Order of Restoration

Order of Restoration
Government overview
Type:	Clandestine order
Head of state:	Dovo Nesto
Executive branch:	High Lord
Societal overview
Official language(s):	San'Shyuum language Sangheili language
Official religion(s):	Covenant religion
Notable event(s):	Attack on Rahnelo Ambush at Duraan Battle of the prototype Halo installation Skirmish over Kas'kah's artificial moon Battle of Venezia Battle of Boundary
Technology level:	Tier 2
Historical overview
Formation:	c.2200 BCE
Reorganization:	2552: Great Schism
Affiliation:	San'Shyuum flotilla Sali 'Nyon's Covenant

The Order of Restoration is a fanatical sect of San'Shyuum. Formed long before the formation of the Covenant, the organization seeks to reestablish the empire following the Great Schism. The Order is led by High Lord Dovo Nesto.

History

Origin

The Order of Restoration was established as a clandestine group following the end of the War of Wills, when the Reformists lived within the Forerunner Dreadnought. They secretly plotted to restore ancient San'Shyuum traditions originating from their homeworld of Janjur Qom.

During the time of the Covenant, the Order remained shrouded in secrecy for many ages. For centuries, their members pulled the strings of the empire’s politicians and nobility. While their leader, High Lord Dovo Nesto, never laid claim to the position of Hierarch, he was in many ways a shadow master of the Covenant, governing the purposes of the High Council and even exploiting many former Prophets through countless divinatory maneuverings. Nesto claimed to have done so since the very dawn of the empire thousands of years before and that he was the oldest living being in the galaxy. Nesto's will was never denied and he never failed to accomplish his purpose, leaving him in many respects without rival as Nesto operated silently from within the Forerunner Dreadnought.

The Fall

When the Great Schism occurred, the Covenant was divided in two. The majority of the San'Shyuum and Jiralhanae remained loyal to the Covenant while the Sangheili led the forces abandoning the empire.

In the years following the fall of the Covenant, Nesto consolidated whatever remained of the San'Shyuum's influence into the Order, along with the majority of the empire’s other species. Unlike the warlords of the Covenant remnants, Nesto had the strategic acumen, connections and the history to make it possible.

Vendetta

Following the end of the War of Annihilation, two members of the Order of Restoration,Prelate Tem'Bhetek and Minister Boru'a'Neem, sought revenge against the Sangheili. Unlike Boru'a'Neem, Tem'Bhetek had a smaller scale, more personal vendetta against Rtas 'Vadum and the Shadow of Intent, as he viewed them responsible for the death of his family during the Fall of High Charity. Unknown to Tem'Bhetek, the Minister planned to use a prototype Halo installation to commit genocide against the Sangheili species by activating it near Sanghelios.

Their first target was the Sangheili colony of Rahnelo. Using the Zanar-pattern light cruiser Spear of Light, Tem leads Jiralhanae forces to attack the civilians on the planet's surface. The Sangheili civilians defended themselves to some extent taking several Jiralhanae with them but ultimately lost the battle. Tem had successfully kidnapped Kaidon Tulum 'Juranai and his two sons, and later executed them as test subjects for the activation of the prototype Halo installation. The attack on Rahnelo served as the first part of the faction's plan to lure in the Shadow of Intent.

Following the massacre, the Prelate proceeded to attack another Sangheili colony, Duraan. The Shadow of Intent engaged the Spear of Light but failed to destroy it due to the interference of the planet's sun. The crew of the Spear of Light then boarded the Shadow of Intent attempting to take over the ship. A firefight ensued throughout the hanger bay and several decks of the ship. All the Jiralhanae forces were killed and Tem was taken prisoner.

Rtas 'Vadum located their headquarters from the Spear of Light’s database and took the Shadow of Intent to the prototype Halo installation to destroy it. Tem had managed to escape and return to Boru'a'Neem inside the installation where he learned the truth about what happened to his family. When High Charity fell, Boru had told Tem that his family was dead in order to escape. Realizing that his family was still alive for some time and that he could have potentially saved them, Tem felt betrayed by Boru. Now taking full control of the Prelate’s forces, Boru ordered several Yanme'e to open fire on Tem, wounding him further. Rtas and his soldiers fought the last of the faction's forces at the installation. Realizing who his true enemies were, Tem destroyed the installation ultimately helping Rtas and his soldiers escape.

Rebuilding the Covenant

Years after the Covenant’s fall, Dovo Nesto held a citadel on the Sangheili colony of Feldokra and maintained it while its power reserves still functioned. After they had been exhausted, Nesto set himself up on the human colony world of Venezia which no one paid any regard, including the humans who lived there. This allowed his enemies to remain in the dark until everything was in order. The choice of location proved to be advantageous as all those under Nesto's command came and went as they pleased and any humans who were suspisious could be easily bought off. While Nesto's forces amassed starships and weapons on outer worlds, they could coordinate everything on Venezia, right under the nose of their greatest enemies.

As a part of his plans, Nesto contacted Severan, the son of Tartarus,Chieftain of the Jiralhanae. He promised the Jiralhanae a place at his right hand, appointed as an instrumental part in the Covenant's restoration. First, Severan was to build up the Vanguard of Zaladon, drawing in both his rivals and allies, something that he accomplished with little difficulty. Through his cousin Choros, Severan attained a position as a War Chief in the Banished, something that he and Nesto would use to their advantage when the time came.

By late 2559, Nesto formed an alliance with Sali 'Nyon and his Covenant with 'Nyon pledging all of his forces to the Order of Restoration. In exchange for their help, Nesto promised 'Nyon and Severan the same thing: a position of authority in the resurrected Covenant, and a place at the head of the Covenant's military.

Vigilance with Piety

In November 2559, the Chel Tor-pattern storm cutter Vigilance with Piety, captained by former Minister Kafo Dein traveled to the artificial moon orbiting the gas giant Kus'kah and begun raiding the site’s long-abandoned Forerunner ports and armories, relieving it of countless treasures, including five war sphinxes. The crew of the Shadow of Intent attempted to capture him. Dein activated the storm cutter's self-destruct and attempted to flee to Kus'kah's artificial moon. However, he was stopped by Tul 'Juran who destroyed Dein's Ren with a war sphinx, killing him.

Search for the Lithos

Nesto and the Order of Restoration sought to secure the Lithos, a gateway into the Domain. During the Fall of Reach, while serving under the command of Tulum 'Juranai, 'Nyon had recovered a record of a living clone of Dr. Catherine Halsey that held the key to accessing the Domain. Swords of Sanghelios ranger teams under the command of Mahkee 'Chava extracted a message from Nesto to Kafo Dein about this from a relay mite attached to a battlecruiser belonging to 'Nyon that was stationed on Venezia.

During the Battle of Boundary, a fleet from Sali 'Nyon's Covenant arrived as well and helped to push the UNSC forces back. The Covenant forces were let through the defensive shell because they had Severan's own fleet's clearance codes. The number of Covenant ships was great enough and they were everywhere once they got through the defensive shell that the Banished were unable to stop 'Nyon from sending out detachments to claim the key to the Lithos for himself. The collusion between Nesto and 'Nyon caused Severan to realize that Nesto had promised the Sangheili what he had already promised Severan. 'Nyon himself made his way to the Banished encampment where Nesto revealed himself, surprising the members of the Eight who were on the ground as they were unaware of Severan working with a San'Shyuum and leading to a standoff that 'Nyon tried to defuse. Covenant dropships unloaded several waves of soldiers which converged on the group of leaders, creating a tense situation where the Banished now appeared to be outnumbered. The UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios team attempted to assassinate Nesto and 'Nyon, but they were betrayed by Blademaster Vul 'Soran and Spartan Merrick who injured Jai-006 and Adriana-111 and killed Spartan Stefan Vidalin.

With this development and with the Banished only minutes away from reaching the Lithos, the UNSC Victory of Samothrace was ordered to destroy the Lithos from orbit with a MAC strike in order to deny it to both the Banished and the Covenant. Captain Abigail Cole had the Shadow of Intent attempt to warn the surface team of the incoming strike while ordering the remaining UNSC ships to provide Victory with cover to make the shot against the combined Banished and Covenant forces.

The Banished and Covenant leaders were able to reach an uneasy peace, but Severan realized that he had been lied to and manipulated by Nesto due to not only his alliance with 'Nyon, but Nesto's utter disregard for Severan's ability to accomplish their shared goals despite all he'd pledged and was willing to jeopardize the War Chief's standing with Atriox to undermine it. Nesto's reaction to Severan's lack of respect confirmed that he saw the War Chief only as a pawn and Severan deduced that Nesto had promised 'Nyon the same thing that he had promised Severan: a position of authority in the resurrected Covenant, and a place at the head of the Covenant's military which 'Nyon's surprised reaction confirmed. When Severan refused to bow before the San'Shyuum's right to divinity despite the Banished forces being completely surrounded, Nesto attacked him with 'Nyon's energy sword, but the War Chief cut Nesto's arm off with one of his arm blades, causing battle to break out between the Banished and the Covenant, both on the planet's surface and in orbit.

On the last of the escalating platforms of the Lithos, Nesto, 'Nyon and Severan took cover behind a series of vertical barriers, firing unrelentingly into each other's position. Phantoms from each side moved in and extracted the leaders, leaving the Banished and Covenant ground troops fighting each other without any sort of coordination or cohesion. The UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios team received contact from Rtas 'Vadum ordering them to evacuate before the site was destroyed by the Victory.

In orbit, the Victory was nearly able to get into position to fire before the Banished flagship Heart of Malice joined the fight, ramming the Victory off target and damaging the drive control system, rending Victory unable to maneuver in any way. However, Victory's speed and trajectory still put it in position to fire upon the Lithos. The remaining ships of Omega held off the Banished flagship long enough for Victory to get into position to fire. Victory's MAC successfully fired into the Lithos just before the UNSC flagship was rammed by the Heart of Malice again. Thousands of Banished and Covenant were killed in the strike while the Lithos burst into a pillar of light that tore into the sky. Several dozen ships were vaporized by the Lithos' destruction while others were severely damaged, either cast adrift or sent on a collision course with the planet's surface. The attack sent Victory plummeting to the planet's surface, but the ship's drive actuators unexpectedly came back online, allowing the bridge crew to level the ship out as much as possible before Victory crash landed on Boundary.

The shockwave from the strike caused both Severan's Phantom and 'Nyon's to crash. With the Lithos destroyed, Severan contacted the Heart of Malice and ordered the retreat of all of the remaining Banished ships. Taking an overturned Covenant Ghost, Severan chased down 'Nyon and Nesto as they escaped in a Abatyar-pattern Revenant to a parked Phantom. Severan caught up with the two at the Phantom, killing the Revenant's driver and two guards. Severan dueled 'Nyon, ultimately decapitating and killing the Covenant leader. Before Severan could kill Nesto, he was stabbed through the back by 'Soran who left Severan to die as 'Soran and Nesto escaped in the dropship. However, Severan was rescued by Kaevus in a Trespasser.

A group of five Covenant Sangheili, three Kig-Yar, eight Unggoy and a Mgalekgolo pair surrounded the pile of rubble where Unggoy Ranger Stolt and Spartan David McEndon were trapped, the latter of whom had sacrificed himself to help Stolt escape from where he was stuck. Stolt suggested that the Covenant soldiers possibly wanted the Spartan's armor as a trophy, the energy signature of which Stolt suspected they were tracking. Gray Team arrived to help in Condor Zulu Seven Nine, killing a third of the Covenant soldiers with the Condor's initial salvo before the Spartans jumped out to engage the Covenant directly. Joined by Tul 'Juran, Gray Team eliminated the Covenant soldiers, rescued Stolt and recovered McEndon's body.

'Nyon's Covenant suffered significant losses in the battle, losing thousands of personnel and assets in the MAC strike alone. The UNSC was able to recover 'Nyon's body in the aftermath.

New Mission

With Sali 'Nyon dead, Dovo Nesto took control of his Covenant and all of its resources for the Order of Restoration and its continuing mission to restore the Covenant empire. Nesto told Vul 'Soran that with the loss of the Lithos, they would be forced to achieve their goals another way and asked what he knew of Cloister. 'Soran knew that it was what Rtas 'Vadum and the Shadow of Intent had been searching for, the final destination of the San'Shyuum flotilla. However, neither he nor 'Vadum knew any more than that about it. Nesto explained that Cloister lay at the very heart of the San'Shyuum's designs, holding many ancient secrets within going back to a time when the race was possessed of great youth and vitality. It was also the source of Nesto's knowledge about the Lithos. Having infiltrated the Order, Ayit 'Sevi sent a message to Admiral Jilan al-Cygni warning her of this development.

Known Members

• Dovo Nesto - High Lord and leader of the Order of Restoration.
• Kafo Dein † - Former Minister of Abnegation and captain of the Chel Tor-pattern storm cutter Vigilance with Piety. Killed in action during the Boarding Vigilance with Piety.
• Boru'a'Neem † - Former Minister of Preparation. Killed in action during the Battle of the Prototype Halo installation.
• Tem'Bhetek † - Prelate and captain of the Zanar-pattern light cruiser Spear of Light. Abandoned the Order after he confronted Boru'a'Neem and realized he was being used and manipulated by the former Minister. Sacrificed himself during the Battle of the Prototype Halo installation.
• Sali 'Nyon † - Leader of his Covenant faction. Allied himself with Dovo Nesto in late 2559. Decapitated by Severan during the Battle of Boundary.
• Vul 'Soran - Renowned Sangheili Blademaster who betrayed the Swords of Sanghelios during the Battle of Boundary.
• Severan - Banished War Chief manipulated by Nesto into supporting his cause. Abandoned the Order during the Battle of Boundary after realizing that he was just being used and manipulated.
• Ayit 'Sevi - Sangheili Storm and member of the Breath of Annihilation's crew. Secretly a mercenary working for the Office of Naval Intelligence.

Military structure

As in the Covenant hegemony after the Great Schism, the Order of Restoration was made up of the primary member species that remained loyal to the Covenant, as well as the forces of Sali 'Nyon's Covenant once Dovo Nesto seized control of the faction. For a time, the Order effectively had control of the Banished's forces and resources through Nesto's manipulation of Severan. However, this ended once Severan realized that he was being manipulated and turned against his former master.

Classes	San'Shyuum	Yanme'e	Jiralhanae	Sangheili
Ranks and type classes
Standard ranks		Minors	Minors
Specialized troops	Prelate		Stalkers
Veterans		Majors	Majors Captain	Blademaster
Leaders			Chieftain
Political	Minister High Lord

List of apperances

• Halo: Shadow of Intent (First appearance)
• Halo Mythos
• Halo: Empty Throne