Canon

Tartarus

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

Tartarus wielding the Fist of Rukt. From Halo 2: Anniversary campaign level Quarantine Zone.
Tartarus
Tartarus in Halo 2: Anniversary.
Biographical information

Homeworld:

Doisac[1]

Born:

July 8, 2491[1][2]

Died:

November 3, 2552[1] (aged 61)

Cause of death:

Killed in battle by Thel 'Vadam

Children:

Severan (son), several unnamed Jiralhanae

Personal details

Species:

Jiralhanae[1]

Gender:

Male

Height:

276.7 centimeters (9 ft 0.9 in)[1][2]

Weight:

630.2 kilograms (1,389.3 lb)[1][2]

Hair color:

White, formerly black[3]

Eye color:

Amber[1]

Political and military information

Affiliation:

Title:

Chieftain of the Jiralhanae[1]

 

"The Great Journey has begun, and the Brutes, not the Elites, shall be the Prophets' escort!"
— Tartarus, to the Arbiter[4]

Tartarus was the last appointed Chieftain of the Jiralhanae and military chief to serve in the Covenant. He acted as the Hierarchs' chief enforcer and, more accurately, the High Prophet of Truth's second-in-command. Tartarus was responsible for enforcing Truth's changes to the Covenant which caused the Great Schism, the civil war that led to the dissolution of the Covenant empire. In the final weeks of the Human-Covenant War, Tartarus attempted to activate Installation 05 to begin the Great Journey, but he was ultimately killed by Arbiter Thel 'Vadam with the help of Sergeant Major Avery Johnson.[4]

Biography[edit]

Early military career[edit]

Tartarus started life as the nephew of a venerable and religious pack leader known as Maccabeus on Doisac on July 8, 2491 and was a member of the Rh'tol skein.[5] He took on the childhood nickname of Tartar. Wearing the scarlet armor of a Jiralhanae Captain, the young Tartarus served as the security officer of his uncle's crew of one of the few Jiralhanae-controlled ships in the Covenant, Rapid Conversion.[3] The Sangheili did not approve of a Jiralhanae controlling a ship and had disabled many of its key features such as weaponry, gravity lifts, and other useful mechanics, but Maccabeus' faith in the Great Journey helped him turn a blind eye to this unfair treatment.[6]

Soon the Unggoy Deacon Dadab and his companion Lighter Than Some found themselves on board the Rapid Conversion[6] after escaping the destruction of their ship, the Minor Transgression, a Kig-Yar missionary ship.[7]

First contact on Harvest[edit]

Maccabeus: "Never forget the meaning of this Age, nephew."
Tartarus: "Don't you know, Uncle? This sorry Age has ended."
— Tartarus, right before he kills his uncle[8]
Maccabeus and his pack on Harvest in 2525.
Tartarus (far right) on Harvest, with his pack.

Maccabeus summoned Tartarus at the pair's explosive arrival and would later become a protector of the Engineer when the resentful Yanme'e on board set out to kill it for taking their job: repair and maintenance of the vessel.[3] He journeyed to Harvest during the first contact between the Jiralhanae and the humans, in a staged offer of peace that soon erupted into battle after an Unggoy, Yull, nervously attacked a member of Harvest's Colonial Militia. Tartarus proceeded to kill Yull by breaking his mask and throwing him down cascades of water.[9] Later, Tartarus and Vorenus scouted out Harvest's orbiting platform Tiara. The two Jiralhanae remained at the station briefly, long enough to be sure that it was devoid of human life. They left Dadab in charge of sixty Unggoy on the station to protect it from human soldiers.