Editing Harbinger

{{Era|Post}}
{{Disambig header|the entity introduced in ''[[Halo Infinite]]''|the ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' achievement|Harbinger (achievement)}}
{{Character infobox|hidea=yes
|variant=
|name=Harbinger
|image=[[File:HINF Harbinger SA.png|300px]]
|homeworld=
|birth=
|death=c. [[2560#May|May 28, 2560]]
|causeofdeath=Died from injuries inflicted by [[John-117]]
|parents=
|siblings=
|spouses=
|children=
|species=[[Xalanyn]]{{Ref/Game|HI|Detail=[[Silent Auditorium]] description|Quote=[The Harbinger] reveals the Auditorium was where the Forerunners passed judgment upon her species, the Endless [...]}}
|gender=Female{{Ref/Generic|Id=HInfTrailerCampaignOverview|[[Halo Infinite Campaign Gameplay Overview]]}}
|height=
|mass=
|hair=
|eyes=Reddish purple{{Ref/Reuse|HInfTrailerCampaignOverview}}
|affiliation=*[[Skimmer]]s 
*Allied with the [[Banished]]
|rank=
|sn=
|notable=Allied with the Banished during the [[Installation 07 conflict]].
}}
{{Quote|Hear this, [[Forerunner]]s! Your [[Silent Auditorium (location)|Auditorium]] has fallen. The [[Xalanyn|Endless]] found. Your sins undone. Today WE return!|The Harbinger speaking to the [[Master Chief]]}}

The '''Harbinger''', or the '''Harbinger of the truth''', was a female [[Xalanyn]] who was active in the year [[2560]] during the [[Installation 07 conflict]]. The Harbinger was awoken from a [[Cylix]] by the [[Banished]] as they both sought to repair [[Installation 07|Zeta Halo]] in order to unleash the Endless.

==Biography==

===Early life and imprisonment on Zeta Halo===
Very little is known about the Harbinger's early life, other than that she, along with the other [[Endless]], survived [[Great Purification|the firing of the Halo Array]] - a feat which surprised and alarmed the remaining [[Forerunner]]s. In 97,368 BCE, she and the rest of her species were imprisoned on [[Installation 07]] by order of the [[Grand Edict]].{{Ref/Quest|HINF|Endless|Silent Auditorium|Quote=If Halo cannot end them, it must imprison them.|Quotee=Grand Edict, Legendary ending post-credits}}

===Freed by the Banished===
{{Main|Installation 07 conflict}}

Thousands of years later, the [[Banished]] leader [[Atriox]] learned of the Harbinger during his time on [[Installation 00|the Ark]]. He sought her out, believing her to be the key to unlocking Zeta Halo's secrets. Following Atriox's apparent demise when [[Cortana]] sacrificed herself to destroy the [[Silent Auditorium (location)|Silent Auditorium]] and disable [[Installation 07|the Ring]], his second-in-command and old mentor, [[War Chief]] [[Escharum]], assumed his place as leader of the [[Banished]] and set out to fulfill Atriox's goal of releasing the Harbinger in order to seize control of the Ring. 

After driving the UNSC away from the ''[[UNSC Mortal Reverie|Reverie]]''{{'}}s crash site, the Banished established [[Outpost Tremonius (location)|Outpost Tremonius]], which they used as an excavation site and storage facility for Forerunner artifacts. Eventually, the [[Jiralhanae Warlord]] [[Tremonius]] located and recovered the Harbinger's Cylix from beneath the Outpost.{{Ref/Game|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#Escharum's Testimony 2|Banished Audio log|Detail=Escharum's Testimony #02 - Cylix}} Escharum then forced a UNSC [[Prisoner of war|POW]], [[Lucas Browning]], to [[Reclaimer|release]] the Harbinger from the Cylix.{{Ref/Game|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#The Prisoner 2|UNSC Audio log|Detail=The Prisoner #02 - What was Inside}} Upon being released, she introduced herself by proclaiming to be the Harbinger of the truth, and that all that the Banished knew was at an end. The surrounding Sangheili, Kig-Yar, and even Jiralhanae were terrified of her, but Escharum stepped forward and claimed delight over the Harbinger's proclamation.{{Ref/Game|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#The Prisoner 2|UNSC Audio log|Detail=The Prisoner #03 - She was Smiling}}

===Alliance with the Banished===
The Harbinger agreed to help the Banished take control of the Ring in exchange for their help in locating and freeing her people, the [[Endless]].{{Ref/Quest|HINF|Graveyard|Pelican Down (Halo Infinite level)|Quote=When the Endless are found. And when you have your Ring. Then you will never question my worth and I will never question your judgment.|Quotee=The Harbinger}} In order to achieve both objectives, the [[Silent Auditorium (location)|Silent Auditorium]] had to be repaired first - a process known as the [[Reformation]]. Only the [[Monitor]] of Zeta Halo, [[Despondent Pyre]] had the ability to initiate the Reformation. Despondent Pyre resided in an underground Forerunner facility called the [[Conservatory (location)|Conservatory]], so Escharum ordered the establishment of [[Site Novem]] for the purposes of breaching the Conservatory and capturing the Monitor.{{Ref/Game|Id=The Prize|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#Scattered 2|Spartan Audio log|Detail=Scattered #04 - The Prize}} At one point, the Harbinger herself inspected the site.{{Ref/Game|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#Outpost Intel 4|Banished Audio log|Detail=Outpost Intel #06 - Secrets Below}} She modified a Banished mining laser, enabling it to pierce the Ring's [[Forerunner]] alloy. By [[2560#May|May 15, 2560]], the Banished had used their modified mining laser to successfully breach the Conservatory.{{Ref/Game|Id=Infiltration|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#Scattered 2|Spartan Audio log|Detail=Scattered #07 - Infiltration}} 

The Harbinger also bolstered the Banished forces with her own minions, flying creatures that came to be known as [[Skimmer]]s. Some Banished troops regarded these creatures as more nuisance than help.{{Ref/Game|HINF|Id=Gasgira|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#Outpost Intel 05|Banished Audio logs|Detail=Outpost Intel #05 - RE: Damnable Eyes}}

During this time, the Harbinger had [[Chak 'Lok]] bring Lucas Browning to her so that she could show the human her truth, an experience which eventually destroyed Browning's sanity.{{Ref/Game|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#The Prisoner 2|UNSC Audio log|Detail=The Prisoner #06 - Price Paid}}

===Encounter with John-117===
On [[2560#May|May 28, 2560]], the Harbinger captured [[Despondent Pyre]] and forcibly extracted the Monitor's [[encephalon]], killing Despondent Pyre in the process. Using the [[Forerunner]] routines contained within Despondent Pyre's encephalon, the Harbinger constructed a protocol{{Ref/Quest|HI|Connections|Spire (Halo Infinite level)|Quote=This structure has been activated using a protocol that's far older than anything I've ever seen.|Quotee=The Weapon}} capable of summoning the [[Reformation Spire]]s across the fragmented section of Zeta Halo.{{Ref/Quest|Id=Conservatory|HI|Connections|Conservatory}} [[Master Chief Petty Officer|Master Chief]] [[John-117]], who had witnessed Despondent Pyre's abduction, followed the Harbinger to the top of the Conservatory and confronted her as she prepared to summon the Spires. The Harbinger initially did not view the Chief as a serious threat and told him that she wasn't his enemy. She then unleashed an energy pulse that froze the Chief's armor and summoned dozens of Reformation Spires. With the aid of his AI Companion, [[The Weapon]], John-117 broke free of the armor lock and tried to stop the Harbinger, but she blasted him out of the Conservatory. She then escaped to the Command Spire, where she tried to send the initialization sequence needed to fully activate the Spires. However, the Spire network resisted her attempts because the summoning protocol she'd constructed from Despondent Pyre's routines hadn't been entirely correct.{{Ref/Quest|HI|Connections|Spire (Halo Infinite level)|Quote=The protocol that triggered all this wasn't exactly correct. It worked... well, it started the process.|Quotee=The Weapon}}

After John-117's and [[the Weapon]] removed one of the Spires from the network and defeated the two [[Spartan Killer]]s [[Hyperius]] and [[Tovarus]], the Harbinger told Escharum to send all his forces against the human. Escharum, who desired to personally face the Chief in battle, replied that odds would not break the Spartan. The Harbinger noted that the Master Chief had [[the Weapon|an ally]] connected to the Ring, who could potentially be exploited. She then directed Escharum to have his forces defend the Command Spire while she initiated the Reformation. Escharum agreed, but warned her to prove her worth. The Harbinger replied that once the Banished had control of the Ring and once the Endless were found, he would never question her worth and she, in turn, would never question his judgement.{{Ref/Quest|Id=Pelican Down|HI|Graveyards|Pelican Down (Halo Infinite level)}}

===The Reformation===
When the Master Chief arrived at the Command Spire, the Harbinger altered the Forerunner sequence needed to open the the Spire's door, thereby making entry impossible. The sabotage forced the Chief and the Weapon to gather data from a network of [[Forerunner]] [[beam emitter|communication beacons]] in order to reconstruct a pure version of the sequence. During this time, the Harbinger spied on the Weapon and determined she could utilize the [[UNSC]] [[Artificial intelligence|AI]]'s routines in conjunction with those from Despondent Pyre's encephalon to break through the Spire network's resistance.{{Ref/Quest|Id=The Sequence|HI|Reformation|The Sequence}}

While collecting data from the beacons, the Weapon sensed the Harbinger's presence within the beacon network and eventually realized the latter's intentions. Since the Spires still hadn't been activated yet, the Master Chief initially wanted to abort their current plan, effectively leaving them and the Harbinger in a stalemate. However, the Weapon believed that the Harbinger would eventually find a way to activate the Spires on her own, so they had no choice but to finish gathering the data needed to enter the Command Spire.{{Ref/Reuse|The Sequence}}

Later, upon reaching the [[Nexus (location)|Nexus]], the Weapon accessed the facility's systems in order to activate a [[gravity lift]] that would take the Chief and her into the Command Spire itself. The Harbinger sprung her trap and hacked the Weapon, intent on using her to start the Reformation. The Weapon, in turn, used her link to the Harbinger to try to steal Despondent Pyre's encephalon. Despite the Master Chief's attempt to delete the Weapon - an effort which the Weapon herself stopped - both the Harbinger and the Weapon succeeded in their respective goals.{{Ref/Quest|Id=Nexus|HI|Reformation|Nexus}} 

As John-117 ascended the Command Spire, the Harbinger declared to him that the Monitor's encephalon had already served its purpose and that nothing could stop the Reformation now. However, the Master Chief fought his way through the Harbinger's allies to reach the Spire's Observation Platform, where the Weapon used the encephalon to shut down the Spire network and stop the Reformation.{{Ref/Quest|Id=The Command Spire|HI|Reformation|The Command Spire}} After this, Escharum furiously accused the Harbinger of having failed. The Harbinger retorted that Silent Auditorium had been partially rebuilt, although she wasn't sure if enough of it had been restored to achieve their goals.{{Ref/Quest|Id=Repository|HI|Reckoning|Repository (Halo Infinite level)}}

===Death===
The Harbinger traveled to the partially rebuilt Silent Auditorium, where she prepared to use the facility to locate and free the rest of the Endless. The Master Chief, after facing and killing Escharum inside the [[House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning]], arrived at the Auditorium and confronted the Harbinger inside the central chamber. The Harbinger called out to the Forerunners and declared that the Endless would return this day. She then opened a connection between the Auditorium and somewhere else on the Ring. The connection, which the Weapon described as being sentient, began searching the Ring for the location of the other Endless. The Weapon attempted to intercept the connection by disabling the Auditorium's transmitters. With the help of an unknown entity, the Weapon managed to shut down all three transmitters, but not before the connection successfully located the Endless. 

At the same time, the Master Chief fought and eventually defeated both the Harbinger and her Banished and Skimmer allies. As the Harbinger lay dying, she sent a message to an unseen ally of her own, telling them that they had what they needed and asked that they tell the Endless she was sorry it took so long. In her last moments, she told the Master Chief that the Endless would return. After her death, the Auditorium's central chamber collapsed, though the Master Chief and the Weapon escaped through a mysterious portal that sent them three days into the future.{{Ref/Quest|Id=Silent Auditorium|HI|Endless|Silent Auditorium}}

==Personality and traits==
Due to her imprisonment within Zeta Halo, the Harbinger held tremendous hatred and disdain for the Forerunners. She believed that her people had done nothing wrong and that they'd been imprisoned simply because the Forerunners couldn't control them.{{Ref/Game|Id=Prisoner 7|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#The Prisoner 2|UNSC Audio log|Detail=The Prisoner #07 - 42410-02214-LB}}

Her partnership with [[Escharum]] was a tenuous one. The War Chief did not fully trust the Harbinger and questioned her true intentions.{{Ref/Game|Id=Escharum 3|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#Escharum's Testimony 2|Banished Audio log|Detail=Escharum's Testimony #03 - Harbinger}} Her tendency to speak "in riddles" also annoyed him.{{Ref/Game|Id=Escharum 7|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#Escharum's Testimony 2|Banished Audio log|Detail=Escharum's Testimony #07 - Loyalties}} The Harbinger, in turn, regarded the Banished as little more than primitives who were simply a means to an end. She did, however, sympathize with the Banished over the destruction of [[Doisac]] at the hands of Cortana and the [[Created]]. In her mind, both the Endless and the Banished were victims of the Forerunners' lies and arrogance.{{Ref/Reuse|Prisoner 7}}

Initially, she harbored no ill-will towards [[Human|humanity]]. She even showed sympathy towards [[Lucas Browning]] for the torture he was subjected to at [[Chak 'Lok]]'s [[Tower]], though she still drove him insane by showing him her "truth".{{Ref/Game|Id=Prisoner 5|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#The Prisoner 2|UNSC Audio log|Detail=The Prisoner #05 - Barely Anything Left}} During her first confrontation with [[John-117]], she claimed that she was not his enemy.{{Ref/Reuse|Conservatory}} However, after the Master Chief's interference became too much of a liability, her attitude towards him became much more hostile.

After being mortally wounded by the Master Chief, the Harbinger displayed no fear and peacefully accepted her fate with the belief that her people would be free.{{Ref/Quest|Id=Silent Auditorium|HI|Endless|Silent Auditorium}}

==Physical description and appearance==
The Harbinger is a tall, slender female [[Xalanyn]] who has two legs with backward pointing feet, and two arms, with four fingers on each hand. Her skin is light blue, her eyes are large, round and reddish-purple, and her mouth is surrounded by a pair of flipper-like tentacles. The Harbinger wears a regal-looking crimson headdress and a matching set of armor with a trio of thrusters on her back which she uses to hover in the air due to her unusable feet. Golden light shines out of a cavity in her armored chestplate. {{Ref/Reuse|HInfTrailerCampaignOverview}}

==Trivia==
*The Harbinger is voiced by [[Debra Wilson]] in ''[[Halo Infinite]]''.
*The Harbinger was originally going to be called the Inquisitor.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HINF-SquiggleInquisitor.jpg|Concept art of the Harbinger for ''[[Halo Infinite]]''.
File:HINF-EarthwormJill.jpg|Concept art of the Harbinger by Theo Stylianides.
File:HINF-CrystalGems.jpg|More humanoid looking concepts.
File:HINF-Inquisitor.jpg|Concept art of the Harbinger by David Heidhoff.
File:HINF-Inquisitor1.jpg|More concept art of the Harbinger.
File:HINF Harbinger Face.png|The Harbinger's face.
File:HINF Harbinger with Pyre Core.png|The Harbinger with [[117649 Despondent Pyre]]'s encephalon.
File:HINF Harbinger attacking.png|Harbinger as she attacks.
File:HINF Harbinger.png|Harbinger floating with her thrusters.
File:HINF Harbinger attacking John.png|Harbinger attacking John-117.
File:HINF Harbinger Face 2.png|The Harbinger's face with no helmet on.
File:HINF Harbinger Back.png|The back of Harbinger's armor.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo Infinite]]'' {{1st}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}