Covenant (disambiguation): Difference between revisions

As the highest caste, it is the Prophets who lead the Covenant and exert complete control over religious and political affairs. Physically weak, Prophets wield power through absolute command of the Covenant and through scavenged Forerunner technology, leaving the task of conquest to the Elites and the other races. Their higher understanding of the Forerunners gives them great egos and religious powers over the Covenant. The fact that the Covenant are religious zealots makes it all the more easy to control them.<ref name="best"/> They are addressed as '[[Hierarchs]]'

'Noble Hierarchs' or 'Holy Ones' by the other races of the Covenant. Prophets enforce a misguided theology based on the belief that firing the Halo array will herald some kind of sublimation event called the [[Great Journey]]. They are called '''San 'Shyuum''' in the Covenant language. The most recent [[Hierarchs]] were [[Regret]], [[Mercy]] and, [[Truth]].

Brutes are one of the new species to the Covenant and is the only race that has obtained equal status to that of one of the founding "clients" of the Covenant pact, the Elites. They have an incredible natural resilience to damage that makes up for their lack of [[Energy Shields]] (be it noted that later in ''[[Halo 3]]'' they get power armor), and use a number of [[Brute Sandbox|weapons and vehicles]] based upon their pre-Covenant technology. As opposed to standard Brute combat, Brutes sometimes will go "berserk," and will kill anyone or anything in its path. The said Brute will charge mindlessly in the event of its armor being shot off or its companions being killed. Brutes have their own ranks going up to [[War Chieftain]]s who usually wield [[Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapon|Plasma Cannons]], [[Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon|Fuel Rod Guns]], or [[Chieftain]]s who usually wield [[Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer|Gravity Hammers]]. The [[Brute]]s always work in packs of 3-8 when possible. Brutes are unlike Elites in that they do not have an aversion to using Human weapons, as shown in the books and ''[[Halo 2]]''. After the Elites were replaced for failing to protect the [[High Prophet of Regret]] from the '[[John-117|Demon]]', they took over their role as personal [[Brute Bodyguard|bodyguards]] of the Prophets and also now make up most of the Covenant army. They have a hairy, ape-like appearance with rough, rhino-like skin and have a helmet-like head. They are called '''Jiralhanae''' in the Covenant language. In Halo 2 it is harder to kill brutes than it is than in Halo 3.  

Elites served as the military leaders for the Covenant. While Prophets often had the last say, it was the Elites who organized military campaigns and naval engagements. [[Ship Master]]s commanded ships, Fleet Masters commanded mighty Fleets, and [[Field Masters]] commanded the vast armies. Elites maintained the military structure of the Covenant and ensured the Prophets' orders, as well as their own, were carried out. They also had a diverse [[rank]] structure which is based of how many foes an Elite had killed. Elites were a major component of the Covenant and were the only caste able to maintain the military hierarchy as well as having a voice within the [[High Council]]. As the Prophets and Brutes attempted genocide of the Elites, they [[Covenant Separatists|left the Covenant]], sparking a [[Great Schism|civil war]] within the Covenant and allied themselves with the [[UNSC]]. They are called '''Sangheili''' in the Covenant language. An "ee" in front of an elite name such as "notodee" would signify that that elite is a part of the Sangheili military.  

Hunters are actually assemblage of worm-like entities called '''Mgalekgolo''' that create a communal, armor plated form. They always fight in pairs, are the strongest Covenant fighting units and wield powerful [[Assault Cannon]]s. They are usually used as shock infantry. Their political motivation is completely unknown.

Also a new species in the Covenant these flying, insect-like warriors called Drones serve almost exclusively as professional soldiers rather than conforming to Covenant societal norms and are extremely dangerous, though they are the weakest of the Covenant military species, and quite a few weapons from both the Covenant and UNSC are powerful enough to deal and instant kill such as the Battle Rifle. Their ability to fight on the wing makes them an excellent strategic weapon against ground-based opponents. Unlike most other Covenant race, the Drones do not require an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere or a methane environment, as [[Grunts]] do, to survive. They are called '''Yanme'e''' in the Covenant language. Some people believe that Drones had joined the Covenant some time in between ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' and ''Halo 2''. This can be proved false, as they appear in the novel ''Halo: Contact Harvest'', which was the first Human-Covenant contact.  

Due to their superior senses, Jackals are the scouts and marksmen of the Covenant military. They are about 5'6" tall and due to their lack of physical durability, they carry a portable [[Jackal Personal Arm Shield|energy shield]] generator during combat. The types of weapons they carry are [[Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol|Plasma Pistol]]s, [[Type-51 Carbine|Covenant Carbine]]s, a single [[Type-50 Sniper Rifle System|Beam Rifle]], and occasionally [[Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|Needler]]s. Their appearance is bird-like, earning them the nicknames "Tree Turkeys". Jackals are employed mainly as sharpshooters with their excellent vision and dexterity. When a jackal is under fire, it will cover its head with its hands and trot away to another position from which to fire from. The first [[Human]] contact was between [[Staff Sergeant]]s [[Johnson]] and [[Byrne]] on a Human Freighter as Jackal pirates tried to board the ship. Jackals have never been seen throwing grenades. They are called '''Kig-yar''' in Covenant language.

Grunts are the workhorses of the Covenant, as the name implies. Despite their obvious cowardice and ineptitude, they excel dangerously in large numbers, which may have been why an [[Arbiter (Character)|Arbiter]] was needed to quell the [[Grunt Rebellion]]. They breathe a methane mixture and thus must wear a large tank on their backs full of the methane to live. In ''[[Halo 3]]'' if you knock off their backs the methane will come out. However, they can briefly survive after it is shot off.  They fight well in [[Shade|Plasma Turrets]] and use the [[Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol|Plasma Pistol]] and [[Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|Needler]], sometimes wielding the [[Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon|Fuel Rod Gun]] as well. If their leader is killed, Grunts will run away or they may go Kamikaze by activating two [[Plasma Grenades]] (one on each hand) while charging at you and yelling gibberish. On the other hand, [[Heretic Grunt]]s will fearlessly charge the enemy when their leader is dead. Their discipline is dependent upon strong leadership and strength of numbers; however leaderless, they will significantly present less resistance, often cowering. Unggoy have a considerable amount of physical strength, enabling them to wield large weapons in the Covenant arsenal. They had learned many Human languages from intercepting transmissions between Human vessels. One theory about the Unggoy's ability to learn languages rather quickly is that there isn't much else to focus on when the are stuck intercepting transmissions for the Covenant. They are called '''Unggoy''' in the Covenant language. During the [[Covenant Civil War]] they, as well as the [[Hunters]] did not fully support either side.

Engineers don't really fit in with the Covenant caste system. In military terms, they are the lowest as they are a non-militant race. They are needed to maintain the Covenant war machines and will only converse with the Prophets (also Grunts who learn their language). This, however, indicates Engineers are very high in the caste system, probably because The Covenant are aware of how much they are needed and that the Engineer's grasp on Covenant '''''and''''' foreign technology (observed in the novel ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'' to be disassembling a Human car and quickly repairing it) (they are also known for fixing something that doesn't work, as well as something that works perfectly fine), is profound. Engineers are actually an artificial species created by the Forerunners, which could contribute to their high status. They are called '''Huragok''' in the [[Forerunner]] and Covenant language. These were removed from the final version of ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' (though they are still in the game, they are not used), but are in some of the novels.

*''[[Drinol]]s'' are bosses that did not make it into the ''Halo'' games. They are thought to have been remade into the [[Flood Juggernaut]] boss flood type, which itself is a deleted [[Flood]] form.