History TraumaCongaLine / Literature

* ''Literature/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'': We get a number of hints in the first three years of the series that Oliver Horn has a lot of trauma buried in his past, but his full {{backstory}}, once revealed in volume 10, is nothing but round after round of suffering for a half-dozen years on end. [[spoiler:His happy life with his parents was shattered by her falling-out with her Gnostic Hunter comrades: Chloe was murdered and Ed and Oliver fled to SeekSanctuary with her powerful, estranged relatives. Turns out, she was the family BlackSheep: when the remnants of Chloe's soul settled with Oliver, his great-grandfather used him to play back her murder from her GhostMemory, forcing him to relive her RasputinianDeath in first-person. Seeking {{revenge}} meant years of repeated TrainingFromHell to the point of death so that he could perform an unnatural MergerOfSouls with his mother, the only hope a MasterOfNone mage like Oliver had of posing a credible threat to a Kimberly Magic Academy professor. Then his great-grandfather had him drugged into a hyperaggressive state and [[RapeAsDrama unleashed him on his gentle cousin Shannon]], hoping to [[ChildByRape impregnate her]] with a child with Chloe's SuperpowerfulGenetics. Shannon forgave him since he was NotHimself, but Oliver's only hope of redeeming his guilt over the rape was scuttled when their daughter was stillborn--leading him to [[BrokenAce subconsciously conclude that he was destined to suffer forever]]. All this was capped off when Oliver [[MurderInTheFamily murdered both his maternal great-grandparents]] for [[AssholeVictim their actions]], and [[DrivenToSuicide his father committed suicide]], both [[ThanatosGambit to cover it up]] and out of guilt for being unable to stop the rape.]] Good ''God'', Creator/BokutoUno...

** [[TheWoobie Brittney Donegal]] had to watch her little brother get eaten by coyotes, before she herself is tortured by the boy responsible for her brothers death, then, [[NiceGuy Edilio]] mistaking her for dead, she's buried underground fully conscious (because of her sucky power of immortality), and has to dig her way out. Then she discovers she has to share a body with the boy who murdered her and her family. Then she's tricked into becoming a slave, and is tortured various times; and because of her sucky power she just keeps coming back for more torture--decapitation, getting shot 9 times in the face, you name it. She probably [[IJustWantToBeNormal wishes she didn't have her power]] so she could curl up in a ball and die.

** The entire life of Merope Gaunt, introduced in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', sucked, to put it simply. She was the target of constant abuse by her [[AbusiveParents father]] and [[BigBrotherBully brother]], is one of three named British kids in the series who never got to go to Hogwarts [[note]] her, her brother Morfin, and Ariana Dumbledore [[/note]] (either because she was believed to be a squib or her father hated the outside world so much) and [[StalkerWithACrush fell in love with a man she knew would never want her]]. She used a LovePotion to make him fall in love with her and have her [[ChildByRape child]], but stopped using it after a while, hoping he had genuinely fallen in love with her. He ran away from her instead, causing her to [[DespairEventHorizon fall into despair]] and [[DeathByChildbirth die giving birth to their son]].

*** He doesn't just lose his three best friends, he loses them all ''[[ExtremelyShortTimespan within a twenty-four hour period]].'' Twelve full years later, he gets one of them back when he finds out that [[HopeSpot Sirius was innocent all along]], but that's still a horribly long time to dwell on those losses. Not to mention the fact that he then [[KickTheDog witnesses Sirius' actual death]] two short years later. It's not terribly surprising that he had something of a [[HeroicBSOD breakdown]] at the beginning of the seventh book after [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone marrying and impregnating Tonks]].

** [[Characters/HarryPotterHarryJamesPotter Harry James Potter]] himself. Nearly every adult authority figure either despises Harry and tortures him, or is killed protecting him. He also is the witness to several of his friends and loved ones being murdered. If your family was murdered while you were a baby and you bear a scar from that event the rest of your life, and it WASN'T the worst thing to ever happen to you, you have a seriously messed-up life.

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Peeta Mellark [[spoiler:is routinely beaten by his mother, falls in love with Katniss, is thrown into an arena to fight her to the death, nearly dies of sepsis, loses his leg, finds out the girl of his dreams only faked loving him back, goes back into the arena to fight her to the death again, has a heart attack, gets left behind when Katniss leaves, is tortured to the point of seemingly irreparable insanity, is present while everyone else on his squad (save Katniss) discuss killing him, and never stops having insane outbursts. Ouch.]]

* This is a most popular plot device for sentimental 19th-century novels such as ''Literature/ADogOfFlanders'', ''Literature/UncleTomsCabin'' and ''Literature/ALittlePrincess'', as well as their anime adaptations in the ''Anime/WorldMasterpieceTheater''.
* The Copper, one of the three protagonists of ''Literature/AgeOfFire'', has a rough life right from the start. As per dragon traditions, as he and his brothers hatch, they fight to the death, and while the Copper lives, he still loses and is cast out by his family, with nothing but a permanently broken front leg to show for it. Then, after months of scrounging for food to survive, he's captured by dwarves, who trick him into selling out his family's location (after breaking his tail ForTheLulz) so they can kill them all, succeeding in the cases of his parents and one of his sisters (namely, the one who was the only family member to show him kindness), and as a parting gift, their dragon-hunting mercenary gives him a wound that guarantees one of his wings will never grow in properly, denying him the chance of ever flying. And then his surviving sister, on running into him shortly after, nearly gouges out one of his eyes as revenge for his treachery, leaving him practically half-blind. Things start to look up for him after that, as he finds his way to the Lavadome and starts a new life there, but he carries his wounds (both physical and psychological) for the rest of his life.

* Murtagh from ''Literature/InheritanceCycle''. The main article describes his life as a series of people kicking him in the balls. As of the ending of the 2nd book, he's well on his way to becoming [[spoiler: Type B]].
* Michael gets dragged through one in the first two books of the ''Literature/KnightAndRogueSeries'', consisting of multiple abductions, use as a test subject, and ostracization. He spends the second book a little [[BreakTheCutie broken]] but manages to come out in ''almost'' as good shape as he was in the beginning, by means of lots of distractions and help from Fisk.
* In ''Literature/ALegacyOfLight,'' main character Tutankhamun's parents, grandmother, and five of his sisters died before he'd turned nine, and before he was nineteen, he and his wife had lost two infant daughters. Furthermore, the Pharaoh has mobility issues requiring the use of a cane, and suffers from daily pain in his foot. As the trilogy progresses, he rides into battle, comes home with two broken legs, and later develops malaria.

* Captain Lawrence in the Literature/{{Temeraire}} book, ''Victory Of Eagles''. He starts the book off [[spoiler: under a death sentence for treason and ends it sailing off in exile to Australia, on the books as a prisoner. In between, he has to put up with half the Aerial Corps despising him as a traitor (many of those who think he did the right thing are too ashamed to look him in the eye themselves), his commanding officer/lover [[WhatTheHellHero chewing him out]] for his {{Lawful Stupid}}ity that gained him traitor tag, the husband of a former love interest he'd treated badly getting killed helping him on a a covert mission, and his personal fortune getting wiped out by a lawsuit.]] And did we mention Napoleon has invaded England while all this is going on?

** The end of Volume 7 is a ''major'' one for the protagonists, in particular Arthur and Tessia, as [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins, their loved ones are killed off or put through great suffering, and horrible revelations ensue. First, Arthur's father Reynolds is killed while defending the Wall from the horde of Alacryan mana beasts. Then, Tessia's parents Alduin and Merial learn from Agrona himself that the Beast Will Arthur had given Tessia has given him control over whether their daughter lives or dies. After giving them a SadisticChoice over whether he lets Tessia die or they let in his forces into the Council Castle to kill Virion, they choose the latter. This forces the Dicathians to abandon the castle and go into hiding, with Arthur coming face to face with Cadell, the Scythe who killed his ParentalSubstitute Sylvia many years ago and reigniting his trauma. In the aftermath, Tessia sets out on her own to try to rescue her parents, only to find out once that both they and the Glayders have already been executed to mark the end of the Alacryan conquest. If that weren't enough, in the ensuing battle Arthur and Tessia come face to face with Elijah, who has seemingly been ReforgedIntoAMinion as one the Scythes after having been kidnapped during the attack on Xyrus years ago. Elijah then reveals to Arthur that he is in fact Nico Sever, his former childhood friend from his past life as King Grey, and that he now wants revenge on Arthur for killing his fiancée and their shared ChildhoodFriendLoveInterest Cecilia. What follows is Arthur and Sylvie being forced to hold back Cadell, Nico, and the Alacryan army in order to buy time for the Dicathians to retreat. In the process, Arthur overexerts himself using Sylvia's Beast Will which nearly tears himself apart and it is only through Sylvie performing a HeroicSacrifice to save him that prevents him from either dying or being captured]]. The trauma does not stop there, as it continues all the way through Volume 8. In the aftermath, [[spoiler:Arthur is presumed dead by the Dicathians which itself is traumatic to his mother, sister, and Tessia. However, he had in fact ended up in the Relictombs, a dimension completely alien to him with no apparent way out. He finds out shortly afterwards thanks to the second message Sylvia left for him the truth about the war - that Kezess and the Indrath Clan from which Sylvia and Sylvie hail from had committed genocide on the ancient {{Djinn}} which led to Agrona and the Vritra Clan's StartOfDarkness and thus the war itself. He also finds out that his mana core was damaged beyond recovery in light of the previous battle, and he is forced to go incognito among a group of Alacryans while finding a way out. At the end of the Volume, he witnesses Tessia getting captured when she returns to Elenoir by the Alacryans and [[ReforgedIntoAMinion turned into]] [[GrandTheftMe the vessel]] for the Legacy, who he realizes is Cecilia reincarnated. He then witnesses Windsom and Aldir arrive in order to eliminate the Legacy, followed by the latter destroying Elenoir using the [[FantasticNuke World Eater]] technique. Effectively, the volume ends with Arthur being able to do nothing as his friends and family are put through severe trauma at the whims of cruel and callous gods as he is stuck in an unfamiliar domain in the company of people he considered his enemies]].
** After [[spoiler:being forced to destroy Elenoir using the World Eater technique, Aldir's loyalty to Kezess is shaken as he has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment over having committed another genocide in Kezess's name, one which ultimately failed in its objectives. Then he is confronted by Seris, who not only brings it up to his face how [[GodAndSatanAreBothJerks Kezess and Agrona are two sides of the same coin]], but that Arthur had managed to survive the war. This leads him to defy his liege's orders by redirecting the Lances to the Djinn sanctuary where the Dicathians are hiding to stop Taci from exterminating the populace at Kezess's command. In the aftermath of Taci's death, Windsom catches on to the fact that Aldir had disobeyed Kezess's orders to which Aldir decides that now is the time for him to depart Epheotus. However, before he is able to leave Windsom arrives to apprehend him along with a group of Asuran soldiers that Aldir himself had trained. Aldir is forced to kill all of them but Windsom in self-defense, in the process destroying whatever reputation he had left in Epheotus and rendering him HatedByAll as a traitor and madman. When Arthur meets with him in the Hearth, Aldir is completely broken from the turn of events and [[IWillFightNoMoreForever no longer has the will to fight]]]].

** The end of Volume 7 is a ''major'' one for the protagonists, in particular Arthur and Tessia, as TheBadGuyWins, their loved ones are killed off, and horrible revelations ensue. First, [[spoiler:Arthur's father Reynolds is killed while defending the Wall from the horde of Alacryan mana beasts. Then, Tessia's parents Alduin and Merial learn from Agrona himself that the Beast Will Arthur had given Tessia has given him control over whether their daughter lives or dies. After giving them a SadisticChoice over whether he lets Tessia die or they let in his forces into the Council Castle to kill Virion, they choose the latter. This forces the Dicathians to abandon the castle and go into hiding, with Arthur coming face to face with Cadell, the Scythe who killed his ParentalSubstitute Sylvia many years ago and reigniting his trauma. In the aftermath, Tessia sets out on her own to try to rescue her parents, only to find out once that both they and the Glayders have already been executed to mark the end of the Alacryan conquest. If that weren't enough, in the ensuing battle Arthur and Tessia come face to face with Elijah, who has seemingly been ReforgedIntoAMinion as one the Scythes after having been kidnapped during the attack on Xyrus years ago. Elijah then reveals to Arthur that he is in fact Nico Sever, his former childhood friend from his past life as King Grey, and that he now wants revenge on Arthur for killing his fiancee and their shared ChildhoodFriendLoveInterest Cecilia. What follows is Arthur and Sylvie being forced to hold back Cadell, Nico, and the Alacryan army in order to buy time for the Dicathians to retreat. In the process, Arthur overexerts himself using Sylvia's Beast Will which nearly tears himself apart. Only Sylvie performing a HeroicSacrifice saves him from either dying or being captured]]. The trauma does not stop there, as it continues all the way through Volume 8.
** After [[spoiler:being forced to ]].

** Heavily implied that Littlefinger, perhaps the closest thing to the BigBad in this series (besides The Others), went through this when he was younger, leading to Result B with a splattering Result D. From what we know, he was always mocked for being the lowest lord in the realm, as well as being physically weak in a RatedMForManly culture. Then, when he challenged the betrothed of the woman he loved, he was beaten, nearly killed, and then, while still weak from his injuries, ''raped'' by his love's sister.

** Harry himself. Nearly every adult authority figure either despises Harry and tortures him, or is killed protecting him. He also is the witness to several of his friends and loved ones being murdered. If your family was murdered while you were a baby and you bear a scar from that event the rest of your life, and it WASN'T the worst thing to ever happen to you, you have a seriously messed-up life.
** Also Sirius Black, who grew up in a neglectful and unloving home, was disowned by his family for refusing to join [[BigBad Voldemort]], lost most of his close friends in the First Wizarding War, was framed for the murder of two of them, spent 13 years being subjected to the torture of [[HellholePrison Azkaban]], and finally escaped only to have [[HopeSpot his chance to gain a real family snatched away at the last minute]], lived off ''rats'' while on the run, and had to spend most of his [[spoiler: remaining]] time confined to the home he hated as a child. Frankly, Bella gave him a [[spoiler: MercyKill.]]

* OlderThanFeudalism: The Literature/BookOfJob (from ''Literature/TheBible''). Starting as one of the wealthiest man in his society, he loses all his wealth, his children and his health in quick succession. To make things worse, his remaining friends decide to blame Job for his misfortune (under the incorrect premise that every bad experience is a direct punishment of a past sin). This causes him to briefly RageAgainstTheHeavens as he try to defend his innocence before his "friends", although he eventually regains his faith, and gets his wealth doubled.

* OlderThanFeudalism: The Book of Job (from ''Literature/TheBible''). Starting as one of the wealthiest man in his society, he loses all his wealth, his children and his health in quick succession. To make things worse, his remaining friends decide to blame Job for his misfortune (under the incorrect premise that every bad experience is a direct punishment of a past sin). This causes him to briefly RageAgainstTheHeavens as he try to defend his innocence before his "friends", although he eventually regains his faith, and gets his wealth doubled.

* ''Literature/{{Violeta}}: