Forerunner Email

File:Forerunner Email.png

The image attached in the email.

The Forerunner email is a message in the form of a poem, sent to all recipients of the Xbox Flash newsletter. The email is seemingly tied to the Forerunner AI known as Adjutant Reflex - the subject of Halo 3's ongoing Iris alternate reality game.

The email consists of a cryptic poem alongside an image depicting a Forerunner wall from the Halo 2 map Desolation with a symbol on it. This symbol is the same as the avatar used by the AdjutantReflex account on the Bungie.net forums. In the Halo 3: The Cradle of Life comic accompanying the Iris ARG, the symbol is also observed by N'chala as he watches Strato-Sentinels construct the Portal at Voi. The message itself appears describe the events of the devastating war between the Forerunners and the Flood, prior to the firing of the Halo Array.

The message

HISTORY CIRCLING

BACK UPON US.

The gears of the Universe spin further
and further apart.
Ever greater grows the gulf between souls,
And distance gives false hope of safety
But for the grim tidings this messenger bears

The enemy is almost upon us

Closing in from all sides,
Moving faster than the light
it snuffs with its passage,
Time echoes with the news of destruction.
History winding back upon itself.

Waves of an army march this way in unison,
Suffering and corruption are its battle cries.
For I have known this darkness
and felt its embrace once before-
Horror best laid to rest

Yet a Journey must commence

Look for the signs, the keepers of the flame.
They will lead you to war, and perhaps, to victory