Prophet of Mercy

The High Prophet of Mercy was one of three Hierarchs that lead the Covenant High Council during the Human-Covenant War. He was by far the oldest of them. His birth name is Hod Rumnt.

Biography
The Prophet of Mercy was elected to the High Council before either of his fellow Hierarchs, the Prophets of Truth and Regret, were even born. His tenure was marked by several tense debates with Sangheili High Councilors over the proper dispensation of Forerunner artifacts. During that time, he was considered one of the last of the Old Guard, as he publicly questioned the wisdom of the San 'Shyuum's demilitarization at the close of the Sangheili-San 'Shyuum War. This brand of thinking may have contributed to his later willingness to help replace the Sangheili with the Jiralhanae.

By 2525, he had apparently given up politics in order to more effectively indulge his spiritual side. He served as the Philologist on the Forerunner Dreadnought, where he led the priests prior to his ascension to Hierarch. He was present when the Minister of Fortitude and the Vice Minister of Tranquility came to ask the Oracle of the Dreadnought to give its blessing to their intent to become the next Prophet Hierarchs. In response, the Oracle attempted to launch the Dreadnought in order to transport the human population of Harvest to the Ark, during which time it referred to the humans as its creators. The Philologist, overcome with spiritual awe, beseeched the Oracle to complete its task; however, when the Dreadnought's electrical pathways were short-circuited by the Lekgolo worms that had been moving within them, thus stopping the Dreadnought's launch, the Philologist regained enough sense to disconnect the Oracle from the Dreadnought's systems.

Because the Philologist had heard the Oracle's secrets, which would shatter the Covenant if they became known (it was thought that the Forerunners had trancended when they activated the Halo Array; if the humans had been left behind, that meant that not all who walked the divine path would necessarily gain the same transcendence upon the coming of the Great Journey), the other two Prophets offered for him to be their third Hierarch. The Philologist agreed, if perhaps reluctantly; he was later seen picking irritably at his new robes during the Hierarch initiation ceremony. With his help (doubtlessly his former career as a member of the High Council was very helpful for their campaign), the three San 'Shyuum sucessfully rose to the mantle of Hierarch. The Philologist procured the name the Prophet of Mercy.

Being the oldest member of the Prophet triumvirate, Mercy was well-acquainted with the Covenant's governmental systems and history. During a meeting with Thel 'Vadamee and the Prophet of Truth, he mentions a bit of Covenant history, citing the Unggoy Rebellion and the Taming of the Lekgolo as cases where an Arbiter was appointed to resolve the conflict.

He stayed by Truth's side after the death of the Prophet of Regret, and seemed to be more of an adviser or supporter of Truth than an equal. Whereas Truth and Regret often clashed, there appeared to be no sign of conflict between Mercy and Truth (or even between Mercy and Regret, for that matter). As the Covenant Civil War began, Mercy still supported Truth's actions, even as it seemed that Truth was unraveling the very foundations of the Covenant. This indicates that Mercy was fully involved in Truth's machinations from the beginning, something that even Regret failed to completely achieve.

As the Great Schism began, he and the Prophet of Truth fled from the Council Chamber when the Master Chief was teleported there by the Gravemind. Just as the two were about to depart for Earth with the Forerunner Dreadnought to begin the Great Journey, a swarm of Flood Infection Forms attacked them and the Honor Guard Brutes. A single Infection Form managed to evade the guards, latch onto Mercy's neck, and begin devouring his windpipe. Even as Tartarus attempted to save him, Truth intervened and let Mercy die in order to become the sole leader of the Covenant, saying, "The Great Journey waits for no one, brother. Not even you." Before his death, he was found by the Master Chief, who questioned where Truth was going. He answered, "Earth, to finish what was started. And this time, none of you will be left behind." The Master Chief then violently tore the Infection Form from Mercy's neck, killing the old Prophet instantly but saving him from being infected by the Flood. However, Mercy was later assimilated into the Gravemind anyway, and may have been reanimated like the Prophet of Regret was.

Personality
Little is known about this Hierarch. However, Mercy can be seen as passionate and knowledgeable, as seen in the cutscene before the level Sacred Icon where he shows his excitement about Halo, expressing hope that the Great Journey should begin very soon. It's very possible that he has a sense of propriety, seeing that he talked Truth out of condemning Regret, as described on the level Regret, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he is merciful. He is perceptible and an authority on the Forerunners and their knowledge, he can be considered the Prophet of Truth's right-hand. Without Mercy to advise him later, Truth becomes much more irrational and aggressive in Halo 3, even toward his subordinates (very much like Regret was before the Great Schism), although it is just as likely that Truth is showing his true personality after years of cool political veiling.

Trivia

 * His name is ironic, like the names of all the other Hierarchs, as he is given no mercy by Truth, and he showed no mercy neither to humans nor to Thel 'Vadamee, whom he wanted dead. It should be noted, though, that he did show mercy to the Prophet of Regret by talking Truth out of making a public display of contempt for Regret and his blunder in "accidentally" invading Earth. This could simply be seen as a form of discrimination, however, considering that Thel 'Vadamee and humans are of different species (different species which, furthermore, are adversaries of the Hierarchs, even though the former did not know this yet), whereas Regret and he are both San 'Shyuum.
 * Mercy managed to become the third Prophet by being at the right place at the right time: He heard what the "Oracle" inside the Dreadnought had to say about how humans were the descendants of the Forerunners and that it had to bring them to the Ark, almost killing millions in the process. Truth, not wanting the information to be discovered, asked him if he would fill in the place as the third future Hierarch, with Regret already being the second, to which he agreed.
 * Philology is derived from the Greek terms philos (φίλος) meaning love and logos (λόγος) meaning wisdom. Philology is more accurately defined as "an affinity toward the learning of the backgrounds as well as the current usages of spoken or written methods of communication". In addition, they are also known as "lovers of wisdom".