Ascetics

The Ascetics are a monastic Sangheili warrior sect. They are one of the Sangheili's oldest orders, with their origins in the species' early pre-Covenant history. The Ascetics are known for their austere lifestyles, esoteric religious traditions and mystic rites, and complete devotion to both their warrior arts and the Covenant religion. They scorn material wealth and opulence, seeing such things as mere fleeting distractions. Aside from select exceptions, the Ascetics largely seclude themselves from the rest of society, to the extent that they rarely even interact with other Covenant directly, rather using specifically-appointed intermediaries who may or may not later be initiated into the Ascetic order proper. This stands in contrast to many other notable warrior orders such as the Zealots, most of whom still continue to participate in society.

Initiation into the Ascetics effectively means renouncing one's former identity for life, and involves vows of a lifetime dedication and commitment to the order, sometimes known as "half-unworlding". As such, all Ascetics are volunteers, usually warriors who have already led a distinguished career or promising youths. Even so, one does not request entry into the Ascetics; rather, the order will approach candidates they identify as promising. Most members undergo a years-long long vetting period as Aspirants to gauge their commitment, first acting as envoys for the order. Most Aspirants decline full membership after this period, but this is normal and expected; experience as an Aspirant is nonetheless valued, especially if one chooses to pursue a subsequent career in religious and philosophical circles.

The Ascetics are believed to have arisen from mendicant orders of warrior-monks on Sanghelios. These orders formed powerful political and military polities of their own, being de facto independent of the feudal rule that largely dominated at the time, though they would sometimes form impermanent alliances with local lords. While initially small and migratory, the most prominent Ascetic orders would grow in size and settle down in cloister-fortresses. The Ascetics would often congregate around Forerunner sites where unrest had arisen between local factions, though they would also secure Forerunner artifacts in their monasteries in order to safeguard them from tinkering. The early Ascetic temple-orders followed various religious denominations, and would frequently clash with one another. Since then, the Ascetics have seen numerous reforms and revivals, though usually retaining the independent and isolated nature of their forebears. The genesis of the Arbiter role is also suspected to have various ties to the Ascetic tradition, and indeed various Arbiters in the past are known to have served as patrons for ascetic cloister-fortresses. The order existed independently for some time into the Covenant's history, though it would later be placed under the oversight of the Ministry of Abnegation. This was due to longstanding allegations of heresy within the order, though these were found to be largely unsubstantiated and likely had their origins in rumors based on the Ascetics' cloistered nature, study of mystic texts, and peculiar rituals. Indeed, many suspected the ministerial takeover was merely an excuse for the Prophets to bring an otherwise closed-off organization under closer watch. The order saw a considerable revival following the Great Schism, the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam having managed to convince their leaders to his side — at least for the time being.

Outside the field of battle, the Ascetics ceaselessly train their bodies and minds with a rigid regimen that persists throughout one's life. They observe some of the Sangheili's oldest religious traditions that have long ago died off outside their order, and study scripture wholly restricted from outsiders. Scriptural hermeneutics and philology also form some of the order's primary roles within the Covenant hierarchy. Their martial arts are likewise closely-kept secrets known to none outside the order. However, even within their order one must go a long path to reach the point of having access to all their secrets; for no matter their history outside the order, all initiates start from the lowest of the low, and the climb to the senior ranks can take over two centuries. The Ascetics use a variety of weapons, though they are historically most renowned for their skill with the keban, a type of energy polearm.