Halo universe

For other uses of the word "Halo", see Halo (disambiguation).

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Halo's 25-year anniversary artwork.

Halo's 20-year anniversary artwork.

"Halo is an epic journey to save humanity from a terrible menace."

— Chris Carney on Halo 3 Legendary Edition: 7 Steps To World Domination

The Halo universe is the sprawling fictional universe in which all mainline Halo media takes place. In the 26th century, humankind has colonized hundreds of worlds in Earth's interstellar neighborhood, only to stumble upon a hostile alliance of aliens known as the Covenant. Motivated by the Prophets' promises of ascension to godhood in the form of the eponymous Halos, a series of ring-shaped superweapons built by the ancient race of the Forerunners, the Covenant are bent on humanity's destruction. With the apocalyptic Human-Covenant War concluded, members of both sides are faced with an uncertain future in a politically complex environment of numerous different factions and affiliations, while ancient Forerunner entities and technologies continue to involve themselves with the galaxy's affairs.

It is this universe where the Halo video game series: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 4, Halo: Spartan Assault, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo: Spartan Strike, Halo 5: Guardians, Halo Wars 2, and Halo Infinite take place. In addition to the games, a number of Halo novels and other media including audio dramas, comic books, tabletop games, films and an anime collection have been released. The media beyond the game series expands into the Halo universe timeline before and after the events of the games, as well as running concurrently with the games' timeline.

Primary factions

In the Halo universe, there are many factions, political groups, races, planets, and species. The main factions are as follows:

United Nations Space Command

Main article: United Nations Space Command

The emblem of the UNSC.

In the 26th century, most of humanity is ruled by the Unified Earth Government (UEG). As most of the material from the Halo universe is from the ongoing war we see the future mainly through the eyes of the UEG's military arm, the United Nations Space Command (UNSC). During the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3, the UNSC fought the Covenant over Earth in a last-ditch attempt to protect the human race. The events of Halo: Reach are fought defending the planet Reach, the UNSC's former military headquarters.

The UNSC was formed by the United Nations when overpopulation on Earth and conflict in the Sol System started becoming a severe problem in the early 22nd century. In the wake of the Interplanetary War in the 2160s, the UNSC became the military and space exploratory arm of the newly-established Unified Earth Government. After the emergence of the Covenant threat, the UNSC was given power over the UEG and its colonial governing agency, Colonial Administration Authority, although the civilian government was formally returned its power after the war.

Run by HIGHCOM, the UNSC is Earth's premiere defense against external threats. The UNSC Navy houses the divisions of Marines (including the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers), the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), and the fleet. The United Nations Space Command armed forces includes the UNSC Army, the UNSC Air Force, and Spartan Operations, along with the Navy and Marines. Originally designed to keep the peace between neighboring planets and star systems, when certain rebellious factions began to present a problem in the late 2490s, the UNSC was forced to police its colonies to keep privateers and pirates from raiding them.

There are several breakaway factions opposed to UNSC and the Colonial Administration Authority as well, collectively known as Insurrectionists.

Swords of Sanghelios

Main article: Swords of Sanghelios

The Swords of Sanghelios' symbol.

The Swords of Sanghelios is a splinter faction of the Covenant formed by the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum, based upon an ancient Sangheili order. Formed from the initial alliance out of desperation with their former human enemies, the UNSC, they played a key role in ensuring the salvation of the galaxy and start a new era of relative peace alongside the UNSC.

Facing civil war after the end of the Human-Covenant War, the Swords became a major faction within the galaxy's political and military state. Alongside the UNSC they shared the Joint Occupation Zones, research and monitoring stations on the Halo rings as well as MJOLNIR armor. Much of the Swords' trouble came from the Servants of the Abiding Truth and Jul 'Mdama's emerging Covenant faction, both directly and indirectly caused by the Office of Naval Intelligence which sought the destabilization of the Sangheili race.

Ruled by a large council of kaidons, the Swords of Sanghelios attempt to bring peace and unity to Sanghelios, the Elite homeworld, as well as returning the old values and traditions of Sangheili past. With their UNSC allies, they are succeeding in creating a new era of peace.