Great Schism

The Civil War of the Covenant is a war between the two factions that split apart in November, 2552, after the death of the Prophet of Regret. One faction consisted mainly of the Prophets and their new guards, the Brutes. The other faction was the Elites, who had long been the Prophets' protectors, ever since they discovered the Forerunner. The Arbiter, who is seen as the leader of the Elites, seems to have sided with the humans at the end of Halo 2, as Sergeant Johnson helped him defeat Tartarus in the control room of Installation 05.

Summary
DATE: October 20, 2552?

LOCATION: High Charity, all throughout the Covenant empire and Installation 05, and possibly Earth and other human worlds

Involved: Covenant, Covenant Separatists

Synopsis: The Civil War of the Covenant is the most recent battle amongst the Covenant, still taking place at the end of Halo 2.

Outcome: Currently unknown.

The Covenant Separatists
The Arbiter and Rtas 'Vadumee are the commanders of the Covenant Separatists. Those who have sided with them include the Hunters and many of the Grunts, although they seem to simply side with whoever is winning.

The Covenant Loyalists
Commander: High Prophet of Truth, Gargantum,Tartarus (deceased), High Prophet of Mercy (deceased)

Multiple ships (various Classes). Multiple ground forces including some of the Jackals, Brutes, some grunts, and Drones.

Timeline
No timeline is given. But events in Halo 2 tell the the beginning of the battle and why it started:


 * September 22, 2552
 * Installation 04 is destroyed by Human forces. Its Monitor, 343 Guilty Spark, escapes to Threshold. The Fleet of Particular Justice is wiped out. The fleet's flagship, the Ascendant Justice, is captured.
 * ? A Covenant Artifact Retrieval team led by Sesa 'Refumee is investigating the Gas Mine of Threshold when he encounters 343 Guilty Spark. Inspired by Spark's words, 'Refumee rebelled against the High Prophets of the Covenant.


 * October 20, 2552
 * The Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice is tried before the High Council and sentenced to death.
 * The High Prophet of Truth overrides the council and makes the Supreme Commander an Arbiter of the Covenant. Truth then sends him to kill Sesa 'Refumee and destroy his rebellion, which they dub "Heresy".
 * The First Battle of Earth. The defeated High Prophet of Regret is forced to retreat to Installation 05, pursued by the UNSC In Amber Clad.
 * The Arbiter and a SpecOps Commander, Rtas 'Vadumee leads a team of SpecOps forces to Threshold, where they kill Sesa 'Refumee and successfully crush his rebellion.


 * October 21, 2552
 * The Master Chief tracks down and kills the Prophet of Regret on Installation 05.
 * High Charity arrives at Installation 05. Witnessing the assasination of the Prophet of Regret, the Prophet of Truth replaces the Honor Guard Elites with Brutes. Insulted, the Elite Councillors threaten to resign from the High Council.
 * The Arbiter and Tartarus are sent to retrieve The Index. The Arbiter successfully takes the Index, but Tartarus tries to kill him and takes the Index from him, as he was secretly ordered to do by the Prophet of Truth.


 * October 22, 2552
 * Most of the Elite Councillors are taken to the surface of Installation 05 where they are massacred by the Brutes.
 * Tartarus declares war on the Elites. Fighting between Elite and Brute forces breaks out all over High Charity. As word spreads, fighting takes place throughout the fleet, as Elite- and Brute-controlled ships attack one another.
 * Tartarus attempts to activate the Halo.
 * The Arbiter, with the help of of Sergeant Johnson and Rtas 'Vadumee, kills Tartarus.
 * The Prophet of Truth takes the Forerunner Ship to Earth, to join The Second Battle of Earth. The Brute forces there are already engaged in fighting with the UNSC. Unbeknownst to the Prophet of Truth, the Master Chief is on the ship, with the intention of "finishing the fight".

Related Links

 * Elites
 * Brutes