Zur ‘Vulcam

Art by gulags\_galore on Instagram

> “On the head of my fathers, and on the life of my children, I pledge loyalty to you.“ - Zur ‘Vulcam to Thel ‘Vadam on Sanghelios
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Zur ‘Vulcam, formerly Zur ‘Vulcamee, is a former member of the Covenant Empire from 2522 to The Great Schism in 2552. He would attain the rank of Zealot within the Covenant via supreme intellect and cunning, along with exceptional battle prowess and strategy. When the Sangheil-Jiralhanae war began resulting in the death of his father, Councilor ’Vulcamee, he sided with the Separatist and pledged loyalty to Thel ‘Vadam and his house.

## Biography

### Early Life

Zur was born in 2502 to a house that had it‘s roots in the tried and true story of rags-to-riches. The house of ‘Vulcam was not a noble one, nor a middle class. However this all changed when Zur’s father, Xero ‘Vulcam, rose in the Covenant’s ranks. With the loyalty of his men, and the acknowledgment from the Prophets themselves, Xero was appointed a Ship Master, and eventually became a Councilor of the Covenant. With his father’s approval always being his sole objective Zur would train his body to it’s limits time and time again until he was ready to join the Covenant.

Zur started as all young Sangheili do: as a Minor. He would be shaped and molded on the battlefield wholeheartedly believing in the promise of the Great Journey and the words of the Prophets, not once questioning them nor their methods. It was not until 2525 that Xero grew suspicions of the Covenant’s purpose and the truth behind the Great Journey when Ripa ‘Moramee, after his failed coup and escape attempt from prison, was appointed Arbiter by the High Prophet of Regret; however he would keep these questions and suspicions quiet and continue his service while simultaneously investigating his theories which had their answers in the past. Meanwhile his son was rising in rank to Major and continued to lead his troops with unstoppable success.

### 2522

When Zur first joined the Covenant he was exceptional when it came to battle and strategy, but not so good at keeping his small amounts of arrogance unchecked. His first mission involved tracking down and dealing with Kig-Yar pirates stealing from Covenant stockpiles of food, weapons, and fuel. When the Major in charge of his unit found and ordered a boarding of the pirates ship Zur charged headlong into battle with little worry for himself. Although the mission was a success, an Unggoy and fellow Sangheili were injured due to Zur’s brazen actions; he was reprimanded and punished for this, but not as severely due to being the reason the mission was successful in the first place: his sudden charge in had allowed his other squad mates to catch the enemy off guard and subdue or kill them.

### 2525-2531

At the start of the Human-Covenant war Zur was more than happy to do the Prophet’s bidding and wipe out the Human they deemed heretics. Assigned to then Shipmaster Kus ‘Munamalee, Zur would see ground time on the human colony of Harvest during the Battle of Arcadia in aid of the already attacking force; here he would see for his own eyes the savagery of Arbiter Ripa ’Moramee and the resolve of Humanity to fight. Zur would come face to face with Spartans in the form of Red Team before he and several other Covenant forces were extracted from Harvest and continued their campaign while a separate ship pursued the UNSC *Spirit of Fire.*

### 2533

In 2533 Zur would be involved in the raid and occupation of Dao KI5 under the pretense of looking for Forerunner artifacts. Here he would fight Fireteam Erebus for the first time and witness his Shipmaster Kus engage in a dual with the team's leader after executing one of the human's on the team and ordering Zur to give Antonio-007 his Type 1 Energy Sword. He was amazed at the Spartan's ability but ultimately knew he'd lose as Kus severed his arm. The Spartan's ran, Antonio-007 keeping the energy sword as a reminder of that day. This event had garnered the respect Zur has for Sev as a warrior from then on.

## Military Career Peaks

### Promotion to Major

After his success against human forces Zur was promoted to the rank of Major and placed in charge of a small detachment of Sangheil, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy. He would be sent along with then Shipmaster Thel ‘Vadamee to find out the source of illegal Covenant weaponry sales to Humans and would assist in the ensuing conflict. Thel ‘Vadamee acknowledged Zur’s tactical mind and battle strategy, stating *‘Your father must be proud’* to the Major. He would stay with Thel’s ship and be officially transferred to the Shipmaster’s command.

### The Fall of Reach

After decades under the now Supreme Commander Thel ’Vadamee’s command Zur was able to attain the rank of Field Marshal. When it came time for the greatest UNSC military instillation to defend itself Zur was sent with the initial scouting fleet and cut down many a soldier. He would be present at the Visegrád Relay when Nobel Team arrived; escaping through the front after retreating without being pursued. He would report his findings to the Fleet of Particular Justice and Supreme Commander ’Vadamee, as well as Supreme Commander Rho ‘Barutamee on the Long Night of Solace. From there he was given a special assignment by Thel and Rho: hunt and eliminate the Spartan team he encountered. When the Long Night of Solace was destroyed and another Fleet arrived over Reach he immediately kicked his plans into action.

When the glassing of New Alexandria began he monitored comms traffic from a occupied building. Once he overheated the transmission between Colonel Holland and Carter-A259 he immediately went to pursue even within the glassing zone. He would be overhead in a Phantom where he’d fire a Type-31 Needle Rifle and pierce the shieldless helmet of Kat-B320, killing her instantly. He would order the Phantom to pull back for the time being while he bided his time, enjoying his hunt of Nobel Team like an animal. As the Fall of Reach neared it’s end he commanded several Zealots and a fellow Field Marshal until being (much to his dismay) pulled off planet and back to the Fleet of Particular Justice. His final orders to his team were to make sure that a stationary MAC defense canon was rendered unusable upon witnessing it‘s destructive power. This resulted in the death of Emile-A239 but the deaths of the team at the hands of SPARTAN-B312 who would have his last stand on the planet while Zur and the Fleet chased after the Pillar of Autumn to discover Installation-04.

### Installation-04

Upon the Halo ring Zur would stay above within the Fleet, where they would put his strategic mind to the test. He would formulate many plans that would lead to many victories across the 'holy ring' for his forces, but upon the release of the Flood he was at a loss. He went down personally to try and formulate a plan against the ancient enemy and was horrified upon seeing fallen comrades reanimate and turn on their allies. He was eventually pulled out and evacuated from the ring with the Fleet as the Forerunner weapon was destroyed by John-117.

## The Great Schism

### Invasion of Earth

After Thel 'Vadam was branded with the mark of shame Zur was placed directly under the High Prophet of Regret's Fleet. He would be present at the Invasion of Earth and command a force on the ground invading New Mombasa. His forces would be great, consisting of Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar, Unggoy, Mgalekgolo, and Sangheili. Here he would meet the Unggoy who would later call himself TipYap the Conqueror, his appreantace Sangheili Rtur 'Vakam, the Kig-Yar who would become a pirate Men Yax, and the Mgalekgolo pair that would name themselves Legion. His forces would pin down an ONI Operative codenamed Raptor-5 and hold him in place until a squad of Spartan-IIs would interfere and extract the Operative; Zur would challenge the leader of these 'Demons' to a dual where Sev fought Zur to a stand still. At the time Zur had no clue who the Demons were, but at the end when they got away he realized who his combatants were by seeing his house symbol engraved on Antonio-007's Energy Sword. This is in fact the cause of the Spartan's escape: due to Zur being shocked. The same Demons from so long ago were here before him again.

### Sangheili-Jiralhanae War

After Regret's Fleet jumped to slip space and left forces behind, Zur would be separated from his living squad mates and not be reunited with any friendlies until the Jiralhanae began their purge of the Sangheili. He would fight back and rally any Elites to his flag as they pushed back the people they once called ally that were trying to kill them. Once Tartarus fell at the hands of Thel 'Vadam and Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and the former sought out his brethren to fight back against the Prophets, Zur would rendezvous with the Arbiter and learn the fate of his father: dead at the hands of a Jiralhanae by the name of Dorvaion before the Brute himself would go rouge along with Kus 'Munamal.

With the enemy now being the former Covenant he used to serve Zur would again meet Fireteam Erebus where he would partake in fighting the Flood once more but with more success than his first encounter with the parasite. He would aid in the rescue of Antonio-007 and extract the team via Phantom. Aboard the ship the four Spartans would grow to respect the former Field Marshal who, by this point thanks to a request from a friend, had donned his fathers helmet along with a cloak. He would join them aboard the prototype Tides of Fortune to follow through to the Ark and stay in orbit as Erebus was deployed. He would only attack when needed as the ship was still not complete and running on low power to keep their stealth systems and cloak active.

As the Covenant forces would diminish over the weeks Thel would reform the Swords of Sanghelios; he would ask Zur to be a Shipmaster for the Swords allied with Fireteam Erebus aboard a now finished Tides of Fortune. The now Kaidon of Vulcam would pledge his loyalty to 'Vadam and strike the '-ee' suffix from his name.

## Revival of the Insurrectionists & The Rise of The Galactic Pact Era

Once the Covenant proper was deemed defeated Zur would serve aboard the Tides of Fortune co-commanding with Captain Antonio-007. He would see the rise of rebellions and come close to achiving his revenge for his father's death but would come short on Earus after a year long campaign for the colony against The Galactic Pact led by Kus 'Munamal.

Once Erebus was dissolved for a short time Zur and Antonio would travel to undrertake missions for the Swords until the return of the Forerunners. Erebus would remain inactive until a far worse, far ancient threat reared it's head once again.

## Unity Colony

When the Flood were released again on the former containment and research facility made under the planet's surface. Upon the planet Zur would get personaly involved to fight the infection once more as Erebus was reforemd along with the rest of Pantheon Squad. The planet would be partially glassed until the UNSC fleet Scourge would arrive on scene and bombard the planet after the Tides' main mission was accomplished.

## Trivia

* Zur's picture was drawn by gulags\_galore
* The idea of Zur came from a picture of a Zealot, and a curiosity of 'what elite name would I have?'
* Zur and Sev has an immense respect for one another while Rtur and Ghost have a rivalry going to this day
* Zur was the first alien key character made and to receive a name
* "He is a wise character, but was not always wise. He was humbled many times during his life to the point where he never underestimates even a kitten"-AshTheReaper001 on Zur