Covenant: Difference between revisions

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The Covenant's culture and religion was based solely on the worship and reverence of the Forerunners. Long ago, the San'Shyuum managed to decipher some of the data stored on terminals aboard the Forerunner Dreadnought, thanks to the Forerunners' robust translation systems. However, even then they were unable to fully comprehend the subtle meanings of many Forerunner glyphs.{{Ref/Reuse|Ency112}} The San'Shyuum incorrectly interpreted the activation of the Halo Array as a means of transcending mortality, a process they came to call the "Great Journey". They did not understand that the Array had been designed to eradicate the Flood, specifically by triggering a galactic holocaust and killing all sentient life within the galaxy. They arrived at the conclusion that the Forerunners had ascended to godhood and left other species of the galaxy to their fates.{{Ref/Reuse|Ency112}} Because of this, the Covenant devoted itself to searching for and recovering of Forerunner artifacts. At several points in the Covenant's history, this desire to reclaim Forerunner technology has resulted in the hegemony declaring war against non-compliant species, the most recent instance being their war against humanity. In Covenant society, personal vendettas are not tolerated,<ref name="flood">'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''' ''page 95''</ref> although many conflicts in the Covenant's past have been sparked by vendettas.<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''' ''page 150''</ref>
The Covenant's culture and religion was based solely on the worship and reverence of the Forerunners. Long ago, the San'Shyuum managed to decipher some of the data stored on terminals aboard the Forerunner Dreadnought, thanks to the Forerunners' robust translation systems. However, even then they were unable to fully comprehend the subtle meanings of many Forerunner glyphs.{{Ref/Reuse|Ency112}} The San'Shyuum incorrectly interpreted the activation of the Halo Array as a means of transcending mortality, a process they came to call the "Great Journey". They did not understand that the Array had been designed to eradicate the Flood, specifically by triggering a galactic holocaust and killing all sentient life within the galaxy. They arrived at the conclusion that the Forerunners had ascended to godhood and left other species of the galaxy to their fates.{{Ref/Reuse|Ency112}} Because of this, the Covenant devoted itself to searching for and recovering of Forerunner artifacts. At several points in the Covenant's history, this desire to reclaim Forerunner technology has resulted in the hegemony declaring war against non-compliant species, the most recent instance being their war against humanity. In Covenant society, personal vendettas are not tolerated,<ref name="flood">'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''' ''page 95''</ref> although many conflicts in the Covenant's past have been sparked by vendettas.<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''' ''page 150''</ref>


[[File:Covie Lance1.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Kig-Yar and Unggoy listening to the sermons of a Prophet.]]
The Covenant were always eager to add new species to the faith,<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''' ''page 51''</ref> so long as they pledged allegiance to the San'Shyuum as their supreme leaders and the Great Journey as their religion.<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''' ''page 50''</ref> Client races were however known to have portions of their culture suppressed, as was the case with the Sangheili and their martial practice ''[[Shrwssha'wash]]''.{{Ref/Game|Id=Skullbearer|HINF|Armor customization (Halo Infinite)|Armor Hall|Detail=[[Skullbearer Trophy]] - Shoulder Description|Quote=The Prophets suppressed many Sangheili martial practices they deemed distasteful, including Shrwssha'wash: a tradition of displaying the skulls of particularly recalcitrant foes after their defeat and ritual dismemberment.}}
 
==Economy==
The Covenant used commerce as a form of economy. As the Covenant's cohesion was grounded in its belief of working to obtain and sharing Forerunner technology, every member of the Covenant was given a form of employment{{Ref/Reuse|harv146}} or a service to fulfill in exchange for goods and necessities. In the Covenant's culture, service for salvation was the moral motivation for the entire population.<ref name="regret">[[Media:Humans hunted.ogg|''Halo 2'' dialogue]], [[Prophet of Regret]]</ref> Despite this, there was discrimination within the Covenant: The lesser species were treated as second-class citizens with little political or representative voice or power.
The Covenant used commerce as a form of economy. As the Covenant's cohesion was grounded in its belief of working to obtain and sharing Forerunner technology, every member of the Covenant was given a form of employment{{Ref/Reuse|harv146}} or a service to fulfill in exchange for goods and necessities. In the Covenant's culture, service for salvation was the moral motivation for the entire population.<ref name="regret">[[Media:Humans hunted.ogg|''Halo 2'' dialogue]], [[Prophet of Regret]]</ref> Despite this, there was discrimination within the Covenant: The lesser species were treated as second-class citizens with little political or representative voice or power.
The Covenant were always eager to add new species to the faith,<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''' ''page 51''</ref> so long as they pledged allegiance to the San'Shyuum as their supreme leaders and the Great Journey as their religion.<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''' ''page 50''</ref> Client races were in all essence [[Slavery|enslaved]] by the Covenant, forced to live a completely different way of life, and if unlucky enough, had their entire culture and history erased. The client races were held together by a common belief; the slave races were driven by the religion which they had been forced to accept. Most races were only kept for their varying skills to be exploited, rather than to be a part of a flourishing empire. However, some races such as the Sangheili and Jiralhanae benefited significantly from the new technology that the Covenant brought, and weren't simply enslaved like the Unggoy.
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==Species==
==Species==
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==Military==
==Military==
{{Main|Covenant military}}
{{Main|Covenant military}}
[[File:HW Covenant render logoles.png|thumb|300px|[[Sangheili]], the initial leaders of the Covenant military.]]
[[File:HW LECover-Wide.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Ripa 'Moramee leads a Covenant force comprising of Sangheili and Unggoy infantry and a Banshee squadron.]]
The Covenant maintained pervasive armed forces to enforce order, conduct atmospheric and space combat operations, and generally carry out the Covenant's will throughout space. Unlike the [[UNSC]], however, the Covenant lacked a single unified military arm, and its armed forces were instead comprised of several organizations overseen by various ministerial bodies.<ref name="fb">'''[[Halo: Fleet Battles]]''', ''Core Rulebook - page 7''</ref> The Covenant's military capability was most overtly embodied in its spaceborne [[Covenant fleet|fleets]], ranging from small [[battle group]]s to entire armadas. Various task-based groups served under these fleets, including the occupational ground forces and the [[Special Warfare Group]], which contained the [[Special Operations|Special Operations Division]].
The Covenant maintained pervasive armed forces to enforce order, conduct atmospheric and space combat operations, and generally carry out the Covenant's will throughout space. Unlike the [[UNSC]], however, the Covenant lacked a single unified military arm, and its armed forces were instead comprised of several organizations overseen by various ministerial bodies.<ref name="fb">'''[[Halo: Fleet Battles]]''', ''Core Rulebook - page 7''</ref> The Covenant's military capability was most overtly embodied in its spaceborne [[Covenant fleet|fleets]], ranging from small [[battle group]]s to entire armadas. Various task-based groups served under these fleets, including the occupational ground forces and the [[Special Warfare Group]], which contained the [[Special Operations|Special Operations Division]].


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File:HaloWars-CovenantSymbol.png|The emblem used to identify the Covenant faction in ''Halo Wars'', fashioned after a Hierarch's headdress.
File:HaloWars-CovenantSymbol.png|The emblem used to identify the Covenant faction in ''Halo Wars'', fashioned after a Hierarch's headdress.
File:HCE_CovenantSpecies_Concept.jpg|Concept art of the various Covenant species created early in the development of ''Halo: Combat Evolved''.
File:HCE_CovenantSpecies_Concept.jpg|Concept art of the various Covenant species created early in the development of ''Halo: Combat Evolved''.
File:HW LECover-Wide.jpg|Ripa 'Moramee leads a Covenant force comprising of Sangheili and Unggoy infantry and a Banshee squadron.
File:HFOR-Covenant.png|A hologram of multiple Covenant species in ''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''.
File:HFOR-Covenant.png|A hologram of multiple Covenant species in ''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''.
File:Covenant LogoHD.png|The Sangheili scripture for the word Covenant. First seen in a ''[[Halo: Fleet Battles]]'' promo and later in [[Sunaion]].  The image is a Photoshop recreation.
File:Covenant LogoHD.png|The Sangheili scripture for the word Covenant. First seen in a ''[[Halo: Fleet Battles]]'' promo and later in [[Sunaion]].  The image is a Photoshop recreation.
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File:TruthAndReconciliation replica.jpg|The Sangheili sigils for the Covenant on a replica of the {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]''.
File:TruthAndReconciliation replica.jpg|The Sangheili sigils for the Covenant on a replica of the {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]''.
File:Covenant SymbolHorizontal.png|Horizontal version of the Symbol of the Covenant.
File:Covenant SymbolHorizontal.png|Horizontal version of the Symbol of the Covenant.
File:Covie Lance1.jpg|Kig-Yar and Unggoy listening to the sermons of a Prophet.
File:HW Covenant render logoles.png|[[Sangheili]], the initial leaders of the Covenant military.
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