Rausaro

Just taking up shelf room and keeping utterly useless and fairly useful things in them.

I'd probably go with the Baterra...they sounded interesting.

I found Kongu's Matoran arm in a parking lot once.

Personally, I thought the Huna had the best design, especially in how it gave off a tribal look.

Requiem IS

A Weapon. It's a Shield World... they were designed to be capable of destroying other worlds, but without destroying all life in the galaxy, according to Primordial and Cryptum. As for the Didact wanting to kill humans as "Flood food", why would he do that? The Flood aren't, as of now, invading, and the whole purpose of Halo and the Shield Worlds was to preserve biological diversity. Anyway, Frank O Connor described him as a noble hero character with complicated motivations. I wonder if the main enemy is really one of the "Other Servants" that the Primordial mentioned...perhaps another Precursor or Gravemind? I've heard rumors that Requiem is a "Prison" and that the Didact is the guardian of it.

What is concerning, as a recent Halo encylopedia I read implied, is that there might be over 400+ Shield worlds at large. The unnamed Halo Wars World was labeled in the book as Shield Inst. 0495, if I recall correctly.

Huh, I thought Shield worlds were destined to preserve life in them by shielding beings from the Halo effect.Whatever,

if the Didact is the guardian of a prison, why should he never be awoken? He instead should be always up, vigilant.Anyways, I actually read that Primordial was a Gravemind itself.

Well, as of what I've read, Precursors may be involved in Flood's origins. It's not sure, as far as I know. But, yeah, Precursors' hints may be present. Do not forget Didact spent "some" time with the Timeless One!I remember seeing a script saying ( story spoilers, beware! )

"Requiem. That's where the Didact was hidden. That's where they say he waits.""He tried to fight the flood. He tried to destroy the humans.""Didact sleeps and must never be woken."This leads me to assuming that he presuambly larnt something very powerful from that Precursor. And maybe Didact's way of thinking doesn't differ much from the school of thought "If we kill Flood's food, they'll die", typical of the Forerunners. Maybe Requiem is another giant weapon?

What is concerning, as a recent Halo encylopedia I read implied, is that there might be over 400+ Shield worlds at large. The unnamed Halo Wars World was labeled in the book as Shield Inst. 0495, if I recall correctly.

You did read Cryptum and Primordial, right? The Flood have LONG been confirmed as

Extra Galactic organisms from another Galaxy. Until we find the true source of the flood (probably the Precursors), the flood have not been "defeated". Even the Forerunners thought they would return from the rim of the Galaxy, hence why they kept flood specimens in stasis on Halo. We've only dealt with localized breakouts.

As for that, I actually did forget that the multiplayer was simulated on the Infinity. But it dawned on me... they could appear in Spartan Ops, or be a reference

To the initial exploration and investigation of Gamma Halo, (03) that's referenced on the Pioneer and Defender armor descriptions. perhaps some of these new spartans were infected and fought UNSC forces, hence their appearance in a training simulator?

I didn't read any of the books, bit I know something thanks to the Halo online encyclopedia.

Uhm, didn't know about that Gamma Halo thing, but it makes sense. Though, the fact that blocks me from liking that feature is that, if I recall correctly, Flood were meant to be part of the original trilogy and not of the Reclaimer's. 343i stated that the Flood wouldn't be there in Halo 4, but, look what we have here, Flood-infected Spartans in multiplayer.

Crucible of Fire by Naomi Novik. Brilliant Dragonrider series that merges the Napoleonic Wars with believable dragons.

That does have significant story implications.

Uh, yeah. It's potentially a massive plot spoiler. >.> I clicked on the picture thinking it had no plot spoilers. This highly indicates

A flood presence on Requiem. If it's in Multiplayer, there's a chance it's in the game.

As for spoilers, did anyone see the IGN review of the Campaign? They loved it. (Campaign spoilers ahead)

First Mission is called "Dawn" and the third is called "Forerunner". Also, Assassinations are back in Campaign. I was truly impressed by the Anti-Forerunner assassination move... the Chief rips the scythe arm off of a Promethean and rams it through it's thorax.Also, seems that at least one new enemy is confirmed: Sentinel Turrets of some sort.

@Emperor: That piece you just mentioned was actually discovered on a piece of script... apparently, a page was visible in a trailer, and someone got a zoom in of it.

I wonder if Cortana gets an artificial body through Forerunner tech?

I don't like the thing UK mentioned. In my opinion, it just sounds stupid. I hope it won't make it into the game, both multi or single player.

Flood have been defeated in the original trilogy, so why bringing them back?

@Rausaro: I know. As for that being possible, it doesn't make sense to me, seems exaggerated, though it would be very exciting.

as for Assasinations, did you see the Crawler Assassination? It's fantastic, in my opinion. Chief grabs the head of the Crawler while this one's running here and there, then cracks it by turning it.

Also, seems like no new Covenant weapons have been created.

As for that, I actually did forget that the multiplayer was simulated on the Infinity. But it dawned on me... they could appear in Spartan Ops, or be a reference

That does have significant story implications.

As for spoilers, did anyone see the IGN review of the Campaign? They loved it. (Campaign spoilers ahead)

@Emperor: That piece you just mentioned was actually discovered on a piece of script... apparently, a page was visible in a trailer, and someone got a zoom in of it.

Just caught up on Kokoro Connect and Sword Art Online, episode 9 of KC was quite good, and I'm really curious about what Heartseed will do next, and now that SAO is back on the main story, it's much better. The fight with Kirito and Heathcliff should be rather good.And once I finish Fate/Zero (still have about 4-5 episodes left, haven't really been watching anything besides Simulcasts recently), I'm probably going to watch Freezing, looks interesting from the trailers.

I could be that the symbol appeared because of the information she got from Installation 04, she also mentioned something about how taking in all that information shortened her estimated life span (In First Strike).

In the Vidoc, she mentions "the Symbol for Reclaimer". I'm curious if the Didact, btw, is an AI like the rest, or if he's in a corporeal body?

From what I heard...

The Didact's original body was already killed off over 100,000 years ago, but there is a way to transfer at least your memories (possibly your personality and/or conscious too). That is what he did long ago, but I also heard that the Forerunner suits allow one to live for an exponentially long amount of time.

@ Wotz; Well that's a strange interpretation. Oh, and nice Daleks.

Again, the Dragonborn has the power to completely quench that power by destroying a charismatic asset of the Thalmor.They want to weaken the Empire, as it represents the largest bastion of human power. While Awfully written, the two books hint at this. Likewise, it was stated that the whole Hammerfell being "rejected" by the empire was also a part of the Thalmor Plan. They intended for it to happen, and thus weaken their primary. One of the greatest rules of war is to "Divide and destroy".As for the "if the war is over, the Thalmor plan is roadblocked". Not necessarily; they still weakened Humanities primary empire, and split the power into two warring factions, while cutting off Highrock from Imperial reinforcements in Cryodill.#1. Self sufficient, you say? I was under the impression that it relied heavily on trade cities such as Riften and Solitude. As for Ulfric, I'm not truly sure he would have the forsight for that. After all, he didn't seem to care/know that creating a massive ruckus in Markarth would result in his Nord Brethren suddenly being hauled away in the night for worshipping Talos.#2. I do think it matters. If Skyrim was lost, I do think the superiors would take notice. I gather that they want to waste as few soldiers for the upcoming blow against the Thalmor as possible... and thus they had to rely on a smaller expeditionary force. Seeing as a Free Skyrim utterly destroys the Imperial Supply lines to High Rock, I think they would have enough reason to wage a desperate war to stay intact.#3. We've only seen them sustain themselves when trade was still present. We haven't seen what would happen if ALL of the farmers were drafted for the war against the combined forces of the Aldemeri Dominion, Valenwood and Elsweyr.For that last line, what? Having a Border would be much more useful in developing a counterblow. If Humanity is to win, they need to strike back at the Thalmor, not be isolated in a frozen, boxed in country to the North sandwiched between multiple hostile nations.Perhaps. The US and Britain didn't have a mutual Enemy, but much later in WWII the Russians and the US actually had combat engagements between each other before they had destroyed the Nazi's, especially in Yugoslavia, where the festering beginnings of the Cold War started to show.Yes, there may be counters, but you forget, the Thalmor have all classes of warriors, including the Khajiit and Wood Elves, who are among the best Archers in Tamriel. Not to mention, they defeated the dwindling Snow Elves, not the High Elves, Khajiit, and Wood Elves all at once. As for the Imagination, I could imagine anything. That's not the point. The College is stated to be a faction that avoids the conflict, and again, remember that the Nords despise mages and call them "Weak"? With the large number of elves they have, they'd probably be dismissed by the "True Nords" as "Thalmor Spies"."Overall, I think that a liberated Skyrim under the rule of Ulfric Stormcloak would be the strongest country to be in a war against the Thalmor. Especially when that means a much strengthened continuation of Talos worship, which the Thalmor want to end. And hopefully, the Empire will also decide they don't need to follow the Concordant, and just butcher every single Elf in Cyrodiil, deciding that if the Nords can do it, then they will too."^ In response: Skyrim was a Talos Alcove safely tucked away from notice, thanks to the intentionally turned head of the Empire. Ulfric's actions brought in the Thalmor, and allowed them to draw out the last bastions of Talos worship so they can finish wiping out the elusive followers. Ulfric's actions have brought nothing but ruin on Skyrim, to be honest. And if you pay attention to dialogue from the Imperials, (who have multiple top leaders that Worship Talos) you can tell that the Concordat will be abolished...when they have consolidated their forces. Not before. As for the last line, read "The Great War". It details how powerful the dominion is, and how simply "abolishing" a rule before a considerable force would be folly.

You really like calling him an asset, don't you? Look, your character is a Thalmor asset. If you pulled up Thalmor Dossier: Dragonborn, that's exactly what it would say - Asset. Uncooperative.Not really. The Empire isn't any stronger right now than Hammerfell or Skyrim.They split their power into two warring factions that... aren't warring. Huh. If the war is over, they're not at war. The only objective in this war from the pro-human viewpoint is ending it, Stormcloak or Imperial. That's the largest blow you can strike to the Elves. And I do believe that High Rock and Cyrodiil would continue trading, though with heavy taxes imposed by the Nords. And, in the event that the Empire was at war with the Thalmor, Ulfric Stormcloak wouldn't try to cause them problems. It would be illogical - if you do that, it helps the elves. The Empire might even beat them if you don't get in their way, though it's a longshot. And if they don't, then the Elves are just that much weaker when they do reach Skyrim. I don't know if you're thinking Ulfric took Intelligence as his dump stat or something, but I always had the impression he was quite intelligent and a good tactician. He's not going to let a grudge against a defeated Empire get in the way of thinking - especially not with allies such as the Dragonborn, or Galmar Stonefist, who clearly just wants to do whatever hurts the Elves the most - even if it means helping the Empire.#1. Why do you immediately assume Ulfric didn't intend for that. When the Thalmor started taking people, it showed just how bad they were. A few Nords were lost, sure, but a lot more would have seen the Thalmor going berserk in their own country. It just helped to bolster the Stormcloak Rebellion. And as for the trade - it was a major soruce of goods, but not a necessary one. The country could handle itself, though it would be sacrificing a number of conveniances. And, again - the trade would continue anyways.#2. A desparate war when they're already fighting one? That makes no sense. Look, the Empire attempting to retake Skyrim just doesn't make any clear sense. Neither side would be that stupid when they have the Thalmor at their doorstep. The idea you're suggesting is, "Hey! If we beat them, they'll become our soldiers! Let's throw away half of ours just to take theirs! Then we both lose hundreds of men, but hey, at least in the end we'll have exactly the same number. Woot!"#3. Because that's what happens, right? Skyrim already has a pretty strong military, and it's going to get stronger over time once the entire nation is united. There's still going to be farmers out in the fields. It will be hard, yes, but it's a fight that can be won.That's now what I mean. I'm saying your comparison didn't really work. And actually, the border doens't work as well as you think. The Wood Elves and Khajiit are notoriously dangerous in jungled areas, which makes battle in their homelands very dangerous. As opposed to Skyrim, where both are at a major disadvantage in their traditional fighting tecniques. In addition, Skyrim being further away means it's more defensible - getting supplies for the Elven troops would be much harder.Yeah, but even in the present time, the Empire and Skyrim still have a far better relationship based on blood and tradition than, say, the US and Russia, who were never exactly traditional allies who jumped to each others aid at a moments notice. Unless I missed that part of my history lesson..... and who is the Dragonborn? Oh, right, the Archmage. I'm sure that the Nords are going to call somebody who can use the Thu'um and kill off Alduin the World-Eater weak. Pretty much whatever you imagine your character saying should happen, will happen. Maybe it won't in the canon, but the thing is, it's an RPG. And you have to look at things from the way your character would handle it. Which, in this case, actually involves J'Zargo mounted on an Ancient Dragon and bringing ultimate death.~Yeah, sure - if the Empire wins. If the Stormcloaks win, free Talos worship, and no Thalmor to stop it. Now, with the War over, the weakened Empire will withdraw from Skyrim and do their consolidating. Less to work with than before, but at least they can get prepared for the storm. Skyrim will do the same thing, of course. As will Hammerfell. Overall, the Human nations will be (mostly) divided, but each as individually as strong as they could be in that way. Perhaps they will unite during the war against the Thalmor, though not as a single Empire, but closer to Gondor and Rohan against the forces of Sauron. Or perhaps not. No matter what happens, though, the Elves will be beat. The good guy always wins, after all, especially when he has an army of dragons.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

I could be that the symbol appeared because of the information she got from Installation 04, she also mentioned something about how taking in all that information shortened her estimated life span (In First Strike).

Sorry, I've been pretty busy lately; so pardon me if my response is a little delayed...I actually think killing Ulfric will solve the internal issues, as many characters in the game stated that the Empire completely ignored Talos worship until Ulfric started creating a ruckus over it. He IS the source of the internal issues.Key thing: I never said he was willing or knowing agent. It's stated in game that the Thalmor convinced him the Empire was bad... He only came to that conclusion after they manipulated him. The Dossier States that "Obviously Ulfric's death would have dramatically increased the chance of an Imperial Victory and thus harmed out overall position in Skyrim.I think the Thalmor engineered the war to weaken a crucial pillar of Imperial might, and also several a major source of Imperial troops.I understand what you are stating about the geographical aspect, but you might have missed some other important things: #1. Trade. The Xenophobic behavior of the Stormcloaks, and Ulfric in particular could potentially isolate Skyrim from all Neighboring countries, and severely impact trade. High Rock and Cyrodill would undoubtedly be hostile, and Morrowind would likely not have warm relations, especially with the poor treatment of Dark Elves in the Stormcloak Capital of Windhelm. As a Desert, Hammerfell would not likely be a great trading source, either.#2. Postion. While it's true that Skyrim might be a fairly defensible location, remember that an Independent Skyrim actually cuts off the supply lines of Imperial High Rock and Cryodill. In other words, it's pinned right between two large imperial regions, one at the northwest, and the other along most of the Southern Border. In other words, a two front war.#3. Economics. I highly doubt that Skyrim would be able to support sustained conflict for a prolonged period of time, seeing as most of the country is actually Tundra, not exactly the bread bowl of Tamriel. If trade was cut off from the south by the Imperials in anger over the death of the Military Governor....Actually, it would be a perfect reflection of historical battles. Germany lost critical land, such as the Rhineland and parts of what became Poland in WWI, and it didn't take them long to try and regain them.Yes, the Dragonborn would be useful as an emperor, but I would probably be satisfied to leave him as the lieutenant of Tullius, on the Battlefield where he's needed.It definitely will result in some sort of Trade based punishment. As for it being all fine and dandy, remember that even after the Revolutionary War, we still had issues with Britain abducting sailors, and they did invade in the War of 1812 and even burned down the capital... As late at the 1860s they were acting as a major support to the South in the Civil war... it was very uneasy for a time. Time, which I believe, Skyrim doesn't have. The War is coming again very soon, according to that Thalmor Officer in Markarth.Uh, yeah, the elves will do much worse. They have magic, and the Nords ironically disown and refuse to accept other Nords that seek to learn magic skills. Ever notice the Thalmor vs Stormcloak battles? The Thalmor always curbstomp the Nords with Magic spells, for which the Stormcloaks have no counter. On the other hand, It is confirmed that the Empire uses mages, spellswords, and Battlemages in their forces.For me, personally, I have issues with both sides, but ultimately, I think the Empire is the only faction that can truly bring the fight home to the Thalmor, and hopefully liberate the Thalmor puppet states of Elsweyr and Valenwood. I have no problem with an eventual independent Skyrim; but now is the worst possible time.

A tiny spark can create a massive fire. You can try to remove that spark, but it's already spread too large. The fire will keep burning and spreading.Of course the Thalmor are a major factor behind the War starting. But you're wrong about one thing here - they don't want to weaken the Empire. They want to weaken all of the races of men. They want to kill everybody that isn't an Elf. By making the Imperials and Nords fight, their position advances. But no matter who wins, the war is over. And if the war is over, the Thalmor plan is roadblocked.Now then -#1. So you think they won't continue trade? Look, Skyrim is one of the largest producers in the Empire. It's also highly self sufficient, juding it based on what we've seen in-game. After all, it was the first kingdom of men, and they were able to keep it going back then. If the Empire cuts off trade, they would lose out on a lot of things. Skyrim wouldn't be put in nearly as bad of a place. However, both the Emperor (or whoever succeeds him.... heh) and Ulfric Stormcloak would know that it would be a mutual loss that would help the Thalmor. Trade would continue, one way or another.#2. Again, the Empire lost a lot of troops, and a general. If you listen to in-game dialogue, you can see that General Tullius is constantly being turned down reinforcements because they're all on the border watching the Elves. The Empire isn't going to waste more troops when they obviously don't have enough. It doesn't matter where somebody is if they're not trying to do anything to you.#3. But those cities are still able to sustain themselves.Now - hard to compare that to having your guards posted at the border of a land full of insane Nazi elves.It doesn't make sense that s/he would. But it would technically be hi/r birthright.But who won those wars? In addtion, Britain and the US were not, at the time, not fighting against a mutual enemy. If, say, the make believe country of Makebelievia in Africa that had fought them in the past and won, and now had servants based across Britan and the US, and control over say Wales, and could attack at any time, was in existance, then that would have changed things considerably. They wouldn't want to go to war if they had that enemy waiting on them. They'd go about their lives and hope they had more time to prepare, while preparing all they could.That's where you need to get creative and remember that you are playing the most important person in the game, who would be willing to get the Mages of Winterhold in and give them more power if it meant having a magical defense against the elves. Furthermore, even if the Nords don't use mages, they've fought them in the past, and know how to beat them. You can beat a mage without using magic, can't you? Besides, Nords do have archers, and an Archer can take out a Mage. Stick some Magicka Draining poison on the arrows and you've got yourself a useless Mage with an arrow in them.Overall, I think that a liberated Skyrim under the rule of Ulfric Stormcloak would be the strongest country to be in a war against the Thalmor. Especially when that means a much strengthened continuation of Talos worship, which the Thalmor want to end. And hopefully, the Empire will also decide they don't need to follow the Concordant, and just butcher every single Elf in Cyrodiil, deciding that if the Nords can do it, then they will too.My view involves a lot of dead Elves.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

Cortana was all corrupted in Halo 3, if she got enough attention she'd probably do something evil

It is clear that something is up with here, this was touched on in the trailer about how she is 8 years old, and her rather angry boast about how "you" will not leave the planet (though to be fair, it has not shown who she is speaking to). Though she already has gone rampant in 3 only to have it "suddenly" fixed. Also in Legends she has a flickering hologram, which unless that is merely the Forward Unto Dawn's power faltering, is also a minor trait of an AI in rampancy, or at the very least entering it.

That said, I do think Cortana is the best candidate for meta-stability. Having an AI matrix based off of the brightest mind of Humanity can only help, and I'm curious how interacting with more Forerunner AI tech will influence her...

Yes, but killing Ulfric won't end all internal issues. In addition, as has been defined previously, Ulfric is not a Thalmor agent. He's an asset because his survival guarantees the Stormcloak Rebellion continues, because the Thalmor want to see the War carry on. If the War continues, more humans die, and during that time, they're not recovering to fight the elves, they're just fighting.The best thing to do for Skyrim is to join with Ulfric and crush the Imperial presence. If humanity is to make a last stand against the Elves, they need to have a fortified place like it to do it from. Icy seas and mountains on all sides.As far as the Empire trying to take back Skyrim after losing their general and all of their men - that plan provides no military soundness in the very least. After you finish a war, you don't immediately try it a second time. Especially without a strong Emperor who's trying to conquer an entire Empire. Sure, if Tiber Septim popped back down and started rocking the military orders, the Empire would go for Skyrim and pretty much everything else, but we don't have a Tiber Septim. We do, however, have a Dragonborn.Frankly, your character is the best choice for Emperor due to birthright. Dragonborn Emperor much?Besides, the War won't put an end to trade. The Revolutionary War ended, and it didn't cause the US to stop trade with Great Britain. Over a century later, both countries were on the same side for two World Wars.And the Elves will do a lot worse than Mustard Gas.Now, finally, you're right about one thing. Skyrim leaving isn't in the best interests of the Empire. But, see, I don't care about the Mede ruled Empire, I care about what's in the best interests of Skyrim. And, of course, the world at large. Either the Empire or Skyrim gains power at the end of the war, and I choose it to be Skyrim. Simple as that.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

Yeah, I wouldn't say either side of the Civil War is great. Siding with the Empire, there's no guarantee they'll build up enough of a force to take on the Thalmor again. By the end of the war, their legions are still spread thin. On the other hand, as good at fighting as they are, I just can't see an independent Skyrim being able to stand against the Thalmor for very long. And while I see where they're coming from in feeling betrayed when the Empire surrendered, especially Ulfric, I think what they don't realize is that the Empire is pretty clearly just buying their time to fight the Thalmor again (which, as somebody mentioned above, Ulfric realizes in Sovngarde if he died before you go there). While I think the Empire could be going about biding their time in more effective ways, I feel like in the long run leaving them in charge is more beneficial in stopping those elves.

Either way, you need to do the Civil War quests to beat the Dominion. The war not having a winner is the Dominions goals. The way I see it, the Empire is better off without Skyrim. There's still bound to be plenty of survivng Stormcloaks to cause trouble, so if the Empire has Skyrim, they still have trouble in country. Get rid of the Empire, and Skyrim doesn't have any more internal problems. The Empire can focus on its borders. Skyrim can shore up on its defenses. Both sides are more prepared than before.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

Big Halo 4 Spoiler, be warned:

Did anyone hear that the Composer was confirmed to be in Halo 4 (or rather specifically, it was revealed to be the Achievement for beating the 7th level? I'm wondering if these are in fact Infected forerunners transformed and controlled by Nanites like the forerunners in Primordial?

Prometheans are AIs, pretty much like Cortana. They're defense AIs, as far as I know. But, how did you get that information?

Big Halo 4 Spoiler, be warned:

To be honest, I think it was mostly Norik. Matau and Nokama did play a major role, though.

I think the part that creeped me out as a kid was the implications of the several missing Ko-Matoran in the MNOLG in the hut wrecked by the Muaka....

Working on my Khajiit Werewolf right now. It's odd, using a battlemage build, but whatever, it works. Likewise, I wish there was a way to boost werewolf skills without having to eat people. Ie, I should be able to have the "Eat animals" perk right off....

Happy Birthday!