Geography (Halo Setting)

A Guide to Startravel and Planets

To go from planet to planet, one must cross an unfathomable amount of space. To do so would take hundreds of years going as fast as possible. To counteract this, all spacefaring species discovered Slipspace. By using their engines to effectively rip holes through reality, a ship can enter a pocket dimension. Doing so within the atmosphere is outlawed by the UNSC, and is akin to detonating dozens of nuclear warheads simultaneously. Any amount of movement in Slipspace is vastly multiplied in standard reality, allowing for interstellar travel at a leisurely pace. Only the largest ships are equipped with Slipspace drives. To travel to a planet, one must simply imput its Slipspace coordinate and activate their drive. They arrive at the planet quickly, taking only an hour to span the entire Milky Way. No important Slipspace coordinates are known outside of said galaxy.

The following are important planets one may wish to travel to:

Covenant Planets and Space Stations

High Charity

High Charity was a massive space station acting as the Covenant’s collective home world. It was a massive dome of rock from the san’shyuum home world. Below it sprouted parallel pillars capable of supporting life inside of. In the internal hub of High Charity lay an extremely large capital city with a population of just over 23,800,000 San'Shyuum citizens and 7.7 billion Covenant Menials, known as the Golden City. At the center sat the Forerunner Dreadnought, embedded within the city after the formation of the Covenant as a symbol of conviction and peace between the Sangheili and the San'Shyuum.

The city itself contained many locations sacred to the Covenant such as the High Council Chamber, the Sanctum of the Hierarchs and the Mausoleum of the Arbiter. Unlike many small Covenant vessels and their UNSC counterparts, High Charity contained many courtyards and other non-essential spaces which gave the station a terrestrial feel. The interior of High Charity was filled with the Covenant's unique architecture, of a lighter tone than their naval vessels. All of the structures within the city floated above a methane-rich field in which the millions of High Charity's Unggoy dwelled. The massive towers around the dome were gigantic spires of volcanic rock from the city's base, interwoven with metal supports and covered with decorative alloy. They were used by the San'Shyuum as offices and private residences. Further in the bedrock of the planetoid were subterranean warrens, which served as living quarters for the Sangheili and were nearly airtight and self-sufficient.

Sangheilios

Sangheilios is the 5 continent home world of the Sangheili. It is incredibly varied, the only through-line being large, complex ruins. Sanghelios, also known as Urs IV and designated CE-80-9012 d by the Forerunners, is the homeworld of the Sangheili species. Sanghelios is the fourth planet in the Urs system, a triple star system containing Urs, Fied, and Joori. The planet is orbited by two natural satellites, Qikost and Suban. Sanghelios is a world with a very militaristic and feudal society, a result of the planet's harsh environment.

As a space-faring species, the Sangheili have colonized multiple worlds in addition to Sanghelios as they expanded the reach of their own civilization and later the empire of the Covenant. Though the Sangheili have colonized dozens of independent worlds, Sanghelios still remains central to the government and culture of the species. Following the Human-Covenant War and the dissolution of the Covenant, Sanghelios had become embroiled in a civil war known as the Blooding Years that encompasses most of the planet and many Sangheili colonies. Though the Swords of Sanghelios have effectively taken control of the planet, many other factions seek to overthrow the government.

Doisac

Doisac, designated CE-75-2113 c by the Forerunners, was the third planet of the Oth Sonin system and the homeworld of the Jiralhanae. The planet possessed three natural satellites, Warial, Soirapt, and Teash. Doisac was a tropical world, where volcanic activity was common. At least half of Doisac's surface was covered in rain forests, while the other half was largely composed of molten rock, lava, and large volcanoes. Doisac had a very harsh environment, yet it was still preferred by many Jiralhanae. The rocky, forested planet also contained large amounts of deserts, and a few seas of water.

Eayn

Eayn is the homeworld of the Kig-Yar, supporting a population of nearly one billion. The moon is relatively similar to Earth, though it slightly smaller and contains one large ocean surrounding two continents. The Kig-Yar are known for favoring pirating, which proved difficult for the Covenant to control when they discovered them in 1342. Even after joining the Covenant, the Kig-Yar would often resort to piracy, which was somewhat tolerated for the sake of peace.

Balahoo

Balahoo was dominated by unggoy prior to the Covenant’s discovery of it. Due to the industrial actions of its inhabitants before the first firing of the Halo array, it has a thick methane atmosphere containing various harmful gasses. It is primarily tundra, with temperatures ranging from -33 °C (-27.4 F) to 5 °C (41 °F). After the Unggoy rebelled against the Covenant, vast parts of its landscape was glassed, effectively reducing it to magma for years. This has long since cooled into a harsh, uninhabitable stone. After the majority of unggoy were taken onto High Charity, it was converted into one massive mine.

UNSC Planets and Space Stations

Earth

Earth, also known as Sol III, known in the Forerunner era as “Erde-Tyrene”pronounced "Er-da-ty-reen or "Erda", is the third planet and one of four terrestrial worlds of the Sol system. It is the presumptive homeworld of the human species, though this was disputed by some ancient humans, due to the loss of records to technological dark ages and the presence of human ruins on other worlds. It is the current capital world of the Unified Earth Government, and home to the headquarters of the United Nations Space Command. With a population of around ten billion, Earth was the most populated planet in UEG territory prior to the Covenant invasion. Despite being dramatically reduced during the Covenant invasion in 2552 due to both casualties inflicted by the Covenant and a major evacuation effort, the population had again risen to several billion by the end of 2553.

Reach

Reach, also known as Epsilon Eridani 11, is a human colony world in the Epsilon Eridani system, located within the Inner Colonies and is the sister planet of Earth itself. At 10.5 light years from the Sol system, it is located at Earth's metaphorical doorstep. Reach is the fourth largest planet in the Epsilon Eridani system, and second closest to the star Epsilon Eridani. Once home to a Forerunner presence, Reach held considerable importance to the United Nations Space Command as the nexus of its military and the site of many military-industrial facilities such as shipyards. It was also significant for being one of the largest producers of titanium, which is plentiful on the planet. Though most commonly recognized for its status as a military world, Reach was also humanity's most populous colony world, 9/10 of its civilian population living in its preplanned cities or defying the planet's harsh nature in sturdy pioneer settlements. It was considered a center for civilian enterprise and logistical hub. Reach became the target of a Covenant invasion in 2552. Although the planet was defended by the UNSC for several weeks, Reach eventually fell to the Covenant, resulting in the planet's glassing in one of the most decisive defeats suffered by humanity over the course of the Human-Covenant War and the demise of the majority of its population.

Arcadia

Arcadia is the fourth planet in the Procyon system, orbited by two natural satellites - Gihon and Pishon. Colonized in 2429, Arcadia was a human Outer Colony of the Unified Earth Government, home to a population of nearly three million. A thriving colony, Arcadia was a popular tourist destination, famed for its lush jungles and forests. On February 9, 2531, Arcadia was attacked by the Covenant, leading to a brief, yet brutal, battle between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant. Although Admiral Preston Cole successfully fought off the Covenant forces, Arcadia's major population centers were destroyed and the Arcadians abandoned their home. However, over the following years, many Arcadians slowly returned to their home world and began rebuilding their colony. On September 9, 2549, the Covenant returned to Arcadia and finally glassed the planet, eradicating nearly its entire population. Advertisement

Harvest

Harvest, also known as Epsilon Indi IV designated CE-309-8 by the Forerunners, was a human Outer Colony world founded as a "breadbasket" world. Founded in 2468 by the UNSC Skidbladnir, the colony , was the most remote at the time of its founding. Located in the Epsilon Indi system, the planet had the unfortunate distinction of being the first human planet discovered and destroyed by the Covenant. After a disastrous first contact, the planet was subsequently glassed by the Covenant, but most of its population managed to escape in freighters.?

Carrow

Carrow, referred to by the Sangheili as Rakoi, is a planet and former human Outer Colony in a Joint-Occupation Zone. Following the Human-Covenant War, the planet was settled as a Sangheili colony, eventually acting as a home for both humans and Sangheili.

Forerunner and Promethean Planets and Space Stations

The Halo Rings

The Halo Array, sometimes known simply as Halo or the Array, is a network of colossal ring-shaped superweapons individually known as Halos or Halo rings, constructed by the Forerunners.[5] The Halos were also referred to by the Covenant as the Sacred Rings, and labeled as Installations or infrequently referred to as Fortress Worlds by the Forerunners and their monitors.

The first array of twelve Halos was constructed by order of Master Builder Faber circa 98,445 BCE with the intent of being an ultimate weapon, one that would secure the preeminence of the Builder rate in Forerunner society. Later, the weapons would be refined further and a new array of six smaller and significantly more lethal installations was constructed; the newer Halos are known as the "neoteric" rings. Eventually, eleven were destroyed and/or lost while the remaining seven were used by the Forerunners as a last resort when combating the parasitic Flood. All sentient beings in the galaxy were killed, robbing the Flood of hosts and starving it to death.

In addition to serving as weapons of last resort, Halo installations are also research facilities dedicated to containing and studying many different kinds of life forms. The life forms that were hand-selected by the Librarian included marine life, fauna, and land vertebrates. With the Master Builder's permission, the Librarian would research each animal to detect if their bodies reacted to Flood infection. The research on the animals would be more deeply analyzed if they did become infected. The Librarian's studies also helped determine if the rings could be used to repopulate the galaxy as part of the Conservation Measure.

The Ark

Installation 00, also known as The Ark or The Lesser Ark, is an enigmatic Forerunner installation from which all the Halo Installations across the galaxy can be activated simultaneously. In addition, it functions as a safe haven from the Halo network's strategic pulse, as well as a facility to construct and repair any of the Halo Array.

Requiem

Requiem, formally designated by its Forerunner creators as Shield World 0001, was a Forerunner shield world located in the Epoloch system. It once served as the central base of operations for the Prometheans, an elite class of Warrior-Servants, for thousands of years until the end of the Forerunner-Flood war. It remained sealed off for a hundred millennia since the end of the war, and became the site of major events as UNSC and Jul 'Mdama's Covenant forces stumbled upon it in 2557. The UNSC Infinity returned to Requiem in early 2558, resulting in a protracted battle between the UNSC and the occupying Promethean-Jul's Covenant alliance. Requiem itself was destroyed at the conclusion of this campaign by Jul 'Mdama.

Maethrillian

Maethrillian was one of the oldest structures in the ecumene, having been constructed roughly around 122,990 BCE.[4] Unknown to most Forerunners in later times, the Capital was constructed around the physical component of the Precursor construct known as Abaddon, discovered by early Forerunners on a distant world. A powerful intelligence closely linked with the Domain, Abaddon was believed to have taught ancient Forerunners to access the Domain, which would later become a keystone of their civilization. As the construction of the Capital progressed, Abaddon was contained within a chamber of relics known as the Mysterium and held secret from most of the ecumene apart from senior members of the Ecumene Council; however, scattered reports of its existence gave rise to the legend of "the Organon", a Precursor artifact that controlled all others.[5]

Despite its immense size, the Capital itself had a comparatively small population of several hundred thousand Forerunners, mostly high-ranking Builders. Trillions of ancillas served in the capital in the Capital metarchy, an enormous network coordinated by a metarch-class ancilla that answered to the First Councilor. It was one of the most trafficked locations in the ecumene, with constant security patrols, sentinels, and transports swarming around it. Within five thousand kilometers of the structure, incoming vessels would be carefully screened by sensory fields and directed by hard light docking nets. The Capital's system housed multiple slipspace portals that linked to many worlds, as well as the Ark.

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