Summary
DATE: Age of Doubt
LOCATION: Homeworld of the Hunters
Involved: The Lekgolo Race, The Covenant
Synopsis: The Taming of the Hunters was a period in the history of The Covenant. Not much is known about this event except that an Arbiter was vital to its success. Many people, though, have been able to speculate what the Taming of the Hunters was all about.
Outcome: Lekgolo join the Covenant.
Military Forces
Lekgolo
Commander: Unknown
Unknown
Covenant
Commander: an Arbiter
Significant Fleet and ground forces
Timeline
The most plausible theory is that the Taming began during the Covenant Age of Doubt when they were actively scouring the galaxy for Forerunner technological remnants, as well as for races who had Forerunner relics on their homeworlds. They stumbled on the Hunters (Lekgolo), a worm type of creature with the ability to amass themselves into a hive form capable of taking on a large number of forms. The Covenant, appreciative of the Lekgolo's prowess, saw that their home planet had Forerunner relics on it and so offered them the chance to join the Covenant. This offer was flatly rejected and so it broke out into war. The Hunters won most (if not all) ground battles against the Elites, because of their sheer size and ferocity, and apparently also killed an Arbiter during some period. Seeing no other way to win, the Covenant threatened to wipe out the Hunter race by means of orbital bombardment, forcing the Hunters to surrender. As a result, the Hunters are deeply respectful of the Elites and choose to side with them during the Covenant civil war.