Clan 'Ydrassa

Clan 'Ydrassa was a somewhat wealthy Sangheili clan active during the last years of the Covenant.

History
During the Secession of Vermillion and the Celiene during the 37th Age of Conflict, a destroyer in service of this clan was present for one of the opening battles. It was the site of a munity between the crew, who sympathised with the rebels, and the shipmaster and communications officer, who remained loyal to High Charity. Dueling on a raised dias in the bridge to force the challengers to come in pairs at most, the shipmaster fought well but was eventually suffered a mortal blow. His valiant performance, however, left a profound impact on the weapons officer and navigator. With their faith rekindled, they turned on the other two muniteers and fought on the side of the Covenant. This, coupled with the clan's other instrumental contributions, saw the Hierarchs reward them with a promising world at the end of a developing trade route.

Ydrassa Void Legion
Created generations before the Human-Covenant War, the Ydrassa Void Legion was one of the elite fighter units of the Covenant. Crewed exclusively by Ydrassan warriors and flying Seraph fighters and Gigas bombers, they were renowned for their unusual but effective training regimen. They turned the tale of the clan's origins into a strange form of training that combines exhibition swordfighting with king-of-the-hill. A pair of swordsmen occupy a raised platform, and the two pairs of challengers must force them off of it. Each pair is a wingmate, and the six altogether are a single flight. Its a very ornate, theatrical way of training with the sword, but anyone who dismisses these pilots as exhibition fighters will be challenged to a duel, and he will quickly learn his lesson. In addition, their style of training was one that bonded warriors to one-another and prepared them for the tragedy of war, which made Ydrassan pilots particularly good at maintaining effective discipline and willingness to fight even after taking horrendous losses. To keep their minds clear, their code prohibited the consumption of alcohol for serving members.

The Ydrassa Void Legion had impressed the High Prophet of Regret so well that they were specificially to join the campaign against humanity. Despite high hopes, over the course of the conflict the Void Legion would not amass the glory and distinction they so badly craved. In space, the elite pilots rarely found themselves in the dogfights they trained for, usually resorting to bombing attacks on freighters and enemy ships that nobody considered worthy of glory nor song. If they were engaged, it was from long distances where there was no chance of seeing the opponent. On the ground, the action the Legion found themselves in saw them take losses to hidden surface-to-air missile batteries, gradually losing most of their original members they had. Although replacement members were found, the long duration of their training was thoroughly unsuitable to combating the attrition they suffered, and this created a critical skills divide between the blooded senior members and the newblooded recruits who lacked the bond their predecessors shared. As a result, throughout the War the Ydrassa Void Legion lost of most of its legendary reputation and trademarked lethality.

Notable individuals

 * Rabakar 'Ydrassa - Ace pilot of the Ydrassa Void Legion during the Human-Covenant War.