Editing Writ of Union

{{era|Covenant|HCW}}

The '''Writ of Union''' is an oath of service to the [[Covenant]], written by the [[San 'Shyuum]] and [[Sangheili]] who created the [[Covenant]], apparently the Covenant [[High Council]] of [[Council of Concordance|Concordance]] at the end of [[Sangheili-San 'Shyuum War|their war]]. In the old [[Covenant]] tradition, when an [[Elite]] became a warrior, he recited the oath. This writ was apparently authored and first documented in the first [[Age of Reconciliation]] ([[852 B.C.E.]]).

==Overview==
Part of the defining union between the San 'Shyuum and the Sangheili was the division of labor it created: the San 'Shyuum would serve as the religious leaders and scientists, studying Forerunner technology and seeking how to use the [[Halo Array]] to initiate the [[Great Journey]], which would propel the faithful to join the [[Forerunner]]s in a god-like state of transcendence. In return for sharing this knowledge, the Sangheili would serve as the San 'Shyuum's protectors and warriors, using weapons and technology developed by the San 'Shyuum, and having total control over all security matters. As the Covenant expanded and incorporated other races, they were added to Writ of Union, serving as soldiers under the Sangheili.

==The Oath==
The full content is unknown, but here are some excerpts:

====Beginning====
The beginning of the Writ of Union is as follows:<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 148''</ref>
{{Clear}}
''So full of hate were our eyes''
:''That none of us could see''
''Our war would yield countless dead''
:''But never victory''
''So let us cast arms aside''
:''And like discard our wrath''
''Thou, in faith, will keep us safe''
:''Whilst we find the path''

====The Arbiter (Level)====

On the ''[[Halo 2]]'' level, [[The Arbiter]], in the opening cut scene, SpecOps [[Elites]] recite this before they land :

Rtas 'Vadumee: "When we join the Covenant, we took an Oath!"

'''[[SpecOps Elites]]:''' "According to our station! All without exception!"

'''[[Rtas 'Vadumee]]:''' "On the blood of our fathers... on the blood of our sons, we swore to uphold the Covenant!"

'''[[SpecOps Elites]]:''' "Even to our dying breath!"

'''[[Rtas 'Vadumee]]:''' "Those who would break this oath are Heretics... Worthy of neither pity, nor mercy! Even now, They use our Lord's creations to broadcast their lies!"

'''[[SpecOps Elites]]:''' "We shall grind them into dust!" {''The subtitles add to this line with "...scrape them as excrement from our boots." - see trivia.''}

'''[[Rtas 'Vadumee]]:''' "And continue our march to glorious salvation!"

====Early Halo 2 script====

''On and on shall old war go'',<br />
''Without respite my blood will flow''

''O’er your eyes ‘til they cannot see''<br />
''The impossibility of victory.''<ref>[[Early Halo 2 Script]]</ref>

== Trivia ==
*High-ranked Covenant [[Unggoy]] [[Deacon]]s, such as [[Dadab]], were required to memorize the entire Writ of Union, word for word.
*During gameplay, the extra line "scrape them as excrement from our boots" in the subtitles is added to the oath by the Special Operations [[Elites]] after "We shall grind them into dust," however, it remains unspoken.<ref>[[The Arbiter (level)]]</ref>
*The Writ of Union is written on the inside of the [[Halo 2: Original Soundtrack]] Volume One.

== Sources ==
<references />
[[Category:The Covenant]]
[[Category:Ideology]]