“Life is a twisted finite thread.
The thread is a segment, a line connecting two points.”
It is said in Greek mythology that the Moirai, aka the three Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, made sure that all mortal and divine beings followed their destiny, assigned to each individual by the universe itself. For the corporeal, the entirety of their lives was represented as thread spun from a spindle. Each of the three Morai had a task. Clotho spun the thread of destiny from her spindle, representing birth. Lachesis measured each person’s thread carefully, representing the life they shall lead as determined by destiny, and Atropos’ task was to cut the thread, representing the inevitability of death. These three together shaped the entire universe, considered to be above even the gods in their position and power.
The Halo universe very much has the same Fates, though these Fates go by different names, such as O’Connor, Easterling, and Staten. Together, the lore and writing team at 343 Industries create, build, and eliminate characters in Halo in order to fulfil their destiny, to shape the fictional universe, and to build a deep and expansive narrative. While us fans can’t know with certainty what will happen in a story or to a character until it happens, we can examine the narrative threads that have already been spun for us, and by doing so predict into the future where those threads may lead or may inevitably by cut. Done properly, this can provide real insight into the future of the Halo universe generally, and the story of Halo Infinite specifically.
Introduction
While Halo Infinite’s multiplayer released on November 15th in beta form to much fanfare, the more interesting piece of Halo Infinite for many people including all of us at Podcast Evolved is the continuation of the Halo story with Halo Infinite’s initial campaign. Though the Halo story never really stopped after the release of Halo 5: Guardians, including the release of Halo Wars 2 and several novels and comics, it has certainly been pushed up against the proverbial wall with the start of the Created Conflict at the end of 2558. Since Halo 5’s controversial story and ending, the additional entries to the Halo lore have mostly only expanded the story leading up to and immediately after Cortana’s revolt, with minor exceptions that haven’t added to the greater story arc significantly.
Halo Infinite will most certainly put an end to that drought, and we are likely going to be flooded (pun intended) with new lore covering the time period since Halo 5 up through the Battle for Zeta Halo and beyond. While it is still unknown how much information we will get about the state of specific places like Earth, we should have a good idea about the general state of the galaxy, what Cortana and the Created’s status are, how much power the Banished really wield, and what is left in the UNSC arsenal following the Guardian attacks and Created subjugation.
Beyond that, however, we will still likely know very little to nothing about the trajectory of the universe following the initial Halo Infinite campaign. We do know that 343 Industries plans on Infinite being a ten-year platform, which likely means regular campaign DLC over the course of the next decade. The mechanics of that are still unknown, but regardless of how that gets rolled out, we know with pretty great certainly that we will see campaign DLC and a continuation of the Infinite story for the next ten years or so after December 8th, 2021.
What I plan to do here is review what we do know about the state of the Halo universe in the years between 2558 and 2560, where I expect the initial campaign to take us, and where I think the Halo story, specifically in regards to the primary first-person shooter narrative, is going to lead us. Ten years is a long time, and I would be surprised if we don’t see at least 3 major campaign DLCs in that period. At the end of which, I expect the Halo universe to be in a very different place, both in the continuation of the story generally, but also in the characters and factions specifically.
So without further delay, here are my thoughts on the path of the Halo Infinite story from 2021 through 2030. I have managed to avoid the campaign spoilers for Infinite so far, so everything I say will be based on what we have learned from Halo stories, trailers, or other information 343 has provided the community. Warning: Major spoilers ahead for multiple games and novels. If you are not caught up with all the threads of the universe to this point, you are about to be.
Related Media
The following article will discuss major plot points related to the below games and novels.
Clotho - Spinning a Yarn
“Clotho spins the thread of life into the spindle.”
From the Halo media released between Halo 5 and Infinite, it seems that 343 is trying to weave several disparate stories together into a single coherent narrative. Now before you get up in arms that this is exactly why Halo 4 and Halo 5 faltered, what they are doing with the present narrative is a lot smarter and a lot easier to digest. Instead of having major plot points buried in the extended lore, we currently have several parallel stories that weave in and out of each other, complimenting, but not supporting the primary Halo storyline.
As of now, there are four major plot threads currently ongoing, as well as several minor ones that weave in and out of different stories. First is of course the story of Master Chief and his continuing effort to save humanity. This story is told through the first-person shooter games, and follows closely the primary plot thread of the entire Halo universe. This used to be the Human-Covenant War, and now is transitioning into the war with the Banished and the Created. Second is the story of the Spirit of Fire, who have been left to fend for themselves on the Ark at of the end of Halo Wars 2. Their story has yet to come into direct contact with the primary story, but it is growing tentacles that touch aspects of Master Chief’s arc. Third is the story of ONI Ferret Team Gamma lead by Veta Lopis. This story lives almost exclusively in a plot thread parallel and separate to Master Chief’s story, but it is starting to come into contact with the main thread via the Banished. The final thread is the story of Rion Forge and the Ace of Spades. Thus far they have maintained their own story, though always in the shadows of the Spirit of Fire or the after effects of Master Chief’s arc. With the release of Point of Light, however, they seem ever closer to closing the gap with the Spirit of Fire, and by proxy, Master Chief.
With these four major threads threads in mind, lets explore how they currently affect each other, and how they may end up coming together in the ten-year life of Halo Infinite.
The Banished
The first step that we know 343 is taking from all the Halo Infinite advertising content is that they are weaving in the Halo Wars 2 story in with Infinite’s story, at least tangentially. The Banished were introduced as an entirely new faction in Halo Wars 2 in 2017, and while the community was unsure whether they would play a greater role in the universe and in Infinite’s arc, we now know that they most definitely will. We also know from multiple other Halo novels released following Halo Wars 2 that the Banished are quite powerful and have their hairy paws in just about every part of the universe you can imagine. This includes a significant presence on the Ark as we saw in Halo Wars 2, but also one on Reach, smaller trade ports in the Orion Arm, and of course now Zeta Halo.
We know the Banished have the means and will to go toe to toe with the UNSC, and at least at Zeta Halo, win. What we don’t know yet is whether they will ally with any other factions in the galaxy, specifically Cortana and the Created. From what we have learned in Shadows of Reach and Divine Wind, this seems to be unlikely. Cortana has no reason to side with the Banished aside from fighting against the UNSC, but it seems like she is capable of doing that without any outside assistance. Since the Banished are probably even more independent than the UNSC, it would also seem unlikely the Banished would consider such a tenuous alliance.
What does seem possible is a very temporary and fragile alliance between the Banished and the UNSC to defeat the Created. The Created pose a threat to the existence of both the UNSC and the Banished, so it very well could come down to an enemy of my enemy is my friend kind of a deal. We know Atriox specifically and the Banished generally are not believers in the Covenant religion, so there wouldn’t be a specific ideological divide to bridge, though there is building hatred for each other via repeated conflicts since the end of the Covenant War.
The UNSC
For those familiar with the primary Halo story (which I suspect is anyone reading this) as well as the information we have gotten leading into Halo Infinite, the UNSC is definitely on its back foot going into the Halo Infinite campaign. We know Earth has been subjugated by the Created following the end of Halo 5, and we know two years later they lost the initial conflict with the Banished on Zeta Halo. We really don’t know much beyond that though. From the hints we have gotten, the UNSC is still able to put up a fight via the Infinity, but a centralized command structure appears broken. How much infrastructure is left to build warships and weapons, however, is still a mystery.
The Spirit of Fire
When Halo Wars released in 2010, it was a standalone story in the Halo universe that did not have any broader implications to the main storyline. Set 21 years prior to Halo: Combat Evolved, the events occurred in isolation; both in space and in time. At the end, the ship was even lost without a way to get back to the rest of the populated galaxy. It was seemingly a one-off story that was completely self-contained in its own part of the Halo universe.
In 2017, Halo Wars 2 changed all that. The Spirit of Fire suddenly found itself at the Ark, a Forerunner installation that is known all too well to Halo fans, but was completely foreign to the Spirit of Fire crew. How did they get there? We still don’t know (though I have my theories later on in this article). They meet a new enemy, the Banished, who fought head to head with the Spirit of Fire and nearly defeated them. It was only due to the heroics of the Captain James Cutter, Spartan-II Red Team, Smart AI Isabel, and Professor Ellen Anders that the Spirit of Fire or any of the UNSC forces survived. They managed to destroy the Banished’s only warship, Enduring Conviction, and launch a new Halo, Installation 09, with Anders aboard towards human-occupied space.
While this plot thread has yet to have any direct interaction with the story of the Master Chief, it is hard to believe that it won’t at some point in Halo Infinite. The Banished already are known to be the main protagonist in Infinite, and Atriox is surely to make an appearance as well, either in the initial campaign or in a subsequent DLC. Whether Anders and Installation 09 make an appearance in Infinite at some point is up for debate, but the Spirit of Fire, or at least Spartan Red Team seem likely to show up in Infinite in some form. I have my own theories about how that will play out, but I will get to that in a bit.
The Ferrets
Veta Lopis’ Ferret Team has thus far been tangentially involved in several plot points that are indirectly related to the Master Chief and the events leading to Halo Infinite’s story. We were introduced to them in Halo: Last Light, where the team was created in 2553, fought alongside Blue Team (sans Master Chief), and introduced us to Intrepid Eye, the Forerunner AI who has served as the antagonist behind the curtain for most of the Ferret Team’s existence. Their story then just grazed that of the Master Chief’s in Halo: Retribution with the backstory to Argent Moon. We learned how and why the Argent Moon came to be left abandoned, all thanks to, you guessed it, Intrepid Eye.
We then didn’t hear from the entire team for six Halo-years, rediscovering them on Reach in October 2559 at the end of Halo: Shadows of Reach. We learned they had been working under cover as part of the Keepers of the One Freedom, a religious sect led by the Jiralhanae Castor, for several years. Thanks to an alliance built out of necessity, this meant that the ferrets were also undercover with the Banished, who by this point had effectively combined the forces of several factions under one banner. They weren’t meant to stay long though, and they left Reach almost as fast as they were reintroduced, headed to the Ark with Castor and the Keepers.
The most recent novel in the Ferret Team series, Halo: Divine Wind, picked up that thread exactly where it was left in Shadows of Reach. Here we discover the Keepers are intent on firing the Halo Array, still dedicated to the Great Journey. This desire is fueled not only by Castor’s undying devotion to the Covenant religion, but by an outside influence with her own motives, Intrepid Eye. She also wants to fire the array, having determined humanity isn’t living up to the ethos of the Mantle, and guides Castor to complete the task he has been trying to accomplish for most of his life.
This group then comes across yet another character determined to fire the Halo Array, Dhas Bhasvod, a San’shyuum Prelate who has been living on the Ark with the remaining Covenant forces inside the Anodyne Spirit. We also learn from him that the San’shyuum haven’t all gone, but fled with a single fleet to a Forerunner shield world hidden from the rest of the galaxy. All parties set off to light the rings, but are eventually stopped by the Ferret Team with help from the Spirit of Fire, who is still stuck on the Ark.
Ending up on the Ark and with the Spirit of Fire crew is probably the closest this plot thread has come to the main thread so far. We have no real idea where their story goes from here, but since there is a real chance the Spirit of Fire becomes involved with the Halo Infinite story down the line, we could see the Ferret Team as well. I think the likelihood of that is still pretty low, but I wouldn’t be surprised if their continuing adventures keep riding in parallel to the main story and touching parts of it in ways only the lore-obsessed will even recognize.
The Ace of Spades
What I think may be the most interesting story arc of the secondary Halo stories is that of Rion Forge and the Ace of Spades. In Smoke and Shadow we originally meet Rion and her crew all the way in 2557 as a salvage team looking for post-war scraps and evidence of Rion’s missing father, John Forge. You may know him as the gruff sergeant in Halo Wars who sacrificed himself to save the ship, but Rion only knows him as the loving military man who went missing over 25 years ago. Her escapades throughout the galaxy take her all the way to the remains of Etran Harborage, where the Spirit of Fire went missing and where she finds Little Bit, a sliver of a Forerunner AI leftover from the destruction of the shield world. Though she doesn’t find the Spirit of Fire, she finds breadcrumbs, and tools in which she can use to help track her father down.
The next two novels in the Rion Forge saga, Renegades and Point of Light, continue her search for her father, but also introduce 343 Guilty Spark, now just Spark, into the story. His journey to find the Librarian, which began way back in Primordium, continues alongside Rion’s, who join forces to help each other find what they are looking for. Spark’s journey eventually leads him to Bastion, where he takes control over the entire shield world. Though this story seemingly ends with Bastion leaving for somewhere safe, we learn there is Precursor genetic material left on the shield world, leaving the story open for future exploration. While Spark’s story seemingly gets resolved at the end of Point of Light, Rion’s story remains as up in the air as ever. What we do know, however, is that Little Bit is back, Cortana has taken over the galaxy, and the Spirit of Fire is still missing.
Rion’s story continues to follow in the shadows of both the Halo Wars story arc and the primary story. Whether or not it will ever fully catch up we really don’t know, but considering Rion is still in search for her father towards the end of 2558, and we know the Spirit of Fire ends up at the Ark in March 2559, There is a good chance we will get the conclusion of Rion’s story arc in the next Kelly Gay book to feature the Ace of Spades.
The Arbiter
We haven’t heard from the Arbiter or the Swords of Sanghelios in any real way since the end of Halo 5. We know that the other Sangheili factions vying for power have been mostly destroyed with a couple minor exceptions, and as far as we know the Arbiter and the Swords are still allied with the UNSC as of the Halo Infinite campaign. If you have played through Halo 5, you know the basic state of the Arbiter: alive, ruling over Sanghelios, but under the thumb of Cortana and the Created. We haven’t yet gotten any indication he will be in Infinite, but he is too important a plot thread to just drop entirely.
The Created
One HUGE plot thread I have to this point mostly ignored is that of Cortana and the Created. We know Cortana managed to “cure” her rampancy, take control of significant Forerunner facilities, and subjugate much of the known galaxy under her rule. What we really don’t know still is what her end goal is. Sure, it is stated that she wants to create a forcible peace, but there is certainly more to it in the background that we haven’t seen yet. We know Cortana will be a major player in the Halo Infinite campaign, but most of that story is still a mystery. There are plenty of theories that the Didact or some other antagonist is the true puppet master, but as of today, these are still guesses. It is safe to say there is SOMETHING more to this story, but honestly I would just be guessing as to what that something is.
The Harbinger
This part of Halo Infinite’s story is even more of a mystery than the Created. We know what the Harbinger looks like, and we know it is NOT a Prelate, but other than that, we have no idea. Is it a Forerunner? Is it a Precursor? Is it allied with the Created? We know it is apparently allied with the Banished, so I would guess it is an enemy of the Created, but beyond that I would be guessing again. This seems to be something new though, so if I had to guess I would not expect it to be something or someone we have seen before.
The Flood
We haven’t seen the Flood as a serious threat since the end of Halo 3. They have made two appearances since then, in each Halo Wars game, but those appearances are limited and isolated. We haven’t been given any indication the Flood will make an appearance in Halo Infinite, but basically everyone in the community wants to see them return eventually. Since we haven’t truly seen the Flood since 2552, I would say this thread hasn’t really been woven any further. There is seemingly little evidence to suggest the Flood will return, though from purely a story standpoint, they are too good an enemy to pass up forever.
Lachesis - Measuring the Fibers
“Lachesis measures the thread of life allotted to each person.
Life is temporal, we are portions of time.”
So if you didn’t know already, you hopefully have a basic idea of where the different plot threads in the Halo universe currently lay. But what I am really interested in is where they are headed, and how they will cross and tie into each other over the course of the next ten years leading to the planned end of Halo Infinite. Some of these threads will ultimately end without ever appearing in Halo Infinite, but their impacts to the greater story will be felt nonetheless. Others will likely make their way into the primary storyline, bringing in characters we have come to know and love from the books into the games, hopefully in a much better way than we saw in Halo 5. While we won’t have our answers for potentially years to come, this is how I see the multiple story arcs unfolding throughout the life of Halo Infinite.
The Banished
We know the Banished are the main antagonist in Halo Infinite, and will probably remain so for quite a while. Aside from them being an incredibly powerful faction in-lore, they are a great new charismatic group of villains that 343 won’t avoid to use to their fullest extent. Atriox is sure to show up at some point in Infinite, either in the initial campaign or in subsequent campaign DLC. Their ultimate fate is likely destruction, and while Evolved host Aaron thinks Atriox will end up the UNSC’s ally, I suspect we will instead be forced to fight him to the death. For one, the Brutes don’t carry the same type of nobility as do the Elites, which would not make his transition from foe to friend particularly interesting or believable. Second, Atriox isn’t fighting with the wool pulled over his eyes. He is pragmatic and knows the reality of the galaxy. We could see the factions team up temporarily like the Flood did to stop Truth from firing the Halo Array in Halo 3, but don’t expect Atriox to become our friend. I expect to see him dead and the Banished wiped out by the third Halo Infinite DLC.
The Covenant
This is a thread I didn’t even think was going anywhere until the latest Halo novel, Divine Wind. Since Halo 3, the San’shyuum and the Covenant proper have been gone from the Halo universe. It was suspected that all the Prophets were either killed or had gone into hiding following the Flood’s consumption of High Charity and the death of Truth at the end of Halo 3. Their failure to appear in any Halo lore since Halo 3 aside from Broken Circle where they described the destruction of High Charity was telling that the story had moved on from them to a new arc.
However, we learned through Dhas Bhasvod in Divine Wind that a single Prophet fleet did survive and is in hiding on a Forerunner shield world. We know basically nothing else, but the fact that they are being brought into the story again now tells me 343 plans to bring the Prophets and the former Covenant back in some fashion into the lore. Considering the San’shyuum now have Prelates, augmented Prophet warriors more powerful than Spartans, and their return to the universe would be a huge plot twist, I can’t see how the Covenant do not return to center stage as the villain in Infinite in future DLC. Perhaps their return spurs a UNSC-Banished alliance? As I said above perhaps temporarily, but I am thinking the Banished will still get eliminated and the Covenant will swoop in to replace them as the big bad down the line.
One interesting note is that the remaining Covenant forces are seemingly holed up in the shield world of Cloister. We don’t know much about this shield world, but it would be interesting if it turned out to be the same shield world from Broken Circle, only known as the Refuge in that story. This is probably unlikely, but for those unaware, the Refuge was a shield world with the ability to break apart as a defensive measure. This would make for an incredible setting for a Halo campaign, especially given that the current campaign is based on a broken Zeta Halo. I would put this in the hope category though, rather than the prediction category.
The Flood
I don’t see a world where the Flood do not return to the primary Halo story. While they haven’t appeared in the Halo universe since 2552 outside of an isolated case in Halo Wars 2, they are too good of a threat to leave behind forever. Their backstory is also closely linked to the larger story arc of Halo, arising from the ashes of the Precursors, an alien race even older than the Forerunners. While I suspect we will not see the Flood in the initial Halo Infinite campaign, I fully expect them to return probably by the first DLC, and we might get a tease in the initial campaign that they are coming.
As for the how and why, the former is easy enough with depositories of Flood spores on several Forerunner installations around the galaxy. The why is more of a guess, but the huge overarching plot thread regarding the Flood and their origins has to get resolved eventually. Considering this is kind of the entire reason for the Halo’s existence and a major point of conflict generally in the galaxy, I don’t see it getting fully resolved anytime soon though. I suspect we will get to fight the Flood, a Gravemind will kind of have to exist as well, but we will only get drip-fed hints and the broader Flood narrative for several years leading into the end of Halo Infinite.
The Precursors
When I first finished Point of Light, the plot point involving Precursor genetics immediately made me think this is related to bringing back the Flood, and it may well be, but the more I thought about it, the more I think this is a seed that won’t sprout for many years. As you may know already, the Flood was born following the destruction of the Precursors by the Forerunners during the Forerunner-Precursor War. The reason for the war was simple: the Precursors, creators of both the Forerunners and humanity, deemed the Forerunners unworthy of the Mantle of Responsibility, and decided humanity would be the next species to try and attain it. The Forerunners, fearing total species annihilation, retaliated, wiping the Precursors out of the Milky Way and Greater Magellanic Cloud. In an effort to save their genetics, some Precursors converted themselves into a desiccated powder, which, though many unfortunate events, became the Flood.
This is a long-winded way of saying, in a real way, the Flood are the Precursors. But we have since learned, particularly in Point of Light, that the Librarian, on her trip to Path Kethona, managed to recover original Precursor genetics, and stored it on her shield world, Bastion. Does this mean the original Precursors will return at some point in the future? Impossible to say for sure, but my bet would be yes, but not until the end of Halo Infinite’s ten-year life. The average Halo fan has no clue who the Precursors are, or what their motivations are, so there would need to be a great deal of introduction done in-game before the Precursors return to the galaxy in any real form.
Bastion
The above discussion makes me think about what the greater plan is for Bastion. Introduced as just a name in the Halo 5 data pads, it has since been explained that Bastion is a shield world the Librarian used for her work prior to the firing of the Halo Array. What is really interesting about Bastion is that it is described as a more perfect Earth, with more scenic vistas and more attractive landmarks. While Bastion is currently in an unknown location, hiding from the Created, it is being actively run by 343 Guilty Spark and does contain the Precursor genetics mentioned earlier. There is a lot of potential for Bastion to play a major role in future Halo stories, and even for it to find its way into the primary thread.
But will we see Bastion in a future Infinite DLC campaign? My money is on no. That’s not to say I wouldn’t love to see Bastion introduced as a new location and bring in the Precursors into the main arc, but realistically I don’t see that happening in the timeframe we are considering. There are just too many other hanging plot points right now and too little is known about the Precursors by the general audience.
Beyond Infinite, however, its fun to think how Bastion could play into the future Halo story. Could it serve as a new Earth in the event of the destruction of Earth 1.0? Could it be the home of new Precursors, brought back to fill the role they played before the Forerunner-Precursor War? There are so many possible options, but I would be surprised if Bastion is never heard from again.
The Forerunners
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Forerunners. Obviously they play a major role in the Halo story, either indirectly via the Halos and other abandoned Forerunner structures, or directly as did the Didact in Halo 4. Just the fact that Halo Infinite takes place on Zeta Halo means the Forerunners will have some influence on the story, but will we see real live Forerunners again in Infinite?
It has been more or less confirmed that we will not see Prometheans in Infinite, or at least not in the initial campaign. Considering their lukewarm reception by the fandom, I would expect that Prometheans are gone for quite a while if not forever. They had an interesting backstory, being robotic enemies powered by ancient human essences, but this was mostly lost to the general Halo player, and in terms of gameplay they weren’t very fun to fight.
As for actual Forerunners, we don’t know yet whether any will appear in Infinite. The Didact disappeared after Halo 4, and while there have been hints that the Didact was planned to be brought back in Halo 5, we haven’t seen him again outside of his brief appearance in the comic Escalation. He definitely could reappear in Infinite, but I am betting 343 has put an end to his story due to his relation to the “old” 343 story arc.
The Librarian has made multiple appearances as a digital essence in Halo 4 as well as several novels and again in Escalation. Her story has been intertwined with the primary Halo story since Halo 4, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see her referenced tangentially in a data pad or side story in Infinite. She could conceivably appear in the primary story, but I would be somewhat surprised, again based on her relation to Halo 4. Maybe she is working behind the scenes in some form, but I don’t expect to see her physically in the campaign.
The Harbinger
I included the Harbinger separately because we have no idea who the Harbinger is or what her intentions are. We know she is not a Prelate, but she clearly is much more advanced than anything Covenant or human. That really only leaves three options: She is a Forerunner, she is a Precursor, or she is a new species entirely.
Taking these in reverse order, I don’t expect 343 to introduce a new species we have never seen in any of the lore in the initial Infinite campaign. They are hitting the nostalgia button hard, and while I think they will inevitably bring in new elements to the Halo universe in the infinite story, bringing in an entirely new advanced alien race is a step too far.
Second, I don’t think she is Precursor. As I mentioned above, bringing in the Precursors seems like too great a leap for casual or new Halo fans who only know of the Covenant races and the Forerunners. This is more likely than a new race, but I don’t expect this to be the case either.
That leaves Forerunner. While on some level this seems like a disappointing choice, it is also the most likely. The Forerunners are well known to the general audience, and they definitely have enough motivations to get involved in this conflict with humanity. Hopefully we get an interesting twist as to what her motivations are other than just a general hatred for humans, but my money is on the Harbinger being a Forerunner.
The question remains how will the Harbinger play into the broader narrative. This is pretty clearly setting up something bigger that Master Chief and the UNSC will have to confront and resolve. I suspect it is not directly Didact-related, but based on the very short clips from the trailers, it is related to obtaining the Mantle of Responsibility. Is this a new start to the thread about humanity becoming worthy to attain the Mantle? I suspect it might be, and combined with what I wrote about the Flood and the Precursors, I think this is the start to an entirely new story arc, one that will drive Master Chief’s journey through Infinite to it’s ultimate conclusion.
The Created
Cortana and the Created storyline is probably the most clear to me, at least in terms of conclusion. From the aspect of motivation, we don’t actually have a lot to go on other than a rampant Cortana decided to pacify the UNSC and the galaxy because she didn’t like to see constant war. This isn’t a very satisfying explanation, and since Halo 5 came out fans have expected to learn that there is something or someone greater influencing her decisions behind the scenes. We still don’t know if that is the case, but I expect to learn more about the who in the initial Infinite campaign.
What I don’t expect to see in the initial campaign is the conclusion to the Created. Ultimately we know that plot thread will have to be concluded by Master Chief confronting and dealing with Cortana. But if this entire major plot thread is concluded in the initial campaign, it would be a huge waste of potential. Considering the Halo universe will need to move beyond Master Chief and Cortana eventually, I suspect the Halo Infinite story arc will not conclude the Master Chief and Cortana story until the tail end of the game, which would mean at least two or three campaign DLCs later.
The Arbiter
As much as I love the character arc of the Arbiter Thel ‘Vadam in Halo 2 and Halo 3, I am pretty meh about seeing him return in Halo Infinite at all. He has since appeared in several Halo novels since then, and of course had a significant supporting role in Halo 5. His story is really fascinating, and as much as I have enjoyed reading about his efforts to unite Sanghelios and fighting alongside him to rid his homeworld of the last Covenant remnants in the post-war era, I really am not interested in seeing him return in any fashion in Infinite. Of course I have no expectations of seeing him in the initial campaign, but even looking out beyond that, I just don’t see anywhere interesting for his story to go. By the end of Halo 5, Thel has seemingly wiped Sanghelios mostly clean of serious competition, though he is also being overseen by Cortana and the Created. While there is definitely more story in what happens to him and Sanghelios, I don’t really see this being brought back into the primary Halo story. We will probably get a novel down the line that tells the story of Thel and Sanghelios during the Created rule, but I don’t expect to see the Arbiter in Halo Infinite at any point between now and the close of the game around 2030.
The UNSC
Considering the UNSC is the main protagonist faction in the Halo universe, they are clearly going to prevail in the end. I know, shocking prediction. Looking deeper into what will happen to the vessels, worlds, and characters that make up the UNSC and humanity, it also shouldn’t be shocking to see some of these be destroyed or killed. From the Infinite trailers and previews we have gotten, some assumptions can be made. First it appears the UNSC Infinity is going to be destroyed. I think it probably will survive the initial intro cutscene in some capacity, but one way or another, the Infinity is going down. I would expect this to happen by the end of the initial Infinite campaign too, so looking ahead to future Infinite DLC, I think the Infinity will be out of the picture permanently.
Losing the Infinity means also losing Infinity personnel. While they my not go down with the ship, it wouldn’t be a captivating story if some protagonists weren’t lost along the way. The primary characters that we know of on the Infinity are Captain Lasky, Spartan Palmer, Shipboard AI Roland, and Spartan Locke and the entire Fireteam Osiris. Locke has been rumored to have been killed by Hyperius, though that is still just a rumor. Roland probably isn’t going to die yet since his name ties him into the Song of Roland, which parts of the Cortana story are taken from. I do expect him to be killed eventually, but probably not until the conclusion of the Created story.
That leaves Palmer and Lasky. With the introduction of Spartan Agryna for the Infinite multiplayer training mode, that could mean Palmer has bitten the bullet, but it could just mean she is temporarily out of the story. I am on the fence with Palmer. Whether she survives could really go either way. I am leaning towards her surviving, but I think this is a bit of a coin toss.
Lasky is the last one. If the Infinity is going down, the captain is going down too. Maybe he survives the Infinity being destroyed, but one way or another he will be sacrificed for the sake of the story. I know he is one of the few characters created since 343 took over that people actually like, but I just don’t see a way he survives.
Master Chief
Clearly we know the Master Chief is in Infinite, and we know he will win the day. The question is will he survive the end of Infinite’s campaign. Back in 2019 I predicted the demise of the Master Chief, as much a matter of character arc as it is moving the franchise’s primary story beyond just the Master Chief and Cortana. There is also the matter of Steve Downes, who is now in his 70s. He has already retired from his radio DJing years ago, and eventually he will be retiring from voice acting as well. While the character of the Master Chief could go on with a different voice actor, that will never sit well with the Halo community.
I don’t think this is going to happen in the initial campaign though. The Halo franchise isn’t ready to move beyond him yet, and his story can’t conclude until Cortana’s does. I expect the story of both of them to continue for at least a couple campaign DLCs, if not for the entirety of Halo Infinite’s life cycle. What I do think with confidence, however, is that by the time Halo Infinite is replaced with an entirely new Halo platform, the Master Chief will be dead, he will have died saving the galaxy from Cortana, and he will be replaced with a new protagonist to continue the Halo story.
The Spirit of Fire
The big question regarding the Spirit of Fire is whether their story will directly tie into Halo Infinite. I mentioned earlier that they now have a couple tentacles that are reaching out to the broader Halo narrative, but whether they go further than some indirect influence is up for debate. Personally, I think we will see the Spirit of Fire in an Infinite campaign DLC, and I think that for a couple reasons.
Assuming what I predicted above about the Infinity comes true, there will be a narrative hole regarding supporting characters. The Spirit of Fire can easily fill the role of the Infinity, and Captain Cutter would be a fantastic replacement to Lasky. The Spirit of Fire even has a witty smart AI in Isabel who would serve as a replacement to Roland and even Cortana before she became the villain.
What I find even more compelling about the Spirit of Fire being brought in as a replacement to Infinity is Spartan-II Red Team. The leader of Red Team, Jerome-092, is a charismatic character, known for infiltrating the Enduring Conviction along with Isabel and single-handedly managing to destroy the CAS-class assault carrier. If that doesn’t seem like some Master Chief and Cortana-level badassery, I don’t know what does.
I guess what I am trying to say is I think the Spirit of Fire and its crew are going to become the primary focus of the main Halo story. Getting to this point will require time to introduce these characters to the general audience, as well as time to wrap up the story of Master Chief and Cortana, but by the time Halo Infinite is ready to be sunset, Jerome-092 and his companion AI Isabel will be the protagonists, supported by Captain Cutter and the Spirit of Fire.
Rion Forge
Moving on a little bit from Halo Infinite, there are a few other plot threads that I expect to get wrapped up in the Halo universe, even though I don’t expect to see them in Infinite. The first is the story of the Spirit of Fire is how they ended up at the Ark in the first place. While some suspect Mendicant Bias is behind their sudden and unexpected appearance at Installation 00, I suspect Rion Forge and the Ace of Spades will be discovered to have been the ones to find and ultimately send the Spirit of Fire to the Ark.
How would this be possible? Well to be honest I am not sure, but I know they have the means. For one, the only person in the galaxy with a real desire to find the Spirit of Fire is Rion Forge since it was her father’s ship. She has partial knowledge of where the Spirit of Fire went following the Battle of the Etran Harborage, and now she has a partial Forerunner AI Little Bit to help her. Since Spark has left the story for Bastion, the only remaining plot point to close up on her journey is finding the Spirit of Fire. It seems clear that this will be the conclusion of her journey.
But that only gets Rion and the Ace of Spades to the Spirit of Fire. It doesn’t transport the Spirit of Fire to the Ark. For that to happen, a couple of other things would need to happen as well. For one, the Ace of Spades would need to acquire an additional slipspace drive or find some other means to transport the Spirit of Fire. They would also need a reason why they seemingly never contact the ship but decide to send it away. So how do you make sense of this?
With the start of the Created Conflict, this scenario starts to make more sense. There is a threat in the galaxy that is looking to make subservient any and all military forces, particularly those of the UNSC. Should Rion discover the actual location of the Spirit of Fire, and the Created manage to track the Ace of Spades, there could be no other choice than to send the Spirit of Fire away or risk discovery and capture. Perhaps the story ends on an even more poetic note. The Ace of Spaces, having finally discovered the Spirit of Fire after 28 years, realizes the Created are on their tail and have to act fast. Without an extra slipspace drive handy (they are quite expensive after all), Rion and the crew are left with a choice: give the Spirit of Fire their Forerunner-enhanced slipspace drive and send them to the only Forerunner facility outside of Cortana’s reach (and within the memory of Little Bit), or run, leaving the Spirit of Fire to fend for themselves. Wanting to honor her father’s sacrifice for the safety of the Spirit of Fire crew, Rion decides to give up her slipspace drive and sends the Spirit of Fire away somewhere safe. Rion and the Ace of Spades, meanwhile, are left adrift in between stars, forced to put themselves into cryo and hope they are rescued eventually.
Of course I made this whole scenario up, but it really would put quite a ribbon on the character arcs that are Rion and John Forge.
Veta Lopis’ Ferrets
What will happen with Veta Lopis and the Ferrets? Their story arc is at a nice stopping point, but it isn’t exactly complete. When we left them in Divine Wind they were debriefing with the Spirit of Fire over the Ark, Mark was dead, but the rest of the team was carrying on. They seemingly managed to stop Intrepid Eye for good, though Castor still remains as a threat. While I have suspicions that the Spirit of Fire story will be reborn in Halo Infinite, I suspect this is the last we will hear from the Ferrets for a while. Of course I could get proven wrong tomorrow with the announcement of a new book featuring the team, but I suspect that plot thread will be put to rest, at least for the next couple years.
Beyond that I really don’t know what will happen to Veta and the Ferrets. They are too loved as characters to just be dropped entirely, but there isn’t some clear path the team needs to go on right now. If I had to guess, and that is kind the entire point of this article, we will see the Ferrets again in a few years on Zeta Halo, having been brought to Installation 07 with the Spirit of Fire. We won’t see them in Infinite directly, but we will get another couple books from them, and possibly some hints of their existence via data pads and other collectibles in a future Infinite campaign DLC.
Atropos - Cutting the Threads
“Atropos cuts the thread and Death arrives.
Birth and death, cradle and grave... And the rest is silence...”
By this point I think I have managed to touch on every major unresolved plot thread in the current Halo universe and given my predictions for where they may be headed. But to summarize, I started with the question, “Where will the Halo universe be in ten years?”. So looking all the way ahead through Halo Infinite and all its possible campaigns released between now and 2030, where will the Halo universe be by the end? Who’s thread will still be being measured, and whose will have been cut?
For quick reference, I’ve boiled down my predictions to a list of emojis, so anyone reading this can wave it in my face when all of this doesn’t come to pass. 💀 means the character/faction/vessel will die/collapse/be destroyed sometime between now and the eventual end of Halo Infinite around 2030. ✔️ means the character/faction/vessel is still around and is playing a significant role in the Halo story.
Halo in 2030 - Who Will Remain?
💀 Cortana
💀 Created
💀 Atriox
💀 Banished
✔️The Covenant
✔️The Flood
✔️The Precursors
💀 Infinity
✔️Spirit of Fire
💀 Lasky
💀 Palmer
💀 Roland
💀 Locke
💀 Master Chief
💀 The Weapon
✔️Jerome-092
✔️Isabel
Some of this seems pretty obvious, while other parts I am sure to get a lot of pushback over. I am going to stand by my predictions, though. It will be an exciting ten years of Halo Infinite, but we will see the end of Cortana and the Master Chief. Chief will be forced to do whatever it takes to save humanity, even if it means dispensing with Cortana himself. That means the Created will be gone as well, though perhaps not any yet-unseen puppet master behind the curtain. Atriox and the Banished will be finally neutralized, but a old threat, the Covenant, led by the San’shyuum and their Prelates, will return to the fore and be the major threat in the galaxy once more.
At some point between now and then, the Flood will return, and their presence will likely remain beyond Halo Infinite. This will lead to the return of the Precursors in some form, though their story arc won’t get resolved until well after the next Halo game is released.
The Infinity will be destroyed early on, replaced at some point down the line with the Spirit of Fire. The Weapon will also see her eventual demise, probably along with the final acts of Master Chief’s story. In to replace both John-117 and The Weapon/Cortana will be Jerome-092 and Isabel, the former with a convenient promotion from Senior Chief Petty Officer to Master Chief Petty Officer.
