Thel 'Vadam

'' Were you looking for the rank Arbiter, Ripa 'Moramee from Halo Wars, or the Halo 2 campaign level The Arbiter? ''

"We are the arms of the Prophets, Arbiter, and you are the blade."

- Rtas 'Vadumee to Thel 'Vadamee during Battle of the Gas Mine

Thel 'Vadam (formerly "Thel 'Vadamee"), often simply referred to as The Arbiter amongst players and in-game characters alike, is the deuteragonist of the Halo series, and the most prominent Sangheili shown during its canonical continuity. At the apogee of his career with the Covenant he served as the Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice. However, following the destruction of Installation 04, he was stripped of his rank, publicly tortured, and sentenced to death. But before his execution, the Prophets abruptly changed their decision, stating the Council was "overzealous" and that Thel was no heretic. He was given the choice to don the ancient armor of the Arbiter. He accepted the position of the Arbiter to continue his service to the Covenant, even in his disgraced state. An Arbiter is always sent on a suicidal mission to claim great honor in death, so he was not expected to live. However, the Hierarchs (and later the Jiralhanae that the Prophets used to attempt to assassinate the Arbiter) underestimated his skill, and he survived. He, along with the rest of the Sangheili, allied themselves with Humans, after the Gravemind told him of the Halo's true purpose, and was betrayed by his Covenant brethren. He later swore vengeance on The Prophet of Truth.

Early Life
Thel was born Thel 'Vadam, to the Vadam family, rulers of the powerful State of Vadam, on Sanghelios. He joined the Covenant military, earning him the right for the "ee" suffix, which is added to a Sangheili name upon joining the military. Soon after he gained the rank of Shipmaster, he earned the title of Kaidon through voting by the elders.

Life As Kaidon
"It is a poor soldier who insists on seeing things not as they are, but as he wants them to be. One day reality hits, and his illusions fail him, and he dies stupidly. What honor is there in that?"

- Thel 'Vadamee

Thel's life as Kaidon was important for the Vadam Family, as he was to continue the reign of the powerful State of Vadam. Early in his rule, period, he was attacked by three Sangheili assassins, all wielding energy swords. He managed to kill all three without even being scratched. He then killed one of the Vadam elders, Koida 'Vadam, for the attempted assassination.

He was sent to Charybdis IX, with command over Retribution's Thunder, to participate in the Battle of Charybdis IX, whilst being overseen by the Prophet of Regret. He and several other Sangheili boarded the, and attempted to get to the Navigation Database, but it had been purged before they were even aboard. He left and witnessed the destruction of the ship, before being called to the Infinite Sacrifice, where he met Regret in person. He was told of the humans wielding modified Covenant Weapons, and that they were most likely the Kig-yar's doing. He was then sent to the 23 Librae system, to track down the source of the weapon traders, along with the Jackal vessel, A Psalm Every Day.

As he arrived at 23 Librae, his ship came under attack, first by Jiralhanae and Kig-yar forces at The Rubble, then boarded by A Psalm Every Day's forces. He ordered the destruction of The Retribution's Thunder, which killed all the boarding Kig-yar. He, however, survived, and was captured by Kig-yar forces, along with most of the bridge crew. He and most of the bridge crew managed to escape, and hijack a Kig-yar shuttle, taking them to another Kig-yar vessel. They went to the surface of Metisette, and captured the leader of the Kig-yar, Reth.

After managing to escape the Unggoy army, Thel returned to the Kig-yar vessel, where they locked Reth up. He eventually escaped when a nervous grunt switched off the energy barrier, and he fled into an escape pod. Thel then turned his eyes to The Rubble, as a large skirmish between UNSC forces and Kig-yar forces was taking place on the Infinite Spoils. He and his crew then boarded the Infinite Spoils, and came face to face with Jai-006, before fighting with him. The SPARTAN-II then fled out the ship with the other UNSC forces, but a shocked Thel and his crew stayed and commandeered the Infinite Spoils.

Thel managed to destroy most of The Rubble's Mass Drivers, but then was helpless when The Redoubt was destroyed, and the Exodus Project left the system. He decided the best thing to do was to wait for the Prophets of Truth and Regret to arrive, and report to them with his comrade, Zhar. Upon reporting his mission failure, Zhar attempted to slaughter the Prophets — believing them to be ordering his execution — but Thel activated his own Energy Sword and killed his former friend. This act prompted Truth to spare his life, and give him command over the Fleet of Particular Justice.

As Supreme Commander
"Soon the Great Journey will begin, but when it does, the weight of your heresy will stay your feet, and you shall be left behind."

- The Prophet of Truth to 'Vadamee at his hearing.



After his return from the Battle of the Rubble, Thel 'Vadamee was offered a place in the Fleet of Particular Justice, a newly assembled fleet for the Covenant Navy.

As the Supreme Commander of the Fleet, he led the victorious Covenant forces at the Battle of Reach. As the battle ended, Thel ordered all ships within his command to follow the fleeing UNSC Pillar of Autumn. Following the Autumn's course led them to Installation 04. Commanding the Seeker of Truth, he had his ships begin evacuating the ring upon the release of the Flood. The parasite even managed to capture a ship and infect a minor prophet, the Minister of Etiology. The sudden wide spread evacuation led to confusion as ships became infested. He was unable to prevent the destruction of the ring and so was forced to abandon it. The abandonment saved his life, but also resulted in the capture of the newly arrived flagship; the Ascendant Justice, by John-117 and he was called before the High Council to answer for these failures.

The loss of the Forerunner relic that the Covenant held "holy" rendered the Council unmoved by his defense and 'Vadamee was stripped of his rank, title, name and honor, and branded a heretic for failing in safeguarding Halo. The Mark of Shame was branded upon his chest in front of much of the Covenant, and sentenced to death. He would "Be hung by his entrails" and his corpse "Paraded through the city" as an example to others.

Upon being brought to the Prophet Hierarchs of Truth and Mercy, they intervened and offered to commute the sentence if he would become the new Arbiter. Understanding that becoming the eighth Arbiter of the Covenant amounted to an indirect death sentence, but also seeking an opportunity to redeem himself (which was in the mind of the High Prophets), the Sangheili accepted the offer. Unlike his other Elite brethren, his ancient armor was more traditional and honorific than advanced as the others and had a very limited amount of energy to sustain its Active Camouflage.

Gas Mine
"What would you have your Arbiter do?"

- 'Vadamee to the Prophets

'Vadamee's first combat assignment as the Arbiter was to stop the Heretic uprising based in a Forerunner Gas Mine in the atmosphere of Threshold. The prophet had expected that he would die in the mission and so this was part of his sentence. He was assisted by Rtas 'Vadumee, Special Operations Elites, and Special Operations Grunts. The operation was even more complicated by the unexpected escape of the Flood from the facility. During the chaos that followed, the Heretic leader Sesa 'Refumee sealed himself in a protected zone of the station, to protect himself from the storm. The Arbiter drove the Heretics out by cutting the cables from which the facility hung from a larger structure, causing the gas mine to fall. After he had severed the cables, he chased the heretic leader in a Banshee to another part of the station. After crashing his Banshee, the Arbiter fought his way through massive amounts of Flood and a few surviving Heretics toward the station's hangar. Before Sesa 'Refumee could escape in a Seraph, the Arbiter assassinated him, but not before the Heretic Leader called the Great Journey "a lie". The Arbiter was confused to discover that the Heretics had been aided by an Oracle, the monitor 343 Guilty Spark.

With the uprising suppressed, Chieftain Tartarus extracted the Arbiter and used the Fist of Rukt to get the Oracle. His actions, which involved throwing the Oracle into the Phantom recklessly, angered the Arbiter enough for him to remind the Chieftain who he was dealing with. With Tartarus, he left the gas mine via Phantom, as High Charity and the fleet were leaving Threshold's system.

Battle of the Quarantine Zone
"We shall cut into the heart of this infestation, retrieve the Icon, and burn any Flood that stand in our way!"

- Rtas 'Vadumee



The High Prophets were unhappy with the fact that he escaped alive from the gas mine and thus 'Vadamee was sent to the "Quarantine Zone" on Installation 05 to retrieve the "Sacred Icon" which was needed to activate Delta Halo. Before the mission, the Arbiter witnessed the replacement of the Elite Honor Guards with Brute Honor Guards. Fighting his way through the Sentinel Wall (with few surviving grunts and jackals) to deactivate the Library's shield, he was forced to make his way on foot to the Library, though he was aided by the remaining Spec Ops forces of Rtas 'Vadumee again. Eventually reaching a Gondola, he and the commandos made their way to the library with relative safety, though they were forced to relentlessly fend off Flood, controlled-armor resistance, and Forerunner constructs. The commandos chose not to accompany 'Vadamee to the "Icon," instead protecting their Gondola, believing it to be their only way of escape despite the fact that Tartarus' Phantom was still present at the time.

The Arbiter proceeded into the Library, encountering the remains of a battle between UNSC Marines, Enforcers and Flood Combat Forms, and witnessed Commander Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Johnson retrieving the Index. Using his armor's active camouflage, he approached Johnson and Keyes. He knocked Johnson unconscious, and disarmed Keyes and rendered her unconscious before Tartarus and his Brutes joined combat. After the initial scrap, Tartarus captured Keyes by using the Fist of Rukt to levitate her body, and claimed the Index for himself. Following the orders of the Hierarchs, he sent 'Vadamee into the chasm with a shock wave from the Fist of Rukt, expecting the fall to kill the Sangheili. But before doing so, Tartarus informed the Arbiter about the attempted genocide of the Elites taking place throughout the Covenant empire.

Control Room of Installation 05
"This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded."

- The Gravemind describing Thel 'Vadam

Instead of being killed by the fall, as expected, 'Vadamee was caught and captured in mid-air by the Gravemind, the central intelligence of the Flood. The Gravemind convinced 'Vadamee that the Halos were weapons of destruction, not transcendence, which even John-117 supported, saying the High Prophets were "making a big mistake". Though 'Vadamee was still in doubt, he was slowly beginning to believe. In order to "show the truth" to 'Vadamee, the Gravemind teleported him to the Control Room, while John went to High Charity, in order to stop the Index from activating Halo.

Discovering the consequences of the Prophets' betrayal of the Elites and the slaughtering of his species by the Brutes, the Arbiter joined forces with a band of Special Operations Commandos, Minors, Majors, and a Zealot, as well as a small number of Mgalekgolo and Grunts, to raze a Brute encampment. Eventually, he met Rtas 'Vadumee yet again, joining forces to reach a Scarab. Near the Scarab, the Arbiter and his forces managed to save a group of captured Councilors, and a group of UNSC Marines, including Sergeant Johnson. Johnson made a shaky truce with the Arbiter in order to prevent Tartarus from "killing us all". Finally, they agreed to stop Tartarus together, with Johnson driving a captured Scarab and the Arbiter covering him from enemy Wraiths, Spectres, and Banshees from the air. From there They reached the Control room of Installation 05.

Battle with Tartarus
"Tartarus, the Prophets have betrayed us."

- Thel 'Vadamee's last attempt to rejoin forces with the Brutes

After Johnson opened the way to the Control Room with a destructive, but effective, blast from the Scarab's Main Cannon, the Arbiter entered the Room and fought several honor brutes before confronting Tartarus, who was forcing Miranda Keyes to activate Installation 05. 343 Guilty Spark was also present, who the Arbiter asked of purpose, and Spark replied that the Halos were built "to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy" so that the Flood would die of starvation. In addition, the ones who built the rings: the Forerunners, were said to have died upon firing the rings, contradicting the belief of their "transcendence". This convinced the Arbiter of the truth that he had been repeatedly told. It was from that moment that 'Vadam's faith in the Great Journey had shattered, his alliance with the humans absolute, and the treachery of the High Prophets has been fully realized.

Despite being directly told the proof of what the Halos were capable of doing, Tartarus chose to side with the Prophets, his fanatical belief in the Great Journey nearly causing the activation of the Halo Array and the destruction of all sentient life. Only his death at the hands of the Arbiter with the aid of Johnson and several Elites allowed Miranda Keyes to stop its activation in time, although the shutdown activated a fail safe system: the rest of the Halos were set to standby mode, and could only be activated remotely from Installation 00. 'Vadamee then escaped the Flood infested installation with the surviving Humans and Elite forces.

Meeting the Chief on Earth
"Were it so easy."

- Thel 'Vadam

After Tartarus's defeat on Delta Halo, 'Vadamee later changed his name to "'Vadam", symbolizing his resignation from the Covenant, as well as the rest of the Elites.

Upon arriving on Earth with Johnson, Vadam and several of his allies discover the Master Chief, who had just 'arrived' on Earth as well. When the Master Chief regained consciousness from his long fall, he attempted to kill 'Vadam with Johnson's M6 Series Magnum, but is stopped by Johnson, who tells the Chief that the Arbiter and his kind have allied with Humanity. He assists the Master Chief through the jungles of New Mombasa, guiding him through the dense forest to the dam site where they were extracted. He then aids the Chief and the other UNSC forces during the defense of a UNSC base, Crow's Nest, from Covenant invaders.

Battle of Voi
"Quickly! Let us find their ship. Make short work of this abomination!"

- Arbiter in Floodgate

After leaving the Master Chief on the last departing flight from Crow's Nest before the base is leveled, Thel 'Vadam (known to his human allies only by his standing as the Arbiter) rejoined him at the docks, shortly after the Chief cleared the road to Voi of Covenant Loyalists and began to destroy a section of the Covenant mechanized presence defending the area rimming the Forerunner artifact. The Arbiter assisted the Chief and surviving UNSC forces in destroying a crucial anti-aircraft battery, aiding them as they fought through Covenant occupied warehouses, eventually helping them destroy the emplacement, and opening a hole in the Covenant anti-air defenses to allow Lord Hood's naval forces to assault the Prophet of Truth's Dreadnought, which was docked and idle atop the Artifact.

The strike upon the Dreadnought did no visible damage, and was followed by the tumultuous activation of the Portal. An enormous, fiery sphere was triggered over the activated artifact, and formed a super portal which Truth and the Covenant fleet retreated through. 'Vadam roared in fury at the loss of their quarry. But before Lord Hood could consolidate the scattered and confused human resistance, a Flood-infested Covenant cruiser, which had broken through the Elite's quarantine fleet around High Charity, transitioned out of Slipspace nearby, crashing into the city and infesting an indiscriminately large portion of the African continent. The Arbiter and Chief proceeded to cauterize the local area of the Flood infestation, battling their way to the cruiser with the purpose of catastrophically overloading the crashed ship's engines to level the entire city before the parasitic infestation grew beyond control. They were aided by a handful of Marines who were not claimed by the Flood, and eventually Sangheili Special Operations shock troops, led by the recently promoted Ship Master Rtas 'Vadum, ("ee" suffix at the end was removed after the Great Schism) and a battle group under his command. 'Vadam learned of the fall of High Charity from a Sangheili Major who was curiously leading Spec-Ops soldiers to fight alongside the Chief. The Arbiter assisted the Chief in clearing a swath to the crashed cruiser, and the Chief infiltrated the cruiser alone and recovered a holo-projector containing a fragmented message of Cortana. Rtas 'Vadum's fleet glassed the infected parts of Africa to prevent The Flood from continuing their infestation. According to Shipmaster 'Vadum, if 'Vadam had not counseled him, he would have glassed Earth in its entirety, because "A single Flood spore can wipe out a species."

Battle of the Ark
"The Prophet will die by my hands - not theirs!"

- The Arbiter, in the levelThe Covenant



After UNSC and Separatist forces regrouped, they learned from Cortana's message that the Flood have taken control of High Charity and are on their way to Earth. However, the Gravemind is unaware of the Portal and states that on the other side is a solution to stop the Flood, without firing the remaining Halo rings. Because the Chief trusted Cortana, the Separatists dedicated all their forces to go through the Portal, arriving at the Ark. The Arbiter joined the Master Chief at the entrance of a local Cartographer facility to clear their way through the building to the Cartographer terminal. Once there, they learned Truth's perilous location, as well as an unfortunate defense he had conjured from the Ark itself. When the group was attacked after activating the Cartographer, the Arbiter joined the battle for the skies, instructing the Chief to follow 343 Guilty Spark to a location for extraction.

With routing of the Covenant Loyalist Fleet, Rtas 'Vadum's carrier positioned itself near the Ark's Citadel in preparation to deal a lethal blow to Truth's stronghold, where he planned to remotely activate the rings. The Arbiter led his fellow Sangheili forces in a three-pronged assault on the shield generators to lower the barrier around Truth and the Citadel, deactivating the generator from a console in the tower's spire. After Sergeant Major Johnson failed to deactivate the third generator because of Brute resistance, the Arbiter landed his forces at the third tower along with the Chief to deactivate the final generator and shut down the barrier.

As Rtas 'Vadum maneuvered over the citadel to glass Truth, High Charity exited Slipspace, crashing into the Ark. In its plummet to the surface, High Charity scattered a barrage of infection capsules which put 'Vadum's carrier out of commission and seeded the Ark with Flood. The Arbiter led his forces in conjunction with the Marines to clear the third tower of Flood, with the Chief's assistance. As a security measure, the Arbiter escorted a distressed 343 Guilty Spark to reconnoiter the damage inflicted to the Ark by the Flood, leaving his Sangheili with the Chief to push on to the Citadel.

The Death Of Truth
"I - am - Truth! The voice of the Covenant!"

- Truth

"And so... you must be silenced!"

- 'Vadam to The Prophet of Truth

After Thel entered the Citadel, joining the Chief at the bridge to the Citadel with a distraught 343 Guilty Spark, the Flood formed an alliance with them to reach Truth and abort the firing of the Halo Array. Fighting through the last Loyalist forces standing between Truth and himself, the Arbiter and the Chief succeed in reaching the same platform as the Prophet of Truth. Empathizing with a grieving Johnson, the Arbiter approached Truth, who is now infected by the Flood. As the Gravemind speaks through Truth, informing him that he is deluded into thinking that he will become a god, 'Vadam warns the Flood mind to not infect the Prophet, allowing him to take revenge. After a brief conversation the Prophet of Truth makes a quick speech before witnessing the Master Chief deactivating the Halo Rings to his horror, and being executed by Thel's Energy Sword before Truth was fully infected by the Flood, taking his revenge for Truth's crimes and finally bringing him to justice. The Chief and Thel then faced the betrayal of the Flood's allegiance with the abortion of Halo's firing.

Destroying the Flood
"This is our fight, and I will see it finished."

- Thel 'Vadam to his fellow Elites

Fighting their way back the way they had come, the two witnessed the construction of a new Installation 04, and planned to activate it. The Arbiter, Johnson and Rtas 'Vadum evacuated all UNSC and Separatist forces from the Ark. The Arbiter, worried about the Chief (who went to High Charity alone to rescue Cortana) arrived after the Master Chief at High Charity's crash site, and used a Flamethrower he found to cover their escape upon finding the Chief had accomplished his objective.

The two then escape on a D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship from High Charity, crashing it into the newly-constructed Halo, meeting up with Sergeant Major Johnson and 343 Guilty Spark at the Control Room after fighting through numerous Flood forms. Reaching the Control Room, the Monitor turned on them upon realizing that activating the Ring would destroy it and damage the Ark, since it wasn't fully built, and he killed Johnson in the battle that ensued. The Arbiter was blasted out of the room, while the Master Chief battled and destroyed the Forerunner construct. The Master Chief activates Halo and retrieves Cortana as the ring begins to collapse, with both Cortana and Thel expressing sadness over Johnson's death. The two retrieved Johnson's Warthog, crossed newly-built Forerunner structures as they collapsed while being attacked by more Flood and the now-hostile Sentinels, and succeeded in reaching the Forward Unto Dawn and escaping the Ark and Halo just in time. Upon the ship, it tilted and sent a M808B Main Battle Tank hurtling towards Vadam, nearly hitting him. 'Vadam ran into an alcove, with the Scorpion narrowly missing him. Soon after Cortana activated the ship, 'Vadam ran to the bridge and took control.

Endgame
"...Hard to believe he's dead..."

- Lord Hood to Thel 'Vadam

"Were it so easy."

- Thel 'Vadam

The portal collapsed as the Forward Unto Dawn was transiting and the aft end of the ship, with John-117 and Cortana, was sheared off and failed to return to Earth. The bow section, containing 'Vadam, made it through and crashed into the sea, where he was rescued. 'Vadam was present at the dedication of the memorial to those lost during the War on March 3, 2553. After being thanked by the Admiral Lord Terrence Hood for "standing by him to the end" saying "It's hard to believe he's dead", 'Vadam responded, "Were it so easy". This line of text is also said during his first line in Halo 3, showing respect and similarity between a Spartan and the Arbiter, by how they are nearly impossible to kill. The Arbiter departed for Sanghelios aboard the Shadow of Intent as the ship master, with Rtas 'Vadum and the rest of the Elites who fought at the Ark.

Combat
"Parasite! Rise up and I shall kill you -- again and again!"

- Thel 'Vadam to the Flood

In Halo 2, numerous small graphical and gameplay differences exist between the Arbiter and the Master Chief. When playing as the Arbiter, the Chief's flashlight is replaced by an Active Camouflage feature, exclusive to Halo 2; due to the antiquated armor of the Arbiter, the camouflage does not last forever -- it lasts for ten seconds on Easy and Normal difficulties, and five seconds on Heroic and Legendary difficulties. The Arbiter bleeds purple blood instead of red, he can melee without a weapon (as seen in the level Crow's Nest), and his Heads Up Display is sleeker. In Halo 2, the sound his shield makes when it is depleted is different from that of the Master Chief's. In Halo 3, he still has Active Camouflage, but it is only illustrated in the first cutscene of the game and to elude enemies -- it cannot be used when playing as the Arbiter. He has a flashlight on his left shoulder in Halo 3, which can be used by players in Co-op.

The Arbiter is very experienced at combat, as shown by his relatively extensive knowledge of every weapon and vehicle -- the Arbiter expressed a desire to understand human weapons even before his alliance with the UNSC. His most commonly used weapons are the Plasma Rifle, Energy Sword, and the Carbine. However, if the Arbiter character is being used in Co-Op Campaign, he can wield any weapon the player chooses -- the Plasma Rifle, Energy Sword, and Carbine would only be level start weapons. Also, in Halo 2 the Arbiter's HUD is a purple colour, rather than the Spartan blue; in Halo 3 it is teal and is presented in a more curved fashion than Player One's. Player Three and Four's HUDs are also more curved as they are Elites as well.

In Halo 3, the Arbiter is a very useful ally against the Flood when he has his Energy Sword out, but when fighting Covenant forces on his own on Heroic and Legendary, the NPC Arbiter tends to die a lot, especially on Legendary. This is mostly due to him leading suicidal charges with his Energy Sword even though the enemy is a great distance away from him. But his A.I is pretty good on Normal and Easy and, he will help you a lot. Also note that when given a Missile Pod (using the support weapon glitch, or putting it by his unconscious body) the missiles will lock onto vehicles AND enemy NPCs.

Reactions


The image that Bungie produced for Halo 2 was one featuring the Master Chief on Earth fighting the Covenant. Once the game was released, this was shown to be the case until the level The Arbiter, when the player abruptly took the role of the Arbiter of the Covenant.

The change in the overall story line affected some fans' reactions to the game. Some fans considered the Master Chief the only character that should be played as and focused on. However, most fans took it in as a new chapter in Bungie's story making. Bungie worked hard to preserve this secret until the game's release.

Identity
"During the geocultural review of Halo 2’s content, the original name for the Arbiter character -- Dervish -- was identified as a potential problem. Out of context, the name ‘Dervish’ wasn’t too sensitive as it’s a title from the Sufi sect of Islam. However, within the game’s context this Islamic-related name of ‘Dervish’ set up a potentially problematic allegory related to Halo 2’s plot -- the U.S.-like forces (Master Chief/Sarge) versus Islam (the religious Covenant, which already had a “Prophet of Truth” which is one synonym for Mohammed). Mind you, this was not too long after 9/11 so the sensitivity to such issues remained high. In the end, the character name was changed to ‘Arbiter’ -- which in my opinion worked much better for the character’s role in the narrative."

- Tom Edwards, geographer and geocultural consultant.

The original name for the character was "Dervish", a title from the Sufi sect of Islam, but was changed to avoid overt parallels with the Muslim world.

Prior to the release of Halo: The Cole Protocol, there was much speculation on the exact identity of the Arbiter before he as forced to accept the rank. Some believed him to be Orna 'Fulsamee, the shipmaster of a Covenant Destroyer in the Fleet of Particular Justice, pointing out his apparently considerable authority over the fleet and the fact that a Prophet traveled aboard his ship. Others insisted that the Special Operations Commando that the Master Chief wounded in hand-to-hand combat aboard the Ascendant Justice was the Arbiter, given that the Ascendant Justice was described as a Flagship. The fact that the Supreme Commander was shown in the Halo Graphic Novel to use the Flagship Seeker of Truth, and not the Ascendant Justice, did nothing to quell the speculation until the release of Tobias Buckell's novel four years after the revelation of the character.

Trivia

 * Thel Vadum may have been stripped of his rank even before he turned the arbiter with him having gold armor during the trails.
 * It is ironic that Thel kills Truth with an energy sword, as he killed Zhar when the latter attempted to assassinate Truth years earlier.
 * If one attempts to kill 'Vadam in Halo 3 in single player Campaign mode, he will fall unconscious, but he will get up again and pick up any weapons near him. If you "kill" 'Vadam for his weapons, his Energy Sword has a low battery. Also, if you make him fall unconscious twice (on lower difficulty) he will get up and call you a traitor, then kill you with a single shot with whatever weapon he happens to be holding. If he is left alone, after a while, he will forgive you and act as a teammate again.
 * Technically, since his trial, he has no name since all honor that he once had has been removed. This is due to the Sangheilian honorific beliefs, with one such belief being that only those with honor should deserve something as prestigious as a name. However, his name and honor were stripped by the Prophets before the Elites' left the Covenant.
 * Thel 'Vadamee is voiced by actor Keith David.
 * In the final level of Halo 2, at the point where Sergeant Johnson takes over the Scarab, the Marines refer to the Arbiter as they would John-117. This is an error in which they react to the player character as their ally (which, for most of the game is John-117).
 * He is one of the only Sangheili to refer to John-117 as "Spartan". Even during and after the Great Schism, many still refer to him as the Demon or Reclaimer. Rtas 'Vadam also holds this distinction.
 * Interestingly enough, if you can outdistance or remove 'Vadam from the map, he will suddenly appear as if phasing out of active camouflage.
 * In the story Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor from the Halo Graphic Novel, 'Vadam is shown in purple ceremonial command armor, and is in command of the Seeker of Truth. Due to this, it is believed by some that the Ascendant Justice was made the flagship of the fleet after the Supreme Commander and most of his forces evacuated the Threshold system. Thus, the Prophet of Truth and Tartarus referred to him as "the incompetent who lost Ascendant Justice" due to the events that transpired due to the loss of the ship, not because he lost it in combat against the Master Chief.
 * In Halo 2 the Arbiter has no mandible guards, however in Halo 3 he does.
 * In the Spanish versions of Halo 3 and Halo 2, the Arbiter is translated as Inquisidor, which means Inquisitor. This is because the cognate of Arbiter in Spanish, "arbitro", means the one who helps in a game, usually football.

Gallery
Image:CouncilsScorn01.jpg|Before the Mark of Shame and becoming the Arbiter. Image:1223857594 Arby3.jpg|'Vadam taunting his enemies to attack. Image:Supremecommander.jpg|Thel 'Vadamee in his Supreme Commander cloak. Image:Thel Vadam and Rtas Vadum.jpg|Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam. 