Covenant of Primus: Difference between revisions
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*In ''Exodus'' there is a 21 page excerpt from the Covenant inserted between Chapter 15 and 16. It is written by Alpha Trion and describes the early days of the war. It is also mentioned in the novel that the Covenant forbid more than one [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] at a time, that [[Megatron (WFC)|someone]] would take the name [[The Fallen|Megatronus]], and a Prime would lead Cybertron in a time of civil war, whom Alpha Trion correctly presumed to be [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]]. | *In ''Exodus'' there is a 21 page excerpt from the Covenant inserted between Chapter 15 and 16. It is written by Alpha Trion and describes the early days of the war. It is also mentioned in the novel that the Covenant forbid more than one [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] at a time, that [[Megatron (WFC)|someone]] would take the name [[The Fallen|Megatronus]], and a Prime would lead Cybertron in a time of civil war, whom Alpha Trion correctly presumed to be [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]]. | ||
*"When the 47 spheres align, a perpetual conflict will culminate upon a world forged from chaos. And the weak shall perish in the shadow of a rising darkness."<ref>"[[One Shall Fall]]"</ref> | *"When the 47 spheres align, a perpetual conflict will culminate upon a world forged from chaos. And the weak shall perish in the shadow of a rising darkness."<ref>"[[One Shall Fall]]"</ref> | ||
*"Pity my Remaining Child, for he will be cast into the Mind of My Own Creation, He shall be used to engineer Dark and Wondrous Artifices …"<ref>''[[Transformers: Retribution]]'' </ref> | |||
==Interpretation== | ==Interpretation== | ||
Revision as of 19:28, 25 May 2014
| This article is about scriptural Covenant of Primus. For the real-world edition of this book, see Transformers: The Covenant of Primus{{#switch:{{#sub:Transformers: The Covenant of Primus|-1}}|!=|.=|?=|.}} For a list of other meanings, see Covenant (disambiguation). |
The Covenant of Primus (or Book of Primus) is a databook containing numerous datatracks. It is a compilation of Transformers scriptural texts believed to be prophetic.
The original Covenant is the work of the great sage Alpha Trion, who has chronicled Cybertron since nearly its beginning with the artifact granted to him by Primus, the Quill. By its nature the Covenant chronicles even the future, but interpreting such things is difficult due to the symbolic phrasing the tome uses. As well, even Alpha Trion has difficulty reading too far into the future, as each section of the Covenant is written in the language of the era it represents. Thus, the most ancient sections of the book are scribed in languages long dead from the planet, and the far future is written in languages no Cybertronian yet speaks. It is unlikely that any copies of the Covenant retain this property, as they are presumably only transcriptions of the Covenant as it existed at their time of making.
Fiction
Beast Wars cartoon
Only two copies remained. One was placed on the Ark prior to its launch. The other was found during the Beast Wars aboard the Nemesis, apparently having been placed there by Tarantulas. They speak of apocalyptic battles at the end of an age. It is believed that the Covenant of Primus foretold the Beast Wars, and it was from these scriptures that the Predacon Megatron took his name. Nemesis Part 1 Nemesis Part 2
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Aligned novels
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The Covenant of Primus was a book in the possession of Alpha Trion. Alpha Trion wrote in the Covenant, being as it was never finished until the end of Cybertron, when he observed things that must be put into it that hadn't already. He occasionally changed the future that was written in the book using the Quill, but only to a certain degree. He also read ahead in the book to know the future, but only as far as he was able to understand it, for the Covenant changed language as the major language of Cybertronian changed. He was seen to have it lying open on his desk in the times Orion Pax, and eventually Optimus Prime, visited him for advice. Exodus
Prime cartoon
Optimus Prime learned that a planetary alignment spoken of in the Covenant of Primus was approaching in a few days. His teammates were skeptical of the truth in the prophecy, but Optimus was more worried about Megatron's reaction. Indeed, the Decepticon leader believed that the Covenant referred to him as "the rising darkness", and thus became obsessed with completing his newest plan before the planetary alignment occurred. One Shall Fall
Unfortunately, the prophecy's "rising darkness" was something far worse than Megatron: it referred to Unicron, whose body had been the seed of Earth itself. The Chaos Bringer's dormant consciousness had diffused into the new planet, but the gravitational forces of the planetary alignment had reawakened it; and he was not happy at all. One Shall Rise, Part 1
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Known Covenant of Primus verses
- "...and a mighty warrior came down from the sky...and a rainbow was on his head...and his feet were as pillars of fire...and the great dragon was cast out upon the Earth...and his followers were cast out with him."<ref name="Nem1">Nemesis Part 1</ref>
- "...and as it were a great mountain, raging with fire, arose from the sea."<ref name="Nem1"/>
- "I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. I am that which is, which was, and is yet to come...and you will know my name is Megatron when I lay my vengeance upon you!"<ref name="Nem2">Nemesis Part 2</ref>
- "...and the stone of their protection shall rise upward forever and ever, as they who live and war as beasts confront their final cycle."<ref name="Nem2"/>
- "...and there came a hero who said: 'Hurt not the Earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, nor the very fabric of time,' but the hero would not prevail, nor would he surrender."<ref name="Nem2"/>
- "In the spark of an enemy, there will be salvation, and in the darkest hour, there will be a light."<ref name="Nem2"/>
- "And the sun and its brother shall storm over the new world to reveal the beast and destroy it."<ref>"The Route of All Evil", The Transformers: Generation One vol. 3 #10</ref>
- The Sojourner's Passage: "Cursed curiosity compelled me to stay, to observe the enemy before the machine age. And now this demands my attention! My first responsibility is to those I left behind, yet I sense what unfolds below eclipses even that which cast me away. In the name of my creator, I will re-enter the void. I will seek that light which has fallen from the forges of our history."<ref>Apelinq's War Journals, Journal 18: Point of No Return; and "Betrayal", Wreckers #2 Directors Cut</ref>
- "Do not judge a warrior by stature or action until you truly understand that which drives him."<ref>"Original Sin", The Transformers: Generation One vol. 3 #5</ref>
- "Great events find great Cybertronians. And other times, great events make great Cybertronians."<ref>Transformers: Exodus, pg 83</ref>
- "Humility comes before greatness, and where humility has not paved the road, greatness may not walk it."<ref>Transformers: Exodus, pg 99</ref>
- In Exodus there is a 21 page excerpt from the Covenant inserted between Chapter 15 and 16. It is written by Alpha Trion and describes the early days of the war. It is also mentioned in the novel that the Covenant forbid more than one Prime at a time, that someone would take the name Megatronus, and a Prime would lead Cybertron in a time of civil war, whom Alpha Trion correctly presumed to be Optimus Prime.
- "When the 47 spheres align, a perpetual conflict will culminate upon a world forged from chaos. And the weak shall perish in the shadow of a rising darkness."<ref>"One Shall Fall"</ref>
- "Pity my Remaining Child, for he will be cast into the Mind of My Own Creation, He shall be used to engineer Dark and Wondrous Artifices …"<ref>Transformers: Retribution </ref>
Interpretation
The first six quotes above were believed by Optimus Primal and Megatron to be prophecies relating to the climax of the Beast Wars.
- The "mighty warrior" is Tigerhawk.
- The "great dragon" is Megatron.
- The "great mountain" was the Nemesis.
- The quote about Megatron refers to how the Megatron of the Beast Wars was, at the time, also carrying the spark of the original Megatron, and was thus "alpha and omega".
- The "stone of their protection" was the mountain over the Ark, which Megatron partially lifted away.
- The hero who "would not prevail, nor would he surrender" was Optimus Primal.
- The enemy whose spark brought salvation was Dinobot II, who in the end betrayed his leader.
- The "sun and its brother" are Sunstorm and Starscream.
The following quotes were believed by Optimus Prime and a different Megatron to be a prophecy relating to the end of the Transformers' battle on Earth.
- The "47 spheres" are a series of planets and stars which includes Earth and Cybertron. Their alignment creates gravitational distortions that awaken Unicron from his resting place.
- The "world forged from chaos" is Earth, which formed around the comatose body of Unicron after his defeat on Cybertron.
- At first, the line about "the weak" perishing seems to refer to Raf Esquivel, who is critically wounded by a Dark Energon-enhanced blast from Megatron. Later on, Megatron implies that it refers to Optimus Prime, and by extension, anyone who opposes him. After Unicron is revealed, "the weak" appears to refer to all of humanity, which is in danger of being destroyed if the Chaos Bringer fully awakens.
- The "rising darkness" refers to Unicron.
Notes

- When Rattrap holds up the Covenant of Primus in Nemesis Part 1, Maximal writing can be seen. It reads "7 613", then "were cast out with him a cork one fork and a bowl of beans between them". This presumably follows the portion of the Covenant read by Primal, Datatrack 7.613: "And a mighty warrior came down from the sky, and a rainbow was upon his head, and his feet as pillars of fire. And the great dragon was cast out onto the earth, and his followers were cast out with him." The animators often inserted jokes into the Maximal text, so the canonical nature of this quote is dubious at best.
- Curiously, this same passage is nearly a carbon copy of Revelation 10:1 (http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Revelation-10-1/) and 12:9 (http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Revelation-12-9/) found in the Bible.
- The passage about Megatron is seemingly a combination of Revelation 1:8 (http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Revelation-1-8/), as well as a reference to a fictional rendition of the Bible verse Ezekiel 25:17, as quoted by Samuel Jackson in the film Pulp Fiction (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/quotes). The same passage also serves as the motto of Onyx Primal, but whether his motto is a reference to the Old Testament or the Covenant of Primus is, at this point, pretty much up to you.
- The books are small. The guzzler-sized crews of the Ark and the Nemesis would probably have a hard time reading them.
- It has a standard-size (not Mini-) cassette inside.
- Energon Downshift's Cyber Key Code info states that he and his life partner "joined together under the Covenant of Primus", apparently referring to Cybertronian marriage rituals.
