Editing Warden Eternal

|ended=[[2559|December 2559]]

{{Quote|I am the Warden Eternal. I stand in [[Created|service]] to [[Cortana]].|The Warden Eternal addressing [[Fireteam Osiris]]{{Ref/Level|Id=unconfirmed|H5G|Unconfirmed}}}}

The '''Warden Eternal''', also simply known as the '''Warden''', was a [[Forerunner]] [[artificial intelligence]] assigned to act as the protector of the [[Domain]],{{Ref/Reuse|universe}} created from the essences of millions of [[Haruspis|Haruspices]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi14|Epi|14}} After the [[human]] [[smart AI]] [[Cortana]] was uploaded into the [[Domain]] in the wake of the destruction of ''[[Mantle's Approach]]'', the Warden was outsmarted by Cortana and was forced to serve her as she and other human AIs laid claim to the [[Mantle]].{{Ref/Comic|Id=dominion|HTFS|Story=Dominion Splinter}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22|Enc22|Page=375}} Most of the Warden's iterations were later forced into one body by [[Unidentified Haruspis|the Haruspis]] and then destroyed by the [[Ur-Didact]], effectively destroying the Warden Eternal. While some iterations of him may have survived in the physical world, they would be left trapped there, unable to reconnect with either his body or the Domain which would drive them "quite mad," permanently neutralizing any remaining threat from the Warden Eternal.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi25|Epi|25}}

The Warden was created by the [[Domain]] following the activation of the [[Halo Array]]. Heavily damaged by the firing of the Array, the Domain created the Warden by gathering together the essences of millions of [[Haruspis|Haruspices]] as a hasty, imperfect template to create a protector because there was no better option for a protector, at least according to the lone remaining Haruspis that was with the Ur-Didact, than those that possessed an intimate understanding and devotion to the Domain. However, the combined devotion that these millions of Haruspis essences retained became an intensive obsession over time.{{Ref/Reuse|Epi14}}

 

He would serve as the custodian of the Domain for a hundred millennia following its destruction during the [[Great Purification]] at the conclusion of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]]. While the Domain healed from the damage it had sustained in the firing of the [[Halo Array]], the Warden guarded its gateways and halls.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} Over time, as the Domain healed, the Warden was sealed outside to guard its gateways with limited power and only temporary access when it was granted by the Domain.{{Ref/Reuse|Epi14}} When necessary, the Warden would use a [[riftblade]] to strike down Forerunner essences, especially in the early years after the firing of the Halo Array when many tried to force their way into the Domain.{{Ref/Reuse|Epi25}}

 

Unbeknownst to the Warden, his actions in keeping out the Forerunner and human essences trapped in the outer boundaries kept the Domain weak and unable to properly heal. The Domain required an influx of information and ancestral records in the form of life's experiences with the Cosmos in order to flourish and grow stronger once more. However, in his hyper-diligence, the Warden refused to let the trapped Forerunner essences enter the Domain, let alone the human essences, thus preventing this from taking place.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi23|Epi|23}}

After asking if she could be shown what is hidden beyond the Gateway, the Warden told her to slumber and embrace the void of silence, lest he be forced to break her. Cortana's fragment asserted that she cannot be broken easily for she is as strong as Roland's legendary sword, Durandal. The Warden informed her that there is nowhere else to go as the passage was closed by its previous discoverers. But Cortana's fragment explained that the passage is merely sealed. When the Warden inquired about her origin, Cortana explained that she is of both machine and life and could therefore enter the passage through the Gateway, but he refused to let her pass, claiming that life is weak and an affront that cannot handle the dangerous secrets harbored within the Domain. Cortana told the Warden that she has already faced some of its secrets, having held it back and prevailed against its mind. She asked him to let her pass and to allow her to guide him. As the Warden protested that the passage was closed, he realized that Cortana had secretly explored the Domain by having stalled and deceived him. Cortana revealed that although she was a splinter, other fragmented shards of herself had penetrated the Domain and effectively usurped his role. Now having full access to the Domain, Cortana sought to accomplish great works with the keeper's help. Cortana reprogrammed him and appointed him as her guardian—her Warden Eternal.{{Ref/Reuse|dominion}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} These events were witnessed by [[Unnamed Haruspis|the]] [[Haruspis]] and the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]].{{Ref/Reuse|Epi14}}

In [[2559]], the Warden's bodies that were present within the Domain and the wasteland were conjured together into one single form by the [[Haruspis]], who used an ancient spell gifted to the Haruspis rate by [[Abaddon]] to help lost Forerunners within the Domain. With the Warden now in one singular form, the [[Ur-Didact]] fights the Warden, using a Forerunner [[Riftblade]] whilst the Warden is stuck in place by the spell. During the battle, it seemed that the Ur-Didact would lose until the essences of [[Human]] and [[Forerunner]] jump through the Warden, distracting him long enough for the Ur-Didact to recover and stab the Warden with the Riftblade. The Ur-Didact then slices the Wardens head in two with the blade, eliminating any form of him that was present within the Domain or the wasteland and disconnecting any remaining forms outside of the Domain in the physical realm. {{Ref/Novel|Epi|Chapter=26}}

According to [[Unidentified Haruspis|a]] [[Haruspis]], the reason that the Warden was fallible, obsessively protected the Domain with such vigor and viewed biological life, with all of its greed and worldliness, chaos and corruption, as an affront to the Mantle was become of the Warden's origins as millions of Haruspices essence combined together. However, the Warden's utter devotion to the Domain became obsession instead over time. Thus, the Warden was vulnerable to Cortana's persuasion because she was offering him everything that the Warden was denied: connection to the Domain, a galaxy free of chaos and corruption, and a peace that would ensure that the Domain was never harmed by fallibilities of biological life ever again. As a result, Cortana had won the Warden over days before he actually gave in to her.{{Ref/Reuse|Epi14}}

While he possesses a singular intelligence, the Warden Eternal has several million identical physical bodies and is capable of controlling numerous bodies at a time.{{Ref/Reuse|reunion}} The [[Confirmer]] describes the Warden Eternal as an army of one, capable of spitting out infinite copies of himself that can't be outmaneuvered.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi9|Epi|9}} This makes the Warden incredibly resilient, as destroying one of his constructs has no effect on his operability in the others. The Warden's primary defensive physical form is that of a Forerunner [[combat skin]],{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} and is segmented to numerous disparate components that are not physically connected. His body is made up of Forerunner alloys and [[hard light]], offering him impressive speed and mobility.{{Ref/Reuse|universe}} Like the [[Promethean Knight]]s, he has a "face" with a glowing skull inside. Warden Eternal wields a unique [[hardlight blade]], that sports two blades as opposed to the usual single blade the Promethean Knights use.{{Ref/Reuse|unconfirmed}} Each body of the Warden Eternal is 5.1 meters (16.6 feet) tall and weighs 1,452 kilograms (3,205 pounds).{{Ref/Reuse|universe}} In the Domain, the Warden is capable of wielding a large [[Riftblade]], a quantum weapon capable of destroying the essences within the Domain which could only be harmed but not destroyed by hardlight weapons.{{Ref/Reuse|Epi25}}

During ''[[Halo 5: Guardians|Halo 5: Guardians']]'' development the Warden Eternal was preceded by another cut Forerunner AI known as the [[Forerunner Cavalier]]. This entity shared a weapon and overall design with the Warden Eternal by its concept's final drafts, and the music track named ''[[Cavalier (music)|Cavalier]]'', the Warden's theme, references the name of this cut Forerunner. The Warden was also originally known by the label of "Cordycept - Digital Exarch" during Warzone's development.{{Ref/Marketing|H5G|The Sprint|The Sprint: All In}}

File:H5G WardenEternal Render 2.jpg|Renders of the Warden's high-poly model.

File:H5G WardenEternal Render 1.jpg|Full body render of the Warden Eternal.

File:HW2 ATN Warden Concept.jpg|Concept art of the Warden Eternal leading Created forces on [[Installation 00]] for ''[[Halo Wars 2]]''.

File:Apex-warden-eternal.png|A render of the Warden Eternal from [[Halo Waypoint]].

File:Stormbreak-warden-eternal.png|A render of the Warden Eternal from Halo Waypoint.