History Literature / HaloBrokenCircle

* HappilyMarried: Mken and his wife Cresanda are both very devoted to each other.

* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident:

* HappilyMarried: Mken and Cresanda are both very devoted, and both untraditional among the Prophets for keeping up walking together (rather than the usual hoverchairs).

* SchizoTech: Due to their religious beliefs, most of the technology of the Stoic-descended San'Shyuum seems to be barely more advanced than that of 21st-century humanity's (though their firepower seems to be more on par with the UNSC's pre-contact tech), but their bioengineering is far beyond our own, presumably because their ignorance of Forerunner biotech means that they don't have to worry about any divine punishment for their hubris.

* WorthyOpponent: Mken feels this way about Ussa, though the feeling is not quite mutual.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Custo's agents try to pull this on Mken on Janjur Qom after the latter discovers the Luminary, but he's saved by Vil 'Kthamee and Floats Near Ceiling.]]

* DeliberateValuesDissonance / ValuesResonance: Sangheili society is a patriarchal one, with a long tradition of men as warriors and women as housewives. However, some keeps allow a little leeway in training their women to defend themselves and their eggs, in case of war. A few women like Lnur end up taking it far enough that traditionalists like 'Crolon get suspicious that women are trying to usurp the men's role.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Part 1's conflict has few truly evil guys. The Prophet Mken just wants to get back home to his wife, Ussa 'Xellus and his Elites want to live away from the Covenant, and his dissenters led by Salus 'Crolon are afraid 'Xellus will lead them into ruin (though 'Crolon himself is an unsympathetic and misogynistic {{Jerkass}} [[spoiler:who's willing to sell out his comrades to the Covenant just to save his own skin]]). The only fully unsympathetic bad guys in Part 1 are the Prophets R'Noh Custo and Excellent Redolence, who are motivated by racism for the borderline-genetically deficient. The clearest display of this trope is in the penultimate scene of Part 1, where Mken and Ussa discuss from either side of the conflict, and both reasonably explain why they can't reconcile.

* RapePillageAndBurn: The original plan for bringing some genetic diversity for the San'Shyuum was to outright kidnap females from Janjur Qom, though Mken's objections helped put a stop to that. Still, the females are still not recruited under the most truthful of pretenses.
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: [[spoiler:Salus 'Crolon defects back to the Covenant in hopes of revenge on Ussa, but its leaders have little reason to think he's actually loyal to them. Rather than bring him back into the fold, thus, they make him into a guide for the Covenant Sangheili that assault the Refuge. Not long after he lands 'Crolon is found by the Ussans and hacked to pieces.]]

The first half of the novel takes place during the beginning of the Covenant, just after the Writ of Union has ended the war between the Elites and the Prophets. The two species had warred over artifacts left by the ancient Forerunners, but have since called truce and formed an interspecies alliance that would become the Covenant. With the Prophets as the Covenant's leaders and the Elites as their warriors, both seek to follow the Forerunners to a spiritual ascension known as the "Great Journey". However, an Elite splinter group led by Ussa 'Xellus continues to fight against the Prophets, under the belief that their Great Journey is false and the Writ of Union nothing more than shameful surrender. Ussa sees his chance when a follower of his tells him of a secret Forerunner world, where his followers might be able to escape and live free from the Covenant.

The first half of the novel takes place during the beginning of the Covenant, just after the Writ of Union has ended the war between the Elites and the Prophets. The two species had warred over artifacts left by the ancient Forerunners, but have since called truce and formed an interspecies alliance that would become the Covenant, with the Prophets as the leaders and the Elites as their warriors, both seeking to follow the Forerunners to a spiritual ascension known as the "Great Journey". However, an Elite splinter group led by Ussa 'Xellus continues to fight against the Prophets, under the belief that their Great Journey is false and the Writ of Union nothing more than shameful surrender. Ussa sees his chance when a follower of his tells him of a secret Forerunner world, where his followers might be able to escape and live free from the Covenant.

''Halo: Broken Circle'' is a book in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' franchise written by John Shirley. Unlike previous novels, there are no humans as the Covenant are the sole focus here, with attention primarily on the Sangheili (Elites) and San'Shyuum (Prophets).

The second half takes place after a TimeSkip of over 3,000 years, during the beginning of [[VideoGame/{{Halo 2}} the Great Schism]] between the Elites and Prophets, and follows Mken and Ussa's descendants.

The first half of the novel takes place during the beginning of the Covenant, just after the Writ of Union ended the war between the Elites and the Prophets. The two species warred over artifacts left by the ancient Forerunners, but have since called truce and formed an interspecies alliance with the Prophets as the leaders and the Elites as their warriors, both seeking to follow the Forerunners to a spiritual ascension known as the "Great Journey". However, an Elite splinter group led by Ussa 'Xellus continues to fight against the Prophets, under the belief that their Great Journey is false and the Writ of Union nothing more than shameful surrender. Ussa sees his chance when a follower of his tells him of a secret Forerunner world, where his clan might be able to escape and live free from the Covenant.

Meanwhile, the Prophet of Inner Conviction, Mken 'Scre'ah'ben, prepares to lead an expedition to the Prophets' old homeworld, in hopes of finding females who will immigrate with them and increase their gene pool. But he too has his doubts about the Great Journey, and his unorthodoxy has made him enemies among the Prophets, rivals who he fears might see this expedition as the best chance to kill him in secret. The expedition's chain of events will eventually lead to him confronting his old foe, Ussa 'Xellus and his rebellious clan.

The second half takes place after a TimeSkip of over 3,000 years, during the beginning of [[VideoGame/{{Halo 2}} the Great Schism]] between Elites and Prophets, and following Mken and Ussa's descendants.

''Halo: Broken Circle'' is a book in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' franchise written by John Shirley. Unlike previous novels, there are no humans whie the Covenant are the sole focus here, with attention primarily on the Sangheili (Elites) and San'Shyuum (Prophets).

''Halo: Broken Circle'' is the 14th book in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' franchise, written by John Shirley. Unlike previous novels, the Covenant are the sole focus here, with attention primarily on the Sangheili (Elites) and San'Shyuum (Prophets).

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Part 1's conflict has few truly evil guys. The Prophet Mken just wants to get back home to his wife, Ussa 'Xellus and his Elites want to live away from the Covenant, and his dissenters led by Salus 'Crolon are afraid 'Xellus will lead them into ruin (though 'Crolon himself is not portrayed sympathetically [[spoiler:especially after he sells out the Ussans to the Covenant]]). The only fully unsympathetic bad guys in Part 1 are the Prophets R'Noh Custo and Excellent Redolence, who are motivated by racism for the borderline-genetically deficient. The clearest display of this trope is in the penultimate scene of Part 1, where Mken and Ussa discuss from either side of the conflict, and both reasonably explain why they can't reconcile.

Meanwhile, the Prophet of Inner Conviction, Mken 'Scre'ah'ben, prepares to lead an expedition to the Prophets' old homeworld, in hopes of finding females who will immigrate with them and increase their gene pool. But he too has his doubts about the Great Journey, and his unorthodoxy has made him enemies among the Prophets who he fears see this expedition as the best chance to kill him in secret. The expedition's chain of events will eventually lead to him confronting his old foe, Ussa 'Xellus and his rebellious clan.

Meanwhile, the Prophet of Inner Conviction, Mken 'Scre'ah'ben, prepares to lead an expedition to the Prophets' old homeworld, in hopes of finding females who will immigrate with them and increase their gene pool. But he too has his doubts about the Great Journey, and his unorthodoxy has made him enemies among the Prophets who might see this expedition as the best chance to kill him quietly. The expedition's chain of events will eventually lead to him confronting his old foe, Ussa 'Xellus and his rebellious clan.

The first half of the novel takes place during the beginning of the Covenant, just after the Writ of Union ended the war between the Elites and the Prophets. The two species warred over artifacts left by the ancient Forerunners, but have since called truce and formed an interspecies alliance with the Prophets as the leaders and the Elites as their warriors, both seeking to follow the Forerunners to a spiritual nirvana known as the "Great Journey". However, an Elite splinter group led by Ussa 'Xellus continues to fight against the Prophets, under the belief that their Great Journey is false and the Writ of Union nothing more than shameful surrender. Ussa sees his chance when a follower of his tells him of a secret Forerunner world, where his clan might be able to escape and live free from the Covenant.

The first half of the novel takes place during the beginning of the Covenant, just after the Writ of Union ended the war between the Elites and the Prophets. The two species warred over artifacts left by the ancient Forerunners, but have since called truce and formed an interspecies alliance with the Prophets as the leaders and the Elites as their warriors, both seeking to follow the Forerunners on the "Great Journey". However, an Elite splinter group led by Ussa 'Xellus continues to fight against the Prophets, under the belief that their Great Journey is false and the Writ of Union nothing more than shameful surrender. Ussa sees his chance when a follower of his tells him of a secret Forerunner world, where his clan might be able to escape and live free from the Covenant.

* ActionGirl: Lnur 'Mol, who comes from a keep with a strong "protector-of-eggs" tradition. Tersa even notes at one point that maybe she should be the one protecting him.