[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] the real Janaka Hmmm... The Covenant are a wierd bunch. First we have the Elites, they're vain and dramatic as few; if someone/something so much as gets in the way of their gracious and manneristic way of carrying on about their various businesses, they'll be offended, even starled, shocked that someone had the nerve to interrup them in thier splendor. They are bound to hierarchy, not only by expecting their subordinates to follow orders without questions, but also follow blindly when dealing with a higher authority, and if there isn't one, they stick to the principles and codes of the Covenant. This is why the Prophets lies were so heavy on them. Then we have the Grunts, they're small (in comparison to the rest of the Covenant) and whiny and uncoordinated. Thier cowardice knows no limit, they flee when slightest sign of defeat appears, they often complain or regret their entire lives, whilst doing so, in hilarious ways. Far to curious and playfull too; just a moment of peace and they'll wander off and start touching random stuff, or fall asleep. A mix between a retarded (am I allowed to write that? I'll remove it if it's offencive) C3PO and an Ewok, is a good way of describing them, the comic relief of the Halo series. But that was then. During the era of [I]darker, gritier, more realistic and more badass[/i], Bungie wanted to be taken more seriously, so they changed their style a bit; in Halo 3 we had the suicide Grunts, and in Reach they made an attempt to make them more menecing all together. So at this point... ? The Jackals had their crazed, intence, wide-open eyes, and dodgy, hunched, birdlike way of moving around once they became engadged in action. They never spoke, only made strange noises and... Etc, etc.. Those behavious (many times due to their physiology) are what made the Covenant, that kind of distinct styles/characteristics they all hade, opposed to just look cool and dangeruos, and so on. If that's all still there, it's still the Covenant. The question is if it is? EDIT: just because something has the same religious views as the Covenant, doesn't make it [/i]Covenant[/i].[/quote] That's a very controversial debate you've got going there. You are right though, is it? Although I am aware of another group of over-Zealous Elites, I'm not sure which novel this was from though, but they all eventually died from HAVOK Nukes. I feel like that some Elites were blinded by their apparent faith, very saddening.