Interpreter
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
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- "The Interpreters, experts in the study and interpretation of the Mantle - a once powerful rate, wiped from the records, their contributions diminished until they were seen as trivial and eventually forgotten altogether. Interpreters acted in conjunction with Juridicals in cases of crimes against the Mantle - their judgments often taking precedence."
- — Description by the Ur-Didact.[1]
The Interpreters were a long-lost rate that had been experts in the study and interpretation of the Mantle.
Overview[edit]
The Interpreters were experts in the study and interpretation of the Mantle, acting in conjunction with the Juridicals in cases of crimes against the Mantle with the Interpreters judgments often taking precedence.[1]
The Didact's father, a descendant of the rate, had the need to uphold the Mantle and bring to light the misuse and misinterpretation and corruption of its laws imprinted on his very essence.[1]
History[edit]
The Interpreters were once a powerful rate amongst the Forerunners, but they became one of many rates assimilated by the Builders in their rise to power. Millions of years worth of history, wealth, culture, knowledge and ritual were forcibly absorbed by the Builders who accomplished this through the consistent erosion of the rates' contributions to society through corruption, and via campaigns of misinformation.[1]
However, things never stayed lost for long with the lost rates eventually being rediscovered when some intrepid Forerunner would come along and discover some obscure trail, or the Domain would bring lost information to the forefront for purposes unknown at the time. The Didact's father, as a descendant of the Interpreters, had the need to uphold the Mantle and bring to light the misuse and misinterpretation and corruption of its laws imprinted on his very essence. The Didact's father became outspoken and passionate about his lost history, his innate ability to stir a crowd on par with the Speakers of old and the best silver-tongued Builders of the Capital. His eloquence appealed to the true heart of the Forerunners, namely their desire for glory, their joy in the diversity of rates and the tremendous loss felt to Forerunner culture when identities and rituals were forgotten. The Didact's father evoked the Twelve Laws of Making and Moving, its Upper and Lower Tenets of Authority, and the Rules of Virtue. As a result, millions of Forerunners began to believe that reparation was in order, calling for the restoration of the lost rates and bringing back the immense knowledge and rituals that had been confiscated and hidden away by the Builders. The Builders saw this movement as a threat, but couldn't silence him thanks to the Didact's mother and together, they united half of the occupied worlds to their cause, leading to the Kradal conflicts when the Didact was just a Manipular.[1]
However, the Didact's parents lost the conflict and were executed with a special variant of the Suppressor which left nothing behind of them, not even an essence for the Domain. According to the Haruspis, to make reparations, satisfy the Ecumene Council and waylay any chance of revival, the Didact's parents and four others "volunteered" to pay the ultimate price as a cautionary tale - a lesson to those who might have had similar notions to shed light on the Builders' misdeeds. In reality, the Builders cornered them and held the lives of many, many others over their heads, including that of their son, to get them to agree.[1]
As part of the punishment, the Didact, who was just a few domestic years beyond a decade at the time, had his memories of his early life erased and he was renamed Shadow-of-Sundered-Star, his true name and history left forgotten. The Didact would only know about this because the tale had been revealed to him in his later life by those seeking to cause the Didact pain and humiliation. However, the Didact had never wanted to believe that it was true. He was subsequently raised by Silence-in-the End who honed the Didact's skills while Bitterness-of-the-Vanquished oversaw his training, both of whom were present and prevented the young Didact from interfering in his parents' execution.[1]
Over a hundred thousand years later, the Domain showed the Didact his long-lost memory of the Didact's parents' execution. The Haruspis called this a synchron and a defining moment in the Didact's life.[1]
Known Interpreters[edit]
- Ur-Didact's family[1]
- Didact's father (Descendant)
- Ur-Didact (Descendant)
- Didact's children (Descendants)
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo: Epitaph (First appearance)
Sources[edit]
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