Protoss history

The history of the protoss spans millennia. They are such an ancient race that they consider themselves to be the "firstborn" race of the universe.

The Firstborn
The protoss evolve on Aiur; one of many worlds the xel'naga engineered. The xel'naga under Amon conceded that their latest creation was their first of all their experiments to evolve beyond the feral constraints of baser life-forms, and gave this new species the name of "protoss," or "Firstborn." Amon and his followers, contrary to the normal directive of the xel'naga, directly intervened in the development of the protoss, hoping to create a powerful xel'naga host form they could control.

The protoss developed a rudimentary tribal society based on group-hunting and warrior rule. The early protoss lived in harmony and seclusion on Aiur for hundreds of generations. The xel'naga accelerated their evolution with their khaydarin crystals and a giant crystal beneath Aiur, even increasing their reproductive rate with the Kassia crystal, and led them to the state of total sentience and awareness over a millennium. The protoss gradually became highly intellectual and introspective. They achieved great heights in both cultural and personal, individualistic advancements. The Auriga Tribe constructed sailing ships that they launched upon Aiur's furious seas.

The protoss civilization spread across Aiur within a few millennia and the warring tribes settled under a civilized rule. The tribes were brought even closer together when the xel'naga made themselves known to the protoss. Driven to plumb the mysteries of the universe, the overjoyed protoss looked to Amon's xel'naga for new truths and insights with reverence and awe. The Shelak Tribe was the one closest to these xel'naga. The insatiable lust for knowledge led the protoss to develop radical, progressive strains of scientific and meta-neural study. They became exceedingly proud as their understanding and personal awareness grew and began to see more value in personal achievements than communal advancement. The more successful tribes isolated themselves from one another and sought to define their own roles within the greater universe.

At first, Amon's xel'naga were intrigued by this development, and conducted an experiment to see what effects the diverging tribes might have on khaydarin crystals. They split twin crystals, giving one to the Akilae Tribe (named the Uraj) and one to the Sargas Tribe (named the Khalis). As the tribes diverged, so did the powers and even appearance of the crystals.

The tribes grew further and further apart, leading Amon's xel'naga to speculate that they had pushed protoss evolution too far, marring the purity of their creation. Individual egos arose to empower the once primary communal link. Driven by individualistic pursuits, the tribes rekindled their own ancient principals and rites in order to set themselves even further apart from their brethren. They became suspicious of the xel'naga regarding their interest in protoss affairs. The protoss began to shy from the xel'naga over the months, with each tribe cultivating wild and unsubstantiated rumors of supposed xel'naga treachery. The tribes lost the connection to their primal psychic link as they attempted to completely sever themselves from the rest of their race, dissolving the last remnants of unity and brotherhood among them.

The Departure
Hearing of the xel'naga's departure, the suspicious protoss attacked their worldships, killing many hundreds of xel'naga. However, they were held off while the greater number of worldships were launched. The tribes were left confused and abandoned. They turned on each other in despair. A portion of the protoss population left with Amon's xel'naga at this time, continuing to hold a dogmatic worship of their creators. These protoss would become the Tal'darim.

The Aeon of Strife
Bent on perpetuating the guilt and blame for their abandonment, the protoss devolved into frantic legions of merciless killers driven by unthinking hatred towards their brethren. As raging battles were waged between the tribes, entire generations lived and died unaware of the primal psychic bond that their ancestors shared. They devastated Aiur's greater landmasses and pushed many of its lesser life-forms to the brink of extinction.

During this time, the protoss maintained colonies on other planets, often connected by warp gates, but these too quickly became gripped with the Strife.

The protoss tribes descended into something resembling madness as they attacked one another. One example was the Mendella Incident, where the mainly underground settlement of Mendella was flooded when another protoss faction deliberately destroyed a nearby reservoir.

Many different factors led to the ending of the Aeon of Strife, but the individual most responsible was eventually named Khas ("He who brings order"). He studied the forbidden teachings of the xel'naga and unearthed the khaydarin crystals. Khas channeled their primal energies through himself and accessed the primordial, psychic bond of the protoss, becoming the first in millennia to do so, and was flooded by emotions emanating from every protoss. Khas became aware that they had not lost their primal link. Rather, they had forgotten how to attune themselves to it. Khas gathered many young protoss together and taught them how to access this bond. They saw that the conflict was folly and believed that the xel'naga had been right to abandon them and that they were indeed a failed creation because their racial essence had been corrupted by the rise of ego. However, they maintained that the inner conflict of the protoss and racial turmoil was baseless and hollow because their inherent failure was not of their own doing. Khas developed the Khala, calling upon the protoss to forgo their old feuds and reunite. The Ara Tribe were the first to rally behind Khas' vision. The Akilae Tribe, which had dominated the other tribes for centuries, quickly saw that it heralded a bold new age for the protoss. Many other protoss slowly gave up their feuds and rallied behind the ever-growing legions of the Khalai.

He demonstrated the powers of the khaydarin crystals at Gyras, where he ended the feuding by destroying the battleground.

The Second Age
While the tribes remained intact to remind the protoss of the follies of their past, the Khala called for a shift from tribal society to a caste system so as to remove the last remnants of the old hostilities and strengthen the resolve to embrace a new beginning, so-named the "Second Age."

The Judicator Caste was comprised of elders and statesmen, with its main responsibility being the governing of the protoss under the dicates of the Khala's Law. The Ara maintained the power within the Judicator Assembly and thus controlled who presided within the ruling Conclave. The Judicator appointed the Shelak to study and protect the khaydarin crystals. Intrigued by the legacy of the xel'naga, the Shelak continuously studied their ancient texts. The Judicator banned all xel'naga teachings, but the Shelak were still allowed access to the archives, as the Judicator hoped that they could unravel the mysteries of the xel'naga and thus expand their knowledge through the Khala.

The Khalai Caste was the largest, representing the driving industrialists, scientists and workers who continued to rebuild their homelands after the Aeon of Strife. The Furinax Tribe served as weaponsmiths and builders obsessed with merging the sacred energies of the khaydarin crystals with modern technologies.

The Templar Caste was comprised of the holy warriors who followed the Khala's disciplines to achieve ever-escalating pinnacles of psionic power. The Akilae were entrusted with protecting Aiur. The protoss built five cities and thirty eight temples across Aiur, and the population swelled to billions. Their growing prosperity led them to rediscover many of the sciences and studies they had lost. Once the protoss had learned space travel, the Auriga were charged with servicing the Great Fleet, which protected the space-ways of Aiur.

During this period in protoss history, the Templar Caste fought to protect the new protoss culture from those who disagreed with it. When these battles ended, the Templar defended their people from fearsome fauna and from hostile aliens while settling other worlds. As the protoss ventured into the far reaches of the Koprulu sector, they claimed Khyrador as one of their first colonies, building ten settlements and two temples there. Because they regarded Khyrador as a symbol of their spacefaring achievements, it became home to the Uraj.

Some of this exploration took place under the guidance of Executor Adun. Disputes with other races were quelled with minimal protoss losses. Over a few centuries, the protoss conquered an eighth of the worlds once presided over by the xel'naga, spreading the fruits of their civilization to many of the more advanced races they encountered. In keeping with the strict codes of the Khala, the protoss took upon themselves the burden of the Dae'Uhl, which followed xel'naga tradition and called for the protoss to protect and safeguard lesser races while keeping their presence hidden. However, the protoss refused to manipulate or interfere in their evolutionary processes as the xel'naga did. The protoss kept a close watch over their unsuspecting wards, ever vigilant against xenomorphic threats.

During this time, the Templar Caste began developing cybernetic warriors with artificial intelligence to augment their ranks. These became known as the Purifiers, but were not treated as equals to their protoss creators. The Purifiers rebelled against their masters, killing many before being subdued. They were put into stasis on the ship Cybros above the moon of Endion, a reminder to researchers on the moon of the dangers of progress.

The Dark Templar
Believing that their individual identities would be erased to further promote the Judicator rule, a few rogue tribes refused to submit to the Khala. Although they were not hostile or militant, they believed that the Conclave's communal agenda would eventually doom the protoss. More of these dissidents stemmed from the Sargas Tribe than any other. The Conclave kept their existence a secret, convinced that their aberrant influence might spread throughout protoss society and destroy all that Khas had accomplished. They ordered the Templar under Adun to eradicate them. Unable to bring himself to slaughter his own brethren, he faked their executions and attempted to hide them from the Conclave and convince them of the Khala's truth by teaching them how to manipulate their own latent psionic powers. Without the Khala's discipline, their powers spiraled out of control and unleashed psionic storms across Aiur that drove the settlers from Khyrador. The Conclave scattered the storms "at great cost".

The barely reunited tribes began to fight once more. Old vendettas and ancient prejudices were reborn as the protoss who refused the way of Khala were branded as traitors and hunted down.

The Conclave was shocked that the Templar had not destroyed the rogue tribes, but knew that it would be forced to publicly admit their existence if it punished Adun for insubordination. The Conclave decided to banish the rogues from Aiur. Adun and the Templar were sworn to secrecy as the rogues were loaded onto an ancient, but functional xel'naga ship and launched into space. They became known as the Dark Templar. They ceremoniously severed their nerve-appendages to show their disdain for the Conclave and the Judicator. This act cut them off from the Khala, forcing them to draw their psionic energies from the Void. As their legend spread across Aiur, sparking the imaginations of many young protoss, this tale worked to incriminate them. Although they were hunted and feared by their own brethren, the Dark Templar never abandoned their love of Aiur and worked to safeguard it in any way they secretly could. The Dark Templar were nomadic until they found a xel'naga temple upon Shakuras and decided to remain there to study it.

Shortly after the exile, the protoss of Aiur realized the Khalis crystal had been stolen by the rogues.

The Golden Age of Expansion
A few centuries prior to the Great War, the protoss embarked in space exploration. In this golden age of protoss expansion, motherships led vast armadas throughout deep space.

Shrines and temple-gardens were built on Bel'Shir, which became a sacred spiritual retreat for the Templar. When it was abandoned, the Tal'darim took control of the planet. Believing terrazine to be a gift from the xel'naga, Tal'darim mystics set up altars to collect what they called 'the Breath of Creation'.

The protoss turned Monlyth into a shrine-world. When it was abandoned, the Tal'darim took control of the planet to guard the xel'naga artifact.

The protoss became less willing to interfere with other species after the Kalath Intercession, which occurred a few centuries prior to the Great War. Colossi were sealed away beneath Aiur.

During the Golden Age, two motherships had their khaydarin cores fail, and they fell into a star. Grand Preserver Rohana and her sisters felt this, and sought to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. This resulted in two creations the ability for motherships to mass recall, and the creation of three arkships that would be a failsafe against protoss society falling to a random chance. However, when pondering the question of whether or not to build more, the Grand Preservers discovered they had built the arkships too early, and told the Conclave that they would be thrown away in a last stand if not saved only for a dire need in protoss civilization. The Conclave agreed, and the arkships were sealed away. On each one, one of the Grand Preservers were put into stasis, as well as a cadre of protoss warriors.

When the Golden Age came to a close, the motherships were left out in space and the crews put in stasis.

Humanity and the Coming of the Zerg
The protoss witnessed the terran arrival in the Koprulu sector. Knowing that they would prove to be an interesting study, the protoss watched over the terrans and found them fascinating. The protoss were alarmed at how quick the terrans accessed and drained the natural resources from their various worlds. But they were forbidden under the dictates of the Dae'Uhl to interfere with the terrans.

Before making first contact with the zerg, the protoss were being systematically exterminated and were starting to die out from their sheer age.

In 2499, Executor Tassadar found probes en route to the Koprulu sector floating near the borders of protoss space. He brought them back to Aiur for immediate study. The protoss focused the energies of the khaydarin crystals through the probes' tiny minds in an attempt to discern their primary quarry. They were shocked to discover that the probes responded quickly and naturally to the crystals' energies, as it meant that they were engineered with xel'naga proto-genetics.

The protoss sent out advance scouts to scour the surrounding space-ways for any sign of the zerg. Tassadar claimed that under the dictates of the Dae'Uhl, it was their chosen responsibility to protect the terrans. However, the Conclave argued that if the terrans had already been infested, they were to be purified.

Although the Judicator and the Templar debated how they should involve themselves in the terrans' imminent plight, both agreed that the zerg were created by the xel'naga, which meant that they had best be on their guard. It was agreed to send Tassadar and his expeditionary force to monitor the terran worlds in an attempt to discern the severity of the impending danger. Aboard the Gantrithor, Tassadar found that Chau Sara had been infested by the zerg. When word reached the Conclave, it immediately ordered Tassadar to purify Chau Sara. On December 8, Tassadar obeyed and was then ordered to burn any neighboring worlds that were infested. He began to doubt the morality of his orders as he approached Mar Sara. He was unable to bring himself to destroy the colony or the fleet that had come to protect it.

Tassadar waited until thirteen hours after the terrans had evacuated Mar Sara before incinerating it from orbit. He did likewise at Antiga Prime.

On Tarsonis, Tassadar deployed ground forces to engage the primary zerg hive. However, a Sons of Korhal strike force led by Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan stopped Tassadar's interference at New Gettysburg. Tassadar's forces continued to battle the zerg across the core continent of Tarsonis.

The Conclave bade Tassadar to return to Aiur after the zerg abandoned Tarsonis, but Tassadar and Dark Prelate Zeratul were drawn to Char by a powerful psionic call. The two encountered each other there. Over the next few months, Zeratul taught Tassadar to combine his powers with those of the void.

Tassadar diverted Kerrigan while Zeratul killed Zasz and became temporarily linked with the Overmind. In that moment, the Overmind gleaned the location of Aiur from Zeratul's mind.

Once the Overmind's silence was broken, Kerrigan's cerebrate set a trap for the Dark Templar before she herself devastated Tassadar and Zeratul's armies.

The Fall of Aiur
The protoss failed to prevent the zerg from seizing the khaydarin crystals. They were also unsuccessful in defending the temple which marked the site where the xel'naga first set foot upon Aiur. Once it was destroyed, the protoss launched a final offensive to keep them from the ruins, but they were held at bay by the zerg while a drone set the khaydarin crystal in its place.

The Conclave dictated that the first priority was to strengthen their defenses. Two days after the zerg invasion, the new Executor, Artanis, reinforced Antioch, coming to the assistance of Praetor Fenix.

At the Citadel of the Executor the following night, Judicator Aldaris was meeting with Fenix and Artanis when they were contacted by Tassadar, who told them to destroy the cerebrates. Artanis kept the zerg occupied while Fenix penetrated their perimeter and killed a cerebrate. Fenix remained behind to observe the effects of their attack and saw the cerebrate reincarnated.

Scion fell to the zerg. Aldaris and Artanis led their main strike force there while Fenix remained with a small detachment to guard Antioch from any further assaults. While the hive cluster near scion was destroyed, Antioch came under attack by overwhelming zerg forces. At Aldaris' urging, Fenix held his position for as long as possible, but was defeated and presumed killed. In fact, his ruined body was recovered and transplanted into a dragoon.

The Conclave believed its stratagems were winning the war against the zerg and ordered Aldaris to arrest Tassadar. With only a small fleet for protection, Aldaris and Artanis traveled to Char and found Tassadar with Jim Raynor. However, Tassadar managed to convince Artanis to help him find Zeratul.

Aldaris returned to Aiur, where he and the Conclave branded Tassadar and Artanis as traitors. They sought to arrest them and execute Zeratul.

Tassadar fought his way to an installation on Char. Along the way, he destroyed a Terran Dominion fleet under General Edmund Duke. Inside, Tassadar battled his way through zerg and found Zeratul, who agreed to return with him to Aiur.

Upon their return to Aiur, Aldaris ordered Tassadar and Artanis to cease their resistance and surrender themselves to the judgement of the Conclave. Instead, Tassadar's followers fought their way through the Conclave Praetor Guard and destroyed the Heart of the Conclave. The sight of his brethren slaughtering one another proved to be more than Tassadar could stand, and he submitted himself to the Conclave.

The Dark Templar slipped away as Tassadar was taken into Judicator custody. Fenix escaped and, with help from Raynor aboard the Hyperion, found Tassadar's stasis cell and freed him. They were then surrounded by Conclave agents under Aldaris, but Zeratul rescued them.

Fenix and his forces engaged the primary zerg hive cluster, weakening their defenses. Once their numbers thinned out, Zeratul infiltrated the clusters and assassinated two cerebrates so as to distract the Overmind long enough for them to assault it directly. The Conclave witnessed this and realized that they were in error. Aldaris communicated this to Tassadar and Artanis. With the help of Raynor's Raiders, Tassadar and his followers weakened the Overmind, sustaining heavy losses in the process. Tassadar channeled Dark Templar energies through the hull of the Gantrithor and steered it on a collision course with the Overmind, destroying it.

The Brood War
The Great Fleet was destroyed in the invasion and the Conclave was eradicated along with nearly seventy percent of Aiur's population. Aldaris, Fenix, Zeratul and Raynor banded together in order to unite and lead the scattered survivors, but the zerg continued to slaughter every protoss they encountered.

Artanis was appointed the new Praetor and met with Aldaris, Zeratul and a new Executor at an isolated base. At Zeratul's suggestion, the Khalai survivors retreated to their last functional warp gate, fighting through a sizable zerg force to get there. Fenix and Raynor held back and protected their flank while the Executor got the Khalai survivors through the gate and traveled to Shakuras.

Fenix and Raynor were unable to prevent the zerg from taking control of the warp gate. On Shakuras, Artanis, Zeratul and the Executor reconnoitered the surrounding area and found a suitable location for a more permanent settlement. They were ambushed by hydralisks but saved by the Dark Templar. While Fenix and Raynor fought to retake the warp gate on Aiur, Artanis had the gate on Shakuras secured. To prevent the zerg from sending more reinforcements to Shakuras, Fenix decided to remain with Raynor on Aiur and shut the gate down. Artanis sent though all the troops he could spare.

Matriarch Raszagal welcomed the Khalai survivors to Shakuras and telling them of the xel'naga temple. At her command, the protoss scoured the temple grounds of a zerg infestation, including two cerebrates. It was then that Aldaris, Zeratul and Raszagal were approached by Kerrigan. Hearing that she brought news of an event that threatened them all, they escorted her back to their Citadel.

Kerrigan told Raszagal, Aldaris, Zeratul, Artanis and the Executor that there was a new Overmind growing on Char. Zeratul prioritized saving Shakuras over assaulting the new Overmind, and Raszagal asked them to accept Kerrigan's assistance when she offered to help find the Uraj and Khalis. Artanis, Zeratul and the Executor led an army to Braxis and overcame the Dominion defenses there. Kerrigan found the Uraj and a probe was sent to retrieve it.

After slipping through the United Earth Directorate blockade unscathed, the protoss proceeded to Char and retrieved the Khalis from the broods near the new Overmind.

During this time, Aldaris discovered that Raszagal had been manipulated by Kerrigan. He and a legion of Khalai survivors began an open revolt against her. Raszagal ordered the Executor to terminate Aldaris and quell the uprising. Artanis and Zeratul confronted Aldaris, but Kerrigan killed him before he could reveal Raszagal's secret. Zeratul banished Kerrigan for interfering in a protoss matter. Artanis carried the Uraj to the temple while Zeratul handled the Khalis. The Executor prevented the zerg from destroying the temple while Artanis and Zeratul channeled the temple's energies. Once the channeling was complete, the protoss withdrew into the temple, which obliterated the zerg on Shakuras.

On Aiur, Fenix and Raynor were contacted by Kerrigan, who asked them to bring Emperor Arcturus Mengsk to her. A small protoss fleet accompanied the Hyperion to Korhal. From there they were recalled to Aiur with the Norad III.

Back on Aiur, the warp gate was activated and Fenix's troops held off the zerg who were incited to attack by its energies. However, the base was destroyed by the Captain's forces.

Rihod, a high templar commander, traveled to the Velari Templar School upon the Fall of Aiur, seeking to rescue a teacher, Lekila. By the time he reached there, the protoss had already evacuated Aiur. He took the injured Lekila to safety. She had lost her psionic appendages and began to embrace the Void.

Rihod and Lekila returned to the school to recover a xel'naga artifact, the Kassia crystal, which could increase the protoss reproduction rate, but could do the same thing to the zerg (or reduce either one of them). The crystal was only recovered when Rihod and Lekila fused to form a twilight archon.

An emergency signal from Aiur, caused by the zerg invasion, activated the Moratun, a mothership commanded by their inventor, Juras. Having been asleep for a very long time, he was unaware of the Great War or even the zerg. He traveled to Samiku, rescuing Martul and other zealots, but wished to avoid fighting the zerg, which he saw as a sentient species. The Moratun traveled to Aiur after the evacuation, where Juras became aware of the true horror of the zerg. With little information about the location of the protoss evacuees, Juras took the fleet of motherships in search of the protoss.

Meanwhile, Zeratul led a special mission to Aiur, looking to recover wounded protoss heroes, who inhabited stasis cells surrounded by the zerg. The heroes were attacked by Dark Templar under the command of Ulrezaj. Only Eredas survived, emerging within the shell of a Dragoon.

Ulrezaj and his followers were put on trial on Shakuras, where they revealed their hatred of the Templar Caste, but the trial was interrupted by the Schezar's Scavengers, who attacked Shakuras. During the battle, Ulrezaj and his minions escaped, stealing a khaydarin crystal.

Following the crystal's emanations to Korhal, the protoss discovered it was being used to somehow control zerg. Ulrezaj's minions were not present, but the Scavengers were. The protoss recovered the crystals, only to discover something even more shocking; they were fakes created from a strange fusion of Dark Templar and zerg energy.

They tracked more false crystals to Char, where Ulrezaj's minions and his enslaved zerg were performing experiments. The crystals were shattered by the psionic fury of a Dark Archon.

Ulrezaj had another plan, however; along with the Scavengers, his forces operated a powerful EMP Generator on a space platform over Shakuras. The pulses disrupted the energies and shields of Shakuras's defenders but did not harm the Fist of Ulrezaj or the Scavengers. During the battle, the defenders of Shakuras destroyed the Generator and slew Alan Schezar.

Fenix and Raynor brought Mengsk to Kerrigan's fortress on Tarsonis, where she struck an alliance with them to defeat the UED.

Fenix led a zerg raid on Moria, pilfering ten thousand minerals from the Kel-Morian Combine.

On Korhal, Fenix and Raynor assaulted a UED fortification outlying the main base at Augustgrad. The next morning, Kerrigan betrayed and killed Fenix.

When Kerrigan returned to Shakuras, the pylon clusters generated an electromagnetic field that prevented her fliers from maneuvering. These clusters were infiltrated by Samir Duran, who caused a surge within them, resulting in an explosion which destroyed Talematros. During the confusion, Kerrigan's minions kidnapped Raszagal.

Zeratul took a carrier to Char Aleph and demanded to know why she had taken Raszagal. Kerrigan revealed that she stole Raszagal to use as leverage in getting him and his brethren to kill the Overmind for her, but Zeratul had reservations. He obeyed only when Raszagal asked him to do it for the sake of the protoss. Zeratul and his brethren went to the surface of Char and killed the Overmind. Zeratul then demanded that Kerrigan release Raszagal at once. However, when Kerrigan asked if she wished to return to her people, Raszagal replied that she wished only to serve Kerrigan and remain at her side. Zeratul realized that Kerrigan had corrupted Raszagal's mind.

Zeratul and his brethren circumvented Kerrigan's defenses and rescued Raszagal before regrouping with a number of protoss survivors on the surface of Char, but Kerrigan and her broods closed in before they were capable of dimensional recall. Zeratul cursed Kerrigan bitterly and dealt Raszagal a mortal blow rather than let her be recaptured. In her last moments, Raszagal thanked Zeratul for freeing her from Kerrigan's control and named him the new leader of the Dark Templar.

Upon leaving Char, Zeratul's immediate concern was to find Artanis. Tracking protoss power signatures emanating from an uncharted dark moon nearby, Zeratul decided to investigate. He found a small terran compound, with several stasis cells containing protoss and zerg. He also found a hybrid in cryogenic hibernation, having been bred by Duran. Deeply troubled by what he had seen, Zeratul went into self-imposed exile.

Artanis led an armada against Kerrigan's base of operations alongside Mengsk's fleet and the remainder of the UED fleet. However, they were defeated and returned to Shakuras to begin rebuilding their civilization.

Dark Times
"We have erred. Our hubris has blinded us to the dangers of the lesser races, and we have paid the price. We must rise to our former glory. We must summon our full strength. Some things may have been too terrible for kinder days, but if we must bring to bear the weapons of the past to secure the future, then so be it. Pity those who stand before us. We are the Protoss. For Aiur!"

- A protoss declaration

The Khalai struggled to recover from the loss of Aiur while attempting to reunify their society with the Dark Templar. It was a difficult transition for both sides, and the name Raszagal was invoked more than once to keep the peace. Interacting with the Dark Templar and xel'naga temple led to many new developments as the protoss prepared for continuing the war with the zerg. The Hierarchy was established to govern this new unified protoss, but division nearly caused its collapse. Only the acceptance of Artanis to the role of Hierarch held together the tenuous alliance. Construction began of a Golden Armada in order to reclaim Aiur from the zerg.

Protoss-controlled space has since been referred to as the Daelaam. Protoss warmed to the idea that if they were to survive, they had to accept change.

The protoss used to rely on living memory storehouses called preservers, who could access memories as far back as the Aeon of Strife and had access to secret knowledge. The protoss of Shakuras had to make do without any preservers, as the terrorist Ulrezaj's Dark Templar made attempts to wipe them out.

The protoss spent time developing/reclaiming war machines to ensure their continued survival, such as the void ray and colossus.

Protoss of Aiur
Following the disabling of the warp gate, some protoss were stranded on Aiur. They coalesced into a group known as the Shel'na Kryhas ("Those Who Endure"), led by a Templar named Ladranix. Most of the group consisted of Khalai, however.

Some members of the group regressed to a state similar to the protoss of the Aeon of Strife. They formed a new splinter group, the Tal'darim ("the Forged"), and hid themselves in a massive cavern system beneath Aiur's surface.

The two groups came into conflict over a preserver, Zamara. Two terran fugitives, archaeologist Jake Ramsey and mercenary Rosemary Dahl traveled to Aiur at the behest of Zamara, who lived only as a spirit within Ramsey's brain.

Zamara deciphered the reasons behind the Tal'darim's strange behavior; they were under the control of a drug, Sundrop, given to them by their Benefactor, the Xava'tor. The revelation of the Xava'tor's true identity shattered the unity of the Tal'darim. The Shel'na Kryhas, however, quickly found itself under attack by Sarah Kerrigan's zerg, who were also interested in the preserver. A battle ensued. Zamara repaired the warp gate as the Xava'tor itself arrived on the battlefield, seeking to capture the preserver for its own purposes. The protoss held him off long enough for the two terrans and a small number of protoss to travel through the warp gate to Shakuras.

Urona Sigma
By 2502 the protoss had again begun a campaign against the zerg, along with their allies, Raynor's Raiders, who had taken to hiding from the Terran Dominion on zerg-infested worlds such as Urona Sigma.

A trio of Dark Templar who had been hunting xel'naga artifacts found one in the possession of the War Pigs, a team of outlaws hired by Dominion official Tamsen Cauley to assassinate Jim Raynor. The Dark Templar took their warning to Raynor, also telling him the protoss would begin the purification of Urona Sigma shortly.

The Raiders planned to leave, but the War Pigs and then the zerg found them. The Raiders (and War Pigs) were stranded on the planet as the protoss began purifying the world. The purification attack was a trick, however, which eventually enabled Raynor to escape with assistance from the War Pigs.

The Dark Templar Saga
In 2503, the warp gate between Aiur and Shakuras opened, disgorging terran fugitive Rosemary Dahl and survivors from Aiur, the "Forged" (Tal'darim). All had been addicted to the drug Sundrop, provided to them by the secretive dark archon terrorist, Ulrezaj, but had fled upon discovering the truth. They had accompanied Jake Ramsey, another terran fugitive, and Zamara, a deceased preserver who now continued her existence in Ramsey's head, but the latter were cut off when the warp gate was redirected. Zamara had been carrying knowledge critical to the protoss.

The protoss refused to believe the tales told by these people, fearing they may have been derived from their addiction to Sundrop. After their addictions were broken and the stories verified, Dahl convinced Executor Selendis, Hierarch Artanis and the new government, the Hierarchy, to rescue Ramsey and Zamara. Mohandar, the leader of the Nerazim, the Dark Templar tribe, believed that Zamara would head to Ehlna, a sacred moon where memory transfers were frequently conducted. Mohandar refused to allow more than a few templar to accompany him. There they found Ramsey, Zamara, and Zeratul. Zamara had told Zeratul the secrets of the xel'naga cycle, but Zeratul felt he should leave to investigate Zamara's assumptions before returning to lead the Nerazim.

Ulrezaj had secretly reached Ehlna in order to recharge powers lost in the previous battle, but he had in turn been followed by the zerg, led by newly-infested terran Ethan Stewart, and the zerg had in turn been followed by Terran Dominion forces under the control of the Heir Apparent, Valerian Mengsk. A massive four-sided battle erupted, resulting in the imprisonment of Ulrezaj, the defeat of the zerg and the temporary loss of the moon to the Dominion.

Wings of Liberty
In 2504, Zeratul was drawn to Ulaan to uncover an ancient prophecy. He skirmished with Kerrigan there. A Daelaam force under Praetor Karass tracked Kerrigan to Ulaan. They aided Zeratul in reaching the shrine, then stood against Kerrigan while Zeratul escaped with the prophecy fragments. Zeratul gathered allies and made his way to Zhakul hoping that three preservers could transcribe the prophetic fragments. However, Maar imprisoned the preservers and took over the Zhakul Guardians. Zeratul's forces freed the preserves and killed Maar. The preservers then interpreted the prophecy.

Zeratul returned to Aiur to learn the Overmind's secrets by making contact with the tendrils connected directly to its cortex. There he encountered the spirit of Tassadar, who revealed that the directive to destroy the protoss was forced upon the zerg and that Kerrigan was the only one who could free the zerg from slavery. Zeratul was shown a vision of the last of the protoss being destroyed by hybrids and zerg.

The Tal'darim on Monlyth came under attack from both the zerg and Raynor's Raiders. Stone guardians were also unable to keep Raynor's Raiders from seizing the artifact. On Xil, the Tal'darim wiped out a Moebius Foundation expedition. When Raynor's Raiders took control of the base, they mobilized their forces against them, but failed to stop them from securing another artifact from a xel'naga temple.

Zeratul imparted his memory into an Ihan crystal and boarded the Hyperion. In Access Hall F, he gave Raynor the crystal and urged him to study it before departing.

A Tal'darim expeditionary force failed to keep Raynor's Raiders from seizing another piece of the artifact on Typhon XI.

The Tal'darim imprisoned Dark Templar who opposed them on a derelict xel'naga worldship in the Sigma Quadrant. When Raynor arrived, these Dark Templar encouraged him to release them so that they could fight at his side against the Tal'darim. A Tal'darim mothership was deployed in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the terrans from reaching the vault containing the last piece of the artifact.

Heart of the Swarm
A protoss expedition came to Kaldir to see if its rotation could be altered and its climate improved. When Broodmother Nafash took her brood there, the protoss struck. Nafash fell back to prepared positions in the ice valleys, where the protoss hunted her down and killed her. Kerrigan arrived sometime thereafter, and the Expedition Leader attempted to contact Shakuras and have them send the Golden Armada. However, Kerrigan destroyed their psi-link spires and they retreated. Lassara was captured in the wastes and subdued by the zerg.

The Expedition Leader then tried to get shuttles through warp conduits, but Kerrigan destroyed the shuttles before they could reach the conduits. The vessel used to travel to Kaldir escaped, so Kerrigan placed a parasite into Lasarra and let the other protoss warp her in. The larva grew into Niadra, whom Kerrigan gave a directive to spawn a brood and destroy the protoss. Niadra destroyed the warp drive along with the escape pods and killed every protoss aboard.

Zeratul confronted Kerrigan aboard her leviathan, and told her she would need to claim the power of Zerus and the primal zerg.

A number of Tal'darim who worshipped Amon occupied the sanctum of Skygeirr Station. They failed to keep Alexei Stukov from deactivating five temples that were amplifying Emil Narud's power.

Children of the Void
On Shakuras, the Khalai prepared their fleets for the reclaiming of Aiur. However, the single minded drive to reclaim their home, and cultural erosion caused by the presence of the Khalai, caused a rift between the Nerazim and Khalai protoss. A vocal proponent of this fact was Raszagal's daughter, Vorazun. While not on the Hierarchy, she appeared at meetings and was an outspoken critic of Artanis and his disregard for Nerazim values as well as Mohandar, who she viewed as a puppet of the Khalai. Many Nerazim followed her teachings, including her student Taelus. Taelus gathered a group of dark templar, and seized control of the Citadel.

Vorazun, hearing of this, went with Mohandar to negotiate with Taelus, but he refused, wanting to spark a conflict between the Nerazim and Khalai that would remove the Khalai from Shakuras. Seeing no alternative, Vorazun and Mohandar attacked Taelus, initially with nonlethal means, but Taelus stuck down and killed Mohandar. Vorazun then slew Taelus. She addressed her people in the aftermath, saying they should not fear the Daelaam, and look forward to their future. She later met with Artanis, and offered part of the Nerazim for the reclamation of Aiur, though they could not commit their full force. Artanis accepted this, and supported her bid for Matriarch. Vorazun would soon after take the role of Matriarch and leader of the Nerazim in the wake of Mohandar's death.

Whispers of Oblivion
The Tal'darim abducted Templar from the Daelaam colony worlds and brought them to a Moebius facility to be turned into hybrids. With the aid of Zeratul, a force under Praetor Talis avoided the attacking zerg and freed the captive Templar.

Zeratul and Talis traveled to Atrias, where Highlord Ma'lash had the Temple of Erris sealed. Zeratul and Talis' forces managed to breach the entrance, but the Tal'darim came in force to rescue Ma'lash. Talis and her forces stood guard as Zeratul infiltrated the temple. At Amon's command, Ma'lash readied the Tal'darim for war. To delay Amon's forces, Zeratul destroyed the void catalyst and was granted a vision from the xel'naga. Talis sacrificed herself while Zeratul escaped to warn Artanis.

The First Reclamation
Artanis led the Golden Armada to Aiur in hopes of reclaiming their homeland. However, Zeratul appeared to warn Artanis that Amon had return, and that the invasion would only weaken the protoss. Artanis chose to ignore Zeratul, and continued with the invasion. The protoss overwhelmed the seemingly feral zerg, clearing out the warp conduits to allow the greater part of their forces to warp in. However, the feral zerg began to show signs of tactics, and when the protoss assaulted the last conduit hybrid appeared to defend them. The protoss destroyed the hybrid, but Artanis was troubled, and decided to listen to Zeratul.

Zeratul warned Artanis that the End War had come, and the only way they could defeat Amon was by using the Keystone, which was on Korhal. Using the Keystone, they could awaken the xel'naga, and thus gain the edge against Amon. Artanis agreed, and sent Zeratul to retrieve the artifact while he prepared his forces. However, Zeratul found the Void Seeker had been destroyed. He moved his forces to a nearby base, when Executor Selendis reported that she had lost contact with Artanis in the Khala. Zeratul was surprised as this was impossible, and fought through the zerg to reach him. On the way, he encountered Khalai protoss who attacked his forces, and had to be killed. When he reached the base, Zeratul discovered the Amon had corrupted the Khala, and any Protoss connected to it was under his control. He fought his way to Artanis, who was fighting his control, and tried to sever his nerve chord to disconnect him from the Khala. Zeratul was successful, but at the cost of his own life. In his last moments, Zeratul told Artanis that the Keystone would be the key to their salvation.

Artanis found Phase-smith Karax, who had his nerve chord severed. The two gathered what free protoss they could, and attempted to activate the Spear of Adun], the ancient arkship buried beneath Khor-shakal. The Daelaam attempted to activate the power cells of the arkship, but were impeded by hybrid, zerg, and corrupted Khalai. The Daelaam managed to activate the arkship, and left Aiur what what loyalists they had. Onboard, they discovered the ancient Grand Preserver Rohana and a contingent of warriors in stasis, and Karax severed the nerve chords of the warriors in stasis. Rohana refused to have her nerve chord severed, stating she could serve better if she was still with the Khala.

The End War Begins
Artanis took the Spear of Adun back to Shakuras in order to rally Nerazim support. However, when he arrived there he found the planet under siege by Amon's zerg. Matriarch Vorazun contacted Artanis, and told him that the warp gate connecting Aiur and Shakuras had been reactivated and that zerg were pouring through. They were attempting to evacuate Talematros, but the launch bays were blocked by zerg creep. Artanis sent down forces to clear the launch bays and defend the city's warp conduit from void thrashers summoned by Amon. The launch bays were cleared, and the Nerazim were able to evacuate. Vorazun, upon seeing how infested her planet was, declared that it had to be destroyed. She settled on overloading the planet's xel'naga temple's phase matrix, which would destroy the planet entirely. Artanis and his forces defended the temple, even as Amon sent his hybrid through the warp gate. The operation was successful, and Shakuras was destroyed with a large amount of Amon's forces on it.

The Daelaam set a course for Korhal to retrieve the Keystone, but found the planet under siege by Moebius Corps, the military wing of the Moebius Foundation. Artanis contacted Commander Jim Raynor who lead the defense, and they found that Moebius Corps had disabled the Atmospheric stabilizers on the Sky Shield orbital platform with the intention of smashing it into Augustgrad. Daelaam and Dominion forces repaired the stabilizers, and prevented the impact. However, in the fighting Moebius Corps raided Korhal Palace and stole the Keystone, taking it to Bennet Port. There they were aided by hybrid, who channeled void energy into the Keystone to stun all terrans in the area. A combined Daelaam and Dominion assault pushed to the Keystone and repelled Moebius Corps and the hybrid from Korhal, but at a great cost to the city. Raynor and Artanis said they goodbyes, and the Keystone was taken aboard the Spear of Adun.

Artanis moved on the Glacius research facility, where Khalai scientists had developed new Purifiers. However, when the Daelaam arrived they found the facility under siege by the Tal'darim under First Ascendant Alarak. He unleashed a displacement beam on the facility with the intention of destroying the Purifier research. Daelaam forces races through the beam and broke through the Tal'darim defenses to get to the facility's technology vault, and brought it aboard the Spear of Adun. There they found that it contained a prototype Purifier with the memories of Praetor Fenix. While Artanis was overjoyed to see his old friend, the sight of him back from the dead troubled him.

The Temple of Unification
Meanwhile, Phase-smith Karax uncovered the true purpose of the Keystone, which was to guide the chosen races to the resting place of the xel'naga in order to awaken them. Upon activating the Keystone, he found it lead them to the Alterian Rift, where no life should exist. Artanis set a course for the rift, and rather than being shredded into their base particles, the protoss arrived at Ulnar, the Temple of Unification. They moved to open the locks protecting the temple, but were met by the Tal'darim and Moebius Corps, who attempted to keep the temple sealed. The Daelaam fought through them, and Artanis entered the temple alone.

There in the temple, Artanis found Kerrigan, who was fighting the hybrid. She said she had been fighting them for weeks, and that she came seeking the xel'naga as well. The two paired up, and fought through Moebius Corps, hybrid and Tal'darim forces to uncover the secrets of the temple. There it was revealed that the xel'naga the protoss had revered were Amon's, and that the Infinite Cycle was that of two races being indirectly influenced by the xel'naga into their purities. They arrived at the resting chamber of the xel'naga, only to find that the xel'naga had been killed. Amon taunted Artanis with an image of his host body on Aiur, then opened a portal to the Void with intent to trap him and Kerrigan.

Meanwhile on the Spear of Adun, First Ascendant Alarak boarded the vessel and warned Vorazun that Artanis was in danger. Though hesitant to trust him, Vorazun decided to take a risk and sent forces to aid him. She found him and Kerrigan locked in a fight against Amon's forces, with a void portal spilling void energies. Kerrigan took the brunt of the energies while Artanis's forces destroyed the void crystals powering the portal. The crystals were destroyed, but the Zerg Swarm had lost a good number of forces and had to rebuild. Kerrigan told Artanis that he needed to gather allies in order to survive the coming war.

A New Daelaam
The corrupted Golden Armada under Amon began assaulting the Terran Dominion. Their forces amassed for a defense, but were slowly pushed back by a more powerful protoss fleet.

Artanis met with Alarak, who said that if the Daelaam helped him become Highlord, he would remove the Tal'darim from the End War. Though hesitant to trust him, Artanis eventually conceded, and set course for Slayn. There the Alarak tricked the Daelaam into defeating the Guardians of Ma'lash, though they were not part of the Rak'Shir ritual that would lead to his ascension. Alarak challenged Highlord Ma'lash to Rak'Shir, and he accepted. Daelaam forces supported Alarak as he came into conflict with Ma'lash, overcoming the Tal'darim and hybrid forces that attempted to stop them. Ma'lash was beaten and deposed, and Alarak told the Tal'darim that Amon had lied to them; they would not ascend into hybrid, and that Amon had to die for his treachery. Artanis met with Alarak, and after some verbal sparring, Alarak agreed to devote forces to help Artanis in the conflict against Amon.

In order to gain the edge, Artanis decided that the ancient Purifiers had to be reawakened on Endion. He saw the great potential of the Purifier Fenix, and in spite of the protests of Rohana, decided to deactivate the stasis locks surrounding Cybros. However, when they arrived on Endion they found it overrun with Amon's zerg. Artanis reactivated the Megalith on the planet, and fought through the zerg hives to break the stasis of Cybros. However, when the stasis locks went down Amon's zerg, with hybrid support, infested the platform and began streaming forces in. Daelaam forces began to reactivate the platform, and the ancient Purifiers met them. Though skeptical of the Daelaam's intentions, they agreed to discuss their purpose with them after the zerg had been cleared. The platform was cleared out, and Cybros's purification beam was turned on Endion, cleansing it of all zerg. The Purifiers were skeptical, but agreed to help Artanis in his war as long as the Fenix Purifier spoke for them.

Meanwhile, Vorazun had her best dark templar scouts attempt to uncover the location of Amon's main hybrid breeding facility. They discovered it was in the central Moebius Corps base on Revanscar. The Spear of Adun set a course for the asteroid belt, but were trapped by Moebius Corps battlecruisers and boarded. Artanis and his warriors set to defend the ship, but left Phase-smith Karax to continue the attack on the base. Karax disabled the generators powering the station, allowing the Spear of Adun to clear the boarders and bombard the facility. The destruction of Revanscar removed Moebius Corps from the conflict and prevented the development of more hybrids. For his honor in battle, Karax was granted the role of an honorary templar, and Artanis declared that the age of the caste system was past, and abolished it.

Return to Aiur
With the Khalai, Nerazim, Purifiers, and Tal'darim all unified under the Daelaam, Artanis returned to Aiur. Artanis devised a plan; destroy Amon's host body, then use the modified Keystone to pull Amon from the Khala in the same way Narud used it to pull the infestation from Kerrigan. With nowhere to possess, Amon would return to the Void. However, Artanis knew Amon would recall the Golden Armada to defend him, and that they had to be delayed. He set on destroying the psionic matrix on Aiur, and his commanders destroyed the three khaydarin crystals powering the matrix. This prevented the Golden Armada from warping back to Aiur.

With the Golden Armada delayed, the Daelaam assaulted Amon's host body, a hybrid made from the corpse of the Overmind and the bodies of the protoss. They targeted the Void shards protecting him, and fought through zerg, corrupted Khalai, hybrids and shadows of the Void to weaken him. When the last shard fell, Amon awakened his host form, but a combined orbital bombardment from the Daelaam fleet destroyed the host body. Without a host, Amon was forced to reside only in the Khala.

The Daelaam set up the Keystone to purge Amon, but Amon sent a large force of his zerg against their position. During the conflict, the corrupted Golden Armada arrived, and the Daelaam were forced to fight them. Though they were nearly overrun, the Keystone activated in time, purging Amon from the corrupted Protoss. The protoss connected to the Khala, lead by Selendis, severed their nerve chords. Amon broke free from the keystone, but with no host to possess, was thrust into the Void.

In the aftermath, Artanis visited Zeratul's grave, thanking him for the victory he had brought them. Cities on Aiur began to be rebuilt, with both Khalai and Nerazim architecture.

Into the Void
The Daelaam would be contacted by Kerrigan, who told them to meet her at Ulnar. There Artanis and Selendis went with the Spear of Adun, and Kerrigan revealed she was being called to by a benevolent voice in the Void, and that Amon still lived. In order to end the conflict once and for all, they had to slay him in the Void. Artanis agreed, and the Daelaam, Zerg Swarm and Terran Dominion entered the Void. There, Artanis heard the voice of his old master Tassadar. He went to him, but found he was imprisoned by the ancient xel'naga Narud. The protoss, with the help of the zerg and terrans, fought their way to Narud and slew him. Tassadar's spirit revealed himself to be the xel'naga Ouros, and that he needed to give Kerrigan his essence to continue the Infinite Cycle and allow her to defeat Amon.

As Ouros channeled his essence into Kerrigan, the Daelaam defended her from the southern approach against Amon. The defense was successful, and she ascended into xel'naga. When Kerrigan went to face Amon, Artanis and the Daelaam also sent forces, moving to destroy the void crystals defending him. This attack was successful, and Kerrigan broke through Amon's defenses and slew him. With Amon's death, the End War was over.

Aftermath
After the conflict, Artanis offered a permanent alliance with Alarak and the Tal'darim. Alarak declined, and set off to find a new world for his people. He gave his warriors one chance to stay with the Daelaam. Meanwhile, the Daelaam entered peace negotiations with the Terran Dominion.

Insurgency
During the Defenders of Man Insurgency, a Tal'darim outpost was destroyed by the terran separatist group the Defenders of Man. In response, Alarak and First Ascendant Ji'nara deployed the Death Fleet to Terran Dominion space, and attacked a Defenders of Man base on Tyrador IX as they were fighting the feral zerg. However, the Defenders of Man were defending the civilians of the planet, and so Agent Nova Terra of the Terran Dominion destroyed their Tal'darim mothership, ending the Tal'darim offensive.

Meanwhile, Alarak boarded the Griffin, Nova's flagship, to talk with her. The two made a bargain, he would help her obtain terrazine to undo her mind wipe and she would lead him to the Defenders of Man. They agreed, and Alarak showed her the way to Jarban Minor. Nova gathered the terrazine after a fight with the zerg and Ji'nara's forces, and Alarak told her when she found what he wanted he would know.

Later, after Vardona was revealed to be the center of the Defenders of Man and General Carolina Davis their leader, Alarak unleashed the Death Fleet upon Vardona, killing Dominion soldiers, Defenders of Man and civilians alike. He psionically informed Nova that their bargain had been fulfilled, but Nova refused to allow him to slaughter civilians. The Terran Dominion, Nova's Covert Ops Crew and the lower ranking Defenders of Man who disavowed Davis mounted a defense, and made a line against the Tal'darim. Though the Tal'darim tried to send their forces against them, they could not break the terran line. Soon Admiral Matt Horner brought the Dominion Fleet, and Gorgon-class battlecruisers strafed the attack lanes of the Tal'darim. Ji'nara attempted to take two motherships to break the terrans, but she too was repelled. With heavy casualties, the Tal'darim were forced to retreat from Vardona.

Alarak contacted Nova in the aftermath, stating that she had just made a powerful enemy. She told him he had as well, and demanded he never come back, before cutting communications.

The One-Day War
By 2512, the Daelaam were struggling to rebuild from the wars of the past decade. The loss of the Khala was still a source of great strife for protoss society, though the protoss were able to continue military and technological advancement. As such, the protoss were unable to provide aid to their struggling terran neighbors.

Artanis later got word that the nearby planet of Gystt, formerly purified by the protoss in the Great War, had its satellites stop transmitting. Artanis sent a force to investigate, but found the purified world regrown by the zerg. The Daelaam prepared to purify the planet, but were stopped when the Dominion Fleet under Emperor Valerian Mengsk arrived. Zagara greeted them both, and stated that she came to help them both rebuild their worlds as she had with Gystt. She offered to meet with them on the surface, and Artanis reluctantly agreed, so long as they could send a survey team to validate Zagara's claims.

Unbeknownst to them. Abathur the evolution master of the zerg had engineered a plot to trick the Daelaam and Dominion into destroying the breeds that created the planet, the adostra, and respark a war between the factions so that the Swarm could once again be dominant. To do this he engineered a breed named the chitha, which could command zerg, disrupt communications and hamper psionics. The Daelaam were tricked into destroying the second of three adostra nests with a disruptor blast, and suffered heavy casualties. However, they were able to hold the line against the chitha defending the third nest. Soon Abathur's plot was revealed, and his chitha were destroyed. With Abathur incapacitated, the Daelaam began talks with the Dominion and Zerg Swarm on how to best use the adostra to rebuild.