Image: Bungie/343 Industries via Halopedia But the Covenant don’t know that - initially, at least. In reality, the Forerunners activated the Halos to purge the universe (themselves included) of life, starving the parasitic Flood species. They believe the Forerunner activated the Halos - the “Sacred Rings” - and took the Great Journey, ascending them to godhood.

This worship informs “The Great Journey,” the ultimate goal of the Covenant. The Covenant are driven by their worship of the Forerunners, the race of aliens that built the series’ titular Halo rings. It’s a group of multiple species - some that came to the Covenant willingly and others that were conquered into it. The Covenant is a religious organization that serves as the main villains in the Halo series. Let’s take a look at the eight Covenant races seen throughout the Halo series, and explain the religious organization’s primary motivation for destroying everything good in the galaxy. But have you ever wondered what that Elite’s deal is? Or why the Grunts have those backpacks? Those are great questions, and we’re here to answer them for you. You’ve played through the games and felled thousands of enemies.

So you know the Halo story and the general timeline.

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