Arbiter

Summary
The rank of Arbiter, in Halo 2, is bestowed upon a Covenant Elite (Sangheili) by the High Prophets of Truth, Mercy, and Regret during a time of need. The Arbiter acts as a sort of field general, going on missions for the Prophets and during incidents such as the Taming of the Hunters, the Grunt Rebellion, and most recently, the threat of heresy, he has emerged to lead the Covenant to victory. Many, especially Grunts, see the Arbiter as their Savior, and their peers consider him the 'Will of the Prophets' or, in his military role, the 'Blade of the Prophets'. Every Arbiter was 'created and consumed in times of extraordinary crisis', and has been martyred in the undertaking of his momentous tasks. The corpses (or perhaps only memorials of some sort) are housed in identical caskets stacked upon each other in the great Mausoleum of the Arbiter; in the center of this room a floating pod contains the sacred armor of the Arbiter, highly decorative and fully functional despite its apparent age. The mausoleum houses an impressive number of caskets, reaching high into the air, and references of Arbiters settling the Grunt Rebellion and aiding the Taming of the Hunters would indicate that the office has existed for quite some time - before the Covenant as we know it was fully formed and its castes defined. Seeing how the Arbiter can only be an Elite (as the characteristic armor is tailored to the Elite anatomy), and how the warrior holding the office is considered the blade of the Prophets (a reference to the Elite ancestral weapon, the Plasma Sword), it is not unlikely that the tradition of calling upon the Arbiter existed as a part of Sangheili culture before the species joined the Prophets in the Covenant, but this is of course pure speculation. Of note is that an Arbiter, by the Wikipedia definition, is a man of peaceful legal negotiation, yet all the Arbiters are Sangheili that have lived, and in the case of all those before the current one, died by the sword.

He is voiced by Keith David, who is known, among others, for playing as Abu "Imam" al-Walid in the Chronicles of Riddick movies.

The Arbiter's Role
In the events of Halo 2, the Arbiter's role is filled by an Elite who was in command of the forces that pursued the Pillar of Autumn in the first game. This Elite was the Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice according to the "Halo Universe Translations," and the "incompetent" one who lost the Ascendant Justice in Halo: First Strike. Because he failed to protect the 'sacred ring' from the Master Chief, he was branded with the Mark of Shame and sentenced to be hung by his entrails, his corpse to be paraded through the holy city of High Charity. However, rather than have him slain outright, the Prophets of Truth and Mercy gave him a chance to regain his lost honor and serve the Covenant again. He donned the armor of the Arbiter and became the Covenant's equivalent to the Master Chief.

During the game, the Prophets slowly begin to replace the Elites with Brutes, and eventually they call for a genocide of all Elites so that Brutes may replace them in society in order to create a New Order of Imperial Government. This sparks a Covenant civil war. On one side there are the loyalists: the Brutes, the Drones, and the Jackals, led by the Prophets. On the other side, the Elites lead the Hunters and the Grunts. The Arbiter, being an Elite, after meeting the Master Chief while being held captive for interrogation by Gravemind naturally sided with these separatists and became a central figure in the Covenant civil war. This breakaway faction even manages to secure an uneasy alliance with their enemies, the United Nations Space Command, the Reclaimers to stop the mutual threat of the Halos being set off.

At the end of the game, the Arbiter engages Tartarus, the Brute Chieftain, in combat over the The Index and the detonation of Delta Halo. With the aid of Sergeant Johnson, the Arbiter triumphs.

Trivia

 * The Arbiter was originally called the Dervish. The name was changed because it could be considered offensive to Muslims.

Related Links

 * The Arbiter (Level)