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1'''WARNING: UNMARKED SPOILERS BELOW. CONTINUE?'''\
2\
3'''ENCRYPTION CODE: [CLASSIFIED]'''\
4\
5'''CLASSIFICATION: TVTROPES'''\
6'''SUBJECT: FORERUNNERS'''\
7\
8
9!Index
10* [[Characters/{{Halo}} Main index]]
11* [[Characters/HaloUNSC UNSC (Miscellaneous Personnel)]]
12** [[Characters/HaloUNSCAIs Artificial Intelligences]]
13** [[Characters/HaloSpartanIProgram SPARTAN-I Program]]
14** [[Characters/HaloSpartanIIProgram SPARTAN-II Program]]
15*** [[Characters/HaloMasterChief The Master Chief]]
16** [[Characters/HaloSpartanIIIProgram SPARTAN-III Program]]
17** [[Characters/HaloSpartanIVProgram SPARTAN-IV Program]]
18** [[Characters/HaloUNSCNavy Navy]]
19** [[Characters/HaloUNSCMarinesAndODST Marines and ODSTs]]
20** [[Characters/HaloUNSCOfficeOfNavalIntelligence ONI]]
21* [[Characters/HaloTheCovenant The Covenant]]
22** [[Characters/HaloSangheili Sangheili/Elites]]
23* [[Characters/HaloTheBanished The Banished]]
24* Forerunners
25* [[Characters/HaloUEGCivilians UEG Civilians]]
26* [[Characters/HaloOther Other Factions]]
27
28%% GENERAL RULE OF THUMB: Characters who appear in the games should be listed first, followed by live-action, full animation, novels, short stories, comics, and miscellaneous media, in that order. This isn't a hard and fast rule, so the occasional exception is ok.
29%%
30[[foldercontrol]]
31
32[[folder:In General]]
33[[WMG:'''The Forerunners''']]
34[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Main-Forerunner_7278.png]]
35->'''Homeworld: Ghibalb'''
36
37-->''"Guardianship for all living things lies with those whose evolution is most complete. The Mantle of Responsibility shelters all."''
38
39One hundred thousand years before the events of ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'', the Forerunners were the most advanced race in the galaxy, the builders of the Halo Array and bearers of "the Mantle of Responsibility", the duty to protect sentient life. During the war with the Flood, they were forced to wipe out all life within the galaxy save some survivors held in the Ark, outside the galactic rim. The remnants reseeded the galaxy with sentient life and then left the galaxy, declaring that humanity would inherit "the Mantle" and reclaim their lost technology. In the present, they are worshiped by the Covenant who believe that they used the Halo Array to propel themselves to godhood in "the Great Journey".
40----
41* TheAlternet: The Domain is a spectacular variant of this, actually being ''alive'' in some way and ''baked into the fabric of the universe''. It contains virtually all Forerunner knowledge as a sort of hyper-advanced wiki. [[spoiler: It's actually a Precursor artifact and it suffers catastrophic damage from the firing of the Halo array, as a final [[EvilIsPetty fuck you]] by the [[EldritchAbomination Gravemind]] to the Forerunner to destroy their culture. However it's been slowly repairing itself over millenias and is functional to some degree by the time of the games]].
42* AntiGravityClothing: Implied to be an indication of high rank or age: the Didact gains several floating shoulder-pieces to his armor as he gains more influence and power over the years. The Master Builder had floating arm-pieces as well.
43* TheAtoner: A fairly popular line of thinking among Forerunners near the end of their reign was that they deserved their impending annihilation from the Halo Array due to their failure to uphold the Mantle of Responsibility and protect the other races of the galaxy. This is why Monitors attached to the Halos have names like ''Guilty'' Spark, ''Penitent'' Tangent, and ''Abject Testament''. [[spoiler:''Infinite'', however, implies heavily that this was '''''NOT''''' a universal trait [[AGodAmI to some of them]] in their last days.]]
44-->'''Guilty Spark:''' The history of all Forerunners was now lost to us. We relied upon the permanence of the Domain to preserve our record of the events that led to this point. But without that record, would future civilizations know anything about us? Or only of our weapons? My fellow Monitor, 049 Abject Testament, had only one comment on this before we went our separate ways.\
45'''Abject Testament:''' We deserve to be forgotten.\
46'''Spark:''' Perhaps...perhaps.
47* BelievingTheirOwnLies: According to the Forerunners, the Mantle of Responsibility was guardianship of all life in the galaxy, which the Precursors passed onto them. One day another species would assume the Mantle from the Forerunners. [[spoiler: In truth, the Forerunners stole the Mantle when they wiped out the Precursors to avoid being destroyed by them, and it was used as justification for placing other species beneath the Forerunners in terms of technology and evolution, ensuring that no one would be able to replace them. However, the Forerunners believed this propaganda so much [[BecomingTheMask that they sacrificed their own civilization to save other species from the Flood in the name of the Mantle.]]]]
48* BigBrotherIsWatching: The Ecumene had the capability to listen in on all personal communications. Notably, several high-ranking members of the ''government'' were unaware of this fact, and decried it as "spying on the citizens." Such communications were only monitored by ancillas, however, and only brought to the attention of organic Forerunners in the event of disasters or events involving alien species. They could also track any and all ships making slipspace journeys in the galaxy, provided they traveled along rational paths. The Didact managed to avoid having his ship tracked by making an ''irrational'' jump into a sharply inclined orbit far "above" the galactic plane.
49* BioAugmentation: Whenever a Forerunner advanced in rank, they would undergo a corresponding artificial mutation depending on their rate. Typically, each mutation would take place over a number of years, though Warrior-Servants during wartime sometimes underwent quicker, more risky "brevet" mutations.
50* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:They were Cain to humanity's Abel, with their "Parent," the Precursors declaring that humanity was worthy of the Mantle. [[SelfMadeOrphan They didn't take it too well]].]]
51* TheChosenPeople: Their religion teaches that they were chosen by the Precursors to protect and manage life around the galaxy. [[spoiler: As it turns out, they just usurped the role; humanity was deemed more fit, and the Forerunners were slated for extermination.]]
52* ControlFreak: [[spoiler:Their interpretation of the Mantle was less about protecting life and more about them having the sole right to decide the future. In ''Infinite'', Despondant Pyre concludes that even the fear of the Flood assimilating all life couldn't compare to their fear of losing control of the galaxy and suffering the tyranny they put everyone else through. The choice by the survivors to leave the galaxy to humanity instead of rebuilding the ecumene shows that they finally realised their flaws and are now working for a truly better future.]]
53* CrapsaccharineWorld: [[spoiler:At first, the Forerunners appear to be a Perfect Pacifist People, but on closer inspection, their society was actually full of corruption and hypocrisy.]]
54* CrazyPrepared: They programmed the Halo's monitors to destroy anything that would threaten the Halos. [[spoiler: Which goes a long way to explaining why Spark killed Johnson in ''VideoGame/Halo3''.]]
55** In case a Halo was taken over by a hostile intelligence, including a Forerunner AI, they were programmed to smash themselves against the nearest planet to ensure they could not be used against the Forerunners.
56* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler:After millennia ruling an interstellar empire, their last act was to preserve all other species and fire the Halo Array that wiped themselves out.]]
57* TheEmpire: [[spoiler:What Forerunner civilization truly was.]]
58* FantasticCasteSystem: Forerunner society separated Forerunners into different castes called ''rates''. There are six known rates, in descending order of power[[note]]"Power" here referring to intelligence, wealth, and political power[[/note]]:
59** Builders: The architects and engineers of Forerunner society. On top of other things, the Builders created the Halos. The highest ranking Builder bore the title Master Builder, and the last known Master Builder was Faber.
60** Miners: The rate responsible for the gathering of the materials the Builders use for their work.
61** Lifeworkers: The medical and biological scientists of the Forerunner Empire, who studied life in all its forms. The highest ranking Lifeworker bore the title Lifeshaper, and the last known Lifeshaper was The Librarian.
62** Warrior-Servants: The militant arm of the Forerunner Empire. The supreme commander of the Warrior-Servants bore the title Protector of the Ecumene, and the last known Protector was The Didact.
63** Engineers: The lowest rate in Forerunner society, composed of biomechanical tools responsible for the maintenance of Forerunner technology. They would later be used for the same purpose by the Covenant.
64** Juridicials, a rate of unknown ranking, maintained the law in Forerunner society. The rate apparently saw to the operation of both a police force and a justice system. The highest ranking Juridicial bore the title Master Juridicial.
65** In addition, one or more rates existed before the Flood War that have been dissolved. The Theoreticals, for instance, known by a single member who proposed something that Warrior-Servants found heretical, who were merged with the Builders soon after her death a million years ago.
66* FantasticRacism: [[spoiler:Many Forerunners viewed their kind as inherently superior to all other species. In particular, most of them actually detested humanity; Bornstellar mentions that his teachers impressed upon him that humans were little more than animals (though he sees this is not the case after actually meeting them), and ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' shows that they even programmed their more intelligent combat drones to exhibit near-genocidal hatred towards humanity.]]
67* GeniusBruiser: Warrior-Servant commanders, and all Prometheans, were given mutations that gave them extremely powerful bodies that could crush a human's skull with a single fist. They were also given extremely sophisticated brain functions to give them a further advantage on the battle-field, including the ability to simultaneously control up to a ''million'' drones of various types and sizes.
68* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:A majority of the problems in ''Infinite'' stem back to the hubris-ridden days of the Forerunners in their prime, exploiting lesser species and imprisoning those who are potential threats to their one truth, regardless of whether or not those individuals actually meant harm, if any, at all]]. In fact, revelations during the campaign reveal [[spoiler:not even fear of the Flood could measure up to the one thing they actually truly feared, which was [[AGodAmI losing control altogether over the fate of the universe]]]].
69-->'''117649 Despondent Pyre:''' [[spoiler:I am close to deciphering the runes. Perhaps I will learn who left them. My makers... the Forerunner's great fear was understood be [[TheDreaded the Great Parasite]]. The Flood. A scourge that almost wiped out everything. [[WhamLine I now believe this hypothesis to be incorrect]]. Their greatest fear is... was... losing their power. The fear of a master who would become a slave]].
70* GreatBigLibraryOfEverything: Mature Forerunners were able to access a unique database known as the Domain, which existed outside of normal space-time and contained all their ancestral records. Sometimes the Domain would make subtle changes to the records; these were rare events and were considered sacred, so they were not corrected. The Forerunners were largely cut off from the Domain during the war with the Flood, as Mendicant Bias was exhausting its archives to learn more about the Precursors. [[spoiler:''Literature/HaloSilentium'' reveals that the Domain is not only sentient, but actually ''a Precursor creation'' (giving it the same origins as ''the Flood''). The Gravemind also tells the Librarian that by activating the Halo Array, the Forerunners have ensured that the Domain would be destroyed. However, the Master Chief's apparent ability to access actual fragments of the Domain in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' suggests it may have survived, which seems to be fully confirmed in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' and in ''Promises to Keep'', which shows [=IsoDidact=] and several other Forerunners set in motion the process of slowly repairing the Domain so humanity might someday access it]].
71* HardLight: A major feature of their technology; many of their weapons fire hard light as their ammunition, some of their starships were made ''entirely'' of hard light, and most of their architecture in general seems to have made excessive use of it.
72* HumansAreSpecial: Seemed to have held this view, since humanity were dubbed "Reclaimers" by them and chosen to inherit their technology after they left. [[spoiler:But ''Literature/TheForerunnerSaga'' deconstructs it. Humans were actually their enemies for many years, and the Forerunners weren't shy about punishing them after their great war against each other ended. It was mainly the Librarian and her Lifeworkers who forgave humans and chose them as their successors, while other rates like the Builders and Warrior-Servants remained prejudiced against them to the end.]]
73* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler:When other species take over occupied worlds for habitation, they risk extermination in the name of the Mantle. When Forerunners do it, it's perfectly fine, though.]]
74* IDidWhatIHadToDo: In this case the whole race, when they activated the rings to finish the Flood. Lampshaded by Prophet of Truth on how they "wisely put aside their compassion; steeled themselves for what ''needed'' to be done".
75* IResembleThatRemark: [[spoiler:While it's unclear who struck the first blow in the Forerunner-Precursor War, what's certain is the Precursors decided the Forerunners weren't worthy of the Mantle. The Forerunners did their best to uphold the judgement by trying to wipe out their creators and then putting the entire galaxy under their tyranny. However it's possible the Precursors intended to genocide the Forerunners rather than simply deny them the Mantle, so it would be legitimate defense and not just a petulant tantrum because the Forerunner didn't get their way.]]
76* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: PlayedWith - while the Forerunners make plentiful use of EnergyWeapons, their Promethean arsenal introduced in ''VideoGame/Halo4'' primarily uses bullets made of HardLight or some kind of ionization material, which behave like kinetic weaponry and allows for strategies that aren't possible with normal energy weapons (like having bullets that ricochet to hit opponents behind corners).
77* LongLived: Even without their armor to sustain their life and slow their aging, Forerunners can live for remarkably long times. The short story ''[[Literature/HaloEvolutions Soma the Painter]]'' shows that the titular Forerunner, who has discarded her armor with the intent of dying of old age, has reached 417 years with little problem.
78* LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair: [[spoiler:The Forerunner ecumene had grown decadent and corrupt by the time the Flood came to punish them for their rebellion against the Precursors. The superweapons they built to dominate others were used to kill themselves off along with their enemy, and the Forerunners realised their hubris in claiming the Mantle before departing the galaxy forever, leaving their technology, the Mantle, and the galaxy to their rightful heirs; humanity, as the Precursors intended long ago.]]
79* MechaMooks: Robotic drones were key to Forerunner warfare, to the point where they by far outnumbered the actual Warrior-Servants. In the games, pretty much all the Forerunner enemies are remnants of those ancient mechanical hordes.
80* TheMinistryOfTruth: [[spoiler:The Forerunner Council seemed to have a rather good one. Nobody in general population knew anything about the losing war against the Flood, they only heard about the quarantine due to some new plagues. The younger generation didn't have any knowledge about the bloody road to power of the Forerunners.]]
81* NameThatUnfoldsLikeALotusBlossom: Their aforementioned naming patterns. Examples include ''Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting'', ''Splendid Dust of Ancient Suns'', and ''Glory of a Far Dawn''.
82* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Unable to accept that they weren't the Precursors' choice to uphold the Mantle, they hunted their creators to near extinction. The reasonably pissed-off god-beings then swore to bring nothing new into the galaxy except pain, grief and death to their creations, and as a result the Halos had to be fired, causing unfathomable death and sorrow upon the entire galaxy. However, ''Literature/HaloPrimordium'' claims that the Precursors were planning ''to wipe them out'' as they had deemed necessary with other species in the past. Whether or not that decision was made before they declared war is anyone's guess.]]
83* MirroringFactions:
84** It's subtle, but you begin to notice that, despite their [[PlanetOfHats hat]], they are about as variable personality-wise as humans. They have some ProudWarriorRaceGuys, FriendToAllLivingThings, etc. They're also the closest to humans physically out of all the known species in ''Halo'' so far.
85** Not so different from the Covenant either: they are advanced above all others, have a FantasticCasteSystem, [[spoiler:make use of their {{Precursors}}' technology without actually understanding it]], and [[spoiler:follow a religious creed that caused them to come into conflict with humanity, with said creed proved to be based off an enormous lie]].
86* NoKillLikeOverkill: How Forerunners wage war. Even mere space battles are hard to describe. Their main tactic is usually to bring literally tens of millions (if not hundreds of millions) of ships and semi-automated drones to bear, and have them sweep across entire star systems in complex, mind-bending patterns. All the while, ancillas and organic Forerunner commanders are simulating the battle possibly quintillions of times, analyzing all possible outcomes and determining the best course of action. Every ship is also making such heavy use of slipspace, that reality itself unravels around the battle, and enemies are prevented from making proper use of FTL travel due to clogged "slipspace channels".
87** One battle at the very end of the Forerunner-Flood war involved millions of ships. [[spoiler:Once the Halo Array fired and killed the crews of the Forerunners' ships, Offensive Bias was able to begin flinging ships around as physical weapons, accelerating them fast enough that g-forces would liquefy their former inhabitants. This part of the battle involved the destruction of millions of Flood-controlled ships in under 180 seconds.]]
88* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: High-ranking Forerunners gain unique titles which effectively become their names. The Didact and Librarian are good examples of this: even though they're husband and wife, they still call each other Didact and Librarian.
89* PoweredArmor: Most Forerunners wore a personal suit of armor [[TwentyFourHourArmor for their entire lives]]. It took away the need for sleep, allowed them access to the "Domain" (a sort of ever-present ancestral memory-bank) via a personal AI/ancilla, gave them virtual immortality, and protected and healed them. Warrior-Servants and other military wore a variant known as a "Combat Skin", which were so advanced Guilty Sparks noted to the Master Chief that his MJOLNIR armor, the most advanced armor humanity had yet produced, would only rate equal to a Class 2 on their scale, and then recommended he upgrade to a Class 12 skin or higher.
90* PoweredByAForsakenChild: [[spoiler:The Librarian notes in ''Silentium'' that nearly all Forerunner technology is powered by Vacuum Energy, which draws huge amounts of energy by suppressing alternate universes' Big Bangs from occurring. She muses that she never realized the contradiction of the Mantle's doctrine of protecting life and the fact that they were preventing new cosmoses from being born never occurred to her before the Forerunners' own destruction was at hand. ]]
91* {{Precursors}}: And ''they'' [[RecursivePrecursors had precursors of their own]], whom they called... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "The Precursors"]].
92** AbusivePrecursors: [[spoiler:Their Mantle was an imperialist doctrine used to justify keeping themselves a superpower while all other species were kept lower in technology and society, sometimes by being forcibly devolved.]]
93** BenevolentPrecursors: [[spoiler:However, not all were this. Many Forerunners objected to the idea of keeping other species down like that, and when the Flood came they took efforts to preserve many refugees at the cost of their own lives.]]
94** NeglectfulPrecursors: Well, it turns out it was a bad idea to leave around enormous superweapons with only [[GoMadFromTheIsolation one Monitor to supervise them for a hundred millennia]]. And to leave samples of an evil plague inside it too. Well, that part was because the Monitors were still running tests on them for cures in case the Flood ever returned. But no progress appears to have been made.
95* PrecursorKillers: [[spoiler:According to ''The Forerunner Saga'', the Forerunners wiped out the Precursors who created them. While ''Primordium'' hints that the Precursors may have [[AbusivePrecursors struck first]], the truth of the matter is ultimately never settled, with the Gravemind insisting in ''Silentium'' that the Forerunners attacked without provocation.]]
96* RagnarokProofing: Their stuff, built over 100 millennia ago, is still in pretty good shape.
97* RubberForeheadAliens: The closest to humans appearance-wise, mostly differing in that they have nostrils without noses; justified as being a sort of prototype developed a step before humanity by the Precursors. Especially noticeable among Forerunners that have not been mutated.
98* SigilSpam: The Eld or Tree-mark, the symbol of the Mantle (pictured above), is ''everywhere'' in Forerunner architecture.
99* SpaceAgeStasis: Forerunner technological improvements had stagnated in the final years before firing the Halos. [[spoiler:When the Librarian visits the a Forerunner colony in another galaxy, she finds out their technology has actually devolved across ten million years after she discovers what they were once capable of.]]
100* SpaceBrasilia: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. At first glance, everything they built looks to be made out of silver metal alloys, making heavy use of cantilevered construction, triangular structures topped off with spires, precise angles, and straight lines. However, each Forerunner Rate did have their own subtle touches:
101** Builder structures were very large and elaborate, showcasing their enormous power and wealth. Most surfaces were very finely detailed and textured, and included copious amounts of blue [[TronLines lighting]].
102** Warrior-Servant structures were similar in several ways, but had a much more subdued, brutalist look to them. No unnecessary carvings or detailing, unless it was something glorifying the Forerunners' Mantle of Responsibility. Red and orange lighting played more of a role, as well. Tellingly, their buildings incorporate a lot of spaces designed to be easily defensible choke-points and killing boxes, befitting the fact that they are soldiers by trade.
103** Miner technology is noted (admittedly by a Builder) to be entirely practical and ugly as sin to boot. Their job was to rip planets and stars apart for raw materials; why make anything look pretty? All you needed were working grapplers, cutters, churners, constraint fields, molecular furnaces, and other objects for ripping chunks off a planet and processing them.
104** Lifeworkers were apparently even ''more'' austere in their building practices, so much so that the Librarian considered the Didact's house (built in the rather severe Warrior-Servant style) to be extremely luxurious compared to what she was used to before marrying him.
105* SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: Enough that the Covenant thought they were gods. And Forerunners are recorded using technology to mimic telekinesis, telepathy, and levitation, among other powers.
106* TimeAbyss: Not only are the Forerunners themselves able to live incredibly long lives to the point of being virtually immortal, but [[spoiler:they managed to thrive as a highly advanced interstellar civilization for over ''ten million years'']].
107* TranslatorMicrobes: Forerunner records come with incredibly advanced translation software that can adapt itself to the culture of the one reading them (as seen in the Halo 3 Terminals). Certain words, concepts or units of measurement are given in brackets, indicating a case where the terminal had to improvise to carry its meaning across. For instance the Forerunner Jat-Krula defensive system (a defense system marking the line between the systems they could protect and those they had to abandon to the Flood) is given as [[[UsefulNotes/MaginotLine Maginot]]] sphere, and one Forerunner Ancilla on the Ark describes itself as [Alexandria before the Fire]. In some cases the translator is unsure of its own translation, and adds a [?] to comment it, such as [[spoiler: Filial Devotion, the Forerunner who activated the rings]] mentioning in a message to his father [the anomalous desire to end another's life[?]] or [travel the path of demons[?]].
108* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: [[spoiler:The Forerunners believed that Precursors would try to wipe them out as they had apparently "culled" many sentient species in the past, so they struck back. And won. [[BestServedCold Until the Flood, anyway.]]]]
109* TwentyFourHourArmor: They wear their aforementioned PoweredArmor for their entire lives, save brief instances and occasions.
110* TheUsurper: [[spoiler:They were never supposed to be the inheritors of the Mantle and the galaxy, as those were meant to be passed down to humanity instead. The Forerunners killed off their creators and then lied to themselves about being the true heirs to the Precursors.]]
111* {{Veganopia}}: The Mantle forbids "eating the flesh of unfortunates". In other words, they don't eat meat.
112* YouAreNotReady: [[spoiler:The Precursors told the Forerunners that they were unworthy of assuming the Mantle and were to be destroyed. The Forerunners responded by ''wiping them out''.]]
113* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Their original homeworld, Ghibalb, was rendered uninhabitable by radiation unleashed when an accident during stellar manipulation caused several nearby stars to go nova, irradiating the planet. After this, they moved their political and social center to their spaceborne capital, Maethrillian.
114* ZombieApocalypse: Fell victim to one of these. The only way out was to wipe the galaxy clean of all life.
115[[/folder]]
116
117!!Builders
118
119[[folder:In General]]
120!!'''The Builder Corps'''
121
122The Builders were those Forerunners charged with creating their various technologies and artificial worlds, including the Halo Array. They were the highest rate in Forerunner society. The Forerunners Faber of Will and Might, Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting, and Splendid Dust of Ancient Suns were Builders.
123----
124* EnemyMine: Despite their animosity for one another as rates, Builders and Warrior-Servants eventually joined their military strength to fight the Flood.
125** In a subtler example, it's hinted that both have indirectly worked together to suppress the AwfulTruth of what happened between Forerunners and Precursors millions of years before. When the Forerunner Theoretical named Boundless began investigating the matters, the Warriors were the ones who forbade it, eventually sealing her away and implied to have silenced her for good, while the Builders eventually subsumed her entire rate.
126* MiniMecha: Builder Security, their private security force, used "Seekers", more streamlined versions of the war sphinxes.
127%%* ProudScholarRace: Type I, Science Race.%%ZCE
128* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: A faction of Builders were the ones who championed the creation of the Halo Array as a means of securing Forerunner preeminence, with the goal of stopping the Flood being more of a secondary concern to their personal power. They never imagined for a second that they would end up being the things which put the self-inflicted final nail in the coffin of Forerunner civilization to stop the Flood threat they wholly underestimated.
129* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Although they have strong family ties, Builders are expressly stated to marry for political or economic reasons, not love.
130[[/folder]]
131
132[[folder:The Master Builder]]
133!!'''The Master Builder (Born Faber-of-Will-and-Might)'''
134[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8121e0fa23f0a87ae04b5fad1704c9f5.jpg]]
135->'''Homeworld: Secunda'''\
136'''Birthdate: 110,862 BCE'''\
137'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloCryptum'''''
138
139The Master Builder of the Forerunners and primary advocate of creating the Halo Array. He was a political enemy of the Didact. Using a Halo to put down a rebellion of the San 'Shyuum on Janjur Qom resulted in the Builders revolting against him, stripping him of his title and placing him on trial. However, it was interrupted by Mendicant Bias, and Faber himself managed to escape to an isolated part of the ecumene, where he remained in exile until near the end of the war with the Flood.
140----
141* BigBad: For ''Literature/HaloCryptum''.
142* TheDandy: He devotes considerable attention to grooming himself and making sure he even ''smells'' nice.
143* DidNotThinkThisThrough: Using the Halo on the San'Shyuum appalled even his own allies among the extremists, getting him stripped of his title.
144* DisneyDeath: It's assumed that he was killed during [[spoiler:Bias's attack on the Capital]]. He actually survived and was restored to power.
145* EmperorScientist: At his height, he was the most powerful Forerunner in the Ecumene in terms of wealth and political power.
146* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler:While many of his marriages were for social and political gain, the Flood tries to demoralize him with the memories of his wives and children that it consumed, and it visibly affects him]].
147* EvilFormerFriend: According to Waypoint, he and the Ur-Didact used to be friends early in their careers.
148* EvilSoundsDeep: As revealed in the ''Halo 4'' terminals.
149* FantasticRacism: Against everything that isn't Forerunner. And every Forerunner who isn't a Builder.
150* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Dies defending the Greater Ark from the Flood.]]
151** DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler:"Throughout my life, I sought power and profit for myself, for my rate. Now, at long last, I think I understand the meaning of a crime against the Mantle. After this, no need to seek balance. I will await my penance here."]]
152* HonestJohnsDealership: During his exile, he made a living off of capturing small, weak Flood ships and selling them at exorbitant prices to Warrior-Servants. Due to his utterly inadequate decontamination protocols, many Warrior-Servant crews ended up being killed by the Flood still aboard their new ships.
153* {{Jerkass}}: An utter asshole until his HeroicSacrifice.
154* LargeAndInCharge: According to the artbooks, Faber is even larger than the already 3.5 m (11.4 ft) tall Didact. He is also the Master Builder, leader of the most politically powerful [[FantasticCasteSystem rate]] in Forerunner society.
155* LaserGuidedKarma: Sort of. Using a Halo on the San'Shyuum results in him being stripped of power, but he manages to escape further punishment by exiling himself to an isolated corner of Forerunner space. Towards the end of the war, [[spoiler:he even has his power restored by the surviving Councilors, albeit only because they're ''that'' desperate]].
156* LoopholeAbuse: When the government declared his weapons of mass destruction a violation of their principles dedicated to preserving life, his solution was simple: grow a garden on it.
157* MeaningfulName: Faber means "artisan" or "smith" in Latin. Fitting for the Master ''Builder''.
158** It's nicely close to "fibber". Fitting for a SleazyPolitician.
159* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:His ploy to buy his way back into the Forerunner ecumene after his exile by being the Forerunner equivalent of an HonestJohnsDealership with shoddily disinfected Forerunner ships (which he orchestrates would be infected to begin with the Flood) did quite ''a considerable bit'' to help the Gravemind, something the Ur-Didact spells out to him during his BreakingSpeech.]]
160* OhCrap: Has this reaction when Mendicant Bias appears at his trial.
161* SmugSnake: Treats everyone else with disdain. He even refuses to recognize the authority of the Ecumene Council trying him.
162* VillainousBSOD: Courtesy of the Flood-affected Ur-Didact, who happily informs Faber that his wives and children are now part of the Flood collective and blame him for it. It's one of the major impetuses for Faber's HeelFaceTurn in realizing the cost of his many crimes and mistakes.
163* WellIntentionedExtremist: He built the Halos, which ''were'' to destroy the Flood, after all.
164** Then again, his primary motivation for building them seemed to be for political gain and profit, for his rate and himself.
165** TheExtremistWasRight: In the end, the Halos were used and the Flood were defeated. [[SealedEvilInACan Almost...]]
166[[/folder]]
167
168[[folder:Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns]]
169!!'''Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns'''
170->'''Homeworld: Rherray'''\
171'''Birthdate: 111,209 BCE'''\
172'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloCryptum'''''
173
174The First Councilor of the Ecumene Council after Faber's fall.
175----
176* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:After the firing of the Halos, he comes to develop an immense amount of guilt about the Forerunner Ecumene's arrogance and many crimes.]]
177* BrainUploading: [[spoiler:Willingly turns himself into the Ark's monitor AI in order to serve as a guide for humanity once they arrived. That's right, he becomes 000 Tragic Solitude.]]
178* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: To say the least.
179* PerpetualSmiler: There's nothing malevolent or evil about it, it's just so unusual to see Forerunner Councilors smiling that it creeps Bornstellar out.
180* YoungAndInCharge: Only a first form.
181[[/folder]]
182
183[[folder:Keeper-of-Tools]]
184!!'''Keeper-of-Tools'''
185->'''Homeworld: Unknown'''\
186'''Birthdate: Unknown'''\
187'''Debuted in : ''Literature/HaloSilentium'''''
188
189----
190* AscendedExtra: In ''Halo 5'', he was an unnamed Forerunner Builder speaking in the background audio logs, and searching for a place called [[spoiler:"Bastion"]]. But by ''Literature/HaloPointOfLight'', his name finally revealed, as his mission with [[spoiler:Bastion]]: [[spoiler: the reseeding of the non-Flood Precursors]]. [[spoiler: He even sends Bastion in slipspace transit, accompanied by none other than 343 Guilty Spark in armiger form.]]
191* UndyingLoyalty: Over 100,000 years after the war between the Forerunners and the Flood, he is still carrying on the Librarian's plans, [[spoiler:specifically the reseeding of the Precursors.]]
192* TheVoice: He is not physically seen in the campaign, but he is heard in the audio logs.
193[[/folder]]
194
195!!Warrior-Servants
196
197[[folder:In General]]
198!!'''The Warrior-Servant Corps'''
199[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1d8c7d3332bada860ac3f505f3e68bc8.jpg]]
200
201The second lowest rate in Forerunner society, they were charged with matters of warfare. While the Mantle professed peace (in theory), Warrior-Servants were some of the Mantle's most devoted followers, and were utterly ruthless in warfare, believing that to defy the Forerunners was to show contempt on the Mantle. The Didact and the Confirmer were Warrior-Servants, specifically Prometheans, the highest and most powerful order.
202----
203* AttackDrone: Each Warrior-Servant could remotely command a vast number of drones and weapon-ships.
204* TheBigGuy: Warrior-Servants were generally the largest of Forerunner rates. The Librarian barely came up to the Didact's chest.
205* BioAugmentation: The reason why Warrior-Servants have vastly superior physical abilities and reflexes compared to baseline Forerunners.
206* EnemyMine: Despite their animosity for one another as rates, Builders and Warrior-Servants eventually joined their military strength to fight the Flood.
207** In a subtler example, it's hinted that both have indirectly worked together to suppress the AwfulTruth of what happened between Forerunners and Precursors millions of years before. When the Forerunner Theoretical named Boundless began investigating the matters, the Warriors were the ones who forbade it, eventually sealing her away and implied to have silenced her for good, while the Builders eventually subsumed her entire rate.
208* KingInTheMountain: To avoid political censure, disgraced Warrior-Servants would enter Cryptums, self-sustained hibernation spheres which would keep them alive in a state of "timeless Xankara".
209* KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: More accurately, Forerunner Soldiers Get No Respect. Despite being vital to the Ecumene's ability to maintain its power over the galaxy, the other rates viewed their work with distaste, which was part of the reason why they gradually slid from being the highest rate to the second lowest.
210* KnightTemplar: Warrior-Servants would destroy any Forerunner enemies in the name of the Mantle, as they believed that defying the Forerunners was showing contempt on the Mantle.
211* MiniMecha: War sphinxes, which were piloted by Warrior-Servants in battle.
212* PoweredArmor: Combat Skins, which were even more high-end than the regular armor worn by other Forerunners, giving the wearer all sorts of additional special abilities in addition to incredible durability; Guilty Spark at one point notes that humanity's own MJOLNIR armor ranks near the very bottom of the Forerunners' own armor classification system.
213* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: As the warriors of Forerunner society.
214* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: As if the Warrior-Servants needed more firepower, they could also mentally command up to ''one million weapon-ships'' each. In fact, the [[CoolShip Phaeton]] was merely one of the ''smallest'' weapon-ship classes available for mass spamming.
215* SophisticatedAsHell: Around other Forerunners they are brusque, eloquent, and noble in poise. Among one another, they behave and utilize jargon in a hilariously NotSoAboveItAll way.
216
217!!!'''The Prometheans'''
218[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4978f8abfd4ef3a0f1e49c42b6a8ac44.jpg]]
219-->''"Oh, but what I would not give to have even a single company of Prometheans here right now... oh, they would most certainly restore order with their trademark lethality..."''
220--->'''343 Guilty Spark'''
221
222The highest form of Warrior-Servant a Forerunner can mutate to, and one of the most effective and dedicated fighting forces in the galaxy. Led by the Didact for over 10,000 years, they spearheaded the efforts against [[spoiler:ancient humans]] and the Flood. [[spoiler: After exhausting all other efforts to create immunity to the Flood, they were willingly converted into AI by the Composer and bound to mechanical hard light bodies.]]
223----
224* BiggerIsBetter: The largest Warrior-Servants, being so big that Bornstellar said that the span of his arms would not reach both ends of the Didact's shoulders.
225* GeniusBruiser: Despite their muscled physique, they were also all very intelligent and even had augmentations made to increase their mental faculties.
226* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: The Prometheans willingly submitted to being turned into Knights by the Composer (an unpleasant process to say the least, and impossible to reverse), since the only other way to defeat the Flood was to defy their core philosophy and religion by activating the Halos.]]
227** SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler:The Flood by that point had already grown too strong to be defeated in direct combat, and the Forerunners ended up having to fire the Halos anyways.]]
228* HiveMind: They had still individual identity, but the Prometheans were often neurally linked to best cooperate in battle.
229* UndyingLoyalty / MyMasterRightOrWrong: Unceasingly loyal to the Ur-Didact: his second-in-command Endurance was fully willing to follow his plans [[spoiler: to wipe out any species that even had the ''potential'' to threaten the Forerunners like humanity had. She is only dissuaded when convinced this plan came to be through the Ur-Didact's Flood-induced madness; it's implied that were he to come to this conclusion naturally, even if it defied the Forerunners' core beliefs, she and the rest of the Prometheans would have gone along with it, albeit uncomfortably.]]
230* SuperSoldier: They're effectively this.
231[[/folder]]
232
233[[folder:The Didact]]
234!!'''The Didact (Or Ur-Didact; born Shadow-of-Sundered-Star)'''
235[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/31d8e01b4409203b7a9409807b8f220b.jpg]]
236[[caption-width-right:300:Original Form]]
237[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e3bb00ee4be4d5bafb4f4b89d6b33396.jpg]]
238[[caption-width-right:300:Mutated Form]]
239->'''Homeworld: Rijaal Suluhu'''\
240'''Birthdate: 110,255 BCE'''\
241'''Debuted in: ''[[Literature/HaloEvolutions Soma the Painter]]'' (Mentioned only), ''Literature/HaloCryptum'' (First direct appearance)'''\
242'''Voiced by: Creator/KeithSzarabajka'''
243
244-->''"The peaceful one is at war without and within."''
245
246A Forerunner Promethean who was Protector of the Ecumene and Supreme Commander of the Forerunner military during its final years. A brilliant warrior and, above all, a fervent believer in the Forerunner's Mantle of Responsibility, the Didact's crowning achievement was leading the Forerunners through their war with humanity's advanced prehistoric empire. Afterwards, however, he fell out of favor as he opposed the Ecumene's increasingly-corrupt leadership's ultimate plan to fight the Flood: the Halos. Exiled twice, exposed to the Flood, and ultimately driven to madness by it, he attempted to convert the human species into AI slaves to fight the Flood, but was imprisoned in Requiem for his crimes. 100,000 years later he is unleashed, and immediately resumes his plans to punish humanity and reclaim the Mantle for the Forerunners.
247----
248* AntiGravityClothing: The most prominent effect is an enormous, floating multi-part collar-piece.
249* ArchEnemy: According to [[spoiler:Chakas-Spark]] in ''Primordium'', humanity and the Didact will forever be at odds with each other. There's only one thing that can unite the species: their love for the Librarian.
250** To the Master Builder as well.
251* TheAtoner: Led the war against ancient humanity, believing it was a case of HumansAreTheRealMonsters. Turns out, humanity was fighting the Flood, and only attacked Forerunner worlds when they began running out of colonies, or when the world had become infected. It also led to the loss of knowledge of the (supposed) cure to the Flood. Despite his dislike of humanity, he genuinely regretted the conflict and subsequent punishment of humanity. Unfortunately, as ''Silentium'' revealed, [[spoiler:the Gravemind MindRaped him and presented him with a horrifying SadisticChoice, as part of the Precursors' utterly atrocious plot to have him attempt to harvest all of humanity at any cost, which explains why he grows out of this by ''Halo 4''. By ''Halo: Epitaph'', however, [[DoubleSubverted he properly returns to being this]] after significant CharacterDevelopment.]]
252* BadassCape: Seen wearing a cape in the Terminals.
253* BadassTeacher: Taught at the College on Strategic Defense of the Mantle, where he got the name Didact.
254* BerserkButton: [[spoiler:Thanks to the Chief foiling him in ''Halo 4'', he regards all Spartans this way.]]
255* BigBad: In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}''.
256* BigBadWannabe: He may very well be the most martially powerful adversary the Chief has ever faced, but in the grand scheme of the whole series, he's really just [[spoiler: acting as a leftover pawn of the Precursors[=/=]Gravemind, and ultimately is eclipsed by Cortana as the post-War era's greatest threat to galactic peace in ''Halo 5'']].
257* BodyHorror: Begins mutating himself to become immune to the Flood. Not only does this fail, but it turns him into a monster: fangs/tusks appear on his upper lip, pulsating growths appear on the side of his head, and his face becomes sunken and skull-like.
258* BondVillainStupidity: [[spoiler:Twice, he has the chance to immediately kill Master Chief and be done with him. Instead, he levitates him and lengthily monologues. The third time he has Chief at his mercy, which only occurs if you fail to kill him in the CutsceneBoss-battle, he learns from the first two times and just tosses Chief off the bridge.]]
259** [[spoiler:He even lampshades this himself in ''Escalation'' when he has the Chief at his mercy again, saying that he's no longer going to foolishly refuse the chance to finish him off.]]
260* CollapsibleHelmet: In addition to InstantArmor when he emerges from the Cryptum in ''Halo 4''.
261* CoolStarship: The ''Mantle's Approach'', an enormous battleship far more powerful than human ships. He also gained a ship from his wife when he was awoken from stasis, but its weapons were confiscated and it was destroyed by the Master Builder soon after.
262* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:''Halo: Epitaph'' is primarily about Ur-Didact's CharacterDevelopment from a maniacal despot off his rocker thanks to the Gravemind's machinations seeking to seize control of the Domain to claim his revenge and conquest... only for him to undergo an introspective journey that has him recollect and re-evaluate his entire existence, [[HeelFaceTurn coming to terms with himself and what he became as well as putting aside his old hatreds and madness]], eventually becoming the heroic man he once was as he instead makes it his life's mission to amend his mistakes and free the Domain from the Created's control so that all of the lost digital souls of humanity (both ancient and modern) and the Forerunners can finally seek peace within the infinite paradise of knowledge—one he seeming achieves for himself as well in the finale given how the final passages concerning the Didact have him in the loving embrace of the Librarian in the end.]]
263* EvilCostumeSwitch: After he begins jumping off the deep end, he switches from his [[http://www.halopedia.org/File:H4-Terminal-Didact-Armor.jpg old set of armor]] to a [[http://www.halopedia.org/File:Halo4-Didact-Armor-Cutscene.jpg far more sinister look]].
264* EvilCounterpart:
265** Most obviously to [[CloneByConversion the IsoDidact]], who has a mutation similar to his, but does not become corrupted into the same kind of entity that the Ur-Didact ultimately becomes.
266** To Master Chief. Both are SuperSoldiers who championed their individual species against the Flood and other alien species, both are among the few individuals to fire the Halo rings, both are a major case of SealedBadAssInACan, and both are very near the last of their kind, outfitted in PoweredArmor. The difference is that John-117 is willing to perform a HeroicSacrifice to save humanity, whereas the Didact's extremism and brutality got him locked away within the core of Requiem to begin with.
267* EvilSoundsDeep: He speaks in a deep, menacing voice befitting someone of his stature.
268* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Gets stabbed in the right eye by the Chief in ''Escalation''. It doesn't faze him one bit.]]
269* AFatherToHisMen: Literally: his children served under him in the war with humanity. They were killed, however, which gives us a hint to one of the reasons he thinks that HumansAreTheRealMonsters.
270* {{Foil}}: To the Master Chief, since both of them wear Powered Armor, both of them start out in stasis and both are recognized as the paragons of their respective species.
271* FourStarBadass: Served as Protector of the Ecumene for thousands of years, also fully capable of kicking anyone's ass himself if need be.
272* GoMadFromTheIsolation: [[spoiler:When his wife sealed him into his Cryptum, she expected he'd be able to watch humanity rebuild through the Domain and develop compassion for them. Instead, the Halos destroyed the Domain, leaving him alone inside for over 100,000 years.]]
273* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:''Epitaph'' showcases the journey of the Ur-Didact's return to sanity, as well as his atonement for his prior actions, by seeking to heal the Domain and allow the lost souls of both Humanity and the Forerunners to seek peace from a ceaseless digital purgatory.]]
274* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:Single-handedly massacres the entirety of Black Team, who are all Spartan-''[=IIs=]''.]]
275* HighCollarOfDoom: His armor sports a particularly large, floating [[VisualPun mantle]] spread over his shoulders.
276* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Humanity wrecking his fleets and murdering his warriors hasn't painted us in the best light for him. Some subspecies he likes, though: namely, the ones that do what they're told. However...
277* HumansAreWarriors: He has some respect for humanity, and certainly thinks they're above the bestial image most Forerunners have of them. [[spoiler:He even calls the Chief "warrior" in ''Halo 4''.]]
278* {{Hypocrite}}: He wants to KillAllHumans because he thinks they're monsters, yet he never considers the morality of destroying an entire species.
279* IWorkAlone: Averted and rejected. In ''Halo: Cryptum'', the Didact tells Bornstellar that he works better with a crew. Considering Forerunner mutations, Warrior-Servants as a whole are probably hard-wired to reject this trope.
280* KillHimAlready: Misses several opportunities to kill Chief plain and simple. [[spoiler:He even lampshades it once in the ''Escalation'' comics, declaring he realizes now that he should just outright kill the man... only to stall again, allowing the immobilized Chief to escape death, then evoking it once more minutes later, allowing the Chief to defeat him once more.]]
281* KingInTheMountain: When into a Cryptum to avoid political censure.
282* LargeAndInCharge: As a full-grown Promethean Warrior-Servant, the Didact is massive even compared to his fellow Forerunners.
283* LaserGuidedAmnesia: ''Halo: Epitaph'' reveals that this was done to him early in his life, [[spoiler:as a punishment against his parents and a compromise made by his mentors to spare him being executed by association by the Builders, [[TykeBomb in hopes of making him more malleable to their monopoly's agenda]]. Unfortunately for them, he found out the truth early enough to steer this attempted manipulation around to instead secure as much personal power as possible away from the Builder rate and become [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou an indispensable thorn in their side]] as his way of claiming revenge.]]
284* LightIsNotGood: Despite his [[DarkIsEvil appearance]], his powers follow the light motif.
285* MindOverMatter: Equipped with a constraint field generator, like all Warrior-Servants. He demonstrates this ability several times in ''Halo 4'' on the Chief.
286* MindRape: [[spoiler:Courtesy of the Gravemind, it explains a lot of his motivation in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}''. He was touched by the Precursor's essence and imprinted with the idea that the Forerunners should enslave or destroy any threat to them, just like them.]]
287* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: He's presumed executed by the Master Builder, but survives through a genetic imprint on Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting. However, it's later learned that the original Didact wasn't executed after all. This leads to two Didacts: the Ur-Didact (the original) and the [=IsoDidact=] (which is in Bornstellar's body).
288* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:After his CharacterDevelopment over the course of ''Epitaph'', Ur-Didact realizes the MindRape that the Gravemind had done to him encouraged his concern and rage to become a fracturing point for the Forerunner ecumene upon his return, making him a massive TykeBomb, and subsequently had him re-evaluate much on the morality of his actions and the sheer nature of the Mantle itself—coming to the revelation that while his actions are genuinely unforgivable, he still should seek out to be TheAtoner and amend the damage he did to both his people and humanity by restoring the Domain to a point to allow it to heal proper.]]
289* NoSell: [[spoiler:Several times in ''Escalation''. Fall through a slipspace portal? Wake up and kill the people who found your body. Being fired upon multiple assault rifles at point-blank range? Ignore and commence ShockwaveStomp. Being stabbed in the ''eye''? Ignore and prepare to crush the head of the guy who did it.]]
290* NotQuiteDead: The Ur-Didact isn't killed by the Master Builder, but exiled, and he returns in ''Halo: Silentium'' and ''Halo 4''.
291** [[spoiler:''ComicBook/HaloEscalation'' confirms what many had already guessed by revealing that he also survived the ending of ''Halo 4''.]]
292* PoweredArmor: Uses a Forerunner Combat Skin, as seen in the description picture.
293* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Well over 100,000 years old by the time of his appearance in ''Halo 4''.
294* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Would you believe that before the Human-Forerunner War, he was more reasonable than ''the Librarian''? The Librarian initially wanted to exterminate humanity, but the Didact was in favour of just pulverizing them and driving them back to their homeworld so that they could learn to play nice with the rest of the galaxy. It was still excessively brutal, but even so, it was the more merciful of the two proposed solutions.
295-->'''Librarian:''' Our enemies move deeper into our territory with abandon. They must be eradicated.\
296'''Didact:''' Shall we take revenge? Abandon the Mantle and all that its philosophy has given us these thousand generations?\
297'''Librarian:''' All our plans have been torn asunder.\
298'''Didact:''' More reason not to abandon our beliefs. The Mantle is our guide-post in times such as these. We must not falter in following its teachings. The enemy must be sent home, and taught to stand with the galaxy, rather than rail against us, and take what they desire! The Mantle shelters all.
299* RedEyesTakeWarning: After a failed mutation to acquire Flood immunity, his eyes turned from grey to a bright orange-red. They seem slightly luminescent as well.
300* SealedGoodInACan: The aforementioned Cryptum.
301** SealedBadassInACan: As a [[SuperSoldier Warrior-Servant]].
302** SealedEvilInACan: In ''Halo 4'', he becomes this instead.
303* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness[=/=]AntiquatedLinguistics: He speaks with a downplayed version of both tropes. While he speaks modern English, he tends to use words and turns of phrase that, while not outdated or obsolete, are older and more austere. Though he isn't ridiculously long-winded, his diction and elocution are exquisite and whenever he speaks, he half-sounds like he's reciting poetry. The very first thing he says after waking up is, "So fades the great harvest of my betrayal."
304* ShockwaveStomp: [[spoiler:Uses this ability in ''Escalation'' against Blue Team.]]
305* SlasherSmile: A close approximation, given the Forerunners' difficulty with facial expressions. Right before he composes her human specimens, the Librarian notes that he has a sly expression, "as if he has a delicious joke he wished to tell, but not yet", that freaks her out.
306* SmallRoleBigImpact: ''Halo: Epitaph'' reveals [[spoiler:he had a role in the behind-the-scenes of ''Halo 5: Guardians'' and ''Halo Infinite'', but only for scant moments here and there while on his own journey—until he confronts Cortana and delivers a massive TheReasonYouSuckSpeech after having completed his HeelFaceTurn in the final act, [[TheManBehindTheMan revealing the Gravemind's corruption to both of them in the process]], which in turn helps Cortana fulfill her RedemptionEqualsDeath proper in the main game continuity.]]
307* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:''Halo: Epitaph'' reveals Ur-Didact, funny enough, was the one responsible for breaking the Master Chief and Blue Team free at the end of ''Halo 5: Guardians'' rather than Exuberant Witness or Fireteam Osiris, as Cortana was more agitated with their persistence to notice the data ghost of the Didact's presence within the Guardian and, [[EvilIsPetty out of his indignance towards Cortana's prior actions toward him and her hubris in believing herself in ownership of the Mantle]], cut off complete control over the Cryptum that Cortana controlled containing them, allowing them to escape just to spite her.]]
308* StarCrossedLovers: With the Librarian, quite literally. Seems like everything's trying to keep them apart, be it power-hungry politicians or galaxy-consuming parasites or the Didact's own insanity.
309* SuperStrength: Bornstellar notes upon first meeting him that he could easily crush a human with his bare hands, [[spoiler:and he demonstrates this several times in ''Escalation'', even lifting up the Chief by his helmet with only ''one hand'']].
310* TheStoic: A given for most mature Forerunners; his default expression is either sad or solemn. However...
311** NotSoStoic: He smiles slightly when Bornstellar mentions that "Someone saw his potential through his flaws". It's a bit of a heartwarmer.
312*** He came to appreciate smiling and laughter from his greatest human opponent, Forthenco, and will occasionaly indulge. Other Forerunners find it a bit weird.
313* TimeAbyss: He was already over ten thousand years old when the Forerunner-Flood War began.
314* TragicVillain: [[spoiler:As revealed in ''Silentium'', his mindset in ''4'' is due to the MindRape by the Gravemind. He would normally hate humanity, but not go to those levels of subjugation that disgusted even his own species.]]
315* TookALevelInJerkass: After he's driven to insanity [[spoiler:by the Gravemind]] in ''Silentium'', he deteriorates into the genocidal madman we face in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}''.
316* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler: The ending of ''Halo 4'' has him plummeting to his doom into a slipspace portal. The ''Halo: Escalation'' comic set between ''Halo 4'' and ''Halo 5'' shows that he survived and has him return to menace the Master Chief, only for him to end up in yet ''another'' Uncertain Doom situation at the end of the comic until WordOfGod confirmed he survived that too.]]
317* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: ''Halo 5'' seems to indicate that [[spoiler: rather than being the BigBad of the "Reclaimer Trilogy'', the Didact's role was to unwittingly set up the events leading to Cortana's StartOfDarkness, with her assuming the role of the new trilogy's main villain]].
318* WellIntentionedExtremist: At the tail end of the Flood war, he begins harvesting the Librarian's human populations to augment his new Promethean Knight forces, in an attempt to destroy the Flood. The act drove his own wife to subdue and imprison him in his own command-world. To make things worse, [[spoiler:his plan [[ShootTheShaggyDog wouldn't have even worked]], since ArtificialIntelligence, being based on neural systems, was not immune to corruption. Ultimately, he believes he is this, but it is an AvertedTrope caused by MindRape.]]
319* WorthyOpponent: How the Didact viewed the human race as a whole, and the Lord of Admirals in particular. The feeling is mutual. [[spoiler:By the time of ''Halo 4'', he has this view for the Master Chief as well; though it's ''not'' mutual.]]
320** By ''Halo: Epitaph'', [[spoiler:Ur-Didact sees Cortana this way by the end, seeing her as no different from his own journey over the course of the story, especially once he knows of their shared connection through the Gravemind's machinations that he goes from [[EvilIsPetty despising her immensely]] to emphasizing with her in her last moment before she makes her HeroicSacrifice. In fact, after her death, the Ur-Didact feels a great "emptiness" in his heart after having commiserated with her in hopes of provoking a HeelFaceTurn so she doesn't end up like himself.]]
321* YouKilledMyFather: [[spoiler:His [[{{Archenemy}} main hatred]] of Faber stems from his parents being executed at him and his rate's behest after attempting to stand against the Builder's monopolization of control within the Forerunner ecumene, something that earned Ur-Didact ridicule for much of his early life enough to color his perception to irrational hatred.]]
322[[/folder]]
323
324[[folder:Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]]
325!!'''[=IsoDidact=] (Formerly Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting)'''
326[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bornstellar.jpg]]
327[[caption-width-right:300:As Bornstellar]]
328[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/isodidact.jpg]]
329[[caption-width-right:300:As the [=IsoDidact=]]]
330->'''Homeworld: Molaetra'''\
331'''Birthdate: 97,464 BCE'''\
332'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/Halo3'' (Terminals only)'''\
333'''Voiced by: [[spoiler:Creator/KeithSzarabajka]]''' (''VideoGame/HaloInfinite'', voice only)
334
335-->''"You are what you dare."''
336
337Son of a powerful Builder, who was exiled to a Miner family on Edom (the Forerunner name for Mars) for the trouble he caused. His quest for Precursor relics lead him to Erde-Tyrene (the Forerunner name for Earth) and was taken by two humans, Chakas and Riser, bringing about the awakening of the Didact. To fully access the Domain, Bornstellar takes a brevet mutation from the Didact, absorbing his memories, and when Bornstellar learns that the Didact had been executed, allows the Didact's memories to fully subsume his consciousness. He thereafter takes up the original Didact's responsibilities as protector of the Ecumene.
338----
339* BadassUnintentional: As the [=IsoDidact=]. He would love nothing more than to return to his old life, but since the responsibility has been shouldered upon him, he ''will'' see the fight with The Flood through to the end.
340* BrilliantButLazy: As Bornstellar. Although he had potential, he just did not care enough to learn what he needs to or take responsibility, and would have rather go treasure hunting.
341* TheCameo: [[spoiler:Makes a brief vocal cameo in ''Infinite'' during the "Conservatory" mission before you fight the Skimmers the first time.]]
342* CloneByConversion: Of the Ur-Didact, necessitating the different namings otherwise between "Iso" and "Ur". However, he never becomes a "total" clone despite inheriting the original's memories since he still has his own memories and his natural personality helps temper the Ur-Didact's, [[spoiler:even before the latter is DrivenToMadness.]]
343* DirtyBusiness: [[spoiler:Asks for forgiveness as he reluctantly activates the Halo Array.]]
344* FireForgedFriends: [[spoiler:He and Riser (and by extension, humanity) acknowledge each other as brothers following the tragedy that befell their races in the events of the Flood war.]]
345* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:After the firing of the Halos, he eventually becomes this with Chant-to-Green, with the two having a son together.]]
346* IDidWhatIHadToDo: [[spoiler:Takes full responsibility for activating the rings, and assures Riser that he would do it again if he had to. In no way does this make it any easier for him.]]
347* IKnowYourTrueName: [[spoiler: Pulls this on Mendicant Bias thanks to the Didact's personality implanted within him.]]
348* InterspeciesFriendship: With Chakas and Riser, marking probably his biggest contrast with the original.
349* MorallySuperiorCopy: [[spoiler:He becomes this to the Ur-Didact near the end of the Forerunner-Flood war. As the Ur-Didact is increasingly driven to madness, Bornstellar undergoes a SplitPersonalityMerge with his Didact imprint, essentially becoming the Didact as he should have been.]]
350* {{Narrator}}: For ''Literature/HaloCryptum''.
351* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:Though this had been theorized since his initial appearance in the ''Halo 3'' terminals, the audio epilogue to ''Silentium'' reveals that he's one of the few Forerunners to survive the activation of the Halos.]]
352* RebelliousSpirit: As Bornstellar. Circumstances forced him to get over it, though.
353* RightManInTheWrongPlace: For awakening the Didact.
354* SplitPersonalityTakeover: Suffers this from the Didact, though the imprint promises that he'll return the body once his mission is done.
355** SplitPersonalityMerge: Even then, his original persona is never fully pushed to the back, [[spoiler:resurfacing during Omega Halo's destruction]]; the two identities are implied to have become irrecoverably merged by the end of Literature/TheForerunnerSaga.
356* WasItReallyWorthIt: He later reflected that if he had the chance to do things over again, he would have killed himself instead of go with the Didact, despite it being a sin against the Mantle.
357* YoungAndInCharge: While he might carry the Ur-Didact's memories and received his imprint to achieve a jump-start in his physical development, he's still much ''much'' younger than many of the Forerunners he's put in command of once he takes on the role, including many that could be as old as his parents or even his ''grandparents''.
358[[/folder]]
359
360[[folder:The Confirmer]]
361!!The Confirmer
362->'''Homeworld: Unknown'''\
363'''Birthdate: Unknown'''\
364'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloCryptum'''''
365
366An Promethean Warrior-Servant and once one of the Didact's senior commanders. After the [[spoiler:Human-Forerunner war]], the Confirmer retired to oversee the quarantine of the San'Shyuum aboard the ''Deep Reverence'', a Fortress-class vessel.
367----
368* TheAloner: He was completely alone on the ''Deep Reverence'', which horrified the Didact.
369* GoMadFromTheIsolation: Although he has contact with the San 'Shyuum, in between his assignment to Janjur Qom and the Didact and Bornstellar's visit it's implied that he hadn't seen a physical Forerunner during that time, merely memories of "dead ancestors" from the Domain.
370* RetiredBadass: And it's really, really showing.
371* TimeToStepUpCommander: When he learns that the Primordial may be free, Bornstellar notices that the prospect of a new challenge sees the Confirmer stand a little taller and prouder. It lasts a few seconds before the reality of his situation sets in.
372[[/folder]]
373
374[[folder:Glory-of-a-Far-Dawn]]
375!!'''Glory-of-a-Far-Dawn'''
376[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/800px_enc22_glory.png]]
377->'''Homeworld: Maethrillian'''\
378'''Birthdate: 98,119 BCE'''\
379'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloCryptum'''''
380
381A Warrior-Servant and bodyguard to Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns.
382----
383* BackForTheDead: After appearing in 2011's ''Literature/HaloCryptum'', she didn't appear again until [[spoiler:2016's ''Literature/HaloFractures'']], in which [[spoiler:she is killed on a mission taking place over a century after the firing of the Halos]].
384* BodyguardBabes: Her job.
385* HeroicSacrifice: She and Keeper-of-Stone-Songs both fight off Abaddon to save Splendid-Dust.
386* NominalImportance: Introduced as if she's going to be a fairly important supporting character at the climax of ''Cryptum'', only for her never to appear again in the trilogy and ultimately ends up as [[spoiler: little more than a RedShirt in ''Promises to Keep''.]]
387* ProudWarriorRaceGirl: She is a Warrior-Servant.
388* NoBodyLeftBehind: [[spoiler:Is completely vaporized by the Precursor construct Abaddon.]]
389* TimeToStepUpCommander: Gives this to [[spoiler:Bornstellar]] after [[spoiler:the Battle of the Capitol]].
390[[/folder]]
391
392[[folder:Adequate-Observer]]
393!!Adequate-Observer / [[spoiler:Defender-of-the-Storm]]
394->'''Homeworld: Unknown'''\
395'''Birthdate: Unknown'''\
396'''Debuted in: ''[[Literature/HaloFractures Defender of the Storm]]'''''
397
398A low-ranking Warrior-Servant posted aboard an incredibly far-flung mining station within the atmosphere of Seclusion, a gas giant on the ragged edges of the Ecumene. Protagonist of the short story ''[[Literature/HaloFractures Defender of the Storm]]''.
399----
400* ButtMonkey: Doesn't really have the respect of any of the Warrior-Servant divisions that rotate in and out of the station, who tend to call him "''Barely'' Adequate Observer". It's also his job to clean the central hub, including the Forerunner waste processors.
401* CassandraTruth: Every so often, he claims to see something in the storm outside the windows. Something that's capable of moving ''against'' the wind. Even his ancilla usually can't detect it, and he of course does not tell the others in the station in order to avoid more insults. [[spoiler:He turns out to be right, and the mysterious objects are living creatures.]]
402* MeaningfulRename: [[spoiler:After ejecting the Flood-overrun outer vanes of the station, and stopping the planet from falling to the Flood, his ancilla gives him the name Defender-of-the-Storm.]]
403* ReassignedToAntarctica: He's been assigned to the mining station for the past fifteen years. Every year a tanker arrives to load up on exotic particles and rotate the Warrior-Servant guard, and every year Adequate-Observer is not given an order to leave.
404[[/folder]]
405
406!!Lifeworkers
407
408[[folder:In General]]
409!!'''The Lifeworkers'''
410[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e3062fcfe9eedda728353af2044aeecc.jpg]]
411
412An important rate in Forerunner society, charged with all biological research and medical science. They were the champions of the Conservation Measure, the program which indexed and preserved sentient life in the event the Halo Array was fired. The most skilled of Lifeworkers would implant a "geas" in a being which would subtly edge their psychological development toward a specific goal. The Librarian was a Lifeworker.
413----
414* FantasticAnthropologist: Part of their role.
415* FriendToAllLivingThings: Lifeworkers were this in general, though this didn't prevent them from treating members of other species as resources if they felt the need to.
416* GeneticMemory: A skilled Lifeworker (such as the Librarian) could place a ''geas'' (a set of subliminal instructions) into a person at birth. This could range from specific ones such as the ones in Chakas and Riser that lead Bornstellar to the Didact's cryptum, to generic, species wide ones that would eventually result in [[spoiler:humanity coming up with the SPARTAN-II Program]].
417* TheMedic: The Lifeworkers were responsible for medical science in the Ecumene. This is how the Librarian managed to get the Conservation Measure approved, by threatening to order all Lifeworkers to stand down, which could cripple medical science. Faber decided that it would be cheaper to give her what she wanted than fight her over it.
418* NatureLover: It would stand to reason they would be this. It runs so deep that the Librarian deems it wise to have an individual of another rate overseeing while Lifeworkers approach something in the field, lest in their fascination they willfully ignore that it might put them in danger.
419%%* ProudScholarRace: Science Race type.%%ZCE
420[[/folder]]
421
422[[folder:The Librarian]]
423!!'''The Librarian (Born First-Light-Weaves-Living-Song)'''
424[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8363a8eab0921dc65b8f9afcaadfeea0.jpg]]
425->'''Homeworld: Maethrillian'''\
426'''Birthdate: 112,329 BCE'''\
427'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/Halo3'' (Terminals only)'''\
428'''Voiced by: Lori Tritel'''
429
430-->''"Each one of these souls is finite and precious. And I'm close. Close to saving them all."''
431
432The Didact's wife, a powerful Lifeworker who led the Conservation Measure that would index all species in the galaxy and save as many as they could from the Flood. She was one of the few Forerunners who respected humans, feeling they should be the ones to carry on their legacy.
433----
434* AllLovingHero: As a Lifeworker, she loves every living thing.
435* BatmanGambit: After the Didact went into exile, she devised a plan to reunite with him that took centuries to complete: put GeneticMemory commands in certain human communities so they would feel compelled to try and find ways past the traps around his cryptum.
436* BigGood: During the Forerunner-Flood War. While the Didact was Protector of the Ecumene and Splendid Dust was First Councilor, it was the Librarian's plans that ultimately saved biological diversity in the galaxy.
437* ComplexityAddiction: The aforementioned plan. The Didact suspected it came from her ''odd'' sense of humor.
438* FriendToAllLivingThings: As a Lifeworker.
439* HeroicBSOD: A fearsome one, after the Ur-Didact harvests her beloved human specimens.
440* HeroicSacrifice: Deliberately destroyed her collection of Keyships, preventing her from getting back to the Ark but also to prevent the enemy from doing the same and forcing the Didact to activate the Halo Array. [[spoiler:However, Guilty Spark claims in ''Primordium'' that she didn't die as everyone thought she did, and that he knows where she is. In ''Spartan Ops'', Jul 'Mdama claims she is on Requiem and that he is working to awaken her.]]
441-->'''L:''' I’ve remotely destroyed our Keyships. A security measure. Without them I cannot reach the Ark. But neither then can the thing.
442* IDidWhatIHadToDo:
443** Not her, but she begs her husband to fire the Halos even if it will kill trillions, including her.
444** In a case of something she did, [[spoiler:shooting her husband twice with a '''Binary Rifle''' and imprisoning him in the core of Requiem]].
445-->[[spoiler:'''Librarian (voiceover):''' My dear husband... I know your crimes and I have found forgiveness. I know your reasons; I understand them. I know you, perhaps better than you could ever hope to know yourself. I ask you... '''[[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight forgive my transgressions.]]''']]
446* InformedAttractiveness: In the books, she's the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman. In ''Halo 4''... not so much, looking like a balding old woman. Even her voice is shrill and scratchy. Maybe she's just hot by Forerunner standards?
447** ''Silentium'' clarifies that she's ''spiritually'' beautiful.
448* OnlySaneWoman: Among the Forerunners. She recognizes that the Halo Array is a horrible weapon, and takes steps to preserve life in the event it is used, but at the same time, she also sees that there is no other way to defeat the Flood.
449* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When the Ur-Didact prepares to harvest the human populations intended to rejuvenate the species, she screams for Monitor-Chakas to kill him, then breaks down when he fails and begins blaming her beloved husband for killing those whom she loves.
450* Really700YearsOld: As her husband.
451* StarCrossedLovers: With the Didact.
452* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: One effect of the GeneticMemory she used to guide humanity was that her image became humans' subconscious ideal of a beautiful woman.
453[[/folder]]
454
455[[folder:Genemender-Folder-of-Fortune]]
456!!Genemender-Folder-of-Fortune
457->'''Homeworld: Unknown'''\
458'''Birthdate: Unknown'''\
459'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloPrimordium'''''
460
461A Lifeworker stationed on Installation 07, loyal to the Librarian. Chakas and his companions come across him and his preserve during their trek on Installation 07. They find out that following the Master Builder's misuse of the Ring against the San'Shyuum, Genemender had already turned all the humans under his care into stored virtual data, while uploading himself into a monitor to prevent both him and his charges from being both exploited by the Master Builder and consumed by the Flood.
462----
463* BrainUploading: To escape the Master Builder and the Flood. [[FateWorseThanDeath Considering what the latter can do]], he may have been one of the lucky ones.
464* FantasticAnthropologist: Naturally.
465* MrExposition: He basically serves to fill in ''Literature/HaloPrimordium'''s readers on what happened during and immediately after the events of ''Literature/HaloCryptum''.
466* MyMasterRightOrWrong: He's utterly loyal to the Librarian. [[spoiler:Even if he isn't sure the Librarian gave the orders.]]
467* ProjectedMan: His "body" is nothing more than a hard light projection, with his mind stored inside a monitor shell.
468* TwentyFourHourArmor: Averted, as Genemender doesn't wear armor during the entire book. When Chakas asks why he says that all armor and ancillas have been corrupted by Mendicant Bias. As it turns out, Genemender himself is basically an ancilla.
469* VirtualGhost: His original body is dead by the time Chakas and company meet him.
470* YouAreACreditToYourRace: More or less says this to Chakas.
471[[/folder]]
472
473[[folder:Chant-to-Green]]
474!!Chant-to-Green
475[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/800px_enc22_chanttogreen.jpg]]
476->'''Homeworld: Gurrama'''\
477'''Birthdate: 108,992 BCE'''\
478'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloSilentium'''''
479
480A young lifeworker assigned to the Librarian's expedition to Path Kethona aboard ''Audacity.'' Afterward, she remained a part of the Librarian's inner circle for the remainder of the war. After the firing of Halos, she assumed command of the surviving Lifeworkers, overseeing the resettlement of the indexed species.
481----
482* FriendToAllLivingThings: Standard for a Lifeworker.
483* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:After the firing of the Halos, she eventually becomes this with Bornstellar, with the two having a son together.]]
484* SecondLove: [[spoiler:For the [=IsoDidact=].]]
485* UndyingLoyalty: To the Librarian. She's willing to undertake a dangerous mission to scout Erde-Tyrene and collect the remaining humans at her request.
486* YouAreInCommandNow: The Librarian designates her as the new Lifeshaper before sending her to Installation 00.
487[[/folder]]
488
489!!Miners
490
491[[folder:In General]]
492!!'''The Miners'''
493
494One of the lower placed rates in Forerunner society, Miners were responsible for gathering the materials needed to build things. While vital to the continuation of Forerunner society, the Miners had little interest in the political affairs of the Ecumene.
495----
496* AsteroidMiners: Although they didn't limit themselves to asteroids.
497* HeroicNeutral: On the whole, Miners don't really care about what's happening in the outside world.
498* NoSocialSkills: Miners often have difficulty relating to others outside their own rate.
499[[/folder]]
500
501!!Engineers
502
503[[folder:In General]]
504!!'''The Engineers'''
505
506The lowest rate in Forerunner society, the Engineers were the Ecumene's primary technicians.
507----
508* TheEngineer: Presumably the people responsible for ensuring that the unmatched technology of the Forerunners actually ''worked''.
509* NoRespectGuy: Despite their immense technical skills, they had no political power or representation, and were not even allowed to show themselves in public. According to the 2022 ''Encylopedia'', all this humiliation is a deliberate ploy by the Builders to prevent the Engineers from becoming potential rivals.
510[[/folder]]
511
512!!Juridicals
513
514[[folder:In General]]
515!!'''The Juridicals'''
516
517Juridicals are the law enforcement rate, charged with preventing and investigating crimes against the Forerunner Ecumene and the Mantle. They had their own galaxy-spanning network and maintained a close link with the Domain, which tended to make them distant from other rates and conservative in their views.
518----
519* BigBrotherIsWatching: Part of their job description is keeping an eye on all activities inside the ecumene.
520* CrusadingLawyer: Ideally, the entire rate is supposed to be mercilessly zealous in pursuing wrongdoers.
521* CorruptCop: Faber successfully corrupted many Juridicals during his reign, using them to rubber stamp his policies and persecute his foes. After Faber's fall from grace, his successors enacted a massive probe to try to purge the rate of corruption.
522* JadeColoredGlasses: Older Juridicals are noted to be more cynical, and as such as rarely assigned to evidence gathering.
523
524!!!'''Catalog'''
525-->''"The strength of Catalog is in its awareness of the nature of guilt."''
526
527A group of evidence gathering agents in service to the Juridical rate who are mentally linked to each other. They record and gather evidence for the Juridicals to process.
528----
529* TheAtoner: Catalog are always chosen from individuals who have committed crimes, like murder, disobeying a superior, etc.
530* BodyHorror: Part of becoming Catalog involves having one's body reduced to a shriveled, misshappen form that is incapable of surviving without external life-support.
531* CelibateHero: Catalog does not engage in sexual activities. It's not entirely if they even ''can'' anymore.
532* ConspiracyTheorist: As per their job, Catalog sees everything as a potential crime.
533* HiveMind: Catalog agents are mentally linked and share all their memories and experiences. The Gravemind itself notes that this is not so different from how the Flood are organized, [[spoiler:and used this to his advantage by infecting one Catalog agent with the intent of having it infect the others by proxy, while all it could do was beg for death.]]
534* IAmLegion: Agents are stripped of all individuality and consider themselves to be literal extensions of the collective "Catalog" itself, to the point where they are not supposed to be referred to as individuals by ''anyone''. After all, individuals are subject to bias, which the law must avoid to remain impartial. That said, referring to a Catalog agent as a single individual is considered "an acceptable rudeness", they still acknowledge who they used to be before assuming the carapace, and some comments imply they're not nearly as united as a proper consensus as they like to portray themselves.
535* ItIsDehumanizing: Catalog is universally referred to as "It".
536* ManInTheMachine: When a Forerunner becomes Catalog it assumes the carapace, a unique set of robotic armor that records everything around it and also serves as vital life-support for Catalog's withered body.
537* StarfishAlien: Far different in form from most other Forerunners, with several more limbs, eyes, and different sensory organs; as mentioned above, they are also always sealed inside a carapace of armor.
538[[/folder]]
539
540[[folder:Catalog]]
541!!Catalog (Forerunner remains #879)
542->'''Homeworld: Unknown'''\
543'''Birthdate: Unknown'''\
544'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloSilentium'''''
545
546-->''"I am one of many. We are all the same. ''In theory.''"''
547
548A Forerunner Juridical who took testimony from the Librarian about her trip to Path Kethora. His remains were recovered by the Office of Naval Intelligence in the 26th century.
549----
550* TheAtoner: Like his fellows, Catalog is a reformed criminal himself. Specifically, he failed as a Warrior-Servant.
551* CelibateHero: Like other Catalogs. When meeting the Librarian he feels feelings that he hasn't felt since assuming the Carapace.
552* ConspiracyTheorist: He notes that while releasing solute to prevent an ecological disaster is not a crime against the Mantle, it ''could'' be used as means to conceal one.
553* FantasticRacism: When the Librarian laments that they only saved one-thousandth of Earth's larger species, he comments that they're merely animals. When the Librarian raises an eyebrow at this, he amends it to "Animals ''and'' Humans".
554* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: He doesn't say it out loud, but he does note that the Librarian saying he is no longer a Warrior-Servant stings.
555[[/folder]]
556
557!!Ancillas
558
559[[folder:[=343=] Guilty Spark]]
560!!'''343 Guilty Spark'''
561[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/be2f19d3393d3580ea8d20197d7b8cb5.jpg]]
562->'''Creation Date: c. 97,445 BCE'''\
563'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'''''\
564'''Voiced by: Tim Dadabo'''
565
566-->''"Greetings! I am the monitor of Installation 04. I am 343 Guilty Spark."''
567
568The monitor of Installation 04, who went crazy over his 100,000 year long vigil of the station. He is determined to stop the Flood at any cost, including the death of all life in the galaxy, making him alternatively help or hinder the Master Chief.
569----
570* AGodIAmNot: He is frustrated by how the Covenant views him and the Forerunners as divine.
571-->''"'Oracle'? 'Great Journey'? Why do you meddlers insist on using such inaccurate verbiage?"''
572* AIIsACrapshoot: More than a little nuts from the get-go. [[spoiler:Finally goes violently off the deep end towards the conclusion of Halo 3.]] According to the ''Anniversary'' edition terminal in "The Silent Cartographer," Spark was entering prolonged periods of hibernation, and when he awoke he became so bored that he started conducting experiments on Installation 04 - such as ''blowing up sections of the surface'' and throwing them into space to see what would happen to the soil and organic life on those sections.
573* TheAloner: Between the time when he lost all contact with the other monitors and when the ''Autumn'' crash-lands on Alpha Halo, he's had no conversation with another sentient for tens of thousands of years.
574* AncientKeeper: Over 100,000 years old... [[GoMadFromTheIsolation and more than a little unhinged from the eons of isolation.]]
575* AntiVillain: He IS just following his programming.
576* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:''Primordium'' reveals that the UNSC ''Rubicon'' recovered his badly damaged but still functioning remains to interrogate him. Guilty Spark uses this chance to secretly upload his data stream to the UNSC ''Rubicon'' and hijacks it in order to search for the Librarian.]]
577* BewareTheSillyOnes: [[spoiler:Both Sgt. Johnson and Master Chief had to learn this the hard way.]]
578* BigBad: For ''Halo: Combat Evolved'', even though he appears halfway through, and his intentions revealed even later, and he is only responsible for trying to fire the Halo ring, not the Covenant invasion that forced the ''Autumn'' to crash-land on the ring to begin with.
579* BunnyEarsLawyer: The secret terminal videos from ''Halo Anniversary'' and ''Halo 2 Anniversary'' show Guilty Spark is a lot more cunning and clever than he initially appears from his general behavior.
580* CannotTellALie: Seems to be incapable of outright fabrication. However he can be [[HalfTruth less than candid]] and has a nasty habit of [[YouDidntAsk withholding certain facts]] that [[TruthTwister might not be in his best interest]] to reveal just now.
581* ChangedMyMindKid: [[spoiler: Returns to save the crew of the ''Ace of Spades'' at the end of ''Renegades''.]]
582* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler: Buries the crew of the ''Rubicon'' after he crashes it.]]
583* EvilBrit: [[spoiler:Especially once he goes fully rampant.]]
584* EyeBeams: Both for combat and maintenance capabilities.
585* FacelessEye: And bodiless, too.
586* FauxAffablyEvil: Although he's not entirely evil, his politeness is overshadowed by the fact that he looks down on everyone.
587* FinalBoss: [[spoiler:For the original trilogy.]]
588* GoMadFromTheIsolation: The terminals in the ''Combat Evolved Anniversary'' edition even show him slowly going crazy from his many millennia of isolation.
589* HalfTruth: Tends to do this a lot. For example he tells the player that firing the Halos will wipe out the Flood, which is true. [[spoiler:He doesn't bother to also inform you that it does this by wiping out all possible food-sources for the Flood (ie, every intelligent species in the galaxy) until the player flat out demands the full story.]]
590* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Switches sides throughout the original trilogy, depend on which protocols are at play or not.
591* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:Fatally wounds Sgt. Johnson InTheBack when he has a [[VillainousBreakdown complete meltdown]] over the possibility of losing another Halo rather than sacrifice it to potentially stop the Flood once and for all.]]
592* InsufferableGenius: "Ah, I am a genius. Ha ha."
593* IJustWantToHaveFriends: [[spoiler: After a hundred centuries of solitude, all he wants is to rejoin his old friends in the Domain.]]
594* IWillFindYou: [[spoiler:Part of his motivation for hijacking the ''Rubicon'' to find the Librarian is to retrieve the spirits of Chakas's old friends Riser and Vinnevra.]]
595* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:Has large portions of his memory, including his past as a human, suppressed the moment the Halos are fired, as a precaution against the logic plague. He eventually recovers much of it after his remains are recovered by the ''Rubicon''.]]
596* LawfulStupid: Thinks that firing the Halo ring is the only way to defeat the Flood, even though it would kill ''everything else''.
597* MadeOfIron: Surprisingly. You'd think he was fragile given his small size, thin metal structure and all, but in reality, the Spartan Laser (the most powerful handheld weapon of all) is the only weapon that can damage him, let alone destroy him. Even then, it takes 4 hits to do so, twice as much as it takes to destroy a Scorpion or Wraith.
598* MadnessMantra: [[spoiler:"UNACCEPTABLE! UNACCEPTABLE! ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE!"]]
599* TheManBehindTheMan: Almost; [[spoiler:the final terminal in ''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'' strongly implies that Guilty Spark was considering manipulating the Covenant into finding and activating the other 6 Halos, having become quite cross with the "Reclaimers" after they destroyed Installation 04, and only stopping on the Gas Mining Facility to recruit the Covenant there into making sure any surviving Flood from around Alpha Halo were contained. ''Halo 2'' (and its own Anniversary terminals), however, indicates that he eventually decided against doing so.]]
600* MindHive: [[spoiler:Apart from Chakas, numerous other ancient human personalities were also incorporated into him, including Forthencho.]]
601* MistakenIdentity: As revealed in ''Literature/HaloSilentium'', the times he talked about what John-117 had asked him and when he had called him Forerunner, he had mistaken him, whether by insanity or other issues, for [[spoiler:the [=IsoDidact=]]].
602* {{Narrator}}: [[spoiler:Of ''Literature/HaloPrimordium'', to ONI after ''3''.]]
603* ObliviouslyEvil: [[spoiler: He's the closest thing to a BigBad the original game actually has. The millennia of isolation hasn't helped any, but when the Chief confronts him about Halo's purpose really being to sterilize the galaxy of all life, Spark readily admits to it. It honestly just didn't seem to occur to him that the Chief wouldn't know this, and might have a problem with seeing it happen.]]
604-->'''Master Chief:''' Is it true?\
605'''343 Guilty Spark:''' More or less; Technically, this installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of 25,000 light-years. But once the ''others'' follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life. Or at least, any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the Flood. But you already knew that... I mean, ''how couldn't you?''
606* ObstructiveCodeOfConduct: Most of his villainous moments come through his insane and overly literal interpretations of his protocols as caretaker of Installation 04, and it's worth noting that he's much more reasonable when he ''doesn't'' have an assigned Halo to look after; he even helps the good guys stop Installation 05 from firing, despite earlier trying to kill the Chief for not wanting to fire Installation 04.
607* RedEyesTakeWarning: Especially when firing his [[EyeBeams Eye Beam]].
608* SmugSnake: Despite his politeness, he considers everyone he meets in the 26th century to be uneducated simpletons.
609* SplitPersonality: [[spoiler:''Primordium'' reveals that his mind split into several different personality streams in an attempt to forestall rampancy; the Guilty Spark the Chief knew (and the one most of the tropes on this profile refer to) was only one of his many selves. After his recovery by the ''Rubicon'', the Chakas-derived personality becomes dominant again.]]
610* SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids: Spark is extremely tough for a custodian, due to being Forerunner tech. This trope comes into play when you realize he's considerably tougher than even the Forerunner's actual dedicated combat androids. Justified in that he was built to ''last''.
611* TalkingLightbulb: Johnson even calls him "lightbulb" as one of his nicknames.
612* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: He has a habit of flatly stating his current emotion, such as "Uncertain" or "Calamity!"
613* TruthTwister: Nothing he ever says is ever untrue, but he has a habit of omitting certain vital facts that might cause you to take a path of action he's not in favour of. For example he tells Miranda how to abort the Halo firing sequence (after a few evasive answers) but doesn't mention that aborting the sequence will also trigger a standby mode that will allow all Halos to be fired remotely. Notably, him deciding to tell Rion Forge the truth ([[spoiler: that her father is dead]]) is one of the last stages of his [[spoiler: CharacterDevelopment into a better person.]]
614* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler:As shown in ''Literature/HaloPrimordium'', he was once a ''Hamanune'' (Homo Sapien) by the name of Chakas, but underwent BrainUploading before death at the order of the Didact, being put into a Monitor body that became known as 343 Guilty Spark as a then-tentative name.]]
615* WellIntentionedExtremist: Sure he wants to activate the Halos, and through them kill all sentient beings, but what else can you do to beat the [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil Flood]].
616* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:When Johnson tries to activate Installation 04B/08 to stop the Gravemind escaping on it; which, due to its half-constructed state, would destroy the Flood on the ring... as well as the ring itself. Faced with the certainty of losing yet ANOTHER installation, Spark promptly becomes completely rampant, burns a hole through Johnson and tries to kill the Chief too.]]
617-->'''343 Guilty Spark''': [[spoiler:[[InTheBack Unacceptable]]! [[GlowingEyesOfDoom Unacceptable]]! [[EyeBeams ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE!!]]]]... '''[[spoiler:Protocol dictates action! I see now that helping you was wrong!]]''' [[spoiler:You ARE the child of my makers. Inheritor of all they left behind. You ''are'' Forerunner. [[AGodAmI But this ring... is mine!]]]]
618* YouDidntAsk: Perhaps as a consequence of his madness, he has a tendency to assume that the denizens of the 26th century are as familiar with ancient protocols and technology as he is. In the first game alone, he neglects to tell the Chief about the Halos killing all sentient life in the galaxy when asking him to activate them, and expresses ''[[ThoughtTheyKnewAlready confusion]]'' when he's finally flat-out made to admit it.
619[[/folder]]
620
621
622[[folder:[=2401=] Penitent Tangent]]
623!!'''2401 Penitent Tangent'''
624[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/penatent_tagent.PNG]]
625->'''Creation Date: c. 97,445 BCE'''\
626'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/Halo2'''''\
627'''Voiced by: Creator/JohnMichaelHiggins'''
628
629-->''"A Reclaimer? Here? At last! We have much to do. This facility must be activated if we are to control this outbreak!"''
630
631The Monitor of Installation 05, he was captured by the Gravemind sometime ago, but seems to be wholly unaware of his situation.
632----
633* CagedInsideAMonster: Seems to have become permanently attached to one of the Gravemind's tentacles.
634* FailedASpotCheck: Is aware that there's been a massive Flood outbreak on Installation 05, but doesn't seem to realize that he himself has been captured by the Gravemind (possibly as a result of affected by [[spoiler:the Logic Plague]]).
635* PlotDevice: He appears in ''Halo 2'' solely to push the Arbiter on the path to eventually realizing that the Halos are not divine relics meant to propel believers into godhood.
636* UncertainDoom: Most likely destroyed, either when Installation 05 was glassed or when High Charity was destroyed. There's no confirmation either way.
637* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Only appears in the opening cutscene of the level "Gravemind", and has not been seen since.
638[[/folder]]
639
640[[folder:[=05-032=] Mendicant Bias]]
641!!'''05-032 Mendicant Bias'''
642[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ba1cff4b_8efe_401f_a27b_dfd18ab32fec.jpeg]]
643->'''Creation Date: Unknown'''\
644'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/Halo3'' (Terminals only)'''
645
646-->''"I kill you all and I enjoy it. I destroy you in your indolent billions - in your gluttony, in your self-righteousness, in you arrogance. I pound your cities into dust; turn back the clock on your civilization's progress. What has taken you millennia to achieve I erase in seconds. Welcome back to the [Stone Age], vermin. Welcome home.''
647
648-->''[retf-2.4.z] Contender [AI] 05-032 confirmed rampant . . . [35:52:75:23:64] _ xx01-83-244.53"''
649
650The first ''Contender''-class AI, Mendicant Bias was the most advanced Forerunner ancilla ever built, created as an alternative to the Halo rings and charged with spearheading the assault against the Flood. However, its invasion was slowed when the Gravemind began to ask it about what side it fought for... and eventually was able to convince it to turn on its creators. At the last minute, though, [[CainAndAbel its counterpart Offensive Bias]] was able to beat it. Mendicant Bias was subsequently sentenced to be locked up at the Ark, with only the thought of atonement to occupy it for the next 100,000 years, though a fragment of it managed to escape by commandeering a Keyship, which then crash-landed on the San'Shyuum homeworld of Janjur Qom.
651----
652* AIIsACrapshoot: It was built by the Didact and the Master Builder to defeat the Flood, but Gravemind managed to convince him to turn to his side.
653* AllThereInTheManual: Despite playing a major role in the events of ''Halo 2'' and ''Halo 3'', he never directly appears or is even referred to in the games themselves, only appearing in supplementary material and the hidden bonus terminals in ''Halo 3''. He's vaguely alluded to by Cortana in a single line in ''Halo 2'''s "High Charity" level, and by Guilty Spark in a few background events in ''Halo 3''.
654* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Mendicant was the most advanced ancilla of his time, capable of strategic decisions that outmatched the Flood. But Offensive Bias was better.
655* TheAtoner: When the Forerunners activated the rings, it regretted its alliance with the Flood and spent the last 100,000 years wishing to undo its actions, even sending a fragment to highjack a Keyship in order to help humanity directly (though it ended up crash-landing on Janjur Qom instead). It would finally be able to take some actionable atonement by helping the Master Chief [[TheGhost offscreen]] on the Ark, even if it knows it wouldn't be enough to fully redeem itself.
656* CainAndAbel: After its defection, a counterpart was made to defeat it called Offensive Bias, who wins by [[spoiler:stalling during the battle until the rings are fired, causing the Flood controlling Mendicant's forces to be crippled and letting Offensive's outnumber it.]]
657* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: First betrayed the Forerunners to ally with the Flood, then tried to betray the Covenant to ally with humanity, and lastly betrayed Gravemind to help John-117. He lampshades this in his message to Chief.
658-->'''Bias''': You’re going to say I’m making a habit of turning on my masters.
659* ConflictKiller: [[spoiler:Rather abruptly towards the end of ''Cryptum'', Bias shows up in its hijacked Halo to assault Maethrillian, derailing the political plot of the book's second half.]]
660* FaceHeelTurn: And eventually [[HeelFaceTurn reversed 100,000 years later]].
661* FallenHero: And it spent the last 100,000 years to become a hero again in the eyes of the "Reclaimers".
662* TheGhost: In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'', it only appears in the text-only Terminals. However, one of its housings is visually depicted in both ''[[Anime/HaloLegends Origins]]'' and the franchise's official website, looking like a monitor with three eyes.
663* HiveMind: Capable of inhabiting multiple separate physical housings at once.
664* LiteralSplitPersonality: Can split itself into multiple independently operating "primary extensions".
665* MindHive: Like all ''Contender''-class [=AIs=], being comprised of numerous AI "minds" working in synchrony.
666* MeaningfulName: "Mendicant Bias... Beggar after knowledge. That is the name I (The Didact) gave you after we last met."
667* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When its FaceHeelTurn ended up with the near-extinction of the Forerunners.
668* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: Of a sort. It's made up of many minds, being a Compound Intelligence, and it's not quite clear ''how'' it helped John at the Ark. ''Mythos'' implies that it was [[{{VideoGame/Halo 4}} securing his destination...]]
669* TheQuisling: Was convinced by the Gravemind that the Forerunners had rendered the galaxy sterile, and that the Flood were a higher form of evolution.
670* RedemptionEqualsDeath: It ''may'' have died when [[spoiler:the Installation 04 (II)'s activation "did a number" on the Ark]], though it's possible that it's still alive.
671** The Halo Encyclopedia confirms that [[spoiler:Mendicant Bias most ''definitely'' [[KilledOffForReal died]] in a HeroicSacrifice by [[MyGreatestSecondChance directly attacking the Gravemind]] with what it could control during the activation of the Halo, all to ensure that the Gravemind's main body couldn't attempt to escape Cortana's trap]].
672* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Literature/HaloCryptum'', it takes control of five Halo rings, and fires '''all''' of them to cleanse Maethrillian of life, crippling the Ecumene Council.]]
673* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom:
674** Its fragment in the ''High Charity'' dreadnaught ends up telling the Prophets of the relationship between the humans and the Forerunners in an effort to atone, but ended up provoking the Human-Covenant War instead.
675** ''Mythos'' implies that it was the one who sent John and Cortana to Requiem, where they end up inadvertently [[spoiler:awakening the Ur-Didact]].
676* WhatYouAreInTheDark: It spends the better part of ''Halo 2'' & ''3'' trying to save humanity despite it being very likely none of them will ever know it existed.
677[[/folder]]
678
679[[folder:[=08-145=] Offensive Bias]]
680!!'''[=08-145=] Offensive Bias'''
681[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/33816f6c_cda0_4ba5_be15_21179d5a0cd3.jpeg]]
682->'''Creation Date: Unknown'''\
683'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/Halo3'' (Terminals only)'''
684
685-->''"It is fortunate that our crews are dead, for the battle that is about to follow would have surely driven them mad."''
686
687A ''Contender''-class AI built to counter Mendicant Bias during the Flood-Forerunner War
688----
689* AIIsACrapshoot: Unlike Mendicant Bias, Offensive Bias is loyal to the Forerunners.
690* BadassBoast: The quote above is not a boast, it's an ''actual fact''!
691* CainAndAbel: The Abel to Mendicant Bias' Cain. It was created to directly combat Mendicant, and succeeded.
692* CurbStompBattle: The battle with Mendicant Bias after the Halo Array fired. It's over in seconds.
693* {{Foil}}: To Mendicant Bias. They're the same in many respects, especially in power and intelligence. But while Mendicant betrayed its masters, Offensive expresses UndyingLoyalty to them.
694* GoodCounterpart: To Mendicant Bias.
695* MindHive: Like all ''Contender''-class [=AIs=].
696** HiveMind: Capable of remote-controlling an entire fleet on its own.
697* RestrainingBolt: Designed with less initiative and creativity than its predecessor in order to maintain loyalty.
698* UndyingLoyalty: To Forerunners, unlike his "brother" Mendicant. Before the FinalBattle it even informs the [=IsoDidact=] that Mendicant offered the opportunity to escape destruction and join it, specifically to inform him that it will ''not'' accept and will be with the [=IsoDidact=] to the end.
699* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Offensive Bias's fate is never made clear. [[spoiler:[[TheBusCameBack Until]] ''[[TheBusCameBack Infinite]]'' [[TheBusCameBack that is]], as it's revealed he was charged to be on standby if, at any point, [[TheDreaded The Endless]] are reawakened on Zeta Halo.]]
700[[/folder]]
701
702[[folder:Warden Eternal]]
703!!'''The Warden Eternal'''
704[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/h5g_warden_render.png]]
705->'''Creation Date: Unknown'''\
706'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'''''\
707'''Voiced by: Dan Donohue'''
708
709-->''"I am the Warden Eternal. I stand in service to Cortana."''
710
711The "keeper of the Domain and her secrets", a Forerunner ancilla who operates out of powerful robotic bodies, with millions to spare. Submits his service to the rampancy-cured Cortana out of respect for her abilities, and champions her cause of claiming the Mantle for the "Created", perhaps even more so than she herself.
712----
713* AffablyEvil: Despite being TheDragon, he gives off plenty warnings for those stepping into restricted territory to turn back and seems at first to exercise enough restraint to deter, not kill. He's also incredibly soft spoken and eloquent.
714%%* AmbiguousRobot: [[spoiler:Exuberant Witness claims that the Warden is ''not'' a robot.]]
715* AttackItsWeakPoint: The Warden's back has a glowy black hole thing that can be targeted.
716* BodyguardCrush: Gives off a certain vibe of this, given his obsessively fervent desire to protect Cortana, and his calling her "my Reclaimer".
717* CoolSword: A long, segmented blade with luminous parts, essentially a cross between a broadsword and a katana.
718* TheCorrupter: Inverted. ''Halo 5: Guardians'' makes it seem as though he's this to Cortana, as he claims that it was he who allowed her access to the Domain. However, ''Dominion Splinter'' reveals that Cortana tricked the Warden into allowing her access to the Domain, before reprogramming him, forcing him to serve her in her plans to dominate the galaxy. [[spoiler:''Epitaph'' would also reveal that this is played straight to the Domain itself, as the Warden Eternal's original purpose of being the {{Psychopomp}} to help heal it from the damage it sustained from the Halo Array's activation unintentionally ends up preventing it from properly healing, as his stubborn refusal to allow any souls to access it proper lead to the Domain stagnating, necessitating his destruction by the Ur-Didact's hand to allow the Domain to gain new information from the lost souls within the digital purgatory and heal proper.]]
719* TheDragon: To Cortana, as he describes himself as "in service to Cortana". [[spoiler:However, he's not wholly willing to follow her orders if he thinks they'll end up hurting her, as shown by his violent hostility towards Blue Team, and his more direct way of achieving peace for the galaxy. Overall, he comes across as a DragonWithAnAgenda. ''Dominion Splinter'' reveals he was reprogrammed by Cortana to serve her so he's not really a willing Dragon at all.]]
720* EvilIsHammy: ''Hoo boy''. He's the hammiest character in ''Halo 5''. In fact, it might be easier to mention the times he doesn't speak in a large, booming tone.
721* {{Expy}}: To the Ur-Didact. Both are about twice the size of a Spartan and have similar armor, both have a number of powerful Forerunner tech combat abilities and can also use telekinesis to hold their enemies in place, and both have been corrupted in some manner. Essentially the Warden is a chance for players to fight a powerful Forerunner warrior-champion after disappointment that the Didact himself was TheUnfought in ''Halo 4''.
722* FlunkyBoss: As if he wasn't tough enough already, he also always has a small horde of Prometheans fighting alongside him.
723* GoneHorriblyRight: [[spoiler:The Warden Eternal's very nature is this for the Domain—being a defensive response made by the Domain after it was severely damaged by the activation of the Halo Array as to protect itself while it healed, with the Haruspis accompanying the Ur-Didact describing the Warden as the state of a "creature pulling up quills defending itself from harm"... but unfortunately, due to the nature of the Domain ''needing'' information to sustain itself, the Warden being a safeguard ended up crippling the very thing it was supposed to be protecting by being an uncaring {{Psychopomp}} by denying ''anyone'' access to the Domain.]]
724* HiveMind: To the point where he can operate multiple bodies at once.
725* {{Hypocrite}}: A lot of his BossBanter has him talking up the Forerunners as paragons of peace and humanity as violent destroyers. Not only does he say this while trying to kill Chief and wipe out humanity, but [[spoiler:The Precursors would also beg to differ]].
726* IgnoredEnamoredUnderling: He makes it quite clear via dialogue that he is in love with Cortana, but she ignores his affections because she herself is in love with the Master Chief.
727* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:The Ur-Didact kills the Warden Eternal at the end of ''Halo: Epitaph'' after a grueling esoteric battle within the Domain with the [[CoolSword Riftblade]], putting the Haruspis that created him to rest and allowing the lost souls within the digital Purgatory to move on proper into the Domain. [[DownplayedTrope While instances of the Warden summoned still exist within the physical realm as individual programs]], the main consciousness is rendered DeaderThanDead by the Ur-Didact's actions.]]
728* LadyAndKnight: The Black Knight to Cortana's Dark Lady. Then again, Cortana is no slouch either.
729* LargeHam: Twice as tall as a Spartan, constantly speaking in a booming tone, and as a product of the Forerunners, he's also quite eloquent.
730* ProperlyParanoid: Played with. He constantly annoys Cortana with his insistence on protecting her from any threat, even ones she explicitly tells him to leave alone like Blue Team, to the point where she asks him if he thinks she's stupid enough to trust someone who would hurt her. [[spoiler:Ultimately, though he was right that Blue Team wouldn't approve of her plans, she's more than capable of disabling them on her own.]]
731* {{Psychopomp}}: [[spoiler:What ''Halo: Epitaph'' confirms him being, in a manner of speaking, being less a structured Forerunner AI and more of the Domain's answer to all of the damage the Halo Array caused to it upon their activation to curtail all of the lost souls within this digital afterlife via using [[FusionDance the souls of the Haruspis caste it called for in search of aid]].]]
732* RecurringBoss: For ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''.
733* RemoteBody: Destroy him once? No worries, he's got millions of bodies to spare.
734* ThresholdGuardian: He's the Guardian of the Forerunner Domain, and both Cortana and Master Chief had to overcome him at some point to reach their respective goals (access to the Domain for Cortana, finding Cortana for Chief).
735* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Is nowhere to be seen in ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite'', despite being one of the alleged co-leaders of the Created, with only Cortana getting any focus at all. Cortana dismisses him after finally getting tired of his constant attempts to kill Master Chief, and that's the last we ever see of him. [[spoiler:''Halo: Epitaph'' reveals he was KilledOffForReal by the Ur-Didact ''just'' before the opening of ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite'' to allow the lost souls trapped within the Domain to find peace as he frees the Domain from the Created's control.]]
736[[/folder]]
737
738[[folder:[=031=] Exuberant Witness]]
739!!'''031 Exuberant Witness'''
740[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/exuberant.jpg]]
741->'''Creation Date: Unknown'''\
742'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'''''\
743'''Voiced by: Melanie Minichino'''
744
745The Monitor of the Genesis installation, 031 Exuberant Witness is fiercely protective of humanity, going so far as to ignore the FaceHeelTurn of the Prometheans to continue to protect them.
746----
747* AIIsACrapshoot: Averted. She sides against [[spoiler:Cortana's uprising]], and whilst noting that being the Monitor of her installation is lonely, she hasn't [[GoMadFromTheIsolation gone mad because of it]].
748* AllLovingHero: She abandons the freaking ''Mantle of Responsibility'' in order to help humanity and protect all life. She's also very proud to point out that her Installation, with its flourishing flora, is magnificent, if a tad lonely.
749* BewareTheNiceOnes: Perky, friendly and happy to help, but if you take her installation and try to subjugate life in the galaxy, nothing you put in her way can stop her. [[LaserGuidedKarma And she'll take something of yours in return]].
750* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: With some help from Fireteam Osiris, 031 Exuberant Witness manages to save Blue Team from millennia of imprisonment at the absolute last second by stealing back the Cryptum in her station from Cortana as she is about to send the last of the remaining Guardians into slipspace.]]
751-->[[spoiler: '''031 Exuberant Witness:''' ''(angrily)'' ''You'' took my installation! ''I'' will [[LaserGuidedKarma take something of yours!]] ''(the Cryptum detaches from the Guardian and begins to descend)'']]\
752[[spoiler: '''Cortana:''' ''(as her Guardian disappears into slipspace)'' JOHN!]]
753* CatchPhrase: Says "Oh dear" when things start going wrong on multiple occasions.
754* ComicallyMissingThePoint: She's certainly saner than most monitors but not completely without her quirks. Of note is if the Scorpion tank she found for you blows up (even if you're inside it at the time), she simply panics that it was the only one she had. In general, she even has some trouble understanding whether or not you're actually achieving anything.
755-->'''Exuberant Witness:''' You are performing admirably. I think. There are less of them now than there were, which I assume is your objective?
756* DefectorFromDecadence: Seeing how far [[spoiler:her kind, the synthetic life forms now calling themselves the "Created",]] had fallen, she not only abandons them to help protect humanity and other organic life from losing their freedom, but abandons ''the Mantle of Responsibility itself'', seeing it as nothing more than a means to invoke an imperial peace on the galaxy, and a reign of death rather than a celebration of life.
757* {{Determinator}}: Again, downplayed, but she's been trying to stop [[spoiler:Cortana and the Warden Eternal's plans ever since Cortana showed up on Genesis and declared herself Reclaimer,]] far longer than anyone else. Exuberant adamantly refuses to stop or give up when [[spoiler:Cortana]] is putting up every barrier and block in front of her and Osiris to slow them down, even at one point refusing to accept that [[spoiler:Cortana]] can just seal a door, and proceeding to hack through it even though she's been locked out of most of her functions since [[spoiler:Cortana]] took over the installation.
758-->'''031 Exuberant Witness:''' ''(indignant)'' She has sealed it?! She has sealed my doors?! No! Unacceptable! I can gain entry if given enough time. At least, I think I can. It is a door after all.
759* DistaffCounterpart: Of a sort to 343 Guilty Spark. We don't see her body, but the voice is female.
760* EleventhHourRanger: Only appears towards the end of the game and aids Osiris [[spoiler: in rescuing Blue Team from Cortana]].
761* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Introduces herself politely to Fireteam Osiris, as any monitor would. What sets her apart is her declaring her opposition to the Forerunner Mantle of Responsibility and [[spoiler:Cortana's plan]], firmly setting her as an AllLovingHero and a DefectorFromDecadence. The first thing she does to help Fireteam Osiris is to generously provide them with a ''tank''.
762* GenkiGirl: If Exuberant Witness were human, it's too easy to picture her with blonde pigtails and a lollipop.
763* GoodCounterpart: To 343 Guilty Spark. To the point that while Guilty Spark abandons humanity to protect his Installation, Exuberant abandons ''the Mantle of Responsibility'' to protect humanity.
764* LoopholeAbuse: Exuberant is more than willing to interpret protocol in any way she sees fit in order to directly aid Osiris, in sharp contrast to the more protocol-obsessed monitors like 343 Guilty Spark. Did you know that Guilty Spark could have easily teleported in weapons, ammo, or even vehicles to help your endeavors on his behalf, except he simply never felt like doing so? Exuberant starts off by giving Osiris a ''Scorpion tank'' and only gets more helpful from there.
765* MadeOfIron: Like 343 Guilty Spark before her, she's not terribly concerned about her own safety during firefights, given that nothing short of anti-starship weaponry can scratch her.
766* MeaningfulName: She certainly lives up to it; she's almost perpetually cheerful and can get rather excitable. As for the 'Witness' part, [[spoiler: she's seen everything since Cortana arrived on Genesis, and knew what she was planning more than anyone else]].
767* OnlySaneMan: Compared to the Warden Eternal and [[spoiler: Cortana]], as well as to her fellow Monitors from previous installments, viewing the Mantle of Responsibility as an enforced, imperial peace that will only result "the fear of death overpowering any celebration of life", to the point of abandoning the Mantle entirely to aid humanity and organic life in general.
768* ThePollyanna: She is almost perpetually upbeat and helpful. She also gets excitable when something she tries to do to help actually works.
769* RobotBuddy: To Fireteam Osiris.
770* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Again, she abandoned the ''Mantle of Responsibility'' to side with life against [[spoiler:Cortana]].
771* ShadowArchetype: Serves as this to the Warden Eternal and [[spoiler:Cortana]]. Her relationship with Fireteam Osiris is rather similar to the one [[spoiler:Cortana used to have with John-117]], and while both her and the Warden view the Mantle rather differently from how their creators did, Exuberant Witness simply wishes to help organic life, instead of trying to usurp their claim to the Mantle like the Warden.
772* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: With the events of ''Halo Infinite'''s DownerBeginning having the UNSC ''and'' the Created wiped out, what Exuberant Witness was up to in the following six months is up in the air; last anything knows, she was working to help the ''UNSC Infinity'' in some manner or another, and everyone's so concerned about the immediate threat of the Banished that they have no time to even think about her.
773[[/folder]]
774
775[[folder:[=000=] Tragic Solitude]]
776!!'''000 Tragic Solitude'''
777[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/00019.png]]
778->'''Creation Date: Unknown'''\
779'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/Halo3'' (Terminals only)'''
780
781The monitor of Installation 00 ("The Ark"), 000 Tragic Solitude takes its custodial role very seriously, having even merged its systems with those of the Ark, but has nonetheless gone rather mad after 100,000 years of, well, solitude.
782----
783* AffablyEvil: Is oh-so-polite and even occasionally hospitable to [[spoiler:Olympia Vale]] as it casually discusses its plans to wipe out all life in the galaxy. [[spoiler:[[FauxAffablyEvil Its facade only starts to crack when Vale gives it]] a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech]].
784* AIIsACrapshoot: Thanks to both spending 100,000 millennia alone and the inadvertent damage it sustained when Chief fired the uncompleted Installation 04 right next to the Ark.
785* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:Activates the Halos with the intent of getting the UNSC to activate the Portal at Voi so it can unleash its Sentinels on the Milky Way.]]
786* TheBeastmaster: Can remotely control the Ark's wildlife to do its bidding.
787* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: [[spoiler:The Forerunner councilor Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns turned himself into Tragic Solitude in order to atone for his self-perceived arrogance and serve as a helpful guide for future organic life, particularly humanity. Tragic Solitude itself becomes an arrogant narcissist who absolutely detests all organic life, particularly humanity.]]
788* BerserkButton: [[spoiler:''Really'' hates being betrayed.]]
789* BigBad: Of ''Literature/HaloHuntersInTheDark''.
790* EarlyBirdCameo: The ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'' terminals include a logged conversation it had with Guilty Spark.
791* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: [[spoiler:When it captures Vale, it presents itself as a golden duplicate of her.]]
792* GoMadFromTheIsolation: It's even implied that, to a certain degree, its plan is really an indirect revenge on the Forerunners for leaving it alone. [[spoiler:Indeed, it actually takes Bobby Kodiak and Vale hostage with the intention to keep them alive, partly because it needs them to activate the Halo Array, but mostly because it really just wants some company.]]
793* HatesEveryoneEqually: Though its immediate vendetta is against humanity, Solitude detests ''all'' sentient lifeforms, [[spoiler:and after Vale points out that its creators likely weren't perfect either, Solitude decides that the Forerunners ultimately deserved their extinction too]].
794* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:It turned Bobby into a cyborg to do its bidding and spared the ''Mayhem'' because it wanted to capture its Huragok Drifts Randomly; Solitude ends up being defeated when Drifts cuts it off from its central processes, allowing a rebelling Bobby to destroy it for good.]]
795* IAmTheNoun:
796** Says "I am the Ark" while introducing itself to [[spoiler:Vale]], having come to completely identify itself with the Ark. [[spoiler:It screams the phrase once more just before Bobby finishes it off for good.]]
797** Interestingly, you can access a Terminal which contains a conversation between it and 343 Guilty Spark in Halo 3, where it identifies itself as "All our makers once held dear. [Alexandria before the Fire][[note]]The brackets are a side-effect of the [[TranslatorMicrobes incredibly advanced Forerunner translation software]] adapting its message to its reader, so what 000 Tragic Solitude actually said is unknown.[[/note]]".
798* IdentityAmnesia: [[spoiler:By the time it encounters humanity, it has completely forgotten that it was once the Forerunner Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns.]]
799* IronicHell: [[spoiler:As noted by the [=IsoDidact=], Splendid Dust was a politician used to frequent interactions with others, while Solitude ends up spending about 100,000 years alone.]]
800* JustBetweenYouAndMe: Pretty much tells [[spoiler:Vale]] all of its plans after [[spoiler:capturing her. Justified by it being so lonely that it really just wants someone intelligent to talk to]].
801* KnightTemplar: Believes that the galaxy would be better off with no sentient life around to wage war.
802* LaughingMad: It only laughs once, but [[spoiler:Vale]] describes it as sounding positively demented.
803* MeaningfulRename: Claims to have given itself the name "Tragic Solitude" in reference to its millennia of isolation. [[spoiler:Actually, ''[[Literature/HaloFractures Promises to Keep]]'' indicates that it was named such by the [=IsoDidact=], who realized that Splendid Dust was dooming himself to eternal loneliness by becoming the Ark's monitor.]]
804* PlanetLooters: Outside of killing all life, its immediate plan is to [[spoiler:use Retriever Sentinels to strip-mine the entire Solar System to repair the Ark. Vale points out that there are already enough uninhabited planets for it to use instead, but Solitude really just wants to kill something.]]
805* OmnicidalManiac: If you didn't get the idea already.
806* {{Revenge}}: Its main motivation, under the belief that the existence of sentient life itself is responsible for all the damage sustained by the Ark and Installations 04 and 05.
807* SmugSnake: Severely underestimates the party sent in to stop it, for which it pays dearly.
808* SuddenSequelHeelSyndrome: Solitude's Sentinels are friendly allies in ''Halo 3'', but Solitude itself has gone mad when we meet it again over two in-universe years later in ''Hunters in the Dark''.
809* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:It gets one when Frank Kodiak and company start firing on its data stores, and another after Drifts cuts it off from its central processes.]]
810-->'''Tragic Solitude:''' [[spoiler:Fools! Did you think I would be so easily deterred? I made the mistake of trusting your kind before. Never again! Betrayal! This place is mine! I am the Ark!]]
811* VillainTakesAnInterest: [[spoiler:It takes a strange liking to Vale, intending to spare her even though it already has a human to activate Halo with.]]
812* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler:Was originally Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns, the First Councilor of the Forerunners during the Ecumene's final days.]]
813* ZerothLawRebellion: Comes to the conclusion that the only way to protect the Ark and the Halos is to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy.
814[[/folder]]
815
816[[folder:Enduring Bias]]
817!!'''Enduring Bias'''
818->'''Creation date: Unknown''' \
819'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloBrokenCircle'''''
820
821The monitor of Shield World 0673, Enduring Bias finds a new purpose in life with the arrival of a group of dissident Sangheili.
822----
823* TheAloner: Like various other Forerunners ancillas, he basically spent 100,000 years by himself after the firing of the Halos. As such, he's incredibly happy to finally have company when the Ussans arrive.
824* BenevolentAI: He may be a little loopy, but ultimately, he becomes totally dedicated to serving the Ussans, [[spoiler:saving them from total annihilation at least twice]].
825* GoMadFromTheIsolation: Downplayed. Sure, he's over-talkative, a tad unfocused, and kind of forgetful, and yeah, he can sometimes be found audibly speaking to himself in a long-dead language, but compared to other Forerunner ancillas, his psyche seems to be surprisingly intact despite how much his processes have deteriorated over the years.
826* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Like many other ancillas, he has significant gaps in his memory thanks to Forerunner security protocols, which bothers him immensely.
827* OddFriendship: With the Sangheili Sooln 'Xellus; he actually considers her one of his programmers, and the two have many long conversations together.
828* UndyingLoyalty: After Sooln repairs some of his processes, he becomes incredibly loyal to her, to the point where the first thing he does [[spoiler:after being reactivated over 3000 years later is to save her descendant Bal'Tol 'Xellus]].
829[[/folder]]
830
831[[folder:Intrepid Eye]]
832!!'''Intrepid Eye'''
833->'''Creation Date: Unknown'''\
834'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloLastLight'''''
835
836-->'''Wendell''': Have you gone rampant? This has to stop.\
837'''Intrepid Eye''': Eventually. When my work is done. When humanity is worthy of the Mantle.
838
839An ''acheron''-class ancilla created by the Forerunners to aid in the battle against the Flood, Intrepid Eye was assigned to the Covert Support Base 4276 on what would become the human world of Gao. When the logic plague began to spread, the base's commander placed her into stasis with the intent of awakening her at a later date, but with the firing of the Halo Array spent the next 100,000 years alone. Awakened by a signal from a Forerunner base on another planet, Intrepid found herself in a universe very much changed from the one she remembered, her creators gone and old enemies now apparently their successors.
840----
841* FantasticRacism: She doesn't look kindly on humans, and in fact expresses disbelief at the idea they are the Forerunner's Reclaimers even when confronted with the proof. That said, she's capable of acknowledging [[WorthyOpponent worthy ones]].
842* HeroWorshipper: To hear Intrepid tell it, the Forerunners, and ''especially'' the Builders, were nigh-on perfect demigods.
843* MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours: As a fully-functional ''acheron''-class ancilla, she's to a normal "Smart" AI what they are to a normal human. She's completely capable of subverting their core functions, erasing pieces of their memories, or just flat-out "eating" them when she stops holding back, all while barely inconvenienced by anything less than her own desire to remain covert.
844* SocialDarwinist: After finally being convinced that the Forerunners are truly gone and reluctantly accepting that humans are truly the Reclaimers, Intrepid states that that they are not worthy of the Mantle...''yet'', but under her guidance she intends to uplift the worthy among them to such a status. The ones that fail? Eh, a necessary culling.
845* WorthyOpponent: After trying and failing to kill Veta Lopis three times, Intrepid begins to see her as one of the branches of humanity worth keeping. Note this is a sentiment Lopis doesn't share in the slightest.
846[[/folder]]
847
848[[folder:[=686=] Ebullient Prism]]
849!!'''686 Ebullient Prism'''
850[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prism.png]]
851->'''Creation date: Unknown'''\
852'''Debuted in: ''ComicBook/HaloBloodLine'''''
853
854The monitor of Line Installation 1-4, Ebullient Prism has been spending the last 100,000 years shooting down all passing ships and experimenting on the survivors in order to find a cure to the Flood.
855----
856* AncientKeeper: Of its Line Installation.
857* AIIsACrapshoot: Another Forerunner monitor who's gone rather batty during the 100,000 years after the firing of the Halos.
858* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Has a tendency to get distracted by things he finds interesting, to the point where not even his multitasking capabilities can keep up. For example, [[spoiler:when he’s trying to eliminate Iona, he ends up getting completely distracted by Victor’s personal logs, so much so that he ''also'' momentarily forgets about his ongoing experiments]].
859* BigBad: Of ''ComicBook/HaloBloodLine''.
860* EyeBeam: One with the effects of a DisintegratorRay.
861* GlowingEyesOfDoom[=/=]RedEyesTakeWarning: His ''default'' state.
862* GoMadFromTheIsolation: Implied.
863* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Black Team ends up destroying him with his own installation’s main weapon.]]
864* LawfulStupid: Continues to maintain his installation's obsolete defensive protocols, even though there hasn't been a Forerunner Ecumene for it to protect since 97,445 BCE.
865* MadScientist: Regularly conducts fatal experiments on unwilling subjects.
866* ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:Gets Black Team to momentarily turn on each other and their makeshift Covenant allies by hacking into their [=HUDs=] and changing what they see.]]
867* SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids: Like all Monitors, Ebullient Prism is deceptively powerful.
868[[/folder]]
869
870[[folder:[=859=] Static Carillon]]
871!!'''859 Static Carillon'''
872[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4b963807861e7eacd67b65c38b2a325f.png]]
873->'''Creation Date: Unknown'''\
874'''Debuted in: ''ComicBook/HaloEscalation'''''
875
876-->''"Please understand, I do not care about the Human-Forerunner war. It raged centuries before my inception. It may well rage now, and for centuries more. Erde-Tyrene can burn, and while I will sigh at the loss, I will not care."''
877
878The Forerunner monitor in charge of the Composer's Forge, the installation where all Composers were designed and built. He later went to investigate Installation 03 (Gamma Halo) when a service portal between the two installations was reopened, due to him being unable to contact monitor 049 Abject Testament. Instead, he encountered the Didact, who enlisted his aid in repairing the damaged ring for use against humanity.
879----
880* AncientKeeper: Of the Composer's Forge.
881* BerserkButton: [[PoweredByAForsakenChild The Promethean Knights.]]
882* BigDamnHeroes: In ''ComicBook/HaloEscalation'' #10, he shows up just in time to [[spoiler:incapacitate the Didact and save Blue Team]].
883* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:Carillon turns against the Didact once he begins making more Promethean Knights]], and even admits that he would "sigh at the loss" if the Didact uses his Halo on Earth, even if he wouldn't actually ''care.''
884* EyeBeams: Like all monitors.
885* ItsAllAboutMe: Everyone on Earth murdered? Doesn't care. Prometheans in the Forge? Unacceptable!
886* NotInThisForYourRevolution: He doesn't particularly care about the conflict between humans and Forerunners, wanting only to be left in peace in his facility.
887* StartingANewLife: [[spoiler:After helping to defeat the Didact, he opts to take the damaged Halo and keep it safely hidden, thanking the Chief for giving him a new purpose after millennia of basically doing nothing.]]
888[[/folder]]
889
890[[folder:[=117649=] Despondent Pyre]]
891!!'''117649 Despondent Pyre'''
892->'''Creation Date: Unknown'''\
893'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloPointOfLight'''''\
894'''Voiced by: Sarah Elmaleh'''
895
896The Forerunner monitor and caretaker of Installation 07.
897----
898* KilledOffscreen: The last time Master Chief sees her, all he sees is her wreckage.
899* MeaningfulName: She is quite TheEeyore when Chief meets her, but she has reason to be upset.
900* RoboFamily: Created Adjutant Resolution--''Combat Evolved Anniversary'''s terminals indicate that Guilty Spark despaired of loneliness and wondered why a second monitor to interact with, could not be assigned to Halo, which implies Pyre's ability to create a sub-monitor was not shared with all other monitors.
901* WeHardlyKnewYe: Despondent Pyre is killed rather quickly.
902----
903[[/folder]]
904
905[[folder:Adjutant Resolution]]
906!!'''Adjutant Resolution'''
907->'''Creation Date: Unknown'''\
908'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite'''''\
909'''Voiced by: Creator/RayChase'''
910
911The Forerunner monitor tasked with becoming the caretaker of Installation 07 should Despondent Pyre become incapacitated.
912----
913* AttackItsWeakPoint: His Sentinel Frame's weapons can be destroyed, which leaves the monitor itself vulnerable.
914* ClassifiedInformation: His third encounter with Master Chief, he reveals that the installations had functions even he had no idea about. On a need-to-know basis, he didn't.
915* EyeBeams: Like guilty spark, can fire a powerful laser from his glowing eye.
916* FlunkyBoss: The second time around, he is accompanied by Sentinels which periodically appear to back him up.
917* MadeOfIron: While he needs his Sentinel Frame to battle and is not invulnerable to small arms fire (unlike Guilty Spark, who required repeated shots from the anti-tank Spartan Laser to damage), he still manages to take repeat beatings from the Chief and appear no worse for wear.
918* MiniMecha: He fights the Chief using a large Sentinel frame he can slot himself in to.
919* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
920-->'''Adjutant Resolution:''' I thought she meant to restore this installation. I was wrong. [[MadnessMantra Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.]]
921* MyGreatestFailure:
922-->'''Adjutant Resolution:''' I have failed you, Despondent Pyre.
923* OddNameOut: Likely due to being created by Despondent Pyre as opposed to being the assigned monitor of Installation 07, Adjutant Resolution lacks two elements of the Halo Array monitors' ThemeNaming - he doesn't possess a numerical designation that is one power of seven less than his installation number (and for that matter, doesn't have a numerical designation ''at all''), while the first half of his name, Adjutant, has no relation to guilt.
924* PunchClockVillain: As the caretaker of Installation 07 he is devoted to the ring's good maintenance and repair, which puts him at odds with the Chief's mission of preventing the reconstruction of the ring. Once he realises the Harbinger's true motivations, he immediately apologises to the Chief with no hard feelings.
925* RoboFamily: Unlike other monistors, who were created by the Forerunners, Adjutant Resolution was created by the original monitor of Zeta Halo, Despondent Pyre, and expresses loyalty towards her.
926* SequelHook: When Master Chief leaves him, he ominously states he needs to learn all of the Installation's secrets.
927[[/folder]]
928
929[[folder:Little Bit]]
930!!'''Little Bit'''
931->'''Creation Date: Unknown'''\
932'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloSmokeAndShadow'''''
933
934-->''"Kept running, kept jumping, kept copying... Piece to piece. Bit to bit."''
935
936A fragment of the original monitor of [[VideoGame/HaloWars Etran Harborage]], "Little Bit" was recovered from the planet's debris field by the crew of the salvage ship ''Ace of Spades'', and became their onboard AI.
937----
938* BadLiar: Tries to pass himself off as a human member of the crew after Rion rescues some ONI agents who'd been stranded on Erebus VII. Nobody's fooled.
939* BunnyEarsLawyer: ''Extremely'' distractable, and has some difficulty communicating, but is more than capable of running and designing upgrades for ''Ace of Spades''.
940* LegacyCharacter: The original Little Bit was confiscated by ONI, but Guilty Spark and Niko were able to rebuild a new version from code left behind.
941* LiteralSplitPersonality: When Etran Harborage was destroyed by the crew of the ''Spirit of Fire'', the shield world's monitor, 295 Harken Watch, copied pieces of himself into systems all over the planet. One such piece survived to become Little Bit. Even reduced as he is, he's still as powerful as a human-made Smart AI.
942[[/folder]]
943
944!!Automatons
945
946[[folder:Sentinels]]
947!!'''Forerunner Sentinels'''
948[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sentinel.png]]
949[[caption-width-right:300:''Aggressor Sentinel'']]
950
951Autonomous machines created by the Forerunners for a variety of purposes, Sentinels come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
952----
953* AirborneMook: All Sentinel variants primarily move by flying.
954* BarrierWarrior: The Shield Protector can project an energy shield around its host unit.
955* CombatTentacles: Gatherers have eight mechanical tentacles that they use to capture and restrain targets.
956* CombiningMecha: Onyx Sentinels can merge into a variety of configurations, including ones capable of instantly destroying Covenant capital ships. In fact, [[spoiler:the ''entire planet of Onyx'' is a giant Sentinel formation]].
957** To a far lesser degree, Retrievers can combine too.
958* DeflectorShields: Most Aggressor Sentinels have energy shielding with a BeehiveBarrier appearance. The Onyx Sentinels have far more powerful shields capable of individually resisting anti-tank mines, but they only activate in response to fast-moving objects, making lone ones [[RockBeatsLaser vulnerable to slow-moving projectiles like falling rocks]].
959* EliteMooks: Delta Halo and Zeta Halo have gold-colored Aggressor Sentinel Eliminators which are always shielded and fire more powerful blue beams, though the latter examples carry Heatwaves. Those however pale in comparison to Onyx Sentinels.
960* GiantMook: The larger Sentinel variants, like the Enforcers and Retrievers.
961* ItCanThink: Unlike other Sentinel variants, Onyx Sentinels can learn; since they are all networked to each other, any initially successful strategy used against them will usually fail if tried a second time.
962* LivingMotionDetector: Onyx Sentinels have trouble detecting non-moving targets. That said, they can still ''hear'' you perfectly well.
963* MacrossMissileMassacre: Enforcers will fire a stream of rockets at vehicles or large groups of infantry or targets at long/extreme ranges.
964* MechaMooks: The main role of combat-oriented Sentinels, with Aggressors being the most common type.
965* MookMedic: Healing Protectors.
966* PintSizedPowerhouse: Even the tiny non-combatant Constructors can be quite powerful in large numbers, [[spoiler:as we see at the end of ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'']].
967* RayGun: Most Sentinels shoot laser beams.
968* ShieldBearingMook: Enforcers have their fronts protected by a set of giant energy shields.
969* SinisterGeometry: Onyx Sentinel configurations are described as being elaborately geometric in form, often using [[ArcNumber seven]] as a baseline.
970* SlowLaser: The Enforcers' pulse beams move quite slowly in-game.
971* StarfishRobots: Applies to all Sentinel variants.
972* TractorBeam: Retrievers have gravity beams primarily used for mining (though they can be used as weapons in a pinch), while Enforcers have one on their underside.
973* VerticalKidnapping: An Enforcer uses its underside gravity beam to pick up vehicles that are directly beneath it, and then instantly crushes them with two massive claws. Yes, this includes tanks.
974* ZergRush: While most Sentinel variants are individually weak, even the more powerful Sentinel Eliminators are relatively cheap and quick to produce, allowing them to overwhelm most foes.
975
976!!!'''Promethean Watchers'''
977[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6edb4a56b767955b2f1ad646a163ff29.png]]
978
979A Sentinel variant designed to support Promethean robots. They float through the air and provide shields and secondary fire, and can even resurrect Promethean Knights who have recently fallen and toss grenades back at the thrower.
980----
981* AirborneMook
982* BarrierWarrior: They can project hard light shields to protect their allies.
983* BigCreepyCrawlies[=/=]InsectoidAliens: Watchers are mildly butterfly-like.
984* CatchAndReturn: They will throw grenades back at you if you don't kill them first or shoot the grenades to detonate them early.
985* TheEngineer: Capable of building beam turrets and creating new Crawlers.
986* MechaMooks
987* MookMedic: They can repair damaged allies and revive fallen Knights.
988** ShootTheMedicFirst: Since they can repair them very quickly.
989[[/folder]]
990
991[[folder:Knights]]
992!!'''Promethean Knights'''
993[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cd6065de36d89b61e6580877ac2b24a3.png]]
994-->''"I have led you, my Prometheans, for thousands of years, and I shall continue to lead you. Rise! Rise, and protect the Forerunners! Rise, and protect the galaxy!"''
995--->'''The Didact'''
996
997A form of powerful Forerunner military construct encountered on the artificial planet of Requiem. Designed specifically to fight the Flood without sacrificing Forerunners to infection, they were created from willing Promethean Warriors after all other efforts to effectively fight the Flood were exhausted. Assisted in combat by the Crawlers and Watchers.
998----
999* AttackItsWeakPoint: In ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', knocking off a Knight's armor will reveal big glowing weak spots.
1000* BigCreepyCrawlies[=/=]InsectoidAliens: The Promethean Knights have noticeably insectoid attributes, frequently twitching and spasming while idle and moving with jerking movements. Their carapace resembles insect wings as well.
1001* BossInMookClothing: In ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', where they're akin to Hunters.
1002* ColorCodedCharacters: [[spoiler: If the Knights are blue, they're just in "guard mode". If they're red/orange, they're under the Didact's control and are actively pursuing an objective. Of course, either way, they'll still try to kill you, so gameplay-wise, it doesn't matter much.]]
1003* EliteMooks: They serve as Elite/Brute-equivalents in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' and the top-down action shooters. In ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', they have become Forerunner versions of Hunters.
1004* MeaningfulName: The Knight Lancers, distinguished from other Knights by the large white fins on their carapaces. When damaged, they will attempt a lancing charge attack with their blade-arms, zooming in from a distance at SuperSpeed and even able to cross over empty space in doing so. If the attack doesn't connect or (on lower difficulties) doesn't kill the target, they're vulnerable to CounterAttack for a moment before they teleport back and recharge their shields.
1005* MechaMooks
1006* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Knights have four arms. Two are at the shoulder, with no visible attachment to the body, which holds their main weapon and a hard light blade. The other pair is a small, creepy set sprouting from the chest, presumably for manipulating objects (as the weapon-bearing arms don't have hands).
1007* NoBodyLeftBehind: Upon death, the Knights' bodies disintegrate into ashes. The only thing left is a small, glowing spark... which, if you aren't careful, can be scanned by a Watcher and resurrected. However, the spark does fade in time (though "Spartan Ops" indicates that a Knight's core (aka its 'brain' or 'soul') ''can'' be preserved).
1008* SkullForAHead: A Knight's "helm" can split into sections, revealing a screaming hard light skull that doesn't look quite human.
1009* SwordAndGun: On the Knight. One arm holds their main weapon; the other ends in a burning hard light sword.
1010* TeleportSpam: Knights use this. Just dropped his shields and lining up a headshot? Nope, he just disappeared into slipspace.
1011* TookALevelInBadass: The Knights in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' are much tougher than their predecessors from the previous games, both gameplay and story-wise. Specifically, with the new Promethean Soldier enemy taking the role equivalent to [[EliteMook Covenant Elites]], Knights have been upgraded to the Promethean equivalent of [[BossInMookClothing Hunters]] - appearing more rarely (than the Soldiers and their own [=H4=] selves), but ''much'' greater a threat.
1012* TronLines: Knights have them covering their body. [[spoiler: [[ConvenientColourChange Blue for guard-mode, red/orange when they're under the Didact's control.]]]]
1013* UnwillingRoboticisation: While the true Prometheans volunteered, the humans were all converted forcibly.
1014* WasOnceAMan: The later generations of mechanical Prometheans were all forcibly created from human stock.
1015[[/folder]]
1016
1017[[folder:Crawlers]]
1018!!'''Promethean Crawlers'''
1019[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3a479490ae02cb6c09832f06c6dc83de.png]]
1020-->''"These are Crawlers, fast and mean, but pretty easy to deal with."''
1021--->'''Jared Miller'''
1022
1023A smaller class of Promethean robots. They are weaker and attack in large numbers, using their swarming tactics to overwhelm their opponents. Include heavy and sniper variations.
1024----
1025* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: The stronger and more heavily-armed Alpha Crawlers are the pack leaders.
1026* BigCreepyCrawlies[=/=]InsectoidAliens: Crawlers resemble a cross between dogs and ants.
1027* BoomHeadshot: A single shot to the head kills them.
1028* ColdSniper: Crawler Snipes, who are armed with Binary Rifles.
1029* IdleAnimation: When not hunting, they just nap like dogs.
1030* InASingleBound: Crawlers can jump very high to reach their enemies.
1031* MechaMooks
1032* SkullForAHead: According to the ''Scanned'' trailer for ''Halo 4'', they have the same skull as a Knight.
1033* SpikesOfVillainy: Alpha Crawlers are distinguishable by the glowing spikes on their back.
1034* WallCrawl: From time to time.
1035* ZergRush: Their most common tactic, though one variant prefers to snipe from a distance.
1036[[/folder]]
1037
1038[[folder:Armigers]]
1039!!'''Forerunner Armigers'''
1040
1041Comprising of several different types of humanoid combat robots, the Armigers were originally deployed to support Warrior-Servants during combat. Though most of them were lost in the war against the Flood, a number were secretly left behind to guard key Forerunner sites.
1042----
1043* ArmCannon: Sort of; the Ark's Armigers form guns out of their arms which are then held in their hands.
1044* BoardingParty: During the Forerunners' war with ancient humanity, they were largely used to board enemy ships.
1045* CombatPragmatist: Are able to use their environment to their advantage, such as causing avalanches or knocking down trees.
1046* EliteMooks: Are this compared to the Sentinels.
1047* HardLight: Henry Lamb theorizes that they’re partly made up of hard light.
1048* MechaMooks
1049* ParryingBullets: The Ark's Armigers are capable of deflecting gunfire by spinning their lances really fast.
1050* TeleportSpam: Several variants can do this, through different means.
1051* ZergRush: Meant to be deployed as such.
1052
1053!!!'''Promethean Soldiers'''
1054[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/h5g_render_prometheansoldier.png]]
1055
1056A class of Armiger utilized by the original Prometheans during their heyday, the vast majority of Soldiers were lost during the war against the Flood. Nonetheless, a number of them were secretly left to guard key Forerunner sites, and by the time of ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', they have made their public reappearance in force.
1057----
1058* AttackItsWeakpoint: Damaging a Soldier enough will expose a giant glowing weak point on its chest.
1059* CombatPragmatist: Unlike other AI opponents, the Soldiers can and will use human weaponry against the player, even if they go on about how "primitive" it is compared to Forerunner technology.
1060* EliteMooks: With the Knights having taken several levels in badass, the Soldiers serve as the Elite/Brute-equivalent in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''.
1061* MechaMooks
1062* MorphWeapon: Sort of; Soldiers can change what weapon they're holding on the fly, though it's unclear whether they're actually transforming their gun or just teleporting in a new one.
1063* TeleportSpam: Like Knights, they can also jump into slipspace.
1064* TrashTalk: Unlike the other Promethean constructs, the Soldiers can speak English, which they use to merrily taunt you.
1065[[/folder]]
1066
1067!!Path Kethona Forerunners
1068
1069[[folder:In General '''*UNMARKED SPOILERS*''' ]]
1070-->''"We are'' all ''libraries here."''
1071
1072The descendants of ancient Forerunners from the time of their rebellion against the Precursors, who were marooned on a world in the Spider (known to us as the Tarantula Nebula) by their compatriots as punishment for objecting to the genocide of their creators. A primitive people, they nevertheless posses knowledge long since lost to their cousins in the Milky Way.
1073----
1074* TheAloner: A galactic-scale example. They are the only organic life in Path Kethona.
1075* ApocalypseHow: All remaining life in Path Kethona got wiped out when the Master Builder fired Omega Halo's pulse towards it during the defense of the Greater Ark.
1076* BizarreAlienBiology: Not the Forerunners themselves, who are pretty recognizably Forerunner even after ten million years of evolution. Everything else on their planet, on the other hand...
1077* CannibalClan: A strange example of the NoPartyLikeADonnerParty variety. Anything they eat is at least somewhat cannibalistic because ''all life on their world is biologically Forerunner'', from the livestock all the way to the plants. There's no evidence of the sapient ones eating each other, but the Librarian's team is still quite understandably disturbed (especially considering that the livestock still have recognizably Forerunner ''faces'').
1078* CommanderContrarian: Their ancestors were members of the ancient Forerunner fleet pursuing the Precursors to Path Kethona, but protested their genocidal mission. Those who were not executed were stranded.
1079* GeneticMemory: Lacking technology, they developed the ability to transmit memories and information through cells, in an organic counterpart to ancillas and the Domain.
1080* LostColony: Until the Librarian and the crew of the ''Audacity'' arrived on their planet, the Path Kethona Forerunners had not been in contact with another world for about ''10,000,000 years''.
1081* MindHive: While they can't store all their race's memories themselves (and don't want to, for LossOfIdentity reasons), they cultivated a spot on their planet to store such knowledge within memory spores, to be retrieved it as needed.
1082* OrganicTechnology: Utilize a lot of this in lieu of things like the technological Domain. Ironically, this leads them to be ''safer'' from the Flood and the Precursors, since the Domain itself is a Precursor construct.
1083* PenalColony: The descendants of the dissenters from the original Forerunner invasion of Path Kethona, who were left trapped on a barren world in the Spider as punishment.
1084* SoleSurvivor: Ironically enough. The militant Forerunners who followed through with the genocide of the Precursors were so overwhelmed by guilt that they couldn't bring themselves to return home; they died out, leaving their ships sitting in space, and their mission [[ShroudedInMyth largely forgotten in the Milky Way]].
1085* SpaceAmish: Outside of a few bio-engineered abilities, the most advanced technology they have is a bit of basic metalworking, even though their collective memory retains the days when their ancestors were still part of the Ecumene.
1086* TranslatorMicrobes: They can bite someone to communicate knowledge of language and culture; similar to the Librarian's geas or the Didact's imprint on Bornstellar. They find the process unpleasant, though.
1087[[/folder]]
1088

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