Editing Maethrillian

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Megastructure infobox
|name=Maethrillian
|image=[[File:FoM.jpg|300px]]
|description=A series of spiraling, circular platforms arranged around a central rod
|location=
|anchor=
|type=
|function=Administrative capital of the ecumene
|caretaker=[[Metarchy|Capital metarchy]]
|constructed=c. [[122,990 BCE]]
|destroyed=
|diameter={{Convert|100000|km|mi|sp=us}} (approx.)
|surface width=
|gravity=
|surface temperature=
|atmosphere=
}}
'''Maethrillian''',<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/species/forerunners '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Forerunners'']</ref> commonly known as the '''Capital''',<!--"Capital" is written in lower case throughout Halo: Cryptum, but Halo: Silentium renders it as a proper noun. This article follows the standard set by the more recent source.--> was the political center of the [[Forerunner]] [[ecumene]]. It housed the [[Ecumene Council]], the main governing body of the ecumene, as well as the [[Capital Court]]. It was a massive structure, greatly exceeding the scale of even the [[Halo Array|Halo installations]].<ref name="description">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 280-281''</ref>{{Ref/Site|Id=CryptumGlossary|URL=http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/related/text/cryptum-glossary/62e29c59-a3f9-4b63-af76-def71fda5459|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Cryptum Glossary|D=14|M=03|Y=2014|LocalArchive=Halo: Cryptum/Glossary}}

==History==
Maethrillian was one of the oldest structures in the [[ecumene]], having been constructed roughly around [[122,990 BCE]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 296''</ref> Unknown to most Forerunners in later times, the Capital was constructed around the physical component of the [[Precursor]] construct known as [[Abaddon]], discovered by early Forerunners on a distant world. A powerful intelligence closely linked with the [[Domain]], Abaddon was believed to have taught ancient Forerunners to access the Domain, which would later become a keystone of their civilization. As the construction of the Capital progressed, Abaddon was contained within a chamber of relics known as the [[Mysterium]] and held secret from most of the ecumene apart from senior members of the [[Ecumene Council]]; however, scattered reports of its existence gave rise to the legend of "the Organon", a Precursor artifact that controlled all others.<ref name="ptk">'''[[Halo: Fractures]]''', "[[Promises to Keep]]"</ref>

Despite its immense size, the Capital itself had a comparatively small population of several hundred thousand Forerunners, mostly high-ranking [[Builder]]s. Trillions of [[ancilla]]s served in the capital in the [[Metarchy|Capital metarchy]], an enormous network coordinated by a [[Metarch-class ancilla|metarch-class]] ancilla that answered to the [[First Councilor]].{{Ref/Reuse|description}} It was one of the most trafficked locations in the ecumene, with constant security patrols, [[sentinel]]s, and transports swarming around it.{{Ref/Reuse|description}} Within five thousand kilometers of the structure, incoming vessels would be carefully screened by sensory fields and directed by [[hard light]] docking nets.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 283''</ref> The Capital's system housed multiple [[slipspace portal]]s that linked to many worlds, as well as [[Installation 00|the Ark]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 312''</ref>

[[File:HTMCC-H4 Terminals MaethrillianSkyline.png|left|thumb|300px|The exterior street view of one of the Capital's many platforms, the ecumene's political center.]]
During the [[Forerunner-Flood war]], Maethrillian became the site of an [[Fate of Maethrillian|enormous battle]] as [[Mendicant Bias]], having been persuaded into [[rampancy]] by the [[Primordial]], attempted to deliver a crippling blow to the Forerunner leadership. Even though the Forerunners responded with heavy force, Mendicant Bias was successful in firing [[Installation 07]] in the system, sterilizing the Capital and eliminating most of the Ecumene Council.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 272''</ref> Although the Council would be reconstituted shortly afterward as the "New Council"<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 373-374''</ref> from survivors found deep within Maethrillian,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 18''</ref> they would not return to the former capital.{{Ref/Reuse|ptk}} With the Flood having overrun the Capital system, strategic command of the ecumene was moved to the [[greater Ark]].<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 25''</ref>

Over a century after the [[Great Purification|Halos' firing]], a group of surviving Forerunners led by the [[IsoDidact]] returned to Maethrillian to restore the Domain, which had been rendered inactive by the Halo Array. While attempting to access the Mysterium, the Forerunners were confronted by a manifestation of Abaddon. Embittered and corrupted by the damage wrought upon it by the Halos, the Precursor intelligence intended to judge the Forerunners for their sins. However, the Forerunners managed to enter the Mysterium and discovered Abaddon's physical location. Inserting a [[deadbolt]] key into the artifact, [[Growth-Through-Trial-of-Change]] successfully restored the Domain, simultaneously causing Abaddon to vanish while sacrificing herself. Their mission a success, the surviving Forerunners returned to [[Installation 00]] and left the galaxy shortly afterward.{{Ref/Reuse|ptk}}

Long after the Forerunner-Flood war, the [[Covenant]] learned about the existence of Maethrillian, revered as the fabled throne of their gods. In [[2552]], after [[Battle of Beta Eridani|an engagement]] with the [[UNSC]], [[Supreme Commander]] [[Rho 'Barutamee]] found Forerunner artifacts that led him to believe he was close to finding Maethrillian. Ultimately, he arrived at [[Reach]], which he [[Fall of Reach|attacked]] with restraint, preferring to localize important Forerunner artifacts first. However, he never accomplished his secret objective, as his plan was foiled by [[NOBLE Team]], and the rest of the Covenant did not pursue his goal.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/rho-barutamee '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Rho 'Barutamee'']</ref>

==Description==
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[[File:HTMCC-H4 Terminals EcumeneCouncil.png|thumb|270px|A Council meeting in progress at the Capital]]
Maethrillian was composed of a series of perfectly circular "platforms" arranged in a spiral along a central rod. These platforms decreased in size toward either end of the rod, with the widest central one being approximately 100,000 kilometers in diameter. Each platform was covered with a "city" of structures and buildings,{{Ref/Reuse|description}} whose gravity was controlled individually by [[buffer field]]s.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 304''</ref>

The Capital was home to the Council amphitheater, where the [[Ecumene Council]] engaged in debate on important matters. The amphitheater was suspended in midair, attached to the rest of the capital by [[Bridge (structure)|bridges]], [[anti-gravity gondola]]s, and [[Elevator|lift]] tubes for individual [[Councilor (Forerunner)|Councilors]]. During Council proceedings, the amphitheater would be decorated with display spheres showing representations of the twelve original systems inhabited by early Forerunners, each carrying an epistle of the [[Mantle]]. Near the Council amphitheater, there was a hallway with its walls decorated with countless spent [[slipspace flake]]s, some of which had also been built into sculptures.<ref name="c293">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 293''</ref>

===The Crown===
The Crown was the top platform of Maethrillian and was presumably used primarily for storage. During the attack on the Capital, the Crown was cracked in two.{{Ref/Reuse|ptk}}

===Defenses===
In the event of a large-scale attack, the capital could rotate its sections to assume a spherical shape, thus protecting the structures atop each platform from damage. It also possessed powerful [[Energy shielding|energy shields]] and a large defensive fleet. If the capital metarchy coordinating the fleet was compromised, the fleet would splinter into individual squadrons, each having specific instructions on how to deal with an attack.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 311''</ref>

==Trivia==
The Capital is similar in design and function to the [[Masseffect:Citadel|Citadel]] from the ''[[Wikipedia: Mass Effect (series)|Mass Effect]]'' series. Both are large-scale artificial stations featuring inhabited cities, both serve as a center of galactic politics, and both are able to change their structure, closing themselves in the event of siege. However, the Citadel is only around forty-five kilometers long and thirteen kilometers in diameter, as opposed to the scale of the Capital, which is closer to that of a gas giant.

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Cryptum]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 4]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo 4)|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Fleet Battles]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo: Fractures]]''
**''[[Promises to Keep]]''
*''[[Halo: Epitaph]]''

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

{{Forerunner|array}}
[[Category:Forerunner worlds]]