Sangheili-Jiralhanae war

This article is based on canon information, but the article's title is conjectural and/or uses descriptions as the title, as there is currently no official name for the subject.

Previous:	Human-Covenant War Great Schism
Concurrent:	Blooding Years Created uprising
Sangheili-Jiralhanae war
Conflict:	Post-Covenant War conflicts
Date:	After December 11th, 2552 (continuation of the Great Schism)
Location:	Orion Arm, Milky Way Several planets under control of the Swords of Sanghelios Rahnelo Duraan Carrow Suban Jiralhanae colonies
Outcome:	Ongoing as of early 2560
Details Belligerents Sangheili factions Swords of Sanghelios Silent Shadow Fleet of Righteous Vigilance Rojka 'Kasaan's faction Various other Sangheili groups Independent Jiralhanae factions Children of Oth Sonin (In peace negotiations) Tem'Bhetek's faction Voice of Maardoth Various other Jiralhnae groups Rebelling Jiralhanaeserfs (Sanghelios) Banished Commanders Arbiter Thel 'Vadam Unnamed Sangheili Shipmaster (The Return) Fleet Master Arkad Nar 'Kulul Jiralhanae Chieftain Lydus Prelate Tem'Bhetek† Minister of Preparation Boru'a'Neem† Chieftain Hekabe† Warmaster Atriox War Chief Escharum High Warlord Orna 'Fulsam Strength Sangheili forces Jiralhanae forces Banished forces Casualties Numerous Sangheili soldiers Many Sangheili civilians Prelate Tem'Bhetek Minister of Preparation Boru'a'Neem Chieftain Hekabe Numerous Jiralhanae Numerous Jiralhanae ships

"It was a terrible war. The Prophets provided the Jiralhanae with powerful new weapons, hoping that they would in turn defend their Prophets against our wrath. But when the Prophets went into hiding, the lack of leadership allowed the Jiralhanae to return to their savage nature and they soon began to fight against each other. This lack of solidarity made them much easier prey. Some of my fellow commanders continue that fight even now."

— Sangheili Shipmaster

The Sangheili-Jiralhanae war was a series of scattered conflicts between the Sangheili and the various Jiralhanae factions after the events of the Human-Covenant War and acted as a continuation of the Great Schism.

Background

Tensions and rivalry already existed between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae long before the Human-Covenant war. However, it was the Changing of the Guard that eventually led to actual battles between the two species when the High Prophet of Truth instigated the Great Schism as part of his greater plans. The Great Schism resulted in the collapse of the Covenant, but tensions continued to exist between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae which continued even after the fall of the Covenant. This conflict took place in the form of raids, massacres and some outright battles.

Following Atriox's rebellion and the formation of a military alliance known as the Banished, as the Warmaster gained support across the Orion Arm, the Banished War Chief Escharum turned his attention to Doisac, hoping to reignite and accelerate the Jiralhanae's progress in all political and military arenas.

History

Raids against the Sangheili

Jiralhanae riding Choppers during a raid on a Sangheili colony.

Before its fall, the Covenant Empire had settled the Jiralhanae on resource-rich worlds as their strength and aggressive demeanor would deter other members from getting greedy.However, since the Jiralhanae were technologically limited, they did not have the ability to mine and use the resources they already possessed without the Covenant. Their species was facing a looming famine and they resorted to stealing supplies and resources.

Following the wake of the Great Schism, the Sangheili prospered compared to most former Covenant species. Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and the Swords of Sanghelios had a decent amount of "fortunes" amassed. Many Jiralhanae were not happy with the distribution of resources, and felt entitled to it. Because of this, the Jiralhanae marked them as the perfect target to raid.

The Jiralhanae were divided into separate master packs and skeins, resulting in highly disorganized raids on Sangheili colonies. The Vheiloth Jiralhanae saw the raids as a necessity, while the Rh'tol Jiralhanae glorified their piracy as power over the Sangheili for oppressing them. Several Sangheili settlements were attacked resulting in civilian deaths as well. These events provoked further animosity between the two species. However, Escharum's formative strategy to plating a Banished presence on Doisac before the conclusion of the War of Annihilation proved advantageous for the military alliance, as the collapse of the Covenant and the volatile political landscape on Sanghelios allowed the Banished to be uniquely positioned to take advantage of the fallout, setting into motion their swift rise to power.

Various groups of Sangheili and Jiralhanae would commit massacres against each other out of hatred, resulting in a scattered war.

Massacres against the Jiralhanae

"Now we have but one aim... the slaughter of beasts."

— Resa 'Azavayl

'Azavayl's Silent Shadow squad slaughtering Jiralhanae.

At the start of the war, some fanatical Sangheili embarked upon a genocidal campaign hunting down and killing all Jiralhanae they came across. One radical group of Sangheili were the Silent Shadow squad under the command of Resa 'Azavayl, fueled by vengeance they sought to slaughter any Jiralhanae they encountered. They had wiped out Jiralhanae forces and their subordinates on an armory near Victors' Truth, the corvette Adherent, the northern highlands of Thalia, and a substation orbiting Sansar. 'Azavayl's Silent Shadow squad even eradicated the former Chieftain of the Jiralhanae Tartarus' crew aboard the Covenant cruiser Rapid Conversion.

The Silent Shadow squad went to attack the Ceudar-pattern heavy corvette Elegy's Lament, but they were unaware that it was lead by Atriox and the Banished. After killing several Jiralhanae forces, the Silent Shadow squad encountered Atriox who tried to talk to them into a peaceful resolution. Atriox offered to hire the Sangheili and claimed he had no affiliation to the Jiralhanae responsible for massacring the Sangheili during the Great Schism. As a result, the Silent Shadow Squad began to view Atriox as "other". Despite this, 'Azavayl was not forgiving of Atriox and tried to kill him. Before he could attack Atriox, 'Azavayl's own Silent Shadow squad betrayed him and stabbed him with their energy swords. The remaining members of the Silent Shadow squad remarked that old hatreds were holding them back from a better future, and were then recruited into the Banished as mercenaries.

Massacres against the Sangheili

Main articles: Attack on Rahnelo, Ambush at Duraan, Battle of the Prototype Halo installation

"And I promise: we will make the Sangheili pay for everything they have done."

— Boru'a'Neem

'Vadum and 'Juran battle against Prelate 'Bhetek.

In 2553, two hiding San'Shyuum had many Jiralhanae forces working for them. The two San'Shyuum: Boru'a'Neem and Prelate Tem'Bhetek, sought revenge against the Sangheili species for the destruction of High Charity and the Covenant Empire. 'Bhetek's family was killed in the Flood invasion of High Charity, and he held Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum and the Fleet of Retribution responsible for it.

'Bhetek and his Jiralhanae forces attacked Rahnelo killing many Sangheili civilians in hopes to draw out attention from 'Vadum's CAS-class assault carrier Shadow of Intent. 'Vadum with the help of his crew and a Rahnelo Scion Sangheili female named Tul 'Juran, pursued 'Bhetek when they were ambushed at Duraan. Another battle ensued between 'Vadum's Sangheili forces and 'Bhetek's Jiralhanae forces. 'Bhetek was captured but escaped and regrouped with 'a'Neem only to be betrayed by him. 'a'Neem ordered Yanme'e forces to open fire and mortally wound 'Bhetek. Bleeding and slowly dying, 'Bhetek listened as 'a'Neem revealed his plan to use a miniature prototype Halo ring to commit a genocide of the Sangheili homeworld and its moons, effectively setting the species back for ages. These plans were foiled as 'Vadum and 'Juran invaded the miniature Halo ring and mortally wounded 'a'Neem who attempted to fire the installation and wipe out the Sangheili forces in the system in a last act of defiance. Devastated by his betrayal, 'Bhetek forgave 'Vadum and sacrificed himself by blowing up the miniature Halo as the Sangheili escaped. A scan of the debris field confirmed that nothing of the installation survived while the faction was presumably completely destroyed in the process.

Following the conflict, 'Vadum had grown tired of war. He was debriefed by his comrade, friend, and now superior: Arbiter Thel 'Vadam. 'Vadum told 'Vadam that he will seek out more hiding San'Shyuum, but this time he would determine which ones are innocent and which ones are guilty to prevent more needless suffering.

Attempted peace negotiations

Main article: Attack on Ealen IV

"Guardians of the righteous! Silence the blasphemers!"

— Vata 'Gajat's Mercenary soldier

The Sangheili's Swords of Sanghelios and the Jiralhanae's Lydus' Clan are escorted to safety when their peace delegation is attacked.

In 2558, the Jiralhanae raids against the Sangheili had been escalating. The Swords of Sanghelios who represent the Sangheili tried to set up a meeting with the Children of Oth Sonin, one of the more prominent Jiralhanae master-packs with hopes of a peace agreement. Since the Jiralhanae were distrustful of the Sangheili, they agreed on Arbiter Thel 'Vadam's proposition to have humans mediate their discussion. The UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios concluded that pacifying the Jiralhanae forces were in the best interest of everyone, thus the UNSC delegates aimed to make that clear to the Jiralhanae.

In order to try and establish an agreement, the Swords of Sanghelios requested several high-ranking humans of the UNSC to sit in their discussions and mediate negotiations on the neutral planet of Ealen IV. On part of the humans, Admiral Terrence Hood and Captain Thomas Lasky were chosen as negotiators, the Sangheili were represented by Kaidon Thel 'Vadam and the Jiralhanae by the Elder Chieftain Lydus. They agreed also that each faction should have a strong military force, Spartans, Commanders and Jiralhanae Captains alike.

The negotiations were soon attacked by Banshees from Vata 'Gajat's mercenary group, killing multiple Sangheili Commandos. The Jiralhanae Lydus assumed Thel 'Vadam was behind the attack, but Thel denied this accusation and started fighting the Remnant forces as well. Despite surviving the attack, no peace agreement between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae was reached.

Enemy of an enemy

Main articles: Carrow Conflict, Battle of the Sharquoi Hive

In September 2558 the tensions between the Sangheili on the Outer Colony of Carrow, now in one of the Joint Occupation Zones, turned into all-out civil war. Thars 'Sarov, leader of the more extreme Sangheili faction, fought against the forces of his cousin Rojka 'Kasaan. To gain more ships in battle, Thars had temporarily forged an uneasy alliance with a powerful Jiralhanae Chieftain named Hekabe. The Jiralhanae Chieftain was met with much resistance and backlash for this decision on his homeworld.

Thars fleet attacked Rojka's fleet, with the company of Hekabe's ships. Rojka was dumbfounded that Thars was so power hungry that he would align with the Jiralhanae who betrayed their kin during the Great Schism, rather than one of his own bloodline. He warned Thars that the Jiralhanae would betray him again, to which Thars ignored claiming that he would slit their throats from behind once they had served their purpose. Unknown to Thars, Chieftain Hekabe indeed had ulterior motives, plotting to control the hundreds of thousands of Sharquoi in a hive hidden under the planet's surface and use them to seize power for his own pack. Hekabe had secretly attained the vertex several years prior during the climax of the Great Schism on Installation 00, which would allow him to command the Sharquoi and ultimately betray Thars.

After it appeared that Thars had discovered Hekabe's true intentions, Hekabe eventually turned on him. The Chieftain ordered his Jiralhanae fleet to attack Thars' Sangheili fleet, devastating much of his remaining forces. However, Hekabe lost almost all of his own fleet as well in the process.

At the same time, Spartan-II Gray Team was released from their cryo chambers aboard Rojka 'Kasaan's ship by Melody Azikiwe. Though Rojka initially sought revenge for the destruction of his homeworld by the Spartans, he eventually forged an alliance with them against the greater threat. Though the Surakan Militia Volunteers managed to destroy Hekabe's flagship, the Varric-pattern heavy cruiser Foebane, he was able to reach the Sharquoi hive and unleash many of the creatures, controlling them through the vertex. With the Sharquoi army at his command, Hekabe was left virtually unstoppable and planned to rule the galaxy for himself, refusing to enlist the aid of any of the other factions such as the Banished. Thars was eventually defeated and later killed by Rojka and Gray Team, but refused to have his ships destroy their slipspace drives until it was too late, allowing Hekabe to hijack the ships as a means of getting the Sharquoi off the planet.

The Sangheili slaughtering the Jiralhanae.

With Hekabe's threat growing, the human Governor of Suraka Ellis Gass was able to come up with a plan to use a makeshift EMP weapon to disrupt Hekabe's control over the Sharquoi through the vertex. Gray Team, Ellis, Rojka, Melody and a squad of militia assaulted the hive, resulting in the deaths of the militia squad. However, the survivors succeeded in using the cannon on Hekabe and Ellis took the vertex for herself. Through her new command over the Sharquoi, Ellis used the creatures to kill Hekabe in revenge for his murder of her son and had the Sharquoi on Thars' ships crash them, ending the attack on the Sangheili city of Rak. Ellis recalled all of the Sharquoi into the hive and had them slaughter all of the remaining Jiralhanae they could find on the way. Once the Sharquoi were back in the hive and Gray Team, Melody and Rojka had escaped on a Pelican she summoned, Ellis detonated a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon, destroying the hive and the Sharquoi.

In the aftermath, all three factions, both Sangheili and Jiralhanae, were left decimated. In addition, the humans suffered heavy casualties and their city suffered extensive damage, both from Hekabe's attack and the nuclear detonation. The new leader of Rak, Kaidon Akato 'Dakaj recognized the need for closer relations with the humans on the planet and Rojka agreed to act as envoy for the Sangheili to that end. A scan by the UNSC frigate UNSC Welcome to the Snipehunt confirmed that all of the Sharquoi appeared to have perished in the nuclear blast, but the UNSC planned to keep an eye on the surrounding desert in case any escaped before the detonation.

Ongoing battles

By 2559, some Sangheili commanders had continued hostility, gaining the upper hand in their genocidal campaign against the Jiralhanae as the latter had splintered and begun to fight among each other. While the lack of Jiralhanae solidarity gave the upper hand to their Sangheili opponents, the Sangheili had already been fighting amongst each other for several years as well.

However, mass power consolidation and cooperation had begun to take form on Doisac and its moons under the Banished, leading the UNSC to consider targeted strikes to prevent a unified Jiralhanae threat, as Chieftains under Atriox's command spread the power and influence of the Banished across Jiralhanae colonies. Atriox himself had become a symbol for the Jiralhanae on the planet to rally behind with many joining the Banished.

The Reclaimation

Atriox: "Now you are just playing me for a fool. Let us not end on such a sour note. There is no time to kill you...not in the manner you deserve."

Thel 'Vadam: "Then you are welcome to try the next time we meet. I shall be looking forward to it."

Atriox: "As will I."

— Atriox and the Arbiter declaring their enmity to each other.

The war was still on-going by November 2559 even amidst the Created uprising, as Arbiter Thel 'Vadam considered Atriox and the Jiralhanae potential threats, though he was appalled when Cortana chose to punish Atriox's defiance by destroying Doisac and its moons with her Guardians. Following the Banished uniting the Jiralhanae clans across Doisac and its moons and the Razing of Oth Sonin, the Banished represent the largest Jiralhanae military force under a single banner.

Both the Arbiter and Atriox would mount separate expeditions to the world of Neska, as both the Banished and the Swords of Sanghelios tried to claim the a Guardian-killing technology, or the Trikala by the Banished. The mission would lead to both the Swords of Sanghelios and the Banished engage in a parley of ancient Sangheili tradition, with the Arbiter and the Warmaster representing their sides. During the parley, the Banished would secure the Trikala, and upon their departure of Neska, Atriox revealed to the Arbiter that his spies have informed the Banished of the proposed Concert of Worlds the Arbiter hoped to achieved, acknowledging that the Sangheili would be strong if they banded together, until the Banished come for them. As Atriox departed Neska, he promised the Arbiter that the Banished will come for the Sangheili.

Battle for the Blood-Moon

Main article: Battle of Suban

Thel 'Vadam: "A lone colo is prey. A drove of colos is an unstoppable force."

Atriox: "Until a pack of teroks push them over a cliff. Then they are dinner. The Banished are the teroks, Arbiter, and you will know when we are hungry. That, I promise."

— Atriox threatening the Arbiter.

Banished and Swords of Sanghelios forces battling in the skies of Suban, circa 2560.

Following the mission to Neska to attain the Trikala, not known to make idle threats, Atriox began preparations for a contingent of Banished to invade Sangheili space and fulfill the promise the Warmaster made to the Arbiter. In 2560, several months following the Created reliquishing their hold of the Urs system, the unanticipated turn of fortune quickly spiralled to a race to fulfill the power vacuum left behind. While many Kaidons and Keeps remained steadfast to their commitment to the Arbiter and the Swords of Sanghelios, others looked to alternative divisions of power, with the tensions on Sanghelios and her moons boiling over which the Banished soon took advantage of. The spies and keeps under their growing influence had allowed the Banished to encroach on the Urs system without much difficulty.

The latest conflicts to occur following the Banished's assault on the Urs system was the Battle of Suban, as the Banished have moved to secure kemuksuru, the unique crystals native to Suban that powered several manifestations of the "needle launcher" weaponry including the Needler and Needle Rifle. In response to the growing tensions on Suban and the Banished's occupation of the blood-moon, the Swords of Sanghelios have moved to support the local keeps and secure some of the more fertile and high-value mining sites on the moon.

Gallery

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  A Sangheili and a Jiralhanae facing each other in combat in The Return.

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  Slaughtered Jiralhanae on a battlefield in The Return.

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  A Sangheili fights against a Jiralhanae raiding his settlement in Halo: Escalation.

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  The destruction of Infinity's shuttle during the Attack on Ealen IV in Halo: Escalation.

List of appearances

• Halo: Evolutions
  • The Return (First appearance)
• Halo: Escalation
• Halo: Shadow of Intent
• Halo: Tales from Slipspace
  • Hunting Party
• Halo: Envoy
• Halo: Outcasts (Mentioned only)
• Halo: Battle for the Blood-Moon