Heretic (Earth-5875)



"Heresy! Remove this filth!"

- - A sangheili on Ellen Anders

A heretic is someone who defiled and offended the Covenant and its leadership, enough to be not only branded a traitor, but also an unholy blight in the universe that does not deserve to exist, and whose mere existence must be dealt with quickly to protect the santity of the Covenant.

History
Fal 'Chavamee was deemed a heretic after he refused to accept the Path as his religion. This led to the execution of his wife, Han 'Chava, as well as the deaths of Fal and Haka 'Chavamee in a duel. The title of Arbiter was changed from one of glory and prestige to a position only the most disgraced sangheili warrrior undertook to regain their honor in suicidal missions for the Covenant.

Krith, a kig-yar pirate-prince, was murdered by Ripa 'Moramee after defying the Covenant and the Path.

After learning of a mysterious connection between humanity and the forerunners, the Prophet of Truth hid this information from the rest of the Covenant, including his fellow Hierarchs, to consolidate his power, and declared the entire species to be an affront to their gods and thus heretics who should be eradicated, starting the First Contact War.

Atriox, leader of the Banished, was labeled a heretic after he started to question the righteousness of the Covenant during the First Contact War. The Hierarchs had the Executioner to dispose of Atriox, so he would not become a martyr, but he killed his would-be-assassin and took numerous followers with him.

Sesa 'Refumee, the leader of an artifact retrieval team attached to the Fleet of Particular Justice, encountered Monitor 343 Guilty Spark aboard the Threshold Mine, who revealed them about the true purpose of the Halo Array and its goal of destroying all life in the galaxy, not to ascend the true believers to another plane of existence. 'Refumee and those loyal to him organized the Light of Truth, in an attempt to reveal the truth to the rest of the Covenant. This led them to be branded heretics by the Covenant High Council, as well as Thel 'Vadamee's appointment as an Arbiter by the Hierarchs to kill them.