History Literature / TheTimeOfContempt

** Philippa, in particular, is a Redanian nationalist and is genuinely outraged by the betrayal of the mages allied with Nilfgaard.

** Almost every single mage in the North chooses a side between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms. Tissaia is stunned when she realizes she and [[TeamSwitzerland a small handful of others]] are the only mages out of thousands who are more loyal to each other than their homelands.

* TeleportersAndTransporters: The portal in the Tower of the Seagull is supposed to be connected to the mysterious Tower of the Swallow but has long been known to malfunction. [[spoiler:Ciri learns this the hard way when she ends up in the middle of the Korath Desert after using the portal to escape from Thanedd.]]

* StockholmSyndrome: Implied to be the case for Ciri and her feelings towards Mistle. Even though Mistle effectively raped her, Ciri gets attached to her because she had just gone through a severe TraumaCongaLine and the Rat was the first person to consistently treat her with some measure of respect and kindness up until that point. That and because the alternative was to be alone.

* WarIsHell: How the Second Nilfgaard War is portrayed for Aedirn and Lyria.

* WhamEpisode: The Thanedd Coup represents the turning point in the saga, where things go completely to hell, not only for the North, but for the protagonists. [[spoiler:The differing allegiances of the sorcerers are revealed, causing fighting to break out everywhere between those aligned with the North and those secretly working for Nilfgaard. Yennefer disappears without a trace, Ciri is forced to escape the chaos by running into a portal, and Geralt battles his way across the island to find both of them only to be defeated by Vilgefortz. In the aftermath, Geralt is gravely injured, Yennefer's whereabouts are unknown, and Ciri is left stranded alone in a desert far from civilization.]]
* WizardingSchool: Aretuza on Thanedd, where Yennefer intends to enroll Ciri.

** Leads to a BreakTheHaughty moment when she discovers not only DO mages hold nationalist sentiments but they are willing to fight and die for them. That compared to their homelands, political power, and race, that magic is a MINOR consideration.

** The [[spoiler: mages siding with Nilfgaard]] have nothing to win on doing so. The only way they can enjoy their extremely privilidged position and all the luxuries is by staying loyal, because [[spoiler: Nilfgaard is keeping its magic users on extemely short leash, reducing them to civil servants with minimal pay and close to zero political power beyond said civil service]]. While it makes sense why [[spoiler: [[TheStarscream Vilgefortz]] and [[NotInThisForYourRevolution Francesca]]]] want to defect, nobody else has anything to gain by following them.
* MagicKnight: Geralt never suspects [[spoiler: Vilgefortz]] is one of these, even though he notes that he'd been a mercenary in his youth. It ends poorly for him.
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Tissaia thinks this is a stupid disgusting idea and that the North is no better than Nilfgaard. She thinks mages must hold themselves to a higher standard of morality. [[spoiler: The ''vast'' majority of mages, it turns out, disagree.]]

* NeutralNoLonger: Almost every single mage in the North chooses a side between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms. Tissaia is stunned when she realizes she and [[TeamSwitzerland a small handful of others]] are the only mages out of thousands who are more loyal to each other than their homelands.

* PartyScattering: Happens to the main cast of the series during the [[spoiler:Thanedd coup]] at the end of the book.
* QuestionableConsent: Ciri is rescued from gang rape by the Rats, AffablyEvil types after she kills her first person. Traumatized, Ciri doesn't resist when Kayleigh tries to have sex with her but is obviously terrified. Mistle 'rescues' her only for her to have sex with her instead. Ciri still feels frightened and contaminated by her rape by Mistle. She continues to exhibit signs of dissociation, submissiveness, and Stockholm Syndrome several books on. It could be a genuine depiction of a young teenager who’s been through wave after wave of trauma while being sexually menaced by everyone she encounters. She could easily have fixated on Mistle as the least horrifying threat and channeled her subsequent rage and humiliation into violence toward the Rats’ victims. Survival does scary things to people.

* TheBeautifulElite: This is how mages are portrayed.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: The Second Nilfgaard War has the Nilfgaardians act in a truly monstrous fashion but the Kings in the North act thoroughly contemptible during it too. Still, Nilfgaard is actively destroying nations while the Northern monarchs are just profiting from it.

* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler: Vilgefortz]], irritated with Geralt's taunting, proceeds to beat the living shit out of him. A tad earlier, Geralt slices through Cahir's squad.
** Lampshaded. While recovering from his fight with [[spoiler:Vilgefortz]], Geralt thinks of what he could have done to avoid being so badly hurt, and comes to conclusion that nothing would have helped -- his opponent was so above his level that if he wanted to leave the fight unharmed, he should have run away.

* DirtyCoward: How the North's monarchs react to Nilfgaard's invasion once things go south. ''Nobody'', even the rulers that are established as compassionate and honoring their alliances, is willing to help Aedirn or Rivia, declaring them lost cause. This bites everyone in the ass when they realise too late this isn't some border skirmish, but a total invasion that's not gonna stop on its own.
* TheDragon: Vilgefortz has been serving as this to Emhyr for decades. In truth, he's been TheStarscream all the time. Emhyr wasn't fooled for a second, though.

* ForWantofANail: The narration jokes that the history of all the events that happened later would have been much different if, when Geralt woke up as the Thanedd coup was kicking off, he had relieved himself in a flowerpot in his and Yennefer's room (as most would have), instead of wandering around looking for a bathroom.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: The mages live lives of hedonistic luxury, fine food, sex, and gossip. [[spoiler: They're also now bitterly divided into those who support the North and those who support the Empire]].

** The [[spoiler: mages siding with Nilfgaard]] have nothing to win on doing so. The only way they can enjoy their extremely privilidged position and all the luxuries is by staying loyal, because [[spoiler: Nilfgaard is keeping its magic users on extemely short leash, reducing them to civil servants with minimal pay and close to zero political power beyond said civil service]]. While it makes sense why [[spoiler: [[TheStarscream Vilgefortz]] and [[NotInThisForYourRevolution Francesca]] want to defect, nobody else has anything to gain by following them.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: The mages live lives of hedonistic luxury, fine food, sex, and gossip. [[spoiler: They're also now bitterly divided into those who support the North and those who support the Empire.]]
* DirtyCoward: How the North's monarchs react to Nilfgaard's invasion once things go south.

-->''“War to the castles, peace to the villages,” Coehoorn said to his commanders yesterday. You know that principle,’ he added at once. ‘You learned it in officer training. That principle applied until today; from tomorrow you’re to forget it. From tomorrow a different principle applies, which will now be the battle cry of the war we are waging. The battle cry and my orders run: War on everything alive. War on everything that can burn. You are to leave scorched earth behind you. From tomorrow, we take war beyond the line we will withdraw behind after signing the treaty. We are withdrawing, but there is to be nothing but scorched earth beyond that line. The kingdoms of Rivia and Aedirn are to be reduced to ashes! Remember Sodden! The time of revenge is with us!’ ''

* {{Irony}}: In the prologue there are rumors of the death of Princess Cirilla of Cintra, and a horse messenger is hired to deliver a message from King Foltest to King Demavend which confirms this. Unbeknownst to the messenger, he had encountered Ciri(lla) and Yennefer in a town he'd passed ''after'' he first heard the rumors.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Tissaia thinks this is a stupid disgusting idea and that the North is no better than Nilfgaard. She thinks mages must hold themselves to a higher standard of morality. [[spoiler: The "vast" majority of mages, it turns out, disagree.]]

* NeutralNoLonger: Almost every single mage in the North chooses a side between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms. Tissaia is stunned when she realizes she and a handful of others are the only mages out of thousands who are more loyal to each other than their homelands.
** Geralt insists on remaining neutral but because of his PapaWolf protection of Ciri, he's in EVERYONE'S way.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Rats.

** Worse, [[ShameIfSomethingHappened to safeguard the well being of the elves of the Valley]], they are expected to [[StandYourGround continue fighting to the last elf]].

* TheArchmage: Tissaia is able to tear down all of the defenses of an island by herself, which other mages had spent ''months'' putting up. [[spoiler: It proves to be a profoundly ''stupid'' thing to do.]]

* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler: While not normal, Ciri relinquishes her potential to become a godlike Sorcerer forever.]]
* LesCollaborateurs: [[spoiler: Vilgefortz and Franscesca Findabair]] along with all of their associates are in Nilfgaard's pockets.

* DirtyCoward: How the North's monarchs react to Nilfgaard's invasion once things go South.

* ForWantofANail: The narration jokes that the history of all the events that happened later would have been much different when, right after the Thanedd coup kicks off, Geralt wakes ups and heads towards a bathroom instead of pissing in a flowerpot in his and Yennefer's room like most would have done.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Tissaia thinks this is a stupid disgusting idea and that the North is no better than Nilfgaard. She thinks mages must hold themselves to a higher standard of morality. [[spoiler: The 'vast' majority of mages, it turns out, disagree.]]

* LesCollaborateurs: [[spoiler: Vilgefortz and Franscesca Finderbair]] along with all of their associates are in the pocket of Nilfgaard.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Tissaia thinks this is a stupid disgusting idea and that the North is no better than Nilfgaard. She thinks mages must hold themselves to a higher standard of morality. [[spoiler: The vast-vast majority of mages, it turns out,disagree.]]
** Philippa, in particular, is a nationalist of Redania and is genuinely ''outraged'' by the betrayal of the mages allied with Nilfgaard.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: InUniverse, Ciri names herself Falka.([[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast an infamous rebellion leader]] in the North) to the Rats.
* NeutralNoLonger: Almost every single mage in the North chooses a side between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms. Tissaia is stunned when she realizes she and a handful of others are the ''only'' mages out of thousands who are more loyal to each other than their homelands.

* PapaWolf: ''Everything'' between Geralt and Ciri is slaughtered in a manner not too dissimilar to ''Film/{{Taken}}.'' [[spoiler: Until Geralt meets Vilgefortz and the best he can do is slow him down by letting him beat on him.]]

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Ralf Blunden, The Professor, (no, not the one from the game!) speaks this way.

* WizardingSchool: Arethusa on Thanedd, where Yennefer intends to enroll Ciri.

* QuestionableConsent: Ciri is rescued from gang rape by the Rats, AffablyEvil types after she kills her first person. Traumatized, Ciri doesn't resist when Kayleigh tries to have sex with her but is obviously terrified. Mistle 'rescues' her only for her to have sex with her instead.
** DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale: The former is treated as creepy by the narrative, the latter is treated as romantic, going on how well Mistle and Ciri get along later.
** Not exactly. Ciri still feels frightened and contaminated by her rape by Mistle. She continues to exhibit signs of dissociation, submissiveness, and Stockholm Syndrome several books on. It could be a genuine depiction of a young teenager who’s been through wave after wave of trauma while being sexually menaced by everyone she encounters. She could easily have fixated on Mistle as the least horrifying threat and channeled her subsequent rage and humiliation into violence toward the Rats’ victims. Survival does scary things to people.

* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler: Vilgefortz]], irritated with Geralt's taunting, proceeds to beat the living shit out of him.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Tissaia finds the idea ''ludicrous'' that a mage would ever choose their homelands over their fellow wizards. She is disgusted, [[TitleDrop contemptuous even]], that mages would fight for the North against other mages who would fight for Nilfgaard. She also believes magic should be a wizard's only passion and that all sorceresses should be sterialized.

* WhamEpisode: The Thanedd Coup represents the turning point in the saga, where things go completely to hell, not only for the North, but for the protagonists. [[spoiler:The differing allegiances of the sorcerers are revealed, causing fighting to break out everywhere between those aligned with the North and those secretly working for Nilfgaard. Yennefer disappears under mysterious circumstances, Ciri is forced to escape the chaos by running into a portal, and Geralt battles his way across the island to find both of them only to be defeated by Vilgefortz. In the aftermath, Geralt is gravely injured, Yennefer's whereabouts are unknown, and Ciri is left stranded alone in a desert far from civilization.]]

* BreakTheCutie: The entire book is one long, drawn-out case of cutie-breaking for Ciri. Aside from suffering her recurring nightmares with the Nilfgaardian black knight, [[spoiler:Ciri is nearly captured by multiple people during the Thanedd Coup, is forced to draw blood for the first time, ends up stranded in a desert where she is forced to eat bugs and drink mud to stave off starvation and dehydration, loses the unicorn she befriended over the course of that ordeal, is captured hog-tied and nearly raped by a band of brigands, only to be rescued by *another* band of brigands, one of whom more or less does rape her. It's no surprise Ciri's character begins walking down a dark road.]]

* BreakTheCutie: The entire book is one long, drawn-out case of cutie-breaking for Ciri. Aside from suffering her recurring nightmares with the Nilfgaardian black knight, Ciri is nearly captured by multiple people during the Thanedd Coup, is forced to draw blood for the first time, ends up stranded in a desert where she is forced to eat bugs and drink mud to stave off starvation and dehydration, loses the unicorn she befriended over the course of that ordeal, is captured hog-tied and nearly raped by a band of brigands, only to be rescued by *another* band of brigands, one of whom more or less does rape her. It's no surprise Ciri's character begins walking down a dark road.

* QuestionableConsent: Ciri is rescued from gang rape by the Rats, ChaoticEvil AffablyEvil types after she kills her first person. Traumatized, Ciri doesn't resist when Kayleigh tries to have sex with her but is obviously terrified. Mistle 'rescues' her only for her to have sex with her instead.

While mentoring Ciri in the art of magic, Yennefer is invited to the upcoming sorcerer council at the Thanedd Island. Thanks to insubordinate Ciri, not thrilled by the prospect of becoming a humble student of magic, they reunite with Geralt. However, things go downhill fast; the schemes wrought during the council go well beyond the average when a coup d'etat breaks out amongst the mages. Meanwhile, Nilfgaard wastes not the opportunity to renew its northward onslaught, starting a massive campaign that leads them to crush the Northern Kingdoms one by one.

* TeleportersAndTransporters: The portal in the Tower of the Seagull is supposed to be connected to the mysterious Tower of the Swallow but has long been known to malfunction.

* MagicKnight: Geralt never suspects [[spoiler: Vilgefortz]] is one of these. It ends poorly for him.

* LesCollaborateurs: [[spoiler: Vilgefortz and Franscesca Finderbair]] along with all of their associates are in the pocket of Nilfgaard.

While mentoring Ciri in the art of magic, Yennefer is invited to the upcoming sorcerer council at the Thanedd Island. Thanks to insubordinate Ciri, not thrilled by the prospect of becoming a humble student of magic, they reunite with Geralt. However, things go downhill fast; the schemes wrought during the council go well beyond the average when a coup d'etat breaks out amongst the mages. [[spoiler:Geralt is crippled (would be killed, if it were not for Triss), Yennefer disappears without a trace, and Ciri is teleported by stray magic deep into the Nilfgaard territories.]] Meanwhile, Nilfgaard wastes not the opportunity to renew its northward onslaught, starting a massive campaign that leads them to crush the Northern Kingdoms one by one.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/time_of_contempt.jpg]]

** Displayed in smaller scale, when a Kaedweni platoon leader instructs his men to absolutely stay their hand from pillaging the villages they pass through in order to appear "representable", but concedes that raping women is okay, as long they do it out of sight.

** Lampshaded. While recovering from his fight with [[spoiler:Vilgefortz]], Geralt thinks of what he could do to avoid ending badly damaged, and comes to conclusion that nothing would have helped -- his opponent was so above his level that if he wanted to leave the fight unharmed, he should have run away.