Mausoleum of the Arbiter
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- "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
The Mausoleum of the Arbiter is a massive room within High Charity which houses the remains of the previous Arbiters.
A large suspended sarcophagus holds the special Arbiter armor until it is needed again.
The Mausoleum of the Arbiter also contains the (recoverable) remains of every Elite that has ever been designated the Arbiter. A total of 192 caskets are present spreading far up into the ceiling. Arbiters are only appointed in times of dire need, such as the Taming of the Hunters and the Grunt Rebellion.
Appearances
The Mausoleum of the Arbiter first appears in the cutscene before The Arbiter. The future Arbiter is taken there by Tartarus and two Brutes. Truth and Mercy order Tartarus to leave the future Arbiter and leave. They converse with him about the Heretic Leader and the past Arbiters and give him the armor of the Arbiter there.
It is next seen some time later, near the end of Gravemind, where the Master Chief must engage in a large-scale battle in order to go further into High Charity and find the platform with the Phantoms that are to be used to transport Truth, Mercy, Tartarus, Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Johnson to their respective locations.
It is in here that Breaking Benjamin's "Blow Me Away" is played, during the fight. It sounds like an instrumental but is actually the real song. If you listen closely, you will notice that the music volume has been increased.
In Game Combat
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During the first hours of the Covenant Civil War, the Separatists were forced to give much ground, due to the Loyalists' superior numbers and strength. Finally, the Elites made one last stand. Fittingly, this took place in a place of the heritage of their greatest warriors: the Mausoleum of their Arbiter.
In the rooms leading to the Mausoleum, the Seperatists sent Hunters, SpecOps Elites and Grunts to defend the Mausoleum, while the Loyalists sent Brutes, Jackals and Drones to the assault. On the Bridge leading to the Mausoleum itself, a squad of Elites, led by a Major, fought against a squad of Brutes, a Jackal Sniper, and Drones, using turrets against them. Later, the Separatists sent a unit of SpecOps troopers, a single Fuel Rod Cannon wielding Gunner Grunt, and a pair of Hunters to reinforce this squad.
Unexpectedly, a third group emerged in this battle: The so-called "Demon", Master Chief, fought his way down the bridge, destroying everything in his path. Eventually, he triumphed, despite the massive numbers of enemies arrayed against him.
The biggest, and last, battle, then took place within the mausoleum itself. From the right side, the Covenant Separatists. From the left, the Covenant loyalists. This Separatist force consisted of the mighty Ultra Elites, armed with Fuel Rod Cannons, Carbines, and Energy Swords. From the Loyalist side, Brutes and Drones repulsed the attack. The Master Chief, acting on Cortana's advice, sat the battle out, waiting for the Brutes to die at the Elites' hands.
Despite their ferocity, and reinforcements which arrived partway through the battle, the Brutes were unable to defeat the Elites, in no small part thanks to a Hunter pair which arrived during the fighting. However, they too fell before the Master Chief's onslaught, leaving him alone in the Mausoleum. Spartan-117 was notified by Cortana that Commander Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Johnson were nearby, but blocking his exit was a Separatist commando squad: a team of Stealth Elites led by a Zealot.
Although the Chief defeated these crack troops, they slowed him down enough that he was unable to catch the Prophets of Truth and Mercy before Truth departed the landing platform for the Forerunner Dreadnought.
