- Wolverfrog
- |
- Fabled Legendary Member
All the sweeping generalisations being bandied about in this thread are absurd. There are always anomalies. You really think every single Sangheili hates every single Jiralhanae and vice versa? Do you also think every member of the Covenant supported to war against the humans? Do you believe every single member of the Covenant was a religious zealot? That's like saying every German who fought in WWII was a National Socialist, or that every Russian in 1917 was a Bolshevik or, citing a more modern example of ignorance, that every Muslim is a terrorist.
For all we know, these Jiralhanae in Glasslands who live on Sangheilios have been friends with the Sangheili they serve for years, or maybe even fought against the Covenant loyalists during the Great Schism.
I've said it before but I'll say it again; life isn't black and white. In fact, I'm so sick of this that I'm going to take some time out of my day to disseminate this 'terrible' part of Glasslands.
There were still a few loyal Unggoy and Jiralhanae around, weren't
there? They could easily learn to be farmers or factory workers. Or engineers. It was simply a matter of giving them
clear instructions and making sure they didn't drug themselves
into a stupor or start too many fights.
But it was far easier to vaporize every living thing on a
planet than reform an entire culture from scratch.
So there are a few loyal Jiralhanae about, 'few' being the key word here. It's not like there are tens of thousands of Jiralhanae on Sangheilios strutting about the cities; it's probably these Jiralhanae have been on the planet for many years, possibly through a generation or two. Note that they're not farmers or factory workers or engineers yet, Jul just entertains the possibility that they could be.
And those Jiralhanae who've turned on us.
Note 'those Jiralhanae who've turned on us;' were all Jiralhanae hated by the Sangheili, the passage would just read 'and the Jiralhanae.' Further supports that there were Jiralhanae whose alleigences lay outside the Covenant loyalists.
"What's
happening? Is it Jiralhanae? Humans?
Note how Raia asks if it were the Jiralhanae first. This means that the Sangheili do still consider them a primary enemy over the humans, those who turned on them.
Most of the Jiralhanae aren't on your side
Osman tells this to 'Telcam. Again, this shows that only a few anomalous Jiralhanae have joined with the Sangheili and the majority are still their enemies.
It was strange to see the brutish creatures doing
something so painstaking, but at least they were obedient.
Most of their kind had joined the uprising and turned on
their Sangheili masters. Old hatreds and resentment had
boiled over, and Jul barely trusted those that remained at
their stations.
Important quote, here. Jul barely trusts them, but he still trusts the Jiralhanae who didn't 'turn on their Sangheili masters' and remained obedient. That Jul expresses bemusement as he watches the Brutes trim the trees shows that they didn't do this before the Great Schism, so obviously the Jiralhanae loyal to the Sangheili filled another role for them before the uprising.
Jul, Buran, and Forze ambled along beside him, trying to
look casual while six of Buran's loyal crewtwo of them Jiralhanae
trailed behind.
Another mention of Jiralhanae loyalty to Sangheili; the latter even trust the former to walk behind them, certainly not something you'd do with a people you universally hate.
Some Jiralhanae
crews have sided with their brother traitors and
stolen ships."
Not all the Jiralhanae on Sangheilios remained loyal, some 'crews' going to join their 'brother traitors,' so the ones who remain are obviously going to be looked upon more kindly than before. It even says that they couldn't do anything to stop the Jiralhanae leaving, so it's not like the Sangheili are whipping the knife-wielding Jiralhanae into cutting meat for dinner and then turning their backs. They remain of their own free will.
Buran turned to the Jiralhanae. "Search the ship. If you
find any Kig-Yar still around, you have my permission to eat
them. In fact, I insist."
The Sangheili recognise the carnivorousness nature of the Jiralhanae as a part of their culture, as much as honour is a part of the Sangheili's. They don't begrudge them for it.
And how long can we trust the Jiralhanae who are still
with us?
Jul looked at Forze and knew he was thinking the same
thing. There was probably no such thing as a loyal Jiralhanae,
only one that was more scared of his Sangheili superiors
than he was of his packmates' wrath or his reputation. The
two species loathed one another. It was just a matter of
keeping a close eye on those that remained.
And then we'll dispense with their assistance completely.
Never again. No more reliance on aliens to keep
our society functioning. We'll learn to do things for
ourselves.
Jul doesn't really trust the Jiralhanae's loyalty, but rather their fear of the Sangheili over their packmates. However, Jul is a radical who has a fervent belief that the Sangheili can do anything they want on their own, and so his opinions are biased so this viewpoint isn't to be relied upon on this matter.
The feud between Jiralhanae and Sangheili had finally erupted
again with the Great Schism, but Jul had never quite
worked out where the fault lines were. Jiralhanae fought
each other, they fought the Sangheili, and, for no reason Jul
could truly understand, some of them remained loyal to
Sanghelios.
The Jiralhanae's culture is that of a pack; they respect the strongest within that pack and disrespect the weakest in the pack, regardless of race. Pack doesn't just extend to the few Jiralhanae they romp about with, but society as a whole. When Jiralhanae believe themselves stronger than the Sangheili they challenge their superiority, and when they see the Sangheili as stronger they remain subservient.
So it's not a simple matter of 'the Elites hate the Brutes, the Brutes hate the Elites.' Feuds between cultures never work like that. There are always those who go against the grain; native Americans who worked with the British, Germans who striked against the war effort in WWI, and so on. You can't say an entire species has a cemented psyche running throughout it all.