Mausoleum of the Arbiter

This article is about the room in High Charity. For other articles including "Arbiter", see Arbiter (disambiguation).

The interior of the Mausoleum of the Arbiter.

"Here rests the vanguard of the Great Journey. Every Arbiter, from first to last. Each one created and consumed in times of extraordinary crisis."

— Prophet of Truth^[1]

The Mausoleum of the Arbiter was a massive chamber within the Covenant holy city of High Charity which housed the remains of the previous Arbiters.

Description

The Mausoleum of the Arbiter contained the recoverable remains of every Sangheili that has ever been designated as the Arbiter. A total of one hundred eighty-two caskets are present, spreading far up into the ceiling. In the center of the chamber is a large suspended sarcophagus that held the armor of the Arbiter.^[1]

History

Human-Covenant War

After Thel 'Vadam was branded with the Mark of Shame, he was taken to the mausoleum by Tartarus and his two Brute ushers. The Prophet of Truth and the Prophet of Mercy ordered Tartarus to release 'Vadamee and leave. After this, they started to converse with him about a heretic leader and the past Arbiters, ultimately appointing him the new Arbiter and giving him the ornate armor of the Arbiter there.^[1]

Some time later, John-117 had to engage in a large-scale battle inside the mausoleum in order to go further into High Charity and find the platform with the Phantoms that were used to transport Truth, Mercy, Tartarus, Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Johnson to their respective locations.^[2]

After High Charity was infested by the Flood and crashed into Installation 00 during the Battle of Installation 00, the mausoleum was severely damaged. By the time of John-117's raid on High Charity, the tower was in a tilted angle, with energy cascades across the surface leaning dangerously over to the side and cables hanging from the shattered bridges around the tower. It can be assumed that the Mausoleum and the Vanguards of the Great Journey entombed within were destroyed when High Charity's reactor went critical, as spurred by Spartan-117 in the previous raid, and destroyed the Flood-infected city.^[3]

Trivia

In an early version of the level Cortana, John-117 would have passed through the Mausoleum, encountering a large number of Flood-infected Arbiters.^[4]

Gallery

Early Halo 3 concept art of the Mausoleum and John-117.
Exterior view of the Mausoleum.
An interior shot as seen in Halo 2.
1211654306 Picture2.jpg

The Mausoleum of the Arbiter in ruins as seen in Halo 3.
Sangheili adding a dead Arbiter to the crypt.

List of appearances

Halo 2 (First appearance)
Halo 3
Halo 2 Anniversary

Sources

^ ^a ^b ^c Halo 2, campaign level, The Arbiter
^ Halo 2, campaign level, Gravemind
^ Halo 3, campaign level, Cortana
^ Bungie.net: Looking at the Creation of Flood Environments

[h2arbiter-1] Halo 2, campaign level, The Arbiter

[2] Halo 2, campaign level, Gravemind

[3] Halo 3, campaign level, Cortana

[4] Bungie.net: Looking at the Creation of Flood Environments

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