Xytan 'Jar Wattinree

"The Great Schism is upon us. The unbreakable Covenant Writ of Union has been split asunder. This is the end of the Ninth, and final, Age."

- Xytan 'Jar Wattinree

Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree was a high ranking Covenant Elite military officer. He was the Regent Command of the Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose.

Background
Xytan was over eleven and a half feet tall, a giant even among the average 8' 6" Elites. It may be that this is an illusion, given his image is projected by a holographic generator, or that he wears a ceremonial headdress, like the Councilor. The former theory has been debunked: Xytan is present physically alongside a holographic image of himself. The hologram is 30 meters tall. However, the headdress is certainly possible, it has even been suggested by Eric Nylund himself that he may be wearing a larger pair of "platform shoes."However he also hinted we may find out in future Halo Novels. He was legendary among the soldiers of the Covenant. He had never been defeated in battle, he had never failed at any task, no matter what the challenge, and he was never wrong. His only flaw was that he had been so revered, some respected him above any Prophet, and for that he had been exiled to lead a fleet only at the fringes of the vast Covenant empire.

During the Civil War of the Covenant, 'Jar Wattinree was one of the first Elite leaders to take command of the confused Elites and rally them at Joyous Exultation. There, he planned to ambush the Brutes and destroy them to end the civil war before they could destroy the Flood. The Imperial Admiral had no illusions about the true nature of the Halos or the Flood.

Unfortunately, his flagship, Sublime Transcendence, was destroyed by a NOVA bomb they had taken from Reach and activated by a curious grunt named Kwassass after the Covenant Engineers (Huragok) reconnected the detonator to the NOVA bomb. Whether or not he was aboard the ship at the time of its detonation is unknown.

When asked about Xytan's fate, Eric Nylund said, "I have to leave Xytan’s fate unknown for now." This may mean that he actually survived the NOVA bomb and will appear in future novels.

Rank
His armor was described as "silver armor covered with the gold Forerunner glyphs of sacred mystery." Such silver-and-gold Elite armor has yet to be seen or mentioned elsewhere, and may be superior in quality to the gold armor of a Zealot.