The Duel

The Duel
Directed by:	Mamoru Oshii (creative director) Hiroshi Yamazaki
Produced by:	Mitsuhisa Ishikawa Rui Kuroki
Studio:	Production I.G.
Written by:	Hiroshi Yamazaki
Music by:	Yasuharu Takanashi
Distributed by:	Warner Bros.
Release date(s):	November 21, 2009 (Limited) February 16, 2010 (Full release)
Available in:	English and Japanese

The Duel is one of the seven short films comprising the Halo Legends anime compilation.

It was made available to watch on Saturday, November 21, 2009 on Halo Waypoint, similarly to the previous segment The Babysitter.

Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A Sangheili Arbiter named Fal 'Chavamee, who refuses to accept the Covenant religion, is charged with heresy by a High Prophet. By order of the Prophet, a Sangheili named Haka attempts to bring Fal to ruin. After dreaming about his meeting with the Prophet, Han, Fal's wife, asks him what it was that was troubling him. Fal then tells her that she should leave for a while, but she refuses as she wanted to stay by his side as his wife.

While training Sangheili warriors, Fal is approached by a close friend, Roh. Roh tries to convince him that the Covenant has only done good, and that by rejecting the Great Journey, he will surely be stripped of the rank of Arbiter. However, Fal does not take heed to his friend's warning, and tells him that the Covenant will try to take him down by any means necessary.

Under the orders of the Hierarch, Haka forces Roh to murder Han while Fal is away. Fal returns home to discover the bodies of Han and Roh. He is then provoked to face Haka in single combat.

A Sangheili boatman, who led Fal down a river to Haka's dueling place, warns the Arbiter that he is entering a trap. Fal ignores this and stumbles upon a few of Haka's personal guards, whom he easily kills. Later, an army of Sangheili, Kig-Yar, Unggoy, and Mgalekgolo, accompanied by Wraiths and Ghosts, charge Fal. Eventually, Fal kills the entire attacking force.

Atop a Forerunner structure, Fal and Haka finally duel. It is a short-lived fight, as Haka slashes Fal across his chest, mortally wounding him. To his surprise, however, Fal has impaled Haka on his own sword. Both fall, each having killed the other. Fal's last thoughts are of his wife, whom he has avenged.

As a result of Fal's actions, the rank of Arbiter is stripped of its former prestige, and is given only to Sangheili who have brought shame to both themselves and the Covenant.

Spoilers end here.

Appearances

Characters Fal 'Chavamee Haka Han 'Chavamee Roh The Boatman Unidentified Prophet Species Forerunner (Mentioned only) Kig-yar Mgalekgolo Sangheili San'Shyuum Unggoy Organizations Covenant Hierarchs Covenant military Locations Urs system Sanghelios

Events Covenant History Title of Arbiter converted into a badge of shame Vehicles CCS-class battlecruiser Type-26 Wraith Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle Type-52 Troop Carrier Weapons Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifle Other Anti-gravity chair Covenant religion heretic Sangheili combat harness Arbiter body armor Unggoy combat harness Methane tank

Trivia

• Before its release, the short was said to focus on "Elites around the time of the Prophet alliance", indicating that the episode occurs around 852 BCE. However, the presence of Unggoy indicates that it must occur no earlier than 2142 CE. After the episode's release, Frank O'Connor clarified that it takes place "...quite late into the Covenant as a society, with most of the client species either absorbed or in the process of absorption." The Halo 2: Anniversary terminals confirm that the event portrayed took place "roughly 400 years" before 2552, circa 2152 CE.
• The significant Sangheili characters of The Duel are depicted with fairly human-like faces. This was a stylistic choice to make them more sympathetic. Haka's warriors have faces more typical of the Sangheili.
• At one point in the episode's subtitle track, Fal is mistakenly called "Thel", the name of the Arbiter of the Halo trilogy.
• The Duel features two distinct cuts, one where the sequence with the boatman is placed prior to the film's original beginning, with the other placing it in the middle of the film, shortly before the film's climatic fight between Fal and the Covenant army.

Gallery

Concept art

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  Fal - A design of Fal as the Arbiter

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  Hunter - An early concept of the Hunter

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  Kimono - An artistic take on the Elite

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  Boatman - Early concepts of the Boatman

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  Elite - A design for the Elite soldier

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  Haka - A look at the Prophet's right hand