- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
considering that the covenant are using forerunner technology, it is entirely possible to theorise that the forerunners colonised the covenant. unfortunately, the covenant species, more prominantly, the brutes and elites started fighting among themselves. hence, the forerunners created the flood to destroy the entire covenant. much like how God used a flood to destroy Man after they became too wicked. The Ark was used to preserve the different species of covenant and forerunners hu would eventually become modern-day humans. Unfortunately, the flood grew out of control after the formation of the gravemind and started attacking the forerunners. left without any alternatives, they activated the rings, called halos, to prevent the flood from spreading. and to destroy themselves and others to starve the flood. they were successful and the forerunners were destroyed, and the respective species were released from the ark to reproduce on seperate planets, the humans being given earth as they were direct descendants of the forerunners.
when the elites and prophets found forerunner technology, they reforged the covenant to worship the forerunners and accompany them on "The Great Journey" unaware that it was actually their own destruction.
i also believe that the haloes, when activated, revert time to the last activation.
all the while retaining the forerunner technology. i'm assuming that the earth was a desolate planet where the ark is housed, and is therefore devoid of forerunner technology. whereas the prophet homeworld(s), is probably the forerunners' homeworld as well, and there is probably an artifact there, similar to the one found at cote d' azur which tells of "the great journey". although there is not much proof of this, i juz seriously doubt that the forerunners onli left military equipment to the prophets. also, if an artifact like this truly is in the possession of the prophets, it beign a star map, would give coordinates to the homworlds of the other covenant races. when it led the covenant 2 reach, it was probably to retrieve that piece of artifact for another star map. to lead them to the rings or earth, for that matter....