Kerrigan Pt. 3: Prophecy

Link to original thread at armory.
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Kerrigan Pt. 2: Agenda

I hesitate to write this at all, largely because the minute I began, it occurred to me Blizzarrd made the prophecies regarding Kerrigan as vague as possible intentionally, as such I will not be going into any great specifics.

There is actually only one legitimate prophecy regarding Kerrigan, it makes it clear that she has some significant purpose in the Cycle though, especially when taken in context with a quote by Duran.

"Your coming has been foretold... You are part of the culmination. But not the end of it. You shall show the way, the path that must be taken, the realigning of old truths no longer valid. Yours is not the hand, but your very existence provides necessary instruction."
-Zeratul

This is the only full blown prophecy regarding Kerrigan, and it's apparently been paraphrased by Zeratul, who seems to be saying it with the realization that some old Dark Templar prophecy is actually about Kerrigan. There are four parts to it, which I will try and explain separately, although not in the order they appear in the prophecy, for reason's that will be made clear.

Part 1: "Your coming has been foretold... You are part of the culmination. But not the end of it.

Here he introduces the prophecy, and begins to paraphrase it, he's obviously not quoting, as he's directly addressing Kerrigan. The obvious question he raises is, what is the "culmination?" It's fairly clear that he's referring to the end of the Cycle, be it the Cycle's destruction, or it's fulfillment. Whatever the case may be, it's made clear that she is not just the leader of another faction, she is a very significant part of it, the implication is that she will be at least partially responsible for it's conclusion, one way or another, even though she is not really related to the actual new Xel'naga. This is clarified further in the second part.

Part 2: "...You shall show the way, the path that must be taken,"

This makes her role in the Cycle clearer, without her the Cycle could not be fulfilled, as she will show the way, but is it her actions which will do so, or is it her very nature as the first successful hybrid of any kind. The answer is in part three, which is the last segment of the actual prophecy.

Part 3: "Yours is not the hand, but your very existence provides necessary instruction.",

This makes it extremely clear, her very nature as the first successful hybrid is what may lead to the culmination of the Cycle. Until the release of Twilight, this was virtually always taken in context with the following quote.

"...her rebirth into the Zerg Swarm has sped up my progress."
-Duran

It was assumed that her purpose was to allow Duran a subject to observe, which would allow him to create the hybrids, which would conclude the Cycle. However, we now know that Duran's hybrids are abominations, they are not the culmination of the Cycle, they are its perversion. This raises the question, once again, of what exactly Zeratul was referring to when he said "culmination." It cannot be the proper hybrids, as her existence can't have much to do with them, the Xel'naga have almost certainly had automatic systems working on it for thousands of years, long before Kerrigan could have affected it. So it is in all probability referring to Duran's hybrids being made. There isn't really anything else her "very existence" accomplished. Sure, she took over for the Overmind, but everything else she did as the Queen of Blades was her own choice, and had nothing to do with her simple existence as a hybrid. The theory that she is what is allowing Duran to make his monsters is backed up by part four of the prophecy, which occurs between part two and three.

Part 4: "The realigning of old truths no longer valid."

Once again, we need to know what the primary noun refers to. My opinion is that "Old truths" refers to the Cycle. Largely because there isn't much more it can refer to. The wording also supports that theory, notice it says "Realigning," that strongly implies repetition, and therefore the Cycle. If something is being realigned, it means it is being reset to a given point, as in the dawn of a new generation of Xel'naga, which is a constant, reoccurring event, a point which time usually resets to, in about 50 million years.

So, Kerrigan's existence leading to the creation of Duran's hybrids is uttered in the same breath as a statement that the Cycle may be broken. That could be considered compelling evidence that Duran's hybrids will come into full fruition, and somehow negate the new generation of Xel'naga, to end the Cycle altogether.

Not sure what more to add to this. "Old Truths". I always kinda puzzled over that one. Probably refers to the assumption that the Xel'Naga are a constant in the universe; with their debacle over Zerus, their reanimation cannot be totally fulfilled. The Cycles, in other words, as you say.


... I wonder, though, if perhaps the Prophecies were read incorrectly by the Protoss. Maybe Kerrigan is the Twilight Messiah, rather then Tassadar? It is a dark time in protoss history that's only getting darker, the definition of twilight. It may not refer simply to the fusion of Light and Dark cultures.

According to the wiki he was referred to as the Twilight Messiah during the Blizzcon 2007 lore panel. Link below if you want to check...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoVYlFOrhvc

It is an interesting prophecy, but it occurs to me that Zeratul could easily be misinterpreting it.

It seems likely this cycle has occurred before and is a natural thing. I would hazard to guess the Xel'naga did not take the terrans into account when planning this one in particular though (no way to prove this of course, but they likely weren't involved in any of the previous ones and they have very clearly made an impact here where the cycle is being broken).

Now, assuming the terrans were not meant to be involved, kerrigan is very unlikely to be the subject of this prophecy as she is a terran/zerg hybrid.

My guess is that this prophecy would instead refer to a protoss/zerg hybrid that would have eventually been formed if the terrans had not intervened (probably a good deal later in the cycle since Duran is speeding up his attempt to pervert the cycle via kerrigan's new involvement in it, likely having learned or obtained something much sooner than he otherwise would have, or the change in the organization of the swarm benefiting him in some unseen way). This would make sense as an early protoss/zerg hybrid (through natural means rather than by duran's hand) would likely go a long way towards the culmination of the cycle, and would definitely change the relation between the protoss and the zerg.

Twilight messiah then refering to the first natural hybrid of protoss/zerg, and old truths being the relation between the protoss and the zerg.

So in short, I agree with your final conclusion that kerrigan's existance is disrupting the cycle and may end it entirely. Though whether or not that happens would depend on where blizzard goes with the story (since our "protagonists" seem to be working to restore the cycle to what it should be, or at least to some extent).

well thats my take on it anyway, been awhile since i looked through the starcraft lore though so I could easily be missing something here.

I thought I would add a little bit from recently revealed single-player mode. Quating Zeratul:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeratul

"James Raynor, I bring tidings of Doom. I have pierced the veil of the future, and beheld only oblivion. Yet one spark of hopee remains. You will hold her life in your hands, and though justice demand that she die for her crimes, only she can save us. Time is short, you must understand. The answers you seek lie within. Study it well; the fate of creation hangs in the balance."

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Zeratul hands James a Xel'Naga crystal, which contains the elusive protoss mini-campaign for him to relive from Zeratul's perspective.

This quote reveals something interesting as well: Zeratul must be agreeing with Kerrigan when she says:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kerrigan

"Do you hear them, Zeratul? Whispering from the stars. The galaxy will burn with their coming..."

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This suggests that perhaps the Xel'Naga proper - not just Duran's Hybrids - are coming back, and intend destruction. We can say with reasonable certainty that they are both referring to the Xel'Naga and not the Hybrids, given Zeratul's experiences with Zamara.


So, in the end, we have Kerrigan and Zeratul aligned against the Xel'Naga. Kerrigan lays down the foundation for their destruction. And considering the nature of Duran's Hybrids, might this also imply Zeratul may aid him, or at least find himself aligned with him on the battlefield?
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I doubt Zeratul is attempting to restore the cycle, given him being miffed at its existance when talking to Zamara. Still, I wonder about the content of Heart of the Swarm, which apparently deals with Kerrigan building up a zerg empire. I'd assumed it was to conquer the Dominion or something, assuming she fails in Wings of Liberty, but what if it's to face something else? Something like the "larger threat" that appears in Legacy of the Void?

I think Mengsk is going to mess this up big time, which causes them to fail at stopping the arrival.

Then during heart of the swarm, kerrigan will try to regroup, and there she finds very interesting things about herself and her origins as the overmind's special creation.

Wow. This whole Cycle thing, makes me think of the Matrix ending. Hehe. Anyhoo, this is some seriously interesting stuff.

It's just that if Duran is somehow working against the Xel'Naga return, how come he mentions that he is servant of a greater force and has existed for millenia? Doesn't this imply a Xel'Naga connection? Or maybe the Xel'Naga are in some way dividided. That is puzzeling. ;P

Other thing is if The Overmind was basically following this Cycle, how come it chose to use Kerrigan, who we now suspect to go against the Cycle?

It is really something puzzeling, and also what Mengsk might have to do in this whole bigger picture. Maybe he goes on the Hybrid or Xel'Naga side, just to try and win against Kerrigan/Zeratul/Raynor.

Oh, and why is Zeratul not able to play a major role whereas Raynor can? It seems the mini-campaign is playing Zeratul's past, so what's he doing in the present?

Oh, my so intriguing.

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how come he mentions that he is servant of a greater force and has existed for millenia?

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One popular theory that I support is that he is the survivor of another group of aliens that were part of a previous cycle, and he wants revenge for the destruction of his species.

The Overmind created Kerrigan as part of an experiment in harnessing psionic potential, which might have been vital in its pursuit of assimilating the protoss.

Zeratul probably is playing a larger role, but he's beginning to gather forces together, including James and his Raiders, as part of his goal.

Few responses:

According to Zamara, the two species that constitute each cycle aren't destroyed but merge to become one, the process being so slow and 'natural' that stress isn't really an issue. As such, I don't think Duran would want revenge on the xel'naga for his race being "destroyed" per se.

The Overmind essentially followed a perverted version of the cycle-instead of the zerg and protoss coming together naturally, it instead not only turned against the xel'naga, but attempted to assimilate the protoss. Kerrigan was a means to its own end and since she had plans for independence, it's hardly surprising that she'd (presumably) not want the cycle to be fulfilled. Like the Overmind, she seeks for the zerg to become 'perfect,' just like the Overmind.

I doubt Mengsk really has a big role to play. All in all, I doubt humanity really has any role to play in the cycle, apart from being cannon fodder who are in the wrong part of the galaxy and the wrong time. Such is life.:(

I also doubt Duran is working for the xel'naga in that both the hybrids and vat creatures are essentially "perverted" versions of what was the original goal for the latest xel'naga incarnation. Whoever/whatever he's working for seemingly intends to make itself prominant in light of the power vacuum in light of the xel'naga's near extinction. I suspect it may be (related to) the Voice in the Darkness, given the final title being Legacy of the Void and that one of the Dark Templar in-game quotes hints at the Voice being active.

Quote:

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one of the Dark Templar in-game quotes hints at the Voice being active.

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Which quote is that? The Darkness writhes?

Perhaps Duran's civilization was destroyed, or at least the process was more violent than usual. As this cycle has shown, the process of reincarnation for the 'Naga isn't fool-proof; something may have gone awry, forcing the Xel'Naga to leave their home galaxy in pursuit of a new home.