Editing Servants of the Abiding Truth

{{Era|Covenant|HCW|Post}}
{{Affiliation infobox
|name=Servants of the Abiding Truth<br>
<small>''Neru Pe 'Odosima''</small>
|anthem= 
|image=
|body-title=Type
|body=Religious cult/rebellion movement
|bodyfigure-title=
|bodyfigure=
|branch=
|main=[[Ontom]], [[Sangheilios]]
|language=[[Sangheili language|Sangheili]]
|religion= Pre-[[Covenant]] Sangheili beliefs; worship of the [[Forerunner]]s
|notable= Started the [[Sangheili civil war]]
|formed-title=Formation
|formed=Formed around [[852 BCE]]
|dissolved-title=
|dissolved=
|affiliation=[[Office of Naval Intelligence]]
}}
{{Quote|We do not allow blasphemers to live. The gods demand a return to piety. Truth abides.|A message left by the Servants after the attack on Relon keep<ref name="gl95">'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''', ''page 95''</ref>}}

The '''Servants of the Abiding Truth''' (''Neru Pe 'Odosima'' in an archaic dialect of [[Covenant languages#Sangheili|Sangheili]]), sometimes shortened to '''the Abiding Truth''', are an ancient religious order of [[Sangheili]] fundamentalists who follow their species' pre-[[Covenant]] religious beliefs. Following the [[Great Schism]] and the fall of the Covenant, the Abiding Truth became one of the more prominent [[Covenant remnants|splinter groups]] among the Sangheili.<ref name="Excerpt">'''Official Xbox Magazine: Halo - The 10th Anniversary —''' ''Glasslands excerpt''</ref> [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]] and [[Sangheilian armed forces|his allies]] take a view towards the Servants that the order considers to be blasphemous. With aid from the [[United Nations Space Command]]'s [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], the Servants of the Abiding Truth successfully incited [[Sangheili civil war|an insurrection]] against 'Vadam's forces in [[2553]].<ref name="ttw">'''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]'''</ref>

The Servants' headquarters is a [[Forerunner]] structure known as the [[Temple of the Abiding Truth]], located in the city-state of [[Ontom]]. The Servants converted their temple into a weapons cache and base of operations during their rebellion against Thel 'Vadam. 

[[Avu Med 'Telcam]], known as "the Bishop" by ONI forces, is the leader and main representative for the Servants of the Abiding Truth.<ref name="Excerpt"/>

==History==
The Servants of the Abiding Truth was formed following the establishment of the [[Covenant]] in [[852 BCE]]. The organization originally consisted of [[Sangheili]] that hid [[Forerunner]] artifacts from the [[San 'Shyuum]]. The order was still existent during and after the [[Human-Covenant War]].<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 19''</ref> After the war, the Abiding Truth, now a militant cult under the leadership of former [[Field Master]] [[Avu Med 'Telcam]], coordinated their operations and stored large amounts of their arms and equipment in the [[Temple of the Abiding Truth]].<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''pages 138-139''</ref> Although the members of the Abiding Truth believed that the Covenant's Prophets had been false, they felt that the Forerunners were still gods and demanded reverence and respect. Consequently, they believed that [[Thel 'Vadam]] and those loyal to him were committing blasphemy by saying otherwise.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 20''</ref>

In [[2553|January 2553]], the [[United Nations Space Command]]'s [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] organized a meeting between 'Telcam and Captain [[Serin Osman]], along with Professor [[Evan Phillips]] on the glassed [[New Llanelli]]. The purpose of the meeting was to negotiate terms of cooperation between ONI and the Servants of the Abiding Truth, as ONI wished to create unrest amongst the Sangheili and thereby remove them as a threat to the UNSC and humanity. 'Telcam agreed to accept ONI's assistance on the condition that the UNSC ceased to "blaspheme" the divinity of the Forerunners, and that humanity would remain uninvolved with Sangheili affairs following the Servants' successful takeover of Sangheili society - terms to which Osman agreed.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 23''</ref> 'Telcam met with [[Kilo-Five|ONI operatives]] again on New Llanelli, where he received a shipment of human and Sangheili weaponry to support his forces. However, he was questioning what Osman's real plan was.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 133''</ref> After [[Relon]] had decided to demolish a Forerunner monument on his farmland, the Servants saw this as blasphemy, and they soon destroyed his [[keep]] with a [[Spirit]]. Relon and his brother, [[Jalam]], were killed and hung. The Servants left a message on their mutilated corpses to deter anyone else from such acts.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''pages 91-95''</ref>

Meeting with [[Forze 'Mdama]] and [[Jul 'Mdama]] in the state of [[Ontom]], 'Telcam took them on a tour of the Temple of the Abiding Truth, pointing out the symbols that may lead to the [[Halo Array]].<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 177''</ref> In March 2553, Jiralhanae servants in the state of [[Ontom]] launched [[terrorism|insurgent attacks]], which resulted in the death of dozens of Sangheili. Their revolt was quickly quelled by the city militia. This led 'Telcam to the decision for an immediate assault on [[Vadam]]. Along with nine ships and forces from [[Nuan keep]] and [[Rtova keep]], 'Telcam commanded the assault from the [[Covenant frigate|frigate]] ''[[Unflinching Resolve]]''.<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 114''</ref> Eventually, the ''Unflinching Resolve'' suffered a direct hit and crash landed. Despite being caught off-guard it appeared as though the Arbiter would be victorious, however, news spread that he allowed humans to land on Sanghelios; this caused many keeps to ally with the Servants of Abiding Truth and the tide turned in their favor. The Arbiter was caught off guard and when his own reinforcements couldn't arrive on time, he reluctantly accepted [[Admiral]] [[Terrence Hood]]'s offer for help in fending off the attackers. The tide turned when {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} arrived over Sanghelios and destroyed the rebel destroyer ''[[Defender of Faith]]'' before finishing off the rebel ground forces with a [[MAC]] round.<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 302''</ref> The {{UNSCShip|Port Stanley}}, posed as a [[Kig-Yar]] pirate ship, destroyed a few of 'Vadam's ships in order to maintain the stalemate between the two factions, leaving the Arbiter with a Pyrrhic victory.<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 329''</ref>

After the battle, 'Telcam fled to New Llanelli. Due to a lack of ships, 'Telcam put out a reward to the [[Kig-Yar]] to find the ship ''[[Pious Inquisitor]]''.<ref>'''[[Halo: Mortal Dictata]]''', ''Chapter 3''</ref> A shipmistress known as [[Chol Von]] soon took his offer, although she secretly planned to take the ship for herself and use it as a means to defend the Kig-Yar from external threats.<ref>'''Halo: Mortal Dictata''', ''page 75''</ref>

Some time later, 'Telcam once again met members of Kilo-Five on New Llanelli, this time receiving [[Evan Phillips|Dr. Evan Phillips]]' notes on the Forerunner temple at Ontom for the religious significance they held. In return, 'Telcam provided information on the status of his civil war, the disappearance of Jul 'Mdama, and ''Pious Inquisitor''.<ref>'''Halo: Mortal Dictata''', ''pages 118-124''</ref>

==Military assets==
{{Quote|no=two
|1=Jul 'Mdama
|q1=The Servants of Abiding Truth? But they were monks.
|2=Levu 'Mdama
|q2=Well, we let them become warriors, and now they're dangerous, savage fools. And they seem to have stockpiled arms.
|3=[[Levu 'Mdama]] warning [[Jul 'Mdama|Jul]] of the Abiding Truth's resurgence<ref name="gl95"/>
}}
Following the collapse of the [[Covenant]] empire, the Abiding Truth had begun stockpiling firearms and stealing former Covenant vehicles.<ref name="gl95"/> The Servants of Abiding Truth, being an insurgent group, are not properly equipped to be a stand out military and make use of any material they can find. The Servants are known to utilize the [[Type-25 plasma rifle]] and the [[Type-25 plasma pistol]] as their main weapons. By [[2553]], a majority of the Abiding Truth's weapons were supplied by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]'s [[Kilo-Five]].<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 21''</ref> The Servants have been also seen using [[Type-26 Wraith]]s and [[Type-32 Ghost]]s as part of their vehicular ground forces, as well as the [[Type-48 Revenant]]. The [[Type-46 Spectre]] also serves as a troop transport and anti-infantry vehicle.<ref name="ttw133">'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 133''</ref> The [[Type-26 Banshee]] is the group's primary ground support aircraft and a number of [[Type-25 Spirit]] and [[Type-52 Phantom]] dropships have been used as troop transports and attack craft, albeit limited.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 93''</ref><ref name="ttw133"/>

The faction has also made use of several older Covenant models as part of their aircraft, such as the old [[Tarasque heavy fighter]].<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 116''</ref> Many other vehicles have also been utilized as part of their assault force. 'Telcam was known to use several vehicles when traveling across [[Sanghelios]] and [[New Llanelli]], including a [[Kig-Yar shuttle]].<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 255''</ref> The group's fleet consists of at least five [[Covenant frigate|frigates]] and at least one [[Covenant destroyer|destroyer]].<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 295''</ref> The group itself is mainly made up of thousands religious fanatics and true believers and have gained support from several other loyalist keeps, though they may not share their religious view.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 173''</ref> In the aftermath of the assault on [[Vadam]], the Servants of Abiding Truth only had four frigates left on New Llanelli.{{fact}}

== Notable individuals==
*[[Avu Med 'Telcam]]
*[[Buran 'Utaral]]
**Buran's crew
***Four Sangheili
***Two loyal [[Jiralhanae]]
****[[Manus]] {{C|deceased}}
*[[Dunil]]
*[[Dural 'Mdama]]
*[[Forze 'Mdama]] {{C|deceased}}
*[[Galur]] {{C|deceased}}
*[[Jul 'Mdama]] {{C|formerly}}
*[[Olar]]
*[['Rduan]] {{C|deceased}}

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]''
*''[[Halo: Mortal Dictata]]''

==Sources==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Organizations}}

[[Category:Religion]]