Line #143 Literature/TheFirstDwarfKing


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dwarf_king_small.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Pictured: The [[spoiler: DawnOfAnEra]]. Not pictured: Pointy-ears.]]
3
4	''The First Dwarf King'' (full title: ''The First Dwarf King: The Saga of the Heir of Aulis'') is a trilogy of [[ScienceFantasy Science Fantasy]] stories written by troper [[Tropers/TempestKnight Tempest Knight]]. It is the first ''Herezar'' text -- it is intended to be the launch title for an entire series.
5
6	The three volumes (or "Acts") of the story are as follows:
7	* ''Act I: Thunderous Souls'' (2015)
8	* ''Act II: Journey to New Lands''
9	* ''Act III: Upheaval''
10
11	After getting frustrated with the lack of progress he was making, the author decided not to pursue publication and instead began releasing it online [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQe8R50yGwl0rm0F_kXrEBUg3Q-ev_BGe via youtube]].
12
13	531 years ago, an army of demons was defeated by the people of Herezar, and their leader was slain in combat with Aulis, the dwarves' most legendary hero. In the interim between that conflict and the present, evil has crept back into the world.
14
15	Now, after centuries of preparation, the enemies of Herezar are ready to strike. It is only a matter of time before their plans are carried out...
16
17	!!''The First Dwarf King'' features examples of the following tropes:
18
19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder: Tropes A-G]]
22	* ActionGirl: Oh, where to begin... [[ActionGirlfriend Iris]], [[PintSizePowerHouse Dagmar]], [[LadyOfWar Aristomache]], [[LadyOfWar Phryne]], Amirah... and it's not just named characters -- each army, with the exception of the Ironheads, has nameless female [[RedShirt Redshirts]] and [[{{Mook}} Mooks]]!
23	** Honestly, it's easier to list the number of females who ''aren't'' action girls.
24	* AnimeCatholicism: The Deothian religion is based upon Roman Catholicism... and administered by Father Kiyoshi, whose race is a FantasyCounterpartCulture of UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan. It's worth pointing out that the author is a Catholic in RealLife.
25	* ArcWords: "[[TitleDrop (The) Heir of Aulis,"]] or some variation thereof.
26	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: An in-universe example. Iris and Dagmar discuss seeing a statue of [[FolkHero Aulis]] holding an axe, when it's well-known that he used a sword. It's explained that [[spoiler: the elves confiscated all the dwarves' weapons during their occupation of Dwarfonium. But axes and hammers are ''tools''. Therefore, with a little bit of work and ingenuity, the dwarves were able to turn the [[HoistByHisOwnPetard very tools the elves forced them to use]] into weapons]].
27	* BadassArmy: Pretty much ''every'' army in this story qualifies to an extent; it's less a case of whose army is good, and more a case of whose army is ''best''.
28	* BackToBackBadasses: Jani and Armo fight back-to-back [[spoiler: during the Battle of Kordsgard]].
29	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Most Herezarians (with the exception of the elves), Redariam, and Tarsi are reasonable people, trying their best to do some good in the world. In no way does this keep them from being deliberately dangerous to anyone who would cause them harm.
30	** The [[PintSizePowerhouse dwarves]]: Survived two centuries of enslavement at the elves' hands, then curbstomped the elves not once, but ''twice''; their greatest FolkHero defeated the [[SatanicArchetype Demon Lord]] in one-on-one combat; their homeland is attacked by an army of demons... [[spoiler: and it's the dwarves who emerge triumphant (not to mention, once they're finished with that battle, they go eastward to join another one)]].
31	** The [[HumansAreWarriors humans]]: the most ethnically diverse race on the planet, dividing into four reasonably-well-ruled kingdoms. One of these has eked out an existence in a hostile desert; another thrives in a land of impenetrable jungle and rampaging beasts; another is a kingdom of HornyVikings with all the awesomeness that entails; the fourth has become the most powerful kingdom on the entire continent. Also, all but one of them comes to aid the conflict at Derune, proving that each one has a BadassArmy.
32	** The [[TheHorde orcs]]: Despite living in [[DeathMountain most hostile environment in Herezar]], they've not only managed to survive, but thrive. They also have the most sizable army in the entire world, if only due to [[ExplosiveBreeder sheer numbers]]. Despite this, they train themselves to avoid HollywoodTactics and provide a valuable ally to the dwarves during [[spoiler: the battle at Kordsgard]].
33	** The [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens Redariam]]: WeakButSkilled. Think about that -- despite getting all the bad cards physically, they [[CursedWithAwesome got the best minds]]. While everyone else was still using horses for travel, the Redariam had such devices as jet-propelled aircraft, skyscrapers, and smartphones. Oh, and they have a BadassArmy of their own -- armed with such weapons as [[GatlingGood chainguns]], [[MacrossMissileMassacre missiles]], and the like.
34	** The [[GeniusBruiser Tarsi]]: Take the intelligent minds of the Redariam, combine it with an entire race of [[LightningBruiser lightning bruisers]], add in the Gift of Wisdom, and you get the perfection that is the Tarsi. Among other things, they have a Council of [[ChessmasterSidekick Chessmaster Sidekicks]] who answer to an ''even more'' powerful group -- [[BadassFamily the Imperial Family]]. And their priests are members of a ChurchMilitant, who double as [[MartialPacifist Martial Pacifists]], each of whom is not only a MasterSwordsman in his own right, but can call upon the powers of the [[{{God}} Almighty]] to smite even the most powerful of foes.
35	* BigBadassBattleSequence: Two of them! One at Kordsgard, and one at Derune.
36	* BigGood: Father Kiyoshi serves as a mentor to most of the cast (at least from Act II onward).
37	** [[GreaterScopeVillain Greater Scope Hero]]: [[{{God}} Deoth]].
38	* BilingualBonus: There are several [[ConLang Con Langs]] used throughout the novel, each of which can be translated.
39	** Many [[MeaningfulName of the characters' names]] count as well; quite a few characters have RealLife names, most of which were chosen to reflect the character.
40	* BodyHorror: Many of the demons enhance their bodies magically... producing some ''very'' unnatural features.
41	** Phryne did ''something'' to Aristomache -- something so horrible that Aristomache veiled her entire head in shame.
42	%%* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Pathruushkè would just ''love'' to splatter Trang Barok's guts upon the ground...
43	%%* TheChessmaster: Trang Barok, [[MagnificentBastard natch]].
44	%%* CitadelCity: Derune.
45	* ConLang: [[BlackSpeech The Demonic Language]]. Each race also has its own language as well, but they rarely get a chance to use it, thanks to the Universal Language.
46	* CoolAirship: Tarsian airships.
47	* CurbStompBattle: Several.
48	* DeadpanSnarker: Most of the Redariam could count as this, along with some dwarves and Tarsi. Notably, however, they only get sarcastic [[ScrewYouElves in the presence of elves]].
49	* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: The Diaboro. Note that the actual ''Demon Lord'' character is more akin to [[{{Satan}} Satan]].
50	* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Trang Barok routinely mocks Pathruushkè.
51	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Aulis decapitates the Demon Lord, a thing with three heads, with a single blow.
52	* DoorStopper: Averted, though it would have been played straight if the author had had his way. Originally he intended for it to be published as one gigantic tome, but cues during the publishing process convinced him to [[DividedForPublication split it into three books]].
53	** For what it's worth, the book's (or books', depending on your interpretation) total word count is more than 360,000.
54	* DragonWithAnAgenda: Trang Barok's goals seem to be markedly different from those of Pathruushkè.
55	* TheDreaded: Many of the villains become this over the course of the narrative -- and [[MagnificentBastard with]] [[KnightOfCerebus good]] [[HeroKiller reason]].
56	** Father Kiyoshi is this [[HorrifyingTheHorror to the Osthan]] -- again, with good reason.
57	* ElvesVsDwarves: Played for all its worth. The elves and dwarves of Herezar ''really'' don't like each other.
58	* TheEpic: Oh, ''YEAH''. If the word ''Saga'' in the title didn't tip you off, let's just say that this is a really, really, ''REALLY'' '''BIG''' story.
59	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The Osthan have one [[spoiler: when they kill Trang Barok's prisoners]].
60	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Trang Barok knows it's [[Literature/ThePrince better to be feared than hated]].
61	** Conversely, even his own servants and subjects were rightfully afraid of [[MeaningfulName Apollyon]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Merciless]]...
62	* EvilIsBigger: The ''smallest'' demons stand 250 cm (about 8' 2"); they only get bigger from there.
63	** This actually works in the book's favour; if your enemy already seems gigantic when you're an elf or a human, how much bigger will he seem when you're a dwarf?
64	* EvilSoundsDeep: The Demon Lord and the Osthan speak in a baritone.
65	* EvilSoundsRaspy: All the other demons speak in high-pitched, scratchy voices.
66	%%* EvilWearsBlack: Cophthera-gn and the Osthan.
67	* FantasyCounterpartCulture:
68	** Dwarves: [[UsefulNotes/{{Finland}} The Finns]].
69	** Elves: [[UsefulNotes/{{Greece}} The Greeks]]. Well, as far as naming conventions go, anyway.
70	** Derunes: [[UsefulNotes/AngloSaxons The Anglo-Saxons]].
71	** Fulonians: [[UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia The Arabs]].
72	** Holomites: [[UsefulNotes/{{Africa}} Africans]].
73	** Tarsi: [[UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} The Japanese]].
74	** Craglanders: [[HornyVikings The Vikings]].
75	* FantasyGunControl: Averted. The races presented in the book appear to have mastered the art of using gunpowder to the point that rifles and pistols are considered normal household items, even though they're still [[MedievalEuropeanFantasy stuck in fantasy middle-age Europe]]. [[spoiler: Trang Barok even has his hands on artillery...]]
76	* FantasticRacism: Well, there's [[ElvesVsDwarves elves versus dwarves]], as above, but it's really elves versus everyone else -- even their relations with the humans are strained at best.
77	%%* FunetikAksent: Armo. Niilo as well, but to a lesser extent.
78	* GodsHandsAreTied: the old chestnut of "The BigGood deity is ineffectual whereas the demons can do as they please so the mortal characters aren't rendered superfluous".
79	* TheGreys: The Redariam, although they can have other skin tones as well.
80	* GirlsWithMoustaches: Averted. Dwarven women most certainly do ''not'' have facial hair.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder: Tropes H-R]]
84	* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Armo and [[EveryoneLovesBlondes Dagmar]]. They're even a couple! Leofric as well.
85	* HealingFactor: No matter how many times Aulis or Fedlimid wound him, the Demon Lord keeps on fighting because he can instantly heal from any injury.
86	%%* TheHeavy: Pathruushkè.
87	* HellIsThatNoise: The voices emanating from Pathruushkè's staff.
88	* HollywoodTactics: Averted with the Ironheads, who seem to have some idea of what they're doing. Played straight with the demons [[spoiler: during the attack on Kordsgard]].
89	* TheHorde: The demons that attack Kordsgard. The Ironhead army that attacks Derune counts as well, though they're far better-organized than the demons.
90	%%* HornyVikings: The Craglanders.
91	* HotBlade: Dagmar's [[ImprovisedWeapon weapon improv]] involves [[ItMakesSenseInContext sticking it into a forge first]].
92	* HumanoidAbomination: The Osthan. They may look like humans from a distance, but up close...
93	** Cophthera-gn. His [[LeanAndMean frail appearance]] and [[WhiteHairBlackHeart white hair]] make him look even more uncanny than the Osthan.
94	%%* ImmuneToBullets: The Osthan.
95	* InhumanlyBeautifulRace: The elves. Doesn't mean they're good people though.
96	* KnightOfCerebus: When an Osthan shows up, it means that things are about to get very bad very fast.
97	%%* LadyOfWar: Phryne and Aristomache, most definitely.
98	%%** Amirah hasn't quite achieved queenhood yet, but is still fully capable of heroics.
99	* LizardFolk: The Tarsi, although they don't like being called "lizards."
100	* ManlyFacialHair: Every male dwarf has a beard worth writing home about. Several human men have impressive beards as well.
101	* MedievalEuropeanFantasy: More or less played straight in Act I... [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope then shown to be]] [[{{Reconstruction}} just one of many cultures in the]] ConstructedWorld]].
102	* MedievalStasis: Played pretty straight in Act I. [[spoiler: Subverted ''heavily'' in the second.]]
103	* MillionMookMarch: Two of them in the first book alone. First, the Ironheads' march toward Derune; second, the demons' advance toward Kordsgard.
104	* MissedHimByThatMuch: Phryne's carriage leaves the Tithrelden palace just seconds before the Osthan attack.
105	* MoodWhiplash: The book's tone varies wildly; at times, it can be incredibly lighthearted, even comedic; other times it would not be out of place in a tragedy or horror story.
106	* MookHorrorShow: Two villainous examples, both involving the Osthan. First, they [[spoiler: mop the floor with the prisoners at Trang Barok's stronghold]]. Second, they [[spoiler: massacre the elves at the Tithrelden palace]].
107	* MountedCombat: The cavalry clash at Derune.
108	* {{Mythopoeia}}: Many races and civilizations have legends about their predecessors.
109	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: ''Demon Lord''. 'Nuff said.
110	** Apollyon [[spoiler: the Merciless]]. [[spoiler: Bonus points for Apollyon being Greek for [[MeaningfulName "Destroyer"]].]]
111	* TheNeedForMead: If Kordsgard's occupants get thirsty, ''[[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Blazing Beers]]'' has them covered.
112	* OffWithHisHead: How Aulis slays the Demon Lord. [[spoiler: Made more awesome by the fact that the latter has ''three'' heads, not one.]]
113	* OurMonstersAreDifferent
114	** OurDemonsAreDifferent: They're just as evil as you'd expect; they [[EvilIsBigger are the tallest, brawniest race on the planet]]; they're organized into a hierarchy.
115	** OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Played with. On one hand, their men have beards, they all have [[SuperStrength Super Strength]], and they wield axes and warhammers. On the other hand, their women are clean-shaven ([[CuteBruiser and cute but tough]]), they're a loosely-defined nation of farmers instead of warriors (except when they need to be), and their only underground city is Kordsgard -- most people live on plantations ''above'' ground.
116	** OurOrcsAreDifferent: They served the demons long ago, but after the demons were defeated, they began to form their own culture. Now, only those orcs under the control of Trang Barok serve the demons (admittedly, Trang Barok controls a ''lot'' of orcs). The rest are fleeing from Trang Barok's tyranny.
117	* PosthumousCharacter: Apollyon the Merciless was killed long before the story's events.
118	* PurpleIsPowerful: Pathruushkè wears a purple robe.
119	* RankScalesWithAsskicking: The higher up the social ladder you climb, the more likely you are to be a OneManArmy (or [[DistaffCounterpart One Woman Army]], as the case may be). Of course, the setting features its share of [[BadassNormal Badass Normals]], so...
120	* RatedMForManly: [[HeroesPreferSwords Swords]]. Axes. [[GunPorn Guns]]. [[StuffBlowingUp Explosions]]. [[HotBlooded Hot blood]] (and [[BloodKnight Blood Knights]]). [[HornyVikings Viking]] [[{{Expy}} expies]]. [[ScreamingWarrior Screaming Warriors]]. An entire WorldOfBadass. Do the math.
121	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Quite a few of them -- very few authority figures in the work are not this trope.
122	* {{Reconstruction}}: ''The First Dwarf King'' takes many tropes central to the fantasy genre and gives them a new spin.
123	** [[ElvesVsDwarves Elves and dwarves]] are given a ''very'' good reason for hating each other -- the elves enslaved the dwarves for two centuries, and the dwarves nearly caused an elven genocide.
124	** Dwarves have a good reason for using axes and warhammers. They originally used swords, but the elves took away their weapons and forced them to do slave work. But axes and hammers are ''tools''. Therefore, with a bit of ingenuity, the dwarves were able to turn the very tools the elves forced them to use into deadly weapons... [[HoistByHisOwnPetard which they then used on their captors]].
125	** The idea of TheChosenOne being chosen by [[TheProphecy prophecy]] is thrown out; instead, the hero simply happens to be in the right place at the right time.[[note]]Or is it? There are hints that [[{{God}} something greater than Jani may be manipulating events behind the scenes...]][[/note]] Nor does the hero exist in a vacuum; his actions are made possible by everyone around him. However, it's still clear that the hero is making a significant impact in his own right, especially as the story progresses.
126	** In most examples of heroes who are ConvenientlyAnOrphan, the hero's parents might as well never have existed, since we never see them at all. Here, we get a chance to see the parents in the flesh (albeit briefly) and find out just how the parents actually died.
127	** Most fantasy fiction runs more or less in this way: elves are beautiful, dwarves are strong, humans are all [[FantasyCounterpartCulture European]], and orcs are innumerable. In addition, a lot of old science fiction has aliens whose technology far exceeds anything humans are capable of. ''The First Dwarf King'' accepts these tropes, and gives good reasons for why each race would have such a [[PlanetOfHats hat]]: namely, [[{{God}} Deoth]] gave each race a Divine Gift to make them unique: dwarves received the Gift of Strength, elves received the Gift of Beauty, humans received the Gift of Diversity (there are plenty of white humans around, but also brown and black), orcs received the Gift of Fertility (a single husband/wife pair can easily have twenty kids in their lifetime; therefore it's easy for them to produce massive armies), Redariam have the Gift of Knowledge, and Tarsi received both the Gift of Wisdom ''and'' the Gift of Strength.
128	** The Gifts above provide a [[JustifiedTrope justification]] for the presence of MedievalStasis: [[spoiler: only the Redariam have advanced enough to have mastered electrical technology]].
129	* RightForTheWrongReasons / WrongGenreSavvy: Pulled twice, once in Act I, again in Act II.
130	** In the first act, the humans and elves [[spoiler: defeat the Ironhead army outside Derune. However, they don't consider that the Ironheads might have a backup plan...]]
131	** In the second act, Kenta and Aimi believe that [[spoiler: Cenric's group has come to their homeland with the intent of causing trouble. Trouble does come... but not from Cenric (although everyone is made to believe it's his fault)...]]
132	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Try to find a royal who ''doesnt'' do something.
133	* RunningGag: Pathruushkè and Trang Barok argue pretty much every time they meet. As do [[ElvesVsDwarves Jani and Eustathios]].
134	** "Shut up, [[InsistentTerminology Steve]]."
135	*** For that matter, referring to Eustathios as "Steve" in general.
136	[[/folder]]
137
138	[[folder: Tropes S-Z]]
139	* ScienceFantasy: The First Dwarf King uses this beautifully. Much of the first act takes place in a world populated by humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, and demons. Sounds like a StandardFantasySetting, right? Well, the races have gotten to the point where they use guns in the place of bows and arrows, [[SwordAndGun which they wield tandem with swords, axes, and warhammers]]. In addition, the second act reveals [[spoiler: a race of [[TheGreys aliens]] living on an island off the coast, [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens whose society utilizes the equivalent of 21st century technology]]. Just to make things even more complicated, the aliens' closest allies are a race of LizardFolk who live in MedievalStasis ''[[WillfullyWeak by choice]]'' -- save for a handful [[SchizoTech who developed a fleet of airships]]. The lizards also have a ChurchMilitant whose members can call upon {{God}} to summon katanas out of thin air.]] And that's just scratching the surface.
140	** The story also uses this trope in its setting and backstory. The universe was created by an omnipotent entity who used evolution to set the races on their course to sentience. Humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, and Redariam evolved from apes, while the Tarsi evolved from ancient reptiles. You may wipe your brains off the monitor now.
141	* SchizoTech: In an otherwise MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting, people [[SwordAndGun wield guns on an everyday basis]]. 99.9999% of the Tarsi live in MedievalStasis by choice -- those few who don't created airships.
142	* SuperSoldier: The Osthan.
143	* SwordAndGun: Numerous examples; in Herezar, it's pretty common to know how to wield a sword (or other melee weapon) and own a pistol or rifle. Notable examples include Jani, Armo, Eustathios, and the Osthan.
144	* TheCavalry: The dwarves [[spoiler: assault the Ironheads who have besieged Derune, saving the humans and elves]].
145	* TheMetricSystemIsHereToStay: Every measurement is done this way.
146	* TheOrder: The Shieldmasters are a group of dwarven warriors dedicated to protecting Kordsgard (and dwarven culture in general) from attack.
147	* TheSiege: Two of them in the first book alone: one at Kordsgard, one at Derune.
148	* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler: Jani's parents]] at the beginning of the novel. The husband even quotes the trope verbatim as he dies.
149	* {{Troperiffic}}: ''The First Dwarf King'' takes a bunch of age-old fantasy tropes, a bunch of science fiction tropes, [[ReConstruction reconstructs them]], and shamelessly plays them for all they're worth.
150	* UhOhEyes: The demons have [[SupernaturalGoldEyes yellow eyes]] [[GlowingEyesOfDoom that glow]] and contain [[HellishPupils hellish pupils]].
151	* UndergroundCity: Kordsgard and Trang Barok's stronghold.
152	* TheUnpronounceable: Some of the demons' names border on this.
153	* TheVoiceless: Cophthera-gn.
154	* WarriorPrince / TheWisePrince: [[PrinceCharming Leofric]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Daichi]].
155	* WeAreStrugglingTogether: [[ElvesVsDwarves The elves and dwarves, naturally]]. Much drama is derived from how they're forced to set aside old grudges and work together.
156	* WickedCultured: Trang Barok. Go figure.
157	* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Cophthera-gn. That is all.
158	* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: [[AxCrazy Phryne]] and [[FacialHorror Aristomache]] are having a... competition of sorts... for the title. It... doesn't end well...
159	* WorldOfBadass: Chances are, if you live in Herezar, fighting is in your blood.
160	** WorldOfActionGirls: Subverted; it's challenging to find a single female in this story who ''isn't'' an [[ActionGirl action girl]], but they don't ''outnumber'' the males in any way.
161	* WorldOfHam: It's as if each person thinks they're the star of an opera, and is trying to make their voice heard above that of everyone else.
162	** LargeHam: In an entire ''world'' of Large Hams, Eustathios, [[EvilIsHammy Trang Barok, and Pathruushkè]] manage to out-ham everyone else. Eustathios is a stage actor, so it's expected in his case; Trang Barok and Pathruushkè [[HamToHamCombat take it even further than that]] whenever they get into an argument (read: every time they talk).

Context Literature / TheFirstDwarfKing