Honor Guard of the Covenant

The Honor Guard is a special unit of Covenant tasked with providing security for the High Council, mainly consisting of Sangheili.

Role
The highly ornate armor of the Honor Guard, a red and orange combination of jutting spikes and designs indicates that the Guard is not only meant for combat, but is also a great position of pride and honor. They are the most skilled of warriors and are hand-picked for the duty of protecting the High Prophets, as well as members of the High Council, from any danger.

Ranks
Although a great honor, it is seen by some Sangheili and Jiralhanae as a merely ceremonial duty and a way to silence those who perhaps see a little too clearly in the Human-Covenant War. It is unknown how an Honor Guard ranks in comparison to the normal chain of leadership, but it is assumed they are equivalent to an Sangheili Ultra or Jiralhanae Captain, or slightly below the Arbiter/Chieftain.

Wherever a High Prophet is located, an Honor Guardsman is always by their side. There could be as many as 300 Honor Guardsman for each Prophet, as the Step of Silence seems designed to hold 300 Honor Guards but only one Prophet. It is known that both the Honor guard Sangheili and Jiralhanae are stronger than their average counterparts.

Before the Great War
After the Sangheili-San 'Shyuum War, the two sides formed the Covenant. The San 'Shyuum were to be the governmental leaders and scientists, with the Sangheili as their protectors and main soldiers.

Human-Covenant War
During the 30 years of the Human-Covenant War, the Honor Guard didn't see much combat up until 2552, at the Battle of Installation 05.

On October 20th, 2552, Covenant Ground and Naval forces invaded Earth. The High Prophet of Regret and his fleet came to Earth to find The Ark, a facility where they could fire all of the Halo Installations and complete The Great Journey. Being pursued by United Nations Space Command forces, Regret and his flagship escaped by going into slipspace in New Mombasa, Kenya.

When they arrived on Installation 05, Regret and his Sangheili Honor Guardsmen went to a temple in the middle of a lake near the Quarantine Zone of the Library.

Much to the Prophet's surprise, the Humans followed him to the ring world. There, forces led by Commander Miranda Keyes and MCPO John-117 tried to capture or kill the Prophet of Regret.

And a few hours later, SPARTAN John-117 and a few Marines initiated an assault on the temple. The Sangheili Honor Guardsman fought furiously to protect their Prophet from the SPARTAN, though they were overpowered this allowed for the Human to kill the Prophet of Regret. However, it is revealed later that the High Prophet of Truth refused to send Regret reinforcements, thus letting the Master Chief kill the Covenant Hierarch, and discrediting the Sangheili at the same time.

Changing of the Guard
Due to their mistakes in allowing the killing of a High Prophet, the High Prophet of Truth and Mercy ordered the Sangheili to step down as the protectors of the Prophets. And in their place, the Jiralhanae filled in the void left by the disgraced Sangheili.

The Great Schism
At the Battle of the Quarantine Zone in November 2552, Chieftain Tartarus retrieved the Index from the Arbiter, and later sent him to his death.

This action, given to Tartarus by the High Prophets, started the short Covenant Civil War, that would last until the end of the Human-Covenant War in Spring 2553.

During the First Battle of High Charity, the Jiralhanae Honor Guardsman were put into more of an infantry role fighting the Covenant Separatists still on the capital world and on ships in orbit.

Death of Mercy and the Dreadnought
Later during the battle on High Charity, the Prophet of Truth and Mercy along with their personal Honor Guards fled towards a landing pad where they would leave on the Dreadnought in the middle of the city.

During this, the Flood, led by the Gravemind from the captured, begin their invasion of High Charity. A lone Infection Form that slipped past the Jiralhanae, grasped onto Mercy's chest and began his assimilation into a Prophet Form. Truth, out of greed, allowed the old Prophet to die.

Trivia

 * After the events in Halo: Uprising, the Jiralhanae Honor Guards no longer exist, and are replaced by Bodyguards. This could either mean one of three things, one, the Prophet of Truth disbanded the Honor Guard. Secondly, they might of been completely wiped out by the Flood. Or thirdly, they were someplace else during Halo 3.
 * It is possible that Honor Guardsmen also protect high-ranking military officials, such as Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree and Chieftain Tartarus.

Related Articles

 * San 'Shyuum
 * High Prophets
 * Sangheili
 * Sangheili Honor Guardsman
 * Sangheili Honor Guardsman Commander
 * Jiralhanae
 * Jiralhanae Honor Guardsman
 * Jiralhanae Bodyguard
 * Wraith
 * Honor Guard Wraith