Covenant (Halo)

For articles on other kinds of covenant see Covenant (disambiguation)

The Covenant is a galaxy-wide, militaristic, theocratic imperial alliance of alien races from the Xbox video game franchise Halo.

Society

The Covenant are extremely religious and governed by the theocratic Prophet Hierarchs and advised by a High Council which is split into 3 different sections: the council of concordance, the council of doctrine and deed and the council of masters. The council of doctrine and deeds is the elite section of the caste and offers advice on military tactics and strategy. The council of concordance's job is to advise on how to keep harmony and peace within the Covenant (obviously they failed to stop the civil war). It is unknown what the council of masters does.

They worship the Forerunners, an unknown ancient race who have left behind many artifacts and technologies. There is speculation that several races of the Covenant are actually descended from the Forerunners, but this is (thus far) entirely unsubstantiated. It is believed that the Covenant conquer alien races and force them into the alliance, adding to their ranks. This use of "conditioned ranks" is an idea taken from Marathon.

The Covenant homeworld is the mobile, planet-like city of High Charity, which was overrun and largely infected by the Flood at the end of Halo 2.

In 2552, part of the Ninth Age of Reclamation in the Covenant calendar, the Covenant splintered in a civil war after the High Prophets replaced the Elites with Brutes in most military positions as a result of the assassination of the High Prophet of Regret. Currently the Loyalist forces include the Prophet Hierarchs, Brutes, Jackals, and Drones (and quite possibly the Engineers as well). The Separatists are led by the Elites and include the Hunters and Grunts, and at the end of Halo 2 they form an uneasy truce with the United Nations Space Command.

Although the civil war is the largest revolt to date, there have always been groups that disagreed with the Prophet-dictated Covenant doctrine. A heretic group led by an Elite referred to only as the "heretic leader" briefly controlled a Forerunner station in the atmosphere of the gas giant planet of Threshold, the planet around which the first halo in Halo: Combat Evolved orbits. The Arbiter killed the Heretics as one of his first duties in 2552.

Military

The Covenant maintains one of the universe's largest military force since their technology is much more advanced than that of humans and since most of their citizens (except the Engineers) are armed. The council of doctrine and deed aids the Hierarchs on military tactics but most of them were recently slaughtered. The Covenant military uses a rank system indicated by the color of their armor (Elites, Grunts) or shields (Jackals) or by any kind of armor they're wearing (Brutes). Not included in the rank system are the Hunters and Drones. The strength of any Covenant soldier differs by rank: high-ranking soldiers are stronger than their lower-ranking counterparts, either due to improved equipment or training or both. The highest to lowest ranks are:

• Councillors (White Elites): the political leaders of the Elites who share power with the Prophets on the High Council.
• Chieftain (Brutes): political and military leader of the Brutes
• Zealot/Supreme Commander (Gold Elites): The Generals and Admirals of the Military
• Captain (Brutes {with flag})
• Ultra (White/Silver Elites): commanders of spec-ops troops, just below the Zealot/Supreme Commanders in rank.
• Stealth (Invisible Elites)
• Ranger (Light Blue Elites)
• Pilot (Light Red Elites)
• Gunner (Green Grunts)
• Major (Red Elites, Red Grunts, Orange-shielded Jackals, Brutes)
• Minor (Blue Elites, Orange Grunts, Blue-shielded Jackals, Brutes)

In addition, there are 2 elite military unit/divisions:

• Special Operations (Spec-Ops) (Black/Dark Purple Elites, Black/Dark Purple Grunts): the Covenant counterpart of UNSC Orbital shock troop.
• Honor Guards (Red/Yellow/Orange Elites, Red/Yellow/Orange Brutes): protectors of the High Prophets

Arbiter

Main article: Arbiter (Halo)

Weaponry

See List of weapons in the Halo universe for a full list of weaponry.

The Covenant boast an arsenal of plasma-projectile weapons. Most of the Covenant's weaponry uses a magnetic channeling that the human race has only learned to apply in the MAC gun aboard starships. The book "First Strike" reveals that the weapons that the Covenant use are based on Forerunner technology. However, the game's programmers have undoubtedly based many Covenant weapons on similar designs from Marathon.

Plasma-based weaponry is very effective against energy shielding. The rate of fire tends to be very high, but power cannot be recharged and firing many shots in a short duration can cause the weapon to overheat, which reduces energy use efficiency as well as forcing a temporary cooling period in which the weapon cannot be fired.

Once uploaded into the weapons system of the Covenant Flagship Ascendant Justice, Cortana found a method of using the plasma turret's magnetic coils to focus the weapon's plasma generators, cutting the charge time and targeting time of the weapons. Instead of the ball-shaped blast of plasma the Covenant regularly employ, she was able to focus the shots into a beam configuration.

Vehicles

See Covenant vehicles for a detailed list of Covenant vehicles.

Most Covenant vehicles are capable of hovering, less prone to uneven terrain, and appear to use a "boosted gravity propulsion drive". All Covenant vehicles have a signature purple sheen, except the Covenant walking tank known as the Scarab.

Vessels

• Unyielding Hierophant: Space station used as a rendezvous point for Covenant invasion forces headed towards Earth. Destroyed by UNSC forces.
• Truth and Reconciliation: one of the CCS-class battle cruisers of the Fleet of Particular Justice and Captain Jacob Keyes's prison. Infested by the Flood and destroyed by UNSC forces to prevent the Flood from escaping Installation 04
• Purity of Spirit: CCS-class battle cruiser.
• Penance: CPV-class destroyer
• Esteem: CPV-class destroyer
• Sacred Promise: CCS-class battle cruiser
• Pious Inquisitor: CCS-class battle cruiser used to torture and interorgate enemys. (also a multiplayer map)
• Devotion
• Commitment and Patience
• Ascendant Justice: the future Arbiter's Covenant flagship of the Fleet of Particular Justice. Captured by UNSC forces and destroyed
• Unnamed Forerunner Ship: This ships engines have been adapted by the Covenent and are used to power High Charity. The Prophet of Truth used this ship to escape from High Charity when the Flood invaded it during the Covenant Civil War. The Prophet then traveled to Earth with the Master Chief aboard in search of the Ark.
• Unnamed Sniper ship involved in the Fall of Reach
• High Charity: Mobile Planetoid, High charity is the Covenant capital city. The city is mobile, can jump through slipspace, and was powered by the unnamed Forerunner ship. It was taken over by the Flood during Halo 2

Species

Covenant society is a caste system composed of many races, some of which were forcibly incorporated. The races are identified by their common UNSC designation.

Prophets

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Prophets are the highest-ranking Covenant, fulfilling the role of religious and political leader. The three highest-ranking Prophets are the Prophets of Truth, Mercy, and Regret, and they travel in floating thrones equipped with an impenetrable shield and a powerful particle beam gun. There are also many "lower" Prophets, with titles such as "The Prophet of Supposition". The Prophets lead the Loyalist forces in the civil war, and have only the Brutes, Drones and Jackals to protect them. They wear gold and red robes, a golden crown with gems and a holographic image of Halo on the front of their crown. The prophets have grey skin and are very frail and weak. They maintain power through their religion because they are very wise and preach about the Forerunners, their gods. It has recently come to light that the Prophets evolved on a planet with remains of a Forerunner colony on it, which they came to revere. At the start of Halo 2 there are 3 supreme prophets, but during the game, the Master Chief assassinates the Prophet of Regret (the youngest) and the Prophet of Mercy (eldest) is infected and killed by the Flood, leaving only one supreme prophet, the Prophet of Truth.

Whatever mutual respect the Prophets held for the Elites, by the events of Halo 2, there is a growing feeling of contempt for the Elites among the Hierarchs, particularly Truth. Whether this extends to the lesser Prophets and those not on the council, and others if they exist is unknown. It is possible that the wizened look of the Prophets developed as a result a lack of rigorous activity after the Prophet-Elite war. The only weapon a Prophet is ever seen wielding is a knife or dagger-type weapon, on the tablet depiting the Covenant Age of Abandonment, presumably when the Prophet-Elite war occurred.

Brutes

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Brutes, called Jiralhanae by the Covenant, have a hairy gorilla-like and rhinoceros-like appearance and possess immense strength. They are organized tribally and led by their chieftain, Tartarus, who is killed by the Arbiter at the end of Halo 2. Brutes are the newest addition to the covenant and the most willing.

They have a long-standing rivalry with the Elites. Elites and Brutes are both racist, especially against each other. Elites believe, since they were the first to join the Prophets, they are the true Covenant warriors, while the other species are simply pawns. Brutes believe that the Elites' recent failures (the destruction of Halo, the assassination of the High Prophet of Regret) are signs that they are incompetent. While Brutes do have the superior strength and speed, as well as being unquestionably loyal to the Prophets, Elites hold superior intelligence and are much better leaders.

When all but one Brute in a group is killed, the remaining Brute will drop his weapon and charge like a bull at the person who killed the other Brutes. While "berserking" in this manner, a Brute becomes stronger and faster.

Before the events of Halo 2, Elites occupied the Covenant niche of temple protectors and law enforcers. After the assassination of the High Prophet of Regret, the Brutes replace the Elites as personal bodyguards of the Prophets and commanders of the Covenant military, largely because of their blind faith in the "Great Journey." They remain loyal to the Prophets.

Brute Weaponry

The Brutes seem to prefer projectile weaponry to plasma weaponry. This can be seen when they use their Brute-developed Brute Shots. These blade-edged grenade-launchers, when used to melee, do almost as much damage as the energy sword. Brutes also use human shotguns — trophies gathered by them. The Brutes also have their own version of the Plasma Rifle. Colored red, it fires faster than the blue Elite Plasma Rifle, but overheats more quickly.

Hunters

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Hunters, called Lekgolo in the Covenant language, are incredibly dangerous foes, deployed more like equipment than soldiers. They are brought in for demolition or heavy defense, and always work in pairs, calling each other "bond brothers." Rather than being built similarly to the other Covenant species with an endoskeleton and central nervous system, Hunters are actually sentient beings made up of a conglomerate colony of orange symbiotic worms. Their impenetrable armor is actually what holds them together. This has led to speculation that they were created or engineered by the Forerunners. Hunters are usually dismissive and scornful of most other races and rarely even communicate any other race apart from the Elites.

When encountered in combat they can be as difficult as walking tanks, with their massive size (8' in their normal contracted stance and 12' full sized), near impenetrable armor, and arm-mounted fuel-rod cannons. They are easily the toughest infantry unit in the Covenant military, but a single high velocity shot targeting the fleshy orange skin between the armor plating can sometimes succeed in bringing the Hunter down. They will never purposely show this weak spot to an enemy.

Hunters are fitted with large plates of a very strong material for armor which makes them extremely well protected from both grenades and most weapons. In Halo, the they are outfitted with an arching fuel rod gun, but in Halo 2, this was replaced by a large plasma beam that can be fired constantly for several seconds. These guns are only used at great distances, so if an enemy comes too near, a Hunter will attempt a clumsy, yet devastating, charging attack with their shield. In Halo 2, they have developed a new attack by which they can whack the player over the head if he manages to get behind them.

The Hunters have been part of the covenant for quite a long time. They were forced to join the Covenant after being subdued by an Elite-led military force. As a result, Hunters are deeply respectful of the Elites and choose to side with the Elite Separatists. They were found to be impossible to subjugate in land combat, so they agreed to join the Covenant after the threat of extinction through orbital bombardment.

They pair up and mate at an early age before war. When one of a bonded pair is slain, the other will howl and become enraged. Like a berserking Brute, an enraged Hunter will forgo its ranged weaponry in favor of smashing its foe into bloody pulp with its massive shield.

Despite their brutal fighting style and a language that consists mostly of grunts, Hunters are actually a very intelligent species, that seem to have a religion of their own. They seem to believe that when both bond brothers are killed, they will join each-other in another life.

Elite

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See main article.

The Elites are the core of the Covenant military. Excellent soldiers, brilliant tacticians, and disciplined, aggressive fighters, they are the primary strength of the Covenant force. Faster, stronger, and tougher than Humans, they fight in relatively small numbers but often lead squads of Grunts. they were the first to join the covenant when the Prophets discovered evidence of the Forerunners Great Journey, and called for a truce. Armor color seems to indicate rank, and it is believed Elites are promoted based on the numbers of casualties they inflict.

Jackals

File:Jackal halo.jpg

Jackals, called Kig-Yar in the Covenant language, have superior senses and often serve as scouts, snipers and assassins. Excellent shots, the Jackals seem to be higher in status - if not necessarily rank - than the Grunts. They are 5'8" tall and typically carry a wrist-mounted energy shield that deflects bullets and needler shots but is weak against plasma and physical (melee) strikes. A well placed grenade usually does the trick. They often will be found in defensive positions, fighting from behind their distinctive energy shields. A well used shield makes a Jackal a difficult target, but the notch they use to return fire provides a weak spot that can be exploited. Jackals sometimes abandon the shields in favor of carrying the Particle Beam Rifle in their capacity as snipers. When these snipers are face to face with a stronger opponent, they will drop any heavy weaponry they may have and cower like a Grunt, but if given a chance will pull out a plasma pistol and continue fighting. Their appearance is thin and bird-like, and their bodies are quite frail. They chose to side with the Prophets and Brutes in the civil war. Their rank is shown by the color of their shield. A green shield indicates low rank, while an orange shield is carried by higher-ranking Jackals. They are often extremely mean to the Grunts, considering themselves better than they are. Jackals are considered higher-up than Grunts, even though they are in the same 'worker' caste.

Elites may favor Grunts as opposed to Jackals, as the former is frequently used as an extened arm of authority. Jackals also seem to obey Elites more begrudgingly than Grunts, contributing to the divide.

Engineers

File:Engineer halo.jpg

Engineers are the scientific engineering backbone of the Covenant and its economy. They float via air sacs and their many tentacles are able to split into many fine cilia, with which they are able to manipulate machinery. Engineers are capable of quickly learning the functionality of new technology. They are called Huragok or Hunagok in the Covenant language, and sometimes referred to as savants by the Humans.

Their motivations are unknown, but they appear to draw no distinction between friend and foe, preferring to spend their time inspecting or repairing technology, although they will utter a high pitched keening sound when a Forerunner artifact is under any sort of threat. They are extremely apathetic to any sort of combat, and will just float along with their one desire: to fix things. In one encounter, an Engineer repaired the Master Chief's damaged shield generator and then floated away (though this unfortunately helpful Engineer was then shot due the risk of it giving away the Master Chief's superior shield technology to the Covenant).

Engineers do not appear in either Halo games (though their character models are coded into Halo 1) and are mentioned only in Halo: The Fall of Reach and Halo: First Strike.

It is unknown which side, if any, the Engineers have taken in the civil war. It is possible they have not even noticed, as they rarely even interact with the other Covenant castes.

Grunts

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The basic infantry unit of the Covenant, Grunts are the lowest beings in the Covenant hierarchy. They are dangerous in groups, but present little threat individually. Grunts, known as Unggoy in the Covenant language, are the workhorses of the Covenant. They serve as common laborers across Covenant controlled space. Short, stocky, and relatively slow, they will often panic when faced with superior forces. However, if they are being led by an Elite, they will stand and fight. Despite their obvious cowardice and stupidity, they are extremely large in numbers and breed rapidly, and - when cornered - can attack with suicidal desperation.

Their homeworld is a frozen, swampy planet with a methane atmosphere and naturally occuring pillars of fire. Because they breathe methane they are forced to rely on a large SCUBA-like 'rebreather' system in order to survive in oxygen atmosphere areas - which, unfortunately for the Grunts, are almost everywhere in Covenant society, since no other Covenant race breathes methane. The Grunts are approximately 5' tall, which does not give them any confidence when facing humans, though they lose most of their fear when locked into a plasma turret or a vehicle. In spite of their low rank on the caste, some of the Grunts have been trained with the bulky fuel rod guns and have been seen wearing black reinforced armor, implying that they are Special Ops. This does not hold with classic Covenant operation, but it seems to be the case. Because of their aforementioned tendency towards panic, disarray, and dying, the Grunts are usually herded as cannon fodder and directed by one or more of the higher caste, normally an Elite. If the Elite leading the group is killed, the Grunts will usually scatter.

When the Covenant civil war began, the Grunts chose to join with the Elite-led Heretic forces. Grunts look to the Elites for direction and guidance in a relationship that can be characterized as little brother-big brother.

Somewhere in the history of the Covenant, the Grunt Rebellion took place; possibly in the age of doubt . An Arbiter was created to deal with the threat.

Grunt culture has largely been erased by their incorporation into the covenant, and they obey most of the other covenant races out of fear because they have no political power in the covenant. However within the Grunt community there is a strong hatred of most other species, (with the possible exception of the Elites) and it has been stated that the Grunts have hopes for a paticularly, heroic, strong, tall Grunt to one day become the savior of their kind and set them on the path to freedom by another Rebellion and the return to their homeworld.

It has also been stated by Brutes that Grunts will occasionally be eaten by other, larger members of the Covenant but no such image has been shown.

Drones

Drones are an insectoid race which are called Yanme'e in the Covenant language. They talk in a chirpy, clicking noise but it is not certain if this is a hive communication or individual conversation.

Their exo-skeleton is vacuum tight which shows they are space or asteroid based in origin, or most probably have a homeworld with a very thin atmosphere. Their inner bodies are pale green and thick in texture.

Although they have been part of the Covenant for some time, their have only recently been put to use as combatants. Their primary use within the Covenant was to help build and repair starships from the outside, (while the Engineers service the ships from the inside) since their favored environment seems to be in space.

Since the Drones prefer a thin atmosphere as their favored environment, their wings are not as useful in planetary atmospheres. They can fly within atmospheres, but only for short periods of time before they have to rest their wings. They have clawed feet for hanging and climbing walls.

Drones prefer to stay at a distance and use long range tactics. However, they are skilled close-range combatants as well if the need arises.

Drones are insectoid in nature and seem to be covered in natural chitanous armor, although it doesn't provide much protection. They wield light-weight weapons such as needlers and plasma pistols.

During the Covenant civil war, the Drones remained loyal to the Prophets.

Drinol

File:Drinol.jpg

Drinol, believed to be the Sharquoi mentioned in Conversations of the Universe, are huge beasts that are kept contained and segregated from other forces. When enraged they have phenomenal strength and can be used in battle to smash enemy vehicles. Drinol have next to no body fat and thus have to be fed constantly. UNSC forces have never encountered the Drinol, and only have second-hand knowledge of it through information gleaned from Covenant prisoners and datacores.

Great Journey

The Prophets believe that when the Halos are activated the Covenant will embark on a "Great Journey" similar to that undertaken by their gods, the Forerunners. Finding and activating the Halos is a prime goal of the Covenant.

However, few members in the Covenant are aware that the Halos, when activated, destroy all sentient life in the galaxy. Whether the Prophets do know the true effects of activating a Halo is uncertain, but the very fabric of the Covenant is built on accomplishing it, believing this will propel them into the "Divine Beyond", a heavenly paradise they will share with the Forerunners.

As the Master Chief and UNSC discovered, the Halos were not built as religious icons; they are galactic weapons of mass destructive sterilization built by the Forerunners to contain a parasitic race known as The Flood.

The currently living Arbiter, who is either leading or an important member of the Separatist movement, knows the true function of the Halos after speaking with 343 Guilty Spark. Following this, he helped some UNSC troops stop Tartarus from activating Installation 05, and hence the entire remaining Halo network. The loyalists still seem to believe in the Great Journey, and will most likely continue to try to activate the Halos.

History

The current events in Halo 2 occur during the Ninth Age of Reclamation. UNSC researchers are unsure how the Covenant record time, but seven distinct ages have been collected. It's uncertain if these names are reused or if, for instance, there have been eight other ages of reclamation in the past. (Note: the arrangement and meaning of the ages is only speculation)

• Age of Abandonment
• Age of Conflict
• Age of Discovery
• Age of Reconciliation
• Age of Conversion
• Age of Doubt
• Age of Reclamation

The Ages of the Covenant

Little is known about their history except that the Prophets and Elites' ancestors waged war on each other, but they formed the Covenant after finding evidence of the Forerunners and their “Great Journey”.

One of the leading theories is that the Age of Abandonment was the time when the Forerunners left the Prophets and Elites to embark on the "great journey".

Elites and the Prophets began fighting each other in the Age of Conflict. It is not yet known why this war started.

In the Age of Discovery, the Prophets discovered the remains of the Forerunner technology, maybe with the help of the Engineers.

During the 1st Age of Reconciliation, the Prophets shared the information learnt about the forerunners with the Elites. The Elites and the Prophets made a truce to unite to form the Covenant with the elites being promised salvation in exchange for their military services and protection. Presumably, this is when the Covenant Writ of Union was created.

The Age of Conversion was when the Elites and the Prophets started to conscript other races (such as when they "tamed" Hunters) into the Covenant through religious conversion or force.

The Covenant began to doubt the word of the Prophets during the Age of Doubt, due to their fruitlessness of their search for the rings (such as Alpha (04) and Delta (05)Halo) or any other means to begin The Great Journey. The Grunt Rebellion probably occurred during this span of time.

Halo and Halo 2 take place during the 9th Age of Reclamation. It is often speculated that this is a reference to the name that the Monitors give to humans: “reclaimers”. Others, especially the Elites wonder why the humans, a worthy opponent that have proven itself in battle many times were not given the opportunity to join the Covenant. Some within the Covenant even wonder what bad thing the humans have done to be an "affront" to the gods. This fact might be linked with humans presumably being the reclaimers, and not any of the Covenant races. It seems that the Prophets are particularly unhappy with this fact, given their liberal use of the word "demon" in reference to humans, and the Master Chief in particular.

Early Ages

The Covenant recruited other races around them. Extraordinary crises, such as the Taming of the Hunters, and the Grunt Rebellion almost destroyed the Covenant but were resolved by the first Arbiters.

The Prophets, aided by the Engineers, discovered more about the Forerunners including a myth about the Halo Installations and used Forerunner technology to launch their industrial revolution in which their militarily technologically superior civilization developed.

Ninth Age of Reclamation

The Ninth Age occurred between the Earth years 2525 and the current year, 2552. Thus far, this age has been tumultuous for the Covenant, and has featured a war with humanity, the unleashing of the Flood, and a civil war.

When the Covenant first came into contact with Humanity, they regarded the human forces and the expansion of the United Nations Empire as an affront to the Forerunner gods and waged a 30-year religious war that destroyed almost every world colonized by humans. Even the battles won by the UNSC's advanced Spartan soldiers were unable to slow the advance of the Covenant.

Earth remained undiscovered in part because of the Cole Protocol, a standing order by UNSC Admiral Cole, that directed retreating UNSC ships not chart a direct course back to Earth in case the Covenant were able to follow. In fact, ships were required to self-destruct rather than lead the Covenant to Earth. This decision was apparently successful and the Covenant did not discover Earth until the events of Halo: First Strike.

When the Prophet of Regret and his fleet arrive at Earth, they appear to be surprised that humanity is on Earth. This gives us a clue that, perhaps, they came to Earth for other reasons.

The Human War, combined with the subsequent Civil War, the threat of heretic forces, the Master Chief's infiltration, and followed by a Flood invasion of High Charity, splintered the Covenant into Heretic and Loyalist forces. The High Prophets of Mercy and Regret, Tartarus, and many of the Councillors have been killed, leaving the Covenant in a precarious position.

Technology

The Covenant are imitative rather than innovative. Their technology is largely stolen from left over Forerunner artifacts. Weaponry is largely energy (plasma) based and their vehicles are capable of hovering and boosting. The precise mechanisms of their weaponry are unknown, however, it is known that the Needler utilizes some form of energy coil.

While Covenant technology is far better than humanity's, the Covenant seem to be ignorant of how precise or powerful their technology can be. Covenant engines, for example, are more precise and faster than a Human engine, but the Covenant utilize them far short of their true potential. This is most likely due to the fact that they are afraid to defile their ancient technologies, which were largely copied from the Forerunners.

External links

• A Covenant Primer: The Best of the Bestiary
• The Library: The Covenant
• Halo Story Page & Staten, Joe (2005). Joe Staten Interview. Retrieved January 9th, 2005.