Sangheili High Councilor

Councilor is the highest Covenant Sangheili (Elite) rank. They may even be higher than the Arbiter. There has been debate on this rank for some time.

Rank
Councilor is the highest rank attainable for an Elite of the Covenant, military or politically, although in religious significance, the Arbiter is far superior. They are members of the High Council, along with the Lesser Prophets. They share power directly under the High Prophets.

Councilors have been described as "aristocratic" by lesser races. Only one Councilor's name has ever been stated, that of Soha 'Rolamee. The structure of his name indicates that he has participated in the military, and in fact, it is likely that every Councilor Elite is required to participate in the Covenant military.

Councilors are masters of warfare, as befitting with their extraordinarily high rank. They normally bear a single Energy Sword, which they used with great effect on the campaign level The Great Journey to destroy Brutes. They are also, albeit infrequently, armed with single-wielded or dual-wielded Plasma Rifles. However, they are adept with any weapon, United Nations Space Command or Covenant. They also grudgingly accept Brute weapons, although they deprecate their firearms then in disdain, probably considering them "Heretic" technology.

Councilors are also the only rank of Elite that do not waver upon being hit by a melee attack. They stand their ground and do not become shaken as all other ranks do.

The shields they are equipped with are amazingly strong compared to other ranks, able to withstand tremendous damage, far more then any other elite rank including Zealots, which a shotgun can destroy with only one full shot. Even a rocket is not sufficient to kill a Councilor.

Physical Appearance
Councilors wear large, distinct and oddly shaped crowns as ceremonial helmets. These helmets are mostly silver with streaks of dark gray and olive. Their headdresses are reminiscent of the queen alien's head from the Alien series. Their armor consists of white plates similar to highly-ranked Ultras.

Halo 2
The Councilors are exclusive to Halo 2, and are never seen in Halo: Combat Evolved. Their infrequence in numbers leads to their appearance being only four times throughout the entire campaign.

During the Civil War of the Covenant, many of these Elites were taken to the surface of Installation 05 (Delta Halo), where they were massacred by Tartarus' Brutes. Several were imprisoned, however, and were set free by the Arbiter. While invading the Control Room, he passed through the bastion of the Brutes, coming across a force field prison. He unlocked the cages, bringing forth two Councilors and two Hunters. One Councilor was armed with an Energy Sword, another with a single Plasma Rifle. In the climatic battle that defeated Tartarus, numerous Councilors fought with their swords against the Brute Chieftain, only to fall in vain to the Fist of Rukt.