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This sandbox represents the proposed text and artwork for ''The Wildlife of Halo'', as well as the general structure of the book and how it corresponds to the story of humanity's exploration of the galaxy within Halo lore. The intent is to tell the narrative of humanity's expansion from Earth throughout the [[Orion Arm]] from a scientific perspective, including the ecological mysteries that emerged on human colony worlds (foreshadowing later discoveries), the revelations brought about by the knowledge of [[Covenant]] space, and finally the mysteries of the [[Forerunners]] and their various installations. | This sandbox represents the proposed text and artwork for ''The Wildlife of Halo'', as well as the general structure of the book and how it corresponds to the story of humanity's exploration of the galaxy within Halo lore. The intent is to tell the narrative of humanity's expansion from Earth throughout the [[Orion Arm]] from a scientific perspective, including the ecological mysteries that emerged on human colony worlds (foreshadowing later discoveries), the revelations brought about by the knowledge of [[Covenant]] space, and finally the mysteries of the [[Forerunners]] and their various installations. | ||
The information presented here does not accord with Halopedia's standards for accurate lorekeeping, nor does it intend to. Instead of presenting only hard data from established sources, this document also includes elements of original lore, as though the text here were to be published as a reference book for fans to pore over and learn from. Original lore that is not part of official Halo canon | The information presented here does not accord with Halopedia's standards for accurate lorekeeping, nor does it intend to. Instead of presenting only hard data from established sources, this document also includes elements of original lore, as though the text here were to be published as a reference book for fans to pore over and learn from. Original lore that is not part of official Halo canon may appear with explanatory notes,{{Ref/Note|This section contains brief notes on each addition to established lore and the rationale behind it.}} though not in all instances. | ||
When reading the guide in this format, keep in mind that each section or sub-section as formatted here on the wiki implies a ''page break''. Full-size images represent artwork that would appear at the start of a new "chapter" within the book, typically a two-page spread for maximum visual impact, introducing a new location, which subsequent pages explore in detail. Images presented as part of a gallery would--in the published book--be formatted according to the needs of the page and the text they accompany, but that design is not included here. | When reading the guide in this format, keep in mind that each section or sub-section as formatted here on the wiki implies a ''page break''. Full-size images represent artwork that would appear at the start of a new "chapter" within the book, typically a two-page spread for maximum visual impact, introducing a new location, which subsequent pages explore in detail. Images presented as part of a gallery would--in the published book--be formatted according to the needs of the page and the text they accompany, but that design is not included here. | ||
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<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
File:Vertigo screenshot 1.png|Colonized 2440 | File:Vertigo screenshot 1.png|Colonized 2440 | ||
File:H4-Bird.png|Space bird | |||
visual needed|Xenofauna - Giant Crocodile | visual needed|Xenofauna - Giant Crocodile | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
File:HTV-HalseyComputer-Madrigal.png|Colonized 2458 | File:HTV-HalseyComputer-Madrigal.png|Colonized 2458 | ||
</gallery> | |||
'''Talitsa''' | |||
<gallery> | |||
File:H4 Outcast Concept 2.jpg|Colonized 2460 | |||
File:H4 Outcast Concept 3.jpg | |||
File:H4-Bird.png|Space bird | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
===Post-War Colonies=== | |||
'''Draetheus V''' | '''Draetheus V''' | ||
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File:Operation B.png | File:Operation B.png | ||
File:HSA-AlienForest.jpg | File:HSA-AlienForest.jpg | ||
</gallery> | |||
'''Eudemon''' | |||
<gallery> | |||
visual needed|Colonized 2554 | |||
File:H4-Bird.png|Space bird | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
File:H4 Abandon.jpg|Colonized 2554 | File:H4 Abandon.jpg|Colonized 2554 | ||
File:H4 Abandon concept.jpg| | </gallery> | ||
Exoflora | |||
<gallery> | |||
visual needed|Juniper | |||
File:H4-Abandon MossTexture.png|Grass, moss, lichens, fungi | |||
</gallery> | |||
Xenoflora | |||
<gallery> | |||
File:H4 Abandon concept.jpg| | |||
File:H4 Abandon InitialSketch.jpeg| | File:H4 Abandon InitialSketch.jpeg| | ||
File:H4 Abandon BeautyCorner Concept.jpeg| | File:H4 Abandon BeautyCorner Concept.jpeg| | ||
File:H4 - early Abandon.jpg| | File:H4 - early Abandon.jpg| | ||
File:H4_Abandon_concept_art.jpg| | File:H4_Abandon_concept_art.jpg| | ||
File:H4 Abandon Creature Concept.jpg| | File:H4-Abandon TreeScales.png| | ||
File:H4-Abandon TreeStolons.png| | |||
File:H4-Abandon Mancannon.png|Organic man cannon | |||
File:H4-Abandon GlowingHive.png|Strangler | |||
File:H4-Abandon StranglerLeaf.png|Strangler leaf detail | |||
</gallery> | |||
Xenofauna | |||
<gallery> | |||
File:H4 Abandon Creature Concept.jpg|Anglers, known to Forerunners as "Eiyaa-Mahtuhaa" | |||
File:H4-Tube-Creatures.jpg | |||
File:H4-Bird.png|Space bird | |||
File:H4-Abandon GlowingInsects.gif|Insect hives | |||
File:H4-Abandon FlareGnats.gif|Flies | |||
</gallery> | |||
'''Partition''' | |||
<gallery> | |||
visual needed|Colonization date unknown | |||
File:H4-Bird.png|Space bird | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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[[File:Enc22 Eayn.png]] | [[File:Enc22 Eayn.png]] | ||
When humanity first encountered the Kig-Yar, they were | When humanity first encountered the Kig-Yar, they were the "Jackals" of the Covenant infantry. It was only a few years into the war that humanity discovered the mercenary "Jackals" were comprised of many diverse sub-species of post-avian sentients deployed in a wide range of combat roles. After the war, humanity discovered the Kig-Yar were native to a moon orbiting the yellow dwarf star "HD 69830" forty-one light years away... closer to Earth than some of humanity's most distant colonies. | ||
Diplomatic and scientific envoys were quickly sent to the "Y'Deio" system, where they discovered a tropical moon orbiting a grey gas giant the size of Neptune: "Chu'ot". | Diplomatic and scientific envoys were quickly sent to the "Y'Deio" system, where they discovered a tropical moon orbiting a grey gas giant the size of Neptune: "Chu'ot". This orbited near a dense and massive asteroid belt containing large planetoids, dwarf planets, and exotic vacuum habitats, some of which featured naturally-occurring atmospheres and abundant bio-signs, like the dwarf planet "T'vao", known to be home to the T'vaoan sub-species of Kig-Yar first encountered as the "Skirmishers" of the Covenant. | ||
Eayn features a 16 day orbital cycle around Chu'ot, so Eayn has twelve distinct months based on the cycle of the moon in the sky. These months have no correlation with elapsed time in corresponding Earth months. Tidal effects with Chu'ot create the planet's strong vulcanism. Because of these natural features, the pantheons of ancient Kig-Yar mythology typically worshipped deities representing Y'Deio, Chu'ot, the two other planets in the system, and various gods of vulcanism. Much of Kig-Yar history revolves around the tragedies and migrations caused by volcanic eruptions, and the mythology of their planetary culture reflects this. | |||
When spectrogaphic scans and remote atmospheric tests were conducted on the primary moon of Chu'ot--"Eayn"-- during humanity's survey phase a few days before landing, they showed a world unlike any humanity had thus far encountered. Its surface was mostly water, with tropical archipelagoes trailing from its largest continents. Each island showed a mostly distinct biome with unique flora, fauna, and sub-species of Kig-Yar and other post-avian species. Atmospheric results showed a significant number of mutagens in the moon's atmosphere, which were theorized to have an accelerating effect on the process of speciation. As one scientist remarked a few days after the diplomatic mission was concluded: {{Quote|It was an entire planet of Darwin's finches.}} | When spectrogaphic scans and remote atmospheric tests were conducted on the primary moon of Chu'ot--"Eayn"-- during humanity's survey phase a few days before landing, they showed a world unlike any humanity had thus far encountered. Its surface was mostly water, with tropical archipelagoes trailing from its largest continents. Each island showed a mostly distinct biome with unique flora, fauna, and sub-species of Kig-Yar and other post-avian species. Atmospheric results showed a significant number of mutagens in the moon's atmosphere, which were theorized to have an accelerating effect on the process of speciation. As one scientist remarked a few days after the diplomatic mission was concluded: {{Quote|It was an entire planet of Darwin's finches.}} | ||
Except these natural mutagens hadn't stopped at the bounds of Eayn, they had trailed the Kig-Yar from planet to asteroid, causing radical differences in physiology as they adapted to the many environments of the Y'Deio system, such as the rugged Ibie'shans of the large volcanic sub-continent "Ibie'sh", who had retained more features of the Kig-Yar's common reptilian ancestor- | Except these natural mutagens hadn't stopped at the bounds of Eayn, they had trailed the Kig-Yar from planet to asteroid, causing radical differences in physiology as they adapted to the many environments of the Y'Deio system, such as the rugged Ibie'shans of the large volcanic sub-continent "Ibie'sh", who had retained more features of the Kig-Yar's common reptilian ancestor, or the arctic sub-species, which retained the downy plumage of their fledglings throughout adult life to resist the cold. Most troubling to the envoys that engaged in diplomatic talks with the Kig-Yar were reports of "ghost Jackals" who long ago forsook the bounds of gravity and adapted fully to a life of piracy in zero-g. The few accounts that Kig-Yar leaders were willing to divulge told of a nearly-feral race, devoid of feathers or skin coloration, with limbs and bodies stretched to unnerving proportions. Humanity has as yet not encountered a member of these sub-species firsthand, though ideas have begun to circulate within the intelligence community of making contact with the void dwellers to aid in the exploration of numerous Forerunner sites being studied in UEG space. | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
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<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
File:ThePackage Jackal Render.png | |||
File:Jackal by Halsey.jpg | File:Jackal by Halsey.jpg | ||
File:HtT - Kig-Yar Stew.jpg|Kig-Yar diet | File:HtT - Kig-Yar Stew.jpg|Kig-Yar diet | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
==== | ====Diverse Phenotypes==== | ||
'''Ibie'sh''' | |||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
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</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
''' | <gallery> | ||
visual needed|'''Ah'lomet''' | |||
visual needed|'''Muloqt''' | |||
visual needed|'''Kaelatort''' | |||
visual needed|'''Valyanop''' | |||
visual needed|'''Dal'kothan''' | |||
File:HW Jackal Sketch.jpg | |||
File:HW JackalCreep Concept 1.jpg | |||
File:HW JackalCreep Concept 2.jpg | |||
File:HW Jackal Sculpt.jpg | |||
File:HW Jackal Textured.jpg | |||
</gallery> | |||
====T'vao==== | ====T'vao==== | ||
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<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
File:H4 RequiemSquid Concept.jpg | File:H4 RequiemSquid Concept.jpg|Flying squid | ||
File:H4-Bird.png|Space bird | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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