Swords of Sanghelios Records

RECORD III

The Silent Shadow of Heresy

Vakan Sradamai

October 21st, 2552

14:30 EAT {East Africa Time}


The gods themselves held their breath upon the throne above. Ringing came to everyone's ears as light used in a beam rifle struck the head of the Prophet of Truth. All members within the crowd were horrified. The Elites were zealously insulted, Brutes were outraged, Grunts were weeping. But the Honor Guards, the holiest of all Sangheili, were sanctioned to be the sole protectors of the Hierarchs. But now, Truth, who was for lack of a better term the entire Head of The Covenant, had his Crown removed from its seat. This was a disgrace to who they were as Honor Guards, and for that they should hang themselves in a tree on the edges of the city, or be jettisoned into space. For this failure could bring potential dishonor to their families and all who knew them. They were outliers and now possibly evildoers.

All eyes were transfixed to the Royal Honor Guards as they passed the torch of judgment to themselves as well as the following of everything involved. They were the Holy Vanguard to the Holy Prophets themselves and here now… They failed.

In a quick moment of grief it turned to serious banter.

Looking to the direction of the beam, a glint in the distance caught Vakan's vision. It was so subtle and small that the possibility of it being something else or his own mind playing tricks on him in the height of this adrenaline was possible. A half second of doubt followed until he saw a shadowy figure moving in the dark, far off in one of the observation buildings. It was so subtle but definitely there. Like a wraith of demonic intent and deceptive in value. Vakan could feel such an oppressive presence leaving its stench behind. Fowl in nature which could only make his mandibles shudder.

He pointed out to the balcony with haste quickly exclaiming, "There, up there!"

At that time the whole crowd in one uniformed turn all gazed to the balcony. Of course, being on the lower platform they could not see anything. Grunts instinctually began to climb their way like monkeys up to the balcony to act as an aid. Brutes and fellow Elites rushed around to the backside of the entrance to see if they could find this vile culprit.

Vakan could only see from his elevated height. But the two other guards jumped to the aid of Truth. One caught the chair, holding it in place. The other looked to Truth with concern, "My Lord!" he said (this all happened in a span of a few seconds).

"I am fine," Truth winced, feeling his head hurt. Feeling no injury, he gestured out in frustration to the direction that Vakan motioned, "Find the traitor!"

The eldest guard turned to Vakan, "Go! We have them here!"

Nodding instantly the Sangheili took off the pedestal passing the Vonsteri on the base. They looked as the panicked crowd of mixed species glared in disapproval and annoyed voices. Growing Restless as some looked to the Prophet to see if his health was in good condition, while others tried to fix their eyes to the direction most thought the sniper bolt came from. The theorized balcony was partially covered by shadows so it was indeed hard to tell.

Vakan quickly pointed out to the Vonsteri, they looked to him as a Holy Officer, "let no one near this platform!"

Reactivating his energy sword, the Elite jumped into the congregation. They did their best and made their way seeing the blade. Its bright hue took up captivation and attraction. Parting the Red Sea was a similar result as everyone gave way as Vakan stuck it up into the air for all to see.

"Move!" He commanded quickly speed walking through the masses. As they stepped back even more it created more room for the elite to move. Angry squabbling amongst them continued as they were so anxious about the health of their prophet as well as this supposed assassin. There was slight cheering on his behalf to find the shadowy figure, but they still were unbelievably appalled.

As he reached the end of the crowd to the balcony entrance at the bottom of the pillar, there were minor Elites and Brutes already inside scanning the surroundings.

A staircase in a dark room goes up to an observation platform. The platform had an easy view of the prophets only fifty meters away. The open area curved out to a semi-circle with railings about waist high (which was about five feet tall for comparison). Not a single thing was left behind, this stalker vanished like a ghost.

"There was nothing left," said a single minor Elite.

Vakam huffed, squatting down to one knee and deactivating his blade, "nothing that you can see."

He touched the ground for a moment with his free palm feeling its groves. Like a hunter approaching its prey, he tried to feel any single subtitles in the ground. Feeling none, he got back up and gazed out to the other Royal Guardsmen who were looking in his direction from across the arcade of the crowd. He nodded to them slightly, and they returned the gesture.

Moving down the staircase, he passed both the other Sangheili and Jirlhanae who just looked at each other confused by this Guard.

As he came out to the back street of the pillared observation deck, he glared around to his surroundings. Huge streets laced in between buildings. This execution was public as it was in the civilian district. Since the war had been dragging on the Prophets have made more and more frequent visits to the civilian areas of High Charity to boost morale.

Most in the area were still gathered in the crowd, annoyed and frustrated. Vakan could still hear the roars of disapproval turn to cheer. On the microphone, he could listen to the voice of the Prophet of Truth echoing throughout the whole land. It was slightly muffled by the buildings, but he could still make out what was said,

"Let it be known that I shall not die this day," the Prophet exclaimed with sincere vigor in his tone. The masses lit up with huge praise and exaltation.

Vakan scanned the empty roads around and saw little of the wannabe killer. Everything for the most part was as expected, power lines dropped between the alleys of the huge monoliths of structures, a few parked hover cars draped in various civilian covers. It was in essence, just an empty street within High Charity.

Truth would continue in the distance, "I am committing the will of our Lords, a single assassin cannot eliminate me, the Mandate of Heaven is bestowed to my shoulders to which we shall all walk in Salvation and soon to the Great Journey!"

The Honor Guard however noticed a displacement on one of the alleys seen from his standing stilled approach… an overturned trash can with all of its contents split out to the street. Not a traditional human city alley, due to the curved buildings, it was a lot cleaner, and much wider. Goop and rotting food and strangely shaped napkins folded out and soaked in water and other liquids were all over the place. The can was about five feet high and about three feet high, spherically shaped with the hexagonal patterns fitting that of Covenant design (laying on its side on the street). Deep purple on the outside rim around the lid and draping down to a dark pink. The colors to their full display were partially blocked due to it obviously being toppled over and the inside contents.

Ambling across to the alleyway between two buildings where it was, Vakan ran his hand along the smooth frame of the can slightly. He squinted once, then looked up to the other end of the city-made tunnel. He could see at the other end another trash can tipped over (less contents spilt as this one was probably less full). He stood up and came closer to it, noticing the same strange discrepancies.

"Heaven above shall remember this day when a devil tried to slay a lion! Together we stand as Creatures of all parts of the galaxy and her womb! We are One, we are United, We are, The Covenant!."

Approaching the end of the alley Vakan came to an open courtyard. This was artificially grown with plants from all portions from across Creation. Dozens of worlds are represented with their vegetation being used for decoration in this civilian district. This courtyard was built like a large oval, with five buildings encircling it like towers from all sides, with three main pathways leading to walking streets in and out. A few levitating gray park benches that defied all the known laws of gravity with their reverse engineered Forerunner technology, a bit too large for that of an Unggoy or Human, but perfect for that of a Sangheili.

Up the center acting as a giant canopy was the massive "Gratva" Tree. Known for its large and gaping teal scalloped leaves, they were almost three feet in diameter. Tree bark was very dark black, and the bark itself was strangely soft to touch. It would wave and move around like cloth in the fingertips, but the wood itself underneath was extremely fire resistant, especially to plasma burns, making it very annoying to get rid of once it is planted. Gratva Trees are known to be actually quite short for how big their leaves are, only getting thirty feet in height once fully grown. This once, a little above fifteen feet (younger in age), and had itself leaves still a brighter green telling that it was not fully seasoned yet. Yes, the seeds of the plants were within the leaves and were quite spicy too and gave quite a kick to the tongue.

Native to the Northern plains of Doisac, the Jirlhanae's homeworld, the Brutes loved the leaves for cooking and seasoning, ironic as the stupid and stubborn apes have the most intricate and delicate touches when it comes to what they eat.

Gathered around the courtyard itself away from the pathways and along the base of the tree were these unbelievably thick bushes. "Jarqe'twa" was the closest pronunciation in the English Language from Sangheili. Unlike most bushes on Human Colonies such as Jericho, Reach, or even the Mother World Earth Herself, they predominantly had smaller, finely leafed bushes. Upon the desert world of Sanghelios however, where temperatures can up to almost fifty degrees celsius, any plant life must be strong willed and uncanny in their evolutionary lines. And the Jarqe'twa was just like that. Small to the ground only three feet in height, they looked like a massive collection of pink sea anemones but upon land. So thick that entering into the plant to get past the thick and spiny leaves to the bark and leave stems barehanded was almost impossible.

Now the bush planets from Sanghelios are known to produce a lot of nitrogen into the soil as their naturally produced waste (unlike oxygen as most plants usually do). In a perfect example of symbiosis, the Gratva Tree must receive nitrogen into and through its roots to produce the nutrients that it needs to grow its leaves (it could survive without this it would just be bare and boring making it less colorful).

Plants from Sanghelios and Doisac, Sangheili and Jirlhanae. This courtyard was planted about sixty years back when the Brutes first joined the Covenant as a welcoming party. Unison they were, both Elites and Brutes in a way.

The Golden Honor Guard gazed up to the very tip of the tree scanning it from bottom to top. He had never actually been to the Civilian District before within High Charity, let alone this famous courtyard, at all in his entire lifetime. This was a magnificent sight for sure.

However the quick five or six second delay was cut short by Vakan's vigor to find the traitor. Stepping through and around the tree, he came across another pathway. Normally he would have kept going but something deviated his path… voices.

Muffled in the distance to his left and onto a small side street was the sound of cheerful tones and high pitched squeals. The route he took was around the thick bushes making it obnoxious to get to. This area itself was short and was on the butt end of another building cut off from the rest of this area. Kind of separated it felt off or out of place. Smaller crack or so between two buildings not even ten feet wide gave way for something interesting.

A smaller entrance doorway about seven feet high with a huge sign above it. The sign was in Unggoy with their native and primitive letters. It was bright red in neon red. The triangular symbols would be impossible to read, but to the Royal Honor Guard, who was required to know all languages within the Covenant, he knew it instantly. It read,

"Hafoosa"

Which loosely translates as a verb back to English as "Time to Drink," or, "Drinking Time," it is difficult to translate as direct wordings in Unggoy to really any language for that matter. This is because most of their words have grunts or barks, or even squeals adding behind to whatever words they are saying (any alterations of the barbarity when pronouncing the words could change the meaning of the word entirely).

"Great," mumbled Vakan, "a grunt pub."

The automatic doors opened up from the vertical angle quickly with a whoosh. Immediately dozens of grunts of various colors and ranks gaped in horror at the eight foot Sangheili. Vakan was hit with the thick smell of rotting eggs filling his nostrils in a vile way like a serpent within the air. A cloud of methane covered the area acting as smog giving the grunts a sense of peace and tranquility along with security. Just as the Gollum-like dungeon crawlers they were.

Light shining behind him piercing the dark of this bar, the Unggoy scratched their eyes and adjusted them to the light behind, blinded by it. Grunts in their natural habitat like the dark, they are cave dwellers by nature, methane breathers deep within the mines and caverns of the planet Balaho. They can yes breath oxygen or even straight carbon for a while, due to methane being lighter than the latter two. However if for too long it boils their lungs as their intricate trachea cannot take the heavier gas essentially causing them to choke to death. None of them had their masks on due to this being a welcoming environment for their kind. Normally the wadeling space penguins would have a huge mask with a triangular backpack, but here, they could relax, be themselves, be normal, be Unggoy.

Vakan peered around the bar on the inside. He could very much tell that this was a "grunts only," area as the height of the room was only nine feet, barely tall enough for him. Along with all of the seating areas such as the stools and tables being unbelievably small for Vakan, but perfect for the five foot tall grunt. All conversations stopped and a spoon drop could be heard in the far corner as the golden Sangheili approached the bartender. It was so quiet the faint sound of the Prophet of Truth's voice could be heard on the radio broadcaster near the front by the main bar table,

"Halo is within our grasp! Soon we shall walk upon her! Feel her soil! Her loving grace, and we shall open all the gates to Halo so that everyone can walk the holy road to forgiveness through Salvation! We shall be in the heavenly realms with the Forerunners soon my brothers and sisters!"

Veering down to the grunt of the bartender, he pierced its soul inside of a sharp gaze. The lighter toned Unggoy was cleaning a purple wooden mug with a rag not even phased, looking up to the giant scaled beast. Eyes still focused and not dilated with fear unlike the others.

"What you want?" it said with a high pitched squeal. Instinctually another Unggoy hobbled over right next to it tapping him on the shoulder,

"You not know? That Honor Guard!" it muffled up to the Elite for a second before backing away.

Seeing the tense spirit in the room due to his terrifying presence, standing up tall and erect, crossing his arms for a moment. Taking a step to the side, he winced, "Have you seen any others here?"

"No no Nub-Noo hasn," said the bartender with a focused face. At this moment he could see in the corner of his eye the grunts looking just as tense as he. The intimidating feeling he thought he could inflict upon them to use to his interrogator advantage was seemingly gone. It was replaced with uncertainty, and felt like a strange western standoff within this Unggoy bar.

As the tension rose higher and higher as the blank stare by the main tender and Vakan made a dramatic hue. Both were set to their ways, and the Unggoy knew this Elite was not leaving until he had some sort of a legitimate answer.

"I will speak again," said Vakan, "I am looking for another who possibly came by to this place."

Quickly the two grunts' eyes darted to something behind the Honor Guard. A black silhouette covered by the light incoming from the outside stood right behind him. Vakan could see the eyes dart as well as the shadow taking its place behind him where the light should be.

Igniting his energy blade, it lit up the whole dark caverned room making all the grunts hiss and squeal like bats and vampires. He swung the sword behind in an over the shoulder downward strike. Surprised, his attack was met with another blade.

A red blade clashed to the blue of the Honor Guard. It reflected deeply upon the body. Blue and red Shocks forming a white color of sparks upon their crossroad. Vakan's eyes widened instantly as the enemy assassin was revealed. A helm blocked the face of the oppressor, with a single lined red visor just as bright as the blade they were using. Armor dark and black, he knew what this was instantly.

"A Shadow?" he pressed harder into the stalemated clash, "why!"

Without a word the Silent Shadow uppercutted the Honor Guard, landing the painful blow and disorienting him. Then following with a kickflip creating distance of about fifteen feet before landing in a squatting position.

Grunts saw this a rallying call as they charged into battle. Squealing and screaming strange things in their native tongue they were all using random things as weapons. Bottles, mugs, chairs, and even food. About twelve or so grunts charged Vakan with deadly hoarded intention. Swarming from all sides the eight foot elite could easily butcher a few but in groups grunts were far more formidable. Even Demons themselves sometimes could struggle.

Vakan slashed to the right killing two instantly releasing their heads from their shoulders. Their bodies fell back from the force leaking blue blood from the husk.

Another creature wailing clawed at the Elites free hand, holding it down with its entire body weight. These things were very dense for how short they were. Two Hundred and Fifty pounds was their average making them fairly annoying if they figured out how to throw their weight around.

Vakan grunted, feeling all that weight upon one forearm. Without any chance to rest bottles were thrown by a few a couple of meters away shattering as it hit his armor. It hurt specifically when it hit the mandibles as that was a sensitive area of the body. Glass was splintered into thousands of pieces in its infamous sound as it hit him one after another.

He could see at the far end of the bar that the Silent Shadow disappeared into the dark as their blade closed and visor dimmed until it was no more in the corner of the room. Angered seeing this, the Honor Guard let out a roar of frustration.

This moment was short lived as two grunts hopped onto Vakan's back pulling him down to his knees easily with their combined weight of almost five hundred pounds. Luckily, he was able to do a quick jab with his elbow knocking one off its mount to the ground for just a moment. In direct line to the blade Vakan stabbed it quickly with his blade killing the grunt instantly.

With a freed hand he slashed once more spinning around with his pivot foot, cleaning cutting another Unggoy in half. Blue goop spat all over the floor, tables, and stools of this bar combined with guts and organs.

At this point with four of their brethren slain, the head of this pub charged Vakan with a sense of righteous vengeance for his comrades. This bartender was pissed and their tone was that of a battle cry.

Vakan grunted once, slipping his other arm free of the Unggoys' weighted grasp. Open hand reached over his shoulder and grabbed the Grunt on his back by the face. Yanked hard its neck broke from the force instantly as with one hand it was thrown a few feet onto another corpse just adding to the growing pile of bodies.

The bartender reached out with its arms and sunk its teeth into the Sangheili's leg. Purple liquid came out from the wound which the Elite bellowed in pain. The flesh was parted by the sharp but small fangs.

With instinct he kicked out with such power and kicked Grunt in the face. Eyes began to dilate and now Vakan was upset.

How dare these impudent grunts assault a Honor Guard on official business? They are vermin, dust to the planet, here to gather in a forgotten hollow inside of a building. It is an insult that Vakan even let these fleas even touch him at all. But to bite? This was horrendously savage!

"Enough I say!"

An uproar from the throat of the Golden Sangheili ruptured the tone of the Unggoy. Drawing a second energy sword from his belt he began in a berserk slash around wildly with little thought of what he was hitting. Tables, chairs, mugs, even bodies of fallen Grunts, he did not care. These rats needed to be taught a lesson that their mothers failed to… fear.

Left, right, upward, downward, and diagonally it was a frenzy, he spun around almost like a ballerina with an elegant stance with such fluidity. The blade went through the remaining Unggoy like butter. One, two, and three all squealing and pleading for life as their arms, legs, and heads were all swiped off.

Screaming in fury the Elite did not hesitate or show any mercy. Blood covered his armor adding an interesting combination when combined with the glowing yellow.

Two grunts remained, and his right hand's blade deactivated due to overuse. Instead of stopping the hilt was used like brass-knuckled with a hard cross to the face. The head spun one hundred and seventy degrees break instantaneously when blood squirted out the nose and mouth.

The eyes widened to a black dropping the dead hilt of the blade. With a singular blade in hand, the fiery demonic red glare in his eyes that even most Elites never could possess.

Lastly, one Grunt remained, the bartender himself. He for a moment could see all the bodies of his brothers, friends, and closest family friends. All slain with blank deathly faces upon them. Dead never to be seen again. The moment fell upon it, true dread came into his heart. It racked it with the deathly cold of nothingness. Holding up its hand acting as a supposed barrier, it scooted back a bit trying to create space.

"Please! Big scary red guy would kill Nub-Nu and friends if we said no!"

Vakan simply huffed, "for you, death was both paths."

Back up against the wall, the grunts' mouth widened as he knew his fate was sealed. Closing his eyes tight and holding his hands to his face he began to sob knowing his puny little life was about to be extinguished. As the sword of the Sangheili was raised, not a single sense of grace even graced his mind. In one fell swoop the gut of the Grunt was penetrated with the sword injecting it with the hot blue plasma. Blood trickled onto the scolding blade as Vakan let it sit within the bowls of the Unggoy for a second in a sickening sense of pleasure. Sangheili rarely obtained this type of feeling from the death of their enemies as they themselves as well as their culture was all about Honor and Integrity. But in the rare instance of Heresy, it was welcomed, if not praised.

Blaspheme is one thing, as it is just saying something untrue to the Faith, or something that is incorrect to the Holy Mandate. But Heresy was absolutely unacceptable. It is the belief of the incorrect. Knowing what one should do with their religion and willingly choosing the wrong.. The heretical.

As Nub-Nu coughed up more liquid from the piercing of his lungs he tried to speak but could not. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as his last breath was given, in vain or not. Could not feel, touch or exist anymore, he began to slip into the slumber of death.

Vakan smiled briefly, seeing Grunt's pain. Closing his blade he put it to his hilt attaching magnetically. The body of the tender that was leaned up against the wall fell back for a second and fell over to the side. Blue blood dripped from its open gashes adding to the massive pool of liquid. It was an ocean of bodily fluids combined to make a harmonious accord. Even in death these brothers in arms were together one last time in a disgusting way.

Sighing, the Elite looked around to the carnage that he created. He never wanted this of course, he just… lost it. Never before had such an insult fallen to him his entire life. Golden mail covered in splatter and guts and other parts. At his feet a bit of purple added to the blue from his own lacerations from earlier. The once shining Vakan was now dimmed and covered in battle scuff. Of course Vakan has seen combat, but he was getting used to the pompous lifestyle that being a Royal Guard provided, and being here, back in battle, in death… it was uncivilized. Maybe the Prophet of Mercy's mannered ways were rubbing off on him?

But the thought of anything was got short by a deep voice from the corner of the room,

"I see you lost your temper."

Emerging from the shadows was the same Elite from earlier. Close and a more clear view, Vakan was right, this was a Silent Shadow. Standing even taller than Vakan himself which was very surprising as he himself was a little taller than an average Elite. Silent Shadow is impossible to identify as seeing one almost cursed oneself to certain death. So much so that there was an urban legend within the ranks of the Sangheili that if one was to look upon the armor of a Silent Shadow and survive, it was a blessing from the Forerunners… or their curse for infertility (a fate worse than death especially for the females whose soul existence within some castes is just to produce children).

The Honor Guard squinted his eyes, "Why are you here?"

A moment of silence followed, before a strong exhale came from it, "why do you think? Am I a traitor of sorts?"

"Maybe, do not give me a reason to think so."

They laughed, "please, you could not harm me even if you wanted to House of 'Sradam."

"How-," interrupted with a quick wheeze, "do you know my Bloodline?"

"Your eyes and skin. Not hard to keep away now isn't it?"

At this point now angered once more Vakan drew his saber pointing the tip directly to this mysterious figure, "Enough games!" he demanded, "talk!"

They turned to a bar stool that was laying sideways on the ground, pulling it up wiping off the bloodied intestines that were coiled around it like a snake. Giving a slight and quick inspection, they sat down veering up to the golden Elite. Awkward as these were made for the Unggoy, but nevertheless it still fit even though the position could be seen as slightly uncomfortable.

"You said earlier to one of them," they gestured to the body of Nub-Nu lying on its side up against the wall completely blankless and deceased, "how 'death was both paths?' Well… Here I am."

"So it was you!" Vakan took a step closer to this newfound blasphemer, "I should kill you where you stand!"

"But did you ask why? Why do you kill without question for them? You are their most trusted guardians, yes? Yet we are to be casted aside as nothing!"

An empty gaze came from Vakan with more of a sense of righteous justice boiling within him. The only reason why his emotions have not purely taken over was that fact that he was for the first time ever, and probably ever again talking to one of the mythical Silent Shadow. Was this a trick? One of the Old Prophet's twisted games or tests? Or is he staring at the most unholy speaker the Covenant has ever seen since Fal 'Chavamee himself?

"Revoke your blasphemous claims!"

Holding the hilt of the Red Bloodblade, the most infamous of weapons used by the shadowy sect, they stared down to it. For a moment, just one, it passed by through their mind like it never existed at all. Casting it away it bounced along leaving metallic clings in its wake until eventually sliding into a corpse of one of the Grunts.

"'The fall of their blood shall be the intertwining of our Covenant, fulfilling our grand design. Regret has the greatest of ambitions and will be the greatest of his folly. We shall be rewarded with Salvation'..." a second of stillness came before the figure continued, "does that sound familiar?"

Vakan gulped on his own fear. That tone of speech, that way of phrasing of wordings, that was him, it had to be him. No one knew him better than Vakan, how could he? It had been only a few months but still, this was impossible. The paradigm was not shifting but only given the heretical thought to be thrown away entirely. A thousand thoughts crossed the Guard's mind at a million miles an hour. Heart raced ten fold to its normalcy, and his breathing intensified. It was the Prophet of Mercy.

"This cannot be," said Vakan with a murmur.

"Mercy has always been the wisest of them all. I heard him say that from his own lips… the Prophets have betrayed us… and they shall use the Brutes as their instruments."

Billions of unfletched deep emotions clouded all judgment. Eyes unfocused and blurry as all Vakan knew to be real was completely in question by the mere words of a Silent Shadow. The opinion and words of this Sangheili would go out throughout the Covenant as much if not more so as an Arbiter of Old.

Even still he could not deny his anger. Concentrated and thick, all of his conflicted feelings crosspaths with his rage. It acted as an anchor for his soul, a crux for the mind to adjust to. In that moment of a stormy spirit, all of the potential hostility clung together within his essence with a magnifying presence. Immediately igniting his blade, they all unified as one emotion to be carried out… revenge.

Vakan screamed in royal acrimony, one that he has never done before. And plunged the blade into the chest of the Silent Shadow. This one however did not even block the hit or even tried to defend. Their head gazed up to the heavens for a moment accepting their fate. The energy ignored the tuff shielding that they had and straight through the armor. Color of purple gleaked thickly onto the hand and arm of Vakan.

Not a word came from their mouth, no plea for life or even a noise for that matter. Nothing, it was actually pretty intimidating that a being could take such a killing blow and not even react to it. Almost as if it was a robot with damaged parts.

The Honor Guard pulled the body of the dying Elite to him and looked it in the eyes. Pissed was the face of Vakan as he was staring as if he just squashed a heretic… and he did. In their last final moments a whisper came from their lips. Being very faint and hard to make out, it was hard to hear. However in that light Vakan definitely heard it and it bewildered him.

"Both paths…"

Disengaging the blade from the abdomen he hilted it back to his leg, looking down to the dead Elite. The crimson hue that was the visor of the Silent Shadow slowly went into darkness and dimly setting like the sun as life was slowly given away.

He stood back up right, and took in the scene of decay within the whole room. It was cumbersome and different that what he had gotten used to that is definitely for sure. Blue and Purple watery substance combined with one another to form a darker blue. The layer of blood was about an inch thick along the floor now with almost not a single untouched place along the floors. Vakan gazed at the walls and could see splatter along them. The hanging lamp above had trickles of blood within the bulb causing it to slightly short circuit and fiz out.

He did not want to kill them, not at all. But after receiving their deaths, a sickening feeling of the Call of War came to him. Beckoning his return the thrill of battle gave to him the lust of conquest. He could have been a mighty warlord but instead was doomed to the bowls of High Charity protecting the Prophet of Mercy. It was a Holy task indeed and he did not insult it whatsoever, and to do so is blaspheme. However, he did miss his days before being an Honor Guard,

Of being one of the military men.

Vakan ambled over to the body of the Grunt which the Bloodblade landed next to. Picking it up he took in its intricate details that the forger put into making the elegant weapon. The black grip and golden entrails. Even the red energy caster at the two butt-ends of the design add for the most expensive of energy blades. Sangheili coveted at the chance to even see it being used, let alone here, now, Vakan was holding it in his very hand. The more he looked into it the more he doubted. And the more he doubted the deeper he thought…

Why?

Gazing to the body of the fallen Silent Shadow a thought crossed his mind. He came close to it, reaching his hand to the mask of the dead warrior. Reaching behind he found the clips on both ends underneath the belly-band holding it in place. Snaps were heard as the hatches were pulled as the vacuum within the armor and mask were let loose.

It took a second to wiggle off as it was sealed, as these mails were designed to withstand the nothingness void of Space itself for a long while.

Dropping it to the floor with a loud thud, it was very heavy. Surprised by this he wondered how a warrior could operate with such a heavy helm.

Now with a dumbstruck face Vakan choked. He could not bear to look this in the eyes. Faded and lifeless face it had but the face itself was what perplexed Vakan. It had deep purple to black skin like himself, and vibrant green eyes. No one in the whole Covenant had this physical display save for his own. His own house spent half a millenia breeding the perfect warriors. The result was a skin tone so unique to Sangheili that it was seen as alien or not normal. The skin itself was a false-black, meaning that it appeared to be black but in the light it was a dark purple. However, it was the eyes that he knew instantly.

The green.

Green was something that their house has kept in the family since its founding and was so specific about that layer of breeding that they were willing to trade adornment of the spouse to pass along the correct genes, they believed in it amongst themselves that they were the Master Race. After all, their House was one of the most praised, how could they not be? How could their success not be to them being destined to the stars by the most perfect of breeding?

This Silent Shadow was a Sradam so as Vakan. His own relative, bloodline member?! This would explain why he pointed out his own house so quickly but still!

Daring to assault the most holy figure in the whole Covenant, the Prophet of Truth himself? This absolute heresy! They shame the whole bloodline and put a stain to their hundreds of years of well acclaimed success! How could he?

The more he saw the shame and regret the more he saw fear for himself? What would his mother and father think? He has not spoken to them since he took the Vow of the Honor Guard, and that was almost five years ago. This is too much of an overload.

Burst out of the pub and back onto the street the smell of methane left his lungs as he fell to his knees outside. He coughed and wheeze breathing in the normal air. Sweat dripped from his pours making his scales seem shinier. All this information received in his brain all in the span of just an hour? This cannot be real.

Right when his mind almost derailed into insanity within his own contemplation a quick squeal sharply got his ear. To his right was a small teenage helpless Grunt. Probably looking to go to the pub after a decent day of work. All it saw was the golden elite covered in blue blood standing outside of the pub it usually goes to everyday. This Elite, covered in Grunt blood.

Sheer ghastly horror came over its perplexing and soul seeing the behemoth of a Sangheili. It took two steps back squabbling to itself.

The second following it turned tail and wobbled away quickly screaming to the heavens for protection. Going as fast as its little legs could carry it it wailed in tears going as fast and as far as it could in the other direction.

Vakan did not care nor did he try to stop the welp. It was not worth his time or energy. The Grunt will pass along what he saw this day as a hopeful reminder to others why betraying the Covenant is a daunting and unforgivable deed.

He would just simply shake his head slightly before getting back to his feet. Slowly getting up he had the Bloodblade in hand. The attempt was there and could not help but stare at it.

For him, the question now was not why…

But who?

The Silent Shadow never miss… Something was seriously wrong.


Eyyo, long time no see! Hope you all liked this one. It took a long time as I had needed to split the chapters. This was because well… 10 k chapter length is way too long in my mind. Plus it adds more tension to the previous scenes and what not. Anyway, nothing too new as well… the last posting was a couple of days ago.

This took a while to compile with all of the Covenant lore as well as the stuff that I made up as it went along for more interesting backgrounds. I hope y'all liked it!

Comments!

Since there is only one haha in such a short period of time, but ye.


- Yea I really liked it. I spent a good while compiling the information to add more depth to the story and world. Unfortunately the Covenant does not have much world building ironically, so I gotta add the missing pieces.

Alright yall as before we are chilling and I hope you all like this story so far and all its nooks and crannies hahah. Stay safe out there if I sign out! See ya in the next one! Things are just getting started!

~1DL1NG KN1GHT