The Tribe of One trilogy is a series of four books written by Simon Hawke and set in the world of Athas. They star Sorak, a rare elfling hybrid (half-elf, half-halfing, which even in Athas is incredibly rare) who is the titular Tribe of One. One who is many, he must learn to live with the other personalities in his head as he travels the desert world of the Dark Sun in search of the Sage, accompanied by Tigra, a wild tigone whom has imprinted on him, and Ryana, a villichi priestess schooled in the art of combat and telekinesis.
The books are, in order:
- The Outcast: Introduces us to Sorak as a child, as he grows up, and as he has his first adventure in Tyr.
- The Seeker: Follows Sorak as he follows clues to the Sage across the Stony Barrens and into Nibenay.
- The Nomad: Escaping Nibenay, Sorak now ventures to Bodach, a city teeming with undead, even as an assassin closes in on him and his quest.
- The Broken Blade: An epilogue of sorts, detailing what happens to Sorak following his adventures in Bodach.
This work contains examples of:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Gladra. In the hands of someone whos Spirit is Strong, it cleaves through agahfi wood like a hot knife through butter. Exaggerated when any other blade, regardless of material, shatters when it comes in contact with it.
- Action Girl: Ryana. All villichi are trained to be these, knowing how to use swords in addition to formidable mental powers, but she's the only one we see in action during the story.
- After the End: It is painfully clear that Athas used to be a nice place. There’s frequent mention of how beautiful it used to look, and the goal of all Preservers, especially the Sage, is to restore it to this.
- A God Am I: Not yet, but close, the Shadow King is well on his way to becoming a full Dragon, and he already encourages his Templar wives to worship him for their magic.
- Alien Sky: Athas has two moons, Ral and Guthay, and a large, red, dark sun.
- Ancestral Weapon: Well, Galdra is the ancient weapon of the Elves, though it's last owner the King of Elves was killed (after being rendered sterile) with no heir. However, it still somewhat qualifies because according to legend it is to be wielded by a champion who will one day identify the next Elven King.
- Animate Dead: In the first book, the Defiler opposing Sorak tries this when his living forces fail to kill the elfling.
- Anyone Can Die: Tigra dies at the end of the first novel, taking a poisoned crossbow bolt meant for Sorak. It's even worse in the Broken Blade, when Ryana dies as well.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: It’s Dark Sun, what do you expect? People are often in charge because they are the best at what they do.
- A World Half Full: The setting of the stories is bleak, but there is usually always a ray of hope to be found by the protagonists, and while they encounter many selfish and self-centered, even dangerous individuals, they occasionally still meet a few people with good, common decency in them too. Despite how hard it is just to survive, most of the novels end on a reasonably positive note. Until the fourth book, that is, which has a decidedly bittersweet, borderline downer ending.
- Badass Normal: Valsavis. With no magic or psionics (save an impressive mental shielding) he is easily one of the very best fighters in Athas.
- Ban on Magic: Defiling is mentioned as being banned in Tyr.“Banned does not mean removed entirely.”
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Torian does this to deny Sorak victory, though whether or not he might've been spared is up for debate, all he really does is spare Sorak and his companions the blood on their hands.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Timor serves as this in the first book, replaced by Torian in the second book, as antagonists who oppose Sorak and his quest, but are usually woefully out of their leagues. The latter is indirectly tied to Nibenay, the Shadow King, who takes over as a Greater-Scope Villain for much of the trilogy, as a Defiler out to stop the Sage and Sorak from finding him, though his assassin is The Heavy for the third book.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Sorak (through Screech) secures a mount for his companion in the second book: a soldier kank. Kanks are enormous beetles that are used as mounts in the setting, and some others ride them as well from time to time.
- Black Magic: Defiling. All magic requires the drawing of life force (usually from plants) to be cast, but unlike Preservers, who only borrow as much as needed for a spell and never kill anything, Defilers draw life until plants wither and die and the soil is rendered inhospitable. Seldom wonder its banned in Tyr. Might go double for the necromancy used in the first book, which involved raising a three-score of zombies to go after the main protagonist.
- The Chosen One: Some believe that Sorak is this, by evidence of his wielding Galdra, that he is meant to find and name the new King of the Elves.
- Darker and Edgier: Than The Prism Pentad, combined with Hotter and Sexier. There's a lot closer look at the life of people on Athas, from beggars to prostitutes to slaves.
- Debt Detestor: Lord Ankhor. As a merchant, he always likes to repay his debts, so he is quite glad to do so with Sorak after multiple encounters.
- Dragons Are Demonic: In this setting, and best personified by Nibenay, the Shadow King of the same Kingdom, who is in mid-transformation into such a horrific monster.
- Dreaded, The: The Shade. To most Preservers, the Sorcerer-Kings are this. For them, however, as well as most Defilers and especially Dragons, they all live in fear of the myth of the Avangion.
- Enemy to All Living Things: Defilers, and in particular Nibenay, who is undergoing the transformation to become a Dragon.
- Also the undead of Bodach, who mercilessly hunt anyone and anything living in their city after the sun sets.
- Even the Girls Want Her: Ryana is exceptionally beautiful (though she herself views herself somewhat plain, as villichi go), and she's had attraction expressed by more than a few men and even a few women, including an exotic dancer in the fourth novel.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Sage. He also goes by the Wanderer. His true name, however, is Soraks grandfather.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Many of Sorak's enemies ascribe motives to him that he lacks, such as ambition, greed, hatred, or the like. Usually because they themselves best embody such traits and cannot believe others do not act in the same way.
- Evil Is Easy: It's repeatedly stated that Defiler magic is easier than Preserver magic, to say nothing of faster. It's also easy to backstab and betray and turn on people on Athas with minimal consequence, and Sorak encounters more than a few willing to do such to him.
- False Friend: Varsarvis poses as a humble mercenary to join Sorak and Ryana on their quest, but in truth is in the service of their mortal enemy the Shadow King.
- Fantastic Racism: All around, but prominently put forth is the idea that Halflings and Elves hate one another. Therefore, how an Elfling like Sorak came to be is a mystery until the very end of the third book.
- From Bad to Worse: The Stony Barrens. They start out bad enough, but they get worse the deeper in you go. Arguably, most of Sorak's quest counts as this, going from inhospitable Tyr, to the dangerous Barrens and on to the downright suicidal Bodach, each step he takes is worse than the last.
- Gaia's Lament: Athas used to be a nice place. Now it's just a dying world of deserts and misery.
- Good Is Not Nice: While he's a reasonably amicable person unless provoked, when attacked, Sorak does not hesitate to kill. And he does, well, there's always the Shade. The Guardian is also particularly given to ruthless, pragmatic work if it means Sorak and the Tribe of One will be kept safe, and can be very blunt about it as a result.
- Also applies to the Veiled Alliance. Sure, they're Preservers who want to see Athas flourish, but they're not hippies, they can and will destroy you if you threaten the magical balance.
- Handicapped Badass: To an outsiders view, Sorak is insane, a Split Personality of at least a dozen different minds in his head. And yet he is a terrifying force for good, able to bring down wicked plots, expose traitors, and fend off bandits, soldiers, templar, assassins and monsters with incredible ease.
- Heroic Bastard: Sorak. His parents respective tribes wanted nothing to do with one another, so naturally his parents were unmarried when they conceived him.
- Honor Before Reason: Sorak. He willingly spares an assassin meant to kill him when all common sense is he will only try again. It nearly gets him killed.
- Hotter and Sexier: Following The Prism Pentad, this trilogy is a lot hotter, and no that's not a euphemism for it being a desert. There is a greater display of flesh, mention of streetwalkers and exotic dancers, and sexual dialogue. This is especially true in the fourth novel, which has the protagonists visit the Desert Damsel, a Fantasy Culture Counterpart strip club. It's partially to gain some information, but the book does not shy away from describing quite the performance.
- Humanoid Abomination: Thrax, moisture vampires who feed on unwary travellers and suck them dry. And Salt Brides, who resemble pretty human girls but are composed of salt crystals and also drain the life of those they lure into their clutches.
- I Am a Humanitarian: It's established frequently that Halflings on Athas not only eat meat, but also devour humanoids if given the chance. Fortunately, Sorak did not grow up with this mindset, and wants no part of it.
- Idiot Ball: Korahna grabs this firmly when Sorak and Ryana have already proven a match for Torian and his mercenaries, charging him out of blind hatred. It gets her captured and leaves the situation much, much more precarious for Sorak.
- In the End, You Are on Your Own: Through a combination of strange circumstances, at the end of the Trilogy, Sorak has to face his greatest challenge alone.
- I Owe You My Life: Frequently, those who Sorak saves (or spares) repay the debt or attempt to repay the debt in the future. Sometimes to his benefit, but not always.
- Juggernaut, The: The Shade is a veritable whirlwind of death whenever he comes out, and thus does so rarely, but whenever he is out, people die.
- Like Brother and Sister: Sorak and Ryana grew up this way, despite having no blood ties. Very much subverted once they finished puberty, though... that led to complications of a sort.
- MacGuffin: The Rings of the Willing Key seem to be this. Other than being needed by the Sage for his ritual, they serve no other real purpose.
- Meaningful Name: In-universe, Sorak is this. An Elvish word for "a nomad who always walks alone"
- Mind over Matter: Both Ryana and Sorak (well, the Guardian) possess formidably Telekinesis abilities.
- Ms. Fanservice: Seems to be at least one in every novel, starting with Krysta in the Outcast, and Princess Korahna in the Seeker. The Broken Blade knocks it up to eleven with a whole club of exotic dancers, and one who accompanies them on their journey.
- Mystical White Hair: Ryana. Most villichi have red hair, but hers is white, and she is definitely not your typical villichi.
- Odd Name Out: Cricket, the exotic dancer.
- One-Man Army: Sorak, especially when The Shade is at the fore, but he himself is no slouch in the fighting department either, being gifted with the blade.
- Our Angels Are Different: For one thing, they don't exist; the possibility of one coming into being is purely theoretical. An avangion is an anti-dragon, a preserver and psionicist who has reached apotheosis and is mighty enough to potentially turn the world green again. The emergence of a fully-realized avangion would be an example of Earn Your Happy Ending on a global scale.
- Our Dragons Are Different:
- There was only one true dragon in the entire world, a Physical God who thankfully perished in The Prism Pentad. However, he left a legacy behind of many other Sorcerer-Kings who are attempting to become powerful Dragons like him.
- Our Elves Are Different: Well, in the backstory they sound much like your typical fantasy Elves, but these days they’re tribal, scattered, and tend to be on the shady side of the alignment scale.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Thrax, who transform into shadows and strike the unwary in the desert, using suckers on their fingers to drain them dry of moisture. And worse, if you escape one but fail to kill it, you are infected with the same curse and gradually turn into one.
- Pale Females, Dark Males: Ryana (and most of the villichi) and Sorak fit this, the former are very fair, almost albino, and burn easily. The latter, thanks to his elfling heritage, is very dark and tanned.
- Panthera Awesome: Tigra, a tigone that is a psionic sort of big cat not unlike a green striped tiger.
- Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality: A very odd case, as Sorak himself has no qualms with the idea of sex, but due to the fact that several of his facets are female, and find the idea (with another woman, at least) unsettling, he can come across as this to those not familiar with his condition.
- Psychic Powers: The Dark Sun setting is rife with them, and the protagonist and more than a few he meets on the way display at the very least the abilities of Telekinesis and Telepathy. Sorak was, in fact, raised at the Villichi Monastary, which is a haven for young girls who display incredibly powerful psionic powers early on.
- Real Men Eat Meat: Most of Sorak's other personalities would certainly agree, as do a lot of the people he meets, who disparage his vegeterian diet as "kank food". Defied with Sorak himself, who is quite badass enough without such.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Councilmen Rikus and Sadira are this for Tyr, trying to guide it into a more benevolent era. While they investigate Sorak out of suspicion he may be a spy, when they find no evidence of such, they leave him to his own devices.
- Really 700 Years Old: Pyreen can live upwards of a millenium, and the two encountered in the series are easily at least seven hundred or so.
- Rebellious Princess: Korahna, the heir to the Shadow Throne, who defies her Defiler King father and actually seeks to help the Preservers in the Veiled Alliance.
- Red Baron: The Shadow King. Also to a lesser extent The Nomad.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Princess Korahna. She's a little pampered, yes, but she's determined to work hard and do the right thing for the less fortunate.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Ryana and Sorak for each other, which normally would mean Happily Ever After, but unfortunately, Sorak is a Tribe of One. It complicates things.
- Split Personality: Sorak is composed of several different personalities, which on Athas is referred to as a "Tribe of One" To whit, there are:
- Sorak himself, his default personality.
- The Guardian, a maternal figure that possesses his innate TK and telepathic abilities, and protects him from threats both external and internal.
- Lyric is the perpetual child, innocent and carefree, who likes to sing.
- Eyron is an older personality, cynical and world-weary and tends to be very pessimistic and practical, though he has something of a Hidden Heart of Gold despite all of his complaining.
- Kivara, while female, is a sensual creature who likes to explore all sorts of pleasures, including the sexual ones.
- The Shade is a terrifying force who speaks little (in fact, only once in the text) but when he comes to the fore he is a lethal whirlwind of death, leaving only corpses behind.
- The Watcher: .
- The Ranger handles all needs of the body, hunting and such, and speaks little.
- Screech: .
- Kesther: .
- Stripperific: It's hot out. Plus, females often ply their feminine wiles to their advantage, such as Krysta from the first book, and to a lesser extent Korahna from the second. In the fourth book, we even meet some actual strippers who dress like this on their off-time. When they're working, they were nothing at all.
- The Undead: They crop up from time to time, most notably the sheer legions of them that guard Bodach when night falls. Anyone they kill joins them for the rest of eternity to protect their treasure.
- Unreliable Expositor: In-story, the "author" of The Wanderer's Journal is a self-confessed Unreliable Expositor as he notes that what he has written is the product of sifting a little truth out of quite a lot of lies.
- Walking Wasteland: Defilers drain the energy of all plant life in a radius equal to the level of the spell they're casting in feet or yards. If that weren't enough, defiling also sterilizes the soil, ensuring that nothing will grow in that spot again. We see this happen at least once in the first novel, showing it in excruciating detail.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The Shadow King abandons Varsarvis once they defy them too many times, to say nothing of being unable to fulfill their mission.
