Protoss

The **Protoss** -- also known as the **Firstborn** -- are an advanced psionic race hailing from the planet of Aiur. Though Protoss have highly advanced technology, they are typically not found outside of the Koprulu Sector of the Milky Way. The Protoss, like the Zerg, are one of the species engineered by the Xel'naga. The Protoss were expected to have Purity of Form.

## History

The protoss were discovered by a group of Xel'naga led by Amon on Aiur -- a world the Xel'naga had previously engineered. They were intrigued by the psychic connection the developing protoss seemed to share, and so they chose to uplift them -- hopeful that they would be the species with Purity of Form that the Xel'naga sought in order to continue their life cycle. The Xel'naga guided the protoss carefully for a long time, and eventually revealed themselves. Initially, the protoss worshipped the Xel'naga but they eventually came to distrust their "gods".

This mistrust led to a brutal civil war, known as the Aeon of Strife. This war ended when Khas used khaydarian crystals to recreate the psychic link the protoss had once had, which had so intrigued their creators. This link became the basis of a new philosophy and religion for the protoss -- the Khala.

One group of protoss deliberately cut themselves off from the Khala. The group, which would eventually come to be known as the Dark Templar, was the enemy of the Conclave. They ordered Executor Adun to hunt them down and execute them -- instead, Adun taught the Dark Templar to hide themselves from the Conclave's psychic detection. This shielded them -- until the Dark Templar lost control of their powers. At this point, they were banished from Aiur and sent into space aboard a Xel'naga ship.

In the year 3099 (by the Earth calendar), the protoss became aware of the Zerg threat. In order to quell the danger, the Conclave ordered Tassadar and a force of protoss to purify infected worlds. Although this was initially successful, Tassadar ultimately failed. He and the remnants of his force traveled to the new zerg homeworld of Char -- where he encountered the Dark Templar led by Zeratul. They struck up an unlikely alliance against the zerg and their new leader -- the Queen of Blades. A massive zerg force traveled to Aiur, and Tassadar and his forces followed them.

Upon arriving, working alongside the Dark Templar, the Conclave immediately went to war against Tassadar. They rapidly lost this civil war, while the protoss set about destroying the Overmind that had planted itself on Aiur's surface. The brutal battle that followed cost the lives of nearly seventy percent of the protoss population -- including Tassadar. The remaining protoss were forced to flee to Shakuras. The zerg followed them, but were against defeated -- with a second Overmind destroyed, the Queen of Blades became the sole leader of the zerg.

The protoss attempted to exact revenge on her -- instead discovering the zerg/protoss hybridization experiments conducted by Samir Duran. Zeratul went into a self-imposed exile after this discovery. Meanwhile, the other protoss began rebuilding the Golden Armada. After several years, the sought to retake Aiur. This was at the time that Amon emerged from the Void, and corrupted the Khala -- and all protoss connected to it. Artanis was, with help of the Purifiers and the Tal'darim, able to reclaim Aiur and banish Amon back into the Void. After this, the Protoss joined forces with the zerg and with the humans of the Koprulu Sector to venture into the Void and kill Amon once and for all.

With the various factions of the protoss species reunited, they joined together officially to become the Daelaam or Protoss Protectorate.

## Physiology

Protoss are generally taller than humans, ranging from roughly seven feet tall to nine feet tall (or two to three meters tall). They are bipeds with digitgrade legs, similar to those of a Scarran. Despite having broad chests and shoulders, their midsections are quite narrow. Protoss have glowing eyes, with sight being their primary sense. Protoss do not have mouths or nostrils, and in fact use their semi-permeable albeit scaled skin for the variety of purposes other orifices might be used for. They derive nutrition from light, which is absorbed through the skin along with the oxygen and water that they need to survive. Conversely, they excrete waste through their skin. The skin is also very sensitive, Protoss can feel, hear, smell, and taste through it. The color of their skin changes depending on their emotional state.

Protoss have nerve cords which emerge from the back of their heads, which allow them access to their race's psionic capabilities and give them a connection to the Khala. Protoss hands consist of four digits -- however there is some variety between them. Some Protoss have two thumbs and two fingers, whereas others consist of three fingers and one thumb.

Protoss have three hearts, located so closely together they are sometimes considered one organ. Protoss blood is a blue or purple color, and variations in the color depend on the ethnicity of the Protoss in question.

A typical Protoss lifespan is 1,000 cycles.

## Source

Protoss are a playable race in *Starcraft*. For canon information visit the Starcraft Wiki.