#kasha 'hilot

[halos-top-alien-model]

Sangheili Bracket Round 1 Match 10

More info below:

Cham 'Lokeema:

Debuted in Halo 5: Guardians (Mission Intel)

A medic within the Swords of Sanghelios. A log detailing his thoughts regarding the old Sangheili tradition of seeing medical aid as dishonorable was found by Fireteam Osiris within the Arbiter's camp. "If shame is the price of compassion, so be it."

Additional commentary: For the longest time I thought him and the medic NPC that goes on about fighting Death every day were the same guy. Honestly will probably still headcanon it, but couldn't add it to the description in good conscious since I couldn't find proof when I looked.

Kasha 'Hilot:

Debuted in Halo: Fractures ("Lessons Learned")

A female member of the Swords of the Sanghelios. Previously married to Kaidon Gerdon 'Hilot and managing affairs within her state, she would leave Sanghelios following his death in 2554. When she did, she became the second in command of security for the Onyx United Research Project. During March of that year, she would meet with Spartans Lucy-B091 and Tom-B292, only for a misunderstanding to cause a nearby UNSC soldier to initiate a brawl with her. Tom would intervene and defeat the soldier. By 2558, Kasha would become the headmaster of the school built on Onyx / Paxopolis, Pax Institute. At the same time, she would foster Asum 'Mdama, who went by the name of Bakar to hide his ties to Mdama. She would attempt to be friendly with new arrival Molly Patel, but the teen still showed discomfort towards Sangheili. Later, she would lead about 50 students of Pax Institute on a field trip to a Foreruner facility called the Repository, until the sudden arrival of a beast caused danger. She would get injured, but helped save the students and Mike Spenser in the process. Some time would pass before Cortana's message to the galaxy sounded, followed by the awakening of Onyx's Guardian. Kasha would help lead everyone during the lockdown at school, gathering them all into the cafeteria. However, the Pale Blade and the Servants of Abiding Truth would arrive and begin attacking at the same time as the Forerunner armigers. She would get shot in the process, but the Pale Blade would ultimately decide not to finish her off. Kasha would make a recovery, now living in hiding from Cortana thanks to Onyx's slipspace bubble being reactivated, joining the other leaders of Onyx in planning what to do next.

[halobirthdays]

Happy birthday to Dural 'Mdama!

Today is his -514th birthday!

Dural is the oldest son of Jul and Raia 'Mdama. After his mother's death, Dural swore to take vengeance on everyone who played a part in her demise. When both Jul and Raia died, Dural and his brother Asum were left orphaned.

He followed his mother's trail until he learned that Raia died during a conflict between the Servants of the Abiding Truth and the Swords of Sanghelios. Avu Med 'Telcam, the leader of the Servants, felt responsible for Raia's death and took Dural in as an apprentice, becoming a father to him.

Due to 'Telcam's influence, Dural joined the Servants of the Abiding Truth, keeping both his faith and hatred towards humans. He became a skilled swordsman and leader within the Servants, taking on the name Pale Blade. After 'Telcam was assassinated, he was left as one of the only leading members.

Dural helped orchestrate an attack on the shield world Onyx. There, he would come face-to-face with his brother, whom he had not seen since he left their keep for vengeance. Asum was adopted by Kasha 'Hilot and brought to the Paxopolis community on Onyx. Unlike Dural, Asum was a pacifist who followed the Arbiter's teachings, putting them on opposite sides of the war. The brothers fought, but ultimately neither could bring themselves to strike a lethal blow. When they were both attacked, they protected one another.

Dural devised a distraction to save Asum before disappearing into the forest, his original plans thwarted. Dural remained in hiding on Onyx until he was able to quietly regroup with his soldiers. After the attack, Onyx entered a slipspace bubble and brought three planets into its orbit. One of those planets--Macintosh--contained an old Forerunner ship, which Dural was assured could support life and become functional. Thus, he and his remaining crew headed for Macintosh to lay low until they could strike again.

In canon (~2560), he is turning 23!

[borealtwilight]

It's very likely that Thel is an aforementioned aristocrat / swordsman; it's unclear as to whether he is or not, as the wives may not necessarily belong to him... seeing as he'd just been granted the role of Kaidon, it would be his business to know just how many Sangheili are part of his clan at any one time

I don't believe Sangheili are necessarily a polygamous peoples; Jul 'Mdama is the most prominent example of a monogamous Sangheili, but there are also Ussa 'Xellus (he had one wife, Sooln), Tersa 'Gunok (one wife, Lnur), Gmezza (one wife, Scorinn), Gerdon 'Hilot (one wife, Kasha), Fal 'Chavamee (one wife, Han).... and this is just a handful of examples

As my dear friend coyote (whom I'm reblogging this from) mentioned in their tags, this part of the lore doesn't really make any sense whatsoever, and it's really best to just ignore it

It especially tracks re: what OP mentioned about "forgetting women exist" post.... Because aside from a small handful of "strong female characters" (and I'm putting this lightly lol), Karen Traviss, the author of the Kilo-5 Trilogy and arguably the most known contributor to Sangheili societal lore, is... well, someone could probably explain this better than me, but frankly, her writing is garbage, not in the least because she doesn't properly research the IP she's writing content for, but also because her stuff is authoritarian, xenophobic, and overall, should be widely regarded as not the greatest to draw from in terms of world-building lore.

I haven't posted in a loooooong long time, but I think I'm going to start because recently I'm back on my Halo bullshit, and I have Thoughts.

Recently, I was thinking about the Sangheili tradition of sons not knowing thier father, and how, the more we learn about Sangheili culture, the more untenable this practice appears.

Sangheili are raised communally, and (most) sons specifically do not know thier father and are raised by an uncle or uncle figure to prevent nepotism.

In an early book, Thel reflects on getting "more wives" sent to his keep, which suggested that Sangheili society is or can be polygamist.

However, this is the only mention of polygamy that I'm aware of, and every other mention of a Sangheili wife in the series suggests that Sangheili are monogamous. Here's where things start to get confusing for me.

We know that Sangheili sons are not supposed to know their fathers, but it seems like marriages are not kept secret. And these aren't just marriages of convenience, either--spouses seem to like one another and spend time together.

We also know that Sangheili females have access to the family's birth records, and that children know who thier mother is.

So, my question is: how can fathers possibly be kept secret when sons know who thier mother is, and know who thier mother is married to? Even if the society is polygamist, the only mention is a male married to multiple females, so again--it seems fairly obvious who thier father would be. Many Sangheili males would also have a sister. Are we to believe a son has never asked his sister who their dad is?

Arguably the most fleshed out female Sangheili is Raia 'Mdama--Jul 'Mdamas wife. In the books, it is not a secret that Raia and Jul are married. It's also not a secret that she has two sons, who know that they are brothers and that she is thier mother. So how tf do her sons not know that Jul is thier dad?

The slapped-on cure for how this practice plays out is that sons are just told that thier dad is their uncle. But essentially every other person in thier life knows the truth, and surely it starts to get weird when mom is seen going home with the person who's supposed to be her brother all the time.

The only exception to this is the concept of the aristocrat who gets to have kids with whomever they want, but this appears to be an exception and not a rule, and in the one and only mention of this practice, I believe the son (Uzse 'Taham) knows who his birth father is.

Based on all of this, it's no wonder that there are multiple instances of male Sangheili finding out who thier father is--it is the worst-kept secret.

My guess for why this oversight came to be is twofold:

1. Halo suffers from the general sci-fi Forgetting Women Disease wherein women are an afterthought in the initial production, especially for non-human species. Once females of the species start getting introduced, there's a question of where to put them in a universe that initially functioned as if they didn't exist. The writers defaulted to the familiar "women at home" strategy, but then also seemed to attempt to not go full 1950s housewife by also giving Sangheili females more prominent roles within the family. But doing so unravelled some of the mystery around lineage. So, you start getting plot holes.

2. I believe part of the reason extended family were introduced into Sangheili stories is to make the characters more compelling and relatable to the reader, but the drawback to creating a family unit that is familiar to the reader is that it clashes with how this society is alleged to function. I thought Raia's search for Jul was a great plot line, but the closeness of thier relationship means that there was no way thier sons didn't know thier dad (and spoiler: thier older son Dural indeed found out, and then told thier younger son Asum).

Maybe there is a way to reconcile all of it that I'm not seeing, and I'm open to thoughts, because certainly I'm not the only one who's noticed this.

Anyhoo, that's my Halo rant.

[clawcommanderabsinthe]

Kasha 'Hilot

https://www.halopedia.org/Kasha_%27Hilot

Or

Lyris Titanborn

Happy now?

EXCELLENT CHOICES.

[bloodgulchblog]

A Whistle-Stop Tour of the Fractures Anthology Pt. 1

Hey, did I remember to talk about the Fractures anthology? A little bit? Kind of? Not really? Let me tell you what I thought about it.

Overall: I think Fractures is a more practical-to-the-lore anthology than Evolutions was and I like more of the stories in it. A lot of them have concrete connections to other books. I just, you know, am bitter about this era of Halo.

Shadow of Intent slaps because of course it does.

Lessons Learned by Matt Forbeck

This one rolls right out of New Blood which... maybe I'll handle later when I'm shotgunning short facts on books I didn't talk about. Part of New Blood involves a Spartan-IV trainee with insurrection ties going rogue on the space station that serves as S-IV head quarters. During this, Jun-A266 (sole survivor of Noble Team, Chief of Staff of Spartan Operations) got thrown out into space. The short story opens with Tom and Lucy (especially Tom) rescuing him from that.

After this, they are told their new job is to go work security at a human-Sangheili joint research station/city on Onyx-AKA-Trevelyan. They'll be working under Franklin Mendez and Franklin Mendez's second-in-command, a Sangheili woman named Kasha 'Hilot. This is kind of awkward for them because Spartan-IIIs in particular are especially traumatized about Sangheili.

The story wraps up with a UNSC soldier newly stationed here trying to start shit with Kasha for being Sangheili. Tom defends her, a fight breaks out, a knife is pulled, and Tom gets into it on her side. Mendez is extremely not amused with the dude or his friends and sends them packing.

Basically, it's a set up for Legacy of Onyx, which I will get around to in... *squints* after I finish up Bad Blood and go do Retribution. It has the potential to be alright. I've heard it's kind of fun.

What Remains by Morgan Lockhart

Lockhart wrote parts of the background narrative for the Meridian levels of Halo 5, including audio logs. (I haven't gotten around to those.) Thus, it's unsurprising that this one follows Evelyn Collins, the voice you hear calling out in distress because she's alone as Fireteam Osiris leaves Meridian in 5.

This short story is about the grim situation that Evelyn and several other survivors on Meridian are in now that they're down an AI, don't have a way off planet, and there's a glass storm rolling in. They manage to scrap together a transmitter in time to hear Cortana's message and to decide to accept her offer because.... what else is there for them to do but die here?

It's okay, I probably would've had more impact from this one if I'd taken the time to absorb more of the ambient material in 5. Really, the feeling of weary resignation at the end is kind of how I feel about the 4/5 era of Halo lore overall.

Breaking Strain by James Swallow

Swallow has no prior or later contact with Halo material from what I can tell, but he does a pretty good job and I actually like this one. It's 2553. The UNSC Dark was the Night (we're already in form with good Halo names for things) has been stranded on the small backwater colony of Losing Hand (see?) for about a year since a Covenant attack took out their AI, their guns, and most of their command crew and they had no choice but to find a place to come down hard. The helmsman, Leone, has had to take on the role of acting captain.

The locals on Losing Hand resent the UNSC ship for crushing their wind farm (though the UNSC ship now provides power to the town from its engines) and also you know, outer colonies vs UNSC animosity.

The ship was carrying a (very traumatized) Spartan-III: Kevin-A282. The threat the Spartan represents is the main reason the locals haven't tried to seize the Dark was the Night yet, but the secret is that Kevin actually fucked off somewhere down the shore a while ago and has only occasionally been seen since.

Tensions have been rising, but things finally come to a head when a Covenant ship shows up on sensors and everyone panics. Leone and some guys go out to find Kevin to try to talk him into coming back (because if the Covenant comes they're going to need him) but Kevin refuses. Leone's on his own.

Things reach a physical standoff between the locals and the UNSC that is about to come to violence, with the locals ready to try to take the ship.

Then, someone snipes the gun out of their leader's hand.

Kevin came back!

Things are about to get even worse when the Covenant ship comes in for a landing and it turns out that hey guys, the war is over, are y'all like.... good out here??? There are humans and Sangheili on this ship that have been working together, do you guys... need some help...?

This is of course a big relief for everyone. The crew of the Dark was the Night (the ones that want to leave, anyway) gets to go home, the ship is stripped down and left to be used as a power station, supplies are distributed, Kevin might actually get therapy, and Leone decides to stay on Losing Hand to try to protect the colony and help the people (and also he bonded with a local woman during this whole thing, so there's that.)

Promises to Keep by Christie Golden

The only thing I knew about Christie Golden going in is that it's been mentioned to me that she's maybe the best writer in the World of Warcraft novelist stable, which I suppose is not a high honor but (given the direness of the tie-in novel landscape and that I have suffered greatly in the Karen Traviss mines) it gave me some hope.

The good news: I also like this one. If you wanted a coda to the Forerunner saga, here it is.

Bornstellar, Chant-to-Green, Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns (you know, the young councilor from Cryptum), Growth-Through-Trial-of-Change (a Builder that has respecced as a Lifeworker), and several other Forerunners have been working together to re-seed sapient species throughout the galaxy according to the Librarian's plan. (Also, Bornstellar and Chant had a relationship rooted in being sad about the Librarian but it was kind of not a great thing to build a relationship on so now things are awkward.)

Finally, as they are wrapping things up with the San'Shyuum and preparing for their final intent (to peace out of the Milky Way and live out their lives and die off) Bornstellar, languishing in memories, realizes that he still has that unopened message the Librarian tried to send him at the end of Silentium.

Armed with the terrible knowledge that the Domain is broken and they should probably fix it, and also armed with Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns having some idea of where they need to go to do it, they go to the capitol. Their main objective is actually to get slipspace crystals so they can leave the Milky Way, but like... you know. If they can fix the Domain while they're in the wreckage of Maethrilian, maybe. We'll see.

They find the entity that's left of the Domain (because, remember, the Domain is actually a precursor thing) and it declares it's going to pass judgment on them, but luckily Bornstellar, Chant, Dust, and Trial escape enough to go fix what they have to fix.

Unfortunately, THE DOMAIN REQUIRES SACRIFICE. Growth-Through-Trial-of-Change gives her life to re-template the Domain (or something, I read this a couple weeks ago and Forerunner stuff is always a bit baroque) and saves everyone by doing that. And that's why the Domain is around again for Cortana to fall into 100,000 years later.

Before they leave the Milky Way, Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns declares that he wants to stay behind (digitally) to help the Reclaimers when their day finally comes. Splendid-Dust allows himself to be composed into a monitor that will remain with the Ark, and becomes 000 Tragic Solitude.

You can tell this wasn't decided until long after Hunters in the Dark so it kind of doesn't entirely gel, but I'm a glutton for sadness and like what that adds to Tragic Solitude.

Bornstellar and Chant rekindle their thing because they have gone through enough to determine that what they feel is about one another instead of just their shared grief, so good for them.

Fin.

Shadow of Intent by Joseph Staten

STATEN'S BACK, BOYS. Did you miss him? I missed him. Overwhelmingly the longest entry in the anthology, Shadow of Intent was a standalone digitally published novella. (I was going to read it on its own, then I figured out it was in the anthology so I just waited to get around to that.)

It's full of Staten doing alien world building, it feels very classic Halo and has the classic Halo space battles if you like those, and I like it a lot.

It's 2553. Because Sanghelios is One Entire Royal Fuckmess during the blooding years, the Arbiter told Rtas to take Shadow of Intent off to do work far away from home to avoid getting involved (and possibly losing the ship.) This is how the carrier winds up investigating a distress call from a Sangheili colony world that was recently and mysteriously attacked.

There, they find the daughter of a kaidon (because on Rahnelo kids are allowed to know who their fathers are) who is hellbent on revenge against the San'Shyuum she says attacked her home. She convinces Rtas to let her come along for said revenge purposes. (Her name is Tul 'Juran and she's not terribly relevant to the main plot but she's cool and I like her.)

(Another character who's cool but not too important is Stolt, an Unggoy who leads all the Shadow of Intent's Sangheili rangers.)

Meanwhile, some surviving San'Shyuum. The Minister of Preparation and a Prelate (fancy San'Shyuum commando lad) named Tem'Bhetek are working on a plan involving a miniature prototype Halo they found. (They killed Tul's father with it.) The Minister of Preparation intends to capture the Shadow of Intent and to use it to carry the mini Halo to Sanghelios and use it to murder everyone.

Tem'Bhetek, the Prelate, has a particular hatred for Rtas for leading the charge in burning High Charity during the Flood attack. He is plagued by nightmares of trying to rescue his wife and newborn child from the Flood, but in reality he had evacuated the Minister because the Minister told him the other San'Shyuum on High Charity were already dead. (This was a lie.)

When Tem attempts to steal the Shadow of Intent out from under Rtas (not impossible if you do clever space battle things, and also note that the Shadow of Intent is running an absolute skeleton crew these days), Rtas instead manages to capture him, flip him by telling him the Minister lied to him (Rtas was there), and find out about the mini Halo plot.

They all go to try to stop the Minister, which ends with Tem'Bhetek having it confirmed from the Minister's own mouth that he is a lying selfish betraying liar. Tem sacrifices his own life to use a bunch of grenades to blow up the mini Halo and end the Minister's plans (and life.)

The Shadow of Intent returns to another Sangheili colony to lick its wounds, and Rtas tells Thel 'Vadam about what all has gone on. He also notes that Tul 'Juran is super cool, and this is what inspires the Arbiter to be like "hey, we should be letting women join the Swords" and thus we owe her everything.

Also, Thel offers Rtas the opportunity to like. Take a break. Or a vacation. Or even retire if he wants. And he's like "nah bro I'd rather go hunt down bad San'Shyuum (and if I find any good San'Shyuum tell them we're cool.)"

End.

I hope we see Rtas or Tul or literally any aspect of this plot line again, sometime.

The Ballad of Hamish Beamish

Frank O'Connor got a cameo role as a janitor in Forward Unto Dawn and he wrote a weird poem giving that character a "backstory." It's not to my taste in humor and I don't care about it.

....

This post is getting really long.

I'm going to make it two posts. I need plenty of room to yell about the Denning short story that's coming up anyway.

[halos-top-alien-model]

hey I didn't read Legacy of Onyx yet and Halopedia only partially has a summary on it. found a video that's an hour long but I am way behind schedule, and text is easier for me to go over since I don't need to keep replaying and replaying audio that I need to concentrate on to understand. can anyone break down the events that Kasha 'Hilot, Asum / Bakar, and Dural / Pale Blade take part in? (their individual pages are also bare when it comes to that part in the timeline)

[halobirthdays]

Happy birthday to Jul 'Mdama!

Today is his -465th birthday!

'Mdama's mistrust for humanity was pragmatic: he recognized humanity as a threat, and felt that, left unchecked, they would colonize beyond the Sangheili's control. Jul was not particularly religious, but was willing to use what remained of the Covenant's piety as a means to his ends. After the death of his wife, his hatred of humanity became personal, going to great lengths to ensure their destruction. He met his end at the Battle of Kamchatka at the hands of Spartan Jameson Locke. With his death, his remaining forces were defeated at Sunaion on Sanghelios, marking the end of his Covenant and the Covenant as understood before the Great Schism.

After the fall of the Covenant, he disagreed with Arbiter Thel 'Vadam's decision to make peace with humanity. He sought out others who shared his belief, and partnered with Avu Med 'Telcam, leader of the Servants of the Abiding Truth. After following 'Telcam to meet his secret weapons supplier, he was captured by Spartan Naomi-010 and brought to ONI Research Facility Trevelyan, where he was interrogated and experimented on.

Meanwhile, his wife, Raia, died in search of him, having insisted on boarding one of 'Telcam's frigates in her search for him. The frigate was shot down by the Arbiter's forces as 'Telcam attempted to bombard the state of 'Vadam.

At Trevelyan, he learned of the Didact and his location. After escaping through a portal, he convinced the Sangheili inhabitants of the reclusive Hesduros--who had not heard about the Great Schism--to assist him in finding the Didact. It was here that he learned of his wife's death, and his determination to destroy humanity was solidified. Jul called his faction the Covenant--the last vestige of the original hegemony.

On Requiem, Jul forged an agreement with the Didact due to their shared desire to eradicate humanity, coining himself the "Didact's Hand". There, he learned of the Janus Key, a Forerunner "key" which would allow him to access the Absolute Record, a Forerunner artifact repository. He partnered with Catherine Halsey, who had been taken prisoner by the UNSC, and who had her own reasons for wanting access to the Absolute Record.

After the record was destroyed, Halsey realized that she would no longer be useful to Jul. Thus, she devised a trap and contacted the UNSC to give them Jul's location. Fireteam Osiris arrived and engaged 'Mdama and his forces in close combat, with Locke eventually initiating a fatal blow to Jul's stomach and neck with a combat knife.

Back home, his sons--now orphaned and grieving--would take diverging paths. His oldest, Dural, would be taken in by 'Telcam and join the Servants of the Abiding Truth. His youngest, Asum, would be fostered by Kasha 'Hilot and taken to live on the multi-species community Paxopolis. Asum committed himself to nonviolence, and befriended other species--including a human--during his stay there. Thus, Jul's sons find themselves on opposing sides of post-war conflict.

[halobirthdays]

Happy birthday to Asum 'Mdama!

Today is his -518th birthday!

Asum is the youngest son of Raia and Jul 'Mdama. After his mother's death, he was adopted by Kasha 'Hilot and was taken to the shield world Sarcophagus to live in Paxopolis, a multi-species community mostly inhabited by the scientists who were studying the shield world. To protect him from association with Jul 'Mdama, he was given the alias "Bakar" and enrolled in the Pax Institute, a multi-species school. Asum had difficulty making friends because, unlike his brother, who was galvanized by his mother's death, Asum committed himself to nonviolence. This made him unpopular among the Sangheili students and, not wanting to make friends with the other species, he isolated himself.

This changed when he met humans Molly Patel, Kareem El-Hashem, and Unggoy Gudam Keschun, students at school who confronted a bully who was bothering him. Asum reluctantly began hanging out with the trio, slowly befriending them.

Sarcophagus was later attacked by the Servants of the Abiding Truth, and the teenagers were forced to help defend the shield world. There, Asum was confronted by his older brother, Dural, who was now a high-ranking member of the Servants. The two fought, but after Asum prevented Dural's death, Dural could not follow through on the attack and fled.

In canon (~2560), he is turning 18!

[halobirthdays]

Happy birthday to Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez!

Today is his -468th birthday!

Mendez got his start in the UNSC at age sixteen, where he was transferred to Naval Special Weapons after training. He would participate in the UNSC's efforts against the Insurrection, but it was his work in NAVSPECWAR training that caught the attention of ONI. Due to his stand-out skill as a trainer, he was selected to train the Spartan-IIs, and later do the same for the Spartan-IIIs on Onyx.

A career military man, Mendez set aside his discomfort with the SPARTAN programs and focused on training them rather than his ethical complicity. He was strict and well-respected, showing his care for the candidates not through emotions, but how readily he prepared them for combat.

Mendez retired for about a year after the end of the Human-Covenant War before coming out of retirement and being appointed as head of security for the Onyx United Research Project in collaboration with Sangheili Kasha 'Hilot, a position he presumably still holds.

In canon (~2560) he is turning 68!

[halos-top-alien-model]

Sangheili Bracket Round 2 Match 11

More info below:

Meduu the Fierce:

Debuted in the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)

The daughter of the legendary Xytan 'Jar Wattinree, Meduu violently took control of her father's property holdings after his death.

Additional commentary: Did not realize how little info there was of her in the encyclopedia. Honestly, I imagine her to have inherited her father's genes of massive fucking height. So badass warrior woman who's huge. What more do you need than that?

Submitted propaganda: Xytan 'Jar Wattinree's daughter. We know basically nothing about her except that she took control of all her father's property holdings through force. She's probably extremely intelligent and badass and stupidly TALL, just like her old man. Meduu would be the coolest character ever if someone actually remembered she existed.

Asum 'Mdama / Bakar:

Debuted in Halo: Glasslands

Born Jan. 20th, 2542 as the second son of Jul and Raia 'Mdama and the younger brother of Dural. He was trained in combat by Naxan - the great-uncle of Raia. When he learned of his mother's death in March 2553, he went to nearby fields to mourn. Then, he began to be fostered by Kasha 'Hilot as he assumed the new name of Bakar. She would take him to Onyx - her new place of work - and he would attend the Pax Institute while there.

It was around September 2558 that Molly Patel would transfer to his school, leading to her, Kareem El-Hashem, and Unggoy Gudam Keschun to come across him being bullied by three human peers. He would at first avoid trying to defend himself, until one of the bullies hits Gudam hard enough to draw blood. However, just as a full-on fight ensues, an instructor named Dinok 'Acroli breaks it up. The next day, Molly would be forced to sit at the same table as Bakar, giving him the opportunity to chastise her for making him look weak, until the other two arrive. Their attempts to become friends with him causes him to leave. Later, he would be stuck in the same self defense lesson being taught by Spartans Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091 with the same trio. During a field trip to the Repository, Bakar would open up to the trio a little and bond with them. Then, things took a turn when a beast called a rafakrit attacked. Kasha would go to distract the beast to save everyone else, only to get injured in the process, leading Bakar and his new friends to launch a risky plan to save her. After this, the Spartans and Director Mendez talk with them, which would then lead them to sharing with Bakar the identity of his father: Jul 'Mdama (due to Sangheili customs, he did not know this before). Even after learning the Covenant remnant leader was his father, Bakar would continue to feel hatred toward him. Also during this conversation, they would warn him that his brother had joined up with the Servants of Abiding Truth and had possibly infiltrated Onyx. However, much later, Cortana's message would be sent to all of the galaxy and Onyx's Guardian would awaken. Bakar was at school be it occurred, forcing him to join those hiding in the cafeteria. When Prone to Drift arrives, he and his friends concoct a plan to have Drift reach the Guardian and disrupt its communication with Cortana. Then, the Servants of the Abiding Truth attack the school, killing some people and taking Drift away to the Repository. Bakar and friends would pursue, using some creatures also chasing the Servants in their plan to stop them. After catching up, Bakar would confront his brother and beg him to stop, while Dural felt he had been dishonored and should kill himself. In order to keep the attacking creatures from hurting Bakar, Dural chose to whistle a distraction and sacrifice himself, being carried away. Another creature would remain, but Lucy would arrive and take care of it, getting injured in the process. The kids would take her and Prone to Drift away in the Pelican Lucy brought, then fly close enough to the Guardian so Drift could disable it. Now, Bakar is amongst those living in hiding from Cortana due to Onyx's slipspace bubble being reactivated.

[halos-top-alien-model]

Sangheili Bracket Round 1 Tiebreaker 2

More info below:

Kitun 'Arach:

Debuted in Halo 5: Guardians

Part of Jul 'Mdama’s Covenant, he would be present in the Battle of Kamchatka, leading a lance fighting back against Promethean forces. He would form a temporary alliance with Fireteam Osiris against the Prometheans, before they left him to continue on their mission to kill Jul 'Mdama. Following the Covenant leader’s death, Kitun would look to figures like the late Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattineree for inspiration on the Covenant’s new direction. He also became disinterested in continuing the war against humanity, largely due to the costs. Later, he would be one of prominent commanders during the assault on Vadam and the Battle of Sunaion. Between these battles, he would receive a message from his brother Jacul to join the Swords of Sanghelios, but he instead would request his brother switch sides to the Covenant. The two brothers would then meet in battle at Sunaion, with Jacul dying and Kitun being mortally wounded with only enough time to leave a final message regarding their fight.

Additional commentary: Yeah, unlike other Mission Intel figures, you actually meet this guy in the flesh. Canonically, he’s the Covenant Sangheili you make a temporary alliance for the achievement Enemy of my Enemy, with that achievement being canon since he then goes on to do all that stuff on Sanghelios you learn through Mission Intel.

Asum 'Mdama / Bakar:

Debuted in Halo: Glasslands

Born Jan. 20th, 2542 as the second son of Jul and Raia 'Mdama and the younger brother of Dural. He was trained in combat by Naxan - the great-uncle of Raia. When he learned of his mother’s death in March 2553, he went to nearby fields to mourn. Then, he began to be fostered by Kasha 'Hilot as he assumed the new name of Bakar. She would take him to Onyx - her new place of work - and he would attend the Pax Institute while there.

It was around September 2558 that Molly Patel would transfer to his school, leading to her, Kareem El-Hashem, and Unggoy Gudam Keschun to come across him being bullied by three human peers. He would at first avoid trying to defend himself, until one of the bullies hits Gudam hard enough to draw blood. However, just as a full-on fight ensues, an instructor named Dinok 'Acroli breaks it up. The next day, Molly would be forced to sit at the same table as Bakar, giving him the opportunity to chastise her for making him look weak, until the other two arrive. Their attempts to become friends with him causes him to leave. Later, he would be stuck in the same self defense lesson being taught by Spartans Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091 with the same trio. During a field trip to the Repository, Bakar would open up to the trio a little and bond with them. Then, things took a turn when a beast called a rafakrit attacked. Kasha would go to distract the beast to save everyone else, only to get injured in the process, leading Bakar and his new friends to launch a risky plan to save her. After this, the Spartans and Director Mendez talk with them, which would then lead them to sharing with Bakar the identity of his father: Jul 'Mdama (due to Sangheili customs, he did not know this before). Even after learning the Covenant remnant leader was his father, Bakar would continue to feel hatred toward him. Also during this conversation, they would warn him that his brother had joined up with the Servants of Abiding Truth and had possibly infiltrated Onyx. However, much later, Cortana’s message would be sent to all of the galaxy and Onyx’s Guardian would awaken. Bakar was at school be it occurred, forcing him to join those hiding in the cafeteria. When Prone to Drift arrives, he and his friends concoct a plan to have Drift reach the Guardian and disrupt its communication with Cortana. Then, the Servants of the Abiding Truth attack the school, killing some people and taking Drift away to the Repository. Bakar and friends would pursue, using some creatures also chasing the Servants in their plan to stop them. After catching up, Bakar would confront his brother and beg him to stop, while Dural felt he had been dishonored and should kill himself. In order to keep the attacking creatures from hurting Bakar, Dural chose to whistle a distraction and sacrifice himself, being carried away. Another creature would remain, but Lucy would arrive and take care of it, getting injured in the process. The kids would take her and Prone to Drift away in the Pelican Lucy brought, then fly close enough to the Guardian so Drift could disable it. Now, Bakar is amongst those living in hiding from Cortana due to Onyx’s slipspace bubble being reactivated.

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Sangheili Bracket Round 1 Match 22

More info below:

Kitun 'Arach:

Debuted in Halo 5: Guardians

Part of Jul 'Mdama's Covenant, he would be present in the Battle of Kamchatka, leading a lance fighting back against Promethean forces. He would form a temporary alliance with Fireteam Osiris against the Prometheans, before they left him to continue on their mission to kill Jul 'Mdama. Following the Covenant leader's death, Kitun would look to figures like the late Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattineree for inspiration on the Covenant's new direction. He also became disinterested in continuing the war against humanity, largely due to the costs. Later, he would be one of prominent commanders during the assault on Vadam and the Battle of Sunaion. Between these battles, he would receive a message from his brother Jacul to join the Swords of Sanghelios, but he instead would request his brother switch sides to the Covenant. The two brothers would then meet in battle at Sunaion, with Jacul dying and Kitun being mortally wounded with only enough time to leave a final message regarding their fight.

Additional commentary: Yeah, unlike other Mission Intel figures, you actually meet this guy in the flesh. Canonically, he's the Covenant Sangheili you make a temporary alliance for the achievement Enemy of my Enemy, with that achievement being canon since he then goes on to do all that stuff on Sanghelios you learn through Mission Intel.

Asum 'Mdama / Bakar:

Debuted in Halo: Glasslands

Born Jan. 20th, 2542 as the second son of Jul and Raia 'Mdama and the younger brother of Dural. He was trained in combat by Naxan - the great-uncle of Raia. When he learned of his mother's death in March 2553, he went to nearby fields to mourn. Then, he began to be fostered by Kasha 'Hilot as he assumed the new name of Bakar. She would take him to Onyx - her new place of work - and he would attend the Pax Institute while there.

It was around September 2558 that Molly Patel would transfer to his school, leading to her, Kareem El-Hashem, and Unggoy Gudam Keschun to come across him being bullied by three human peers. He would at first avoid trying to defend himself, until one of the bullies hits Gudam hard enough to draw blood. However, just as a full-on fight ensues, an instructor named Dinok 'Acroli breaks it up. The next day, Molly would be forced to sit at the same table as Bakar, giving him the opportunity to chastise her for making him look weak, until the other two arrive. Their attempts to become friends with him causes him to leave. Later, he would be stuck in the same self defense lesson being taught by Spartans Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091 with the same trio. During a field trip to the Repository, Bakar would open up to the trio a little and bond with them. Then, things took a turn when a beast called a rafakrit attacked. Kasha would go to distract the beast to save everyone else, only to get injured in the process, leading Bakar and his new friends to launch a risky plan to save her. After this, the Spartans and Director Mendez talk with them, which would then lead them to sharing with Bakar the identity of his father: Jul 'Mdama (due to Sangheili customs, he did not know this before). Even after learning the Covenant remnant leader was his father, Bakar would continue to feel hatred toward him. Also during this conversation, they would warn him that his brother had joined up with the Servants of Abiding Truth and had possibly infiltrated Onyx. However, much later, Cortana's message would be sent to all of the galaxy and Onyx's Guardian would awaken. Bakar was at school be it occurred, forcing him to join those hiding in the cafeteria. When Prone to Drift arrives, he and his friends concoct a plan to have Drift reach the Guardian and disrupt its communication with Cortana. Then, the Servants of the Abiding Truth attack the school, killing some people and taking Drift away to the Repository. Bakar and friends would pursue, using some creatures also chasing the Servants in their plan to stop them. After catching up, Bakar would confront his brother and beg him to stop, while Dural felt he had been dishonored and should kill himself. In order to keep the attacking creatures from hurting Bakar, Dural chose to whistle a distraction and sacrifice himself, being carried away. Another creature would remain, but Lucy would arrive and take care of it, getting injured in the process. The kids would take her and Prone to Drift away in the Pelican Lucy brought, then fly close enough to the Guardian so Drift could disable it. Now, Bakar is amongst those living in hiding from Cortana due to Onyx's slipspace bubble being reactivated.

[halos-top-alien-model]

Sangheili Bracket Round 1 Match 13

More info below:

Dural 'Mdama / The Pale Blade:

Debuted in Halo: Glasslands

Born Dec. 8th, 2537 as the first son of Jul and Raia 'Mdama and the older brother of Asum. He was trained in combat by Naxan - the great-uncle of Raia. When his mother died in March 2553, Dural vowed revenge against humans - who were involved in her death - and was taken on by Avu Med 'Telcam as an apprentice, joining the Servants of the Abiding Truth in the process. By July 2557, he had become a leading member of the Servants and gained the name of the Pale Blade. Following 'Telcam's assassination on January 21st, 2558, he became the new leader of the Servants.

Learning of the portal his father used, Dural arrived at Hesduros with a Huragok - Even Keel - to fix it and enter Onyx with it. On the other side, he has a heated discussion with Buran 'Utaral before the Servants establish a base inside one of Onyx's Forerunner facilities, which they would come to call "The Cathedral" or "The Great Cathedral of the Esteems Avu Med 'Telcam". While doing so, they come across a pair of marines and Dural kills his first human. Over the next several days, the Servants prepare for an assault on the rest of Onyx, preparing armories and equipment, even bringing vehicles through the portal from Hesduros. As they do so, restlessness causes more arguments between Dural and Buran. Meanwhile, hearing that another Huragok is on Onyx, Dural planned to capture it and use its knowledge. He would scout out and locate said Huragok - Prone to Drift, unknowingly one familiar with his father. Then, he lured a Rafakrit beast to sow chaos in the Repository and act as a distraction while he went to go capture Drift. However, he would instead rspot his younger brother - now going by the name Bakar - and his human and Unggoy friends. Angry that his brother was fraternizing with those "responsible" for their mother's death, he nonetheless forced himself to focus on the mission, only to be forced to retreat without the Huragok. Much later, Cortana's message would be heard across the galaxy, with Onyx's Guardian awakening. One of Dural's men would recognize it as a thing of worship that was submerged in his planet's ocean. As they watched the humans attempt to attack it, Dural would be forced to kill Buran. Dural, after flip-flopping on plans briefly, finally decides that this is the perfect moment for the Servants to go on the attack. Spotting Prone to Drift floating about, they follow to Pax Institute. Entering, he begins to kill those inside while demanding the Huragok. Prone to Drift would appear and beg the killing to stop by threatening to kill himself. Dural would then take Drift whilst leaving the other survivors - including Kasha 'Hilot - alive, only for Spartan Tom-B292 to arrive and follow Dural to the Repository. However, Dural would stab Tom in the chest. But then one of Dural's men - Ruk 'Nuusra - would betray him while panther-like creatures attack them. It would be at this moment that Dural and Asum reunite face-to-face, Asum begging his brother to stop and to come with him while Dural claimed he has been dishonored and should kill himself. Dural would ultimately choose to whistle a distraction, so that the attacking creatures stay away from his brother. Yet he would survive and make it back to the Servants, killing Ruk and successfully threatening everyone else back into submission, before going off to check out a hanger of Forerunner ships that Even Keel discovered.

Raia 'Mdama:

Debuted in Halo: Glasslands

The wife of Jul 'Mdama and the mother of Dural and Asum. During the Human-Covenant war, she would help maintain Bekan keep while her husband was away. When he returned, she shared in his concerns for the future but differed in subject matter - Jul worried what the humans' next move would be while she focused on how the Sangheili would carry on now that the war and the Covenant Empire as a whole was over. She showed a willingness to trade with Kig-Yar and recognized the damage that San'Shyuum's rule over them all had done. As Jul schemed behind her back, she herself had a feeling he was plotting against the Arbiter somehow.

Then, Jul suddenly went missing. Speaking with his friend Forze 'Mdama yielded no clues, so Raia decided to leave home and confront Avu Med 'Telcam - a man Jul had been working with in the days leading up to his disappearance. When he suggested the Arbiter might've taken him, she demanded to accompany the assault on Vadam state in order to check. She was aboard the Unflinching Resolve when it was shot down, surviving the crash landing on Vadam shore. Later, she and Forze would be tasked by 'Telcam to retrieve a human named "Philliss" (aka Professor Evan Philips) at Nes'alun keep, only for Kilo-Five to beat them there. However, upon informing 'Telcam, he said it was okay and to help Kilo-Five with repairs to their dropship Tart-Cart. After this, they returned to the rebel's camp and prepared for further bombardments on Vadam keep. Yet things would go awry once the UNSC Infinity arrived to assist the Arbiter, destroying Defender of Faith and the rebel ground forces. Raia would be among those attempting to retreat on Cleansing Truth to Laqil, only to meet her end when it was shot down by Swordsman - one of the Arbiter's ships.

When Jul finally returned home and learned of her death, he formed a new Covenant faction with the purpose of exacting grief-fueled revenge on humanity. Her eldest son Dural would similarly swear revenge on the Arbiter, becoming 'Telcam's apprentice due to 'Telcam's guilt over allowing Raia to come into danger.

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Sangheili Bracket

Round One:

Unnamed Shipmaster of Righteous Vigilance vs Inslaan 'Gadogai

Sesa 'Refumee vs Han

Tul 'Juran vs Jul 'Mdama

Vul 'Soran vs Zuka 'Zamamee

Nizat 'Kvarosee vs Rtas 'Vadum

Rho 'Barutamee vs Ripa 'Moramee

Zhar vs Vari 'Damat

Vel 'Trokaik vs Reff 'Talamee

Unnamed Field Marshal vs Avu Med 'Telcam

Cham 'Lokeema vs Kasha 'Hilot

Parg Vol vs Okro 'Vagaduun

Ernicka the Scar-Maker vs Ayit 'Sevi

Dural 'Mdama vs Raia 'Mdama

Heki 'Gibadee vs Orna 'Fulsamee

N'tho 'Sraom vs Usze 'Taham

Forze 'Mdama vs Chak 'Lok

Fal 'Chavamee vs Jeht 'Lcmutee

Ussa 'Xellus vs Toha 'Sumai

Thel 'Vadam vs Tam 'Lakosee

Jega 'Rdonmai vs Bero 'Kusavai

Meduu the Fierce vs Bal'tol 'Xellus

Kitun 'Arach vs Asum 'Mdama / Bakar

Rhu 'Vrath vs Thars 'Sarov

Jat vs Veer

Mahkee 'Chava vs Crei 'Ayomuu

Voro Nar 'Mantakree vs Gek ‘Lhar

Jacul 'Arach vs Olabisi 'Varo'dai

Henry vs Tano 'Inanraree

Let 'Volir vs Rojka 'Kasaan

Xytan 'Jar Wattinree vs Sali 'Nyon

Meduz 'Ra'ashai vs Ghe 'Talot

Lak 'Vadamee vs Thon 'Talamee

Round Two:

Unnamed Shipmaster of Righteous Vigilance vs Sesa 'Refumee

Tul 'Juran vs Zuka 'Zamamee

Rtas 'Vadum vs Ripa 'Moramee

Zhar vs Vel 'Trokaik

Avu Med 'Telcam vs Cham 'Lokeema

Okro 'Vagaduun vs Ernicka the Scar-Maker

Raia 'Mdama vs Heki 'Gibadee

Usze 'Taham vs Chak 'Lok

Fal 'Chavamee vs Ussa 'Xellus

Thel 'Vadam vs Jega 'Rdonmai

Meduu the Fierce vs Asum 'Mdama

Rhu 'Vrath vs Jat

Mahkee 'Chava vs Voro Nar 'Mantakree

Olabisi 'Varo'dai vs Henry

Rojka 'Kasaan vs Xytan 'Jar Wattinree

Meduz 'Ra'ashai vs Lak 'Vadamee

Round Three:

Sesa 'Refumee vs Tul 'Juran

Rtas 'Vadum vs Zhar

Cham 'Lokeema vs Ernicka the Scar-Maker

Raia 'Mdama vs Usze 'Taham

Fal 'Chavamee vs Thel 'Vadam

Meduu the Fierce vs Rhu 'Vrath

Mahkee 'Chava vs Henry

Xytan 'Jar Wattinree vs Lak 'Vadamee

Quarter-Finals:

Tul 'Juran vs Rtas 'Vadum

Cham 'Lokeema vs Usze 'Taham

Thel 'Vadam vs Rhu 'Vrath

Henry vs Lak 'Vadamee

Semi-Finals:

Rtas 'Vadum vs Usze 'Taham

Thel 'Vadam vs Henry

[holyshonks]

I can't remember everything but off the top of my head:

Asum and Dural are younger and older son of Jul 'Mdama and Raia 'Mdama. After their deaths, the children were separated for some reason, with Asum being adopted by Kasha 'Hilot and Dural getting mentored by the leader of the Servants of the Abiding Truth leader Avu Med 'Telcam, who felt responsible for Raia's death. Raia insisted on joining his crew to find Jul, and perished. This put the brothers at opposite sides of the war.

Kasha is the wife of the kaidon of Hilot back on Sanghelios, but left to live on Onyx with Asum to co-head security at the Onyx United Research Project, a joint research effort by the UNSC and SoS. Asum is a pacifist, which made him something of a pariah at school with the other Sangheili, but he does make a human and Unggoy friend in the multi-species settlement of Paxopolis, mostly inhabited by the researchers and their families.

As for the specific events: I remember that the settlement gets attacked by some megafauna I can't remember the name of, and Kasha saves them.

The research facility is then targeted by the Servants of the Abiding Truth, who attack Onyx. During the attack, Asum confronts his brother, and the biggest question I can't remember the answer to is whether or not Dural dies during this encounter. But ultimately the Servants are beat back by the UNSC (and specifically, the Spartans), the SoS, and the teens. In his encyclopedia entry, Asum is wearing a combat skin with the Swords of Sanghelios emblem, so he presumably joins the Swords once he comes of age (as he is only 16 in the book).

hey I didn't read Legacy of Onyx yet and Halopedia only partially has a summary on it. found a video that's an hour long but I am way behind schedule, and text is easier for me to go over since I don't need to keep replaying and replaying audio that I need to concentrate on to understand. can anyone break down the events that Kasha 'Hilot, Asum / Bakar, and Dural / Pale Blade take part in? (their individual pages are also bare when it comes to that part in the timeline)