Covenant Honor Guard

"Thou, in faith, will keep us safe, Whilst we find the path."

- Covenant Writ of Union

The Honor Guard is a special unit of Covenant warriors tasked with providing security for the High Council. They were traditionally composed of Sangheili members, but were replaced by Jiralhanae during the Great Schism.

Role
The members of the Honor Guard serve as personal protection for the San'Shyuum members of the High Council. They are the most skilled of warriors and are hand-picked for the duty of protecting the High Prophets, as well as members of the High Council, from any danger. In accordance with their duties, they are unwaveringly loyal to the individuals they protect and will defend them to the death. Honor guardsmen are expected to kill anyone who draws a weapon in the presence of a Hierarch.

The highly ornate armor of the Honor Guard consists of a red-and-black combat harness adorned with glowing orange panels. In addition to standard Covenant weaponry such as plasma rifles, they are armed with Energy Swords and bladed Energy Staves.

Ranks
Although Guard service is a great honor, it is seen by some Sangheili and Jiralhanae as a merely ceremonial duty and a way to silence those who perhaps see a little too clearly in the Human-Covenant War. Though moved to a specialist rank, the Honor Guardsmen retain their old armors, indicating that most Honor Guards are formerly Sangheili Majors, Sangheili Ultras, or Jiralhanae Captains.

Wherever a High Prophet is located, an Honor Guardsman is always by their side. There could be as many as three hundred Honor Guardsmen for each Prophet, as a chamber within the Sanctum of the Hierarchs seems designed to hold three hundred Honor Guards.

It is known that both the Honor Guard Sangheili and Jiralhanae are stronger than their average counterparts.

Early history
After the Sangheili-San 'Shyuum War, the two sides formed the Covenant. The San 'Shyuum were to be the governmental leaders and scientists, with the Sangheili as their protectors and main military force. The Covenant Honor Guards were established to protect the Covenant High Council and Hierarchs.

Human-Covenant War
Between 2542 and 2552, the Honor Guard were charged with defending a Lesser Prophet on a Covenant-controlled planet that served as a major logistics base. Unfortunately for them, a team of ODSTs infiltrated the planet and sniped the Prophet from a distance of two miles before the Honor Guard could intervene.

On October 20th, 2552, Covenant Ground and Naval forces invaded Earth. The High Prophet of Regret and his fleet came to Earth to find The Ark, a facility where they could fire all of the Halo Installations and complete The Great Journey. Being pursued by United Nations Space Command forces, Solemn Penance escaped by going into slipspace in New Mombasa, Kenya.

When they arrived on Installation 05, Regret and his Sangheili Honor Guardsmen stationed themselves at a temple in the middle of a lake near the Quarantine Zone of the Library.

Much to the Prophet's surprise, the human vessel In Amber Clad followed him to the Installation. The UNSC forces aboard, led by Miranda Keyes, initiated an assault on the temple with the intent of capturing or killing the Prophet. SPARTAN-II John-117 led the attack, infiltrating the temple and entering the Prophet's chamber. The Sangheili Honor Guardsmen fought furiously to protect the Hierarch, but ultimately could not prevent John-117 from killing the Prophet of Regret.

Changing of the Guard
Following the catastrophic failure of Sangheili forces in safeguarding Installation 04, the Hierarch's confidence in the abilities of the Sangheili wavered. Their willingness to trust the Sangheili as their personal protectors declined even further when the Prophet of Regret's bodyguards failed to save him from death at the hands of the "Demon" John-117. As a result, the High Prophets of Truth and Mercy ordered the Sangheili to step down as the protectors of the Prophets. In their place, the Jiralhanae filled in the void left by the disgraced Sangheili.

The Great Schism
At the Battle of the Quarantine Zone in November 2552, Chieftain Tartarus retrieved the Index from the Arbiter, and moments later sent him to his death which he survived.

This action, given to Tartarus by the High Prophets, started the Great Schism, that would last for several years.

During the Battle of High Charity, the Jiralhanae Honor Guardsmen were put into more of an infantry role fighting the Covenant separatists still on the capital world and on ships in orbit.

Later during the battle on High Charity, the Prophets of Truth and Mercy along with their personal Jiralhanae Honor Guards fled towards a landing pad where they would leave on the Forerunner Dreadnought in the middle of the city.

During this, the Flood, led by the Gravemind, begin their invasion of High Charity. A lone Infection Form that slipped past the Jiralhanae, grasped onto Mercy's chest and began his assimilation into a proto-Gravemind. Truth, not wanting any potential threat to his ultimate supremacy, allowed the old Prophet to die.

List of appearances

 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo: The Cole Protocol
 * Halo Wars
 * Halo Legends
 * Origins
 * The Babysitter
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * The Return
 * Halo 2 Anniversary