History of the Covenant

This article details the known history of the Covenant.

Summary

The Covenant divide their history into periods called Ages. There are at least eight ages, although their exact order is uncertain. The Ages are named according to things that have happened/are happening in them. This also means that the lengths of the Ages vary, with some longer than other. One of the problems with ordering the Ages is that there may be several ages with the same name. At the start of Halo 2, subtitles gave the date as the 9th Age of Reclamation. This suggests that eight other ages of Reclamation have gone before it. The standard version of Covenant history in the article The Covenant does not appear to take account of this.

The Ages

Not much is known about the history of the Covenant, but the order of Ages detailed here is probably the most commonly accepted version. All notes in italics are assumptions based on logical guesswork, which will need verifying.

The Age of Abandonment

This is probably the time when the Forerunners vanished. The Covenant believe that the Forerunners underwent the Great Journey, but in fact they disappeared because they activated the seven Halos in order to contain the Flood, thereby killing themselves and all sentient life in the galaxy. This event happened about 100,000 years before 2552, before the rest of the Covenant races had evolved enough to become sentient.

The Age of Conflict

This would have happened many thousands of years after the Age of Abandonment. It is believed that in this Age the Elites and Prophets began fighting each other. It is not yet known why the war started. This Age may have lasted for thousands of years, because the war went on for an extremely long time.

Note: There could be several Ages of Conflict. If there are, they would have presumably been created upon some major new development that influenced the war.

The Age of Discovery

This Age took place during the Elite-Prophet war. It is believed that during this Age, the Prophets (possibly with the help of the Engineers) discovered the remains of Forerunner technology, probably giving birth to the Covenant religion with its central theme that the activation of the Halos would begin the Great Journey for the Covenant, leading them to salvation.

The Age of Reconciliation

In this Age, the Prophets shared with the Elites their knowledge of the Forerunner, the Halos and the Great Journey, ending the war. This is presumably when the Covenant was formed with the Elites promising to protect the Prophets while they searched for the Halos in order to bring about the Great Journey for both races. This would also be when the Writ of Union was created.

The Age of Conversion

It is theorized that this was the time that the Elites and Prophets began incorporating the other races into the Covenant, either through conquest or religious conversion. The Hunters resisted conquest more strongly than the other races, resulting in the creation of an Arbiter to help “tame” them (this Arbiter was killed). The Hunters defeated the Elites on the ground but were forced to surrender under threat of extinction through glassing. It is also possible that the Grunts were one of the species that was conquered, rather than converted. Almost nothing else is known about how the other races (Jackals, Brutes, Drones) became part of the Covenant.

The Age of Doubt

In this age, the Covenant may have begun to doubt the word of the Prophets due to their fruitless search for the Halos. The Grunt Rebellion probably occurred during this period. This event resulted in the creation of an Arbiter to suppress it, resulting in his death.

Note: There could be another Age of Reconciliation following the Age of Doubt, as the Grunt Rebellion ended and they were reconciled back into the Covenant.

The Age of Expansion

Not much is known about this Age, but this was presumably when the Covenant began expanding their empire, having for the moment settled their internal disputes. It was also probably one of the longest Ages.

The Ages of Reclamation

These are some of the least understood Ages. At the time of 2552, the Covenant are in the 9th Age of Reclamation. It is possible that the eight other Ages of Reclamation came directly before it, during which the Covenant were expanding their empire in their search for the Halos. The eight other Ages of Reclamation may have been created upon some new development in their search, though this is only speculation.

The 9th Age of Reclamation

At the time of Halo and Halo 2 the Covenant are in the 9th Age of Reclamation. It is possible that it began in 2525, when the Covenant first came into contact with humans. So far, the Age has contained a 27 year long war with the humans, the discovery and destruction of Installation 04, the threat of Heresy, the creation of a new Arbiter, the location of Installation 05, the threat of the Flood and the start of the Covenant Civil War.

Speculation

It is unknown why the Ages are called the “Ages of Reclamation”. It is often speculated that it is a reference to the name the Monitors give humans: Reclaimers. The Monitors appear to give this label to the race which will set off the Halos, i.e humans. It is possible that because the Covenant are trying to set off the Halos, they think of themselves as Reclaimers, even though they aren’t.

A New Age?

It may be possible that a new Age could have begun upon the start of the Covenant Civil War and the apparent breakup of the Covenant.