Chronique:Canon Fodder - Blightlands and Brigands
Issue 158
By Alex Wakeford
The 2024 Halo World Championship has concluded and Haloween is upon us!
This issue, we dive into our latest announcements from Canon Fodder LIVE (including some of the cast of characters appearing in Halo: Empty Throne), the lore behind janissary super-soldiers, recommend some spooky Halo stories for the season, and more.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU (VERONICA) DARE[modifier]
It’s quite the year for milestones! In celebration of Halo 3: ODST’s fifteenth birthday last month, we released a new Waypoint Chronicle which serves as a new adventure centered specifically on Veronica Dare.
Halo: Venezian Sonata can be read here on Halo Waypoint, as a free PDF, and can be listened to in audiobook format on YouTube.
September 2559. Captain Veronica Dare is deployed to Venezia on a reconnaissance mission to investigate the emergence of a potential new threat.
JUXTAPOSING JANISSARIES[modifier]
For a little while now, we have been seeding some lore in Halo Infinite armor descriptions alluding to a new element of the universe, and in Venezian Sonata we delved a little deeper into what exactly the deal is with janissaries.
WHAT ARE JANISSARIES?
Janissaries are shadowy counterparts to the UNSC's Spartans—super soldiers, but forged in the crucible of ambition, not valor.
The term ‘janissary’ was first used by ONI to refer to illicit super-soldier programs organized by Insurrection-affiliated power brokers, but its use has extended to a variety of human augmentation programs by criminal, corporate, and colonial groups. On Venezia, many of these efforts are funded by cartel leaders creating and hiring out super-soldier mercenaries to a variety of groups in exchange for raw materials and access to stolen technology. As demand grows, more risks are taken.
ONI continues to observe the proliferation of human augmentation technology, but currently lacks the resources and military power to do more than delay its spread.
ARE JANISSARIES SPARTANS?
“The broader proliferation of the Spartan program with its latest incarnation had demystified some elements of how these super-soldiers were made, but no simple mercenary outfit could realistically recreate it.”
No. Janissaries are not Spartans, they are a privatized alternative super-soldier initiative. Regardless of (and in many cases despite) their origins, the Spartans are humanity’s sword and shield, representing heroic ideals of service and sacrifice. Janissaries are commodities, created to a price point with the objective being a profitable weapon system.
Despite the draconian information security attached to the Spartan program, it was only a matter of time before others attempted to create their own super-soldiers for their own purposes. This is an element of the universe that we have previously seen in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx and Dr. Halsey’s personal journal, where Halsey fears that parallel programs have been created piggybacking on her decades of work—just as the case ultimately proved to be with the SPARTAN-III and SPARTAN-IV programs, spearheaded by Colonel James Ackerson and Rear Admiral Musa Ghanem respectively.
Indeed, even a couple of lore strings for armor, helmets, and visors in Halo 5 hint towards such things—most notably the Buccaneer, Raijin, Shinobi, and Teishin armor, Legionnaire helmet, and Dianthus visor.
ARE JANISSARIES BEING MADE BY THE BANISHED?
No. Janissaries are the product of multiple independent groups with varying agendas. Banished leaders may utilize janissary forces by entering a formal contract to enlist their services, but they are just one of many customers. That said, they represent an enormous potential market.
WHAT SUPER-SOLDIERS EXIST IN HALO BEYOND SPARTANS?
Janissaries are just one example of a broader roster of super-soldiers that exist in the Halo universe, these include:
- ORION: The predecessors to the Spartan program (and the SPARTAN-II program was originally named ORION-II by Dr. Halsey) to which Avery J. Johnson belonged.
- PRELATES: Genetically enhanced San’Shyuum warriors forged by the Ministry of Preparation, these assassins have existed for centuries as an advanced order of stewards.
- EXECUTORS: Introduced in the Precipice story shard, Executors are High Auxiliary Sloan’s answer to the present state of the galaxy after the Created were severed from the Domain.
In addition, while not traditionally classed as super-soldiers, Jiralhanae berserkers could indeed be classed as “augmented” units as they utilize an unstable toxic stimulant developed in the smog-choked barrens of Warial—not unlike rumbledrugs.
WHO ELSE IN-UNIVERSE IS TAKING INTEREST IN JANISSARIES?
In addition to characters like M’raad mentioned above, Adam Andrews (CEO of Optican) represents a more hopeful perspective on the perceived necessity of super-soldiers beyond the UNSC’s Spartans. As a consequence of the Created uprising, Andrews believes that the UNSC is no longer able to protect its citizens, colonies, and corporations.
As we saw back in Hippocratica, and referenced again in Venezian Sonata, Andrews is attempting to stabilize Waverly-class augmentors—colloquially known as “rumbledrugs,” formerly used by insurrectionist forces in early attempts to combat Spartans.
And as M’raad noted in Venezian Sonata, many of the UNSC's military partners have been looking to expand their enterprise into private sectors, suggesting that other groups will indeed have interest in this initiative.
A WILD ADAM ANDREWS APPEARS![modifier]
Speaking of Adam, we really have to hand it to the folks at Halopedia—specifically JackVibe—for managing to get a close-up shot of Optican’s CEO in his “younger” years.
For those in need of a reminder: Adam is the name of a young boy you can rescue in an easily missed optional side-mission during the Halo Wars mission Arcadia City. More of his story was explored earlier this year in the Waypoint Chronicle Halo: Hippocratica.
BaconShelf then proceeded to shine a light on Adam’s silhouetted form on the cover art for Hippocratica...
We would like to take the opportunity to thank the Halopedia team for inflicting this knowledge upon us all!
HALO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2024[modifier]
From October 4-6, the 2024 Halo World Championship brought the community together in celebration of another awesome year of HCS competitive action, along with additional panels held on the Community Stage.
We were there for another round of Canon Fodder LIVE, but that was just the beginning. (Hit the title links or the images to be taken to the vod of the panel!)
Let’s recap...
Joined by Senior Franchise Story Lead, Jeff Easterling, and iconic community guest HiddenXperia, we delved into the releases of this year, from the latest Waypoint Chronicles to adjuncts in novel rereleases, and of course the Didact’s return in Halo: Epitaph by the amazing Kelly Gay.
HiddenXperia helped us to reveal eleven returning characters in the upcoming novel Halo: Empty Throne by Jeremy Patenaude, which you can see below.
Yes indeed, we will be catching up with Hood, Osman, and Black-Box on Rossbach’s World. The incomparably beloved Sali ‘Nyon leads the Covenant on a holy mission as Atriox and Escharum enact their plans for the assault on Zeta Halo, spurred into action by the razing of the Oth Sonin system. And if you’re a fan of Gray Team and the Shadow of Intent crew, well... we think you’ll really like this book.
Halo: Empty Throne releases in early 2025, you can pre-order the book here!
We also gave a tease of our next Waypoint Chronicle which will celebrate Halo 2’s twentieth birthday, with an image depicting a Sangheili councilor, and we also announced that the next novel following Empty Throne will be coming from Kelly Gay. Stay tuned for more details in 2025!
We were joined by legendary artists Isaac Hannaford, Glenn Israel, Ben Frazier, and William “Pixelflare” Cameron to talk about the art of Halo.
While not directly or traditionally “lore,” this panel was a great opportunity for the artists to provide some in-depth insight into how various aesthetic aspects of the Halo universe are created.
Glenn Israel in particular talked specifically about directional art regarding the human architecture on Reach, the evolution of the Forerunner aesthetics throughout the series, and the design of Sanghelios in Halo 5, but overall the discussion between all artists ultimately centered around the ways in which they tell stories through their work. Be sure to give it a watch!
In celebration of the upcoming twentieth anniversary of Halo 2, our Digsite panel this year showcased the modding crew’s incredible efforts to restore cutting room floor content like Alphamoon and the E3 2003 demo.
During this panel, Kenneth Peters, Senior Franchise Writer, details some of the cool original story intentions behind Alphamoon in Halo 2, as it was originally going to set the stage for your final confrontation with heretic leader Sesa ‘Refumee after escaping the gas mine on Threshold, amongst other details you definitely don’t want to miss!
BLOOMING BLIGHTLANDS[modifier]
On the topic of the Halo World Championship, you may have caught a cool new video that was shown just before the Grand Finals which gave you a glimpse at what Halo Studios has been working on with our transition to Unreal Engine 5. In case you missed it, or if you wanted to watch it again: HALO | A NEW DAWN
Among the cool new things shown off in the multi-discipline research project titled “Project Foundry” (which was designed to explore the creative potential of Unreal for the next generation of Halo games), you undoubtedly noticed an environment known as “Blightlands”—a place that has been totally taken over by the Flood.
Since it’s spooky scary skeleton season, we thought we’d delve a little deeper into what exactly blightlands are in Halo lore.
The Flood is not just something that infects sapient beings, it threatens all biodiversity in the galaxy. Though the Flood is capable of surviving and prospering in almost any environment, in the early stages of an outbreak there are environmental conditions that can slow the parasite’s spread—something that factors into the containment protocols of various Forerunner installations which utilize artificial weather and terraforming systems.
But such mitigating factors are never a guarantee of victory over the parasite. The Flood, too, is capable of adjusting local environments to create the optimal conditions for spreading the Flood Super Cell. Left unchecked and uncontained, blightlands are the result of the parasite’s expansion.
It is not simply native life that is consumed in a local area, but the vitality of the soil and even solar energy all contribute towards transforming lands into nightmarish plague fields featuring towering spore mountains and other vile methods through which the Flood can be spread ever further.
Examples of blightlands encountered in previous games include the infested exterior of the shield world Trove in Halo Wars...
...the city of New Mombasa in simulations of what would have happened if Shipmaster Rtas ‘Vadum hadn’t commanded his ships to glass the local area when Indulgence of Conviction crashed on Earth, as visualized in Halo: Spartan Assault...
...343 Guilty Spark's musings about the catastrophic effects the release of the Flood would have on his installation, as depicted in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's Terminals...
...and, of course, the outbreak from High Charity on the Ark, as seen in the ‘Awakening the Nightmare’ expansion for Halo Wars 2.
HAPPY HALOWEEN[modifier]
As Halloween is fast approaching, we thought it only fitting to recommend some Halo stories that delve more deeply into the elements of horror that exist within the universe.
HALO: EVOLUTIONS – ‘THE MONA LISA’
A lone survivor recovered by a UNSC prowler embraces death as an escape from the horrors he witnessed aboard a derelict prison ship in the vicinity of Alpha Halo’s shattered remains. When a group of Marines investigate the Mona Lisa, they discover a primordial horror has been unleashed.
HALO: EVOLUTIONS – ‘STOMPING ON THE HEELS OF A FUSS’
An ONI agent finds himself captured by Jiralhanae on Beta Gabriel, gaining valuable insight into their violent hierarchical pack culture which he aims to leverage in order to escape.
A spiritual successor of sorts to ‘Stomping on the Heels of a Fuss’, this Waypoint Chronicle picks up after the events of Hunt the Truth and sees the rogue Spartan Ilsa Zane in Banished captivity—an environment in which she thrives.
A partnership between the United Nations Space Command and Imbrium Machine Complex serves a vital role in rebuilding UNSC fleets by mining the vast asteroid belt of a gas giant. When an unexpected discovery is made by a civilian survey team, the promise of a retirement-grade payday and the hubris of a UNSC captain results in an ancient terror being unleashed.
THE FORERUNNER SAGA (CRYPTUM, PRIMORDIUM, SILENTIUM)
Halo: Cryptum, Primordium, and Silentium make up Greg Bear’s epic trilogy of novels set in the final years of the Forerunners, leading up to the fateful moment when the Halo Array is activated and the galaxy is silenced to eliminate the Flood. Those who are keen to delve into cosmic horror will find themselves right at home with these books—particularly the latter two entries.
As Jul 'Mdama's Covenant grows stronger through acquisition of powerful Forerunner technology, one malfunctioning Promethean Knight discovers the last vestiges of its humanity.
ARMORY INFINITUM[modifier]
Introduced in Halo Infinite, the Mangler is a new Jiralhanae weapon commonly wielded by Banished forces. Somewhat akin to a revolver, this is a weapon that has been used for centuries by the Jiralhanae.
When confronting Balkarus, one of the high-value targets in Halo Infinite’s campaign, the Master Chief can acquire the special Riven Mangler variant which fires three spike projectiles per shot.
>>PERSONAL LOG
>>BALKARUS
>>RIVEN MANGLER
When we were on Oth Liqattu, I received the glory of being counted among the Exodus Guard—those chosen to accompany Atriox himself back to our galaxy. It was with the aged Horatius that I conversed during the journey, and through him learned the history of the mangler—a weapon we have used since long before we were brought into the Covenant’s fold.
The warlord recounted to me a tale of his pack on Doisac as they hunted a great beast through the Malkadyr wastes, pinning it to a tree with the weapon’s powerful spikes. He noted that the adoption of plasma weaponry had been swift when the Prophets appropriated the Jiralhanae for their purposes, and while there was great power in their technological gifts it was our duty to keep to the paths we carved for ourselves with blood and grit and pain.
I shall walk both paths. I shall wield the boons of the Covenant against our foes, but I shall always give deference to the works we have forged ourselves. To that end, I personally commissioned the alchemy corps stationed at Riven Gate to alter the mangler’s design, creating a variant that may fire slower—for I have always valued my precision—but unleashes three powerful spikes at once. A single burst shall be as if several Jiralhanae were firing upon a target. Glorious devastation!
My forces and I are presently stationed on the patrol path around the Forge of Teash and one of the humans’ former bases, as word of the Demon’s exploits continues to grip our brothers with a mix of anticipation and—in the case of the Unggoy—fear. With their constant chattering, I now understand why many tossed these slothful cowards into the cloaking fields. But once we are finished here, I hope to present this newly forged weapon to Horatius himself. After it has been appropriately bloodied to carve my path into the ranks of the Hand of Atriox, of course.
COMMUNITY Q&A[modifier]
Strong-Mention08: What are popular foods in Halo?
This is a great opportunity to remind everyone that Halo: The Official Cookbook is in fact framed in-universe with culinary connoisseur Arturo Bustamante recalling his great journey throughout human space. You can discover and learn more about in-universe foods, drinks, and more within this tasty tome!
Of course, some of this is a matter of perspective. If you happen to be the Gravemind, then everything is popular food, whereas the Didact might’ve preferred some salad and tofu, and the Thrallslayer is very particular about how he likes his thorn beast. We explored more about food in the Halo universe in a previous (and appropriately named) Canon Fodder issue: Food For Thought.
Catharta: If Zeta Halo were to require emergency repairs via an Ark, which one would it go to?
While Zeta Halo was one of the original senescent rings, after the events of Primordium it was integrated into the neoteric array and became one of the final seven rings. For this reason, it would be transported to Installation 00—the neoteric Ark. Additionally, the senescent Ark was eviscerated by reawakened star roads towards the end of Silentium, so there’s really only one Ark it could even head to!
COMMUNITY LORE CORNER[modifier]
Did you know that there’s an Unggoy who allegedly once fought a Spartan and didn’t join the legion of others who hadn’t been so lucky? Woody has everything you need to know about Stolt, first introduced in the novella Halo: Shadow of Intent, and now is the perfect time to catch up on his story ahead of a certain upcoming novel which we notably said will feature the Shadow of Intent crew: The Grunt Who Defeated a Spartan | Stolt FULL Story - Halo Lore''
Eldee continues her journey through Halo 2 as she takes on the heretic leader Sesa ‘Refumee and then drops feet-first onto Installation 05: Let's Play Halo 2 ~ Part 3 ~ DELTA HALO?!''
Lucyjrobin, meanwhile, is a little further ahead and has actually just come to the end of her own Halo 2 playthrough. Get ready to finish the fight, Lucy. We'll be there! You had to wait THREE YEARS after this ending?! | Halo 2: Anniversary Finale
The battle of Alpha Halo that plays out throughout Halo: Combat Evolved, Fireteam Raven, The Flood, the Halo Graphic Novel, and other media is a constantly fascinating area of the universe—a space we are intimately familiar with, yet also contains numerous little pockets of intriguing side stories we get little glimpses into. The appropriately named Sci-Fi Deep Dive has formulated a great video conducting a battle analysis of the action that plays out between the UNSC and Covenant during this pivotal conflict: The Battle of Installation 04 | Halo Lore | Battle Analysis''
Halo 3: ODST celebrated its fifteenth birthday last month, and Chance has put together a great video looking at the training, armor, and other elements of what it means to be an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper: The Special Forces of the 26th Century''
Nothing says Haloween quite like an hour of Flood lore, which is exactly what Installation00 has delivered here: THE FLOOD | AN HOUR OF LORE!''
And finally, connecting back to some of the things that were discussed during the Art of Halo panel, LateNightGaming has done a deep dive into the artistic and gameplay evolution of the Kig-Yar since 2001: The Evolution of Halo's Jackals
That brings us to the end of this issue. For those of you who joined us at HaloWC, be it in-person or online, it was great to have you—we hope you had a great time at the event and hope to catch you again next year.
Happy Haloween!