Sharquoi

"I suspect we are forcing the Humans into a tighter arena than they care to fight in - soon we may be able to use the Sharquoi."

- A cryptic mention of the Sharquoi just before the Battle of Earth.

The Sharquoi, also known as the Drinol, is a Covenant owned beast. They are an enormous species that are kept contained and segregated from other Covenant forces. Possessing phenomenal strength, they are often used to smash enemy vehicles. Sharquoi were deemed so dangerous that they were not deployed during the Human-Covenant War, though near the end a Sangheili expressed to one of his comrades that humanity's corralling following the Fall of Reach may allow them to be used soon.

Production


The Drinol was first modeled for Halo: Combat Evolved by Marcus Lehto when it was planned to be a third-person shooter. It was eventually cut from the game, but then planned to be included in Halo 2. Here it was renamed the "Sharquoi" and included as a brief mention in Conversations from the Universe. However, the beast was eventually deemed unfeasible for gameplay and was again cut. Images of it were later shown in the Behind the Scenes featurette from the DVD included with the Halo 2 Collector's Edition, again referred to as a Drinol. The August 2011 "O Brave New World" ViDoc also revealed gameplay from Halo: Combat Evolved's third-person shooter phase, which showed the character that would become the Master Chief fighting the creature.

Identity
"Q: What's a Sharquoi?"

- Fizzguy47

"A: Very freaking dangerous."

- Frank O'Connor

Due to it being mentioned in only one canon source, what was the Sharquoi was not known to fans for many years after Halo 2's release, until Marcus Lehto confirmed in 2013 that it referred to the Drinol. Speculation abounded between then that it was an un-encountered Covenant species, an Elite term for the Scarab or Forerunner Dreadnought, or some kind of superweapon that could destroy stars.

Bungie enjoyed making references to their previous game franchise, Marathon, in the Halo series, and the Sharquoi was one of them. Its other name "Drinol" was derived from a description of the Hulk enemy in Marathon: "The Hulk is an enormous and rather slow creature, but it is incredibly strong. The science report indicated that it had no body fat, and therefore had to be fed often to keep it active. One crew member reported seeing one of these creatures pointing to it and mumbling "Drinniol" right before it "picked Johnny up by the shirt and crushed him against a pillar"."

- Marathon.

Like Drinol, Hulks were extremely strong beasts that part of an alien hegemony and could perform massive damage to their surroundings. The design art of Drinols also heavily resemble that of Hulks. While the Drinol was ultimately cut from appearing the games, its identity as the Sharquoi may indicate that it still exists in canon but was never seen deployed.