War of Beginnings: Difference between revisions

|commanders1=*[[Breaking Shadow]]{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}

*[[Pervading Stone]]†{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}

*[[Ushering Dusk]]{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}

|commanders2=*[[Arbiter]] [[Vema 'Togad]]  

*[[Supreme Commander]] [[Ophon 'Qaram]]

*[[Kaidon|First Kaidon]] [[Mhelaat 'Orlan]]†{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}

*First Kaidon [[Pelahsar the Strident]]{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}

During the combat, the Sangheili had an early advantage, with each warrior comparable in skill to several San'Shyuum in battle. However, the San'Shyuum's technological superiority, and possession of the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]], meant that they had the advantage in space battles, using the Dreadnought to great effect in devastating hit-and-run strikes against the Sangheili war fleets.{{Ref/Reuse|Encyclopedia}} The San'Shyuum were successful in driving the Sangheili away from their [[Sangheili colonies|interstellar colonies]], while obliterating many Sangheili by appropriating Forerunner relics. The Sangheili were devastated by the lack of honor that the war brought; they were forced to continuously retreat as the San'Shyuum came closer and closer to [[Sanghelios]].<ref name="bc57">'''Halo: Broken Circle''', ''pages 57-58''</ref> During the war, the Sangheili made use of a type of handheld flak cannon that is part of the design lineage of the [[Fuel rod cannon]].{{Ref/Book|Enc22|Page=298}}

The San'Shyuum-Sangheili War soon led to a stalemate. With the seemingly unbeatable keyship in their enemy's possession, a San'Shyuum victory seemed inevitable to the Sangheili. Regardless, they continued to fight and tried to find a way to remove the threat posed by the ancient Forerunner vessel. Eventually, a Sangheili strike force managed to infiltrate the keyship. During their raid, they sabotaged many of the ship's key systems and killed thousands of the San'Shyuum. The Sangheili attackers were wiped out in a swift counterattack, but their actions proved that the San'Shyuum and their keyship were not invulnerable.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Sacrifice|HSoR|Detail= Adjunct - [[Sacrifice]]}}

 

The war eventually led to a skirmish on the [[Planet of Blue and Red]] in [[860 BCE]]. The planet's location made it of strategic importance to the Sangheili, however the San'Shyuum desired to take control of the world for the numerous Forerunner artifacts located on and underneath the planet's surface.<ref>'''Halo: Broken Circle''', ''pages 1-3''</ref> The San'Shyuum forces were led by [[Mken 'Scre'ah'ben|Mken 'Scre'ah'ben, High Lord of Sacred Relics]], while the Sangheili forces were led by [[Ussa 'Xellus]]. Although the San'Shyuum were vastly outnumbered,<ref>'''Halo: Broken Circle''', ''pages 6-7''</ref> they used [[Aggressor Sentinel]]s to weaken Sangheili forces while scientists uncovered and examined the Forerunner structures. Eventually, the San'Shyuum's command stations were breached by Sangheili assassins—forcing all San'Shyuum on the planet to retreat to orbit. High Lord Mken had ordered the Forerunner Dreadnought to fire upon the Sangheili forces, but under Ussa's command, most of them had escaped into a Forerunner structure, which the San'Shyuum were unwilling to damage.<ref>'''Halo: Broken Circle''', ''pages 9-13''</ref> The Sangheili on the planet were eventually forced to flee the system.<ref name="bcpreview">'''Halo: Broken Circle''', ''Chapter 1''</ref>

 

At some point after 876 BCE, the Dreadnought was finally brought to the Sangheili homeworld, Sanghelios; devastating both it and it's moons.{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22|Enc22|Page=191}} The San'Shyuum and the Sangheili both fought for possession of the numerous Forerunner artifacts on the planet.<ref>'''Halo Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Halo Universe''', ''page 120'' (2011 edition)</ref> The state of [[Vadam]] was one of the many Sangheili city-states attacked by the Reformists during the battle. However, [[Vadam keep]]'s well-defended position in [[Kolaar Mountain]] prevented the keep from being destroyed.<ref>'''Halo: The Cole Protocol''', ''page 90''</ref>

 

[[File:H2A Terminals - Sangheili surrender.png|thumb|right|250px|End of the war.]]

In [[855 BCE]], [[Breaking Shadow]] led a coup d'etat against [[Pervading Stone]] on the Dreadnought. Pervading Stone had refused peace with the Sangheili. With his death, the remaining San'Shyuum began to broach the idea.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}

The San'Shyuum realized that they were unable to be victorious in a war with only one ship, especially one that was not nearly as invincible as they had originally thought it to be. Additionally, the San'Shyuum needed an army since their population was so small. The San'Shyuum turned to the Sangheili and proposed the [[Writ of Union]].{{Ref/Reuse|bc57}} In time, the Sangheili learned of the San'Shyuum's belief in the [[Great Journey]], where the Forerunners used the [[Halo Array]] to ascend to a god-like state, and wished to repeat this process on themselves. Coupled with this belief and the fact that the cause of war was obsolete, the Sangheili agreed to unite with the San'Shyuum into an alliance to avoid mutual extinction. In [[852 BCE]], the two species signed a treaty known as the Writ of Union to form the early [[Covenant]], which defined the two races' positions: the San'Shyuum would act as the religious leaders, studying the Forerunners' technology and seeking out the Halos, while the Sangheili would serve as their [[Covenant Honor Guard|protectors]], using weapons and technology developed by the San'Shyuum.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 151''</ref> [[Pelahsar the Strident]] represented the Sangheili when signing, while Breaking Shadow represented the San'Shyuum Reformists, both serving as the founders of the Covenant.