Prophet of Mercy (Earth-5875)

"Halo! Its divine wind will rush through the stars, propelling all who are worthy along the path to salvation!"

- - Prophet of Mercy

The Prophet of Mercy, born Hod Rumnt, was one of the three san'shyuum Hierarchs of the Covenant that led the empire and the Covenant High Council during the First Contact War in the 9th Age of Reclamation. He was the oldest and most experienced of the trio.

Early life
Born on August 22nd, 2332, on High Charity, Hod Rumnt was elected by the Covenant High Council before his future fellow Hierarchs were even born. His early career was marked by intense debates between himself and sangheili High Councilors over the manipulation of forerunner relics. He was considered to be one of the last san'shyuum of the Old Guard, publicly criticizing the san'shyuum's demilitarization after the end of the War of Beginnings. This later led him to willingly help in the replacement of the sangheili for the jiralhanae in the Great Schism.

Ascension
By 2510, in the 23rd Age of Doubt, Rumnt gave up politics to indulge in the spirituality of the Ascetics aboard the Dreadnought. However, only two years later, he helped the Minister of Fortitude Ord Casto and the Vice Minister of Tranquility Lod Mron rise to the post of Hierarch through the subterfuge of their previous three leaders.

As a sign of gratitude towards his aid, Casto and Mron offered him the chance to be the third Hierarch at their side, which he relutanctly agreed with, but saw no other choice knowing about their secrets. With his help, the three san'shyuum ascended to become Hierarch, and Rumt chose the regnal name of the Prophet of Mercy.

Outbreak of the war
In February 2525, the Prophet of Mercy approached his fellow Hierarchs to indulge about the "reliquaries" found on the distant world of Shanxi. While he and Regret analyzed all the data the soldiers were able to retrieve in the planet, Mendicant Bias, the Oracle of the Dreadnought reactivated disclosely to the Prophet of Truth, revealing that the humans were "Reclaimers" who were left behind, which proved a major aspect of the Path and its Great Journey to be false.

After Truth heard this revelation, he kept it a secret from both Mercy and Regret, believing such an information, if public or shared, would certainly lead to the destruction of the Covenant from the inside. They then declared war against humanity, under Truth's pretense that humanity were heretics that deserved to be exterminated duo to their very existence being a threat to the forerunners.