Tal'darim

The Tal'darim are a faction that features in Starcraft.

History

The Tal'darim were a faction of Protoss that had separated from their Templars brethren of Aiur. Their origins were traced to millions of yeas ago where they departed alongside Amon alongside the Xel'Naga when they abandoned Aiur in the time before the Aeon of Strife. Thus, they began to develop a society separate from their Protoss kin as they evolved separate from the Khala and their Khalai brethren.

At some point, they established their homeworld on the planet Slayn that was rich in Terrazine.

During the Second Great War the Tal'darim Guardians based on a worldship, led by Executor Nyon, came into conflict with Raynor's Raiders on numerous occasions, mainly over pieces of the Keystone. Raynor's Raiders traveled to Bel'Shir seeking terrazine. Attempts to negotiate proved fruitless, and the Tal'darim Executor, Nyon, ordered his troops to 'execute' the Raiders. The Raiders made off with seven canisters of terrazine.

The Keystone became a point of conflict during the Second Great War. It consisted of five pieces scattered across the Koprulu sector. Four pieces were in Tal'darim custody—one in a shrine on Monlyth, one was in a xel'naga temple on the dead world of Xil, another one in a vault on the old world of Typhon XI and the last on a worldship in the Sigma Quadrant. The Tal'darim viewed the components as holy relics and appointed themselves guardians against all thieves. Unfortunately for them, the device was desired by other races. Commander Jim Raynor and Crown Prince Valerian Mengsk wanted to use the Keystone to attack the zerg and eventually make Sarah Kerrigan human again. Meanwhile, the zerg made numerous attempts to collect the pieces of the Keystone as well. A band of Tal'darim guarding an alien artifact on Monlyth came under the attack by both Raynor's Raiders and the Zerg Swarm. Both forces sought the artifact, and despite the Tal'darim forces' use of stone guardians, Raynor's Raiders were successful in stealing it. The Moebius Foundation attempted to acquire an alien artifact from a xel'naga temple on Xil. However, their forces were all wiped out by the Tal'darim. Some of their structures survived, however. The Raiders were dispatched to the scene to make their own attempt on the artifact. Nyon once again demanded the terrans leave, to no avail. Raynor's Raiders fought their way into the temple and stole the artifact. This prompted Nyon to threaten Raynor. The Tal'darim realized the Raiders would seek the remaining components, and were dug in when the terrans arrived on Typhon XI. The impending supernova did not deter the protoss from their self-assigned duty. However, the Raiders once more absconded with the component, leaving the Tal'darim to be consumed by the fire sweeping across the planet's surface. The Raiders attacked the Sigma Quadrant Worldship, a derelict xel'naga worldship, and its Tal'darim occupiers for the final component. The Tal'darim also kept Dark Templar prisoners on the ship; the prisoners claimed to be the victims of treachery. As the terrans closed on the component's vault, Executor Nyon arrived in a mothership.

Tal'darim led by Highlord Ma'lash, based on Atrias, raided Daelaam colonies for Templar Caste prisoners. The Tal'darim had stayed away from Daelaam colonies for a long time. The prisoners were delivered to a Moebius Foundation base and experimented upon to create hybrids. Most of them did not survive. Hybrids controlled the local Moebius forces. These prisoners were tracked by Praetor Talis to the Moebius base. She was planning on rescuing these protoss when two simultaneous events occurred. Dark Prelate Zeratul arrived, seeking clues to the last piece of the prophecy he had been seeking, and Kerrigan arrived with a zerg force, intending to destroy anything to do with Amon. Talis' forces rescued the templar and discovered that they had been captured by the Tal'darim. Zeratul and Talis led their force to Atrias, location of Amon's resurrection. Zeratul's forces engaged the Tal'darim outside a xel'naga temple. Later, he infiltrated the Temple of Erris in order to recover the prophecy, while the Tal'darim stationed inside came to blows with his forces. Inside, Ma'lash used a void catalyst located in the temple to communicate with Amon. The reborn Amon ordered the Tal'darim to war with the protoss. The Daelaam made their way to the device in order to sever this connection and forestall the Tal'darim mobilization. When Zeratul finally encountered the void catalyst, the spirit of Tassadar gave him a hint of the future. Ma'lash escaped, and the temple began to fall apart. Zeratul escaped, despite Amon trying to stop him, but the rest of the protoss forces were killed. Zeratul intended to bring the prophecy and warning to Artanis.

At the command of Amon, Ma'lash gathered the Tal'darim and began to march for war. He sent First Ascendant Alarak and a contingent of the Death Fleet to the protoss world of Glacius, where the Khalai were experimenting with reviving the Purifier program. Daelaam protoss under Artanis arrived to retrieve the technology, but Alarak fired his mothership displacement beam in an attempt to destroy the facility. Artanis and his forces slipped through the displacement beam and the Tal'darim attackers who attempted to stop them, and retrieved the Purifier technology. Alarak contacted Artanis and told him he was not as weak as he thought and that they would meet again soon. As the Daelaam moved on Ulnar, Alarak and a contingent of Moebius Corps gave chase, trying to bar their entry into the structure. Artanis fought through their forces and activated the five celestial locks sealing the temple. The Tal'darim continued to hound Artanis and Kerrigan in their descent into the temple, warping in forces and using their mothership's displacement beams to try and stop the Hierarch. The temple was a trap set by Amon however, who opened a portal to the Void. Alarak, who had earlier discovered Amon's true goal of consuming all life including the Tal'darim, used this opportunity to turn against him. He boarded the Spear of Adun and confronted Matriarch Vorazun, stating that Artanis was in danger and he desired to help him. After a brief confrontation Vorazun decided to trust Alarak, and the two saved Artanis by sealing the void portal.

With the aid of Hierarchy Artanis, Ascendant Alarak conducted the Rak'shir rite against Highlord Ma'lash. Ultimately, Alarak was successful and toppled Ma'lash from his position with the former Highlord dying as he fell into the Pit of Sacrifice. This secured Alarak as the new Highlord where he turned the Tal'darim against Amon and allied his forces with the Protoss led by Artanis.

The Tal'darim fought alongside the Daelaam in the last days of the End War, lending the Death Fleet to fight Amon's forces. Alarak himself served as an advisor to Artanis aboard the Spear of Adun. When the time came to reclaim Aiur from Amon, Alarak and Vorazun paired up to destroy one of the core khaydarin crystals powering the psionic matrix. When a sealed door barred their way, Alarak channeled enough power to destroy both the door and the crystal. Tal'darim vanguards fought alongside Artanis in destroying the final khaydarian crystal. When Amon revealed his host body, the Tal'darim helped the Daelaam destroy the void shards defending him while he transferred his essence into the new host. When the shards were shattered, the combined protoss fleet unleashed an orbital bombardment on the host body, annihilating it. Amon was still in control of the Khala-bound protoss however, and the Golden Armada arrived to destroy the Keystone, an artifact that could pull Amon out of the Khala. The Tal'darim aided in the final defense of the Keystone, giving it the time it needed to purge the protoss of Amon. Though Amon was defeated on Aiur, he was not killed, merely thrown back into the Void. Two years after his banishment, at the behest of Kerrigan, Artanis lead the Spear of Adun into the Void itself to put an end to him once and for all. Tal'darim forces were among the Daelaam who fought alongside Artanis against Amon's minions. Eventually, Kerrigan ascended into a xel'naga, and after a long battle, slew Amon. The Tal'darim's revenge was complete. In the aftermath, the Tal'darim declined to join the unified Protoss and instead sought to make their own homeworld elsewhere. Highlord Alarak did offer his people a single opportunity to join the Templar before departing.

Several years after the End War, a remote Tal'darim outpost came under attack from a Terran separatist faction known as the Defenders of Man. This group retreated before the Death Fleet could arrive in response and afterwards Highlord Alarak dispatched First Ascendant Ji'nara alongside the fleet to destroy the humans for their transgressions. The Death Fleet arrived on the world of Tyrador IX, and used their void rays to assault the feral zerg lured there by the Defenders of Man from orbit. Ji'nara then deployed a Tal'darim mothership, defended by four shield projectors to the surface, and intended to use it to destroy the Defenders of Man on the planet. The Tal'darim also deployed a special powerful fleet beacon to Shell Isle near the battlefield. However, as the Defenders of Man were defending a large number of Terran Dominion civilians, the agent Nova Terra and her Covert Ops Crew moved in to ensure that they were evacuated. Nova destroyed the shield projectors, weakening the mothership. Enraged, Ji'nara sent the mothership after the Covert Ops Crew, but without its shield projectors it was vulnerable to terran weaponry and destroyed. The Tal'darim were forced to pull back from the planet. After the conflict, Highlord Alarak boarded Nova's command ship, the Griffin. Nova raised her rifle to fight him, but was stopped by Reigel, who said he came as a guest. Alarak explained the transgressions the Defenders of Man committed against the Tal'darim, and said that he came for vengeance. When he realized that Nova was once one of the Defenders but had been subjected to a memory wipe, he made a bargain with her; he would show her where she could find terrazine, which would undo the mind wipe, if she lead him to the Defenders of Man. Nova agreed, and Alarak guided her to the planet of Jarban Minor.

Overview

In appearance, the Tal'darim were a faction of Protoss that linked the nerve cords that linked them to the Khala as their Aiur based brethren. These warriors were noted for their more brutal outlook in the rule of the strong over the weak. Members of the Tal'darim prided themselves on strength above all else. They were fanatical warriors of the dark Xel'Naga Amon and served him devotedly. As such, they were said to be vastly different from those of the Aiur Protoss.

Within their society, Terrazine held a special place among their people with it being known as the Breath of Creation.

Ranks among the Tal'darim included:

• Highlord :
• Ascendant :
• Votary :
• Bloodhunter :

A key tenant of their people was the Chain of Ascension that had Amon at the top of this hierarchy. Each Tal'darim was linked to the chain and thus to Amon with it descending down the links. This philosophy promoted the strong to survive as each step in the chain needed someone stronger whilst weakness was eliminated. As such, the warrior at the highest in the chain was believed to be the strongest of the Tal'darim. A tradition among their people did allow for the use of ritual combat known as the Rak'Shir. This allowed a low ranking warrior to challenge a superior without repercussion allowing them to claim a higher station. During the duel, only the two challengers were able to fight one another but the rite did allow their supplicants to lend their psionic might to their champion.

Among their military might was a fleet of warships that were known as the death fleets.

Their technology was said to share many of the elements and design of those of the Khalai with little deviation. This was because the majority of their technology was stolen from the greater Protoss Empire.

Members

• Alarak : a former Ascendant that served Ma'lash who later sided with Artanis in an effort to replace the Highlord after he felt betrayed by Amon.
• Ma'lash : former Highlord who served Amon until he was deposed by Alarak who replaced him.
• Nyon : an Executor within the ranks of the Tal'darim.
• Ji'nara :
• Nuroka :
• Guraj :
• Zenish :

Notes

• The Tal'darim first appeared in The Dark Templar Saga novels before they were adapted for the games.

Appearances

• StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty:
• StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void:

External Links

• StarCraft Wiki Entry

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