Halo has recently ventured to adapt to media formats outside of the traditional first-person shooter outlet, whether it be on the silver screen as a web-series in the cases of Halo: Nightfall and Forward Unto Dawn, or, inside the pages of a comic book in tales such as Halo: Escalation. Unfortunately, whether deserved or not, these attempts often lure monumental critique, or worse, minimal discussion, virtually none reaching the heights of Halo’s playable best, and leaving a sizable segment of fans pondering if Halo can see feasible success beyond a controller.

Despite the franchise’s kryptonite seeming to manifest as television, often plastered as simple mediocrity, one of its most victorious projects was ironically Halo Legends, a shockingly poignant transition of Halo‘s central concepts and ingenuity to a digestible, animated format. Despite Legends‘ critical and fan approval, however, we’ve yet to see any discussion of a continued series, whether intentionally or otherwise, a missed opportunity and a direction that I deeply hope this piece plays a part in course-correcting.

This article, and future expansions of its material, will revolve around an endeavor I’ve sought since the culmination of the first Legends episodes, a yearning for some of Halo‘s most creative narratives and a shrewd capitalization of a brand new era of television formatting. There has never been a more opportune time for Halo Legends to receive a sequel, and I can only fantasize that, paired with the success of Showtime’s Halo series, Legends II can make its debut on the drawing board as a continuation of something spectacular.

Information on the trodden world of Biko is scarce, save for Hunt the Truth’s exploration of its extremist presence. The planet suffered greatly during the Human-Covenant War, a swift and savage victory for the Covenant Armada lending itself to the colony’s significance in the years following its reterraforming. Though Biko isn’t unusual in its abundance of xenophobia, the apprehension of said activity is lost without proper context. Vague snippets indicate a routinely ferocious method to the glassing of Biko, but uncertainty plagues Halo lore sites as to the remainder of this tragic tale. What exactly happened on Biko’s surface? Why was Richard Sekibo’s objective to propagate peace on the planet met with such strong resistance? And who is left behind to disclose the horrors of the Battle of Biko?

These questions, and more, are addressed in House of Glass, the second episode of my hypothetical anthology. This second chapter revolves around Uki, a 7 year old girl whose home is entrenched in the deep freeze of Biko’s northern hemisphere. As CPV-class heavy destroyers scorch the remnants of civilization, Uki’s home is raided by a vile war party. While Banshee engines overhead deafen the whispers of nature, hammering snow soon begins to overpower them, threatening to subvert the Covenant operation. House of Glass will subject Uki to the Covenant’s relentless zeal, depicting a dichotomy akin to David and Goliath. In this vignette, the only objective that matters is survival, Uki relying on the hazardous weather to grant her the escape she needs.

The once lush horizons of Biko now flare with rabid light as the Covenant’s fleet lay siege to the planet. The native populace has been unconditionally annihilated, caught between overhead glassing beams and Sangheili plasma bolts. At the summit of Biko’s fall, the mountain settlement of Chulyin faces the wrath of an insatiable War Chieftain, bolstered by his barbarous Jiralhanae pack. Following their slaughter, sole survivor Uki is thrust into a cat-and-mouse gambit against the raiding party, stranded without her voice. Uki exploits the protection of an unrelenting blizzard, leaving the clan’s vision impaired in their predatory hunt. The clock ticks on as the adolescent girl, motivated by the loss of her tribe, must desperately wear out her stalkers. A facile triumph becomes a frustrating chore as Uki continuously slips through their grasp, the War Chieftain’s pack growing further disillusioned with every inch of snow trodden.

House of Glass would serve as a deeply personal narrative, a contained vignette isolated from the grander conflict. The utmost objective is to portray a snapshot of tragedy in an adolescent’s life, as well as its resounding thud of consequence. As Uki finds herself prey in a dangerous game, the war at large becomes an inky black border in her own flashbulb memory. A key detail in flashbulb memories is the fine perception of setting, an acute remembrance of what is in focus. The direction zeroes in on Uki’s mind, a childlike lens becoming apparent, and with it, a lack of a complete picture. Uki’s world has a thin veneer of light, a soft glow which indicates what is most emotionally vital, as the before and after fade into camera flash. Though the fall of Biko and the massacre of Chulyin may not be familiar beats, the fuzzy sensation of unforgettable adversity will most certainly hit home.

One important element in House of Glass is projecting Chulyin’s forlorn fate correctly, one of many human settlements to be dealt with in such an ungodly manner. Depicting the thematic toll of the Covenant in Halo‘s written works is vital in transcribing their tragically misguided war to animation. The environment and its omnipresent surroundings need to reflect the brutality of the Jiralhanae, and the pressure of Uki’s hunt. A hushed score with scattered moments of dread should overlay Uki’s passage through her former home, disquieting at every close call. The War Chieftain’s presence must act in accordance with canon, a daunting force of nature. Every frame is filled with his intimidating physique, crafted like a living nightmare, while zeroing in on nail scratches in metal and gored bolts of armour.

Outfitted with primitive armour plating, the hunting party displays noticeably threadbare attire, rivaling the nostalgic regalia of Uki’s apparel. The clash of brutish rags and familial luxury would act as a reminder of motivational divide, one of many differences between prey and predator. The War Chieftain’s ocular systems shine a bright white, forsaking the traditional association with purity and replacing it with soulless ambition. These shimmering orbs serve as a signature aspect of the Chieftain’s appearance, paralleling the raven stitched fondly into Uki’s sweater. There is a palpable irony in the unholy glimmer of this warrior’s eyes, flawless in appearance alone, and unworthy of promised salvation.

The Chulyin raiding party emanated an unsettling attitude of sadism toward the dead and decaying around them, an implicit obligation of scorn. The savagery shown to the civilian cadavers would have disquieted even the most zealous Sangheili, a mark of the Jiralhanae’s blood-lust. Still, the ferocity of an ordinary minor held no comparison to that of their pack Chieftain, finding the most demented of pleasures in defiling his kills.

As Uki continuously slips through his chafed claws, the War Chieftain grows irate, scolding his pack for their inability to vanquish the lone survivor. Unabated drive quickly simmers to exhausted surrender, the snow-shielded forests of Chulyin inciting mutinous thoughts among the clan. Uki grows unsure of how long she persists against the Jiralhanae clan, time fading into the depths of Chulyin’s empty embrace.

A wordless glance from the Chieftain’s distinguished lieutenant spoke an indisputable truth, one he loathed with every sluggish step. The flattened trail at their feet had been relented to the tumultuous blizzard, the pack’s submission blossoming in its wake. To all but the Chieftain himself, it was apparent that his crusade had ended, returning only with the spoils of a whimpering defeat. With a snarl akin to a wounded beast, the War Chieftain relinquished his troops, his speechless growls a promise of the inevitable victory ahead. As it was always meant to be, predator and prey finally prowled alone in one final effort.

The narrative purpose of House of Glass is to acknowledge Uki’s greatest threat, and there is no more poignant a method of doing so than to centralize her conflict. The Jiralhanae War Chieftain serves a greater function than just representing a merciless antagonist, his cunning and narcissism the antithesis to Uki. Even from his first waking memories on Doisac, the Jiralhanae home-world, the Chieftain has known only brutality, cradled in tragedy as compared to Uki’s sudden submergence in it.

From the inception of Uki’s journey, I’ve found myself roused by how this depiction would come to be visualized. As with all stories, there is an expectation of synergy, all parts syncing with one-another for a satisfying whole. If a piece of the proverbial puzzle is absent, or fails to interlock successfully, its sum will be shamefully misguided. House of Glass, too, shares this requirement, and it is why I am unable to perceive this tale in any other format than clay animation. The utmost important aspect of House of Glass is its explicit imagery, and this couldn’t be better accentuated than with highly detailed clay models. This would draw comparisons to the famous Believe campaign, as well portraying a complete Halo story with a daunting new aesthetic.

Uki grazed the frigid steel of the wall behind her, the end finally apparent as fingers met metal. She pondered the few minutes longer she could cling to if she continued to run, continued to evade the inevitable, but it didn’t matter. Uki’s back slipped nervously against the corner, observing the Chieftain shamble only feet away from her. In a sequence of grief, she listened intently to the hiss of the hammer’s blade scratching the floor below her. It was then, as his icy lights seared into the raven on her cloth, that providence seemed to grant her victory. The War Chieftain’s helmet emit a faint, foreboding whine, almost unintelligible to Uki, but cohesive enough to clearly be communication. Uki understood the implications of the Jiralhanae’s sudden, broken pause, her eyes flickering to life once more. “Your team was necessary for further operations in this region! Because of your zealous insolence, we have wasted vital hours, time we required! You are to return to the Divinity’s Sanction at once, with your pack!” As swiftly as the great hunt had begun, the Jiralhanae vanished, perhaps driven too mad to recognize the prize before him. Uki’s survival was a victory itself, but one that came with a greater cost than she’d allowed herself to acknowledge. As the moment of reprieve settled in, it was the silence which reminded Uki that she was alone. The flashbulb memory faded back to reality, Uki clutching her face within her palms, unable to find a minute to be lost in. In time, a sliver of light washed across Uki, the creaking door covering her in a faint afternoon glow. Her eyes glistened open again, the refractions of her glass house shining with hope as Biko quietly faded into the shimmer.

If you enjoyed this chapter, you can view the previous one here!

Exploring these concepts has been a forlorn dream of mine for years, and a continuation of this endeavor lies in the near future. Halo Legends II is by no means expected, nor a feasibly realistic scenario at this very moment. I fully understand the variety of hurdles faced in such an undertaking and the lack of audible cause to even face such challenges. However, as it stands, I see a significant void in Halo’s roster of lore outlets, a space which begs to be occupied by talented storytellers and animators. Opportunity is not and has never been a lengthy visitor, and there is no time greater than the present to capitalize on Halo‘s forgotten channel.

Utmost gratitude to my faithful patrons: Joshua Ezzell and ArdentPrayer.

Special thanks to the Sins of the Prophets team for allowing me to utilize their ship assets in the article image!

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