Zagara

"Zagara is different than the other broodmothers. Tougher. Meaner."

- Sarah Kerrigan

Zagara is the current Overqueen of the Zerg Swarm; formerly Sarah Kerrigan's second-in-command and the first of the broodmothers.

Biography
Zagara was created on Char by Kerrigan, and the first broodmother to be created. She came to see the planet as a crucible for zerg evolution. She was originally a queen, but was mutated into a broodmother prior to the Second Great War by the Queen of Blades.

Char
"I will let you live, Zagara. I want to rebuild the Swarm, and you are a part of that plan."

- Kerrigan takes Zagara into the fold

After Sarah Kerrigan was made human again and captured by Raynor's Raiders, Zagara struck out on her own, establishing herself and her brood in the Acid Marsh on Char. In the absence of the Queen of Blades, Zagara sought to reunite the Swarm under her own leadership. She rallied the now feral zerg of Char to her side, and managed to hold out against the forces of General Horace Warfield. However, her brute tactics prevented her from achieving victory.

When Kerrigan returned to Char, Zagara challenged her authority. Kerrigan now appeared human and therefore, in Zagara's eyes, was unworthy to lead the Swarm. Kerrigan was able to control far more zerg than Zagara anticipated however and the broodmother was defeated. Kerrigan was about to kill Zagara, who revealed that she was only doing what she was told: to be strong and to lead by force of will. Zagara said she would follow Kerrigan because her will was strongest. The broodmother was forgiven and joined Kerrigan's forces. Following her return to the leviathan, Kerrigan asked Zagara for advice regarding how to drive Warfield from his position on the Dauntless Plateau.

Zagara explained that during the battle that had led to Kerrigan's de-infestation, the terrans had flooded the Nydus Network with lava. As such, the zerg would be left exposed on the surface.

Zagara explained that during the battle that had led to Kerrigan's de-infestation, the Terrans had destroyed the zerg's space platform above Char. As such, they controlled Char's skies.

Kerrigan was unfazed and decided to take on Zagara as a protégé, but was frustrated by the broodmother's lack of vision (and, for that matter, not understanding the concept at all). To this end, she sent Zagara to Abathur  for treatments to increase the size and complexity of her brain mass. After several unpleasant manipulations, Zagara's intelligence was finally sufficient to grasp Kerrigan's lessons&mdash;it was also sufficient for her to realize that she was not ready to rule the Swarm.

Kaldir
"I have always wanted to feel protoss bones snapping in my claws. May I?" "No, Zagara."

- Kerrigan keeps Zagara in check.

On Kaldir, Kerrigan arrived in search of the Nafash Brood, wanting to add it to her growing Swarm. Zagara claimed that her brood alone would be enough to take down Arcturus Mengsk, for terrans were a weak species. Kerrigan reminded her that Zagara had thought that of her on Char.

On the moon, Kerrigan defeated a Protoss Protectorate force and captured a prisoner. Kerrigan kept Zagara's sadistic urges in check, which confounded the broodmother at the notion of Kerrigan showing mercy. Kerrigan explained that violence was a tool, something to be used for the right job. Zagara maintained that this was a terran way of thinking, but Kerrigan responded that to a leader, everything and everyone was a tool to be used.

Zerus
"We came from this place? The zerg first evolved here, yes. I do not like it. A soft world. Char is far superior. Don't be so sure. Zerus may prove more dangerous than any world we've known."

- Zagara and Sarah Kerrigan after their arrival on Zerus

Zagara was unimpressed by Zerus and concluded that if the zerg did indeed come from the world, they had evolved a great deal. When her queen entered a chrysalis to boost her powers, Zagara defended her from attacking primal zerg. Afterwards, Kerrigan commented that as the primal Queen of Blades, she looked the role of the zerg leader, which might convince other broodmothers to return to the fold. Zagara stated that her appearence did not matter, that she had always been the leader of the Swarm, and would continue to be.

Skygeirr
Kerrigan allied with an infested terran, Alexei Stukov to destroy Skygeirr Platform, a Dominion based used to breed hybrids. Zagara could sense that Stukov was powerful, yet his mind was closed off. Kerrigan told Zagara of Stukov's history with the UED during the Brood War. As the Swarm progressed, Kerrigan commented on the base's defenses, and how the technology was beyond Mengsk's capabilities. Zagara suggested they may have had help from someone. That "someone" turned out to be Emil Narud, a shapeshifter. Kerrigan was uneasy, but Zagara pointed out that she had defeated Zurvan on Zerus. Kerrigan entered the depths of the facility and slew Narud, but not without being severely wounded in the process. Brought back to the leviathan, Zagara watched over the queen with Izsha as she recuperated, and told her that she would lead the Swarm until Kerrigan healed. When asked why she didn't take the Swarm as her own, Zagara explained that she still had much to learn from her queen.

Kerrigan recovered, and ordered that the Swarm depart Skygeirr. She explained that she had seen into Narud's mind, and had learnt that Amon was alive again. Zagara confidentally declared that he would fall before the Swarm, but Kerrigan pointed out they had no idea where he was. But before that, she wanted to finish her business in the Koprulu sector.

With Friends Like These
"I dislike space. It is cold and empty. Give me a turgid, wet hatchery."

- Zagara

Kerrigan made an alliance with Raynor's Raiders to rescue Jim Raynor from Dominion captivity. Zagara disliked being in space, and wanted to go back to assaulting worlds. After Raynor was rescued, she noticed something was wrong with her queen.

Assault on Korhal
"I will remember what you told me, my queen, but now the time for words is past. Let us kill." "You're right, Zagara. And there's no one I'd rather have as my second for this battle."

- Zagara and Kerrigan before the final assault

Finally, the time had come to assault Korhal. Zagara noted that the Dominion was pulling everything back into its system to protect the world. Kerrigan stated that the planet's defenses would kill millions of zerg before they even reached the ground, but Zagara maintained that the terrans had no chance. The Swarm was numberless.

The assault began, the Swarm making landfall outside Augustgrad. Zagara informed Kerrigan of gates that led into the capital. If Kerrigan destroyed them, she could direct her brood into the capital.

The gates were destroyed. Kerrigan ordered Zagara to move her brood into Augustgrad while she focused on defending the Swarm's bile launchers.

The bile launchers were successfully defended, and the area around Augustgrad secured. Kerrigan ordered Zagara to move her forces (further) into the city and surround Korhal Palace. Zagara was confident that victory was assured, but Kerrigan warned her not to underestimate Mengsk. She ordered Zagara to take the Swarm away from Korhal and find Amon if she fell. Zagara protested that flight was not the way of the zerg, but nonetheless acquiesced to her queen's directive.

With the deployment of the Psi Destroyer, the Swarm's assault faltered. Kerrigan stated that the Dominion was about to launch an assault, and Zagara correctly guessed that it would be a feint to prevent them from dealing with the Destroyer. Kerrigan ordered Zagara to hold the middle of the invasion force while Dehaka led his primal zerg to take out the Destroyer. The manauver was successful. Zagara reported that her forces were pushing the defenders into the Imperial sector of Augustgrad.

The final assault loomed, and Kerrigan had Zagara as her second. As the final assault on the palace raged, Zagara informed her queen of entrenched positions that her forces were assaulting. If Kerrigan could clear the defenders out, her forces could join in the main assault on the palace.

The forces were destroyed, and Zagara pressed her forces forward.

The palace's defenses were breached. Mengsk was killed, and Kerrigan led the zerg away from Korhal to confront Amon.

Against Amon
Zagara commanded zerg forces alongside fellow commanders during the End War.

Into the Void
"I have been honored to serve you, my queen." "The Swarm is yours, Zagara. Remember our lessons." "I shall."

- Kerrigan hands control of the Swarm to Zagara

In the final stages of the End War, Zagara joined Kerrigan when she gathered forces to invade the Void and slay Amon. When Kerrigan needed to absorb the essence of Ouros to ascend into a new xel'naga, Zagara joined Jim Raynor and Artanis in defending her against Amon's forces, securing the eastern approach. The defense was successful, and Kerrigan ascended. Kerrigan gave Zagara permanent command of the Zerg Swarm, telling her to remember the lessons Kerrigan had taught her.

After the End War, Zagara stood as supreme ruler of the Swarm and forcefully laid claim to Char and the systems surrounding it.

Motions for Peace
After Amon's defeat, Kerrigan granted Zagara two gifts. One was the ability for the Swarm to choose its own destiny beyond the mindless bloodshed. The other was the location of a sentient race that could house the xel'naga's essence. Zagara ordered what essence she could find salvaged from Ulnar, but there was a limited amount. She put Abathur to work on creating a new breed, combining zerg and xel'naga essence to create the adostra. These creatures, though dormant in sacs, could facilitate the rapid growth of life on worlds.

Zagara, now styling herself as Overqueen, tested the adostra on the planet of Gystt, a planet purified by the Protoss Empire in the Great War. She disabled the two protoss satellites in orbit, and landed her forces on the world. The revitalization effort was a success, and the once desolate planet regrew into a jungle world. This however drew the attention of the Daelaam under Hierarch Artanis, who sent a warfleet prepared to purify the world of Zagara's zerg.

However, Zagara was hoping for this. She sent a queen named Mukav aboard a leviathan to Korhal, asking Emperor Valerian Mengsk for aid. Though he was suspicious, Valerian sent a portion of his fleet to accompany him. When the two fleets arrived, Zagara greeted them, and stated that her purposes were genuine in regrowing destroyed worlds. She thought that the same process could be used to help the two faction's ailing reconstruction efforts, and offered to meet them on the surface. The two agreed, so long as they could send a survey team to investigate the planet.

Zagara met with Valerian and Artanis, outlining how she could use the essence of the xel'naga to help the problems of the two races. However, the meeting was interrupted when the survey team was attacked by zerg on the planet. Zagara attributed it to a break line in the control of local broodmothers, and said it would not happen again. However, later it was revealed the research team was ambushed again by an unknown breed named the chitha, and destroyed a nest of adostra thinking they were connected.

Infuriated, Zagara began to take an aggressive stance, threatening Valerian and Artanis. She explained the adostra's history, and that they were the ones who remade the planet. Abathur denied the existence of anything similar to the chitha, and stated the terrans and protoss probably wished to destroy the adostra. Artanis stormed out, but Valerian refused to leave, discussing matters with Zagara further. After the second of three nests were destroyed by the protoss during a fight with the chitha, Zagara and Valerian went separate ways, with Zagara saying she hoped Valerian got to the bottom of the situation.

The conflict between the chitha controlled broods and the Dominion and Daelaam forces became known as the One-Day War, and was fought near the nests of the adostra. Zagara recovered the body of a chitha, and had it sent to the Hyperion via devourer. After the third and final nest was secured, Zagara herself came to the nest, using her skyrlings to clear out the smoke from the battle which allowed the survey team to evacuate their wounded.

The Dominion asked to continue negotiations aboard the Hyperion, and Zagara obliged. The survey team had figured out that Abathur was behind the chitha and hiding on her leviathan, and brought a transmitter with them. When they entered the levithian, they found Abathur and Mukav inside. Abathur thought Zagara's creation of the adostra was an abomination, as the zerg essence should always be dominate, and that her motions for peace were a betrayal of the ideals of the Zerg Swarm. Enraged, a fight broke out, and thanks to the pyrokinesis of the survey team's ghost Tanya Caulfield, the chitha were defeated, Mukav was killed and Zagara tore into Abathur, ripping him apart. She left the evolution master alive, however, and carried his broken body off.

With the One-Day War over, Zagara turned to peace talked with the Dominion and Daelaam, hoping to find a use for the adostra to rebuild the sector.

Heart of the Swarm
In "Domination," Zagara hunts the map for eggs. Unlike Kerrigan, who can collect eggs immediately, Zagara takes time to do so. When killed, she deep tunnels back to her base to recover before heading out again, buying time for Kerrigan.

Her unit quotes are the same as a regular queen.

Legacy of the Void
Zagara appears as a hero unit in the mission "The Essence of Eternity," commanding the zerg forces in the mission. If killed she will respawn. She is largely the same unit as in Heart of the Swarm, but with higher HP.

Development
Zagara's in-game model is that of a modified queen. Adjustments were made to her tail, forearm claws, head, and back wings to create a new, unique shape.

Quotations

 * See: StarCraft II Zagara quotations

RISK: StarCraft
Zagara appears as a hero unit in RISK: StarCraft.

Heroes of the Storm
Zagara appears in Heroes of the Storm. Like in Allied Commanders, her abilities include the ability to summon sacs and hydralisks.

Personality and Traits
"Zerg queen. Believes in "the old ways" -- tradition, strength, power. She is powerful and no-nonsense. Also very intelligent."

- Character description

Zagara is tough, merciless, tenacious, ambitious, and is as vicious and resilient as any in the Swarm. She is also possessed of great cunning. Autonomic learning has convinced Zagara of the inferiority of other intelligent species, and the time she spent uniting disparate feral broods on Char only strengthened her contempt for the weakness of most races in the galaxy. Zagara is loyal to the Swarm, and works for what is best for the zerg. Prior to the End War, she believed that she would one day rule the Swarm, but felt that Kerrigan had more to teach her. She has a no nonsense personality.

Zagara believes in the "old ways" of the Swarm. She has expressed some pity for terrans, how while they are organized into nations, they lack a psionic link and are thus alone inside. She considers protoss-zerg hybrids to be "abominations," and dislikes being in space, finding it "cold and empty." She dislikes Dehaka and the primal zerg due to them not being part of the Swarm.

Zagara's initial tactics were little more than mass attacks. After modifications from Abathur, she gained greater tactical understanding.

Trivia
In early builds of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, the name of Zagara and her brood was spelled Za'gara.

In an early version of Heart of the Swarm, Kerrigan would repeatedly torture and kill Zagara (she was revived by Abathur) as part of instructing her on tactics.