Thel 'Vadam

"Were it so easy..."

- Thel 'Vadam

Thel 'Vadam (formerly known as Thel 'Vadamee), or often simply referred to as the Arbiter, is the deuteragonist of the Halo trilogy and the most prominent Sangheili shown throughout the trilogy.

Early life
Thel was born Thel 'Vadam to the Vadam family, rulers of the powerful State of Vadam on Sanghelios. As a young Sangheili, Thel was trained in the ways of the warrior by his relative Lak 'Vadamee. He joined the Covenant military, earning him the right to use the "-ee" suffix, which is added to a Sangheilian name upon joining the military. Thel fought alongside the Covenant when they attacked Madrigal in 2528.

Soon, Thel gained the rank of Shipmaster and earned the title of Kaidon.

Soon after being promoted to Shipmaster, Thel suffered an injury in the training ring due to a mistake. His family hushed up the incident, as well as the resultant visit by a doctor, due to Sangheili culture equating the loss of blood and medical operation by a doctor with a loss of honor. During his convalescence, Thel handmade an old-fashioned doarmir-fur Shipmaster's cloak, wearing it always to remind him that he could make grave mistakes if he let his guard down.

Life as Kaidon
"It is a poor soldier who insists on seeing things not as they are, but as he wants them to be. One day reality hits, and his illusions fail him, and he dies stupidly. What honor is there in that?"

- Thel 'Vadamee

Thel's life as Kaidon was important for the Vadam family, as he was tasked with continuing the reign of the powerful State of Vadam. Early in his rule, he was attacked by three Sangheili assassins wielding Energy Swords. He managed to kill all three without even being scratched, but reported that he left one alive in order to determine who ordered the attack. He then killed one of the Vadam elders, Koida for ordering the failed assassination, and ordered all of his line to leave the keep by sunrise.

Thel was sent to Charybdis IX with command over Retribution's Thunder to participate in the Battle of Charybdis IX, whilst being overseen by the High Prophet of Regret. He and several other Sangheili boarded the and attempted to get to the vessel's navigation database, but it had been purged before they were even aboard. He left and witnessed the destruction of the ship before being called to the Infinite Sacrifice, where he met Regret in person. He was told of the humans wielding modified Covenant weapons, and that this was most likely the Kig-yar's doing. He was then sent to the 23 Librae system to track down the source of the weapon traders, along with the Jackal vessel, A Psalm Every Day.

As he arrived at 23 Librae, his ship came under attack, first by Jiralhanae and Kig-yar forces at The Rubble, then boarded by A Psalm Every Day's forces. He ordered the destruction of The Retribution's Thunder, which killed all the boarding Kig-yar. Thel, however, survived and was captured by Kig-yar forces, along with most of the bridge crew. He and most of the bridge crew managed to escape and hijack a Kig-yar shuttle, taking them to another Kig-yar vessel. They went to the surface of Metisette and captured the leader of the Kig-yar, Reth.

After managing to escape Reth's clandestine Unggoy army, Thel returned to the Kig-yar vessel, where they locked Reth up. Interrogating him, the Sangheili were surprised by Reth's insistence that he was allying with the humans with the blessing of the High Prophet of Truth, who sought to use the humans as a means to find their homeworld. He eventually escaped when a nervous Grunt still loyal to him, switched off the energy barrier, and fled into an escape pod. Thel then turned his eyes to The Rubble, as a large skirmish between UNSC forces and Kig-yar forces was taking place on the Infinite Spoils. He and his crew then boarded the Infinite Spoils and came face to face with Jai-006 before fighting with him. The Spartan then fled the ship with the other UNSC forces, but a shocked Thel and his crew stayed and commandeered the Infinite Spoils.

Thel managed to destroy most of The Rubble 's Mass drivers, but then was helpless when The Redoubt was destroyed and the Exodus Project left the system. He decided the best thing to do was to wait for the High Prophets of Truth and Regret to arrive and report to them with his comrade, Zhar. Upon reporting the failure of the mission, Zhar attempted to slaughter the Prophets — believing them to be ordering his execution — but Thel activated his own Energy Sword and killed his former friend. This act prompted Truth to spare his life and give him command over a ship in the Fleet of Particular Justice, a newly assembled fleet for the Covenant Navy.

Life as Supreme Commander
"Soon the Great Journey will begin, but when it does, the weight of your heresy will stay your feet, and you shall be left behind."

- The Prophet of Truth to 'Thel Vadamee at his hearing.



At some point between 2535 and 2552, Thel's exceptional leadership and combat prowess earned him the rank of the Fleet of Particular Justice's Supreme Commander.

Near the end of his time serving as Supreme Commander, he led the victorious Covenant forces at the Fall of Reach. As the battle ended, Thel ordered all ships within his command to follow the fleeing UNSC Pillar of Autumn. Following the Autumn's course led them to Installation 04. Commanding the Seeker of Truth, he had his ships begin evacuation of the ring upon the release of the Flood, but the parasite managed to capture a ship and infect a Minor Prophet, the Minister of Etiology. The sudden wide-spread evacuation led to confusion as ships became infested, and he was unable to prevent the destruction of the ring and was forced to abandon it. The abandonment saved his life, but also resulted in the capture of the newly arrived flagship, the Ascendant Justice, by John-117, and he was called before the High Council to answer for these failures.

The loss of the Forerunner relic that the Covenant held "holy" rendered the Council unmoved by his defense, and 'Vadamee was stripped of his rank, title, name, and honor, and branded a heretic for his failure in safeguarding Halo. The Mark of Shame was branded upon his chest in front of many of the Covenant, and he was sentenced to death. He was sentenced to "be hung by his entrails" and his corpse "paraded through the city" as an example to others. A Prophet councilor went so far as to say "it was herecy".

Upon being brought to the Prophet Hierarchs of Truth and Mercy, they intervened and offered to commute the sentence if he would become the new Arbiter. Understanding that becoming the Arbiter of the Covenant amounted to an indirect death sentence, but also seeking an opportunity to redeem his name to retain honor for his continuing bloodline, the Sangheili accepted the offer.

Gas Mine
"What would you have your Arbiter do?"

- 'Vadamee to the Prophets



'Vadamee's first combat assignment as the Arbiter was to stop the Heretic uprising based in a Forerunner Gas Mine in the atmosphere of Threshold. The Prophet had expected that he would die in the mission and so this was part of his sentence. He was assisted by Rtas 'Vadumee, Special Operations Elites, and Special Operations Grunts. The operation was even more complicated by the unexpected escape of the Flood from the facility. During the chaos that followed, the Heretic leader Sesa 'Refumee sealed himself in a protected zone of the station, to protect himself from the storm. The Arbiter drove the Heretics out by cutting the cables from which the facility hung from a larger structure, causing the gas mine to fall. After he had severed the cables, he chased the heretic leader in a Banshee to another part of the station. After crashing his Banshee, the Arbiter fought his way through massive amounts of Flood and a few surviving Heretics toward the station's hangar. Before Sesa 'Refumee could escape in a Seraph, the Arbiter assassinated him, but not before the Heretic Leader revealed the source of his heresy. The Arbiter was shocked to discover that the Heretics had been aided by a Holy Oracle, the Monitor 343 Guilty Spark.

With the uprising suppressed, the Brute Chieftain Tartarus extracted the Arbiter and used the Fist of Rukt to capture the Oracle. His actions, which involved throwing the Oracle into the Phantom recklessly, angered the Arbiter enough for him to remind the Chieftain who he was dealing with. With Tartarus, he left the gas mine via Phantom, as High Charity and the fleet were leaving Threshold's system.

Battle of the Quarantine Zone
"We shall cut into the heart of this infestation, retrieve the Icon, and burn any Flood that stand in our way!"

- Rtas 'Vadumee



The High Prophets, though surprised by the fact that 'Vadamee had escaped alive from the gas mine, were not ones to waste such an outstanding warrior, and thus, 'Vadamee was sent to the "Quarantine Zone" on Installation 05 to retrieve the "Sacred Icon" which was needed to activate Delta Halo. Before the mission, the Arbiter witnessed the replacement of the Elite Honor Guards with Brute Honor Guards. Though distressed by change, and voicing his concerns politely to the Prophet of Truth, 'Vadamee made no further comment. Fighting his way through the Sentinel Wall (with a few surviving Grunts and Jackals) to deactivate the Library's shield, he made his way on foot to the Library, aided by the Spec Ops forces of Rtas 'Vadumee. Eventually reaching a gondola, he and the commandos made their way to the library with relative ease, though they were forced to relentlessly fend off Flood, controlled-armor resistance, and Forerunner constructs. The commandos chose not to accompany 'Vadamee to the "Icon," instead protecting their gondola, believing it to be their only way of escape despite the fact that Tartarus' Phantom was still present at the time.

The Arbiter proceeded into the Library, encountering the remains of a battle between UNSC Marines, Sentinels and Flood Combat Forms, and witnessed Commander Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Johnson retrieving the Index. Using his armor's active camouflage, he approached Johnson and Keyes. Attacking while cloaked, 'Vadamee surprised Johnson, knocking him unconscious with a headbutt. Keyes, reacting quickly, opened fire on 'Vadamee with her SMG's, dropping his shields and hitting him in the side, but the Arbiter soon disarmed Keyes as well, before Tartarus and his Brutes joined the fight. After the initial scrape, Tartarus captured Keyes by using the Fist of Rukt's gravity manipulation to levitate her body and render her helpless, and claimed the Index for himself. A smug Tartarus informed the wounded Arbiter about the Brutes' intended genocide of the Elites, and that those orders came directly from the High Prophets. A shocked 'Vadamee realized that he had been betrayed seconds before he was blasted into a massive shaft leading to the depths of Installation 05 with a shockwave from the Fist of Rukt.

Control room of Installation 05
"This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded."

- The Gravemind describing Thel 'Vadam

Instead of being killed by the fall, as expected, the Arbiter was captured in mid-air by the Gravemind, the central intelligence of the Flood, and brought to its underground lair. It was here that the Arbiter met John-117, who had also been captured/saved by the Gravemind. The Gravemind tried to convince 'Vadamee that the Halos were weapons of destruction, not transcendence, which John-117 supported, saying the High Prophets were "making a big mistake". Though 'Vadamee was still in doubt, he was slowly beginning to believe. In order to "show the truth" to 'Vadamee, the Gravemind teleported him to the Control Room, while the Chief was sent to High Charity, in order to stop the Index from activating Halo.

Discovering the consequences of the Prophets' betrayal of the Elites and the slaughtering of his species by the Brutes, the Arbiter joined forces with a band of Special Operations Commandos, Minors, Majors, and a Zealot, as well as a small number of Unggoy, to raze a Brute encampment. Eventually, he met Rtas 'Vadumee yet again, joining forces to reach a Scarab. Near the Scarab, the Arbiter and his forces managed to save a group of captured Councilors, and a group of UNSC Marines, including Sergeant Johnson.



Johnson made a shaky truce with the Arbiter in order to prevent Tartarus from activating Halo. Given they share a common enemy, they both agreed that Tartarus had to be stopped, with Johnson driving a captured Scarab and the Arbiter covering him from enemy Wraiths, Spectres, and Banshees from the air. After destroying many enemy units along the way, they successfully reached the Control Room of Installation 05.

Battle with Tartarus
"Tartarus, the Prophets have betrayed us."

- Thel 'Vadamee's last attempt to convince the Brutes of the truth

'Vadamee fought several Honor Guard Brutes before facing Tartarus, who was forcing Miranda Keyes to activate Installation 05. He was surprised to see the Arbiter still alive and there was a standoff between the two parties. The Arbiter asked 343 Guilty Spark, who was also present, what Halo's true purpose was. The Monitor replied that the Halos were built "to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy" so that the Flood would die of starvation. In addition, the ones who built the rings, the Forerunners, died upon firing the rings as planned, contradicting the belief of their "transcendence". This convinced the Arbiter of the truth that he had been repeatedly told. It was from that moment that 'Vadamee's faith in the Great Journey had been shattered, his alliance with the humans absolute, and the treachery of the High Prophets fully realized.

With this revelation, the Arbiter tried to convince Tartarus to turn against the Prophets. Tartarus, however, blinded by his fanatical belief in the Great Journey, as well as his hatred for the Elites, ultimately chose to side with the Prophets. In the battle that followed, the Installation was activated and threatened to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy. The Arbiter, with the aid of Johnson and several Elites, slew Tartarus, allowing Miranda Keyes to stop the activation in time. The shutdown, however, activated a fail safe system; the rest of the Halos were set to standby mode, and could only be activated remotely from Installation 00. 'Vadamee then escaped the Flood-infested installation with the surviving Humans and Elite forces.

Meeting the Chief on Earth
"Were it so easy."

- Thel 'Vadam

After Tartarus' defeat on Delta Halo, 'Vadamee officially changed his surname to "'Vadam", symbolizing his resignation from the Covenant; the rest of the Elites followed suit.

Upon arriving on Earth with Johnson, 'Vadam and several of his allies discovered the Master Chief, who had just "arrived" on Earth as well. When the Master Chief regained consciousness from his long fall, he attempted to kill 'Vadam with Johnson's M6 Series Magnum, but was stopped by Johnson, who explained to the Chief that the Arbiter and his kind have allied with Humanity. The Chief reluctantly backed down although he at first did not trust the Arbiter, Vadam then assisted the Master Chief through the jungles near Mount Kilimanjaro, guiding him through the dense forest to the dam site where they were extracted. He then aided the Chief and the other UNSC forces during the defense of a UNSC base, Crow's Nest, from Covenant Loyalist invaders.

Battle of Voi
"Quickly! Let us find their ship. Make short work of this abomination!"

- The Arbiter in Floodgate

After leaving the Master Chief on the last departing flight from Crow's Nest before the base was leveled, Thel 'Vadam (known to his human allies only by his standing as the Arbiter) rejoined him at the docks, shortly after the Chief cleared the road to Voi of Covenant Loyalists and began to destroy a section of the Covenant mechanized presence defending the area rimming the Forerunner artifact. The Arbiter assisted the Chief and surviving UNSC forces in destroying a crucial anti-aircraft battery, aiding them as they fought through Covenant occupied warehouses, eventually helping them destroy the emplacement, and opening a hole in the Covenant anti-air defenses to allow Lord Hood's naval forces to assault the Prophet of Truth's Forerunner Dreadnought, which was docked and idle atop the Artifact.

The strike upon the Dreadnought did no visible damage. An enormous, fiery blue sphere was triggered over the activated Artifact, and formed a Portal through which Truth and the Covenant fleet retreated. 'Vadam roared in fury at the loss of their quarry. But before Lord Hood could consolidate the scattered and confused human resistance, a Flood-infested Covenant cruiser, which had broken through the Elite's quarantine fleet around High Charity, transitioned out of Slipspace nearby, crashing into the city and infesting a significant area in and around Voi.

The Arbiter and Chief proceeded to cauterize the local area of the Flood infestation, battling their way to the cruiser with the purpose of catastrophically overloading the crashed ship's engines to level the entire city before the parasitic infestation grew beyond control. They were aided by a handful of Marines who were not claimed by the Flood, and eventually Sangheili Special Operations shock troops, led by the recently promoted Ship Master Rtas 'Vadum, and a battle group under his command. 'Vadam learned of the fall of High Charity from a Sangheili Major who was leading Spec-Ops soldiers to fight alongside the Chief. The Arbiter assisted the Chief in clearing a swath to the crashed cruiser, and the Chief infiltrated the cruiser alone. He managed to recover a holo-projector that contained a fragmented message of Cortana. Rtas 'Vadum's fleet glassed the infected parts of Africa to prevent the Flood from continuing their infestation.

Battle of the Ark
"The Prophet will die by my hands - not theirs!"

- The Arbiter, in the level The Covenant



After the UNSC and Separatist forces regrouped, they learned from Cortana's message that the Flood had taken control of High Charity and were on their way to Earth. However, she continued to say that the Gravemind was unaware of the Portal, and states that on the other side is a solution to stop the Flood, without firing the remaining Halo rings. Because the Chief trusted Cortana, he and the Separatists dedicated all their forces to go through the Portal, arriving at the Ark. The Arbiter joined the Master Chief at the entrance of a local Cartographer facility to clear their way through the building to the Cartographer terminal. Once there, they learned Truth's perilous location, as well as an unfortunate defense he had conjured from the Ark itself. When the group was attacked after activating the Cartographer, the Arbiter joined the battle for the skies, instructing the Chief to follow 343 Guilty Spark to a location for extraction.

With the decimation of the Covenant Loyalist Fleet, Rtas 'Vadum's carrier positioned itself near the Ark's Citadel - where Truth planned to remotely activate the rings - in preparation to deal a lethal blow to Truth's stronghold. Commander Keyes led a three-pronged assault, in which the Arbiter and Chief participated in, on the shield generators to lower the barrier around Truth and the Citadel by deactivating the generator from a console in the tower's spire. After Sergeant Major Johnson failed to deactivate the third generator because of Brute resistance, the Arbiter landed his forces at the third tower along with the Chief to deactivate the final generator and shut down the barrier.

As Rtas 'Vadum maneuvered over the citadel to glass Truth, High Charity exited Slipspace, crashing into the Ark. In its plummet to the surface, High Charity scattered a barrage of infection capsules which put 'Vadum's carrier out of commission and seeded the Ark with Flood. The Arbiter led his forces in conjunction with the Marines to clear the third tower of Flood, with the Chief's assistance. As a security measure, the Arbiter escorted a distressed 343 Guilty Spark to reconnoiter the damage inflicted to the Ark by the Flood, leaving his Sangheili with the Chief to push on to the Citadel.

Death of Truth
"I - am - Truth! The voice of the Covenant!"

- the Prophet of Truth

"And so... you must be silenced!"

- 'Vadam to The Prophet of Truth

After Thel entered the Citadel, joining the Chief at the bridge to the Citadel with a distraught 343 Guilty Spark, the Flood formed an alliance with them to reach Truth and abort the firing of the Halo Array. Fighting through the Loyalist forces standing between Truth and themselves, the Arbiter and the Master Chief succeeded in reaching the same platform as the Prophet of Truth. The Arbiter approached Truth, who was by this point partially infected by the Flood. The Gravemind spoke through Truth, informing him that he was deluded in thinking that he would become a god; 'Vadam warned the Flood mind to not infect the Prophet, allowing him to take revenge. After a brief conversation, the Prophet of Truth made a short speech berating the Arbiter and the rest of the Separatists, before witnessing the Master Chief deactivating the Halo Rings. He was then executed by 'Vadam's Energy Sword, bringing 'Vadam his revenge. It is at this point that the Chief appears to start to trust Thel more, having witnessed the death of the Hierarch who called for Humanity's destruction. The Chief and Thel then faced the betrayal of the Flood's allegiance with the abortion of Halo's firing.

Destroying the Flood
"This is our fight, and I will see it finished."

- Thel 'Vadam to his fellow Elites

Fighting their way back the way they had come, the two witnessed the construction of a new Installation 04, and planned to activate it. The Arbiter, Johnson and Rtas 'Vadum evacuated all UNSC and Separatist forces from the Ark. The Arbiter, worried about the Chief (who went to High Charity alone to rescue Cortana) arrived after the Master Chief at High Charity's crash site, and eventually found the Chief, who had already accomplished his objective. 'Vadam used a Flamethrower to cover their escape as High Charity began to explode.

The two then escaped on a D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship from High Charity, crashing it into the newly-constructed Halo; after fighting through numerous Flood forms, they met up with Sergeant Major Johnson and 343 Guilty Spark at the Control Room. The Monitor turned on them after realizing that an immediate activation of the ring would destroy it and damage the Ark, as the ring was not yet complete. In the battle that followed, the rampant Monitor killed Johnson and blasted the Arbiter out of the room; however, even the Monitor fell to the Master Chief. Both Cortana and Thel expressed sorrow over Johnson's death. The Master Chief activated Halo and retrieved Cortana as the ring began to collapse. He and the Arbiter then retrieved Johnson's Warthog, crossed newly-built Forerunner structures as they collapsed, all while being attacked by more Flood and the now-hostile Sentinels. They succeeded in reaching the Forward Unto Dawn and escaped the Ark and Halo just in time. Upon entering the ship's cargo bay, it tilted and sent a M808B Main Battle Tank hurtling towards 'Vadam, nearly crushing him. 'Vadam ran into an alcove and narrowly dodged the tank. Before running to the bridge, he and the Chief (in a brief moment of camaraderie) exchanged nods; this was the last time 'Vadam saw the Chief. Soon after, Cortana activated the ship, as 'Vadam made it to the bridge and took control.

Endgame
"I remember how this war started. What your kind did to mine... I can't forgive you... but, you have my thanks. For standing by him to the end. Hard to believe he's dead..."

- Lord Hood

"Were it so easy."

- Thel 'Vadam

The portal collapsed as the Forward Unto Dawn was transiting and the aft end of the ship, with John-117 and Cortana, was sheared off and failed to return to Earth. The bow section, containing 'Vadam, made it through and crashed into the sea, where he was rescued. 'Vadam was present at the dedication of the memorial to those lost during the war, on March 3, 2553. After being thanked by Admiral Lord Terrence Hood for "standing by him to the end", saying "It's hard to believe he's dead", 'Vadam responded, "Were it so easy". This echoes his first line in Halo 3, symbolizing respect and similarity between a Spartan and the Arbiter, by how they are nearly impossible to kill. The Arbiter departed for Sanghelios aboard the Shadow of Intent as the ship master, with Rtas 'Vadum and the rest of the Elites who fought at the Ark to see if it was safe.