History Literature / LesChimeresdeMirinar

* WeaponOfChoice: Elsy, who was some kind of gangster and street fighter before the first novel, fights with a knuckle duster. Basilien, same kind of past, mainly uses knives. Teliam Vore, when he comes back, has the Vore Helix, a baroque and giant weapon with two blades and a lot of pikes. The list just goes on.

* BadDreams: Damnis's nightmares of the Scum War.

* MightyGlacier: Teliam Vore.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mirinar_tvtropes_1.jpg
[[caption-width:348:Only a small portion of the {{Badass Normal}} main cast.]]

* DeadlyFireworksDisplay: The two most-talented Vorians, [[spoiler:Amaranthe and Laudane]], have especially flashy deaths. The first explodes in a thousand shades of glasses due to an extrapolation of some mirror magic laws, and the second uses dark AppliedPhlebotinum for a kamikaze attack. Doesn't end well.

* WhatExactlyIsHisJob: Maître Serpolet. He works for the government, that’s for sure. [[spoiler:He isn’t some political figure, that’s something too. He isn’t from intelligence either. So… why does he always give Elsy and Elodianne their special missions, why is he called "Maître" ("Master", an official title in France for certain judicial jobs, for a high rank in the military, and for university degrees), and why is he so mysterious and sometimes sarcastic?]]

* Mooks: Totally averted in the first book, there is only the main terrorists commanding a lot of giant slave monsters.

* Gorn: Sometimes.

''[[http://mirinar.com/ Les Chimeres de Mirinar]]'' (''Chimaeras of Mirinar'') is a French serial of dark fantasy, deconstructing most of fantasy figures into an action adventure packaged with violent psychology and political reflection.

The second novel, ''Les reflets du temps'' (''Reflects of time''), focus on the mirror-worlds (magical Mindscrew pocket universes) and the distant past and future. Chapters are more independent and there is not recurrent bad guys (or BigBad) at the time being.

!!'''''Les Chimeres de Mirinar'' provides examples of:'''

* BeginnersLuck: Elsy is a young woman with practically only streetfight experience. You may think someone could know better than send her against powerful magicians and EldritchAbomination.

* OneWingedAngel: Played ''really'' straight, Teliam Vore appears like a dark and gray creature with only one giant wing... But both averted and subverted [[spoiler:because he's not what he seems to be]].
* PowerGivesYouWings: Subverted. Teliam Vore's unique wing doesn't give him any special ability. Also, the wing is spectacularly bulky and almost useless.
* PowerDyesYourHair: Subverted. Teliam Vore's hair are black, but he dyes those blue and green with tincture. Later, after an unholy metamorphosis turning him in some kind of powerful golem/zombie/alien creature, his hair are of natural color again.
* LampshadeHanging: Many. Part of the Deconstruction approach.
* GenreBusting:
** Urban western inquiry horror adventure fantasy?
** More like some lovecraftian action-packed thriller.
* PerfectHealth: Inverted. Most of characters frequently got cold, hangovers or even worse.
* RebelRelaxation: Elsy is relaxed like this in ''[[http://www.mirinar.com/index-3-0-6.html this illustration]]''.
* WrongTurnAtAlbuquerque: In the third chapter of the first novel, [[spoiler:Elsy and Basilien get horribly lost in a Scum forest. Traumatic chase ensues]].
* TroubleFollowsYouHome: TWO TIMES. [[spoiler:After the Aurterrian mission, Elsy and Basilien go home, only to see Eldritch Horrors everywhere.]] Later, [[spoiler:after the messy and traumatizing final battle against the Teliam Vore golem and all of the Vorians, Elsy & Co go home, only to see there are important riots in West Mirinece.]] FromBadToWorse.
* VictoryIsBoring: Damnis de Mirinece really doesn't like his current work as leader of the country. In his solitary chapter, he is tempted to screw responsabilities and to go to adventure. Also, Salven, seeing all the ridiculous propaganda, now understands how follish he was to wish for glory.
* ArcWords: "A l'ombre d'un long titan hurle Vore le grand" ("In the long titan's surroundings, Vore the Great is screaming").
* EldritchAbomination: The Scum, Blasphemies, Teliam Vore himself.
* BodyHorror: When Eldritch Abominations want to play...
* Squick: ... ensues.
* Mooks: Totally averted in the first book, there is only the main terrorists commanding to a lot of giant slave monsters.
* ShoutOut: Melville. Probably ChinaMieville, VideoGame/GodOfWar and FinalFantasy too.
* StoryboardBody: Elsy, Ohya.
* TattooedCrook: Elsy.
* ComfortingComforter: Basilien (or his mother) draps a blanket around Ohya when he falls asleep in the Orlinde house.
* CrazyEnoughToWork: Both Vorian and suicide mission plans.
* CryForTheDevil: The Vorian flashback, [[spoiler:which allows us to see Noelien, Eldee and the twin sisters in their sad childhood and teenage years]].
* StoryArc: In each Mirinar novel, a huge portion of chapters have their own atmosphere and subplot. But there is always great story arcs. And ''greater'' story arcs. Some metaplot too.
* FloatingAdviceReminder: Played... strange. Elsy has black clouds in her head in one chapter and a Blasphemy tentacle hit it. Figuratively.
* IntheHood: Teliam Vore in [[spoiler:his chapter 9 apparition]].
* SealedEvilInACan: Loffrieu ([[spoiler:the "evil" Teliam Vore]]). Certainly [[spoiler:mirror-worlds too, since ''something'' seems to ''think'' and ''watch'' from there]].
* LieDetector: Orienteurs can do this without machine.
* RuleOfEmpathy: Governmental personalities and bad guys are more prone to be sympathetic than the main character. It may be part of the Deconstruction approach.
* ScrewPolitenessImaSenior: Manoha.

* StatusQuoIsGod: Averted. The first missions of Elsy Agency seem to be without any consequences, but by the end of the first novel, the reader knows better ([[spoiler:two words: Lene Daravic]]).
* TakeOurWordForIt: We never get to know how exactly [[spoiler:the Teliam Vore golem is working]]. But it doesn't seem nice. It REALLY doesn't seem nice. Yeark.
* AmplifierArtifact: Any object made of black amber.

* FinalBossPreview: Apparently played straight: Teliam Vore shows up in Central Palace and kills lot of soldiers. Definitely subverted when [[spoiler:one of the Vorians reveals he was gravely hurt and nearly broken, but with all witness of his state killed.]]
* HoldingBackThePhlebotinum: Literally. Basilien, a strictly non-magician kind of guy, finds a greatly magical artefact... and hides it ForTheLulz. Also, [[spoiler:black amber is an unknown thing for almost all magicians in the Ark State]].

* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: The Blasphemies are in permanent and mostly uncontrolled transformation. The fact they don?t have anything similar to a will doesn?t help.
* LostTechnology: [[spoiler:Blue crystal and black amber]]. It seems that in long lost times magicians knew what it was, but the knowledge was nearly totally lost.

* MagicAIsMagicA: We don't know all of the laws regarding Mirinar magic, but already a lot, clearly in an attempt to make it at least looks logical.
* MagicFromTechnology: Maybe. A popular theory is that [[spoiler:Mirinar Arks are part of an ancient and futuristic structure carrying some psionic energy. Hell, Jesus himself could be in the Arks ? we already saw divine Light, an exploding giant cyborg creature and TheVirus going out of these things. Maybe the Arks are totally made of Narrativium ?]]

* MisappliedPhlebotinum: Subverted. The government doesn't know how to use the mirror-worlds, but the terrorists are way more lucid.
* PhlebotinumBreakdown: Blasphemies are SO unstable and dangerous things.

* PoweredByAForsakenChild: One really doesn't want to know how the Blasphemies are made.
* Restraining Bolt: Loulou is a special Blasphemy with a lot of mechanical and chemical stuff preventing it of becoming dangerous for its creators.
* TechnoBabble: What the hell is going on with all these mirror-worlds rules ?

* {{Unobtainium}}: Blue crystal and black amber. [[spoiler:Both seem to be magic incredibly concentrated, and can make some strange things working. Like using magic in a mirror-world]].
* UpgradeArtifact: Played straight. [[spoiler:Elsy, Basilien, Elodianne, Noelien, Eldee, Laudane all get one of them. Respectively [[spoiler:an good and precious blade, a black amber knife, a black amber belt, a Blasphemy-decoy artefact and murderous lightning black amber sharpened blade]]. Maybe inverted with [[spoiler:Basilien?s knife, which is in no way useful to him]].
* WeaponOfMassDestruction: All of Blasphemies are used for destructive terrorist attacks.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Teliam Vore grows as one of the most powerful magicians in history, distinguish himself in a war without comparison against an epidemic of abominable creatures... and finally turns batshit insane. Also, [[spoiler:Noelien and Laudane during their final battles]].
* AmbitionIsEvil: Subverted ? Elsy's ambitions are ambiguously portrayed.
* AttentionWhore: Elsy loves to be really recognizable.
* {{Backstory}}: A lot. Almost every single character seems to have an entire biography on his own behind the stage. Even some extras.
* BadDreams: Damnis's nightmares of the Scum War.
* BaddieFlattery: Eldee.
* BettyAndVeronica: Subverted. [[spoiler:Vorians' "love triangle" is merely an delusion born of boring times and hermit's life. But vaguely, Laudane is Betty and Amaranthe is Veronica]].
* BreakTheBadass: The mighty Ohya has his ass kicked [[spoiler:during the first apparition of the Blasphemies in the novel]]. Also, a lot of battles do this to the characters.
* TheWorfEffect: Ohya, again, and Manoha, mainly. The Atepehian people are so strong and resistant, they make excellent Worfs.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: Damnis and Salven.
* CatchPhrase: "My ass is bigger than yours !" (Whatever that sentence means.)
* HiddenDepths: Ohya. [[spoiler:He seems to be able to speak Ark State language correctly, and beside, is revealed to be more introspective than most characters]]. Also the Vorians.
* CommonSense: Frequently Basilien.
* ContemplativeBoss: Salven during his first appearance, talking to fanatical priests without facing them.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: All of the Vorians and of the War Masters.
* DarkIsEvil: Well, Blasphemies ARE black organisms.
* KidAppealCharacter: Francisque. He even has blond hair.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Sort of. The Vorians are all huge fanboys of pulp fiction, so they could have guessed their precise role in the main story – [[spoiler:the bad guys who get a tragical fate.]]
* WithFriendsLikeThese: Most of the Vorians. Especially, Noelien doesn’t seem to be so appreciated by his friends, and he doesn’t like them a lot, neither.
* ZeroApprovalGambit: Eldee tries to think he is from this kind. That’s delusional, and [[spoiler:by the end of the first novel, following his capitulation, he has a violent epiphany : he’s nothing more than a mass murderer]].
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Teliam Vore when he comes back. Cause unknown. [[spoiler:Maybe the Olgueron process or some Vorian experiment.]]
* Wildcard: Manoha.

* WhatExactlyIsHisJob: Maitre Serpolet. He works for the government, that’s for sure. [[spoiler:He isn’t some political figure, that’s something too. He isn’t from the intelligence neither. So… why does he always give to Elsy and Elodianne their special missions, why is he called “Maitre” (“Master”, an official title in France for certain juridical jobs, for a high grade in military, and for university degrees), and why is he so mysterious and sometimes sarcastic?]]
* WeaponOfChoice: Elsy, who was some kind of gangster and street fighter before the first novel, fights with a knuckle duster. Basilien, same kind of past, mainly uses knifes. Teliam Vore, when he comes back, has the Vore Helix, an baroque and giant weapon with two blades and a lot of pikes. The list just goes on.
* VitriolicBestBuds: The Vorians. Elsy and Basilien. Elsy and Elodianne. Elsy and… every friend she ever made?
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Noelien]].
* VillainDecay: The Blasphemies. [[spoiler:By the end of the story, they become clearly secondary. And Teliam Vore and Vorians, since they were Deconstruction to begin with.]]
* TragicDream: [[spoiler:All of the Vorians]].
* VillainCorner: [[spoiler:Salven and Alken]] in the second novel.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler:Basilien never gets Elsy]].
* ThereAreNoCoincidences: Subverted early. In the second chapter of the first novel, [[there is immediatly a great coincidence with Lene Daravic]].
* SurvivalMantra: "Seul ce qui reste compte".
* StoutStrength: Basilien, Leostin.
* SmokingIsCool: Elsy and a lot of other characters.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Elsy and Opaline in the second novel.
* SmarterThanYouLook: Basilien, Ohya.
* ShipperOnDeck: Hussert [[spoiler:is shipping Arlard and Elodianne]].
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Elsy. Kind of subverted since Elsy seems aware of here complicated and aristocratif way of talking.
* RedOniBlueOni: Inverted with Elsy and Elodianne (the redhead is the quiet one, the white-haired the raging tempest). Played straight, but without physical divergences, with Laudane and Amaranthe.
* PutOnABus: Allibert. All of Aurterre arc in the first novel.
* PsychoSupporter: Manoha.
* PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler:Noelien in the first novel final]].
* PostHistoricalTrauma: Damnis, Vore and Salven.
* PerpetualSmiler: Ohya.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Elsy. To be fair, she also is in some missions for glory.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Vorians in their teen years. [[spoiler:They tried to bring a pedophile to justice. They failed, one of them died.]] They were arrested and ''punished''.
* ExpressiveMask: [[spoiler: Teliam Vore's face.]]
* DumbMuscle: Ohya pretends to be not very smart.
* HappilyMarried: Hussert.
* AxCrazy: Noelien during the ending.
* CoolChair: Prime's throne. And he has ''a lot'' of thrones.
* CostumePorn: Prime's armor and clothes. And similarly, he has ''a lot'' of described costumes. Also, Teliam Vore's sadomasochist/biomechanical/destroy suit, and some of the religious clothes.
* AlienSky: In some of Elodianne's visions. Also in the religious paintings.
* DesolationShot: Also in Elodianne's visions.
* AllDesertsHaveCacti: Averted. In the garrigue and in the Lazirac region, no cactus is even mentioned.
* BattleAmongstTheFlames: The final battle against Teliam Vore.
* ConspicuousConsumption: The Central Palace decoration is ''very'' wealthy. Absurdely wealthy, since a wood usually used as money is used here for the walls and statues.
* CowTools: In Camaieu Castle, the Vorians have a lot of strange machines and items.
* DeadlyFireworksDisplay: The two most-talented Vorians, [[Amaranthe and Laudane]], have especially flashy deaths. The first explodes in a thousand shades of glasses due to an extrapolation of some mirror magic laws, and the second uses dark AppliedPhlebotinum for a kamikaze attack. Doesn't end well.
* DirtForcefield: Strongly averted. The main characters always end covered in awful substances, and Elsy, the heroin, is sometimes covered of vomit.
* VomitDiscretionShot: A lot.
* VomitIndiscretionShot: Sometimes.
* GoryDiscretionShot: A lot.
* Gorn: Sometimes.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Only one in the first novel: the ''great'' battle with hundreds of magicians, warriors monks and soldiers against a lot of Blasphemies leaded by Teliam Vore himself. The novel only shows us the aftermath. May be part of the Deconstruction approach.
* VillainyDiscretionShot: During the first novel, most of the terrorists's attacks are not described. It is implied the Vorians murdered hundred of people using the Blasphemies.
* EmpathicEnvironment: Played straight and very litteraly with the mirror-worlds.
* TheFutureIsNoir: In Damnis's thoughts. He imagines entire civilizations with cadaveric citizens (Teliam Vore-alikes) and mobile Blasphemies-cities.
* ItsGoingDown: Camaieu Castle.
* PowerEchoes: Litterally, with the twin sisters and aquilonian magicians.
* LoveInterests: Laudane is clearly Eldee's love interest.
* LustObject: Her sister, Amaranthe, is clearly Eldee's lust object. Also, Basilien thinks about Elsy frequently.
* CrystalDragonJesus: Prime Church.
* MightyGlacier: Teliam Vore.
* JokeCharacter: Manoha.

* TroubleFollowsYouHome: TWO TIMES. [[spoiler:After the Aurterrian mission, Elsy and Basilien go home, only to see Eldritch Horrors everywhere.]] Later, [[spoiler:after the messy and traumatizing final battle against the Teliam Vore golem and all of the Vorians, Elsy & Co go home, only to see there are important riots in West Mirinece.]] ItGotWorse.

* VillainDecay: The Blasphemies. [[spoiler:By the end of the story, they become clearly secondary. And Teliam Vore and Vorians, since they were Deconstruction to begin with.]] But if we are talking about the amount of decay, YourMileageMayVary.

* TheBumblebee: Francisque. He even has blond hair.

* EverybodyRemembersTheStripper: Elsy is more known for her nude and crude moments than for any other thing. And for ''[[http://www.pbase.com/gilp/marieclaude_bourbonnais_as_elsy_valnitier/ Marie-Claude Bourbonnais]]'', the real-world-pin-up which cosplayed her. With some nude moments too, some of we can't link to in this website.

* GenreBusting: Urban western inquiry horror adventure fantasy?

* BadassDecay: Eldee starts like a confident and smiling antagonist in the Mirinece sewers and [[spoiler:ends the final battle wet and crying]]. Subverted because since his first appearance, the reader knows [[spoiler:Eldee was principally an weakling and immature fanboy]].

* GrowingTheBeard: Inverted. Salven was strongly bearded during his youth, but is beardless by the time the first novel begins. Curiously, he seems even more {{Badass}} this way.