StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Shadow Hunters

StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Shadow Hunters is a novel which was authored by Christie Golden. It concerns the history of the Dark Templar. It is the second book of the Dark Templar Saga trilogy (the entirety of which will be written by Golden), serving as the sequel for StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #1: Firstborn. The trilogy is being written concurrently with the StarCraft II storyline.

Back of the Book Description
Driven by the living memories of a long-dead Protoss mystic and hounded by the Queen of Blades' ravenous Zerg, archaeologist Jake Ramsey embarks on a perilous journey to reach the fabled Protoss homeworld of Aiur.

Seeking a vital piece of Protoss technology, Jake finds that Aiur has been overrun by the Zerg. Descending into the shadowy labyrinths beneath the planet's surface, he must find the sacred crystal before time runs out -- for him...and the universe itself.

Yet, what Jake discovers beneath Aiur is a horror beyond his wildest nightmares -- Ulrezaj -- an archon comprised of the seven most deadly and powerful Dark Templar in history...

Prologue
Four years before the events of Shadow Hunters, the Protoss fled from Aiur to Shakuras through a Warp Gate. In order to prevent too many Zerg from following, a group of Protoss (including Fenix and Ladranix) and the Terran Jim Raynor defended the Gate from the Zerg long enough for Fenix and Raynor disabled it. This stranded a fairly large number of Protoss on Aiur.

Later on, the Zerg of Aiur became more dormant, but the Gate remained deactivated.

Synopsis
Valerian Mengsk's fleet allowed Jake Ramsey to escape from Dead Man's Rock due to his mind-meld with its crew. One of Valerian Mengsk's agents onboard, a Ghost named Devon Starke, explained to Valerian Mengsk what had happened.

Ethan Stewart survived Rosemary Dahl's attempt to kill him; his medical team patched him together, but noticed too late that he had been wearing a psi-screen for at least six hours, which can inflict memory loss and brain damage if worn too long.

The powerful Dark Archon Ulrezaj detected Jake Ramsey's Protoss/Terran psionic emanations and determined the Protoss in his brain, Zamara, was a Preserver. In addition, Infested Kerrigan also sensed the emanations and sent Zerg minions to investigate Dead Man's Rock. The creatures broke into Stewart's compound and abducted him.

Having escaped the Terran Dominion, Ramsey and Rosemary "R.M." Dahl journeyed to Aiur, the former homeworld of the Protoss, on Zamara's instructions. However, Zamara refused to divulge the reasons for this journey.

Meanwhile, the Zerg brought Ethan Stewart to Char, where Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades, placed him in a chrysalis. He awoke, dramatically transformed, as a general and her consort.

Stranded upon Aiur
Upon arrival, Ramsey and Dahl found that Aiur has been overrun by the Zerg, whose attacks damaged their ship beyond repair. They were barely rescued by a group of stranded Protoss, the Shel'na Kryhas, also known as "Those Who Endure", led by Ladranix. The Terrans discussed matters with the Shel'na Kryhas, a task made more difficult by Dahl's insistence that no Protoss read her mind. The learned of another group of Protoss, the Tal'darim (also known as "the Forged"), who had devolved into a form of madness similar to the Protoss of the Aeon of Strife. The Tal'darim seemed to lose fewer members to the Zerg than the Shel'na Kryhas, leading to a number of defections. The Tal'darim had taken shelter in vast underground caverns, which the Conclave had forbidden any Protoss from entering. Zamara required technology from the caverns in order to save Ramsey (her presence was causing him brain cancer, and she could be stored in a Khaydarin Crystal, but only through a technique known only to the Dark Templar). Dahl agreed to enter the caverns, protected by a mental screen, and scout for trouble; the Shel'na Kryhas were reluctant to attack the Tal'darim to clear the path for fear of creating another Aeon of Strife and also because they would be outnumbered.

Unfortunately, Dahl was captured by the Tal'darim and forcibly hooked on a drug called Sundrop which had lethal withdrawal symptoms. The Tal'darim desired the Preserver, Zamara, because their Benefactor, the Xava'tor, wanted them. Dahl was ordered to lure Ramsey (and therefore Zamara) into the caverns where the Tal'darim could capture them.

Dahl couldn't go through with the plan, and was detoxified by Zamara and Jake. With the information gleaned from her mind, they discovered the truth behind the Tal'darim; their Benefactor was the powerful Dark Archon, Ulrezaj. Dahl took part in a ploy to capture an influential Tal'darim, Alzadar, and detoxify him as well.

The Terrans, Alzadar and a force of Shel'na Kryhas sneaked into the caverns and reached the chamber Zamara sought, where they obtained a shard of extremely pure Khaydarin crystal suitable for housing Zamara. However, the chamber housed other secrets; strange liquid-filled vats housing unseen creatures which emitted a form of psionic horror, and drained Protoss corpses of Tal'darim betrayed by Ulrezaj. The party was ambushed by the Tal'darim, but Alzadar was able to hold them off by revealing the truths he had recently discovered. He and half the party remained behind while Ladranix, the two Terrans and the rest sneaked out, only to be ambushed by Zerg forces led by Ethan Stewart. They were "rescued" by the Dominion, but since Dahl and Ramsey feared Valerian Mengsk, they hijacked the ship and brought it to the Warp Gate.

Zamara and Dahl fixed the Gate, a time-consuming venture, but they were attacked by the Zerg. After Alzadar and his Tal'darim arrived to save them, a vengeful Ulrezaj appeared on the scene. The Dominion forces also appeared. The Zerg, Protoss and Dominion all worked against Ulrezaj, who still appeared to have the upper hand until Ramsey quickly taught the Protoss a new psionic technique which hadn't been used since the days of Adun. Most of the Protoss survivors sacrificed themselves to stop Ulrezaj, enabling Ramsey, Dahl and the Protoss, with great loss, to escape through the Warp Gate to Shakuras.

Legacy of Adun

 * Main article: Adun and the Rogue Tribes

During their time on Aiur, Ramsey experienced the memories of Vetraas, a Templar warrior and friend of the famous Adun. Adun was tasked by the Conclave to destroy the Rogue Tribes, Protoss who didn't join the Khala. However, Adun disobeyed orders and taught the Tribes to tap within their power, hoping they will join the Khala. Instead, he got the opposite; the Rogues accidentally unleashed psionic storms that raged across the planet until the Conclave scattered them. With fear that Adun and his high-ranking Templar would be angry if they execute all the Rogues, they exiled them on a derelict Xel'Naga craft. Adun barely was able to stop the a bitter last-minute battle between the Conclave and the Rogues and perished as a result.

Characters

 * Adun
 * Alzadar
 * Rosemary Dahl
 * Felanis
 * Infested Kerrigan
 * Kortanul
 * Ladranix
 * Valerian Mengsk
 * Jake Ramsey
 * Devon Starke, Ghost # 25876
 * Ethan Stewart
 * Ulrezaj
 * Zamara

Canon Status
Shadow Hunters is set in a time period not covered by any currently-existing StarCraft game or novel, so by definition it shouldn't interfere with any other sources. In addition, the novel was co-written with Blizzard Entertainment as an introduction to StarCraft II.

The novel does interfere with StarCraft: Brood War when dealing with Fenix, Jim Raynor and the Warp Gate. According to Brood War, Protoss forces capable of interplanetary travel (from Aiur to Korhal) existed on Aiur following the first disabling of the Warp Gate. These forces rescued Arcturus Mengsk from the United Earth Directorate force on Korhal. A vengeful UED followed them to Aiur and attacked. The Warp Gate self-destructed shortly after Raynor and Mengsk escaped through it. According to Shadow Hunters, the Warp Gate was disabled only once (following the initial evacuation) and no further mention of Raynor, Fenix or the destruction of the Warp Gate are made.

Chapter 1 Excerpt
2007-10-19. Starcraft: Dark Templar: Shadow Hunters (Starcraft). Simon & Schuster. Accessed 2007-10-20.