As Halo, one of Microsoft’s most important series, was back on the gamers’ agenda with halo infinite, the newest member of the series, we thought we’d take a quick look at this universe. To play the game, you may not need to know the history in detail; But if you’re like me and you like to listen to the story he tells when you’re playing a game, let’s take you this way. Let’s see what’s happened in the Halo universe so far…
Everything was a cloud of dust and gas…
Okay, okay, I’m not going back billions of years. But for the beginning of our story, we have to go way back. Our story begins about 10 million years ago. The galaxy was ruled by a civilization called precursor at the time.
During their billions of years of reign, the Precursor race reached the pinnacle of its technological development, sowing the seeds of life throughout the galaxy, creating new races, and dominating the galaxy for a long time. Among the breeds created are the Forerunner race and the human race. Therefore, it is possible to say that they are the ancestors of all races.
One of the most important legacies of the Precursor race in later periods is “Mantle of Responsibility“. We can define this in its most simplified form as a authority and responsibility based on the protection of all planets in the galaxy and the races on these planets. The Precursor race decides to delegate this authority to the Forerunner race. Or rather, that’s what the Forerunner race claims. But we see that this authority is given to humanity. But wait, wasn’t Forerunner in charge?
The granting of this authority to humanity is causing serious unrest on the Forerunner front. They’re going out, too, wow, sir, waging war on the Precursor race by telling us how to screw us over, and driving our common ancestors out of the Milky Way Galaxy into the Magellanic Clouds. So Mantle moves on to the Forerunner race. (In the meantime, the Precursors who are left behind at the end of this war and dream of turning to dust and returning to their former state in time, will lead to the scourge of Flood after millions of years, in the back of our minds)
The Forerunner race interprets Mantle in their own way. To them, this responsibility is a mandate that must be held in the hands of the galaxy’s most advanced race, which naturally deserves it. They use it as a means of oppression to gain an edge over other races, to keep what they see as subracials in line, and to prevent future threats against them from happening in the first place. I don’t think the Precursor race ever dreamed of that.
The Precursor race was defeated, forerunner ruled the galaxy for millions of years. And then what happens? Humanity ceases to be a good boy. Over time, humanity, which has become an advanced civilization, travels interstellar and establishes colonies, encounters flood, a parasitic life form. Conflicts with this dangerous enemy lead to humanity gradually resting on the boundaries of forerunner civilization and angering the Forerunner Ecumenism. As a result, war breaks out between the Forerunner race and the human race, and as a result, Forerunner breaks the mouths of his enemies and returns humanity to stone age primitiveness. They put a guard named Librarian on these people’ heads; a caretaker who, unlike other forerunners, sees a light in humanity, believes that humans can become heirs to the Forerunner race over time.
Flood, once driven out of the galaxy by humans, resurfaced and went to war with Forerunner. Flood invades the planets Forerunner step by step, and finally brings an end to the ecuma. The Forerunner race that defeated this war; by activating the Halo rings they built, he decides to end all life and thus end Flood, who cannot find a biological life form to feed; and then planted the seeds of life all over the galaxy again. And finally, Mantle, he’s being transferred to humanity.
So is this where the matter is resolved? Of course not. One trouble goes, another comes, that’s the basic rule. Tens of thousands of years have passed since those left behind of the Forerunner race voluntarily exiled themselves; We’re coming to the stage of the Covenant race. Covenants are a race that believed in the Forerunner race and the Halo ring sequence they created. Their biggest dream is “The Great Journey”. They believe they need to activate the Halo rings to make this happen, they don’t know the destructive power of these rings. The Covenants (the battle between San’Shyuum and Sangheili), who also fought great battles within themselves, haunt the rest of the galaxy. Yes, you know, it’s about people again:)
While covenants rise, people don’t pick pears either; 21.ve began colonizing the solar system in the 22nd century. Of course, humanity suffers from internal conflicts. At the end of these wars, the United World Government (UEG) and the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) are established. The discovery of the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine (SFTE) in the 23rd Century is a turning point. Now the period of colonization begins outside the solar system. In the 25th century, humanity now has hundreds of colonies. It’s kind of a golden age. But of course it’s not going to go on peacefully. The inevitable end is coming, war is breaking out between the Covenants and the people.
Covenants are an obsessive race. Their first message to people is a threat to the desire of the gods to destroy you, that we are only made instruments for this work. Now there’s no need to say such big words, Covenant masters. The emergence of people threatens their religion, their faith, that’s the whole point. Anyway, let’s not get into Covenant theology, let’s go back to war. After the first contact in the Harvest colony, the people who want to reschement this defeat attack the Covenant fleet with all the power at hand, and they manage to defeat them. But it’s a Pirus Victory. People who have lost a significant part of their fleet cannot resist the counterattacks of the Covenants, they are forced to withdraw step by step from the outer colonies. Eventually, the inner colonies are also invaded by covenant. Humanity now has only one goal. To stop covenant from finding Earth at all costs.
Halo: Reach
During the battle in Harvest, humanity discovers a Forerunner remnant. They’re guessing the Covenants are after this relic, naturally. About 20 years after the battle at Harvest, the Covenant race attacks the Reach colony. Reach is one of humanity’s largest colonies and is also home to the Spartan-II program. Covenant intends to turn Reach into salt and ice. Unsc sees no choice but to load Dr. Halsey’s artificial intelligence form Cortana onto a ship (The Pillar of Autumn) and smuggle it out of there. As the Covenants take Reach’s life, our ship is heading into space, and our hero, Master Chief, is in a deep sleep on this ship. We’re slowly starting to come to the story:)
Halo: Combat Evolved
A few weeks after the escape from Reach, our ship arrives at a mysterious ring-shaped space station. Bingo, you know. We’re in Halo; Alpha Halo. Master Chief and Cortana are trying to reach Halo’s control center. It turns out the Covenants released Flood once again. Seeing this, forerunner artificial intelligence 343 Guilty Spark is trying to activate Halo. Fortunately, Cortana wakes up and says, “Oh, Master Chief, let me eat your eye, if this works, life will be eradicated,” and we don’t end the series before it starts:) Preventing Halo from becoming active, Master Chief and Cortana return to Reach, connect with Dr. Halsey and a few other Spartan soldiers, learn the Covenants’ next targets. Our next stop is Earth.
Halo 2
The war has now spread to Earth. Our team is fighting covenants in space and on earth. On the one hand, we are witnessing developments on the Covenant front. Arbiter, whose name we’ll hear a lot in the rest of the story, leads the Covenants to take over 343 Guilty Spark.
Meanwhile, Miranda Keyes’ ship is discovering a new Halo: delta halo. Master Chief and Arbiter face off in this circle. Master Chief is killing Prophet of Regret. Arbiter’s trying to activate Halo, but he’s being betrayed. That’s how the infamous Covenant Civil War was triggered, and the Great Schism began.
Master Chief and Arbiter fall into the hands of Flood leader Gravemind. Gravemind’s sending them both in one mission at a time. When Arbiter prevented Halo from activating and killed Tartarus; Master Chief leaves Cortana at the Flood-occupied Covenant capital, High Charity, and goes after Prophet of Truth. Its goal is to find the Ark, which created the original Halo rings and was able to control them all at the same time.
Halo 3
The Master Chief returned to Earth, and while he was on a mission with a group of soldiers, arbiter came to help him. The two of us forming a forced alliance are trying to stop Prophet of Truth from activating the Ark. After a very difficult struggle, they reach out to Prophet of Truth and, with Gravemind’s help, they justify it, and he manages to kill Miranda Keyes just before he gets him. When the Prophet of Truth threat gets out of the way, gravemind attacks us again, but the two of us manage to get rid of Flood.
It is understood the Ark is currently building a new Halo. You know that Halo that Master Chief took care of, and he’s trying to replace him, Ark. Master Chief and Arbiter; They intend to get rid of the scourge of Flood by activating this Halo, which is beyond the reach of others. And before that, Master Chief needs to get back to high charity and get Cortana back. Here he finally manages to unplug 343 Guilty Spark. Master Chief and Arbiter managed to escape just before Installation 04 exploded, but their ship, the Forward Unto Dawn, is disintegrating. The Arbiter falls to Earth with the front of the ship, while the rear of the ship glides deep into space. UNSC thinks master chief is dead. But our Master Chief and Cortana are alive for the rest of the ship. Master Chief, once again falling into a deep sleep; The next adventure awaits our team on the mysterious Planet Forerunner, the Requiem.
Halo 4
Four years later, Cortana wakes master chief from his sleep. A group of Covenants found their ship and went on the attack. The two of us who survived them ended up on the Planet Requiem forerunner. In the meantime, we’re at a critical juncture for Cortana. He’s 8 years old, and he’s 8 years old, the age at which artificial intelligence is unplugged to prevent mental deterioration. So for Cortana, it looks like the end of the road. Master Chief wants to take Cortana to Dr. Halsey and stop it. But the two of us screw things up and release Didact, commander of the Forerunner army. Covenant troops are allied with didact’s army, believing he’s a god. I mean, as you can see, things are getting out of hand.
Librarian appears in the Master Chief and warns him that Didact wants to enslave humanity through a device called composer. As the remaining soldiers leave the Requiem, the Master Chief disobeys orders and goes after Didact. But Didact manages to capture composer; Master Chief survives this attack thanks to Librarian. Didact is preparing to attack the earth with this device. Master Chief is on his way to the ship where Didact was found with a nuclear bomb. Cortana neutralizes Didact and gives Master Chief the opportunity to launch his final attack. At the last point, Cortana sacrifices herself and saves master chief.
Halo 5
Cortana sacrificed herself, and didact and she survived the explosion. Master Chief and a group of Spartan-II soldiers are fighting to save Cortana. Meanwhile, UNSC is sending James Locke and another Spartan group after master chief. Master Chief manages to take down Locke. Locke joins forces with Arbiter to defeat Covenant and find Master Chief.
Master Chief and his team finally find Cortana. At a gate called Cortana Gateway. This gateway leads to Domain (a library full of Forerunner secrets). Cortana blocks Master Chief’s team (Blue Team), but Locke’s team (Fireteam Osiris) also manages to block Cortana. However, Cortana has taken over many UNSC AI and is forming a group called ‘Created’. Arriving in Earth’s orbit on a Forerunner ship, Cortana intends to unplug the planet.
That’s basically our journey to Halo Infinite. What do you say, our new AI buddy and Master Chief will be able to cope with old friend/new enemy Cortana?
If you would like to examine the original sources yourself and learn more details, you can take a look at the main sources that I have benefited from when preparing the article:
halo.fandom.com/wiki/Halo_Alpha
www.polygon.com/22747450/halo-master-chief-covenant-forerunners-flood-universe-timeline
www.thegamer.com/halo-games-in-order/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bVU8K6jlKE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mnjy_d3wHY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADPKCek7flw
..