The Hegemony is a collection of former members of the Covenant 'Fringe', small member races of the Covenant that did not serve as full signatories to the union. After the events of the schism, and the collapse of the Covenant, many banded together to form the Hegemony, the centre of which is a pact of mutual defence and trade. In the wake of the brutal civil wars that ravaged the territories of the former Covenant, the Hegemony became a bastion, and quickly became an emergent power. By pooling their individual economies, resources and cultural traits, they've been able to establish themselves a powerful force in their region of space.