Tal'darim

The **Tal'darim**, also called **the Forged** or **the Chosen**, were a sect of protoss society that left Aiur around 150,000 BCE and devoted themselves to the service of Amon. They did not use the Khala, as they departed Aiur millenia before Savassan discovered it.

The Tal'darim had colonized many planets, primarily for the purpose of collecting terrazine.

## History

After leaving Aiur, Amon brought the Tal'darim to the Sigma Quadrant and then left them, imparting one final order: "Defeat your masters, or rise beyond them." The Tal'darim believed this meant that by obediently serving Amon they would eventually be elevated into xel'naga themselves.

Among their duties, the Tal'darim protected xel'naga artifacts. They colonized numerous worlds rich in terrazine, which they believed brought them closer to the Void -- and therefore closer to Amon. Although they avoided planets inhabited by Khalai and Nerazim, they did keep a close enough eye on the rest of their species to incorporate many designs from other protoss cultures into their own.

Among the artifacts that the Tal'darim protected were four of the pieces of the shattered Keystone. The pieces of the artifact became a central point of contention for the Second Great War, which brought the long lost Tal'darim into contact with other species once more -- battling Raynor's Raiders on Monlyth, Xil, Typhon XI, and even on a worldship in the Sigma Quadrant.

After the War, the Moebius Foundation brought the reassembled Keystone -- full of Void energy -- to the Tal'darim controlled planet of Atrias. There, Amon was reborn -- using a Void catalyst to communicate with the Tal'darim highlord Ma'lash.

The Tal'darim quickly aligned with the Moebius Foundation -- some even submitting themselves to Dr. Emil Narud's experiments on Skygeirr Station until Sarah Kerrigan and Alexei Stukov laid waste to the facility. Other Tal'darim began raiding Daelaam-controlled planets and capturing what Templar Caste prisoners they could.

Praetor Talis tracked these prisoners back to a Moebius Foundation facility -- arriving simultaneously with Dark Prelate Zeratul, who sought a piece of a prophecy he was pursuing, and a zerg force controlled by Sarah Kerrigan, who sought to destroy anything having to do with Amon. The prisoners were rescued.

Talis and Zeratul next journeyed to the Temple of Erris on Atrias. With the infiltration of the Temple, Amon ordered to the Tal'darim to wage a war against the other protoss. The Tal'darim slew Talis and many of her soldiers, but Zeratul managed to escape with the entirety of the prophecy he had sought.

Following Amon's command, First Ascendant Alarak led the Tal'darim to Glacius, where Khalai protoss experimented with purifiers. Alarak attempted to destroy the facility, but Daelaam protoss led by Artanis managed to retrieve the technology in the facility anyways. Alarak began to pursue the Daelaam, while other Tal'darim fought against the Zerg Swarm.

These Tal'darim forces -- along with Moebius forces -- converged upon Ulnar. They attempted to stop Kerrigan and Artanis from reaching the Temple of Unification -- which was, in fact, a trap set for the duo. Amon opened a portal to the Void.

However, with Amon distracted, Alarak and his forced turned on their master. Alarak had learned the truth: that Amon ultimately intended to kill all of the Tal'darim. Alarak boarded the *Spear of Adun* and and helped Matriarch Vorazun to close the portal.

However, Alarak only commanded a small portion of the Tal'darim. In order to get the entire sect of protoss to join them in the fight against Amon, Artanis reluctantly agreed to help Alarak claim the title of Highlord. Under Alarak's advice, they journeyed to the planet of Slayn and fought four guardians who protected Ma'lash. Finally, Alarak confronted Ma'lash himself and -- with the help of Artanis' forces -- won. He declared the Tal'darim would now be fighting against Amon.

As such, the Tal'darim death fleet joined the Daelaam, though Amon still controlled the Golden Fleet through the Khala. On Aiur, they were able to defeat Amon and thrust him back into the Void. Two cycles later, when Kerrigan called allies to her to enter the Void and truly destroy Amon, many Tal'darim answered the call.

After this, Artanis offered the Tal'darim a place within the Daelaam. Though Alarak refused, he allowed any who wished to leave the ranks of the Tal'darim. Following this, Alarak led the death fleet in search of a new homeworld to conquer.

Years later, the Defenders of Man attacked a Tal'darim outpost. Alarak himself led the mission for vengeance -- which led the Tal'darim into conflict with Nova Terra and her Covert Ops crew. Realizing she had been mind-wiped, Alarak offered to bring Nova to terrazine gas that would restore her memories in return for her help in finding the Defenders of Man. Nova agreed. Once she had procured the gas, the two parted ways -- with Alarak assuring her that he would know when she learned the information he sought.

After the Defenders of Man were publicly revealed to be based on Vardona, the Tal'darim struck. Alarak psychically contacted Nova and told her their agreement had been fulfilled -- but Nova refused to allow the Tal'darim to slaughter innoncent civilians. She brought her Covert Ops crew and forces from the Terran Dominion to defend the planet. The Tal'darim were ultimately forced to retreat.

As such, Alarak declared the Terran Dominion and Nova Terra to be enemies of his people.

## Culture

The Tal'darim culture was brutal. Other protoss considered them to be barbaric and cutthroat. However, their warlike society had given them powerful weapons -- such as bane blades. The Tal'darim famously did not take prisoners -- except when ordered to do so by their master Amon.

All members of Tal'darim society understood and followed the Chain of Ascension which determined who was their leader. They were led by a highlord, and under the highlord were First Ascendants. No member of the Tal'darim could fight or kill someone above their rank without first declaring the challenge of Rak'Shir -- doing so was an offense punishable by public execution. All Tal'darim had to obey those ranked above them, and could only move up the ranks if there was an opening created by a death. Rak'Shir allows an opportunity for direct promotion, as the challenger could move up if they were victorious. Only their young were at all exempt from the Chain of Ascension.

Tal'darim who were considered too weak to be of service were hunted and killed by blood hunters. There were no scientists in the Tal'darim, and even those who excelled in engineering (and reverse engineering technology pilfered from other protoss cultures) were still primarily warriors. All Tal'darim were expected to fight.

Tal'darim were also heavily focused on the retrieval of terrazine gas -- and cared little about the devastating impact this could have on the environment around them. When a planet was no longer useful, it was simply abandoned. The planets the Tal'darim occupied were named after significant events.

The Tal'darim were highly religious, viewing Amon and the xel'naga as gods, until it became clear that Amon intended to kill all life in the universe. The Tal'darim, feeling deceived by Amon, abandoned religion in favor of vengeance.

## Notable Members

* Highlord Alarak
* Highlord Ma'lash
* First Ascendant Ji'nara
* First Ascendant Nuroka
* Second Ascendant Guraj
* Third Ascendant Zenish
* Executor Nyon

## Source

The Tal'darim are derived from *Starcraft*. For canon information, please visit:

* StarCraft Wiki