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The ''[[Literature/BookOfSwords Books of Swords]]'' are a distant sequel to the trilogy.
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* BlondesAreEvil: Everyone who sees Lady Charmian is enchanted by her golden hair. [[spoiler:As a girl, she threw her dark-haired younger sister to a demon lord in order to save herself. Now ''that'' counts as evil.]]
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* DeathByIrony: Som The Dead was imbued with the power to turn attacks back against his foes; trying to kill him killed you instead. [[spoiler:This is simply because he is, in some way, already dead, but still walking around. He meets his end when Draffut [[PuffOfLogic mistakes him for a gravely wounded soldier and heals him]].]]
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* DeathByIrony: Som The Dead was imbued with the power to turn attacks back against his foes; trying to kill him killed you instead. [[spoiler:This is simply because he is, in some way, already dead, but still walking around. He meets his end when Draffut [[PuffOfLogic mistakes him for a gravely wounded soldier soldier]] and [[ReviveKillsZombie heals him]].]]
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* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:This is Lady Charmian's fate when the curse she placed on her servant girl- to magically grow old and ugly whenever a man touched her romantically- is reversed at the end of the series, causing her to need her husband's touch to retain her youth and beauty. This effectively binds her to her husband, Lord Chup, since he was the only man who ever actually loved her.]]
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* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:This is Lady Charmian's fate when the curse she placed on her servant girl- girl -- to magically grow old and ugly whenever a man touched her romantically- romantically -- is reversed at the end of the series, causing her to need her husband's touch to retain her youth and beauty. This effectively binds her to her husband, Lord Chup, since he was the only man who ever actually loved her.]]
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* [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With a Demon]]: Eastern lords are expected to make one as a pledge of loyalty to the Empire. [[spoiler:Charmian's father, Lord Ekuman, gave his two daughters to a demon. Charmian, in turn, begged the demon to take her younger sister as evidence of her own loyalty.]] Chup was unusual in not yet having made such a pledge.
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* [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With with a Demon]]: Eastern lords are expected to make one as a pledge of loyalty to the Empire. [[spoiler:Charmian's father, Lord Ekuman, gave his two daughters to a demon. Charmian, in turn, begged the demon to take her younger sister as evidence of her own loyalty.]] Chup was unusual in not yet having made such a pledge.
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It is not a Batman Gambit; it is a Xanatos Gambit: Ardneh wins either way.
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* OrcusOnHisThrone: Averted; Orcus actually is a main character in Book 3 and takes a critical part in the action. [[spoiler:In this case, Orcus is actually a nuclear explosion arrested in mid-blast 50,000 years ago by "The Great Change" that Ardneh caused; by ending the state of Change, Orcus reverts to his original form, this time over the assembled armies of the Eastern Empire. This is the final step in Ardneh's BatmanGambit.]]
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* OrcusOnHisThrone: Averted; Orcus actually is a main character in Book 3 and takes a critical part in the action. [[spoiler:In this case, Orcus is actually a nuclear explosion arrested in mid-blast 50,000 years ago by "The Great Change" that Ardneh caused; by ending the state of Change, Orcus reverts to his original form, this time over the assembled armies of the Eastern Empire. This is the final step in Ardneh's BatmanGambit.XanatosGambit.]]
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** The main plot of ''Changeling Earth'' is Ardneh finally revealling his location to the East, luring them to himself and making them desperate enough to actually summon the demon Orcus. This puts them in a position to be destroyed by Ardneh's counterstroke.
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** The main plot of ''Changeling Earth'' is Ardneh finally revealling his location to the East, luring them to himself and making them desperate enough to actually summon the demon Orcus. This puts them in a position to be destroyed by Ardneh's counterstroke. Of course, if they had not moved against Ardneh with all their power, they would have still lost, since Ardneh would have continued to work against them, now with enough power to almost match all the might of the Empire at once, but from a position of complete security.
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It wasn\'t a Batman Gambit; a Batman Gambit depends on the other party doing exactly what you expect. Ardneh is much more sophisticated than that. All its plans succeed regardless of what the enemy does, which is the point. If the Empire, having been informed of Ardneh\'s location, had not gone to attack with all its strength, then Ardneh would have continued to work against them with all its resources from a position of complete security. Either way, Arndeh wins.
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* BatmanGambit: The main plot of ''Changeling Earth'' is Ardneh finally revealling his location to the East, luring them to himself and making them desperate enough to actually summon the demon Orcus. This puts them in a position to be destroyed by Ardneh's counterstroke.
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* XanatosGambit: The entire trilogy proceeds according to Arndeh's design, and no matter what choices the leaders of TheEmpire make, they are playing into his hands.
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* XanatosGambit: The entire trilogy proceeds according to Arndeh's design, and no matter what choices the leaders of TheEmpire make, they are playing into his hands.hands.
** The main plot of ''Changeling Earth'' is Ardneh finally revealling his location to the East, luring them to himself and making them desperate enough to actually summon the demon Orcus. This puts them in a position to be destroyed by Ardneh's counterstroke.
** The main plot of ''Changeling Earth'' is Ardneh finally revealling his location to the East, luring them to himself and making them desperate enough to actually summon the demon Orcus. This puts them in a position to be destroyed by Ardneh's counterstroke.
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* AfterTheEnd
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* EarthAllAlong
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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Rolf's search for his sister Lisa is one of his driving motives throughout the first two books. Come the third, and there isn't even an offhand mention of her.
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* WorthyOpponent: Lord Chup, in Book 1 (''The Broken Lands''), regards a captured Rolf as this, when Rolf has the guts to pick up the sword Chup throws down as a challenge. Rolf returns the respect, believing Chup, while he is still an Eastern Lord, is above lying and petty cruelty.
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* WorthyOpponent: Lord Chup, in Book 1 (''The Broken Lands''), regards a captured Rolf as this, when Rolf has the guts to pick up the sword Chup throws down as a challenge. Rolf returns the respect, believing Chup, while he is still an Eastern Lord, is above lying and petty cruelty.cruelty.
* XanatosGambit: The entire trilogy proceeds according to Arndeh's design, and no matter what choices the leaders of TheEmpire make, they are playing into his hands.
* XanatosGambit: The entire trilogy proceeds according to Arndeh's design, and no matter what choices the leaders of TheEmpire make, they are playing into his hands.
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from Fred Saberhagen
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* MagicVersusScience: Most high technology ceased functioning because the very laws of physics had been changed [[spoiler:by a powerful supercomputer in order to prevent a nuclear war from destroying humanity]], which in turn made magic possible, and indeed prevalent. [[spoiler:By the end of the trilogy, some balance had been restored, and magic and technology could more easily function side-by-side]].
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* NoManOfWomanBorn: One character threatens to slay another "not by day or night, neither with the staff nor with the bow, neither with the palm of the hand nor with the fist, neither with the wet nor with the dry." This is said to be a repeat of an old prophecy in which the god Indra slew the demon Namuci "in the morning twilight, by sprinkling over him the foam of the sea." The repeat comes true when its target is [[spoiler:asphyxiated by the foam of a fire extinguisher at sunset]].
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* RagnarokProofing: The heroes search for a magic metal elephant to help them in the war. The elephant turns out to be a mostly operational nuclear-powered battle tank from before the nuclear holocaust thousands of years earlier. The armament is dead and the chemical-protective gear crumbles when touched, but the controls still light up, the engine roars, and none of the drive mechanism is broken. This is rare enough on a tank that hasn't been maintained since last ''week''.
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* SealedEvilInACan: The Demon-Prince Orcus, who founded the titular Empire, was imprisoned under the earth by his own lieutenants, John Ominor and Wood, in a coup. Eventually, Wood convinces Ominor that they should release Orcus, believing that only Orcus has the power to match Ardneh, and believing that they can keep Orcus controlled.
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* ThanatosGambit: Ardneh's plan.
* VirginPower: Some wizards, both male and female, lose some or all of their power if they lose their virginity. Many do not, and, indeed, some are quite promiscuous with no ill effects, but there is no explanation of why some do and some don't.
* VirginPower: Some wizards, both male and female, lose some or all of their power if they lose their virginity. Many do not, and, indeed, some are quite promiscuous with no ill effects, but there is no explanation of why some do and some don't.
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* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:This is Lady Charmian's fate when the curse she placed on her servant girl- to magically grow old and ugly whenever a man touched her sexually- is reversed at the end of the series, causing her to need her husband's touch to retain her youth and beauty. This effectively binds her to her husband, Lord Chup, since he was the only man who ever actually loved her.]]
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* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:This is Lady Charmian's fate when the curse she placed on her servant girl- to magically grow old and ugly whenever a man touched her sexually- romantically- is reversed at the end of the series, causing her to need her husband's touch to retain her youth and beauty. This effectively binds her to her husband, Lord Chup, since he was the only man who ever actually loved her.]]
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* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Satrap Ekuman, Lord Som, and Emperor John Ominor all take steps to ''discourage'' ChronicBackstabbingDisorder in their immediate circles, show some instances of recognizing and rewarding loyalty. However, they remain reasonable only as long as their underling are successful, at which point YouHaveFailedMe may come into play.
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* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
** Eastern Satrap Ekuman, Lord Som, and Emperor John Ominor all take steps to ''discourage'' ChronicBackstabbingDisorder in their immediate circles, and show some instances of recognizing and rewarding loyalty. However, they remain reasonable only as long as their underling are successful, at which point YouHaveFailedMe may come intoplay.play.
** On the Western side, Prince Duncan and Ardneh both qualify.
** Eastern Satrap Ekuman, Lord Som, and Emperor John Ominor all take steps to ''discourage'' ChronicBackstabbingDisorder in their immediate circles, and show some instances of recognizing and rewarding loyalty. However, they remain reasonable only as long as their underling are successful, at which point YouHaveFailedMe may come into
** On the Western side, Prince Duncan and Ardneh both qualify.
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* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Satrap Ekuman, Lord Som, and Emperor John Ominor all take steps to ''discourage'' ChronicBackstabbingDisorder in their immediate circles, show some instances of recognizing and rewarding loyalty. However, they remain reasonable only as long as their underling are successful, at which point YouHaveFailedMe may come into play.
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* AGodIAmNot: Ardneh (in all three books) and Draffut the Beastlord (in ''The Black Mountains'') are both believed to be supernatural entities. The truth is somewhat different. [[spoiler:Ardneh is actually a self-aware computer program 500 centuries old; Draffut began his existence as a dog, and grew to god-like power and stature through exposure to {{Magitech}}.]]
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* AGodIAmNot: Ardneh (in all three books) and Draffut the Beastlord (in ''The Black Mountains'') are both believed to be supernatural entities. The truth is somewhat different. [[spoiler:Ardneh is actually a self-aware computer program 500 centuries old; Draffut began his existence as a dog, and grew to god-like power and stature through exposure to {{Magitech}}.LostTechnology.]]
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* {{Magitech}}: The advanced technology that still exists is either 50,000 years old and is treated as magical, or is created by djinnis summoned for that purpose. Rolf is highly unusual and crucial to the rebel war effort in actually having some empathy for the ancient technology. [[spoiler:The biggest technology of all is Ardneh, a computer imbued with semi-magical powers to prevent nuclear war. In doing so, it changed the laws of physics, making magic possible and bringing demons into existence.]]
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* {{Magitech}}: LostTechnology: The advanced technology that still exists is either 50,000 years old and is treated as magical, or is created by djinnis summoned for that purpose. Rolf is highly unusual and crucial to the rebel war effort in actually having some empathy for the ancient technology. [[spoiler:The biggest technology of all is Ardneh, a computer imbued with semi-magical powers to prevent nuclear war. In doing so, it changed the laws of physics, making magic possible and bringing demons into existence.]]
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* WalkingTechfix: This is Rolf's special gift, in a world where almost no-one understands the few pieces of {{Magitech}} that remain. [[spoiler:It leads to him being recruited directly by Ardneh as an agent.]]
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* WalkingTechfix: This is Rolf's special gift, in a world where almost no-one understands the few pieces of {{Magitech}} LostTechnology that remain. [[spoiler:It leads to him being recruited directly by Ardneh as an agent.]]
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* [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With a Demon]]: Eastern lords are expected to make one as a pledge of loyalty to the Empire. [[spoiler:Charmian's father, Lord Ekuman, gave his daughters to a demon. She, in turn, begged the demon to take her sister as evidence of her own loyalty.]] Chup was unusual in not yet having made such a pledge.
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* [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With a Demon]]: Eastern lords are expected to make one as a pledge of loyalty to the Empire. [[spoiler:Charmian's father, Lord Ekuman, gave his two daughters to a demon. She, Charmian, in turn, begged the demon to take her younger sister as evidence of her own loyalty.]] Chup was unusual in not yet having made such a pledge.
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* LongLostRelative: Rolf's sister disappears at the beginning of Book 1; in the beginning of Book 2, months later, he learns that she is still alive and begins searching for her. [[spoiler:They are eventually reunited, but ''she isn't his blood sister''; she is Charmian's younger sister, the one she threw to the demon to ensure her own escape. Both girls lost their memories of each other, and the younger sister is now a slave for the older. [[OurDemonsAreDifferent She is still alive because the demon placed its life in her ''hair'' and sent her far away, not anticipating that she would be brought back to the castle next to the demon's lair. The demon is killed when the heroes learn the truth, cut off & burn the hair.]]]]
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* LongLostRelative: Rolf's sister disappears at the beginning of Book 1; in the beginning of Book 2, months later, he learns that she is still alive and begins searching for her. [[spoiler:They are eventually reunited, but ''she isn't his blood sister''; she is Charmian's younger sister, the one she threw to the demon to ensure her own escape. Both girls lost their memories of each other, and the younger sister is now a slave for the older. [[OurDemonsAreDifferent She is still alive because the demon placed its life in her ''hair'' hair]] and sent her far away, not anticipating that she would be brought back to the castle next to the demon's lair. The demon is killed when the heroes learn the truth, cut off & burn the her hair.]]]]]]
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* BlondesAreEvil: Everyone who sees Lady Charmian is enchanted by her golden hair. [[spoiler:As a girl, she threw her dark-haired younger sister to a demon lord in order to save herself. Now ''that'' counts as evil.]]
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* LongLostRelative: Rolf's sister disappears at the beginning of Book 1; in the beginning of Book 2, months later, he learns that she is still alive and begins searching for her. [[spoiler:They are eventually reunited, but ''she isn't his blood sister''; she is Charmian's younger sister, the one she threw to the demon to ensure her own escape. Both girls lost their memories of each other, and the younger sister is now a slave for the older. [[OurDemonsAreDifferent She is still alive because the demon placed its life in her ''hair'' and sent her far away, not anticipating that she would be brought back to the castle next to the demon's lair. The demon is killed when the heroes learn the truth, cut off & burn the hair.]]]]
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* FemmeFatale: Lady Charmian plays this towards powerful men in the Eastern Empire, as she tries to advance her prospects at any cost- all while stuck in the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor when it comes to her actual husband, Lord Chup.
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* BatmanGambit: The main plot of ''Changeling Earth'' is Ardneh's finally revealling his location to the East, luring them to himself, thus putting them in a position to be destroyed by his counterstroke.
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* BatmanGambit: The main plot of ''Changeling Earth'' is Ardneh's Ardneh finally revealling his location to the East, luring them to himself, thus putting himself and making them desperate enough to actually summon the demon Orcus. This puts them in a position to be destroyed by his Ardneh's counterstroke.
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* DeathByIrony:
** Satrap Ekuman manages to take over the Elephant, [[spoiler:the atomic-powered tank that Rolf managed to reactivate. He then can't escape when Rolf drowns him by spraying the foam from the Satrap's own {{Magitech palace fire extinguisher}} into the air intakes.]]
** Som The Dead was imbued with the power to turn attacks back against his foes; trying to kill him killed you instead. [[spoiler:This is simply because he is, in some way, already dead, but still walking around. He meets his end when Draffut [[PuffOfLogic mistakes him for a gravely wounded soldier and heals him]].]]
** Satrap Ekuman manages to take over the Elephant, [[spoiler:the atomic-powered tank that Rolf managed to reactivate. He then can't escape when Rolf drowns him by spraying the foam from the Satrap's own {{Magitech palace fire extinguisher}} into the air intakes.]]
** Som The Dead was imbued with the power to turn attacks back against his foes; trying to kill him killed you instead. [[spoiler:This is simply because he is, in some way, already dead, but still walking around. He meets his end when Draffut [[PuffOfLogic mistakes him for a gravely wounded soldier and heals him]].]]
to:
* DeathByIrony:
** Satrap Ekuman manages to take over the Elephant, [[spoiler:the atomic-powered tank that Rolf managed to reactivate. He then can't escape when Rolf drowns him by spraying the foam from the Satrap's own {{Magitech palace fire extinguisher}} into the air intakes.]]
**DeathByIrony: Som The Dead was imbued with the power to turn attacks back against his foes; trying to kill him killed you instead. [[spoiler:This is simply because he is, in some way, already dead, but still walking around. He meets his end when Draffut [[PuffOfLogic mistakes him for a gravely wounded soldier and heals him]].]]
** Satrap Ekuman manages to take over the Elephant, [[spoiler:the atomic-powered tank that Rolf managed to reactivate. He then can't escape when Rolf drowns him by spraying the foam from the Satrap's own {{Magitech palace fire extinguisher}} into the air intakes.]]
**
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* OurDemonsAreDifferent
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* OurDemonsAreDifferentOurDemonsAreDifferent: Every demon [[spoiler:except Orcus]] has a soul which is kept carefully hidden outside its body. Find the soul, and you have the power to destroy the demon.
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* WalkingTechfix: This is Rolf's special gift, in a world where almost no-one understands the few pieces of {{Magitech}} that remain. [[spoiler:It leads to him being recruited directly by Ardneh as an agent.]]
to:
* WalkingTechfix: This is Rolf's special gift, in a world where almost no-one understands the few pieces of {{Magitech}} that remain. [[spoiler:It leads to him being recruited directly by Ardneh as an agent.]]]]
* WorthyOpponent: Lord Chup, in Book 1 (''The Broken Lands''), regards a captured Rolf as this, when Rolf has the guts to pick up the sword Chup throws down as a challenge. Rolf returns the respect, believing Chup, while he is still an Eastern Lord, is above lying and petty cruelty.
* WorthyOpponent: Lord Chup, in Book 1 (''The Broken Lands''), regards a captured Rolf as this, when Rolf has the guts to pick up the sword Chup throws down as a challenge. Rolf returns the respect, believing Chup, while he is still an Eastern Lord, is above lying and petty cruelty.
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** Satrap Ekuman manages to take over the Elephant, [[spoiler:an atomic-powered tank that Rolf managed to reactivate. Rolf drowns Ekuman by spraying the foam from the Satrap's own palace fire extinguisher into the air intakes.]]
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** Satrap Ekuman manages to take over the Elephant, [[spoiler:an [[spoiler:the atomic-powered tank that Rolf managed to reactivate. He then can't escape when Rolf drowns Ekuman him by spraying the foam from the Satrap's own {{Magitech palace fire extinguisher extinguisher}} into the air intakes.]]
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* OnlyICanMakeItGo: Rolf is destined to ride the Elephant, [[spoiler:an atomic-powered tank connected to Ardneh.]]
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* TankGoodness: [[spoiler:The Elephant is an atomic-powered tank lying dormant from before the Great Change. Ardneh leads Rolf to its hangar, where Rolf's TechSavvy allows him to wake it up and pilot it into battle.]]
* TechSavvy: This is Rolf's special gift, in a world where almost no-one understands the few pieces of {{Magitech}} that remain. [[spoiler:It leads to him being recruited directly by Ardneh as an agent.]]
* TechSavvy: This is Rolf's special gift, in a world where almost no-one understands the few pieces of {{Magitech}} that remain. [[spoiler:It leads to him being recruited directly by Ardneh as an agent.]]
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* TankGoodness: [[spoiler:The Elephant is an atomic-powered tank lying dormant from before the Great Change. Ardneh leads Rolf to its hangar, where Rolf's TechSavvy MachineEmpathy allows him to wake it up and pilot it into battle.]]
*TechSavvy: WalkingTechfix: This is Rolf's special gift, in a world where almost no-one understands the few pieces of {{Magitech}} that remain. [[spoiler:It leads to him being recruited directly by Ardneh as an agent.]]
*
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* HeroOfAnotherStory: Prince Duncan, leader of the Western armies, appears in Book 3 having successfully waged war against the Empire for several years, separately from Rolf's group. ''Much'' more successfully, as Rolf's is still more or less a rag-tag rebel group, while Duncan's is sweeping up the coast against the Emperor's armies.
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* TankGoodness: [[spoiler:The Elephant is an atomic-powered tank lying dormant from before the Great Change. Ardneh leads Rolf to its hangar, where Rolf's TechSavvy allows him to wake it up and pilot it into battle.]]
to:
* TankGoodness: [[spoiler:The Elephant is an atomic-powered tank lying dormant from before the Great Change. Ardneh leads Rolf to its hangar, where Rolf's TechSavvy allows him to wake it up and pilot it into battle.]]
* TechSavvy: This is Rolf's special gift, in a world where almost no-one understands the few pieces of {{Magitech}} that remain. [[spoiler:It leads to him being recruited directly by Ardneh as an agent.]]
* TechSavvy: This is Rolf's special gift, in a world where almost no-one understands the few pieces of {{Magitech}} that remain. [[spoiler:It leads to him being recruited directly by Ardneh as an agent.]]
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* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:This is Lady Charmian's fate when the curse she placed on her servant girl- to grow old and ugly whenever a man touched her in love- is reversed at the end of the series, causing her to need her husband's touch to retain her youth and beauty. This effectively binds her to Chup, since he was the only man who ever actually loved her.]]
to:
* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:This is Lady Charmian's fate when the curse she placed on her servant girl- to magically grow old and ugly whenever a man touched her in love- sexually- is reversed at the end of the series, causing her to need her husband's touch to retain her youth and beauty. This effectively binds her to her husband, Lord Chup, since he was the only man who ever actually loved her.]]
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* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The leader of the Western army is Prince Duncan of the Offshore Isles.
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* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The leader of the Western army is Prince Duncan of the Offshore Isles.Isles.
* TankGoodness: [[spoiler:The Elephant is an atomic-powered tank lying dormant from before the Great Change. Ardneh leads Rolf to its hangar, where Rolf's TechSavvy allows him to wake it up and pilot it into battle.]]
* TankGoodness: [[spoiler:The Elephant is an atomic-powered tank lying dormant from before the Great Change. Ardneh leads Rolf to its hangar, where Rolf's TechSavvy allows him to wake it up and pilot it into battle.]]
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* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Demons will eat your soul if not bound by the most careful magical workings. And with the most powerful, even that may not be enough (see OrcusOnHisThrone).
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* OurDemonsAreDifferent
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* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:This is Lady Charmian's fate when the curse she placed on her servant is reversed at the end of the series, causing her to need her husband's touch to retain her beauty- since he was the only man who ever actually loved her.]]
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* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:This is Lady Charmian's fate when the curse she placed on her servant girl- to grow old and ugly whenever a man touched her in love- is reversed at the end of the series, causing her to need her husband's touch to retain her beauty- youth and beauty. This effectively binds her to Chup, since he was the only man who ever actually loved her.]]
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* AerithAndBob: Mewick, Som the Dead, Strijeef... and then we have Rolf, Sarah, and Catherine. A midway example is the Emperor John Ominor.
* AGodIAmNot: Ardneh (in all three books) and Draffut the Beastlord (in ''The Black Mountains'') are both believed to be deities by the common folk. The truth is somewhat different. [[spoiler:Ardneh is actually a self-aware computer program 500 centuries old; Draffut began his existence as a dog, and grew to god-like power and stature through exposure to {{Magitech}}.]]
* AGodIAmNot: Ardneh (in all three books) and Draffut the Beastlord (in ''The Black Mountains'') are both believed to be deities by the common folk. The truth is somewhat different. [[spoiler:Ardneh is actually a self-aware computer program 500 centuries old; Draffut began his existence as a dog, and grew to god-like power and stature through exposure to {{Magitech}}.]]
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* AerithAndBob: Mewick, Ekuman, Charmian, Som the Dead, Strijeef...Dead... and then we have Rolf, Sarah, and Catherine. A midway example is the Emperor John Ominor.
* AGodIAmNot: Ardneh (in all three books) and Draffut the Beastlord (in ''The Black Mountains'') are both believed to bedeities by the common folk.supernatural entities. The truth is somewhat different. [[spoiler:Ardneh is actually a self-aware computer program 500 centuries old; Draffut began his existence as a dog, and grew to god-like power and stature through exposure to {{Magitech}}.]]
* AGodIAmNot: Ardneh (in all three books) and Draffut the Beastlord (in ''The Black Mountains'') are both believed to be
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* [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With The Demon]]: Eastern lords are expected to make one as a pledge of loyalty to the Empire. [[spoiler:Charmian's father, Lord Ekuman, gave his daughters to a demon. She, in turn, begged the demon to take her sister as evidence of her own loyalty.]] Chup was unusual in not yet having made such a pledge.
to:
* [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With The a Demon]]: Eastern lords are expected to make one as a pledge of loyalty to the Empire. [[spoiler:Charmian's father, Lord Ekuman, gave his daughters to a demon. She, in turn, begged the demon to take her sister as evidence of her own loyalty.]] Chup was unusual in not yet having made such a pledge.pledge.
* DeathByIrony:
** Satrap Ekuman manages to take over the Elephant, [[spoiler:an atomic-powered tank that Rolf managed to reactivate. Rolf drowns Ekuman by spraying the foam from the Satrap's own palace fire extinguisher into the air intakes.]]
** Som The Dead was imbued with the power to turn attacks back against his foes; trying to kill him killed you instead. [[spoiler:This is simply because he is, in some way, already dead, but still walking around. He meets his end when Draffut [[PuffOfLogic mistakes him for a gravely wounded soldier and heals him]].]]
* DevilButNoGod: There are demons all over the place, but even the ''word'' "gods" tends to puzzle people when they hear it.
* DualWielding: Western warrior Mewick does this with a short sword and a hatchet.
* DeathByIrony:
** Satrap Ekuman manages to take over the Elephant, [[spoiler:an atomic-powered tank that Rolf managed to reactivate. Rolf drowns Ekuman by spraying the foam from the Satrap's own palace fire extinguisher into the air intakes.]]
** Som The Dead was imbued with the power to turn attacks back against his foes; trying to kill him killed you instead. [[spoiler:This is simply because he is, in some way, already dead, but still walking around. He meets his end when Draffut [[PuffOfLogic mistakes him for a gravely wounded soldier and heals him]].]]
* DevilButNoGod: There are demons all over the place, but even the ''word'' "gods" tends to puzzle people when they hear it.
* DualWielding: Western warrior Mewick does this with a short sword and a hatchet.
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* FunWithAcronyms: ARDNEH: [[spoiler:Automated Restoration Directorate- National Executive Headquarters. In the fine traditions of NORAD.]]
to:
* FunWithAcronyms: ARDNEH: [[spoiler:Automated [[spoiler:Automatic Restoration Directorate- National Executive Headquarters. In the fine traditions of NORAD.]]
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
* MeaningfulName: Ardneh is a reversal of the Indian deity Indra. The Lord Ekuman, BigBad of ''The Broken Lands", is the opposite of Namuci, the demon Indra kills in mythology. Pointed out to Ekuman by his retainer, but dismissed as coincidence. He should have listened.
to:
* {{Magitech}}: The advanced technology that still exists is either 50,000 years old and is treated as magical, or is created by djinnis summoned for that purpose. Rolf is highly unusual and crucial to the rebel war effort in actually having some empathy for the ancient technology. [[spoiler:The biggest technology of all is Ardneh, a computer imbued with semi-magical powers to prevent nuclear war. In doing so, it changed the laws of physics, making magic possible and bringing demons into existence.]]
* MeaningfulName: Ardneh is a reversal of the Indian deity Indra. The Lord Ekuman, BigBad of ''The Broken Lands", is the opposite of Namuci, the demon Indra kills in mythology. Pointed out to Ekuman by his retainer, but dismissed as coincidence. [[DeathByIrony He should have listened.]]
* MeaningfulName: Ardneh is a reversal of the Indian deity Indra. The Lord Ekuman, BigBad of ''The Broken Lands", is the opposite of Namuci, the demon Indra kills in mythology. Pointed out to Ekuman by his retainer, but dismissed as coincidence. [[DeathByIrony He should have listened.]]
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A trilogy of fantasy novels by Fred Saberhagen, set 50,000 years in Earth's future, after a devastating change in the laws of physics which unleashed demons and made most technology unusable. The books are ''The Broken Lands'', ''The Dark Mountains'', and ''Changeling Earth'' (later re-titled ''Ardneh's World''). They tell the story of the conflict between the titular Empire of the East and the rebellious Free Folk of the West, in particular an orphan warrior named Rolf.
----
!! ''Empire of the East'' provides examples of:
* AerithAndBob: Mewick, Som the Dead, Strijeef... and then we have Rolf, Sarah, and Catherine. A midway example is the Emperor John Ominor.
* AGodIAmNot: Ardneh (in all three books) and Draffut the Beastlord (in ''The Black Mountains'') are both believed to be deities by the common folk. The truth is somewhat different. [[spoiler:Ardneh is actually a self-aware computer program 500 centuries old; Draffut began his existence as a dog, and grew to god-like power and stature through exposure to {{Magitech}}.]]
* BatmanGambit: The main plot of ''Changeling Earth'' is Ardneh's finally revealling his location to the East, luring them to himself, thus putting them in a position to be destroyed by his counterstroke.
* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:This is Lady Charmian's fate when the curse she placed on her servant is reversed at the end of the series, causing her to need her husband's touch to retain her beauty- since he was the only man who ever actually loved her.]]
* CallARabbitASmeerp: There are no horses, there are "riding-beasts". There are no mules, there are "load-beasts". But there are birds and lizards. Possibly justified in that it is 50,000 years in the future, but why have only a few animals' names been lost?
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Lady Charmian can't make up her mind whose side she's really on, even her own husband's. Justified, as the whole Eastern Empire suffers from this, too.
* [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With The Demon]]: Eastern lords are expected to make one as a pledge of loyalty to the Empire. [[spoiler:Charmian's father, Lord Ekuman, gave his daughters to a demon. She, in turn, begged the demon to take her sister as evidence of her own loyalty.]] Chup was unusual in not yet having made such a pledge.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Lady Charmian hesitates to kill Chup when she has him at her mercy on more than one occasion, though she savored the thought of his death many times. Possibly she actually loves him. By the end of the series, it is clear that he at least loves her (though he's no longer evil by that point).
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Lord Chup will kill for revenge, but throwing his wife to the demons- even though she tried to have him killed- is beneath him.
* FunWithAcronyms: ARDNEH: [[spoiler:Automated Restoration Directorate- National Executive Headquarters. In the fine traditions of NORAD.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: ''The Black Mountains'' is the story of Lord Chup's extended turn from WorthyOpponent into hero, with lots of CharacterDevelopment.
* KlingonPromotion: The Empire runs on this; it's noted by several characters that the Emperor believes in this priciple, and that an underling who can't defend his position wasn't worthy of it to begin with.
* MeaningfulName: Ardneh is a reversal of the Indian deity Indra. The Lord Ekuman, BigBad of ''The Broken Lands", is the opposite of Namuci, the demon Indra kills in mythology. Pointed out to Ekuman by his retainer, but dismissed as coincidence. He should have listened.
* TheMetricSystemIsHereToStay
* OrcusOnHisThrone: Averted; Orcus actually is a main character in Book 3 and takes a critical part in the action. [[spoiler:In this case, Orcus is actually a nuclear explosion arrested in mid-blast 50,000 years ago by "The Great Change" that Ardneh caused; by ending the state of Change, Orcus reverts to his original form, this time over the assembled armies of the Eastern Empire. This is the final step in Ardneh's BatmanGambit.]]
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The leader of the Western army is Prince Duncan of the Offshore Isles.
----
!! ''Empire of the East'' provides examples of:
* AerithAndBob: Mewick, Som the Dead, Strijeef... and then we have Rolf, Sarah, and Catherine. A midway example is the Emperor John Ominor.
* AGodIAmNot: Ardneh (in all three books) and Draffut the Beastlord (in ''The Black Mountains'') are both believed to be deities by the common folk. The truth is somewhat different. [[spoiler:Ardneh is actually a self-aware computer program 500 centuries old; Draffut began his existence as a dog, and grew to god-like power and stature through exposure to {{Magitech}}.]]
* BatmanGambit: The main plot of ''Changeling Earth'' is Ardneh's finally revealling his location to the East, luring them to himself, thus putting them in a position to be destroyed by his counterstroke.
* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:This is Lady Charmian's fate when the curse she placed on her servant is reversed at the end of the series, causing her to need her husband's touch to retain her beauty- since he was the only man who ever actually loved her.]]
* CallARabbitASmeerp: There are no horses, there are "riding-beasts". There are no mules, there are "load-beasts". But there are birds and lizards. Possibly justified in that it is 50,000 years in the future, but why have only a few animals' names been lost?
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Lady Charmian can't make up her mind whose side she's really on, even her own husband's. Justified, as the whole Eastern Empire suffers from this, too.
* [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With The Demon]]: Eastern lords are expected to make one as a pledge of loyalty to the Empire. [[spoiler:Charmian's father, Lord Ekuman, gave his daughters to a demon. She, in turn, begged the demon to take her sister as evidence of her own loyalty.]] Chup was unusual in not yet having made such a pledge.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Lady Charmian hesitates to kill Chup when she has him at her mercy on more than one occasion, though she savored the thought of his death many times. Possibly she actually loves him. By the end of the series, it is clear that he at least loves her (though he's no longer evil by that point).
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Lord Chup will kill for revenge, but throwing his wife to the demons- even though she tried to have him killed- is beneath him.
* FunWithAcronyms: ARDNEH: [[spoiler:Automated Restoration Directorate- National Executive Headquarters. In the fine traditions of NORAD.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: ''The Black Mountains'' is the story of Lord Chup's extended turn from WorthyOpponent into hero, with lots of CharacterDevelopment.
* KlingonPromotion: The Empire runs on this; it's noted by several characters that the Emperor believes in this priciple, and that an underling who can't defend his position wasn't worthy of it to begin with.
* MeaningfulName: Ardneh is a reversal of the Indian deity Indra. The Lord Ekuman, BigBad of ''The Broken Lands", is the opposite of Namuci, the demon Indra kills in mythology. Pointed out to Ekuman by his retainer, but dismissed as coincidence. He should have listened.
* TheMetricSystemIsHereToStay
* OrcusOnHisThrone: Averted; Orcus actually is a main character in Book 3 and takes a critical part in the action. [[spoiler:In this case, Orcus is actually a nuclear explosion arrested in mid-blast 50,000 years ago by "The Great Change" that Ardneh caused; by ending the state of Change, Orcus reverts to his original form, this time over the assembled armies of the Eastern Empire. This is the final step in Ardneh's BatmanGambit.]]
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The leader of the Western army is Prince Duncan of the Offshore Isles.
