Sharquoi

The Sharquoi, previously known as Drinol,Twitter - Marcus LehtoTwitter - Marcus Lehto are a rarely encountered alien species. They possess phenomenal strength but little intellect and were used by the Forerunners and Covenant for their brute force.Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Disc - Behind the Scenes: Making of Halo 2
==Biology==
The Sharquoi are a species of animal that stood approximately 5 meters tall and had thick grey skin and purple blood. Above each hand, they possess two bony spikes, which can be used as brutal melee instruments in combat. Despite lacking intelligence, they are immensely powerful due to their strength and size. Their bodies can survive immense duress, and some have been known to survive several direct hits from rocket-propelled grenades and have blown tanks with their hands.Halo: Envoy - p.231 Instead of an eye, they possess a fleshy patch on their foreheads, which emits a "thrumming" sound that allows them to map out their surroundings through echolocation. They're not a sapient species, and without anyone controlling them, they are described as little more than stupid and feral beasts, but with the control system, their master can see what they see and even speak through them.Halo: Envoy - p.253 Sharquoi are also immune to Flood infection.
==History==
===Forerunner-Flood war===
Due to their ability to resist Flood infection, they were used by the Forerunners as a means to combat the parasite during the Forerunner-Flood war. Devices were implanted into the skulls of hundreds of thousands of Sharquoi, which connected them all to a neural network. This network allowed them to be controlled through a device known as the Vertex. The wielder of the Vertex could control each individual Sharquoi's actions, and also view the world through their senses.
The Sharquoi likely proved ineffective against the Flood, as those with the implants that controlled them were placed in stasis and abandoned in several Forerunner facilities, at some point before the firing of the Halo Array. They were referred to as one of the Forerunners' darkest secrets, perhaps due to the fact that enslaving them in such a way violated the Mantle of Responsibility.
===Human-Covenant war===
After the firing of the Halo Array, several Sharquoi storages were left behind. One was uncovered on planet Onyx, where a single one slaughtered fifty ODST. The UNSC was forced to nuke the hive to contain the Sharquoi, and the Sangheili also glassed it.Halo: Envoy-p.180 
===Post-war===
After the Covenant-Human War, a second Sharquoi storage was found on planet Carrow, and an Jiralhanae Chieftain, named Hekabe managed to control and unleash an army of them against the planet's human and Sangheili's colonists, but thanks to the joint work of a Sangheili commander and the Spartan Gray Team, he was killed and the nest, nuked.Halo: Envoy-p.348
==Behind the Scenes==
The Sharquoi (then called Drinol) were cut during development of both Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 in the pre-Xbox stages of Halo's development, the Drinol were a fully coded and animated enemy, but were scrapped some time after Bungie was acquired by Microsoft, and so never made it into the final game. The idea was to be revived, and implemented in Halo 2, but the idea was eventually given up on again. Nevertheless, a reference to the Sharquoi was retained in the Conversations from the Universe booklet, despite their absence from the game.
==Trivia==
*Their original name, Drinol, is a reference to the Drinniol in Marathon, who inspired their design.
==Gallery==
Drinol sketchs.png|Sharquoi concept art.
Drinol Fight Pose.png|Concept fight pose.
Drinol_in_Pre-Xbox_Halo.png|A Sharquoi in pre-Xbox Halo.
Drinolbig.jpg|A render of a Sharquoi against a white background.
Pre-HCE_ConceptRenders_CreaturesVehicles.jpeg|The Sharquoi (listed as "Drinol") with other deleted content from pre-Halo: Combat Evolved.
Sharquoi Paul Russel.png|The same image, cropped.
3 mural.jpg|A Covenant mural depicting a Sharquoi, among other species.
==Appearances==
*Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) 
*Halo 2 (2004) 
**Conversations from the Universe, 2004 
*Halo: Envoy (2017) 
==Sources==
es:Drinol
Category:Covenant Species
Category:Halo 2 cut content