It is varied on what makes up a backbone of a society. It can be from religion to science, and from war to peace. For the Sangheili, spilling blood was the structure of their lives.
Long before the formation of the Covenant, the Sangheili were always divided. An entire race that thrived on war. They were not wars of Gods or skin colour. They were simply a way to determine the strongest. Those who survived lived on, to wage further war. Bringing glory to their clans and themselves, earning greatly sought after respect and the right to add to their species. Those who lost, were crushed under their heels, their clans shamed. The Sangheili way of life was always to separate the strong from the weak.
During their ancient days, the Sangheili formed tightly knit clans, who wondered the harsh plains, deserts, forests and even the seas of Sanghelios. Their goals were simple: survive and conquer. When two clans wondered too close to one another, a battle broke out. When the warriors of one clan is defeated, the winning clan claimed their possessions and the surviving people.
The pattern keeps repeating until a clan becomes too large to continue travelling. And so, the Sangheili would finally settle in one area of land, building a permanent refuge. More often than not, the settlers would find themselves in areas where Forerunner artefacts dominated the land. However in their primitive stage, the Sangheili thought nothing of the significance behind the structures. They simply believed that they represented their superiority. It wasn't until one single warrior- the greatest of them all- arose above the senseless bloodshed and through many trials, he finally brought his race to the light, showing them a new way of life. He was then declared as the Dervish King of Sanghelios: the Arbiter.
As the clans expanded, they built themselves a village, the clan leader declares him or herself as a Kaidon, earning a family name to rule over their citizens for generations. And thus under the rule of the Arbiter, the Family States were born.
In spite of the era of peace, the base instincts of the Sangheili could not be ignored forever and once again, they fought each other. Many times has a family state been overrun by another. When this happens, the victorious state takes over the land, forcing the current citizens to bow to their rule and family name. This cycle of war continued for thousands of generations, only the weapons changed as the Sangheili evolved. Those that settled in Forerunner sites created superior weapons, such as the plasma sword as it is known today.
Until the appearance of the San'Shyuum.
The Sangheili at the time worshipped the Spirit of Sanghelios; an ancient entity that governs the souls of their ancestors and the balance of life. So when the San'Shyuum declared that the Forerunners were the true Gods, the Sangheili retaliated. Violently.
Once again, the Sangheili went to war. This time, however, their weapons were not pointed at themselves, their purpose for fighting not to separate the weak. They fought the aliens that dared to call their way of life blasphemous. Outraged that the San'Shyuum would attempt to rewrite their history, the Sangheili fought.
But the war did not last long. The San'Shyuum, seeing their inevitable defeat to this race of hardened warriors, took a different turn to show the Sangheili the Forerunners might.
The whole of Sanghelios became a war zone, as the San'Shyuum displayed the strength of the Forerunners machines. Fire fell from the sky, destroying many cities and thousands of lives were extinguished. Though the Sangheili continued to fight, they knew they couldn't stand up to the San'Shyuum. The aliens were physically weaker than them, but their technology, created from the same ancient structures upon their world, were indeed far more superior. With their Arbiter's defeat, they knew that if the war didn't end, their race would become extinguished. And thus, the leaders of their race surrendered to the San'Shyuum, ending the war.
The San'Shyuum commended the Sangheili for their bravery, for their will to fight. So, within the largest city on Sanghelios, the two races formed a peace treaty. The Sangheili leaders abandoned their ancient traditions and embraced the Forerunners. Thus, forming the Writ of Union and creating the Covenant.
However, despite this reign of peace, many Sangheili clans were furious with their leaders throwing aside their way of life. So, they turned their backs on their people, never integrating with the modern lifestyle the Sangheili now had. They reverted back to the ancient ways, to live as their ancestors once did. Wondering the land and embracing the plains, deserts and forests. The only difference was that instead of fighting each other, the clans were united to drive the 'City-Borns' from their lands. To never trust those who abandoned the Spirit of Sanghelios.
They became the Eternal Wanderers.
Since their formation, the Wanderers kept their promise to stay far from the cities and family states. Striving only to preserve the ancient ways, with the hope that their people's eyes will open and abandon the false Gods to embrace their true one once again.
The line separating the cities and the Wanderers was kept intact for centuries, only small handfuls of city-born Sangheili abandoned the Forerunners every so often, and searched for the Wanderers to begin anew. But the line was completely broken in the 4299th cycle, in the closing days of the 42nd Era.
During this time, a Wanderer woman named Ke'atuól'ti stumbled across two Special Operations warriors of the Covenant Navy searching in the plains that spanned the edge of the unidentified desert on the boarders of Iruiru. A tense stand off ensued where she demanded to know why they were there. Multiple times did the city-borns try to find their camps and destroy them. She knew that if they meant harm to her people, she would die to keep them safe.
It surprised her however, when she learnt that they were instead assisting the home guards to find slavers. Her people had been captured by those alien blasphemers for cycles and while she didn't trust the two warriors, she was willing to assist them.
Within those next few months, Ke'atuól'ti helped them find the slavers and when they were found, she spoke to her mother, the leader at the camp. She, in turn, spoke to the Commander of the home guard and they assisted them to destroy the slavers at their heart. When it was done, the Elder Council recognised the role the Wanderers played in taking down the slave ring, which turned out to be larger than anticipated. The Council rewarded them, allowing them to permanently settle in the plains and promising them protection should they need it.
It was during the time that Ke'atuól'ti worked with the two Special Ops. warriors, that she found kinship with one of them. Once her people were returned, she and the warrior exchanged words before he had to leave the planet and return to the Covenant. She wanted their final moment together to be memorable, and so she gave herself to him.
She was sad to see him leave, her memory of that night the only thing she had of him. Yet she soon discovered that he left her something else. He had left her with child.
When the child finally hatched, it was obvious that she wasn't of full Wonderer birth. While she had her mother's beauty, she also shared her father's characteristics. But her different appearance did nothing to sway her people from loving her as their own, and thus she was raised into their fold. That is where her story begins.