Jiralhanae

"We are the Chosen Carriers of the Flame!"

- Tartarus, the last known Chieftain of the Jiralhanae

The Jiralhanae (Latin, Servus ferox, translated to "Wild Slave" ) also known as Brutes are a large ape-like species in the Halo series and a member of the Covenant. After the Jackals, the Brutes and Grunts were the second two Covenant species encountered by humans. The Brutes have a profound hatred of the Elites, unmatched by any other feud within the Covenant.

The Brutes have been part of the Covenant since before the destruction of the UNSC farming colony on Harvest, and were always feared by the Elites for their megalomaniacal behavior. The Brutes' plans to seize power over the Sangheili began with their alliance with the Prophet of Truth during the Battle of Harvest and continued to gain headway until the eventual splitting of the Covenant. They eventually took the role of the Prophet's Honor Guards from the Elites after the Elites failed to prevent the assassination of the High Prophet of Regret by the Master Chief.

They are rated a Native Tier 4/Adopted Tier 2 species by the Forerunner Technological Achievement system.

Description
Brutes are of simian origin and have been said to resemble large gorillas, but, in some ways, they also resemble ursine, or rhinoceri as well. They have thick, gray skin, and are covered with matted, black, tan, or brown fur-like hair and some have short, black, or brown colored beards. Their large, stocky appearance is most likely due to the gravity on their planet, which is about twice the gravity of that on Earth(Explaining why they may jump over 30 feet on Earth and other places). As they age, the hair will change to a grayish-silver color, which is a great sign of respect for all the Brutes.

They have very sharp teeth and sometimes use them as a weapon. Standing roughly nine feet tall, they are immensely powerful even when pierced by multiple bullet wounds (to the point of overpowering a SPARTAN in MJOLNIR armor in hand to hand combat) and fight hand-to-hand if they ever lose their weapon. John-117 barely survived a hand-to-hand battle with one, proving how physically dangerous they can be. However it should be noted that John-117 and the other Spartans were suffering from the non-stop combat they had endured since the battle of Reach, with John-117 sustaining, in Doctor Halsey's words, "Burns, brain damage, fractures, and internal bleeding". The other Spartans involved in the fight had sustained various injuries from falling over two kilometers at terminal velocity onto Reach's surface. The Spartans were also in Mark V armor. It appears that their physical strength cannot be accurately quantified.

The Brutes, with the exception of Tartarus, did not use energy shielding in Halo 2. In Halo 3, all of them are equipped with Power Armor. However, the Power Armor the Brutes wear slightly resembles the armor that the Spartans wore in the Battle of Thermopylae. The Brute armor emphasizes strength and power. Brutes speak in deep, gravelly voices when speaking Human languages and may also sound this way when speaking their own.

In many military records, Brutes are referred to as 'Bravo Kilos', since UNSC Marines have nicknamed Brutes "Baby Kongs" or "Gorillas", a reference to King Kong.

nigga

History
Despite their savagery, Brutes have proved intelligent enough to achieve spaceflight and space-faring status, though their warlike nature meant they quickly collapsed into civil war after, falling back to their former pre-space status and learning nothing from the experience. The Brutes had recently concluded a mechanized war of attrition in which the many Master Packs fought and pummeled each other back to a pre-industrial state. When the Covenant discovered them, they had just rediscovered radio and rocketry. Their warrior culture makes them formidable opponents, even for Spartans, and they were incorporated into the Covenant as fierce guards for the Prophets and heavy infantry.

Brutes are obviously carnivores, given their fearsome fanged jaws and propensity for violence. It has been stated that they feed on the flesh of their enemies, such as the Humans they face in battle, and have been seen eating the meat of a Thorn Beast, apparently considered a delicacy among Brutes. They have once stated they would have gladly devoured the Arbiter, had they been allowed. As part of the Covenant, Brutes were required as a prerequisite to convert to the Prophets' religion of worshiping the Forerunners. Previously, their original culture revolved around the worship of totems and idols, but they made swift converts. As it is, the Brutes are now the most fanatical adherents to the Prophet's faith, although they seem to hold little concept of sanctity, evidenced by Tartarus's handling of the "Oracle", among other things. Though Brutes are described numerous times as the most recent additions to the Covenant, their "ancient feud" with the Sangheili means that their introduction into the Covenant was still some time ago.

Even at a glance, the Brutes are one of the most primitive members of the Covenant, at least technologically. Even though they employ Power Armor, and use a selection of the Covenant's weapons such as the Plasma Rifle, their native technology is crude; they use weapons propelling spike-like or explosive projectiles. These weapons are often fitted with effective metal blades for melee combat.

Post-Covenant
Though the Jiralhanae retained their pack and tribal culture, their constant internal feuds began to take a back seat as enmity with the Sangheili built up, caused by the similarity in roles between the two species. Though the Jiralhanae retained the majority of their pre-Covenant technology, they also began to incorporate aspects of Covenant technology into their own designs, including mounting a plasma cannon onto their Prowler, a vehicle with a strong Jiralhanae aesthetic but with some Covenant technology. The Jiralhanae have little need to learn the languages of other species, instead relying on translation devices. Their exact fate, after the disastrous defeat at the Ark, is unknown, though it is extremely unlikely that they would surrender or retreat, or that the Sangheili would allow them to. Thus, it is reasonable to think that the UNSC and Elites destroyed the remnants of Brute resistance.

Home World
Doisac is the name of the Brute home world. It possesses three satellites: Warial, Solrapt, and Teash, and is the fourth planet of the Oth Sonin system. The gravity on the planet is approximately 2.1G while the atmosphere is 1.3 ATM. Surface temperature is between -15'C to 52'C. The estimated population of the planet is approximately 12.5 billion. Its habitat is described as being dominated by magma and magnetism.

Culture
Brutes are extremely zealous creatures, known for their willingness to cling to ancient, bloody traditions and are deep believers in the promise of the Great Journey and in the Forerunners. Their home world is war-torn, and Brutes are known for their particular joy in vicious activity, complimented by regimented discipline.

They prefer using weapons from their homeworld, rather than the Covenant standard-issue plasma-based firearms. Brute weapons are notable for being extremely dangerous, somewhat primitive and brutal, and always featuring a blade attachment such as the Spiker, Mauler, Brute Shot, and the Gravity Hammer. These weapons show their barbaric nature. Although they do have their own type of Plasma Rifle, it is only found in Halo 2 (the rifle is red, but fires twice as fast as its blue counterpart, also causing it to overheat twice as fast). This type of Plasma Rifle was removed in Halo 3, being replaced by the Spiker. Brutes are the only Covenant creatures to ever develop a liking to Human weapons, in particular the Shotgun. In general, Brutes have a pronounced dislike of the Sangheili, due to the fact that they believe that they are better protectors of the Prophets than the Elites. The Prophet of Truth took advantage of this to ignite the Great Schism during the events of Halo 2.

Society
Brutes have a fierce pack culture and lineage, a close knit affair that ties each member to another, and forces them into varying states of rage known as "berserking", and desperate mourning for their fallen pack mates should one die in the midst of battle. What a pack member kills may be the food of the pack. Each pack is led by a prominent Brute Chieftain that wields a ceremonial Gravity Hammer, passed from one leader to another upon his death, to denote his status. A Brute becomes a pack Chieftain by challenging the current Chieftain to a Mortal duel; the victor claims the title after executing the other. The chieftain rules his pack like his own little empire. Their warrior culture is extremely patriarchal, with rank measured by success on and off the battlefield, unlike the Sangheili.

It is unlikely, given their combative and aggressive nature, that the Jiralhanae have a single cohesive government. Instead, Jiralhanae society can be viewed as an extension to the simply pack structure, but with a number of different levels:


 * Alpha Tribes - seem to be the political body of the Jiralhanae, and are comprised of smaller Master Packs. Lead by Jiralhanae Alpha's.
 * Master-Pack - more military-oriented groups, Master-Packs are comprised of many smaller packs. Prior to contact with the Covenant, rival Master-Packs reduced Jiralhanae society to a preindustrial level through warfare.
 * Pack - range in size and importance, with less important packs made up largely of Unggoy or Kig-Yar forces and led by a low-ranked Jiralhanae, and more important packs led by War Chieftains and comprised of more experienced veteran Jiralhanae bodyguards.

Naming
Most, if not all Brutes, have Latin-sounding names, some examples of which are Tartarus and Bracktanus. In Contact Harvest, it is revealed that the "-us" at the end of their name is an honor denoting maturity or experience in battle (similar to the "-ee" suffix on Elite's names.) Oddly, in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, there was a Brute Shipmaster, by the name of Gargantum, which seems to contradict this rule, although this is never explained why. Possibly it is because different clans or groups of Brutes have different naming rules.

Battlefield Tactics
Unlike Elites who are masterfully skilled tacticians, the Brute combat mentality relies on overwhelming force, sheer strength, power in numbers, and the firepower to kill its opposition, (and it must be noticed that this tactic will work in-game if the player doesn't run away fast enough). Their fire tends to be less accurate than Elite firing, which may be why the are not armed with precision weapons often. However, Brutes are also capable of more advanced tactics such as flanking maneuvers and taking cover. Most Brute packs encountered in Halo 3 will often consist of 4-6 individuals; the number of each type of individual varies with the difficulty being played. Often, these packs will consist of 1 Brute Captain, 1-2 Brute Majors and 2-3 Brute Minors. It can be twice that many if there is a Chieftain in command nearby.

In Halo 2, the Brute's definite weak spot is the the front of the skull or head, this is why they wear armour only on their heads. Using a long ranged weapon such as a Battle Rifle or Covenant Carbine, would prove useful on harder difficulties. Although this does not fully apply for Halo 3.

When patrolling, Brutes exhibit a sense of calm and confidence, some have been found testing captured Human weaponry whilst in this relaxed state. Once engaged in combat the Brutes hunch into a more ape-like stance and begin firing upon their target(s). Often the target is subjected to a barrage of fire and explosives in excess of what Elites and Grunts can muster simply because of the new Brute weaponry.

Brutes rely primarily on their own technology. They are initially found wielding Brute Plasma Rifles to deadly effect. These faster firing variants on the standard Plasma Rifle suit the Brute mentality well. Higher ranking members of the pack (often Captains) are found using the Brute Shot allowing a Brute pack to lay down a withering hail of explosive fire on an enemy position. In the later months of the Covenant Civil War, they become much better equipped, with many weapons of their own make such as Spikers and Spike Grenades.

Originally only wielded by Tartarus in Halo 2, the Gravity Hammer is a favored weapon of Brute Chieftains in Halo 3. Swinging it with considerable power, Brutes use the weapon to crush their foes and knock enemies down.

Like the Elites, the Brutes can pilot most vehicles including Ghosts, Spectres, Banshees and Wraiths. Brutes also have the ability to Board vehicles. If given the opportunity, they will attempt to jump onto your vehicle and melee you off it. In Halo 3 Brutes use two new vehicles, the Chopper and the Prowler.

With the advent of the Covenant Civil War, Brute weaponry is more commonplace. The Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenade, more commonly known as the Spike Grenade, is a creation of the Brutes themselves. It is suspected that with their newly found dominance amongst the Covenant Loyalists, the Brute Plasma Rifle has been replaced with the Type-25 Carbine or Spiker. The blades that adorn this weapon are a testament to their barbaric nature and their affinity for close-quarters combat.

Brutes are also fond of explosives and will often use all types of Grenades in combat, although they aren't very accurate, particularly Spike and Incendiary grenades. However, on Normal and above, these can become lethal tools as they become more accurate (especially the case for Spike Grenades.) Keep in mind that the Spike Grenade acts like the Plasma Grenade, one stick results in an instant kill. They have also been known to use Fuel Rod Cannons, Rocket Launchers, and even Frag Grenades. For some reason, Brutes seem particularly fascinated with Human Shotguns, perhaps attributable to the advent of the Mauler into the Covenant ranks. Their skill with the Covenant Carbine, makes them dangerous at mid to long ranges. On higher difficulties in the level High Charity and in the level The Covenant, Brutes will use Battle Rifles (although the latter is in a Banshee), but this is quite rare, since they regard most Human weapons as worthless (despite how effective some of these are against them, an example would be the Battle Rifle).

The last surviving Brute of a pack will go berserk, charging at its enemies in a blind rage. This may be due to the strong bonds with the members of their pack. A Brute, after calming down from its rage, will sulk and mourn the loss of its comrades, even caress the bodies of the fallen. However, upon seeing its enemy, the Brute will abandon its sulking mood and once again become enraged. This mourning is a rare occurrence, almost never seen in combat, and only when there is a brief lull in the fighting.

Brutes are extremely resilient, and can take enormous amounts of damage. Before Halo 3, they lacked any form of equivalent to the Elite Personal Energy Shield. As of Halo 3, regular adoption of Power Armor has been cycled into Brute ranks. However, the Power Armor is weak to Plasma-based weaponry and can fall apart. If the armor is successfully destroyed, the Brute will charge and try to fight hand to hand.

Brute Rampage
A Brute Rampage (or commonly known as "Berserking") is when a Brute becomes enraged and aggressively charges its enemy in a reckless attack (In Halo 2 an enraged Brute will drop their weapon and charge immediately). The Brutes in Halo 3 keep hold of their weapon, though they still charge instead of firing it. When a Brute berserks, they may charge in a straight line towards you. Usually they will pause for a brief moment immediately before the charge, this gives you a chance to anticipate their actions. Additionally, the pause can sometimes appear to override the effects of the Tough Luck skull; in at least one instance, berserking Brutes did not jump away with this skull even when facing annihilation by a fuel rod gun. It is possible to exploit this tendency by allowing the Brutes to charge in a straight line off the edge of a cliff, while using yourself as bait. Chieftains do not drop their weapon; instead they charge with their Gravity Hammer. Captains have been seen going berserk, while wildly firing their weapon with full/semi-full power armor.

Their "rampage" stages come in two types, in Halo 2 the Brutes would run at you on all fours and then melee you to death while remaining on all fours, to escape being rammed into by a brute, all you need to do is jump to the higher ground/platform that would involve the brute to jump to you to get to you. The reason for this is that when a brute berserks, they are disabled of all jumping abilities. There are very few times where you can leave a brute pack member alive after killing the other members, without that brute going on a rampage. In Halo 3 they will put their arms outwards and run at the player and do a smashing type animation or jump at the player and do the same. When the player is in a Wraith, the Brute will either melee the hatch or attach itself to the tank's rear and repeatedly smash it's head into the exhaust port.

However, this can be used to the player advantage sometimes. Usually the Brute goes on rampage after it is wounded, stops using its weapon, leaving it open to fire. Also, on Halo 2 the player may be able to get the Brute stuck in a corner, open for the kill.

Causes

 * Member of Brute's pack is killed.
 * Random anger on higher difficulties for higher ranks.
 * When their Power Armor is stripped.
 * When it is the last Brute alive.
 * When their Chieftain is killed.
 * When stuck by a grenade.
 * When equipment is placed near them, example: Radar Jammar, Trip Mine, etc.
 * When it is wounded.
 * Is shot by a sniper in the foot(Rarely, and may be a "trigger" glitch.)

Brute Hierarchy
The Brute species is arranged in a pack society, based on a hierarchy determined by viciousness and number of war kills. A “pack master” leads brute packs. A Chieftain will frequently be addressed as such while issuing orders during combat. In Halo 2, the ranks were mostly determined by red flags on their backs, the amount of armor they wore and the color of their fur (sometimes even their weapons). Like the Elites, ranks in Halo 3 are differentiated by armor color. Furthermore, the higher the rank, the more advanced and resilient the armor becomes.

Also in Halo 2, Brute Minors are seen with little to no armor, the only armor being a helmet-like head plate which, ironically, gives no protection from headshots from even the weaker weapons such as the Plasma Pistol and Magnum.

Other Ranks
Chieftain of the Jiralhanae - The Leader of the entire Jiralhanae race. Both Maccabeus and Tartarus were of this rank. Since Tartarus was killed in the Battle of Installation 05, the current Chieftain is unknown, if there is one at all.

Brute Ship Master/Alpha Jiralhanae - Commanders of ships. They may be equivalent to Captains or Chieftains of the Jiralhanae.

Brute Army Commander - Only in Halo Wars, probably same rank or near same rank as Chieftan of the Jiralhanae. May be a specific rank created for war and conflict, such as the human-covenant war.

Trivia

 * Before Halo 3 was released, Brutes had green blood instead of the dark purple/red blood they have in the final game.
 * In Contact Harvest, it is said that the honorable way to finish off one's relative when battling to the death for leadership rights to become the next Chieftain is to use their ceremonial dagger to slice their opponent's throat.
 * According to First Strike, Brutes were first encountered by Spartan-II personnel aboard the Unyielding Hierophant. However, the events of Contact Harvest and Halo Wars make it clear that Brutes were encountered by humanity in general much earlier.
 * The first time they are actually encountered in game play, albeit dead, is in the level Sacred Icon when they are attempting to attain the Index. Ironically, you will never receive them as allies, though Tartarus does alleviate several enemy reinforcements.
 * A berserk Brute in Halo 3 is much less dangerous than a Halo 2 berserk Brute, as they run more slowly.
 * On the level The Ark, if you watch the Brutes for a while they will sniff their armpits or scratch their feet and legs with their other foot or they may yawn.
 * In the level Crow's Nest, a Brute may use the UNSC turret in the room where you meet the Chieftain.
 * The Brutes are referred to as "Bravo kilos" by Marines.
 * The word "Jiralhanae" is a Korean word (지랄하네), meaning something in the league of a "stupid aggressive lunatic" (which almost perfectly describes the Brutes aggressive personality).
 * Ironically, Brutes were the first Covenant creatures encountered by humanity on peaceful terms.
 * The ViDoc, Et Tu Brute, shows Brutes wielding Energy Swords; however they are never seen doing so in the finished game. Et Tu Brute also shows a Brute Minor with a Brute Shot using the corpse of another Brute as cover from which to fire from, and another tearing the arms off a captured Marine.
 * Brutes go berserk far more often in Halo 2 than in Halo 3, it can be because their packs are smallest..
 * Even though Brutes are supposed to be stronger than Elites, in Halo 2 on Normal difficulty or above Elites can kill you with one melee but when Brutes go berserk it takes about a couple of hits for them to kill you on Normal.
 * Servus is Latin for slave. Ferox means "headstrong, spirited, courageous, warlike/wild, arrogant, unbridled, or belligerent". In a translation, their name means "headstrong slave".
 * In the Halo 3 level, The Ark, you can see a Brute Captain urinating on a wall before he sees you, allowing you to attack him from behind. Afterward, you can see what he had done on the floor.
 * In Halo 3, meleeing a Brute Chieftain will stop him from meleeing you for a few seconds as he reels from the blow. If you can continue to melee him, it will kill him. This also occurred to Elites in Halo: CE and Halo 2; they would double back and flinch from a melee, leaving you open to kill them.
 * In Halo 2, it is possible to find Brutes wielding Human Shotguns. This is the only in-game instance of a Covenant member making use of Human weaponry by default.
 * Brutes can be seen worshiping on The Ark, or receiving orders from the Prophet of Truth.
 * In Halo 2, Brute blood is a dark shade of blue while it is red with blue splotches in Halo 3.
 * Though Brute is the UNSC nickname for the Jiralhanae, Elites have been known to refer to them by the same name. This might be due to the Elite's extreme enmity and arrogance towards the Brutes.
 * Brutus was the one who betrayed and killed Julius Caesar, and was later hunted down by Rome. This is similar to how the Brutes betrayed the Elites and were eventually defeated. "Brute" is also a literal translation from the Covenant language when spoken by Covenant characters.
 * The actor who does the voice of the Halo 3 Brute Chieftains, John DiMaggio, also voices Bender in the cartoon Futurama and Marcus Fenix from Gears of War.
 * In Halo 2, almost all of the Brutes have dark brown fur except for Tartarus, who has Grey fur due to his age. A few others will have light brown fur as well.
 * In Halo 3, berserking Brutes will stomp one foot on the ground and then look like a Halo: Combat Evolved Elite berserking by positioning their feet wide, throwing up their hands, and roaring.
 * In Halo 2, Brutes are the last Covenant enemies to make an appearance in-game, appearing first in the level Gravemind which is the twelfth level in the game. However, in Halo 3, Brutes are the first enemies encountered in the game (not counting the Phantom that flies overhead).
 * In the Et Tu Brute ViDoc, the Brute Chieftain wielding a Plasma Cannon is wielding the version from Halo 2.
 * On The Ark, you can see Brutes inside the structure huddled into a ball and making eating motions with their hands. This can be viewed in theater.
 * In Halo 2, Brutes didn't have a proper ranking system similar to the Elite's system. A proper ranking system for them was created in Halo 3.
 * The "-us" suffix on the end of Brute names is actually a Latin noun ending, which designates something as masculine.
 * Although in Contact Harvest the Brutes wear the armor that they wear in Halo 3, the armor changes for some reason in Halo 2. For example, Tartarus wore the Red Captain armor but it disappears in Halo 2. This may be accounted for the fact that the Brutes were added "a little too late" (according to Et Tu Brute) in Halo 2. Nonetheless, the question remains of why the Brutes gave up their power armor. The Brutes seen in Halo Wars also wear the Halo 3 Brute armor. The Halo 2 armor seen may simply be Brute civilian dress.
 * In Et tu Brute, Chris Butcher describes the Brutes in Halo 2 as "damage sponges".
 * In Halo 2, if a Brute is equipped with a Brute Plasma Rifle and goes berserk, they will throw down the weapon, and it will be fully charged.
 * In Halo 2, the Brutes' shoulder plates bear a strong resemblance to the Scout armor permutation.
 * Unlike most Covenant species, Brutes have no problem using Human technology. This can be seen in Halo 2 when Brutes use Shotguns and in almost every level in Halo 3 when Brutes use Bubble Shields and Trip Mines.
 * In Halo 2, Brutes use colored flags rather than armor to show their rank.
 * Some Brutes in Halo 3 use Plasma Rifles, mostly on Tsavo Highway and Crow's Nest.
 * In Halo 2, if you happen to hijack a Brute's Banshee and the Brute survives the fall, the Brute will not attack, and will not be wielding a weapon. However, the Brute can still be killed normally, will make scripted sounds, and appear as a hostile on your radar and reticule.
 * There have been rare occurrences on Sierra 117 where a Brute after being 'stuck', went berserk and jumped ten feet in the air while pulling a 180 degree turn, before executing a fatal melee attack on the players head.
 * The only time a Brute has been seen dual-wielding was in the Halo 3: ODST trailer: the Stalker in the middle wields a pair of Spikers.
 * Halo Wars was the first game to have the Brutes mentioned as Jiralhanae instead of Brutes. This is when they are encountered on the level, Anders' Signal. Serina describes them as Jiralhanae, then states that they are also known as Brutes.
 * In the level Crow's Nest, a Brute may use the UNSC turret in the room where you meet the Chieftain.
 * Sometimes Brutes will say "For Tartarus" referring to the famous Chieftain.
 * Brutes have a preference for projectile weapons, as opposed to plasma weapons.
 * In Halo 3: ODST, Brutes can be seen with both Power Armor and Energy Shields.

Glitches

 * In Halo 2, if a berserk Brute charges into a group of fixed objects, it will continue its charging animation, but it will remain where it is.
 * If you stick a Brute's weapon with a Plasma Grenade just before he puts it away when he goes berserk, the grenade will disappear, but still explode.
 * In Halo 3, if a Brute Major becomes infected by the Flood he will turn into a Flood-infected Brute Minor due to graphical restraints.