Taming of the Lekgolo

Summary
The Taming of the Hunters was an event in the history of the Covenant. It seems that the Taming began during the Covenant Age of Doubt when they were actively scouring the galaxy for Forerunner technological remnants, as well as for races who had Forerunner relics apparently somewhere on their homeworlds. They stumbled upon the Hunters, a hive creature biologically constructed of multiple worm-like creatures, fusing into one body and one consciousness. The Covenant, appreciative of the Lekgolo's prowess, saw that their home planet had Forerunner relics on it and so offered them the chance to join the Covenant. This offer was flatly rejected and so it broke out into war. The Hunters won most, if not all, of the ground battles against the Elites, because of their sheer size and ferocity and apparently also killed an Arbiter at some point. Seeing no other way to win, the Covenant threatened to wipe out the Hunter race by means of orbital bombardment, forcing the Hunters to surrender.

In Halo: Contact Harvest, it is said that hives of Lekgolo were found in orbital rings surrounding their planet, a gas giant filled with Forerunner treasures. But the relics had been the Lekgolos food for millennia, the orbital rings around the giant were actually composed of digested-and-destroyed Forerunner relics that the Lekgolo had been consuming. Initially, the Covenant Fleets, especially the Sangheili, wanted to destroy the Lekgolo for desecrating the holy Forerunner relics. They tried to eradicate the Lekgolo but found that it was impossible. Since the Lekgolo lived in the sacred relics that the Elites were trying to preserve, they faced destruction of their sacred relics along with their enemies. It was found that they could be tamed and put to better uses as part of the Covenant Hierarchy. Individual colonies of Lekgolo exist in the Covenant as Mgalekgolo, Hunters whose armor defines the appendages the worms' take form of. Often, colonies become so large, that they cannot fit in a single suit of armor so they split up and form a bonded pair, evidenced by the shoulder spikes worn by pairs of Mgalekgolo.

Trivia

 * The Taming of the Hunters is pictured on one of the 7 Covenant Murals in the Mausoleum of the Arbiter.

Related Links

 * Arbiter
 * Elites
 * Hunters