Rennai

The Rennai Sisterhood (Rennain al'lud), sometimes freely translated as Sisters of Mercy, are a traditionally all-female monastic order of healers and surgeons, and one of the most notable and politically influential organizations of female Sangheili. While nominally under the oversight of the Ministry of Grace, the Sisterhood was in effect able to operate largely independently, a case similar to several politically influential organizations within the Covenant.

Description
Mainstream Sangheili culture has traditionally regarded matters concerning the boundary between life and death as the domain of females, as death itself is generally thought of as feminine. Though there is some regional variety among cultures, many roles involving surgery or healing are regarded as emasculating for males, and are as such regarded as female professions.

The name "Rennai" originates from a tradition of mythical figures who would come to fallen warriors in the moment of death; while later adopted by a prominent pre-Forerunner worship religion on Sanghelios, these beliefs actually have their origins in early death cults which revered the mythic precursors to the Rennai order as manifestations of death itself. These figures would later be syncretized with the mythology of the Forerunner Lifeworkers, who the Rennai Sisters also now emphasize in their traditions of worship.

Within military organizations, the Rennai administer field treatment to wounded warriors and operate infirmaries both in ground encampments and aboard starships. When it comes to warriors with injuries too grave to heal, they administer hospice and last rites, easing the warrior's passage to the Great Journey with comforting words and songs. At a warrior's request, they are also authorized with dealing a coup de grâce in order to end his suffering with honor. While the Rennai carry weapons and have extensive combat training in a style exclusive to the Sisterhood, the focus of their art is not on the offensive; for even when it comes to combat, the Sangheili traditionally view the feminine disposition as a defensive one. The Rennai's field garb reflects this philosophy, being equipped with powerful personal energy shielding. Most Covenant legions have a contingent of Rennai attached, though their numbers are smaller than they once were, especially in legions operating outside the Holy Ecumene.

Rennai monastic chapters are known as convents. Outside the military, Rennai Sisters are assigned to keeps to act as both healers and advisers on the culture and history of the wider Covenant, a task particularly useful on worlds with little contact with the outside galaxy. Members of the order can exert considerable political influence over the families they are attending to, with senior Sisters having connections all the way up to the high aristocracy of High Charity. It has been suspected that the Sisterhood's increased focus on such civic roles has led to the gradual decline in their traditional field duties, and many legions in the Covenant's later ages would scarcely employ them.

Picked apart from their communal families in the role-based vetting processes that characterize the early adolescence of Sangheili, the training of the Rennai is extensive and grueling. They are extremely well-versed in religious tradition, history, and anatomy, and are trained extensively in maintaining a traditional persona and pattern of behavior that blends extreme composure and calmness with a ritualized nurturing streak. Traditionally, Rennai are trained only in Sangheili anatomy, with only a basic knowledge of the other species. While some chapters of them periodically show an interest in tending to non-Sangheili, this remains fairly rare, and Unggoy and Kig-Yar usually have their own dedicated medics.

The Rennai are viewed by Sangheili warriors with a mixture of reverence and dread. With their consecrated instruments of Forerunner origin, even the most stringent followers of the N'gaeh'eewoy traditions tolerate being treated by them. Though they are near-universally a welcome sight on the battlefield and are generally respected, the opaqueness of their organization to the outside has made them subject to many rumors and misconceptions. Their frequent involvement in political intrigue is well documented, especially on a local level. However, many theories are even more outlandish, purporting the Rennai to possess mystical powers involving persuasion or precognition, or unnatural abilities involving child-bearing; such abilities are either claimed to be tied to their stringent and secretive behavioral conditioning or their possession of various specialized Forerunner relics, including the exceedingly rare Lifeworker Huragok.

Ranks and organization

 * Sister Initiate
 * Sworn Sister
 * Ordained Sister
 * Prioress
 * Abbess