Xerana

Xerana is a Protoss Dark Templar and a main character in StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga.

Background
Xerana is typical of all Dark Templar, her ancestors banished from Aiur by the Conclave for refusing to submit to the Khala. Like many of her kind, Xerana remained loyal to her homeworld and species but bore little to no ill will to those who had banished her people. Burning with desire to understand their origins and why the Xel'Naga had considered the Protoss failures and subsequently created the Zerg, Xerana is part of a group dedicated to seeking information that can reveal more of Protoss and Xel'Naga history. As of the events of StarCraft, she had been seeking knowledge for nearly a century, wandering through the cosmos in her Scout vessel.

It appears that at some point she came into contact with Terrans and Zerg, or at least obtained a detailed understanding of them

Relics
Not long after the destruction of the Overmind on Aiur, Xerana was carrying out an excavation on an obsucre world, one which featured the ruins of a Xel'Naga city. Although the ruins had been subject to erosion, the sun and wind for millenia, she managed to uncover an obelisk with some Xel'Naga pictographs. Cross referancing them with relics that she had already obtained, she managed to translate the ancient text and set off in search of more relics...

...and recieve a message.

Legacy of the Xel'Naga
It took Xerana days to translate the transmission, sorting out the electromagnetic waves into various layers and cross referance it with the artefacts that she'd collected. By the end of the process, she'd traced the source of the transmission to the world of Bhekar Ro. A Xel'Naga temple had been reawakened, sending the same transmission throughout space. Knowing that other Protoss and perhaps even the Zerg would be drawn to it, Xerana set off to the planet, knowing that she alone understood what had transpired via the activation and the threat it posed. An ancient Xel'Naga experiment was stirring, one which required the DNA of both Zerg and Protoss to become manifest.

Bhekar Ro
By the time Xerana arrived on the planet, Terran, Zerg and Protoss forces were already engaged in combat, the Xel'Naga artefact as the prize. Using her psionic powers, she sent out a psychic call, hoping it would be answered. It was, although not the type of individual she expected; a Terran named Octavia Bren who had lost her brother to the artefact. Although the Terrans were not required by the creature inside the artefact, they were still at risk. She told Octavia to convince the Terran forces to withdraw while she tried to do the same for her Protoss breatheren.

Xerana did not have much success. While Executor Koronis was willing to listen to her, his superior, Judicator Amdor was not so reasonable, ordering her capture and execution. Managing to escape with the powers she had developed over her travels, Xerana quickly put as much distance between herself and the artefact. It was just as well, considering that Octavia had failed also, a nuclear strike having been ordered.

Upon impact the nuclear energy of the warheads was absorbed, fueling the creature inside with enough energy to begin its final metamorphosis, at least, after it had absorbed the DNA of every Protoss and Zerg in its nearby vicinity, along with destroying their forces in orbit.

The Search Continues
Xerana slipped away in the aftermath, seeking to follow the creature and/or discove more sleeping embryos. "She had so many questions and much to do...and all the Void in which to search."

Her current status is unknown.

Appearance
Xerana's appearance is typical of that of many Dark Templar; grey skin, a slender muscular body and amber eyes adapted to low light conditions. Her attire denotes her position as a scholar, dark robes held in place by a wide heiroglyphic-inscribed sash that signifies her profession. A wide collar is locked around her neck with a thin etched tablet of Xel'Naga origin attatched to it-her prize posession.

Personality
Curiosity and altruism are the two main aspects of Xerana's personality, both of which have been demonstrated aptly. Having lived as a recluse for around a century, Xerana has been sustained by her desire to uncove Protoss and Xel'Naga history. This remains true even when it came to pursuing the awakened energy creature, despite the inherant dangers such a search presented.

Xerana's altruism is demonstrated on Bhekar Ro, the extent of this character trait being excessive. Claiming that she'd contact the Zerg Overlords if she could about the danger of the artefact if she could and confronting the Khala following Protoss about the issue, even when it was certain that they'd greet her with hostility, it appears that at times Xerana's compassion overrides her sense of self preservation, not to mention, in the case of the Zeg, being slightly misplaced.

Abilities
Over her century of travel, Xerana has developed various abilities that not even her fellow Dark Templar can weild, along with having abilities similar to that of the Khala. In addition to being able to render herself invisible like other Dark Templar, Xerana has psionic abilities similar to that of the Khala, able to communicate over long distances (thus drawing Octavia to her).

Her most noticable ability is that of disrupting the Khala itself, using the power of the Void to errect 'dams' in the psychic flow. The result is that the Protoss who follow the path are temporarilly isolated psychically from each other, artificial cosntructs such as Dragoons unable to function. Although the effect is only temporary (although it's implied that Xerana could make the effect fatal if she desired), it gave her enough time to escape from the Protoss forces.