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Human-Covenant War: Difference between revisions
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The war was not a victory (unless survival is counted as one), nor was anything "fatal" (the Sangheili and Jiralhanae cultures have not ceased to exist), and how was it in any way "ironic"? I used to admire our neutrality, not so much now.
m (→Aftermath: This recent anthropocentrism is starting to really annoy me. Did it end in victory? Or was it only the Schism -- that was going to occur without the H-C war anyway -- that forced the Covenant's effort to collapse, hence ending the war?) |
m (The war was not a victory (unless survival is counted as one), nor was anything "fatal" (the Sangheili and Jiralhanae cultures have not ceased to exist), and how was it in any way "ironic"? I used to admire our neutrality, not so much now.) |
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The war was instigated by the Covenant whose [[Hierarchs|High Prophets]] made a discovery which led them to believe that humans were directly related to the Forerunners, contradicting their ancient religion. Seeking to keep various political and religious orders intact, a war of genocide was declared against the human race. Over the next few decades the Covenant with superior firepower, numbers and technology, would repeatedly overpower the UNSC across hundreds of worlds, including heavily defended strongholds such as [[Reach]] and even [[Earth]]. Humanity would win only scattered and costly victories. | The war was instigated by the Covenant whose [[Hierarchs|High Prophets]] made a discovery which led them to believe that humans were directly related to the Forerunners, contradicting their ancient religion. Seeking to keep various political and religious orders intact, a war of genocide was declared against the human race. Over the next few decades the Covenant with superior firepower, numbers and technology, would repeatedly overpower the UNSC across hundreds of worlds, including heavily defended strongholds such as [[Reach]] and even [[Earth]]. Humanity would win only scattered and costly victories. | ||
The conflict was also the cause of the [[Great Schism]] within the Covenant. Forced to fight a war on two fronts, the formerly monolithic empire was torn apart. While the [[Battle of Installation 00|deciding battle]] of the war was fought on [[2552#December|December 11, 2552]],<ref name="fortitude">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/featured/video/herofortitude/bfe5038b-314a-4f17-a6be-f7613e0e3788 '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Hero-Fortitude'']</ref> an informal ceasefire was not agreed upon until [[2553#February|February 2553]].<ref name="ceasefire"/> The official cessation of hostilities was declared on [[2553#March|March 3, 2553]].<ref name="Dr. Iqbal"/> The war was incredibly costly to both sides, with over twenty-three billion humans and billions of Covenant killed during the hostilities. An outbreak of the virulent parasite known as the Flood almost consumed both factions near the war's end. The conflict lasted for a total of twenty-eight years. | The conflict was also the cause of the [[Great Schism]] within the Covenant. Forced to fight a war on two fronts, the formerly monolithic empire was torn apart. While the [[Battle of Installation 00|deciding battle]] of the war was fought on [[2552#December|December 11, 2552]],<ref name="fortitude">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/featured/video/herofortitude/bfe5038b-314a-4f17-a6be-f7613e0e3788 '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Hero-Fortitude'']</ref> an informal ceasefire was not agreed upon until [[2553#February|February 2553]].<ref name="ceasefire"/> The official cessation of hostilities was declared on [[2553#March|March 3, 2553]].<ref name="Dr. Iqbal"/> The war was incredibly costly to both sides, with over twenty-three billion humans and billions of Covenant individuals killed during the hostilities. An outbreak of the virulent parasite known as the Flood almost consumed both factions near the war's end. The conflict lasted for a total of twenty-eight years. | ||
After the ceasefire was declared, the Great Schism continued as late as [[2559]], albeit with a greatly diminished scope and scale.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', ''The Return''</ref> Concurrent to this, the Sangheili species fell into [[Sangheili civil war|civil war]], as did the Jiralhanae. [[Shipmaster]] [[Jul 'Mdama]] manipulated the disarray following the war to [[Covenant remnant|reform the Covenant]] in 2553. This reborn Covenant would eventually spark a [[Second human-Covenant war|new | After the ceasefire was declared, the Great Schism continued as late as [[2559]], albeit with a greatly diminished scope and scale.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', ''The Return''</ref> Concurrent to this, the Sangheili species fell into [[Sangheili civil war|civil war]], as did the Jiralhanae. [[Shipmaster]] [[Jul 'Mdama]] manipulated the disarray following the war to [[Covenant remnant|reform the Covenant]] in 2553. This reborn Covenant would eventually spark a [[Second human-Covenant war|new conflict with humanity]] that would be fought at least through [[2558|February 2558]].<ref name="Reed">[http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/Headlines/post/2013/06/03/Halo-Initiation-Writer-Interview.aspx '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Halo Initiation Writer Interview''] ''("Experience a new war with the Covenant ...")''</ref> | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
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[[File:Attend2.PNG|thumb|right|250px|The ceremony held to honor the fallen.]] | [[File:Attend2.PNG|thumb|right|250px|The ceremony held to honor the fallen.]] | ||
{{Quote|Decades from now, when historians evaluate the war, what will they say about us? Will they claim that our victory was ultimately fruitless? That it failed to secure a lasting peace, or worse, that it was only a prelude to far greater horrors that now lay ahead? My hope -- OUR HOPE -- is that history would instead view this war as a catalyst. That the last thirty years were a crucible, a threshing floor for our species, sifting out our fears and frailties. And that ultimately it made us stronger and more vigilant in the end, fully prepared for whatever will come next. After all, what good is struggle if there is no change? What good is a fire if the sword is not made stronger?|[[Codename: SURGEON]] prefacing the first [[Eleventh Hour reports|Eleventh Hour report]].<ref name="EH">'''[[Eleventh Hour reports]]''': ''Aftermath (1/5)''</ref>}} | {{Quote|Decades from now, when historians evaluate the war, what will they say about us? Will they claim that our victory was ultimately fruitless? That it failed to secure a lasting peace, or worse, that it was only a prelude to far greater horrors that now lay ahead? My hope -- OUR HOPE -- is that history would instead view this war as a catalyst. That the last thirty years were a crucible, a threshing floor for our species, sifting out our fears and frailties. And that ultimately it made us stronger and more vigilant in the end, fully prepared for whatever will come next. After all, what good is struggle if there is no change? What good is a fire if the sword is not made stronger?|[[Codename: SURGEON]] prefacing the first [[Eleventh Hour reports|Eleventh Hour report]].<ref name="EH">'''[[Eleventh Hour reports]]''': ''Aftermath (1/5)''</ref>}} | ||
On [[2553|March 3, 2553]], a [[Voi Memorial|monument was erected on a hillside]] near the Portal to the Ark to commemorate the billions of men and women killed during the war, and [[John-117]]'s tag was included as he was presumed MIA by the UNSC, as no Spartan could be declared dead. Lord Hood shook hands with the Arbiter to signify an end to hostilities. | On [[2553|March 3, 2553]], a [[Voi Memorial|monument was erected on a hillside]] near the Portal to the Ark to commemorate the billions of men and women killed during the war, and [[John-117]]'s tag was included as he was presumed [[Missing in action|MIA]] by the UNSC, as no Spartan could be declared dead. Lord Hood shook hands with the Arbiter to signify an end to hostilities. | ||
The Great Schism would continue for at least another six years between | The Great Schism would continue for at least another six years between Sangheili and Jiralhanae factions, further depleting their now crumbling infrastructure. Their reliance upon the sciences and technology of the Forerunners, while neglecting their own, proved a weakness. The fate of the Prophets, after the infestation of ''High Charity'' resulted in the near-extinction of their race, now hangs in the balance, with little more than a thousand survivors able to flee to unknown space. The most destructive conflict in human history had ended in survival of the humanity, but at a staggering cost. Both the UNSC and the former members of the now-broken Covenant then turned to the enormous task of rebuilding their once great societies. | ||
After the war, [[Codename: SURGEON]] authored [[Eleventh Hour reports|a series of reports]] detailing the impact of the Covenant War and the postwar status quo. In light of predicted resurgences of the Covenant and the Insurrection, as well as new discoveries regarding the Forerunners and their complex relationship with humanity, SURGEON concluded that the war should be viewed as an experience which served to strengthen the resolve of humanity as a whole and prepared them for even worse struggles yet to come.<ref name="EH"/> This is similar to SURGEON's conclusions regarding the Insurrection's impact on humanity's survival in the Covenant War in ''[[Historical/Psychological Analysis of Cole, Preston J.]]''<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', ''page 457''</ref> | After the war, [[Codename: SURGEON]] authored [[Eleventh Hour reports|a series of reports]] detailing the impact of the Covenant War and the postwar status quo. In light of predicted resurgences of the Covenant and the Insurrection, as well as new discoveries regarding the Forerunners and their complex relationship with humanity, SURGEON concluded that the war should be viewed as an experience which served to strengthen the resolve of humanity as a whole and prepared them for even worse struggles yet to come.<ref name="EH"/> This is similar to SURGEON's conclusions regarding the Insurrection's impact on humanity's survival in the Covenant War in ''[[Historical/Psychological Analysis of Cole, Preston J.]]''<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', ''page 457''</ref> | ||
The end of the war only provided a short period of calm for humanity, before new threats began to emerge. [[Shipmaster]] [[Jul 'Mdama]] eventually reunited some of the disparate factions which had surfaced in the wake of the Great Schism and [[Covenant remnant|reformed the Covenant]]. At some point after early 2553, this new Covenant started a [[Second human-Covenant war|second war with humanity]], which later saw the involvement of reawakened [[Forerunner]] [[Promethean]]s led by the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]. This war would be fought as late as [[2558|February 2558]].<ref name="Reed"/><ref>'''Halo 4'',' ''Spartan Ops''</ref> | The end of the war only provided a short period of calm for humanity and the former-Covenant species, before new threats began to emerge. The end of the war had had a profound effect on Thel 'Vadam, whose human-sympathetic policies were ultimately a factor in the beginning of the Sangheili civil war and the rise of the [[Servants of the Abiding Truth]]. [[Shipmaster]] [[Jul 'Mdama]] eventually reunited some of the disparate factions which had surfaced in the wake of the Great Schism and [[Covenant remnant|reformed the Covenant]]. At some point after early 2553, this new Covenant started a [[Second human-Covenant war|second war with humanity]], which later saw the involvement of reawakened [[Forerunner]] [[Promethean]]s led by the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]. This war would be fought as late as [[2558|February 2558]].<ref name="Reed"/><ref>'''Halo 4'',' ''Spartan Ops''</ref> | ||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||