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, making his declaration to the assembled shipmasters over Saepon'kal.

Xytan 'Jar Wattinree was a Sangheili naval officer in the forces of the Covenant empire. As one of the empire's most capable and prestigious officers, Wattinree rose to the rank of Imperial Admiral - and was ultimately relegated by the Hierarchs to command the Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose in exile at the borders of Covenant space. He led the Sangheili forces during the early stages of the Great Schism.

Early career
Xytan 'Jar Wattinree hailed from the Sangheili homeworld of Sanghelios, born on April 20, 2488. He was considered to possess an innate talent for navigating the cutthroat political machine of the Covenant's bureaucracy alongside a keen insight into the psychology of the various client races that formed the backbone of the empire's caste system. As such, he was able to use these talents alongside his status as a foremost commander and tactician to ascend the Covenant military hierarchy to the title of Imperial Admiral - the highest office in the Covenant military. His posting saw him assigned to lead the Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose - a massive armada of two hundred vessels charged as the vanguard for the occupied regions on the fringes of Covenant space.

This act was due to Xytan's popularity within the Covenant military; his power and prestige were such that his influence was capable of challenging even the San'Shyuum hierarchs - an unacceptable situation for High Charity. This may be an example of a Covenant High Fleet exile, in which a popular Sangheili commander is given an ostensibly prestigious title and office, though in practice exiled far from their ability to influence the direction of Covenant politics. As such, Xytan sat out a large portion of the Human-Covenant War and was not present for many of its key battles, such as the Fall of Reach.

Great Schism and death
At the outbreak of the Great Schism, Wattinree was among the first Sangheili leaders to rally his people against the Jiralhanae, who had supplanted the Sangheili as the primary caste of the empire. Wattinree summoned over two hundred Sangheili shipmasters to the colony world of Saepon'kal, personally requesting the presence of thirty such individuals to the oration chamber of his personal supercarrier, Sublime Transcendence. Here, Xytan detailed his intent to win the civil war by requesting the presence of the Jiralhanae leadership at Saepon'kal under a banner of truce - in reality a ruse to gather the Jiralhanae commanders in one place to be ambushed and killed - putting an early end to the schism and allowing the Sangheili to form a new Covenant in which they would be the sole leaders of the empire. However, while Xytan and his followers no longer followed the leadership of the San'Shyuum, they did differ from the separatist group led by Thel 'Vadam in that they retained their religious beliefs - and thus intended to continue waging the ongoing war against humanity once the Jiralhanae threat was dealt with.

At the urging of the shipmaster Voro 'Mantakree, Xytan did come to realise the threat posed by the outbreak of the Flood on Installation 05. Recognising Voro as a potential rival, he did not have him executed but instead promoted him to Fleetmaster of the Second Fleet of Homogeneous Clarity, and renamed him "Voro Nar 'Mantakree" - ordering him to take charge of leading an attack on the shield world of Onyx. This served Wattinree on both political and strategic levels, allowing his forces control of the strategically valuable Forerunner world while also ridding him of one of his primary potential rivals.

Following Voro's departure from the Salia system, the accidental activation of a NOVA bomb captured aboard Sublime Transcendance would see the obliteration of the carrier, two-thirds of the surrounding fleet, significant portions of Saepon'kal's surface and the planet's moon of Malhiem. Wattinree was atomized in the blast, ultimately putting a premature end to his dreams of empire.

Legacy
Following Wattinree's death and the end of the Human-Covenant War, Sangheili Shipmasters serving with both Jul 'Mdama's new Covenant and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam's Swords of Sanghelios would continue to study battle recordings of his tactics. While Xytan was not present at the Fall of Reach itself, it was theorized that his brilliance combined with the audacity of then-Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee would have made for a devastating combination during that battle. After his death, his daughter Meduu the Fierce violently took control of his many property holdings in the years after the war.

Personality and appearance
Amongst the rank and file of the Covenant, particularly the Sangheili, Xytan 'Jar Wattinree was a living legend - with his only flaw said to be that his influence and reverence were so great they grew to challenge the high prophets themselves. He was considered to have a natural talent for navigating the Byzantine politics of the Covenant, alongside a keen insight into the psychology of the species under his command - making him a formidable leader. Atop these qualities, he was considered to be a brilliant commander and tactician - all traits that aided his ascent to the office of Imperial Admiral.

Despite his confidence and powerful nature, Wattinree was a suspicious individual. However, he was able to use these qualities to his advantage, such as leveraging the potential threat posed by the nascent Voro 'Mantakree by ordering him a posting away from a position of influence - likely inspired by his own exile from power by the Covenant.

Wattinree was far larger than most Sangheili, standing at a height of eleven and a half feet tall - or three and a half metres. This great stature added to his perception as a mighty warrior. As befit his rank, Wattinree wore silver armor covered with golden Forerunner glyphs. When making his proclamation of empire to his assembled council of shipmasters at Saepon'kal, Wattinree's presentation was further enhanced by being holographically magnified to thirty metres in height, with alternate projections providing clones of his face "looking" in four directions into the crowd.

Unlike Thel 'Vadam and the Fleet of Retribution, Wattinree retained a distaste for humanity after the betrayal of the Prophets and continued to have his forces oppose both humanity and the Covenant.

Halo: Fleet Battles
Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree is available as a Fleet Commander in the Halo: Fleet Battles tabletop wargame. His portrait artwork for the game was done by David Heidhoff, and his gameplay style was designed around representing a "dagger-like tactical genius". His command style was designed with unique orders that can allow him to seize initiative at key junctures in-game, and throw enemy plans into disarray.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Fleet Battles