Adun

"The cost of peace is high, and it is paid for with the lives of the just."

- Adun

Adun was a protoss warrior who led the Templar shortly before the exile of the Dark Templar.

Very little is known about Adun, but the protoss, especially the Templar and Dark Templar, revere him as a hero; he has gone on to achieve exalted status in protoss lore.

Adun was a large and very powerful Templar. Few protoss in his time had ever seen a more graceful warrior or a more intelligent strategist.

Previous Glory
Adun fought beside Taldarin and more notably Zoranis, the popular executor, serving alongside him for more than eighty years, the last fifty of which Adun was considered to be the driving force behind the executor. In Zoranis' final battle, the executor engaged in honorable combat along with his second-in-command, Adun. Zoranis fell, but due to his decision to attack alongside Adun, the battle was won.

Adun was soon promoted to the rank of executor, working alongside his adviser, Vetraas. In this position, he oversaw the settling of several colonies. Any disputes with other races that broke out were quickly quelled with few casualties among the protoss.

Adun and the Rogue Tribes
As the Aeon of Strife ended among the protoss, the Khala was imposed on the entire race in an effort to prevent a return to the strife. However, a number of protoss, believing that their individual identities would be erased to further promote the Judicator rule, lived in secret on Aiur as rogues, unknown to the majority of the protoss. Only the Conclave knew of their existence.

The Conclave ordered Adun to meet them at Khor-shakal, their Great Forum, alone. Adun chose to bring his strategist Vetraas with him, however.

The Elder Kortanul, leader of the Conclave, formed a deep mind-meld with Adun and Vetraas to ascertain their loyalty, then offered to either "speak" to Adun about secret information or show them. Adun chose the former method, as the latter would be clouded by emotions.

Kortanul told them about a new threat to the protoss; rogues who believed the rights of the individual outweighed the rights of the whole, and cut themselves off from the Khala. Adun was shocked; this could throw the protoss back to an Aeon of Strife. Kortanul offered to let Adun question a captured rogue; an adolescent female named Raszagal, escorted by a Khalen'ri guard.

Adun communed with Raszagal, learning of her reasons for her actions. The Conclave feared the rogues, and so Kortanul ordered Adun to conceal their existence, find them one-by-one, and execute them. The Conclave had information about the locations of the rogues. Kortanul tried to convince Adun that killing the rogues was the right thing, even though Vetraas worried that because no protoss had slain another since the Aeon of Strife, this could cause a new one.

Hiding from the Conclave
Adun brought Raszagal with him to his Citadel so the other high-ranking Templar would understand the reasons behind the execution. Kortanul demanded Adun execute Raszagal, quickly.

The rogues could hide simply by not being in the Khala, which provided a level of mental contact sufficient to prevent a protoss from hiding from another protoss. However, Adun had no trouble finding the rogues due to the information given to him by the Conclave. The list was shockingly long and included members of many tribes.

As Adun captured more rogues, he became more and more disturbed by what they told him; none seemed irrational, and none wished to harm the other protoss. Adun refused to execute any of them, but was receiving pressure from the Conclave to do so.

Adun recorded the "execution" of Raszagal and transmitted it to the Conclave, but it had been faked. Raszagal insulted the Conclave, distracting them from examining her fake wounds. Adun continued to fake executions, hiding the rogues until the Conclave was of a mind to discuss reintegration. As a result of Adun's actions, the rogues revered him.

The rogues were scattered so that no one, not even Adun, knew where they all were hidden. However, Adun knew the Conclave would eventually discover his disobedience, so he began teaching the rogues how to hide themselves from the Conclave. The rogues learned how to cloak extremely quickly, eventually doing so faster than Adun could teach them. The ability had before been generally foreign to the Templar.

Emerging from Shadows
As the rogues learned to hone their powers, one accidentally released a powerful psionic storm which killed his kinsmen and destroyed the jungle itself for miles around. Other students panicked, and without the discipline of the Khala, their power spiraled out of control, creating dozens of more storms across the face of Aiur and other worlds.

The Conclave quickly tracked the storms back to their source, only to discover several "executed rogues" had only recently died! Shocked that the Templar had not destroyed them, the Conclave attempted to salvage the desperate situation. They started by capturing all of the rogues.

The Conclave was angry at Adun for disobeying their orders and deceiving them, but if they punished Adun and the Templar for their insubordination, they would be forced to publicly admit the existence of the rogues. The same thing would happen if they harmed even one rogue.

The Conclave decided to banish the wayward tribes from Aiur forever. The Templar under Adun were sworn to silence as the rogues were loaded onto an ancient, but functional xel'naga ship. However, Adun's presence prompted Kortanul to psychically attack the Rogues, who responded in kind. Adun feared the Rogues would accidentally create another psionic storm. He created a blue mist with a combination of Khala and strange energies which covered and protected the Rogues. However, the power caused Adun to burn out like a star. Nothing was left of his body, nor could he be sensed within the Khala.

The ship launched into the void of space. Eventually they became known, in legend, as the Dark Templar.

Legacy
After Adun's death, the Conclave claimed that after "banishing" the dark templar, Adun had mystically departed mortal life, having sacrificed himself in order to weed out the dark templar "taint" and keep the protoss safe.

The Nerazim have a prophecy based around Adun, the "Anakh Su'n" or "Twilight Deliverer." They believe he used the combination of Khalai and Dark Templar energies to rescue the Rogues, sacrificing himself in order to prevent an atrocity by the Conclave, which in turn would have prevented a later reunification. However, they believe he didn't die, simply going to another plane of existence, as an unexpected consequence of using the energies. Those with gifts of prophecy meditated on it, and they were given visions and signs to look for; when these signs could be found, his return drew near.

Such was Adun's legacy that he worked his way into protoss language. En Taro Adun ("In honor of Adun") became both a salutation and a battle cry used by the Templar Caste (and other protoss to members of the caste), along with phrases such as "(may) Adun be with you" and "may Adun forgive us." Adun Toridas became a Dark Templar expression, meaning "Adun hide you", often interpreted as "May Adun give you sanctuary".

The citadel of Adun, a zealot training center, was named for him.

Over the course of the Great War, the zerg gained knowledge of Adun and his significance to the protoss, referring to their enemies as "the Sons of Adun."