Sharquoi

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Sharquoi
Physical information
Average height	5 metres (16 ft)
Average weight	Heavy (Presumably)
Skin color	Grey
Military and political information
Affiliation	Forerunner Ecumene Covenant
Other nomenclature	Drinol

I suspect we are forcing them into a tighter arena than they care to fight in. Soon we may be able to use the Sharquoi...

— A Sangheili

The Sharquoi, previously known as Drinol, are a rarely encountered alien species. They possess phenomenal strength but little intellect and are were used by the Forerunners and Covenant for their brute force.

Biology

The Sharquoi are a species of animal that stood approximately 5 meters tall, and had thick grey skin. Above each hand, they possess two bony spikes, which can be used as brutal melee instruments in combat. Despite lacking intelligence, they are immensely powerful due to their strength and size. Their bodies can survive immense duress, and some have been known to survive direct hits with rocket-propelled grenades. Instead of an eye, they possess a fleshy patch on their foreheads, which emits a "thrumming" sound that allows them to map out their surroundings through echolocation. Sharquoi are also immune to Flood infection.

History

Forerunner-Flood war

This section requires expansion.

Due to their ability to resist Flood infection, they were used by the Forerunners as a means to combat the parasite during the Forerunner-Flood war. Devices were implanted into the skulls of hundreds of thousands of Sharquoi, which connected them all to a neural network. This network allowed them to be controlled through a device known as the Vertex. The wielder of the Vertex could control each individual Sharquoi's actions, and also view the world through their senses.

The Shaquoi likely proved ineffective against the Flood, as those with the implants that controlled them were placed in stasis and abandoned in several Forerunner facilities, at some point before the firing of the Halo Array. They were referred to as one of the Forerunners' darkest secrets, perhaps due to the fact that enslaving them in such a way violated the Mantle of Responsibility.

Human-Covenant war

This section requires expansion.

Post-war

This section requires expansion.

Behind the Scenes

How about this for a Halo 2 creature you've never heard of before: a Drinol Beast, a sort of hairless, gray monster with one eye - although there are other drawings of it with two eyes so you can't take for granted that it's going to make the final game.

— GamesRadar

The Sharquoi (then called Drinol) were cut during development of both Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 in the pre-Xbox stages of Halo's development, the Drinol were a fully coded and animated enemy, but were scrapped some time after Bungie was acquired by Microsoft, and so never made it into the final game. The idea was to be revived, and implemented in Halo 2, but the idea was eventually given up on again. Nevertheless, a reference to the Sharquoi was retained in the Conversations from the Universe booklet, despite their absence from the game.

Trivia

• Their original name, Drinol, is a reference to the Drinniol in Marathon, who inspired their design.

Gallery

Sharquoi concept art.

Concept fight pose.

A Sharquoi in pre-Xbox Halo.

A render of a Sharquoi against a white background.

The Sharquoi (listed as "Drinol") with other deleted content from pre-Halo: Combat Evolved.

The same image, cropped.

A Covenant mural depicting a Sharquoi, among other species.

Appearances

• Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) (Cut)
• Halo 2 (2004) (Cut)
  • Conversations from the Universe, 2004 (First mentioned)
• Halo: Envoy (2017) (First appearance)