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Prophet of Truth: Difference between revisions
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|birth=[[2396|March 15, 2396]]<ref name="essential"/> | |birth=[[2396|March 15, 2396]]<ref name="essential"/> | ||
|death=[[2552#December|December 11, 2552]]<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/featured/video/herofortitude/bfe5038b-314a-4f17-a6be-f7613e0e3788 '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Hero-Fortitude'']</ref> (aged 156) | |death=[[2552#December|December 11, 2552]]<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/featured/video/herofortitude/bfe5038b-314a-4f17-a6be-f7613e0e3788 '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Hero-Fortitude'']</ref> (aged 156) | ||
|rank=[[Hierarchs|Hierarch of the Covenant]] | |rank=[[Hierarchs|Hierarch of the Covenant]] | ||
|species=[[San'Shyuum]] | |species=[[San'Shyuum]] | ||
|gender=Male | |gender=Male | ||
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{{Quote|Whosoever is gripped by fear, take heed. I am the Prophet of Truth... And I am not afraid.|The Prophet of Truth<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level [[High Charity (level)|''High Charity'']]</ref>}} | {{Quote|Whosoever is gripped by fear, take heed. I am the Prophet of Truth... And I am not afraid.|The Prophet of Truth<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level [[High Charity (level)|''High Charity'']]</ref>}} | ||
The '''High Prophet of Truth''', born '''Ord Casto'''<ref name="essential"/> and formerly serving as the '''Minister of Fortitude''', was the head of the three [[ | The '''High Prophet of Truth''', born '''Ord Casto'''<ref name="essential"/> and formerly serving as the '''Minister of Fortitude''', was the head of the three [[San'Shyuum]] [[Hierarchs]] who led the [[Covenant]] [[High Council]] during the [[Age of Reclamation|Ninth Age of Reclamation]]. Cunning and ruthless, Truth oversaw the Covenant's [[Human-Covenant War|genocidal campaign]] against [[human]]ity for twenty-eight years until his death in [[2552|December 2552]]. | ||
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
=== | ===Early career=== | ||
Ord Casto began his political career as a junior staffer in the [[Ministry of Concert]]. During his time in the Ministry, | Ord Casto was born on ''[[High Charity]]'' on [[2396|March 15, 2396]].<ref name="essential"/> He began his political career as a [[junior staffer]] serving in the [[Ministry of Concert]]. During his time in the Ministry, received a complaint from a [[Unggoy]] distillers' union that claimed faulty atmospheric controls on [[Kig-Yar]] naval vessels were tainting the Unggoy's batches of [[infusion]]—recreational narcotics often enjoyed by Unggoy. Ord Casto was tasked with the dispute due to its seemingly trivia nature. However, he unearthed a conspiracy by several radical Kig-Yar [[shipmaster]]s to poison infusion resources. The Kig-Yar planned to render the Unggoy infertile, as petty revenge for the displacement of Kig-Yar nests—that led to an increase in Kig-Yar infant mortality—caused by a recent boom in Unggoy population. Although Casto recommended stiff penalties, the [[Minister of Concert]] decided to simply fine the Kig-Yar involved. Casto lodged a formal complaint, but was rebuffed by his superiors who did not wish to anger the Kig-Yar. However, the "Infusion Incident" quickly escalated into a bloody skirmish known as the [[Unggoy Rebellion]] in [[2462]], bringing about the [[Ages of Conflict|39th Age of Conflict]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''pages 150-152''</ref> After the Unggoy were pacified and brought back into the Covenant, the [[Ages of Doubt|23rd Age of Doubt]] began, and Casto was promoted to Minister of [[Ministry of Fortitude|Fortitude]] shortly after.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 156''</ref> | ||
Throughout his service in this position, Fortitude worked hard to see that [[Forerunner]] technology was evenly distributed among the member races to prevent another Age of Conflict. Fortitude was on the [[Roll of Celibates]], a list of San'Shyuum not allowed to breed due to their weak genes. This did not, however, particularly bother him.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 264''</ref> As the Minister of Fortitude, he was fond of smoking, yet he rarely used the [[hookah tobacco]]s favored by his senior staff.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 143''</ref> | |||
===Rise to Heirarch=== | |||
On [[2525|January 18, 2525]], Fortitude met with the [[Prophet of Regret|Vice Minister of Tranquility]]. The Vice Minister informed him of the massive trove of "[[Forerunner]] artifacts" that had been discovered on [[Harvest|a planet]] outside of Covenant space by ''[[Minor Transgression]]''. Tranquility planned to use these artifacts to spring himself into a position of high power, as a [[Hierarchs|Hierarch of the Covenant]], and offered the same for Fortitude. Additionally, the Vice Minister had a [[Jiralhanae]] [[Rapid Conversion|vessel]] awaiting for orders near the planet. Intrigued, Fortitude had the Vice Minister order the ship under his command to confirm the artifacts' discovery. Rather than upset the fine balance of power by allowing the [[Sangheili]] to gain the treasures, Fortitude ensured that the Jiralhanae were the ones leading the search.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 154-158''</ref> | |||
In order to push the three current Hierarchs—[[Prophet of Tolerance|Tolerance]], [[Prophetess of Obligation|Obligation]], and [[Prophet of Restraint|Restraint]]—from their positions, Fortitude utilized blackmail against the Prophet of Restraint. The Vice Minister of Tranquility had shown himself as a sympathizer for those blacklisted from reproducing due to inbred genes, after being urged to do so by Fortitude who was aware that Restraint had illegitimately fathered two children. The Prophet of Restraint offered Tranquility a high position if he would adopt the children, but the scheming Prophets instead used this to their advantage, blackmailing him and forcing the Prophet to step down or have his scandalous affair made public.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 266''</ref> | |||
This was a revelation with great implications for the whole Covenant: If humans were the chosen successors of the | Before their coup, the Prophets visited the [[Philologist]] [[Prophet of Mercy|Hod Rumnt]], leader of the [[Asceticism|ascetic priests]] aboard the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] and keeper of the Oracle, which was actually the long-dormant [[05-032 Mendicant Bias|Mendicant Bias]], an ancient [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] that had not spoken to anyone for thousands of years.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 271''</ref> When the Luminations of Harvest were inserted into its matrix, it suddenly reactivated and revealed that the basis of their religious institutions was in fact a misinterpretation. Not only were recently discovered humans considered equals to the Forerunners by the Oracle, but the hallowed "Reclamation" glyph in the Covenant faith actually meant "[[Reclaimer]]". Not of all Forerunners had transcended to the [[Great Journey]] as believed, some had apparently been left behind. This was a revelation with great implications for the whole Covenant: If humans were the chosen successors of the Forerunners—or were surviving Forerunners themselves—yet had not transcended when the Sacred Rings were last activated, then that meant that the Halos would not provide godhood to ''all'' who walked the divine path.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 275'' (''"'The Forerunners,' the Minister whispered. 'Some were left behind.'"'')</ref> The Oracle then tried to launch the central Forerunner Dreadnought from ''[[High Charity]]'' to find and bring the humans to [[Installation 00|the Ark]]. Before it could succeed, the [[Lekgolo]] worms inside the Dreadnought short-circuited it and stopped Mendicant Bias.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 274-276''</ref> Fortitude, Tranquility, and the Philologist made the decision to disconnect the Oracle from the ship and decided to eradicate humanity before any of the Covenant learned that the most basic premise of their faith was false, and that [[human|"living gods"]] would probably replace the Prophets. As such, their ascension was made, taking the names of Truth, Regret, and Mercy.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 381''</ref> When Fortitude realized the implications of what the Oracle had told them, he and the other two Hierarchs-to-be agreed not to tell the masses of their discovery, and decided that [[Human-Covenant War|the humans must be eradicated]] once and for all before any in the Covenant could learn the truth.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 385''</ref> | ||
The | The three Prophets successfully implemented their plan and became the new rulers of the Covenant. This heralded the beginning of the [[Ninth Age of Reclamation]]. Fortitude chose the name "Truth" as a reminder to himself of the truths he must never tell, and the lies he would have to spin to prevent the Covenant from fragmenting.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 384''</ref> | ||
The | ===Rubble crisis=== | ||
Around [[2535]], Truth was approached by the [[Kig-Yar]] [[Reth]], who had brought information of [[the Rubble]] and of the resident humans' desire to trade with the Kig-Yar.<ref name="cp236">'''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]''', ''pages 236''</ref> Realizing that the trade could be used to map the human population, Truth secretly authorized Reth to begin trading weapons which had been modified for use by the humans, then sold to the [[Insurrectionist]]s living in the Rubble. This would hopefully allow the Covenant to track the weapons, finding new human worlds to glass. The institution of the [[Cole Protocol]] hindered this, but Reth had a plan to acquire the location of [[Earth|the human homeworld]] from his human contact [[Peter Bonifacio]]. Truth, who was wishing to minimize Sangheili control on the Covenant, promised the Kig-Yar a higher position in the Covenant if the task was successfully completed.<ref>'''Halo: The Cole Protocol''', ''pages 229-231''</ref> Truth also approved of Reth's plans to construct a massive [[Unggoy]] army on the [[methane]]-rich [[moon]] of [[Metisette]] and eventually use it to attack Earth.<ref name="cp236"/> | |||
All went according to plan until the uninformed Regret sent [[Shipmaster]] [[Thel 'Vadamee]] to investigate the weapons, which had made their way to [[black market]]s on ''High Charity''. Truth made his way to the [[Charybdis system]], several days after the [[Battle of Charybdis IX]], to personally rebuke Regret aboard the latter's personal cruiser—''[[Infinite Sacrifice]]''. Truth decided to leave for the Rubble alongside Regret and his fleet to either aid the Kig-Yar's efforts, or help destroy the Rubble.<ref>'''Halo: The Cole Protocol''', ''pages 285-286''</ref> Due to a failure of the humans to provide Earth's location, Reth ordered an attack on the Rubble and [[Habitat Exodus|Exodus]] [[asteroid]]s, which soon disintegrated along with Truth's plan. With the failure of the plan, Truth was about to have Thel and his soldiers executed, until Thel saved him from a [[Zhar (Sangheili)|disillusioned Sangheili Zealot]]. As a reward, Truth spared Thel on the condition that he "say nothing of what happened here".<ref>'''Halo: The Cole Protocol''', ''pages 340-342''</ref> After returning to ''High Charity'', Truth looked on the positive side, saying they had purged possible human-sympathizing Kig-Yar and Unggoy, and because of the modified weapons, had found two more human worlds.<ref>'''Halo: The Cole Protocol''', ''pages 347-348''</ref> | |||
===Divisive mandate=== | ===Divisive mandate=== | ||
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The Prophet of Truth became the deciding factor in all issues for the three Prophets, representing an inequality in power that put him above the other two.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[The Heretic]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[The Arbiter]]''</ref> | The Prophet of Truth became the deciding factor in all issues for the three Prophets, representing an inequality in power that put him above the other two.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[The Heretic]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[The Arbiter]]''</ref> | ||
Some time before the Prophet of Regret's mission to Earth, Truth had managed to discover Earth's location. For him, this was an opportunity to crush his | Some time before the Prophet of Regret's mission to Earth, Truth had managed to discover Earth's location. For him, this was an opportunity to crush his enemies—both the humans and the Sangheili—once and for all. Instead of informing the rest of the Covenant or his fellow Hierarchs of this discovery, he secretly assembled a fleet of over five hundred warships, to a command-and-control station called ''[[Unyielding Hierophant]]''. All of these forces were commanded exclusively by the Jiralhanae, making it a simple matter to turn the fleet against the Sangheili once the humans had been crushed. This plan had more immediate advantages as well; leaving the Sangheili to scour Earth in search of the most sacred Forerunner artifact in existence, the [[Installation 00|Ark]] [[Portal at Voi|portal generator]], would have placed Truth's plan upon the shoulders of a species he had already decided to cast aside.<ref name="waypoint">'''[[Halo Waypoint]]''', ''"Ten Twenty" history entry''</ref> | ||
However, the UNSC forces discovered ''Unyielding Hierophant'' and its purpose, and a small team of [[SPARTAN-II]] supersoldiers led by [[John-117|the Master Chief]] destroyed the station, along with all but a dozen of the ships in its charge.<ref name="waypoint"/> | However, the UNSC forces discovered ''Unyielding Hierophant'' and its purpose, and a small team of [[SPARTAN-II]] supersoldiers led by [[John-117|the Master Chief]] destroyed the station, along with all but a dozen of the ships in its charge.<ref name="waypoint"/> | ||
After the destruction of ''Unyielding Hierophant'', Truth waited in High Charity in the [[Sanctum of the Hierarchs]] for [[Tartarus]], [[Chieftain of the Jiralhanae]], to arrive | After the destruction of ''Unyielding Hierophant'', Truth waited in ''High Charity'' in the [[Sanctum of the Hierarchs]] for [[Tartarus]], [[Chieftain of the Jiralhanae]], to arrive with what remained of an ancient [[Forerunner Crystal]] that could manipulate time and space. He ordered the reward and secret execution of the remaining survivors from [[Operation: FIRST STRIKE]], so as not to cause panic in the Covenant by stories of how the [[Demon]]s had destroyed an entire fleet.<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''pages 406-408''</ref> Knowledge of the station's ultimate goal, and its eventual destruction, were suppressed by the Prophet of Truth—the ''Unyielding Hierophant'''s original purpose has since remained a closely guarded secret, even from the rest of the Hierarchs.<ref name="waypoint"/> | ||
===The Heretics and the new Arbiter=== | ===The Heretics and the new Arbiter=== | ||
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However, when Johnson asks Truth, "Can't start your own party?", Truth replies: "I admit. I need your help. But that secret dies with all the rest." This indicates that he ordered the Brutes to capture a human, but did not tell them why, supporting the idea that the Covenant at large remained oblivious to the [[Halo Array]]'s true function. He likely took advantage of the fact that the Jiralhanae are not as questioning as the Sangheili and that the promise of the Great Journey would reach them if they obeyed. | However, when Johnson asks Truth, "Can't start your own party?", Truth replies: "I admit. I need your help. But that secret dies with all the rest." This indicates that he ordered the Brutes to capture a human, but did not tell them why, supporting the idea that the Covenant at large remained oblivious to the [[Halo Array]]'s true function. He likely took advantage of the fact that the Jiralhanae are not as questioning as the Sangheili and that the promise of the Great Journey would reach them if they obeyed. | ||
Some part of Truth's animosity towards the Sangheili may stem from the fact that both races competed in [[Sangheili-San 'Shyuum | Some part of Truth's animosity towards the Sangheili may stem from the fact that both races competed in [[Sangheili-San'Shyuum war|a bloody war]] thousands upon thousands of years ago, many decades before the forming of the Covenant. Nevertheless, the Hierarch says that the Elites never really "believed in the promise of the sacred ring". | ||
Although a description for the Prophet describes him as "deluded, possibly insane" as well as a true believer, it is noted that he has always been far less ascetic in his views, even while still the Minister of Fortitude, accepting the dogma but not usually acting in particular reverence toward it.<ref>''Halo: Contact Harvest'', page 148: "Fortitude was not as devout as other Prophets. He believed in the Great Journey, to be sure, but by vocation he was more technocrat than theologian. And yet, as the Minister rose through a pocket of less-crowded air, he couldn't help but feel a rush of spiritual invigoration as the Dreadnought's grand tripodal frame began to glimmer in the morning light."</ref> This continued later on in his career as a Hierarch, most likely because he was partially disillusioned to the Covenant religion by Mendicant Bias's revelations aboard the Forerunner Dreadnought, though not to the extent, unfortunately, that he knew that the Great Journey was a myth and that activating the Halos would destroy all sentient life in the galaxy. | Although a description for the Prophet describes him as "deluded, possibly insane" as well as a true believer, it is noted that he has always been far less ascetic in his views, even while still the Minister of Fortitude, accepting the dogma but not usually acting in particular reverence toward it.<ref>''Halo: Contact Harvest'', page 148: "Fortitude was not as devout as other Prophets. He believed in the Great Journey, to be sure, but by vocation he was more technocrat than theologian. And yet, as the Minister rose through a pocket of less-crowded air, he couldn't help but feel a rush of spiritual invigoration as the Dreadnought's grand tripodal frame began to glimmer in the morning light."</ref> This continued later on in his career as a Hierarch, most likely because he was partially disillusioned to the Covenant religion by Mendicant Bias's revelations aboard the Forerunner Dreadnought, though not to the extent, unfortunately, that he knew that the Great Journey was a myth and that activating the Halos would destroy all sentient life in the galaxy. | ||