Hephaestus (Specops306)

The Great Schism was a period of massive fracture - as the Sangheili seceded from the Covenant, the Jiralhanaestruck in a preemptive campaign of genocide before the Sangheili could do it to them. Their targets, however, were not all the same - some struck Sangheili targets, waging vicious, bloody but doomed fights against their hated enemies; others attacked vulnerable human outposts, seeking good sport or salvage; and still more struck Jiralhanae targets, reviving ancient rivalries. The reclusive Brotherhood of Ruskt withdrew to their future home, and as the Covenant collapsed around them some Jiralhanae saw the opportunity to make swift gains for themselves, carving out their own niches.

Hephaestus, hereditary Chieftain of the Varthaka Master-Pack, would be the biggest figure on this ever-shifting political landscape. between 2552 and 2555, he would carve out a sizeable amount of territory for himself and his pack, gathering warriors, slaves and weapons enough to build up his own small empire, naming himself the "Blood Covenant," able to withstand the combined assault by the Sangheili Armed Forces and United Nations Space Command, and fight the New Covenant on a second front, for another half decade. Hephaestus himself would not live to see the slow disintegration of all he had worked for, killed in Operation: TACK HAMMER in 2555. His legacy, however, would be remembered by other Jiralhanae among the New Covenant and Brotherhood of Ruskt - his pettiness, his greed, his vanity, but above all his success

Behind the Scenes

 * Hephaestus was the first character by Specops306 to bear the name, but he would not be the last - at least one Aeneas-class ship bears the name, as well as the Project Head for Project EXCALIBUR, as well as Project HEPHAESTUS of Operation: VORAUSSICHT. The four should not be confused.
 * Parts of the War of Vengeance were adopted for LOMI's Great Schism, including the Blood Covenant and Hephaestus. In the Necrosverse version of events, killed by Cassius, a servant of the Prophet of Devotion, much later in the war. LOMI's version of Hephaestus is far more noble than mine, motivated by desire for vengeance, rather than greed.