Editing Olfmeri

{{Status|Canon}}

[[File:HOD Whale2.png|thumb|450px|The description of ''olfmeri'' as "[[Wikipedia:Bird|avian]] [[Wikipedia:Cetacea|cetaceans]]" is based on their resemblance to whales and ability to fly—like birds.{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}} It does not imply membership within the [[Wikipedia:Clade|clade]]s ''[[Wikipedia:Bird|Aves]]'' or ''[[Wikipedia:Cetacea|Cetacea]]'', especially seeing as membership in either is mutually exclusive from the other.{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}}]]

'''''Olfmeri''''' (as they were known to  [[Forerunner]] [[Lifeworker]]s), or "'''sky leviathans'''", are among the most mysterious and elusive [[List of animals|creatures]] encountered on various [[Forerunner]] installations.{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}} They have been described most accurately as "[[Wikipedia:Bird|avian]] [[Wikipedia:Cetacea|cetaceans]]", despite being wholly alien to [[Earth]]'s species. Though sharing superficial similarities with the whales of [[human]]ity's home world, they are distinguished by their ability to traverse the skies, rather than the oceans, of their locales.{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}}

{{Quote|no=two|q1=What in God's name did you say to it?|[[Olympia Vale]]|q2=I haven't the faintest idea. But I've heard its songs while studying some of the captured audio from the ''Dawn's'' time here, and I was able to discern general intent.|[[Luther Mann]]|Doctor Luther Mann explains his attempt at communication between he and a sky leviathan.}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}}

[[File:HOD Olfmeri.PNG|thumb|300px|left|Luther Mann had never seen anything quite like the ''olfmeri'' prior to his encounter with a group of them in [[2555]], but eventually attendees at [[Outpost Discovery]] events were able to observe those that lived on a [[Halo ring]] thanks to the surveillance of [[OQ-45 Honeybee]] drones.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}}{{Ref/Reuse|HODTRE}}]]

''Olfmeri'' were among the creatures [[Conservation Measure|preserved]] by the [[Librarian]] against the [[Great Purification|firing]] of the [[Halo Array]] in [[97,445 BCE]].<ref name="CF9">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-array-with-words '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Cannon Fodder - Array With Words'']</ref><ref name="WaypointLibrarian">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/librarian '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Librarian'']</ref> Following this destructive event they were seeded upon at least one [[Halo]] ring while also being left to flourish on the Ark, [[Installation 00]], far beyond the [[Milky Way]] galaxy.<ref name="CF38">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-jurassic-ark '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Cannon Fodder - Jurassic Ark'']</ref>{{Ref/Note|''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]'', a traveling experience canonically set at some point between [[2554]] and [[2557]], includes an attraction called [[The Ring Experience|"The Ring Experience"]] which involves viewing a [[Wavespace|live]] feed from a [[OQ-45 Honeybee]] drone exploring a [[Halo ring]]. Multiple ''olfmeri'' can be seen in the environment. The planet which the ring is shown orbiting discounts the possibility that it could be [[Installation 05|Delta]] or [[Gamma Halo]], and executive producer of The Ring Experience, Jason Ambler, believes it is supposed to be [[Installation 07|Zeta Halo]]. If this is the case, the experience cannot be set any earlier than the point in [[2555]] when the [[Zeta Halo project|exploration]] of that installation began. Officially the identity of the installation shown in The Ring Experience is presently undefined by [[343 Industries]]. It should also be noted that the canonical dating of ''Outpost Discovery'' may be able to be further narrowed by a display which claims it is believed [[343 Guilty Spark]] was destroyed in [[2552]]. It was in late [[2555]] that the [[UNSC]] first learned of this [[monitor]]'s survival.}}<ref name="HODTRE">''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]'', [[The Ring Experience]]</ref><ref name="TMOTRE">''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]'', ''The Making of The Ring Experience''</ref><ref name="HR13">''[[Halo: Renegades]]'', ''Chapter 13''</ref>

In [[2552#December|December of 2552]] the {{Class|Charon|light frigate}} {{UNSCShip|Forward Unto Dawn}} captured audio recordings of ''olfmeri'' songs after arriving at the Ark.<ref name="HHITD8">''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'', ''Chapter 8''</ref> Soon after this an [[Installation 08|unfinished]] [[Halo ring]] was fired above the Ark, spelling death for the many [[sentient]] creatures which inhabited its surface.<ref name="HHITD1">''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'', ''Chapter 1''</ref><ref name="HM122">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', ''page 122''</ref> The Ark's [[monitor]], [[000 Tragic Solitude]], eventually then began to breed new life forms.<ref name="HHITD18">''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'', ''Chapter 18''</ref> Among these were more ''olfmeri''.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} Then, in [[2555#March|March of 2555]] a team of [[human]]s and [[Sangheili]] representing the [[United Nations Space Command]] and [[Swords of Sanghelios]], respectively, encountered a group of the leviathans shortly after traveling to the Ark.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} Respected scientist Doctor [[Luther Mann]] had to urge the others not to shoot when one of the ''olfmeri'' took notice of the humans and Elites below it and drifted toward them to investigate. Surprisingly, Doctor Mann was able to mimic its singing and appeared to even hold congress with it for a while, thanks to having studied the audio from the ''Dawn'' and being able to discern general intent. It soon became clear to the beast that he was not a fellow ''olfmeri'', however, but rather more like a noisy speck, and at that it broke away to rejoin its group.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} By late [[2558]] the biological mechanisms behind ''olfmeri'' [[Wikipedia:Buoyancy|buoyancy]] were still a mystery to the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]'s scientists, though there were no shortage of curious theories.{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}}<ref name="OD">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/outpost-discoveries '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Canon Fodder: Outpost Discoveries'']</ref>

[[File:HOD Whale1.PNG|thumb|350px|In addition to their "wings", ''olfmeri'' boast four visible limbs beneath what could be considered their tail flukes.{{Ref/Reuse|TMOTRE}}]]

''Olfmeri'' are as large as [[Wikipedia:Ocean liner|ocean liner]]s or many of [[Earth]]'s [[Wikipedia:Whale|whale]]s and bear similar features to the aquatic [[Wikipedia:Mammal|mammal]]s as well.{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} Their massive, gorgeous bodies are shaped somewhat like bulbous teardrops with large, toothy mouths which extend across their fronts and about a third of the way down their flanks.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} Their undersides appear the purest white, often shimmering in the light which reflects off of them. What appear to be wings exist on each side of ''olfmeri'' and are known to ripple before propelling them. It is not likely that [[Wikipedia:Small Arms and Light Weapons|small arms]] could do much of anything against one of the hulking creatures.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}}

Unlike the leviathans of Earth's oceans, ''olfmeri'' are able to slowly but effortlessly cruise through the air, rather than water.{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} They have been observed doing so at just a few dozen meters above the surface of the Ark, but can certainly rise higher into the sky as well.{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} If they so choose, they can hover in place.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} To gain altitude a sky leviathan may tilt its massive body to the side before being propelled upward by its apparent wings—something that only takes moments.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} The creatures' ability to defy gravity seems impossible given their incredible size and nature, but it is at least known that they stay aloft through [[Wikipedia:Buoyancy|buoyant force]]s produced by some biological mechanisms.{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}}

{{Quote|The songs don't seem to serve as a language in the same way that words do for us. It conveys feelings, sensations.|Doctor [[Luther Mann]] tries to explain ''olfmeri'' singing as best he can.}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}}

''Olfmeri'' are highly social creatures, traveling together in groups and, strikingly, communicating to one another through songs which sound remarkably similar to the noises made by conversing whales on Earth.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} These songs convey feelings and sensations rather than being used to express a [[Wikipedia:Language|language]]. At a short distance, the sounds made by ''olfmeri'' are loud enough to make human or [[Sangheili]] listeners cover their ears. The sky leviathan which took an interest in [[Luther Mann]] in [[2555]] quieted upon first hearing the human make noises which sounded eerily identical to its own, before then focusing intently on him and responding with more song. It appeared to only realize a short time later that he was not a fellow leviathan like itself, at which point it did not care to bother itself with him any longer. Mann had hoped to make it understand his group intended no harm and were peaceful, but he could not say for certain what message he may have actually sent. Diplomat [[Olympia Vale]], at the least, thought it seemed like he'd convinced it of just what he meant to.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}}

''Olfmeri'' seem genuinely harmless, gentle as they are.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}}<ref name="HHITD10">''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'', ''Chapter 10''</ref> Luther Mann surmised that even if fired upon one would be more likely to be scared than to prove an offensive threat, though he did worry about the likelihood that one might crush he and the rest of his group in the event that it dropped from the sky above them.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}}

==Production notes==

{{Quote|One of my favorites, the "sky leviathan"—which is basically a giant floating space whale that's flying over the environment. This thing is so cool.|[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1894114/ Jason Ambler], producer of The Ring Experience, comments on the design of ''olfmeri''.}}{{Ref/Reuse|TMOTRE}}

"Sky leviathans" were originally planned for inclusion in ''[[Halo 4]]'', in which they would have been inhabitants of the [[shield world]] [[Requiem]].{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}}{{Ref/Reuse|ADSW2}} [[343 Industries]] artist [https://www.artstation.com/autodestruct Paul Richards] produced a number of iterative concepts for the creatures' design.{{Ref/Reuse|ADSW2}}{{Ref/Reuse|ADSW1}} The version that was eventually selected as representing the true appearance of the ''olfmeri'' took inspiration from [[Wikipedia:Humpback whale|humpback whale]]s, [[Wikipedia:Manta ray|manta ray]]s, and [[Wikipedia:Ocean sunfish|ocean sunfish]] as far as its surface detailing was concerned for Paul.{{Ref/Reuse|ADSW2}} Ultimately, they did not appear in the game but were later formally introduced to ''Halo'''s canon in the [[2015]] [[Halo novels|novel]], ''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]''.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD8}} They were then first identified as ''olfmeri'' within a ''[[Canon Fodder]]'' entry which followed the release of the book.{{Ref/Reuse|CF38}} ''Olfmeri'' were finally visualized within "[[The Ring Experience]]", part of ''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]''.{{Ref/Reuse|TMOTRE}}

File:Sky Leviathan 2.jpg|This image shows some of Paul Richards' concepts.<ref name="ADSW1">[http://autodestructdigital.blogspot.com/2013/02/space-whales-1.html '''Autodestruct Digital''' - ''Space Whales 1'']</ref>

File:Sky Leviathan 3.jpg|More of Paul Richards' concepts are shown here.{{Ref/Reuse|ADSW1}}

File:Sky Leviathan 1.jpg|This artwork of Paul Richards' was used to create the ''olfmeri'' that appear in "[[The Ring Experience]]" at ''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]''.{{Ref/Reuse|HODTRE}}<ref name="ADSW2">[http://autodestructdigital.blogspot.com/2013/02/space-whales-2.html '''Autodestruct Digital''' - ''Space Whales 2'']</ref>

File:HOD_Whale3.PNG|This three-dimensional model was created for "[[The Ring Experience]]" at ''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]''.{{Ref/Reuse|TMOTRE}}

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[[Category:Flying species]]