Battle for Sanghelios

This article is based on canon information, but the article's title is conjectural and/or uses descriptions as the title, as there is currently no official name for the subject.

Previous:	Operation: ATHENA
Concurrent:	Battle of Kamchatka Cortana Event Battle of Genesis
Next:	Subjugation of Sanghelios Subjugation of Earth
Battle for Sanghelios
Conflict:	Post-Covenant War conflicts Blooding Years Created uprising
Date:	Before or around October 17, 2558-October 27, 2558
Location:	Sanghelios, Urs system
Outcome:	Swords of Sanghelios victory Jul 'Mdama's forces routed and considered functionally destroyed. Fireteam Osiris leaves in a Guardian.
Details Belligerents Swords of Sanghelios UNSC Jul 'Mdama's Covenant Created Commanders Arbiter Thel 'Vadam Spartan Jameson Locke General Kitun 'Arach† Cortana Warden Eternal Strength Numerous Sangheili Warships Swords of Sanghelios ground and air forces Fireteam Osiris Numerous Sangheili Warships Covenant ground and air forces Two Guardians Promethean ground and air forces Casualties Moderate Near total Heavy

The Battle for Sanghelios was a major global conflict fought in late 2558 on and around the Sangheili homeworld of Sanghelios, and a major engagement of the Blooding Years; the civil war between various Sangheili warlords resulting from the collapse of the Covenant empire in 2552. The conflict was primarily fought between the defending Swords of Sanghelios and a remnant faction of the Covenant led by the warlord Jul 'Mdama, with both sides seeking to take control of the planet. The engagement abruptly ended on October 27, 2558, with the onset of the Created uprising forcing the end of hostilities despite the numerous defeats suffered by Jul 'Mdama's forces.

Background

After the collapse of the Covenant and the end of the Human-Covenant War in 2552, Sanghelios fell into a series of bloody internecine conflicts fought between the various warlords and kaidons across the planet. By-and-large, the victor of these conflicts were the Swords of Sanghelios, an alliance of keeps united under the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, which came to rule the majority of the planet and acted as the world's de-facto government. While these civil wars, which came to be known as the Blooding Years, spilled off into greater Sangheili space, the Swords maintained their rule on Sanghelios, coming to act as defenders of lesser keeps. The Swords of Sanghelios were beset against numerous remnant warlords in this time, though their greatest rival was a resurgent Covenant led by Jul 'Mdama based out of the colony world of Hesduros. Although the Hesdurons who made up Jul's power base were largely still-aherent to the Covenant religion, Jul himself remained atheistic in nature, instead motivated by the desire to exterminate his enemies (notably humanity) and to keep Sanghelios "pure". These factors would ultimately drive Jul to search for various superweapons of Forerunner origin, and lay the groundwork for his eventual attempt to take Sanghelios for himself.

Towards 2558, the situation on Sanghelios had begun to stabilise; the Swords of Sanghelios had managed to drive other rivals such as the Servants of the Abiding Truth offworld, and the deaths of influential commanders in Jul 'Mdama's camp (such as Gek 'Lhar) had caused Jul-aligned keeps on the world to fragment. This set the stage for the Swords of Sanghelios to begin their own offensive operations, on the one hand attempting to negotiate a peace between the Swords and one of the larger Jiralhanae master-packs, the Children of Oth Sonin, which could free up some Swords of Sanghelios forces from their ongoing war against the Brutes. On the other hand, they also began to conduct a concerted campaign against Jul 'Mdama, striking at his power base of Hesduros in the Aspero system with the goal of killing 'Mdama and destroying his Covenant for good. While they did fail in this objective, they were successful in devastating 'Mdama's infrastructure across Hesduros - forcing its abandonment and putting the warlord on the backfoot.

Jul's loss of Hesduros came on the back of a string of defeats inflicted against him by the UNSC, including the loss of Requiem in February 2558, an internal schism within his forces during an engagement at Aktis IV in July, and a failed attempt to secure control of the Forerunners' Absolute Record in September. Fresh from the defeat at the Absolute Record, Jul 'Mdama instead gambled on a new plan with the aim of taking control of Sanghelios from the Arbiter. To assist in this effort, the Covenant boarded and took control of the UNSC research station Argent Moon, hoping to salvage resources they could leverage against the defending forces on Sanghelios.

In the lead-up to Jul's invasion of the planet, tensions on Sanghelios began to increase.

The battle

Jul 'Mdama's Covenant besieged Sanghelios some time prior to, or around, October 17, 2558, leading to a global conflict across the planet with many of the planet's keeps and city-states seeing fighting. Unlike the previous state of intermittent brushfire conflicts across the planet, Jul's invasion was characterised by human newsfeeds as a global war, with Covenant-aligned assets across the planet joining the invasion in a mass-revolt in a final attempt to overthrow the Swords of Sanghelios. Despite the nature of the threat, the Arbiter did not request for aid from the UNSC, though by October 17 UNSC Infinity and her battlegroup were given warning that they may be required to intervene in the conflict.

Revolutions were attempted within the Arbiter's power base of Vadam itself, which opened up the possibility of the Covenant staging a direct strike there. As such, they took control of the previously-neutral city-state of Sunaion, located just off the coasts of Nuusra, which they could use as a staging area to strike at Yermo and the Vadam Harbor, the Kolaar Mountains, and Vadam Valley itself. In response, the Swords of Sanghelios established their own forward operating camp at Nuusra with the goal of taking Sunaion for themselves and kicking the Covenant offworld again.

Jul's death

Main article: Battle of Kamchatka

In a separate battle fought between the UNSC and Jul 'Mdama on the world of Kamchatka between October 17-23, the UNSC's Fireteam Osiris were able to accomplish what the Swords of Sanghelios could not - the assassination of Jul 'Mdama. With the Covenant's leader dead, the straggling forces situated across the galaxy began to rally under one of the Generals who had been present on Kamchatka, Kitun 'Arach. Unlike 'Mdama, Kitun was largely disinterested in continuing to fight humanity and instead focused on the security of Sanghelios, with the goal of reforming the Covenant under his command to be led by a military council inspired by the likes of the Covenant's famed Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree. Some of the warships fleeing Kamchatka regrouped at Argent Moon, where they rallied the forces there and prepared to head to Sanghelios itself. Ultimately, Argent Moon was destroyed by Blue Team, though this still left a sizeable fleet of vestige warships headed to Sanghelios.

With 'Mdama's death, the Covenant were effectively doomed. Some within the Covenant camp on Sanghelios, such as Cha 'Kulma, began to question the necessity of fighting for Sanghelios, as opposed to retreating to and retaking Hesduros. However these sentiments were rare, as the majority of the warriors still fighting for the Covenant remained insistent on fighting and dying for glory and honour as opposed to a tactical retreat. Many were reinvigorated by 'Mdama's death, with it serving to fuel their anger for 'Vadam and the Swords of Sanghelios. For the non-Sangheili contingent of the Covenant forces, morale dropped in the wake of their leader's death, and many (such as Drab Limist and Thol 'Barai) began to abandon their camps or defect to the Swords of Sanghelios outright.

Fighting at Nuusra

A Covenant Kraken fighting over Nuusra.

"With Arbiter's victories and the death of Jul 'Mdama, the Covenant grow desperate. They have began an assault on 'Vadam lands, targeting Arbiter specifically."

— Mahkee 'Chava to Fireteam Osiris.

Main article: Battle of Nuusra

On the morning of October 27, 2558, the Covenant made a last-ditch attempt to kill the Arbiter at Nuusra. The engagement began thanks to a traitor within the House of 'Vadam, Murok 'Vadam; Murok hoped to attain personal power and prestige and thus betrayed Thel's location at the Elder Council Chamber to the Covenant. The fighting at Nuusra was fierce and almost resulted in the death of the Arbiter, though this was prevented by the timely intervention of the UNSC Infinity and Fireteam Osiris. Osiris assisted Swords forces in repelling the Covenant, having been brought to Sanghelios as part of a separate mission that coincidentally required them to travel to Sunaion to activate the Guardian Custode buried below the city. With both the UNSC complement and the Swords of Sanghelios in alignment, the two negotiated an agreement; The Swords of Sanghelios would assist Osiris in their mission to activate the Guardian and hunt down John-117 and Blue Team, and Osiris would assist the Swords in fighting off the Covenant.

To activate the Guardian, Dr. Catherine Halsey surmised that the allies would require a Constructor Sentinel to interface with the machine. She expected that they would be relatively easy to find in the Forerunner temples and support facilites surrounding the Guardian in Nuusra's hills, and thus Fireteam Osiris were deployed via Pelican to find one, with the Swords of Sanghelios providing assistance in the form of air cover and additional manpower. The second stage of the battle of Nuusra ultimately saw the destruction of one of the Covenant's heaviest assets, a Kraken excavator, and the successful acquisition of the Constructor. With it in hand, the stage was set for a final assault on Sunaion itself, now the final major stronghold of the Covenant on Sanghelios.

For Arbiter 'Vadam, the humans' activation of the Guardian was something he viewed as a boon for the upcoming fight; for the still-faithful in the Covenant army, he hoped that the sight of humans activating sacred Forerunner technology would help to convince them to lay down their arms.

Last stand

Covenant and Swords forces fighting in Sunaion.

"The Covenant soldiers will hear the Guardian wake from its slumber, they will look up over the bodies of their brothers, through the smoke of their burning city, they will look to the horizon as their holy idol rises from the sea and forsakes them. And that is when the Covenant dies."

— Thel 'Vadam to a few of his officers.

Main article: Battle of Sunaion

In the evening of October 27, the Swords of Sanghelios, with Fireteam Osiris' assistance, launched their final assault on Sunaion. The engagement included a large air and naval battle fought between both sides' fleets of vestige warships in the skies over the city alongside intense urban combat in the city's street. Fireteam Osiris were air-dropped into the city alongside the Arbiter and an escort of Swords infantry, where they proceeded to fight through the streets to disable the Covenant's anti-aircraft Shrike turrets. Osiris then dropped into the city's underlevels, fighting through Covenant defences until they reached the site of the Guardian.

After the Constructor Sentinel began trying to activate the Guardian, numerous Prometheans began to appear in the warzone to add to the carnage, including armigers, knights, and an instance of the Warden Eternal. These Prometheans were under the control of the nascent Created and were tasked with defending the Guardian. They were unsuccessful in this role, with the Warden defeated by Fireteam Osiris, who were then able to jump onto the now-rising Guardian, before departing with it to the Forerunner shield world of Genesis to complete their own mission. With the Covenant now broken, their remnants were driven off by the Swords of Sanghelios, who were able to claim a short-lived victory over the planet. This peace, however, was interrupted the following day with the onset of the Created uprising and Cortana's proclamation to the galaxy of rule under the Created's dominion. This started off an occupation of Sanghelios by the Created, and a new guerilla war fought by the Sangheili against their new overlords.

The Battle of Sunaion saw the death of the Covenant's short-lived leader, General Kitun Arach, who was slain at the hand of his brother Jacul 'Arach.

Aftermath

Created occupation

Main article: Subjugation of Sanghelios

After the Sunaion Guardian's departure late on October 27, Sanghelios was briefly the site of victory for the Swords of Sanghelios. However this was only short-lived, as a second Guardian was dispatched to the world the following day by the Created alongside Cortana's declaration of enforced peace upon the galaxy. The Guardian initially set to attacking the remaining Covenant warships across the planet, with a focus on those on the far side of the world from Sunaion. It eventually ended this campaign of destruction by using its attenuation pulse emitter to cause a widespread electromagnetic pulse across the hemisphere and causing the unlucky Covenant ships caught in its wake to sink into the sea or crash to the ground. By this time, UNSC Infinity had retreated far enough away from Sanghelios that it was spared the destruction, before it evacuated back to the Sol system. The Created would eventually take total control of Sanghelios, as well as placing an administrator in charge of the planet.

The Covenant

The Covenant's defeat at Sunaion saw the final destruction of Jul 'Mdama's war machine, and the defection of some troops to the various other factions vying for the now-vacant power vacuum. These included the Swords of Sanghelios and the Banished. However, the majority instead chose to rally around Sali 'Nyon, the "True Prophet" who had rebelled against 'Mdama months earlier due to Jul's lack of faith. While 'Nyon would ultimately go on to preach similar claims to 'Mdama, promising the resurrection of the Covenant but without the San'Shyuum leadership which toppled the old empire, he would ultimately find himself aligned with High Lord Dovo Nesto and the Order of Restoration. Throughout the next year, 'Nyon slowly built up a power base from the fortress-world of Okal'supen though was eventually killed at the Battle of Boundary in December 2559, at which time his forces largely came under the control of the Order of Restoration.

Gallery

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  The forces of the Swords of Sanghelios, assembled and ready to assault Sunaion.

List of appearances

• Halo 5: Guardians (First appearance)
• Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo
• Halo: Legacy of Onyx (First named)
• Halo: Bad Blood (Mentioned only)
• Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual (Mentioned only)
• Halo: Outcasts (Indirect mention)
• Halo: Empty Throne (Indirect mention)
• Halo: Fifth Canticle (Mentioned only)