Conclave (protoss)

The **Conclave** was a ruling council of protoss elders chosen by the Ara tribe for their wisdom, vision, and orthodoxy in regard to the Khala to reign over the Judicator Assembly.

The Conclave was an entirely male organization with no female members -- however, a preserver was always present at meetings of the Conclave and their wisdom and advice helped influence and shape policy, albeit indirectly.

The Conclave met at *Khor-shakal* -- sometimes called "the Heart of the Conclave."

## History

The Conclave was formed during the Second Age of the Protoss Empire.

In an effort to curb the influence of the xel'naga, early decisions of the Conclave included sealing off the xel'naga caverns where Khas had initially reawoken the Khala, as well as concealing the discovery of a xel'naga ship from the general protoss population.

They also kept secret the existence of the Nerazim who had refused to submit to the Khala -- and sent Executor Adun to slaughter them in order to preserve that secret.

Under the advice of the Grand Preservers, the Conclave ordered the construction of three arkships -- the *Spear of Adun*, the *Memory of Nezin*, and the *Pride of Altaris* -- and placed them, with a retinue of warriors and a Grand Preserver aboard, in stasis beneath the surface of Aiur to be used as a last resort in case the Empire should one day be threatened by overwhelming odds.

The Conclave was also directly behind the development of Purifiers -- intended to be the ultimate fighting force. The advances made in creating artificial intelligences based upon the greatest warriors in Protoss history led to a 99.3% accuracy between the robotic purifiers and the warriors they were meant to duplicate. The Conclave, however, still viewed the Purifiers as little more than machines and regarded them as tools rather than as the Templar warriors they believed themselves to be. The Purifiers rebelled. The Conclave was forced to end the program, shut down the robots, and send them away on a command ship called *Cybros* -- only to be reactivated in the direst of situations.

A series of psionic storms devastated Aiur -- exposing the truth that Adun had not done as ordered. Unable to punish Adun for defying orders without publicly acknowledging the existence of the Nerazim, the Conclave banished the rogue protoss from Aiur.

### Fall of the Conclave

In 3099 CE, after discovering the threat posed by the zerg, the Conclave determined that any world infested had to be utterly purified of life. Executor Tassadar was placed in charge of this project -- he did so, wiping out all life on Chau Sara and Mar Sara before ultimately defying his orders at Tarsonis. The Conclave ordered Tassadar to return to Aiur -- though he defied this order as well.

Not long afterwards, the zerg invaded Aiur. The Conclave attempted to fortify themselves against the attack, building additional defenses around Antioch and Scion, before launching an attack on a cerebrate. This attack was an utter failure. Nevertheless, the Conclave believed they were winning the fight against the zerg after managing to destroy a hive cluster near Scion.

Confident in this victory, they turned their attention to finding and punishing Tassadar. They sent Judicator Aldaris and Executor Artanis to complete this task -- however Artanis, too, disobeyed the Conclave and helped Tassadar aid the Dark Prelate Zeratul. The Conclave condemned Artanis and all of his followers.

When Zeratul, Artanis, and Tassadar returned to Aiur; the Conclave ordered Zeratul's execution. A fierce civil war erupted, in which Zeratul and his cohorts -- including the human Jim Raynor -- attacked the Heart of the Conclave and destroyed it. Many members of the Conclave were killed in the battle.

Though the Conclave was loath to give up yet, they witnessed Zeratul successfully slay two zerg cerebrates and were ultimately forced to admit they needed his aid. By the time of the Brood War, the Conclave had been dissolved and the Hierarchy had taken its place. Nevertheless, the remaining members of the Conclave remained influential members of protoss society and even became military leaders of the Daelaam.

## Source

The Conclave is derived from *Starcraft*. For canon information, please visit:

* StarCraft Wiki