Concord of Reconciliation

The Concord of Reconciliation (Osh'nak Vuranna), commonly known only as the Concord, is a coalition of several dozen post-Covenant polities and organizations. It is the largest grouping of Covenant splinter polities to arise from the Great Schism, and is recognized by many (including the UNSC) as the Covenant's legitimate successor state. Arbiter Thel 'Vadam symbolically leads the Concord in a role analogous to the warrior-king Arbiters of old, but in practice, the organization's power structure is quite diffuse, and it inherited much of the byzantine internal politics which characterized its predecessor.

The Concord sprang from the Schismatics, the predominantly Sangheili-led groups that were united in their opposition to the Covenant loyalist Jiralhanae during the first months of the Great Schism. At first, vanquishing the loyalists was the Concord's primary motivation and the glue that bound most of its members together, though several of its core founders -- the Arbiter first and foremost -- harbored grander ambitions from the start. The Concord's formation as an entity was ratified in the Grand Convocation between the Arbiter, several of his allies, and the Covenant's political remnants at the Strewn Shore. Subsequent Grand Convocations, which would come to be known as the Schism Councils, further established the Concord in what was now increasingly known as the 40th Age of Conflict. This foundation also gave the Concord of Reconciliation its name: for it took it upon itself the laborious task of repairing the damage brought on by the Great Schism, and over time creating a functional and attractive alternative to the now-failed Covenant.

Its role as an increasingly established arbitrating forum amongst the shattered Covenant brought the Concord legitimacy, and the Arbiter's persistent reunification campaigns and victories brought him credibility. This, in turn, led to the Concord adopting an increasingly organizational role. They sought to bring order to the chaos left behind by High Charity's fall by taking over the Covenant's basic roles: facilitating trade and an overall functioning economy by policing shipping lanes and spaceports, bringing relief to worlds struck by famines or disasters, and to some extent regulating access to key technologies and reliquaries, particularly strategic Forerunner sites such as the Halo rings. The Concord has also taken it upon themselves to gather and archive what they can of the Covenant's technological, scientific and historical knowledge, which have become immensely valuable following the loss of High Charity. Finally, the Concord has a cultural goal, seeking to provide a common purpose for a meta-civilization in a crisis of faith.

In practice, the Concord has had varied success. The Great Schism created dozens of competing political and religious movements, many of which held influence within the Concord's decision-making. It quickly became apparent that the goal of cultural, ideological and even religious reconciliation would be difficult to achieve due to the myriad political differences that existed among its members. Ultimately, the Concord's ability to police its member states or their individual policies is limited, which has at times worked to the coalition's detriment. As well, its leniency to internal strife and division caused some to perceive it as ineffectual, and the Arbiter's unwillingness to rein in the excesses of some of his more fanatical followers has ended up alienating some of his traditionalist allies.

Eventually, these festering disagreements and divisions gave rise to a set of political and religious crises known as the Tribulations and eventually the Blooding Years, a series of secessions and civil wars beginning in the 2570s, which would last over two decades and eventually usher in the next major restructuring of the Concord, marked by political consolidation and a renewed focus.

Origins
Historical commentators have pointed out that the seeds which would eventually flower into the Concord were planted long before the alliance's eventual formation. Such views postulate that the origins of many of the philosophies that shaped the Concord in its formative years lay in war-era movements that expressed disgruntlement with the war or the Last Triumvirate's rule for various reasons.

Many Sangheili, particularly among the generation that had come of age in the years after the war began, began to question the Hierarchs' motivations for the war, giving rise to movements that characterized the zeitgeist of the later Ninth Age of Reclamation, such as the Compuncta and the Elenchists. As the war dragged on and Covenant troops became more familiar with humans and their ways, these movements called into question the basic premise of the war. Not only did humanity seem to lack the purported collective cultural hatred of Forerunner artifacts, they seemed to have very little knowledge on the Forerunners in general, most of it having come from the Covenant themselves. Not only that, but many would point out that even if the humans' crimes were true, the Lekgolo had once sinned as well, perhaps more gravely, yet they had eventually been welcomed into the holy union. Surely, then, there must be something the Prophets were not telling the masses about the causes of the war? Then there were the Enquirers and the Stipulants, whose compunctions with the genocide itself were less overt; rather, their grievances lay in the Hierarchs' elusive motivations in general. To them, the prolonged holy war began to seem like a convenient way to draw their attention away from the numerous internal issues and points of unrest within the Holy Ecumene, issues that had simmered under the surface for many generations- including the rising influence and power of the Jiralhanae, once the scourge of the Spinward Realms, the gradual decline of the Sangheili aristocratic class, and the Hierarchs' tampering with the delicate balance of power among the Ministries, which severely upset the fabric of the Covenant.

Such movements largely existed under the surface, but they troubled the Hierarchs — most pointedly the Prophet of Truth — enough to eventually implement their ultimate divisive mandate: the decision to replace the Sangheili with the Jiralhanae as the Covenant's leading military caste. This would spark the Great Schism and sound the death knell of the Covenant. And when that turmoil struck, the socio-cultural undercurrents would come erupting to the surface, directly or indirectly inspiring the creation of countless new movements, groups, polities and religions.

Formation
Officially, the Concord of Reconciliation began in 2554, in the first Grand Convocation after the shattering of the Writ of Union. However, its origins can only be understood by tracing them back to the activities of the Schismatics in the first months of the Great Schism, specifically the coalition led by the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadam, and Rtas 'Vadum, initially organized under the Fleet of Retribution. Had the events in those early days proceeded differently, the post-war political landscape may have looked very different; for one, the death of the Imperial Admiral Xytan Jar 'Wattinree threw many political groupings of Sangheili into disarray, and in part enabled the Arbiter's coalition to gather momentum as the most notable Sangheili-led group taking action against the Prophet of Truth and his Jiralhanae loyalists.

Singular Bond
Following the Fleet of Retribution's return from the Battle of the Ark, its leaders would spend over two months in the Human Sphere, rallying scattered Sangheili-led fleets to their cause and pushing back Covenant loyalist forces. Though not all of these commanders were not yet fully convinced on the Arbiter's message, especially the alliance with humanity, most recognized his authority, with legends already circulating amongst the fleets of his activities at the Ark and the death of Truth. Additionally, many of the skeptical commanders did not yet know what to think about the situation, and chose to withhold judgment until the extent of the Hierarchs' duplicity could be uncovered. All recognized the need for the Schismatics to organize as a unified front against the Jiralhanae. This marked the advent of the Singular Bond, the first pact made by 24 Sangheili commanders later known as the First Signatories; their participation in Operation: FORTRESS SIEGE to retake the Epsilon Eridani system from the Brutes laid the foundations for future military cooperation with the UNSC.

The Singular Bond then proceeded to enter the Treaty of Luna with the UNSC in late February 2553; this is considered by many to be the formal end of the war, though hostilities against the Jiralhanae-led Covenant remnants would continue for years since. For over a year, the Singular Bond signatories remained a relatively diffuse group with no clear collective goal beyond those outlined in their initial pact, by far the most notable being the subduing of the remaining Covenant loyalists.

The First Schism Council
The Schismatics' increasingly diffuse nature would change with the Arbiter's assembly of the first Grand Council of the post-Covenant era in late 2554, organized in collaboration with the Covenant's political remnants at the Strewn Shore. Through this act, the Arbiter sought to both provide a continuity from the old order to the new, as well as create robust foundations for something more lasting. This also marked the formal advent of the Concord of Reconciliation, though it would be several years before many of its core institutions took shape.

Upon learning of the High Charity survivors in the Strewn Shore, various Sangheili commanders demanded that the remaining San'Shyuum leaders and ministry staffers, led by the Minister of the Common Weal, clarify their status relative to the Singular Bond. Further demands included that the Minister and all his allies publicly denounce the Hierarchs, the Jiralhanae, the Changing of the Guard, and submit to the Sangheili's rule. This was met with some confusion and unrest among the local population, many of them Sangheili and many of them still loyal to the Minister of the Common Weal. This standoff lasted for some time, until the Arbiter arrived at the Strewn Shore to mediate the heightened tensions. Him and Rtas 'Vadum already had limited experience dealing with San'Shyuum survivors since the Arbiter killed Truth, and after several further rounds of negotiations and demands back-and-forth, both sides eventually agreed to arrange a Grand Convocation - as was a longstanding custom in times of crisis. This was to be the first of the so-called Schism Councils, emergency assemblies meant to clarify and reestablish the status of the Covenant and its religion in the wake of the breaking of the Writ of Union and High Charity's loss.

Over several sessions, the First Council reached an agreement or compromise on several key matters, though the issues of the Schism were too numerous and contentious to be solved in one convocation and many lesser matters were left for later Councils to debate on. The first key conclusion was the denunciation of the Prophets of Truth, Regret and Mercy as illegitimate. (Later councils would dispute this decision as hasty and pressured, and re-open the matters of the Prophets of Regret and Mercy.) In effect, this effectively meant the reversal of the triumvirate's decisions, including the Changing of the Guard, the expulsion of the Sangheili, and the holy war on humanity. These were all cited as the primary causes of the Great Schism, and thereby the shattering of the Covenant. The Jiralhanae who still fought in Truth's name, and the San'Shyuum who allied with them, were deemed to be supporting an unlawful regime; however, many of the San'Shyuum stressed that the council's ruling should be made known to them before the Sangheili continued to wage war on the Truth loyalists, so that they may have a chance to lay down their arms and repent. Humanity's acquittal, or the reversal of the Ruugha-hri or Anathema Most High on them, was a controversial topic, and it was the Arbiter's ruling that served as the final decision on the matter. Concerns previously raised by Elenchists, Compuncta and the Inquirers of the High Council were brought to the fore: Not only had the Hierarchs proven themselves untrustworthy and treacherous, but there was a lack of concrete evidence that the Sacred Vessel's Oracle had indeed condemned humanity, a fact that had been brought up by the previous advisory Grand Convocation at the start of the Ninth Age of Reclamation, but promptly ignored in the rising fervor of the masses. As the initial zeal died down over the years, the Hierarchs repeatedly failed to adequately answer such concerns, instead resorting to vague invocations of their religious authority and often having troublesome individuals quietly removed. Humanity's status, especially in relation to the Forerunners, would not be conclusively settled for a long time, but the holy war on the species was formally declared to have been conceived under questionable circumstances at best, and likely under false pretenses. What should be done with humanity was a matter left for future councils, but for the time being, the species was to remain in a fringe capacity, until a more permanent order had been established.

Finally, the Council agreed on the formation of the Concord of Reconciliation as a civilizational forum to organize, secure and facilitate subsequent Grand Convocations in order to restore order and bring an end to the Great Schism. As the last Hierarchs' rule had been rendered null, many participants of the Grand Convocation called for the formal reconstitution of the Covenant as a political body, and for new Hierarchs to be elected from among the surviving San'Shyuum - with the Minister of the Common Weal as an outstanding candidate. However, it was agreed that with the Writ of Union broken and the Schism still raging, it was still premature to make such drastic conclusions. It was apparent that different parties had different end goals in mind, as well as ideas as to the role of the Concord; while the Arbiter sought to create a new body to replace the Covenant, many of the Strewn Shore's leaders sought to use the Schism Councils to placate the Sangheili, stabilize the situation and eventually return to the status quo. Indeed, many within the Shore continued to act as though the Covenant still existed. Nevertheless, though the San'Shyuum were uncertain as to the Arbiter's position, it was clear none other than he could serve as the protector and head mediator of the Schism Councils. Thus began his rise to fame as the "Schism Arbiter", viewed by many as a transitional leader of the Concord as a whole even as the remnants of the ministries and courts of High Charity maintained jurisdiction over the Strewn Shore.

Early years (2554-2567)
The Concord's early years were marked by conquests both diplomatic and military alike, as well as the pacification of the largest Jiralhanae loyalist groups. A small number of the remaining Jiralhanae war chiefs eventually signed non-aggression pacts with the Sangheili, retaining a relatively small autonomous dominion of disparate chiefdoms in Doisac's interstellar neighborhood. Master-packs which resisted until the end were functionally destroyed, with their remnants folded in as tributary states of Sangheili factions. However, some suspected that a small number of the Jiralhanae groups had retreated far beyond the dust clouds of the Inner Corelight Reefs, a region still not fully explored and believed by some to be harboring uncontacted Jiralhanae colonies dating back to the Gryunjalla era.

Meanwhile, the Concord made a concerted push to seize control of known Forerunner relic sites of strategic import across the Holy Ecumene in order to prevent said reliquaries from falling under hostile factions. At times, this was accomplished through diplomacy, convincing local reliquary-orders or governments to affiliate themselves with the Concord, though in many cases the reliquaries had already been seized by opposing factions unwilling to share them. Should those factions be too unstable, unpredictable or ideologically too far apart from the Concord, these standoffs would often escalate to open war. While not always successful, the swift Reliquary-Crusades were one of the Concord's most notable collective military efforts that both lent them credibility and technological prowess in contrast to smaller groups.

The Concord assumed an increasing number of roles as its capabilities and scope grew, and by the mid-2560s, most of its core governing functions were in place. At that point, the Concord or its affiliates controlled most of the critical Arterial Network worlds on the former Covenant's spinward side. Meanwhile, the trailing side of the Holy Ecumene remained more politically divided, though the Concord had taken steps in securing their power base there.

The Tribulations (2568-2575)
As the Concord expanded and effectively fulfilled its original mission of eliminating the Truth loyalists, they were faced with new issues - namely, what direction should the post-Covenant civilization go. This time was marked by an increase in political conflicts within the Concord as the Arbiter took steps to crystallize the alliance's mission and lay out policies for member groups. Among his more controversial decisions was the Arbiter's concessions to the revolutionary Temerite faction, largely composed of Unggoy; following widespread uprisings by Unggoy thralls and serfs, the Arbiter agreed to take steps against still-commonplace slavery within the Concord's constituent polities. While the Arbiter and his circle saw such concessions as necessary for the future, they also alienated many of the Concord's orthodox members still clinging to the old ways. Another point of contention were the rampaging warrior-fanatics of Furious Absolution, who even the Arbiter could not wholly rein in as they carved a path of violence through suspected Hierarch sympathizers. Following these and several more ideological controversies, a league of extreme traditionalist groups calling themselves the Servants of the Abiding Truth emerged as a counter-force to the Concord, though they never gained as much traction; many others split off as individual groups or formed smaller alliances.

Another key event of the era was the meteoric rise of the ex-Covenant mercantile class. The Covenant bureaucracy's approach to managing commerce had long been to divide and rule, preventing any one merchant concern or guild from becoming too powerful or organizing into groups that could challenge the ministries. Without much of that bureaucracy to regulate them and with the traditional aristocracy in a decline, mercantile interests experienced a steady climb in wealth and importance throughout the post-Covenant years. Many soon began to harbor ambitions more grandiose than even the Sangheili nobility realized. The rising factionalization among Concord members led to various merchants and commercial guilds banding together to form the Ecumenic Mercatoria, a large commercial coalition driven primarily by economic interests. The Mercatoria positioned itself as neutral to the major polities of the Orion Arm, Concord or otherwise, which allowed them to continue conducting business throughout the former Covenant empire regardless of factional borders. This air of neutrality rapidly increased the Mercatoria's wealth and influence and made them one of the key players in the Orion Arm. Even so, this neutrality was often illusory; the Mercatoria would covertly fan the flames of several conflicts that they directly profited off of. Still, they did attempt to avoid directly angering the Concord or their more prominent rivals, though their activities would often cross over into gray areas.

The Blooding Years (2576-2590)
After years of simmering political conflicts, the tensions between the Concord's various factions reached a fever pitch, manifesting in an irregular series of conflicts between both secessionists and outsider groups. One major point of contention was the access to important Forerunner relics, among them the Voi Excession on Earth as well as the remains of Halo Installations 04 and 05.

Governance
The Concord's politics are a complex interplay of political movements and factions, various martial orders, guilds and other organizations, and member polities. Many state functions within the Concord are not internalized to a centralized bureaucracy, but are fulfilled by a number of independent or semi-independent organizations, such as martial orders and guilds. This means those organizations' interests weigh in considerably within the Concord's decision-making. While the Arbiter has wished to prevent an excessively raspulescent bureaucracy similar to that of the Covenant from arising within the Concord, he and his allies saw fit to establish a number of new governmental bodies independent of any preexisting organization to avoid excessive conflicts of interest. Among these are the Panoply, a core executive organ, the Emendat, a religio-social deliberative body, and the Tribunal, a supreme court presided over by the Arbiter himself in times of crisis.

In its early years, the Concord had no formalized government branches. Power largely rested on the Arbiter and the First Signatories, as each party largely concerned themselves with their own matters. However, it was apparent that such a tenuous and vague state of affairs could not stand for long, as it would likely lead into the First Signatories quickly breaking up into warlord fiefdoms and undoing much of the work the Arbiter had already done in attempting to unite the remains of the Covenant. In response, the Arbiter and his inner circle began to assemble periodic Councils of Deliberation, beginning with the Concord's first Grand Council in 2554. Part of an ages-old tradition, the summoning of a Grand Council would both appease traditionalists concerned about the old ways being forsaken altogether, and give legitimacy and weight for the budding Concord in the eyes of many.

Political influence within the Concord is heavily tied with the ability to contribute to the whole, either in the form of military power or basic amenities like foodstuffs. Most of the smaller member polities which cannot contribute much are merely protectorates (known as Enfolds), and have little to no say in the Concord's affairs on a high level.

Politics and key concepts
Even as they share an original core mission, the Concord is hardly of one mind. In addition to the cultural and social differences in the hundreds of signatory polities, many different political movements and factions that emphasize different areas of development have emerged in turbulent formative years of the new order; some of these movements have formal power within the Concord, while others have influence but no practical representation in the group's political system. The Covenant always had its internal factions, but the Schism was a watershed event that created new divides and conflicts that pushed many of these old points of contention to the background. Numerous movements were born, burned brightly and died within a few months or years in the early years of the Schism.

It should be noted that many of these are broad, high-level categories. Individuals or even single member states often have nuances to their views and may not neatly fit the larger groupings as such.

The Concord's core ideology was outlined in a famed speech by the Arbiter himself in the Grand Council of 2554. In it, the Arbiter recounted his experiences and outlined his vision for the future of the post-Covenant. He argued that the post-Covenant, in particular his fellow Sangheili and the San'Shyuum, should acknowledge the mistakes of the past and not run away from shame, while taking real and substantive steps to move forward; taking what was good and functional with the old order and reforging it into something that could last even longer than the Covenant did, while fearlessly rooting out that which was rotten and founded on lies. Later commentators have noted that the Arbiter was perhaps intentionally vague in his speech, no doubt because many of his views had not yet fully taken shape at that point. Later public addresses by him showed a clear evolution in both specificity and the confidence with which the Arbiter presented them.

The Eclectine-Coalescent axis represents variance in attitudes regarding the centralization of political power, versus more federated or feudal arrangements. The Eclectine, also known (sometimes derisively) as the Sunderers, are polities and groups campaigning for the Concord to retain its current, distributed nature with minimal control over its constituent polities, or go even further in decentralization. Many Eclectine subgroups support continued economic and even military cooperation to an extent, but oppose political centralization and regulation efforts. Such groups heavily overlap with Feudalists, marked by their idealization of the Holy Ecumene's Feudal Era, prior to the most recent consolidation of power under the ministries, and wishing for a return to a similar socio-cultural arrangement. In contrast, the Coalescent push for a development toward a Covenant-style federated state with increased central regulation, which would often happen in favor of whatever polity or region they represent. By extension, many of the Coalescent also seek to bring other, non-Concord polities to the fold, by force if necessary. The Harmonists are another movement (sometimes understood as part of the Coalescent meta-faction) with the ultimate goal of relative ideological, social and political unity within the Concord.

The Orthodox-Reformer axis represents the gamut of views roughly from conservative to progressive. The Orthodox (sometimes known by their opponents as Intransigents) is a general term for traditionalists, mostly comprising old nobility who treasure tradition, cautioning against hasty reforms and, if any reforms are made at all, carefully considering what can be salvaged of the old order. Most of the orthodox come from old, powerful houses with fixed power bases, and are grounded in long, historic traditions. Many are also Feudalists. Their views on humans vary, but many support either bringing them to the fold as a client race, or leaving them to their own devices, though some also agree with the Arbiter's policy of cooperation while focusing their attention on internal affairs. The Reformers are the opposite, but are less difficult to group under one faction as they represent a plethora of political and religious schools.

The Strident Blades are a large political-military faction that underlines the Concord's ongoing mission to fight and eradicate the remnants of Truth's Jiralhanae loyalists, and bring the strategic assets -- worlds, ships, and weapons -- entrusted to the Jiralhanae by Truth back under the Sangheili control. The Blades hold that this original mission should take precedence over other pursuits, such as the Concord's internal factionalism or aiding humanity.

Many Sangheili continue to maintain their species should hold onto their place at the apex of the Covenant hierarchy, while taking steps to keep that hierarchy intact. They are generally known as Shepherds and usually (though not always) in the Orthodox end of the spectrum. They call for a retention of the Covenant's caste system, either partially or wholly. Many also campaign for a more unified Concordian state capable of effectively enforcing such a system. Most of the Shepherds agree that humans should be brought into the fold, and occupy a place below the Sangheili; while many Sangheili agree that some integration is necessary, the Shepherds are generally understood as those on the hardline side of that spectrum, or at least for being vocal about their views. Still, their positions vary from direct military subjugation to gradual economic and cultural integration. A commonly-cited reason for subjugation is generally the UNSC's use of AIs, which is still seen as anathematic by many Sangheili.

Those who seek to minimize the influence of religion or religious worldviews in the Concord's governance and society are known as Recusants; the most radical of the Recusants call for an abolition of religion altogether, seeing it merely as another expression of the Covenant's lies, or at least an obstacle to development. Not many share their view, however, and see religion (or at least some version of the Covenant's basic worldview) as having a continued role in society, albeit re-examined and reformed.

Post-Elenchists is a general term for individuals and ideological groups that can trace their roots to the war-era Elenchists, youth-centric movements among the Sangheili opposing the Human-Covenant War, sometimes openly. The Elenchists themselves were very much seen as a generational movement, consisting of Sangheili who came of age during the second half of the war. Post-Elenchists are generally more human-sympathetic than many older warriors, though some within their number still maintain the belief that humanity should be more closely integrated to the Concord's society rather than being left to their own devices. N'tho Sraom was a noted Elenchist.

Aside from the Elenchists, many of the more involved members of the Concord are what have been described as the Compuncta: Sangheili warriors who had qualms about the prosecution of the human war, specifically the total annihilation of humanity, though most of them still went along with it. Rather than a unified group, the Compuncta is more of an umbrella concept used to describe a specific mindset, originating from High Council sessions as an accusatory term. As the war dragged on, many of the Compuncta felt that the Hierarchs should have forgiven humanity for their supposed crimes — which themselves were increasingly in doubt — and allowed humanity to join the Covenant as a client species. Many began to doubt the sincerity of the Hierarchs' motivations for continuing the war, and were further disturbed by the startlingly rapid increase in military and industrial power allotted to the Jiralhanae. While such views were near-exclusively covert up until the present, they were surprisingly common. As the taboo around voicing them was revoked by the Schism, Compuncta-oriented views, with the further perspective of the Arbiter and his cohort, formed the ideological basis the Concord was built upon. The Compuncta are similar in principle to the Elenchists, but often less passionate and tend to emphasize pragmatic perspectives over idealism.

Atavists are a broad grouping of religious, social and political movements looking to the distant past for answers to the current crisis; this usually includes earlier eras of the Covenant, but can go as far back as the pre-Covenant Sangheili era. A significant number of post-Elenchists also harbor Atavist views to some extent.

Independent factions falling outside the Concord or other major alliances are often collectively referred to as the Dispar by the Concordant. Groups teetering between allegiances and seen as unwilling to commit to the Concord or otherwise are known as Cuspians. Polities that do not openly oppose the Concord on a large scale but are associated with hostile factions or under the influence of such factions are called Penumbrae.

Attitudes toward the San'Shyuum within the Concord vary, though as the Schism has progressed, they have generally grown more forgiving. In the early days of the Schism, many Sangheili took their anger upon any San'Shyuum they came across, even those not part of the Covenant's ecclesiarchy. While such violence was not universal across the Covenant, and some Sangheili (usually those working closely with San'Shyuum) saw the distinction between the Prophet of Truth's cadre and the species overall, many of the remaining San'Shyuum lost their lives to enraged Sangheili mobs. The Arbiter's famed reconciliation with the Strewn Shore and the Minister of the Common Weal did much to ease the most overt tensions, alongside the Grand Council of 2554 which formally acquitted the San'Shyuum as a whole whilst pinning the blame for the Great Schism upon Truth and his co-conspirators - namely, Truth's cadre and those San'Shyuum officials who had followed Truth's secret orders during the Schism. Even so, lingering prejudices remained, and many San'Shyuum operating in the domains had to be wary of assassins and mobs for decades to come, and would often enlist bodyguards to protect themselves. The Concord itself and some of its member polities would continue to employ San'Shyuum as technological, religious and philosophical specialists. There are a number of San'Shyuum-governed groups, though aside from the Strewn Shore's Covenant-in-exile, these are fairly rare.

Since the Grand Council of 2554, "Truth Doctrine" has become a standard descriptor of policies and attitudes associated with either the Prophet of Truth alone, or the last Hierarch triumvirate as a whole. It carries highly negative connotations, and is often leveled as a political accusation against individuals who present views that seemingly correlate with what Truth once preached; usually, this refers to what is now widely perceived as Truth's manipulative and duplicitous nature, and especially his controversial policies: the elevation of the Jiralhanae into preeminence and the eventual attempt to cast out the Sangheili, the extermination of humanity and the prolongation of the war under dubious premises, as well as various of-cited cases of mismanagement, including draconian interference in the Covenant's delicate power balance. To distance themselves from the infamy associated with Truth, some individuals have later come to answer such accusations by highlighting the Prophet of Regret's role as an actor separate from Truth, citing the two Hierarchs' oft-speculated upon rivalry with one another. Indeed, as the Hierarchs and their actions have faced increasing scrutiny and the initial furor against the San'Shyuum overall has abated, Regret — ever a friend of the Sangheili — has become a convenient refuge for many Sangheili wishing to continue the war or at least subjugate humanity for good. Adherents of this school of thought venerate Regret as a martyr, holding Truth to be directly responsible for both Regret's death and the Great Schism. Some implicate the Prophet of Mercy alongside Truth, though views vary. Since they still regard Regret as a legitimate Hierarch, they also hold humanity's exoneration by the Grand Council of 2554 to be illegitimate. More moderate individuals have come to partially accept the Council's ruling, while still advocating for humanity's subjugation as a vassal state.

Subgroups
The Sworn Vanguard is a martial order of like-minded individuals Thel 'Vadam has gathered around himself, and the group with most practical power within the Concord. Of these, warrior-diplomats known as Conciliators, hand-picked by the Arbiter himself, serve as the Arbiter's personal representatives and enforcers where he is not present. The Vanguard's sigil is a slight variation upon the Arbiter's Mark, former Mark of Shame, which they now wear as a badge of pride. Their armors and vehicles use the iridescent emerald green as a heraldic color as well as metallic colors -- silver, bronze, copper and gold, depending on rank and station. Many within the Sworn Vanguard personally fought alongside the Arbiter on Delta Halo and/or the Ark. As well, of the First Signatories, the commanders and those who signed the Singular Bond pact in early 2553, are still part of the Vanguard; though some have died, and a number have changed allegiances as they grew ideologically apart from the Concord.
 * Sworn Vanguard

The Ascetics are an order of Sangheili warrior-philosophers, ethicists and mystics that has seen a revival following the Covenant's dissolution. While independent, they are closely affiliated with the Sworn Vanguard, through their envoy, Usze 'Taham; otherwise, outside of their participation in campaigns, their constituent chapters can be fairly reclusive, sequestering themselves in their fortress-cloisters throughout the former Covenant dominions. The Ascetics were the first major warrior order to acknowledge the Arbiter and the Concord as legitimate, and this likely influenced several other orders' decision to do the same. While the Ascetics have been one of the most successful groups in reconciling their faith with the Concord's ideals, the split of the Servants of the Abiding Truth from the Concord saw a schism of its own within the Ascetics' number, with some of the more uncompromising members affiliating themselves with the Servants to form a splinter order. Within the Concord, they play an active role in securing Forerunner relics from hostile factions, though they can also be extremely particular about who they let near those relics.
 * Ascetics

The Contrite Estate, often known collectively as the Contrite, are a loosely-organized monastic sect born of the teachings of former Sangheili Ultra Zona 'Unaar, built around the pillars of shame and repentance. Whereas many Sangheili who experienced overwhelming guilt over their actions in the war took their own lives, 'Unaar proclaimed that suicide was the easy way out of such ultimate shame, and the only way one could even have a glimmer of hope of absolution was to devote the rest of one's life to undoing the damage the Covenant inflicted. Many, though not all, of the Contrite also swear to not take up arms, which is exceedingly rare among the Sangheili, even in monastic orders. The Contrite have no formal structure and there are various groups and individuals operating under the name; swearing the Vow of Decisive Contrition and living by it is enough to identify as one. The Contrite are also identified by a self-inflicted scar-mark behind their right eye. In keeping with their loose nature, the Contrite have no official affiliation with the Concord per se, though the two collaborate with one another as their goals intersect.
 * Contrite Estate

A martial order assembled with the blessing of the Arbiter in the first half of 2553, they seek to eradicate any Truth loyalists with an enthusiasm that often crosses into fanaticism. Many members of the order are young warriors with a passion for both vengeance and a cause to believe in; the order sprang from former Elenchists and the culture of late-war warrior creches, which at times openly questioned the Prophets' wisdom. With little patience for diplomacy, they are generally seen as having more passion than wisdom. By the 2560s, the order of Furious Absolution ended up effectively growing beyond the Arbiter's control, and while useful to the Concord in many ways, they also alienated some of his moderate allies with their uncompromising ways. N'tho Sraom serves in a key leadership position within the order.
 * Order of Furious Absolution

The Mercantile Cohort is an alliance of Concord-affiliated trader guilds and consortia that primarily champions for the rights of merchants and traders, as well as underlines the Concord's role in facilitating free trade over its sphere of influence and to outside polities.
 * Mercantile Cohort

The Stewards of Discovery are an alliance of scholars and discovery-priests devoted to ensuring the study of Forerunner relics and technological prowess are retained in the Covenant's wake, and that the wisdom gathered over the eons will not disappear from the galaxy. Their core principles, drafted by the hieromonk Ma'ka Thuw Rhuti, call for preserving and distributing knowledge on entrusted technology and Forerunner relics so that a situation like High Charity's loss would not happen again. They also call for resources to be channeled to the continued study and exploration of reliquaries and artifacts, and a commonality between discovery-priests across partisan lines if need be, in favor of enlightenment over short-term factional conflicts. Because of the critical nature of technology in the post-war arms race between polities, the Stewards are taken quite seriously, even if the Concord's leadership cannot realistically fulfill all their demands. The Stewards have been drafted as the Concord's main scientific arm for now, albeit under supervision.
 * Stewards of Discovery

The Demarcati are a movement that stresses the importance of reconciling if not the Covenant faith, at least the fundamental worldview, with the new revelations at the end of the war. The Covenant religion was not just about Halo; it was an all-encompassing belief system that influenced everything, down to the Fundamental Questions of the purpose of life, the ultimate fate of the universe -- the Final Problem -- and the factuality of Salvation. And just because Halo may not be the answer, those questions still need answering; the revelations about the Halos were but one additional piece in the great puzzle of existence, and more facets of Sacred Revelation yet await to be discovered. Most of its adherents are mystics, monks, other members of the clergy, and they enjoy widespread support among clans with strong religious traditions. Since the early 2560s, the Demarcati have largely operated under the Emendat.
 * Demarcati

Unbound Enlightenment is a diverse group of discovery-priests, scholars and former rogue scientists operating out in the domains, many of whom formerly skirted the bounds of Covenant dogma and at times downright broke it. Now, they seek to ensure the Concord stays favorable to unfettered technological research as well as other fields of study, enthusiastically dabbling in formerly forbidden technologies like associated intelligence, various kinds of bioengineering and esoteric social and memetic engineering projects. While many within the Concord are wary of and even hostile toward the group, others welcome the radical innovations they might potentially offer.
 * Unbound Enlightenment

The Palimpsest faction is a prominent reformer group. While most of the Concord members believe the Covenant was faulty in some way, the Palimpsests are the quickest to propose social and political reforms, such as the abolition of the caste system, increased meritocracy and opportunities for social mobility, and cultural reforms. However, many of these reforms are still based on older, Covenant-era ideals which in their view were not evident in practice, such as the old Sangheili virtue of meritocracy. In their view, the mistakes the Hierarchs made in the war and the Schism proved the old ways no longer work, and must be replaced altogether with a new framework of being. The typical supporters of the ideology are on the younger side, and often from smaller houses; it is also the faction with most non-Sangheili supporters. Their rhetoric draws heavily from a modern revival of an obscure and ancient religious tradition, the Doctrine of the Broad Path, which emphasizes the unity and brotherhood of the different species of the Covenant, mixed with the more recent views of certain contemporary philosophers and orators.
 * Palimpsests

The Temerites are a faction arising from the Enfolds and is largely populated by downtrodden Unggoy populations. Their ideology is a relatively eclectic mix of secular laborer movements and religious traditions such as the Broad Path, whose most recent incarnation is most famously preached by the traveling scholar-deacon Ilyil. The Temerites campaign for increased rights and opportunities for Unggoy serfs and a decisive end to the Covenant's caste system and slavery, which they have also had notable success with in some domains. Meanwhile, the most radical members call for a complete upheaval of the former Covenant's social order, and total Unggoy self-determination. While especially in the early days, Temerite groups (namely the extremist Broken Shackles faction) instated many violent mobs and armed rebellions, it were the diplomatic efforts of Ilyil and like-minded Unggoy that have granted them representation in certain Concord courts in the late 2560s.
 * Temerites and Broken Shackles

Minor/unofficial groups
The Children of Urs are an extreme Atavist group that look to rebuild their society in the image of the pre-Covenant Sangheili; the obvious problem they face is that very little factual data exists of that time, and the Children of Urs mostly rely on mythologized and/or idealized versions of history. Their religion is a revival of a pre-spaceflight Sangheili solar faith, and some even forsake Covenant technology in favor of what they perceive as Sangheili-sourced tech. Though attitudes vary, they also push for increased self-reliance; the most radical adherents call for other species to be evicted from Sangheili worlds, at least their homeworld and earliest colonies (where the faction also enjoys most prominence). As such goals are fairly unrealistic and counterproductive, they do not enjoy widespread success, though some smaller communities have still managed to implement them. A number of Sangheili outside the group still subscribe to some of the social, technological and even religious ideas espoused by the group while condemning their methods and myopic overall perspective.
 * Children of Urs

The Astringent movement is a mostly low-level manifestation of rebellious or anarchist tendencies within the Concord. They are largely seen as anti-establishment rebels, borne out of the unique environment of the post-war era. While youthful rebellion is hardly unheard of among the Sangheili, the overall cultural confusion and lack of purpose created by the Schism has led to it becoming far more common than before, and many Astringent-minded groups even look to the outside for influences, including humanity, even as they appropriate, ridicule and deface the Covenant's religious and cultural symbols with glee. The Astringent are not a single movement, and encompasses various groups both peaceful and otherwise; the usual Astringent group is a youth gang, while the most extreme ones are essentially terrorists.
 * The Astringent

The Deiclasts are a general category of extreme anti-theists. They are defined by the violence they inflict, defiling and destroying Forerunner relics, holy sites and temples with abandon, even murdering ecclesiastical officials. They are not a singular group, and encompass a wide variety of goals and ideologies; there is some overlap with the Astringent movement, as well as the Recusants, but other manifestations of the trend are merely agitated mobs or proponents of smaller, competing religions; yet there are revivals of past apostate movements, mainly Cults of the Last Icon. They have no formal representation in the Concord.
 * The Deiclasts

Also derisively known by their opponents as Truth's Beholden, they are an insurgent network of Sangheili and other species under the Concord's banner. The group was formed from the remains of a very large martial order that was formed for the sole purpose of fulfilling Truth's divinely ordained mandate to exterminate Humanity. Many of the members of that martial order still hold fast to their oaths for their own reasons. They seek to undermine the ceasefire with Humanity through targeted assassination and sabotage.
 * The Oathkeepers

Constituent polities
The Concord is composed of hundreds of post-Covenant polities ranging from individual worlds, ships or space habitats to entities on the level of the former primary domains. These signatories are engaged with the Concord's core mission in various capacities, ranging from passive (e.g. allowing Concord ships to pass through their space lanes, spaceports and refueling outposts) to active (e.g. being actively engaged in the Concord's politics and military operations).

Full Concord member polities in the core regions of the ex-Covenant sphere, or otherwise acting within the alliance in a major political capacity.
 * Inner Concord


 * Crimson League
 * Swords of Sanghelios
 * Strewn Shore
 * Neryne Culmina
 * Karal Phalanx
 * Yuchurn Precepta
 * Udomar Trident
 * Orshin Pledge
 * Accord of the Kinnar Veil
 * Sebarite Expansion
 * Mutuality of Ounar-Saan
 * Ascendancy of the Blazing Novae
 * Aspron Sublimacy

Signatories located close to the Covenant's fringes, yet actively engaged in military and economic cooperation with the core Concord.
 * Outer Vigil


 * Chikri-Merkaa Conflux
 * Golden Compact
 * Congregation of Refined Conviction
 * Commonality of the Tiar-Sii Belt
 * Naith Haven
 * Hezzaggor Amalgam
 * Dren-Jekup Constituency
 * Orenni Migratory
 * Jor-Kandh Pact
 * Telvap-Sur Hive Dominion
 * New Cohort of the Third Migration
 * Chorus of the Ebon Sea

Protectorates governed directly by the Concord proper.
 * Enfolds


 * Yaspi Ribbon Enfold
 * Klaptok Hive-Expanse
 * Balaho

Semi-affiliated or tributary states.
 * Peripherals


 * Jjaibii Shroud Nexus
 * Apex-Clutch of Hizik
 * Hirshum Mercatorial Enclave
 * Panoply of the Enlightened
 * River of Wisdom

Religion
While the Concord has discarded the overt theocracy of the Covenant, it is nonetheless heavily tied with and influenced by religious tradition. The Concord's constituent polities range from semi-theocracies to pseudo-secular or proto-secular societies that observe numerous religious traditions both ancient and new. Most of these groups exist under the banner of the Mending Communion, a collection of regional churches established shortly after the Schism Council of 2554. The Mending Communion draws from various traditions, among them Chiah Haqu'un or "Branching Tree Plurality" - an universalist school which emphasizes the deeper truths and unifying power of faith over doctrinal minutiae.

The Arbiter's views on religion are complex and have evolved substantially with time. In part due to his own search for the truth about his faith, the Arbiter chose not to interfere in religious worship form early on, and promised religious freedom to the Concord's members as long as they abandoned the veneration of the Sacred Rings as well as what was now known as Truth Doctrine - the attitudes associated with the Prophet of Truth's policies, including the elevation of the Jiralhanae and the belief that humanity was unclean and should be exterminated. Associating the two was a popular strategy in post-Covenant political rhetoric by the Arbiter and his allies, as it highlighted a critical contradiction in the attitudes of anti-human Sangheili and cast them as Truth's puppets. Even so, not all Sangheili were readily convinced. The campaign against the Truth Doctrine was extensive, and involved not only military intervention, but the Arbiter and his allies enlisting key members of the former Covenant clergy to their side. While some members of the Concord, particularly post-Elenchists and even younger Astringents, had turned apostate and were calling for the abolition of religion altogether, it was seen from early on that this could not be realistically accomplished. For better or worse, the Covenant religion and all the social, political and technological phenomena that came with it were too entrenched in Covenant society to be rooted out. Besides, movements seeking to abolish religion or "uproot the great tree", as it is commonly called, have a highly negative reputation within the Covenant, due to the unspeakable atrocities inflicted by several such movements in the past, most notoriously the infamous Cults of the Last Icon.

What the Arbiter and his allies could do, however, was to attempt to turn the Covenant religion into something more productive, taking what was seen to be workable in the old belief system and reforging it to fit what was now known about the Forerunners and Halo. The Covenant collective needed both purpose and hope, which the certainty of salvation in the hereafter had formerly provided. The Arbiter could no longer promise his followers the Great Journey, for he did not himself know what to believe. But he did know that if he denied his followers that outlet, myriads of ex-Covenant would find it in extremist groups who still preached the Great Journey. As well, redirecting the Covenant religion's ceaseless search for salvation in the hereafter to more practical pursuits, including the preservation and restoration of the technological prowess of High Charity. It was hoped that this might in time give rise to a new technological paradigm in which neither scientific knowledge nor control over high-end technologies within the Holy Ecumene was not so extremely centralized. This might help prevent any one center of power or set of leaders from becoming too irreplaceable as High Charity had been to the Covenant.

Not exactly a theologian himself, the Arbiter left the particulars of religion to the mystics. This process has been called the New Deliberation, the Second Reconciliation or the Cleansing of the Faith. In order to bring credibility to this process and avoid making it seem like mere dishonest revisionism, the Arbiter and his followers would often cast it as a continuity of the work of the First Saints and the Covenant's early Grand Convocations, with the truth about the Sacred Rings and the rejection of the Hierarchs' lies being merely another step toward more complete revelation. The Ascetics had a key role in this process, and many of their more esoteric views have helped substantialize the otherwise vague ideas of the reformed faith.

This policy became known as Ablutionism, an intellectual-leaning approach to religious theory heavily influenced by Ascetic hermeneutic traditions. This school is based around the idea of the Cleansing of the Faith by tracing the Axiomata, or the first principles of the Covenant religion, its cultural traditions and the fundamental questions it addressed while openly questioning or discarding many of its surface trappings. Through such an approach, the Ablutionists wish to uncover the "purest" form of the faith, uncorrupted by misinterpretation and personal agendas. For example, Ablutionists recognize that the Covenant faith is ultimately about the pursuit of the Great Journey, but acknowledge that the means to the Great Journey may have been misinterpreted. Though such critical examination has never occurred on such a scale, it is not without precedent in Covenant history: after all, the notion of Perpetual Revelation, one of the key tenets of the religion, asserts that revelation is always evolving toward greater definition. Schism-era theologians have begun to increasingly emphasize the role of interpretation in understanding revelation, acknowledging the fundamental fallibility of any mortal in interpreting the will of the Divine. Many Ablutionists are also known for calling for a more polemical approach to interpreting the faith, taking their debates outside closed doors and into the open forums of public gatherings. This stands in contrast to the prior ways of absolute obedience to the Prophets' will.

The omission of the Sacred Rings from the faith, while an enormous change, may not be as damaging in the long term as it may appear. The Long Path tradition teaches that the Halos are not the only means of initiating the Journey, and the recovery and study of other relics can be just as important, or even more so in some versions. This contrasts with the "Swift Path" into the Great Journey provided by the Halos. The Long Path has been part of the Covenant's official religious canon for much of Covenant history, albeit downplayed in ages of zeal such as the 9th Age of Reclamation; it was prominently practiced as recently as the preceding 23rd Age of Doubt. Another resurgent brand of faith is the Pervasive Instrumentality school, teaching that any scientific or technological arts are acts of worship in themselves, whether or not Forerunner technology is involved; in such traditions, the Forerunners are usually held to be exemplars, but innovation is prized over imitation. Pervasive Instrumentality heavily draws from the pre-Covenant Sangheili beliefs, and though long considered obscure, it has seen a resurgence as it may well end up saving scientific and technological knowledge within the Covenant meta-civilization. At the extreme end of doctrines from conventional interpretations of the Great Journey are the Solipsist traditions, which teach that Salvation can be found within through meditation and stillness, not technology. While formerly decreed as heretical by the Covenant ecclesiarchy, such beliefs have been adopted by increasingly many ex-Covenant within the Concord. A particularly popular Solipsist school is the Raah Chïwei ("[The] Path From Within"), which has adherents in various member polities of the Concord.

Many Sangheili have also sought to reconstruct their species' pre-Covenant religious traditions, retaining a worship of the Forerunners but omitting the Great Journey. Some even look down upon tinkering with Forerunner relics, as the Sangheili once did, arguing that it was the reliance on Forerunner technology that made the Covenant weak. Still, most continue to see the instrumental value of Forerunner technology, and many continue to venerate it in various ways. An interesting, if relatively rare, set of atavistic faiths is the limited resurgence of the Ursian faith, an attempt to reconstruct the Sangheili's polytheistic religions from before the species' near-universal adoption of Forerunner worship. Such beliefs are largely confined to Sanghelios and the Urs system, however, and are more often a kind of cultural performance than true faith.

Military
The Concord's military might is largely centered around a variety of martial or semi-martial orders, most notably the Arbiter's own Sworn Vanguard. In addition to the organizations already in existence, the Arbiter and his inner circle have created or fostered many martial orders in order to fulfill various roles in the Concord. By the 2560s, the Concord had established a standing military and control various production facilities capable of producing standardized gear. Still, most of the forces representing them come from their member states as part of feudal arrangements. One major exception are the Enfolds, which supply the Concord proper with military levies.

The Concord's main intelligence agency is known as the Buried Blade by historical tradition. The Hidden Eyes are a military intelligence and reconnaissance appendage of the Sworn Vanguard within the greater Concord; notably, they have adopted the Covenant-era institution of the Ossoona under their banner.

Formally unaffiliated corsairs, privateers and mercenaries are used to bolster Concordian forces in regions where their presence is minimal, though at times they have been known to perform tasks the Concord proper would prefer not to.

Aesthetics and design
The Concord's heraldic colors are emerald green and silver. The former dates back to the early days of the Schism, when many groups of Schismatics would reconfigure the coatings on their weapons and vehicles to that color. This has historical precedent, as emerald green is associated in Sangheili heraldry with righteous causes, and has been used by successful martial orders that rose up against tyrannical or unjust regimes in the past. Due to the iconic status it gained in the pivotal events of the Schism, it was adopted as the Concord's primary color as a reminder of their history.

Some of the most common colors used in their regalia and equipment include the aforementioned, along with varying shades of green and blue, turquoise, reddish-purple and light pink; variations within this gamut are also used to convey rank. Vessels of the Concord military proper have a greenish-turquoise, or golden-green-brown opalescent hue, though most member polities use their own heraldic colors for their vessels and equipment. As such, the Concord's forces outside their core military can often be highly diverse in appearance and even structure.