Faber-of-Will-and-Might
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Faber-of-Will-and-Might | |
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| Biographical information | |
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Homeworld: |
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Born: |
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Died: |
c. 97,445 BCE |
| Personal details | |
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Species: |
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Gender: |
Male |
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Height: |
358.4 centimetres (11 ft 9 in)[1] |
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Weight: |
379.2 kilograms (836.1 lbs)[1] |
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Hair color: |
White |
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Eye color: |
Black |
| Political and military information | |
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Affiliation: |
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Rank: |
formerly Master Builder (R: Builder) |
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Notable info: |
Commissioned the Halo Array |
- "The Flood cover more of our galaxy with each passing day. They feast on the essence of life itself. The only way to stop their advance is to remove that life upon which they feast."
- — Faber discussing the necessity of the Halo Array with the Librarian.[3]
Faber-of-Will-and-Might (often shortened to Faber),[2] most commonly known by his title as the Master Builder, was an immensely powerful but exceedingly corrupt Forerunner Builder.[4] A ruthless and cunning figure, he commissioned the construction of the Halo Array and was the Ur-Didact's political arch-enemy for many millennia due to the latter's adamant opposition to the Halos. This conflict eventually culminated in Faber's takeover of the Old Council and the Didact's exile.
Biography[edit]
Human-Forerunner wars[edit]
While he would later be known as the Didact's greatest opponent among the Forerunners, Faber was once the Didact's ally and even friend. When humanity first began attacking Forerunner worlds and vessels, Faber (already the Master Builder) attended a meeting of the Ecumene Council to determine the proper course of action. The Didact proposed a policy of neutralization rather than extermination, intending to defeat the enemy and exile them back to their homeworld, in accordance with the tenets of the Mantle. Faber conceded that the Didact made "a fair, if uncomfortable, point", and gave the Didact his support.[5] At one point, he co-created the Contender-class artificial intelligence Mendicant Bias alongside the Didact. Faber also authorized the seed pattern for the Didact's Promethean command warship Mantle's Approach—without the Council's approval.[6]
The Halo Array[edit]
Following the end of the Plague War, Faber commissioned the creation of the Halos, an array of weapons capable of purging all sentient life from a star system and, if the situation became dire, the entire galaxy. The purpose of this project was two-fold: to be used as a defensive measure against the Flood were they ever to return to the galaxy, and to secure the pre-eminence of the Builder rate. Despite opposition from the Didact and the Prometheans, who managed to delay the construction of the Halos for thousands of years, the Ecumene Council eventually agreed to Faber's proposal, causing the Didact to go into exile.[7] Under Faber's orders, Wise-Hands-to-Forge designed the Halo Array, and 12 of the weapons were built by his guild.[8] At some point between Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting's departure for Edom and his return three years later, Faber sponsored Wise-Hands-to-Forge - Bornstellar's father - for a mutation, resulting in him bearing a distinctive and disturbing resemblance to Faber.[9] Bornstellar came to believe that this suggested that Faber was grooming and tutoring his father for great advancement.[10]
However, the Librarian and the Lifeworker rate strongly opposed the construction of the Halos, viewing them as contrary to the principles of the Mantle. With the Lifeworkers threatening to go on strike if the weapons were constructed, the Council agreed to the Librarian's demands to provide a workable plan to save sentient life in the galaxy in the event the rings were ever fired. This plan, known as the Conservation Measure, involved giving the Lifeworkers biological preserves for specimens of numerous species on several of the Master Builder's installations, including the Halos and their construction foundries, known as the Arks.[7] After the onset of the Forerunner-Flood war, Faber authorized the use of the Lifeworkers' biological specimens on the Halo installations for experimentation on the Flood in hopes of finding a cure to the parasite.[11] Of particular interest to his researchers were humans, primarily housed on Installation 07, many of whom seemed to exhibit an immunity to the parasite - unaware that this was due to an ongoing strategy on the Flood's part. He authorized that more humans with ancestral personality imprints provided by the Librarian be brought on the installation from Earth, against the instructions of the Council and the Lifeshaper.[12]
Circa 97,495 BCE Faber, with the Council's authority, tasked Mendicant Bias with conducting the first test of a Halo installation near Charum Hakkor. Installation 07, fired on a system-wide power setting, released an ancient being known as the Primordial; the entity was taken on the installation by Faber's orders afterward. As he did not trust the Lifeworker scientists who at first studied the creature, Faber soon assigned Mendicant Bias to interrogate it. Faber had the Halo moved again to prepare for what he believed would be his crowning triumph - when he would reveal his solution to the Flood.[12] Over the course of the extended conversation, the Primordial managed to encourage the Master Builder to continue the experiments on humans, and eventually convinced Mendicant Bias to turn to rampancy and defect to the Flood.[13] As a result, the Primordial, the Halo and Mendicant Bias vanished, leaving Faber desperate to find them. The San'Shyuum became aware that Faber had lost something "so tremendous and important that surely it cannot be hidden."[14]
Crisis[edit]
43 years after Installation 07's test-firing, Faber arrived at Janjur Qom<