Prophet of Inner Conviction
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| Prophet of Inner Conviction | |
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Male |
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226.1 centimetres (7 ft 5 in)[1] |
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81.2 kilograms (179 lbs)[1] |
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High Lord Mken 'Scre'ah'ben, the Prophet of Inner Conviction, was a high-caste San'Shyuum politician who lived during the San'Shyuum-Sangheili War and in the founding years of the Covenant.
Mken 'Scre'ah'ben served as the Minister of the Ministry of Relic Safety in the Covenant High Council. Throughout his career he led the Mission to Janjur Qom and oversaw the Rending to deal with Sangheili rebels who opposed the Writ of Union, all the while being confronted with much internal political opposition within the Covenant. As a High Lord, a founding member of the Covenant High Council, and a friend of a former Hierarch, Mken 'Scre'ah'ben proved to be a very powerful figure in the face of adversity.
Biography[edit]
Early career[edit]
Mken was born on the Forerunner Dreadnought occupied by the Reformists. Early on, Mken 'Scre'ah'ben dreamed of a career as a relic historian and spent a significant amount of time studying Forerunner designs and holographic imagery of the San'Shyuum homeworld Janjur Qom.[2] He attained the title of the Prophet of Inner Conviction because he was known for holding sermons emphasizing intrinsic purity.[3] At some point, the High Prophet of Excellent Redolence and R'Noh Custo had planned to kidnap females from Janjur Qom to help prevent inbreeding on the Dreadnought. However, Mken informed the other two Hierarchs and Excellent Redolence was overruled. Excellent Redolence and R'Noh Custo pretended to shrug off the matter,[4] but both conspired against him.[5] Mken was once unfairly placed on the Roll of Celibates, but he managed to remove himself from it by speaking to the San'Shyuum that headed the Roll.[4]
During the San'Shyuum-Sangheili War, High Lord Mken 'Scre'ah'ben was present on Anvarl overseeing a battle against the Sangheili based there in 860 BCE. Mken and his military advisor, a Steward, personally descended on the planet's surface in a drop pod; the High Lord had insisted that they land on the planet's "purple line", a narrow band where the light of the blue and red stars that illuminated the world mixed. Mken consulted one of the Eyes—San'Shyuum battlefield intelligence drones—to observe Sangheili movements in the area. As he was organizing a counterattack against the Sangheili forces using Sentinels appropriated by the San'Shyuum, Sangheili assassins struck against the two San'Shyuum from an underground tunnel. The Steward was killed while 'Scre'ah'ben was able to retreat into his pod and to orbit where he ordered the Forerunner Dreadnought to fire upon the Sangheili forces on the ground, quelling them for the time being. Mken saw potential in Ussa 'Xellus, the innovative commander of the Sangheili troops in the region, and hoped he might be able to convince 'Xellus to act as a liaison for peace between the San'Shyuum and the Sangheili.[2]
The Covenant[edit]
After the signing of the Writ of Union, the Prophet of Inner Conviction—now Minister of Relic Safety—met with Qurlom, the Minister of Relative Reconciliation, and GuJo'n, the Minister of Kindly Subjection, about a dissident movement among the Sangheili lead by Ussa 'Xellus in 851 BCE. The three Ministers then received a Sangheili treaty commission within the Forerunner Dreadnought, now already resting in High Charity, the latter still under construction. The Sangheili commissioners assured the San'Shyuum that Ussa and his followers would be wiped out, but Inner Conviction noted that it could simply make them martyrs.[3] In 850 BCE, the group reconvened to discuss the death of the Covenant's spy that was hiding among Ussa's group. One of the two commissioners, Commander Viyo 'Griot, confirmed that Ussa and his allies had fled their outpost on Sanghelios and fled to an unknown world. After the meeting, he returned to his residence in the Compartments of Comfort with Qurlom. Qurlom informed him that the Hierarchs of the Covenant established a new Ministry—the Ministry of Anticipatory Security—and its Minister was R'Noh Custo. Inner Conviction believed that the new Ministry was created by the High Prophet of Excellent Redolence as a way to remove any personal or political threats from High Charity. Mken discovered that his spouse, Cresanda, was in a fertile cycle and, despite worries of Mken's former position on the Roll of Celibates, Mken succeeded in impregnating Cresanda.[4]
Days later, he was contacted by R'Noh Custo, the new Minister of Anticipatory Security. Custo told the Prophet of Inner Conviction that he was aware of Cresanda's pregnancy and threatened that his new ministerial role gave him the power to put Mken back on the Roll of Celibates. However, Custo offered 'Scre'ah'ben an opportunity to prevent Custo from doing so. The Minister of Anticipatory Security and the Prophet of Excellent Redolence wanted Mken to lead a team to Janjur Qom to obtain a Forerunner Luminary and a group of voluntary female Stoic San'Shyuum to return to High Charity for breeding purposes. Custo told him that in the grotto of the Great Transition on the planet, the Purifying Vision of the Holy Path would be found with the Luminary. Custo claimed that he chose Mken for the mission because of his knowledge of Janjur Qom and his past military experience.[5] However, Mken was not willing to go on the mission and scheduled a meeting with the rest of the Hierarchs, hoping that the other two would persuade the High Prophet of Excellent Redolence against the mission. However, only the Prophet of Inner Conviction, Excellent Redolence, and the Minister of Anticipatory Security were present. Annoyed, Mken requested to speak with all three Hierarchs to explain why another San'Shyuum would be more fitted for the mission. However, Excellent Redolence insisted for Mken to lead the mission and threatened him with execution if he continued to resist. Realizing that he was violating several protocols, Excellent Redolence instead ordered the Prophet of Inner Conviction to either lead the mission or else face an "unbiased" trial that would likely place him back on the Roll of Celibates. Mken reluctantly accepted to lead the mission.[6]
Mission to Janjur Qom[edit]
- Main article: Mission to Janjur Qom
The Prophet of Inner Conviction went aboard Vengeful Vitality, a stealth corvette, to begin the mission. Other members of Mken's mission included the San'Shyuum Captain Vervum L'kosur and Mleer, the Sangheili Trok 'Tanghil, Ranger Vil 'Kthamee, Ziln 'Klel, and Loquen 'Nvong, and the Huragok Floats Near Ceiling.[7] Upon arriving at Janjur Qom, Mken had Vervum monitor transmissions on the planet to study their technology and language. Shortly after, Mken led several members of the corvette's crew in a dropship to the surface of Janjur Qom in the Reskolah region.[8] The dropship landed outside the grotto of the Great Transition and Trok 'Tanghil was left to guard the dropship while Mken led the others towards the grotto.[9] After traversing through a dense jungle on the planet, the group came across the grotto and a seemingly dead end. Floats Near Ceiling approached the wall and inserted one of its finest cilia into it and eventually opened a hidden doorway. Inside the hidden room, the Huragok activated a device and a hologram played that showed the Halo Array.[10]
However, a group of Stoic warriors had discovered the group's position and waited for them outside the grotto. Mken had Floats Near Ceiling activate another device that presented the Luminary. The Prophet of I