Anodyne Spirit
Production information
Naval architects:	Grasping-Steady-Firmament[1] Lightning-Weaving-Helix[1]
Manufacturer:	Ingens Assembler Vats[1]
Class:	Supernal Spiral-class keyship[2]
Role:	Activating portals,[3][4] carrying indexed lifeforms,[1]flagship[2]
Specifications
Length:	10,774 meters (35,348 ft)[5]
Width:	12,441 meters (40,817 ft)[5]
Height:	13,120 meters (43,045 ft)[5]
Engine:	Torsion plates[1]
Slipspace drive:	Crystal-mediated slipspace core[1]
Armament:	1 light-mass fusillade array[1] 3 anti-ship artillery systems[1]
Complement:	1,224Strato-Sentinels[1] 48Strix-classharrier[1] 890,000Sentinels andweapon-ships[1] 100Scutarii
Crew:	1Princeps[1] 1Archmedicus[1] 3Navarchs[1] 560Adjutants[1]
Service information
Year introduced:	c. 100,040 BCE[1]
Last sighted:	2559[6]
Participated battles:	War of Beginnings Desecration of Ulgethon Raid at Codisfold[6] Battle of Anvarl Battle of Sanghelios Human-Covenant War Battle of Earth Second Ark Conflict Raid onAnodyne Spirit[6]
Fleet:	Forerunner fleet(formerly) Truth's fleet
Known commanders:	High Prophet of Truth(formerly)[7] PrelateDhas Bhasvod[7]
Affiliation:	Ecumene(formerly) Covenant Dhas Bhasvod's Covenant[6]

"My Dreadnought, the vessel that has so long been the focus of our worship, now rests on itstrue pedestal. Even now, its engines spark greater ones below, relics long without power, yet ready to fulfill their divine purpose. Stand fast! Keep our enemies at bay! Soon, my brothers, we will all have our reward!"

—Prophet of Truth to his troops during theBattle for Earth.^[8]

TheAnodyne Spirit,^[1] known to theCovenant as theForerunner Dreadnought or simply theDreadnought,^[1][9] is aForerunnerSupernal Spiral-classkeyship discovered by theSan'Shyuum on their homeworld,Janjur Qom.^[10][11][2]

As a keyship,Anodyne Spirit was part of the Forerunner strategy against theFlood, as one of the only vessels capable of activatingslipspace portals to reachthe Ark. Following thefiring of theHalo Array,Anodyne Spirit was commandeered by an aspect of the imprisonedMendicant Bias and crashed on the San'Shyuum homeworld. There it would later be found and used by the San'Shyuum, and would later become an integral part of theCovenant religion as the centerpiece and main power source for the Covenant holy city,High Charity. Featuring a power generation capacity and shielding unparalleled by human or Covenant technology, the ship was used by the San'ShyuumReformists during theWar of Beginnings to dominate theirSangheili foes in naval combat, and later as theflagship of theHigh Prophet of Truth in the final battles of theHuman-Covenant War. Following the war, it became the home ofaCovenant remnant that had been stranded on the Ark.^[2]

History[edit]

Prehistory[edit]

As with the otherSupernal Spiral-classkeyships, theAnodyne Spirit was designed by naval architectsGrasping-Steady-Firmament andLightning-Weaving-Helix and manufactured at theIngens Assembler Vats. Unlike mostForerunnerships, the form of the keyship was fixed, allowing it greater structural integrity at the cost of flexibility. During the final days of theForerunner-Flood war, theAnodyne Spirit's crew would range deep into Flood-controlled territory to locate untouched worlds andindex a cross-section of their biodiversity before it could be consumed.^[1][2]

After theactivation of theHalo Array,Anodyne Spirit and several other keyships were sent out into the galaxy, carrying specimens of many species to countless worlds, ensuring that life would continue within the galaxy. Once their task was complete, the keyships returned toInstallation 00. Centuries later, a fragment ofMendicant Bias managed to escape containment and infiltrateAnodyne Spirit, activating the vessel and returning it to the galaxy. In an effort to atone for its sins, Mendicant Bias intended to take the keyship toEarth to help guidehumanity as theyreclaimed theMantle of Responsibility. However, an unknown complication occurred andAnodyne Spirit crashed onto the surface ofJanjur Qom, homeworld of theSan'Shyuum.^[12][13][2] Its impact crater formed an immense sea that would later be known as theGreat Apothtea.^[5] After theHuman-Covenant War, ancientCovenant records which may contain information on this matter were researched jointly by human andSangheili scholars onSanghelios.^[14]

Rediscovery[edit]

Main article:War of Wills

TheAnodyne Spirit, still partially buried and submerged under theGreat Apothtea during theWar of Wills.

Over several millennia, theAnodyne Spirit became partially buried in rock and submerged below theGreat Apothtea off the coast of Janjur Qom's main continent.^[5] Early in the history of the San'Shyuum, before2200 BCE, the species discovered and partially uncovered the keyship on their homeworld and began to worship it.^[15][16] These early worshipers were split over the usage of the ship, as theStoics refused to enter the vessel, while the radicalReformists wished to explore it. The division in San'Shyuum society led to the violentSan'Shyuum Schism. During the climax of the civil war, around one thousand Reformists stormed theAnodyne Spirit and barricaded themselves inside. The Reformists occasionally raided Stoic territory to collect and stock the ship with plants, wood, seeds, and other goods from the planet, and made preparations to depart Janjur Qom.^[17] Eventually, the Reformists commandeered the keyship and left Janjur Qom, taking a gigantic piece of the planet with them.^[18]

The massive crater left behind on Janjur Qom was filled in by the Apothtea sea.^[15] The Stoics watched as the Forerunner vessel left them behind, but they were unwilling to fire upon the object of their reverence, and grudgingly allowed the Reformists to leave. Though, the Stoics did send them messages warning them that they would be damned by the "gods" for their theft of the vessel.^[18] Utilizing some of the terminals located onboard theAnodyne Spirit, the San'Shyuum solidified theirreligion and realized the Path to the Great Journey. However, they had mistranslated the terminals and incorrectly believed that activating the Halo Array would initiate the Journey.^[19] With the help of the Forerunner technology from the keyship, the Reformists were able to survive and travel the galaxy.^[20] Unaware of the ship's Forerunner classification, the San'Shyuum and later the Covenant would come to call theAnodyne Spirit the Forerunner Dreadnought due to the vessel's unparalleled power.^[9]

War of Beginnings[edit]

Main article:War of Beginnings

The Forerunner Dreadnought looms overUlgethon.

In938 BCE, the San'Shyuum landed on theSangheilicolony ofUlgethon, finding members of the then-unknown species among a repository of Forerunner relics. Their first encounter was tense but amenable, but the Sangheili—who also worshipped the Forerunners, but thought it blasphemy to manipulate their technology—soon discovered the San'Shyuum's intent to excavate the holy relics.^[21] Led byArbiterVema 'Togad,^[22] the Sangheili slaughtered and beheaded a group of San'Shyuum diplomats, sending their corpses back to the Dreadnought.^[21][23] Horrified by this violence, the San'Shyuum immediately took theAnodyne Spirit into the skies above Ulgethon, where they were met by a blockade of Sangheili warships. Despite being outnumbered, the keyship's resilience was unmatched, ultimately resulting in the defeat of the Sangheili fleet. Then, the San'Shyuumlaid waste to Ulgethon, razing the planet and eradicating its population. This initial conflict led to the decades-long war known as theWar of Beginnings.^[21]

During the war, the Sangheili had an early advantage, with each warrior comparable in skill to ten San'Shyuum in battle. However, the San'Shyuum's technological superiority, and possession of the Forerunner Dreadnought, meant that they had the advantage in space.^[24] The San'Shyuum installed a number of weapons on the keyship, powered by the ship's immense power generation capability.^[25] The San'Shyuum used the weaponized keyship to great effect in devastating hit-and-run strikes against the Sangheili fleets.^[26] Additionally, the San'Shyuum were able to weaponize the Dreadnought's own contingent ofAggressor Sentinels to serve them in combat. By the time the war ended, these Sentinels had been wiped out almost entirely, only a select few having been preserved aboard the keyship.^[27]

With the nearly unbeatable keyship in their possession, an eventual San'Shyuum victory seemed inevitable. After losing severalcolonies to the Dreadnought, the Sangheili formulateda plan to remove the threat it posed. They would sacrifice their world ofCodisfold in hopes that they could use it as bait to board the Dreadnought. When the San'Shyuum arrived at Codisfold, dozens ofship-boring machines launched from the planet's rings, carrying elite infiltration teams to the keyship.^[28] The Sangheili found their way inside, slaughtering thousands of San'Shyuum and damaging several key components of the vessel. However, a counterattack was organized and the boarding parties were wiped out.^[6][28] In response to the raid, the San'Shyuum ravaged Codisfold, killing millions of Sangheili inhabitants.^[28] While the attack failed to eliminate the Dreadnought, the event proved that the San'Shyuum and their keyship were not invincible.^[6][21]

By876 BCE, the Sangheili had begun to employ their own Forerunner weapons against the San'Shyuum, deciding that the only way to ensure the survival of their species would be to reconsider their beliefs that such actions were sacrilege.^[21][29] Upon discovering this, most San'Shyuum softened toward the possibility of a cease-fire, butPervading Stone—their leader—only grew more incensed.^[21] During askirmish atAnvarl in860 BCE, the Dreadnought was used to eliminate Sangheili ground forces from orbit.^[30] Shortly after this battle, Pervading Stone finally took the Dreadnought to Sanghelios in theUrs system, seaking to eradicate the Sangheili once and for all. Inthe ensuing battle, the Dreadnought was used to ravage the Sangheili homeworld and its twomoons.^[21] However, the Sangheili would unleash their powerful Forerunner weapons on the Dreadnought, managing to bring it down onSuban and trap it in place withgravity anchors. With the San'Shyuum held captive within their keyship for a time, the Sangheili debated whether to simply destroy the vessel and those within, or to breach it and take the Dreadnought for themselves.^[21]

By855 BCE, while the Dreadnought was still immobilized on Suban, the San'Shyuum known asBreaking Shadow led a coup against Pervading Stone. Following his death, the San'Shyuum aboard the Dreadnought were united, and Breaking Shadow prepared to at last broach the possibility of peace to the Sangheili. In852 BCE, in order to ensure the survival of both species, an unarmed San'Shyuum delegation was sent to the Sangheili, and a tenuous truce was forged by Breaking Shadow and First KaidonPelahsar the Strident. This alliance would soon lead to the formation of theCovenant.^[21]

Centerpiece of High Charity[edit]

High Charity under construction.

The two species then penned theWrit of Union, which formally established the Covenant, and decommissioned the Forerunner warship, removing all known weapons, and placing it within the partially completed High Charity. It was then used to power the city, with its engines at partial power.^[21][24][31] The massive piece of rock taken from Janjur Qom was later refitted into the rocky dome ofHigh Charity, along with the Dreadnought atop it. The Dreadnought then became the purview of theascetic priests, who studied the vessel's systems and tended to the Oracle, in fact a fragment of therampant Forerunnerancilla 05-032 Mendicant Bias.^[32]

After theTaming of the Lekgolo, the Prophets used the newly incorporatedLekgolo to explore Forerunner relics, and after ages of experimenting on lesser relics, finally worked up the courage to explore the Dreadnought's pathways. At first, these explorations were slow and deliberate, as the priests feared damaging the Dreadnought or offending the Oracle. But with no response from the Oracle, the priests began to continue the explorations until the practice became common place, often with the aid ofHuragok.^[32] One of theseHuragok wasDrifts Randomly, who internalized data from the keyship which later allowed it to activate thePortal at Voi onEarth in lieu of the keyship itself. Afterwards, at least twentyMgalekgolo remained on guard around the Dreadnought.^[33]

The keyship gave power to the whole Covenant holy city.

Before the start of theHuman-Covenant War the Forerunner Dreadnought, the founding of the Prophet’s religion, would soon become the place where their religion was proven false. During the23rd Age of Doubt in2525, theMinister of Fortitude, and theVice Minister of Tranquility went to the Dreadnought for confirmation of two symbols found on the missionary vesselMinor Transgression. These two symbols were “Reclamation” and “Oracle”, which were found on what was known tohumanity asHarvest. After thePhilologist entered the data into the"Oracle" inside of the keyship, it began a series of cryptic messages,^[34] listed below:

During this series of messages, the Oracle began a launch sequence, which would rip the keyship from High Charity and destroy the Covenant capital with it. Fortunately for the people of High Charity, the Dreadnought was short-circuited by Lekgolo exploring the pathways. The Oracle was soon disconnected, but this caused a spiritual crisis for Fortitude, Tranquility and the Philologist. Through the Oracle’s messages, the Forerunners (or their descendants), were still alive, which would shake the foundations of the Covenant itself to the core: if the masses learned that they might be left behind, then they would revolt against the Prophets. In an attempt to keep the religion itself intact, they covered up the encounter, and would try to eradicate theseReclaimers.^[35]

Fall of High Charity[edit]

When theFlood attacked High Charity at the end of theBattle of Installation 05,John-117 was on his way to stop the High Prophet of Truth from escaping. He was able to board the ship as Truth uncoupled it from the city's power grid by narrowly making it through a conduit and into the opening it connected to. The Forerunner Dreadnought lifted off, and jumped into slipspace in the midst of a large battle between the Covenant, now commanded by the Jiralhanae and the San'ShyuumPrelates, against the ships still under the control of theSangheili. As High Charity lost power from the Dreadnought's departure, further chaos ensued in the mobile city as the Flood continued to consume Sangheili and Jiralhanae forces.^[31]

Battle for Earth[edit]

Main article:Battle for Earth

The Dreadnought on its way to Earth.

Five days after leaving High Charity (infected by theFlood), the Dreadnought arrived inSol system.^[36] While the Dreadnought was passingJupiter,John-117, on board the ship, was contacted byIo Station, but after going into radio silence, he killed fourUnggoy, a pair ofKig-Yar and then another group of four Unggoy. It is unknown what happened immediately afterward, but soon, the Spartan was found unconscious by a group ofJiralhanae. The Jiralhanae interrogated him, asking him where theKey of Osanalan was, but the Spartan managed to escape by sticking his captor with a plasma grenade.

After making his way to the Prophet of Truth’s position, he reported to the UNSC that oneProphet Hierarch was on board and that he would transmit more information later. Then, Spartan-117 took aim at Truth with aCarbine and fired. Just before the Master Chief could get a good shot at Truth, a Kig-Yar with a Carbine shot and hit the Chief.

Now aware of the immediate threat within his ship, Truth ordered a jump deeper in the system, straight to Earth, where the battle was still raging between the battered remains of the UNSC fleet and Truth's forces.^[37] As the Dreadnought transitioned from Slipspace, now in range of Earth'sorbital defense platforms,AdmiralHood was about to give the order to attack the ship. He only stopped because he found out that the Master Chief was aboard. The Keyship, leading theCovenant loyalist fleet, eventually broke through Earth's already-weakened defenses, and headed for Earth.

The Dreadnought and John-117 entering Earth's atmosphere.

Nine days after the ship's arrival in the system,^[36] the Dreadnought entered Earth's atmosphere. John-117 jumped from the ship as it continued descending, using a hatch as a heat shield, and falling two kilometers into the African jungle nearMount Kilimanjaro. The Dreadnought continued its descent and landed on thePortal tothe Ark, which the Covenant fleet was excavating.

The remainingUNSC forces in Africa planned to launch a surprise strike on the Keyship to eliminate Truth and stop him from activating the structure they thought to be the Ark. The Master Chief led aMarine assault on a Covenantanti-air battery sector in the town of Voi and successfully disabled the battery, giving the UNSC a clear shot at the Keyship. Lord Hood then attacked the ship with multiple squadrons ofLongsword fighters and threeUNSC frigates. The Dreadnought's advanced Forerunner shielding allowed it to survive multiple MAC rounds and hundreds of Longsword-launched missiles and emerge completely unharmed, and the UNSC attack was halted when the Portal was activated by the Keyship.

The Ark[edit]

The destruction and incomplete firing ofInstallation 08 severely damaged everything on the surface of the Ark.

After activating the portal, the Dreadnought entered it and landed on the Ark. It did not take part in thebattle, instead flying to the Ark of its own accord.^[38] Truth was untroubled by this automated action, but unbeknownst to him the Keyship was reuniting the last fragment of Mendicant Bias' compound mind to the rest of itself kept on the Ark.^[39] The vessel landed amidst a sprawling oceanside city in a region later referred to asMahsko. Before Truth disembarked with the intent of activating the rings, he ordered some of his most loyal soldiers to stay behind and guard the holy Keyship.^[6] Throughout the battle on the Ark, Mendicant Bias managed to successfully contact John-117 through a series ofterminals, seeking atonement for its part in the Forerunners' downfall.^[39]

When the incomplete Installation 08 fired and shook itself apart, the surface of the Ark was severely damaged,^{[40][41][42][43]} but theAnodyne Spirit and those within survived unscathed.^{[6][Note 1]}

ByMarch 2555, the UNSC was unsure of where the Dreadnought ended up while discussing reopening the Portal at Voi, noting that the last time the portal was opened, it required the Dreadnought. Lord Hood suggested contacting theSangheili, suggesting that they might know where the ship ended up or have another idea that they were unaware of.^[44] Ultimately, without the Dreadnought, the Arbiter sent theHuragokDrifts Randomly who had worked on the ship with the ascetic priests. Using the data it had internalized from the Dreadnought, Drifts was able to reopen the portal without the ship.^[45] By2558, the Forerunner ancillaCatalog recorded the vessel's last known position as on the Ark on December 11, 2552, using information compiled from various sources includingForward Unto Dawn's logs.^[46]

Reemergence[edit]

Main article:Raid on Anodyne Spirit

In the midst of theSecond Ark Conflict in2559,Atriox decided that he would need to return to the galaxy. Hearing that theAnodyne Spirit helda certainslipspaceflake, the leader of theBanished sent a team led byChieftainMinas to recover the crystal and bring it to him so that he could open aportal toReach. Nearly seven years after its arrival, the Dreadnought still stood where the Prophet of Truth had abandoned it, among the towers of a seaside city in Mahsko. The region was still uncontested by theUNSC forces fighting for control of the Ark.^[6]

Upon infiltrating theAnodyne Spirit, the Banished force was ambushed bysurviving Covenant Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar that had faithfully followed Truth's orders and protected the vessel for years. After fighting through the remnants of the Covenant loyalists, the Banished managed to retrieve the crystal shards from deep within the Dreadnought at the cost of roughly two thirds of their men. Realizing that the surviving Covenant defenders still outnumbered them, they escaped the vessel and returned to Atriox with their prize. Using the crystal, he returned to the galaxy inOctober 2559 via aportal facility hidden on Reach.^[6]

The Banished raid on the keyship drew out the Covenant forces sheltering there led byPrelateDhas Bhasvod. They subsequently allied with theKeepers of the One Freedom andIntrepid Eye to fire theHalo Array, but were defeated. Due to his armor being damaged, the Prelate was unable to call for a ship fromAnodyne Spirit to collect him following theBattle of Epsilon Clarion until his armor could repair itself.^[7]

Production notes[edit]

• Originally, a level referred to asforerunnership^[47] was supposed to take place on the vessel right after defeatingTartarus in the levelThe Great Journey inHalo 2. The level was cut due to time constraints.^[48]
• In theHalo: Uprising comic series, almost every background on the Dreadnought was modeled after a location inHalo 2 orHalo 3. For example, the Dreadnought's hangar bay looks identical to theThresholdgas mine hangar bay inHalo 2, including a dockedSeraph. In addition, areas identical to theValleys of Tears as well as theHigh Council Chamber inHigh Charity can be seen. The bottom level ofConstruct fromHalo 3 multiplayer and a hallway from theCartographer ofInstallation 00 in the campaign levelThe Ark have also been adapted into the interior of the ship. This may be a case of artistic interpretation by the artist to capture the look of Forerunner and Covenant architectures.

Gallery[edit]

• 

  A cross-section cutaway ofAnodyne Spirit.

• 

  A cutaway of the ship's core.

• 

  TheAnodyne Spirit as it appears inHalo 2.

• 

  The ship on its way to Earth inHalo 2.

• 

  Cortana watches as the ship launches inHalo 2.

• 

  The interior of theAnodyne Spirit inHalo: Uprising.

• 

  John on board the Dreadnought.

• 

  A part of the vessel that was used by John-117 as a shield when re-entering Earth's atmosphere.

• 

  The keyship viewed from another angle inHalo 3.

• 

  The front side of the keyship inHalo 3.

• 

  TheAnodyne Spirit opening the portal to the Ark.

• 

  The portal emitter at full power.

• 

  The reverse side of theAnodyne Spirit about to enter the portal.

• 

  A close-up view of the Forerunner Dreadnought.

• 

  The UNSC fleet attacks theAnodyne Spirit at the portal, to absolutely no effect.

• 

  The Dreadnought entering the portal rift.

• 

  TheAnodyne Spirit scaled against other Forerunner installations and aKet-pattern battlecruiser,Truth and Reconciliation.

• 

  The ship scaled against High Charity.

• 

  Cortana watches as the ship launches inHalo 2: Anniversary.

• 

  The Dreadnought inHalo 2: Anniversary terminals.

• 

  An Arbiter overlooks the Forerunner Dreadnought on Ulgethon.

• 

  A mural inside theElder Council Chamber onSanghelios representing Covenant worship of the Dreadnought inHalo 5: Guardians.

• 

  Another mural featuring the Dreadnought.

• 

  Concept art forAnodyne Spirit inside High Charity inHalo: The Television Series.

List of appearances[edit]

• Halo 2(First appearance)
• Halo: Uprising
• Halo 3
• Halo: Contact Harvest
• Halo: The Cole Protocol(Mentioned only)
• Halo Legends
  • Origins
• Halo: Evolutions
  • Wages of Sin
• Halo: Broken Circle
• Halo 2: Anniversary
  • Terminals
• Halo: Hunters in the Dark(Mentioned only)
• Halo 5: Guardians(Murals only)
• Halo: Shadow of Intent(Mentioned only)
• Halo Mythos
• Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual
• Halo: Shadows of Reach(Mentioned only)
  • Sacrifice
• Halo: Divine Wind(Mentioned only)
• Halo: The Television Series
  • Contact
• Halo: Empty Throne(Mentioned only)

Notes[edit]

Sources[edit]

• High Charity locations
• Forerunner artifacts
• Forerunner ships

• Pages containing missing template parameter warnings