Thel 'Vadam
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
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Male[1] |
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Amber[3] |
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- "The Arbiter. Maybe more than any other figure, a symbol of what the galaxy could one day become."
- — Captain Thomas Lasky on Thel 'Vadam.[4]
Arbiter Thel 'Vadam (formerly 'Vadamee)[5] is the Sangheili kaidon of the House of 'Vadam and the last Arbiter to serve the Covenant. He continues to hold this title in the wake of its dissolution. Presently, he leads the Swords of Sanghelios, an alliance of keeps modeled after an ancient order of the same name, and is considered by many to be the formal leader of all Sangheili as the Kaidon of Unity.[3][6]
Thel commanded several fleets during his service in the Covenant, most notably the Fleet of Particular Justice, of which he was Supreme Commander. This fleet mounted a successful attack on the human colony of Reach under his command and later fought the crew of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn on Installation 04, the first Halo ring to be discovered by the Covenant and humanity. 'Vadamee was responsible for over one billion human casualties over the course of the decades-long war against the humans and the glassing of at least seven colonies.[7] At the outbreak of the Great Schism, Thel became a leading figure among the Sangheili and aided the United Nations Space Command in its efforts to stop the High Prophet of Truth and his forces from activating the Halo Array. He and many Sangheili fought in multiple battles alongside the Spartan-II super-soldier, John-117 on Installation 05, Earth, and Installation 00 in the final weeks of the war.
Returning to Sanghelios after the war's conclusion, Thel became a symbol of Sangheili honor and resilience in the face of betrayal. He attempted to unite the feudal states across his homeworld in forming the first coalition government since the War of Beginnings. Despite his efforts, he met resistance from other Sangheili factions, who felt that his ideals and beliefs went against the traditional Sangheili values of Forerunner worship or that the peace treaty with the humans could not be trusted. This disagreement soon spilled over into civil war, and the Swords of Sanghelios became locked in conflict with other groups, primarily Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and the Servants of the Abiding Truth. He led the Swords to victory over these two groups, thanks in part to assistance from the UNSC.