Vorazun

"I know many of my kind fear for our future. I do, too. This Daelaam has been a struggle. It has tested our resolve. But we are Nerazim. Our ancestors braved the unknown and came to this planet to forge a new identity. We do not need to abandon our allies to preserve that identity. It is strong enough to survive anything, is it not?"

- Vorazun

Vorazun is the Nerazim matriarch. She is a skilled warrior, and dedicated to her people.

Biography
Vorazun was the daughter of Raszagal, and was born and raised on Shakuras. Her father was an ordinary member of Nerazim society.

The Brood War
When the zerg followed the Khalai to Shakuras, Vorazun personally took part in the defense of her homeworld. She took the skull of a hydralisk she slew as a trophy of her time in combat, which she would wear on her shoulder.

After Dark Prelate Zeratul killed Raszagal, she personally blamed him for her death, though she would even admit it as it would appear to be a hatred largely based on emotion as opposed to reason.

A New Leader
"Yes, we all believe Artanis would serve well as hierarch. Yet clearly he intends a life dedicated to the Templar only...What about you, Mohandar?" "My young matriarch...Artanis alone commands the respect of both factions. We can agree on no one else."

- Vorazun and Mohandar discuss Artanis becoming hierarch.

While not a member of the Hierarchy, Vorazun would still attend meetings. In them, she frequently disagreed with Artanis. As the Hierarchy reached one impasse after another, it was suggested that it needed a leader. Zekrath and Mohandar both nominated Artanis, as he commanded the respect of both the Khalai and Nerazim. Artanis refused, stating that he desired to be only a warrior, and would leave the council in the next cycle. Vorazun commented it was clear that Artanis wished to live a life only in service to the Templar Caste. Mohandar however, insisted that it was only Artanis who could rule both the Khalai and Nerazim. The following day, Vorazun and the Hierarchy members returned. Artanis agreed to take on the mantle of hierarch.

Children of the Void
As the launch of the Golden Armada to reclaim Aiur neared, Vorazun stood in staunch opposition to the Daelaam and the erosion of Nerazim culture. She stood for an ideal that actions and not words should be what keep the Nerazim whole, an ideal she imparted on her pupil Taelus. When the Daelaam wished to mine the Naszar, a mineral rich mountain range important to Nerazim culture, Vorazun managed to convince the Hierarchy to block the proposal.

Over time, she began to see Mohandar as weak and subservient to Artanis and his Aiur protoss. She vocally disagreed with his decisions, and would regularly get into heated arguments over the erosion of Nerazim culture. However, she still respected his council and opinion.

During a training exercise, a squadron of phoenixes collided with a Nerazim transport, killing twenty-seven Nerazim. Artanis did not attend the funeral of the twenty-seven in favor of making more preparations for the Golden Armada. Vorazun was angered by this, and vocally fought with Mohandar over the accident. She decided that she would vocally speak out against the Golden Armada, and support the Nerazim's withdraw from the reclamation of Aiur.

However, she still sought peace among the two people. When her student Taelus captured the Citadel with a handful of insurgents, Vorazun personally sought to find a diplomatic solution that would prevent bloodshed. She and Mohandar entered the Citadel, but Taelus was set on fighting the Aiur protoss to provoke violence between the two people, which would lead to the Aiur protoss being expelled from Shakuras. Not willing to see this come to pass, Vorazun and Mohandar fought the insurgents. Initially the two employed non-lethal tactics, but Taelus impaled Mohandar through the chest, killing him. Vorazun engaged him in single combat, and eventually killed her former student with a slash to the torso.

Vorazun carried Mohandar's corpse out of the Citadel, and told the crowd that it was the Nerazim that slew him, and that they should not fear the new Daelaam future. She saw that Taelus was buried alongside Mohandar, as a sign of respect. Artanis attended this funeral, and said he would personally carry the rite of passing for Mohandar. Vorazun said she would commit Nerazim forces to the Golden Armada, but that she and a cadre of forces would have to stay behind on Shakuras. Artanis stated he would support Vorazun's ascension to Matriarch.

With the death of Mohandar and the support of Artanis, Vorazun ascended to the role of Matriarch, and claimed a seat on the Hierarchy.

Legacy of the Void
"The young Matriarch Vorazun serves as the leader of the nomadic dark templar. She is a strong and capable warrior, who leads through her people through example, and works tirelessly to ensure her people maintain their unique heritage and traditions in this time of uncertainty."

- Character description.

Some of Vorazun's Nerazim were committed to the battle on Aiur. When Amon corrupted the Khala, her forces were the only ones not influenced, and helped rally those who had managed to sever their nerve chords in time to Artanis's side.

Vorazun was on Shakuras when it came under assault by zerg under the control of Amon through use of reactivated xel'naga warp gate. She contacted Artanis (who had led a recently failed attempt to reclaim Aiur), requesting aid. Obliging, Artanis cleared out launch bays of the zerg so that her ships could escape. Afterwards, she joined him in his war against Amon, and to reunite the protoss tribes.

Vorazun after seeing extent of the infestation upon Shakuras, settled upon destroying the planet rather than letting Amon use it as a base of operations. Thus she and Artanis devised a plan to overload the phase prism of the xel'naga temple on the planet sending a shockwave through the planet's crust. Artanis stated that he would draw out as many of Amon's zerg from the warp gates as possible. The operation was successful, and the planet was destroyed thanks to Artanis personally defending the phase prism. She later commented that his act of holding off many opponents alone meant he had undergone the Shadow Walk, and was all but officially considered dark templar.

When the Spear of Adun discovered Ulnar, Artanis ventured inside the monolith in the hopes of waking the xel'naga to fight Amon. He gave Vorazun command of the ship, and said he had to go into the temple alone. After Amon trapped Artanis, First Ascendant Alarak teleported aboard the bridge of the Spear of Adun. Believing it to be an ambush, Vorazun put up resistance. After a brief fight, Alarak disarmed her, and insisted he had come to help, but she contained him in a stasis field. Alarak stated that Artanis had walked into a trap set by Amon and he had come to thwart it. Vorazun refused to trust him, believing that he would stab her in the back. Alarak then broke free of his confinement and reminded that her leader's life was on the line. Ultimately, Vorazun chose to trust Alarak, and together they rescued Artanis and closed the portal to the Void.

After the rescue of Artanis, Vorazun tasked her best dark templar to track the location of the primary Moebius Corps base. They located it in the Revanscar asteroid field, and Phase-smith Karax led the assault to destroy it while the Spear of Adun was attacked by boarding parties. The operation was successful, and the facility was destroyed.

Vorazun served as an advisor to Artanis in these times, and used her dark templar for advanced reconnaissance. She reported on the doings of the corrupted Golden Armada and their battle against the Terran Dominion.

Return to Aiur
"The blades of Shakuras descend upon the Dark God!"

- Vorazun

When the Daelaam returned to Aiur with the intention of casting Amon to the Void. Vorazun served alongside Alarak in destroying the khaydarin crystal at Antioch, and she used her abilities to bypass zerg defenses to open the sealed gates in the old ruined Citadel of the Executor. She defended Alarak as he blasted open the final gate to destroy the crystal. The operation was successful, and the crystal was destroyed.

When Artanis moved to destroy the last crystal, she committed a squadron of dark templar to move ahead of Artanis and destroy the zerg fortifications ahead. After Artanis reached the hive they were engaging, they joined him in pushing for the final crystal.

During the attack on Amon's host body, Vorazun landed a beachhead at one of the warp in zones, allowing her to commit forces against Amon's minions.

In the final battle to defend the Keystone and expel Amon from the Khala, Vorazun and her Nerazim personally defended the western route. After a brutal battle, the combined might of the Daelaam held against Amon even as he sent the Golden Armada against them. Amon was expelled from the Khala.

Legacy of the Void
Vorazun is controllable as a hero in "Templar's Return" and as an NPC-controlled hero in "Salvation." In the former, she is controlled alongside Alarak during her part of the mission.

Quotations

 * See: StarCraft II Vorazun Quotations

Development
Data in the map editor for StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void suggests Mohandar was to appear in the game as a hero unit in place of Vorazun, as several assets for Vorazun bear his name. Given his death in the Children of the Void short story, this would also imply he was initially going to survive and appear in the campaign.

Vorazun has several partially completed additional abilities in the map editor. Deep Shadow Blink acts like Blink, but renders Vorazun undetectable for five seconds. Shadow Clone creates a hallucination of Vorazun that does 50% normal damage and takes double damage from enemies. Sticky Bomb hurls an explosive device at a target point which explodes some seconds later, dealing damage and slowing enemies for a period of time.

Personality and Traits
"I am Nerazim. Dark Templar. I hold great pride in my people."

- Vorazun

A strong and charismatic individual, Vorazun is deeply committed and prideful to the ways of the Nerazim. As such she valued her peoples individuality and culture. While she originally feared the change the Daelaam was bringing to her people, as she believed the Nerazim ways eroding, she nonetheless remained committed to its ideals in a unified protoss as she knew it would what her mother would want.

Vorazun had a complicated relationship with Artanis, as they had many an argument in the Twilight Council on how the Daelaam was being led, even before her ascension to Matriarch. However, in truth, Vorazun actually admired Artanis' unwavering belief in the unified protoss. Artanis originally believed she was against his vision on unification. In reality, she wasn't against it but as her people unified, she saw her people's ways erode, she only wished to preserve them. She also was the one who believed Artanis was the perfect choice for the role of Hierarch of the Daelaam. By the End War, Vorazun gained a greater deal of respect for Artanis, as after the destruction of Shakuras and witnessing him survive against countless foes alone, she claimed Artanis had partaken and completed the Shadow Walk, becoming Dark Templar. She also comforted Artanis when he revealed he killed Zeratul while under Amon's control. By that time, Vorazun became something close to a second-in-command to Artanis. Vorazun also came to believe that the future of the protoss was indeed with the Daelaam.

Vorazun had a particular grudge against Zeratul for his role in the death of her mother, calling him a traitor to the Nerazim. It wasn't until following Zeratul's prophecy's that lead to Ulnar, she admitted that he was closer to the truth than anyone and after finally realizing that Zeratul's dedication to the xel'naga prophecy's gave the protoss hope, she vowed to honor him with Artanis.

Trivia

 * Vorazun's portrait was rewarded to players who attended BlizzCon 2014. Her identity was kept hidden prior to the actual event. Additional Vorazun portraits can be obtained through the leveling system of Legacy of the Void.


 * The design for Vorazun was a mix of traditional Persian garb, mixed with Dark Templar aesthetics.


 * Vorazun's character was largely developed by Valerie Watrous. It was intended that her strength and commitment to the Nerazim shine through within the game, established through her dynamic with Artanis.