Creator/CeliaSFriedman's Endless War duology is made up of the eponymous novel ''In Conquest Born'' and its follow-up, ''The Wilding''. It is a SpaceOpera epic in which two opposed civilizations have engaged in an [[ForeverWar endless, galaxy-spanning war]] for such a long time that it shapes and defines their respective societies. The belligerents are Braxi, the homeworld of the Braxin Holding, a [[PlanetOfHats planet of]] {{Blood Knight}}s whose culture was deliberately designed to make them maximally war-like, and Azea, the dominant planet in the Star Empire, home to a society that genetically engineered themselves to be rational, loyal, dependable; generally purpose-made to hold blood knights at bay. It is a SpaceColdWar turned up to eleven, but the military conflict is just one element of many in the stories Friedman tells.
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!! This series provides examples of:
* AbductionIsLove: While "love" is not part of the calculus, the ancient Braxana had a mate-kidnapping custom which they eventually abandoned in favor of their millennia-long internal eugenics project. This is an important theme of ''The Wilding'', in which this practice has been revived (and doubles as a TitleDrop).
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Anzha does not fit into Azean society, and though other Azeans interact with her civilly on the surface, she knows what they are thinking - and they know that she knows.
* AmazonChaser: Zatar, of all people. Anzha isn't only his worthy opponent - she is perfect embodiement of shem'Ar - servant of the chaos goddess and greatest possible allure for a truely powerful man. To make things worse: [[spoiler:Zatar theorizes that in order to maintain his image of contemporary Harkur the Great, he should mate with woman descending from Harkur's bloodline. Guess who turns out to be such descendant... Even worse for him, after Anzha unlocks his psychic abilities, she turns out to be only woman "compatible" with him.]]
* AntagonisticOffspring: Turak [[HatesTheirParent hates his father Sechaveh]] for withholding his inheritance. This is all kinds of inevitable; Turak is a dissolute prodigal son, Sechaveh is a skilled and sadistic schemer, and Braxin society is ''designed'' to create antagonism between parents and their grown children. So in context their rivalry would be unremarkable, if not for the fact that [[spoiler:Turak eventually makes good on his promises to kill Sechaveh.]]
* AntiGravity: It's Space Opera, so there are artificial gravity generators - but it's pretty hard for Space Opera, so the artificial gravity has [[AppliedPhlebotinum limitations]]. And they come into play during {{space battle}}s, where soldiers are trying to eke out tiny advantages against the enemy.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Zatar's fate at the end of ''In Conquest Born''. [[spoiler:Anzha unlocks Zatar's psychic potential and lets him play Icarus to her Daedalus, so that he paints himself into a corner that he has absolutely no way to get out of short of giving up everything he built.]] [[IWarnedYou She warned him.]]
* BestServedCold: Decades cold. Entire (illustrious) careers cold. 500 pages cold.
* BewareTheMindReader: Braxins fear and loathe telepaths. As a race they do have psychic potential, but they kill any individuals that show aptitude.
-->'''Harkur:''' ''A man's most sacred possession is the privacy of his mind.''
* BravingTheBlizzard: Anzha muscles her way into war service by performing a feat on behalf of the Empire - a months-long trek across the ice-plains of the planet Derleth.
* BreakThemByTalking: Zatar shatters Feran's identity over the course of a few pointed conversations. He barely even has to raise his voice.
* BusCrash: [[spoiler:Anzha's loyal personal medic, Tau, dies when the Holding employs a planet-killing weapon against Ceylu.]] Anzha goes there to mourn, but his remains would be one among billions.
* CantHaveSexEver: Anzha did not inherit the Azean diminished libido and suppresses her sex drive while she studying at the Academy to avoid expulsion. The situation actually gets ''worse'' once her training is done and she becomes a commissioned officer - she tries for a few secret assignations only to discover that [[spoiler:she will involuntarily burn out her partner's brain when she's turned on.]]
* TheCasanova: Zatar gets all the ladies he wants...[[DidNotGetTheGirl except one]].
* ChessmasterSidekick: Kaim'era Yiril is savvy enough to tell that Zatar is laying groundwork to set himself over the ruling council of the Holding - and helps Zatar do it out of respect for his accomplishments and acumen. What's even more impressive, despite culturally-enforced rivalry between parents and children, Kaim'era Vinir, father of Zatar, shows up as political ally to his son.
* CombatClairvoyance: Anzha's telepathic ImplausibleFencingPowers are described at length. She also stumps the Braxins by using psychics as fighter pilots for a similar advantage - until Zatar shows up to put the pieces together.
* CulturalRebel: The crew of Anzha's starship, the Conqueror, are stealth rebels, embittered by the war to the point that they chafe against standard Azean tactics and procedures. They aren't normal, reasonable Azeans who only fight because they have to. They are out for vengeance - so Anzha is their ideal commander.
* CunningLinguist: The story places importance on language and cross-cultural communication, and the major characters are the most talented people in their respective societies, so master linguists abound. Anzha and Zatar are both highly skilled in the language of their enemies. The super-complex dialect spoken by the Braxana furthers their mind games and power-plays.
* DangerousDeserter: [[spoiler:Anzha deserts her position as Starcommander when Zatar is elevated to Pri'tiera.]] She is certainly dangerous, but not based on fear of capture. She planned her desertion too well for that. She is dangerous because she is not constrained by Azea's rules anymore.
* DeathWorld: Azea's fresh water is contaminated by parasites; its animal life is dangerous and untamable; its vegetation is poisonous to humans if improperly prepared; and the atmosphere has occasional fatal deathwinds. The planet was settled by refugees who had nowhere else to go, and they had to use genetic engineering on themselves to survive since they didn't have the resources for {{terraform}}ing.
* DeepCoverAgent: Several examples. Zatar infiltrates the Azean military in disguise and poisons Anzha's parents to secure his inheritance. Varik, the Braxin spy on Dari, was surgically altered to blend into the local bloodsport circuit. Feran is a passive Azean triple agent, set up to give away more than he realizes.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Very pervasive - ''In Conquest Born'' focuses extensively on what upper-class life is like in the Braxin Holding, and it is as hedonistic as it is repressive.
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The Braxana play up their [[RavenHairIvorySkin black hair and pale skin]] as part of their social control effort (and also as part of a phenotype contrast feedback loop versus the Azeans). They wear white makeup to make themselves look even more pale, and dress in black or gray.
* DirtyMindReading: Wet dream-related mishaps are not rare at the Institute, but since this is Azea such incidents are regarded as embarrassing distractions. On the other hand, Feran intentionally shares a sexual experience via telepathic relay while under cover on Braxi, demonstrating how his sexual mores are shifting as part of his GoingNative progression.
* DownerEnding: Both Anzha and Zatar completes their personal quests, but no one is happy about that. [[spoiler:Zatar became absolute ruler, but nearly crushed by his newfound psychic abilities. Anzha discovers her Braxin ancestry and forced to flee in to the galaxy outback. Not to mention that war isn't going to end.]]
* EncyclopediaExposita: Chapters are preceded by an {{epigraph}} quoting one of the ancient warlords who united Braxi, either Harkur the Great or Viton the Ruthless. In ''The Wilding'', the quotes belong to Zatar and Anzha instead.
* EverybodyHasLotsOfSex: Braxins definitely do - their society encourages sexual encounters with no expectation of commitment of any sort. Azeans, unsurprisingly, are the opposite. Among their genetic modifications to themselves is an instinct to pairbond, such that they only show sexual interest in their mates.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zatar is geniunely enraged to learn how exactly Institute conditioned Anzha.
* EpistolaryNovel: Ni'en's point of view comes in the form of letters, mostly addressed to Zatar.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Sechaveh, Braxana with zero symphatetic traits, is seemingly unable to comprehend, how someone can sacrifice personal ambitions in the name, you know, things like long-term profits for society and species.
* FantasticCasteSystem: Braxi's starkly stratified social structure gives Braxana, the Class 1 citizens, privileges up-to-and-including killing anyone they want for any reason, so long as they are of a lower class.
* FantasticHonorifics: Azean subnames. They are apparently passed down through families (at least "lyu" is; it's reserved for firstborn children directly descended from Hasha) and it is very unmannerly to omit them.
* FantasticMeasurementSystem: Time measurements differ between the Star Empire and the Holding. The Empire's system is little-discussed but utilitarian enough that it is widely used even outside of its borders, while the Holding's system is identical to the Braxi calendar. Its years are shorter, it uses a month-type unit called a "zhent" based on the revolution period of Braxi's moon, Zhene, and its hour-equivalent is referred to as a "tenth".
* FatalFlaw: Sechaveh is described as one of the most powerful Kaim'eras in Holding, but his sadistic proclivities, inability to see "bigger scheme of things" and to learn on his own mistakes, as well as general pride and arrogance - all of this paved the road to miserable downfall.
* FirstPersonPerspective: The poet Lanst'va and the slave Venari each have a chapter written in first person.
** The reader assumes Lanst'va's point of view as she pursues the dual goals of top-level creative writing and [[ThePowerOfLanguage swaying her audiences in ways that benefit her]]. MostWritersAreWriters, after all.
** Venari's chapter takes on elements of TheAllConcealingI, since she is the last person to learn her own identity.
* FishOutOfWater: Ni'en, being a commoner, is out of her depth in Braxana society in ways that prove useful for delivering exposition (like when Zatar describes to her how to maneuver during the Plague.) Ni'en strives to do Zatar proud as the Mistress of his House, but her real value to him is her unshakable loyalty.
* FoeRomanceSubtext: Friedman is a maestro of [[FoeYayShipping Foe Yay]], and "subtext" is really underselling the nature of the relationship between Anzha and Zatar. A more fitting description would be "planet-destroying mutual obsession."
* GenderIsNoObject: True among Azeans, who are equally comfortable with men and women leaders and in fact intentionally reduced gender dimorphism in their population. Of course, the Braxins are just the opposite. They are so strongly opposed to this that a man will take an order from a woman as an insult at best, and a provocation to violence at worst. It should be noticed, that ancient Braxana valued warrior women, and instituted gender inequality when came to power - probably a sacrifice to got more support from lesser tribes.
* GeneHunting: Early into his assimilation into Braxana society, Feran is trying to figure out the identity of his father. This ends somewhat anti-climactically with Sechaveh acknowledging Feran as his son. Even Feran seems to find this dubious - and at this point Feran knows more about Sechaveh's proclivities than the reader does.
* GeneticAdaptation: The early Azean colonists modified themselves genetically to survive on their hostile new home, and didn't stop there. In the present-day of the story, they are the tallest, most long-lived, and most potentially psychic of the human races.
* GeneticMemory: Director li Pazua believes in this and it drives most of his manipulation of Anzha. And though [[PayEvilUntoEvil he doesn't get to enjoy it]], his machinations regarding Anzha actually do pay off.
* GodOfChaos: The Braxin chaos goddess Ar is the most frequently discussed member of their pantheon. Ar is the symbol of, and internal justification for, Braxi's pervasive misogyny. A woman who commands men is a shem'Ar - a servant of Chaos - that must be stamped out.
* TheGodsMustBeLazy: More utterly indifferent than lazy - Braxins generally believe their gods are real, but have turned a blind eye to them.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Eugenics projects of both central cultures had certain consecquences. Braxana decided, that utilizing gene modifications to improve their species is below their status, and opted for natural selection. Cue certain problems with inbreeding, and by the events of first book they are barely manage to maintain numbers. Azeans managed to turn themselves into perfect soldiers to fight Braxi expansion, so the newfound Star Empire was built around Azean leadership. Then they decided, that in order not to low high standerds, war effort should consist from Azeans only. By the events of first book, non-Azean Empire subjects considers that conflict is "not our war".
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Alas, in the Holding, seeing a Braxana in a moment of weakness is knowing too much.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Sechaveh's various comeuppances are based around taking advantage of sadistic nature. Zatar notes his willingness to play with fire by taking an Azean into his household as a slave and subtly assists this Azean with a suicide attack that costs Sechaveh a load of political capital. Turak succeeds in his long-held dream [[spoiler:of killing his father by locking him in his own torture dungeon with a prisoner dosed with the Black Death.]] Screaming is the norm down there while the Master is in, so nothing seems amiss.
* HumanityCameFromSpace: Most societies in the story (certainly the important ones) are the result of a human diaspora that occurred so far back that only vague academic theories make any attempt to account for it.
* HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace: Zatar learns this during a superluminal spacewalk. The complete absence of sensory input is almost enough to turn his mind against him. [[{{Determinator}} Almost]].
* IKnowYourTrueName: The Braxana maintain a tradition of keeping the first name they are given a secret, based on a tribal-era superstition that knowing someone's name grants power over them. So when Anzha and Zatar christen their private war with a joint JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind, Zatar's true name is the prize Anzha takes. The reader never learns what it is, though.
* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: Frequently discussed. Braxins, especially Braxana, view a desire for post-conquest sex as a positive thing. Braxana women get in on this action too - and as initiators, even. Exploration of this trope scales up into the dynamic between Anzha and Zatar, in which the lines between violence and sex are so blurry that they seem to be murdering and seducing each other simultaneously.
* KlingonPromotion: Braxins are surprisingly uninterested in promotion-by-murder, but there is justification for it - the Braxana would drive themselves to extinction under such a scheme, and seeing as they write the laws, they forbid the practice.
** Some Braxins actually do Klingon promotions in secret, like the Kesserit tribe. They determine their leader through a [[ChallengingTheChief ritualized]] DuelToTheDeath. Tathas became Viak'im after killing his father, and defended his top spot up until the tribe was betrayed.
* LanguageEqualsThought: The Braxin language, despite its complexity, is a bad fit for expressing kindness - Zatar's adoring House Mistress-to-be has to switch to an alien language to tell him she loves him. [[spoiler:Particularly sad in that Anzha's adult name, Mitethe, is a lost Braxin term of endearment.]]
* LetterMotif: '''A'''nzha and '''Z'''atar, the first and the last.
* ALighterShadeOfGray: At first glance, the Azean Star Empire may appear as the good guys, by means of sheer contrast with Braxana values and customs. However, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Anzha ends up as starship commander only because she was protegee of the war minister and by completing a truly Herculean effort to prove herself. Why? Due to her non-Azean appearance defined by recessive traits. Also, Empire clearly lacks the just cause to fight for and is perfectly content with millenia-long stalemate.
* LittleMissBadass: Much is made of the [[CreepyChild unsettling feelings]] Anzha inspires in others when she starts making a name for herself. Not surprising - she is a pale, skinny 11-year-old deathmatch fighter/single-minded killing machine.
* TheMagnificent: Literally.
-->'''Zatar:''' ''They call me Zatar the Magnificent, an attempt at sarcasm. Someday they'll say it and mean it.''
* MandatoryMotherhood: Common Braxin women are legally obligated to submit to sex with any man that asks, and contraception is illegal. Braxana women have a legal right of refusal, but are also specifically required to bear four living purebred offspring.
* ManipulativeBastard: Easier to list characters who '''are not''' manipulative bastards. Nabu li Pazua deserves special mention, though. While Braxana are raised to be cunning schemers and expect this from each other, li Pazua operates in society with much more open and straightforward culture. His Institute is basically a semi-autonomous planet-state, that barely answers to Azean government, and he don't care if someone isn't sharing his shady goals.
* MasterRace: Braxana actually refer to themselves as this in a few instances. They have put so much work into differentiating themselves from common Braxins that they are effectively a ForeignRulingClass.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Zatar comes close to this in that he only values tradition so far as he can use it to his advantage, but his critiques of his world rarely delve into cultural concerns.
* NatureVsNurture: ''In Conquest Born'' has an undercurrent of this regarding triggers for psychic awakening. Galaxy-wide, there are people who have the right genetic sequences for telepathy, but they never manifest any abilities and the reasons why are not well understood. In ''The Wilding'', a number of behind-the-curtain forces are seeking to understand what environmental factors make a latent psychic into an active one.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: In ''The Wilding'' it is widely understood that telepathic ability leads to mental instability. [[spoiler:But this is actually propaganda spread by the psychics themselves to discourage outside forces from properly studying their patterns of behavior.]]
* ObstructionistPacifist: The Quezyan High Councillor (who is never named, apparently because Quezyan is [[StarfishLanguage not pronounceable by humans]]) is one in Torzha's opinion. The High Councillor demands a sign of "peaceful intent", tying [=StarControl's=] hands at a moment when Anzha has a chance to turn the tide of the war.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: The sentiment behind the oath of "private war" that Zatar and Anzha swear to one another.
* OhMyGods: Braxins exclaim "Ar!" or "Taz'hein!" Azeans get "Hasha!" Chandrans, "By the Golden!"
* OrphansOrdeal: 6-year-old Anzha's loss of her parents by assassination, courtesy of a hideous poison, right in front of her. Her father's dying agony triggers her psychic awakening, driving her into years of psychosomatic sensory deprivation.
* OutGambitted: With so many {{Manipulative Bastard}}s running around there are many examples available. Some of the greatest hits:
** Zatar doses Anzha with the Black Death, timed to trigger while the two of them lead truce negotiations. He doesn't know she [[CrazyPrepared checks herself for poison every time she leaves her ship]], and {{no sell}}s his plan to use her death to score major political points on Braxi.
** Zatar politically neutralizes Sechaveh by turning his risky bad habits against him. His weapon? '''{{Meet cute}}'''. He engineers a CrashIntoHello with one of Sechaveh's slaves - a slave who just happens to be an amnesiac Azean POW who had met Zatar before, and was captured during a suicide mission. It only takes a nudge or two from Zatar to re-awaken the POW's memories, plus [[BatmanGambit just the right spacecraft left in just the right place]]...and boom. A disaster with only Sechaveh's hubris to blame.
* PathOfInspiration: Religion as a means of social control is a theme visited at several points. While there are a handful of borderline cases of this trope to be found, the clearest example is the Frenell religion described by the Zeymourian Dyle in the epilogue of ''In Conquest Born''. [[spoiler:The religion was imposed upon the Frenell by the dominant Zeymourian ethnic group, and is built around self-denial with the goal of eventually driving its adherents extinct. No wonder the descendants of the Frenell are areligious.]]  
* PerfectPoison: The Black Death, a biological agent that can lay dormant for weeks only to activate and consume a host in a matter of minutes - [[CruelAndUnusualDeath excruciatingly painful minutes]]. The only hope for someone who has been infected is that it activates in an extremity that can be amputated.
* PeoplePuppets: Anzha develops the ability to override other people's motor control, defying Institute propaganda claiming that this is impossible. In ''The Wilding'', this power defines the "Shaka" class of rogue psychics.
* ThePlague: Tsank'ar, a pervasive infectious disease found in human populations throughout known space. For most human races its effects are mild, but to the genetically bottlenecked Braxana it is often deadly.
* PretextForWar: Azea and Braxi are not in a state of continual aggression - from time to time there is a truce (which Braxi eventually breaks). One such truce-breaking early in the story is PlayedForLaughs when the Azean emperor is aghast to learn that Braxi attacked an outpost to announce the birth of Kaim'era Vinir's son.
* PrecursorWorship: Azeans do not worship gods but they are extremely reverential toward Hasha, the first human born on Azea.
* ProtocolPeril: There is an example of this between Braxana and common Braxins - the fighter pilot Sezal is so impressed with Zatar that he performs what he no doubt thinks is a gesture of fealty, but is actually a Braxana ritual of enslavement. Zatar opts not to take advantage of Sezal's ignorance, but the episode does serve as {{foreshadowing}} for what goes on later between Zatar and [[spoiler:Feran]].
* PsychicBlockDefense: Mental blocks are introduced early in the story - this is the first telepathic skill Anzha learns (and she teaches herself under severe adversity, see Orphan's Ordeal). Blocks are fundamental to psychic practice and are routinely used for ''very'' nefarious purposes.
* PunctuationShaker: Apostrophes abound in Braxin - they appear to indicate compound words.
* RankUp: Early in the story, Torzha er Litz becomes the Director of [=StarControl=] - a.k.a. the head of the whole Azean military - right around the time she decides to sponsor Anzha. With Torzha's backing, Anzha is able to attend Azea's military academy despite having been ruled non-Azean.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: As a military commander, Zatar treats his subordinates fairly and respectfully, while also being ready to put himself in danger. Due to such conduct, he earns trust and support of Holding armed forces.
* RelegatedMentor: Torzha's support makes Anzha's military career possible, but the extent of her effort on Anzha's behalf is opening doors. Eventually, political demands make Torhza less of an enabler and more of an impediment to Anzha.
* TheReveal: Everybody knows that Anzha’s lineage can be traced to Hasha, the first human born on Azea. No big deal. Nobody knew that Hasha herself was the offspring of [[spoiler:Harkur the Great, founding father of Braxin Holding.]] And it's his heritage that manifested itself in Anzha appearance.
* SacrificialPlanet: There are one-off mentions of the Holding making examples of rebellious worlds by wiping them out, but the most story-significant is [[spoiler:Ceylu, the planet Anzha uses in an empire-building experiment]] that Zatar cuts fatally short.
* SchoolForScheming: The Institute for the Acceleration of Human Psychic Evolution (usually just "the Institute" or "Llornu", after the planet where it is based) is shady from the very beginning, but the depths of its willingness to use its students as pawns spans the story and even outlives the Institute itself.
* SeeTheWhitesOfTheirEyes: {{Averted|Trope}}; the idea of getting close enough to an enemy fighter craft to be able to attempt to capture it was considered insane. Which makes it all the more stunning when Zatar pulls it off.
* ShaggyDogStory: In ''The Wilding'' Hanaan zi Ekroz is portayed as an unusually manipluative Azean, subtly influencing events to serve a mysterious agenda on behalf of a secretive Organization and quite proud of himself for it. But Azean loyalty bred true in him nonetheless, and [[spoiler:ends up earning him a fate worse than death after he discovers data manipulation that he recognizes as a betrayal of the Azean cause. He reports his findings to a shadowy higher-up in the Organization, who to his surprise consigns him to torture with the implication that his brain will be taken apart to learn everything that he knows.]] And that is the last the reader ever hears of Hanaan zi Ekroz.
* SignificantWhiteHairDarkSkin: The Azean beauty standard calls for a dark skin tone, described as bronze or golden, and white hair, which they accomplish through genetic modification. Part of the point of this effort is to visually oppose the RavenHairIvorySkin look favored by the Braxana.
* SpaceCadetAcademy: Anzha attends the Academy of Military Sciences. She doesn't like it there, but as a believer in the idea that MiseryBuildsCharacter she refuses to be driven away.
* TheStateless: Anzha is stateless before she is even born, denied the status her parents held because she expressed too many recessive genetic traits for Azea to consider her Azean.
* StatuesqueStunner: All Azean women, due to aforementioned gene modifications. Purebred Braxana women qualify too. Averted with Anzha - she has a diminutive (at least by Azen standards) build and rather mediocre looks.
* SuperBreedingProgram: The shlesor, a millenia-long project among the Braxana to emphasize their Braxana-ness through selective breeding. It worked very well - during ''In Conquest Born'' they are viewed as gods among men for their physical and mental superiority. But they are severely inbred, which opens them up to some existential threats.
* TooMuchForManToHandle: War and psychic sensitivity meet head-on in the conclusion of ''In Conquest Born'' and the results are disastrous. [[spoiler: The destruction of Llornu]] spreads a wave of mental trauma through the psychic community at large. Anzha's small crew of telepaths suffer a focused and magnified version of this [[spoiler:during the destruction of Ceylu, driving them to various combinations of murder and suicide.]] [[{{Determinator}} Anzha herself only narrowly survives]].
* TwistEnding: The Organization plot thread and the mystery of the Azean courier capsule in ''The Wilding'' [[spoiler: lead into the final chapter revelation that a conspiracy of powerful Azeans and Braxins have been working to keep the Great War going indefinitely - and they have been doing so since the Tsank'ar in ''In Conquest Born''.]]
* {{Ubermensch}}: Übermensch vs. Übermensch, to the greatest Übermensch goes the spoils. The Braxana are enforced Übermenschen that reach their greatest heights in the person of Zatar. Meanwhile, Anzha is truly alone as she single-mindedly pursues her goal, and ultimately rejects all other values but the ones she makes for herself.
* UnsexySadist: Sechaveh is a purebred Braxana and thus physically attractive by default, but the story only describes him in terms of his cruel facial expressions, his hatred of women, and his reprehensible behavior.
* YouAreACreditToYourRace: Braxins (especially Zatar) to Anzha upon observing how knowledgeable she is about their culture. Zatar is nothing short of smitten with how bloodthirsty she is.
* YouAreWhatYouHate: What the finale of ''In Conquest Born'' is made of - the protagonists discover that deep down, their advantages are the same things that give the enemy forces their edge. They accomplished the things they did because they embody what they hate about the other side.
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: {{Subverted|Trope}}. Zatar realizes [[spoiler:how screwed he is once he has the ability to experience L'Resh's self-sacrificing love for him.]] It horrifies him to discover that anybody feels that way about anybody else. He never actually manages to put a name to the emotion (since there is no Braxin word for love) - he just knows that it is incompatible with his identity as "Braxana overlord".
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Anzha's fear of being planet-bound, known as "zeymophobia." Her case is progressive, so while she tolerates being planet-bound early in the story, errant thoughts of being caught in natural disasters are harder for her to control as she gets older. [[spoiler:The phobia is one of many psychological control measures instilled in her by the Institute.]]
* WorthyOpponent: Braxin warriors love a worthy opponent.
* WouldHurtAChild: Varik invokes this trope with a reference to the lack of a prohibition against killing children in the Braxana Social Codes. And of course there isn't - how would Braxins carry out infanticide on their psychic babies if it were illegal?
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