Zerus is a world in the central regions of the Milky Way. It is the birthworld of the zerg.
History[]
Early History[]
"The zerg first evolved here, yes."
"I do not like it. A soft world. Char is far superior."
- Zagara and Sarah Kerrigan after their arrival on Zerus(src)
The first zerg arose from the first spawning pool, where one essence split into many and one devoured another and became stronger[2]. The zerg were the most insignificant life form on Zerus until the proto-genetic manipulations of the xel'naga enabled them to survive the planet's torrential firestorms and thrive[3]. Amon desired their ability to steal essence, but the zerg were independent, so he bound them to the hive mind[4][5]. A war erupted among the xel'naga when Amon and his followers were discovered. Amon unleashed the zerg[6] and gave them a directive to destroy the protoss[7]. Accordingly, the Swarm departed for Aiur[3], leaving their homeworld a barren wasteland[8]. Some zerg, including Zurvan, were overlooked and became the primal zerg[9]. During the intervening years, the environment of Zerus rapidly evolved into a jungle world.[10]
Return to Zerus[]
Kerrigan on Zerus
Dark Prelate Zeratul visited Zerus[11] and returned with Sarah Kerrigan, who proceeded to awaken Zurvan by harvesting quillgor meat and feeding it to him. However, Brakk declared that she intruded on his territory and sent his pack to destroy the meat. When this was unsuccessful, he personally led an attack on her hive cluster and was killed.[9]
On Zurvan's instructions, Kerrigan entered the first spawning pool. Yagdra claimed Brakk's territory and his pack's essence. The Swarm defended Kerrigan's chrysalis from both Yagdra's pack and the remnants of Brakk's pack, who engaged each other in a basin south of the first spawning pool. Yagdra won,[2] but failed to prevent Kerrigan's transformation into the Primal Queen of Blades.[12]
All of Zerus felt Kerrigan's change, and feared it. Dehaka forged an alliance with her.[13]
Yagdra, Kraith and Slivan each sent most of their pack against the Swarm, leaving themselves vulnerable. With help from Dehaka's pack, Kerrigan killed each of them and their packs joined her Swarm. Kerrigan's essence called Zurvan and he turned on her. Kerrigan killed Zurvan and Zerus became hers. Dehaka and his pack accompanied Kerrigan on her return to the Koprulu sector.[14]
Power Vacuum[]
Primal zerg remained on Zerus after the departure of Kerrigan, continuing their eternal war to ascend the evolutionary ladder.[15]
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This article or section contains information derived from Co-op Missions, and should not be considered part of the official StarCraft storyline.
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The jungles of Zerus
With the death of Zurvan and the other pack leaders, three new primal zerg stepped forward to fill in the power vacuum that Kerrigan had left behind. These were Glevig, Murvar, and Dakrun. After the Second Great War however, Dehaka returned to Zerus and incorporated the new pack leaders and their primals into his own pack.[16]
Known Locations[]
Zerus from space
Notes[]
Zerus as it appears in Heart of the Swarm
- Blizzard ran out of time to dedicate artistic support to Zerus for Heart of the Swarm,[17] It was reasoned that if it came to a choice between fleshing out the zerg and Zerus or Kerrigan, moving Kerrigan's story forward had to take priority. This included the apparently fast travel time for Kerrigan's leviathan and the Void Seeker to the world—it was not intentional to give the impression that Zerus was in easy range of the races of the Koprulu sector. However, it was reasoned that time and scale was not something that everyone appreciates.[18]
References[]
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