One character that (as far as I see) appears to be missing from this analysis (which is great by the way) is Wayland the Smith; the supposed forger of the three swords. Perhaps the most mysterious yet pivotal character of the Marathon Universe was Bernard Strauss; the man that "tortured" Durandal into his meta-stable rampancy. The analogy to the process of forging steel should be somewhat obvious. Cortana would seem to share a similar relationship with Halsey, though the fact that she is a scan of Halsey's mind, and supposedly the intended creation of several ancient AI's (Reach) (plus the Librarian if you count Halo 4), makes the issue too compounded to draw as clear of an analogy. As for Joyeuse, it may be too early to say anything about what made it. That said, there may already be clues. We've heard that Charlemagne's treasures are in the Dust Palace on Mars correct? [quote]Durandal!- I know of Strauss' abuse, of your shame on Mars. But you cannot hide from your own past; such delusions belong to the humans alone. [/quote] Perhaps the similar "steel" the swords are forged from has a more literal meaning than we thought (there are nickel-iron deposits on Mars' surface).