View source for Chronicles of Elantra

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{{quote|'''Kaylin''': ''Did you ever learn anything about [[Time Travel|time]] in your magical studies?'' 
'''Nightshade''': ''Yes, I've learned it passes very, very slowly when I'm bored.''
|''Cast in Silence''}}

'''''Chronicles of Elantra''''' is a fantasy series by Michelle Sagara (also known as Michelle Sagara West). The series has six books, with a seventh book set for release in September 2011. The books follow the life of [[Person of Mass Destruction|Kaylin Neya]] as she deals with the issues surrounding the City of Elantra and the races within it and the strange marks left on her body by the [[Precursors|Old Ones]]. 

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* [[Badass Normal]]: Severn is the only recurring character that doesn't have any sort of powers or magic. He still manages to [[Can't Catch Up|catch up]]. 
* [[The Beautiful Elite]]: The Barrani look so perfect that it's actually hard to tell them apart from one another if you don't know them well enough. 
* [[Bishonen]]: Every single male [[Inhumanly Beautiful Race|Barrani]], but especially Nightshade. 
* [[Brother-Sister Incest]]: In the Barrani High Lord's line, the power to rule is passed from father to son, and the power to give babies their [[I Know Your True Name|true names]] is passed from mother to daughter. Needless to say, the Barrani royal line is [[Squick|extremely inbred]].
* [[Can't Argue with Elves]]: It's considered extremely inadvisable to argue with the Barrani, because they're [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent Bastards]] at best and [[Wicked Cultured]] at worst.
* [[Cargo Ship]]:  {{spoiler|Tiamaris and Tara. She's really a Tower.}}
* [[The Chosen One]]: Kaylin is "Chosen". Nobody's really sure what that means.
* [[Cool Sword]]: Nightshade has [[Named Weapons|Meliannos]] which is about as cool as a sword can get in this universe. It kills Dragons. While they are in Dragon form.
* [[Embarrassing Tattoo]]: Kaylin likes to pretend that that's all hers are.
* [[The Empire]]: Subverted. The Empire is actually an okay place to live. Not perfect, but okay.
* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: The quartermaster doesn't have a name, apparently. 
** And since, according to the Dragons, if you don't have a name you don't have a soul, he lacks a soul as well.
* [[Friend to All Children]]: Take a guess.
* [[A God Am I]]: {{spoiler|Makuron}}
* [[Half-Human Hybrid]]: Averted. In a world with five races living in such close contact with each other, it's surprising that there are absolutely no hybrids ever mentioned ever, and Kaylin x Nightshade is the only [[Interspecies Romance]] alluded to in the entire series.
* [[I Know Your True Name]]: Both the Barrani and Dragons have true names. Kaylin knows two:  {{spoiler|Nightshade's (Calarnenne) and the Lord of the West March's (Lirienne)}}
* [[Improbable Weapon User]]: Severn uses a blade on a chain. How this manages to be effective is best left [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief|unanswered.]] But it looks very, very [[Rule of Cool|cool]].
* [[The Ingenue]]: Subverted so very hard by a main character who drinks swears and bets at every opportunity.
* [[Kaleidoscope Eyes]]: This series loves this trope. Every race except humans have eyes that reflect their mood, using a different range of colors for each race.
* [[Late for School]]: Kaylin. All the time. To the point that in the sixth book, when she's actually ON TIME, there are bets on how long this will last. 
* [[Living Prop]]: Anyone remember Tanner? No? I rest my case. 
* [[Love Triangle]]: Nightshade x Kaylin x Severn. None of the boys seem to actually compete with each other though. 
* [[Magnificent Bastard]]: Barrani by nature, but Nightshade especially. In Cast In Chaos, it's revealed that  {{spoiler|everything he did in Kaylin's history was to make sure that that one day [[Time Travel|where they met in the past]] went off without a hitch.}}
* [[Mauve Shirt]]: Samaran appeared for one book and has never been mentioned again. 
* [[The Mentor]]: Sanabalis. Since he's immortal...and can literally breath fire and eat people, he's unlikely to be subject to [[Mentor Occupational Hazard]].
* [[The Multiverse]]:  {{spoiler|The world the story is set in is the original world, but others exist.}}
* [[Mystical Waif]]:  {{spoiler|The Tha'alaani}} and  {{spoiler|Tara}}.
* [[Named Weapons]]: Meliannos.
* [[Our Elves Are Different]]: The Barrani are elves with sneakiness, cunning, and all around [[Magnificent Bastard|bastardry]] taken [[Up to Eleven]]. They've also been known to cause wars because they're bored. 
* [[Our Dragons Are Different]]: Elantra's Dragons can shift from human to Dragon form. Other than that, they're pretty much the same. They breathe fire and have hoards. 
* [[Passed Over Promotion]]: Kaylin is still a Private, despite the fact that she  {{spoiler|saved the fiefs TWICE, spoiler: saved both the former Lord of the High Halls's sons, survived the Barrani Test of Name, saved her Sergeant's sister-in-law, saved the city from a tidal wave, survived TWO encounters with Makuron, and exonerated her Sergeant of murder.}} There are reasons for this. *cough*attitude*cough*
* [[Person of Mass Destruction]]: Kaylin. This isn't even a spoiler.
* [[Power Tattoo]]: The markings on Kaylin's body.
* [[Precursors]]: The Old Ones.
* [[Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor]]: Nightshade and Severn, respectively, although Severn...while not as rich as Nightshade, still manages to have more money than Kaylin.
* [[Scary Librarian]]: You do not mess with the Arkon's Library. EVER.
* [[Secret Police]]: Shadow Wolves are a benevolent form.
* [[Single Gender Race]]: While it's never actually been discussed...[[Unfortunate Implications|we've never seen a female Dragon]]. 
** Though [[The Emperor]] placed many restrictions on the Dragons, and those that could not follow them but did not rebel are presumed to be taking a very long nap somewhere. It is possible that the ladies are all taking a snooze. On the other hand, maybe they just don't leave the palace much.
* [[Squick]]: The Barrani High Lord's family. Just....squick. 
* [[Stalker with a Crush]]: Subverted hard by Severn, but he watched her from the shadows for SEVEN YEARS.
* [[Those Two Guys]]: Teela and Tain, when they come out together. Also, in the second book, Andellen and Samaran. 
* [[True Companions]]: Kyuthe, Pridlea, fellow Hawks.
* [[Winged Humanoid]]: The Aerians.
* [[A Wizard Did It]]: Aerians can fly because the world has enough magic to support them. {{spoiler|When they fly over Ravellon, they drop right out of the air.}}

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