History Fanfic / TheHeartTrilogy

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** Before Gimli even realizes that Smaug is attending the Council of Elrond, he becomes infuriated when he hears Kathryn saying Smaug's name.

** ''Calm Before the Storm'' (Chapter 10) — Smaug agrees to unite against Sauron whatever dragons remain, secretly planning to reclaim Erebor as his reward for helping the Free Peoples win the war.

* MaternityCrisis: [[spoiler:Kathryn's difficult labour begins right after she looks into the Mirror of Galadriel and ends up having to resist Sauron's domination attempt. She knows she cannot fight on
]]

* BystanderSyndrome: Smaug refuses to let himself or Kathryn to be involved in the War of the Ring, thinking it's not their problem. This ends when Sauron mentally assaults Kathryn just as [[spoiler:her labour begins]], after which Smaug swears to destroy the Dark Lord.

* DeathByChildbirth: Subverted. [[spoiler:Kathryn dies while giving birth to her twins, finding herself welcomed by Irmo. Fortunately, the recently resuscitated Gandalf the White brings her back.]]

* NeutralNoLonger: At first Smaug wants himself and Kathryn to be uninvolved with the War of the Ring, but after Sauron makes the mistake of mentally attacking Kathryn [[spoiler:whose labour is beginning]], Smaug swears to destroy Sauron.

''[Smaug nearly attacks her, but then ponders on what Sauron has done to him and Kathryn, and makes up his mind]''\\

* UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn: [[spoiler:Kathryn gives birth to a son and a daughter in the 9th chapter, naming them Kolstros and Vervenia, respectively.]]

** In the first story, Kathryn insists on giving Gandalf her bed to sleep in, while he makes her breakfast to thank her. She considers herself to be a bit rusty as a host, though.

* SacredHospitality: Kathryn and Smaug receive this both at Rivendell and Lothlórien, even though the Elves would prefer not to have Smaug at their home.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Though Fankil and Sauron have some kind of a liaison between them, they both refuse to truckle to each other. Even during the First Age they were at each other's throats over the right-hand position of Morgoth.

* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: When Kathryn asks Galadriel to help her to understand her power of sight, the Lady of Lothlórien responds that no-one, not even her kind, are meant to know or fully comprehend the fabric of time.

* TookALevelInJerkass: When Faervel first returns, he's become cold, sly and haughty following the events of ''Heart of Ashes'', and Kathryn thinks his new political power which he previously detested has [[DrunkWithPower gotten to his head]]. It doesn't take more than a brief and intense argument with Kathryn to [[TookALevelInKindness get through to the old Faervel]].

* WouldHarmASenior: When Smaug finds out that Bilbo Baggins is in Rivendell, he attempts to kill the aged hobbit, changing his mind only because Bilbo appears mad as he searches for the One Ring.

** Bilbo when he finally realizes that the strange man threatening him in the former's room is actually Smaug.

* HeroAntagonist: Because of Kathryn's ties to Smaug and the latter's protagonist role, some heroes from canon -- including Bard the Bowman, the Company of Thorin, Kings Dain and Brand -- wind up being this, as do original characters such as Faervel (on-off), Freyja and Queen Lalemwen. One could even argue that Gandalf is [[ItsAllMyFault partially right to blame himself in the second part]] for starting the quest for Erebor in the first place. Those canon heroes who have good relationships with Kathryn -- such as Elrond, Gandalf and Galadriel -- tend to avoid this trope.

** The third story establishes that the camouflaged effects of the cloaks of Lothlórien's elves don't fool the superb senses of the dragons.

** ''The Downfall of Mortals'' (Chapter 8) — While Orc troops get closer to Lothlórien, Kathryn looks into the Mirror of Galadriel, only for Sauron's image to assault her during a vision.

** ''Diplomatic Insensitivity'' (Chapter 15) — Kathryn witnesses in a vision when Aragorn fights Saruman's Warg riders and falls off a cliff.
** ''Returned to the Mountain'' (Chapter 16) — Kathryn goes to seek [[spoiler:her children]] after she and Faervel survive an assassination attempt of [[spoiler:dwarf conspirators]] while Smaug finally finds fire drakes in the Withered Heath.

* CruelMercy: When Smaug meets the aged Bilbo Baggins in Rivendell, he initially attempts to kill the hobbit. However, upon seeing Bilbo searching for his "precious" in a fit, Smaug opts to let him live the rest of his life with this "insanity".

* EvilIsSterile: Galadriel states that Morgoth is unable to create life that's original and intelligent. He can only create mockeries of living creatures or corrupt those that already live. He created Orcs that way, and ever since he first extended his tainted influence onto the dragons, all of them have been born with a shackle tying them to him.

--> The Withered Heath was an unforgiving and mostly inhospitable place so far beyond the north, most mortals never dared to venture here. It was a valley between neat rows of mountains to the north, south and west. The east carried on seemingly forever until is supposedly reached the sea. The valley itself was a land where winter held sway forever. No matter the time of year for the rest of middle earth, the snows of the Heath never melted. Hardly any plant life grew in such a harsh environment, and as a result, the prey was selective at best. Yet this was the world that the dragons had been forced to, the last refuge where no mortals would bother them. A place where few survived.

* IsThatAThreat: Gimli uses a variation this line at the Council of Elrond when Smaug tells him to be silent or he might forgo civility.

* MortalityPhobia: Galadriel claims this is the FatalFlaw of all mortals; that their fear of death will drive them to extreme lengths to escape it and make them susceptible to temptation, greed and violence. Kathryn acknowledges that since only the Elves are blessed with the knowledge of ending up in Valinor even after dying, the mortal races can only speculate what will wait for them in afterlife, and the lack of concrete knowledge regarding where they will end up in death feeds their fear of death. Even knowing everyone will end up in hell would be preferable to them.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Sauron's mental assault of Kathryn just as [[spoiler:her labour begins]] helps to convince [[BystanderSyndrome Smaug]] to [[NeutralNoLonger take the Free Peoples' side against the Dark Lord]].

** Gimli and the other dwarves at the meeting of Elrond's Council when they realize that the arrogant man accompanying Kathryn is none other than Smaug.

* PregnantBadass: Downplayed. Kathryn takes no part in fighting in her pregnant condition, but when Gandalf is exhausted from fighting Durin's Bane, she's able to make Smaug take her to Zirakzigil, and while the dragon battles the Balrog, Kathryn is able to temporarily resuscitate the dying wizard by transferring her Raw Magic into him so that he can deliver a fatal stab in the Balrog's chest, despite the protests of her pregnant belly.

* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: When Bilbo meets Smaug in his human form for the first time, Smaug makes blatant references to their first meeting, yet Bilbo recognizes him only after Smaug calls him "thief in the shadows".

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Though Fankil and Sauron have some liaison between them, they both refuse to truckle to each other. Even during the First Age they were at each other's throats over the right-hand position of Morgoth.

** The third story establishes that the camouflaged effects of the cloaks of Lothlórien elves don't fool dragons

** ''The Downfall of Mortals'' (Chapter 8) — Kathryn has a vision through the Mirror of Galadriel as Orc troops get closer to Lothlórien.

* SeeTheInvisible: When re-encountering Bilbo who's wearing the One Ring, Smaug finds the invisible hobbit by throwing dirt all over him.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Kathryn ends up arguing with Galadriel when the former asks for the latter's help in turning the Seer's power, the latter challenges to former to look in the Elf Lady's Mirror

** Between Smaug and Durin's Bane in the 7th chapter.

-->'''Smaug''': View Magic as energy. Like life in your body, like lightning in a tempest, it is a force of nature, the very fabric of the world around us. When a wizard or a conjurer uses magic, he is tapping into that force, merely reaching out in order to grasp it. But grasping and using are not the same… Somewhere between grasping that force and it becoming real through the wizard's staff, the magic becomes diluted, more focused, going only in the direction that the wielder aims it. Raw magic is not plucked and not channelled, it is fresh, wild, and completely erratic. It cannot be controlled or directed, merely released. Think of it as air: when a human blows air from his lungs he can control its direction, and that is regular magic; but with raw magic… have you ever seen a mortal man control the gale force winds?

* WouldHitAGirl: In the 12th chapter, Lord Beronor backhands Kathryn in the face at the end of their confrontation.

* YouOweMe: Faervel calls in the favour Smaug swore to him in ''Heart of Ashes'' in order to convince him to leave Kathryn in Erebor and fetch her after completing his mission in the north and without harming a single soul. Smaug begrudgindly agrees.

* AccidentalHandHold: Kathryn and Aragorn do this when they're both reaching for the fallen hilt of Narsil.

* BerserkButton: Gandalf does not take kindly to Smaug calling him a magician.

* OhCrap: Bilbo's reaction when he finally realizes that the unfamiliar man he's speaking with is none other than Smaug.

* FamilyEyeResemblance: Ice blue eyes are the only physical trait Andraya shares with her daughter Freyja.

---> ''… at the thought of the dark powers that inhabited a wound such as that, it made [Smaug] shiver. His hand drifted to his chest and rubbed circles over his head, right where a thick, knotted black scar lay. For just a moment, he noted similarities between himself and the sick hobbit. They had both been touched by the darkness, and it had left its mark on them, and would forever more.''

* YouExclamation: Smaug when Gandalf appears at his and Kathryn's doorstep.

** Smaug's love toward Kathryn is practically his only redeeming quality. [[DeconstructedTrope Even so]], he commits bad actions that hurt the much more moral Kathryn, and the prideful dragon-dread doesn't easily comply to her wishes. By the end of ''Heart of Ashes'', Kathryn forces Smaug to choose between his selfish desires and her. [[ReconstructedTrope He ends up choosing her, giving up his plans for revenge.]] In the beginning of ''Heart of the Inferno'', this trope is discussed, with Gandalf arguing to Galadriel that Smaug's feelings for Kathryn make him ALighterShadeOfBlack against Sauron. [[spoiler:Smaug's also happy about his and Kathryn's twins [[UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn Kolstros and Vervenia]] after they're born.]]

* {{Foil}}:
** Fankil to Sauron. They're both ancient evil entities and former lieutenants of the first Dark Lord [[GodOfEvil Morgoth]]. Sauron, Morgoth's second-in-command, is a [[FallenAngel corrupted Maia]] who has lost his physical form, while Fankil, [[spoiler:Morgoth's son]], is a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon with a physical form]]. After Morgoth was [[SealedEvilInACan cast into the void]], Sauron [[DragonAscendant took the title of the Dark Lord for himself]] and aspires to conquer Middle-Earth for himself. Fankil in turn regards Morgoth as the true Dark Lord for whom the world belongs to, and his goal is to free Morgoth and serve him as he rules the world. While the more far-reaching yet bodiless Sauron [[EvilOverlord commands vast armies]], Fankil works alone with his [[HandicappedBadass disfigured yet powerful body]]. Sauron tries to make Smaug his beast of war, and while he has some interest in possessing Kathryn due to her Seer abilities, he mainly views her as a tool in forcing Smaug to obey him. Fankil is solely focused on Kathryn whom he needs in freeing Morgoth, while Smaug is in his eyes at most an obstacle that needs to be removed if he aims to have Kathryn.
** Andraya to Kathryn. They're both {{Hot Witch}}es, and largely live in the wilds and on the outskirts except for when they're in Vathvael. It's implied both of them have pasts that would give them reason to feel bitter towards the world. However, Kathryn still cares about the welfare of other people, to the point of putting their welfare before her own if she believes there's something she can do. Andraya is an embittered misandrist who only cares for herself and her daughter (and even then she doesn't exactly put her child's welfare before her own power-hunger), and she lies, betrays, bargains and murders others to further her own goals. Kathryn's bond with Smaug developed not by her choice, whilst Andraya at times strongly hints at WeCanRuleTogether [[VillainousCrush towards Smaug]] after his [[spoiler:revival in human form]]. Kathryn at first despises her Seer powers which have led to her being cast out and hounded by so many others, whereas Andraya considers her witchcraft the only power she has left and is terrified when faced with being de-powered. In ''Heart of Ashes'', Kathryn is brought back from insanity by Smaug's interference, while Andraya experiences a VillainousBreakdown after [[spoiler:Freyja's death]].
** Faervel to Smaug. Both are implied to have romantic feelings towards Kathryn -- in Smaug's case, it develops over time and is reciprocated, whereas Faervel has something of an [[AllLoveIsUnrequited unreciprocated]] BodyguardCrush and seems slightly interested in Kathryn from the moment they first meet. Both of them are also outsiders who are generally on their own in Middle-Earth when their paths don't directly intersect with Kathryn's -- Smaug is initially alone in the Lonely Mountain in ''Heart of Fire'', then later goes into hiding with Kathryn following the events of ''Heart of Ashes'', while Faervel is travelling Middle-Earth and seeking to publish an unbiased history by interacting with numerous peoples. They also both commit acts which hurt Kathryn's feelings in some way when they think it's necessary, though Smaug is concerned only for his and Kathryn's welfare whereas Faervel is also concerned for others' welfare.
** On top of Smaug and Thorin's canonical Foil parallels, Smaug's relationship with Kathryn adds a new dimension to it in the Heart Universe. Smaug and Thorin are both presented as uncaring about causing harm (indirectly in Thorin's case, either way in Smaug's case) to people they don't hold emotionally close. They both also get to see themselves [[spoiler:outlive their loved ones -- Kathryn for Smaug, [[OutlivingOnesOffspring Fíli and Kíli for Thorin]] -- by a short time before dying with them]], and in both cases, this happens indirectly due to Smaug and Thorin respectively putting their own {{Greed}} first. [[spoiler:Smaug and Kathryn [[BackFromTheDead come back from this]], whereas Thorin and his nephews stay dead.]] Smaug and Thorin both have a lot of {{Pride}} and {{Greed}} (worsened in Thorin's case by GoldFever), but Smaug is presented as being rather [[CardCarryingVillain well-aware of and unashamed by his own wickedness]], whereas Thorin [[AtLeastIAdmitIt ignores and denies his]] {{Fatal Flaw}}s when Kathryn points them out.
** Freyja to Kathryn. Both had an oppressive and abusive mother ([[NotSoDifferent Kathryn herself inwardly identifies with Freyja about this when they first meet]]). Kathryn's mother tried to repress her magic through misguided methods out of fear for her safety, whereas Andraya demands [[MuggleBornOfMages her magicless daughter]] to [[spoiler:sire a magical child with Smaug]] in ''Heart of Ashes''. Kathryn openly screamed at her parents before fleeing them once she'd had enough of the abuse, whereas Freyja is meek and completely submissive to her mother's demands despite her obvious wish to the contrary. Kathryn has outlived her mother by more than a century, while Freyja's mother outlives her [[spoiler:by a short time]]. Kathryn avoids people due to how she's been treated in the past, whilst Freyja is like a wary rabbit when interacting with men on her own due to her mother's control.
** King Wilhelm to Smaug in ''Heart of Ashes''. They're both greedy and controlling tyrants, both have a kind-hearted but fierce wife who [[spoiler:becomes pregnant with their child/ren]], and both consider themselves kings (Smaug became the [[TheUsurper self-proclaimed King under the Mountain]] after driving the dwarves of Erebor away, while Wilhelm was a distant royal relative who became Dorwinion's king by marrying the previous king's female heir). Both expect flattery and sucking up from others, are [[CantTakeCriticism driven to rage by being insulted]], and consider themselves in some way better than nearly (if not utterly) everyone else they encounter. However, Smaug is an [[GeniusBruiser intellectually]] and [[LightningBruiser physically]] [[OneManArmy superb]] dragon who [[SmugSuper kinda has a right to have such a huge ego]], while Wilhelm is an [[StupidEvil unintelligent and weak-willed]] human (think of an older [[Characters/GameOfThronesJoffreyBaratheon Joffrey Baratheon]] with less interest in mutilating animals). Furthermore, Smaug gained everything he had by conquest, and is revealed in ''Heart of the Inferno'' to have been a RebelPrince before that, whereas Wilhelm married into his distant relatives' seat of royal power and is a SpoiledBrat. Smaug has a [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes select few]] [[NobleDemon redeeming qualities]], whereas Wilhelm is presented as little more than a small wild dog that's easily controlled by those better than him. In a way, [[ShadowArchetype Wilhelm is a reflection of what Smaug was like towards Kathryn when they first met]] (albeit more petty than truly scary).
** Queen Lalemwen to Kathryn. Both are physically beautiful and overall decent women who really TookALevelInBadass, both have a husband who can be malicious at times and who they each attempt to reign in respectively, and both [[spoiler:fall pregnant in their respective unions]]. Lalemwen is in her third decade yet somewhat naive, whereas Kathryn physically appears only nineteen but is much older and more experienced (Kathryn [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this contrast when they first meet, finding Lalemwen's naivete oddly pitiable). Lalemwen is royalty by blood, whereas Kathryn was born a commoner before becoming a HomelessHero, and her closest tie to royalty is being the mate of Smaug. Though Kathryn is by no means unintelligent, she's sometimes outclassed by Smaug's GeniusBruiser intellect and cunning, acting more as TheConscience, whereas Queen Lalemwen is ultimately one of the brains to a [[StupidEvil witless worm]].
** Aragorn to Smaug in ''Heart of the Inferno''. Both have an InterspeciesRomance with some elements of MalignedMixedMarriage. Upon their first meeting, Kathryn and Aragorn also display a PsychicLink which has yet to be explained. Increasing the parallels, [[spoiler:Kathryn forges a silver-themed [[MindlinkMates psychic connection]] between Aragorn and Arwen, in ColorContrast to her and Smaug's gold-themed link]]. Smaug effectively grants his human lover [[TheAgeless a virtually-immortal lifespan equivalent to his own]], whereas [[ForegoneConclusion we know from]] ''[[ForegoneConclusion The Lord of the Rings]]'' [[ForegoneConclusion canon]] that Arwen faces an inversion to be with her human lover. Most prominently, it turns out that Smaug is a RebelPrince among the northern dragons due to his descent from Ancalagon, just like Aragorn is for Gondorians as Isildur's heir. Smaug even [[RightfulKingReturns decides to claim his right to unite and lead the dragons]] against Sauron during the War of the Ring, and [[spoiler:Kathryn and their children's imprisonment in Erebor while Smaug arrives at the Withered Heath]] has downplayed hints of LovedINotHonorMore.

* SupernaturalGoldEyes: Smaug, like in movie canon. His human form's eyes are even the same flame-like color as his dragon form's. [[spoiler:His twins inherit his eye color. ]]

* ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing: Neither Smaug nor Kathryn can prevent their clothes from being shred when they turn from human to dragon. In the third story, Kathryn is sure to take off her clothes before transforming herself.

* SupernaturalGoldEyes: Smaug, like in movie canon. His human form's eyes are even the same flame-like color as his dragon form's.