Honor Guard
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- "We have always been your protectors!"
- — Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee talking to the Prophet of Truth[1]
Honor Guardsman, or simply Honor Guard, was a notable rank of highly-skilled Covenant warriors, who were employed within the Covenant Honor Guard unit. The Honor Guardsmen served to defend the San'Shyuum and other political figures, particularly the Hierarchs.[1][2][3] The role was once exclusively filled by Sangheili before they were replaced by their Jiralhanae rivals.
Overview[edit]
Honor Guardsmen were hand-picked to serve as the elite protectors of the Hierarchs and other high-ranking officials within the High Council and the various ministries; they were among the most skilled of all warriors within the Covenant.[2] Honor Guardsmen were expected to immediately kill anyone who drew a weapon in the presence of a Hierarch,[4] though an Arbiter doing so may cause them to hesitate.[5] In addition, they kept order during important meetings within the High Council. The Sanctum of the Hierarchs on High Charity could accommodate as many as three hundred Honor Guardsmen.[6]
The Honor Guardsman role was once exclusively held by Sangheili warriors. However, after the death of the High Prophet of Regret during the Ninth Age of Reclamation by John-117, the other two Hierarchs, the Prophets of Truth and Mercy, replaced the Sangheili Honor Guardsmen with Jiralhanae ones. While the reason cited was the failure of Regret's Sangheili Honor Guardsmen to defend their charge, this "Changing of the Guard" was in fact a major step in a carefully planned coup that soon developed into the Great Schism. The act was widely protested against by the Sangheili, who were loath to see the role which they had filled for millenia taken over by their rivals.[1]
In the post-war period, the rank of Honor Guardsman was also used by Let 'Volir's mercenaries within the Banished.[7]
In the Covenant[edit]
Sangheili[edit]
- "The Sangheili honor guard was always vigilant and almost inert when at peace. One never had to worry about what a Sangheili might do any more than one worried if the stars would come out at night."
- — The Minister of Discovery remarking on the stoic nature of the Honor Guardsmen[8]
For thousands of years before the events that led to the Great Schism, the Sangheili protected the Hierarchs and the other Prophets according to the strictures of the Writ of Union,[1] in a similar role to Keepwards in Sangheili society.[9] The Sangheili Honor Guardsmen were likely instated soon after the signing of the Writ and the establishment of the Covenant. The Lights of Sanghelios were a revered elite unit among the already elite Honor Guard.[10] Despite the great honor of becoming a Honor Guardsman, because one was expected to encounter little to no combat in the posting, select Sangheili — such as Usze 'Taham[11] — were known to have declined a place in the Honor Guard;[3] additionally, the rank was seen by some Sangheili as a way to silence those who were aware of the Hierarchs' duplicity.[12]
A number of Honor Guardsmen accompanied the Sangheili High Councilors to the surface of Delta Halo, where they were slaughtered by the Jiralhanae led by Melchus at the start of the Great Schism.[13][14] Some other Sangheili Honor Guardsmen killed themselves after learning of the Prophets' treachery,[15] and others decided to assist Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and the UNSC in fighting against the new Covenant leadership led by the Prophet of Truth and Tartarus.[16]
Honor Guardsmen in service to the Covenant Honor Guard wore highly ornate armor, featured a jutting crest and pauldrons, and colored in a combination of red and glowing orange. At the same time, they sometimes wore non-ceremonial armor for the sake of practicality.[3][5][17][18][19] The Lights of Sanghelios wore distinctive armor with white in place of red. Honor Guardsmen used the energy stave, which is considered the weapon of highest honor, for ceremonial purposes; however, they also carry energy swords, Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifles, Vostu-pattern carbines, and Mosa-pattern carbines.[20][21]
A Sangheili Honor Guardsman.
A helmetless Light of Sanghelios.
A Light of Sanghelios with a helmet, generated via the Honor Guard Councilor glitch.
Jiralhanae[edit]
- Rtas 'Vadumee: "This is unprecedented. Unacceptable."
- High Prophet of Truth: "Recommissioning the Guard was a radical step. But recent events have made it abundantly clear that the Elites can no longer guarantee our safety."
- — Conversation between Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee and the High Prophet of Truth during the Changing of the Guard.[1]
Just before the outbreak of the Great Schism, the Jiralhanae were chosen to replace the Sangheili for their stronger loyalty to the Prophets after the assassination of the High Prophet of Regret by John-117.[22][21] The Sangheili were incensed that their role of protecting the San'Shyuum, which they had faithfully executed for millennia, had been delegated to their detested rivals the Jiralhanae.[1]
The newly commissioned Jiralhanae Honor Guardsmen defended the San'Shyuum again