Artanis

**Artanis** is a playable character from the *Starcraft* games.

Artanis is a young Protoss Praetor. Artanis idolizes Tassadar in Brood War and strives to be as good and honest as possible. He ultimately takes part in an unsuccessful joint UED-Dominion-Protoss attack on Kerrigan's holdings, and is forced to retreat. As of the events of Starcraft II, he has become the de-facto leader of the Protoss, but given the tribal disputes and his own youth & inexperience, things aren't going so well for him.

In the XP4 fics, Artanis is allies with the Heroes Coalitions. He is one of the main leaders of the Dimensional Defense Union.

## **Appearance**

Artanis is a large alien creature called a Protoss with a height of three meters tall and a bluish-gray skin tone. He have two glowing eyes, digitigrade legs, semi-permeable skin covered in scales, and toes, broad chests and shoulders, and narrow waists with slim midsections. Extending back from the crown of the head is a bony crest. Beneath it, emerging from the back of the head, are the nerve cords, allowing them to access their racial psionic gestalt. He wears a large bulky armor with a mixed color of gold, blue and white.

## **Personality**

Artanis harbors a deep respect and admiration for Tassadar. During the Brood War, he hoped to become as great a hero as Tassadar; a path which, although noble, could cause him to forsake his better judgement. In the years following the conflict, he expressed that he had no desire to be a leader, and has only ever aspired to be a warrior. However, he was willing to put aside his own desires for the greater good. He continues to look upon Tassadar as an inspiration and vows to honor his former mentor. Artanis believed that he had to serve his people, and pushed himself to be the leader he envisioned for his people.

During the Brood War, he demonstrated a dismissive attitude towards terrans, with the exception of Jim Raynor. However, by the End War, he showed appreciation of their potential in nobility, and respect for their customs, seeing their nobility. He helped the Terran Dominion in their defense of Korhal, and even showed regret for not trying to find a more peaceful solution to Moebius Corps. By the time of the reclamation of Aiur, Artanis demonstrated great regret and self-doubt, in regards to his own abilities, and of the worth of attempting a reclamation at all. He believed that Aiur's fall had been a punishment of sorts for the protoss, in regards to their past sins.

Artanis has a streak of stubbornness, and when devoted to a goal will expend most of his focus on accomplishing it, which has caused those in the Daelaam to take issue with his leadership on more than one occasion. On issues he believes strongly on, such as the evil of the zerg, Artanis will often dig in his heels and firmly refuse to truly accept other arguments, though will delay a drastic action at the behest of those he respects.

Artanis accepts that there are many flaws within the world. However, it is his approach to work with them and improve them.

Artanis is not a "showy" individual, though he is willing to don attire to satisfy the will of others and follow decorum.

Artanis once believed that his species had reached the pinnacle of attainable knowledge, but was humbled at the sight of Ulnar. He now accepts that there is far more in the galaxy than even the protoss can understand.

## **Abilities**

Artanis possesses centuries of experience, and combines both martial prowess with tactical acumen. He has demonstrated the ability to wield a psi-blade and warp blade in tandem. His psionic power is enough to grant him levitation. In battle, Artanis makes liberal use of his shields, overcharging them when he is overwhelmed. Artanis can also teleport, and rush a short distance using an ability called lightning dash, and can channel the astral winds in order to heal himself and nearby allies.

Artanis also strove to unify his divided people, and sought them together as they faced the Brood War and a deep cultural and social divide in its aftermath. During the End War, his ability to unify his people was proven, in not only uniting the Khalai and Nerazim, but also bringing the Purifiers and Tal'darim under one banner to destroy Amon and reclaim Aiur.

## **Trivia**

* Artanis's name is "Sinatra" spelled backwards. It is also one of the names of Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings.
* The backplate Artanis wears bears resemblance to the crest originally worn by Tassadar in Heroes of the Storm.
* Artanis is Justin Parker's favorite character in the setting.
* Artanis's Legacy of the Void helmet and shoulder armor is available as a transmog in Diablo III for players who purchased the digital deluxe or collectors edition of Legacy of the Void.
* An Artanis portrait named "Hierarch" is available in Overwatch. Artanis appears on posters in the Blizzard World map in Overwatch.
* In the 2013–2018 period, Artanis's article was the most visited protoss character page on the wiki, alongside Zeratul.