User:Ebon Shadowshot/Great Schism (ES)

"Thou in faith shall keep us safe, whilst we find the path. It appears that the Sangheili no longer care for the divine Writ of Union, nor do they care for the Covenant! They only hinder our plans, and are to be exterminated in order for us to prosper."

- The High Prophet of Truth, speaking on 1st November 2552 to all Jiralhanae forces throughout the Galaxy

The Great Schism (also known as the Great Betrayal by the Seperatists and the Covenant Civil War by humanity) was a conflict between the Covenant Empire and it's Sangheili members. During the Schism, the Covenant Empire split into two major factions, the Covenant Seperatists (lead by Sangheilian forces) and the Covenant Loyalists (lead by Jiralhanae/San 'Shyuum forces), and multiple other small factions which broke off during the confusion. The Great Schism is often noted by historians as contributing greatly to the conclusion of the Human-Covenant War.

Prelude and Beginning
Since their arrival within in the Covenant in the 2300's, the Jiralhanae and the Sangheili were never on friendly terms, allied only out of their affiliation. There was a divide between the San 'Shyuum, some favouring the new Jiralhanae to the Sangheili, as the Jiralhanae seemed to be more loyal. Others thought the Sangheili were the better soldiers and would benefit the Covenant more. There were numerous debates kept hidden from either species as to who would be the leading military force in the Covenant.

By 2412, it was decided that the decision would be that of the High Prophets. The Prophets of the time were Sangheili supporters, and their successors were too. This pattern continued until the Tolerance scandal of 2524, resulting in the deposing of the three High Prophets. The new three (Truth, Mercy and Regret) were divided on the subject, Truth was a strong supporter of the Jiralhanae, whilst Mercy opposed it and Regret was indifferent. Truth slowly began relinquishing Sangheilian power within the Covenant, the first major step being the upgrading of the Jiralhanae ship to fit the standard of other Covenant vessels in 2530's.

Despite his best efforts, Truth couldn't fully replace the Sangheili's role without some urgent reason. Upon the assassination of the Prophet of Regret, Truth finally has an excuse to depose the Sangheili. In response, the Sangheili threatened to leave the High Council. Truth ordered the Sangheili to watch the activation of Installation 05, as the public believed that the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam had retrieved the Index. In actual fact, Truth also ordered the murder of Thel, which was executed by Tartarus. Unfortunatley, Thel lived through this assassination, and disappeared so he could not inform the Covenant.

The Sangheili Council arrived on Installation 05, intial mistrustful of the Jiralhanae, but the Jiralhanae were calmed by Tartarus. However, once the Council reached the mountain range within viewing range of the control room, Tartarus ordered the soldiers to execute the councillors. Many Councillors were murdered and only a few dozen managed to flee into hiding. By this time, it became very apparent that the Jiralhanae were not to be trusted as they began executing numerous Sangheili. The Sangheili fought back, mustering as many soldiers as they could to back them. It was around this time that the Master Chief John-117 was teleported to High Charity. By now the first battle of the schism had begun.

John hunted down the two remaining Prophets as the fighting between the two factions intensified. John ventured through the city until the UNSC In Amber Clad crashed into a building, carrying the Gravemind and a large Flood army. The Flood began spreading across the city via the Pelicans within the ship. John eventually tracked down the Prophets, who were escaping in Phantoms with Jiralhanae forces. Miranda Keyes and Seargent Johnson were held prisoner too, and were assigned to two different Phantoms. Just as the Prophets were about to escape, several Infection Forms arrived to attack the group. Although the Honour Guards managed to stop most of them, one managed to jump towards Mercy, knocking him off his Gravity Throne. Mercy tried to fight back, and Tartarus went to help him, but Truth stopped him and left Mercy behind. John arrived to help Mercy, and after a few short seconds he removed the Infection Form and killed it. Mercy, unfortunatley, died from shock shortly afterwards. John placed Mercy in his throne and activated it's teleportation ability to send the body to an unknown destination within High Charity of Installation 05, in the hope that the Flood wouldn't get another Prophet form on their side. John eventually reached a point where he could reach the Dreadnought before it departed. He was forced to leave his AI, Cortana, behind.

Shortly after Truth's escape, the Arbiter arrived at the Installation 05 Control Room, and promptly avenged the Councillors with assistance from Zealots, Spec Ops Sangheili, Mgalekgolo, the shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum and other Councillors. He reached the Control Room, where Seargent Johnson was freed from the Jiralhanae's grasp. 343 Guilty Spark, monitor of Installation 04, then explained the true purpose of the Halo Array, which Tartarus rejected and forced Miranda to activate the ring. At the same time, three Jiralhanae commanders Tiridus, Bludicus and Lepidus were investigating the control room's other rooms when they came under attack by Seperatist forces.

Although Tiridus, Bludicus and Lepidus survived the attempts on their life, Tartarus' shield was punctured by numerous sniper shots and he was defeated by the Arbiter and several councillors. The three commanders saw this and were evacuated from the Installation 05 back to Doisac, giving an order for the Jiralhanae Fleet around High Charity to retreat to Earth.

The three succeeded Tartarus as leaders of the Loyalist military, eventually being known as the Loyal Trinity.

The Great Schism officially began with the formation of the Covenant Seperatists and the Covenant Loyalists the following day.