History Literature / LegendsOfDune

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler: Abulard's sabotage during the Battle of Corrin to prevent Vorian from killing the 2 million hostages Onnius has deployed as a human shield. Abulard had no way of knowing that Erasmus already covertly sabotaged the human shield to rescue his surrogate son Gilbertus and so destroys his career and legacy for nothing.]]

--> ''Everything in the universe contains flaws, ourselves included. Even God does not attempt perfection in His creations. Only humankind has such foolish arrogance.''
-->-- '''Cogitor Kwyna''' - Dune: The Butlerian Jihad

** In ''Navigators of Dune'', Valya Harkonenn [[spoiler: sets up the final confrontation with Vorian Atreides on Corrin to be this. If she and her Sisters can kill Vorian, great. If by chance Vorian manages to kill her or escapes without killing her, she'll still get the last laugh -- because she and the Sisters locate Vorian's ship and sabotage it before moving in for the kill. However, Valya's backup plan unknowingly fails because Vorian detects the sabotage -- and uses it to fake his death in the hopes of ending the feud for good.]]

** [[spoiler: This Trope ironically and unwittingly ends up biting Gilbertus in the ass during ''Mentats of Dune''. Unlike Vorian, his longevity isn't public knowledge and so Gilbertus has taken steps to disguise it (ex. makeup). However, the charade's losing its effectiveness and Gilbertus knows he's either going to have to fake his death or 'retire' very soon. Before he can do so, however, one of Manford Torondo's lieutenants finds photographic proof of Gilbertus' presence at Corrin and is able to deduce his real identity from testimony about Erasmus' human 'pet'. While it's technically circumstantial evidence, the fanaticism of the Butlerians and the Truthsayer abilities of the proto-Bene Gesserit help seal Gilbertus' fate (though Gilbertus also realizes he's not getting out of this alive and thus denying it won't matter).]]

[[caption-width-right:307:Exterminate!... EXTERMINATE!!!]]

!! Canonicity
The portrayal of the Butlerian Jihad in this series differs somewhat from the implied portrayal of the conflict in the original works, and from the portrayal of the Frank Herbert endorsed ''Literature/DuneEncyclopedia'' (see write-up on that page regarding canonicity), but the authors claim it is based on Creator/FrankHerbert's notes prior to his [[DiedDuringProduction death]] ([[FanonDiscontinuity something not all fans believe]]).
----

* {{Awful Truth}}: [[spoiler: The prequel timeline has the Jihad proper launched by the cold-blooded murder of Serena Butler by her trusted, supposedly personally loyal bodyguard, followed by the galaxy-wide dissemination of a faked video of Omnius torturing her to death in a cynical attempt to manipulate a rallying humanity into a war of extermination instead of a slave rebellion. She had actually attempted to bring about a ceasefire and a potential end to the war, which was the direct trigger for her betrayal.]]

** [[spoiler: Vorian also did this in the hopes it would satisfy Valya's blood lust, end her feud, and ensure the safety of the rest of the Atreides family. Without knowing Vorian survived, Wilenm is determined to avenge his murder and immediately begins formulating plans to assassinate Valya's surviving brother. Ironically, he's doing it because, despite Vorian's pleas, he thinks Vorian ''would'' have wanted this Harkonnen treachery and dishonor punished.'']]

** [[spoiler: Dorothea going to Salvador Corrino and informing him of the Sisterhood's access to illegal computer technology in ''Sisterhood of Dune''. She knows the outlawed machines are there thanks to Other Memory, but she's so determined to take advantage of this knowledge as fast as possible that she leaves Rossak without thinking to securee the evidence. Thus, Dorothea didn't consider the Sisters would anticipate her actions and destroy the evidence...or what a weak, impulsive man like Salvador would do once she couldn't produce the goods.]]

** [[spoiler: This Trope ultimately and unwittingly ends up biting Gilbertus in the ass during ''Mentats of Dune''. Unlike Vorian his longevity isn't public knowledge and Gilbertus has taken steps to disguise it (ex. makeup). But the charade's losing its effectiveness and Gilbertus knows he's going to have to fake his death or 'retire'. Unfortunately, one of Manford Torondo's lieutenants finds photographic proof of Gilbertus' presence at Corrin and is able to deduce his real identity from testimony about Erasmus' human 'pet'. While it's circumstantial evidence, the fanaticism of the Butlerians and the Truthsayer abilities of the proto-Bene Gesserit help seal Gilbertus' fate (though Gilbertus also knows he's not getting out of this alive and denying it won't matter).]]

** [[spoiler: Dorothea going to Salvador Corrino and informing him of the Sisterhood's access to illegal computer technology in ''Sisterhood of Dune''. She knows the outlawed machines are there thanks to Other Memory, but she's so determined to take advantage of this knowledge as fast as possible that she leaves without thinking to secur the hard evidence. So she didn't consider the Sisters would anticipate her actions and destroy the evidence...or what a weak, impulsive man like Salvador would do once she couldn't produce said evidence.]]
* DramaticIrony: Valya Harkonnen's grand goal during the ''Great Schools'' Trilogy to restore the lost fortunes of House Harkonenn and punish the Atreides for their betrayal during the Battle of Corrin 80 years later. [[spoiler: She succeeds in the short run, but her actions ''don't'' end the feud and ensure the ascension of House Atreides to avenge their losses and protect themselves. In the long run, the reader knows Valya's actions have only started a chain of events that will ultimately, utterly destroy House Harkonnen 10,000 years later during the original ''Dune''.]]

** [[spoiler: Vorian also did this in the hopes it would satisfy Valya's bloodlust, end her feud, and ensure the safety of the rest of the Atreides family. Without knowing Vorian survived, Wilenm is determined to avenge his murder and immediately begins formulating plans to assassinate Valya's surviving brother. Ironically, he's doing it because, despite Vorian's pleas, he thinks Vorian ''would'' have wanted this Harkonnen treachery and dishonor punished.'']]

* FrameUp: [[spoiler: Played with in ''The Machine Crusade'' when Iblis frames Omnius for Serena's death to revitalize the Jihad and reclaim his political power. Iblis technically has no way of knowing what exactly happened on Corrin, but this scheme was structured to produce two possible outcomes (see XanatosGambit). Thus, the outcome's tailored to function either as a standard Frame-Up or as FramingTheGuiltyParty.]]

* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler: This Trope is part of what motivates Xavier to kill Iblis at the end of ''The Machine Crusade'', but it's actually an inversion. Despite his assurances that he just wants to go quietly into retirement, Xavier [[GenreSavvy correctly anticipates]] that Iblis will kill him before they reach Salusa Secundus. After all, the Grand Patriarch can't risk Xavier exposing the truth about his corruption and role in Serena's death.]]

* LetsYouAndHimFight: Played with durin the Battle of Lampadas in ''Navigators of Dune''. [[spoiler: The Imperium forces hang back in secret and let the Butlerians and Venport forces bloody themselves before moving in for the kill. However, this ''wasn't'' the original plan. Harte had been actually been dispatched to Lampadas to take care of the Butlerian forces returning from their attack on Kolhar and Harte took advantage of the situation. Harte had no way of knowing of the bargain Roderick and Venport had struck in the interim to eliminate the Butlerians, as there had been no time to dispatch updated orders by non-Navigator means. That said, Roderick has no problems with this outcome, since it has still crippled both the Butlerians and Venport Holdings in one stroke.]]

* LetsYouAndHimFight: The Battle of Lampadas in ''Navigators of Dune''. [[spoiler: The Imperium forces hang back in secret and let the Butlerians and Venport forces bloody themselves before moving in for the kill. However, it's also an unintended example. Harte had been previously dispatched to Lampadas take care of the surviving Butlerian ships that had survived their attack on Kolhar and improvised as per the standing orders issued by Roderick. Harte had no way of knowing of the bargain Roderick and Venport had struck to eliminate the Butlerians, as there had been no time to dispatch updated orders by non-Navigator means. That said, Roderick is still fine with the outcome, since it has crippled both the Butlerians and Venport Holdings in one stroke.]]

* CycleOfRevenge: The opening salvos of the Atreides-Harkonnen feud in the ''Great Schools'' Trilogy. Vorian even grimly cites the Trope in his reflection after [[spoiler: Tula Harkonnen murders Orry Atreides and his brother vows bloody vengeance. Vorian fears his and Xavier's descendents have started something neither family will ever be able to stop. Indeed, the closing scene of the Trilogy sees Wilem working on a plan to kill Valya's surviving brother to avenge Vorian's 'murder''. The reader knows Vorian's fears ''have'' been realized and that the cycle will continue for the next 10,000 years.]]

** Before that, [[spoiler: Valya's own Truthsayer confirms on Corrin that Vorian ''didn't'' murder Griffin. For a moment, it looks like this might finally snap Valya back to reality and make her realize the ensuing bloodshed was pointless and unncessary...and thne she immediatley goes back to blaming Vorian anyway and finding way to get around her Truthsayer's tesimony. Vorian even lampshades that he didn't really expect this was actually going to work and too tired to be dissapointed.]]

** For example, the Butlerians hate machines, yet use spaceships (which she and her successors justify as as a necessary evil to combat the greater evil). This hypocricsy/paradox gets pointed out In-Universe repeatedly both during ''The Battle of Corrin'' and throughout the ''Great Schools'' Trilogy.
** Valya Harkonnen also embraces this Trope during the climax of ''Navigators of Dune'' after [[spoiler: her own Truthsayer confirms Vorian's ''not'' lying about not being responsible for Griffin Harkonenn's death earlier in the Trilogy. Valya ''still'' refuses to believe it. She instead insists Vorian poisoned her own Truthsayer and comes up with later insane rationalizations (like that Vorian used LoopholeAbuse to kill her brother while keeping his hands clean, or that he's convinced himself of the 'truth' and thus didn't technically lie). Valya's hatred of the Atreides is so great that she literally ''can't'' conceive the possibility that Vorian ''didn't'' kill her brother.]]

* CycleOfRevenge: The opening salvos of the Atreides-Harkonnen feud in the ''Great Schools'' Trilogy. Vorian even grimly cites the Trope in his reflection after [[spoiler: Tula Harkonnen murders Orry Atreides and his brother vows murderous revenge. Vorian fears they've started something neither family will ever be able to end. Indeed, the very last scene of the Trilogy sees Wilem working on a plan to kill Valya's surviving brother to avenge Vorian's 'murder'' and thus the cycle will continue for the next 10,000 years.]]

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler: The end of Vorian's storyline in ''Navigators of Dune''. Vorian hopes that faking his death, will satisfy Valya and end the feud between their families for good. Unfortunately, Valya begins working on other, non-lethal ways to hurt to Atreides Family moving forward while Wilem immediately begins plotting how to kill her Valya's surviving brother to 'avenge' Vorian...]]

** For example, the cultists hate machines, yet use spaceships (which she justifies as as a necessary evil). This gets pointed out In-Universe both during ''The Battle of Corrin'' and in the ''Great Schools'' Trilogy.
** Valya Harkonnen also displays the climax of ''Navigators of Dune'' after [[spoiler: her own Truthsayer confirms Vorian's ''not'' lying about not being responsible for Griffin Harkonenn's death earlier in the Trilogy. Valya ''still'' refuses to believe it. She instead insists Vorian posioned her own Truthsayer and comes up with later rationalizations (like that Vorian used LoopholeAbuse to kill her brother or he's convinced himself of the 'truth'). Valya's hatred of the Atreides is so great that she literally ''can't'' conceive the possibility that Vorian ''didn't'' kill her brother.]]

** Valya Harkonnen also displays this during ''Navigators of Dune'' after [[spoiler: her own Truthsayer confirms Vorian's ''not'' lying about not being responsible for Griffin Harkonenn's death earlier in the Trilogy. Valya ''refuses'' to believe it and instead insists Vorian posioned her own Truthsayer . Her hatred of the Atreides is so great that she ''can't'' conceive the possibility that Vorian ''didn't'' kill her brother.''