Sangheili Honor Guardsman

Summary
Elite Honor Guard is a Covenant Sangheili (Elite) rank. Coming from highly honored backrounds, these Elites are picked at birth to be the personal bodyguards of the Prophet Hierarchs.

Rank
They wear red helmets and under-armor with large semi-circular orange 'plates' sticking into the air. These 'plates' also have yellow and red alternating patterns, bordered by black. This yellow/red alternating pattern is also seen on the thrones of High Prophets. It is unknown if they are the highest rank or in another rank class entirely, but some things support that they are equal in rank with the Ultra Elite. For the first: Both ranks can become Honor Guard Ultras. For the second: An Honor Guard is less active than a Zealot, making many people to belive that they're one step lower than Zealots, and that's equal with Ultra Elites. For the third: In the standard Elite military, Major Domo Elites are one step lower than the Ultra Elite, and the Honor Guard's underarmor is red, as the Major Domo's armor, which could mean that a Major Domo can graduate to Honor Guard, and then when the Major graduates one step higher it would result as equal to a Ultra Elite. This is speculation, but it is belivible.

It seems that wherever a High Prophet is present, the Honor Guard are also. There could be as many as 300 Honor Guard Elites for each Prophet, as the Step of Silence seems designed to hold 300 Honor Guard but only one Prophet. They are commanded by the more skilled Honor Guard Ultras.

Combat
Up until The Sacred Icon (Level) in Halo 2 these were the personal bodyguards of the Prophet Hierarchs. Until the Brutes took over before the Civil War of the Covenant. They fought usually with Plasma Swords and occasionally double Plasma Rifles in pairs (they also wield ceremonial spears that match their armor, only in cutscenes). More wiry and agile than the Brute honor guards, their speed and quick reflexes with the Energy Sword paired with their skill with double Plasma Rifles rapid fire made them formidable foes. The Elite Honor Guards are only seen in cutscenes and the levels Delta Halo, Regret, and Gravemind as enemies. It seems that once the Covenant Civil War began Honor Guards began taking back their armor as some Elite Honor Guards can be seen fighting Brutes in the level Gravemind.

Related Links

 * Honor Guard Ultra
 * Brute Honor Guard
 * Honor Guard Councillor
 * Honor Guard Captain