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Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: "With great power comes great responsibility."
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| “ | The Covenant soldiers will hear the Guardian wake from its slumber. They will look up over the bodies of their brothers, through the smoke of their burning city. They will look to the horizon as their holy idol rises from the sea and forsakes them. And that is when the Covenant dies. | „ |
| ~ The Arbiter shortly before the Battle of Sunaion. |
| “ | Were it so easy. | „ |
| ~ Arbiter's famous catchphrase. |
| “ | And so, you must be silenced! | „ |
| ~ Arbiter before killing the Prophet of Truth. |
| “ | Hunt them to the last. Today we extinguish the Covenant's light forever! | „ |
| ~ Arbiter's speech as they claimed victory against the Covenant Revenant. |
Thel 'Vadam, better known by his ceremonial title, The Arbiter, is the tritagonist in the Halo franchise, appearing as a player character and the deuteragonist in Halo 2 and Halo 3, and as a supporting character in Halo 5: Guardians.
He was a disgraced Sangheili commander who once led the Fleet of Particular Justice, a Covenant fleet responsible for the Fall of Reach and the pursuit of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn to Installation 04. Tasked with safeguarding the Halo ring from humanity's presence and anything that may threaten it, the Forerunner ring was later destroyed by the Master Chief. For his failure in preventing the destruction of Halo, 'Vadam was stripped of his rank, tortured, branded, and sentenced to death, deemed a heretic by the Covenant council members. His execution was stayed by the High Prophets and was given the chance to atone by becoming the Arbiter, a title given to disgraced Elites with the chance to reclaim their honor by undertaking suicide missions on behalf of the Prophets and the Covenant's cause.
After becoming the Arbiter, he was first given the mission to extinguish a renegade Covenant faction and its heretical leader, and was later sent to Delta Halo to retrieve the Index (dubbed the "Sacred Iron" by the Covenant), claimed to be critical to the Covenant's "Great Journey". Although the Arbiter was successful in his mission, he was subsequently betrayed by the Prophets and left for dead, with the Chieftain of the Brutes, Tartarus, personally revealing the Prophets' betrayal to the Arbiter before using his Gravity Hammer, the Fist of Rukt, to eliminate the Arbiter. After being rescued by the Gravemind, he learned that the Sangheili were replaced and subjected to extermination by the Jiralhanae, who were now favored by the Prophets. Furthermore, he realized that the Halo rings were not gateways to salvation as claimed by his leaders, but actually destructive weapons designed to eradicate all life on a galactic scale. After stopping Tartarus from activating the Halo Array, he and his surviving Sangheili brethren formed an alliance with the UNSC and set out to take down the Covenant leadership and hunt down Loyalist forces.
He is voiced by Keith David in all of the mainline games, who was also the voice of Sergeant Foley in the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Goliath in Gargoyles.
Story
Thel' Vadamee was the commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, one of the largest armadas of Covenant vessels in the Covenant Empire. In mid-2552, he was assigned to lead his fleet to the UNSC colony of Reach and destroy it, glassing the planet, exterminating all life and civilization on it. However, one UNSC vessel, the Pillar of Autumn, escaped, and Vadamee pursued it with his fleet, soon discovering Halo Installation 04, known as the "Sacred Ring" to the Covenant in their fanatical religious beliefs, and was in charge of defending Halo, a task he failed when the Master Chief destroyed it. When the Covenant Holy City, High Charity, arrived and discovered the fate of Installation 04, Vadamee was summoned to meet with the High Prophets and the Covenant council of Prophets and Elite councilmembers to defend himself from punishment for his failure.
| “ | Thel' Vadamee: There was only one ship. Prophet of Truth: One? Are you sure? Thel' Vadamee: Yes. They called it the Pillar of Autumn. Prophet of Mercy: Why was it not destroyed with the rest of their fleet?! Thel' Vadamee: It fled, as we set fire to their planet, but I followed with all the ships in my command. Prophet of Regret: When you first saw Halo, were you blinded by its majesty? Thel' Vadamee: Blinded? Prophet of Regret: Paralyzed? Dumbstruck? Thel' Vadamee: No. Prophet of Regret: Yet the humans were able to evade your ships, land on the Sacred Ring, and desecrate it with their filthy footsteps! Thel' Vadamee: Noble Hierarchs, surely you understand that once the parasite attacked... (Vadamee is drowned out by loud arguing from the Council) Prophet of Mercy: There will be order in this Council! Prophet of Truth: You were right to focus your attention on the Flood, but this "Demon", this Master Chief... Thel' Vadamee: By the time I learned the Demon's intent, there was nothing I could do... (The Council members begin to shout and yell angrily at this testimony proving that Vadamee has dishonored himself and failed them. The Chieftain of the Brutes, Tartarus, chuckles maliciously to himself at Vadamee's fate.) Prophet of Regret: Noble Prophet of Truth, this has gone on long enough. Make an example of this bungler. The Council demands it! Prophet of Truth: You are one of our most treasured instruments. Long have you led your fleet with honor and distinction, but your inability to safeguard Halo, was a colossal failure. Prophet of Objection: (from the audience) Nay, it was heresy! (The Council roars in agreement) Thel' Vadamee: I will continue my campaign against the Humans! Prophet of Truth: No! You will not. (He signals to Tartarus, who barks an order to two of his Brutes, who approach Vadamee, but rather than let them grab him, he turns to leave, and they escort him out.) Prophet of Truth: Soon the Great Journey shall begin...but when it does, the weight of your heresy will stay your feet, and you shall be left behind. |
„ |
| ~ The future Arbiter's trial and being found guilty of heresy for the destruction of Installation 04 |
As his punishment, the High Prophet of Truth made him the Arbiter; the will of the Prophets, as way to stave off the Council wanting him put to death for heresy, as Truth thought they were being overzealous as he believed that Vadamee was no heretic, while Mercy made certain that, as the Arbiter, if he dies in one of his missions, the Council would still have their corpse to placate them. In Halo 2, the game's story is partly driven by the Arbiter as he is tasked with completing important missions for the Covenant High Council. The Prophets' first mission for the Arbiter is to put down a group of heretics that were instigating a revolt against the leadership of the Covenant. Upon completion of the mission, the Arbiter also makes an surprise discovery and recovers the "Oracle", known to humans as 343 Guilty Spark, Monitor of the destroyed Installation 04.
During his absence it is revealed that, due to the Elite honour guard being unable to protect the Prophet of Regret from the Master Chief, the Elites have lost their privileges and rank, and the Brutes are seen replacing them. The Arbiter is told that this is purely a political move and is urged to concentrate on his next mission; to recover the Sacred Icon (actually the Index, the activation key to the Halo array) so that the newly discovered Delta Halo can be fired, beginning the Great Journey.
The Arbiter deploys to the surface and after a tough fight against the Flood is able to reach the Library. There he faces Sergeant Avery Johnson and Commander Miranda Keyes and is successfully able to ambush them and take the Icon. He is subsequently betrayed by Tartarus on the Prophets' orders as soon as he hands over the Index. Tarturus throws the Arbiter over a ledge with his gravity hammer, and the Elite warrior falls into a large body of water, his limp body quickly being recovered by the Gravemind which had done the same thing with the Chief after he assassinated Regret.
There it reveals to the Arbiter that activating the Halo array would actually wipe out all life in the galaxy. It assigns the Arbiter and the Chief separate missions and teleports the Arbiter to the location of the Elite council who are in the process of being murdered by the Brutes. Enraged by the Prophets' betrayal, he leads an uprising against them (starting by dropping the "ee" suffix from the end of his name, as it signifies military service to the Covenant) and with the help of Johnson and a fellow Elite named Rtas 'Vadum, he is able to disrupt the firing of Halo and rescue Miranda Keyes.
In Halo 3, Thel 'Vadam is the figure of hope who leads the Covenant Separatist movement that aids humanity against the Covenant Loyalists. Although the Master Chief takes centre stage during the entire single-player campaign, the Arbiter still plays an important role, and is playable in co-operative play as player 2. The Arbiter follows the Chief into the Ark in stopping the Loyalists and the Prophet of Truth, as well as destroy an incomplete rebuilt Installation 04. Both Master Chief and the Arbiter narrowly escapes the installation control room to the ship Forward Unto Dawn with the Arbiter arriving on Earth with half of the ship after the slipspace jump when the portal collapsed as the new Installation 04 fired, despite its incomplete state. After participating in the memorial ceremony for the fallen UNSC soldiers of the conflict, Thel' and the remaining Elites return to their home planet, having made peace with humanity and renounced their allegiance to the Covenant Empire.
In 2558, Arbiter is at war with the remains of the Covenant, led by Jul 'Mdama. He is in Command of the Sword of Sanghelios, also with a grand council of Kaidons, effectively the world government of Sanghelios. Thel' wants more for his people, and he believes that the Sangheili would not survive another war with the humans in their current state, and he wants to reclaim their self sufficiency lost while being within the Covenant.
In Halo 5, Thel is helping Spartan Locke and Fireteam Osiris find the Master Chief, who has gone AWOL with Blue Team for as of yet unknown reasons.
Personality
One of the Covenant's most renowned military leaders, Thel 'Vadam (known as Thel 'Vadamee while serving the Covenant military directly) was the former Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice and kaidon of the State of Vadam on Sanghelios, but fell into disgrace after a serious failure. Given one last chance to redeem himself (or die trying) by stepping into the armor of the Arbiter, he becomes the advocate for peace in Halo 2 and Halo 3, eventually spearheading a diplomatic and military effort to rebel against the Covenant and seek alliance with humanity. After the end of the Human-Covenant War, he is regarded by most as the formal, interim leader of the Sangheili, and is seeking to end his people's civil conflicts, with those following his banner known as the Swords of Sanghelios.
Trivia
- The Arbiter was originally titled "Dervish" during early development of Halo 2, a name originating from the Sufi sect of Islam. It was later changed to the Arbiter following internal discussions about a perceived allegory concerning the United States and Islam in the game's plot.
- The Arbiter's given name, Thel 'Vadam, was first officially established in the 2008 novel Halo: The Cole Protocol.
- The Arbitar appears in the indie fighting game Brawlhalla.
Gallery
External Links
- Arbiter Thel 'Vadam on the Near Pure Good Wiki
- Thel 'Vadam on the Villains Wiki
- Thel 'Vadam on the Halo Alpha Wiki
- Thel 'Vadam on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
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