Salus 'Crolon: Difference between revisions

{{Era|Covenant}}

After [[Ussa 'Xellus]] warned [[Xellus keep|his keep]] to not trust the newly formed [[Covenant]] in [[851 BCE]], Covenant attack fighters razed the keep. Ussa led the survivors to the [[Nwari]] region, before he departed for the Refuge with his allies and other like-minded Sangheili—including Salus 'Crolon and his [[clan]]. On the [[shield world]], now called the Refuge, the [[Ussans]] intended to grow and strike back against the Covenant.<ref name="bc35"/> In [[850 BCE]], 'Crolon approached Ussa and his second-in-command [[Ernicka the Scar-Maker]]. He openly expressed his doubts about Ussa's decision, as he was worried about angering the Forerunners by living on the shield world. While Ernicka rebuked 'Crolon for his lack of faith in the [[kaidon]], Ussa dismissed 'Crolon's worries and addressed all [[Ussans]] in a speech to give them hope and reminded them that they had crossed the "[[Great Torrent]]".<ref name="bc46"/>

{{Quote|multi=yes|1=Vil 'Kthamee|q1=I think he is a liar, Your Eminence.|2=Trok 'Tanghil|q2=I agree with Vil 'Kthamee. This traitor speaks so much only because he hopes to dazzle with words.|3=[[Vil 'Kthamee]] and [[Trok 'Tanghil]] on 'Crolon, to the Prophet of Inner Conviction<ref name="bc168"/>}}

The next day, 'Crolon stabbed his guard, [['Kwari]], in the hearing membrane with a small blade. The guard opened the door to wound 'Crolon with his burnblade, but the traitor stabbed 'Kwari in the eye with his makeshift blade and wrestled the burnblade from his grasp. Decapitating the injured guard, 'Crolon ran towards the shield world's hangar. Sooln became aware of 'Crolon's escape and informed Ussa. The two ran to the jail, where Enduring Bias showed them how 'Crolon escaped. 'Crolon sabotaged the hanger's controls to prevent Bias from stopping his escape. 'Crolon enabling an emergency fail-safe within the hangar that allowed him to board ''[[Clan's Blade]]'' and open the hangar door through the ship's controls. Despite the trio's attempts to stop him, 'Crolon escaped and fled [[Ussan system|the system]] by entering [[slipstream space]]. Fearing that 'Crolon might give the shield world's coordinates to the Covenant, Ussa prepared the Ussans for war.<ref name="bc155"/> However, ''Clan's Blade'' was soon intercepted by the Covenant and 'Crolon was captured. He offered to show the Covenant where the shield world was located, though his help was not needed as the world's coordinates were found in the vessel's records. Nonetheless, he was interrogated and kept alive in hopes of bargaining with the Ussans in the inevitable conflict that ensured.<ref>'''Halo: Broken Circle''', ''page 165'' (Google Play edition)</ref> During his interrogations, he claimed that he was attempting to act as an agent for the Covenant, but [[Qurlom]] searched the records and confirmed that the only [[Vertikus|Covenant agent]] on [[Sanghelios]] had been killed.<ref name="bc168"/>

'Crolon was brought aboard ''[[Pledge of Holiness]]'', the [[flagship]] of the [[Covenant fleet]] tasked with quelling Ussa's rebellion. [[Mleer]] brought 'Crolon before the [[Mken 'Scre'ah'ben|Prophet of Inner Conviction]], the commander of the fleet, to be interrogated. Inner Conviction revealed his intent to use 'Crolon as a negotiator, however, the Ussan traitor insisted that he would be killed by Ussa. He claimed that Ussa was aware of 'Crolon's support of the "''holy and sacred Covenant''" and his love for the [[Great Journey]], and that he had fled the shield world and Ussa's "dictatorship" to join the Covenant. He grew nervous when he called Enduring Bias a "diabolical intelligence" and realized that the monitor would be revered by the Covenant, and instead reiterated that Bias was programmed to be diabolical by Ussa and Sooln. Conferring with his Sangheili advisers, Inner Conviction realized that 'Crolon was a liar and had Mleer lock him up in the [[Covenant carrier|carrier]]'s brig.<ref name="bc168"/> 'Crolon was sent to lead the first invasion force of the [[Covenant military]] to the shield world's surface, despite his reluctance. He encountered Ussan forces that attacked the Covenant-loyal Sangheili. Realizing that he had been spotted by the Ussans, 'Crolon attempted to run and requested for the Covenant soldiers to pull back to a safer vantage point. However, three Ussans surrounded 'Crolon and cut him down with their burnblades, killing the traitor.<ref name="bc177">'''Halo: Broken Circle''', ''pages 177-178'' (Google Play edition)</ref>

Hundreds of years later, Salus 'Crolon would be remembered as a traitor among the Ussans. Sculptures of slithering, semi-saurian depictions of 'Crolon being slew by Ernicka the Scar-Maker were placed in the Refuge's [[Hall of Godminds]].<ref>'''Halo: Broken Circle''', ''page 225'' (Google Play edition)</ref>

{{Quote|Do not jump to conclusions about him. No need to mistake an annoying personality for a treasonous one.|Ussa 'Xellus, to [[Ernicka the Scar-Maker]], referring to 'Crolon<ref name="bc46"/>}}

Salus 'Crolon was a smooth-talking, dishonest [[Sangheili]] who was very much orientated towards his own survival.<ref name="bc155"/> 'Crolon considered himself to be an individual that thought logically and methodically, and pondered each side of a dilemma. When he spoke to his superiors, he always exuded false modesty and humbleness.<ref name="bc59"/> [[Ussa 'Xellus]] believed him to be an annoying individual. He was rather religious, and held on to Sangheili beliefs that existed before the [[San'Shyuum-Sangheili War]]. 'Crolon remained reluctant to use technology created by the [[Forerunner]]s, and believed that doing so would incur their wrath. As such, he was wary to live on the Forerunner-built [[Shield World 0673]]. Although most Sangheili respected [[Sooln 'Xellus]] for her intelligence and wisdom, 'Crolon believed that she did not know her place in their species' patriarchal society.<ref name="bc46"/> He also criticized [[Lnur 'Mol]] for having considerable experience with weapons.<ref name="bc115"/> When the Ussans gathered to eat in [[the Refuge]], 'Crolon was always one of the first to eat.<ref name="bc104"/>

'Crolon began to doubt Ussa's leadership capabilities and often engaged in near-seditious conversations with other Sangheili. He was evidently aware that his opinions could potentially label him as a traitor and he took care to only express his views away from Ussa, Ernicka, and Sooln. When questioned on his views, he claimed he was only speculating possibilities for the sake of discussion. He felt that either Ussa would lead them to safety or the Ussans would all perish on the [[shield world]], but there was no middle ground.<ref name="bc59"/> Unlike his companion [['Drem]], 'Crolon was initially more willing to trust [[monitor]] [[Enduring Bias]]. However, after learning that Bias was partially repaired by Sooln, he believed that the Ussan leadership and the monitor were conspiring with the [[San'Shyuum]] when Bias stated that he would accept the presence of a San'Shyuum if they brought [[Huragok]].<ref name="bc89"/>

[[Category:Sangheili]]