...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The Traveller in Black

193 statements
37 feature instances
17 referencing feature instances

The Traveller in Black	type	TVTItem
The Traveller in Black	label	The Traveller in Black
The Traveller in Black	page	TheTravellerInBlack
The Traveller in Black	comment	The Traveller in Black is the central character of a series of fantasy stories written by John Brunner and published in various magazines in the 1960s and 1970s. The first four were collected in The Traveller in Black in 1971; The Compleat Traveller in Black, published in 1985, collects the entire series in revised form.The stories are set in a fantastic land, described as being part of Eternity as distinct from Time, where magic is everywhere and forces of Order and Chaos contend with one another. Walking the Earth in this land is a mysterious stranger dressed all in black, who has "many names, but only one nature".Part of the nature of the Traveller in Black is that any wish spoken in his presence will be granted, not always to the benefit of the wisher; those who wish carelessly and selfishly get their comeuppance, while those who wish unselfishly (whose number, in the entire series, can be counted on one hand) are rewarded.
The Traveller in Black	fetched	2023-09-10T11:44:31Z
The Traveller in Black	parsed	2023-09-10T11:44:31Z
The Traveller in Black	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Traveller in Black / int_1242cf37	type	Mutagenic Goo
The Traveller in Black / int_1242cf37	comment	Mutagenic Goo: The waters of the river Metamorphia transform people, animals, debris and even eroded lumps of mud into all sorts of unsightly things.
The Traveller in Black / int_1242cf37	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_1242cf37	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_1242cf37
The Traveller in Black / int_16a21271	type	Walking Wasteland
The Traveller in Black / int_16a21271	comment	Walking Wasteland: In the presence of the enchanter Tyllwin, plants wither and birds die.
The Traveller in Black / int_16a21271	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_16a21271	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_16a21271
The Traveller in Black / int_1a237409	type	Order Versus Chaos
The Traveller in Black / int_1a237409	comment	Order Versus Chaos: The overarching conflict of the stories; the Traveller himself is an agent of Order.
The Traveller in Black / int_1a237409	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_1a237409	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_1a237409
The Traveller in Black / int_1adcd502	type	Sins of Our Fathers
The Traveller in Black / int_1adcd502	comment	Sins of Our Fathers: Bardolus from "Break the Door of Hell" is exposed to a suicide-inducing drug by his resurrected mother, in payback for his father having raped her to sire Bardolus.
The Traveller in Black / int_1adcd502	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_1adcd502	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_1adcd502
The Traveller in Black / int_27690f66	type	Literary Allusion Title
The Traveller in Black / int_27690f66	comment	Literary Allusion Title: As the epigraphs make clear, "Break the Door of Hell" alludes to The Epic of Gilgamesh, "Dread Empire" to Alexander Pope's Dunciad.
The Traveller in Black / int_27690f66	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_27690f66	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_27690f66
The Traveller in Black / int_3d1fbeb3	type	Virgin Power
The Traveller in Black / int_3d1fbeb3	comment	Virgin Power: A rare male example appears in "Imprint of Chaos". Eadwil, one of the diviners consulted by the Margrave of Ryovora, is a youth who's postponed "a major upheaval of his physiology", the better to preserve his sorcerous abilities. Another (female) wizard is strongly implied to likewise be dependent upon her virginity for power, as she demands that her would-be lovers castrate themselves before they can touch her.
The Traveller in Black / int_3d1fbeb3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_3d1fbeb3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_3d1fbeb3
The Traveller in Black / int_45cec696	type	God Guise
The Traveller in Black / int_45cec696	comment	God Guise: Bernard Brown finds himself an involuntary example, thanks to the Ryovorans' conviction that anyone they can't make head nor tail of must be the god they've been hoping for.
The Traveller in Black / int_45cec696	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_45cec696	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_45cec696
The Traveller in Black / int_537dd8fe	type	Affably Evil
The Traveller in Black / int_537dd8fe	comment	Affably Evil: Manuus is one of the most welcoming and polite wizards in the stories, all the while trying to foment a war between two cities in the cause of Chaos.
The Traveller in Black / int_537dd8fe	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_537dd8fe	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_537dd8fe
The Traveller in Black / int_66ce8a39	type	Fake Memories
The Traveller in Black / int_66ce8a39	comment	Fake Memories: In "Imprint of Chaos", an evil magician takes a seat on the Ruling Council of a city, the better to cause the citizens to make a choice that will increase Chaos in the area. His plan includes implanting Fake Memories in the rest of the Council members that he has always been a member of the Council himself.
The Traveller in Black / int_66ce8a39	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_66ce8a39	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_66ce8a39
The Traveller in Black / int_67eff7	type	Being God Is Hard
The Traveller in Black / int_67eff7	comment	Being God Is Hard: It’s eventually revealed that the traveller is, like the elementals, an aspect of the creator of the Chaos that came before him. She got bored.
The Traveller in Black / int_67eff7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_67eff7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_67eff7
The Traveller in Black / int_6a6b23ff	type	Unfazed Everyman
The Traveller in Black / int_6a6b23ff	comment	Unfazed Everyman: In the first story, a 20th-century Englishman is summoned to the magical past in which the stories are set, and reacts to every strange thing he encounters with calm rationality. (It's suggested that he was specifically chosen for that attribute, it being in notably short supply in that place at that time.)
The Traveller in Black / int_6a6b23ff	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_6a6b23ff	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_6a6b23ff
The Traveller in Black / int_6bfd0c5c	type	When the Planets Align
The Traveller in Black / int_6bfd0c5c	comment	When the Planets Align: The Traveller makes his periodic journeys when a certain array of four planets comes into alignment.
The Traveller in Black / int_6bfd0c5c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_6bfd0c5c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_6bfd0c5c
The Traveller in Black / int_6dcfdea6	type	Hard Light
The Traveller in Black / int_6dcfdea6	comment	Hard Light: The Traveller carries a walking-staff made of "light curdled by a number of interesting forces". The Traveller can dissolve and recreate at least one of these forces at will, allowing him to use his staff as a powerful source of light.
The Traveller in Black / int_6dcfdea6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_6dcfdea6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_6dcfdea6
The Traveller in Black / int_71d51663	type	God Is Inept
The Traveller in Black / int_71d51663	comment	God Is Inept: The god in "Imprint of Chaos" is basically a big, powerful child.
The Traveller in Black / int_71d51663	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_71d51663	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_71d51663
The Traveller in Black / int_7458a1a4	type	Southern Gothic Satan
The Traveller in Black / int_7458a1a4	comment	Southern Gothic Satan: Dressed in black, with many names but only one nature, the titular character travels from town to town, causing people's wishes to come true in ironically appropriate ways, leading to the downfall of the selfish and the proud.
The Traveller in Black / int_7458a1a4	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_7458a1a4	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_7458a1a4
The Traveller in Black / int_771f6307	type	Brother–Sister Incest
The Traveller in Black / int_771f6307	comment	Brother–Sister Incest: In several cases, it's hinted that brother/sister pairs of sorcerors have increased their magical power by doing this.
The Traveller in Black / int_771f6307	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_771f6307	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_771f6307
The Traveller in Black / int_7a9bc66	type	Fictional Colour
The Traveller in Black / int_7a9bc66	comment	Fictional Colour: When the Traveller uses his staff to heal an injured man, it shines with light "the color of which humans have no name for".
The Traveller in Black / int_7a9bc66	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_7a9bc66	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_7a9bc66
The Traveller in Black / int_863fa679	type	What Happened to the Mouse?
The Traveller in Black / int_863fa679	comment	What Happened to the Mouse?: We never learn what actually happens to Jorkas, only that he's not around as of "The Wager Lost By Winning". The animated Quadruple God runs back to hide in its temple at the end of "Imprint of Chaos", but is nowhere to be found when the Traveller briefly stops there again in "Wager". Despite her being mentioned on four separate occasions in "Wager", it's never stated if senile Granny Anderland, left behind in Wantwich when the other villagers were abducted, was found again — alive or otherwise — when they got home after Lord Fellian's undoing. Likewise, the fate of the mentally-challenged girl whom Fellian set free to prove a point is never stated, even though the Traveller had expressed concern for her welfare if expelled from Fellian's household.
The Traveller in Black / int_863fa679	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_863fa679	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_863fa679
The Traveller in Black / int_927d9def	type	Scarecrow Solution
The Traveller in Black / int_927d9def	comment	Scarecrow Solution: Used to frighten off a god (it wasn't a very smart god) in "Imprint of Chaos".
The Traveller in Black / int_927d9def	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_927d9def	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_927d9def
The Traveller in Black / int_a8a04f6f	type	And I Must Scream
The Traveller in Black / int_a8a04f6f	comment	And I Must Scream: A man wishes he could start a new religion so that he could have all the fine clothes, food and young women he wanted. The Traveller grants his wish by freezing him where he sits. His fellow villagers consider his perfect immobility miraculous and worship him as a god, dressing him in fine robes, giving him food in the form of burnt offerings, and presenting him with young women as human sacrifices. A man wishes he could learn all the secrets of a magical tree. The Traveller complies by incorporating the man's body into the tree's, so that he instantly understands how to use its magic but is physically incapable of using it (or of doing anything else).
The Traveller in Black / int_a8a04f6f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_a8a04f6f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_a8a04f6f
The Traveller in Black / int_b01abe4f	type	Catchphrase
The Traveller in Black / int_b01abe4f	comment	Catchphrase: "I have many names, but only one nature" and "As you wish, so be it".
The Traveller in Black / int_b01abe4f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_b01abe4f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_b01abe4f
The Traveller in Black / int_b06bbf4b	type	Be Careful What You Wish For
The Traveller in Black / int_b06bbf4b	comment	Be Careful What You Wish For: A recurring theme. In "Imprint of Chaos", Duke Vaul is trying to bring the Statue of the Quadruple God to life, since it is prophesied that if this happens, the Quadruple God will destroy the city's enemies. Despite the traveller's warning that said enemies are not abroad but right here in the city, Vaul insists on going ahead. Whereupon the traveller awakens the God, who indeed destroys the city's enemies — starting with Vaul, and continuing with his priests. In "The Wager Lost by Winning", Viola wishes to be reunited with her fiance, who's been kidnapped and enslaved. The slavers promptly return and drag her off, too.
The Traveller in Black / int_b06bbf4b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_b06bbf4b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_b06bbf4b
The Traveller in Black / int_b53c57d5	type	Epigraph
The Traveller in Black / int_b53c57d5	comment	Epigraph: Each story begins with one.
The Traveller in Black / int_b53c57d5	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_b53c57d5	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_b53c57d5
The Traveller in Black / int_b731fa6e	type	I Cannot Self-Terminate
The Traveller in Black / int_b731fa6e	comment	I Cannot Self-Terminate: Once Chaos declines to a point where they have no hope left of ever being freed again, the bound elementals start asking the Traveller to make them "cease".
The Traveller in Black / int_b731fa6e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_b731fa6e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_b731fa6e
The Traveller in Black / int_c3448a6f	type	Informed Attribute
The Traveller in Black / int_c3448a6f	comment	Informed Attribute: While he says he has many names a lot, none of those names are actually stated in the stories. Even "traveller in black" doesn't seem to be one, as this description is never capitalized.
The Traveller in Black / int_c3448a6f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_c3448a6f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_c3448a6f
The Traveller in Black / int_c3ae786a	type	Recut
The Traveller in Black / int_c3ae786a	comment	Recut: The text of The Compleat Traveller in Black is revised, adding foreshadowing in the earlier stories for "Dread Empire" among other changes.
The Traveller in Black / int_c3ae786a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_c3ae786a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_c3ae786a
The Traveller in Black / int_c66cb5a9	type	Human Sacrifice
The Traveller in Black / int_c66cb5a9	comment	Human Sacrifice: Done in Acromel by tradition and to try to animate the Quadruple God's statue. Also in Kanish to praise Fegrim: an elemental whom the Traveller knows couldn't care less.
The Traveller in Black / int_c66cb5a9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_c66cb5a9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_c66cb5a9
The Traveller in Black / int_d3b02ffb	type	I Know Your True Name
The Traveller in Black / int_d3b02ffb	comment	I Know Your True Name: In "Break the Door of Hell", it's mentioned in passing that Vivette knows Ormond's true name, and this gives her a measure of power over him.
The Traveller in Black / int_d3b02ffb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_d3b02ffb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_d3b02ffb
The Traveller in Black / int_d5d976dd	type	I Have Many Names
The Traveller in Black / int_d5d976dd	comment	I Have Many Names: The Traveller in Black is described more than once as "having many names, but only one nature". A subversion, as he's never actually called anything but "the traveller". In "Imprint of Chaos", the traveller "introduces" himself by mentioning his singular nature, and then continues "You may call me Mazda, or whatever you choose." This would appear to be one of his names, but he doesn't insist on it. He also uses the name in the magazine printings of the other stories, but not in the revised text of The Compleat Traveller in Black.
The Traveller in Black / int_d5d976dd	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_d5d976dd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_d5d976dd
The Traveller in Black / int_d91d0365	type	The Magic Goes Away
The Traveller in Black / int_d91d0365	comment	The Magic Goes Away: Occurs over the course of the series as Order gains ground on Chaos; magic can not function in a world entirely given to Order.
The Traveller in Black / int_d91d0365	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_d91d0365	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_d91d0365
The Traveller in Black / int_e235202a	type	The Power of Blood
The Traveller in Black / int_e235202a	comment	The Power of Blood: In "The Things That Are Gods", Crancina schemes to gain magical power by filling an entire lake with blood to animate the magically-transformed statues on the lakebed as her minions.
The Traveller in Black / int_e235202a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_e235202a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_e235202a
The Traveller in Black / int_e57965c6	type	Covered in Mud
The Traveller in Black / int_e57965c6	comment	Covered in Mud: At the end of "The Things That Are Gods", when Crancina's plan fails, she and Count Lashgar and his priests are precipitated into the muck at the bottom of the recently-drained Lake Taxhling, much to the amusement of the population.
The Traveller in Black / int_e57965c6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_e57965c6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_e57965c6
The Traveller in Black / int_e9e35e8f	type	Exact Words
The Traveller in Black / int_e9e35e8f	comment	Exact Words: In "The Things That Are Gods", an elemental incapable of lying assures the Traveller that the new threat he senses is not an elemental working against him. It's an elemental working with him, to enact a wish that runs contrary to his purpose.
The Traveller in Black / int_e9e35e8f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_e9e35e8f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_e9e35e8f
The Traveller in Black / int_ebd01bc5	type	Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me
The Traveller in Black / int_ebd01bc5	comment	Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me: In "The Wager Lost by Winning", the rather unsympathetic wish-maker is bathed before being claimed by Lord Fellian.
The Traveller in Black / int_ebd01bc5	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_ebd01bc5	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_ebd01bc5
The Traveller in Black / int_ed05cfee	type	NaÃ¯ve Newcomer
The Traveller in Black / int_ed05cfee	comment	Naïve Newcomer: The first story has a 20th-century Londoner find himself transported to the setting of the series, providing a familiar viewpoint for the reader. (He's sent home at the end of the story, having served his purpose both in-universe and out-.)
The Traveller in Black / int_ed05cfee	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_ed05cfee	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_ed05cfee
The Traveller in Black / int_fbb54ba6	type	Forever War
The Traveller in Black / int_fbb54ba6	comment	Forever War: Between the Kanishmen and the Kulyamen, as one of the symptoms of Chaos.
The Traveller in Black / int_fbb54ba6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_fbb54ba6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_fbb54ba6
The Traveller in Black / int_name	type	ItemName
The Traveller in Black / int_name	comment
The Traveller in Black / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
The Traveller in Black / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Traveller in Black / int_name
The Traveller in Black / int_name	itemName	The Traveller in Black

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Fake Memories / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	God Guise / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	I Cannot Self-Terminate / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Literal Genie / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Mutagenic Goo / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	NaÃ¯ve Newcomer / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Order Versus Chaos / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Our Centaurs Are Different / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Scarecrow Solution / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Sins of Our Fathers / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Southern Gothic Satan / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Stars Are Going Out / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	The Tall Dark Stranger / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Tongue-Tied / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Virgin Power / int_4cb94f7f
The Traveller in Black	hasFeature	Walking the Earth / int_4cb94f7f

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.