Ritual Grounds

"all who walk the blessed path will find true salvation... even in death"

~Sanghelli Religious Proverb

When the Covenant first discovered the Forerunner artifact known as the "Halo", the prophets were quite intrigued about what undiscovered technology and hidden artifacts they could find buried deep within the terrain of the mysterious ring. The high prophets were so curious in fact, they sent scouting parties all over Halo to search it for any such artifacts. One such party consisted of nothing but Sanghelli religious leaders, the best of the best. This party, while combing over the mysterious terrain of Halo, found quite the curious cave. A cave that contained a sacred Sanghelli religious symbol. (pictured below)

The leaders of the scouting party didn't know what to do over this discovery; They had just discovered an artifact that was supremely important to the Sanghelli, but the Covenant needed to know of any such artifact. One half of the scouting party was adamant in their opinion. They believed this discovery was too sacred to let the prophets desecrate. The other half of the party, however, felt obligated to report the artifact to the Covenant, knowing it was their duty. Quickly, this difference in opinion broke the party into two separate camps, who each believed the other camp were all heretics.

In all this fighting, the Sanghelli party failed to realize that they were, in fact, desecrating this holy ground. Through the power of the artifact, the entrance to cave collapsed, trapping the entire party inside, with no chance of exit. This turn of events caused the tension to rise to breaking point, and the parties turned on each other and began to fight. The fighting, however, only angered the artifact further, and it began to drive the Sanghelli insane.

Now, YOU must step into the shoes of one of the Sanghelli religious leaders. No matter what you choose to fight for, you are in a race against time to fight for your life...and your sanity.

The Map

Red Base

Blue Base

The "Angel"

The "Hand"

Your Sanity

Earlier in this post, I mentioned you'll be fighting for your sanity. However, this is a fight you will lose. Allow me to explain. At around 30 seconds into the game, your mind will start to slip, and the map will begin to look like this as you start to suffer from HPPD.

Then, at around 1 minute into the game, the effects of your madness become more noticeable as your hallucinations get worse

Until finally, you'll go so insane your vision will start to flash red (much like when Cortana contacted you in the Halo 3 campaign)

Action Shots

Desecration

Cut down

Dead Brothers

Cornered

Weapons

It's a surprise.

CREDITS

I would like to thank the following for testing assistance: Eo Khalamar, AMERICAN , CornNerd, xXSMD FuzzyXx, Biz420Sniper, VISCOUS3745, and anyone else I forgot.

Map design:Vince Noir
Concept:Vince Noir
A Vince Noir production of a Vince Noir idea.