Whispers of Doom

"James Raynor, I bring tidings of doom. I have pierced the veil of the future, and beheld only oblivion. Yet one spark of hope remains. You will hold her life in your hands, and though justice demands that she die for her crimes, only she can save us."

- Zeratul warns Jim Raynor

Whispers of Doom is a mission in the protoss mini-campaign in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. It is told as a flashback, with Jim Raynor viewing Zeratul's actions.

Background
At the end of the, Zeratul discovered the vanguard of a rising power on a dark moon. After the war he departed on a solitary search for answers for what he had seen.

As the Second Great War approached, he learned of a prophecy foretelling the return of the xel'naga. He discovered it lay on Ulaan and journeyed there aboard Void Seeker. The world held a number of xel'naga shrines, each holding a fragment of the prophecy. The dark templar sought them out.

The Prophecy
"Do you hear them Zeratul? Whispering from the stars? The galaxy will burn with their coming."

- Infested Kerrigan describes the coming threat.

thumb|300px|left|Kerrigan confronts Zeratul on Ulaan. Infested Kerrigan was also drawn to the world in search of the prophecy and had arrived before the prelate. Zeratul discovered an ancient carving but heard a small noise and investigated. He was ambushed by several hydralisks, which he quickly decimated. Kerrigan then laughed at him and expected his arrival. The two sparred, verbally and physically. Zeratul severed the Queen of Blade's left wing, although it promptly regenerated. Kerrigan already knew enough to believe the future was without hope. The dark templar prelate disagreed and slipped away to find his own answers.

Gathering the Fragments
The prophecy's fragments were held in three shrines. Zeratul made his way past zerg sentries to the first shrine. While on route to the second the prelate he was unexpectedly joined by stalkers. From them he learned Praetor Karass, a high templar, and his troops were on Ulaan in pursuit of Kerrigan. Through growing indications of infestation, Zeratul reached the second shrine and then rendezvoused with the protoss force, and told the high templar of Kerrigan's objective to discover the prophecy. Karess pledged to help Zeratul. The protoss broke through stiffening zerg resistance and recovered the final fragment. However, there was little time to contemplate its meaning. They were soon beset upon by superior zerg forces led by Kerrigan.

Karass convinced Zeratul to escape with the fragments; the high templar and his troops would buy the prelate time with their lives.

Zeratul abandoned his brethren only reluctantly and vowed their sacrifice would not be in vain. Void Seeker was already under attack as he fled. The prelate boarded his ship and departed the planet.

Aftermath
The fragments were his, but Zeratul was unable to decipher their meaning. He made for the forbidden archive world of Zhakul, where preservers might be able to piece the fragments together.

Gameplay
The starting force consists only of Zeratul. He is permanently cloaked and has a strong attack. Use Blink to traverse crevasses and Void Prison to disable detectors. All controlled units are healed when a shrine is reached.

After the first shrine, Zeratul is reinforced by stalkers. The first hatchery is on the path to the second shrine.

When the banelings attack in the second part, do not use Zeratul. Send the stalkers to the middle outcrop and fire across the chasm at the banelings. When the enemy closes, Blink across the chasm and continue firing. The second hatchery is hidden near where the banelings start from. Blink across the chasm with Zeratul and the stalkers south of the banelings' starting point.

After joining up with Karass, use Zeratul to Void Prison the brood lords and ultralisks. Move the stalkers to higher ground, and concentrate on air units.

The third hatchery is hidden near the final shrine. Before using the final shrine, have only Zeratul Blink up the cliff south-west of the shrine and follow the path south. The final hatchery is atop a previously passed cliff face and can be destroyed from below by stalkers.

In the final section, Zeratul must reach Void Seeker within two minutes. Leave destroyable terrain intact to hamper pursuers; Blink over instead. Use the pit with the spine crawler as a short cut; use Void Prison on it, Blink down, and then run up the ramp to the right.