Belgariad: Difference between revisions
So many tropes
(Even more examples.) |
(So many tropes) |
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** {{spoiler|Zedar gets buried alive... ''forever''.}}
** Torak felt the burning of the Orb's fire for God knows how many thousands of years as strongly as the moment the fire first touched him. Gods in this universe can't heal from wounds, and since [[Purpose Driven Immortality|the Prophecy needed him to stay alive for a very long time]]...
* [[And Now You Must Marry Me]]: Had the Dark Prophecy won instead of the Light, {{spoiler|Polgara would've become Torak's wife}}.
* [[Animal Motifs]]: Each of the gods has a totemic signature, and they and their chosen race mimic these animals in a characteristic, if not always physical, way. More directly, each of the sorcerers trained by Aldur has a preferred alternate form: the women like [[The Owl-Knowing One|the owl]] (Aldur's own totem), the men, [[Big Badass Wolf|the wolf]]. Belgarath is even introduced as "Old Wolf" in the series.
* [[The Antichrist]]: The Child of Dark. It's [[Captain Obvious|Torak]] for the first series, and Zandramas for {{spoiler|most of the second.}}
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* [[Hope Spot]]: Interestingly, engineered by the good guys in the last book. Garion pretends to be about to choose the wrong successor, so that when he gets it right Zandramas will be pissed off and put off-balance.
* [[Human Sacrifice]]: Practiced by the Grolims in honor of Torak. Belgarath admits that it may or may not have been Torak's idea to begin with, but Torak never did anything to stop it.
* [[Hypnotize the Princess]]: {{spoiler|Zandramas}} does this to {{spoiler|Ce'Nedra, twice}}.
* [[Hypocritical Humor]]:
** There are many occasions where characters complain about traits in others that they themselves possess. Usually some variation of dramatizing (i.e. Belgarath, who spent years as a professional storyteller, complains that Beldin is being too ostentatious). They are frequently called on this.
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** There is only one dragon in the series, who is both the first and the last of her kind. The gods made three, but the two males killed each other in the first mating season. The entire depiction of dragons is an intentional [[Subversion]] of the basic fantasy archetype of the creatures -- just dumb lizards. Garion is also the [[Single Line of Descent|last surviving descendant]] of the Rivan royal family, and Taiba is the last Marag.
** As for Taiba, not anymore, Mara and Relg saw to that. Hettar even complains that his wife Adara can't keep up when it comes to making babies with Taiba and accuses Mara of cheating.
* [[Law of Inverse Fertility]]: Played straight with {{spoiler|Garion and Ce'Nedra}} in ''the Malloreon''.
* [[The Legions of Hell]]: Alluded to in the ''Belgariad'' and introduced in more detail in the ''Malloreon'' as one of several competing evil factions. Even the Grolims prefer to avoid dealing with them if at all possible, but they ''can'' be manipulated, if you are ''very'' careful. (Nobody is that careful.)
* [[Lethal Chef]]:
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* [[Plot Tailored to the Party]]: Each of the many companions has a specific skill (some more broadly applicable than others) which is necessary at some point.
* [[The Power of Love]]: Torak isn't able to take over the world because Polgara {{spoiler|loves Durnik}}, and holds on to that while he's trying to bend her will to his.
* [[Power Strain Blackout]]: Since using sorcery always results in some amount of physical exhaustion, this is a very real risk, and not even the worst case scenario. Happens to {{Spoiler|Belgarath in ''Castle of Wizardry''}} and {{spoiler|Polgara in ''Enchanters' End Game''}}.
* [[Powers That Be]]: The two Prophecies.
* [[Pretty Boy]]: Torak ''was'' one, before the whole burning thing. He was often described as "over-pretty".
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* [[Protagonist-Centered Morality]]: To the point of caricature, but still played completely straight. It's even [[Discussed Trope|discussed]] by the heroes at a few points, and acknowledged that, while it may not necessarily be a good thing, it's absolutely necessary to fulfil the Prophecy. Belgarath performed assassinations as well as coerced marriages to create the families of the [[True Companions]], and is quite unapologetic about it. Yes, it was wrong, but [[Papa Wolf|he doesn't really care.]] At one point, he [[Lampshade|Lampshades]] this when he tells Garion that he's less interested in Good vs Evil than Us vs. Them.
* [[Proud Warrior Race]]: The [[Boisterous Bruiser|Chereks]], [[Fragile Speedster|Algars]], [[Honour Before Reason|Arends]], and [[Blood Knight|Murgos]] all represent different flavors of this trope.
* [[Puberty Superpower]]: Beldin theorizes that their particular type of "talent" only shows itself during puberty as a safety precaution, since having baby sorceres around could be highly inconvenient.
* [[Rape as Drama|Marital Rape]] as... [[Values Dissonance|slightly regrettable behaviour]] on the part of one of the hero's allies in ''Pawn of Prophecy''. According to Polgara, the victim, Merel, [[Asshole Victim|was very shallow.]] [[Protagonist-Centered Morality|And she wasn't part of the hero's crew.]] Barak does express regret for the circumstances, and Merel puts him through marital hell until she finally bears him a son (and he compliments her for it), which [[Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other|fixes the relationship instantly]].
* [[Really Gets Around]]:
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