Okro 'Vagaduun

"He understood what Atriox sought to teach him. To join the Banished was to sever one’s ties to the past. To reject honor, the very core of a Sangheili’s being, for payment would come in sport and spoils—not sentiment."

- 'Vagaduun's decision to work for the Banished

Okro 'Vagaduun was an experienced Sangheili blademaster in service of the Banished. During the Second Ark Conflict, Atriox put him and his men under the charge of Chieftain Minas while on a mission to retrieve a slipspace flake from the Anodyne Spirit. 'Vagaduun was present on Installation 07 in early 2560.

Early life and Covenant service
Okro 'Vagaduun was born on Suban, the blood-moon of Sanghelios, on March 2, 2493. His clan had a history of producing talented swordfighters and Okro 'Vagaduun himself was trained by the legendary Toha 'Sumai. As is expected of all male Sangheili, 'Vagaduun enlisted in the Covenant military. In the last decade of the Human-Covenant War, he came to be considered one of the most lethal infantry assets in the Covenant, eventually being granted the title of Blademaster by the Minister of Resolution. 'Vagaduun would repeatedly defy the odds, surviving conflicts even when vastly outnumbered.

Before the end of the war, he joined the Bloodbrave Guardians of Suban, a mercenary sect which spurned allegiance to the Covenant with the goal of maintaining the purity of the Sangheili people.

Massacre and Banished recruitment
When the Covenant fell into disarray at the hands of the San'Shyuum in late 2552, 'Vagaduun abandoned his post and returned to Suban. Around this time, the Hierarchs sought to destroy the recalcitrant autonomy of the Bloodbrave Guardians, sending an entire battle group to the Subanese jungle-crater of Kovokel, the sect's base of operations. Here, they massacred every member of the sect, except 'Vagaduun, who managed to survive the attack. Following his narrow escape, he was given quarter by Decimus, and Atriox offered him a place within the Banished, though he would not accept immediately.

After a year of watching his Sangheili people descend into civil war, 'Vagaduun finally accepted. As part of his initiation into the Banished, 'Vagaduun took on board Atriox's teachings, which demanded that he give up all former allegiances and notions of honor—a core value in Sangheili culture. As part of his quest to sever his past ties, at some time prior to March 2555, 'Vagaduun returned to his old swordmaster Toha 'Sumai to assassinate him and prove his loyalty only to Atriox for payment of sport and spoils. 'Vagaduun and 'Sumai dueled in open combat, with 'Vagaduun managing to run 'Sumai through on his own sword - ultimately retrieving the now-dead 'Sumai's duelist energy sword and claiming it for his own. 'Vagaduun would come to fight for the mercenary faction as part of the revitalized Bloodbrave.

Battle for the Ark
Okro 'Vagaduun was among those chosen by Atriox to accompany him to Installation 00 in 2558. To enact his plan to return to the galaxy to locate the Xalanyn, Atriox needed the fragments of a slipspace flake stored within the keyship that the Prophet of Truth had used to travel to Installation 00. These shards would allow for a slipspace portal to be opened to the human colony of Reach. As such, Atriox chose 'Vagaduun to participate in a raid on the vessel led by Chieftain Minas.

In the summer of 2559, the raid commenced. The blademaster led a team of Sangheili warriors while Minas and Captain Zeretus led two other teams, both composed of choice Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy soldiers. Each team rode in a separate Phantom dropship to where the Anodyne Spirit rested in a region of the Ark they had dubbed Mahsko. Once inside the keyship, 'Vagaduun expressed confidence that the vessel was indeed devoid of any living beings, but that they should still be careful regardless. His caution was proved to be well-founded when surviving Covenant loyalists ambushed the group, attempting to repel them from the ship that had landed on the Ark nearly seven years prior.

Displaying his masterful swordsmanship, 'Vagaduun's efforts were vital to the success of the mission. As Minas' team found the Forerunner device called "the Adytum" and extricated the shards from within it, the Sangheili and his team valiantly—and perhaps overconfidently—held off the Covenant defenders. 'Vagaduun and Minas were the only two survivors of their respective teams, the others having sacrificed themselves so that they might escape the keyship with the crystal. After they reunited with Zeretus and his team, that is exactly what they did. They evacuated in the same Phantoms that they had used to approach the vessel.

With their mission a success and the crystal shards in Banished hands, Okro 'Vagaduun and a small cast of other accomplished warriors—including Balkarus, Jato 'Ratum, and Zeretus—were picked by Atriox himself to return with him to the Milky Way. The crew of warriors, titled the Exodus Guard, used Atriox's personal Lich Pegoras to travel through the Portal on the Ark and emerged on Reach where they met Escharum and the Keepers of the One Freedom and left the planet on the former's intrusion corvette.

Conflict on Zeta Halo
In 2560, 'Vagaduun served under Escharum during his occupation of Installation 07. During this time, he was part of the Blind Lance of the Fifth Combat Element in the Banished's Bloodbrave. He was ultimately targeted by Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 after being identified and located, with the Master Chief eventually confronting and killing 'Vagaduun.

Equipment
Fitting of a Sangheili blademaster, Okro 'Vagaduun was known to wield a Type-1 energy sword. He was also proficient in the use of plasma-based weaponry. During the raid on the Anodyne Spirit, 'Vagaduun was seen dual wielding enemy plasma rifles to great effect. During the Battle for Zeta Halo he was seen using a Duelist Energy Sword while trying to best John-117. The Weapon was able to download the specifications of the weapon so that it could be recreated for the Master Chief at his forward operating bases. 'Vagaduun also wore armor that resembled a Special Operations Sangheili's infiltration harness.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Shadows of Reach
 * Sacrifice
 * Halo Infinite