Editing Battle of the House of Reckoning

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Callsign}}
{{Battle infobox
|name=Battle of the House of Reckoning
|image=[[File:HINF ScorpionApproach.jpg|300px]]
|prev= [[Battle of the Conservatory]]
|conc=
|next=[[Battle of the Silent Auditorium]]
|conflict= [[Post-Covenant War conflicts]]
*[[Battle for Zeta Halo]]
|date=[[2560#May|May 30, 2560]]{{Ref/Site|Id=CFCake|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-parasites-cake|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Parasite's Cake|D=31|M=01|Y=2026}}
|place= [[House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning]], [[Installation 07]]
|result= '''Decisive UNSC victory'''
*Successful rescue of [[Fernando Esparza]]
*Death of [[Escharum]]
*Destabilization of the [[Banished]]
|side1    = *{{Icon|UNSC 2560}} [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]]
|side2    = *{{Icon|Banished}} [[Banished]]
|commanders1    = *[[Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO]] [[John-117]]
|commanders2    = *[[War Chief]] [[Escharum]]†
|forces1  = *1 [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartan-II]]
**[[John-117]]
*Several rescued [[UNSC Marine]]s
*1 [[M808 Scorpion]]
|forces2 =*[[Jiralhanae]]
*[[Sangheili]]
*[[Kig-Yar]]
*[[Unggoy]]
*[[Mgalekgolo]]
*[[Riuctda Workshop Ghost]]s
*[[Eklon'Dal Workshop Wraith]]s
|casual1  = *Light
**Several Marines
|casual2  = *Heavy
**[[Escharum]]
}}
{{Quote|This was never a trap. It is a test of mettle. Our battle ends here. (...) Bear witness! Our story will become legend. Told by those that survive you.|[[Escharum]] arrives for his final battle.{{Ref/Reuse|House of Reckoning}}}}
The '''Battle of the House of Reckoning''' is an engagement in the [[Battle for Zeta Halo]] involving the [[John-117|Master Chief]] storming the [[Banished]] stronghold known as the [[House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning]] to rescue [[Fernando Esparza]]. It resulted in the death of [[War Chief]] [[Escharum]] who was the leader of the Banished at the time.

==Background==
Following the revelation of the [[John-117|Master Chief]]'s survival, the [[Banished]] [[War Chief]] [[Escharum]] was invigorated and he ordered [[Blademaster]] [[Jega 'Rdomnai]] to follow the legendary [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartan]].{{Ref/Level|Id=Foundation|Hi|[[Foundation (Halo Infinite)|Foundation]]}} After the Master Chief destroyed three [[Kywasky Workshop Gorespike cannon|Banished anti-aircraft cannons]], the terminally ill Escharum ordered 'Rdomnai to bring the Spartan to him.{{Ref/Level|Id=Pelican Down|Hi|[[Pelican Down (Halo Infinite level)|Pelican Down]]}}

When the Master Chief and [[the Weapon]] succeeded in deactivating the [[Reformation Spire]]s and stopping the [[Reformation]], 'Rdomnai revealed himself where he had been hiding in ''[[Echo 216]]'' and successfully hijacked the Pelican, taking its pilot [[Fernando Esparza]] prisoner. Using a [[teleportation grid|portal]], the Master Chief and the Weapon gave chase.{{Ref/Level|Id=Command Spire|Hi|[[The Command Spire]]}} 'Rdomnai brought Esparza before Escharum at the [[House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning]], knowing that the kidnapping of his friend would draw the Master Chief directly to them. Pleased, Escharum ordered 'Rdomnai to torture Esparza, but not to kill him.{{Ref/Level|Id=Repository|Hi|[[Repository (Halo Infinite level)|Repository]]}}

As the Master Chief and the Weapon attempted to find their way through the [[Repository (location)|Repository]] to the Banished base, the AI uncovered a message left behind by Escharum where he taunted the Spartan with a recording of Esparza being tortured and claimed that the Master Chief's humanity, such as his compassion for Esparza, made him weak in comparison to the Banished. Escharum promised that he awaited their final fight and the Weapon discovered that the Banished War Chief had embedded his coordinates in the message so as to make it easier for his foe.{{Ref/Reuse|Repository}}

==Battle==
===The Road Warrior===
Emerging on the surface, [[the Weapon]] discovered that the Banished base was actually the [[House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning]], the location where [[Chak 'Lok]] had shipped his victims to. Nearby, [[John-117|the Master Chief]] discovered a small Banished outpost where he killed the forces guarding it and freed some imprisoned Marines.

Taking an [[M808 Scorpion]] tank parked at the outpost and aided by the rescued Marines, the Master Chief fought his way down the road towards the House of Reckoning through heavy Banished resistance including [[Sangheili]], [[Kig-Yar]], [[Unggoy]], [[Jiralhanae]], a [[Mgalekgolo]] pair, [[Riuctda Workshop Ghost|Ghosts]] and [[Eklon'Dal Workshop Wraith|Wraiths]]. Blocked by a gate, the Master Chief climbed over it, killed a [[Sangheili Warlord]], opened the gate and continued on. Finally, the Spartan arrived at the House of Reckoning where he encountered no resistance outside. Instead, the gate opened for him on its own and after the Master Chief extended and crossed the bridge, he found the door to the Banished stronghold unlocked.{{Ref/Level|Id=The Road|Hi|[[The Road (level)|The Road]]}}

===The Trials of Atriox===
Entering an arena where Escharum had [[Trials of Atriox|forced many UNSC prisoners]] to fight to the death, the Spartan was taunted by the old [[Jiralhanae]] who sent multiple waves of [[Unggoy]], [[Kig-Yar]], [[Sangheili]] and Jiralhanae to attack him ''en masse''. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Master Chief was able to slay the Banished forces with scavenged UNSC weapons and proceed to the next level of the House of Reckoning.

On the second level, the Master Chief was taunted by another holographic message from Escharum and entered yet another arena where he faced more waves of Banished troops. This time, the troops included a [[Mgalekgolo|Hunter]] pair, but the Spartan succeeded in eliminating them and ascending to the third level where Escharum taunted him about the [[Battle over Installation 07|defeat]] of the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}.

On the third level, the Master Chief was drawn by voices into the single structure in the middle of the arena. Upon the Master Chief's discovery that it was Esparza's [[holorecorder]], he was trapped by security barriers and attacked by a cloaked [[Jega 'Rdomnai]]. Aided by [[SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan]] [[Hudson Griffin]]'s [[Threat Sensor]], the Master Chief managed to defeat the sadistic [[Blademaster]] and continue on. As he headed for the fourth and final level of the House of Reckoning, Escharum warned that the Banished came prepared for [[Battle for Zeta Halo|war]] and a thousand legions controlled Zeta Halo and that no matter the outcome of their battle, the Master Chief's interference would be just a fleeting irritation.{{Ref/Level|Id=House of Reckoning|Hi|[[House of Reckoning]]}}

===Test of Legends===
[[File:HINF HopeDiminished.jpg|250px|thumb|Escharum duels the Master Chief]]
On the fourth level, the Master Chief and the Weapon discovered [[Fernando Esparza]] imprisoned in a torture device similar to the one that [[Chak 'Lok]] had used at the [[Tower]]. The Master Chief deployed the Weapon to free Esparza who warned the Spartan that it was a trap. [[Escharum]] dropped down in full battle armor to fight the Spartan personally while the Weapon continued to work on freeing Esparza. Escharum proclaimed that their battle would become legend, told by those that survived the Master Chief.

Shortly after the battle began, Escharum surrounded himself with an energy shield that the Spartan was unable to penetrate, causing Esparza pain instead. The Weapon warned the Spartan that the shield was connected to the torture machine and that any damage that he inflicted upon Escharum would be transferred to Esparza. Discovering that the power was transmitted by a series of relays around the room, the Weapon managed to expose one, allowing the Master Chief to destroy it. Escharum's shield dropped, giving the Spartan the chance to attack, but the other relays quickly restored the shield. With the help of the Weapon, the Master Chief managed to destroy all of the relays and Escharum's shield while preventing Esparza from taking any more damage from their battle. Enraged, Escharum discarded his [[Grenflekt Workshop Scrap Cannon]] in favor of his [[gravity axe]] ''[[Diminisher of Hope]]'' and attacked the Master Chief head on. Using the weapons available in the room, the Master Chief finally managed to defeat Escharum.

With Escharum down, the Master Chief and the Weapon succeeded in freeing Esparza from the torture machine. Mortally wounded but not dead yet, Escharum staggered over and demanded that the Spartan continue their battle. However, the Master Chief refused and caught and held the dying Escharum who promised that his death would inspire a thousand others and requested that the Spartan tell them that he had died well. Escharum then died of his wounds in the Master Chief's arms, surprising Esparza with the respect that the Spartan had given to the War Chief as he died since Escharum was a monster. The Master Chief recognized that in the end, Escharum was just a soldier, hoping he'd done the right thing and questioning his choices. While Esparza believed that it was over with the death of the Banished's leader, the Master Chief warned him that it was not that simple and that there would be consequences as there always were.{{Ref/Reuse|House of Reckoning}}

==Aftermath==
With Esparza rescued, the three recovered ''[[Echo 216]]'' and made their way to the [[Silent Auditorium (location)|Silent Auditorium]] in order to stop the [[Harbinger]] from unleashing the [[Xalanyn|Endless]].{{Ref/Level|Hi|[[Silent Auditorium]]}}

Jega 'Rdomnai would survive his duel against the Master Chief due to his internal cybernetics,{{Ref/Novel|EOD|Chapter=6}} and after the Harbinger's demise at the [[Silent Auditorium (location)|Silent Auditorium]] the blademaster would pursue the Spartan to exact his revenge.{{Ref/Site|Id=CFAnthology|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-anthology-assemble|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Anthology Assemble|D=30|M=05|Y=2025}}

Over the next few days, the death of Escharum would throw the Banished into chaos due to the power vacuum created by the Master Chief. The Banished retaliated with mass executions of human [[prisoner of war|POWs]] and some even turned on their own human factions. After being recovered by Esparza on June 3, the Master Chief decided to take advantage of this power vacuum to sow chaos amongst the Banished and turn the tide of the [[Battle for Zeta Halo]] back in favor of the UNSC.{{Ref/Novel|Id=EOD1|EOD|Chapter=1}} On June 4, the senior leadership of the Banished and countless others gathered at the House of Reckoning which was destroyed by the Master Chief and [[Joyeuse]] with an [[Eris tactical nuclear weapon]]. Although some of the Banished may have escaped the blast, most of those gathered were killed in the House of Reckoning's destruction.{{Ref/Novel|Id=EOD7|EOD|Chapter=7}}

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo Infinite]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Whispers from the Pyre]]'' {{Mo}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/List}}

{{Engagements in the Installation 07 conflict}}
[[Category:UNSC victories]]