History Literature / TressOfTheEmeraldSea

* ContinuityNod: Charlie explains to Tress that a cup she got from a sailor was forged for an [[Literature/TheStormlightArchive Iriali]] nobleman -- but then all Iriali suddenly disappeared from their island.

* MundaneSolution: How does [[spoiler:Xisis]] cure Ann of her [[ATeamFiring accuracy issues]]? Diagnose her with microscopia and give her prescription goggles.

* HostileWeather: What makes the Crimson Sea so dangerous is the unpredictable storms that can activate the spores.

** During her DarkestHour when [[spoiler:Crow was going to sell her into slavery to the dragon Xisis, Tress instead pretends that ''she'' was actually the one her to sell ''Crow''.]] The [[spoiler:dragon]] is so amused by the obvious bluff that he decides to hear her out.

* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: Tress actually averts this at every opportunity, carefully gathering information and planning her actions instead of jumping to conclusions. The narrator considers it one of the rarest traits for a story's hero.

** Captain Crow is [[spoiler: ImmuneToBullets]] and an incredibly skilled sharpshooter and fighter. [[spoiler: The dragon defeats her by waving a claw in her direction and summoning cloth to hold her.]]

** [[spoilerCharlie's curse requires that he bring the woman he loves to the Sorceress's dwelling, there to be cursed. Hoid manages to change it so that he can break the curse by bringing the woman he loves to ''her'' home, there to be ''versed''.]]

* AssholeVictim: The Crew of [[spoiler: the ''Oot's Dream'' are all covertly smugglers, and their captain is a lech. They’re also willing to enslave Huck because he’s a talking rat and to drug Tress bccause they believe she actually is a royal inspector. And they all end up dead as part of Crow's covert plan to turn her crew deadrunner. Despite this, the crew of the Crow's Song is troubled by their deaths since, while they didn't wish for their deaths, they recognize they were complicit in them. ]]

** Heavy pewter tankard that Charlie sends Tress from his journeys and that Tress takes with her when she leaves the Rock turns out to be very useful several times in the story.
** Two midnight spores that Tress accidentally leaves on her work table when she rushes out of her cabin are later used by [[spoiler: Captain Crow to spy on the mutineers.]]

* CurseEscapeClause: Apparently, all the Sorceress's curses include one purely out of sadism (She likes having her victims know that there ''is'' a way to break their curse and what it is, but takes care to make it either exceedingly difficult or profoundly horrifying or both).

** [[spoiler: Charlie's curse requires that he bring the woman he loves to the Sorceress's dwelling, there to be cursed. Hoid manages to change it so that he can break the curse by bringing the woman he loves to ''her'' home, there to be ''versed''.]]

* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler: It turns out that Hoid made one with Riina. He let her curse him into a blithering idiot, but if he ever broke the curse he would become an Elantrian.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: Tress is ready for it several times, in order to protect the crew from Captain Crow and the Sorceress. The crew don't want to hear about it.

* HoistByHerOwnPetard: Captain Crow plots to [[spoiler:sell Tress into slavery to a dragon in exchange for a magical cure for her terminal illness.]] However, when she [[spoiler: drags Tress to Xisis, Tress tells him that she is the one selling Captain Crow to him as a slave. Crow tries to argue, but the dragon decides Crow would make a more useful servant and accepts Tress's offer.]]

* AssholeVictim: The Crew of [[spoiler: the Oot's Dream are all covertly smugglers, and their captain is a lech. They’re also willing to enslave Huck because he’s a talking rat and to drug Tress bccause they believe she actually is a royal inspector. And they all end up dead as part of Crow's covert plan to turn her crew deadrunner. Despite this, the crew of the Crow's Song is troubled by their deaths since, while they didn't wish for their deaths, they recognize they were complicit in them. ]]

* AssholeVictim: The Crew of [[spoiler: The Oot's Dream are all covertly smugglers, their captain is a lech, they're willing to enslave Huck as he is a talking rat, and to drug Tress cause they believe she actually is a royal inspector. And they all end up dead as part of Crow's covert plan to turn her crew deadrunner. Despite this, the crew of the Crow's Song is troubled by their deaths since while they didn't wish for their deaths,and they recognize they were complicit in them. ]]

* AssholeVictim: The Crew of [[spoiler: The Oot's Dream are all covertly smugglers, their captain is a lech, they're willing to enslave Huck as he is a talking rat, and to drug Tress cause they believe she actually is an inspector. And they all end up dead as part of Crow's covert plan to turn her crew deadrunner. Despite this, the crew of the Crow's Song is troubled by their deaths since while they didn't wish for their deaths, they recognize they were complicit in them. ]]

* ShownTheirWork: As Hoid notes, the spore seas act like water seas due to the process of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquefaction liquefaction,]] a completely real phenomenon where air blown through a loose medium (typically sand, but in this case spores) makes it act like water. Massive vents beneath the seas blow out air almost constantly, stirring the spores and giving them water-like tides and currents.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: After learning that Captain Crow [[spoiler:is dying from a magic parasite and has weeks to live]], Tress starts to feel sorry for her. [[spoiler:But Captain Crow really is just a remorseless, bloodthirsty pirate who murders several people and is willing to sell another into slavery just to save her own life. Ultimately, Tress has no choice but to find a way to defeat her.]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: After overcoming so many problems with brilliance and sheer determination, Tress finds herself at a loss for how to [[spoiler:overcome the Sorceress's defenses]] and wonders what's wrong with her. The answer is incredibly mundane: she's ''tired''. The narrator points out that while stories love to portray clever heroes as always ready for acts of cleverness, pushing an actual person too far will eventually wear them down.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: After learning that Captain Crow [[spoiler: is dying from a magic parasite and has weeks to live]] Tress starts to feel sorry for her. [[spoiler: But Captain Crow really is just a remorseless, bloodthirsty pirate who murders several people and is willing to sell another into slavery just to save her own life. Ultimately, Tress has no choice but to find a way to defeat her.]]

* HoistByHerOwnPetard: Captain Crow plots to [[spoiler: sell Tress into slavery to a dragon in exchange for a magical cure for her terminal illness.]] However, when she [[spoiler: drags Tress to the Dragon, Tress tells him that she is the one selling Captain Crow to him as a slave. Captain Crow tries to argue, but the Dragon decides Crow would make a more useful servant and accepts Tress's offer.]]

** Hoid keeps insisting that Tress already has everything she needs to defeat Captain Crow, even as Crow is [[spoiler: taking Tress to the Dragon.]] It turns out that what she needs to defeat Captain Crow is [[spoiler: Captain Crow. When she takes Tress to trade to the Dragon, Tress simply trades ''her'' instead.]]
** [[spoiler: Huck the talking Rat ''is'' Charlie after the Sorceress cursed him. Even if Tress had known this she still would have had to go on her quest, but things would have been a lot easier if she knew the whole time.]]

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler:Surrounded by guns and a newly Elantrian Hoid, Riina decides to flee the planet as Tress demanded. Hoid notes that the ancient witch actually may have been able to win that fight, but one doesn't become an '''ancient''' witch by fighting unnecessary battles.]]

** During her DarkestHour when [[spoiler:Crow was going to sell her into slavery to the dragon Xisisrefliel, Tress instead pretends that ''she'' was actually the one her to sell ''Crow''.]] The [[spoiler:dragon]] is so amused by the obvious bluff that he decides to hear her out.
** After Tress watches [[spoiler:Hoid become an Elantrian]], she commands the blatantly powerful demigod to handle [[spoiler:the Sorceress]] for her, on the grounds that [[spoiler:he's still her cabin boy]].

* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: Fort's "Awakened tablet with Connection circuits" is blatantly some form of magically created tablet computer, complete with predictive text. [[spoiler:Riina takes this even further, creating full blown Investiture computers, AI, cameras, and even a rocket ship.]]

* ThroughHisStomach: Tress managed to win over the Dougs of ''Crow's Song'' by helping Fort prepare one meal a day, plus dessert.

* UriahGambit: When Charlie makes too much of a nuisance of himself, he is sent to sail the Midnight Sea and attempt to woo the sorceress who lives there. He is declared dead basically the second his ship is out of sight. It technically works as the Sorceress does capture him, but she decides to hold him for ransom [[spoiler: and turn him into a rat]] rather than kill him.

* TheWorfEffect: When Hoid shows up, he's been driven insane. Tress soon learns this is because the Sorceress cursed him. [[spoiler: This gets PlayedWith though. It turns out Hoid ''let'' the Sorceress curse him as part of a bet. After his sanity is restored, he blocks another curse with his own spell. Having said that though, Hoid himself admits the Sorceress might be able to defeat him in a fair fight, but she decides to [[DirtyCoward flee]] when Tress gives her the option to leave without a fight provided, she leaves the world entirely.]]

* DamselInDistress: Tress notes that it's a pretty common fate for the women of most stories and suspects she's doomed to become one. [[spoiler:She actually does get captured by the Sorceress at the end but comes to realize that everyone needs help every once in a while, and having earned the love and respect of people who'll risk their life for yours is quite and accomplishment in and of itself. Also, she uses it as an opportunity to distract the Sorceress, giving her crew the opening, they need to get Hoid into the tower.]]

* DamselInDistress: Tress notes that it's a pretty common fate for the women of most stories and suspects she's doomed to become one. [[spoiler:She actually does get captured by the Sorceress at the end but comes to realize that everyone needs help every once in a while, and having earned the love and respect of people who'll risk their life for yours is quite and accomplishment in and of itself.]]

* DramaPreservingHandicap: Hoid is one of the most powerful and cunning members of the cosmere ''and'' knows where the Sorceress is located. Shame he spends the novel cursed into a blathering idiot instead of helping.

* UriahGambit: When Charlie makes too much of a nuisance of himself, he is sent to sail the Midnight Sea and attempt to woo the sorceress who lives there. He is declared dead basically the second his ship is out of sight.

Nor was the rock like the one you have imagined. The girl, however, ''might'' be as you imagined--assuming you imagined her as thoughtful, soft-spoken, and overly fond of collecting cups.