Editing Desecration of Ulgethon

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Battle infobox
|prev=*[[War of Wills]]
*[[Clan Battles of Sanghelios]]
|conc=
|next=[[Raid at Codisfold]]
|image=[[File:HM WarOfBeginnings.jpg|300px]]
|conflict=[[War of Beginnings]]
|date= [[938 BCE]] - [[937 BCE]] ([[Ages of Conflict|First Age of Conflict]]){{Ref/Book|Id=Mythos|[[Halo Mythos]]|Page=39}}
|place= [[Ulgethon]]
|result=;San'Shyuum victory
*Razing of Ulgethon{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}
*Eradication of Ulgethon's population{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}
*Start of the [[War of Beginnings]]{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}
|side1=[[San'Shyuum]] [[Reformists]]
|side2=[[Council of City States|Sangheili]]
|commanders1=
|commanders2=[[Vema 'Togad]]{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22P244|Enc22|Page=244}}
|forces1=*''[[Anodyne Spirit]]''{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}
|forces2=*Sangheili blockade [[fleet]]{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}
*Unidentified weapon emplacements{{Ref/Reuse|Myth40}}
*Numerous [[Banshee]]-like aircraft{{Ref/Reuse|Myth40}}
*Numerous Sangheili infantry{{Ref/Reuse|Myth40}}
|casual1=*San'Shyuum emissaries{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}
|casual2=*Numerous [[warship]]s{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}
*The entire population of Ulgethon{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}
}}

The '''Desecration of Ulgethon''' was a year long violent conflict between the [[San'Shyuum]] [[Reformists]] and the [[Sangheili]] on the rocky world of [[Ulgethon]]. It marked the start of the [[War of Beginnings]].{{Ref/Reuse|Mythos}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}

==Background==
[[File:H2A Terminals - Ancient Arbiter 4.jpg|250px|thumb|left|The ''Anodyne Spirit'' landed on Ulgethon.]]
In [[938 BCE]], the [[San'Shyuum]] [[Reformists]] discovered [[Ulgethon]], a desolate [[planet]] that they believed to be entirely uninhabited. After making landfall with the ''[[Anodyne Spirit]]'', a pioneer detachment was sent out to investigate a nearby repository of [[Forerunner]] relics. Arriving at the site, the San'Shyuum discovered the [[Sangheili]]—a sapient species they have never encountered previously—living among the Forerunner structures. While their initial meeting was amenable if tense, the Sangheili would soon discover the San'Shyuum's intentions with the holy relics. The Sangheili worshipped the Forerunners much like the San'Shyuum, but their stance on the manipulation of their gods' artifacts more closely resembled those of the San'Shyuum [[Stoics]], considering it blasphemy to disturb them.{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22P191|Enc22|Page=191}}

==Conflict==
[[File:H2A Terminals - Executed san'shyuum.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The severed heads of the San'Shyuum delegation.]]
When the San'Shyuum emissaries revealed their plan to excavate the Forerunner relics,{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}} [[Arbiter]] [[Vema 'Togad]] slaughtered and beheaded the delegation, sending their remains back to the Dreadnought atop a skiff.{{Ref/Generic|Id=Term6|[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]|[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminal 6]]}} Horrified by the display of violence, the San'Shyuum immediately took the Dreadnought into the skies above Ulgethon,{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}{{Ref/Reuse|Term6}} only to be intercepted by a fleet of Sangheili ships. The fleet engaged the [[keyship]], but it proved to be effectively impervious to their weapons, resulting in the defeat of the Sangheili vessels.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}} During their first battle on the ground, the Sangheili courageously faced off against the San'Shyuum's powerful Dreadnought from warrens and ridges across Ulgethon, using the most formidable weapons of war they could then fashion.{{Ref/Book|Id=Myth40|Halo Mythos|Page=40}} 

Ultimately, the San'Shyuum would use their Dreadnought to raze Ulgethon and eradicate its population.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}} The conflict on the planet lasted an entire year and left the planet a charred husk filled with fallen warriors and shattered ships.{{Ref/Reuse|Mythos}}

==Aftermath==
The Desecration of Ulgethon marked the beginning of [[War of Beginnings|a decades-long war]] between the two species,{{Ref/Reuse|Mythos}} with the conflict spreading across many other Sangheili [[Sangheili colonies|colonies]] and culminating in the [[Urs system]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P191}}

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'' {{Fm}}
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo]]''

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

{{War of Beginnings}}