ARCHON

ARCHON ^{[dead link]} is a Web Serial Novel set in a fantasy world, with each of its updates also having an accompanying illustration drawn by the series' creator Nathanael Jones. Its plot focuses on Joule, a young mercenary who has been sent to the native elven lands by his superiors in order to fulfil a bodyguarding contract. His employer is Arglwydd, a 'quirky' elven mage with an ambiguous past...

---

Tropes used in ARCHON include:

• A Fate Worse Than Death: Undead, as discussed below.
• And I Must Scream: Undead, in the extra Lore on the website ^{[dead link]}, are described as having full memory and full consciousness while they were being controlled by the Necromancers who reanimated them. They are essentially forced to watch as they kill innocents.
• Badass Preacher: Offeiriad, who is first introduced as standing with two bloody swords in the middle of a town whose inhabitants have gone feral.
• Bag of Holding: How else does Arglwydd carry all her 'miscellaneous magical errata'.
• Bilingual Bonus: Elven first names are usually presented as Welsh words and Orkish first names as German ones. Often overlaps with Meaningful Name.
• Crystal Dragon Jesus: Two major religions are mentioned in the extra Lore, the 'Church of the Most High' and 'The Church of the Four Spirits'. The former is essentially Fantasy Counterpart Culture Christianity, the latter involves the worship of the primal spirits of Fire, Air, Earth and Water.
• Dark Is Not Evil: The Culled are a faction of Undead who fought against their former masters in order to prevent others from being turned into undead alongside them.
• Debut Queue: The first few parts are essentially this.
• Evil Twin: Lampshaded by Arglwydd, who says "...It always astounds me how the primary antagonist being the protagonist’s father, brother, evil twin or all of the above simultaneously comes as a shock."
• Fantastic Racism: Played with, with Arglwydd repeatedly comparing Joule to a dog. Other elven characters show now such characteristics towards Joule, meaning this may just be one of Arglwydd's quirks.
• Functional Magic: Quote from the series' creator, " As far as I am aware, everything presented here is physically possible, provided 'Magic' is able to influence how atoms interact/react with each other." ^{[dead link]}
• Good Is Not Nice: Elves are talked about in the Lore as being too moral for the Dark Lord who originally made them and refusing to kill innocents. This doesn't stop Arglwydd from barbecuing a particular attacker on sight.
• Hitchhiker Heroes: Several characters are encountered and partnered with using this format.
• Kill It with Fire: Arglwydd's immediate response to being attacked by an elf infected by 'Entropy'. She also threatens to do the same to Joule if he tried to force himself upon her while they slept in the same tent (though admittedly the latter was meant as a joke).
• Meaningful Name: Averted with Arglwydd, whose name means 'Lord' in Welsh and has little connection to her character, but played straight with other characters (For instance Offeiriad, whose name means 'Priest'). Overlaps with Bilingual Bonus.
• Medieval Stasis: Although not addressed directly, only being referenced in fluff on the Author's other site/blog, the series is set in a world where medieval-level technology has existed for the entirety of recorded history in-universe (which spans over six thousand years). Justified somewhat in the fact that magical advances essentially replace 'traditional' scientific ones, allowing for technology-driven processes such as water purification to be performed within a medieval context.
• Mercy Kill: Arglwydd sees her early Kill It with Fire moment as this, citing Dying as Yourself as justification.
• Our Orcs Are Different: Both of the main archetypes of this trope are present. In some of the extra Lore on the website ^{[dead link]}, it also mentions that Greenskin Orks enjoy fighting but find killing distasteful. The main reason for this is that you can't then fight the dead person again later.
• Robe and Wizard Hat: Lampshaded by Arglwydd, who wears a blue dress and has a battered wizard's hat she got in a costume shop. She refers to it as her 'cliché hat'.
• The Load: Arglwydd appears to see Joule as a combination of this and Team Pet.
• Whatevermancy: Cryomancy and Hydromancy have been merged into one discipline within the lore ^{[dead link]}. A notable addition is Carnemancy - meat magic. This stands in for an alternative to White Magic.