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brownald · 4 months

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I have COVID and hate it so I decided to make a list of all the Covenant species to see if they have a dick + balls or not.

Sangheili: Sangheili are seen to have bulges in several pieces of concept art and renders. Furthermore, Henry is a sangheili seen in The Mona Lisa, who is naked. When we see him, his crotch is covered by a shadow. This implies the presence of dick. Furthermore, in Halo 5 some Sangheili have crotch armor, which would also imply that special protection of the groin is needed. Therefore, we can conclude that Sangheili have dick + balls.

Unggoy: No dick, no balls, we’ve seen them naked in every game. This calls into question Unggoy reproduction, as they are said to breed like rabbits despite their lack of external genitalia.

Kig-Yar: Since this depends on the subspecies, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer, however there is a difference in male and female sex organs and apparently males can get aggressive during sex, turning to biting and scratching, meaning that males do hold some power during the reproductive process. Therefore, as also evidenced by Halo Wars 1’s concept art, we can conclude that the Ruutian subspecies has a dick, while the Ibie’Shan subspecies appears to be much more bird-like and has a cloaca as seen in Halo 4 concept art. The T'vaoan subspecies is basically a giant bird, so we can conclude that it has a cloaca as well. Therefore, 1 ⁄ 3 of the Kig-Yar subspecies have a dick, and the other two have a cloaca, which will henceforth be referred to as the Kig-Yussy.

Huragok: Are basically giant flying nutsacks, however they do not fuck to make offspring, instead they ‘build’ their children with a combination of mechanical parts and biomass. Therefore, no dick + no balls and probably no butthole either.

San’Shyuum: Reproduction is similar to humans, with a male and female required. Given that they give birth to live offspring, as well as the fact that ancient humans and San’Shyuum could find each other attractive, one can conclude that their matters of reproduction are similar, implying the existence of a dick. This isn't a foregone conclusion, but one can assume that given the preexisting similarities between the two species, they would have similar genitalia.

Jiralhanae: NOTICEABLY LARGE bulges in concept art for Halo Wars 2 implies there’s something betwixt a Jiralhanae male’s legs. Crotch armor can also be seen in other renders implying balls in the same vein as the Sangheili. However, 3d renders of naked Jiralhanae do not show the dick + balls (thankfully), however a shadow as well as a bunch of fur covers the crotch. Therefore, we can only speculate as to the existence of Jiralhane genitalia. It is possible that it is obscured by the fur, or that it remains inside the body until mating, at which point it exits the body. In summary, likely dick + unconfirmed balls.

Lekgolo: After scarring my eyes reading about worm sex, it turns out that there are hermaphrodite worms that don’t have dicks and worms that fuck the hermaphrodite worms with these weird little things called spiculies that aren’t technically dicks so I can confidently say that Lekgolo do not have dicks.

Yanme’e: Yanme’e exhibit no sexual dimorphism, and they’re all naked so we can see they don’t have dicks.

#halo #sangheili #jiralhanae #lekgolo #unggoy #san'shyuum #huragok #kig yar #yanme'e #I hate the fact that I made this #worth it #no balls #no dick no balls and prolly no butthole either

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glitterdragonthegreatprotector · 5 months

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#third times the charm #not fnaftale #halo fanart #halo #john 117 #master chief #atriox #thel 'vadam #Sangheili #spartan #the arbiter #the banished #Jiralhanae #kig yar #san'shyuum #baby au #swap au #shift au #lets see if this actually posts this time-

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papabirdurskeks · 9 months

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I decided to revamp all my Halo OCs and color them finally because I never actually DID give them official color schemes in the 12 years I've had them.

Shame on me but meh, good for practice

In order as goes: Zigor and Sorrow on top

Zosimos and Cato at the bottom

Taking a break before starting commissions

#halo #jiralhanae #forerunner #san'shyuum #brute #prophet #oc #sketches

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halobirthdays · 6 months

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Happy birthday to Lod Mron, the Prophet of Regret!

Today is his -438th birthday!

Before ascending as a Heirarch, Mron was employed as Vice Minister of Tranquility, where he regularly worked alongside Sangheili. This partnership was said to affect his personality, becoming aggressive and preoccupied with honor and military might.

In 2525, the Ministry's fleet discovered what it believed to be a trove of Forerunner relics on the human colony of Harvest. Mron took this discovery to the Minister of Fortitude, Ord Casto, who also had political aspirations, and they agreed to use the discovery to improve their station. So began a blackmail ploy to get a current Heirarch to step down before they revealed their discovery. They brought the Luminary from Harvest to be studied by Philologist Hod Rumnt, who was the caretaker of High Charity's "Oracle" nestled within the Forerunner dreadnought that powered the city. When the Luminary was placed into the dreadnought, the "Oracle" awakened and revealed itself to be Mendicant Bias, an ancient Forerunner AI that announced that the Covenant misinterpreted the Forerunner symbols.

What the Covenant read as "Reclamation" was actually "Reclaimer". Casto concluded that the species on the planet that housed the Luminaries--humans--were the descendants of the gods. Before Mendicant Bias could launch the dreadnought, it was disabled by the Lekgolo within the structure. Realizing that the Covenant faith was false, and that humans could threaten San'Shyuum dominance, the trio agreed that humanity needed to be destroyed and became the Heirarchs--with Mron taking on the name "Regret".

Throughout the war, Regret was preoccupied with military power and religious fervor, continuing his previous work to locate Forerunner artifacts. Regret's recklessness would prove to complicate the Prophet of Truth's plans, first when he had a human world destroyed by Thel 'Vadamee without consulting the other Heirarchs. This move would impede Truth's search for the human homeworld, giving contradicting orders that would stir dissent among 'Vadamee's crew.

In 2551, Regret learned about the existence of the Ark, and where he could find a portal to take him there. He did not realize the planet, Erde-Tyrene, was actually the Forerunner term for Earth, and set a course to leave immediately. When he got to Earth, he was met with resistance that he was not prepared for. Rather than retreat, Regret raced to his prize, learning the location of Installation 05 before performing a slipsapce jump within New Mombasa.

Once on the Halo, he apologized to Truth for his recklessness yet again. Unbeknownst to Regret, Truth already knew the location of Earth and was quietly plotting his own invasion. As the UNSC advanced towards Regret's location, Truth allowed Regret to die at the hands of Master Chief by calling back his support fleet.

Regret's body was collected by the Gravemind and assimilated into the Flood. The Gravemind used Regret in an attempt to convince Thel 'Vadamee of the truth of the Halo rings so that he would prevent them from firing. Unlike other Flood forms, Regret seemed to maintain some of his consciousness--or at least his personality, though whether he was fully assimilated after his body served its purpose is unknown.

#lod mron #prophet of regret #san'shyuum #halo 2 #halo 3

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enusandbenus · 4 months

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Kill San'shyuum. Behead San'Shyuum. Roundhouse kick a San'Shyuum into the concrete. Slam dunk inbred San'Shyuum babies into the trashcan. Defecate in a San'Shyuums food. Launch San'shyuum into the sun. Stir fry San'Shyuum in a wok etc etc.

#halo reach #halo #San'Shyuum #lore

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bloodgulchblog · 1 year

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Whatever happened to the prophets and their race after the events of Halo 3? Do they still occasionally appear in books?

The San'Shyuum had huge problems that game lore doesn't ever talk about.

First of all, the faction that started the Covenant were actually exiles from their home planet. Basically, long ago in San'Shyuum antiquity they discovered the Forerunner Dreadnought and had big arguments about whether or not it was heresy to touch/research/possibly even use that thing.

The faction that decided it was okay hopped aboard the ship and took off (taking a scrap of the ground, which would become High Charity, with them) and the faction that decided it was not okay was left to go pound sand.

So, the Covenant San'Shyuum had an extremely small population to start with. This led to struggling with fertility and avoiding detrimental recessive traits showing up in the population, so they had a lot of strict rules about who was and wasn't allowed to have children with whom. They'd been struggling with keeping their numbers up for centuries by the time the end of the war rolled around. To make matters worse, the other part of this problem is that the San'Shyuum homeworld was actually consumed by its star going supernova at some point after the founding of the Covenant. They couldn't even try mending fences with the (large, healthy) population of San'Shyuum left on the homeworld because they weren't there anymore.

They didn't have the numbers to have colonies that were mostly San'Shyuum. Most of them lived on High Charity, and they had become very dependent on deploying the other species of the Covenant to do things for them.

So, when they lost High Charity it was absolutely catastrophic for what was left of their whole species.

We know there are handfuls of them still around, but they aren't mentioned much in recent lore and the situation they're in is really really grim.

#asks #halo lore #san'shyuum

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playable-elite · 1 year

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What is your personal opinion on the San'Shyuum as a species?

It would be easy to dismiss the San'Shyuum as snakes and cowards. I feel nothing but contempt for a great many of their number, and would gladly make that point with a blade.

But I think a more measured truth is that the San'Shyuum are people. Not all of them followed Truth, and some made themselves our allies at great personal risk.

There are very few San'Shyuum, now, and their position in the galaxy is dire. They always attempted to mask the smallness of their population, but we knew them too long and they relied on us too well for misdirection to hold. A loyal and trusted beast grows to know its master well, and I was one such. They were always few, and they struggled to bear more children.

The Schism and the Fall of High Charity killed most of the San'Shyuum. It was the only place that was truly theirs, and their homeworld was lost to them long ago.

Those that still held power beyond the battle at the Ark have been destroyed, or fled down holes too deep to dig for easily.

There are a very small number we have granted asylum.

I do not envy any of them.

#answers #san'shyuum #covenant

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mellz117 · 8 months

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#halo series #halo 3 #prophet of truth #san'shyuum #gif #microsoft #343 industries #2023 #mellz post #bungie #rated m

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halopedia · 10 months

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Sailing Ship Saturday — Sangheili galley

This ancient Sangheili maritime vessel made use of oars and sails to navigate the treacherous oceans of Sanghelios at some point prior to the species' formation of the Covenant alongside the San'Shyuum.

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halos-top-alien-model · 4 months

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Sangheili Bracket Finals

Special propaganda below:

Thel's mind was still on the textual transmission sent to him when a sudden visitor broke his train of thought. It was one of his staff, letting him know that Admiral Lord Hood was making a sudden call request. Already suspecting what brought that on, he gave his approval. Only a few moments later, he was connected to Lord Hood via small holographic messaging - and couldn't even get a greeting out.

"I sincerely apologize for the overreach in boundaries that intern caused. I swear, the unauthorized decision to send that does not reflect at all what the UNSC stands for, and we greatly respect our alliance with the Sangheili."

Thel raised a hand. "I can perfectly see that, Lord Hood. For what other reason would your people be holding an... 'popularity tournament', if not out of respect?"

The grim line Lord Hood's mouth formed suggested there were other reasons, but Thel chose not to pry. Although, admittedly, it did make him curious on just how somehow could intend disrespect over a popularity contest. Perhaps because the nature of only one winner could be seen as an insult to all the losers? Even if most Sangheili did not particularly care about humans' opinions on themselves - either as a species or as individuals - it was probably safe to keep this secret, just to be safe.

"Civilians can take matters down... interesting routes, on social media," Lord Hood continued. "It was already a trend to run these contests over everything imaginable. When someone got the idea to do this with all the known Sangheili individuals, it was decided to hold off on addressing it. No need to bring further attention to it.

"But no one could've imagined someone trying to actively bring it to your attention."

He was clearly mortified. A bit embarrassed, too. And while Thel would love to throw him a bone and allow him to quickly put it out of mind, there was a thought he just couldn't leave unspoken. It was all that had been on his mind in between receiving the "tip" on the contest and Lord Hood's call.

"I see it as a compliment, that so much of your population can see me - and others of my people - so positively, in spite of how young our alliance is. There is one piece of feedback, though, that you could perhaps forward to... 'social media', on my behalf."

Thel could almost swear the shading of Lord Hood's holographic face got brighter, lighter in color. "I can try and pull some strings. Depending on the message."

Leaning closer on his desk, resting his elbows on the surface and interlocking his hands, Thel began, "I can understand why so many humans would vote for me in the case of a popularity poll. I am the one with the closest relationship to your kind, with the most cases of notable - peaceful - interactions, outside of my Covenant career. I am possibly the only Sangheili much of your kind even recognizes on an individual-level.

"But I must make a case for my opponent, Rtas 'Vadum. His leadership and diplomatic abilities surpass my own. He has a way of connecting with those hostile to him in ways I have yet to replicate - the Prelate that initially sought personal vengeance being one such example. It is the reason I trust him so much with the task of searching for the lost San'Shyuum - he is perhaps the only one capable. Capable in finding them and capable in forging peace. And while I am sure his crew are loyal to the Swords of Sanghelios, if they ever had to choose between myself and their shipmaster, I am also sure what their choice would be. And he has earned that loyalty.

"I also must point out his accomplishments - which hold less awkwardness than my own, particularly in the context of relations with humanity. He is the reason the Flood did not infect my fleet at the first discovered Halo, emerging the sole survivor of a perilous situation. His actions at the second Halo, I truly believe, ensured the strength of the Separatists that went on to aid humanity. It was him that did a lot of the rallying, it was him that claimed the crucial Shadow of Intent, and it was him that held our forces together in my absence. Again, his ability with words were valuable in maintaining morale, during the final hours of the Covenant. And his tactical mind, in emerging victorious when the odds were 3-1 against him.

"In conclusion... I feel the victor in this little contest should be him. Not me."

As Thel had explained his reasoning, Lord Hood had crossed his arms, eyes intently focusing. Maybe not necessarily on the Arbiter. When he finally had the opening to speak again, it seemed that he had become the one who couldn't help but let a pressing thought out.

"Really? Him? You're arguing he is the better leader, military man, diplomat - than you? And humanity should recognize that?" His arms uncrossed and went to his sides. "Do you know that to some, laying even a finger on Earth is more egregious than glassing dozens of colonies - even glassing Reach?"

"That is why I said less awkward." He should have braced for this skepticism, especially from Lord Hood. After all, he and Rtas did have a verbal spat that one time. Perhaps Lord Hood could never forgive Thel, but he certainly could maintain peace around him. There were valid reasons - not related to duty - as to why those two's paths never crossed again. Surely, Rtas would feel a bit of the same - he was not apologetic for Africa's partial glassing back then, he certainly wouldn't hold any regrets now. Not with anything related to the Flood.

"Although..." He sighed. "I can see why having a Sangheili other than you receive positive recognition is diplomatically valuable. If the peace between our species is centered solely on you, then it risks falling apart as soon as you're gone."

"Yes... there is also that angle to this."

"I will forward your argument to my colleagues and leave the choice up to them. They're the ones who deal with civilian matters more, anyway."

A funny thing about jointly occupied territory, is that it sometimes meant alien access to humanity's Waypoint - the interstellar network where the current iterations of social media called home. Such access would mean becoming aware of discussions of aliens online - including a certain popularity contest. And such awareness might warrant, to some, the passing of knowledge via word of mouth or transmissions. Even if no one directly told the Arbiter about the contest, it would have reached his ears eventually.

Just like with the Arbiter, there were those curious as to what Rtas' reaction would be like, and it thus reached him, too.

"Of course the Arbiter would win their approval," he said. "He deserves it. His higher reputation amongst humanity aside, he deserves it. He is the Arbiter, the one who freed our people from the Covenant's lies, the one who resurrected the Swords of Sanghelios, the one who proposed the Concert of Worlds. There is nothing I could do that he could not do better.

"Why is this even a contest? Amongst humans, no less? It was his word that kept me from glassing their entire planet, just to stop a Flood outbreak. It was his word back then that caused many Sangheili to ally with humanity, rather than fight both the Covenant and humans. It is his word now that continues to keep many Sangheili from seeking another war. Because he has proven his wisdom, and he has proven his honor. Those who continue to doubt either are fools that hold our people back. And their leaders cannot even match him."

"Well, hold it right there," Stolt, one of his most prominent subordinates despite being an Unggoy, cut in. "Have you seen the rest of this? The Arbiter is trying to convince these humans to vote for you."

Admittedly, he barely even started. When he saw it was nothing but a meaningless popularity poll human civilians were running, he stopped giving it much thought. Partially, it was due to already being convinced of the outcome - that the Arbiter would reign supreme and he would hardly been given notice. The only reason he wasn't questioning the fact that he was even named in this poll in the first place was due to there not being very many notable Sangheili in the human public eye, as far as he could tell. But he and the Shadow of Intent had played an important role in the end of the war, after the alliance had been forged. It wasn't completely out of the question that he garnered a bit of human attention over that - and not just from ONI spies.

It also wasn't out of the question that the Arbiter would speak of him around humans and make them more aware of his existence... such as now. He skimmed through what had been sent until he reached that part, quickly absorbing it.

Then he shook his head. "He is far too humble. A good chunk of this is mere exaggeration. How he even got the impression I was this grand, I have no idea. I am only doing what he asks of me to the best of my abilities. He deserves no less than that, and that does not make me superior. He would excel at all the same tasks had he the time to do them - it is only I who succeeded, because someone had to in his place.

"Besides, he is forgetting some of his own accomplishments that have nothing to do with humans. When he first became Arbiter, he passed his first mission with flying colors. I honestly did not expect him to even survive, pulling off the stunt he did - selflessly cutting the safety cables of that mining facility to draw out his target, while allowing all my men to retreat to safety. He did that knowing I would not come back for an Arbiter - he did it unaware that anyone would."

"Ah, but that was a mission to kill 'Heretics', right?" Stolt said again. "I'm sure the bitterness of knowing they were right all along and didn't need to be killed is why he would never even think that a merit."

"The target is irrelevant. The sentiment of his actions is what matters." Leaning back into his shipmaster's chair, he continued with a softer voice, "And he is wrong. About his talent for speech. And Infinite Succor... The fact I was the only survivor should say enough regarding my leadership in that moment. And the fact I was able to go back into the field, to command troops again... should say enough regarding his ability to speak to those under him. He has earned more loyal soldiers than I - and not entirely because he meets more people than I."

Clearing his throat, his voice hardened again. "Take the colony of Om'a'Varo, for instance. Those who settled on Rak. I believe it is not just him being humble that he's selling himself short - he takes the cases where his words are not enough to be a failing on his part, and not the failing of the other's mind. There are some who will just not listen. But he has gotten many to do so."

"So what I'm hearing is... we need to send in our own message to the humans to counter his?"

Rtas huffed. "That will not be necessary. Even with his endorsement, the humans will still choose him. I am certain of that. In the time we could draft a pointless transmission, we could be using our time and systems for more important tasks. This conversation, too, holds little worth - the only value being a stronger reiteration of what is already known."

With that, Rtas was finished with the subject. Well, almost, maybe. It crossed his mind to maybe, instead of sending his passionate argument to the humans, sneak a bit of the sentiment in his next report. Not obvious enough to distract from the report's actual content, but subtle enough to let the Arbiter know fully well that Rtas had heard him - and strongly disagreed.

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glitterdragonthegreatprotector · 5 months

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Soul

Layers under cut

#not fnaftale #lineless art #unsc soldier #sangheili #Jiralhanae #Unggoy #kig yar #san'shyuum #Yanme'e #halo #halo fanart

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love-beyond-space-war · 7 months

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Request: "Sept 21st is making me think of Rtas for no reason in particular, so can we get a short of Rtas ‘Vadum/The Shipmaster with a reader that meant to stow away on a different, less important ship but accidentally ended up on his instead? Oh yeah, human reader after the Human-Covenant war is over. No preference on gender reader so whatever comes out in writing ig?"

Note: Alright, cool! Rtas is definitely one of my favorite characters. I just hope I made this request work as I wasn't sure why Reader was a stowaway in the first place since I forgot to ask ^^; Sorry if it's too short.

Home for a Stowaway

Rtas 'Vadum x Human! Reader

Synopsis: Rtas has always been on of the more merciful Sangheili after the Human-Covenant war. He's always been one to care for lower castes and even doesn't mind humans much now. However... he certainly wasn't expecting a secret human on board the Shadow of Intent.

Content Warnings: Romantic/Platonic Pairing (Dubious), Gender-Neutral Reader/Male Character, Canon typical violence, Possible OOC Rtas (?), Implied poor home life/life in general.

Rtas had strayed away from war ever since the end of the Human-Covenant war. His resentment towards humans, Jiralhanae, and San'Shyuum had diminished greatly. Now he was fine with just aiding Thel when possible and hunting those who have betrayed the Sangheili.

Compared to his life before... he was calmer than most others of his species.

Now Rtas spent most of his time aboard his ship, the Shadow of Intent. Sometimes he docked for supplies for his crew but other than that it was endless space. Compared to the usual bloodshed he was used to... this was relaxing if not boring.

When some of his Sangheili crew came up to him with an issue Rtas was actually surprised. He was even more interested when the two crew members hold up a squirming human in their arms. He sees you struggle like a caught fish, fear in your eyes.

Stowaways were heard of, every port had their tales of them. It didn't look like you meant any harm or were very malicious. It was a pain that he had you catch a ride on his ship, especially since the nearest port was far away, but he kept his cool.

You looked comparable to a frightened animal in front of him. You knew what he was but some humans weren't very accepting of Sangheili yet. You fear was excusable... yet he needed answers.

"Drop the human, they aren't a threat. I'll get answers from them... alone. I'll call if there's an issue." Rtas explains, the crew members dropping you on a hover chair before leaving the room.

There's an intimidating silence as you both stare at each other.

"Well? What's a human doing on a ship serving the Swords of Sangheilios?" Rtas questions. "Far as I know you're a stowaway, right?"

"I caught the wrong ship...." You whisper.

"Why are you even crawling onto random ships? Sabotage?" Rtas asks, watching as you quickly shake your head.

You then give your reasoning as to why you were fleeing. It was something about fleeing from somewhere or someone. You were meant to catch a different ship but ended up chased into his.

You looked like a street rat. Rtas supposed you could even be called a pest. However... Rtas believes he found himself a solution to this issue.

"You can ride to the next port." Rtas allows, seeing your eyes sparkle. "In the meantime, I don't mind having company."

"You'd... be willing to speak with a human like me?" You ask, curious about his words.

"My days of fighting humans are past me. I don't mind your kind. They're useful when you need them." Rtas admits.

"I thank you for not killing me on the spot...." You bow in your seat slightly, Rtas making a noise of disinterest.

"There's no point in punishing the innocent." Rtas reassures, gesturing your hover chair beside his as he watches the endless stars. Hesitantly you bring yourself beside him, looking away to avoid making the situation awkward.

Rtas decides for now this ship will be your home. Maybe he's needed a companion other than the usual crew to keep himself grounded anyways. You don't seem like you'll be bad company.

In fact, as time passes and he gets closer to his destination, you happen to prove yourself useful. You try to help him around his quarters. You immerse yourself in the tech of his ship. You even provide decent conversation.

From the information you provided him... Rtas doesn't think you have anywhere to go. You're thankful for his hospitality and speak to him as though he's a friend the more time you spend with him. Rtas would be lying if he said he wasn't attached to you by the time a port did come up.

When his ship landed for supplies and provided a rest from space travel Rtas noticed the look on your face. You looked genuinely upset that your time with him was over. Honestly, Rtas felt similar disappointment.

"Do you even know what you plan on doing after this?" Rtas asks you. You don't make eye contact.

"Not really, just gotta see where life takes me, yeah?" You give a bittersweet smile towards Rtas.

Rtas recalls how lonely travel was without you before. He remembers how you have nowhere you have to go. With some quick consideration... the Shipmaster gives you both an ultimatum.

"What if I gave you a role on my ship?" Rtas offers, watching you look at him with surprise.

"I'd be out of place, wouldn't I?" You ask, Rtas shakes his head and puts a clawed hand on your shoulder.

"No, you wouldn't. In fact... I enjoy your company much more than I'd like to admit. I can't bring myself to watch you go if you'll be all alone." Rtas explains, feeling his skin heat when he sees you smile.

"Then I'll take the offer, Shipmaster." You accept, happy you found yourself a new home.

#halo x reader #halo sangheili x reader #sangheili x reader #sangheili x human #rtas vadum x reader #x gender neutral reader #gender neutral reader #halo 5 au x reader

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halobirthdays · 1 year

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Happy birthday to Ord Casto, the Prophet of Truth!

Today is his -372nd birthday!

The Prophet of Truth was the ringleader of the Covenant Hierarchs--a careful plotter willing to do anything to maintain his status--whether he needed to betray an entire species or even his fellow Hierarchs. It was his appetite for influence that began the Human-Covenant war under false pretenses, taking the entire Covenant down his path of deceit. Ultimately, Truth's untruths became untenable, and his scramble to cling to power proved to be his undoing.

Casto got his start as a junior staffer to the Minister of Concert. He was assigned to investigate complaints from Unggoy distillers' unions who complained that Kig-Yar vessels were purposely tainting a popular Unggoy recreational narcotic. Though initially doubtful, Casto discovered the allegations were true: a group of Kig-Yar shipmistresses were behind the ploy, performed as revenge for the displacement of Kig-Yar nests due to an Unggoy baby boom. Casto recommended stiff penalties but ultimately, the Minister of Concert chose only to fine the Kig-Yar. The Unggoy, outraged by the lack of serious action, became disgruntled and the matter quickly escalated into full-blown rebellion. These events would prove formative to Casto, and after the Unggoy Rebellion ceased, he would be promoted to Minister of Fortitude.

Conniving and manipulative, Casto would enjoy a long career as a politician. Though he was on the Roll of Celibates, this fact did not bother him, and he was content to focus on his political aspirations.

In January 2525, he met with then-Vice Minister of Tranquility Lod Mron (Prophet of Regret) to discuss a report that a Jiralhanae vessel had discovered a cache of Forerunner artifacts on a planet outside of Covenant space. This planet was the Human colony of Harvest. The two planned to use the discovery to pave the way for them to become Hierarchs. The pair would blackmail one of the current Hierarchs--Restraint--by getting him to reveal that he fathered illegitimate children despite being on the Role of Celibates. Restraint thought Mron would adopt his children if he told them, but instead, they threatened to reveal what he'd done if he did not resign as Hierarch.

The duo then brought the relics from Harvest to Philologist Hod Rumnt, the future Prophet of Mercy. The events that followed marked the utmost tier of Casto's manipulation and deceit. The relics activated Mendicant Bias, an ancient Forerunner AI (known by them as the Oracle) who laid dormant for thousands of years within the Forerunner Dreadnought within High Charity. The ancient AI spoke, revealing that everything the Covenant understood to be true of their religion was wrong: the Halos would not start the Great Journey, the Forerunners did not ascend to a higher path, and the "Reclamation" glyph of the Covenant religion was actually "Reclaimer": humans whom the Oracle believed to be the equals of the Forerunners.

Realizing the implications of this discovery, and erroneously believing that humans were, in fact, the descendants of the Forerunners, the three San'Shyuum silenced the Oracle and made a decision: if the most basic tenant of their religion was wrong, and humans were their god's chosen, they would have to be eradicated to maintain their station and prevent the truth from being revealed. The three then ascended to power as the Prophets of Truth, Regret, and Mercy, and the Human-Covenant war began.

After the battle of the Rubble, Truth grew paranoid about the station of the Sangheili, the backbone of the Covenant's military and their greatest threat if the truth about the Covenant was revealed. He learned that some Sangheili were already questioning why humans were being targeted rather than converted and did not dare risk betrayal. Thus, he made the controversial decision to make the Jiralhanae, the Sangheili's greatest competitors and the Covenant's most newly-converted species, the new warrior race of the Covenant, a position that had been reserved for the Sangheili for thousands of years.

Before Regret made his fateful blunder by arriving at Earth unprepared, Truth had already learned of Earth's location, but kept the information a secret, privately assembling a fleet so that he could crush the Sangheili after they destroyed Earth. The plan would fail when humanity discovered his fleet, and tasked Master Chief with destroying the command-and-control station. The Spartan team succeeded, and Truth scrambled to cover up the incident, even from his fellow Hierarchs.

Truth's final betrayal to the Sangheili would occur after launching a "rescue" mission for Regret, who independently discovered Earth's location and arrived unprepared. In the chaos that followed, he would send his own Jiralhanae fleet to assume control of Regret's fleet and kill the remaining Sangheili. Truth then called back the Phantoms sent to save Regret, essentially allowing Master Chief to kill Regret and his Honor Guards, which was the perfect pretense to deem the Sangheili unworthy of protecting the Hierarchs and replace them.

Truth, still determined to activate the Halo rings, sent Arbiter Thel 'Vadam(ee) to retrieve the Activation Index. Truth made this decision expecting 'Vadam and his comrades to die in pursuit of it, but, failing that, sent Jiralhanae Chieftain Tartarus to murder 'Vadam after retrieving the Index. Unfortunately for Truth, 'Vadam survived, saved by the Gravemind. After Truth replaced the Sangheili as Honor Guards, he quietly ordered the Jiralhanae to murder all Sangheili. The Sangheili believed this to be an insurrection until 'Vadam revealed the truth, causing the Great Schism and the beginning of the end for Truth.

In a last-ditch effort to activate the Halo rings, Truth launched the Forerunner Dreadnought, housed within High Charity, through the portal to the Ark on Earth. He raced to the Citadel on the Ark, the place where he could activate all of the Rings. He was pursued by the recently-collaborating UNSC and Sangheili forces, who were united in their understanding that Truth had to be stopped.

Just as he forced the captured Avery Johnson to begin the activation process, he was interrupted by the appearance of John-117 and 'Vadam, assisted by the Gravemind. Determined to take vengeance on Truth himself and not a flood-infected thrall, 'Vadam stabbed Truth through the chest as he declared himself the voice of the Covenant. Silenced, the Covenant empire collapsed.

#rest in pieces #also #i am once again begging you to read Contact Harvest #ord casto #the prophet of truth #the covenant #san'shyuum #halo 2 #halo 3

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