The Guardians are the titular secondary antagonists of Halo 5: Guardians. They are Forerunner AI constructs created to enforce Forerunner laws on troublesome worlds and keep them in line. In Halo 5: Guardians, Cortana awakens a number of them to assist her in her goal of claiming the Mantle of Responsibility for the Created.
History[]
Pre-Halo[]
The Guardians were originally created by the Forerunners to oversee worlds they deemed troublesome. The Forerunners also attempted to use the Guardians against The Flood, but only proved to be ineffective against the parasite. The Forerunners later hid the Guardians beneath the crust numerous planets throughout the galaxy. An exception to this measure was the one placed on Sanghelios. It was merely submerged in shallow water and was one of the numerous Forerunner constructs on the planet left totally unhidden. The Covenant apparently had some limited knowledge of the Guardian's function which leads them to worship it, while praying for its eternal slumber. The AI's installed within Guardians while relatively simple in design were noted to develop strange personalities and habits. Notably, it was these AI's who constructed the "faces" on the Guardians which unnerved even the Forerunners. However, any attempt by Forerunners to remove these faces were unsuccessful.
Halo 5: Guardians[]
The Guardians were later discovered by Cortana and reactivated to enforce the AIs' claim to the Mantle of Responsibility. Guardians soon activated on many human colonies, causing innumerable amounts of damage. Before the Guardians awoke, however a human cult leader by the name of Dasc Gevadim discovered the Guardians and made them the focus of the cult. He lead his members to the location of one Guardian where they were presumably wiped out by the machine's activation.
After their activation, all of the Guardians moved to the planet Genesis, where they were deployed to their designates systems. At least some of Guardians used their EMPs to disable any opposition upon arriving in their systems. The one assigned to earth engaged in a brief battle against the UNSC fleet above Syndey, Australia before deploying its EMP.
Halo Wars 2[]
When Professor Anders of the Spirit of Fire's crew commandeered a newly built Halo Installation in order to return to civilization, she is intercepted by a Guardian which forces the Halo out of slipspace.
Halo: Infinite[]
Under Cortana's command, the Guardians surround the Jiralhanae homeworld, Doisac, and destroyed it due to Atriox defying her, which results the Banished becoming more hostile and oppressive in the galaxy and as a result, caused the Banished to destroy the Infinity above Installation 07. Finally realizing her mistakes of bringing the consequences and not willing to allow the Banished to take control of the ring, she sacrifices herself to destroy a portion of it, leaving the ring inoperative while also deactivating the Guardians, leaving the Created stranded on each planet and scattered in remnants. A deactivated Guardian can be seen by the Master Chief far away during the Battle of Installation 07.
Halo: Outcasts[]
Taking place before Infinite but after the destruction of Doisac, the Banished, the UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios seek a weapon on the planet Netherop where the Spartans had fought Nizat 'Kvarosee thirty-three years before. A UNSC scientist had discovered that the planet's near-uninhabitable state is the result of the firing of a superweapon to destroy a Guardian over a hundred thousand years before, the remains of which are still on the planet. It's eventually discovered that the Forerunners had used the Guardians in their war with the Precursors and a group of Precursor fugitives had hidden out on Netherop, using their advanced technology to destroy the attacking Guardian. The fugitives, who are still alive and in hiding, heal Rosa Fuertes and warn that everyone must leave. The UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios are able to recover the Precursor weapon, but due to how dangerous it is, turn it over to the Banished with everyone fleeing before the Created can arrive in force to investigate. With the weapon's power source gone, the remaining Precursor technology is deactivated, dooming Nizat and his surviving follower to their deaths.
Halo: Empty Throne[]
Banished War Chief Severan witnesses the destruction of his homeworld by the Guardians shortly before Atriox leaves for Zeta Halo with the Precursor weapon recovered in Halo: Outcasts. In retaliation, Escharum orders Severan and the Banished who didn't go with Atriox to Zeta Halo to destroy Earth.
The battle -- which has over 1,300 Banished ships attacking Earth -- draws the attention of three Guardians who use their electromagnetic pulse emitters to deactivate a wide swath of ships on both sides, forcing both the Banished and the UNSC to focus on evading the Guardians. Suddenly, the three Guardians deactivate and go dormant in Earth orbit as a result of Cortana's destruction. Believing Atriox to be responsible, Severan calls off the attack in favor of claiming the Domain for the Banished and the Order of Restoration.
Trivia[]
- Since the Guardian Custodes have similarities to both the Primordial and Abaddon (Halo), it is theorized that the Forerunners have reversed engineered most of the Precursor technology to modify their technology with the Guardian Custodes as an example.
 Villains
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Species The Covenant Storm Covenant Servants of The Abiding Truth Sali 'Nyon's Covenant Created Ke 'Nzahz's Evocati The Banished Forerunner Office of Naval Intelligence Insurrectionists Other | ||