Prologue: A Warrior's Birth

'Traot Keep, Sangheili Colony Teeda'ul, 2512

In the dead of night, as insects chirped in the surrounding forest, Zylo 'Traotee was rushing home from his evening training on the other side of the Traot keep. As important as the practice was for him, he had something far more important waiting for him at home, and while he had remained focused in his training, he was secretly eager to leave. If only the kaidon's trainers had allowed him to depart earlier… Zylo felt dread at the thought that he was already too late. Trying to run faster, he took a shortcut through the thicket of ancient trees that concealed the humble Traot Keep from the view of outsiders.

Faint red light sifted through the forest's branches, reflecting off of Zylo's already crimson armor. Zylo glanced up at the lunar eclipse far above him. How strange that it would occur today, he thought as he gazed up at the reddish moons. Was it a sign from his Forerunners that his son would be destined for greatness, or simple happenstance? The Sangheili Major shook off his wonder, and focused more on making it home. Perhaps he was not too late after all.

Arriving at his home, Zylo found his weary mate, Vera 'Traot, waiting for him. She had been staying up day and night, watching their egg around the clock, and her exhaustion was clear. She smiled, however, and allowed Zylo to quietly embrace her. "It is good to see you, my love." she whispered into her mate's ear.

"Likewise, Vera." Zylo replied softly, though his voice bristled with anticipation. "Am I too late? Has he already hatched?"

Vera nodded sadly, knowing Zylo had been looking forward to witnessing his child's hatching since he first knew of it. "I am sorry, my dear. I fear you have missed it."

Zylo sighed, finding it difficult to hide his disappointment. "I suppose it is not so terrible," he murmured, more trying to console himself than Vera. "He is still my first child, and he will bring great honor to the 'Traot name when he becomes a warrior someday."

"She." Vera corrected.

"What?" Zylo blinked, taken aback.

"Our child is female, Zylo."

"Oh." Zylo's disappointment secretly intensified. He had wanted a son, one to train so that his offspring would become a warrior like him. However, if the Forerunners decreed he was to have a daughter, he would not question their decision. "Where is she?"

Vera opened her arms slightly to reveal a small bundle. From within the folds of soft, green fabric, a tiny pair of dark hazel eyes peered up at Zylo, blinking in an innocent wonder. Zylo found himself entranced, his dismay momentarily put aside. "What is her name?" he asked in barely more than a whisper.

"She has none as of yet." Vera answered. "I decided to wait for your arrival home. Do you happen to have a name in particular for her?"

Zylo paused, deep in thought. He then looked up at his mate. "Ahst will be her name." he said firmly, gazing into his mate's eyes, and then his daughter's. Ahst silently looked back, and then she turned her head to gaze out the window. The light from the eclipse outside reflected faintly in her eyes, giving them a translucent red appearance.

"So," Vera asked Zylo curiously. "Do you think she will still bring honor to the 'Traot name as you had hoped?"

Zylo continued to gaze at his daughter, who was still staring wordlessly at the night sky. "I cannot answer that, Vera," he mused, reaching out to stroke Ahst's head with a finger. "It is not for us to know yet. Only time will tell."

Author's Notes: So this begins the revamped, re-edited version of The 'Traot Saga. For those of you new to the story, welcome! For those of you returning, here is why the original was removed and will be replaced with this current version.

Thanks to a few new Halo novels (namely the Kilo-Five trilogy and Broken Circle) revealing lots of new goodies about Sangheili in the Halo canon, I realized my story had a few clear problems that caused serious issues, most notably with the timeline of the story itself. Given the adventures Ahst is destined for, I discovered she was left at an unrealistically young age at the story's conclusion, and holy guacamole, did it bother me! So I have gone back and completely revamped the timeline of events for the story to make it a little more believable, and this has also given me the chance to alter a few future dates that, while some issues were minor and nitpicky, did cause a few discrepancies. I will also not be posting by volume as before, as it limited the times I could update (limiting my views in the long run) and left a few very nice chapters waiting in the wings for far longer than deserved.

Thanks for understanding, and I hope to hear from you all soon! Chapters will slowly but steadily be posted until I return to my current place in the story!