrick is not telling him. Aldrick admits that there is something more, but refuses to say what. Though later books do delve into Aldrick's history, including how he and Odiana became a couple and his relationship with Princeps Septimus, the series never does explain just what it is that makes Aldrick really hate Gaius. All of the ancient enemies the Alerans fought several hundred years ago - at the least - before the start of the series are only mentioned by Amara in passing by namenote the Malorandim, Children of the Sun, Avar, Yrani, and Dekh in Princeps' Fury, and almost all other details are completely left up in the air. The only thing we know about any of them is that the Children of the Sun used to live in the Feverthorn Jungle, and whatever they left behind is capable of keeping both Alerans and the Vord from entering. | |
Codex Alera / int_96a33f11 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_96a33f11 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_96a33f11 | |
Codex Alera / int_9718a22a | type |
You Remind Me of X | |
Codex Alera / int_9718a22a | comment |
You Remind Me of X: When Phrygius Cyricus threatens to kill Varg if he or his allies harm any of the citizens of Phrygia, Varg asks Tavi in Canish if Cyricus reminds him of anybody. Tavi, understanding what Varg is referring to, comments that he was holding a knife to Varg's throat at the time. | |
Codex Alera / int_9718a22a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9718a22a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9718a22a | |
Codex Alera / int_97522514 | type |
Heel–Face Revolving Door | |
Codex Alera / int_97522514 | comment |
Heel–Face Revolving Door: Fidelias; see Becoming the Mask. He is always loyal to the Realm, but at one point decides that the current First Lord, old and heirless and pushing himself too hard, cannot provide the stable, strong leadership that the Realm needs and should be replaced by another High Lord. Later, he learns that his current allies are even more ruthless than he thought and that there is a legitimate heir after all. Later still, that legitimate heir learns about Fidelias' past and almost has Fidelias crucified before he is talked out of it. | |
Codex Alera / int_97522514 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_97522514 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_97522514 | |
Codex Alera / int_978a82e6 | type |
Big Bad Duumvirate | |
Codex Alera / int_978a82e6 | comment |
Big Bad Duumvirate: Attis and Invidia Aquitaine married for purely political reasons and both are well aware that they are using one another. Invidia is actually the driving force behind most of the plots that would see Attis get the throne, and is more active in the main story. | |
Codex Alera / int_978a82e6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_978a82e6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_978a82e6 | |
Codex Alera / int_97fa0a10 | type |
Mass "Oh, Crap!" | |
Codex Alera / int_97fa0a10 | comment |
Mass "Oh, Crap!": Also common, but especially notable when the Awakened Vord Queen pulls a One-Hit KO on a High Lord. | |
Codex Alera / int_97fa0a10 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_97fa0a10 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_97fa0a10 | |
Codex Alera / int_980f7fac | type |
Hit So Hard, the Calendar Felt It | |
Codex Alera / int_980f7fac | comment |
Hit So Hard, the Calendar Felt It: Throughout the series, the Alerans are mentioned as having been on Carna for roughly two millennia, with the Realm of Alera itself having lasted for roughly one millennium by the end of the series. Despite this, no calendar dates are ever explicitly given for certain points in Alera's timeline. The epilogue to First Lord's Fury reveals that this is because the Aleran calendar uses the end of the Vord War as its "Year 1" (with the implication being that this is a new calendar adopted to be used by the Alerans due to how much of an impact the Vord War had on all of Carna). | |
Codex Alera / int_980f7fac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_980f7fac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_980f7fac | |
Codex Alera / int_9823f7c | type |
ProudWarriorRace | |
Codex Alera / int_9823f7c | comment |
Proud Warrior Race: The Marat and the Canim. The Alerans also have a strong martial tradition, though it's largely due to the brutality of having to survive in the Death World that is Carna. | |
Codex Alera / int_9823f7c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9823f7c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9823f7c | |
Codex Alera / int_9843be73 | type |
As You Know | |
Codex Alera / int_9843be73 | comment |
As You Know: When Doroga is appointed Master-at-Arms for a juris macto, he has to read out the rules of the contest; he makes sure to point out that everybody there knows the rules better than him. | |
Codex Alera / int_9843be73 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9843be73 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9843be73 | |
Codex Alera / int_984ef9ef | type |
"Not So Different" Remark | |
Codex Alera / int_984ef9ef | comment |
Tavi laments Senator Arnos' martial incompetence and self-aggrandizement, as with his political influence and admitted intelligence he could have been a great asset if he cared more about solving the problem instead of undermining Tavi to make himself look good. He goes so far as to explicitly say as much to Arnos, but when Arnos instead tries to turn it around that Tavi is no better, Tavi realizes that Arnos really is that far gone and says that he won't be helping anybody after all. | |
Codex Alera / int_984ef9ef | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_984ef9ef | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_984ef9ef | |
Codex Alera / int_98a63dc6 | type |
Time Abyss | |
Codex Alera / int_98a63dc6 | comment |
Time Abyss: While Alera, the Spirit Advisor to the House of Gaius, has only been existence as a coherent entity for the past two millenia, they remember billions of years back. This is because she is essentially the spirit of the continent itself. Really, she might be one of the foremost examples of this trope considering just how ridiculously long her memory goes back. | |
Codex Alera / int_98a63dc6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_98a63dc6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_98a63dc6 | |
Codex Alera / int_99298c71 | type |
Better to Die than Be Killed | |
Codex Alera / int_99298c71 | comment |
Better to Die than Be Killed: Kestus, wounded while trying escape after seeing Tonnar ripped apart by the Vord, turns to Ivarus and says that he does not want to be killed by those creatures. Ivarus, understanding what he means, nods once, and Kestus thanks him before the chapter cuts out. When Amara and Bernard are spying on the Vord, Amara says to Bernard that whatever happens, she does not want to become one of the mindless Taken. Bernard, however, refuses to consider it, instead saying that they are going to live. Period. | |
Codex Alera / int_99298c71 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_99298c71 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_99298c71 | |
Codex Alera / int_9937704f | type |
Shapeshifter Weapon | |
Codex Alera / int_9937704f | comment |
Shapeshifter Weapon: Watercrafters are capable of using their control over their own bodies to lengthen their fingernails into claws. | |
Codex Alera / int_9937704f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9937704f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9937704f | |
Codex Alera / int_9a69794d | type |
AppropriatedAppelation | |
Codex Alera / int_9a69794d | comment |
Appropriated Appelation: The Knights Pisces, who are dubbed such when Tavi notes that the newly formed First Aleran Legion's entire complement of Knights are "fish" (barely competent recruits). After taking several collective levels in badass, and seeing how badly "a bunch of fish" can hurt someonenote Tavi drew sharks into a river by dropping lots of blood into it; any enemy who tried swimming across ran into them, they embrace the name and use it for the rest of the series. The Battlecrows, from the same book, sort of. Instead of taking their name from an insult, they take it from the burned and blackened standard that Tavi carries into battle after it is struck by lightning. | |
Codex Alera / int_9a69794d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9a69794d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9a69794d | |
Codex Alera / int_9acf0b42 | type |
Door Fu | |
Codex Alera / int_9acf0b42 | comment |
Door Fu: In Academ's Fury, a group of Taken Canim strike a closed steel door so hard that it slams to the ground and crushes the man standing on the other side. Max returns the favor soon afterwards. | |
Codex Alera / int_9acf0b42 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9acf0b42 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9acf0b42 | |
Codex Alera / int_9b73b497 | type |
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You | |
Codex Alera / int_9b73b497 | comment |
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Tavi and Varg, especially in Princeps' Fury. Earlier, in Academ's Fury, Varg tells Tavi that the entire reason he is helping him protect Gaius is because Varg wants to be the one to lead the army that will destroy Alera with honor, and that he does not want Alera to fall to Sarl and the Vord Queen's trickery and deception. Applies to any sets of gadara as well, and other Canim will get out of the way in order to let them challenge each other. | |
Codex Alera / int_9b73b497 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9b73b497 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9b73b497 | |
Codex Alera / int_9bcd82c0 | type |
Took a Level in Badass | |
Codex Alera / int_9bcd82c0 | comment |
Took a Level in Badass: As the series literally follows Tavi as he grows from boyhood to adulthood, each Time Skip in the series follows him growing larger, stronger, more experienced, and constantly receiving training in the arts of politics and war. Ehren is introduced as a Cursor-in-training who is more adept at the economic analysis and information interpretation area of spycraft, although Tavi realizes that Ehren must have been hiding some of his skills from the rest of the group even during this time. After he begins active duty as a Cursor after graduating from the Academy, he grows into a knife-wielding assassin, covert agent, and spymaster. Centurion Schultz, who starts as a fish in Cursor's Fury and is a Centurion by Captain's Fury, mirroring the First Aleran's transformation into one of the most elite Legions of Alera. | |
Codex Alera / int_9bcd82c0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9bcd82c0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9bcd82c0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9bff7822 | type |
Conflict Killer | |
Codex Alera / int_9bff7822 | comment |
Conflict Killer: The first four novels see various Aleran, Marat and Canim figures jockeying for power and control. Starting in the fourth novel, the Vord threat rises and previous rivalries are explicitly postponed until after the Vord crisis. Despite the Vord crisis, several Aleran characters acknowledge that Aquitainus Attis will still try to seize the First Lord's mantle, and Isana, Bernard and Amara lay their opposition in turn. Even Tavi speaks about the inevitable confrontation once the Vord are dealt with. It is the unassuming and overlooked Ehren who instead assassinates Attis, clearing the way for Tavi's unopposed rise to the throne. Everybody is surprised at this, none more so than Attis himself who almost laughs at the way Ehren outplayed him. | |
Codex Alera / int_9bff7822 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9bff7822 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9bff7822 | |
Codex Alera / int_9c1f758a | type |
Kill It with Fire | |
Codex Alera / int_9c1f758a | comment |
Kill It with Fire: The generally preferred method for dealing with the Vord. | |
Codex Alera / int_9c1f758a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9c1f758a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9c1f758a | |
Codex Alera / int_9c23f3a0 | type |
Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti | |
Codex Alera / int_9c23f3a0 | comment |
There are three non-human species surrounding Alera - The Marat, Canim, and Icemen. While the Icemen have been at war with Alera more continually than any of the other nonhuman factions (for about 300 years solid), their attacks are confined to a particular region in the far north where the POV characters almost never go, meaning they get comparatively little pagetime and development. | |
Codex Alera / int_9c23f3a0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9c23f3a0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9c23f3a0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9d12bbc1 | type |
Foreshadowing | |
Codex Alera / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
Foreshadowing: In the initial Marat assault on Garrison, Pirellus gets a small cut on his forehead when his helmet cuts into his skin. Though he dismisses it, Centurion Giraldi urges him to get it treated so that dripping blood does not blind him at a crucial moment. During his fight with Aldrick ex Gladius, the cut is re-opened and he is blinded by a drop of blood at a crucial moment, giving Aldrick the opening to disable and then kill him. Aldrick repeatedly dismisses his opponents throughout Furies of Calderon by saying, "...but you aren't Araris." No prizes for guessing who he ends up meeting again in battle. At the end of Furies of Calderon, Gaius speaks with Fade about the sword he gave Tavi and remarks that the sword is a "princely" gift. In Academ's Fury, while Bernard is preparing for the final push against the Calderon Vord Queen, he notes the ugly weather being brought down by the Great Furies of the Calderon Valley and remarks that "Even if we don't finish them, the furystorm will finish what we started." At the end of First Lord's Fury, a furystorm is what hurts the Vord Queen enough to allow Tavi to finally finish her. When traveling to the First Aleran Legion, Tavi, Max, and Magnus discuss the nature of the legion, which is comprised of soldiers from every province. It's noted that most High Lords will keep all their good soldiers to themselves, and send the newbies and the troublemakers on to the First Aleran. The Legion will also be a hotbed of intrigue, so in the words of Max, "Anyone competent and friendly is probably a spy". Later, it turns out that the competent Reasonable Authority Figure Valiar Marcus is actually Fidelias, spying for High Lady Aquiataine. A comedic example; During Princeps' Fury, when Isana, High Lady Placidus Aria, and Araris are all preparing to meet with the Icemen to discuss an armistice between the "northern barbarians" and the Alerans, High Lord Antillus Raucus' second (and Placidus Aria's son) — Placidus Garius — is escorting them all, and he cynically notes that the Icemen are only "savage animals" and that he & his fellow Aleran soldiers will be ready for, not if, negotiations break down. Isana is so appalled by Garius' small-mindedness that she mentions she has to stop herself from giving him a Dope Slap. Later on, during the second round of negotiations, when Aria is being badly affected by the Hate Plague inadvertently created by Aleran firecrafting conflicting with the Icemen's watercrafting and is ignoring Isana's orders to stand down, Isana gets fed up and violently slaps Aria across the face to snap her out of her daze. Evidently, Isana did end up slapping a member of the House of Placida during negotiations with the Icemen... just not the one she was probably expecting to. | |
Codex Alera / int_9d12bbc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9d12bbc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9d12bbc1 | |
Codex Alera / int_9dab0a6e | type |
Continuity Nod | |
Codex Alera / int_9dab0a6e | comment |
Continuity Nod: After Bernard and Amara have been engaged in a sexual relationship for several years (and multiple novels) Amara asks Bernard when he first realized that he was attracted to her. His response was when he first bandaged her ankle, which occurred in the first novel, soon after they first met. In the battle at Garrison during Furies of Calderon, Frederic enters one scene carrying a dancing girl that he saved during the fighting. Several books later, Tavi receives a letter informing him of Frederic's marriage to "that girl he rescued". | |
Codex Alera / int_9dab0a6e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9dab0a6e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9dab0a6e | |
Codex Alera / int_9e943076 | type |
One-Man Army | |
Codex Alera / int_9e943076 | comment |
One-Man Army: When the gates to Garrison are breached by the Marat horde, Pirellus of the Black Blade orders Amara to have the remaining legionare's regroup on the top of the walls to prevent more Marat from scaling the fortifications. When Amara asks him who will hold the gate, he responds that he will, and proceeds to do so. Singlehandedly. Against the entire horde. Giraldi explicitly calls Araris a "one-man Legion" in Cursor's Fury after he massacres dozens of Kalarus' Immortals. | |
Codex Alera / int_9e943076 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9e943076 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9e943076 | |
Codex Alera / int_9eb11fac | type |
Weak, but Skilled | |
Codex Alera / int_9eb11fac | comment |
Weak, but Skilled: Amara is not one of the most powerful furycrafters in the series, only having one fury, but she has plenty of skill and a quick mind. In First Lord's Fury, while talking to Lady Veradis she points out that other people need to divide their studies and practice amongst many different subjects, while she can focus specifically on flying and other applications of windcrafting. Tavi's nonexistent talents and Ehren's weak crafting forced this on them as a matter of survival. Until Tavi's powers finally awaken. | |
Codex Alera / int_9eb11fac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9eb11fac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9eb11fac | |
Codex Alera / int_9f5e99a7 | type |
DistressedDamsel | |
Codex Alera / int_9f5e99a7 | comment |
Distressed Damsel: Isana is generally the character to be rescued, as she is held hostage or attacked by (in order) Kord, Kalarus, Navaris, and the Vord Queen. | |
Codex Alera / int_9f5e99a7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9f5e99a7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9f5e99a7 | |
Codex Alera / int_9f970427 | type |
Secret-Keeper | |
Codex Alera / int_9f970427 | comment |
Secret-Keeper: Several people keep the secrets of Fade and Tavi's respective true identities once they work them out, usually simultaneously, as figuring out the former usually leads to deducing the latter (because why else would Araris Valerian, greatest swordsman in Alera, mar his face with a coward's brand and pretend to be a halfwit slave for twenty years to protect someone who is apparently just an ordinary shepherd boy? Answer: said shepherd boy is actually Gaius Octavian, the son of the late Gaius Septimus and the rightful Princeps of Alera) - as is the case with Sir Miles towards the end of Academ's Fury. | |
Codex Alera / int_9f970427 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9f970427 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9f970427 | |
Codex Alera / int_9fb5d589 | type |
Not Now, Kiddo | |
Codex Alera / int_9fb5d589 | comment |
Not Now, Kiddo: Bernard to Frederic, regarding the Vord parasite he has captured in a cup. | |
Codex Alera / int_9fb5d589 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_9fb5d589 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_9fb5d589 | |
Codex Alera / int_a00f2ac9 | type |
First Kiss | |
Codex Alera / int_a00f2ac9 | comment |
First Kiss: Tavi and Kitai have theirs at the end of Academ's Fury, with it notably being initiated by Kitai. | |
Codex Alera / int_a00f2ac9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a00f2ac9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a00f2ac9 | |
Codex Alera / int_a05abbc8 | type |
Throwing Down the Gauntlet | |
Codex Alera / int_a05abbc8 | comment |
Throwing Down the Gauntlet: Juris macto is thrown around many of times as a threat, essentially with people saying "If you don't shut up, I'll challenge you to juris macto, and then you'll regret it". Most people back down and shut up. The first time juris macto actually gets thrown down is in Captain's Fury, when Tavi challenges Senator Arnos and gives absolutely no possibility of declining itnote If Arnos refuses the challenge, he is immediately considered guilty of the wholesale and illegal slaughter of Aleran civilians and will be put to death for treason at worst, and at best, will be stripped of his command of the Senatorial Legions and the honor of winning the battle against the Canim invaders, which is what he's been angling for the whole book. Arnos has no choice but to accept, and he takes that realization poorly. Doroga sets Tavi up to throw down a gauntlet in Furies of Calderon by giving him a chance to challenge the validity of the Marat's war before the One. | |
Codex Alera / int_a05abbc8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a05abbc8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a05abbc8 | |
Codex Alera / int_a0e3acee | type |
Training "Accident" | |
Codex Alera / int_a0e3acee | comment |
Training "Accident": Amara's test at the beginning of the series was not really to see whether she could get information; it was to see if she would stay loyal and be able to escape after Fidelias's betrayal, which Gaius predicted. | |
Codex Alera / int_a0e3acee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a0e3acee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a0e3acee | |
Codex Alera / int_a0eeac39 | type |
Odd Name Out | |
Codex Alera / int_a0eeac39 | comment |
Odd Name Out: Isana, Amara, Fidelias, Maximus, Araris, Invidia... Tavi? Which is Foreshadowing, as it happens. "Gaius Octavian" fits right in with the rest of those Latin-derived names. | |
Codex Alera / int_a0eeac39 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a0eeac39 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a0eeac39 | |
Codex Alera / int_a18d407b | type |
Samus Is a Girl | |
Codex Alera / int_a18d407b | comment |
Samus Is a Girl: For such a smart guy, Tavi takes far too long to realize that Kitai is female. Twice! | |
Codex Alera / int_a18d407b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a18d407b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a18d407b | |
Codex Alera / int_a2b38d3b | type |
Eye Scream | |
Codex Alera / int_a2b38d3b | comment |
Eye Scream: Turns out, a sufficiently powerful watercrafter can regrow her own eyes after they have been clawed out. | |
Codex Alera / int_a2b38d3b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a2b38d3b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a2b38d3b | |
Codex Alera / int_a2cbad1 | type |
Half-Human Hybrid | |
Codex Alera / int_a2cbad1 | comment |
Half-Human Hybrid: In a rather twisted way, the Vord Queen by virtue of absorbing both Kitai's and Tavi's blood in her larval form. Gaius Desiderius Tavarus, born of Tavi (an Aleran/human) and Kitai (a Marat). | |
Codex Alera / int_a2cbad1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a2cbad1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a2cbad1 | |
Codex Alera / int_a3f6fcb0 | type |
Action Mom | |
Codex Alera / int_a3f6fcb0 | comment |
Action Mom: Isana gets more involved in the direct action starting in Captain's Fury. Rook a.k.a. Gaelle is not only a mother, but a skilled spy and assassin. Amara becomes an adoptive mother by the final book and doesn't shy away from combat. Though it's more like Action Expecting Mother, Kitai spends the last half of book six pregnant. Doesn't stop her from tag-teaming with Tavi to destroy the Vord Queen. | |
Codex Alera / int_a3f6fcb0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a3f6fcb0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a3f6fcb0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a431b0e6 | type |
The Butler Did It | |
Codex Alera / int_a431b0e6 | comment |
The Butler Did It: Ehren is known as a simple aide to the First Lord, helping with paperwork and such. His gentle manipulations are the reason Princeps Aquitaine went into battle to draw out either the Vord Queen or her second-in-command. The Princeps dies from wounds received in the battle. | |
Codex Alera / int_a431b0e6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a431b0e6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a431b0e6 | |
Codex Alera / int_a448674 | type |
Gratuitous Latin | |
Codex Alera / int_a448674 | comment |
Gratuitous Latin: Used extensively, with good reason: Word of God is that the Alerans are descended from one of the Lost Roman Legions. | |
Codex Alera / int_a448674 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a448674 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a448674 | |
Codex Alera / int_a4905771 | type |
Double-Meaning Title | |
Codex Alera / int_a4905771 | comment |
Double-Meaning Title: "Fury" is a word for wild anger, and within the series refers to a person's ability to furycraft (manipulate the elements). The titles of each book refer both to Tavi's anger and rage over what happens, but also to his relationship with furycrafting. | |
Codex Alera / int_a4905771 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a4905771 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a4905771 | |
Codex Alera / int_a4c37cbe | type |
Mood Whiplash | |
Codex Alera / int_a4c37cbe | comment |
Mood Whiplash: Often. Particularly when Max goes in and out of scenes. | |
Codex Alera / int_a4c37cbe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a4c37cbe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a4c37cbe | |
Codex Alera / int_a58802b7 | type |
Happiness in Slavery | |
Codex Alera / int_a58802b7 | comment |
Happiness in Slavery: What eventually happens to people with discipline collars on them. Considering the methods employed, this is never presented as a good thing. | |
Codex Alera / int_a58802b7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a58802b7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a58802b7 | |
Codex Alera / int_a5a3ae2b | type |
Orifice Invasion | |
Codex Alera / int_a5a3ae2b | comment |
Orifice Invasion: Vord Takers crawl in through your mouth, secreting a poison to numb your flesh so you do not know they are crawling into you until it is too late. | |
Codex Alera / int_a5a3ae2b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a5a3ae2b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a5a3ae2b | |
Codex Alera / int_a679184b | type |
Due to the Dead | |
Codex Alera / int_a679184b | comment |
Due to the Dead: The Canim sing a "Blood Song" for fallen warriors. Warriors who become Hunters (spies, assassins, and saboteurs) have their blood songs sung when they make the transition, because their old life is over. The legionares who die serving on the Shieldwall (the fortifications protecting Alera from the northern Icemen) are burned in funeral pyres instead of being buried. It is symbolic of keeping them away from the Icemen. High Lord Antillus will also give this honor to civilians who die valiantly fighting Icemen if they ever breach the wall and reach the steadholts. The Marat tradition of eating one's enemy to gain his strength may be this for some. When Hashat killed some of Princeps Septimus' singulares in the battle of First Calderon, she took their possessions and ate their hearts to honor them and take of their strength. | |
Codex Alera / int_a679184b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a679184b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a679184b | |
Codex Alera / int_a6c69bd | type |
MacGuffin | |
Codex Alera / int_a6c69bd | comment |
Later, when Aldrick has struck down Bernard, Amara, and Tavi in turn, and is getting ready to kill Tavi and take back the MacGuffin, Fade finally drops his Obfuscating Stupidity pretense and reveals himself as Araris Valerian, facing and defeating Aldrick in a metalcrafting duel. | |
Codex Alera / int_a6c69bd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a6c69bd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a6c69bd | |
Codex Alera / int_a7aef9ff | type |
Obfuscating Stupidity | |
Codex Alera / int_a7aef9ff | comment |
Throughout Furies of Calderon, Fade repeatedly saves Isana's life by tripping over people and spilling hot soup right at the critical moment. All on purpose. | |
Codex Alera / int_a7aef9ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a7aef9ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a7aef9ff | |
Codex Alera / int_a823fa03 | type |
The Un-Smile | |
Codex Alera / int_a823fa03 | comment |
The Unsmile: The Vord Queen's smile is described as something without meaning or warmth, a movement of facial muscles that is a replication of something she has seen in others. | |
Codex Alera / int_a823fa03 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a823fa03 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a823fa03 | |
Codex Alera / int_a8357dc2 | type |
No Woman's Land | |
Codex Alera / int_a8357dc2 | comment |
No Woman's Land: Though Alera's women do enjoy plenty of rights as freemen, the number of female Citizens is limited; up until Gaius promoted Isana to the Citizenry at the end of Furies of Calderon, no woman had ever gained Citizenship without either serving in the military note Difficult, as women could not normally be legionares, so this requires them to serve as either healers or Knights, both of which require strong furycrafting, or the woman had to disguise herself as a man until such a point that her deeds on the battlefield proved her worthy of being a Citizen if she revealed her gender, winning a Citizenship bout (requiring strong furycrafting), or marriage into the Citizenry (strong furycrafting being nearly required as well). In short, women without Knight-level furycrafting are generally out of luck in Alera, at least until Gaius promoted Isana. This becomes an important plot point as the series progresses, as Isana's promotion is taken as an official statement by the First Lord regarding parity of genders and a sign of his power, making Isana a target for those trying to undermine Gaius' authority. It also resulted in an increase in sale prices for female slaves and caused chaos and pressure in the slave trade in general. Since Kalarus is one of the two High Lords with eyes on the First Lord's crown, and the province of Kalare is heavily dependent on slave labor, this seriously hampers his economy and pushes him into launching the brewing civil war earlier than he planned. | |
Codex Alera / int_a8357dc2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a8357dc2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a8357dc2 | |
Codex Alera / int_a8d9ac65 | type |
Mage Species | |
Codex Alera / int_a8d9ac65 | comment |
Mage Species: The Alerans/humans are a version of this. All Alerans can harness Elemental Powers, and while other races have some degree of magic among them, humans have the greatest and most common access to it. Interestingly, this works as a disadvantage as much as an advantage, since they tend to have trouble thinking about non-magical methods of accomplishing things (meaning, for example, that there exists no really advanced technology, beyond maybe air coaches and ships, both of which even then can be created using furycrafting). Similarly, though to a lesser degree, the Canim have a whole caste who are just magic users, though seeing as the ritualists are a rather secretive and elitist bunch it’s unclear whether their powers are hereditary, or just an art they keep to themselves. | |
Codex Alera / int_a8d9ac65 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a8d9ac65 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a8d9ac65 | |
Codex Alera / int_a9de87d2 | type |
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass | |
Codex Alera / int_a9de87d2 | comment |
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Fade. | |
Codex Alera / int_a9de87d2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_a9de87d2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_a9de87d2 | |
Codex Alera / int_aa88f109 | type |
Humanity Is Infectious | |
Codex Alera / int_aa88f109 | comment |
Humanity Is Infectious: The Vord Queen is more human-like than both her predecessors or her offspring because of Tavi and Kitai's blood mingling with her larval form. | |
Codex Alera / int_aa88f109 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_aa88f109 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_aa88f109 | |
Codex Alera / int_aabe2fb | type |
Deliberate Values Dissonance | |
Codex Alera / int_aabe2fb | comment |
Deliberate Values Dissonance: Slavery, torture, and genocide of nonhuman species are all accepted in Aleran society, remnants of their Roman ancestry, though there is an increasingly influential abolitionist lobby in the form of the Dianic League. Women are also stuck in a second-class status, but the patriarchy has weakened slightly due to their ability to gain Citizenship by proving their martial abilities. | |
Codex Alera / int_aabe2fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_aabe2fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_aabe2fb | |
Codex Alera / int_aaece264 | type |
Rousing Speech | |
Codex Alera / int_aaece264 | comment |
Rousing Speech: In First Lord's Fury, Tavi gives one to his men and to all of Alera via watercrafting, to get them to stand up and fight hard against the Vord threat. It is considered a well done and moving speech, with Tavi's rival to the throne even agreeing it got him ramped up. It also doubled as a distraction for a special mission to save the Vord Queen's prisoners. | |
Codex Alera / int_aaece264 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_aaece264 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_aaece264 | |
Codex Alera / int_ab2df806 | type |
Red Baron | |
Codex Alera / int_ab2df806 | comment |
Red Baron: Skilled swordsmen of Alera are often given sword-based nicknames which become part of their actual names. Aldrick ex Gladius. "Ex Gladius" means "of the sword," and when he is introduced Fidelias explicitly states that he is known throughout Alera as "the Sword." Pirellus of the Black Blade. | |
Codex Alera / int_ab2df806 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ab2df806 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ab2df806 | |
Codex Alera / int_ab8e26e2 | type |
Slipping a Mickey | |
Codex Alera / int_ab8e26e2 | comment |
Slipping a Mickey: Aphrodin, a chemical derived from hollybell plants, causes intense sexual desire in those who drink it. Some people take it deliberately as a recreational drug or sexual stimulant, but it is also given to others without their knowledge for seduction and rape. | |
Codex Alera / int_ab8e26e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ab8e26e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ab8e26e2 | |
Codex Alera / int_abafa9b6 | type |
Peeling Potatoes | |
Codex Alera / int_abafa9b6 | comment |
Peeling Potatoes: Bernard has Amara peel "a sack of tubers" after he captures her in Furies of Calderon in disguise as a slave. Tavi regularly pisses off his superior officer in Cursor's Fury, who usually has him measuring latrines as punishment. It gets bad enough that some people start calling him "Scipio Latrinus". | |
Codex Alera / int_abafa9b6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_abafa9b6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_abafa9b6 | |
Codex Alera / int_abf92023 | type |
Wolf Man | |
Codex Alera / int_abf92023 | comment |
When Tavi meets Varg for the first time, the Canim ambassador is demanding to see Gaius, who cannot see anyone at the moment due to currently being in a coma. How does the Aleran with no furycrafting stop a 9-foot tall Wolf Man? He gets Varg to lean in close and pulls a knife on the Cane, threatening a Mutual Kill if Varg doesn't back off and go away. Varg is impressed. | |
Codex Alera / int_abf92023 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_abf92023 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_abf92023 | |
Codex Alera / int_abf99843 | type |
Wolf Man | |
Codex Alera / int_abf99843 | comment |
The Canim have four known castes: Warrior, Ritualist, Maker, and Hunter. According to Nausug, the Makers are actually the main caste in that the other three do what they do for their benefit... But none of the Makers are ever named or portrayed as particularly important individually. Justified as the caste is what's important, while individuals within it are not. | |
Codex Alera / int_abf99843 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_abf99843 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_abf99843 | |
Codex Alera / int_ac09dc0f | type |
Alas, Poor Villain | |
Codex Alera / int_ac09dc0f | comment |
Alas, Poor Villain: At least three different examples occur over the course of the novels. A downplayed case is seen with Phrygiar Navaris in Captain’s Fury. Tavi isn't particularly devastated by her death, but he's not very proud of having used her Freudian Excuse to induce a Villainous Breakdown and takes the time to gently close her eyes after she dies. In First Lord’s Fury, High Lord Aquitaine Attis dies a slow, lingering, and excruciatingly painful death, having executed the duties of his office with both great dignity and relatively conscientious, selfless regard. And the third and most surprising time is the Awakened Vord Queen, having shown an increasing fascination with human customs and mockingly called Tavi and Kitai her parents, admits before her certain death that she learned much from humans, that they were stronger than the Vord, and that her battle against them was never personal; she was just trying to do what she was supposed to do as a queen. She also asks if Tavi will make her suffer; he says no. Briefly discussed by the Great Fury Alera. While they were never really “villains� to begin with, she expresses sorrow for the other sapient races on the continent that were wiped out by the ancient Alerans before the present day, referring to them as having been just "lost travelers" like the Romans/Alerans, Marat, Canim, Icemen, and Vord all are. | |
Codex Alera / int_ac09dc0f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ac09dc0f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ac09dc0f | |
Codex Alera / int_ac2094ca | type |
Red Shirt | |
Codex Alera / int_ac2094ca | comment |
Red Shirt: Tons of people without names die, from legionares to civilians, as situations spiral increasingly out of control. | |
Codex Alera / int_ac2094ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ac2094ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ac2094ca | |
Codex Alera / int_ac7471b0 | type |
The Dead Have Names | |
Codex Alera / int_ac7471b0 | comment |
The Dead Have Names: In their first skirmish with the Canim forces in Alera, two members of the First Aleran cavalry are killed. When Tavi realizes that neither he nor Maximus know their names, he asks Max to find out. After a pair of Hunters are killed in battle with the Vord, Tavi asks their leader what their names were, and asks if anyone will sing a Blood Song (Canim funerary ritual) for them. Their leader tells Tavi that the Songs were sung when they became Hunters, having died in society's eyes then. One Cane ritualist, Master Marok, uses this to take the wind out of the sails of one of his less-honorable colleagues. After Tavi is forced to kill two Canim commoners in self-defense, the ritualist says that a blood price must be paid for them — and Marok undercuts him by asking if he even knows their names, which he clearly doesn't. | |
Codex Alera / int_ac7471b0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ac7471b0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ac7471b0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ac7df45e | type |
Giant Equals Invincible | |
Codex Alera / int_ac7df45e | comment |
Giant Equals Invincible: Averted with Walker the gargant. Doroga explains that Walker, while powerful, isn't invincible, as his feet are very vulnerable to damage. Vordbulks, building-sized creatures with no eyes and extremely tough armor that are designed to breach shieldwalls by falling on them, seem all but invincible. Like Walker, their feet are weak points. They can also be taken out by feeding them a bomb of sufficient force. | |
Codex Alera / int_ac7df45e | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ac7df45e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ac7df45e | |
Codex Alera / int_acecb17d | type |
Chekhov's Skill | |
Codex Alera / int_acecb17d | comment |
Chekhov's Skill: See Tavi learning/demonstrating some new skill? There is a pretty good chance he is going to use it for something absurdly badass and awesome by the end of the book. At the beginning of Cursor's Fury, Tavi and Magnus are testing out a catapult they made based on old Roman documents. It promptly gets smashed when an irate Max almost gets hit by a rock and chucks it back at them. No more mention is made, and it seems to be a funny but irrelevant side-note. Until the last book, when we learn that Tavi wrote home to his uncle about it, and Bernard set up over a hundred of the things as part of the defenses in the Calderon Valley, and loaded them, at Tavi's suggestion, with glass spheres full of fire furies that explode when they break. They do more damage than the High Lords when turned on the Vord army, and the ammo is easy enough to manufacture that they can outlast them, too. Furycrafted roads allow legions to move quickly on them and crafters can even give their horses a boost of speed from the roads. Later, Tavi substitutes "horses" with "Canim" when he needs both the Canim army and his army to do a quick march. While the Canim cannot use furycrafting, carrying the Alerans allows them the use of the causeways. Additionally, the Awakened Vord Queen is able to use the collared Citizens under her command to repair the causeways the Alerans had been severing to slow her advance, allowing her to (relatively) quickly assemble her forces and attack Riva before its defenders are ready. Mistress Cymnea's ladies are well practiced in earthcrafting, to better stir the loins of weary legionares. Tavi conscripts them as combat engineers to be ready to destroy a key bridge if need be, given their many years of practice with earthcrafting. In First Lord's Fury, Fidelias remembers part of his Cursor training: Cursors develop the skill to sneak up behind a person in absolute silence before stabbing them in the neck at the top of the spine, a guarantee one-hit kill even on a powerful Citizen. Amara uses this exact technique to finally kill Invidia using a stone knife, as her metalcrafting would have detected a metal blade. | |
Codex Alera / int_acecb17d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_acecb17d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_acecb17d | |
Codex Alera / int_ad1db87c | type |
Oh, Crap! | |
Codex Alera / int_ad1db87c | comment |
Oh, Crap!: Everywhere and in wide variety. Mass "Oh, Crap!": Also common, but especially notable when the Awakened Vord Queen pulls a One-Hit KO on a High Lord. | |
Codex Alera / int_ad1db87c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ad1db87c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ad1db87c | |
Codex Alera / int_ae1723af | type |
Sanity Has Advantages | |
Codex Alera / int_ae1723af | comment |
Sanity Has Advantages: Phrygiar Navaris may be a swordswoman on par with Araris, but her Ax-Crazy nature ultimately leads to her death at Tavi's hands. | |
Codex Alera / int_ae1723af | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ae1723af | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ae1723af | |
Codex Alera / int_ae372576 | type |
I Warned You | |
Codex Alera / int_ae372576 | comment |
I Warned You: Discussed in First Lords Fury. Bernard warned the various lords of Alera about the Vord repeatedly and was ignored until it was too late. He doesn't see much point in rubbing it in after being proven right though. So Amara does it for him. | |
Codex Alera / int_ae372576 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ae372576 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ae372576 | |
Codex Alera / int_aed65980 | type |
All for Nothing | |
Codex Alera / int_aed65980 | comment |
All for Nothing: The Forever War between the Alerans and Icemen is revealed to be this in Princeps’ Fury. The war is almost entirely the result of a Hate Plague unintentionally caused by the mutually inimical interactions between Aleran firecrafting (used to help keep their soldiers alive in the Grim Up North of Antillus and Phrygia) and the watercrafting-based Telepathy practiced by the Icemen. The two sides have fought each other to a bloody standstill for countless centuries with no benefit gained, resulting only in an ever-mounting body count and mutual hatred. | |
Codex Alera / int_aed65980 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_aed65980 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_aed65980 | |
Codex Alera / int_af921409 | type |
Accidental Marriage | |
Codex Alera / int_af921409 | comment |
Accidental Marriage: Tavi attempts to claim that he and Kitai have been accidentally married for years in order to reassure Kitai of the nature of their relationship and, more importantly, the legitimacy of their child. | |
Codex Alera / int_af921409 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_af921409 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_af921409 | |
Codex Alera / int_afc6df04 | type |
What You Are in the Dark | |
Codex Alera / int_afc6df04 | comment |
What You Are in the Dark: When Max tells Tavi that he should buy a woman for the night in Cursor's Fury, pointing out that nobody would know. Tavi gives the standard response that he would know. When Bernard asks Amara why she did not kill Invidia when she had the chance, since she could easily have blamed it on the enemy or even natural causes, Amara explains that she refuses to live in Invidia's world, where actions are determined by power and practicality. Her world has laws and justice, and she would rather live there and suffer than win by using Invidia's methods. | |
Codex Alera / int_afc6df04 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_afc6df04 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_afc6df04 | |
Codex Alera / int_b032e4ed | type |
Ms. Fanservice | |
Codex Alera / int_b032e4ed | comment |
Ms. Fanservice: Many examples (to the point where virtually every woman — even some of the younger women like the teenaged Beritte — in Furies of Calderon is described as physically attractive in some waynote though in fairness, one of the main narrators — Tavi — was a Hormone-Addled Teenager at the time), but among the main cast of characters, Invidia is easily the biggest example, with there being many examples of her being a raven-haired beauty. Kitai also counts in the later novels as she grows into a young woman, with Tavi in particular practically drooling when she suggestively sucks on a berry during their dinner date in First Lord's Fury. Defied with the Vord Queens; objectively speaking, they're Green Skinned Space Babes who only wear elegant robes (at most) in lieu of clothing, so they seem like they should fall into this. However, as they all operate on Blue-and-Orange Morality and are the leaders of an omnicidal Hive Mind of all-devouring Insectoid Aliens, any potential attractiveness is lost and replaced solely with completely rational terror. | |
Codex Alera / int_b032e4ed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b032e4ed | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b032e4ed | |
Codex Alera / int_b06bbf4b | type |
Be Careful What You Wish For | |
Codex Alera / int_b06bbf4b | comment |
Be Careful What You Wish For: In the beginning of Academ's Fury Tavi thinks about how the universe played a cruel trick on him by giving him exactly what he wanted. His life's dream in Furies of Calderon was to attend the Academy in Alera Imperia; now that he's there, he gets to see that pettiness and cruelty are a fact of life that he cannot escape. Isana wanted Tavi's growth stunted so people would think him younger than he actually was and would therefore never make a connection with his father, Gaius Septimus. She got what she wanted, but it also delayed Tavi's ability to use furycrafting until he was in his twenties. It caused him much pain and anger after he learned Isana had done it to him. | |
Codex Alera / int_b06bbf4b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b06bbf4b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b06bbf4b | |
Codex Alera / int_b070362d | type |
Wicked Stepmother | |
Codex Alera / int_b070362d | comment |
Wicked Stepmother: Max's stepmother, Lady Dorotea Antillus, wants the best for her son, the official heir of Antillus, and fears that Max will make his own attempt to seize the High Lord title. She killed Max's mother, and has been arranging "accidents" for Max since he was a child. She also betrays the Alerans to the Canim. | |
Codex Alera / int_b070362d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b070362d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b070362d | |
Codex Alera / int_b0c4bf9b | type |
Luxury Prison Suite | |
Codex Alera / int_b0c4bf9b | comment |
Luxury Prison Suite: The Grey Tower, which is the most escape-proof prison in Alera. The cell on the top floor is the entire floor and includes dining areas, luxury furniture and plenty of books. Max points out that anybody who ends up in that cell is there for politics, and the bars are simply for show. | |
Codex Alera / int_b0c4bf9b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b0c4bf9b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b0c4bf9b | |
Codex Alera / int_b0fb2427 | type |
Bread and Circuses | |
Codex Alera / int_b0fb2427 | comment |
The "conversion process line" used by the Vord in Princeps' Fury (as set up by a collared Kalarus Brencis Minoris) to enslave Alera's Citizens into servants of the Vord. It's described as having several immensely attractive nubile young women dressed in scanty clothing participating in the process (i.e., coercing people into becoming more accepting of the collars and providing Bread and Circuses so the collared Citizens don't try to violently self-destruct). However, as the whole process is an absolutely horrifying assembly line of Mind Rape, it's just insanely creepy and perverse to watch, with Amara directly comparing the sight to being uglier than a slaughterhouse. This scene also involves multiple young attractive woman kissing and fondling each other...while collared and under Brencis Minoris' orders, making the display a revolting case of Rape by Proxy. | |
Codex Alera / int_b0fb2427 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b0fb2427 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b0fb2427 | |
Codex Alera / int_b11ac9f5 | type |
Abusive Parents | |
Codex Alera / int_b11ac9f5 | comment |
Abusive Parents: Kord is a horrible father on general principles, and mistreats Aric while spoiling Bittan, his favorite. High Lady Dorotea Antillus had her step-son, Antillar Maximus, viciously whipped at the slightest provocation. When it looked like he would be able to stand up to her and potentially outshine her son, Antillus Crassus, she moved on to more drastic measures. And, for all that she loves Crassus, she isn't above mistreating him too; Crassus reveals that some of Max's scars came from shielding his little brother from her temper. | |
Codex Alera / int_b11ac9f5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b11ac9f5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b11ac9f5 | |
Codex Alera / int_b17f6a27 | type |
I Did What I Had to Do | |
Codex Alera / int_b17f6a27 | comment |
I Did What I Had to Do: Gaius tries to justify blowing up Kalare by unleashing Kalus this way, pointing out that it actually saved lives compared to the alternative. It was also in part a case of Best Served Cold — High Lord Kalarus was a member of the cabal that killed his son. | |
Codex Alera / int_b17f6a27 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b17f6a27 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b17f6a27 | |
Codex Alera / int_b1bf431c | type |
Go for the Eye | |
Codex Alera / int_b1bf431c | comment |
Go for the Eye: Averted in Academ's Fury with Kitai. She specifically didn't go for an Aleran attacker's eye because she couldn't reach it. She did bite off his nose though. Later in the same book, she draws a dagger and throws it in the same motion, hitting a taken Cane in the eye and gives a guard an opening. Subverted in First Lord's Fury. One character remarks that attacking the vordbulk's eyes would normally be a good way to slow them down... except that they don't have any eyes. | |
Codex Alera / int_b1bf431c | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Codex Alera / int_b1bf431c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b1bf431c | |
Codex Alera / int_b4c406a6 | type |
Death by Despair | |
Codex Alera / int_b4c406a6 | comment |
Death by Despair: When Gaius Septimus died, his mother took ill soon afterwards. She had his unfinished portrait (which she was in the middle of painting when she received the news) hung in her room as she wasted away. | |
Codex Alera / int_b4c406a6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b4c406a6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b4c406a6 | |
Codex Alera / int_b5ab695c | type |
Fantasy Conflict Counterpart | |
Codex Alera / int_b5ab695c | comment |
Fantasy Conflict Counterpart: The campaign fought in the Amaranth Vale between the invading Narashan Canim and the First Aleran Legion has many parallels to the Second Punic War, with Nasaug painted as an analogue to Hannibal Barca and his forces as the Carthagians invading the Italian Peninsula. It's also likely not a coincidence that he's matching wits with a foe named "Rufus Scipio" — as in, Scipio Africanus, the legendary Roman general who ultimately defeated Hannibal. | |
Codex Alera / int_b5ab695c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b5ab695c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b5ab695c | |
Codex Alera / int_b5b4b485 | type |
The Bet | |
Codex Alera / int_b5b4b485 | comment |
The Bet: The series was originally written on one. Jim Butcher was in a debate over whether a good story required a good idea, or if a good story could be written with a bad idea. The other member of the argument, whose name has now been lost to time, bet that Butcher could not write a good story based on a terrible idea he came up with. Butcher responded that he would take two. The ideas were the Lost Roman Legion... and Pokémon. By Princeps Fury, the Cursors have a pool on who will be the victor when Lord Aquitaine and Lady Aquitaine inevitably turn on each other. Ehren gets in on it and bets on Lady Aquitaine; this turns out to be the correct choice. | |
Codex Alera / int_b5b4b485 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b5b4b485 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b5b4b485 | |
Codex Alera / int_b68757d4 | type |
Everyone Is a Super | |
Codex Alera / int_b68757d4 | comment |
Everyone Is a Super: And some supers are more super than others. Except Tavi, who isn't super at all. At least not for the first few novels. | |
Codex Alera / int_b68757d4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b68757d4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b68757d4 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7042372 | type |
Cycle of Revenge | |
Codex Alera / int_b7042372 | comment |
Cycle of Revenge: Atsurak lost family at First Calderon, where Princeps Septimus died by a Marat invasion, and so hates Alerans and leads the Marat to avenge them in Furies of Calderon. Doroga averts this. He lost a lot of his family in the same battle and his wife was killed by Atsurak, but after some years of thought, he no longer hates either. He sees it in the past and little good can come from opening those wounds. That said, when circumstances offer him an opportunity to kill Atsurak for the greater good, he's hardly hesitant. The Alerans of the far north and Icemen have this relationship. One side kills the other and the other retaliates. It has been going on for so long, Isana wonders if either side actually remembers why the conflict started to begin with. The mutually inimical reactions of Aleran firecrafting and the Icemen's innate watercrafting-adjacent powers hasn't helped. | |
Codex Alera / int_b7042372 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7042372 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b7042372 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7475a74 | type |
Bothering by the Book | |
Codex Alera / int_b7475a74 | comment |
Bothering by the Book: In Captain's Fury, Ehren mentions dealing with Senator Arnos earlier in the book had him studying of Aleran law and procedure to help outgambit the man. In the end, Ehren writes documents to not only validate Tavi's title of Octavian, Prince of the Realm, but for Tavi to give himself the authority to free himself from prison on his own recognizance to defend the honor of the Realm. It all stands up to Arnos' legal expert. | |
Codex Alera / int_b7475a74 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7475a74 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b7475a74 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7920c43 | type |
Lost in Translation | |
Codex Alera / int_b7920c43 | comment |
Lost in Translation: In Princeps' Fury, Marcus is teaching a young, energetic Cane how to speak Aleran. He encounters the syntax issue when the Cane states, "Alerans smell badly." His intent is to claim, "Alerans have a poor sense of smell" not that "Alerans stink." Marcus is very careful in his critique, as the 8-foot tall Wolf Man is a young packleader (officer) trying to demonstrate his prowess in front of his elder (Varg), and is not likely to react well to being told that he is incorrect, along with the resulting loss of face. When the Cane lunges at him in anger, Marcus evades and slams the Cane's head into the ground, continuing his conversation as though it didn't happen. | |
Codex Alera / int_b7920c43 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7920c43 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b7920c43 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7bc7d28 | type |
Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny! | |
Codex Alera / int_b7bc7d28 | comment |
Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Wind furies have very short attention spans unless under the control of an exceptionally talented crafter, which can make long-distance flight problematic. | |
Codex Alera / int_b7bc7d28 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7bc7d28 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b7bc7d28 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7efeb58 | type |
Magical Defibrillator | |
Codex Alera / int_b7efeb58 | comment |
Magical Defibrillator: Veradis, the daughter of High Lord Ceres, can do this through a combination of watercrafting and windcrafting to channel electricity. | |
Codex Alera / int_b7efeb58 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7efeb58 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b7efeb58 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7fea698 | type |
Emotion Bomb | |
Codex Alera / int_b7fea698 | comment |
Emotion Bomb: A less utilized, but very effective, application of firecrafting. Not only can it cause panic in your enemies and break a charge, it can inspire heroism in your own troops. Tavi uses this to escape a watercrafter that is drowning him. He focuses on his fear and drives himself into a panic to overwhelm her senses. | |
Codex Alera / int_b7fea698 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b7fea698 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b7fea698 | |
Codex Alera / int_b82676ad | type |
Jackie Robinson Story | |
Codex Alera / int_b82676ad | comment |
Jackie Robinson Story: Isana becomes the first female steadholder at the end of Furies of Calderon. Tavi becomes the first non-crafter to be, well, everything. | |
Codex Alera / int_b82676ad | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b82676ad | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b82676ad | |
Codex Alera / int_b9fa17b7 | type |
Pretender Diss | |
Codex Alera / int_b9fa17b7 | comment |
Pretender Diss: Aldrick ex Gladius, regarded as one of the greatest swordsmen living, is legendary partly because of his famed duel with Araris Valerian. At multiple points throughout the series he crosses swords with other famed warriors, calmly informing each of them, "The only man who has ever matched me in battle was Araris Valerian himself, and you aren't Araris." When it turns out that one of them actually is Araris, Aldrick practically collapses. | |
Codex Alera / int_b9fa17b7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_b9fa17b7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_b9fa17b7 | |
Codex Alera / int_ba5bd7 | type |
Ignored Expert | |
Codex Alera / int_ba5bd7 | comment |
Ignored Expert: Nobody believes Bernard about the threat the Vord pose. He eventually just gives up on trying to convince the idiots in charge and starts fortifying the Calderon Valley instead, but Ehren believes that Bernard had convinced the First Lord and had been operating under secret orders to prepare for an invasion. | |
Codex Alera / int_ba5bd7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ba5bd7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ba5bd7 | |
Codex Alera / int_babc974 | type |
Sadistic Choice | |
Codex Alera / int_babc974 | comment |
Sadistic Choice: When the Vord Queen studies people to try and understand their thoughts and motivations, she orders a mother to hand over her infant son. The mother looks to Invidia and asks for help, but she tells her that she has another child that she can protect by handing over the baby as ordered. | |
Codex Alera / int_babc974 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_babc974 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_babc974 | |
Codex Alera / int_bbb6c059 | type |
I Shall Taunt You | |
Codex Alera / int_bbb6c059 | comment |
I Shall Taunt You: In Cursor's Fury, Tavi uses his knowledge of his enemy's culture to make their leader look like a fool and thus erode his support. Tavi uses this against Phrygiar Navaris after he determines the cause of his opponent's fragile mental state. | |
Codex Alera / int_bbb6c059 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_bbb6c059 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_bbb6c059 | |
Codex Alera / int_bcb4f1f1 | type |
You Just Told Me | |
Codex Alera / int_bcb4f1f1 | comment |
You Just Told Me: In First Lord's Fury, at the culmination of Magnus's suspicions over Marcus's history, during a fight with some Vord, he yells, "Fidelias! Behind you!" and "Marcus" whirls around. Tavi, who'd agreed to the plan thinking he'd exonerate Marcus, is very, very pissed. | |
Codex Alera / int_bcb4f1f1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_bcb4f1f1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_bcb4f1f1 | |
Codex Alera / int_bcd27e37 | type |
Improbable Aiming Skills | |
Codex Alera / int_bcd27e37 | comment |
Improbable Aiming Skills: Anyone with strong woodcrafting ability becomes an incredible archer; examples include Bernard, Fidelias, and any Knight Flora. In Academ's Fury, a group of Knights Flora looses a barrage of arrows that are so precise they can fly between a legionaire's ear and his shield, or beneath a rising sword arm as the soldier in question strikes out. In Captain's Fury, a woodcrafter named Iris the Hawk is so accurate that she can put arrows into men's heads or throats from four hundred yards while on the rolling deck of a moving ship. By comparison, the classic English longbow could potentially reach those ranges in ideal conditions, but with only inaccurate, arching barrage fire. | |
Codex Alera / int_bcd27e37 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_bcd27e37 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_bcd27e37 | |
Codex Alera / int_bce728ca | type |
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal | |
Codex Alera / int_bce728ca | comment |
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Aric turns on his father, Kord, because of the horrendous treatment he endures and the generally abhorrent attitudes and actions he was raised with. | |
Codex Alera / int_bce728ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_bce728ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_bce728ca | |
Codex Alera / int_bd0af87b | type |
Honorable Marriage Proposal | |
Codex Alera / int_bd0af87b | comment |
Honorable Marriage Proposal: Discussed in First Lord's Fury, when Tavi discovers that Kitai is pregnant. He suggests that they could get married right now so their child won't be seen as a bastard, but they ultimately decide to wait and get properly married when the war is over. | |
Codex Alera / int_bd0af87b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_bd0af87b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_bd0af87b | |
Codex Alera / int_bdbc35e7 | type |
Blade Enthusiast | |
Codex Alera / int_bdbc35e7 | comment |
Blade Enthusiast: Ehren hides such an extravagant number of knives on his person that it becomes a Running Gag, and at least one person deduces that he is a Cursor based solely on how many he has. | |
Codex Alera / int_bdbc35e7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_bdbc35e7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_bdbc35e7 | |
Codex Alera / int_bec0417c | type |
Happily Married | |
Codex Alera / int_bec0417c | comment |
Amara and Bernard. Bernard is approaching middle age, whereas Amara is just entering adulthood. Unlike the above, though, they are Happily Married. | |
Codex Alera / int_bec0417c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_bec0417c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_bec0417c | |
Codex Alera / int_bf609406 | type |
New Meat | |
Codex Alera / int_bf609406 | comment |
Centurion Schultz, who starts as a fish in Cursor's Fury and is a Centurion by Captain's Fury, mirroring the First Aleran's transformation into one of the most elite Legions of Alera. | |
Codex Alera / int_bf609406 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_bf609406 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_bf609406 | |
Codex Alera / int_c027dd64 | type |
Kicking Ass in All Her Finery | |
Codex Alera / int_c027dd64 | comment |
Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Amara is wearing a dress (which Isana notes is a rarity for her) when the heroes are ambushed in Ceres by Kalare's Immortals in Cursor's Fury. It doesn't stop her from kicking plenty of ass or being the one to personally chase down and capture Rook in a one-on-one fight. Placida Aria is almost never seen without a gorgeous flowing gown. She's also one of the most badass High Lords in the entire series, having earned her title in the juris macto (most High Ladies married into the title, but Aria refused to do so). | |
Codex Alera / int_c027dd64 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c027dd64 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c027dd64 | |
Codex Alera / int_c09dbbbb | type |
Weaksauce Weakness | |
Codex Alera / int_c09dbbbb | comment |
Weaksauce Weakness: For Windcrafting, earth, mud, dust, and salt are common things which can be the bane of their wind streams that give them flight. At Tavi's suggestion, Bernard weaponizes the salt by making salt-tipped arrowheads which will damage any windcrafting. For Earthcrafters, they must maintain contact with the earth to use their super strength. One can lift the crafter off the ground and strip them of their strength. For Watercrafters, dehydration is a common tactic, as is overwhelming them with emotions. | |
Codex Alera / int_c09dbbbb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c09dbbbb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c09dbbbb | |
Codex Alera / int_c142c1ff | type |
Childless Dystopia | |
Codex Alera / int_c142c1ff | comment |
Childless Dystopia: in First Lord's Fury, the Vord Queen offers the people of Alera the option to surrender peacefully and live out the remainder of their natural lives under her rule. The only requirement is that they not be allowed to sire any more children. | |
Codex Alera / int_c142c1ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c142c1ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c142c1ff | |
Codex Alera / int_c145f69b | type |
Subverted Trope | |
Codex Alera / int_c145f69b | comment |
In Furies of Calderon, Amara sends Tavi ahead to warn Garrison, since he is the only person who can testify to having seen the Marat. She decides to stay behind and delay Fidelius and Aldrick, since she and Tavi have no chance of outrunning them. Bernard is the one to actually run into her, and the two of them then do their best to catch up to Tavi. | |
Codex Alera / int_c145f69b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c145f69b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c145f69b | |
Codex Alera / int_c1d1d6ad | type |
Who Names Their Kid "Dude"? | |
Codex Alera / int_c1d1d6ad | comment |
Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: It isn't immediately obvious if you don't know Latin, but High Lady Invidia Aquitainus' parents essentially named her 'envy'. | |
Codex Alera / int_c1d1d6ad | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c1d1d6ad | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c1d1d6ad | |
Codex Alera / int_c2c92862 | type |
Unwanted Spouse | |
Codex Alera / int_c2c92862 | comment |
Unwanted Spouse: According to Max, the tradition of arranged marriages in Alera means that this is the norm among High Lords. Gaius Sextus and Gaius Caria were wed after the death of Sextus's first wife, when Sextus was already well into middle-age and Caria was barely an adult. She thought she would be living out an epic romance, but (as Sextus himself admits) she was stuck with a scheming old man who had manipulated her from the beginning. She is eventually driven to an affair with Aquitaine and poisons Sextus. Antillus Raucus and Antillus Dorotea were married after their parents arranged the pairing in an attempt to unite the southern and northern cities, as Raucus was heir to Antillus and Dorotea was the daughter of the High Lord of Kalare. Raucus was in love (or at least affectionate lust) with a dancing slave girl, and he and Dorotea bitterly despised each other, but they both continued to play their roles. | |
Codex Alera / int_c2c92862 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c2c92862 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c2c92862 | |
Codex Alera / int_c307bd40 | type |
Our Spirits Are Different | |
Codex Alera / int_c307bd40 | comment |
Our Spirits Are Different: Furies are powerful Nature Spirits that typically take the form of either an animal or plant, and can be bound and controlled by Alerans through sheer willpower. The physical descriptions given to the windmanes (basically feral and wild wind furies found living on the frontiers of Alera) in Furies of Calderon are vaguely reminiscent close to some of the depictions of the banshee, resembling rotting human corpses shaped from clouds, wind, and lightning baring sharp claws and fangs, and are infamous for their hollow, deafening screeches that sound more like howling stormwinds than anything else. Unlike the mythical banshees, though, they're not active death omens, and instead are more likely the ones to be responsible for someone's death through either shredding them to ribbons or suffocating them to death. Thankfully, they can be warded off by either a sufficiently strong windcrafer (i.e., Amara) or a pinch of salt, and they cannot attack someone who has covered themselves in mud (as Tavi figured out while lost out in a furystorm in the first book). | |
Codex Alera / int_c307bd40 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c307bd40 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c307bd40 | |
Codex Alera / int_c313d43a | type |
True Companions | |
Codex Alera / int_c313d43a | comment |
True Companions: Tavi and Max became close friends after rooming together at the Academy, which Gaius had arranged with the hopes of this result, and they were joined by Ehren, a fellow Cursor-in-training. Crassus, Max's half-brother, had a very rocky relationship with Max going back to their childhood, and got off on the wrong foot with Tavi as well, but eventually they grew past their differences. As is slowly revealed through the series, Princeps Septimus had a cadre of true companions in Araris Valerian, Miles, Antillus Raucus, other (unnamed) swordsmen who formed his singulares, and Aldrick ex Gladius and Aquitainus Attis. Those who survived his death at First Calderon were forever changed by it. | |
Codex Alera / int_c313d43a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c313d43a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c313d43a | |
Codex Alera / int_c335b9ec | type |
Irony | |
Codex Alera / int_c335b9ec | comment |
Irony: Amara's selflessness in terms of performing a Heroic Sacrifice in Academ's Fury so as to ensure the death of the Calderon Vord Queen confuses the Queen so much that it actually helps make it so that Amara survives her "Hail Mary" attack. In essence, Amara's willingness in terms of sacrificing her life actually ensured that she would survive. The Icemen give their aid to Tavi in First Lord's Fury after he leases them the Shieldwall. In short, the Icemen now have control over the very construct they've been trying to destroy for the better part of three centuries. The woman Attis marries is the same woman who was behind getting Rhodes and Kalarus's attack on Septimus, which was the driving cause for Attis to usurp Gaius. | |
Codex Alera / int_c335b9ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c335b9ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c335b9ec | |
Codex Alera / int_c3473e28 | type |
Chrome Champion | |
Codex Alera / int_c3473e28 | comment |
Chrome Champion: When the First Lord goes to battle, he has enough power and skill with metalcrafting to turn into this. In First Lord's Fury Araris Valerian does the same. | |
Codex Alera / int_c3473e28 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c3473e28 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c3473e28 | |
Codex Alera / int_c3478f1d | type |
Badass Bookworm | |
Codex Alera / int_c3478f1d | comment |
Badass Bookworm: Tavi. The boy has no furycraft (well, at least until the end of book 3), so he has to use his mind. He adapts new strategies and fighting tactics (some even based on ancient Roman history) and fully embraces all the lessons he has been taught. Ehren presents the appearance of a scribe or accountant — and in fact works as a scribe in his duties as a Cursor — but is adept at taking down plenty of people with his many, many, knives. He ultimately arranges Aquitaine's assassination to clear the way for Tavi's unchallenged rise to the throne. Gaius Sextus' private study is described like a hunting lodge, but with walls of books instead of hunting trophies. It wouldn't be out of character for him to have devoured each book many times to see what new things he could take from them. | |
Codex Alera / int_c3478f1d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c3478f1d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c3478f1d | |
Codex Alera / int_c37a9e13 | type |
Alien Kudzu | |
Codex Alera / int_c37a9e13 | comment |
Alien Kudzu: Wherever the Vord spread, the croach grows as well. Described as a waxy, leathery substance covering a gelatinous liquid, it completely covers not just the ground but also all buildings and trees in the regions that the Vord occupy. It serves as both a food source for the Vord (the croach subsumes organic matter to provide nutrients) and a sentinel; whenever its surface is broken, the Vord know that an enemy is walking upon it. | |
Codex Alera / int_c37a9e13 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c37a9e13 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c37a9e13 | |
Codex Alera / int_c5b47b36 | type |
Offscreen Moment of Awesome | |
Codex Alera / int_c5b47b36 | comment |
Offscreen Moment of Awesome: The frequently recounted duel between Araris Valerian and Aldrick ex Gladius, which took place nearly twenty years before the start of the story proper. Everyone who saw it claimed it was the single greatest swordfight in history, with an audience of more than fifty thousand people and lasting for more than ten hours. | |
Codex Alera / int_c5b47b36 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c5b47b36 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c5b47b36 | |
Codex Alera / int_c5d18c5a | type |
Humanity Is Insane | |
Codex Alera / int_c5d18c5a | comment |
Humanity Is Insane: Almost every nonhuman species is convinced that Alerans are completely, irrationally mad. | |
Codex Alera / int_c5d18c5a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c5d18c5a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c5d18c5a | |
Codex Alera / int_c660bc15 | type |
Fan Disservice | |
Codex Alera / int_c660bc15 | comment |
Fan Disservice: The Vord Queens are all described as attractive young humanoid women who go naked except for cloaks, but their nature as Humanoid Abominations combined with their Blue-and-Orange Morality means that their nakedness just serves to make them seem even more alien and unsettling. invoked Played for Laughs with Amara's Sex Slave outfit during her secret undercover mission in Cursor's Fury; despite Bernard's wandering gaze being enough to convey that she looks quite gorgeous in it, any potential titillation is lost by how Amara's internal narration while wearing it consists almost entirely of her complaining about how stupid she looks, how impractical the outfit is, and how she's dreading the possibility of getting wind burns in uncomfortable places if/when she needs to pull off a sudden escape with Cirrus. The "conversion process line" used by the Vord in Princeps' Fury (as set up by a collared Kalarus Brencis Minoris) to enslave Alera's Citizens into servants of the Vord. It's described as having several immensely attractive nubile young women dressed in scanty clothing participating in the process (i.e., coercing people into becoming more accepting of the collars and providing Bread and Circuses so the collared Citizens don't try to violently self-destruct). However, as the whole process is an absolutely horrifying assembly line of Mind Rape, it's just insanely creepy and perverse to watch, with Amara directly comparing the sight to being uglier than a slaughterhouse. This scene also involves multiple young attractive woman kissing and fondling each other...while collared and under Brencis Minoris' orders, making the display a revolting case of Rape by Proxy. Invidia after her fight with Attis in First Lord's Fury. The fact that the narration often refers to her as "the burned woman" should serve as a good indicator of how far she's fallen in terms of physical beauty. | |
Codex Alera / int_c660bc15 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c660bc15 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c660bc15 | |
Codex Alera / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
Codex Alera / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: Tavi's name is based on Rikki Tikki Tavi, a mongoose that regularly overcomes greater foes with cunning and skill in the works of Rudyard Kipling. Placidus Aria and her husband Sandos are based on Aral and Cordelia Vorkosigan from the Vorkosigan Saga in both their appearance and personality. In First Lord's Fury, Varg knocks down Khral, an attacking ritualist, with what is strongly implied to be a copy of the Commentaries on the Gallic War by Julius Caesar. | |
Codex Alera / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c75df49a | |
Codex Alera / int_c82e751f | type |
Unspoken Plan Guarantee | |
Codex Alera / int_c82e751f | comment |
Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Tavi and others in the series are quite good at playing their cards close to their vests. Becomes even more true in the fifth book, when Tavi realizes that the Vord are able to read the minds of their foes... and thus sets up a plan that is unspoken even to those who are carrying it out, using a whole network of sealed orders. | |
Codex Alera / int_c82e751f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c82e751f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c82e751f | |
Codex Alera / int_c868a42a | type |
Freudian Excuse | |
Codex Alera / int_c868a42a | comment |
Freudian Excuse: Max's status as The Hedonist stems from his bitter acceptance that he's destined to live only a short and tragic life due to the manipulations of his Wicked Stepmother. Her poor relationship with her father is why Phrygiar Navaris is the way she is. Exploiting it is how Tavi beats her in a duel to the death. | |
Codex Alera / int_c868a42a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c868a42a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c868a42a | |
Codex Alera / int_c87660d5 | type |
Get a Hold of Yourself, Man! | |
Codex Alera / int_c87660d5 | comment |
Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Tavi looks at Varg, who is suffering a BSOD from learning his entire nation has been devoured by the Vord and with it his family, takes a hammer, and smacks him hard on the armored chest to wake him the heck out of his stupor. | |
Codex Alera / int_c87660d5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c87660d5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c87660d5 | |
Codex Alera / int_c8b7a847 | type |
Bring News Back | |
Codex Alera / int_c8b7a847 | comment |
Bring News Back: When Ivarus, Kestus, and Tonnar are ambushed by the Vord, Ivarus says that it is more important for Kestus to escape and warn Alera than it is for him to stop and assist Ivarus, whose horse has been killed. When Amara and Bernard are spying on the Vord, they debate whether or not they should go further into Vord territory or leave now and bring their discoveries to the First Lord. They ultimately agree to continue deeper into enemy territory, but Bernard makes Amara promise to return directly to the First Lord, without him if need be, once they complete their mission. | |
Codex Alera / int_c8b7a847 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c8b7a847 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c8b7a847 | |
Codex Alera / int_c8c968c3 | type |
The Alliance | |
Codex Alera / int_c8c968c3 | comment |
The Alliance: By the end of First Lord's Fury, all of the non-Vord races are getting along reasonably well and the New Academy will be open to all species with a variety of talents. Tavi even refers to it as "the Alliance" in the epilogue. | |
Codex Alera / int_c8c968c3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c8c968c3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c8c968c3 | |
Codex Alera / int_c93a6560 | type |
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice | |
Codex Alera / int_c93a6560 | comment |
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice When fighting the Vord Queen in the First Aleran's camp, Tavi is pinned to a rock with a razor-edged, poisoned vord-chitin sword. He almost cuts his fingers off trying to get himself free. The Vord Mantis Warriors in First Lord's Fury tend to do this. One almost kills Ehren this way, pinning him to a fortress wall in the process. Amara impales Invidia from behind with a stone-headed spear before cutting her throat. | |
Codex Alera / int_c93a6560 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c93a6560 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c93a6560 | |
Codex Alera / int_c95d04f2 | type |
It Can Think | |
Codex Alera / int_c95d04f2 | comment |
It Can Think: The Vord, when commanded by a Queen. This is especially evident the first time they show up as a major threat, when they have not yet built up a truly absurd numerical advantage and fight a vicious guerrilla war instead. | |
Codex Alera / int_c95d04f2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c95d04f2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c95d04f2 | |
Codex Alera / int_c9790040 | type |
Decadent Court | |
Codex Alera / int_c9790040 | comment |
Decadent Court: Aleran politics are full of deadly intrigue, to the point where “cutters� (read: assassins) will never be out of work. | |
Codex Alera / int_c9790040 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c9790040 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c9790040 | |
Codex Alera / int_c9e5a0db | type |
Legacy Character | |
Codex Alera / int_c9e5a0db | comment |
Legacy Character: invoked According to Word of God, the current Gaius Sextus is actually the eighth First Lord to bear the name of Sextus. How Aleran heredity works in regards to the First Lord is that whenever one unbroken line of lineage of the House of Gaius would die out, the lineage would then be passed on to another branch of family (i.e., a first or second cousin) and the numerical naming convention would start over with the new branch. Apparently, one branch managed to get to Gaius Duodecumus (i.e., Gaius the Twelfth). However, the tragedy of Septimus' death was that by that point in time, no more branches of the House of Gaius existed anymore (implied to be due to how the House of Gaius has apparently never been that fertile), and so it looked like the current Gaius Sextus was the last of his line for good. This is only lightly hinted at in the books (most notably, the Great Fury Alera noting that civilization only came over the ancient Alerans when the original Gaius Primus conquered and defeated all of his enemies), and Word of God had to later explicitly confirm this out-of-universe so as to clarify that no, First Lords aren't able to live for centuries and Gaius isn't only the sixth ruler of Alera in recorded history. | |
Codex Alera / int_c9e5a0db | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c9e5a0db | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c9e5a0db | |
Codex Alera / int_c9fe8de2 | type |
Impersonation-Exclusive Character | |
Codex Alera / int_c9fe8de2 | comment |
Impersonation-Exclusive Character: Tavi's friend Gaelle at the Academy, who turns out to have been Killed And Replaced by Rook, one of High Lord Kalarus's top spies. | |
Codex Alera / int_c9fe8de2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_c9fe8de2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_c9fe8de2 | |
Codex Alera / int_ca326e1e | type |
Chekhov's Volcano | |
Codex Alera / int_ca326e1e | comment |
Chekhov's Volcano: The climax of Captain's Fury (well, one of them) has the First Lord unleashing Kalus, the Great Fury within the volcanic Mount Kalare, destroying High Lord Kalarus, his capital city, and all of the other towns and steadholts for hundreds of square miles, killing hundreds of thousands. | |
Codex Alera / int_ca326e1e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ca326e1e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ca326e1e | |
Codex Alera / int_ca3a6dbd | type |
Informed Ability | |
Codex Alera / int_ca3a6dbd | comment |
invoked There are three main villains who want to usurp the First Lord's throne. Two are major characters, but the third, High Lord Rhodes, is not. While the reader is told told he's both very smart and incredibly ruthless, he lacks both High Lord Aquitaine Attis' personal flair and High Lord Kalarus Brencic Majoris' spectacular sadism, meaning he tends to get shoved into the background and namedropped every so often so we know he's still there. Justified In-Universe by Rhodes' machinations being intentionally thwarted and Overshadowed by Awesome because Aquitaine is his close neighbor. | |
Codex Alera / int_ca3a6dbd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ca3a6dbd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ca3a6dbd | |
Codex Alera / int_caf89e54 | type |
Taking You with Me | |
Codex Alera / int_caf89e54 | comment |
Taking You with Me: In Academ's Fury, Isana is attacked by assassins in the capital while she is being guarded by a Cursor and Sir Nedus, a Retired Badass. Nedus is personally attacked by three swordsmen, and is stabbed by the third after killing the first two. Nedus proceeds to grab the third swordsman and kill him while he himself is dying. A variant in Cursor's Fury. Araris is hit with a poison that will rot him from the inside, but can be healed. However, he has hit the Despair Eventhorizon and wants to die. So, Isana ties her life to his and tells him he can either die and take her with him, or will himself to live and continue his duty to protect her. In Captain's Fury, Gaius Sextus reveals that High Lord Kalarus has bound the fury within Mount Kalus to himself, tying it to his life. When he dies, the volcano will erupt, destroying the city of Kalare and killing everybody in the surrounding region. Gaius sets the volcano off himself, since allowing it to erupt on Kalarus's terms would have resulted in the city being filled with even more refugees and soldiers. In Princep's Fury Tavi expected this as a final result when he got his one-on-one meeting with the Vord Queen in Canea. He anticipated she would refuse his offer of peace and alliance, and planned on killing her even at the cost of his own life. Thankfully Kitai knew him well enough to predict this course of action and act accordingly. The Vord are attacking Alera Imperia and have just sprung a trap that has routed the defenders. Gaius Sextus, realizing that the Legions have been outmaneuvered, erupts a volcano beneath the city to destroy the Vord horde as it claims the city and himself. The surviving Vord are reduced to barely a tenth of their original number when the assault ended. | |
Codex Alera / int_caf89e54 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_caf89e54 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_caf89e54 | |
Codex Alera / int_cb1f5db5 | type |
Feed It a Bomb | |
Codex Alera / int_cb1f5db5 | comment |
Vordbulks, building-sized creatures with no eyes and extremely tough armor that are designed to breach shieldwalls by falling on them, seem all but invincible. Like Walker, their feet are weak points. They can also be taken out by feeding them a bomb of sufficient force. | |
Codex Alera / int_cb1f5db5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cb1f5db5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_cb1f5db5 | |
Codex Alera / int_cb71c461 | type |
Deus Exit Machina | |
Codex Alera / int_cb71c461 | comment |
Deus Exit Machina: Gaius Sextus could easily handle a lot of the problems of the first four or five books, so a pretty good fraction of the plot revolves around taking him out of the picture somehow. | |
Codex Alera / int_cb71c461 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cb71c461 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_cb71c461 | |
Codex Alera / int_cb83d23b | type |
I Just Want to Be Special | |
Codex Alera / int_cb83d23b | comment |
I Just Want to Be Special: Tavi, initially. (Although strictly speaking he just wants to be normal - every ''other'' Aleran has the power to control the elements, after all.) | |
Codex Alera / int_cb83d23b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cb83d23b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_cb83d23b | |
Codex Alera / int_cbe3d017 | type |
Damned by Faint Praise | |
Codex Alera / int_cbe3d017 | comment |
The Marat are on marginally better terms with the Alerans (that is to say, the two groups generally avoid each other with the occasional blow-up into war, rather than continuous low-level warfare as between the Alerans and Canim interrupted by brief periods of peace whenever the Canim send their Ambassadors over), and the two races at least superficially look similar, so "monster" type slurs are usually out; instead, both groups tend to just call the other "savages", with Alerans insinuating that all Marat are into bestiality and cannibalism, and Marat insinuating that all Alerans are treacherous Dirty Cowards with no morals—the slur "Dead Tribe" is mentioned to be used by Marat for Alerans, but never actually gets used on-page. | |
Codex Alera / int_cbe3d017 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cbe3d017 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_cbe3d017 | |
Codex Alera / int_cc4b45f6 | type |
Word of God | |
Codex Alera / int_cc4b45f6 | comment |
invoked While regular horses exist, a preferred secondary beast is the Gargant. The descriptions in the books are a little vague, but Word of God finally came out and said that Gargants are descendants of Megatherium, the Giant Ground Sloth. | |
Codex Alera / int_cc4b45f6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cc4b45f6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_cc4b45f6 | |
Codex Alera / int_cc7fae30 | type |
Outside-Context Problem | |
Codex Alera / int_cc7fae30 | comment |
Outside-Context Problem: invoked The Vord, which do not behave like any of the other species which inhabit the world of Carna and have been encountered only in vague legends of the Marat. Word of God has even stated that they are alien invaders. | |
Codex Alera / int_cc7fae30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cc7fae30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_cc7fae30 | |
Codex Alera / int_ccb636fe | type |
Kraken and Leviathan | |
Codex Alera / int_ccb636fe | comment |
Kraken and Leviathan: The leviathans are mammoth deep-sea creatures that regularly sink ships which attract their notice. Infants are a "mere" forty-feet long. | |
Codex Alera / int_ccb636fe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ccb636fe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ccb636fe | |
Codex Alera / int_cd23ee7d | type |
Colonel Badass | |
Codex Alera / int_cd23ee7d | comment |
Colonel Badass: There is not a rank of "colonel" in the Legions, but some captains, especially Tavi, fit this trope pretty well. | |
Codex Alera / int_cd23ee7d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cd23ee7d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_cd23ee7d | |
Codex Alera / int_cda3365c | type |
Common Law Marriage | |
Codex Alera / int_cda3365c | comment |
Common Law Marriage: Technically, legionaires on active duty are not permitted to marry. In practice, most have a woman among the Camp Followers to whom they are married in all ways but the legal. It's hinted that this is part of the purpose of the camp followers in the first place, since Alera needs its citizens to reproduce to keep numbers up. | |
Codex Alera / int_cda3365c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cda3365c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_cda3365c | |
Codex Alera / int_cec7dac0 | type |
The Magocracy | |
Codex Alera / int_cec7dac0 | comment |
The Magocracy: Though not as obvious about it as other settings using the same trope, Alera is effectively one of these. One's political power within Alera is dependent on their capacity for furycrafting, with the First Lord being generally held as the most powerful furycrafter. High Lords, just below the First Lord, are nearly as strong, and are each a virtual One-Man Army. Below these are Citizens, who possess strong furycrafting in one or more disciplines and can prove that strength in a furycrafting duel with another Citizen. Everyone else (who aren't slaves) are freemen, who have some basic furycrafting but usually not enough to stand out. | |
Codex Alera / int_cec7dac0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cec7dac0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_cec7dac0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cf331024 | type |
Camp Follower | |
Codex Alera / int_cf331024 | comment |
Camp Followers: All Legions have the standard merchant, vagabond and prostitute followers. Women have a mandatory term of service in the followers during their late-teens/early-twenties where they serve as cooks, seamstresses, etc. for the Legions. There is the implicit instruction to also serve as a dating pool for the Legions, with dialogue indicating that the real purpose young women are assigned is to make sure that legionares reproduce and have available wives; Isana says that when she had a miscarriage during her term of service, the Legion commander said she had fulfilled her duty and sent her home. The First Aleran Legion has the usual makeup of followers, but eventually Mistress Cymnea, their nominal leader, is added to the staff of the Legion as Tribune Logistica after all but two officers of the Legion are killed in an attempt to decapitate it. The Alerans have camp followers to thank for their civilization, descended as they are from the lost IX Roman Legion. Had the soldiers been alone, they would have died out, but enough female camp followers and Germanic local people came along to establish a viable breeding population, which eventually grew into the vast Aleran empire. | |
Codex Alera / int_cf331024 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_cf331024 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_cf331024 | |
Codex Alera / int_d001c42c | type |
Anti-Villain | |
Codex Alera / int_d001c42c | comment |
Anti-Villain: High Lord Aquitaine feels that Gaius Sextus is going to lead the country into a bloody civil war with his political machinations and refusal to name an heir, which is why he is planning to overthrow him and seize the throne for himself. | |
Codex Alera / int_d001c42c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d001c42c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d001c42c | |
Codex Alera / int_d0a09849 | type |
Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence | |
Codex Alera / int_d0a09849 | comment |
Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: Basically the root of the war between the Alerans and the Icemen. The Alerans won't retreat because they're sure the Icemen will take advantage of their leaving their lands unguarded, and the Icemen won't back down because they feel that they'll be invaded if they don't drive the Alerans far enough back from the Shieldwall. The reason this happens is because the interaction between the Icemen's natural water-based empathic magic and Aleran cold-resisting firecrafting encourages feelings of agression, anxiety, and anger, poisoning all relationships until Isana (a non-firecrafter) came along and figured out what was going on. | |
Codex Alera / int_d0a09849 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d0a09849 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d0a09849 | |
Codex Alera / int_d0cd306e | type |
Sheep in Wolf's Clothing | |
Codex Alera / int_d0cd306e | comment |
Sheep in Wolf's Clothing: What it takes to fool the Vord. | |
Codex Alera / int_d0cd306e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d0cd306e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d0cd306e | |
Codex Alera / int_d129e13e | type |
"Eureka!" Moment | |
Codex Alera / int_d129e13e | comment |
"Eureka!" Moment: After Furies of Calderon, every novel contains a scene where a character realizes that Tavi is Gaius Octavian, son of Princeps Septimus when they receive some final bit of information and put it together with what they already knew. In Academ's Fury, Captain Miles realizes it when they are fighting the taken Cane and Fade reveals that he is Araris Valerian. Learning that Fade had lived incognito with Tavi ever since First Calderon tells him that Tavi would be Septimus' son. In Cursor's Fury, Fidelias, in his guise as Valiar Marcus, realizes it when 'Rufus Scipio' gives an insightful, logical, and impassioned argument for his plan to defeat the Canim. He recognizes the personality and skills of Septimus. | |
Codex Alera / int_d129e13e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d129e13e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d129e13e | |
Codex Alera / int_d234749e | type |
Sky Cell | |
Codex Alera / int_d234749e | comment |
Sky Cell: Lararl, the leader of the Shuaran Canim, imprisons a contingent of Alerans on top of a building. As the group contains a couple of windcrafters, this does not especially inconvenience them. (Lararl dismisses claims of Aleran sorcery, believing it to be incapable of doing anything Canim Blood Magic can do; as Canim ritualists cannot fly, he feels such a prison is sufficient.) | |
Codex Alera / int_d234749e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d234749e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d234749e | |
Codex Alera / int_d29a6629 | type |
Death by Childbirth | |
Codex Alera / int_d29a6629 | comment |
Death by Childbirth: Tavi is brought up believing that his mother was Isana's sister and that she died giving birth to him. While Isana's sister did die when Tavi was born, it was not in childbirth, as she was not his mother; Isana was. Her sister died from blood loss from an arrow wound she took when they were attacked shortly before Tavi's birth, which was not properly treated since she was focused on helping Isana deliver Tavi, making her death an example of the trope by proxy. | |
Codex Alera / int_d29a6629 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d29a6629 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d29a6629 | |
Codex Alera / int_d39a5164 | type |
Failure-to-Save Murder | |
Codex Alera / int_d39a5164 | comment |
Failure-to-Save Murder: The source of many characters' resentment towards Gaius Sextus, whose son, Gaius Septimus, was killed by the Marat approximately fifteen years before the start of the series. | |
Codex Alera / int_d39a5164 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d39a5164 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d39a5164 | |
Codex Alera / int_d39e327f | type |
What the Hell, Hero? | |
Codex Alera / int_d39e327f | comment |
What the Hell, Hero?: The First Lord's decision to contain the threat of Kalarus unleashing Kalus by setting off the volcano and killing the majority of Kalare's population did not go over well with Amara. Tavi is not pleased when he learns that a) Isana's been lying to him all his life about being his aunt when she's actually his mother, and b) she's the reason he didn't come into his furies until well into adulthood, causing him a load of pain and heartbreak. Crassus is furious when he learns that Tavi knew his mother, High Lady Dorotea, was alive, but kept it a secret from him. Even during the epilogue there's still a lot of bad blood between them, and Crassus refuses to attend Tavi and Kitai's wedding. | |
Codex Alera / int_d39e327f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d39e327f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d39e327f | |
Codex Alera / int_d44ea142 | type |
You Are Not Alone | |
Codex Alera / int_d44ea142 | comment |
You Are Not Alone: Tavi's reassurance to Kitai in Academ’s Fury when he figures out that he has been bound to her as her chala, her totem and Bond Creature. Marat tribes are based on having the same totem, and since no other Marat has an Aleran as a chala, Kitai has no tribe and she feels utterly miserable and alone as consequence. She takes this to heart, as when Isana later tries to comfort her for being alone in Captain’s Fury, a smiling Kitai retorts that she is not. | |
Codex Alera / int_d44ea142 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d44ea142 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d44ea142 | |
Codex Alera / int_d45c0b86 | type |
Refuge in Audacity | |
Codex Alera / int_d45c0b86 | comment |
Refuge in Audacity: In Academ's Fury: When Tavi meets Varg for the first time, the Canim ambassador is demanding to see Gaius, who cannot see anyone at the moment due to currently being in a coma. How does the Aleran with no furycrafting stop a 9-foot tall Wolf Man? He gets Varg to lean in close and pulls a knife on the Cane, threatening a Mutual Kill if Varg doesn't back off and go away. Varg is impressed. Tavi needs to get Kitai to the citadel to help protect Gaius from some Taken Canim. When the second set of guards see Kitai, Tavi stops them from killing her by claiming she is the Ambassador of the Marat. It works and they get in. In general, this is one of Tavi's most common techniques. Other highlights include crossing an entire continent in a couple of days, breaking into the setting's most impregnable prison twice, and allying with centuries-old enemies of Alera. Twice. | |
Codex Alera / int_d45c0b86 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d45c0b86 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d45c0b86 | |
Codex Alera / int_d54b9eb3 | type |
Inter-Service Rivalry | |
Codex Alera / int_d54b9eb3 | comment |
Interservice Rivalry: As part of their Fantastic Caste System, the Canim force that comes to Alera is severely hamstrung in operations because it is composed of members of all three castes. The Ritualists are in command and need to gain victory in order to keep command, but if the Warrior caste is seen as being responsible for the victory then they might lose dominance anyway. As such, both the Rituatlists and the Warriors are sabotaging the battle in order to make sure that they only achieve victory at a moment that gives their particular caste the glory. The Makers, unfortunately, are caught in the middle of this and suffer the vast majority of the casualties as the other two castes jockey for position. | |
Codex Alera / int_d54b9eb3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d54b9eb3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d54b9eb3 | |
Codex Alera / int_d5b3df2d | type |
Dark Action Girl | |
Codex Alera / int_d5b3df2d | comment |
Invidia is something of a hybrid of this and Dark Action Girl. Amoral and carefully calculating, she is a powerhouse on the battlefield and able to firecraft so precisely in a confined space that she utterly destroys an enemy without hurting anyone else. It's implied that she's one of the most powerful furycrafters in the series (second only to Gaius Sextus and Tavi when he's fully powered). | |
Codex Alera / int_d5b3df2d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d5b3df2d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d5b3df2d | |
Codex Alera / int_d7fc9fd0 | type |
Vitriolic Best Buds | |
Codex Alera / int_d7fc9fd0 | comment |
Vitriolic Best Buds: High Lords Phrygius and Antillus, who command the two cities of the Shieldwall and stand together against the Icemen of the north. They also bicker Like an Old Married Couple. | |
Codex Alera / int_d7fc9fd0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d7fc9fd0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d7fc9fd0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d87ba943 | type |
Combat Sadomasochist | |
Codex Alera / int_d87ba943 | comment |
Combat Sadomasochist: Kalarus' Immortals have been conditioned since childhood through discipline collars to enjoy pain, to the point that one of them seems to be happy when he is forced to chop off his own leg. | |
Codex Alera / int_d87ba943 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d87ba943 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d87ba943 | |
Codex Alera / int_d8afec40 | type |
…But He Sounds Handsome | |
Codex Alera / int_d8afec40 | comment |
…But He Sounds Handsome: Inverted. In Cursor's Fury, Max and Tavi briefly discuss the reported assault on a slaver and the freeing of all his slaves, congratulating and praising the mysterious man who did it. They are each very surprised to learn that it wasn't the other one who did it. | |
Codex Alera / int_d8afec40 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d8afec40 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d8afec40 | |
Codex Alera / int_d99d9918 | type |
The Captain | |
Codex Alera / int_d99d9918 | comment |
The Captain: While Legions are commanded by a Captain, their role tends to be more along the line of Colonel Badass. Demos is a somewhat more usual example, since he is in command of a ship with a Badass Crew. | |
Codex Alera / int_d99d9918 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d99d9918 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d99d9918 | |
Codex Alera / int_d9f9a94e | type |
Lost Roman Legion | |
Codex Alera / int_d9f9a94e | comment |
Lost Roman Legion: The Alerans are descended from a people that their histories refer to as "Romans," who claimed to have come from 'Mother Rome,' and who originally appeared on Carna in numbers equal to a single Legion and its camp followers. Word of God is that they were the IX Roman Legion, and were transported to Carna by a wormhole. Notably, it was so long ago that the ruins of this civilization are called "Romanic", and there's a serious debate on whether or not Aleran ancestors had inherent furycraft (they did not). | |
Codex Alera / int_d9f9a94e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_d9f9a94e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_d9f9a94e | |
Codex Alera / int_dae5c997 | type |
Action Girl | |
Codex Alera / int_dae5c997 | comment |
Kitai is technically the Marat Ambassador, due to some quick thinking (and quicker lying) on Tavi's part. She is a powerful Action Girl who won't stay away from a fight (unless she loses a coin toss). | |
Codex Alera / int_dae5c997 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_dae5c997 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_dae5c997 | |
Codex Alera / int_db39ccfd | type |
Battle Couple | |
Codex Alera / int_db39ccfd | comment |
Battle Couple: Bernard and Amara, Tavi and Kitai. In First Lord's Fury Lord and Lady Placida and Isana and Araris get in on some action. | |
Codex Alera / int_db39ccfd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_db39ccfd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_db39ccfd | |
Codex Alera / int_db6230b7 | type |
Lightning Bruiser | |
Codex Alera / int_db6230b7 | comment |
Lightning Bruiser: The Vord. They are fast, come in huge numbers, are almost impossible to kill, and if directed by a Queen, are terrifyingly smart. The Vord Queen also qualifies, seeing as balest bolts bounce off her skin, she can craft better than any Aleran, is faster than any windcrafter and stronger than the Canim. It takes the efforts of Tavi, Kitai, and two Great Furies to put her out of commission. | |
Codex Alera / int_db6230b7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_db6230b7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_db6230b7 | |
Codex Alera / int_db911ee | type |
Field Promotion | |
Codex Alera / int_db911ee | comment |
Field Promotion: Mistress Cymnea, de facto leader of the camp followers and the pleasure spot for soldiers, and Subtribune Foss become Tribune Logistica and Tribune Medica, respectively, when the majority of the First Aleran staff is killed by a lightning strike. | |
Codex Alera / int_db911ee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_db911ee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_db911ee | |
Codex Alera / int_db9940c4 | type |
Famed In-Story | |
Codex Alera / int_db9940c4 | comment |
Famed In-Story: Aldrick ex Gladius often serves as The Dragon for whichever character is currently in control, and not as a clear antagonist on his own, but he is legendary throughout Alera for his skill with a sword. His duel with Araris Valerian, also legendary because of his skill, is still being talked about fifteen years later. To hear Araris tell it: Sir Miles ends up with a bit of this after fighting to stop an attempt on the First Lord's life in Academ's Fury. Though Araris did most of the fighting after a point, Miles takes the credit to preserve his cover, and gripes a chapter or two later that some fool bard has already composed a ballad about his "heroic stand". A minor example in Captain's Fury. Tavi, undercover as "Rufus Scipio" in the First Aleran Legion, has amassed a reputation as a brilliant commander and strategist. Several characters who are not privy to the secret identity or all the facts of the situation talk about meeting the wunderkind that everybody is talking about, with varying opinions on whether or not he could possibly measure up to the superman that rumors depict. | |
Codex Alera / int_db9940c4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_db9940c4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_db9940c4 | |
Codex Alera / int_dc579c91 | type |
Contrived Coincidence | |
Codex Alera / int_dc579c91 | comment |
Contrived Coincidence: In Captain's Fury, Gaius Sextus happens to set off the Kalare volcano at exactly the right time for the sudden light and earthquake to lend that special something to the climax of Tavi's speech hundreds of miles away. | |
Codex Alera / int_dc579c91 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_dc579c91 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_dc579c91 | |
Codex Alera / int_dc9b1fe9 | type |
Cue the Sun | |
Codex Alera / int_dc9b1fe9 | comment |
Cue the Sun: The main Marat horde holds off attacking Garrison until the sun rises, timing their first charge to right when the sun comes over the horizon. Apart from the religious symbolism the Marat ascribe to the sun, it will also be shining right in the eyes of the Garrison defenders and hamper their ability to see. Invoked in Cursor's Fury. Tavi commands his windcrafters to part the clouds and reveal the sun at high noon in order to focus the sun's rays into a Death Ray which roasts the Canim. | |
Codex Alera / int_dc9b1fe9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_dc9b1fe9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_dc9b1fe9 | |
Codex Alera / int_dca70c44 | type |
Reasonable Authority Figure | |
Codex Alera / int_dca70c44 | comment |
Reasonable Authority Figure: Bernard, Giraldi, High Lord and Lady Placida, High Lord Ceres, Tavi, Varg, Nasaug, and Gaius Sextus. | |
Codex Alera / int_dca70c44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_dca70c44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_dca70c44 | |
Codex Alera / int_dcbddebe | type |
Pregnant Badass | |
Codex Alera / int_dcbddebe | comment |
Pregnant Badass: Kitai throughout all of the last book. | |
Codex Alera / int_dcbddebe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_dcbddebe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_dcbddebe | |
Codex Alera / int_dd95a27b | type |
I Never Told You My Name | |
Codex Alera / int_dd95a27b | comment |
I Never Told You My Name: Beritte, who fancies herself as something of a seductress, accidentally gives away that she was eavesdropping when she refers to Fidelias as a gem merchant, which was the cover story he had just relayed to Bernard. | |
Codex Alera / int_dd95a27b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_dd95a27b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_dd95a27b | |
Codex Alera / int_ddfb4e53 | type |
A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read | |
Codex Alera / int_ddfb4e53 | comment |
In Cursor's Fury, Odiana actually implies that she wants to have a discipline collar put on her by Aldrick, but only Aldrick. This is played for tragedy, not humor; in the first book she reveals that she used to be a slave, used for sex, and her watercrafting abilities let her feel the emotions of her attackers, which is what broke her. Notably, Aldrick will not do it, possibly because, in the final book, we learn that he was one of the men who saved her from said slaver. | |
Codex Alera / int_ddfb4e53 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ddfb4e53 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ddfb4e53 | |
Codex Alera / int_de085a36 | type |
Green-Skinned Space Babe | |
Codex Alera / int_de085a36 | comment |
Defied with the Vord Queens; objectively speaking, they're Green Skinned Space Babes who only wear elegant robes (at most) in lieu of clothing, so they seem like they should fall into this. However, as they all operate on Blue-and-Orange Morality and are the leaders of an omnicidal Hive Mind of all-devouring Insectoid Aliens, any potential attractiveness is lost and replaced solely with completely rational terror. | |
Codex Alera / int_de085a36 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_de085a36 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_de085a36 | |
Codex Alera / int_de89c0a1 | type |
Dating What Daddy Hates | |
Codex Alera / int_de89c0a1 | comment |
Dating What Daddy Hates: While Gaius and Septimus never got along very well, the First Lord was even less pleased with Septimus's choice of a commoner for a wife, rather than the politically safe and acceptable arranged marriage to a woman who was both a ranking Citizen and a strong furycrafter. | |
Codex Alera / int_de89c0a1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_de89c0a1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_de89c0a1 | |
Codex Alera / int_de9047ac | type |
Gambit Pileup | |
Codex Alera / int_de9047ac | comment |
Gambit Pileup: Just look at how many Chessmasters and wannabes there are on the character sheet. Who is on whose side repeatedly changes from book to book and from moment to moment. | |
Codex Alera / int_de9047ac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_de9047ac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_de9047ac | |
Codex Alera / int_df77bb33 | type |
Ambadassador | |
Codex Alera / int_df77bb33 | comment |
Ambadassador The Canim Ambassador Varg holds the rank of Warmaster amongst his range (read: nation) and killed a Vord-controlled Cane (with superior strength and resistance to pain) singlehandedly and unarmed. Kitai is technically the Marat Ambassador, due to some quick thinking (and quicker lying) on Tavi's part. She is a powerful Action Girl who won't stay away from a fight (unless she loses a coin toss). | |
Codex Alera / int_df77bb33 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_df77bb33 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_df77bb33 | |
Codex Alera / int_df858e81 | type |
Shoot the Medic First | |
Codex Alera / int_df858e81 | comment |
Shoot the Medic First: A favored tactic among the Vord is to go after the watercrafters first, since they can heal. | |
Codex Alera / int_df858e81 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_df858e81 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_df858e81 | |
Codex Alera / int_dfa40c1b | type |
Didn't See That Coming | |
Codex Alera / int_dfa40c1b | comment |
Didn't See That Coming: Lady Invidia failed to consider Fidelias' words from Academ's Fury about his loyalty to the realm and thus didn't fully anticipate his betrayal that nearly killed her. Gaius Sextus mentions he didn't give the crows circling overhead much thought in Princep's Fury and so never considered they could be Taken by the Vord and filled with the taker-worms to infect more people with them. The Vord Queen gets hit with a few in the final book. Her ignorance, and Invidia's ignorance of Garados' dislike for trespassers makes them assume the opening for flanking the Aleran defenses is as simple as walking on the mountain. Cue rock slide against her forces going that route. She knows Alerans can use furycrafting to make horses run faster and further on furycrafted roads. She never considered Tavi would substitute horses for Canim carrying Alerans to allow both forces to reach her so quickly. | |
Codex Alera / int_dfa40c1b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_dfa40c1b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_dfa40c1b | |
Codex Alera / int_dfe120e5 | type |
Functional Magic | |
Codex Alera / int_dfe120e5 | comment |
Functional Magic: Several systems. The Alerans, the Vord Queen, and the Icemen to a degree use a combination of Inherent Gift and Theurgy (the elemental furies do all the heavy lifting, but Alerans have the inborn power to summon and control them), while the Canim Ritualists use a sort of blood-based Rule Magic. The Marat also have the ability to bond with various creatures, but that is more of a single inherent power than a complete system. | |
Codex Alera / int_dfe120e5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_dfe120e5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_dfe120e5 | |
Codex Alera / int_dffaeda7 | type |
Emotion Control | |
Codex Alera / int_dffaeda7 | comment |
Emotion Control: Earthcrafting and firecrafting allow the crafters to manipulate creatures around them. Earthcrafting can inspire feelings of calmness or excitement, including lust. It is used to either seduce someone, like ladies in a brothel will use on soldiers, or calm wild animals to tame them. It can also be used when one is not in direct line-of-sight to the target. Firecrafting can be used to inspire fear or courage/passion, even to the point of death if the crafting is strong enough. Firecrafting seems to require line-of-sight to be effective. | |
Codex Alera / int_dffaeda7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_dffaeda7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_dffaeda7 | |
Codex Alera / int_e0040f41 | type |
Start of Darkness | |
Codex Alera / int_e0040f41 | comment |
Start of Darkness: The fifth book reveals that, contrary to what most people assumed, Aquitaine was not one of those who killed Princeps Septimus: quite the opposite, he was one of Septimus' closest friends and turned against the First Lord who had been unable to protect his own son, becoming just as cruel and ruthless as those he sought revenge against. | |
Codex Alera / int_e0040f41 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e0040f41 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e0040f41 | |
Codex Alera / int_e0113647 | type |
Decon-Recon Switch | |
Codex Alera / int_e0113647 | comment |
Decon-Recon Switch: In a sense, the entire series is one for how modern Western society glorifies the Roman Empire. The deconstruction starts out in how the series uses Deliberate Values Dissonance to show a lot of the uncomfortable flaws the Romans had that are often glossed over in the present (i.e., slavery, misogyny, Decadent Court politicking, and downright genocidal attitudes towards their neighbors), but as the series goes on, the actual positives of the Romans are increasingly shown and celebrated through the actions of the protagonists (i.e., honor, martial skill, scientific brilliance, and expertise in Realpolitik), in effect serving as a reconstruction. | |
Codex Alera / int_e0113647 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e0113647 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e0113647 | |
Codex Alera / int_e0207930 | type |
Humans Are Special | |
Codex Alera / int_e0207930 | comment |
Humans Are Special: While each sentient species on Carna has its own magic, humans are the only one where every single member of the species has access to it. The only possible exception is the icemen, who are revealed to use only watercrafting, albeit to a deeper and more nuanced degree than humans. As a result of the way she pupated, the Aleran Vord Queen has a deep fascination with humans. She views all other Carnan life as food. | |
Codex Alera / int_e0207930 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e0207930 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e0207930 | |
Codex Alera / int_e061d153 | type |
Sergeant Rock | |
Codex Alera / int_e061d153 | comment |
Sergeant Rock: The Centurions. Centurion Giraldi was stationed at Garrison since before the the first novel; he remains there for several years and serves as Bernard's primary subordinate for numerous battles. He was offered a promotion to officer after Second Calderon, but turned it down; as he explained, he had spent so much of his life making fun of the officers of the Legion that he could not very well join them now. Valiar Marcus, First Spear (Senior Centurion) of the First Aleran Legion. One of the few men living to be "promoted" to the House of the Valiant (Valiar) for his service to Alera. It turns out he is one of Fidelias' alternate identities. Schultz grows into this, becoming one of the senior Centurions of the First Aleran Legion | |
Codex Alera / int_e061d153 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e061d153 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e061d153 | |
Codex Alera / int_e099f0de | type |
I Will Only Slow You Down | |
Codex Alera / int_e099f0de | comment |
I Will Only Slow You Down: When Ivarus and Kestus are fleeing the Vord, Ivarus' horse is killed and he tells Kestus to continue without him to warn Alera. Kestus instead turns around to carry Ivarus on his own horse, and is killed by the Vord. | |
Codex Alera / int_e099f0de | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e099f0de | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e099f0de | |
Codex Alera / int_e0c00a95 | type |
Absurdly Sharp Blade | |
Codex Alera / int_e0c00a95 | comment |
Absurdly Sharp Blade: Metalcrafters can sharpen and harden the swords they are using, to the point where they can easily slice through stonework, armor, and other swords. | |
Codex Alera / int_e0c00a95 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e0c00a95 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e0c00a95 | |
Codex Alera / int_e11b003d | type |
Translation Convention | |
Codex Alera / int_e11b003d | comment |
Translation Convention: Apparently the Alerans are actually speaking English, not a Latinate language being translated for reader ease. In Furies of Calderon and Academ's Fury, Tavi explains lying (deceiving) to Doroga and Kitai, respectively, and both are initially confused because they thought "lying" meant reclining (As in "to lie down"). That does not work in Latin, German, Proto-Germanic, or even Old English; the words are only homonyms in English. | |
Codex Alera / int_e11b003d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e11b003d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e11b003d | |
Codex Alera / int_e13156e1 | type |
Mama Bear | |
Codex Alera / int_e13156e1 | comment |
Mama Bear: Do not make Isana angry by threatening her loved ones. She floods an entire river in the first book when Odiana tries to drown Tavi, and casually punts a Threatening Shark out of the sea with the equivalent of an Offhand Backhand in the fourth book. | |
Codex Alera / int_e13156e1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e13156e1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e13156e1 | |
Codex Alera / int_e154ff08 | type |
Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique | |
Codex Alera / int_e154ff08 | comment |
In Cursor's Fury, Invidia suggests that Amara use forceful methods to get information out of Rook. Amara instead determines Rook's driving motivation for being loyal to Kalare (her daughter) and promises to rescue her daughter because it is the right thing to do. When Rook breaks down crying and agrees to help, Invidia is described as looking on the scene with a confused expression like someone watching a "silent play performed by lunatics". | |
Codex Alera / int_e154ff08 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e154ff08 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e154ff08 | |
Codex Alera / int_e174e266 | type |
Nature vs. Technology | |
Codex Alera / int_e174e266 | comment |
Nature vs. Technology: Plant/Wood and Metal are treated as opposing elements. | |
Codex Alera / int_e174e266 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e174e266 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e174e266 | |
Codex Alera / int_e1ecdac3 | type |
Our Gods Are Different | |
Codex Alera / int_e1ecdac3 | comment |
Our Gods Are Different: The Great Furies are effectively the gods of Carna through their immense physical and elemental power over the natural world. Notably, the Alerans don't actually worship them, most likely because the Great Furies are (predominantly) too mindless to even notice. | |
Codex Alera / int_e1ecdac3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e1ecdac3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e1ecdac3 | |
Codex Alera / int_e22dae0a | type |
Pretext for War | |
Codex Alera / int_e22dae0a | comment |
Pretext for War: The plot of the first novel revolves around High Lord Aquitaine spurring the Marat to invade the Calderon Valley, planning to use the subsequent chaos and war to position himself as First Lord of Alera. | |
Codex Alera / int_e22dae0a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e22dae0a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e22dae0a | |
Codex Alera / int_e2a73e74 | type |
Quip to Black | |
Codex Alera / int_e2a73e74 | comment |
Quip to Black: Tavi pulls a mild one in Captain's Fury after surviving an assassination attempt at the end of a chapter. The text even includes a perfect moment for a Glasses Pull: | |
Codex Alera / int_e2a73e74 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e2a73e74 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e2a73e74 | |
Codex Alera / int_e2de05e8 | type |
Throw the Book at Them | |
Codex Alera / int_e2de05e8 | comment |
Throw the Book at Them: In the first book, Garrison's resident Obstructive Bureaucrat uses his accounts ledger as a bludgeon to fight off a herdbane and protect a group of children. In the last book, Varg knocks down Khral, an attacking ritualist, with what is strongly implied to be a copy of the Commentaries on the Gallic War by Julius Caesar. | |
Codex Alera / int_e2de05e8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e2de05e8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e2de05e8 | |
Codex Alera / int_e3ada02f | type |
Gender Equals Breed | |
Codex Alera / int_e3ada02f | comment |
Gender Equals Breed: Of a sort. Though background Marat characters are of both genders, all named characters of any tribe are the same gender. Thus, all named members of the Gargant, Wolf, and Herdbane Tribes are male, and all named members of the Horse Tribe are female. | |
Codex Alera / int_e3ada02f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e3ada02f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e3ada02f | |
Codex Alera / int_e4bb68b8 | type |
The Charmer | |
Codex Alera / int_e4bb68b8 | comment |
The Charmer: Antillar "Max" Maximus. The reason he is so outgoing is because he does not think he will live past 30, since his Wicked Stepmother sees him as an impediment to his half-brother's political success and has been arranging "accidents" since he was 14. | |
Codex Alera / int_e4bb68b8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e4bb68b8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e4bb68b8 | |
Codex Alera / int_e4cf1ef0 | type |
Load-Bearing Boss | |
Codex Alera / int_e4cf1ef0 | comment |
Load-Bearing Boss: Kalarus, the failed Chessmaster, took out an insurance policy against his demise: he enrages, then binds the elemental of a sleeping volcano. He dies, the volcano blows its top. At least, that was the plan. The First Lord made the hard choice and detonated it prematurely. It wiped out the city below, but if he had let it be until the end of the civil war, the city would have been filled with refugees and the soldiers of his own armies, which would have doubled (or more) the number of casualties. | |
Codex Alera / int_e4cf1ef0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e4cf1ef0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e4cf1ef0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e50987a9 | type |
Reconstruction | |
Codex Alera / int_e50987a9 | comment |
Reconstruction: invoked According to Word of God, part of the reason for the Vord being a rather obvious Captain Ersatz of the Zerg (of Starcraft fame) is that he wanted them to be a reconstruction of the concept of a Horde of Alien Locusts; through changing the focus to be more personal and "ground-level" (rather than the higher-up position the Player Character of a Real-Time Strategy game would occupy), the Codex Alera series effectively reminds the audience how legitimately terrifying the Zerg or any similar race would be to fight through their sheer overwhelming force, bafflingly alien nature, and heartless slaughter of innocent civilians. | |
Codex Alera / int_e50987a9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e50987a9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e50987a9 | |
Codex Alera / int_e5421161 | type |
Expy | |
Codex Alera / int_e5421161 | comment |
Expy: The Vord share several important traits (insect-like biology, hive mind, ability to infest living humans, reliance on a substance they smear across the ground in their nests) with the Zerg. They also have much in common with The Borg. | |
Codex Alera / int_e5421161 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e5421161 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e5421161 | |
Codex Alera / int_e567510d | type |
Determinator | |
Codex Alera / int_e567510d | comment |
Determinator: Amara takes note of one enemy soldier who had the courage and will to withstand a fearcrafting made by Gaius himself that sent thousands of the man's comrades fleeing in terror or dropping from panic, before the man is promptly killed by Gaius. | |
Codex Alera / int_e567510d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e567510d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e567510d | |
Codex Alera / int_e57965c6 | type |
Covered in Mud | |
Codex Alera / int_e57965c6 | comment |
Covered in Mud: In Furies of Calderon, Tavi gets caught in a furystorm and is being hunted by windmanes. He covers himself with mud so the windmanes can't sense him. | |
Codex Alera / int_e57965c6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e57965c6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e57965c6 | |
Codex Alera / int_e596f27b | type |
Star-Crossed Lovers | |
Codex Alera / int_e596f27b | comment |
Star-Crossed Lovers: Towards the end of Furies of Calderon, after most of the story has established that Heddy had been raped by Bittan, it is revealed that Heddy had actually been having consensual sex with Aric, Bittan's brother. Aric's father, Kord, was an abusive, violent, lecherous bully, and Heddy's father, Warner, knew all too well what Kord was like, so both partners had to keep their relationship secret from their families. Aric and Heddy are married by Academ's Fury... only for Aric to be Taken by the Vord. | |
Codex Alera / int_e596f27b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e596f27b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e596f27b | |
Codex Alera / int_e5e4538a | type |
One Curse Limit | |
Codex Alera / int_e5e4538a | comment |
One Curse Limit: Only one discipline collar can be fitted to a person at a time; the furycrafting involved does not take if a second one is added later. Amara uses this to her advantage. | |
Codex Alera / int_e5e4538a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e5e4538a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e5e4538a | |
Codex Alera / int_e5fd8bc2 | type |
Hate Sink | |
Codex Alera / int_e5fd8bc2 | comment |
High Lord Kalarus is basically Kord from the first novel (being an abhorrent and misogynistic Hate Sink hedonist who practices slavery and isn't nearly as clever as he thinks he is), albeit elevated to a recurring antagonist and major player in Aleran politics. | |
Codex Alera / int_e5fd8bc2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e5fd8bc2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e5fd8bc2 | |
Codex Alera / int_e61d9a3c | type |
Clothing Damage | |
Codex Alera / int_e61d9a3c | comment |
Clothing Damage: Sometimes, when Bernard and Amara are separated for great lengths of time, their passions are so great when they reunite that they do not have the patience to undo the knots and ties on Amara's complicated flying leathers. In these instances, Bernard usually just cuts the clothing off her. Amara's only problem with this is the difficulty it makes for her to get clothing again once they are done. | |
Codex Alera / int_e61d9a3c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e61d9a3c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e61d9a3c | |
Codex Alera / int_e628546f | type |
Minored in Ass-Kicking | |
Codex Alera / int_e628546f | comment |
Minored in Ass-Kicking: Magnus. Archeologist-professor-butler by day, spymaster by night, and retired legionare. | |
Codex Alera / int_e628546f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e628546f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e628546f | |
Codex Alera / int_e69efe7f | type |
Lysistrata Gambit | |
Codex Alera / int_e69efe7f | comment |
Lysistrata Gambit: Upon learning just what the Aleran view of her relationship with Tavi is, Kitai is not pleased. | |
Codex Alera / int_e69efe7f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e69efe7f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e69efe7f | |
Codex Alera / int_e6a901a3 | type |
Meaningful Rename | |
Codex Alera / int_e6a901a3 | comment |
Meaningful Rename: When Araris Valerian wanted to disappear into obscurity, he chose the name Fade. Marcus earned the name Valiar for his valor in going alone into enemy Icemen territory to rescue kidnapped children. Isana gives Invidia the new name of "Nihilus Invidia" for the woman's treachery. Varg dubs Tavi "Tavar," pointing out that it's close enough to his own name and also appropriate. A tavar is a highly intelligent predator native to Canea, stupidly brave, incredibly dangerous, and relatively small. Varg says that despite its small size he has never heard of a Cane taking one down without receiving extreme injuries of its own, and the Canim have a saying that only a fool messes with a tavar. Even the Vord tread lightly around them. | |
Codex Alera / int_e6a901a3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e6a901a3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e6a901a3 | |
Codex Alera / int_e83f211c | type |
O.O.C. Is Serious Business | |
Codex Alera / int_e83f211c | comment |
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In her first POV chapters, Amara finds herself and Fidelias captured by Aldrick and Odiana. Fidelias gives her a cynical and defeated line before being carried off to "be killed." Through her grief, Amara reviews the facts and realizes while the mission was hers to plan, Fidelias should have noticed the trap and given her some warning, should have given her different words before being carried off. The fact he fails to do so clues her in on his having betrayed the Crown and that he is actually working with these mercenaries. | |
Codex Alera / int_e83f211c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e83f211c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e83f211c | |
Codex Alera / int_e8804a1d | type |
Bishōnen Line | |
Codex Alera / int_e8804a1d | comment |
Bishōnen Line: Or, more specifically, Bishojo Line. The Vord Queen goes through several forms as she matures; the first few are clearly monstrous and insectile, but her ultimate form looks almost exactly like a cross between Isana's sister and Kitai. In other words, like the daughter of Kitai and Tavi. This makes sense, as the Vord Queen absorbed both Tavi and Kitai's blood when they were in the Wax Forest in the first book. | |
Codex Alera / int_e8804a1d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e8804a1d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e8804a1d | |
Codex Alera / int_e8e56799 | type |
Blue-and-Orange Morality | |
Codex Alera / int_e8e56799 | comment |
Blue-and-Orange Morality: In the first book, Fidelias repeatedly points out to Aldrick that the Marat have a different way of thinking than Alerans. Things that make no sense to Alerans are perfectly logical to the Marat, and they cannot be expected to react to stimuli the same way an Aleran would. Tavi explains to other Alerans throughout the latter four novels that the Canim are reasoning, intelligent beings who have plans and goals, that they are not mindless brutes or insane, but also that their manner of thinking is different. Several of the conflicts with the Canim come from Alerans interpreting their actions from an Aleran mindset and refusing to allow for an alternate goal, and/or the Canim doing likewise. | |
Codex Alera / int_e8e56799 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_e8e56799 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_e8e56799 | |
Codex Alera / int_eb81c601 | type |
Big Damn Heroes | |
Codex Alera / int_eb81c601 | comment |
Big Damn Heroes: In Furies of Calderon when hope against the Marat horde is fading and defeat seems likely, Tavi arrives supported by two other Marat clans to help fight the first attackers and protect his home. Later, when Aldrick has struck down Bernard, Amara, and Tavi in turn, and is getting ready to kill Tavi and take back the MacGuffin, Fade finally drops his Obfuscating Stupidity pretense and reveals himself as Araris Valerian, facing and defeating Aldrick in a metalcrafting duel. In Cursor's Fury, Tavi, Max, and two hundred Legion cavalry save a refugee column from a horde of Canim raiders coming from the other direction. Later in the same novel, Max and Crassus save Tavi's ass by sending two water lions against the Canim ritualists trying to kill him. In First Lord's Fury Tavi arrives with two full legions and two armies of Canim Warriors on the vord's aft, drawing attention and placing themselves in a key position to finally kill the Queen. | |
Codex Alera / int_eb81c601 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_eb81c601 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_eb81c601 | |
Codex Alera / int_eb8856 | type |
The X of Y | |
Codex Alera / int_eb8856 | comment |
The X of Y: The first book, Furies of Calderon, referring to the Elemental Embodiments that permeate the world of Alera, and the central location of that book, Calderon. | |
Codex Alera / int_eb8856 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_eb8856 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_eb8856 | |
Codex Alera / int_eb8ec7c8 | type |
Jerkass | |
Codex Alera / int_eb8ec7c8 | comment |
The Aleran Senator Valerius from the sixth novel resembles Arnos in more than one way, primarily in being a moronic and egotistical Jerkass with horrendously Skewed Priorities. | |
Codex Alera / int_eb8ec7c8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_eb8ec7c8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_eb8ec7c8 | |
Codex Alera / int_ebab0a5b | type |
Best Her to Bed Her | |
Codex Alera / int_ebab0a5b | comment |
Best Her to Bed Her: The Marat, as a culture, have this in terms of their courting rituals. The man must win over the woman he wants in some competition of her choosing. So, if a male of the Wolf tribe seeks to court a lady of the Horse tribe who isn't interested in him, she can challenge him to a horse race, knowing full well she has the clear advantage and will likely win. In the end, Kitai challenges Tavi to slay the Vord Queen before she does. | |
Codex Alera / int_ebab0a5b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ebab0a5b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ebab0a5b | |
Codex Alera / int_ec255e86 | type |
Slouch of Villainy | |
Codex Alera / int_ec255e86 | comment |
Slouch of Villainy: High Lord Aquitaine is sitting this way during his first appearance in the series, during Furies of Calderon. | |
Codex Alera / int_ec255e86 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ec255e86 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ec255e86 | |
Codex Alera / int_ecdb8790 | type |
Decapitation Strike | |
Codex Alera / int_ecdb8790 | comment |
Decapitation Strike: In Cursor's Fury, the First Aleran Legion is struck by a powerful attack targeted at the Commander's Tent, just when every officer in the camp has been summoned there to discuss a recent development. If it had worked as designed, it would've wiped out everyone who could've taken command of the Legion except for a strategically-placed traitor. Instead, command fell to Tavi (undercover as the Third Subtribune Logistica), who just happened to be running late to the meeting. | |
Codex Alera / int_ecdb8790 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ecdb8790 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ecdb8790 | |
Codex Alera / int_ed2bbf8a | type |
You Are in Command Now | |
Codex Alera / int_ed2bbf8a | comment |
You Are in Command Now: For Cursor's Fury, Tavi is inserted into the First Aleran Legion as the Third Subtribune Logistica, a non-critical post that serves as an excuse for him to be present and spy on the legion. He winds up in command as Captain of the whole Legion when the Canim kill or incapacitate every other officer by calling down a bolt of lightning upon the Captain's tent during an officers' meeting, which Tavi escapes while running messages. There are other far more experienced men under Tavi's command, but none of them are officers. | |
Codex Alera / int_ed2bbf8a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ed2bbf8a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ed2bbf8a | |
Codex Alera / int_edcc813f | type |
Fantastic Caste System | |
Codex Alera / int_edcc813f | comment |
Fantastic Caste System: The social classes of Alera are: Slaves, Freemen, Citizens, and Lords/Ladies, with several different ranks of nobility somewhere at the level of Citizens and higher. There is a strong but not perfect correlation between strength in furycrafting and social rank, and strength in furycrafting is at least partially heritable ( until Tavi is implied to alter it at the end so it can be earned based on merit and effort), so while many characters have moved their way up in rank over their lives, the caste one is born into is still very determinative. The Canim castes are the Makers (farmers, workers, and artisans), Ritualists (doctors, priests, and sorcerers), Hunters (spies and assassins), Warriors (Exactly What It Says on the Tin). The Warriors and the Ritualists are continually at odds as to which caste is higher (although the Warriors are almost always shown to be above the Ritualists in power), though they both claim to serve the Makers, and the Hunters serve the Warriors without question. | |
Codex Alera / int_edcc813f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_edcc813f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_edcc813f | |
Codex Alera / int_edf8db61 | type |
Oh, My Gods! | |
Codex Alera / int_edf8db61 | comment |
Oh, My Gods!: Many variants on "crows" and "furies" seem to have taken the place of traditional oaths. | |
Codex Alera / int_edf8db61 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_edf8db61 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_edf8db61 | |
Codex Alera / int_ee05de54 | type |
Salt Solution | |
Codex Alera / int_ee05de54 | comment |
Salt Solution: Wind furies, and by extension, windcrafters, are adversely affected by salt, as it's a type of earth. | |
Codex Alera / int_ee05de54 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ee05de54 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ee05de54 | |
Codex Alera / int_ee4286cd | type |
Leave Him to Me! | |
Codex Alera / int_ee4286cd | comment |
Leave Him to Me!: At the climax of Furies of Calderon, Aldrick ex Gladius and Pirellus of the Black Blade order their two groups of soldiers to retreat and reform. The two of them, however, stay in position and fight one-on-one after their supporters have withdrawn. | |
Codex Alera / int_ee4286cd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ee4286cd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ee4286cd | |
Codex Alera / int_ee6201b8 | type |
It Was a Gift | |
Codex Alera / int_ee6201b8 | comment |
It Was a Gift: The Marat believe strongly that it is an obligation to make full use out of any gift that they receive. When the holders of Calderon gift Doroga with a tunic that is too small for him to fit across his massive body, he cuts it open and tears off the sleeves which he ties into ropes so that he doesn't waste it. When some Marat from the Horse clan are helping the First Aleran, they don't like the idea of wearing armor and other clothes. So Tavi invokes this and personally gives each member clothing because in the Marat customs, not using a gift is considered an insult to the gift giver. | |
Codex Alera / int_ee6201b8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_ee6201b8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_ee6201b8 | |
Codex Alera / int_eea93c96 | type |
Blow You Away | |
Codex Alera / int_eea93c96 | comment |
Windcrafting (Knights Aeris): In addition to air manipulation and flight, grants Super-Speed, Lightning Bolt-chucking, Veils, and the ability to create a telescope-like lens out of air, the last of which has also found use as a Death Ray. | |
Codex Alera / int_eea93c96 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_eea93c96 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_eea93c96 | |
Codex Alera / int_eee69e44 | type |
Boke and Tsukkomi Routine | |
Codex Alera / int_eee69e44 | comment |
Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: This is what scenes involving High Lords Antillus and Phrygius turn into. Antillus says something dim-witted or obvious, Phrygius makes fun of him for being an idiot. They are best friends. The whole setup is only made funnier by the fact that both lords are in their late forties/early fifties, are members of the absolute highest social and political echelon of Aleran society, and are powerful enough furycrafters to level cities on their lonesomes. | |
Codex Alera / int_eee69e44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_eee69e44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_eee69e44 | |
Codex Alera / int_efacc623 | type |
Drama-Preserving Handicap | |
Codex Alera / int_efacc623 | comment |
Drama-Preserving Handicap: In Academ's Fury, all the rest of Clan Gargant are apparently too injured to readily join Doroga and Bernard's sortie to destroy the Vord. Which is a real shame, because given how effective Walker is — holding half the cave by himself and casually crushing and slapping away Taken holders — if there had been even two or three more of Clan Gargant present it would've been a lot less "desperate last stand" and a lot more "Curb-Stomp Battle". | |
Codex Alera / int_efacc623 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_efacc623 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_efacc623 | |
Codex Alera / int_eff83d77 | type |
Mundane Utility | |
Codex Alera / int_eff83d77 | comment |
Mundane Utility: All of the different types of furies and their crafters have some form of mundane utility; windcrafting allows for flight and bending the air to see distant objects, earthcrafting increases strength to the point that loads in the hundreds of kilograms are no issue and active earthcrafting can be used to make buildings or drag minerals up to the surface (either ore for mining or nutrients for farming plants, though the latter is usually an emergency measure and is mentioned as making the soil unusable for farming after a few seasons' worth of growth), watercrafters are healers, metalcrafters are smiths and have endurance that allows them to block out pain or keep going for days, woodcrafters can manipulate any form of plant life, making them excellent farmers — and archers — and firecrafters create the equivalent of both lightbulbs and refrigeration. The economy is so based on fury-crafting that most other forms of technological development have completely stagnated. In comparison, it's mentioned that Canim Blood Magic is mostly geared towards usage in combat and doesn't feature as much versatility as Aleran furycrafting. However, in Captain's Fury Varg claims that it still has its uses elsewhere, such as in blessing bloodlines, improving fertility in Canim women, increasing the bounty of crops, and lessening the ravages of storms, droughts, and plagues. The last aspect in particular is implied to be the reason why, despite furies existing in Canea, no furystorms or wild furies are observed there by Tavi and other Alerans in Princeps' Fury. | |
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Codex Alera / int_eff83d77 | |
Codex Alera / int_f011deb5 | type |
Strong and Skilled | |
Codex Alera / int_f011deb5 | comment |
Tavi's nonexistent talents and Ehren's weak crafting forced this on them as a matter of survival. Until Tavi's powers finally awaken. | |
Codex Alera / int_f011deb5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f011deb5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f011deb5 | |
Codex Alera / int_f018c5cf | type |
Offhand Backhand | |
Codex Alera / int_f018c5cf | comment |
Offhand Backhand: Walker provides the Gargant equivalent when charged by a mantis Vord in First Lord's Fury. The creature charges with berserk fury until Walker squashes it while paying next to no attention to it. | |
Codex Alera / int_f018c5cf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f018c5cf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f018c5cf | |
Codex Alera / int_f13643c4 | type |
Tunnel King | |
Codex Alera / int_f13643c4 | comment |
Tunnel King: Earthcrafters can phase through earth and rock, allowing them to travel underground without leaving any sign of their passing. | |
Codex Alera / int_f13643c4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f13643c4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f13643c4 | |
Codex Alera / int_f19ee38d | type |
Fantasy Aliens | |
Codex Alera / int_f19ee38d | comment |
Fantasy Aliens: In a book series about Romans with Elemental Powers, the Vord are a Horde of Alien Locusts strongly hinted to have originally been aliens from space. They're first encountered inhabiting an enormous crater with a huge metallic pillar jutting out from its exact center, inside which their Hive Queen hibernates. In a later book, after the Vord awaken, the Vord Queen declares that her species is conquering other worlds out among the stars, and that even if she's destroyed, the Vord will inevitably return one day. | |
Codex Alera / int_f19ee38d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f19ee38d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f19ee38d | |
Codex Alera / int_f1a6c4f8 | type |
Inevitable Mutual Betrayal | |
Codex Alera / int_f1a6c4f8 | comment |
Inevitable Mutual Betrayal: Everyone who works with Invidia Aquitaine tries to take her Chronic Backstabbing Disorder into account, with degrees of success that range from "filleted for their trouble" to "left Invidia stranded naked in the woods deep in enemy territory." | |
Codex Alera / int_f1a6c4f8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f1a6c4f8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f1a6c4f8 | |
Codex Alera / int_f332d990 | type |
Too Much Information | |
Codex Alera / int_f332d990 | comment |
Kitai's dry-witted comments with Isana in Captain's Fury regarding Tavi's skill with his mouth are referenced twice again later in the book; first when an irritated Tavi makes an idle remark about how Araris and Ehren are complaining about him "running [his] mouth" (causing Isana and Kitai to break down laughing for several minutes), and later when Kitai recognizes Araris and Isana are now an Official Couple, and she expresses curiosity over how skilled Araris is with his mouth. | |
Codex Alera / int_f332d990 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f332d990 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f332d990 | |
Codex Alera / int_f3626b09 | type |
Mercy Kill | |
Codex Alera / int_f3626b09 | comment |
Aldrick ex Gladius has no problem with killing, but even he says he has no stomach for Fidelias snapping the neck of a girl the Marat were going to eat alive. It is unclear whether he meant Fidelias' actions or the Marat's (probably both). | |
Codex Alera / int_f3626b09 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f3626b09 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f3626b09 | |
Codex Alera / int_f3da74ff | type |
Creepy Crows | |
Codex Alera / int_f3da74ff | comment |
Creepy Crows: Crows are seen as a symbol of death and war by Alerans, and are frequently seen on and around the many battlefields throughout the series. In fact, almost every Aleran curse centers around crows. | |
Codex Alera / int_f3da74ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f3da74ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f3da74ff | |
Codex Alera / int_f432c6bf | type |
Glad I Thought of It | |
Codex Alera / int_f432c6bf | comment |
Glad I Thought of It: Used intentionally by Ehren in First Lord's Fury to get Gaius Attis, the current First Lord, to expose himself to a dangerous and potentially lethal situation. Attis only realized he was manipulated after the fact, on his deathbed. | |
Codex Alera / int_f432c6bf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f432c6bf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f432c6bf | |
Codex Alera / int_f4f3252e | type |
Law of Inverse Fertility | |
Codex Alera / int_f4f3252e | comment |
Law of Inverse Fertility: Amara was rendered infertile in her youth due to the Blight, and toward the end of the series finally reconciles herself to having no children and adopting wayward orphans. It is after she accepts this that the Blight damage to her womb is healed by the Blessing of Night, and she becomes pregnant. | |
Codex Alera / int_f4f3252e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f4f3252e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f4f3252e | |
Codex Alera / int_f52ae5d8 | type |
Enemy Civil War | |
Codex Alera / int_f52ae5d8 | comment |
Enemy Civil War: Between the primary Vord Queen and her daughters. It is the main reason why Carna has not yet been consumed by the Vord. | |
Codex Alera / int_f52ae5d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f52ae5d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f52ae5d8 | |
Codex Alera / int_f56aeb67 | type |
Alien Invasion | |
Codex Alera / int_f56aeb67 | comment |
Alien Invasion: It's not explicitly discussed since none of the characters have the proper frame of reference, but there are hints that the Vord are an alien species (possibly engineered for terraforming) who crashed on Carna in the crater that became the Wax Forest. | |
Codex Alera / int_f56aeb67 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f56aeb67 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f56aeb67 | |
Codex Alera / int_f5a3e496 | type |
Suspiciously Similar Substitute | |
Codex Alera / int_f5a3e496 | comment |
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: High Lord Kalarus is basically Kord from the first novel (being an abhorrent and misogynistic Hate Sink hedonist who practices slavery and isn't nearly as clever as he thinks he is), albeit elevated to a recurring antagonist and major player in Aleran politics. Sarl is an adversary among the Canim ritualists for the second and third novels, and is replaced by Khral in the sixth. The Aleran Senator Valerius from the sixth novel resembles Arnos in more than one way, primarily in being a moronic and egotistical Jerkass with horrendously Skewed Priorities. | |
Codex Alera / int_f5a3e496 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f5a3e496 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f5a3e496 | |
Codex Alera / int_f617419c | type |
Trial by Combat | |
Codex Alera / int_f617419c | comment |
Trial by Combat: The Marat language has no word for "lying;" the closest concept they have is to say that someone is "mistaken." When one Marat accuses another of being mistaken, they fight each other to the death in order to see who is correct, with the rationale being that The One has shown favor for the winning side. The Juris Macto is the Aleran version. It can be used to resolve legal disputes, matters of honor, or to allow one to gain Aleran citizenship by defeating a Citizen. The challenged participant can have a Champion stand in their stead, but the challenger must fight personally. Not all juris macto fights are to the death, but most of them are, and if a juris macto challenge is withdrawn by the challenger it is recognized as a formal withdrawal of the accusation. | |
Codex Alera / int_f617419c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f617419c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f617419c | |
Codex Alera / int_f68fcbc6 | type |
Sealed Orders | |
Codex Alera / int_f68fcbc6 | comment |
Sealed Orders: In "Princeps' Fury", Tavi foils the Vord's ability to read minds by setting up whole strings of sealed orders given to several people with strict instructions to open each one only when told to by the preceding order. | |
Codex Alera / int_f68fcbc6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f68fcbc6 | |
Codex Alera / int_f6f2ff1 | type |
Insult Backfire | |
Codex Alera / int_f6f2ff1 | comment |
Insult Backfire: The knights in the First Aleran Legion invoke this in Cursor's Fury. The previously inexperienced division of Knights had gotten the nickname Knights Pisces, based on the naming convention for the knight divisions by craft (Knights Ferrous, Knights Flora, and so on) and the tradition of calling new recruits "fish".note Because their flailing around is less like a legionaire and more like a landed fish. After their exceptional performance in dire circumstances, they make themselves insignia of a shark as a Badass Boast because of Tavi's little trick with the cattle blood in the river. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f6f2ff1 | |
Codex Alera / int_f7cee9b | type |
Last Stand | |
Codex Alera / int_f7cee9b | comment |
In First Lord's Fury, Marcus weeps as he watches the First Aleran's Last Stand. | |
Codex Alera / int_f7cee9b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f7cee9b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f7cee9b | |
Codex Alera / int_f8c079b3 | type |
With Us or Against Us | |
Codex Alera / int_f8c079b3 | comment |
With Us or Against Us: During the Vord War, Tavi makes a declaration regarding this concept. The freemen and slaves of Alera are permitted to accept the Vord Queen's offer of amnesty and mercy. No punishment will be levied against them when Alera wins, as their legal status recognizes that they are not under obligation. The Citizens and Lords are obligated under their oaths and privileges to support and protect the Realm. If any of them do not give their full support in the war, if any refuse to fight, they will be considered a collaborator and a traitor to Alera. | |
Codex Alera / int_f8c079b3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f8c079b3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f8c079b3 | |
Codex Alera / int_f8e010ce | type |
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good | |
Codex Alera / int_f8e010ce | comment |
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good In Academ's Fury, just before Amara finishes off the Calderon Vord Queen, the Queen looks into her mind — and is utterly unable to process the fact that Amara is doing this knowing that she will not survive it. The idea of self-sacrifice for the sake of another is so alien to the Vord Queen that she is briefly stunned and confused. In Cursor's Fury, Invidia suggests that Amara use forceful methods to get information out of Rook. Amara instead determines Rook's driving motivation for being loyal to Kalare (her daughter) and promises to rescue her daughter because it is the right thing to do. When Rook breaks down crying and agrees to help, Invidia is described as looking on the scene with a confused expression like someone watching a "silent play performed by lunatics". In Captain's Fury, several characters discuss how their actions will look to Senator Arnos, and the way he will interpret them in a certain light because of how he would have acted in the same situation. Everything they do will seem self-serving and calculating to him, because he cannot accept that they are acting on behalf of somebody else. Arnos himself tries to say that Tavi is the same way he is, but this only causes Tavi to realize that Arnos is even more deluded than he had previously thought. The Awakened Vord Queen is easily the biggest example of this trope in the series. In a twist, however, she knows that there is something fundamental about humanity that she is not understanding, and she keeps trying to learn what it is. She observes families, interrogates humans as to what "love" means, and tries to replicate the traditions of everyday life (family meals). Despite all this, she never does learn what it is that makes people tick, though she does manage to form a bond with Invidia and is a little put out by her death. | |
Codex Alera / int_f8e010ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f8e010ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f8e010ce | |
Codex Alera / int_f9671119 | type |
Death Equals Redemption | |
Codex Alera / int_f9671119 | comment |
Death Equals Redemption: When Fidelias is crucified for his crimes, Demos, Maximus and Crassus, and later Tavi and Kitai, discuss the way he seemed to be so accepting of the situation when he could have fought or resisted. Tavi ultimately realizes that Fidelias wanted to be executed as a form of redemption. This is what motivates him to spare Fidelias, so that they can get maximum benefit out of his death instead of wasting it in an execution. Amara mourns "the man he became" after Gaius Attis is fatally maimed by his wife and spends his remaining days calmly leading the Alerans and planning for his death. | |
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1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f9671119 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f9671119 | |
Codex Alera / int_f9c17447 | type |
The Remnant | |
Codex Alera / int_f9c17447 | comment |
The Remnant: As revealed in Princeps' Fury, Shuar is the last surviving range of the Canim left on Carna, with the rest having been devoured by the Vord over the course of six or so years. Due to the events of the novel, Shuar is eventually overrun completely, but the surviving civilians of both Shuar and Narash are able to escape to Alera. According to the Marat's legends, the modern Marat are descended from the few refugees that survived the previous two attempts by the Vord at wiping out their civilization. | |
Codex Alera / int_f9c17447 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_f9c17447 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_f9c17447 | |
Codex Alera / int_f9f2c33 | type |
Running Gag | |
Codex Alera / int_f9f2c33 | comment |
Running Gag: Kitai would like to point out that she wanted a horse. Maximus frequently utters the term "sacred right," referring to a legionare's right to complain about his duties, no matter how frivolous his complaints are, for as long as he wants. Tavi co-opts the phrase at least once to refer to his right to be mysterious and secretive as part of his authority. Once Ehren becomes a Cursor he carries numerous knives hidden about his person. Eventually people begin commenting on just how many he has tucked away from view. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Codex Alera / int_f9f2c33 | |
Codex Alera / int_fabef10f | type |
Don't Explain the Joke | |
Codex Alera / int_fabef10f | comment |
Don't Explain the Joke: High Lord Antillus has a habit of doing this. | |
Codex Alera / int_fabef10f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_fabef10f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_fabef10f | |
Codex Alera / int_fcdbeaca | type |
Elemental Personalities | |
Codex Alera / int_fcdbeaca | comment |
Elemental Personalities: Earthcraft is associated with love, lust and contentment, and can "ground" the emotions of others to make them calmer. Firecraft can be used to generate anger, raise passions, and cause fear and panic. Metalcraft is associated with an absence of emotions. A metalcrafter can draw on the "stillness" of metal to control their emotions, becoming dispassionate and flat. | |
Codex Alera / int_fcdbeaca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_fcdbeaca | |
Codex Alera / int_fd4f8299 | type |
Well-Intentioned Extremist | |
Codex Alera / int_fd4f8299 | comment |
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Fidelias, who betrays the First Lord for what he views as the greater good, the long-term stability of Alera, by ensuring that there is a strong and younger First Lord in charge. Aquitainus Attis, who sought the throne because he believed that Gaius Sextus could no longer control the High Lords and would ultimately lead to civil war. In Cursor's Fury, the Libertus Vigilantes are mentioned. They're a group dedicated to the abolition of slavery, and often resort to murdering slavers to make their point. | |
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1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_fd4f8299 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_fd4f8299 | |
Codex Alera / int_fd94c4ac | type |
Theme Naming | |
Codex Alera / int_fd94c4ac | comment |
Theme Naming: Almost all of the High Cities of Alera along with many geographical locations and ruins are named after people, places, and/or cultural aspects of the Roman Empire. For instance, the ruins of the oldest human settlement in Carna is called "Appia" in reference to the Appian Way, Antillus is named after a son (and legal heir) of Mark Antony, Phrygia is named after a kingdom in west-central Anatolia conquered by the Romans, Rhodes gets its name from a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea annexed by Rome, Ceres is named after the Roman goddess of agriculture, Placida takes its name from a surname used for Venus in some myths, Aquitaine is named for a province of Gaul (the latter of which also became the namesake of the River Gaul), Attica is named for the Greek peninsula encompassing Athens, and the Tiber River is named after the actual Italian river cutting through Rome. Justified since the Realm of Alera was founded by a Lost Roman Legion. | |
Codex Alera / int_fd94c4ac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_fd94c4ac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_fd94c4ac | |
Codex Alera / int_fdc6d885 | type |
Technical Virgin | |
Codex Alera / int_fdc6d885 | comment |
Technical Virgin: The concept is explicitly discussed in the beginning of "Cursor's Fury". Gaius asks if Tavi and Kitai are having sex, and Tavi stumbles through an explanation that they are doing "things" together, but not having intercourse. Gaius approves, since he is aware of the risks an unplanned pregnancy would have on Tavi's life and his service to Gaius. | |
Codex Alera / int_fdc6d885 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_fdc6d885 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_fdc6d885 | |
Codex Alera / int_fe0330fb | type |
Brick Joke | |
Codex Alera / int_fe0330fb | comment |
Brick Joke: Furies of Calderon begins with Tavi and Bernard searching for a lost flock of sheep near Garados, where they run into Atsurak. The last scene of the book is Tavi returning home with those lost sheep. Kitai's dry-witted comments with Isana in Captain's Fury regarding Tavi's skill with his mouth are referenced twice again later in the book; first when an irritated Tavi makes an idle remark about how Araris and Ehren are complaining about him "running [his] mouth" (causing Isana and Kitai to break down laughing for several minutes), and later when Kitai recognizes Araris and Isana are now an Official Couple, and she expresses curiosity over how skilled Araris is with his mouth. | |
Codex Alera / int_fe0330fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_fe0330fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_fe0330fb | |
Codex Alera / int_fe5e40e2 | type |
Gondor Calls for Aid | |
Codex Alera / int_fe5e40e2 | comment |
Gondor Calls for Aid: Isana's mission in Princeps' Fury is to call for aid, and convince High Lord Antillus to send it. In First Lord's Fury, the Marat join the Alerans in the battle to defend the Calderon Valley and the Canim fight beside Tavi throughout his campaign. | |
Codex Alera / int_fe5e40e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_fe5e40e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_fe5e40e2 | |
Codex Alera / int_fe5ed7bf | type |
Our Gargoyles Rock | |
Codex Alera / int_fe5ed7bf | comment |
Our Gargoyles Rock: Gargoyles are earth furies bound into statues taking the form of certain animals (sometimes In-Universe mythical creatures, like sphinxes), and are typically used as the Magitek equivalent of automated security robots by sufficiently skilled Citizens and High Lords. It's mentioned that they're only good as Dumb Muscle and are often painfully slow, but even a glancing hit by them can turn someone into a wet spot on the pavement. | |
Codex Alera / int_fe5ed7bf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_fe5ed7bf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_fe5ed7bf | |
Codex Alera / int_fe6513eb | type |
Ad Hominem | |
Codex Alera / int_fe6513eb | comment |
Aquitainus Attis' first scene has him emphasize that Ad Hominem "is a notoriously weak logical argument. And is usually used to distract the focus of a discussion—to move it from an indefensible point and to attack the opponent." Though he is drunk and watching a slave girl dance seductively, and is being subtly manipulated by those around him, it shows that he is level-headed enough to not ignore credible evidence, or to act without considering all the implications, and he's a lot smarter than he pretends to be. | |
Codex Alera / int_fe6513eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera / int_fe6513eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Codex Alera | hasFeature |
Codex Alera / int_fe6513eb | |
Codex Alera / int_fefdc161 | type |
Flower from the Mountaintop | |
Codex Alera / int_fefdc161 | comment |
Flower from the Mountaintop: It's a mushroom, and it grows in a valley, but the Blessing of Night serves as one. It's a powerful panacea and the goal of the Marat Trial of Wits, which involves descending into the Wax Forest, dodging the spider-like Keepers of the Silence, finding the Blessing of Night growing in the center, and returning alive. Both Tavi and Kitai embark on the trial in Furies of Calderon and they manage to get one each (though Kitai gives hers up to Tavi as repayment for him using his to save her life). Shame they woke up the Vord Queen in the process. | |
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1.0 | |
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Codex Alera / int_fefdc161 | |
Codex Alera / int_ff070bbd | type |
Attack! Attack! Attack! | |
Codex Alera / int_ff070bbd | comment |
Attack! Attack! Attack!: The Vord specialize in this. Though they can demonstrate considerable subtlety, they usually do not bother if they have an overwhelming numerical advantage (which they usually do). | |
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1.0 | |
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ItemName | |
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