Protoss history

The history of the protoss spans millenia.

The Firstborn
The protoss originated on Aiur, where they 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 the xel'naga for new truths and insights with reverence and awe. The Shelak Tribe was the one closest to the 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, the 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 the 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 amongst 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.

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. During the conflict, warriors used focused psionic energy to surround themselves in impregnable energy shields. Scribes recorded the wars and their heroes for future reference. The Akilae Tribe dominated the other tribes for centuries. 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, and the Akilae 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.

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.

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.

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.

The Golden Age of Protoss Expansion
Motherships led vast armadas throughout deep space. 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. Shrines and temple-gardens were built on Bel'Shir, which became a sacred spiritual retreat for the Templar. When it was abandoned, a group of fanatics chose to remain, calling themselves the Tal'darim. 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. It was abandoned as well. The Tal'darim remained to guard part of a xel'naga artifact.

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.

The protoss became less willing to interfere with other species after the Kalath Intercession. When the Golden Age came to a close, the motherships were left out in space and the crews put in stasis.

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 cut off their nerve-appendages to show their disdain for the Conclave and the Judicator. This act cut them off from the communal link, 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.

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 dicates 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 was horrified to find that Chau Sara had been infested by the zerg and wondered why the terrans had not rushed to aid it. When word reached the Conclave, it immediately ordered Tassadar to burn 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 until the zerg abandoned the planet and the Conclave bade Tassadar to return to Aiur.

A powerful, psionic call drew Tassadar and Dark Prelate Zeratul to Char. The two encountered each other there. Over the next few months, Tassadar learned to channel Dark Templar powers in tandem with that of his masters.

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.

Praetor Fenix defended Antioch from zerg attacks. The Conclave dictated that the first priority was to strengthen their defenses. Two days after the zerg invasion, the new Executor was ordered to reinforce Antioch. At the Citadel of the Executor the following night, Judicator Aldaris was meeting with Fenix and the Executor when they were contacted by Tassadar, who told them to destroy the cerebrates. The Executor 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. Meanwhile, Scion fell to the zerg.

Aldaris and the Executor led their main strike force to Scion 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 the Executor traveled to Char and found Tassadar with Jim Raynor. However, Tassadar managed to convince the Executor to help him find Zeratul.

Aldaris returned to Aiur, where he and the Conclave branded Tassadar and the Executor 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 the Executor 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. Aldaris took Tassadar into custody as the Dark Templar slipped away in the chaos. Fenix escaped with Tassadar's followers. With help from Raynor aboard the Hyperion, they 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 the Executor. With the help of Raynor's Raiders, Tassadar and his followers weakened the Overmind, sustaining severe damage 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 the 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. Zeratul informed Matriarch Raszagal of the fall of Aiur. She then met with Aldaris and Artanis, welcoming them 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. Aldaris did not believe that she was free from the Overmind's control stormed out. Zeratul prioritized saving Shakuras over assaulting the new Overmind. Kerrigan offered to help find the Uraj and Khalis, and Raszagal asked them to accept Kerrigan's assistance. 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.

Artanis, Zeratul and the Executor were contacted by Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov, who told them to lower their shields and power down their weapons systems. Instead, Artanis scouted ahead and found a way through the United Earth Directorate blockade. Zeratul regularly sent reinforcements while Artanis disabled a number of power generators, shutting down the platform defenses, and opening a way for the protoss to slip through unscathed. They 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. Zeratul authorized the creation of dark archons for this purpose. 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 scoured the zerg from 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.


 * Main article: Return of the Motherships

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. He was surprised when Kerrigan told him he was free to go, knowing that he would never be able to forgive himself for what she forced him to do.

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.

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
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.

Protoss-controlled space has since been referred to as the Protoss Protectorate. 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.

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 Infested 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 rechage 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 loss of both Ulrezaj and Zamara, the defeat of the zerg and the temporary loss of the moon to the Dominion.

Wings of Liberty
In 2504, Zeratul and Kerrigan were drawn to Ulaan to uncover an ancient prophecy. 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 the zerg and Raynor's Raiders. They sent stalkers against Raynor's base, but they were destroyed by marauders. 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. Unable to breach his defensive perimeter, the Tal'darim sent in warp prisms and archons, but they were destroyed by the [Drakken laser drill.

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. As Raynor's forces approached the vault where the last piece of the artifact, the Tal'darim Executor warped in aboard a mothership. Despite this, they were unable to keep Raynor from seizing 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. Her minions captured Lassara in the wastes and subdued her.

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 boarded Kerrigan's leviathan after she left Kaldir. He was attacked by her as soon as he made himself visible, but Zeratul stopped Kerrigan by showing her that he had been to Zerus and seen the primal zerg.

Zeratul returned to Zerus with Kerrigan. There, he urged Kerrigan to let Zerus remake her, as there was little time before the final war. Once Kerrigan was aware that he wanted her to awaken Zurvan, he decided that she no longer needed his guidance and set off to return to his people.

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

Legacy of the Void
The protoss have been picked off one-by-one, and their shattered civilization will fracture, forcing a leader to save them from annihilation.

Other Colonies
A few protoss colonies remain, but they don't have contact with one another and most are populated by fanatics.

Ash'Arak seems to be an exception to this general rule; after the, protoss warriors such as Muadun and Khastiana were able to travel to Shakuras in order to contribute to the war effort. Both took part in a battle at Artika.