The Waquish'Dawn are a race of enigmatic pseudo-arachnids that originated from the ocean world of Eratem in the Sagittarius Arm. They are one of the Covenant's few known peer civilizations, and boast slightly-superior technological achievements. However, their empire is in a severe state of decline, and a collapse has been predicted by military commanders for the past few Ages.

Biology

The Waquish'Dawn come in a huge variety of shapes and forms, and xenobiologists are not clear whenever they consist of a single sapient species or an entire genus of closely-related groups. Regardless, all share a few common traits. Their body shape is not truly bipedal; rather, it is divided into two main body segments stacked on top of each other, with the head typically being around twice as large as the body. They have between four and eight limbs, with a generally squat stance. Their natural form lacks any equivalents to an eye organ, and so they are fundamentally blind; some individuals opt for optical implants to rectify this. To make up for this, they have a very highly-developed sense of touch, allowing them to 'feel' disturbances in the air and ground for the purposes of hunting. Without artificial implants, the Waquish'Dawn require a diet that consists of at least 70% meat, with some varieties requiring significantly higher concentrations than this.

The most noteworthy aspect of their biology is their method of procreation, and the consequences it has on their evolution. They are technically a form of parasite; their grub-like spawn initially spend a portion of their lives within a host, living as a symbiotic organism. Once they begin to metamorphosize, the host is subjected to hormonal changes which encourages them to be directed into traditional hunting grounds of a Waquish'Dawn tribe. By then, the juvenile is sufficiently developed to be inducted into their community. Curiously, the Waquish'Dawn's DNA is capable of being mutated by the host, which can affect the adult form of the individual. Provided that their body allows for it, this means that the species can hijack adaptions, specializing themselves to specific environments within a rather short period of time - perfect for rapidly-changing habitats. Not all species can be suitable hosts, as those with weak immune systems or hormonal issues such as the Cix-Tu may be killed long before reaching term.

This evolutionary quirk is not without its drawbacks. While certain aspects of their biology remain untouched, usually the number of legs and the broad two-section body structure, this does not apply to their capacity for thought. After several generations, it is not uncommon for entire colonies to descend into barbarism and anarchy as the colonists lose their sapience. These worlds are generally abandoned and observed only for research purposes, although they have been cases where large-scale projects have been conducted to reverse these issues. In addition, the structure of their DNA deteriorates later in life in an incurable disease known as Mitrix-Iruzz or Talan's Syndrome, which manifests in individuals over the age of 33. This involves their body rejecting any genetic changes including those incurred during the laval stage, and often involves organs shutting down, cancerous growths spawning around over their body, and the immune system actively attacking itself. Later-stage symptoms include madness as their neurons degrade and uncontrollable twitches. Gene therapies have proven ineffective, and artificial implants are also rejected by the hyper-sensitive individual. It is believed that both of these diseases are linked to the radiation inflicted from low-powered Halo fields; for this reason, the Covenant refers to them as a cursed race.

History

According to Covenant archaeological records, there are theories that the Waquish'Dawn had taken to the stars long before their contemporary history records. Artifacts connected to them have been found within the trailing portions of the Covenant Sphere, and are estimated at being 55,000 to 70,000 years old. If accurate, this would make them one of the first species to recover from the Halo Event. A second, much more abundant civilization succeeded it about 40,000 years ago. However, scholars are divided on whenever they originate from the Waquish, or they were instead created by a client species of the Wayfarers.

In any case, their current civilization formally reached a spacefaring state around 10,600 BCE. Precious little is known about their history prior to the Exodus, only that they acknowledged that it was a golden age for their people. What is known is that they had a powerful, rich empire that resembled some sort of federation, with a hugely multicultural and interracial society. Unrestricted power rested solely in a small group known as the Triz, who proudly traced their lineage back to the first Archon of Eratem.

In 9,360 BCE, the Waquish'Dawn made the discovery that would ultimately bring down their civilization; Halo Installation 02. For decades, they fought with its resident monitor for control of the megastructure, and very nearly succeeded. In one last act of defiance, 07 Contrite Witness fired the Halo at a somewhat-reduced pulse, which wiped out the vast majority of the Waquish population. Only those that heeded the monitor's warning, or were on the outskirts of their territory, survived the event.

The refugees migrated away from their traditional home space, moving steadily spinward along the Sagittarius arm. They never regained the glory of their past, and they alternated between periods of strict isolation behind their borders with bursts of expansion. The Covenant claim that these are due to calls to hunt down traces of the Forerunners, and there is some evidence that this was a cause for a number of expeditions. Still, a number of these expansion periods were also due to scientific curiosity, technological progress, and internal unrest.

Orion Arm Contact

Since the 1800s, the Covenant had been aware of the Waquish'Dawn presence in the Orion Arm, although it was not until centuries later that they knew that they were a peer entity. This was for a number of reasons - the Waquish were far too distant for regular contact to be established, and the Covenant was then unaware that the bulk of their polity resided in the Sagittarius Arm. Indeed, it was simply assumed that, when the time came for conversion, that the Waquish would offer no more resistance than the other species they conquered. Through the centuries, the territories of the two civilizations migrated closer to each other.

In 2314, a Cix-Tu flotilla discovered the Waquish colony of Extax, whose abandoned population had devolved into proto-sapients, and were quickly enslaved. It was quickly discovered that the species had a wide range of pharmaceutical uses to be exploited, such as incubators for organs and a mutable genome believed to be the key to the Cix-Tu's biological issues. More resources were diverted to find and abduct the arachnids, with more fleets redirected to raid known population centers. The Waquish eventually retaliated, and by 2335 a substantial fleet backed up by privateers had been sent to put an end to the raids. In a stand-up fight, the slaving fleets were easily defeated, but Cix-Tu were cunning and thoughtful with their attacks. Attempts to mask their home systems through the use of indirect jump routes were successful, although these slowly proved ever more dangerous as the Waquish slowly introduced new measures to counter them.

It was while pursuing Cix-Tu raiders that the Waquish first encountered the Covenant, and despite attempts by the Cix-Tu, war was narrowly avoided between the two superpowers. Since then, the Waquish have entered an isolationist, dormant state. While the occasional privateer may intrude on the Cix-Tu holdings, very few diplomatic messages have been exchanged with the polity itself. Regardless, the Covenant had set aside a considerable portion of its fleet to patrol their closest domains to deter a potential invasion. Now that the Holy Ecumene has been plunged into the Great Schism, Covenant spacers now report of unidentified ships that prowl the borders of inhabited space - which may well be Waquishi ships that are investigating the change in the political landscape.