Starships & Dragons

Hey peeps, its Gil again. I hope you enjoyed my last post on the Space Marines as much as I did writing it. It’s rather fun to enlighten people about the lore of the many races that people love in the sci-fi and fantasy worlds. This is why I have chosen my next project to
be on the Protoss, from StarCraft. For a RTS (real time strategy) gaming juggernaut such as the StarCraft franchise, you would figure that the many geeks and nerds that flock to it in droves would know EVERYTHING about its 3 races. Sadly this isn’t the case; some people couldn’t even tell you that En Taro Adun is the Protoss greeting! Good thing I’m
here… well let’s get started :P

"Stay alert people, these guys play hardball."

- Jim Raynor, while alerting his men on the approach of hostile
Protoss.

The Protoss are a sapient humanoid race native to Aiur. Their advanced technology complements and enhances their psionic mastery. Alongside the Zerg and Terrans, the Protoss stand as one of the three dominant species of the Milky Way, (not to be confused for OUR Milky Way Galaxy). The main Protoss cultural groups are the Khalai, who adhere to the communal Khala, and the Nerazim, who reject the Khala. In addition, another branch of the protoss separate from the Khala called the Tal'darim lives in various places in the galaxy.

Protoss are about two meters to three meters tall and have two glowing eyes, digitigrade legs, semi-permeable skin covered in scales, four digits on their hands (of which two are thumbs) and toes, broad chests and shoulders, and narrow waists with slim midsections. As in humans, coloration is considered a sign of ethnicity, with each protoss tribe having a specific subtly differing hue or typical pattern of markings associated with it. Also, Protoss blood can be blue or purple. Extending back from the crown of the head
, Protoss have a bony crest. Beneath it, emerging from the back of the head, are thenerve cords, allowing them to access their racial psionic gestalt. This gestalt is the basis of the Khala or, “Path of Ascension”, the main religion of the Protoss. A protoss' average life expectancy is lengthy; Raszagal, age 1045, was considered old. Protoss under 300 years rarely have any significant political positions. Artanis, who was 262 years old during the Brood War, is considered young, despite his
powerful military position.

The Protoss were discovered by the Xel'Naga (a psionically-attuned, ancient, cosmic race that were believed to be the most powerful beings in the entire universe) on the planet Aiur, a world the Xel'Naga
had previously engineered. The Xel'Naga, nearing the end of their life cycle, were in need of a race to achieve purity of form, and intrigued by their mental connection, chose to use the Protoss. Pushing the
evolution of the Protoss, the purity of form was achieved and the Xel'Naga eventually descended to Aiur. The Xel’Naga altered them to some extent with their Khaydarin crystals and a giant crystal
beneath Aiur, even increasing their reproductive rate with the Kassia crystal, but were content to remain unseen for many generations. The Xel'Naga felt they had achieved their goal, and gave the new
race the name of "Protoss", or "the First Born". Aiur was eventually covered by civilized Protoss, and so the Xel'Naga descended onto Aiur in order to more closely study the evolution of their charges. A
temple marked where they first set down upon Aiur. The Protoss, who revered the Xel'Naga as gods, learned much from them.

However, these discoveries divided the Protoss, causing their psychic links to disappear and wars to break out amongst them. The Xel'Naga left the planet as the Protoss fell into the Aeon of Strife, a massive civil war amongst the Protoss, earning the status of the "bloodiest, most violent civil war ever recorded in galactic history". The destructive civil war ended when the warrior Khas, using Xel’Naga artifacts, Khaydarin crystals, re-created the psionic link. It became the basis of a new philosophy called the Khala. Approximately 1500 by Terran reckoning, the Conclave, the ruling Protoss government that was established after the Aeon of Strife, attempted to exterminate rogue heretics, who would later become known as the Dark Templar, that had deliberately cut themselves off from the Khala. They ordered Executor Adun to execute them, but Adun refused, instead teaching the rogues to hide from the Conclave. Eventually the rogues lost control of their powers, alerting the Conclave. They were secretly banished on a Xel'Naga ship.

The Protoss’ archenemy is the Zerg, a hive mind species that were also created by the Xel’Naga. By 2499 the Protoss became aware of a xenomorphic threat, the Zerg, another alien species also created
by the Xel'Naga. The Zerg were attacking the Terrans, a species that had traveled to the Koprulu Sector two hundred years previously. The Conclave dispatched Tassadar and a force of Protoss to destroy the infestation by purifying the infested worlds. Tassadar's force failed in its mission, and the remnants traveled to the new Zerg home world, Char. There, Tassadar struck an alliance with the Dark Templar prelate, Zeratul. They discovered a weakness in the Zerg command structure that could be exploited only by the Dark Templar, and clashed with their new leader, a Zerg infested psychic known as Kerrigan. Meanwhile, the majority of the Zerg force traveled to Aiur and attacked the Protoss. The Protoss were losing the battle, but when Tassadar brought Zeratul to Aiur, a Protoss civil war broke out between Tassadar's followers and the followers of the Conclave.

Eventually Tassadar's faction won. Unimpeded by the Conclave, Tassadar's followers attacked the Zerg Overmind, the hive-mind and leader of the Zerg species. Tassadar died during the battle, but
managed to kill the Overmind, only for a second one to be reborn. Almost the entire population of Aiur was killed in the conflict. The Protoss fled to Shakuras, followed by a Zerg faction. The Protoss
destroyed the renegade Zerg, saving themselves, but advancing Kerrigan's aims. With the assistance of her enigmatic minion Samir Duran, she would later force the Protoss into destroying the second
Overmind for her, making her the sole leader of the Zerg Swarm. As the protoss attempted a revenge strike on Kerrigan, Duran abandoned her to conduct Protoss/Zerg hybridization experiments,
which were discovered by Zeratul. Then later exiled himself for several years following the discovery; he now openly helps the Terran rebel Jim Raynor for he believes that he is the last hope the Milky Way has left. The current activities of the Protoss remain a mystery, though they have been sighted assisting humans and fighting Zerg across the sector. Now, only time will tell what will happen to the “First Born”.

Thanks for taking the time to read this guys. Can’t wait to write my next one! – Gil

Source(s): StarCraft.wikia.com and numerous forums on
Blizzard.com for StarCraft.