Khas

"Today, he goes by the name of Khas. We revere him, and honour his memory. He united us under the Khala...a system of order. The "Path of Ascension." It is what pulled us out of the Aeon of Strife. Without it, without this knowledge of how deeply we are one, we would have destroyed ourselves"

- Zamara describes Khas to Jake Ramsey.

Khas is the Protoss mystic credited with ending the Aeon of Strife and creating the psionic philosophy known as the Khala. His name is a Protoss word meaning "He Who Brings Order" - most Protoss do not know his real name, but the Preserver Zamara knows that his real name was "Savassan".

Biography
Savassan was a warrior of the Shelak Tribe near the end of the Aeon of Strife. Unlike most other Protoss, he didn't seem to suffer from hatred of the other tribes, but he didn't let any other Protoss except his student Temlaa know this.

During this period, the Shelak Tribe attempted to guard Xel'Naga relics from other tribes, even though they couldn't understand them. The relics couldn't be studied using psionic powers (they had no minds to read, nor did they have a "psionic interface") but they were covered with writing - the Protoss used psionics exclusively to communicate and did not understand the concept.

Savassan believed that the writing could be deciphered, if only he could study them. He announced that he would leave the Tribe, taking his student Temlaa with him. He copied as many inscriptions as he could onto animal skins (parchment) and carried them with him.

The Psychic Link
During his travels, Savassan stumbled into a cave full of Khaydarin Crystals. When he touched the crystals he accessed the Protoss psionic link which had been lost. He brought some of the crystals back to the Shelak Tribe. Telkar, leader of the Shelak, wanted to use the crystals as weapons. Savassan and Temlaa, however, were more interested in the crystals' other abilities - over time, they found they were not overwhelmed by the crystals and could access the psionic link without being near the crystals.

As Savassan and Temlaa studied the crystals, they began to understand the symbols on the relics. Savassan seemed to have a greater understanding of the symbols, but it was Temlaa who made the next breakthrough. In one case, he "grabbed" a damaged stone tablet in a dream, causing it to become whole. He memorized the symbols and woke up to write them down so Savassan could interpret them. They held a description of a place that held even more Xel'Naga relics. The two mystics continued to have more directed dreams, hoping to find the archive of relics.

Psychic Stresses
The two Protoss travelled to the location indicated in their dreams, finding a flat barren area with a large number of Khaydarin Crystals. They attempted to access the crystals and discovered they contained information, but had to be accessed in the right order. Savassan solved the Perfect Ratio problem, letting him know which crystals to access, and in which order. An artificial cavern in the ground opened itself up to the two Protoss.

Within the cavern they discovered several dessicated "dead" Protoss, all from different Tribes, connected to organic wires. They walked through a maze until they found the heart of the huge cavern, where they found a very large crystal which made a sound like a beating heart.

Savassan attached himself to the vines, which caused the huge crystal to glow magenta. Savassan immediately began to wither, resembling the other "dead" Protoss. Temlaa quickly used the console to free Savassan, who immediately began to heal, physically and mentally. Savassan said he and the crystal "shared things" and now he knew the path to healing. He told Temlaa that "we don't need the Xel'Naga, we only need each other".

The Protoss hated each other for driving the Xel'Naga away, but the real problem was hating their own flaws which had caused the loss of their communal link in the first place. Re-creating the link across the entire species would enable the Protoss to feel each others' emotions, heal the madness and end the Strife.

The End of the Strife
Savassan taught the Shelak Tribe how to access the link. Then he began calling Protoss from other tribes to him.

Through the power and connection of his newly-discovered psionic powers, Khas traveled throughout Aiur and other Protoss planets, gradually subsuming Protoss society into an ordered philosophy called the Khala.

Sometimes his opponents refused to respond to diplomacy, so Khas would resort to other measures. For instance, the planet of Gyras was occupied by Protoss who indulged in vicious blood feuds in an arena. When Khas travelled there, he called upon the forces of the Khaydarin Crystals and destroyed the arena. The bloodshed quickly ended.

Eventually, Khas' actions brought about the end of the Aeon of Strife.

In addition, he is responsible for ordering the tribes into the Judicator Caste, Templar Caste and Khalai Caste. His first group of students formed a new tribe, the Ara Tribe, but membership in the other tribes remained hereditary.

Legacy
Khas grew to a "ripe old age" and died peacefully. His spirit became one with the Khala.

Before the death of Adun, Templar warriors were often saluted with the phrase En Taro Khas.