Leaving the prehistoric saga of Halo aside, we now embark on what’s called the modern era in Halo, meaning the timeframe in which the games and humanity’s war against the Covenant unfold.
So today, we’re diving into this Theological Alien Alliance known as the Covenant, who stand as the main antagonists of the saga.
If you haven’t read the previous chapters I’ll drop the links above, or you can check our menu in Complete Stories>Halo ok?
Fast Recap
First off, we need to recap the events that took place before the Halos were fired to justify the current happenings. As we saw in the last chapter, the Flood almost managed to dominate the entire Milky Way, consuming nearly all sentient beings, prompting the Forerunners to make some extreme decisions. The last resort against the plague was the activation of the super-weapons known as Halos, which emit a harmonic frequency that, upon contact with living beings that have a nervous system, destroys their neural system, killing them instantly.
This measure was the only viable way to defeat the Flood, as there was no cure, and the parasite was becoming smarter by the day, even capable of operating precursor neural physics technology.
After the firing and the near destruction of all intelligent life in the galaxy, the Flood weakened due to starvation from no longer being able to consume its food source and continued this way until it was extinct. The few surviving Forerunners who took shelter on the Halos, shield worlds, and in the Ark, sent the saved species back to their home planets so they could evolve and thrive once again, now without the threat of the Flood.
And so, with their last task completed, the Forerunners exiled themselves from the galaxy and were never seen again.
The Begin of Modern Era
A hundred thousand years passed, and life in the galaxy flourished once more, now without any trace of precursors, nor even of their technology which was erased with the activation of the Halo. As explained in chapter 1, precursor technology was so advanced it almost transcended reality.
All precursor constructions had a nervous system, making these structures practically living beings. Since Halo energy destroyed everything with a nervous system, besides living beings, the precursor technology and architecture were completely wiped from existence.
Therefore, many records and information about the galaxy’s history were lost forever.
The species that once were great space civilizations rivaling the Forerunners themselves, such as humans and the San’Shyuum, now have no memories of their past, as when they were returned to their planets, they were stripped of their technologies and had to start from scratch. And as eras passed, this memory became more distant and obscure until it disappeared entirely. The only remnants of the Halo universe’s prehistory to survive were the Forerunner technologies and structures scattered throughout the Milky Way.
These structures include the Halos themselves, Shield Worlds, the Ark, and also ruins, cities and settlements scattered across various planets, all waiting to be discovered anew, preserved by so-called Ancillas or Monitors, super advanced artificial intelligences.
San’Shyuum / Prophets
The San’Shyuum, managed to become a spacefaring race again, thanks to assimilating Forerunner technology. Having no memories of their species’ past, they were intrigued by Forerunner technologies, studying them and seeking to learn more about the past of this ancient people.
The conclusion is that the San’Shyuum came to regard the Forerunners as gods, even creating a religion around this belief called The Great Journey. So, let’s connect the dots. Those of you following the series from the first chapter know that the story isn’t quite that.
The Forerunners are nothing more than mere creations, but with the activation of the Halos, any evidence of the precursors’ existence was erased, leaving only traces of the ancient Forerunner Empire.
Think about it, the San’Shyuum who went back to the Stone Age and evolved again by assimilating technology far more advanced than anything they knew, from a species who disappeared from the galaxy. Of course we know they exiled themselves, but the other species remaining, began to create myths and legends around these facts, thus considering the Forerunner Empire as ancient gods.
First contact Between the Prophets and Elites
To give you a good sense of the time, in 938 B.C., in their obsessive search for Forerunner artifacts, the San’Shyuum entered a system occupied by the Sangheili, leading to the first contact between the two races.
The San’Shyuum who came to the Sangheili system aimed to claim and study the rich abundance of Forerunner artifacts present on the planet. There was peace for a while, but their viewpoints were quite different. The Sangheili, who also worshiped the Forerunners, believed that the relics were sacred and should not be tampered with, while the San’Shyuum believed they should be studied and used to enhance their technology.
The highly militarized and brutal Sangheili attacked the San’Shyuum as soon as their differences became apparent, and a war between the two species lasted 86 years. At the beginning of the war, the Sangheili had a numerical advantage in terms of ships and soldiers, and their strength and military tactics vastly overpowered the enemy, requiring around 10 San’Shyuum to stop a Sangheili.
However, the knowledge gained from years of travel and the capabilities of their Forerunner Dreadnought, an extremely advanced superluminal ship, gave the San’Shyuum an edge in combat.
Eventually, both species feared a very real threat, annihilation. The Sangheili feared the San’Shyuum because of the Dreadnought’s use, and the San’Shyuum feared the Sangheili due to their relentless nature. The long and brutal war led the Sangheili to violate their own beliefs, study, and incorporate Forerunner technology into their own to avoid defeat.
Their annexation of Forerunner technology ultimately led to a stalemate in the war against the San’shyuum, yet, even so, the Sangheili were forced to surrender. Within their warrior culture, the Sangheili hold great respect for a worthy opponent, and after their surrender, the San’shyuum sought to broker a pact between the two races. Thus, the term Covenant was coined.
The alliance between the two species was formed in 852 B.C. With the signing of the union mandate, the treaty that ended the conflict and brought peace between the two races. But let it be clear here, the true leaders are only the San’shyuum. Despite the Sangheili being second in the hierarchy, they were a dominated race and are merely subordinates within the Covenant.
After a while, the Sangheili learned about what the San’shyuum called the Great Journey, and the alliance became almost theological.
Years later, the San’shyuum and the Sangheili were able to establish High Charity as their new capital, thus beginning the expansion of the Empire through the Milky Way. The Covenant are always eager to conquer and assimilate new species into the alliance, so they can utilize the abilities of these new beings for their own benefit. Each time a new race was assimilated into the Empire, the so-called Era of Conversion began.
Within the Covenant, each race had its specific name, for example, the San’shyuum being the Prophets, and the Sangheili being the Elites.
Sangheili / Elites
Originating from the planet Sanghelios, the Sangheili are a species of fierce and proud Saurians.
A race of great warriors, strong and agile, strategists, and innovators. As humanoid reptiles, they have leathery skin, as well as sharp nails and teeth. Their most distinctive feature is their mouth, which is split into four jaws.
They are tall, reaching up to two and a half meters in height and possess a keen sense of smell. They have a long lifespan, reaching 100 years or more, and appear to breathe oxygen, just like humans. As a military race, the Sangheili are trained from childhood, and the more notable their attitudes in battle, the greater their merit.
A Sangheili must have killed at least thousands of enemies in battle to be considered a high-ranking soldier, and this system has also been implemented in the Covenant hierarchy. They are adept with any type of weapon and especially in hand-to-hand combat. They possess a very strong sense of honor and show respect and admiration for skilled soldiers, whether allies or even enemies.
Moreover, they believed the only honorable way to die was in battle. If a Sangheili were captured or incapacitated, they would commit suicide to maintain their honor. They also utilized their famous lightswords, which required training to wield.
The most skilled swordsmen were respected by everyone in the race.
As time passed, more species were added to the Covenant. Most of the time these races went to war with the Covenant, lost, and had to submit. Let’s talk about them now.
Unggoys/Grunts
The Unggoys are a species of semi-crouching bipedal beings that make up the Covenant. They are the species with the lowest hierarchical rank in the Covenant and are often mistreated by all of their superiors.
The tipping point came after the Covenant Council refused to investigate an attempt to sterilize their species by the Kig-yar, another Covenant species. Rising tensions with the Kig-yar and neglect from other Covenant races drove the Unggoys into rebellion. Although the rebellion was quickly quelled by the Sangheili, the Unggoys proved that they were not the cowards everyone thought they were and that they could be fierce fighters when provoked.
Thus, they were pardoned by the Sangheili and joined the Covenant military ranks as armed foot soldiers.
Kig-Yar / Jackals
The Kig-yar closely resemble both reptiles and birds and stand about 2 meters tall. Their teeth are super sharp, and they are carnivorous, often eating enemies killed in battle or even devouring still-living prisoners of war.
They are very agile, and all their senses are very keen, from their aim to their hearing and smell. That’s why most were rangers and snipers within the Covenant army. In battle, they are brave and skilled and can cover great distances quickly.
They are also known for their plasma shields, which are essential in battle.
Jiralhanae / Brutes
The Jiralhanae, or Brutes, are a race of carnivorous mammals standing almost 3 meters tall, native to the planet Doisac. They are huge and extremely aggressive, and even stronger than the Sangheili.
Their robust appearance is due to their home planet having twice the gravity of Earth. They prefer hand-to-hand combat and are overwhelming when doing so. They have sharp teeth and use them in battle, consequently eating their enemies.
In the heat of battle, a Jiralhanae can fly into a rage and destroy everything and everyone in front of it. Although they are savages, they managed to develop space technologies in a short time, but their aggressive nature caused their leaders to conflict, leading to a civil war. This war led to the collapse of Jiralhanae society, and even in their dismal state, they were recruited by the Covenant.
Within the group, they quickly rose to high-ranking soldiers due to their battle skills and unquestioning obedience. Moreover, they harbor a great rivalry with the Sangheili.
Mgalekgolo / Hunters
LekGolo are small worm-like creatures that group together to increase their intelligence, strength, and abilities.
Believe it or not, these worms are super intelligent, and when together, very powerful. After waging a war against the Covenant, they agreed to join the group and received heavy war equipment, such as super armor and a plasma cannon. Inside the armor, they unite and form a single being, which came to be known as Mgalekgolo, or Hunters.
This made them by far the most formidable infantry unit within the Covenant. They always operate in pairs, and when one partner dies, they become enraged, much like a Jiralhanae would.
Huragok / Engineers
The Huragok are biomechanical entities engineered by the Forerunners to assist in constructing the Halos. They aren’t natural, yet they aren’t entirely robotic either. Somehow, the Forerunners brought them to life, imbuing them with consciousness, emotions, and personalities, even though they often behave as simple robotic aides.
Their ultimate joy lies in repairing things, and 100,000 years after the Halos were activated, the Covenant discovered them on one of the Didact’s shield worlds. They agreed to support the Covenant, aiding in all they could, except in combat. Interestingly, the Huragok can also serve as bombs, as they detonate upon being violently killed.
Yanme'e / Drones
And lastly, we have the Yanme’e, the most recent species to be integrated into the Covenant.
They are an ancient race of insectoids capable of flight, originating from the planet Palamok. They exhibit an authoritarian society and live in hives, with a structure of queens, reproductive males, working females, and non-reproductive males. They closely resemble Earth’s insects, but stand about 2 meters tall.
They initially waged war against the Covenant upon their discovery, but the San’shyuum managed to pacify them and convince them of the Covenant’s noble cause. Thus, the Yanme’e became allies and the principal engineers aboard the Covenant’s ships, maintaining a slight rivalry with the Huragok, the Covenant’s chief engineers.
A curious fact is that, once a species is conquered by the Covenant, its entire past and culture are completely erased, so that from that point forward, they follow only the great journey as their religion and swear loyalty to the San’shyuum as their sole and true leaders. And you might be realizing by now that this fragile structure of domination could not last forever.
And with that, we conclude our explanatory chapter about the Covenant, which will greatly help in understanding the context of the game chapters. In our next chapter, we’ll finally reach modern humanity and soon we’ll start the story of the games! Finally!
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