Covenant murals

The Arbiter and the Prophets of Truth and Mercy observing the mural wall.

Another look at the mural wall.

The murals are a series of seven Covenant inscriptions created during the production of Halo 2. They were originally developed for use in the opening cutscene to the level Sacred Icon, in a sequence where the Hierarchs discuss the history and motivations of the Covenant to the Arbiter. According to Joseph Staten they were cut as the sequence was long-winded and "lifted the curtain" too much on the Covenant's motivations, with the final game sequence better-communicating the basic concepts more succinctly.

Although the murals were cut from Halo 2, they and the events they described have been referenced and included numerous times throughout the broader expanded universe, notably being directly featured in an updated form in Halo 5: Guardians.

Overview

"We have this fantastic story arc that we're trying to get across and we have all this back story that we're trying to get across. And there comes a point where we look at the amount of time we have left to finish this game and we realize that we're just crazy and we're not going to be able to do all of this. So we pick our battles with what we can cut out..."

— CJ Cowan

The murals were first showcased in the Cutting Room Floor: Deleted Cinematics documentary included in the Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition DVD. In the documentary, Joseph Staten displays an unfinished cut cinematic of the Covenant murals which depict the seven different types of ages of Covenant history. They are also featured in the Halo 2 storyboards by Lee Wilson, which provide some further context notes for their names and meanings.

The images in the below table are snapshots taken from the aforementioned Cutting Room Floor documentary; note that these images are partial looks at the murals. The full images can be found in the storyboards section below.

Mural	Notes
Stone of Founding (Ages of Abandonment)	"So when you look at the first mural you see it's a representation of the conflict between the Prophets and Elites, and this one shows the Elites function in the Covenant, which is as the enforcers." — Joseph Staten This mural depicts the War of Beginnings; the ancient war between the Elites and Prophets that ended with the founding of the Covenant. On the left, the Elite is depicted fighting with a simple spear, representing their comparative technological disadvantage in the war. The right depicts the Elites kneeling before the Prophets before a large Forerunner structure resembling a beam emitter tower; in actuality, this structure is an early design of the keyship Anodyne Spirit (see here for more information).
Stone of Mission (Ages of Conflict)	The second mural depicts the Taming of the Lekgolo, as enacted by the Arbiter Jeht 'Lcmutee. While the mural was cut, the event itself is still referenced by the Prophet of Mercy in the final game, and has since been more broadly depicted in various expanded media sources.
Stone of Union (Ages of Reconciliation)	The third mural depicts the species of the Covenant bowing beneath the Prophets, who have the Elites as their enforcers and guards. The species depicted include the Sharquoi (a cut species), Jackals, Grunts, Brutes, Drones, and Hunters.
Stone of Inquiry (Ages of Discovery)	The fourth mural depicts the Elites and Prophets working together to discover new technologies and research that which was left to them by the Forerunners. The early keyship is once again depicted, and below it an energy sword. The Prophets and Elites are both reaching for the energy sword in equal measure; after this point the Elites discard their old spears and are depicted holding energy swords, symbolising how the Covenant have adapted and salvaged the Forerunners' creations for themselves.
Stone of Wonder (Ages of Conversion)	The fifth mural appears to show the location of the seven ringworlds of the Halo Array scattered throughout the galaxy. The corners depict the headdress of the Hierarchs alongside a symbol of an "eye", which is seemingly used in the following murals to represent the Great Journey in Covenant religious tradition. This eye symbol is also found on the texture for the Prophet councilors in the final game, alongside the robes of the Prophet of Truth in Halo 3 and the Sacristan warriors in Halo: Campaign Evolved.
Stone of Enlightenment (Ages of Doubt)	The sixth mural depicts six Forerunner symbols (seemingly representing the species of the Covenant) below the eye symbol from the previous mural, now inside a ring. The ring presumably symbolises the Halos, and the lines radiating out symbolising the Covenant's quest to find and activate the rings, following in the Forerunners' footsteps on the Great Journey.
Stone of Journey (Ages of Reclamation)	The last mural shows the Elites and Prophets embarking on the Great Journey. Note the glyph of the eye and the glowing (activated) Halo ring similar to the one on the mural seen above, and the stylized energy sword held by the Sangheili.

Storyboards

Main article: Halo 2 storyboards § Sacred Icon

The mural scene is depicted in more detail in Lee Wilson's storyboards.

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Legacy

Although cut from Halo 2, the storyboards have since gone on to be referenced and included in various other media, with the story they tell of the Covenant's history being adapted in Halo: Contact Harvest and other works since. The eye symbol for the Great Journey is featured in the final game on the robes for the Prophet councilors, as well as early revisions of the Prophet of Truth's model. The final game Truth model does not include the symbol, though it was included on his robes in Halo 3.

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  An early revision of the Prophet of Truth's model, with the symbol on his robes.

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  The Great Journey symbol from the murals can be seen in yellow on the councilor robes.

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  The symbol on the Prophet of Truth's arm in Halo 3.

In the Halo novels the murals have been referenced numerous times including 2014's Halo: Broken Circle. In Halo: Envoy (a book which notably brought the return of the cut Sharquoi into canon) an Elite shipmaster seeking asylum provided useful intel to the UNSC and replicated the murals for them in hand-drawn sketches.

The murals were featured in Halo 5: Guardians as Elite inscriptions within the temples of the Elder Council Chambers of Nuusra, on the levels Swords of Sanghelios and Enemy Lines. The murals are mostly faithful to the original Halo 2 drawings, though have been visually updated to be more detailed and use designs consistent with the final releases (such as the keyship using the final design from Halo 2 and Halo 3). Some new murals are also featured, with similar stylisation. The murals are also featured in full in The Art of Halo 5: Guardians.

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  The updated eye icon in Halo 5: Guardians.

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  A mural depicting the War of Beginnings.

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  A mural found in Sangheili ruins.

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  A mural found in Sangheili ruins.

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  A mural found in Sangheili ruins.

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  A mural found in Sangheili ruins.

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  A mural found in Sangheili ruins.

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  A mural found in Sangheili ruins.

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  A mural found in Sangheili ruins.

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  A mural found in Sangheili ruins.

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  A mural found in Sangheili ruins.

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  A mural found in Sangheili burial ruins.

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  The Halo 5-updated Great Journey symbol can be seen on the helmet of the Sacristan Elites in Halo: Campaign Evolved.

Gallery

Halo 2

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  The Prophet of Truth looking at the Stone of Founding in the early Sacred Icon animatic.