Silent Shadow

"We are the Silent Shadow. Once our charge was varied—assassination, extraction—direct and thorough acts of violence. Our goals, strategic—pointed and precise. Our ends, religious, verging on Godly. Those days are over. Or, at best, on hold. Now we have but one aim… the slaughter of beasts."

- Resa 'Azavayl

The Silent Shadow was a unit of special operations Sangheili within the Covenant's Special Operations branch. It was made up of several individual squads. They were often dispatched by the Hierarchs when they wanted to remove a high-ranking commander from their post. In the event that they might one day be ordered to kill them, members of the Silent Shadow are forbidden to show their faces to any of their superiors. The Silent Shadow undertook numerous missions during the Covenant War, including assassinations and extractions.

One such squad was led by First Blade officer Resa 'Azavayl. Following the Great Schism, Resa's squad took it upon themselves to wipe out every Jiralhanae they encountered. However, Atriox was ultimately able to convince the rest of squad to betray 'Azavayl and join the Banished.

Covenant War
The Silent Shadow were a well distinguished Covenant Special Operations unit of Sangheili Elites tasked with assassination operations.

Early war
During the Human-Covenant War in 2526 a Sangheili First Blade named Tel 'Szatulai led the Bloodstars, a select group of Jiralhanae Stalkers including Orsun and Castor, to find and destroy Demons. When Blue Team attempted to destroy the under construction Covenant supercarrier Hammer of Faith in its docks, Tel and several of his warriors attacked the Spartans directly. Most of Tel's warriors were killed by Linda-058 and Frederic-104 while Tel himself engaged John-117. After a fierce fight, Tel was disarmed by John and then killed by Kelly-087 with a point-blank shot from an M90 shotgun to the head. Castor and Orsun were able to escape in Banshees and reported back to Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee on the death of Tel and all of his Sangheili warriors.

In June 2526, the Silent Shadow were sent with the Fleet of Swift Justice to hunt down the now-renegade 'Kvarosee and his Flotilla of Unsung Piety. The Silent Shadow arrived at Netherop where they got caught in the middle of a conflict between the UNSC and 'Kvarosee who hoped to use the Spartans to get rid of the Silent Shadow. However, despite suffering heavy casualties, the Silent Shadow was able to destroy the Steadfast Strike and capture the renegade Fleetmaster, bringing in Honor Guards and a Sangheili Ultra from High Charity itself to deal with him. When 'Kvarosee claimed to no longer have the Luminal Beacons as they were supposedly destroyed with his ships, the Ultra had 'Kvarosee and his surviving warriors stripped of their armor and exiled on Netherop. Before leaving the planet, the Silent Shadow established an orbital minefield of self-targeting plasma torpedos that would prevent even a drop pod from landing, thus keeping 'Kvarosee from being rescued by any of his surviving loyal Shipmasters.

Late War
"You can sense your end, human. That is good. If it brings you any peace, the whole of your kind will soon follow suit."

- First Blade of Silent Shadow to Jonah At some point prior to December 2552, a unit of the Silent Shadow laid a trap for two two-person teams of Spartan-III Headhunters. On an unnamed moon, ten Covenant base camps were established to field crew for a Forerunner artifact dig site, which the Spartans were ordered to destroy. The Spartans observed the base for the next two days, identifying patrol routes, high-ranking enemies, and important control sites, unaware of the trap prepared for them. On the third day they infiltrated the base, eliminating all hostiles and setting demolition charges around the base. At the moment the Spartans let their guard down, the cloaked First Blade impaled one of the Headhunters with his energy sword, while his subordinates appeared and surrounded Jonah-B283. The First Blade suggested the Spartan surrender, informing him that the second Spartan team was already dead. Refusing, Jonah lured the Sangheili closer to the charges before setting them off, killing himself and the Elites.

Post-war
"I see you for what you are and what you could be. We can do great things together. Not as master and slaves, but as the warriors you truly are—free to continue your crusade without the shackles of outdated faith."

- Atriox, offering the Silent Shadow a place within the Banished

After the Covenant's betrayal of the Sangheili and the outbreak of the Great Schism, the squad led by First Blade Resa 'Azavayl dedicated themselves to eliminating all Jiralhanae, as well as any forces under their control. Notably, the Silent Shadow wiped out a Jiralhanae pack in an armory on the fourth moon of Victors' Truth, runaway Jiralhanae forces aboard the stolen Covenant corvette Adherent, "butchers" encamped in a resource enclave in the northern highlands of Thalia, Covenant holdouts aboard a derelict colonial substation in the low orbit of Sansar, and the last remaining members of Chieftain Tartarus' crew aboard the Covenant cruiser Rapid Conversion.

At some point, the Silent Shadow embarked on a mission to eliminate Jiralhanae aboard the Elegy's Lament. Unbeknownst to the Silent Shadow, Elegy's Lament was crewed by the Banished and commanded by the faction's chief, Atriox. Infiltrating the corvette, the Silent Shadow eliminated several Jiralhanae before entering the ship's bridge. Despite being cloaked, the Banished detected the Sangheili's infiltration and Atriox noticed the assassins' arrival when they entered the bridge. Atriox stated that he and the Banished are different from the Jiralhanae that betrayed the Sangheili. He also offered the members of the Silent Shadow a place within the Banished, where they would serve as warriors and fight under their own free will. While the other members of the Silent Shadow were greatly tempted by Atriox's offer, 'Azavayl refused, citing that Atriox and the Banished deserved death for their "sins". The rest of the Silent Shadow squad tried to convince 'Azavayl that Atriox and the Banished were "other", but to no avail. As 'Azavayl moved to attack, he was slain by the rest of his squad, who desired to join the Banished. Afterwards, Atriox allowed the remaining members of the Silent Shadow to join the Banished, offering to reward them with "blood and sport and spoils".

Ranking structure
First Blade officer: This was a commanding rank in the Silent Shadow. Their helmets have a red visor instead of a blue one like the other members of the Silent Shadow.

Gallery
 File:SSconfronts.png|The Silent Shadow confronts Atriox. File:Headhunters - Elite concept.png|Concept of the Silent Shadow Sangheili wearing a heavily modified Infiltration harness in Headhunters. File:Roland's Death.jpg|Roland's death at the hands of the First Blade. File:Headhunters - SS doom.png|Silent Shadow faces explosion. File:Resabetrayed.png|Resa 'Azavayl is betrayed by his subordinates. File:lastson.png|The aftermath of the betrayal. 

List of appearances

 * Halo: Evolutions
 * Headhunters
 * Halo: Tales from Slipspace
 * Hunting Party
 * Halo: Retribution
 * Halo: Silent Storm
 * Halo: Oblivion
 * Halo: Shadows of Reach