Duality

Duality is a Story Shard written by Alex Wakeford, being a Tenrai-themed retelling of the Halo Legends episode "The Duel".

Plot summary
The story begins with the narrator telling the story of an ancient clan leader who refuse to bend against an oppresive empire, with his brother trying to persuade him to yield or facing the consequences of his defiance. At his pilgrimage, the warrior is ambushed by the empire's forces but he managed to survive. However, the empire also destroyed his keep and all who he hold dear, deciding to enact his vengeance on the empire's enforcer.

The narrator, revealed to be an UNSC-aligned Sangheili, is interrupted by a female human child, who is also his protectorate, who asks him how the story ends. The Sangheili recalls how the story ends, revealing that the tale he was telling was about how the Arbiter Fal 'Chavamee was defiant against the Covenant, how both 'Chavamee and Haka 'Suukaree, the Covenant's enforcer, were killed on each other's hand and how everything only served to the San'Shyuum ' s goals, with the Arbiter's title turning into one of shame and 'Chavamee's tale being a tool to inducing fear of punishment for disobedience.

However, recalling how the Covenant fell thanks to humans and Sangheili allying each other, discovering the Prophets' lies, and thinking that 'Chavamee's tale was not one suitable for the post-war era, the Sangheili decides to lie the human child, telling her he doesn't remember how the story ends. The child, playing with a Spartan toy based on an ancient era, asks the Sangheili if they can come up with a new ending for the tale, one that the Sangheili wished to become a reality.