The Codex

This article contains information about a fan-made subject that is not considered a part of the official Halo universe.

The Codex
Created by:	Alexander Winn, Ryan Luther
Release(s):	February 9, 2005 - August 13, 2005
Number of episodes:	21

The Codex is a 21-episode online machinima series made by Edgeworks Entertainment and set in the Halo video game universe. Along with its prequel, The Heretic, The Codex is part of the greater Codex Series. Written and directed by Alexander Winn and produced by Alexander Winn and Ryan Luther, the series relates the story of a Covenant invasion of a Human world in order to recover a Forerunner artifact, and the ensuing Human resistance of that invasion.

Since its initial release on February 9, 2005, The Codex has earned a large international fan base. In his September 29, 2005 Long Tail blog entry, Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired magazine, described The Codex as the best machinima production that he had ever seen and an excellent example of his Long Tail theory. The series won in six categories in the 2005 Rockets on Prisoner Awards, which are intended to recognize exemplary Halo machinima productions.

On August 13, 2005, the 20th episode of The Codex was released, bringing the series to a conclusion. The production team set the episode limit at 20 because they wanted to end the series before leaving for college. However, the team was also careful to leave a cliffhanger ending, so if they wanted to continue the series, they would have that option. On February 9, 2006, it was announced that a prequel to The Codex, entitled The Heretic, was in the planning stages and was to debut in the upcoming summer. The trailers were released in the order of "The Heretic Trailer" "The Drama Trailer" and "The Action Trailer". The Action Trailer also set the date for the first episode of The Heretic which was February 9, 2007.

Episodes

The Announcement Trailer

• The Codex announcement trailer
• Release: February 9, 2005 Length: 3m 7s Resolution: 320 x 216

Episode Summary

The first movie released by the Codex Crew, this trailer was designed to build anticipation for the release of Episode 1, scheduled for February 9th 2005. After being announced on halo.bungie.org, so many people attempted to access the trailer that we used up our monthly quota of bandwidth in three and a half hours, and our server crashed. We got the site back up and running the next day, and the trailer remained one of our most popular videos ever since.

Episode 1: The Gathering Storm

• Episode One
• Release: February 9, 2005 Length: 4m 26s Resolution: 320 x 216

Episode Summary

The Praetor, a high-ranking Covenant general, is brought before the Council to be interrogated after he rushed in to investigate a signal he believed was coming from the ancient Forerunner structure known as The Codex. His failure to alert the proper religious authorities made him the subject of great suspicion, but he is able to prove himself innocent of malicious intent. Due to his legendary skill, he is given command of the invasion of the planet Ariaos II and the capture of The Codex. Meanwhile, the Spartans detect the Covenant invasion force en route, and begin to make preparations for the defense of the planet.

Episode 2: First Strike

• Episode Two
• Release: February 16, 2005 Length: 4m 31s Resolution: 320 x 216

Episode Summary

The Praetor, from the flagship of the Covenant fleet orbiting the planet, orders the invasion to begin. The plan calls for a Special Operations team to secure the cave in which the Codex is located, and then for a full invasion of the planet once the Codex is declared safe. Meanwhile, on the surface, Green Team is guarding the cave housing the alien structure when they are ambushed by the spec ops Elites. After a quick but bloody struggle, Green 2 is ordered to flee from the cave to get re-enforcements. He protests, wishing to stay with his team, but is forced to follow orders. He makes his way out of the cave, fights through a nearby city, captures a Covenant Banshee, and heads back to Delta Base.

Episode 3: Aftermath

• Episode Three
• Release: February 23, 2005 Length: 6m 33s Resolution: 320 x 216

Episode Summary

The Praetor moves his command headquarters into the Olympia cave system. Soon after settling in, he is alerted to the presence of a very high-ranking Covenant religious official: the Cleric. A member of the religious elite, the Cleric proves himself to be a magnanimous and complimentary person, until his authority is questioned. When the Praetor introduces the Cleric to the Special Operations Commander, Anda Sofadee, the Cleric directly insults her competence based on that fact that she is a female. This eruption of anger on the part of the Cleric almost leads to a brawl between the Cleric and the spec ops Commander, but the Praetor separates them. When the spec ops Commander is dismissed, though, the Cleric turns his wrath against the Praetor and tells him in no uncertain terms that the Cleric will be watching his every move. After a cold but wrathful quarrel, the two separate and the Cleric orders the Seraphim, his personal guard, to keep an eye on the Praetor. The stage is set for a power struggle within the Covenant hierarchy.

Episode 4: Regrouping

• Episode Four
• Release: March 2, 2005 Length: 5m 28s Resolution: 320 x 216

Episode Summary

Back at Delta Base, the Chief and Red Team prepare to join the fight against the Covenant. Green 2 makes his way back to the base in the captured Banshee, but not before almost being shot out of the sky by Blue Team. As everyone arrives at the base, Jack comes out to meet Candy, and they have a less than warm exchange. Before they can really lay into each other, though, they are called into the Briefing Room to talk to Lykurgus and the Chief. The four of them discuss their options, and decide to attempt encoding a message into the energy bursts sent out by the Codex in an effort to contact Earth. Blue Team is given the mission, while Red Team is ordered to hang back and help plan future strategy against the Covenant.

Episode 5: Shadows in the Dark

• Episode Five
• release: March 9, 2005 Length: 5m 23s Resolution: 320 x 216

Episode Summary

The Praetor learns of Green 2's position, and thus the location of Delta Base, by tracking the captured Banshee. He orders an expedition be sent under Erda Renadee, the Battlefield Commander, to destroy the Spartan base. Meanwhile, Blue Team arrives at the dish at the top of the Codex, with a mission to encode a signal into the bursts sent out by the structure. Although they sense that something is wrong, they cannot find any Elites in the entire complex. The Elites are cloaked, setting up a checkmate move with which they can eliminate all of the Spartans at once, and thus minimize the casualties. Finally, though, Blues 1 and 2 manage to find two uncloaked Elites and reveal the potential ambush. An alarm is raised, and the Spartans prepare for battle.

Episode 6: Ambush

• Episode Six
• Release: March 16, 2005 Length: 3m 42s Resolution: 320 x 216

Episode Summary

As Blue 2 alerts the other Spartans to the presence of the Elites, the trap is sprung. Hordes of Covenant rush the Humans, who quickly fall back into a corner. As Blue Team prepares to make its last stand, they radio Delta Base for reinforcements, only to learn that Delta Base is itself under attack by a massive Covenant army. After a long bombardment, the Spartans at Delta Base retaliate with a volley of rockets and prepare to defend the base.

Episode 7: The Siege of Delta Base

• Episode Seven
• Release: March 30, 2005 Length: 3m 35s Resolution: 3