Aiur

Aiur is the homeworld of the protoss, located in a star system with a single yellow star and possessing a single moon not unlike Luna. It is at least the third of the system's terrestrial planets, if not further out.

History
Aiur is a huge world located on the fringes of the Milky Way Galaxy. It was engineered by the xel'naga and left to itself for a long period of time. When the xel'naga returned, they discovered the protoss on the world. They guided protoss evolution, albeit too fast. As a result, they were forced to flee, and the protoss fell into a racial madness-fueled conflict called the Aeon of Strife.

When the xel'naga were forced to flee the world, they left behind large amounts of khaydarin crystals.

Aiur was devastated in the Aeon of Strife but after the period ended, it began to steadily recover.

The Fall
Aiur was attacked by the Zerg Swarm in an attempt to consume and assimilate the entire protoss species. Though the Overmind was destroyed by the mighty high templar Tassadar, who sacrificed his life in a kamikaze strike using dark templar energy, it was at best a pyrrhic victory: the swarms had infested most of the planet, killing 70% of the protoss of Aiur and ruining much of the landscape. The zerg have scoured almost all non-zerg life from several continents. The jungles are now littered with ash, broken war machines, and corpses.

Abandonment
The planet was abandoned shortly thereafter through a Warp Gate which connected to the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras. Hundreds of thousands of protoss died during the evacuation. Some protoss were stranded on Aiur, and others volunteered to remain behind in order to defend the Aiur end of the warp gate.

The warp gate was destroyed when the United Earth Directorate invaded Aiur in their quest to arrest Terran Dominion emperor Arcturus Mengsk. The stranded protoss belonged to several groups; one led by Fenix and Raynor, as well as the Shel'na Kryhas and the Tal'darim. The latter, serving a mysterious Benefactor, learned strange powers.

The protoss refugees on Shakuras have made at least one trip to Aiur in an effort to recover wounded protoss warriors. Protoss commanders noticed stranded protoss but, believing they could not be rescued, kept their existence secret.

Circa 2505, Aiur is still occupied by the zerg. While they have stopped killing each other, they still wander Aiur like "discarded tools" and have stopped spawning minions. The surviving protoss had divided into two factions&mdash;Shel'na Kryhas and Tal'darim&mdash; and clung to life on the ruined world, fighting and avoiding conflict with the zerg. The arrival of a preserver, contained within the brain of terran archaeologist Jake Ramsey, brought great changes to both groups of protoss. The former attempted to flee through the disabled (and then repaired) warp gate, while the latter splintered as they learned the truth behind their mysterious Benefactor. The Shel'na Kryhas and renegade Tal'darim banded together to attack the Benefactor, most giving up their lives using a powerful psionic technique to hold the Benefactor off.

Some of the renegade Tal'darim escaped but none of the Shel'na Kryhas made it. The remaining Tal'darim were attacked by zerg forces led by Ethan Stewart.

Aiur in StarCraft: Ghost
Aiur was set to feature in StarCraft: Ghost as a multiplayer environment and seemingly in singleplayer as well.

Aiur in StarCraft II
The world will be visited again, at the site of the death of the Overmind.

Psionic Matrix
Protoss structures and units, to a lesser extent, draw their energy from a great psionic energy matrix that emanates from Aiur. This energy can be linked to a Nexus, but khaydarin crystal-based pylons are needed to actually tap into the energy required to provide psionic energy to new colonies and bases.

Native Species
Aiur is a planet high in biodiversity and has a large variety of flora and fauna. Known species include;

Fauna

 * Bengalaas
 * Kal-taar
 * Kwah-kai
 * Lombad
 * Mai-lur
 * Omhara
 * Protoss
 * At least one species of bird
 * Various aquatic species about the size of leeches.

Flora

 * Alavash
 * Sammuro fruit
 * Shuwark tree

Geography
Aiur is covered with vegetation and has many lush jungles, populated by creatures such as the bengalaas. It has furious seas and stormy weather. Indeed, its summer storms have been known to appear over plateaus and disappear in the blink of an eye.

Aiur's atmosphere is slightly heavier than that of most terran worlds though unprotected humans can still survive on the planet.

Cities

 * Mendella (ruins, replaced by a proving ground)

Fortresses

 * Citadel of the Executor
 * Khor-shakal

Landforms

 * Brushfire Island
 * Cave of Relics
 * Eldritch Lake
 * Garden of Aiur
 * River of Light
 * Road of Remembrance

Provinces

 * Antioch
 * Scion

Regions

 * Asari Hunting Grounds
 * Ni Monn Adun
 * Velari
 * Velari Templar School
 * Xel'Naga Caverns
 * Crystal Chamber

Temples

 * Protoss temple (destroyed by zerg)
 * Ziggurat