Keep

For the Covenant building in Halo Wars, see here.

A Keep is the ancestral home of a Sangheili clan. The only named keep is the keep of the Vadam family in the State of Vadam.

Description

A residence for Sangheili that have returned from battles to mate and raise/train their young, the keep has many common rooms for the average inhabitants, but the Kaidon resides in a larger room for his higher status. It is believed that every keep has dozens of guards for the Kaidon's safety, although the Kaidon usually removes threats himself to show his battle prowess and that he is a capable leader, for it is believed that a Kaidon should be chosen for his skill in battle.

Each keep has a wall where the saga of the keep is written. The saga wall is believed to be in the same room as the council chamber. Keeps are constructed of non-Covenant alloys and are built with more traditional items such as stone and wood, although this theory has not been proven and Covenant metals may be utilized. Depending on the ranking status of the inhabitants the keep may be decorated with Forerunner alloys. Wearing amour around the keep is not customary as most of the inhabitants wear non-combat Sangheili tunics or robes the colors and patterns on the clothing are representative of the ranking status the brighter colors and more complex patterns shows higher status. It is unknown if weapons are carried by the common occupant; the Kaidon carries his traditional Energy sword and Plasma pistol sidearm with him at all times. In case of an attack on the keep there would probably be an armory somewhere.

Each keep and its Kaidon are set to rule over a certain state on Sanghelios and reap the benefits of the governed area; a council of elders oversee the Kaidons actions and help him make decisions. The Councilors if in doubt of the current Kaidons leading abilities may attempt to assassinate the Kaidon and gain his keep this can be achieved through assassins or doing the job themselves. but should they fail the task the plotter will be killed instantly and his family expelled or killed depending on the nature of the attack.

Each keep will vary in size and design. They usually have large courtyards to spar and train. Horticulture is an important part of Sangheili culture as such grasses and other vegetation will be planted in a wide variety. The council room is believed to be circular and may vary between each keep. Most keeps are well carved because they are the government structure of the state they reign over, and as such the Kaidons are not usually poor. Rival clans may take over another's keep, most likely if the rival clan had a keep of their own they would gain dominance over the state and either destroy the enemy keep or have it as a trophy, most notably they may imprison the previous occupants.

The Kaidon will most likely not construct his own keep but either takes a rival keep or have architects construct a new one, although it is not ideal to construct a new keep because of the general cost time and manpower. Most likely based on the hierarchical system that exists on Sanghelios, female Sangheili would probably not be able to be a Kaidon or Kaidoness of a keep. This theory has yet to be proven because no female Sangheili have been ever observed to be in ownership of a keep, although they are of equal strength and speed of a male Sangheili. The keep will usually be moderately populated more so by family members and relatives of the Kaidons and his council, other Sangheili would be chosen for their abilities to train the young, general maintenance, horticulture, to meal preparation. It is very slim that other species may inhabit the keep for any role.