History Literature / Lythande

* GenderNeutralWriting

* UncannyValley: Lythande finds there to be something subtly wrong and disturbing about everyone she sees in the town.

* BalefulPolymorph: The innkeeper transforms travelers into pigs, and then slaughters those pigs for food.

* BalefulPolymorph: Lythande and the other Adept are turned into dogs.

* SchoolgirlLesbians: This story shows some of Lythande's backstory, where she and another girl had a relationship. For the other girl it was a phase and she grew out of it; Lythande did not.

* EnthrallingSiren: The enemy Lythande is hired to fight is some sort of siren that attracts and kills all of the village's men.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: An early draft of the story had Lythande agreeing to live in Kaimas with Westerly and the others. MZB did not want the character to be permanently reformed (and made happy!) this way, so the ending was rewritten to make it clear that she's only going for a visit.

* RitualMagic: They attempt to undo the curse by following old wive's tales about running certain directions or numbers of times around gallows and eating certain plants.

* ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacguffin: The priestess at the beginning presses her magic sword onto Lythande, to take back to the temple.

* BestialityIsDepraved: The insult "You molester of virgin goats!" is commonly used in the region where the story is set. [[spoiler:In the finale, when Lythande is throwing insults at the villainous Adept to distract him before he figures out her Secret, she throws in the one about virgin goats and his reaction makes her immediately realize that that's ''his'' Secret]].

* OnlyOneName: Lythande, just Lythande. And that's not even the birth name, which is pointedly not revealed in "Sea Wrack".

* GuileHero: Oddly enough, for someone supposedly bound to defend Law, Lythande's at least as likely, if not more, to solve an obstacle with wits, bluffs, [[TakeAThirdOption third options]], and manipulation as with magic and force. Dealing with the public and potential customers involves quite a lot of wearing masks and playing their expectations, and for all Lythande wants to avoid politics, talking the way out of a corner happens pretty often.
** There is a subtype of ActionHero, though, because when wits and talking aren't enough Lythande's perfectly ready with magic and blades.

* AllMenAreRapists: This is ''not'' a nice setting, and several plots revolve around just how normal and expected it is for almost any man to force himself on any woman if he gets the chance.