Covenant (disambiguation)

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The Covenant, or Covenant Empire, is a religiously zealous collection of alien races, controlling a large portion of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy, and waged a genocidal campaign of extermination against humanity until they were defeated due to many complications, one of which was internal conflicts. The Covenant was presumably disbanded after its defeat by the UNSC and Covenant Separatist forces. The Covenant Separatists were cast out by the Brutes and other Covenant Loyalists.

Background
The Covenant was once dominated by two major alien species, the Elites and the Prophets. The name "Covenant" was taken from the binding pact that forged the peace between the Elites and the Prophets. Their war, which had devastated their respective races for years, was fought over the few remaining Forerunner artifacts on their home worlds, with the Elites wishing to preserve them, and the Prophets wishing to use the artifacts to explore the galaxy. The Elites held a distinct strategic upper hand, as their fighter society was entirely ready for a war, but the Prophets had one massive advantage; an immensely powerful Forerunner construct known as the Dreadnought. After the Prophets decided to use the Forerunner Dreadnought against the Elites, the Prophets destroyed the Sangheili forces, and the wisest of the Elite Commanders, realizing their peril, laid their arms aside. When the Prophets found evidence of the Forerunners and their "Great Journey", hoping to create a peace between them, told the Elites of their discovery and promised to find the means of the Forerunners' transcendence. The Prophets would share this knowledge with the Elites and they in turn would protect the Prophets as they searched for transcendent Forerunner artifacts to activate all the Halo rings.

At first, the Covenant were mostly a loose non-aggression pact of two angry races held together by a common need to avoid mutually assured destruction, but, as their society advanced, so did their technology, culture, and religion. By the time of the Halo games, the Covenant control a large part of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Their society had evolved into a complicated caste system, with the Prophets governing the Covenant, and the Elites left in charge of the military. The Covenant was a theocracy, based on prophecies about the Sacred Rings and the Great Journey. The primary belief of the Covenant was that the Halos will allow them passage into the "Divine Beyond", where they might join the Forerunners as gods; the unholy would be left behind to die by the power of Halo.

The Government
The Covenant is governed by the High Council, which is led by the triumvirate of the three Hierarchs and consists of lesser Prophets, Legates and high ranking Elites. However, near the start of the Covenant Civil War, the Prophets began to replace the Elites with Brutes in various positions in Covenant society, including the job of protecting the Hierarchs and commandment of the Covenant fleets. The Prophets of Truth and Mercy used Regret's assassination at the hands of the John-117 as an excuse to change the Covenant around. Truth and Mercy decided that the Elites were unable to protect the Prophets and needed to be replaced by the Brutes. The Prophets then secretly ordered the Brutes to instigate a genocide of the Elites and the civil war ultimately began.

In addition to the High Council there are three other Councils: the Council of Concordance, the Council of Doctrine and Deed and the Council of Masters.

Numerous Ministries exist within the Covenant government as well, each of which possess a single role. The Ministry of Tranquility is charged with hiring Jackals as mercenaries while the Ministry of Concert represents the lower caste races such as Jackals and Grunts.

Races
Many of the alien races conquered by the Covenant are conscripted into, or gradually become part of, the alliance. However, events during first contact with humans, the Oracle on board the Forerunner Dreadnought reveals that humans are "my makers", as revealed by its luminary. Since the entire covenant was based on the promise of the Great Journey upon activation of the rings, the Prophets decide to purposefully attempt genocide on Humanity. The reason they give is that the humans blocked their access to sacred sites; however, a more probable reason for this is that the Prophets view humanity as a threat to their established authority as humans would in theory hold a higher position in the Covenant than the Prophets due to being the "children" of the Forerunners. Covenant society uses a caste system with the following races (names are rough translations by the UNSC):


 * Prophets. As the highest caste, it is the Prophets who lead the Covenant and exert complete control over religious and political affairs. Physically weak, Prophets wield power through absolute command of the Covenant (and scavenged) technology leaving the task of conquest to Elites and the subordinate races. Their higher understanding of the Forerunner gives them great egos and religious powers over the Covenant. The fact that the Covenant are religious zealots makes it all the more easy to control them. They are addressed as 'Hierarchs' or 'Holy Ones' by the other races of the Covenant. Prophets enforce a misguided theology based on the belief that firing Halo array will herald some kind of sublimation event called the Great Journey. They are called San 'Shyuum in the Covenant language.
 * Brutes are the newest species to the Covenant and are the only race that has obtained equal status to that of one of the founding "clients" of the Covenant pact, the Elites. Their strength can match and even surpass that of Elites. They have an incredible natural resilience to damage that makes up for their lack of Energy Shields (be it noted that they later get power armor), and use a number of weapons and vehicles based upon their pre-Covenant technology. Brutes have their own ranks going up to Brute Chieftains who usually wield Plasma Cannons, Fuel Rod Cannons, or Gravity Hammers. The Brutes always work in a pack when possible. Brutes are unlike Elites in that they do not have an aversion to using human weapons, as shown in the books and Halo 2. After the Elites were replaced for failing to protect Regret from the Demon, they took over their role as personal bodyguards of the Prophets and also now make up most of the covenant army. They have a hairy, ape-like appearance with rough, rhino-like skin. They are called Jiralhanae in the Covenant language.
 * Elites served as the military leaders for the Covenant. While Prophets often had the last say, it was the Elites who organized military campaigns and naval engagements. Ship Masters commanded the mighty space fleets; Field Masters command the vast armies. Elites maintained the military structure of the Covenant, and ensured the Prophet's orders, as well as their own, were carried out. Elites were a major component of the Covenant, and were the only caste able to maintain the military hierarchy and have a voice within the High Council. As the Prophets and Brutes attempted genocide of the Elites, they have left the Covenant and allied with the UNSC. They are called Sangheili in the Covenant language.
 * Hunters are an assemblage of worm-like entities called Lekgolo that create a communal, armor-plated form. They work hard in their role as Covenant muscle, and never disobey orders. Hunters are dismissive and contemptuous of their foes, and in fact, they will only associate with Elites, recognizing and respecting the similar warrior mentality. Hunters always fight in pairs and are deployed almost like heavy munitions of the Covenant fighting units. The bonded pairs (i. e. two Hunters) are actually a colony of worms that has grown too large for a single piece of armor. In Halo: Contact Harvest single Hunters guard the Dreadnought. Due to their 12 foot height, extremely strong armor and strength, and their arm mounted Assault Cannon, other Covenant will often clear the area of deployment, since Hunters are unconcerned with collateral damage, they may even purposely kill the lesser castes, simply for "getting in the way." They are called Mgalekgolo in the Covenant Language, although the term for a Hunter assemblage is Mgalekgolo. They are also speculated to drive the Halo 3 Scarab.
 * Drones are another race of the Covenant. Their physique is weak but they make up for it in their large numbers. They also have the ability to fly for short amounts of time, using wings concealed within their backs under their wing case. They are very beetle-like. The Covenant generally employ them in zero-gravity operations, where they can fly for indefinite amounts of time, or in vacuum. This suggests that, unlike most other Covenant races, the Drones do not require an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere or a methane environment, as Grunts do. They are called Yanme'e in the Covenant language.
 * Jackals are the scouts of the Covenant, with their superior senses. They are 5'8" tall and due to their lack of physical durability they carry a portable energy shield during combat, Plasma Rifles, Plasma Pistols, a single Beam Rifle, a Carbine and occasionally Needlers. Their appearance is bird-like. They are called Kig-yar in the Covenant language. Jackals are employed mainly as sharpshooters with their excellent vision and dexterity. the first human contact was between staff seargent Johnson and staff seargent Brynes on a human freighter as jackal piratees tried to board the ship.
 * Grunts are the workhorses of the Covenant, as the name implies. Despite their obvious cowardice and ineptitude, they are dangerous in large numbers, which may have been why an Arbiter was needed to quell the Grunt Rebellion. They breathe a methane mixture and thus must wear a large tank on their backs full of the gas. They fight well in plasma turrets and use the Plasma Pistol and Needler, sometimes wielding the Fuel Rod Cannon as well. They are called Unggoy in the Covenant language. Their discipline is dependent upon strong leadership and strength of numbers however leaderless they will significantly present less resistance, often cowering. Unggoy have a considerable amount of physical strength, enabling them to wield larger weapons on the Covenant arsenal.
 * Engineers don't really fit in with the Covenant caste system. In military terms, they are the lowest as they are a non-militant race. They are needed to maintain the Covenant war machines and will only converse with the Prophets themselves. This, however, indicates Engineers are very high in the caste system, probably because the Covenant are aware of how much they are needed and the Engineer's grasp on Covenant and foreign technology, is profound. Therefore, they maintain their status as one of the highest Covenant castes. Engineers are actually an artificial species created by the Forerunners. They are called Huragok in the Forerunner language. These were removed from the final version of Halo: Combat Evolved, but are in some of the novels. However they can still be seen through a mod.

Deleted Races

 * Drinols are bosses that did not make it into the Halo games and it is unknown if they will be featured in future products. Possibly thought to become the Flood Juggernaut boss flood type, also a deleted race.
 * Stalkers are a Covenant race that did not make it into Halo 2, seen in the Halo 2 Collector's Edition disc. They were taken from original idea sketches of the Elites in the first Halo game and were supposed to be very wiry and skeletal, with massive amounts of teeth, similar to sharks.
 * Keelbugs are a deleted Covenant race seen in the Halo 2 Collector's Edition Disc. They were a cross between drones and brutes, more like drones but without the insect-like look to them. They were supposed to fly into the battlefield, cut dead bodies into sections, and fly off with them.
 * Alien Troopers are a deleted Covenant race seen in the Halo 2 Collector's Edition Disc. It is understood to be a deleted form of soldier that would complement the Elites. The only known data is that it was supposed to carry its weapon under its belly.
 * Special Purpose Snipers are a deleted Covenant race seen in the Halo 2 Collector's Edition Disc. Their arms were used like a tripod, so they could flip from side to side, without having to switch weapons. They would also be able to hang from trees.
 * Sharquoi were mentioned in the Halo 2 Collectors Edition booklet, detailing conversations among human and Covenant individuals. Nothing that can be called definitely, a Sharquoi has ever appeared.

Creatures Inhabiting Covenant Worlds

 * Scrub Grubs are small creatures the equivalent of the rats found on Earth. They were first mentioned in Halo: Contact Harvest, while inside a Jackal ship.
 * Zap-Jellies are sea creatures that live on the Grunt home world, Balaho.
 * Thorn Beasts are a food source for the Covenant. The only reference to the Thorn Beasts is in Halo: Contact Harvest, when the brutes are first mentioned.
 * Mud Wasps are insects found on the Grunt home world, Balaho.
 * Shade Crabs are crustaceans found on the Grunt home world, Balaho.

Religion and Culture
The Covenant society is based solely on worshiping the Forerunners and recovering their sacred artifacts. Because of this, they often have to turn to war to achieve their ends, and so the Elites, and later the Brutes, have a very high place in their culture. In Covenant society, personal vendettas are not tolerated.

Because of the Prophets' links to the Forerunners, they possess superior technology, and this, combined with the unique abilities of the client races, help to push the ever-growing war machine of the Covenant. The client races are nearly enslaved by the Covenant, forced to live a completely different way of life. Their past cultures are all but erased, and the only practical way for them to relive their former cultures is through dreams. Most races are only kept for their varying skills to be exploited, rather than to be a part of a flourishing empire. Hunters, for example, are indomitable ground forces, and so they were conquered by way of orbital bombardment to help the Covenant in close-range combat, rather than from star ships.

The Forerunners, a long-since vanished and utterly mysterious civilization, are revered as Gods by the Covenant, although their original nature was most likely not divine. The Covenant belief system is underpinned by the existence of numerous abandoned Forerunner artifacts, objects and installations. Of these, the most notable are the seven Halo rings, said to be the locations at which the transcendent Great Journey may be begun. The evident technological perfection of Forerunner objects, and the awesome and unknown purpose for which these artifacts exist, has powered the Covenant theology for millennia.

It appears that the Covenant's faith is solely qualified by finding the Forerunners' abandoned technology scattered throughout the galaxy. However, much of this Forerunner technology is as obtuse as it is arcane. It can only be guessed at what its true purpose and origin might be. That said, they have been able to incorporate some Forerunner advancements into their weapon and transport technology. The Covenant, then, are mainly driven by their fanatical devotion to religion. The client races are held together by a common belief; the slave races are driven by the religion which they have been forced to accept.

The History Of The Covenant
The Covenant divide their history into periods called Ages. There are at least eight ages, although their exact order is uncertain. The Ages are named according to things that have happened or are happening in them. This also means that the lengths of the Ages vary, with some longer than other. Halo 1 and Halo 2 take place during the 9th Age of Reclamation, which started during the events in Contact Harvest

Technology
The Covenant, as is repeatedly stated, are more imitative rather than innovative, unlike their human enemies. Some may say it is far better than that of the humans. Their technology is largely mimicry of the leftover Forerunner artifacts; their weaponry is largely plasma based and most of their vehicles are capable of hovering. Most of the Covenant's hand-held weapons (except the fuel rod cannon, needler, carbine, brute shot and later the mauler, and spiker) use magnetic coils to direct the usually unstable plasma energy.

While Covenant technology is (on the whole) far more advanced than humanity's, the Covenant seem to be ignorant of how precise or powerful their technology can be. Covenant engines, for example, are more precise and faster than a Human engine, but the Covenant use their engines slower and less precisely than they can be treated. Cortana used this to her advantage on the captured Covenant Flagship Ascendant Justice by reconfiguring the electromagnetic shaping coils to shape the plasma into a thin, sustained beam that, while very effective, consumes plasma at an astonishing rate. This was seen in the book Halo: First Strike. As found in Halo: Contact Harvest it seems that the Covenant have a reasonable understanding of herbs.

Only 2 Covenant AI have ever been found, but one was a rampant AI that was destroyed by Cortana, the other being The Seeker.

Covenant architecture is typically curved, likely for the aesthetic tastes of the higher-ranked castes, constructed of distinctive purple or in ships, white metal.

Military
Like other civilizations, the Covenant maintains a permanent armed forces branch, used to enforce order, conduct atmospheric and space combat operations, and generally project the Covenant's power onto others. Formerly led by the Elites prior to the Covenant Civil War, the Loyalist branches are now led by the Brutes. The military comprises of the Covenant Navy, the Covenant Army and the Covenant Special Operations Division, a.k.a SpecOps.

Weaponry
The Covenant boast a large arsenal of plasma based weapons. Most of the Covenant's weaponry uses a form of magnetic channeling that the human race can only match with the MAC gun aboard star ships and the Warthog mounted M68 Gauss Cannon.

Plasma-based weaponry is very effective against energy shielding. The amount of shots that can be fired tends to be very high, but power cannot be recharged without a recharge station nearby, and firing many shots in a short duration can cause the weapon to overheat, which reduces energy efficiency as well as forcing a temporary cooling period in which the weapon cannot be fired. Once the plasma reserves are used up, the weapon is useless. As is evidenced in some of the game files, recharging is possible, although this technology cannot be used by the Master Chief or the Arbiter in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 or Halo 3.

With the introduction of the Brutes as the major military caste within the Covenant, their weaponry has found widespread use. Utilizing crude projectile-like metal spikes in place of plasma, human-based hand held shotguns, explosive grenade-like launchers, and sharp blades, they are less advanced but more brutal - fitting, considering the nature of their creators, the Brutes.

Vehicles
Covenant vehicles use advanced anti-gravity technology for propulsion, as well as utilising plasma cannons as offensive weaponry and being constructed out of a high-strength purple metal. Though often faster than their UNSC counterparts, Covenant vehicles are more unstable over uneven terrain where the sudden changes affects its handling. Recently, Brute vehicles and technology have been incorporated into the Covenant's arsenal. Though more primitive, they serve the Brutes' need for power.

Covenant Worlds
51 Pegasi-B System
 * Pegasi Delta

Reliquary System

K7-49

Salia System
 * Joyous Exultation
 * Malhiem (Satellite)

Urs System (with stars Fied and Joori as secondary stars)
 * Sanghelios (Elite Homeworld)
 * Yermo
 * Iruiru

Tala System
 * Balaho (Grunt Homeworld)
 * Buwan (Satellite)
 * Padpad (Satellite)

Oth Sonin System
 * Doisac (Brute Homeworld)
 * Warial (Satellite)
 * Solrapt (Satellite)
 * Teash (Satellite)

Prophet Homeworld

Svir System
 * Te (Hunter Homeworld)
 * Rantu
 * Uhtua
 * 23 smaller satellites

Napret System
 * Palamok (Drone Homeworld)
 * Naxook (Satellite)
 * Oquiu (Satellite)
 * Ka'amoti (Satellite)
 * Kami (Satellite)

Y'Deio System (HD 69830)
 * Chu'ot
 * Eayn (Satellite) (Jackal homeworld)

Covenant Starships
Also see the List of Starships article for further information

Fleets

 * Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose
 * Fleet of Particular Justice
 * Second Fleet of Homogenous Clarity

Space Stations

 * High Charity - destroyed
 * Unyielding Hierophant - destroyed

Assault Carrier

 * Shadow of Intent

Supercarrier

 * Sublime Transcendence - destroyed

Carrier

 * Lawgiver - unknown status, possibly destroyed

Flagships

 * Ascendant Justice - destroyed, battle for the Unyielding Hierophant
 * Seeker of Truth - unknown status, Probably Destroyed

s

 * Incorruptible - destroyed at the battle for Onyx

s

 * Purity of Spirit - unknown status
 * Sacred Promise (hypothesized) - unknown status, presumed destroyed
 * Truth and Reconciliation - destroyed

Other Types

 * Contrition - unknown status
 * Penance - unknown status

CPV-class Destroyers

 * Esteem - unknown status
 * Reverence - destroyed

Other Types

 * Absolution - destroyed
 * Bloodied Spirit - destroyed, Onyx
 * Far Sight Lost - destroyed
 * Rapturous Arc - destroyed

Frigates

 * Tenebrous - destroyed
 * Twilight Compunction - unknown status
 * Revenant - destroyed

Support Ships

 * Infinite Succor - destroyed

Unknown Type

 * Begotten Angel - unknown status
 * Commitment and Patience - unknown status
 * Devotion - unknown status
 * Pious Inquisitor - unknown status, most likely destroyed

Important Covenant Events

 * Taming of the Hunters
 * Grunt Rebellion
 * Human-Covenant War
 * Civil War of the Covenant
 * The Great Journey

Known Legions

 * Dn'end Legion
 * E'Toro Warrior Crèche
 * R'Lan Warrior Crèche
 * N'Noro Warrior Crèche

Sympathy for the Covenant
Despite the fact that in-game the Covenant are all seemingly unlike human in their thoughts and feelings, in the books of the series the Grunts and Elites are shown to have sympathy and regret for their actions, and are generally almost likable. In the books the grunts are portrayed as unwilling under dogs, and only wish to be back on their own planet, and often they are almost comical in their actions. While the elites are proud soldiers fighting for honor and what they believe is right. These are both traits portrayed by human soldiers in the book series.

Trivia

 * The naming scheme for most Covenant vehicles have to do with paranormal beings, the words Wraith, Ghost, Spectre, Phantom, Banshee, and Spirit are all synonyms.
 * More specifically, the Covenant's government system is a hierarchical theological oligarchy, having a caste system and being ruled by a group of specific individuals.
 * In a biblical reference, with the Ark of the Covenant, it represented the will of God, in connection with the quote: "Your destruction is the will of the gods... and we are their instrument." The Covenant claim to be the instrument that carries through the gods' will, similar to the Ark of the Covenant.
 * Brute vehicles go against the naming scheme of the other Covenant vehicles, using names that are more brutish, like Chopper and Prowler.
 * Although physically weak, The Prophets are strong enough to hold a Spiker.
 * The Covenant's political system is a homogeny.
 * The Grunts joined the Covenant out of fear from invasion.
 * The Unyeilding Heirophant seems to be the only station of it's type.

Internal

 * Governors of Contrition
 * Writ of Union
 * Mark of Shame
 * Great Journey
 * True Sayings
 * Ratification Parley
 * Covenant Weapons

External

 * A Covenant Primer: The Best of the Bestiary

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