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The Forerunners (Latin Primoris prognatus, meaning "Firstborn") were an ancient species of extremely technologically advanced beings whose empire—known as the ecumene—encompassed three million fertile worlds in the Milky Way Galaxy.
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— The Ur-Didact
The Forerunners (Latin Primoris Prognatus meaning "first born") were once a highly advanced and ancient Tier 1 species whose empire, the Ecumene, was spread across three million fertile worlds in the Milky Way galaxy approximately 100,000 years ago. The Forerunners were the creators and builders of many significant installations, including the Halo Array, the Ark, and the Shield Worlds, as well as numerous lesser artifacts later found on many worlds.[citation needed]
The Forerunners had taken up a role as custodians of the galaxy and believed that the "Mantle of Responsibility," the center of their society and culture, had been passed down to them by the Precursors, an even more powerful race that preceded the Forerunner civilization. "Forerunner" is a literal translation of the species' name for themselves; they identified themselves as such because they believed that they held an impermanent place in the universe's Living Time and that they would be succeeded by other, better races. Before their disappearance from the galaxy, the Forerunners would name humanity their successors, identifying them with the title "Reclaimer."[citation needed]
The alien alliance known as the Covenant worshiped the Forerunners as gods, deriving much of their technology from Forerunner artifacts found throughout the galaxy, and believing any who defaced these relics to be Heretics.
Early History and Origins
Around 15 million years BCE, the Precursors seeded the Forerunners on the world known as Ghibalb, described as a paradise, which would become their nascent homeworld. However, after the Forerunners' early experiments in stellar engineering ended in disaster, resulting in a series of novas in the Orion complex, the planet became desolate and scoured with radiation.
Custodians of the Galaxy
The Forerunners were a very advanced civilization, coming to power after the destruction of the Precursors, who were presumed to have created the Forerunners in order to continue the Mantle of Responsibility. Soon after, the Forerunners became the dominant species in the galaxy, their empire spanning over three million fertilized and inhabited worlds. The Forerunners reached the peak of their civilization approximately 150,000 BCE. Their civilization was based around the Mantle of Responsibility, the belief that it was the Forerunners' duty to protect all life in the galaxy. They presumably monitored the evolution of other sentient species throughout the galaxy, intervening in ways that ensured their civilizations would follow paths of peace, free of conflict. One such occasion is the devolution of the human empire to prevent further conflict emanating from what they considered a "violent species." The Forerunners themselves were a race almost entirely without conflict, and at some point in their history reached a point of disarmament, believing they no longer needed weapons in their rule of the galaxy, which ultimately weakened them when the Flood attacked.
The Forerunners were quite similar to humans, but also share traits with the San'Shyuum. The differences from either of these species is that Forerunners have a pale complexion and black sclera. As the Librarian and the Didact are Forerunners, a more accurate description can be drawn from them.[citation needed] Generally, all Forerunner were upright bipeds with two legs.
Forerunner customs required that they wear armor or combat skins at all times. Forerunner-manufactured armor protects its user both physically and medically, and impacts some of their biological attributes both positively and negatively, such as increased age/extended life among other races.
Forerunner mutation to rates, also affected the characteristics of a Forerunner; these traits apparently range from increased height to an additional thumb on each hand.[citation needed]
There were six known rates: the Lifeworkers, the Warrior-Servants, the Builders, the Miners, the Engineers and the Juridicals. Manipulars were juvenile Forerunners not yet mutated into a rate. Theoreticals were a rate of scientists that were dissolved after the Human-Forerunner war. Counting the Theoreticals, there were a total of seven rates.[citation needed]
Forerunner technology was highly cultivated and progressive. They managed to create solidified surfaces out of meticulous energy, construct a Halo-wide teleportation grid, and create and utilize a number of other advanced machinery. Forerunner machinery consists of many sharp angles of a metallic like crystal reinforced on a molecular level. The Halo rings themselves, the Micro-Dyson Mark II sphere, which is connected through a portal to the shield world Onyx and the Ark, are above all others, the most significant pieces of Forerunner technology. The planet Onyx in particular demonstrates both their ability for engineering on a grand scale, and their near transcendent grasp of slipspace technology. The Forerunners can also "devolve" a species back to a primitive state. It is unknown how much of their technology is based on the technology of the Precursors, if any.
Covenant Luminaries (which are actually stolen Forerunner equipment designed to detect other Forerunner objects) can detect Humans, previously mislabeled as "Forerunner Artifacts," leading to the initial Human-Covenant contact which sparked a seemingly endless war.
Art and Architecture
Forerunner architecture is noted mainly for being large-scale and geometric in style, with a semi-triangular theme being the most commonly observed design. The Forerunners were highly skilled at creating natural-looking habitats, such as those of the Halo rings, which tend to be very elaborate, with numerous extrapolations of the basic design of a construct appearing to be purely decorative. In addition, the structures were engineered to compliment the natural landscape, as opposed to the modern idea of replacing it. That said, their distinctive beauty are not restricted to Halo Array network. The Aztec-esque stones of Cote D'Azur, the arches and weathered inscriptions of Sigma Octanus IV, the intricate caverns and three-kilometer holographic dome beneath ONI's Reach complex, the ancient stepping-stones of the Unggoy's homeworld, and the Forerunner City discovered in the depths of the human-inhabited Onyx, all display the Forerunner's innovative architectures. Most Forerunner architecture is constructed with a special type of metal that resists deterioration, bullets, plasma bolts and fire, as made evident by Forerunner structures standing in pristine condition 100,000-150,500 years after they were built. However their resistance to plasma fire is limited; in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx the Sangheili blasted a hole in a Forerunner wall with plasma weapons. In Halo 2, Sgt. Avery Johnson destroyed the door to the control room of Delta Halo with a Scarab. It should also be noted that the Flood attempted to melt a metal gate in a tunnel using Covenant weapons in order to attack UNSC troops on Installation 04. Other structures are constructed out of traditional materials, such as chalcedonic quartz, which does not preserve nearly so well. These structures employ complex geometric shapes that appear to operate in dimensions higher than human understanding can comprehend. The Forerunners also decorated the interiors of their structures with a complex web of engraved straight lines and applied decorative touches and designs to nearly everything that they built, from structures to weapons. Even the Sentinel robotic drones possess small holographic Forerunner script around their "eyes." Forerunner architecture distinguishes itself from Covenant structures in that they incorporate heavy use of geometric angles, usually at either extremely sharp degrees (as the Forerunner buildings are usually triangular), or at forty-five degree angles, most notably seen in Halo: Combat Evolved . Originally, the ideas and concepts on Forerunner structures and technology was that it would be sleek and curved to give it an advanced feel. However, Bungie wanted the structures to feel as if they could stand the test of time and redesigned them to be solid and monolithic. The smooth, near-organic design would later be adopted by the Covenant in their architecture, although they did not adopt the Forerunner tradition of decorating their structures with glyphs. In Halo Wars, the Forerunner counting system is used to open and close portals on the last level.
Forerunner Glyphs and Symbols
The Forerunner glyphs seem to be based on a series of circular, complex shapes. The glyphs have been inscribed almost everywhere Forerunners were once present, from different areas on Earth, to the Halos. They were also known to inscribe these glyphs and symbols onto their weapons, machinery, and clothing; a practice that the Covenant also copied, evident with the Forerunner symbols placed on the hilt of the Energy Sword and on the Sangheili Combat Harness. The only Forerunner glyph that has been translated is the "reclaimer" symbol, which also happens to be the logo of the Marathon series and a recurring image in the Halo universe. Though it was originally misinterpreted by the Covenant to mean "reclamation"; this mistake was brought to light by the fragment of 032 Mendicant Bias aboard the Forerunner Dreadnought that was located inside of High Charity at the time.
Religious Inspiration
The Covenant consider the Forerunners to be gods and referred to them as "the Ancients." The Covenant believed that the Forerunners disappeared from the galaxy after the Halo Array elevated the Forerunner to a state of trans-sentient godhood. As such, the Covenant have sought after and appropriated many Forerunner technologies and artifacts; these searches led to the Covenant discovering the human colony of Harvest, leading directly to the Human-Covenant war. The most holy of these artifacts, the Sacred Rings or Halo Installations, were seen as the means by which the Forerunners ascended into divinity. The Covenant believed themselves to be the chosen inheritors of the Forerunners' legacy, and by locating and activating the Halo Array, the Covenant believed that they too could follow the Forerunners into godhood. This is referred to as the "Great Journey" by the Covenant races. After the fragmentation of the Covenant some Sangheili no longer believed of the Forerunners godlike status, questioning how they could wipe themselves from existence and the true meaning of their structures.
•The Forerunners were the main focus of the alternate reality game, Iris.
•Forerunner is also a rank in Halo: Reach.
•Forerunners have a significant appearance in Halo 4, particularly the Ur-Didact, who served as the game's main antagonist.
•The Forerunners upheld the Mantle and therefore only ate a vegetarian diet, as it was against their beliefs of the Mantle to harm other living beings.
1.Halo Waypoint, Universe - 2.Halo: Cryptum - 3.Halo 4 - 4.Halo 3 Limited and Legendary Edition - 5.Forerunners on Halo Waypoint
6.Halo Encyclopedia - 7.Halo: Cryptum - 8.Halo: Cryptum - 9.Halo: Cryptum - 10.Halo Encyclopedia - 11.Halo Encyclopedia - 12.Halo: Cryptum - 13.Halo 2 - 14.Halo 3 - 15.Ascendant Justice's analysis on the terminals - 16.Halo Encyclopedia - 17.Halo: Combat Evolved - 18.Halo Encyclopedia - 19.Halo: Cryptum - 20.Bestiarum: "DNA/RNA/Silicon samples are encoded in this data stream. Reproduction of individuals for analysis is prohibited by this facility."
21.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx - 22.Halo Legends - 23.Halo 4 Weaponry
24.Halo: Cryptum - 25.Halo: Cryptum - 26.Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide - 27.Halo 3 - The Ark,
Dec 8, 2021 · The Forerunners are an ancient race of hyper-advanced aliens whose vast Empire spanned entire galaxies. They were technologically advanced to such a degree as to seem almost godlike, and with substantially extended lifespans they would rule most of the galaxy for several millennia, leaving their influence and achievements on multiple worlds.
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- Their Ancilla, Mendicant Bias, Betrayed Them. Forerunners created AIs just as humanity eventually did, too. Their AIs were called ancillas. The Forerunner's primary ancilla was called Mendicant Bias.
- Two Didacts Existed. This might sound confusing, but there were two Didacts alive at one point. The Ur-Didact was the original Didact, and he is the one that Master Chief encounters in Halo 4.
- Humanity's Devolution Is The Forerunners' Fault. When humanity first ran into the Flood on their planets, they aggressively expanded onto other worlds.
- They Created The Flood. Eventually, the Forerunners rose up against their makers, the Precursors. What was left of the Precursors after they were destroyed turned into dust.
Mar 19, 2024 · The Forerunners were the galaxy's dominant species fifteen million years before the Halo series' events. Their biological traits are slightly vague. The Forerunners were humanoid, or at...
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The Forerunners, an advanced bipedal species, nurtured their civilization for a staggering span of over ten million years. Tragically, their enduring legacy met its somber end in the year 97,445 BCE at the hands of the relentless Flood.
Nov 2, 2021 · The Forerunners were humanity’s biggest rivals and serve as the primary antagonists in 343 Industries’ Halo games. They were positioned to be the Precursors’ original successors, and,...
