Energy blade

Energy blades or plasma blades are a category of melee weapons and tools widely utilized by the Covenant. The most common example of such a weapon today is the energy sword, a traditional Sangheili sidearm and dueling weapon, but numerous types of plasma-based bladed weapons have been and continue to be used throughout the Holy Ecumene. Energy-based polearms in particular are common in ceremonial uses, and have historically been widely fielded widely in frontline roles. One of the more notably types of energy polearm is the heliolance. Other now-archaic applications of the technology include plasma-based spears and crossbow-like weapons, which now exist mostly in recreational uses such as hunting. Energy blades have less renowned but just as prevalent uses in industrial settings.

Overview
A type of plasma weapon, energy blades function by trapping high-energy plasma in a shaped magnetic field. Power is supplied by a compact battery cell in the hilt, which is depleted with frequent use. Like most Covenant energy weapons, energy blades' batteries can be recharged in portable recharging stations. Being less technologically complex than ranged plasma weapons, plasma blades were one of the earliest forms of Covenant plasma weaponry.

As with most plasma weapons, the color of a plasma blade is not arbitrary, and serves as a reliable indicator of the plasma's temperature. Blue or white blades burn very hot, while red- or orange-tinted ones are much less intense. This can occur deliberately as a power-saving measure in some models. Blue-hot blades are effectively required to do meaningful damage to infantry energy shielding, and so are the standard setting on military-issue swords. Most mass-produced swords are limited to their standard power setting, while many aristocratic custom-forged blades can be adjusted. Second-rate swords are often limited to lower power settings due to the use of inferior power cells, indicated by their reddish coloration. Pirates, criminals and various delinquents are often seen brandishing red blades, contrasted with the aristocratic and military-issue blue- or white-hot models.

Although this is a common rule of thumb, various tricks can be used to alter the plasma's color. The mixture of the gases being ionized into plasma can be altered to produce different hues, as can the precise configuration of the magnetic containment fields. Colored holographic fields overlaid with the blade can also be to produce the appearance of different colors or patterns, but such flourishes are mostly limited to unique artisanal swords.

Low-power energy swords sporting a red coloration are sometimes called "bloodblades". This is not because of their resemblance to blood; after all, Sangheili blood isn't red. A characteristic of high-intensity plasma is that it tends to more successfully cauterise wounds than their lower-intensity counterparts. Bloodblades have a tendency to leave their victims bleeding out even if the initial strike didn't kill them. On the other hand, a higher-intensity sword is a fairly clean cut and provided one survives the initial strike, one actually has decent chances of surviving. In gladiatorial and duelling contexts, this is useful as it means that an opponent cannot rely on the bleeding out from a sword slash to kill their opponent - it requires more a test of swordsmanship and the ability to get the quick killing strike.

Likewise, the glow of an energy blade is indicative of its power level. A blade built with power economy in mind, or used on a low power setting, will glow only faintly and be noticeably translucent, while high-energy blades glow white-hot and often bleed off excess plasma, sometimes obscuring the normally well-defined contours of the blade.

Use
Although energy blades are used throughout the Covenant, they are particularly favored by the Sangheili as the current incarnation of a long line of melee weapons. While they have gone in and out of fashion in mainline military use, energy swords in particular remain very common as both sidearms and markers of martial prowess. Different configurations of blade reflect not only military roles, but also social status, with certain forms restricted to the aristocracy. Swords are seen as noble weapons, and are heavily associated with males, whereas lances are a more universal weapon allowed to most of the population; this has also led to energy lances being favored by female warriors in some traditions.

The modern style of mainline energy sword, a symmetrical twin blade with a sideways hilt natively known as the dak'haaru, first emerged in the Covenant's Late Antiquity era as an evolution of a venerable type of ceremonial dueling sword. While earlier military weapons had been forged in a similar configuration using monomolecular edges and burnblade technology, they usually had a single blade or a pair of asymmetric ones. It was only energy blade technology that propelled the dak'haaru to universal adoption by greatly increasing the utility of the design, and it has become nearly standard across the ministerial military organizations after the Second Illumination. Even today, however, many clan-forged swords have their own spin on the design according to their respective martial traditions.